YANKS LOVING SCANDINAVIA

The region of the world most known for smoked fish and incredibly gorgeous women also produces some good soccer. The leagues of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are not considered to be on par with the likes of England, Germany, and Spain, but they have produced world class players in the past including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrik Larsson, Michael Laudrup, Peter Schmeichel, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, to name a few. These smaller leagues are usually seen as launching off points for young players looking to make a leap to a bigger club. Numerous Americans are benefiting from the creative and underrated soccer played in 'Nordic land'. Let's take a look at a few of them...

GALE AGBOSSOUMONDE: To simply put it, ‘Boss’ is the future for the USMNT at centre back. The Togo born defender is a burly and incredibly physically imposing player at 6’2. He shows an exceptional calmness and maturity on the ball which is paired with a brute strength not seen by many his age. ‘Boss’ was formerly applying his trade in Portugal for Braga and his failed signing with the controversial Traffic Sports made it so he was without a club for a long while. Since then he went on trial for the Swedish side Djurgården and impressed the manager so much that the 19 year old is now starting as one of their centre backs. He has been a constant on many USMNT Youth Teams, and got his first Senior Team cap against South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup in November of 2010. His promise is undeniable and the future looks extremely bright for Agbossoumonde.

ALEJANDRO BEDOYA: The dynamic midfielder has been playing for Swedish side Örebro since 2009, and is considered one of their best players. Interestingly enough, the Miami native never represented the United States as a youth player and flew under the radar as a college player at Boston College. His original move to Sweden was an afterthought at the time but his sparkling play since then has caught the eye of USMNT Manager Bob Bradley. Bedoya has since been capped 7 times for his country and was invited to the 2010 World Cup camp. He ultimately didn’t make the roster (although many people speculate he was the final cut and just missed making the team by a hair), but his energy on the pitch coupled with his hard working mentality has made him a very solid player in the Swedish League. At only 23 year old Bedoya looks to make a move to a bigger European league imminently.

SEAN CUNNINGHAM: Cunningham is an interesting story. He plays at Molde FK in Norway and just this last weekend made his first appearance for his club side. The 18 year old is not unknown in European soccer circles however. The Michigan native was offered a contract in his junior year of high school by Mainz 05 of the German Bundesliga but ultimately turned it down. He is an intriguing prospect though, if for nothing else than that he plays left back, that elusive position that the USMNT has had an incredibly hard time filling (to say the least). He is also a member of the youth USMNT set up, playing for the U-18 team.

MIKKEL ‘MIX’ DISKERUD: Although Mix (as he’s affectionately known) is only 20 years old, the offensive minded midfielder has been a constant for his Norwegian club side Stabæk since he was 17 years old. Now in a starting role, he looks to make a push to a Norwegian Premier League championship. Diskerud is the son of a Norwegian man and an American mother. He has represented both nations as a youth player and recently has chosen to play for the United States (to the dismay of Norway) and has already gotten two caps with the Senior National Team. His technicality and skill on the ball is impressive as is his ability to spray the ball around the pitch. He looks to be a fixture on the USMNT in the midfield for a long time to come.

JOSH GATT: The 19 year old 5'9 winger made the move to the Norwegian club Molde FK in this year after spending time in Austria. At Molde he along with fellow American Cunningham is under the tutelage of the former Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Ironically enough Gatt is compared often to his coach, displaying incredible pace and a willingness to attack the goal. Gatt was just recently brought into the National Team pool, where in his second game with the U-20 team, scored 2 goals and had 3 assists in a 5-0 win versus Canada. Gatt has been getting minutes for Molde and is now firmly in USMNT Manager Bob Bradley's sights after his promising play for both country and club.

CLARENCE GOODSON: The centre back took a rather unconventional route to Europe, as he did not start playing in Norway for IK Start until he was 25 years old (which is somewhat old). The former MLS player started and played for three years in Norway and his solid play allowed for a move to a bigger club Brondby in Denmark. His play also put him on the National Team radar, and as it’s currently constituted, he’s in line to possibly start in the middle. The 6’4 player is great in the air and displayed grit when representing the United States in the 2010 World Cup.

*OTHER YANKS OF NOTE: Midfielder Benny Feilhaber formerly of the Danish side AGF Aarhus has since transferred to New England Revolution of the MLS. Forward Chris Rolfe, formerly of the Chicago Fire has played sparingly in two seasons for Danish side Aalborg AK. Forward Marcus Tracy, a teammate of Rolfe at Aalborg has suffered multiple knee injuries that has resulted in only 15 appearances in more than two years.

*CHARLIE DAVIES, the United States forward started his professional career in Sweden with Hammarby, scoring 21 goals in 56 appearances.

JOGA BONITO

The hype machine that is Juan Agudelo

The next golden child for US Soccer has arrived in the shape of an 18 year old forward originally from Colombia: Juan Agudelo. Considered by many to be the best United States soccer prospect, the young forward has impressed in limited time with the senior team. Although he has only 4 caps for the National Team, he's made the most of them with a game winning goal versus South Africa in his first cap, and a game tying goal against the vaunted Lionel Messi-led Argentina side. Immediately after the Argentina game, sports media outlets were not shy about sharing proclamations about how Agudelo is "America's next big soccer star" or "the future of the USMNT". His stock has skyrocketed and his presence in the soccer world state side has gone through the roof.

Wait a second...the last American soccer 'poster boy', or even Pelé as some foolishly suggested was Freddy Adu. The immensely talented Ghanaian, who turned down a multi-million dollar offer made by Inter Milan at 13 years of age made his first MLS appearance at 14 years old after being selected as the top overall pick by D.C. United. He unfairly was supposed to resurrect soccer in the country and truthfully he did enhance the interest in the floundering MLS. Various marketing schemes in the forms of commercials and product placement plastered Adu's face all over MLS paraphernalia, thus making Adu a household name. With that notoriety came immense pressure and promise, which Adu has failed to live up to. Since Adu made the move to Portuguese side Benfica in 2007, he has bounced around 4 countries and 5 teams while battling conditioning and maturity issues. The huge promise that surrounded the (only) 21 year old has all but vanished as the embattled Adu is currently applying his trade in the second division in Turkey for Rizespor. Using Adu as an example, should US Soccer fans pump the breaks on the Agudelo train?

Sure, Agudelo is extremely talented. He possesses not only great skill and pace, but a maturity beyond his years. His willingness to attack defenders 1 v 1 is not seen very much with American forwards and his knack for scoring is sorely missing on the USMNT. His interviews are extremely impressive and he comes off as a very bright kid. Rumors are that Atlético Madrid in Spain and other European teams are sniffing around Agudelo, but Juan insists that he wants to play and get minutes in the MLS for his club side NY Red Bulls. What is the point going to Europe at 18 years old to sit on the bench when he can play consistently close to home? He understands the bigger picture and the humility displayed by Agudelo was all but lost by Adu who is considered to be very arrogant. But is that all Adu's fault? The United States has a habit of greatly glorifying 'the next best thing' whether it has to do with the sporting world or not. Adu fell to that pitfall, but time will tell if the same level of expected greatness will hinder Agudelo. For the USMNT and American soccer fans, let's hope not.


JOGA BONITO