% | Club | Country |
|---|---|---|
92% | Arsenal FC | England |
89% | Inter Milan | Italy |
79% | Hearts | Scotland |
74% | Roda JC | Holland |
68% | Real Madrid | Spain |
68% | Energie Cottbus | Germany |
68% | C.S. Maritimo | Portugal |
60% | FC Moscow | Russia |
53% | DC United | USA |
50% | AS Monaco | France |
46% | Viborg FF | Denmark |
46% | Viking FK | Norway |
43% | Djurgården | Sweden |
27% | Veracruz | Mexico |
17% | Melbourne Victory | Australia |
15% | JEF United | Japan |
15% | Boca Juniors | Argentina |
13% | Internacional | Brazil |
9% | Suwon Bluewings | Korea |
This really shows that England does have a bit of a problem fielding English players in the top flight, not that that wasn't already a well-known fact. The premiership was top of this foreign list and bottom of the home grown list.
I never realized it, but Argentina and Brazil hardly have any foreign players in their domestic leagues. I always assumed that the top talent in South America headed to those leagues, but apparently that's not the case. I guess if you're good enough you just go overseas anyways.
The MLS numbers were somewhat difficult to get a concrete number for since many of the final first team squads haven't been fully decided at this point in the preseason.
Any thoughts? Are foreign players taking opportunities away from home grown players, or are they making world leagues more competitive and entertaining?
Most likely both. It seems like it is both a symptom and a disease. Scotland has seen a resurgence in talent partly due to efforts the league made to strengthen their youth squads. It still wasn't enough to get them back to being real world contenders, but it is a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteWith expansion, I don't have a problem bringing in more foreign players. There needs to be more effort to train the youth at the same time, though. The MLS is at least moving that direction.