U.S. Soccer Gets Boost from Players Abroad

For a tantalizingly brief time, Ben Olsen was living his soccer dream.

The 23-year-old American midfielder spent about six months playing for Nottingham Forest in England’s first division. At each home game, fans would chant, “Oooooh ... Ben Olsen! Oooooh ... Ben Olsen!” whenever he was introduced or scored.

“It was my goal to go over there,” Olsen said of his on-loan stint from D.C. United of Major League Soccer. “It’s like a whole different game over there. It’s so crazy, intense and wild.”

Olsen’s time overseas was cut short by a March 12 broken ankle that required surgery, and he remains on D.C. United for the MLS season. But the 1998 MLS rookie of the year said he wants to go back, and he’s not alone.

Since John Harkes and Kasey Keller arrived in England in 1990 and Alexi Lalas went to Italy four years later, European leagues have accepted a growing number of elite young American players. Joe-Max Moore became a star with Everton last year when he scored five goals in a six-game span.

Soccer America lists at least 18 Americans playing in Europe, nine of whom were recalled for the U.S. victory over Costa Rica in the World Cup qualifier last month. And that doesn’t include those, like Olsen, who because of MLS’s schedule -- it’s the only league that plays spring-to-fall -- recently returned from overseas loans.

MLS has done a good job in its first five seasons of holding onto young American talent -- players like Chicago’s Chris Armas or New York/New Jersey’s Clint Mathis -- and the league’s yearly improvement has given the national team the depth to field a complete professional roster for the World Cup. But MLS has yet to reach the level of top European leagues in quality of play or money.

Steve Cherundolo, 22, is in his third season with German second-division club Hannover 96.

“I was under the impression that somebody ... can progress more over here in Europe,” he said. “I had the opportunity to come over here, so I did.”

The defender’s decision paid off last month when he got his second international appearance in the U.S. team’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying win against Honduras.

Cherundolo knew no one in Germany and didn’t speak the language when he moved to Hanover after two seasons at the University of Portland.

“It definitely makes you stronger mentally,” he said. “You can’t afford to have a bad week. Every week counts. It’s very stressful.”

Overseas, even bottom clubs don’t get a break -- they might be relegated to lower leagues. And the intense fan and media attention adds to the pressure.

It’s not always that way back in the States.

Keller, one of the world’s best goalkeepers, told how he once sat at a Washington, D.C., foodcourt with several U.S. teammates, and “not one kid came up and asked for an autograph.”

Imagine England captain David Beckham doing that in his home country, he said. He couldn’t -- it would be like Michael Jordan sitting there.

In Spain, where Keller plays for Rayo Vallecano in Spain’s first division, he has no problem being noticed.

“I can’t walk down the street in Madrid without having somebody say hello, or stopping me or whispering and pointing,” he said.

Such is the attitude about soccer in almost any European country.

“Everybody talks about it. It’s on everyone’s tongue. Everyone knows every player,” said San Jose Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop, a 15-year veteran of the English Premier League and first division.

American players must not only adjust to the importance accorded the sport in Europe, but also to differences in style.

“In England, the ball changes hands a lot more,” Yallop said. “It’s a lot more physical, more end-to-end, more running.”

Olsen believes his game got a boost from the exposure to that pace. “I’ve gotten more physical. I’ve been more consistent,” he said.