Fulham has had America in the blood the past few years, it seemed. A Kasey Keller clearance from the first Virginian trees planted in England and the resting place of the log of the Mayflower at Fulham Palace, the Yanks had set down serious soccer roots.
First there was Eddie Lewis & Marcus Hahnemann, then came Brian McBride, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, Kasey Keller and most recently Eddie Johnson donning the black and white of Fulham FC. The club also made efforts to sign Claudio Reyna, Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit, from what we are told.
I actually once asked their Chief Press Officer a simple question, which floored her: "Why is Chris Coleman signing so many Americans?"
But Fulhamerica is now crumbling away. Bocanegra, Keller and McBride have left the Cottage for the last time and the current coach Roy Hodgson has more of a continental bias, having coached in seven different European countries, as well as the United Arab Emirates, before coming to the rescue of the Championship-bound West Londoners late last season. I wonder how many American voices in the crowd I will hear this season now only two Yanks remain.
Of all the nationalities at the Cottage, only the USA got its flag on official club merchandise and had a special gameday allocated to it by the club. Fulham's commercial team had told me they had intended to make Fulham 'The American club of London', so if the Yanks are really fading into the background at last, let us at least toast a wonderful conceit while it lasted.
The EPL's loss is MLS' gain however when it comes to Mr. McBride, eight years after England first got a sniff of his striking prowess. Preston North End, the first ever English champions and home of the great Tom Finney (one of the England stars humiliated in 1950 by the US in Belo Horizonte), was McBride's first port of call in 2000 under David Moyes, before he returned to play for the Gollum-lookalike at Everton two years later.
Four goals in eight games for the Toffees was followed by 32 in 139 for Fulham over four seasons starting in 2004. McBride was twice Fulham's player of the season, was named club captain in his final one, and was ubiquitously respected as a model professional, but I would rate his greatest achievement as having flown the flag for US Soccer in the game's top league for so long. Apart from during John Harkes' career a decade earlier, no American soccer player's name has sprung so readily to English lips as Brian McBride's.
Having watched him in the flesh many times for Columbus, I felt sure his aerial prowess would see him prosper in England, and it did, but what also struck me seeing him play for Fulham was how expert he was on the deck. Every flick, lay-off and trap McBride performed was pretty much textbook, no mean achievement with the fast feet and heavy cleats of the Premier League defenses snapping at your heels.
McBride was also brave too, let us not forget. Soaring to score he took many a punch, headbutt or joint full on in the face. Remember him scoring as he dislocated his kneecap last season, or his bloodied face at the 2006 World Cup after Italy's Daniele De Rossi had cynically elbowed him.
It seems he has been around forever, so how wonderful to see him agree to play for the Chicago Fire in MLS as well as the US Olympic team this month. Having grown up in Arlington Heights, IL, in the same town as Jonathan Spector, joining the Fire to end his career makes perfect sense for McBride. Crew fans will perhaps remember him most fondly however. As their talisman over eight years, he netted 62 times in 161 appearances.
My favorite McBride memory however, was him diving to put the US 3-0 up against Portugal in Suwon at World Cup 2002. His faked lurch towards the near post threw the Portuguese defender Fernando Couto a delicious dummy, allowing himself clear air to fly in and head Tony Sanneh's cross past a despairing Vitor Baia, a move he and Sanneh had performed '1000 times' while at the Milwaukee Rampage years earlier. I was privileged to be standing directly in line with McBride when he finished off that flowing move, only yards away from his memorable celebration of a then unbelievable scoreline.
When it came to Germany four years later, I made sure it was not forgotten by printing up some pins of the goal with the caption 'Remember Suwon'. Please join me in toasting this consummate pro and American hero as he embarks upon his Indian summer. Set your alarm clocks next Weds/Thu for the US Olympic team's opening clash with Japan. And here's to many more Bake days in MLS.
-Sean O'Conor
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