Opinion

When Lynden Gooch left the sleepy beaches of Santa Cruz for Sunderland at just 17, his aspirations were lofty.

He was joining a mid-table Premier League club. His first-team squadmates played internationally for nations like Belgium, Sweden and Ghana. And his first-team manager held previous stints at Celtic, Aston Villa and Leicester City.

Unfortunately, as Gooch began to rise, his club began to sink. 

A quick guide to who's who in the Bundesliga as the season is set to resume this weekend (in order of league standings). 

2019-20 Bundesliga Club Guide

#1. BAYERN MUNICH 

Manager: Hans-Dieter Flick 

Player to watch: Robert Lewandowski  

Seven years ago, the wildest sequence of events took place at Vicarage Road during the Championship playoff semifinal between Watford and Leicester City. Troy Deeney’s goal vs. Leicester is fondly remembered years later as one of the best last-second winners.

At the time, Watford had been out of the Premier League for six years, and this was the first time in five years that the Hornets had finished in the top six of the Championship and even qualified for the playoffs.

As the Bundesliga returns and other top leagues follow suit, we’re bound to have a number of exciting storylines develop. This might be coming from a biased, even desperate, place, but I think a number of young Americans will become part of the headlines that catch many by surprise.

Here are three American players abroad who already stand out at the youth levels of their clubs and are ready to take the next step once their leagues return to action.

Ligue 1 had a difficult time remaining relevant even before the season was canceled and PSG was awarded the title for the seventh time in the last eight years. France’s top flight is often considered the weakest of the big five leagues in Europe or left out all-together. 

The Bundesliga will be the first major European league to resume play starting Saturday, May 16. Fans of the league are nothing less than exhilarated to see its return. For those unfamiliar with the league or even the teams, don’t fear.

For a little background, the title chase is being closely contested between five clubs. If you’re unsure who to root for, this Americanized list of the Bundesliga’s top five teams will surely help.

The term “breaking ankles” is when you juke your opponent so bad, they end up on their backside. It’s an act seen lots of times in basketball and sometimes in soccer. It makes supporters and the bench go wild and adds an element of excitement to the game. Conceding a goal or basket is one thing, but losing your own ankles is on another echelon of humiliation. The Lionel Messi goal vs Bayern Munich in 2015 features one of the worst ankle breakers in soccer history. How does it compare to the time Allen Iverson snatched a pair of his own ankles?

With the K League and Bundesliga nearing their respective returns and players flocking to team training facilities across the world for individual exercise, what you see there is a glimmer of light breaking through the darkness. But as Samwise Gamgee once pondered, how can the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened?