Many of the best footballers in North America's confederation play for clubs in Italy's top flight – and that's no coincidence
Jesse Marsch has a house in Italy. And he has spent months talking up Jonathan David. It became clear late in the spring that Canada's starting striker – who had starred for Lille for three seasons – had no plans to sign a contract with the club. He was going to be a free agent, but no one quite knew where he would end up.
The market was part of the problem – No. 9s are a weird breed, and there were a fair few on the collective pecking list ahead of David, even though he had 109 goals for the French side. Alexander Isak, Victor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko would all go to Premier League clubs. Victor Osimhen was also, supposedly, available.
Marsch, the U.S. native and Canada national team coach, insisted that David would be better than most of them. The only striker more effective, in his mind, was Erling Haaland. So Marsch had countless conversations.
"As soon as I show up for a coffee or some dinner, they're like 'Tell us about Jonathan David?' But he won't disappoint. He's going to do great," Marsch said last month.
And it worked. After delaying his move until after the Gold Cup, David signed a five-year contract with Juventus. He figured to start for the . David could've had his pick of clubs. Serie A was the league he chose.
And that's no coincidence. It represents something of a trend in North American soccer. More players from CONCACAF's big three nations – the United States, Mexico and Canada – play in Serie A than any other top five European league, including the likes of David, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Santi Gimenez.
What began in the mid 1990s with Alexi Lalas has expanded over the years, and with a bulk of the U.S. and Canada's best players now featuring for Italian clubs, only seems set to continue.
Getty ImagesThe appeal of Italian football
There is a simple answer behind this trend: the influx of American ownership into Serie A. There are now eight owners with strong American ties in the league, and Serie A has been unabashed in its desire to play a fixture overseas.
"Holding a game abroad also requires authorization by the local league so we need to make an agreement in that regard. But we are considering timeframes that would work for this. We want to be the first league to set up an event like this in the United States," Charlie Stillitano, managing director of Serie A USA, said.
More broadly, the league has noticed the power of the American market. AC Milan and Juventus – club homes to Pulisic and McKennie, respectively – have, in particular, gone big in their marketing strategies in America. They have poured money into activations in New York, collaborated with American brands and pushed the idea that "calcio" is the ideal format of football for American fans. The campaign has been effective on both sides of the Atlantic.
CBS Sports and Paramount+ struck a long-term rights deal to carry Serie A matches in the U.S., and have fleshed out programming – including popular studio shows – around the league.
"For us Italian football fans. I think we want to see it move in the right direction. And America's obviously huge market for Serie A also. So I'm hoping it sticks, and it gains more popularity," Mike Grella, CBS analyst and former New York Red Bulls forward, told GOAL.
AdvertisementReasons for skepticism
Ironically, this started in full in the 1990s with Lalas. The USMNT centerback was one of the first Americans to capitalize off the momentum of the 1994 World Cup, and took his talents to Padova – then a struggling Serie A side – right after the tournament.
At first, he was widely viewed as a marketing signing. Serie A was struggling financially, while the Premier League was starting to spend big after the immense TV investment of the early 1990s. The best players in the world, meanwhile, operated in La Liga.
Lalas alone wasn't the answer, but there was a widespread perception that he was there for viewership and ticket sales. But he had a solid career, tallying 40 appearances and scoring a few important goals for the club. And that bias has now changed. Recent signings such as Pulisic, McKennie and Musah have helped build up a body of evidence: Americans can play.
"American players now in Italy are not seen as American players," Stillitano told . "They're seen as professional soccer players. I think they're seen in the same vein as any other guy that gets [to Italy] from Belgium or from Holland."
Getty Images SportChristian Pulisic makes the difference
Of course, Pulisic is the poster child of this all. It is, admittedly, something of a shame that the rhetoric around the USMNT attacking midfielder over recent months has been about his decision to skip the Gold Cup and the ensuing fireworks. The reality is, this is a very good footballer starring for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
And context is everything here.
Pulisic's quality could never be doubted at Chelsea, but it seemed to be something of a misguided move in the end. Thomas Tuchel never figured out the right way to use him, while Pulisic didn't take advantage of opportunities. But the Premier League just looked too quick for him at the time. Pulisic was excellent on the ball – and tactically adept. Yet the frantic, back-and-forth soccer simply didn't suit the game of a 23-year-old still trying to find his footing in professional football.
Milan, though, has changed things wholesale. It felt like a tricky move at the time, Pulisic's last shot at the big time. The had kept their eye on him for 12 months, but Chelsea rebuffed initial attempts. Eventually, they agreed on a deal worth just $22M – which looks like a bargain now.
The following day, Gazzetta ran a front page story with the headline "Arriva Captain America." Thousands of fans met him at the airport. Manager Stefano Pioli hailed his tactical adaptability.
"Pulisic can play very well everywhere,” Pioli said. "Left, right, through the middle. When everyone’s fit and ready, we can play him off the striker."
Of course, things have turned out well. There have been knocks here and there, but since moving to Milan in 2023, Pulisic is the only Serie A player with 30 goals and 20 assists in all competitions. He hit the double-digit mark in both of his two seasons. Pulisic has been as reliable as he has been prolific for a Milan team that, in truth, has been neither. Expectations are higher this year.
And he's cognizant that his club career in Europe is nearly as important to his legacy as his USMNT exploits.
"I don't think about legacy in the way of how other people will view me," he said in his docuseries "PULISIC." "I'm lucky to be doing what I'm doing. I also try to change the way that I think about things, especially in the last couple of years. I have to deal with all this media pressure, I have to deal with being American and playing in Europe. But instead of thinking of it like that, it's completely changed.
"And it's like, no, I get to do this. I get to do this because I'm good, I get to do this because I've shown over and over that I'm good enough that people criticize me often. I get to have that attention because I'm good, and I hope people can see that and hopefully just see the work that I put in as well."
Getty Images SportTactical adaptibility
Adaptability has come to be a hallmark of American influence in Serie A.
This is an immensely tactically versatile league. Once hailed as the birthplace of Catenaccio – the rigid 4-4-2 that developed managers such as Carlo Ancelotti – Italian football has since become far more varied. German football is married to a 4-2-3-1. Spain and England tend to favor 4-3-3. Italy lacks a blueprint.
That's a good thing. It's what has helped Pulisic – who is able to play in four attacking positions – earn regular minutes. The same goes for McKennie, who played in nine different roles over the course of the season last year, and still amassed 3,300 minutes.
Criticism is possible – McKennie is a center midfielder and should be treated as such. But his utilityman vibe has proved invaluable for Juve, who have holes to fill.
"I'm kinda just the guy that gets told where I need to be. And I'm there," McKennie said in January.
The same was true for fellow U.S. international Tim Weah, who operated as a full-back, winger and striker for Juventus before his transfer this summer to Marseille.
