American Captain Bocanegra Joins Rangers

The Rangers - the Scottish soccer team, not the Texas or New York version - is becoming a haven for Americans playing Europe it seems. Carlos Bocanegra, the captain of the U.S. Men's National Team was the latest to sign with the club having just signed a three-year deal. He'll be joining fellow national teamers Alejandro Bedoya, who just signed on as well from Örebro (Sweden), and Maurice Edu who has been with the club since 2008.

Photo Courtesy: socialitelife.com

The 32 year old Bocanegra played collegiately at UCLA before being taken by the Chicago Fire with the 4th overall pick in the 2000 MLS Draft. He went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award that season and in the following campaigns he established himself as one of the league's premier defenders by twice winning the MLS Defender of the Year Award (2002, 2003). His success in his 4 MLS seasons with the Fire led to a job overseas in the English Premier League. Bocanegra was signed by Fulham in 2004 where he'd spend part of 5 seasons playing in their backfield. Following his release from Fulham in 2008, Bocanegra went to France where he spent two years with Stade Rennais and last season with Saint-Étienne.

In Rangers, Bocanegra now joins one of the most decorated clubs in Scottish history. They've won the Scottish League Championship 3 straight years and the Scottish League Cup 2 years in a row. They're also still alive in the Europa League for the moment having been eliminated from Champions League Competition earlier this month. However, Bocanegra's debut was spoiled today in a 2-1 loss to Maribor (Slovenia). He played the full 90 minutes at center back in the loss.