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Americans Abroad: A Look Ahead

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Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com


By FRANCO PANIZO

Danny Williams showed just how good he could be as a defensive midfielder for the U.S. men's national team in its victory over Jamaica on Tuesday, and now he could get a chance to prove his worth for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the stadium he used to call home.

Hoffenheim visits Williams' former club, SC Freiburg, on Sunday in MAGE SOLAR Stadion, and the American midfielder could see time if head coach Markus Babbel feels he is able to contribute following his 90-minute performance in the U.S.'s 1-0 win over Jamaica on Tuesday. Williams has made just one appearance for Hoffenheim this season, so a strong outing could go a long way in helping him solidify his place in the lineup.

There is also an intriguing match-up in the Premier League on Saturday. Geoff Cameron, Maurice Edu and Stoke City will battle reigning champions Manchester City in a game that the Potters will be hard-pressed to earn their first victory of the Premiership campaign.

This weekend could also bring the debuts of a handful of Americans. From Clint Dempsey with Tottenham to Carlos Bocanegra with Racing Santander to Joe Gyau with St. Pauli, several players could earn their first appearances with clubs they joined at the end of the winter transfer window.

Here is who the Americans Abroad play this weekend:

FRIDAY

Jose Torres and Pachuca play Morelia.

SATURDAY

Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa play Swansea City.

Geoff Cameron, Maurice Edu and Stoke City play Manchester City.

Tim Ream, Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers play Watford. (Holden is out injured.)

Conor Doyle and Derby County play Huddersfield Town.

Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest play Jonathan Spector, Will Packwood and Birmingham City.

Frank Simek and Carlisle United play Swindon Town.

Mike Grella and Scunthorpe United play Shrewsbury Town.

Robbie Rogers and Stevenage play Crewe Alexandra.

Oguchi Onyewu and Malaga play Levante.

Carlos Bocanegra and Racing Santander play Recreativo Huelva.

David Yelldell and Bayer Leverkusen play Borussia Dortmund.

Timmy Chandler and FC Nurnberg play Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 play Werder Bremen.

Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04 play SpVgg Greuther Furth.

Andrew Wooten and SV Sandhausen play Dynamo Dresden.

Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht play Llerse SK.

Terrence Boyd and Rapid Vienna play FC Trenkwalder Admira.

Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE play Silkeborg IF.

Michael Parkhurst and FC Nordsjaelland play FC Copenhagen.

Alejandro Bedoya and Helsingborgs IF play GIF Sundsvall.

Josh Gatt and Molde FK play Haugesund.

Ventura Alvarado and Club America play Herculez Gomez and Santos Laguna.

Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL play Cruz Azul.

SUNDAY

Clint Dempsey, Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Reading.

Zak Whitbread and Leicester City play Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Michael Bradley and AS Roma play Bologna.

Fabian Johnson, Danny Williams and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim play SC Freiburg.

Alfredo Morales, John Anthony Brooks and Hertha Berlin play Aalen.

Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar play Roda JC Kerkrade.

Eugene Starikov and FK Rostov play Dinamo Moscow.

Charlie Davies and Randers FC play Aalborg BK.

Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF play AC Horsens.

Brian Span and Djurgardens IF play AIK.

Steve Clark and Honefoss BK play Viking.

Sean Cunningham and Stabaek IF play Odd Grenland.

Mix Diskerud and Rosenborg BK play Chad Barrett and Valerenga.

DaMarcus Beasley and Puebla play Monterrey.

Michael Orozco Fiscal and San Luis play Pumas UNAM.

Joe CoronaEdgar CastilloGreg Garza and Club Tijuana play Atlante.

MONDAY

Tim Howard and Everton play Newcastle United.

Joe Gyau and St Pauli play FC Cologne.

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Which of these games are you most looking forward to? Expecting Williams to see time for Hoffenheim? How do you see Cameron, Edu and Stoke faring against Man City? Which American is most likely to make his debut with his new club this weekend?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Does anyone know a site/sites to watch some of these games online? I mostly wanna watch all Roma’s games this year. So bummed Fox Sports canceled Serie a!

    Reply
  2. I think JK respects Spector for his versatility as witnessed by the fact that he brought him in for the qualifiers despite the fact that he had pretty much not played for 6 months. He had a killer performance at left back when he subbed in one of his last performances for the MNT. He seems to be well respected for his work ethic and solid performances by all of his club coaches. He’ll never be flashy but will be interesting to see how he progresses at Birmingham this season. That will likely determine MNT call-ups.

