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UEFA Champions League: Your Running Commentary

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United States men's national team midfielders Jermaine Jones and Maurice Edu are both in their respective starting lineups as they continue their quests for UEFA Champions League glory on Wednesday.

Jones' Schalke sits in second place in Group B, trailing unbeaten leader Lyon by three points. Jones & Co. will look for the victory at home against Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv to keep pace in the group.

Edu's Rangers is tied with Manchester United for the Group C lead with four points and can distance itself from third-place Valencia with a victory over the Spanish club at Ibrox Stadium. Here is the full TV schedule for Wednesday's matches (all games start at 2:45 p.m. ET):

  • Lyon vs. Benfica, DirecTV 481
  • Rangers vs. Valencia, DirecTV 482
  • Twente vs. Werder Bremen, DirecTV 483
  • Schalke vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv, DirecTV 484
  • Panathinaikos vs. Rubin Kazan, DirecTV 485
  • Manchester United vs. Bursaspor, Fox Soccer Channel
  • Inter Milan vs. Tottenham, Fox Soccer Plus
  • Barcelona vs. FC Copenhagen, Fox Sports Espanol

If you will be watching any or all of these matches either on television or via live Internet feed, please feel free to share any thoughts, opinions or play-by-play in the comments section below. Enjoy the action!

Comments

  1. “Don’t you think we should fire Bill Bradley?? ”

    His term as the Sneator from New Jersey ran outlong ago so you are too late to have a recall vote. And if you really meant the time he spent as a Knick forward well, sorry I can’t agree wtih you on that.

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  2. I agree with pretty much everything you just said gw. “Great” in the sense I used it was relative to the US pool both past and present.

    Anybody we have playing a key role for even a midtable epl/bundesliga team is likley a top national team player.

    I’m optimistic now that our unproven players are starting for bolton/rangers/schalke rather than chivas usa.

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  3. That depends on who you talk to.

    Harry Redknapp took Spurs out of their reserve leagues a year or two ago, preferring to loan out the guys he wanted to get PT. He felt the competition wasn’t very good. Too many injured vets working their way back at half speed; that sort of thing wasn’t providing enough real game atmosphere.

    What is true is that practices and competition in training is extremely serious in the Bundesliga and MB wouldn’t be playing as much as he does if he wasn’t consistently beating out some pretty good players.

    And before everyone mentions that BMG are near the bottom of the table, just realize that, at this writing,they are only 5 points below Bayern. Schalke ( Jones’ team),Cologne and Stuttgart are below BMG. There are a lot of pretty good players on all those teams.

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  4. Schalke had a good first half and then in the second half they dominated. JJ played well but the show was all about Raul and Hunteleer.

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  5. You’re very optimistic.

    You’ve got one very good proven player (Jones)at the club level. His international record is yet to be determined.

    Then you’ve got one slighty above average club pro and average international in Bradley.

    Edu and Holden are unproven at the international level as they haven’t done anything remarkable yet.

    Edu is on track to becoming a star player at Rangers but plays in a very weak league. Playing Barca, Valencia and Man U. every once in a blue moon doesn’t really make up for that. Hopefuly starring at Rangers gets him a move to a more competitive league.

    Holden has played 9 or 10 games in the EPL and has done well but it’s way too early to anoint him , or any of these guys, as “great players”. Maybe they are great in comparison to Rico, Sacha, Robbie Rogers, Beckerman etc. but that means nothing outside the US.

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  6. Columbia is the name of cities in Missouri and Maryland, just to name two.

    The US played a team representing the country of COLOMBIA the other night.

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  7. If I remember correctly Clark was trying to cover up for Gooch’s initial mistake on Gerrard’s goal.

    Clark did lose the ball in the Ghana game but it was at the center circle, Demerit saw the whole thing and failed to close down Boateng, even though he had time to do so and then Howard let in a debatably soft goal through poor positioning.

    I’m not a big Clark fan but blaming him entirely for those goals is a bit much.

    Also, I agree with you that Edu’s World Cup was largely unremarkable. The plaudits that he receives for what afer all was a disallowed goal are a bit over the top.

    I’m a big Edu fan but people should remember that the SPL is a very weak league and is ranked 16th by UEFA in Europe,(Bundesliga is #4 or 5 for you Jones and Bradley fans). I’d like to see him move to Spain, Germany or Italy.

    Jones and Bradley consistently face a much higher level of competition on a regular basis. The questioning of Bradley’s place, in particular, has more to do with his last name than anything else.

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  8. I am an Edu fan. I have no problem with Bradley and Jones holding down the middle.

