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Americans Abroad: A Look Ahead

Jozy Altidore AZ (Getty Images)


By FRANCO PANIZO

Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar return to action this weekend as the Eredivisie kicks off its 2012-2013 season, and they could not have asked for a more challenging task to begin with.

Altidore and AZ will open their new campaign by visiting defending champions Ajax in quite possibly the most intriguing Eredivisie match of the weekend. Earning three points in of Amsterdam Arena will be a tall order for AZ, but Altidore will attempt to help his club pull off an upset in their quest to finish better than the fourth-place position they reached last season.

Mix Diskerud will not be participating in a season opener, but he might make his debut for his new club, Rosenborg BK. Having just transferred from Stabaek IF to Rosenborg on a deal that expires at year's end, Diskerud should have a chance to at least see the field for his new team when it travels to battle Sogndal in a match that could lift Rosenborg to second place in the league standings.

If you are craving some English soccer to hold you over until the Premiership campaign gets underway, you are in luck. The Capital One Cup (formerly known as the Carling Cup) starts this weekend and several Americans could be in action. Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest take on Fleetwood Town in the opening round of the competition, while Robbie Rogers has an outside shot of seeing minutes for a Leeds United team that is considering selling him.

Here is who the Americans Abroad play this weekend:

FRIDAY

Andrew Wooten and Kaiserslautern play VfR Aalen.

Brian Span and Djurgardens IF play Gefle IF.

Chad Barrett and Valerenga play Odd Grenland.

Sonny Guadarrama and Atlante play Chiapas.

Herculez Gomez and Santos Laguna play Leon.

SATURDAY

Frank Simek and Carlisle United play Accrington Stanley in the Capital One Cup.

Robbie Rogers and Leeds United play Shrewsbury Town in the Capital One Cup.

Eugene Starikov and Zenit St. Petersburg play Spartak Moscow.

Michael Parkhurst and Nordsjaelland play Silkeborg IF.

Ventura Alvarado and Club America play Atlas.

Jose Torres and Pachuca play Joe CoronaEdgar CastilloGreg Garza and Club Tijuana.

Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL play Queretaro.

Michael Orozco Fiscal and San Luis play Monterrey.

SUNDAY

Alfredo Morales, John Anthony Brooks and Hertha Berlin play FSV Frankfurt.

Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar play Ajax Amsterdam.

Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht play Cercle Brugge.

Terrence Boyd and Rapid Vienna play SV Salzburg.

Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF play Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE.

Steve Clark and Honefoss BK play Lillestrom.

Sean Cunningham and Stabaek IF play Sandnes Ulf.

Mix Diskerud and Rosenborg BK play Sogndal.

Josh Gatt and Molde FK play Aalesund. (Gatt is out injured.)

DaMarcus Beasley and Puebla play Cruz Azul.

MONDAY

Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest play Fleetwood Town in the Capital One Cup.

Charlie Davies and Randers FC play Esbjerg.

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Which of these games are you looking most forward to? Think Altidore and AZ will get a favorable result at Amsterdam Arena? Do you see Diskerud earning a start with Rosenborg? Happy to see English soccer return?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. whatever happened to Bunbury and Agudelo? Was it all th hype? 18months ago they seemed to be on everyone’s early list for the WC. They don’t seem to be improving much in MLS, they should just head to a smaller Euro league like Norway or Sweden

    Reply
  2. Agreed. But he’s still sorta young and useful for them. If things go bad, he may have to leave Germany or be stuck in Bundesliga 2

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  3. Bunbury is nowhere close to being USMNT quality.

    I think Bobby Wood of 1860 Munich has a good chance at breaking through in the next year.

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  4. I felt that he shouldn’t have signed an extension with Slautern. The coaching staff has shown time and time again that for some reason they don’t rate him eventhough he showed extremely well when given first team opportunites.

    I bet Bobby Wood see’s more first team Minutes with 18060 Munich than Wooten does with Slautern this season.

    Reply
  5. 25 might be ambitious, but I hope I’m wrong. With Wernbloom and Elm leaving AZ for CSKA, that’s a lot of quality midfield service missing that AZ has to make up for this year.

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  6. O/T but I think we have a decent striking force at the moment. Altidore and Gomez are good. Boyd is coming along fine. If Bunbury or Wooten or any others come along in the next year we can have some depth. Also we’ve the likes of Wondo, EJ and Davies who are good for a friendly or 2

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  7. his team picked up Idrissou. He’s a Bundesliga 2 regular. Played with Bradley at BMG for a season right before Bradley left for bigger and better things.

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  8. How many goals for Altidore this year in the Eredivisie? I say he scores 5 more than he did last year and ends the season on 20 goals in the Eredivisie. I think he will score 25 goals in all competitions.

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  9. Certainly Jozy and AZ, but I also want to see Boyd and Rapid Vienna. He hasn’t scored since that brilliant season opener. I think he’ll get back on the board Sunday.

    Reply

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