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Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

John Anthony Brooks (Getty Images)
 

By FRANCO PANIZO

The result may not have been one to remember for most, but Hertha Berlin's 2-2 draw with SC Paderborn 07 will be a game John Anthony Brooks will never forget.

Brooks, a U.S. U-20 men's national team centerback, made his professional debut for Hertha Berlin in their season-opening tie with SC Paderborn 07 on Friday. The 19-year-old German-American started and went the distance in the 2. Bundesliga opener for Hertha and he showed composure on the ball in a game that Hertha needed to come back twice in. Hertha teammate and fellow American, Alfredo Morales, did not dress.

The lone goal this weekend came courtesy of Herculez Gomez, who netted for the second time in the early parts of the Mexican Apertura campaign in Santos Laguna's 2-2 draw with Puebla. Gomez powered home a diving header to put Santos up, 2-0, early on in the match, but DaMarcus Beasley and Puebla fought back to grab a 2-2 draw.

Charlie Davies did not find the back of the net but he did come off the bench to make a 45-minute appearance for Randers FC, his longest cameo at the club level since his time with D.C. United ended last October. Unfortunately for Davies and Randers, they lost, 2-1, to FC Midtjylland.

Here's how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:

GERMANY

2. Bundesliga

  • Alfredo Morales did not dress in Hertha Berlin's 2-2 draw vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Friday.
  • John Anthony Brooks started and played 90 minutes for Hertha Berlin.
  • Andrew Wooten and Kaiserslautern play FC Union Berlin on Monday.

BELGIUM

  • Sacha Kljestan came off the bench and played 9 minutes in RSC Anderlecht's 1-0 win vs. Koninklijke Beerschot AC on Saturday.

RUSSIA

  • Eugene Starikov did not dress in Zenit St. Petersburg's 3-1 win vs. CSKA Moscow on Saturday.

AUSTRIA

  • Terrence Boyd started and played 90 minutes in Rapid Vienna's 3-0 loss vs. Austria Vienna on Sunday.

DENMARK

  • Michael Parkhurst started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-1 draw vs. Aalborg BK on Saturday.
  • Clarence Goodson started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Brondby IF's 3-1 loss vs. AGF Aarhus on Sunday.
  • Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE play AC Horsens on Monday.
  • Charlie Davies came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Randers' 2-1 loss vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.

SWEDEN

  • Brian Span and Djurgardens IF play GIF Sundsvall on Monday.

NORWAY

  • Josh Gatt did not dress in Molde FK's 2-1 win vs. Sogndal on Saturday. He is recovering from a muscle injury.
  • Steve Clark started and played 90 minutes in Honefoss BK's 1-1 draw vs. Stromsgodset on Sunday.
  • Mix Diskerud and Stabaek IF play Brann on Monday.
  • Sean Cunningham and Stabaek IF play Brann on Monday.

MEXICO

  • Jose Torres did not dress in Pachuca's 1-0 win vs. Queretaro on Saturday. He was serving a one-game suspension for the ejection he received last week.

  • Herculez Gomez started, played 71 minutes and scored a GOAL in Santos Laguna's 2-2 draw vs. Puebla on Friday.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LkNqNU1epk?feature=player_embedded] 

  • DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes in Puebla's 2-2 draw vs. Santos Laguna on Friday.
  • Sonny Guadarrama and Atlante play Club America on Sunday evening.
  • Jonathan Bornstein dressed but did not play in Tigres UANL's 0-0 draw vs. Atlas on Saturday.
  • Michael Orozco Fiscal started and played 90 minutes in San Luis' 3-3 draw vs. Morelia on Friday.
  • Edgar Castillo started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Club Tijuana's 1-0 win vs. Pumas UNAM on Friday.
  • Joe Corona started and played 69 minutes for Club Tijuana.
  • Greg Garza did not dress for Club Tijuana.
  • Ventura Alvarado and Club America play Atlante on Sunday evening.

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What do you think of these performances? Impressed by Brooks making his professional debut? Surprised that this is Davies' longest outing since last year?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Being at the level of Ream and Cameron at 4-6 years younger is actually pretty impressive. He didn’t say that was his peak.

    Reply
  2. So he is tall and he is skilled on the ball.

    Is he good in the air? Can he defend? Does he know how to mark a man? Does he know how to play the offside trap? Is he tough, strong and balanced and can he hold his own on set pieces. Is he coachable and disciplined? Is he a good player?

    There is a lot more to being a top flight CB than being tall and having some skill on the ball.

    Reply
  3. “double standard”

    Horse manure. A manager like JK should play the guys who he feels fit his system the best. And no one, not even you is better qualified than JK to make that decision than him.

    It is not a popularity contest nor is it some sort of democratic election. JK should pick the guys he feels give us the best chance to win otherwise the job isn’t worth a roll of used toilet paper.

