California: What If Your State Had a National Team?

Courtesy: Imgur

Last week, I published an article with a link that has run rampant through the soccer community.  Actually the link was running rampant well before I found it; I just jumped on the bandwagon.  Either way, it’s a totally cool page where Imgur user nleimbach depicted what each U.S. State (and Washington DC) would look like if they had their own home and away soccer kits.  It was awesome, and included were some jerseys that I’d love to own.

Well, the jerseys got me thinking.  What if each state had their own “national team”? What would they look like?  Who would play? Who would coach?  Which team would be best?  After doing some research, I’ve compiled 23 man rosters for a few States, complete with managers (who, it should be noted, do not necessarily have to come from that same state but just have some sort of association with it instead) players, and their respective clubs.

More from Los Angeles Galaxy

• Mexican star becomes the highest paid player in the MLS
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic sends shots at Carlos Vela in the MLS
• LA Galaxy: Ibrahimovic’s flair for the dramatic still present in MLS
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic exits Manchester United and heads to LA Galaxy
• The curious case of Steven Gerrard in MLS

It’s no surprise that some of the bigger states like California and Texas have the most complete rosters, but other states like New Jersey, Illinois, and Florida field some pretty decent teams as well.  Players were researched using good ol’ Wikipedia amongst other sources.  The rosters are composed mostly of MLS players, but other leagues including the Premier League, North American Soccer League, United Soccer Leagues, and English League Championship were featured as well.

With that being said, we’d like to present the inaugural installment of “If Your State Had A National Team”.  Episode one features the aforementioned California, the United States’ biggest state in terms of population and 3rd biggest in terms of area.  Cali has long been considered a hotbed for soccer in the US, and is home to some of our nation’s best players historically, including Landon Donovan who would have made this list had he not been retiring by the end of 2014.

Without further delay, enjoy the inaugural California National Team!