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Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s move to MLS sparked fresh interest in the USA’s premier soccer competition, which is arguably at its strongest since its inception in 1994.
Wayne Rooney is set to join his former Manchester United team-mate in the competition in the days ahead, with the former England captain expected to join DC United. No doubt, his move to the US will see the stature of the competition increase even more.
But the league is not simply a retirement home for foreign superstars, there is a strong batch of home players in the league, with around half of the top American players currently turning out at home.
Here are five of the outstanding US national players currently playing in the league:
Michael Bradley
At 30 years old, Michael Bradley is still recognized as one of the foremost stars of the game in America, where he plays for Toronto FC.
The New Jersey-born midfielder is the son of former national team coach Bob Bradley, though he has certainly not been reliant on his father to make a name for himself in the game.
Indeed, he has played in three of Europe’s finest leagues, turning out most notably for Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga, Aston Villa (three times) in the Premier League and over 40 times for Roma in a two-season stint in Serie A.
This globe-trotting nature has allowed him to pick up four different languages, all of which he speaks fluently.
It took one of the highest wage offers in the league to entice him back to North America in 2014, where he has helped Toronto FC win the playoffs.
He is by no means a spectacular player. Indeed, he is best known for his industry and physicality, although he is very versatile in terms of his role in the heart of the midfield and is a player who is not without technical merits.
During this time, he has amassed a staggering 140 appearances for the US national team, scoring 17 goals in the process.
Jozy Altidore
Jozy Altidore is another player to have made his name abroad before moving back home, where he is a team-mate of Bradley at Toronto FC.
After impressing as a teenager for the New York Red Bulls, scoring 15 times in two years, he moved to Spain with Villarreal, where he struggled to earn a chance in the first team, leaving to loan spells at Xerez, Hull City and Bursaspor.
None of these, however, proved to be successful, but given the chance to shine in the Netherlands with AZ, he scored 39 goals over two seasons.
That was to prove his peak in Europe as a switch to Sunderland yielded just one goal in 42 outings and tarnished his reputation.
He has since rebuilt this with some sterling displays both for Toronto FC and from the national team, with whom he has scored 41 times in 110 appearances.
Altidore’s main attributes are speed, intelligent movement and his high work rate. Like Bradley, he is a player who leans heavily on the physical side of the game but is also versatile enough to play in several different roles across the forward line.
He may be a player looked down upon due to his disappointing spells in Europe, but he is treated like a gem in his homeland.
Tyler Adams
MLS is not only about stars returning to their homeland. Although the US national side missed out embarrassingly on World Cup 2018 qualification, they hold high hopes for a number of exciting young players bursting through their ranks.
Among the most promising youngsters in the league is 19-year-old Tyler Adams, who turns out for the New York Red Bulls and has already earned international honours.
He made a strong impression from his first moments on the field as a Red Bull. Playing against Chelsea in a friendly encounter, he headed the second goal in a 4-2 victory, immediately propelling him to the forefront of the footballing community in the US.
It took until the following year for him to make his debut in the MLS and indeed his progress was initially slow as he spent much of his time on loan at the club’s reserve side. However, he has since shown that he is capable of playing on the big stage, notably scoring against Club Tijuana as he led his side to the CONCACAF Champions League semi-finals for the first time.
Moreover, he has impressed when faced with the likes of Michael Bradley and Sebastian Giovinco.
There is a sense that not being in a hurry to move abroad has allowed him to develop more rapidly than the likes of Matt Miazga, who moved to Chelsea, and while he is already one of the top stars in the league, there is a feeling he could become a key player on a greater stage.
Darlington Nagbe
The son of a professional footballer, Atlanta United’s Darlington Nagbe has had no ordinary life.
Born in Liberia, his mother took him as a child from his homeland due to the civil war that raged at that time. She fled to Europe, where his father, Joe, was turning out for the likes of Monaco and Nice, flitting from France to Switzerland to Greece – wherever his dad’s nomadic career took him.
Eventually, he settled in the United States as an 11-year-old and perhaps given his background, which was dictated by football, it should come as little surprise that he developed into a midfielder in the same attacking mould of his father.
He caught the eye playing college football and was the second overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, with Portland Timbers picking him up. Nagbe was to prove a shrewd pickup.
Since debuting in 2011, the 27-year-old has posted consistently steady numbers and hit double figures in terms of goals during 2013 – his best season to date. Indeed, he played an instrumental role in making Portland the best offensive team in the league in 2017, despite netting only three times himself.
He has since moved to Atlanta, well established as a USA international, having received his green card in 2012 then becoming a citizen of the country in 2015. Since qualifying for the national team, he has become a regular, starting seven of the 10 World Cup qualifying matches for Russia 2018.
Cristian Roldan
Another of the USA’s big hopes for the future is midfielder Cristian Roldan, who turns out for the Seattle Sounders.
The 22-year-old left college prematurely to sign a professional deal with the MLS, eventually moving to Seattle in the 2015 draft and he has remained in Washington State ever since.
It rapidly became evident that he would be too good to spend time in the club’s reserve side – he spent only one match on their roster and scored one goal – and by March of 2015 he had been handed a starting berth for the first team.
He is a player who is clearly developing. His numbers have improved season-on-season since he debuted, with the California-born youngster netting an impressive six times from 33 games last term having got four in the same number of matches a year earlier.
Indeed, during 2016, he helped Seattle to MLS Cup glory.
Roldan, who was also eligible to play international football for both Guatemala and El Salvador, has been involved in the US national team for little under a year, having debuted in the Gold Cup against Martinique. He has since played a couple more times for the Stars and Stripes, but more recognition is sure to follow as his reputation and talents grow.
