Glasgow Rangers have just signed American internationalists Alejandro Bedoya and Carlos Bocanegra to join Maurice Edu.

I know Edu has struggled badly in Scotland and I know (or believe) that Bocanegra is the US captain and was playing for St Etienne, but I was wondering if anyone knows if they're any good or not? Bocanegra's captaincy is no guarantee of anything, Celtic signed China's captain the season before last, IIRC, and he was duff.

Anyone have an opinion on either of these guys?

Well, if you listen to what people in Latinamerica have to say, Americans can't play soccer to save their lives. XD Though those you named seem to be Latin descendant, so dunno how the rule works in that case! :|a

I don't know anything about Bedoya. I've only seen a few minutes of match time.

Bocanegra is a strong and consistent defender (CB/LB). Not really a big guy but he can definitely hold his own against bigger opponents. He can royally screw up an attack inside the penalty area but sometimes struggles against fast counter-attacking teams. Carlos is almost as good a scorer as he is a defender. Used quite a bit in set-pieces. A smart choice to plug in the defense while developing younger talent.

Hirschof wrote:Carlos is almost as good a scorer as he is a defender. Used quite a bit in set-pieces. A smart choice to plug in the defense while developing younger talent.

Thanks, Hirschof. That's interesting. I'm hoping he doesn't end up a success, of course. Some of the Fulham fans whose opinions I've been reading seem to think that he's slow as a week in jail, and that was three years ago.

I agree with them. I'd say he is a liability against the faster teams that like to push the ball but rock solid against teams that like to slow it down and use possession to set something up. He was the centerpiece of U.S. team defense for a long time and it showed. Simple trick to beating U.S. team: Counter, counter, counter.

I don't know anything about the Rangers but if the defense is already good/decent, Carlos is a good acquisition. If not, he doesn't change much of anything. So, in short, not a game changer but a great teammate.

Hirschof wrote:So, in short, not a game changer but a great teammate.

That about sums up US Men's National Team players in general.