Each different month we assemble a crew of soccer obsessives and get them to rank the highest 100 U.S. soccer gamers. Then we add all of it up, double-check the mathematics, and submit our ASN 100.
BY
John Godfrey
Posted
January 02, 2014
12:44 PM
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IF YOU AREN’T YET FAMILIAR with the ASN 100, you actually need to learn the following few paragraphs. (The remainder of you’ll be able to skip forward to paragraph No. 5.)
The editorial crew at ASN created the ASN 100 in October 2012 as a solution to keep a present rating of the 100 finest American soccer gamers. We name ourselves American Soccer Now, and we take that Now half very significantly. So each 60 days we ballot our esteemed panel of writers, broadcasters, and former gamers and get them to submit a 1-100 rating of the most effective American expertise. It isn’t about potential. It isn’t about legacy. We body it like this: “If you were in charge of the United States men’s national team and had to submit a depth chart of the entire player pool for a World Cup match to be played tomorrow, how would you rank the players?”
Let me inform you—it is powerful. Simply ask Alexi Lalas, or Jared DuBois, or Noah Davis. Or our latest ASN 100 panelist, High Drawer Soccer’s Travis Clark. You possibly can spend plenty of time agonizing over whether or not Chris Pontius needs to be ranked increased than Josh Gatt, and we do.
And we achieve this as a result of we wish to give soccer followers such as you one thing substantial to eat. Sure, you’ll be able to merely have a look at the ASN 100 and soak up the most recent rankings. However we would like you to do rather more with the interactive function. There are 13 filters that help you reassemble the record in fascinating methods. You possibly can rank the gamers by top (Corey Ashe is the shortest participant, Omar Gonzalez is the tallest); weight (heaviest or lightest); variety of worldwide objectives; age; hometown; and even by Twitter following. By clicking on any gamers’ image you’re going to get a baseball card-like assortment of information and figures; a profile; embedded movies; and advisable reads. You possibly can hint every gamers’ ASN 100 historical past over time with our ASN 100 Rating Tracker widget. And, after all, you’ll be able to inform us every part we acquired improper within the Feedback part beneath the record.
[Editors note: This is the fifth paragraph—welcome!] Clint Dempsey, who was our unanimous No. 1 participant again at ASN’s launch, has dropped all the best way to No. 5 on the record. Michael Bradley supplanted Deuce within the high spot early final 12 months, and the Seattle/Fulham man has fallen barely over the previous few polls. Will Dempsey be capable to flip it round within the construct as much as the 2014 World Cup? Jurgen Klinsmann actually hopes so.
We’ve two new gamers within the High 10—Geoff Cameron at No. 6 and Aron Johannsson within the eighth spot. Cameron’s regular play at Stoke Metropolis speaks for itself, whereas Johannsson’s velocity, method, and shutting capacity make him an attractive strike possibility for each AZ Alkmaar and the U.S. nationwide crew.
Combine Diskerud was hovering within the 40s final spring, however now he’s holding regular within the No. 15 slot. Do you agree with this rating? If not, can we no less than agree that he has the most effective hair, and the most effective social media method, amongst U.S. nationwide teamers?
Eddie Johnson dropped 4 spots to No. 21. Did it have something to do together with his acrimonious departure from Seattle? Most likely. Is that truthful? Dunno.
Main League Soccer MVP Mike Magee rocketed as much as twenty seventh place on the record, and it is onerous to dispute that lofty place when you think about what he achieved after being traded to the Chicago Fireplace. Magee, nonetheless toiling within the appreciable shadows of Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, was 83rd on our record initially of final 12 months. We’ll discover out quickly if Magee’s breakout 2013 earns him a shot on the U.S. nationwide crew’s coaching camp roster.
There may be one debutant on January 2014 ASN 100: Duane Holmes. Brian Sciaretta wrote in regards to the Huddersfield City teen just lately—test it out.
Different large movers embody Paul Arriola (+9), Dillon Powers (+12), Tim Ream (+9), Brad Friedel (-6), and Jose Torres (-6).
Hope I’ve impressed you to take a look at the January 2014 ASN 100. Please tell us what you assume—both within the Feedback beneath or proper beneath the precise record.
John Godfrey is the founder and editor in chief of American Soccer Now.
