My only prior post in this thread was the one from last night that listed the US players in the top 5 leagues in Europe, and I appreciate that it was off topic. I was just trying to respond to the posters that were going back and forth about whether DA has achieved one of its primary purposes of developing players for a professional career.

To finish a point before the thread gets back to the topic of whether DA rosters should internally promote or bring in outside talent ( ), I think it is still a little early to judge DA's success in this area. I get the good points made my some poster(s) about the fact that perhaps a higher percentage of the 2008 US players were significant contributors to their teams (e.g., Dempsey, Friedel, Howard, Keller, McBride, Cherundolo, etc.), compared to the current US players in Europe that spent some developmental years with DA teams. However, to be fair to the other poster(s) defending DA's development, DA has only been around for 10 years or so (for the boys). As a result, the boys that have had an opportunity to play DA beginning in their early years (e.g., U13, U14) are just now turning 22-23 years old. And anyone who follows the top 5 leagues in Europe knows how hard it is for a player at that young age to get significant first team minutes. That is a large reason why I tried to show all of the younger players (18-22 years old) with EPL and Bundesliga teams, even if they are playing out on loan or with the reserve teams.

Because so many of these US players are so young, the jury is still out on whether they will ever become significant contributors for their teams (e.g., Sargent, Weah, etc.). With that said, it is a HUGE feather in DA's cap that two of their players, Pulisic and McKennie (both of whom spent 7 years with DA clubs, PA Classics and FC Dallas, respectively), have already played over 21 Champions League games so far in their young careers. Not only have Pulisic and McKennie played significant roles for their teams, but they have also scored game winning goals, and assisted others, in these Champions League games. And they are only 20 years old. As best my memory serves, Pulisic and McKennie have already played more Champions League games than Dempsey, Friedel, Howard, Keller, McBride, Cherundolo, Donovan, etc. played in their entire careers while playing in top 5 leagues in Europe. We'll see if those players, and the other young, former DA players in the EPL and Bundesliga, reach their full potential and become significant contributors for several years for their respective clubs, but the early returns are promising compared to prior generations of US players overseas.

Anonymous wrote:Top of page 3 starts with a post about "weird disconnect" between the mission of DA to produce professional players and DA parents who are terrified of competition and complain when DA coaches recruit players from outside. I think it started with a poster who dissed DA parents and stated that DA's mission is to produce professional players and some DA parents don't get it. I don't think he/she was bashing DA or DA coaching or DA recruiting. If anything, he/she slammed DA parents, and by implication DA players.

Not the first post. There is another below that sets it off. It honestly doesn’t really matter. The point carries in that the thread is about something entirely different than what it has turned into, another attack/defense of US soccer and DA. That’s not why it was started. At least nominally.

Top of page 3 starts with a post about "weird disconnect" between the mission of DA to produce professional players and DA parents who are terrified of competition and complain when DA coaches recruit players from outside. I think it started with a poster who dissed DA parents and stated that DA's mission is to produce professional players and some DA parents don't get it. I don't think he/she was bashing DA or DA coaching or DA recruiting. If anything, he/she slammed DA parents, and by implication DA players.

^^^^ page 3

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A thread on how the DA clubs select their roster turns into another USA vs. the world vs. DA kind of thread.

Maybe we should put in brackets ('on point comments only please') on any thread related to the DA program.

This detour started with a poster who claimed that DA is doing great job in producing professional players.

False, the detour started with someone dumping on the DA and US coaching moving the thread off topic at the top of page 2. Then someone chimed in talking about pro players after.

I get the feel sometimes on this forum that people post piñata DA posts to then pivot and the bash. As PP mentions, seems to happen with every DA thread.

Anonymous wrote:A thread on how the DA clubs select their roster turns into another USA vs. the world vs. DA kind of thread.

Maybe we should put in brackets ('on point comments only please') on any thread related to the DA program.

+ 1000000

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of American players in Germany

And a lot of them are products of German youth academies and other European academies, Brooks, Johnson, Chandler, Green, Johannson, etc. But rest assured, the some will give DA credit for developing them.

Just making an observation. Not giving DA credit for players developed in Germany.

Anonymous wrote:A thread on how the DA clubs select their roster turns into another USA vs. the world vs. DA kind of thread.

Maybe we should put in brackets ('on point comments only please') on any thread related to the DA program.

This detour started with a poster who claimed that DA is doing great job in producing professional players.

