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Americans Abroad: Midweek Rewind

By FRANCO PANIZO

Andrew Wooten may not yet be a full-time starter for SV Sandhausen, but he certainly made a case for himself with his two-goal performance on Wednesday.

Wooten netted a brace that included the equalizer and winner in the 2. Bundesliga club’s 3-1 victory against Energie Cottbus. The 23-year-old Wooten scored the tying goal in the match on a penalty kick in the 59th minute and he knocked in his own rebound for the winner after having another spot kick attempt saved eight minutes later. Wooten now has three goals in his last four games for Sandhausen.

Wooten was not the only young forward to enjoy some success in Germany’s second division. Bobby Wood, who made his official return from troublesome knee injuries that sidelined him for more than a year this past weekend, earned his first career start in TSV 1860 Munich’s 1-0 win over SC Paderborn 07 on Saturday. The 20-year-old Wood went the distance in the match, which will surely give him more confidence going forward.

Sebastian Lletget did not make his first start, but the former U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team midfielder did reach a milestone by dressing for the first time in his career. Lletget was on the bench for West Ham United in their 1-0 loss to Manchester United on Wednesday, and the 20-year-old may have made his professional debut had the Hammers not conceded in the first minute of the encounter.

Here’s how the Americans Abroad performed during the midweek action:

ENGLAND

Premiership

  • Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Everton’s 1-1 draw vs. Arsenal on Wednesday.
  • Brad Friedel dressed but did not play in Tottenham’s 2-1 win vs. Liverpool on Wednesday.
  • Clint Dempsey started and played 64 minutes for Tottenham.
  • Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Aston Villa’s 1-0 win vs. Reading on Tuesday.
  • Eric Lichaj came off the bench and played 66 minutes for Aston Villa.
  • Geoff Cameron started and played 90 minutes in Stoke City’s 2-1 win vs. Newcastle United on Wednesday.
  • Maurice Edu did not dress for Stoke City.
  • Sebastian Lletget dressed but did not play in West Ham United’s 1-0 loss vs. Manchester United on Wednesday.

Championship

  • Tim Ream dressed but did not play in Bolton Wanderers’ 2-1 win vs. Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday.
  • Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City’s 1-1 draw vs. Blackpool on Tuesday.
  • Will Packwood did not dress for Birmingham City.
  • Conor Doyle did not dress in Derby County’s 1-1 draw vs. Cardiff City on Tuesday. He is recovering from an appendix injury.
  • Zak Whitbread started and played 90 minutes in Leicester City’s 1-0 loss vs. Leeds United on Tuesday.
  • Robbie Findley did not dress in Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 loss vs. Ipswich Town on Tuesday.

SPAIN

  • Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Malaga CF’s 1-0 loss vs. Cacereno in the second leg of their Round of 32 series on Tuesday. Malaga advanced on 4-4 aggregate due to away goals.

GERMANY

Bundesliga

  • Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96’s 2-0 win vs. SpVgg Greuther Furth on Tuesday.
  • Jermaine Jones started and played 90 minutes in Schalke 04’s 3-1 loss vs. Hamburg SV on Tuesday.
  • Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 4-2 loss vs. FC Nurnberg on Wednesday.
  • Danny Williams started and played 90 minutes for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
  • Timmy Chandler started and played 58 minutes in FC Nurnberg’s 4-2 win vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Wednesday.
  • David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen’s 4-1 loss vs. Werder Bremen on Wednesday.

2. Bundesliga

  • John Anthony Brooks and Hertha Berlin play FC Cologne on Thursday afternoon.
  • Alfredo Morales and Hertha Berlin play FC Cologne on Thursday afternoon.
  • Andrew Wooten started, played 90 minutes before being substituted in stoppage time and scored TWO GOALS in SV Sandhausen’s 3-1 win vs. Energie Cottbus on Wednesday.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG87RQvdBwM?feature=player_embedded]

  • Joe Gyau came off the bench and played 31 minutes in St Pauli’s 1-0 loss vs. TSV Eintracht Braunschweig on Wednesday.
  • Bobby Wood started and played 90 minutes in TSV 1860 Munich’s 1-0 win vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Tuesday.

MEXICO

  • Edgar Castillo and Club Tijuana play Toluca in the first leg of the Liga MX finals on Thursday night.
  • Joe Corona and Club Tijuana play Toluca in the first leg of the Liga MX finals on Thursday night.
  • Greg Garza and Club Tijuana play Toluca in the first leg of the Liga MX finals on Thursday night.

