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Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

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photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

 

By FRANCO PANIZO

Michael Parkhurst and FC Nordsjaelland may not have won their season finale this weekend, but Parkhurst helped the club to a sixth-place finish in the Superliga with a 90-minute performance in a scoreless draw.

Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in Nordsjaelland's match against FC Midtjylland on Sunday, ending his third season with the club. Parkhurst's performance gave him 21 appearances in league play this season.

Another defender who went the distance this weekend was Gale Agbossoumonde. The Djurgardens IF center back received his latest start for the club in a 1-0 loss versus IFK Goteborg in the fourth round of the Svenska Cupen.

Here is how the Americans Abroad who were still in season did this weekend:

France

LIGUE 1

  • Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in St Etienne's 1-1 draw vs. Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

LIGUE 2

  • Quentin Westberg started and played 90 minutes in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 4-3 win vs. Metz on Friday.

Denmark

  • Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 0-0 draw vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.
  • Marcus Tracy did not dress in Aalborg BK's 2-0 loss vs. FC Copenhagen on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Chris Rolfe dressed but did not play for Aalborg BK.

  • Clarence Goodson started and played 90 minutes in Brondby IF's 2-0 win vs. Sonderjyske on Sunday.

Sweden

  • Alejandro Bedoya started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Orebro SK's 1-0 win vs. GAIS in the fourth round of the Svenska Cupen on Sunday.
  • Ryan Miller started in Halmstads BK's 3-0 loss vs. Malmo FF in the fourth round of the Svenska Cupen on Sunday.
  • Gale Agbossoumonde started and played 90 minutes in Djurgardens IF's 1-0 loss vs. IFK Goteborg in the fourth round of the Svenska Cupen on Sunday.

Norway

  • Mixx Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in Stabaek IF's 4-2 win vs. Start on Sunday.
  • Josh Gatt came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Molde FK's 5-0 loss vs. Haugesund on Sunday.
  • Sean Cunningham did not dress for Molde FK.

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What do you think of these performances? Impressed or disappointed by Parkhurt's game/season? Think Agbossoumonde should stick with Djurgarden?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I agree. Two different type of players playing different positions and at different stages of their careers. I think it just has to do with the Mex vs USA rivalry.

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  2. Clarence Goodson’s Brondby team finished with the 3rd place bronze medal and will enter the third round of the Europa League on July 28. He has quickly earned not only the respect of his team and a lock starting position but was made the Deputy Captain after his first two appearances. Nice move for him and now it’s on to Spain and the Gold Cup.

    His career continues on an upward spiral.

    Reply
  3. Don’t know what Daniel would say but Hernandez has already made a big splash at a younger age than Clint so that’s one thing.

    Also Hernandez is a pure striker which Dempsey is not. He is always likely to have more opportunities than Clint to score. Goal scoring forwards are always going to be the biggest stars.

    Finally, Hernandez is just getting started. United haven’t yet used him to his full advantage. United’s default setting is to put the ball down the wings and then center for someone to put it in. Chicharito has done a lot of that.

    Once they figure out how to use his speed and start sending him through balls down the channels ( a la F. Torres) it could get ridiculous.

    Mostly it’s about Chicharito having better luck than Clint at being in the right place in the right time.

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  4. He gradually fell out of the lineup in favor of Chicharito. It was really the right move, as his goal total was a bit misleading – eleven of his goals came in just three games. As for why he wasn’t even on the bench in recent weeks, I can only imagine that there has been some conflict between him and SAF over his lack of playing time. That’s pure speculation on my part, but I’d wager a fair sum that that’s the case.

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  5. MLS is a good league but players will still opt for lower tier European leagues over MLS for two reasons. 1) the pay is ussualy much better for them and 2) other European leagues will notice and aquire talent they see in the lower European leagues but not in MLS.

    Number 2 is what is preventing MLS from going further as a league, the Big leagues in Europe only notice MLS players if they do something internationaly because despite the evidence to the contrary they still dismiss MLS quality. Seriously I would take LA, NY, Dallas, or RSL in a home and home against any team in the scottish league not named rangers or celtic I don’t know maybe MLs would get more credit if instead of having a lot of pretty good teams they concentrated the talent into 3 super teams that were always doing well in international competition

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  6. Can’t tell if this is sarcasm v. your real POV. Certainly SBI posters have debated the stay in MLS v. go to third tier Euro leagues before. I’ll just say here that both sides can find case in points to support their assertion. E.g. Heath Pearce’s leap from Denmark to Germany (?) didn’t pan out. In contrast, Clarence Goodson’s prospects look brighter as he’s quickly become an important player for Brondby. Ultimately the biggest variable in how going to Sweden, Norway or Denmark (which I think is a legit top 10 Euro league) may be timing in terms of whether the move is to establish v. continue a career. Ultimately, MP played decent minutes for a team in mid table and gets better annual wages than MLS. Possibly he get sold (depending on how he’s valued-?) and his club’s current need for cash so IMO there’s still a TBD in terms of whether he’s peaked at club or USNAT level.