I think a better measure would be how many homegrown players have been signed who have not washed out

A thread on how the DA clubs select their roster turns into another USA vs. the world vs. DA kind of thread.

Maybe we should put in brackets ('on point comments only please') on any thread related to the DA program.

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to exclude the players that were not developed in DA system. It would be preposterous to suggest that guys like Weah, Green, Brooks, etc are products of DA. Out of two guys listed for Spain, it is difficult to make a case that either of them was developed by DA. Moore had a total 4 months of "development" with FC Dallas before moving to Spain, while Akale spent his last four years in Spain with Villarreal academy and first team.

Point taken, but Weah spent a few years with BW Gottschee and the Red Bulls, so the DA deserves some of the credit there. Pulisic also was in the DA before moving to Germany.

The list above is terrific research. I wonder, though, how much of that growth is driven by the big clubs compiling larger and larger rosters and sending tons of players to their U23 team or out on loan. Do we really count Matt Miazga, who actually did make a couple of appearances for Chelsea but seems quite unlikely to get back there, as an EPL player? And technically, Mix Diskerud belongs to Manchester City.

From the list of older players -- a lot of those players weren't just taking up space on the roster. Tim Howard actually played well at Man U before being benched far too soon -- I guarantee you an English keeper would've kept his place in the same situation -- and he went on to a great run at Everton. Brian McBride is a legitimate Fulham legend, and Clint Dempsey did quite well. Steve Cherundolo was practically the mayor of Hannover. (On the other hand ... Freddy Adu.)

Today's significant top-five players in my mind would be ...

Yedlin - Newcastle
Williams - Huddersfield (developed in Germany)
Brooks - Wolfsburg (developed in Germany)
Chandler - Frankfurt (currently injured; also developed in Germany)
Pulisic - Dortmund
Wood - Hannover

Weah and McKennie are surely on their way. Maybe Sargent as well.

(Until this year, Geoff Cameron. Tim Ream played a lot for pre-promotion Fulham but not much this year.)

I think the key is that older players, such as Howard, Chrundolo, Dempsey, McBride, etc, were the key players for their teams. If we had them in their prime today, there is no question they would have been shoe-in starters on the USMNT. Out of the six modern players who somewhat approximate that status (even Pulisic with all his talent lost his starting spot in Bundesliga this year), three were developed in Germany. Out of the remaining three, Pulicic and Wood moved to Germany as teens and started to play in German youth system when they were 16 and 15, respectively. Only Yedlin can be considered a fully American "system" product. I think DA could legitimately claim credit for developing him, even though he also played for non-DA clubs, which filed a lawsuit demanding solidarity fees and training compensation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a weird disconnect on what the point of the DA program is.
It's not to improve the skills of your kid, it's for US Soccer to produce professional players.

In other threads, people complain that the US doesn't do enough to produce professionals, and that our training programs are terrible compared to European programs.

In this thread they complain that coaches are doing everything in their power to bring the best players into the program.

Being a pro is about competing with everyone around you on a daily basis, and if someone else is a hair better, you'll be lower on the charts.

This discussion proves that DA is attracting and produces the wrong kind of players, soft, entitled, etc. DA has been in existence since 2007, i.e., over 10 years. How many DA graduates are currently playing in the top five leagues in Europe?

No, it's producing the wrong kind of parents.
The players are doing well.
Far more US players in top leagues than there were ten years ago, and most of them went through the DA program.

It is an unsupported assertion. Name 10 DA players that are starters in the top five leagues (La Liga, Premier league, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1). Take EPL, for example, about 10 years ago. We had Beasley, Bocanegra, De Merit, Dempsey, Donovan (part time), Feilhaber, Friedel, Howard, Guzan, Hahnemann,Holden, Eddie Johnson, Jemal Johnson, Jermain Jones, Keller, Eddie Lewis, Kirovski, McBride, Onyewu, Reyna, Spector, etc.