——-

What do you think of these performances? Impressed with Wooten’s two-goal performance? Do you see Lletget making his pro debut in the near future?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Nice that Wooten got in the game. Nicer still that he was anointed to take the PKs. However, he looked awful. The first kick was easily saved if the goalie hadn’t gone the wrong way. The second kick was to the almost the same spot except even worse than the first. No wonder it was so easily saved. He’s got some work to do there. Also, so do the refs. It’s getting ridiculous that refs award PKs every time a ball touches someone’s arm. That first PK call was one of the worst I’ve seen. Maybe MLS refs aren’t that bad…..in comparison.

    Reply
    • Your opinion on his pk ability not withstanding, Wooten was one of the best players on the field. He opened up space, the couple times he moved out to the wing resulting in some good crosses (including the first play in the video), and that last goal happened because of him. The new coach likes his play, he is going to be starting every game now.

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  2. Does anyone know why ESPN FC keeps calling John Anthony Brooks by another name, Johnathan Brooksbank? I can see the splice of John-Anthon(y) Brooks(bank) but where are they getting this? Are they that clueless?

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  3. Parker is firmly in the Germany’s set-up don’t expect him to make any kind of switch. The guy is 18, so he has plenty of time to break into Germany’s senior squad.

    USMNT fans should be excited about Bobby Wood who is a very talented American FWD.

    Whitbread should be back in contention for the LCB position for the National team. If Whitbread can stay healthy he could slot right into the starting line-up for the Nats. No one has ever doubted his talent as a defender, but he just could never stay healthy long enough.

    A Cameron and Whitbread partnership could be a very good partnership, but I think Boca will still be the starter against Honduras.

    Reply
    • For Parker, it really depends on what the situation looks like ahead of him. Germany is always stacked and it’s tough to break into the team. He might plateau or get tired of waiting and give us a call. We just need to leave a candle in the window to let him know we will give him a shot if things don’t work out.

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  4. Zak whitbread needs to be on the USMNT and starting he’s the only actual CB who is getting 90
    And at this point maybe promoted to EPL does anyone agree ????

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    • Whitbread is very unlucky in terms of injuries – which has kept him off the USMNT ever since the Bradley days. Whenver Whitbread put together a good run of form and starts, going all the way back to his days at Leeds United, an untimely injury right around call-up time would happen.
      His inability to stay healthy has severely hampered his international career.

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  5. Anyone know why Chandler only played 58 minutes?

    Ives, do you have any insight on the Shawn Parker situation? He seems to be the only US-eligible player with a legitimate shot to play for Germany (apologies to Chandler and Brooks).

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  6. Ives,
    Is there any word on the safety of Bob Bradley? The US government seems to be warning Americans to stay off the street.
    Love BB or hate him, you gotta admire his commitment.

    Reply
    • I´m sure he´s fine. The State Dept issues such warnings at the drop of a hat. If they let the State Dept issue warnings for US cities they´d be telling us to stay off the streets of every major US city.

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    • Since Egyptians love their football as much as most anyone, he’s probably safe unless and until their national team flames out. Since they’ve been doing pretty good, he’ll probably be protected.

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    • Everything i have read is that he is a legit star in the works and 50/50 on the US or Germany. I hope Jurgen is in germany right now working his magic!

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      • Someone please explain to me why I should still root for my national team when it becomes composed mostly of players who don’t really have anything to do with the USA other than having their fathers serve in Germany?

      • Sorry, but melting pot applies to people who actually live in this country and want to live in this country, not to those who come here a few times a year to kick a soccer ball around. And sometime you even have to beg them to do that much.

      • Sorry if a kid who is 50% American and was only born in Germany because his dad was over there serving our country through military services isn’t Apple Pie and Baseball enough for you. I guess I’ll go ahead and tell every military person currently serving that their children aren’t going to be real Americans since they might be born overseas due to their service.

      • You either intentionally misrepresent what I’m saying or for some reason don’t understand it … I don’t care about who’s “real American”. The point is that all those Germaricans are products of the German soccer system — they have nothing to do with American soccer. Moreover, most of them (possibly all) had no interest or affinity for this country until they saw this country as a ticket to a world cup. I’m sure that none of them would’ve played for the US if they were good enough to play for Germany. Some of them had never even been to the US until their first USMNT camp on the American soil?

        This is not that much different from Georgian beach volleyball players bought from Brazil and given Georgian citizenship just to represent Georgia in the 2008 summer Olympics and who have never even been to the country of Georgia.

        Someone mentioned the proverbial melting pot. You can’t be part of the melting pot if you’re not actually in the pot!

        Those kids are not 50% Americans only because their fathers are Americans. They could’ve been, and maybe even more than 50%, but their families and they themselves made a choice to be 100% German. A sperm donor doesn’t make a 50%.

        Someone here mentioned Altidore. Jozy grew up in this country. He’s part of the pot. He plays for the US because it’s his country and not because that’s the easiest ticket to the world cup. Don’t you see the difference?

