Americans in Europe: Tiers of “Watchability”

Hello again. It’s been a minute. I’ll spare you the details of why, but with the European season nearly here I wanted to get something written.

It’s not on purpose, but I’m something of a “Eurosnob” when it comes to watching soccer. It’s not that I dislike MLS. I watch it here and there. It’s just that European soccer is much easier for me to watch. Saturday mornings and mid-afternoons are much easier to manage than weekend evenings.

So who are we watching in Europe this year?

Tier 1 – Fulhamerica Reborn

Must Watch

Leeds United (Aaronson, Adams, Marsch)

This is what we all wanted…right? Not since the halcyon days of McBride, Bocanegra, Dempsey, Johnson, etc. has there been a team with this many Americans. Leeds matches this year are appointment viewing for our weird little niche of soccer fandom. Adams and Aaronson are ideally situated to succeed with a coach that trusts them, in a system they are perfect for…and yet I have this nagging sense of worry. What if this goes poorly? Then three people we care about are in the mud instead of just one. There’s a lot of eggs in the Leeds basket. Please smile upon us, soccer gods.

Tier 2 – Lock Starters for the US Playing for Good Clubs

Watch if not playing at the same time as Leeds

Borussia Dortmund (Reyna)

I have a soft spot for Dortmund. I’m not a fan of the club exactly (I’ll flip to another game featuring an American almost immediately when they sub off Gio), but I genuinely want them to do well. Reyna is also the most exciting attacker in the USMNT pool. He looks likely to be a starter with BVB if he’s healthy and he’s a ton of fun to watch. Maybe Dortmund can give Bayern a scare this year? (*Looks into future* Nope)

Juventus (McKennie)

I really don’t know what’s going on here. McKennie played really well for Juve last year and Allegri has nothing but nice things to say about him. However, they also brought in Paul Pogba and McKennie hasn’t played a minute in preseason. It’s very strange. If McKennie is playing this is going to be an entertaining team to watch for Americans. Fingers crossed that he’s a starter.

Chelsea (Pulisic)

Thomas Tuchel hasn’t gotten the best out of the 1/2 billion dollars or so of attacking talent on hand at Chelsea. So they hilariously shipped Lukaku back off to Inter for a bag of balls (loan) and spent a bunch more money on Raheem Sterling. Anyone want to wager on how this story is going to end? Tuchel’s shelf life is nearing its end and Pulisic is going to play. Probably not as much as we (or he) would like, but he’s going to get on the field. And as long as that’s happening we’ll be watching Chelsea games.

Valencia (Musah)

It appears that Musah is going to be a starter (in midfield this time!) for Gennaro Gattuso’s Valencia side. Is Gattuso a good manager though? He has serious “I got this job because I’m Gennaro effin’ Gattuso” vibes. The arrow on Musah is pointing way up though and it’ll be very interesting to watch him grow as a midfielder this season. It will also be very beneficial for the USMNT to have him playing in a similar role to what he does with the NT.

Crystal Palace (Richards)

Crystal Palace was a great move for Richards. They’re a mid-table Premier League team and are planning on playing a style that should be transferrable to the national team. He’s also one of the most important players for the success of the national team. If Richards isn’t in-form and playing for Palace than the CB spot next to Zimmerman is going to have a big glowing target on it for Wales/England/Iran. Chris playing well and staying healthy for the next three months is going to be a nervous, but important item to monitor.

Barcelona (Dest)

Barcelona is among the worst run clubs in the world. They are actively selling off the future to pay for the present. That’s going to work out great, I’m sure. In the meantime, Sergino Dest is in a similar situation to Christian Pulisic. Xavi’s not getting fired anytime soon, but he also doesn’t seem too enamored with Mr. Dest. There have been all sorts of rumors about teams being interested in Dest, but then he always comes out and says he loves Barcelona and is building a house or something. He’s gonna play, but he may not be starting all that often. Still, it’ll be fun to watch when he does.

Tier 3 – Could Be Interesting

Watch if your family will let you consume a 4th game this weekend

Lille (Weah)

Honestly, Weah should probably be higher on this list. He’s a probable(?) starter for the USMNT and he’s a lively attacker playing/starting in a top 5 league. *Enter beIN Sports* Unfortunately, most people (including yours truly) don’t get that channel and finding *cough* other ways to watch eliminates the possibility of recording the games. I love Tim, but watching him is difficult. That pushes him down here to Tier 3.

Celta Vigo (de la Torre)

Another one that should be higher? There’s so many Americans in Europe these days that watching all the relevant games is nearly impossible. Far cry from checking box scores to see how Michael Bradley did at Heerenveen back in the day. De la Torre probably isn’t a starter for the US, but he is one injury away from being one and seeing how he performs at a higher level is intriguing.

Union Berlin (Pefok)

I don’t think Pefok fits what Berhalter wants from a forward. He’s not a good presser. If he’s scoring goals in Germany he’s going to be tough to ignore though. Having Pefok as the “Alan Gordon Memorial Tall Guy on the Bench” to put in when you need a goal wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Union Berlin finished 5th last year and should be better to watch than some other teams (looking at you Norwich/Augsburg) with American attackers.

Augsburg (Pepi)

Watching Pepi at Augsburg last season was a lot like watching Josh Sargent at Werder Bremen – painful. I have no idea how much he’s going to play and I have no confidence that Augsburg won’t be the soccer version of getting a cavity filled. That said, he is an American playing in the Bundesliga so a bunch of us are going to watch anyhow.

Fulham (Robinson and Ream, I guess)

Nice to have Fulham back in the Premier League. They were there in the early aughts when I first got into soccer so having them in the top division feels right. Jedi is the left back and is going to play a ton of minutes at the World Cup if he’s healthy. Seeing him get his shot against Premier League opposition is going to be a good time. He clearly tried to prove himself against Hakimi when the US played Morocco this summer, so seeing him challenged weekly in England will be worth watching.

Tier 4 – Others Receiving Votes

Richie Ledezma at PSV – I don’t think he’s going to play much (might still go out on loan?), but if he starts playing he shoots way up this list. Keep an eye on this.

Jonathan Gomez at Real Sociedad – He’s in pretty much the same situation as Ledezma. There is zero clarity at backup LB for the US so a few games could see him make the World Cup team and keep a talented dual nat away from L Tri. (yay)

Daryl Dike at West Bromwich Albion – Dike is fun to watch and should play, but I don’t think he has a real shot at the WC roster and the Championship isn’t easily available to watch.

Josh Sargent at Norwich – I’m just exhausted at this point. We’ve been watching Josh for years and not much changes. He’s still playing out right and not scoring. I wish him luck, but not expecting any.

Cameron Carter-Vickers at Celtic – He’s a starter for one of the two big Scottish teams, but I just can’t get pumped about watching. Sorry.

James Sands at Rangers – see previous note

Erik Palmer-Brown at Troyes – see previous two notes, but in a better, yet unwatchable league.

Mark McKenzie at Genk – see previous three notes, but in a worse league.

Matt Miazga at who knows where – let me know if he grabs anyone’s nuts, okay?

Haji Wright at Antalyaspor – Imma be honest. I don’t even know where to watch the Turkish league. beIn?

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