According to Wikipedia, the following US players were in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 ten years ago (i.e, 2008):

EPL
1. Bocanegra - last year at Fulham; first year at Rennes
2. Convey - last year at Fulham
3. Dempsey - Fulham
4. Feilhaber - Derby County (one and only year in EPL)
5. Friedel - Aston Villa
6. Guzan - Aston Villa
7. Howard - Man U
8. E. Johnson - Fulham
9. Keller - Fulham
10. Lewis - Derby County
11. McBride - last year at Fulham
12. Spector - West Ham

Bundesliga
13. Arguez – Berlin
14. Bradley – Borussia M'gladbach
15. Cherundolo – Hannover
16. Donovan – Bayern Munich (really should not be included since he was loaned to Munich in 2009 calendar year and made 6 appearances, but I'll include him)
17. Jones – Frankfurt
18. Zizzo – Hannover

Ligue 1
19. Adu - Monaco

[u]La Liga
20. Altidore - Villareal

[b]Serie A[/u]
None


The following is the current list of US players with teams in in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 in 2018. I also included young Americans on U-23 (etc.) teams, since someone with more time than me can figure out whether they were former DA players. To be fair, if this information was readily available for 2008, I would have included it in the 2008 list above.

EPL[/b]
1. Austin - Tottenham (U23)
2. Cameron - Stoke City, which I appreciate was relegated in the Spring of 18. Now at QPR
3. Carter-Vickers - Tottenham (but on loan)
4. de la Torre - Fulham (U23)
5. Konopka - Cardiff City
6. Hydman - Bournemouth
7. Olosunde - Man U (U23)
8. Miazga - Chelsea (but on loan to Nantes in Ligue 1)
9. Palmer-Brown - Man City (but on loan to Breda in top league in Netherlands)
10. Ream - Fulham
11. Robinson - Everton (but on loan)
12. Scott - Chelsea (but on loan to Telstar in Netherlands)
13. Williams - Huddersfield
14. Yedlin - Newcastle
15. Zelalem - Arsenal (U23)

Bundesliga
16. Brooks - Wolfsburg
17. Chandler - Frankfurt
18. Flores - Dortmund (U23)
19. Gloster - Hannover (U23)
20. Klinsman - Berlin
21. Jones - Schalke (U23)
22. Johnson - Moenchengladbach
23. Johannsson - Bremen
24. Mendez - Freiburg (but too young to play until 2019)
25. Morales - Duesseldorf
26. McKennie - Schalke
27. Pulisic - Dortmund
28. Richards - Bayern Munich (U19, on loan from FC Dallas)
29. Rugova - Nurnberg (U19)
30. Sargent - Bremen (U23)
31. Scott - Cologne (U23)
32. Soto - Hannover (U19)
33. Stanko - Freiburg
34. Taitague - Schalke (U23)
35. Tillman - Bayern Munich (on loan to Nurnberg in Bundesliga)
36. Young - Bremen (U23)
37. Wood - Hanover
38. Wright - Schalke

[u]Ligue 1
39. Siebatcheau - Rennes
40. Weah - PSG

[b]La Liga
41. Akale -- Villarreal
42. Moore - Levante in Spring of 18, when they were relegated. Currently on loan to Reus

Serie A[/u]
None


If you exclude the players on U23 or younger teams, as well as players on loan to other teams not currently in one of the top 5 leagues in Europe, so that you get an apples-to-apples comparison of first team players, then you get 20 US players on first teams in 2008, versus 23 US players on first teams in 2018. A small increase, but an increase nonetheless.

However, if you include all of the young players currently on loan or playing for the U23s or younger, then there appear to be a significantly higher number of US players in the top 5 leagues in Europe in 2018 than there were in 2008.

I appreciate that one could still take the position that DA is not primarily responsible for the increase in US players in top 5 leagues overseas, as there are several other reasons behind this increase (e.g., more money being spent by those clubs in scouting the US, etc.).

You have to exclude the players that were not developed in DA system. It would be preposterous to suggest that guys like Weah, Green, Brooks, etc are products of DA. Out of two guys listed for Spain, it is difficult to make a case that either of them was developed by DA. Moore had a total 4 months of "development" with FC Dallas before moving to Spain, while Akale spent his last four years in Spain with Villarreal academy and first team.

And what about the development that got these kids noticed in the first place? We just ignore that?

If someone trained and played for a DA club for several years, of course, they can take credit. But take, Brooks for example, who never lived in the United States, how can DA take credit for developing him. Julian Green has the same story. Sure, the clubs in Berlin and Munich can take credit for developing these players, but DA has nothing to do with these guys. In fact, I think that the PP simply posted a list of players with American citizenship, which play with European clubs, but overlooked the fact that many players on this list either have zero connection to DA or minimal one.

You fundamentally don't understand the point. Every kid started somewhere and through sheer talent as well as development there was enough there for a European club to take notice.

