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Americans Abroad: Weekend Preview

APER SOC BEASLEY

By FRANCO PANIZO

It was just over a week ago that DaMarcus Beasley stepped into the cauldron that is Estadio Azteca and helped the U.S. Men’s National Team secure a good result.

For Beasley, the jersey will change this weekend but the objective will remain the same.

Puebla are set to face off against Club America on Saturday and the match will provide Beasley another opportunity to shock the home team. Beasley is currently riding a good run of form and he will look to continue it by helping the Los Camoteros end a three-game losing streak against third-place America.

Herculez Gomez will also be involved in a marquee game, as he and Santos Laguna square off against Club Tijuana at Estadio Caliente on Saturday. As was the case in Tuesday’s CONCACAF Champions League semifinals first leg against the Seattle Sounders, Gomez will need to do outdo some of his compatriots, including Edgar Castillo and Joe Corona.

Two of the other more intriguing matches this weekend will take place in the Premiership. Geoff Cameron, Brek Shea and Stoke City host Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj on Saturday in a battle of Americans, and if that is not enough to whet your appetite, Sunday’s clash between Clint Dempsey’s Tottenham and Tim Howard’s Everton should do the trick.

Here is who the Americans Abroad play this weekend:

FRIDAY

Fabian Johnson, Danny Williams and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim play Fortuna Dusseldorf.

SATURDAY

Geoff Cameron, Brek Shea and Stoke City play Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa.

Jonathan Spector, Will Packwood and Birmingham City play Millwall. (Spector and Packwood are out injured.)

Tim Ream and Bolton Wanderers play Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Zak Whitbread and Leicester City play Brighton & Hove Albion.

Conor Doyle and Derby County play Ipswich Town.

Stuart Holden and Sheffield Wednesday play Blackburn Rovers.

Frank Simek and Carlisle United play Oldham Athletic.

Mike Grella and Scunthorpe United play Preston North End.

Oguchi Onyewu and Malaga play Real Sociedad.

Carlos Bocanegra and Racing Santander play AD Alcorcon.

David Yelldell and Bayer Leverkusen play VfL Wolfsburg.

Michael Parkhurst and FC Augsburg play Borussia Dortmund. (Parkhurst is out injured.)

Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04 play Werder Bremen. (Jones is out injured.)

Joe Gyau and St Pauli play Dynamo Dresden.

Eugene Starikov and FK Rostov play Spartak Moscow.

Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht play Standard Liege in the Belgian playoffs.

Terrence Boyd and Rapid Vienna play FC Wacker Tirol.

Josh Gatt and Molde FK play Brann.

Ventura Alvarado and Club America play DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Orozco Fiscal and Puebla.

Jose Torres, Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL play Club Leon.

Joe Corona, Edgar Castillo, Greg Garza and Club Tijuana play Herculez Gomez, Benji Joya and Santos Laguna.

SUNDAY

Sebastian Lletget and West Ham United play Liverpool.

Clint Dempsey, Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Tim Howard and Everton.

Timmy Chandler and FC Nurnberg play Mainz.

Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 play VfB Stuttgart.

Andrew Wooten and SV Sandhausen play MSV Duisburg.

Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich play Energie Cottbus.

Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar play NEC Nijmegen.

Tony Taylor and Estoril Praia play CD Nacional de Madeira.

Caleb Patterson-Sewell and Vitoria Setubal play Rio Ave.

Conor O’Brien and FC Nordsjaelland play AC Horsens.

Charlie Davies and Randers FC play Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF. (Goodson is out injured.)

Conor O’Brien and FC Nordsjaelland play AGF Aarhus.

Steve Clark and Honefoss BK play Aalesund.

Mix Diskerud and Rosenborg BK play Sogndal.

MONDAY

Michael Bradley and AS Roma play Lazio.

Alfredo Morales, John Anthony Brooks and Hertha Berlin play Eintracht Braunschweig.

Maurice Edu and Bursaspor play Besiktas.

Brian Span and Djurgardens IF play Mjallby.

Alejandro Bedoya and Helsingborgs IF play Oster.

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Which of these games are you most looking forward to? Think Beasley helps Puebla grab a result at Azteca? Do you see Gomez scoring against Tijuana?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Not sure what’s up with Dempsey’s situation, but unless he’s still dealing with some sort of injury/fitness issue, it doesn’t look too good right now. If things keep on like this, his move to Spurs could end up being the worst move by a top U.S. international since Gooch signed for AC Milan. Starting to become increasingly concerned about Mike Bradley’s move to Roma as well…

    Reply
    • The thing is that before Dempsey’s last injury he had scored something like 5 goals in 7 games. I don’t think he was falling out of favor; in fact, Holtby seemed to be the one who was getting less minutes, Siggurdson was rarely a starter and Livermore often went several games before coming on as a late minute sub. I think Bradley’s situation is more difficult because with a change in manager, they often want to shake up the lineup since they are expected to change/improve things.

      Reply
  2. At another website, they projected the starting lineup for Tottenham to be without Dempsey even without Bale, Lennon or Defoe in the lineup. They show Holtby, Siggurdson and Livermore starting along with the usuals of Parker and Dembele. I find this hard to believe unless Dempsey is injured or sick. Anyone know anything, or was that writer just stupid?

    Reply
    • I’m sure it’s just someone guess. I wouldn’t worry about it too much but it is an important run of games where he’ll need to step up. Even if that’s from off the bench.

      Reply
    • They pay him like 25,000 K a week which is pretty damn good for Scotlanf. i suppose he could always start for even a mid table French club but the 75% taxes might deter him from heading back. He should have went to the Bundesliga or perhaps a team in La Liga but he just wanted to go on loan and not a full transfer.

      Reply
      • That 75% tax rate is actually a little misleading. Yes, they want to tax the highest earners in France 75% but footballers are paid net wages. In order for Ibra, for instance to make his $12 million annual salary, he has to be paid something insane in gross wages around $50 million. So Boca could actually still make a nice living in France if he chose to go back.

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