    Reply
  4. Daniel
    JK makes almost $7,000 PER DAY (actually $6,849.30)from US Soccer. He needs to have a plan in place for Zone 1 (youngest kids), for elite players (not just regular academy players but special players) ages 12-17, get a new Director of Coaching Education/Coaching Curriculum. He has not done anything in those areas.
    Plus, he needs to do better than the previous coach which means he must get to the quarter final. Otherwise, why are we paying him all of that money?

    Reply
  5. Thanks Chris,
    Hey Kenny B, get your facts straight before you start talking US Soccer. You just made a fool of yourself
    Read what I have to say below.

    Reply
  6. Mexico dramatically improved their youth systems in a matter of less than two years.

    It also goes without saying that they spend close to 25 million dollars a year on youth development and have better infrastructure than the US but it is certainly possible.

    Reply
  7. For everybody saying the national team coaching staff is incompetent, Jurgen/every previous coach was terrible etc etc etc, could you guys name some realistic people that would take the job/have US ties/incentives to improve us, who would be better?

    I am new to being a big follower so I have no knowledge of big time coaches, or anybody that can improve US Soccer. I’d like to hear from you guys some constructive options that could potentially take our US program to greater heights instead of just ripping down the current staff. Thanks in advance.

    Reply
  8. Dude, you’ve got to be reasonable, when you set standards for getting a call up to the national team. In the case of Boyd, the first team was Dortmund, Bundesliga’s repeat champions. Expecting him to appear with the first team would be like expecting a 21 year old to appear for Real Madrid, if he played in Spain, or Machester City, if he played in England, or Juventus, if he played in Italy. None of our USMNT players play for these clubs, but you expect a 21 year old to do it before he gets a call up? And by the way, Boyd deserved the call up – he had a strong performance for our U23 team (2 goals in 2 games) and (20 goals in 32 games) with Dortmund’s second team.

    Reply
  9. With due respect, the problem runs much deeper than having “the guy in place who knows how to do it.” Klinsmann was succesful reforming German system, but the challenges are much greater here. The play-to-win now mentality in the pay-to-play youth soccer system leads to mediocrity. It generally produces college level rather than professional leval players. The youth travel teams generally select most athletic and physical players because they give them a better chance to win at a youth level. And many of the “elite,” “premier” coaches are unable to teach technical skills properly so assembling a team of bruisers and horses in the preferred approach. This year I was a field marshall at U12 finals (boys and girls), where the boys game went into overtime, and both games were painful on the eyes. None of the four teams (including the team from a DA club) put together five consecutive passes. But the players were very physical, big, fast and well-oganized defensively. Part of the problem is cultural (the kids don’t watch soccer regularly and don’t play several hours a day with the ball as kids in many other countries do), but part is the system with entrenched mediocrity among the youth club’s management, coaches, etc. You can have a technical and intelligent player somewhere in the system, but you surround him with a bunch of donkeys on the team and it is very hard for him to play intelligenty, because his teammates are not making intelligent runs and hoof ball downfield rather than controlling it and keeping on the ground. If you indeed coach college soccer, you know that a lot of teams play “kick and run” or “hoof and head” style. This is not surprising – a lot of college players have a baby-rhino touch and other technical flaws, but could outrun a race horse. Very few college coaches teach technical soccer and most of college games are unwatchable. Would smaller players like Xavi or Iniesta make it in this youth system, if they were born here? Most likely, even if their parents could afford the travel fees, most coaches would have dismissed them as being too small, too slow, not physical enough.

    Reply
  10. Have you not seen Hercules or Boyd to start the season. Maybe you wrote that statement in April and did not see all those Altidore and Gomez goals?

    Reply
  11. Jeremy I know that. but as long as he is with chivas he is tied to Mexico. And to be honest good for him, I think any kid who is from US or is able to choose USMNT helps even if they are tied to another country.

    Reply
  12. do u really think improving the youth system in the U.S. is going to take only a year and some months???? if you do then maybe u should just keep ur comments to ur self man and try to think before the next time u post some thing publicly

    Reply
  13. JK has done a lot for US Soccer, he has brought in a lot of new faces into our program bringing more depth to the player pool, he has chosen to give young players chances to help them grow in confidence, pushed players to transfer to bigger clubs or to clubs where they will play regularly, instituted a more competitive atmosphere in training and on the pitch, started to change the old style of kick it long into a more posseission style of play which you can see even if our current players are not great at that style it is what is needed to succeed in future soccer. I don’t want to rant forever but JK has also helped players train with Arsenal, Everton, E. Frankfurt and so on. He is respected as a former great player and as a coach. Bob Bradley is a good coach and got us to a consistent level but to go beyond that we needed another push, we will not be a top 5 team in the near future but we may be able to compete at that level, and I do not know of another coach who could help the USMNT get to that point besides JK.

    Reply
  14. JK did not hire Claudio Reyna. Reyna was hired and had already implemented his soccer cirriculum before Bob Bradley was fired.

    Reply

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