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"\n\n Last summer, when our own Oguchi Onyewu signed on with one of the world's best clubs, A.C. Milan, he became one of only a handful of American players ever to reach soccer's top international tier. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Onyewu grew up playing youth soccer in the D.C. suburbs before working his way up through the Belgian and English leagues. But when he first landed in Europe almost a decade ago, he sensed that American footballers were looked down on. \"In 2002,\" says Onyewu, \"the rest of the world didn't take Americans all that seriously.\"\n\n But with the World Cup this summer, much has changed. His U.S. teammates\u2014men like Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, and Landon Donovan\u2014have also played well overseas in the years since, raising the esteem for American talent and the respect accorded the U.S. team at international competitions. Onyewu, who goes by Gooch, spent a lot of this season sidelined by a nasty knee injury, but he worked his way back to train with such superstar teammates as David Beckham and Ronaldinho\u2014and the locker room doesn't have him feeling starstruck. \"I've earned a spot in that world just as much as they as have,\" he says. Translation: He's primed to kick some ass in South Africa.\n\n In the first round, the U.S. Men's National Team faces Slovenia, Algeria, and England\u2014and Gooch sees all three as a threat. \"Slovenia beat Russia to make it, and Algeria beat Egypt,\" he says. \"And those are serious teams.\" But of course, everyone's hyped up for the opening match: the Americans versus the Brits. Won't Gooch talk just a little trash about Beckham's home country? \"Nah,\" he says. \"I think I'll stay away from that.\" Smart move."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/oguchi-onyewu-milan-gooch>