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Goodson signs with Brondby IF

Clarence Goodson 1 (Getty Images)

Clarence Goodson's time with IK Start will come to a close this weekend after the club's season finale as he has signed a deal to join Brondby IF.

Goodson agreed to a three-year deal with Brondby on Tuesday, and will join the Danish club on a free transfer in January when it prepares for the spring season.

Goodson's last match as a player for IK Start will be on Sunday when the club faces Haugesund. Should the U.S. national team defender play in the match as expected, he'll end his time with Start having played in 67 matches with 10 goals scored.

What do you think of Goodson's move to Brondby? Like it? Think he could have made a better move?

Share your thoughts below. 

Comments

  1. Gooch was a decent defender by Euro standards and our best defender hands down. He had a lot of options like Marseille, PSG and several clubs in England and Turkey.

    He thought he was good enough to compete for a role at AC Milan. Audacious it was. But he was poised to get a shot until his injury. So far he’s been a flop and yet his injury has hurt him so he can’t really be a flop. That recent Italian at Liverpool was more of a flop as he was constantly injured and played decent when he wasn’t.

    Hope Gooch gets a loan in January to a smaller Italian team. He’ll prove his worth.

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  2. A number of comments give me the impression that a number of commenters live their lives nestled in the faalse comfort of mediocrity. Good for Goodson to have some ambition and take on a new challenge. But, for some of you to disparage Onyewu for doing the same is sad…for you.

    All the man went and did was EARN an opportunity to challege for a role at an elite level and went for it. Nothing in life is set in stone or promised to you. Nothing is a sure thing or fair for that matter. The guy is taking his shot and not making excuses. It was unfortunate he got injured, but he’s getting on with it and working at earning a spot in the 11.

    I have no crystal ball as to how it will all shake out, but dont disparage any guy for working hard to acheive at the elite levels of soccer.

    To the “dispargers” you sound like you’ve never pushed or challenge yourself beyond what your worst critic told you you’re capable of. You’re probably the kid who got picked last on the playground and decided never to come back. I guess when the going gets tough, its time for you to get going. Losers.

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  3. Wow the SPL is rated 15!(with the exception of the old firm)from watching ranger games on the regular this season I rate it below the Championship!

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  4. Well, like I said the’s still half a season left and Gooch doesn’t really have to worry about his USMNT place too much, so he should just focus on his club. Most knee injuries seem to take a while for any player to come all the way back from. I’m not convinced that Gooch’s fitness and sharpness are where they should be. Absent a transfer, a loan of some sort seems to be the most logical next step.

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  5. Yes, even most serious fans of soccer have no bleeping clue about the quality of the Danish league, beyond perhaps, looking at the table at the end of the year and seeing who is in the top two. Are you going to seriously tell me that you’ve seen enough Danish soccer to evaluate the quality of the league and this move??

    Have you broken down the tape from the latest clash between Aalborg BK and Brondby?

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  6. I’m off topic here — unless you consider “topic” broadly to include “Scandinavia” — but I completely missed RBNY’s confirmation that they would bring in Norway and SK Brann midfielder Jan Gunnar Solli on a free transfer in January. (Solli revelaed the agreement in mid-October.) Solli’s got a great motor, a great clubhouse presence, and flexibility to play CM, RM, or even RB. A good move for RBNY.

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  7. I’ve always wondered why Freeman didn’t get more looks from Bob. He starts and plays 90 week in and week out. I think he deserves a chance to see what he can do

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  8. Sorry to disagree with you GW but Gooch’s time at Milan is pretty close to a failure….You may be right in that playing at the World Cup was premature but in the friendlies he had much more mobility though lots of rust….gooch can’t even make the bench and we all know he is not that bad of a player….hopefully he can at least make the bench when they play coppa italia matches then maybe it won’t be a failure

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  9. It’s a little premature to be writing off Gooch’s MIlan move as a failure.

    It’s been one year and about three weeks since Gooch first got injured. Knee injuries are serious and a little different for everyone. While he may technically be healed who knows how much confidence Gooch actually has in his knee? He needs to be in top shape and compeletely confident to win a place in Milan. His participation in the World Cup, where he was clearly laboring,may have been a mistake and probably set his confidence back. If he can hang on till next year; maybe get a loan move in the second half of this season, it might yet work out.

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  10. UEFA has a coefficient they use to rank the European leagues, mostly about how they will seed them for their various tournaments. While all ranking systems are always a little suspect, one would think UEFA are probably pretty realistic about theirs:

    2011 2010 League

    1 1 England

    2 2 Spain

    3 4 Germany

    4 3 Italy

    5 5 France

    6 9 Portugal

    7 6 Russia

    8 7 Ukraine

    9 10 Netherlands

    10 11 Turkey

    11 12 Greece

    12 15 Denmark

    13 14 Belgium

    14 8 Romania

    15 16 Scotland

    As you can see Denmark will be moving up from 15 to 12 and is currently rated better than Scotland and Belgium featuring the much beloved Edu and Sacha.

