Zidane, too?

Sure, MLS isn't at the same level as the big three, but there have been a lot of recent moves such as Dempsey, Onyewu, Beasley et al who all began in MLS who are now in the Premier League. The exodus of players from MLS to the bigger leagues is only going to continue in the future because there is a lot of young talent here right now.

I'd equate MLS with the Dutch, Belgian or Portuguese top divisions right now, and I think they're closer to leagues like the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 than most would give it credit for.

 

Scudetto is the small Italian flag shield the reigning Serie A champions have on their jersey . . . . .

Hmmm. . . . . . what do you mean by "perform?" The best players have already been picked clean for the most part. Bocanegra, Beasley, Dempsey, Convey, Howard, McBride, etc. They all started their careers in MLS.

But Landon Donovan has the skill and talent if not the attitude. Dallas forward Kenny Cooper has the potential and the experience of playing for Man U's reserve team. LA goalie Joe Cannon is damn good, and would make some English team pretty hapy to have him in the net if the timing were right.

Midfielder John O'Brien, currently in limbo, but who missed most of last yer in a Chivas USA uniform due to injury, was in Holland until injuries forced him out last year. If healthy, you bet he would be back in Europe. But he'll never be completely healthy again, I fear. Claudio Reyna, signed and sealed by New York, would do fine in England, as he just did. Chivas USA's Amado Guevara has a five-cent head at times, but he has the skill to compete overseas. Dwayne De Rosario of Planet Houston has really come on.

Now I'm starting to reach. Maybe Pastor has a better answer.

Two last points:

1. Love the word "dross." Nice work.

2. Onyewu didn't start in MLS. Went straight from college to Europe.

 

So when Gooch went to Metz, did anyone get a fee?

 

Take any one of the current MLS squads and put them in any of the 3 leagues I have mentioned and then add the Bundesliga and the French ligue 1 and over the course of a full season they would be over run and sunk without trace. The squads are filled with youngsters, average non international Americans, older past prime players from Europe (some without a prime Paul Dalglish) and no name South Americans who can not get a game in their own country or Europe. US Soccer athlete of the year two years in a row Landon Donovan failed to impress in Germany for god's sake. Claudio Reyna who is no more than a fringe player at a struggling Manchester City will be one of MLS's franchise players if he returns as expected.

I'm not denying that MLS is competitive and fun to watch but it is no comparison to what is on Europe. It's not even a discussion.

NFL Europe is competitive and largely watchable football but by the same token teams there would be eaten alive in the NFL it is just a different level and consistency of competition

 

The original question regarded five players. This is completely different. I can't honestly think of a single MLS team that wouldn't suffer the fate you mention above.

 

Perhaps I am responding to your comment about the MLS not being a shitty single - A calibre league. Right at this moment it is not much more than that but I am not stating that out of any malice.

The discussion has gone off on tangents probably of my own doing but I have tried to respond to the way other replies opened up the discussion.

My original umbrage was with the person calling Zidane over the hill or past to which my reply was along the lines of he'd be better to watch than the dross (now a word in danger of over use by me) currently on display and the potential signing of Zidane on top of Beckham has the potential to project the league in a new direction

 

Remember, Zidane plays a position that doesn't require him to run up and down the field for all 90 minutes. He's a central, playmaking midfielder that stays in the offensive third of the field.

I would compare him to Carlos Valderamma (big orange afro guy from Colombia). He played until he was 38 or 39 at a pretty high level because he was not asked to track back and play defense. Whether that's a detriment to the team is debatable, but the point is Zidane could play for several years in the right system.

Oh and Claudio Reyna was more than a fringe player at Man City. He was captain of the team at one point. The team didn't want to sell him but he wanted to move because his wife was expecting.

Criticizing the MLS for not being able to compete in the EPL or the other top leagues is a silly argument. Outside of England, Spain, Italy and Germany/France/Holland, just about every other league is a level below. Just because MLS couldn't compete in those leagues doesn't mean it's a bad league. It just means it's like 90 percent of the other leagues in the world.

 

1) Amado Guevara
2) Rico Clark
3) Sharlee Joseph
4) Landon
5) Jimmy Conrad

Not saying that they would be starting for Chelski, but any of those guys would do just fine in a mid-table club in any of those leagues. I could probably come up with at least 5-8 more field players who could as well.