      • No, it dosent…thats like saying all of the Americans overseas are not Amreican…do you realize howm many people you are talking about and what they’ve done and are doing for this country…I guess its hard when your thinking of what futbol comments board to spout off on…okay that last part was about me : )

      • Maybe because according to our nation’s founding document and a couple hundred years of legal precedent these guys are every bit as American as you or I, and your willingness to consider them somehow less than “real Americans” is the same kind of ignorant, narrow-minded stupidity that has long contributed to discrimination of all kinds.

      • Seems to me that your inability to accept any viewpoint but your own is a perfect example of “ignorant, narrow-minded stupidity”.

      • Obviously, you’re not capable of discussing anything without personal insults. Fits nicely with your opinions.

      • Considering Donovan, Howard, and others besides the Germerican brigade all have at least one foreign born parents (and both of Altidore’s parents were Haitian), I’d say any half-American’s would be well at home with our national team.

      • “why I should still root for my national team ”

        The short answer is that you “should” not do anything you do not want to do.

        If you don’t like the so called dual international thing don’t root for the USMNT.

        As best as I can tell the people who are responsible for assembling the USMNT were told to put together the best team they can under the rules. Since all national teams operate under the same rules as the USMNT the dual national business is the norm for the industry.

        If you don’t like the “norm” I can’t help you.

        FIFA can, Write Sepp Blatter and let us know what he says.

  7. Lletget’s first milestone of the year was seeing EA put him in FIFA 12. Then you know you’ve made it! Very happy for him. I can’t wait to see him on the field – come on injuries to West Ham starters!

    Reply
  8. Eric Lichaj getting playing time with Villa in the EPL
    Sebastian Lletget able to make the first team
    Oguchi Onyewu going full 90 with a LA LIGA team
    ……is promising.

    Reply
    • But why should we even follow Eric Lichaj? I mean, gee whiz, Timothy Chandler after being absent from the USMNT for a full year and turning down four cap-tying call-ups for the USMNT now has a lock on the right back spot and with 100% certainty will be the replacement at right back when Steven Cherundolo steps down. This is fact. Timmy does not have to compete for the right back spot. It is his. Don’t ask why. It just is.

      Reply
      • Biff – I’m guessing you were being sarcastic in your rant, but in the event you were not hear are a couple things for you to try and remember:
        1) Dolo is 33 yrs Old. At that age in this sport an injury or performance issues could happen at any time. It’s therefore good to have a stable of good players who can potentially step in to fill/cover a void.
        2) Lichaj can also play Left Back. Not too long ago both LB’s were injured/sick in a run up to WCQ matches. Lichaj should have been called in for cover then, but if it happens again it would be nice to have options.

      • Yep, Lost in Space, I was being sarcastic. I agree with you, we need depth at every position and I remember well the fullback dilemma we had in the WCQ games and yet Klinsmann during the past year has steadfastly ignored Lichaj, who had success under Bob Bradley, not giving him a single chance to show what he can do now in the US shirt and, as far as I know, Lichaj has never tweeted anything bad against Klinsmann like Jozy did.

        Yet the second Klinsmann’s buddy Tim Chandler finally accepts that Jogi Low does not want him for the German team, then Klinsmann welcomes back an out-of-form Chandler with open arms. I am not convinced that Chandler is a better option for the USMNT than Lichaj and I don’t understand why Klinsmann has not given him a chance. All that said, I suspect that Geoff Chandler, who keeps playing both left and right back for Stoke might be better a better option at right back than Chandler or Lichaj. I personally like Castillo a lot and see him as Number 2 behind Fabian Johnson.

      • Biff, we get it. You don’t like Chandler. You don’t like his waffling (no one does). You don’t like how Klinsi catered to him.

        So how about every time someone says something about Lichaj, stop making it about Chandler.

      • biff,

        Eric hasn’t played well enough to deserve JK giving him a chance.

        Your regard for Lichaj seems directly proportionally to your disdain for Chandler. Very similar to how you always look for indirect ways to attack the Bradleys.

        I have seen all the USMNT games of both players.
        Lichaj may one day be a solid defender for the US and may get a shot somewhere down the line.

        However, Chandler has a chance to be something special and is clearly a better player. It’s not close.
        Plus, and everyone forgets this, Chandler has played a few games for the US under Klinsmann and done well. I’m not sure JK has ever met Eric.

        If I’m a manager I have a lot more of a feel and more regard for guys who have done well for me. It would not surprise anyone if JK felt the same way.

        Lichaj is now 24.

        He has been a pro in England since the 2008-2009 season with Villa.

        He has had loan spells with Lincoln City (6 games), Layton Orient (9 games) and Leeds United (16 games). Grayson, the Leeds manager, showed interest in buying him.

