Another pair of players with US national team experience joined MLS this week, as Edgar Castillo made his long-reported loan move to the Colorado Rapids and Perry Kitchenofficially joined the LA Galaxy.
Though the duo have never made a huge impact on the international level, they're the latest in a long line of American internationals to leave foreign leagues to sign with MLS in recent years. How have those USMNTers fared? Let’s take a look:
Clint Dempsey
The American soccer icon kickstarted the wave of in-their-prime USMNT stars to sign with MLS when he left Tottenham to join the Seattle Sounders in August 2013. Now 34, Dempsey has been a critical piece throughout his time in Seattle, helping the team to the Supporters’ Shield-US Open Cup double in 2014 and playing a key role on their 2016 MLS Cup squad before a heart issue sidelined him for the season in late August. He returned in 2017 to help the Sounders to another appearance in MLS Cup, and will be back in Rave Green this year after inking a new Designated Player deal with the club.
Michael Bradley
It’s hard to understate how important Bradley has been to Toronto FC since he signed with the Reds in January 2014. The USMNT stalwart played perhaps the biggest role in transforming TFC from the laughingstock of the league to the best team in MLS history, captaining the club to their first playoff berth in 2015, their first appearance in MLS Cup in 2016 and the first treble in league history in 2017.
The 30-year-old is still well within his prime, as evidenced by an excellent 2017 season for Toronto. The holding midfielder has eight goals and 17 assists in 104 regular season appearances as a Red.
DaMarcus Beasley
Perhaps the most underappreciated player in USMNT history, Beasley signed with the Dynamo following the 2014 World Cup. He’s quietly been one of the better left backs in all of MLS ever since. The 35-year-old has been a regular for Houston, appearing in at least 24 matches in all three of his full seasons in Texas and helping the Dynamo return to the playoffs for the first time in four years in 2017. He’s currently a free agent and eligible to sign with any MLS club – we’ll see where he lands this winter.
Jermaine Jones
Never one to shy away from drama, Jones’ MLS career started with a bang, as the center midfielder was awarded to the New England Revolution over the Chicago Fire following the 2014 World Cup thanks to a blind draw that determined his rights. That turned into a huge boon for the Revs, who used Jones’ arrival as a launching point for a terrific second half run in which they appeared in MLS Cup.
Unfortunately for him, Jones hasn’t been able to hit those heights in any of his three subsequent years in the league. The 36-year-old was hampered by injuries in 2015, 2016 and 2017, never appearing in more than 20 regular season games for the Revs, Rapids or Galaxy. His future is currently up in the air after LA declined his contract option following last season.
Jozy Altidore
Part of a massive January 2015 spree that saw both him and Sebastian Giovinco join Bradley in Toronto, Altidore has been one of the biggest parts of TFC’s excellent run over the past few years. Despite battling injuries throughout his time in Canada, Altidore has hit double digits in all three of his seasons with Toronto. He’s got 38 tallies in just 75 regular season appearances for TFC and has been massive for the club in the playoffs, recording seven goals and four assists in 11 postseason appearances. Two of those goals were particularly huge, with Altidore bagging the winner in the 2017 Eastern Conference Championship series against Columbus before firing home the MLS Cup clincher against Seattle.
Sacha Kljestan
No MLS player has been better at setting up his teammates than Kljestan over the past few years, with the 32-year-old midfielder recording a whopping 51 assists in 97 regular season matches since he signed with the New York Red Bulls from Anderlecht in January 2015. He led the league in assists in each of the last two years, and helped the Red Bulls to the Supporters’ Shield in 2015, the best record in the East in 2016 and the Open Cup final in 2017. Despite his numerous accomplishments for the club, New York shipped him to Orlando this winter, where he’ll hope to lead the Lions to their first MLS playoff berth.
Juan Agudelo
Work permit issues meant that Agudelo's transfer to Stoke City in 2014 ultimately ended in one moderately successful loan spell with FC Utrecht and a move back to the New England Revolution ahead of the 2015 season. Since re-joining the Revs, Agudelo has been nothing if not consistent, scoring seven regular-season goals in each of his last three campaigns. Still, many fans are waiting to see him truly fulfill the hype that has followed him around since he signed for the New York Red Bulls as a 17-year-old Homegrown back in 2010.
Tim Howard
Acquired in March 2016 and officially signed by Colorado in July of that year after a sparkling decade in England, Howard had an excellent first season with the Rapids. He started 17 games, recorded seven shutouts and allowed just 19 goals as the club compiled the best defensive record in the 2016 regular season, then stood on his head to help the Rapids past the Galaxy in the first round of the playoffs.
2017 was tough on both Howard and Colorado, with the 38-year-old allowing 39 goals in 25 starts as Colorado regressed to the mean defensively and finished 10th in the Western Conference. He’ll be a key piece for the club again in 2018 under new manager Anthony Hudson.
Alejandro Bedoya
Signed as a Designated Player by Philadelphia in August 2016, Bedoya helped the Union to a playoff appearance in 2016 with a goal in 10 league games in the season’s stretch run. Hopes were high for him and Philadelphia to build on their solid showing in 2017, but the club faltered out of the gate, going winless in their first eight games with Bedoya forced to play out of position as a No. 10. The versatile midfielder, now 30, will hope for more positional stability and better results with the Union in 2018.
Greg Garza
A lifer in Liga MX, Garza moved north of the border in December 2016 when Atlanta acquired him on loan from Tijuana. The occasional US international was excellent for the expansion club, recording two goals and five assists in 26 regular season appearances at left back before an injury ended his season in September. It wasn’t all bad at the end of the year for the 26-year-old, however – Atlanta purchased him outright from Tijuana in December, bringing him back to Georgia on a multi-year deal.
Jonathan Spector
Spector hasn’t been a USMNT regular since Bob Bradley was at the helm, but that didn’t stop Orlando from bringing in the veteran center back as part of their defensive rebuild ahead of the 2017 season. Things started off positively for the 31-year-old Spector and the Lions, with Orlando racing out to a 6-1-0 record with just five goals allowed in their first seven matches. Things went sideways from there, however, with Orlando finishing the year 10th in the East after conceding 58 goals and Spector missing a significant chunk due to injury.
Josh Gatt
A slew of major injuries derailed the European dreams of the once-hot USMNT prospect, and he signed with Minnesota in 2017 hoping to resuscitate his career. Unfortunately for Gatt, things didn’t go all that well. The 26-year-old winger didn’t make a single appearance for the Loons before they traded him to at the end of March to Colorado, where he tallied two goals and three assists in 20 appearances and 11 starts. The Rapids declined his option following the 2017 season and he’s currently without a club.
Brad Guzan
Signed by Atlanta in January before he joined the team in July following the end of his contract with English Premier League club Middlesbrough, Guzan was excellent between the pipes for the Five Stripes. The longtime USMNT ‘keeper appeared in 14 regular season games for the expansion club, recording eight shutouts, allowing just 10 goals and making more than a few spectacular saves to help Atlanta become just the third team in MLS history to make the playoffs in their first year in the league. He’ll hope to stay hot in 2018, as Atlanta look to live up to major expectations for their second season.
Paul Arriola
Acquired by D.C. United in August after a transfer from Tijuana and a trade with the LA Galaxy for his MLS rights, Arriola sparked what had been a woeful Black-and-Red team in the second half. The 22-year-old midfielder recorded a goal and two assists for D.C., who went 4-6-1 in his 11 appearances after starting the year with a 5-14-4 record. Arriola and a couple of key reinforcements will hope to right the ship for United as they open Audi Field in 2018.
