African American Greatest All-Time Team
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| The hero of the 1950 World Cup Finals: Joe Gaetjen |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
This is my selection of a 23 member all-time team for French Black players. The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.
African Americans consisted of about 12% of the population in the United States. Over 70% of NBA players is African American and slightly less than that for NFL. The number of African Americans in soccer is much less. However, the history of African Americans in the sport is actually very interesting. Giles Heron, an American-based Jamaican, was the first Black player to play for Celtic in Scotland. In 1950, Joe Gaetjen scored the goal that upset England at the WC Finals in Brazil. The game remained one of the biggest upsets in WC history. At the time of writing, Cobi Jones is the all-time cap leaders for the United States and Tim Howard is the all-time cap leaders for American goalkeepers.
Please see also:
USA All-Time Team
Black Players who played for England
French Black Players
Black Portuguese Players
Afro-Brazilian
Hispanic/Latino American Players
German-Americans/American Germans
USA 2010
Team
GK: Tim Howard
He led the USA to the 2nd round at the World Cup Finals in 2014 with stunning performances throughout the tournament. Howard started his career with the North Jersey Imperials before making a move to the MetroStars. His appearances soon attracted the attention of Manchester United, who signed him in 2003. He moved to Everton in 2007 where he was a star player with Everton.
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| Tim Howard |
GK: Zach Thornton
He spent sixteen seasons in Major League Soccer (MLS) with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars , Chicago Fire , Colorado Rapids , New York Red Bulls and Chivas USA . He was the starting goalkeeper for the Fire when it won MLS Cup '98 in its inaugural year. He, along with Chris Armas and C. J. Brown, are the only three Fire players to be a part of all six of the club's domestic championships from 1998 through 2006. Capped only 8 times due to be playing in the same generation as Brad Freidel, Kasey Keller, Tony Meola, etc.
GK: Bill Hamid
From Virginia, Hamid spent his most of entire career with DC United in MLS. In 2018, he moves to FC Midtjylland in Denmark. He was MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2014. Capped only 5 times at this moment.
RB: Desmond Armstrong
Armstrong played his career between the end of NASL and the beginning of MLS. He played mainly indoor soccer and had limited playing outdoor club soccer. Capped 81 times. He played every game of the WC Finals in 1990.
RB: DeAndre Yedlin
Yedlin played for Seattle Sounders in the MLS. After a great performance at the WC finals in 2014, he moved to play in England. He joined Tottenham Hotspurs in January, 2015, but spent his time with the club on loan to Sunderland. In 2016, he moved to Newcastle United.
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| DeAndre Yedlin |
During his professional career from 2002 to 2015 he played for clubs in France, Belgium, England, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal. His most prolific club years were with Standard Liege of the Belgian League with whom he made over 100 league appearances from 2004 to 2009, before moving to A.C. Milan in Italy. At Milan, he was remembered for a big fight with Zlatan Ibrahimović during training. Capped over 60 times. He played in the WC Finals of 2006 and 2010.
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| Oguchi Onyewu |
After a standout career at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Banks spent six seasons playing indoor soccer with the Milwaukee Wave. He also earned 35 caps with the national team between 1986 and 1991, including two games at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
CB: John Brooks
Brooks is the son of American serviceman serving in Germany. He started his career with Hertha Berlin. At the time of writing, he has only played for them. Since 2013, he has represented for the USA. He scored the winning goal against Ghana at Brazil 2014.
CB: Eddie Pope
Pope is considered one of the greatest American defenders. He spent 11 seasons with DC United, where they dominated MLS in 1990's. He won the MLS defender of the Year award in 1997. He was capped 82 times. He went to France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
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| Eddie Pope |
CB/LB: David Regis
Regis was born in Martinique, and began his pro career in 1988 with Valenciennes and transferred to Strasbourg in 1993, Lens in 1996, and Karlsruhe in 1997. He transferred to Metz, leaving after the 2002 FIFA World Cup, spent four years there, and spent a season at Troyes. Since the 2004–05 season, Regis played at the lower levels of the Belgian Leagues with FC Bleid respectively and retired in the summer of 2008. He became an American citizen before the WC finals in 1998. He went on to gain 27 caps.
LWB/LW: Fabian Johnson
Johnson was born in Germany. He is the son of an African-American serviceman. He began his career with 1860 Munich. He also played for VfL Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim. At the time of writing, he is playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach. Capped by Germany at youth level, he played for USA at the senior level. He went too Brazil 2014.
CB/LB: Carlos Llamosa
Llamosa began his professional football career in 1986 with Colombian third division club Colmena. In 1990, he moved to Colombian first division side Huila. In 1991, Llamosa emigrated to the United States to join the rest of his family. In the US, he gave up the sport for a few years before playing in the A-League. In 1997, he joined the MLS, notably played for Bruce Arena with DC United. He later played for New England Revolution and Chivas USA. Capped 29 times. He appeared at the WC Finals in 2002.
CM: Ricardo Clark
Clark played for NY/NJ Metrostars, San Jose Earthquake and at this moment, he is with Houston Dynamos. He has also played with Eintracht Frankfurt and Stabaek. Capped 34 times for the USA.
CM: Maurice Edu
Edu was the first overall pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft and won the MLS Rookie of the Year Award with Toronto FC. In 2008, he joined Glasgow Rangers, where appeared over 100 matches and won three Scottish Premiership League titles. He also played for Stoke. Capped 46 times. He scored a goal at the WC Finals in 2010 against Slovenia.
