PSV Champions league Team to watch this season,
The young generation of American soccer fans may be taking it all for granted at this point. For years, the thought of seeing one or two U.S. men’s national team stars playing in the Champions League was the dream.
These days, there are plenty spread throughout the competition playing for some of the world’s biggest teams. And three of them are together at PSV, who begin their Champions League campaign on Wednesday with the hope of creating something special.
USMNT stars Sergino Dest, Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman are all in the PSV squad after completing big moves to the Netherlands this summer. All three could very well be using PSV as a stepping stone, but to do that, they’ll need to show out on the biggest stage.
It’ll be a tough road ahead for the trio, having been grouped with Arsenal, Sevilla and Lens, but it’s not one that’s totally unmanageable. USMNT fans will be keeping a close eye on things, too, as PSV are becoming the latest historic European side to jump into American soccer’s spotlight by signing three young stars.
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GettyFollowing a legend from the past
The older generation of American soccer fans will already have a soft spot for PSV. They are the club that gave one of the country’s biggest legends a chance, that allowed him to reach a height that no one could match until just recently.
DeMarcus Beasley is one of the biggest trailblazers in American soccer. He played in four World Cups and travelled all over the globe at a time where that was much less common. His best days at club level came at PSV, where Beasley became the first American to play in the Champions League semi-finals. During the 2004-05 season, Beasley and PSV did battle with mighty AC Milan, losing 2-0 at San Siro before winning the second leg 3-1 at home. They were, however, eliminated on away goals, as Beasley shined with four goals throughout the tournament.
Nearly two decades later, Beasley still credits PSV for helping him mature as a player and allowing him to reach heights even he couldn’t have expected. “I’ve said this a million times: any young player that has a chance to go to Holland and play, you don’t have to go to a big team, but there are some great clubs in Holland,” Beasley told GOAL earlier this year. “They all love to play. They like attacking players, exciting players. They let you go one-on-one.
“They teach you and help you understand how to play football. It’s not just ‘Oh, you score goals or beat a player one-on-one’, but also what are your responsibilities that you have in the game? Off the field discipline, responsibility. I remember when I was at PSV and Guus Hiddink was the coach, and I’m on the other side of the field, this is during the game, and my shirt got untucked, and he yells at me across the field! ‘Beasley! Beasley!’ I thought he was saying: ‘Push up here or go press here’, but he was yelling: ‘Tuck in your shirt!’. I was like ‘huh’? Little things like that, it teaches you so much more than the game.
“Discipline and responsibility, that’s such an important part of being a professional and how to be a pro, a real pro. I think Holland did that for me and it can do that for a lot of people.”
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Getty ImagesStewart arrives
For the past several years, Earnie Stewart was one of the most important men in American soccer. A former USMNT midfielder, Stewart developed a reputation as a team-builder after retirement, Working for NAC Breda and AZ Alkmaar before becoming instrumental in the construction of the Philadelphia Union as we know it today.
In 2018, Stewart was named general manager of the USMNT and, one year later, became sporting director of the entire federation. During that time, he oversaw both the USMNT and USWNT and was particularly influential in the former’s rebuild after missing the 2018 World Cup.
In January, though, it was announced that Stewart would be leaving his post to take over as PSV’s new technical director and, as it turns out, he wouldn’t be coming alone…
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GettyBig swing on Pepi
It was clear entering the summer that Pepi would be on the move. The big question was where. The USMNT forward lost his way after joining Augsburg, but he’d begun to rediscover it with a very good loan move to Groningen. He scored double-digit goals for the Dutch side, but it wasn’t enough to save them from relegation.
And so, this summer, PSV swooped, bringing in Pepi as the first of their three American tars. He’s gotten off to a decent start, too, although he hasn’t quite been able to take Luuk de Jong’s starting role away from him. As things stand, the veteran Dutch striker is first-choice still, but Pepi has been able to contribute in his early appearances.
The 20-year-old striker has two goals, although his most recent did come with some controversy. After winning a penalty in a 4-0 win over NEC Nijmegen, Pepi shook off Mexican international Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano’s calls to take the spot-kick, much to his dismay. Pepi instead stepped up and buried his second goal, and his first in Eredivisie for his new club.
It comes amid a fantastic run of form with the USMNT, with Pepi having scored six goals in as many international games in 2023.
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GettyTillman arrives on loan
Like Pepi, Tillman looked bound for a new home this summer after a productive loan spell last season. He’d achieved plenty with Rangers and PSV were able to swoop to secure a deal for the Bayern Munich midfielder on an initial loan with an option to buy.
Tillman hasn’t quite broken through at Bayern, and there’s no shame in that. He did make seven appearances for the Bundesliga giants while scoring one goal, though, showing the type of level that he can play at.
A versatile attacker that can play on the wing, as a No.10 or as an attack-minded No.8, Tillman has made just two appearances for PSV, with one coming against his former club Rangers in the Champions League qualifiers. He scored his first goal against RKC Waalwijk although he, like Pepi, hasn’t quite been able to crack the starting XI as PSV head into the European group stages.
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Getty ImagesDest, the reclamation project
While Pepi and Tillman arrived as young players on the rise, Dest arrived as a young player in need of a rebuild. Since leaving Ajax for Barcelona, his career hasn’t quite gone to plan. Unable to crack Xavi’s starting XI at Camp Nou, Dest was loaned to AC Milan last season, where he failed to really play at all before being excluded for the second half of the season.
As a result, the USMNT full-back arrived at PSV in need of some confidence and, so far, he’s found it. Dest has stepped right into the starting XI, featuring at both right and left-back early in the season. In Eindhoven, he’s looked like the version of himself we saw back at Ajax: a confident, free-flowing, attacking full-back that can make a real difference in the final third.
Of the three Americans, Dest’s success has been the most immediate as he is already a key piece of everything PSV does.
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The road ahead
With their three Americans, PSV will begin the Champions League group stages after overcoming Rangers to book their spot in the tournament proper. Escaping from the group will be difficult, but not impossible. Arsenal are the clear favorites, and it’s the Gunners that will be PSV’s first opponents at the Emirates Stadium. It would be a surprise if Arsenal didn’t finish atop the group but, hey, this is the Champions League. Weirder things have happened.
Sevilla are also in the group and seem like the best bet for that second spot, although their Europa League history would make them obvious contenders for third. Sevilla haven’t made a real run in this competition in some time, could this be their year?
And then there are Lens, who stunningly finished second in Ligue 1 last season. They’re off to a slow start this season, having gotten just one point in their first five games after losing key players like Lois Openda and Seko Fofana this summer.
PSV, finally, will feel like they have a chance. They have talent, both young and old, scattered throughout the field and, in Pepi and Tillman, the club does have gamechangers off the bench. Can they go as far as they did when Beasley was running up and down the wing? Probably not, but American fans will be hoping their three starlets can go on something of a ride of their own as PSV becomes America’s team this Champions League season.
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