    And thanks to all who Served and Serve to protect our freedoms.

    Reply
  7. Parkhurst is likely making a good deal more money and playing in front of more passionate fans where he is at now as opposed to in MLS. It all depends on you define as a “career.” I do not think Parkhurst would ever have made a big impact on the National Team. Many players see the National Team as a dream goal, but a club situation has to come first, because it can always be there.

    Ultimately, these are jobs for these guys, where they have to make a decent wage and provide for themselves and their families (if they have them). If that means you play in Norway instead of the Premier League, then so be it. Michael Parkhurst would laugh in your face if you said his career was a failure. Did he meet his ultimate dreams of, say, playing in Champions League final and starting in a World Cup? No. Has his career been a success? Most definitely. He is doing what he loves and probably getting paid fairly well to do it.

    Reply
  8. It’s really sad what is happening to so many players when they leave to play in Snuffiluffikus, Norway, or Frushen Gladja, Denmark, or Youisoliiissven, Sweden, or… well, you get the picture. The article acts like Parkhurst is doing so well. When he left so long ago he seemed like a lock to be a regular on the national team. Now he’s making appearances on a Norwegian team. I hope he likes Norway and is making decent money because this was one of the worst career moves ever. Maybe he can hook-up with Freddy Adu who is doing so “well” with Sheezuchahor in the Turkish second division.

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  9. i would love to hear your argument on why Dempsey wouldnt have the same, if not better, offensive impact on a top team as he does with Fulham given that you have zero evidence to back up your claim.

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  10. Why hasn’t Berba been making the bench? That make no sense to me since he was the leading PL scorer.

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  11. when dempsey retires the fulham faithful will not forgot his wonder goal against Juve. His critical goal against Liverpool in his first year his brace against Chelsea to come from behind and earn a point…how bout country, the only playerto score in Germany, his goal against spain/ brazil in ConFed cup… Just because the dime a dozen Man U fans(id est-I like them because they win!!!) dont remember a player does not mean he will be forgotten. If this was the rap sheet of “one of the bunch” for a usmnt/Fulham player, i would expect to see some real silverware for both.

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  12. I am so sick of the constant Chicharito – Dempsey debates around here. Why are these comparisons constantly being made, even in articles (such as this one) that concern neither player? Hernandez is a striker who reaps the benefits of playing for one of the best teams in the world, Dempsey is a midfielder who has to carry much of the load for a low-scoring, mid-table team. Hernandez had better be outscoring Dempsey! And since when do goals scored decide who is a better player? Berbatov led the PL in goals this term, and couldn’t even make United’s bench in recent weeks.

    For the record, I am a Fulham supporter and an admirer or Chicharito’s talents. I’ve just had it with the inane comparisons. And don’t even get me started on comparing Hernandez (arguably El Tri’s best player) with Parkhurst, a guy on the fringe of the USMNT. It’s simply nonsensical.

    Reply
  13. Life is about opportunities. For some reason Hernandez is there and Dempsey isn’t. Dempsey is the kind of player that can make a big impact but he isn’t good enough to do that in a top team. Hernandez can have a great career but will depend a lot on his teammates. One is at the end of his career while the other is still has some years.

    Hernandez has a greater chance of being remembered after he is gone, Dempsey will be just one of the bunch. At the end a goal is what really matters.

    Reply
  14. Yeah it sounds good, at Liverpool he was going to be behind Reina, and Aston Villa only gave him a 1 year contract while Tottenham is a 2 year deal and Europa League, although I doubt he plays in to many of those matches.

    Reply
  15. Little Pea looks really little when he is asked to play away from the penalty area. He may be a good goal scorer but other parts of his game aren’t impressive. He looked very, very ordinary on Saturday.

    Reply
  16. Jemal Johnson scored for Lokomotiv Sofia which qualified them for the Europa league next season. It was his first of the season for the Bulgarian team.

    Reply
  17. Mexico just had their new talisman in the Champions League Final, and we are talking about Michael Parkhurst securing a sixth place finish in Denmark… Blah.

    Reply

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