Onyewu Signs Contract With AC Milan

It turns out that those rumors linking American international Oguchi Onyewu with a move to Real Madrid were false after all. Instead, the hulking centerback will be calling the San Siro home for the immediate future after signing a monumental three-year deal with the Italian club, according to an announcement on the team's official website. He becomes just the second American to be signed by a club in Serie A, following in the footsteps of fellow defender Alexi Lalas, who suited up for Padova in the mid-'90s.

”It’s very exciting. It’s one of the great clubs in the world,” U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley was quoted as saying. ”I think it’s a terrific opportunity for him, and certainly the experience that he’ll get there I think will be really important as we move forward with our national team.”


The 27-year-old Onyewu has spent most of his professional career playing for Belgian club Standard Liege, helping Les Rouches to back-to-back championships in the Jupiler Pro League in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns. He was briefly loaned out to Newcastle in 2007, making 11 appearances before the English Premier League side ultimately decided not to make his loan move permanent. Onyewu started his career with French club FC Metz back in 2002, but spent most of his time on loan to La Louviere instead.

Onyewu undoubtedly benefited from a stellar showing in the recently-concluded Confederations Cup, where he started all five games and turned in several strong performances as the United States made a remarkable run all the way to the tournament final. He has made a total of 47 appearances for the US Men's National Team since 2004, scoring five goals along the way, and was in the Americans' starting lineup for all three games in the group stage of the 2006 World Cup.

What do you think of this move? Will 'Gooch' see playing time with the Rossoneri next season? Will this open the door for more Americans to get better looks by big clubs in Europe?