U.S. Soccer's XI Toughest Players Ever

The United States National Teams have had their fair share of tough players over the years. Some have proved their toughness through their tackling, some by their fierce determination in the air and some by their willingness to battle back from multiple injuries.

Perhaps even more impressive are those who have proved their toughness psychologically by having to prove themselves over and over in a world football community that dismisses their country’s quality.

Here are eleven of the toughest ever.

Charlie Davies

Sure, it’s true that Davies’ injuries stemming from his 2009 car crash were his own fault. He was breaking curfew at the time and got into a vehicle with a woman who was later convicted of driving intoxicated that night. The SUV they were traveling in crashed on the George Washington Parkway around 3 a.m. The accident tore the vehicle in half and left a third passenger dead.

In the accident, Davies suffered multiple facial fractures, had fractures to his tibia, femur and elbow and lacerated his bladder. Davies was incredibly lucky just to survive the accident.

But not only did Davies survive, he has made a full comeback to professional football. Yes, he may not be the same player he was before the accident, but the fact that he came back at all is a testament to his physical and mental toughness.

Stuart Holden

Looking at Holden’s relatively slight physique, not too many people would mistake him for a “tough” player. But, Holden’s toughness in a mental one as he has overcome obstacle after obstacle to become a top midfielder in the EPL.

In 2005, Holden left college early and signed with Sunderland. However, his career never got off the ground as an attack outside a bar left him with a broken eyesocket and he was released shortly thereafter.

After several years in Major League Soccer, Holden earned another chance in England, this time signing with the Bolton Wanderers in early 2010.

However, fate was once again cruel to Holden as shortly after he made his first appearance with Bolton, he broke his leg at the hands of Dutchman Nigel de Jong in a March friendly while on international duty with the USMNT.

Despite this, Holden was undeterred and made a remarkable comeback in time to make the 2010 World Cup roster.

Then, after returning to Bolton for the 2010-2011 season, Holden was having a season which would eventually earn him Player of the Year honors before a horror tackle by Manchester United defender Jonny Evans ruined his knee.

Holden recovered from the injury, which required 26 stitches and ACL surgery to repair, to retake his spot in the Bolton lineup in the fall of 2011.

However, once again, Holden required surgery, this time to repair cartilage damage in the knee.

Holden is once again on the recovery trail. And anyone betting against him is a fool.

Oguchi Onyewu

Oguchi Onyewu is not necessarily in many USMNT’s fans’ good graces after a couple of poor showings in this summer’s international games.

However, anyone who questions Onyewu’s toughness is just plain crazy.

In 2010, Onyewu made news after a training ground dust up with AC Milan teammate and taekwondo blackbelt, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. After an Ibrahimovic tackle on Onyewu that Onyewu felt was dirty, the two had a brief fight before being separated by teammates. In the fight, Onyewu broke Ibrahimovic’s ribs.

Alexi Lalas

Never a finesse player, Alexi Lalas made his club and international career on his physical abilities, tackling and willingness to challenge any ball in the air.

Lalas springboarded his magnificent performance at the 1994 World Cup into a move to Serie A, becoming the first American born-and-raised player to play in the top flight of Italy.

Jermaine Jones

Critics of Jones would say that he is not tough, just dirty.

They may be right, but there is no questioning that no one needs to encourage Jones to be “nastier” as USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann encouraged the team to do this summer.

Since 2005, Jones has amassed a ridiculous 77 yellow cards in his last 185 games including club and international appearances.

In 2011, Jones was suspended from Bundesliga play for eight weeks for a foot stomp.

Check out this challenge from this summer’s “friendly” against Brazil in which Jones attempted to maim Brazilian international Neymar.

Clint Dempsey

No one who has seen him play would ever question Clint Dempsey’s toughness as he is willing to challenge for any ball in the air and rarely complains even when he is blatantly taken out from behind.

However, Dempsey’s toughness is more than just physical. He has an internal toughness that emanates from his background, growing up in his parent’s trailer in Texas and learning the game from pickup games. He practiced for hours each day in his grandmother’s backyard rather than the pristinely manicured fields that many of today’s youth pros grow up with.

Dempsey also lost his sister when he was only 12, something he has spoken of frequently as a reason for his motivation to be the best he can be.

Despite initially struggling to find playing time after his initial move to England, Dempsey’s toughness eventually helped him into the starting lineup and have done so repeatedly, as Dempsey has frequently lost his starting place when Fulham changes managers.

However, Dempsey always seems to have the last word, always winning back his starting position and helping to dispel the view held by many Europeans that American footballers can’t hack it at the highest levels.

Brian McBride

McBride became a fan favorite with the Colombus Crew and Fulham simply because of his toughness and willingness to challenge any ball. In fact, he became so popular with Fulham that a bar at Craven Cottage was even renamed McBride’s.

Through his career, McBride has played through a broken nose, a dislocated kneecap and once had to have a rib removed as the result of an on-field collision. And who can forget that memorable moment from the 2006 World Cup when McBride took a vicious elbow from Italy’s Daniele De Rossi and had to leave the field with a bloodied face.

Although the attack from De Rossi occurred in only the 28^th minute of the game, McBride returned to the match and played all 90 minutes.

In fact, after that famed game against Italy, McBride was quoted as saying "I don't have a lot of feeling in my face. My nerves are all dead from the surgeries. You get hit and you get back up."

McBride finished his career with seven titanium plates in his face.

Jay Demerit

Like Clint Dempsey, Demerit’s toughness also comes from inside.

After a successful college career, Demerit moved to England in an attempt to become a professional footballer, despite the fact that he had no offers to do so.

Demerit moved to England with his college teammate and friend, Kieran Keane. While Demerit and Keane traveled throughout Europe attempting to earn trials with various clubs, they bunked in Keane’s mother’s attic.

Over the next three years Demerit made a miraculous rise through the tiered system of English football, moving from a ninth-tier side eventually to Watford in the English Championship.

At Watford, in Demerit’s second season, the team secured promotion to the English Premier League when Demerit scored the game-winning goal against Leeds United in the Championship playoffs.

Demerit eventually turned his club success into a starting spot with the USMNT, helping the team to a remarkable second place finish at the 2009 Confederations Cup and a group-stage-winning performance at the 2010 World Cup.

Michael Bradley

Michael Bradley is another player whose toughness is both mental and physical. Usually deployed as a defensive midfielder, Bradley’s box-to-box, sideline-to-sideline work-rate is second to none. Bradley is also willing to throw in a tough challenge when needed and doesn’t back away from aerial challenges.

As an up-and-coming USMNT player, Bradley frequently had to deal with calls of nepotism, despite his excellent performances. At the club level, Bradley was shut out at both Borussia Monchengladbach and Aston Villa only to prove both of his former managers wrong as he proved his ability last season in Serie A with Chievo Verona.

And with his excellent season at Chievo, Bradley earned a transfer to perennial Italy power AS Roma this summer.

Michelle Akers

A lot of fans might not expect one of the U.S.’ female players to make this list, but no one who saw her play would argue her toughness.

Known for crunching tackles and a zest for challenges in the air, Akers battled through multiple injuries and chronic fatigue syndrome during her career, winning the World Cup twice and Olympic Gold in 1996.

Abby Wambach

Wambach epitomizes the definition of a “tough” player. Because she is such a dangerous offensive player, she is often kicked, pulled, tackled and punched while playing for the USWNT.

Fans need to look for no further evidence of this than this summer’s Olympic Games when Wambach was sucker-punched by Lady Andrade of Colombia during the group stage.

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