..........................Photo by ISIphotos.com The National Soccer Hall of Fame released its final ballot for the Class of 2010 and the 24 former soccer players chosen represent a vast array of teams and eras. Former U.S. national team standouts Earnie Stewart, Peter Vermes and ThomasDooley, Women's national team stars Cindy Parlow and Shannon McMillan, as well as foreign-born MLS...
... and Curt Onalfo are early front-runners. How's this for a longshot candidate: former USA defender ThomasDooley, who coached in his native Germany years ago and lives/works in the
... ( link ) – Gotta love the long list of guys and gals up for HOF. Earnie Stewart, Peter Vermes and ThomasDooley definitely get my vote without question. Marco Etcheverry, Peter Nowak and Carlos Valderrama are some of the non-Americans on the ballot that are worth a vote as well.
When I travel abroad, people often tell me that the United States is good at soccer only because they import foreigners to play for the national team. While this strategy was key in our development as a soccer nation, it is far, far less common today. The 1990s saw the US scour European leagues for players with American connections, coming up with gems such as Ernie Stewart and ThomasDooley...