To bring this a little closer to home, American soccer star Landon Donovan spent several seasons playing in the Bundesliga to hone his skills and learn valuable elements of the European-style of play, before returning home and continuing his stint in the MLS.
European stars, such as David Beckham and Thierry Henry, have also come across the pond and played in the MLS, although it could be argued that this was more of a pre-retirement phase than anything else but I won't get into that.
German-born Dirk Nowitzki plays (qutie well) for the Dallas Mavericks and occasionally an American-born NBA player will spend time playing in the German basketball league.
Now if you don't mind, I'd like to spend a few moments thinking over the reasons for this exchange of players & talent.
Perhaps the most obvious reason for this is that there are better opportunities in the destination country than there are at home. But why? More money? Bundesliga football has a much bigger fan base, media contracts, and chances to score (financially) than your run-of-the-mill MLS team. In Donovan's case, he spent time with German giants Bayern Munch (Ich liebe die Bayern) and I'm a firm believer that his game improved as a result of spending time immersed in the European-style of play.
Money, skill improvement, the list goes on why players move around from team to team in different countries. The United States and Germany are both very strong in any sports that they participate in so it's only logical that there would be some swapping of talent now and then. And at the end of the day, a player from Germany that has spent time in America (or vice versa) has played a very important role, even once they've stepped off the field for the evening. They're cultural ambassadors responsible for showcasing their country's talent and continuing to promote the critical relationship that exists between the United States and Germany.
Wunderbar.
Sarah
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