When someone graduates college and gets a high paying job, yes, the college trained them for their profession, but the High School helped prepare them to become succesfull college students. The pro clubs are essentially colleges or finishing schools for soccer, but they rarely start from scratch with a player. To dismiss the work by both the player and their initial clubs to get these kids noticed is tremendous accomplishment and can't just be brushed under the rug like it had no impact.

You don’t seem to understand, it’s not that he can’t accept your point, he’s ignoring it. Because to admit it would undermine his (false, as people have tried to point out) premise that American soccer development overall is only getting worse over time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a weird disconnect on what the point of the DA program is.
It's not to improve the skills of your kid, it's for US Soccer to produce professional players.

In other threads, people complain that the US doesn't do enough to produce professionals, and that our training programs are terrible compared to European programs.

In this thread they complain that coaches are doing everything in their power to bring the best players into the program.

Being a pro is about competing with everyone around you on a daily basis, and if someone else is a hair better, you'll be lower on the charts.

This discussion proves that DA is attracting and produces the wrong kind of players, soft, entitled, etc. DA has been in existence since 2007, i.e., over 10 years. How many DA graduates are currently playing in the top five leagues in Europe?

No, it's producing the wrong kind of parents.
The players are doing well.
Far more US players in top leagues than there were ten years ago, and most of them went through the DA program.

It is an unsupported assertion. Name 10 DA players that are starters in the top five leagues (La Liga, Premier league, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1). Take EPL, for example, about 10 years ago. We had Beasley, Bocanegra, De Merit, Dempsey, Donovan (part time), Feilhaber, Friedel, Howard, Guzan, Hahnemann,Holden, Eddie Johnson, Jemal Johnson, Jermain Jones, Keller, Eddie Lewis, Kirovski, McBride, Onyewu, Reyna, Spector, etc.

According to Wikipedia, the following US players were in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 ten years ago (i.e, 2008):

EPL
1. Bocanegra - last year at Fulham; first year at Rennes
2. Convey - last year at Fulham
3. Dempsey - Fulham
4. Feilhaber - Derby County (one and only year in EPL)
5. Friedel - Aston Villa
6. Guzan - Aston Villa
7. Howard - Man U
8. E. Johnson - Fulham
9. Keller - Fulham
10. Lewis - Derby County
11. McBride - last year at Fulham
12. Spector - West Ham

Bundesliga
13. Arguez – Berlin
14. Bradley – Borussia M'gladbach
15. Cherundolo – Hannover
16. Donovan – Bayern Munich (really should not be included since he was loaned to Munich in 2009 calendar year and made 6 appearances, but I'll include him)
17. Jones – Frankfurt
18. Zizzo – Hannover

Ligue 1
19. Adu - Monaco

[u]La Liga
20. Altidore - Villareal

[b]Serie A[/u]
None


The following is the current list of US players with teams in in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 in 2018. I also included young Americans on U-23 (etc.) teams, since someone with more time than me can figure out whether they were former DA players. To be fair, if this information was readily available for 2008, I would have included it in the 2008 list above.

EPL[/b]
1. Austin - Tottenham (U23)
2. Cameron - Stoke City, which I appreciate was relegated in the Spring of 18. Now at QPR
3. Carter-Vickers - Tottenham (but on loan)
4. de la Torre - Fulham (U23)
5. Konopka - Cardiff City
6. Hydman - Bournemouth
7. Olosunde - Man U (U23)
8. Miazga - Chelsea (but on loan to Nantes in Ligue 1)
9. Palmer-Brown - Man City (but on loan to Breda in top league in Netherlands)
10. Ream - Fulham
11. Robinson - Everton (but on loan)
12. Scott - Chelsea (but on loan to Telstar in Netherlands)
13. Williams - Huddersfield
14. Yedlin - Newcastle
15. Zelalem - Arsenal (U23)

Bundesliga
16. Brooks - Wolfsburg
17. Chandler - Frankfurt
18. Flores - Dortmund (U23)
19. Gloster - Hannover (U23)
20. Klinsman - Berlin
21. Jones - Schalke (U23)
22. Johnson - Moenchengladbach
23. Johannsson - Bremen
24. Mendez - Freiburg (but too young to play until 2019)
25. Morales - Duesseldorf
26. McKennie - Schalke
27. Pulisic - Dortmund
28. Richards - Bayern Munich (U19, on loan from FC Dallas)
29. Rugova - Nurnberg (U19)
30. Sargent - Bremen (U23)
31. Scott - Cologne (U23)
32. Soto - Hannover (U19)
33. Stanko - Freiburg
34. Taitague - Schalke (U23)
35. Tillman - Bayern Munich (on loan to Nurnberg in Bundesliga)
36. Young - Bremen (U23)
37. Wood - Hanover
38. Wright - Schalke