    Reply
  3. So true. I am glad I am not the only one who feels this way. There have been some news stories out recently indicating that Chandler is now doing all he can to catch the attention of Jogi Low, sort of like a PR campaign. In both news stories linked below, he made sure to let the press know that Klinsmann invited him for Jamaica and made double sure to let them know that he snubbed the great Jurgen Klinsmann. In a story in Kicker, Nuremburg sport director Martin Bader says Chandler is “still brooding because he feels more German” than American.

    Klinsmann lockt Chandler vergeblich
    http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/startseite/574605/artikel_klinsmann-lockt-chandler-vergeblich.html

    In this local newspaper story Timmy is again playing coy, saying Klinsmann “has total understanding for my motives (not to play against Jamaica) and he still wants me.” That really rubs me the wrong way.

    Chandler: Lieber Rumpfteam als Reisestrapazen
    http://www.nordbayern.de/nuernberger-zeitung/nz-sport/chandler-lieber-rumpfteam-als-reisestrapazen-1.2335060

    Reply
  4. Great to see so many of our boys over seas, it seems like every season the list gets deeper and deeper. Whether or not everyone get Playing Time is another story. Hopefully Big Bad Brad will hold onto to place in the line-up. Anyone think Deuce has a chance of getting any playing this week? I love Deuce, but his touch was a bit off this week with USMNT. Can’t wait til he’s up & flying again.

    Reply
  5. Chandler has turned down multiple chances to rep the USA now. It’s time to let him go. I hope Klinnsman and US Soccer realize this. No one is good enough to be allowed to play these games and/or make us look desperate. Give the roster spots to players who understand what an honor and privelege it is to don the red white and blue.

    Reply
  6. not sure why you’re implying that Spector is a turnover machine; from what i remember, the main hit on him was getting turned and burned as an outside back (although he’s certainly performed better in the last year).

    he’s also just getting passed by other players (johnson, lichaj, and at least 5 d-mids) at positions that he can fill. still good depth to have.

    Reply
  7. We have enough turnover machines: Edu, Altidore and Beckerman. You must really dislike when USA holds possession and plays skilled football.

    Reply
  8. In the Germany vs Austria WCQ match last Tuesday, both right back Philipp Lahm and left back Marcel Scmelzer did not look good. Die Welt newspaper gave each grades (notes) of 5, with a 1 the best and a 6 the worst grade. And there have been a lot of stories in other newspapers this week about weakness in the fullback positions. The door is opening wider for Timothy “Benedict Arnold” Chandler to fulfill his dream of playing for the German national team, with a phone call from Jogi Low possible as early as October, although that is probably too soon. But who knows.

    Germany Player Ratings
    http://tinyurl.com/9fqfuz8

    Reply
  9. Oops. Sorry about the long URL, repeated with a TinyURL.

    Clarence Goodson did not get a yellow card in the US-Jamaica game in Kingston, according to the official Concacaf game report. Anyone know whey US Soccer is saying on the September 7 game report that Goodson has a yellow card in the 67th minute. Or does Concacaf have it wrong the their page. I do not remember him getting a card in that game, and if he would have the announcers would have mentioned that it was his second and he would be suspended.

    Jamaica 2 – 1 USA, September 7
    http://tinyurl.com/9bb2ceu

    Reply
  10. Clarence Goodson did not get a yellow card in the US-Jamaica game in Kingston, according to the official Concacaf game report. Anyone know whey US Soccer is saying on the September 7 game report that Goodson has a yellow card in the 67th minute. Or does Concacaf have it wrong the their page. I do not remember him getting a card in that game, and if he would have the announcers would have mentioned that it was his second and he would be suspended.

    Jamaica 2 – 1 USA, September 7
    http://concacaf.globalsportsmedia.com/page.php?sport=soccer&language_id=us&page=tournament&view=match&match_id=1228148

    Reply
  11. Sure hope that Gooch can become a starter at Malaga by end of the month. Theyre in the CL so plenty of games all around. He was doing very well at Sporting, a liy of press attention and than hid injury hit.

    Reply
  12. I don’t know about the 6’3 stat, he has to be in his tippie toes to be the same size as Goodson when taking team pictures. I think Timmy is closer to 6’1

    Reply
  13. Timmy Chandler….one of the top 4 wing backs who can represent the US National Team.
    (Fabian Johnson, Steve Cherundolo, Timmy Chandler, Eric Lichaj). Can play RB, LB, RW; and a vast improvement over the next in line of the depth chart (Castillo, Parkhurst).

    Reply

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