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Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

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                                           Photo by ISIphotos.com

You can add one more player to the list of U.S. national teamers who ply their trades outside of the United States. Pachuca midfielder Jose Francisco Torres made plenty of new fans with is decision to play for the United States instead of Mexico, and his first action since that decision saw him start and go the full 90 minutes in a tie vs. Necaxa on Saturday.

While Torres was the most popular American Abroad this weekend, the best was a former MLS player who has found a home in Germany. TUS Koblenz striker Matt Taylor notched a hat-trick in leading Koblenz to a 5-0 win vs. Kaiserslautern on Sunday.

Taylor was the brightest of bright spots in an otherwise disappointing weekend that saw Michael Bradley, DaMarcus Beasley and Freddy Adu not play and Jozy Altidore and Maurice Edu not make the bench.

One definite bright spot was U.S. national team defender Carlos Bocanegra, who helped Rennes shut out French champions Lyon, 3-0, on Sunday.

Here is how all the Americans Abroad did in Europe and Mexico this past weekend:

ENGLAND

PREMIER LEAGUE

  • Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Everton’s 2-2 tie vs. Newcastle on Sunday.
  • Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made 12 saves in Aston Villa’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea on Sunday.
  • Brad Guzan dressed but did not play for Aston Villa.
  • C!int Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 1-0 loss to West Brom on Saturday.
  • Jonathan Spector did not dress in West Ham’s 3-1 loss to Bolton. He is still recovering from a hip injury.

COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP

  • Marcus Hahnemann started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Reading’s 3-1 win vs. Burnley on Saturday.
  • BobbycConvey did not dress for Reading.
  • Jay DeMerit started and played 89 minutes in Watford’s 2-1 win vs. Preston on Saturday.
  • Frank Simek did not dress in Sheffield Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to Plymouth on Saturday. He is still recovering from ankle surgey.
  • Eddie!Johnson came off the bench and played five minutes in Cardiff City’s 1-1 tie vs. Blackpool on Saturday.

SCOTLAND

  • DaMarcus Beasley dressed but did not play in Rangers’ 1-0 loss to St. Mirren on Sunday.
  • Maurice Edu did not dress for Rangers.
  • Mike Videira did not dress in Hamilton’s 4-0 loss to Celtic on Saturday.

GERMANY

BUNDESLIGA

  • Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96’s 1-1 tie vs. Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
  • Neven Subotic started, played 90 minutes and drew a yellow card for Borussia Dortmund.
  • Sal Zizzo did not dress for Hannover 96.
  • Michael Bradley dressed but did not play in BorussiaIMoenchengladbach’s 2-1 loss to Cologne on Saturday.
  • Brian Arguez did not dress for Hertha Berlin’s 1-0 win vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

BUNDESLIGA 2

  • Matt Taylor started, played 90 minutes and scored THREE GOALS in TUS Koblenz’s 5-0 win vs. Kaiserslautern on Sunday.
  • David Yelldell started, played 90 minutes and made two saves for TUS Koblenz.
  • Luis Robles did not dress for Kaiserslautern.
  • Heath Pearce dressed but did not play in Hansa Rostock’s 4-2 loss to FC Ingolstadt on Sunday.
  • Gregg Berhalter started and played 90 minutes in 1860 Munich’s 3-0 win vs FSV Frankfurt on Friday.
  • Grover Gibson did not dress in Ahlen’s 1-1 tie vs. Nurnberg on Sunday.

SPAIN

  • Jozy Altiore did not dress in Villarreal’s 2-1 win vs. Real Betis on Saturday.

ITALY

SERIE B

  • Danny Szetela did not dress in Brescia’s 2-1 win vs. Frosinone on Saturday. He is out with a groin injury.

FRANCE

LIGUE 1

  • Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in Rennes’ 3-0 win vs. Lyon on Sunday.
  • Freddy Adu dressed but did not play in Monaco’s 2-0 loss to St. Etienne on Sunday.
  • Andrew Jacobson did not dress in Lorient’s 2-1 loss to Bordeaux on Saturday. Jacobson is in Brazil for the Futsal World Cup.

LIGUE 2

  • Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Troyes’ 0-0 tie vs. Angers on Friday.

BELGIUM

  • Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Standard Liege’s 4-1 loss to Cercle Brugge on Sunday.

