The league, once regarded as an afterthought, is now a place where top talents can reboot a career – or settle long term
The video has 320,000 views on YouTube, and it was uploaded 11 years ago. The footage is slightly grainy, the cheesy EDM backdrop music dated, but it’s still there: “Gedion Zelalem 2014 | Goals & Skills | Arsenal F.C | 2013/14.”
Those were the glory days for a kid who was meant to be at the very top. Zelalem played high school soccer in Bethesda, Maryland, moved to the Arsenal academy, and, for some time, was regarded as a real talent for the USMNT – one for the future. Instead, 11 years and nine clubs later, he is in the United Soccer League, having signed with New Mexico United.
But this isn’t necessarily the end of the line for the midfielder, just 28. What at one time was considered to be a last-resort league is now a place of growth, development – and maybe rebirth. Zelalem may have slipped through the cracks of top-tier football, but like many before him, the USL represents a chance to get his career back on track – and perhaps push him back toward the spaces many thought he would occupy.
“The league has progressed,” Zelalem told GOAL. “There's a lot of players that can also play in the MLS. It's a good league, good stepping stone for a lot of players, but also a league where you can make a good living.”
GettyUSL becoming a place to develop
There is history here. The USL, for a long time, was considered the awkward little brother to Major League Soccer. It operated in roughly the same ecosystem but was a level below. It was where you went if you were happy to pick up a paycheck and play professional soccer – or were clearly a step below the top level of soccer in the United States.
There are hundreds of players who arrived in the league as college graduates and fizzled out, and a fair few European legends who played out their final years there: Joe Cole, Didier Drogba, and Shaun Wright-Phillips all enjoyed their final farewells in USL.
But there are an increasing number of players who consider the USL more than just a reliable spot to play football. For some, it’s a valuable stepping stone to some of the upper reaches of the game.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport'You can't just go there and f*ck around'
Such is the case for Aaron Long. Now captain of LAFC and a seasoned MLS veteran, he played for a handful of different USL franchises before signing a permanent deal with New York Red Bulls in 2017.
Coming out of college, he had a few options. The Portland Timbers drafted him with the 34th overall pick in 2013, and reluctant to play reserve football, Long accepted a USL offer.
“It was a place for players who didn't get drafted to try to prove that they were good enough to make it. That was the way I took it,” Long told GOAL. For him, the minutes were most important. He needed reps, especially as a central defender. There was also the appeal of cutting his teeth against veteran players, when he was still in his early 20s.
“You can't just go there and f*ck around, like there's a seriousness to it,” Long said. “Guys want to win. You're playing against older men a lot of times. There are 30 year olds, 31 year olds… it was my first time playing against men. That was a step up physically as well.”
And for Long it worked a charm. In 2017, he tried out – yes, – for RBNY, worked his way into the XI, and now wears the armband for a perennial MLS Cup favorite in L.A. And he’ll tell you that USL has been a crucial part of his journey.
IMAGN'It was a big jump'
The same goes for Diego Luna, albeit in a different way.
The USMNT attacking midfielder – recently given his first call-up to a competitive round of fixtures for the national team – was at something of a crossroads. He had established himself as a real talent in the Barcelona Academy in Arizona. MLS beckoned at some point – but his path wasn’t clear. He was involved in the San Jose Academy setup but wasn’t highly regarded. He chose to test himself in USL, and pick up valuable minutes as a young player at a higher level than college – or even an MLS reserve team – might be able to offer.
“It was a big jump. At the time I was a teenager who had only played with academy guys. It was difficult,” Luna admitted.
And there were physical challenges. He was shorter, slower, and less athletic than a lot of his opponents. He struggled when he didn’t have the ball, was shoved into the wrong areas, and was blocked off by defenders. The little pockets of space he had thrived in at a youth level closed far quicker – or didn’t appear at all.
But he soon realized that he was a level above when the ball was at his feet.
“You learn how to be smarter, be quicker with the ball, and understand that you might not beat them in a run, or body-to-body – but it helped me develop a better soccer IQ,” he said.
There was a sense that he wasn’t long for the league. Luna was too quick, too effective, and too promising to stick around. He knew that he needed to test himself at the next level. For the attacking midfielder, it became a case of choosing the right moment to go.
MLS interest had been apparent for a number of months before he chose to join Real Salt Lake in June 2022. There was at least one more offer at the time, but that unnamed club couldn’t guarantee a path to the first team that Luna craved.
“I’m not going to be stuck on this second team, I wanted to be getting an opportunity with the first team. When RSL came in, they laid out a plan for me. Everything seemed right, and it was the right decision at the time,” he said.
Michael Wiser/Charleston Battery'The player deserved the move'
More recently, USL has proved to be a platform. There were years in which USL was a final destination for European exports. There were countless players who spent their years bouncing around second division clubs across the pond – or maybe had some top-level experience – before playing out their final season or two in the United States.
Some Americans are starting to buck that trend.
Nick Markanich wasn’t supposed to be the best Markanich twin. His brother, Anthony, was drafted 26th overall in 2021, and, after signing with the Colorado Rapids, established himself as a fringe MLS player. Nick, meanwhile, was released by FC Cincinnati and ended up at Charleston Battery.
But a footballer who seemed to have fallen through the cracks found a home in USL. He needed to try out – yes, athletes still do that – but established himself as a regular for Charleston in 2023. He might have left at the end of that campaign, but elected to stick around.
And it paid dividends. Markanich was prolific in 2024, breaking the USL single season goalscoring record, and earning himself a move to Spanish side Castellon in the process. Oliver Wyss, Head of Global Football Development and Sporting Director, described the six-figure fee for his acquisition as a watershed moment for the USL.
“The player deserved the move," Wyss said. "The club deserved the transfer, and I hope we will have many more of these."