[u]Ligue 1
39. Siebatcheau - Rennes
40. Weah - PSG

[b]La Liga
41. Akale -- Villarreal
42. Moore - Levante in Spring of 18, when they were relegated. Currently on loan to Reus

Serie A[/u]
None


If you exclude the players on U23 or younger teams, as well as players on loan to other teams not currently in one of the top 5 leagues in Europe, so that you get an apples-to-apples comparison of first team players, then you get 20 US players on first teams in 2008, versus 23 US players on first teams in 2018. A small increase, but an increase nonetheless.

However, if you include all of the young players currently on loan or playing for the U23s or younger, then there appear to be a significantly higher number of US players in the top 5 leagues in Europe in 2018 than there were in 2008.

I appreciate that one could still take the position that DA is not primarily responsible for the increase in US players in top 5 leagues overseas, as there are several other reasons behind this increase (e.g., more money being spent by those clubs in scouting the US, etc.).

You have to exclude the players that were not developed in DA system. It would be preposterous to suggest that guys like Weah, Green, Brooks, etc are products of DA. Out of two guys listed for Spain, it is difficult to make a case that either of them was developed by DA. Moore had a total 4 months of "development" with FC Dallas before moving to Spain, while Akale spent his last four years in Spain with Villarreal academy and first team.

And what about the development that got these kids noticed in the first place? We just ignore that?

If someone trained and played for a DA club for several years, of course, they can take credit. But take, Brooks for example, who never lived in the United States, how can DA take credit for developing him. Julian Green has the same story. Sure, the clubs in Berlin and Munich can take credit for developing these players, but DA has nothing to do with these guys. In fact, I think that the PP simply posted a list of players with American citizenship, which play with European clubs, but overlooked the fact that many players on this list either have zero connection to DA or minimal one.

You fundamentally don't understand the point. Every kid started somewhere and through sheer talent as well as development there was enough there for a European club to take notice.

When someone graduates college and gets a high paying job, yes, the college trained them for their profession, but the High School helped prepare them to become succesfull college students. The pro clubs are essentially colleges or finishing schools for soccer, but they rarely start from scratch with a player. To dismiss the work by both the player and their initial clubs to get these kids noticed is tremendous accomplishment and can't just be brushed under the rug like it had no impact.

Steve Goff of the Wash Post does a great weekly round up of all the US players playing abroad.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/11/26/how-american-soccer-players-abroad-fared-this-weekend/?utm_term=.15a0937bca74

If you can read through this and not think that the DA system has helped tremendously, I don't know what to tell you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a weird disconnect on what the point of the DA program is.
It's not to improve the skills of your kid, it's for US Soccer to produce professional players.

In other threads, people complain that the US doesn't do enough to produce professionals, and that our training programs are terrible compared to European programs.

In this thread they complain that coaches are doing everything in their power to bring the best players into the program.

Being a pro is about competing with everyone around you on a daily basis, and if someone else is a hair better, you'll be lower on the charts.

This discussion proves that DA is attracting and produces the wrong kind of players, soft, entitled, etc. DA has been in existence since 2007, i.e., over 10 years. How many DA graduates are currently playing in the top five leagues in Europe?

No, it's producing the wrong kind of parents.
The players are doing well.
Far more US players in top leagues than there were ten years ago, and most of them went through the DA program.

It is an unsupported assertion. Name 10 DA players that are starters in the top five leagues (La Liga, Premier league, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1). Take EPL, for example, about 10 years ago. We had Beasley, Bocanegra, De Merit, Dempsey, Donovan (part time), Feilhaber, Friedel, Howard, Guzan, Hahnemann,Holden, Eddie Johnson, Jemal Johnson, Jermain Jones, Keller, Eddie Lewis, Kirovski, McBride, Onyewu, Reyna, Spector, etc.

