A couple of decades ago, very few players from the United States had made a successful transition to European football.
Unless you were a goalkeeper, the step-up usually appeared to be a little too high. There were a few outfield players, like Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Brian McBride, who made a success of their Euro trip, but they were rare stories of American soccer star-power—despite the country boasting one of the world's highest populations.
But with the nation finally starting to embrace the round-ball version of football, U.S. internationals are popping up all over the place.