        He had 5 league and 2 League cup appearances in 2010-11, 9 league and 1 League Cup appearance sin 2011-12, and 6 league and 1 cup appearances this year.

        Just looking at that on paper it looks to me like Lichaj has never convinced anyone at Villa that he is starter material. Not Martin O”Neill, not Gerard Houllier, or Alex McLeish. We’ll see about Lambert. It looks like if he does not win a job this year, he is likely to always be a utility guy for Villa, if they don’t cut him. And if that happens he may need to move elsewhere if he wants a starter’s job.

        But it’s the EPL you say! And being a part timer for what has mostly been a mediocre to crappy Villa team is better than Chandler being a regular for a Nuremberg ( 44 appearances since 2010) side that has finished in 16th, 6th and 19th place since he became a regular.

        I don’t find either Villa or Nuremberg impressive but Chandler certainly has done better with his team than Lichaj has with is.

        Some of you seem to feel Lichaj’s mediocrity is excused because, after all it’s the EPL so he will do well for the US.

        Okay, so let’s look at the career of one Jonny Spector, another versatile American fullback/midfielder who when he was 24 like Eric is now, had nearly four times as many league appearances in the Premiership, and a ton more international experience.

        If this EPL experience/pedigree thing were true shouldn’t Jon be a star for the USMNT?

        Well, Spector has never fully convinced anyone that he is USMNT starter material and most of you don’t even want him in the pool now even though he is only 26 and seems to be getting regular time for Birmingham, a team I would argue are not much worse than Villa.

        Meanwhile based on the disdain Spector gets and the love Lichaj gets on this site, you’d think Premiership managers like Martin O’Neill, Alan Curbishley, Alan Pardew, Gianfranco Zola and Paul Lambert must be morons.

        So what do those guys know about Spector and Lichaj that you guys don’t?

  9. I was wondering where the Wednesday matchday commentary post was? I wanted other “unbiased” views of whether you think the ball Dempsey ripped with his left off target in about the 53rd minute yesterday was Defoe’s ball? Or whether Dempsey had the better angle and shot. I love Dempsey and understand that I have a difficult time being objective about him. What do others think about the shot?

    Reply
    • Did you see the shot or just hear commentary about it ? I don’t know how you can say he “ripped” it. He hit it hard and straight… and nowhere in the vicinity of the goal, from inside the box.

      They were both running into the same space and Dempsey took the ball from Defoe, not saying it was right or wrong, it happens. Defoe seemed to run the ball right into Dempsey’s run, and Dempsey took it from there. Though his next touch seemed to take it away from goal, and his shot was not good.

      Reply
    • I thought Dempsey’s angle to the ball was superior and, ideally, Defoe would have left him the ball. Defoe is so quick though, and he possibly didn’t know Dempsey was coming, so they both got in each other’s way. When Dempsey took the shot, I felt like he might have pulled it back for someone else, since the shot was kinda gone at that point.

      Reply
    • Soccernet reported: “…Martin Skrtel’s poor clearance set Defoe free but Dempsey selfishly muscled his team-mate off the ball and shot wide.”

      …this is just a bunch of English hater BS. Dempsey was running at full speed and the ball came into his path, while Defoe was moving forward diagonally from right to left, with a defender in his way. Clint would have been clear 1 v 1 vs. the ‘keeper, but because Defoe shoved Dempsey to try and get the ball, Clint took an off-balance shot that would have been described by Toby Charles as “high, wide, and not very handsome.”

      Reply
      • I saw most of the game while Dempsey was still in, but missed the scene in question. But I will say that I Dempsey struck me yesterday as being very assertive with his fellow teammates compared to his timid approach previously. I did see the scene the 62 minute when Clint got tripped near the box by Joe Allen (actually, in the box but the ref gave a free kick just outside instead of a penalty. And Dempsey demanded to take the kick and he took it and it was blocked by the wall (or shot directly into the way, not sure which).

        It was good to see Dempsey finally asserting himself with Fulham coming up Saturday. And if Dempsey did Clint did nick the ball from Defoe I say all power to him. I like Defoe and think he is a great striker, but he is the most selfish player in the world and I think in some situations he should be passing to teammates who are in better positions. It’s possible that Clint was giving Defoe a subtle message.

      • You can see it here, after the match highlights, between comments from the managers.

        I was pissed when I read that quote too. It’s not the best best from clint, but “selfishly muscled” is a little harsh. Defoe steps back and lets him have it.

      • Video didn’t work for me… but I could read the comments where LFC fans called Dempsey just about every cussword they could think of and accused him of diving. I’m starting to think “your a C***” is their motto.

        Stay classy Liverpool.

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