DENMARK

  • Danny Califf started and played 90 minutes in FC Midtjylland’s 1-0 loss to FC Nordsjaelland on Sunday.
  • Lee Nguyen came off the bench and played 24 minutes in Randers’ 1-0 loss to Sonderjyske on Sunday.
  • Jeremiah White came off the bench and played 23 minutes in AGF Aarhus’ 1-0 loss to Ejsberg on Sunday.
  • Tally Hall did not play for Ejsberg.
  • Benny Feilhaber did not play for AGF Aarhus.

NORWAY

FIRST DIVISION

  • Troy Perkins started and played 90 minutes in Valarenga’s 2-1 win vs. Bodo Glimt on Sunday.
  • Adin Brown did not play in Aalesunds’ 1-0 win vs. Stromsgodset on Sunday. He is out for the season with an injury.

SECOND DIVISION

  • Cam Weaver dressed but did not play in Haugesund’s 2-0 loss to Nybergsund on Sunday.
  • Clarence Goodson did not dress in IK Start’s 5-1 win vs. Sandnes on Sunday.
  • Kyle Veris started, played 90 minutes and drew a yellow card in Hodd’s 0-0 tie vs. Notodden on Sunday.
  • Jay Needham started and played 90 minutes in Alta’s 2-1 loss to Kongsvinger on Sunday.

SWEDEN

  • Charlie Davies and Hammarby play IFK Goteborg on Monday.

MEXICO

  • Jose Francisco Torres started, played 90 minutes and drew a yellow card in Pachuca’s 1-1 tie vs. Necaxa on Saturday.
  • Michael Orozco started and played 90 minutes in San Luis’ 3-2 win vs. Indios de Ciudad de Juarez on Saturday.
  • Marco Vidal did not dress for Indios de Ciudad de Juarez
  • Daniel Hernandez started and played 90 minutes in Chiapas’ 2-1 win vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
  • Jesus Padilla{came off the bench and played one minute in Chivas de Guadalajara’s 2-2 tie vs. Tigres on Saturday.
  • Sammy Ochoa did not dress in Tecos’ 3-1 win vs. Atlas on Friday.
  • Sonny Guadamara did not dress in Morelia’s 1-0 loss to Santos Laguna on Sunday.

American-born Players Playing for Other Countries

  • Giuseppe Rossi (Italy) started and played 59 minutes in Villarreal’s 2-1 win vs. Real Betis on Saturday.
  • Edgar Castillo (Mexico) started and played 90 minutes in Santos Laguna’s 1-0 win vs. Tecos on Sunday.
  • Joe Lapira (Ireland) started and played 90 minutes Nybergsund’s 2-0 win vs. Haugesund on Sunday.
  • Brede Hangeland (Norway) started and played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 1-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
  • Boaz Myhill (Wales) started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Hull City’ 1-0 win vs. Tottenham on Sunday.

————————

If there are players I forgot to list feel free to list them below. Please remember that I’m trying to focus on first divisions and, in some cases, second divisions, so keep that in mind when suggesting players for the list.

Which performances impressed you? Which disappointed you? Are you starting to get worried by the lack of playing time for Altidore, Adu and Bradley?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

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    Reply
  2. didn’t get around to this thread until now, but if you’re interested in the Observer’s take on Dempsey, here’s the comment at the end:

    “Man of the match Jonathan Greening

    Clint Dempsey was on course for brownie points when orchestrating much of Fulham’s first-half play, but overall Greening’s drive, accurate distribution and …”

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/oct/05/premierleague.westbrom

    He had a good performance, better than I remember seeing from later on last season, hopefully he’ll start seeing more time.

    Reply
  3. So where did Matt Taylor come from? He was a forgettable MLS player, now he’s playing very well in Germany. is the 2nd level there that bad, or was he just not finding himself in the right place here?

    Reply
  4. “Ives: If there is a weekday game in Sweden, could you put the prior result in so that we don’t have to go hunting for how Davies did?”

    He played the full 90 for Hammarby’s game against IFK Gothenburg. Had 1 shot and 2 offsides called on him. Hammarby’s next game is a derby with DjurgÃ¥rden on October 20, also a Monday.

    Reply
  5. A bit late but just wanted to revisit Torres; from what I’ve seen he’s a small speedster who should definitely be in the NT mix — I am also excited that Bob made the choice, and looking forward to seeing more of the same. (Though not Cooper — why do people think that he will have better success in the NT than Twellman?) Anyhow re: Torres, it’s certainly garnered a lot of anger on some mexican message boards. Not so much because they think they lost a quality player, but just for loyalty / betrayal purposes it seems. Random sampling: http://www.mediotiempo.com/noticia/66156/francisco-torres-se-canso-de-esperar/

    btw, kudos to the posters there for doing an excellent job of circumventing the profanity filters.

