United States National Team captain Carlos Bocanegra has signed with Scottish giant Rangers, joining fellow Americans Alejandro Bedoya and Maurice Edu on the Glasgow side. Bocanegra's deal is for three years and completes his transfer from Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne. The 32-year-old defender could make his debut as soon as Thursday when Rangers take on Slovenia's Maribor in a Europa League playoff.

Since leaving MLS in 2004, Bocanegra has been playing in some of Europe's top leagues. He made 124 EPL appearances with Fulham from 2004-08 and then played in Ligue 1 with Rennes (2008-10) and Saint-Etienne (2010-11). He has also made 93 appearances with the USMNT since getting his first cap in 2001.

The move to Rangers is definitely a step down in terms of competition, but it is not a bad move, per se. Rangers will almost always be playing in European competitions, whereas Saint-Etienne was a perpetual mid-table team that rarely played outside of France. In fact, Bocanegra's teams never qualified for Europe while he was in France.