    The only real complaint you have is that Bob started Clark against Ghana. Other than not tracking gerrard (which was pretty bad, don’t get me wrong), Clark wasn’t too bad against england.

    Those of us that watched the Slovenia match saw an Edu that struggled to get into the game at first. Poor passes almost constantly got us into trouble. He grew into the game and did well to score a legit goal at the end. His start against Algeria was decent. Nothing earth shattering, nothing catastrophic. Against Ghana, he was decent as well. Once again, nothing brilliant, but nothing shocking, from what I remember.

    He’ll get his shots. He’s certainly not hurting his cause with his play in Scotland.

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  9. Gareth Bale just bought himself a ticket to Man U come January. How in the world does he get himself a hat trick against InterMilan?

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  10. Chill you guys. Every player plays good and goes on a run with great form and than suck with bad form. It happens. Bradley is 23 and a integral part of our team. Much criticism has passed from him being the coach’s son to basically “why does he play every minute of every game including meaningless friendlies?”

    2 years ago he was among the highest scoring players in the Dutch league on a mid table team playing as a CM. Not bad. yes of course many score loads of goals in the Eredivisie but not bad for an American. He also did good in the CC and played very well in the WC. He has a load of potential and could play for a big team, not Man U or Real Madrid but certaintly Valencia or Aston Villa or Schalke. Maybe not now but certaintly in time.

    Edu or Jones or Bradley. We have 4 years to decide.

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  11. Michael Bradley should move to Cluj or Hapoel Tel Aviv or some of the other top-tier teams in the Champions League. Sevilla would be a bad choice as they didn`t qualify against Braga.

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  12. The frustration comes from knowing edu was on the bench while an inferior player (clark) was on the field for a significant amount of time.

    Arguing that bbradley was reluctant to use edu is certainly a defensible stance. He started against algeria only after performing well as a reserve against slovenia. Then was returned to the bench in a knockout match.

    In the last two friendlies, he was played once as a CB, then as a holding mid in a 4141. Meanwhile, MB and jones were grouped together for 180 minutes.

    The next time the full first team will play again is march. With no guarantee that we’ll ever see edu line up beside jones, I think edu fans have a legitimate complaint.

    For the record, Holden’s lack of minutes in SA were also frustrating. But without knowing where he was in his recovery from a broken leg, it’s tough to second guess.

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  13. Well I’m an American, who was studying abroad in Germany this summer, and the German media was saying that they expected a move away from BM. It all depends on the country I guess, but I wouldn’t expect the Spanish press to care about an unproven American who doesn’t fit into the Spanish game.

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  14. I’m Spanish, and nothing of the sort came out of European media.

    Nobody cared about him after the World Cup ended. That is the true indication of his ability, and in what regard he is held.

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  15. If you just started watching US soccer and you only saw the last two friendlies … what would you think about Michael Bradley? Those in form should play. Everyone should have to work for their spot on the field.

    What have you done for me lately?

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  16. No, it was concerning your comment stating that MB was not talented enough to play on a “top tier” side. During the WC, announcers and commentators alike stated that he was one of the better players of the tournament and that they expected him to make a big move in the summer transfer window. If you’re being recognized as one of the better players during a World Cup that’s saying something.

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  17. umm edu plays in Scotland. For a team that is miles better than all of their opponents except for one. That is anything but the highest echelon of soccer.

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  18. Thank you.

    Was it for my comment about BM not participating in premier Euro tournaments? Or my comment about MB not playing in premier Euro tournaments?

    Pray tell good sir

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  19. Second.

    I’d go so far as to say 4 great players for two spots. Holden.

    Some can be effective in other positions, but they’re at their best in central midfield.

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  20. Others might consider tactical approaches as well, considering he was brought off for buddle during the algeria game, and on for Torres in the Slovenia game.

    I don’t understand your insistence. No one is saying Edu is no good, or shouldn’t be played. He’s not being ignored by Bradley, or fans. We like him. What gives?

    Also, over half the minutes is significant, considering the minutes that Holden, torres, Buddle, Gomez, Spector, and Goodson got. All are players that could still factor into the current team.

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  21. “Significant” is somewhat relative here. If we agree that edu is much better in central midfield than clark, than we played 49.3% of the world cup with a sub-optimal lineup.

    Many would consider that a significant disadvantage.

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  22. Everybody needs to realize that most of us like Micheal Bradley and think he’s a great player. But some of us are also saying that we have three great players for two spots. So shouldn’t those spots go to those in best form?

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  23. Spurs are overrated, and their fans think they’re a Champions league/Top 4 team. This was a blip and nothing else.

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  24. when MB kicks the ball around w/ the reserves it’s better training than playing half the teams in the scottish league. truth.

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