Ranking McKennie among the best USMNT midfield seasons

Best USMNT CM seasons

McKennie is putting together a historic season at Juventus - but how does it stack up against Bradley, Reyna, and the best USMNT midfield campaigns in Europe?

Comparing midfielders is difficult, largely because there's no simple way to do it. There are too many different types of archetypes, characteristics and tactical demands. There's no catch-all stat like goals, saves or clean sheets to compare them. As a result, doing so requires a little bit more nuance and a whole lot of eye test.

It's easy to say that Weston McKennie is doing things that are earning him comparisons to American soccer's greats. The Juventus midfielder is playing at the highest of levels this season in Turin. He's putting together one of the best campaigns ever by a U.S. men's national team player, and that fact is undeniable. Wherever he’s been used and in whatever competition, McKennie has delivered at a consistently high level.

How does he stack up, though, to the all-time greats? As previously mentioned, it isn't easy to determine. The U.S. have had no shortage of central midfield stars in Europe, and each was asked to do different things. Some were defensive stoppers. Others were tempo setters. And then there were the select few who did a whole lot of everything, much like McKennie has this season.

With that in mind, GOAL ranks the best seasons by American central midfielders in Europe...

Sunderland v Bolton Wanderers - FA Cup Third Round Replay

Honorable Mentions

Looking back at it now, there is no shortage of "what ifs" and no shortage of selections that could have ended up on this list in a parallel universe.

Claudio Reyna's time at Manchester City is one, for example, but it was largely marred by injuries. When healthy, the American showed how talented he was at the highest of levels, but he was never quite fit enough during his time in England to do that for a long enough period.

An even bigger "what if" is Stu Holden. During the 2010-11 season, Holden looked like a player who could easily top this list. That year, he had Bolton in the top half of the Premier League and in the FA Cup semifinals, but a horror tackle from Johnny Evans shattered the American's leg, altering the trajectory of his career forever. Despite the injury, Holden was still voted Bolton's Player of the Year that season, further emphasizing how good he was before that injury.

Other players worth shouting out are Jermaine Jones for his time at Schalke, Tyler Adams for his 2022-23 run at Leeds, and Weston McKennie's breakout 2020-21 campaign at Juventus. That said, five campaigns truly stand out.

FBL-EUR-C1-LEIPZIG-ATLETICO

5. Tyler Adams - 2019-20 RB Leipzig

It could be argued that this wasn't even Adams' best season at RB Leipzig. However, it does have one defining moment that separates it.

After the pandemic chaos in the spring, the Champions League resumed in August of 2020. Matched up against Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig initially took the lead in the 51st minute, only to see the Spanish giants fire back with a goal of their own 20 minutes later. In the 88th minute, though, Adams stepped up, scoring the goal that sent RB Leipzig through and into the Champions League semifinals.

It was one of the biggest goals ever scored by an American, so big that it warrants a place on this list despite the fact that Adams missed large chunks of that season due to injury issues. Despite that, he featured 17 times and scored one all-important goal, the biggest one of his career so far.

Heerenveen v AZ Alkmaar

4. Michael Bradley - 2007-08 Heerenveen

This was the season that Bradley set the single-season record for goals by an American abroad. Considering how his game evolved as his career went on, it's hard to fathom that now. But, at the time, Bradley wasn't a deep-lying creator for Heerenveen; he was an attacking star.

This 2007-08 season was Bradley's big breakout, largely because he was given freedom in ways that were never replicated anywhere else in his career. He finished that season with 19 goals in all competitions, including 15 in the league, as he led Heerenveen to a fifth-place finish. He wouldn't have more than five in a campaign afterward.

It was a huge third season with the Dutch club for Bradley, who made the leap from prospect to star over the course of that year. A big move to Borussia Monchengladbach soon followed, while Bradley also blossomed into a key player for the USMNT throughout the course of that campaign.

It's close, but it could certainly be argued this wasn't his best season in Europe, though...

Atalanta BC v AC Chievo Verona - Serie A

3. Michael Bradley - 2011-12 Chievo Verona

A few years later, Bradley emerged as the guy for Chievo Verona. He was so important that he was bestowed with a nickname in his one and only campaign with the club: The General.

As Chievo's general, Bradley was a true box-to-box game-changer in one of Europe's top leagues. It wasn't just any top league, either; it was Serie A, a league known for tactical brilliance and the mental wars that come with it. Bradley fit right in, showing himself as a complete midfielder that could thrive in a deeper role than the Heerenveen version of himself did in the Eredivisie.

That deeper role became what he was most known for, and it also earned him a big step up the ladder to Roma after just one season with the club. And, while Bradley was certainly never out of place in Rome, his best Serie A run was in Verona.

Claudio Reyna

2. Claudio Reyna - 1999-2000 Rangers

There's a reason that, to this day, Reyna remains the gold standard for American midfielders. It's because he reached incredible heights on the biggest of stages.

A few years before making history as the first American to make a World Cup Team of the Tournament, Reyna helped run the show at Rangers en route to a domestic double. In addition to his heroics in Scotland, he also scored a crucial goal in Europe, leading Rangers past Parma in the Champions League to seal a spot in the group stage.

Reyna has no shortage of top seasons across several of Europe's top leagues. His success at Rangers is a standout, though, as he became the first American to win a major league title on the continent.

McKennie Juventus

1. Weston McKennie - 2025-26 Juventus

There are still a few chapters of this story left to write, but based on what we've seen, it's safe to say McKennie has earned his place on this list.

Whether in Serie A or the Champions League, McKennie has been an impact player. He's gone from unheralded to undeniable, shutting down any narrative around his future by earning a new contract in Turin. In the end, the club simply had to reward him. He'd earned it.

With five goals and seven assists in league play to go with four goals and another assist in the Champions League, McKennie has been remarkably prolific despite playing in different positions throughout the campaign. And, if he continues, he'll put some more distance between himself and the competition, particularly if he keeps leading the charge that secures Champions League soccer for Juve next season.