According to Wikipedia, the following US players were in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 ten years ago (i.e, 2008):

EPL
1. Bocanegra - last year at Fulham; first year at Rennes
2. Convey - last year at Fulham
3. Dempsey - Fulham
4. Feilhaber - Derby County (one and only year in EPL)
5. Friedel - Aston Villa
6. Guzan - Aston Villa
7. Howard - Man U
8. E. Johnson - Fulham
9. Keller - Fulham
10. Lewis - Derby County
11. McBride - last year at Fulham
12. Spector - West Ham

Bundesliga
13. Arguez – Berlin
14. Bradley – Borussia M'gladbach
15. Cherundolo – Hannover
16. Donovan – Bayern Munich (really should not be included since he was loaned to Munich in 2009 calendar year and made 6 appearances, but I'll include him)
17. Jones – Frankfurt
18. Zizzo – Hannover

Ligue 1
19. Adu - Monaco

[u]La Liga
20. Altidore - Villareal

[b]Serie A[/u]
None


The following is the current list of US players with teams in in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 in 2018. I also included young Americans on U-23 (etc.) teams, since someone with more time than me can figure out whether they were former DA players. To be fair, if this information was readily available for 2008, I would have included it in the 2008 list above.

EPL[/b]
1. Austin - Tottenham (U23)
2. Cameron - Stoke City, which I appreciate was relegated in the Spring of 18. Now at QPR
3. Carter-Vickers - Tottenham (but on loan)
4. de la Torre - Fulham (U23)
5. Konopka - Cardiff City
6. Hydman - Bournemouth
7. Olosunde - Man U (U23)
8. Miazga - Chelsea (but on loan to Nantes in Ligue 1)
9. Palmer-Brown - Man City (but on loan to Breda in top league in Netherlands)
10. Ream - Fulham
11. Robinson - Everton (but on loan)
12. Scott - Chelsea (but on loan to Telstar in Netherlands)
13. Williams - Huddersfield
14. Yedlin - Newcastle
15. Zelalem - Arsenal (U23)

Bundesliga
16. Brooks - Wolfsburg
17. Chandler - Frankfurt
18. Flores - Dortmund (U23)
19. Gloster - Hannover (U23)
20. Klinsman - Berlin
21. Jones - Schalke (U23)
22. Johnson - Moenchengladbach
23. Johannsson - Bremen
24. Mendez - Freiburg (but too young to play until 2019)
25. Morales - Duesseldorf
26. McKennie - Schalke
27. Pulisic - Dortmund
28. Richards - Bayern Munich (U19, on loan from FC Dallas)
29. Rugova - Nurnberg (U19)
30. Sargent - Bremen (U23)
31. Scott - Cologne (U23)
32. Soto - Hannover (U19)
33. Stanko - Freiburg
34. Taitague - Schalke (U23)
35. Tillman - Bayern Munich (on loan to Nurnberg in Bundesliga)
36. Young - Bremen (U23)
37. Wood - Hanover
38. Wright - Schalke

[u]Ligue 1
39. Siebatcheau - Rennes
40. Weah - PSG

[b]La Liga
41. Akale -- Villarreal
42. Moore - Levante in Spring of 18, when they were relegated. Currently on loan to Reus

Serie A[/u]
None


If you exclude the players on U23 or younger teams, as well as players on loan to other teams not currently in one of the top 5 leagues in Europe, so that you get an apples-to-apples comparison of first team players, then you get 20 US players on first teams in 2008, versus 23 US players on first teams in 2018. A small increase, but an increase nonetheless.

However, if you include all of the young players currently on loan or playing for the U23s or younger, then there appear to be a significantly higher number of US players in the top 5 leagues in Europe in 2018 than there were in 2008.

I appreciate that one could still take the position that DA is not primarily responsible for the increase in US players in top 5 leagues overseas, as there are several other reasons behind this increase (e.g., more money being spent by those clubs in scouting the US, etc.).

You have to exclude the players that were not developed in DA system. It would be preposterous to suggest that guys like Weah, Green, Brooks, etc are products of DA. Out of two guys listed for Spain, it is difficult to make a case that either of them was developed by DA. Moore had a total 4 months of "development" with FC Dallas before moving to Spain, while Akale spent his last four years in Spain with Villarreal academy and first team.

And what about the development that got these kids noticed in the first place? We just ignore that?

If someone trained and played for a DA club for several years, of course, they can take credit. But take, Brooks for example, who never lived in the United States, how can DA take credit for developing him. Julian Green has the same story. Sure, the clubs in Berlin and Munich can take credit for developing these players, but DA has nothing to do with these guys. In fact, I think that the PP simply posted a list of players with American citizenship, which play with European clubs, but overlooked the fact that many players on this list either have zero connection to DA or minimal one.