    Brondby is a traditonal Danish power and players they have had who you might have heard of were the Laudrup brothers, Peter Schmeichel and more recently Daniel Agger.

    It’s a big upgrade from his last gig. Brondby are usually in one European tournament or another. If he does well he stands a good chance of getting noticed by an even bigger club. And, if you haven’t been to Copenhagen, it’s a pretty cool place to live, even if it is insanely expensive.

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  11. I studied abroad in Copenhagen two years ago, and lived at the same metro stop that Brondby is at. Brondby and its arch-rival FC Kobenhavn are the two dominant clubs in Denmark. Brondby has produced a number of top quality players including Daniel Agger, Johan Elmander, and Thomas Khalenberg. This is a good move for Goodson, and he’ll be playing for one of the biggest/best clubs in all of Scandinavia.

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  12. I personally think that so long as our players in the 1st division and seeing consistent minutes I don’t necessarily care which european league its in. Be it playing for a mid-table/bottom table team in one of the top 4 leagues (England, Germany, Spain, Italy) or a top half team of a lesser league (French, Scottish, Danish, Belgium, Findland, Greece); the key is Playing Time and compitition against quality apponents. I’m happy for Goodson and hope he makes use of the increased level of compitition to improve the depth of the USMNT.

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  13. I know nothing about either of those squads. So woopdie-doo. But he actually has a good scoring rate for a central defender. One goal in every 6.7 games, not too shabby.

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  14. Swedish league and Norwegian league are arguably on the same wave length as MLS and those are 3rd tier EURO leagues. Danish league is slightly better than MLS and is making big moves to be a 2nd tier Euro league on par with say Belgian and Greek leagues.

    If he does well and he should expect him to make a move in 2012 or 2013 to a nice club in Germany.

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  15. Good Move. Brondby is a very good club and a pretty big club in Scandanavia. It is heavily scouted by the English leagues as well as some of the larger European Leagues. I believe Brad Friedel played for Brondby before going to Galatsaray an then over to England.

    What is more important is that he will get playing time. This is an important factor when players like Onyewu are “riding the pine” in Serie A.

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  16. Seeing as how I have never heard of this team and I have no idea about the quality of the Danish league other than ‘it’s in Europe, so hey, that’s gotta count for something’ I have no criteria to assess this move and most people shouldn’t pretend that they do either. Skøl!

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  17. well looks like hunter freeman will missing him. but hopefully freeman will also transfer soon. good move by goodson. sure it aint the german league……but hey, bronby is not a bad team.

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  18. I like this move…definitely a step up but very sensible. I’ve liked Goodson’s play for the yanks, I could see him becoming a bigger piece of the puzzle this cycle. Center back has the potential for some real depth with Gooch, Goodson, and if guys like Gonzalez, Ream and Opara keep developing.

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  19. I think Gooch’s Milan career could have gone differently if it weren’t for the injury. After that and the coaching change he was never going to get a look, though.

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  20. it didn’t take a genius to know how Gooch’s spell at Milan would go. It was an obvious move by Milan to get more financial support from American fans.

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  21. It has to be said that this is a top notch move, and in southparkian retrospect, a move that is ten times better than the one Oguchi Onyewu has made.

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  22. I, for one, think this is a great move. Brøndby has tradition and is a club that has made some noise in Europe. They are certainly respected and will challenge year in and year for a title and a place in Europe. København is running away with the league but Brøndby sit 1 pt. from second in the table. Clay will come in and start. They badly need help in the middle. His arrival will displace Mikkel Bishoff who’s been subpar. The Danish Superliga is a very underrated league and I have no qualms with Yanks signing there provided the playing time is there.

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  23. Goodson married a girl from Seattle that he met in Norway. He doesn’t play in the same league as Benny because his team got relegated to the 2nd division. He turned down Gent, Odense, Kaiserslauten, Bochum, Copenhagan and others so I assume he made a very good financial deal with Brondby. Brondby is the traditional #1 team in Denmark over the last 45 years although the last 3-4 years have not been their best. At 28 I assume it was time to play on a good team but also make money! Good for him. As far as the National Team goes BB called him in when he was in the 2nd division of Norway so I’m pretty sure Bob will see this a very big upgrade.

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  24. i hope he can become more dependable in the near future for 2014 Brazil. i like our back line w/ goodson and parkhurst. parkhurst looked strong in the Columbia friendly.

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  25. I always thought Goodson was- pretty decent, and he got burned a little by never having a chance to play at the World Cup.

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  26. It’s much better than signing with a club that’s bigger than him. Can’t blame him for going somewhere where he will be a key figure.

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  27. I don’t doubt he’s going to be making some good coin with Brondby, and they are one of the traditional powers in Denmark – even though FC Copenhagen has been the dominant power in the SAS Ligaen for a few years now.
    But I do feel he could have challenged himself with a higher profile move, I know he has received interest from some German clubs. At the same time, he has married a Norweigan in his time overseas, so perhaps he wants to stay in Scandinavia.
    Either way, for someone who was just another solid MLS defender, he has really maxed out his career and earning potential by plying his trade and exceling in Scandinavia.

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