CM: Jermaine Jones
Born in Germany to an American father and German mother, he played for Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04, Besiktas,mBlackburn Rovers, New England Revolution. At this moment, he is with Colorado Rapids. Jones represented Germany at the senior level, but not in an official game. He later filed for a switch to the United States. He made his debut for them in 2010 and played at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
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| Jermaine Jones |
FW/RM/RB: Tony Sanneh
After finishing his college career, Sanneh played in various leagues around the United States before joining DC United in 1996. At DC United, he played for many positions. He won two MLS Cups with them. In 1999, he moved to Germany and played for Hertha Berlin. He also played for Nurnberg and then, returned to MLS again in 2004. Capped 43 times. He was a key player at the WC Finals in 2002.
RW: Cobi Jones
After playing college soccer with UCLA, Jones played with Coventry City and Brazilian side Vasco da Gama before joining the MLS in 1996, where he won two MSL Cups with LA Galaxy. He was capped 164 times. He is the all-time cap recorder for the USA. He played in three World Cup Finals. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
LW: DaMarcus Beasley |
| Cobi Jones |
After starring at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship, Beasley emerged as a star with the Chicago Fire before making a move to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven in 2004. He spent a decade abroad, playing for clubs in Scotland, Germany, England, and Mexico before returning stateside in 2014. Capped over 120 times. He is the only American to have played in 4 WC Finals.
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| DaMarcus Beasley |
Gaetjens won his home national championship in 1942 and 1944 with top-level Etoile Haïtienne. He then moved to the American Soccer League (ASL) and led all players with 18 goals in 15 games for New York’s Brookhattan during the 1949–50 season. He was posthumously inducted into the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1976. Drafted into the USA team for the 1950 WC Finals, he scored the only and the winning goal against England in a match, known as the biggest upset in WC history.
FW: Bobby Wood
Born in Hawaii of an African-American father and a Japanese mother, Wood joined 1860 Munich in 2007. He moved to Union Berlin in 2015. At the time of writing, he is with SV Hamburger. He has 23 caps as of November, 2016.
ST/FW: Jozy Altidore
Started with NY Red Bulls, Altidore moved to Europe in 2008, joining Villarreal in Spain. he had loan spells with Hull city and Bursapor. In 2011, he moved to AZ in Holland and to Sunderland in 2015. At the time of writing, he played for Toronto FC. Since 2007, he is a key player for the USA. He has over 100 caps. He played in both WC Finals in 2010 and 2014.
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| Jozy Altidore |
After starring for North Carolina State University, Lassiter moved to play in Costa Rica. In the summer of 1995, Alajuelense sold him to Major League Soccer. In 1996, Lassiter won the top goalscorer award in Major League Soccer, scoring 27 goals for Tampa Bay Mutiny, after when he was loaned for 6 months to Italian Serie B side Genoa. Lassiter went to D.C. United in 1998, winning the MLS Cup in 1999. Lassiter also played with Miami Fusion and Kansas City Wizards. capped 34 times. He was unlucky to miss out all the WC Finals during his career.
ST: Eddie Johnson
Johnson played the majority of his fourteen-year club career in the U.S. with various Major League Soccer teams, notching 71 goals in MLS league play. Johnson also spent three-and-one-half years with several European clubs, includes Fulham and Cardiff City FC. Capped 69 times. He went to Germany 2006, but missed out the WC Finals in 2014.
ST: Earnie Stewart
Stewart, the son of an African American U.S. Air Force airman and his Dutch wife, he began his professional career in that country in 1988 with VVV. He spent two years at the Dutch First Division (second-level) club before moving to Eredivisie side Willem II in 1990. he moved to NAC in 2003. After 6 seasons there, he joined DC United. Capped 101 times. He was a major player with the national team from 1992 to his retirement. He scored against Colombia at the WC finals in 1994, which was the first WC game won by the US since 1990. He is also one of the few US players to have played for in 3 WC Finals.
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| Earnie Stewart |
Honorable Mention
Sean Johnson, Gyasi Zardes, Robin Fraser, Danny Williams, Dante Washington, Cory Gribbs, C.J.Brown, Darlington Nagbe, Charlie Davies, Julian Green, Juan Agudelo, DeAndre Yedlin, Timothy Chandler, Robbie Findley.
Squad Explanation
-- Eddie Pope is probably the greatest African-American player in history. DaMarcus Beasley and Jermaine Jones are probably among the best ever.
-- It appeared that Bill Hamid is ahead of Sean Johnson on the depth chart on the player pool for the current USA. Both are still active players. It would remain unknown what would became of them in the future. David Yelldell is another option.
-- Desmond Armstrong and Jimmy Banks were selected because they were pioneers for African American players. Armstrong was also actively promoted the game to African Americans.
-- Except for a few games at the WC in 1950, nothing much is known for Joe Gaetjen, but he deserved a spot here based on that goal.
-- Julian Green and Juan Agudelo are too young to be considered. The other alternative attackers have done much more for the USA. Bobby Wood firmlt established himself as a starter for USA. So he got the nob over the two youngsters and Dante Washington. The same applied to Timothy Chandler. I selected John Brooks and DeAndre Yedlin because I rated them better than the alternatives. They were the last two players selected.
-- David Regis' career with the national team was limited, but he had a good reputation in Europe. Robin Fraser just did not make the team. He was just behind Brooks and Regis.
-- Ricardo Clark is not as well-known than some of the players not selected for the team. I selected him because the team does not have enough midfielders.
Formation
-- DeAndre Yedlin and John Brooks would one day become starters here. As of now, they need more merits. So I started Armstrong and Onyewu.
-- Fabian Johnson has more experience playing in the Bundesliga than Llamosa. I saw David Regis as a centerback.
-- I can easily move Sanneh to the rightback and start Edu in the midfield.
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