Another lesson on U.S. talent making good choices abroad

Here’s lesson No. 117 on why it’s important for players hell-bent on chasing European soccer and the attached profits need to be mindful of locating the best fit:

It comes in U.S. midfielder Benny Feilhaber.

I remember a scene less than two years ago as Feilhaber languished on the bench for a ridiculously poor team at Derby County. Imagine the hammer blow to his confidence. Every morning when he woke up and every night before beddy-by, his first and last thought went something like this: "I can’t get off the bench for a team that’s so bad, it’s setting historic marks and has become a punch line around the soccer world?"

Indeed, Derby County became the first EPL club to be relegated by March (March!). It recorded the Premier League’s lowest point total ever and it matched Loughborough’s (Uh, yeah, that Loughborough. You’ve heard of it, right?) 108-year record of going an entire season in an English Football league with just one, lone win.

Even around the national team, which could have been a place of mental refuge, there were murky whispers that Feilhaber’s psyche was in tatters, that he was in a very bad place in terms of ability to contribute. When the team got together for a friendly in early 2008 against Mexico, I just got the sense from U.S. Soccer officials that they were treating Feilhaber with the gentlest of kid gloves.

Fast forward to October of 2009. Clint Dempsey is hurt, and as the United States approaches another pair of meaningful qualifiers, Feilhaber is one of the replacement options. U.S. manager Bob Bradley, on a conference call Wednesday, said Feilhaber and Stuart Holden are the options for Dempsey’s spot along the right side of midfield.

If I had to guess, I’d say Feilhaber will be the guy. He’s got just a little more experience than Holden overall and substantially more at the international level. Saturday’s match in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, will be packed with pressure the way The Biggest Losers are packed into their unfortunate, overmatched spandex. This match means everything for Honduras, a land torn up by political chaos, but one that could inspire national waves of "feel good" by securing a World Cup berth. Given all that, plus the fact that Holden’s pace and style of play makes him a great 70^th-minute introductory weapon, I’d wager that Benny F. will get the call.

And how is it all possible? Because Feilhaber has found a home at AGF Aarhus. He is a regular midfield contributor to the Danish club. It’s a good club with a good history, but not Denmark’s powerhouse. So his selection to join a mid-rung league, steeped in obscurity in this land, wasn’t what you’d call a "sexy" one. But that doesn’t matter. He’s playing. He’s contributing. He’s confident. And that’s what counts.

Said Bradley on Wednesday: "Stuart and Benny both have had good stretches now for our national team. Benny was a key contributor for us in Confederations Cup. He has settled in well in Denmark. He has played different spots in the midfield for us, has shown that versatility. He is a player who, I think, is comfortable on the ball, is capable of making the right pass, the final pass.

"Stuart can play different spots in the midfield, for us he has been more on the right. He’s come on in some of the recent games and even in the small amount of time that he’s been on, he’s been able to create opportunities with some of his play on the right hand side. Again, I think we’re lucky to have both of those options."

He’s got them, in part, because Feilhaber made a good choice.