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Johnson scores in Hoffenheim loss

Fabian Johnson (Reuters)

It may have have happened in a loss, but Fabian Johnson scored his first goal for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Johnson opened his account with the club he joined last summer by netting in the second half of Hoffenheim's 3-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund. Johnson got on the end of a low cross and one-timed a powerful shot into the back of the net to prevent Hoffenheim from getting shut out for a second consecutive game.

Johnson started and played 77 minutes in the match for Hoffenheim, while fellow U.S. international Danny Williams started and went the distance at centerback. Looking to make his debut with the club, U.S. U-23 winger Joe Gyau dressed but did not play.

Here is Johnson's goal:

Comments

  1. They say he was playing center forward! It certainly appears that way from the vid of the goal. Of all the players I can think of, nobody on USNMT has more cool on the ball so why not stick him in the middle of the traffic? It’s worth a try but I’m not sure he has a strong shot on goal and would rely more on accuracy.

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  2. That is a great goal, blasting the ball on first touch with pinpoint accuracy into the net. I like Johnson a lot. Some feel that Hoffenheim is not playing up to its potential under new coach Holger Stanislawski, who appears to be skating on very thin ice right now. I liked Stanislawski when he was at St. Pauli, but get the feeling he might be in over his head at Hoffenheim and that the USMNT guys on the team might be better served with a new coach. This is a link to a story telling of the big-time pressure Stanislawski is now under.

    “Es ist eine Katastrophe, was hier passiert”

    http://tinyurl.com/7ss36zz

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  3. I’m a Jozy fan and live in the Netherlands, but his performances have left much to be desired lately. He lost his starting position. Last night, AZ played better when he entered but he missed a clear goal – went to volley a cross, missed badly and fell. AZ’s coach has made some critical statements about Jozy as well (that’s also his style so I don’t read too much in that). About a month ago, the Dutch show 90 Minuten had a discussion on Jozy and why his is so slow. I do think the Netherlands is a good league for Jozy to develop. I’m just worried that he’s not taking the game as seriously as he should , which a longstanding complaint about him.

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  4. Yeah I’m a Bayern fan but there is no team in Europe doing so much with so little relatively as Dortmund. As little as they have spent on players and they could probably kick the crap out of a lot of “top” teams in England, Italy, Spain, Etc.

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  5. I have to disagree with you on every point. Jozy is right where he needs to be. Have you seen his performances this season? His touch, runs, positioning and intelligence have all improved as a result of being where he is. He might not be getting games at the moment but he’s far from lost his starting spot. As for the U 23 strikers, they have plenty of potential, but if your basis for dropping Jozy so hastily is that he hasn’t been getting games recently (but has scored bags of goals this season) then you can’t POSSIBLY discuss bringing in players that aren’t even regulars for their clubs first team, much less starting and scoring goals. As for Shea, I don’t think he’d do poorly at striker, but I think he’s most natural as a winger on the international level. A problem I have with moving Shea positionally is that the guy has already experienced a few position shifts in his short career and needs to settle on one and specialize, lest he develop into a simple utility player for the rest of his career. I think the comparison to Andy Carroll is a bit silly as well, but that’s neither here nor there.

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  6. Not very high on Altidore. The guy is struggling to score goals in a league that is not known for any kind of defense. All I know is someone needs to step up to the plate at the striker position. Maybe it’s time call in ze two German-American u-23 strikers Wooten and Boyd. I am not saying Altidore won’t start to catch fire at some point in his career, but right now he is still nowhere where he should be. just a curious thought on Shea. I think he could do well at Striker.

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  7. Shea in nowhere technical as he should be.
    I believe the reason you are seeing lots of players playing in new positions is because of the African cup that is currently going on. This is the perfect time some of our younger guys get a shot at some playing time.

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  8. Was he plaing LF or was he playing at CAM? Mr. versatile. Well thats awesome maybe he can factor in at LF for the nats against Italy. Anyone else think Shea should be moved to striker? I think it’s really worth a shot if Jozy continues to struggle at AZ. He has now lost his starting spot. Shea is a faster and more technical than Andy Carrol, but just as big and physical. ANyways can’t wait to see the roster against Italy. heres to hoping some new faces are on the roster i.e. Whitbread, Lichaj, Boyd or Wooten. Williams as a CB now that is an interesting prospect for the National team.

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  9. Hoffenheim must be having some real injury issues if they first moved Johnson to LB and are now using Williams at CB. But I think we should take it as a good sign that the two Americans are so versatile.

    It’s unfortunate that Gyau didn’t get off the bench once again, hopefully next time these two teams meet both Gyau and Boyd are playing.

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