As the Champions League (the year-long tournament that determines the champions of all European soccer leagues, for those who don’t know) kicks into full gear, 13 Americans are rostered on teams participating in the most prestigious club competition in the world. That’s a far cry from the 90s and early 2000s, when we’d maybe have 1-2 guys playing at this level (and even those guys were mostly benchwarmers). It’s great to see how far we’ve come developing players to play at this level, but it begs the question, who was the first American to play in the Champions League?
Probably someone you’ve never heard of.
Brief history
The Champions League (formerly called the European Cup) started in 1955 to determine the best team from among all the leagues in Europe. In those days, only the winner from each league qualified for the following year’s tournament.
Fast forward to today, and 36 teams across various leagues qualify each year, with the top leagues sending 3-4 teams apiece.
American contributions
Americans have only recently started to contribute to Champions League level teams in recent years, although in the late 90’s Jovan Kirovski featured in some group stage games for eventual winners Borussia Dortmund. He received a winner’s medal for his contributions. DaMarcus Beasley is another notable early participant, having started for PSV all the way to the semi-finals in 2005, scoring 4 goals in his 12 games in the competition that year.
Christian Pulisic won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021. He scored and assisted in the 2-game semi-final round against Real Madrid that season, becoming the first American to score in the semi-finals of this tournament. He came on as a substitute in the final, helping his team defeat English rivals Manchester City.
Now let’s dig into an obscure player that even diehard US soccer fans will struggle to remember.
The first American to play in the Champions League
If you’re drawing a blank with this name, don’t worry, it was a tough one for us to dig up. Illinois native Steve Trittschuh made the rare (one of a kind?) leap from the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 to the Champions League in 1991. The APSL, which was the top division in the US in those days, more closely resembled a semi-professional league by today’s standards, making this jump all the more amazing.
1990 World Cup – a stepping stone
How did he get there? Via the 1990 World Cup. It was the first World Cup the US had qualified for since 1950. Our team was mostly made up of college all-stars, some semi-pro players, a few full-time professionals, and some players who were contracted to the US Soccer Federation as full-time players with the national team.
Trittschuh was among the semi-professionals. He played in the first match against Czechoslovakia, where the US was taught a harsh lesson by a team of seasoned professionals, losing 5-1. Trittschuh, however, impressed the assistant coach of the Czechoslovakian team, who was the head coach of the club team Sparta Prague, enough to earn a trial after the World Cup ended.
Trittschuh made the squad and spent a single season with Sparta Prague, winning the domestic league and playing in the Champions League in 1990-1991. Very few Americans even played in Europe during this time, with only a few spread out among the lower divisions across various leagues. And none were on teams that were threatening to reach the Champions League.
Trittschuh’s fortuitous and unorthodox path saw him play in the most prestigious club soccer competition in the world, quite a milestone for an American at the time.
Trailblazers
In fact, the 1990 World Cup team was full of trailblazers that helped set the stage for a professional league in the US (MLS), and create a pathway for American players in European leagues. While it took some time for those leagues to take American players seriously, those first steps were vital to getting our most talented players to test themselves at a higher level, which eventually improved the quality of our national team for generations to come.
What happened to Steve Trittschuh?
After one season with Sparta Prague, Trittschuh returned to the US to play with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the APSL, then he returned to Europe to play with SVV Dordecht of the Dutch Second Division. After one year in that league, he returned to the APSL again to play with various teams over the next few years, before landing with the Colorado Rapids when the MLS launched in 1996.
After playing three seasons in Colorado, he finished his career back in Tampa Bay with the Mutiny in 1999, before retiring in 2001. He has since coached various teams in the US.
Importance of the 1990 World Cup team
We cannot underestimate the importance of this early generation of US soccer players, especially someone who managed to play in the Champions League before many Americans could establish themselves at a higher level.
Ultimately Trittschuh returned to the US and lent his experience to help get the MLS off the ground. It was a vital time for the MLS to establish legitimacy, and these American players with experience at higher levels definitely helped the MLS and American soccer become what it is today.