    Reply
  6. “Clint Dempsey who came in for the first time this year, had a very good game, and that’s good to know, that there are players who haven’t featured so much so far, who are capable of going in and playing well.”

    _______________________________

    Did Roy really say this?

    Didn’t Clint lead this team in goals last year?

    I’m convinced that Roy is going senile.

    Reply
  7. Hopefully things change and many of the Yanks get quit riding pine, or whatever wood the Europeans like to use for their benches, and start getting regular PT. Definitely a little worrisome that many US mainstays are having trouble getting on the field. Even worse when you consider the calibre of some of the clubs. Not exactly the class of Europe…

    Reply
  8. hey Ives, I love this blog and I am pretty sure this yank abroad bit is one of your most popular pieces on the blog, but surely it must be a bit tedious and time consuming to write it all out. Couldn’t you just get away with writing say double the review at the beginning and cutting out the list? It is the most interesting part of the article anyway…

    big fan,

    Matt

    Reply
  9. LOI- Heh, I think we’re going to have to do it ourselves… Ireland’s club coefficient is how low, again?

    The previously mentioned Ryan Guy played the full 90 in St. Patrick Atheltic’s 1-0 at Finn Harps, apparently missing some chances according to eleven-a-side.com

    Later on I’ll compile a more complete list of American’s in Ireland, if there are any more…

    Reply
  10. It looks like Adu is finding the same fate at Monaco as he did at Benfica. Hopefully things change, and he can get some more playing time there.

    Also, I think Kofi is right. It would be nice to see Jozy get some playing time though.

    Reply
  11. I’d love to see more wins than losses for our international guys as a whole.

    As for Jozy, I can’t wait to see him get time on the pitch but let’s be real. He’s playing for the team that placed 2nd last year behind Barca and ahead of Real Madrid. And right now they are tied for first place. Just being there on that squad even if it is for only 6 months or a year is an amazing opportunity to cultivate his game. I do think we will see more of him on Villareal but not until a he has fully assimilated. The coaches there won’t take chances on any rookie until he’s truly made the grade.

    I’m keepin the faith

    Reply
  12. “Ryan – Newcastle’s goals were totally the fault of the defense, and not Howard. One was a header at the back post where the defender lost his man. The other was a cross across the face of the goal to an open man on the back side.”

    I thought, at least with respect to the first goal, right before halftime, that Timmy could have done better to get the cross before it got to the unmarked man at the back post. It was only a few yards out from goal, and there was nobody obstructing Timmy from getting to the ball.

    Reply
  13. Ives: If there is a weekday game in Sweden, could you put the prior result in so that we don’t have to go hunting for how Davies did?

    Something like, “Charlie Davies and Hammarby play IFK Goteborg on Monday. This past Wednesday, he played 90 mins in a tie against…”

    Reply
  14. You always mention Sweden but never mention the other THREE Americans playing in the Allsvenskan, Please show some parity:

    Ryan Raybould – Dressed but did not play in Gefle IF’s 1-1 draw against Ljunskile SK

    Colin Burns – Played 90 mins in goal for Ljungskile SK in a 1-1 draw with Gefle IF.

    Etchu Tabe – Played 30 mins in midfield for Ljungskile in a 1-1 draw with Gefle IF.

    Reply
  15. Yeah, Sean, if the Villareal strikers are healthy in January, I can see them loaning him to a lower tier side. It’s fine, what’s most important for Jozy is to use the excellent training there to refine his skills and conditioning. He could stand to get a little leaner.

    Reply
  16. altidore didn’t make the bench for villareal, neither did nihat kahveci. they have a very deep team. i’d expect to see him loaned out in the january transfer window

    Reply
  17. Ryan – Newcastle’s goals were totally the fault of the defense, and not Howard. One was a header at the back post where the defender lost his man. The other was a cross across the face of the goal to an open man on the back side.

    Reply
  18. “whats up with Jozy, how come he isnt getting any playing time?”

    Because Villareal also has Nihat and Rossi.

    What’s up with Howard? Is Everton’s defense just that bad? Howard is an iron gate for the US, but can’t stop giving up goals for Everton.

    Reply
  19. Yup, Boca and Rennes’ shut out should have gotten more play, 3-0 over Lyon is a quality accomplishment.

    On Dempsey, I missed the game, but was very glad to read in the Guardian’s write-up that he was “lively”. Considering his penchant for jogging around aimlessly on the pitch at times, that’s one of the best adjectives to toss his way.

    As bad as all the other DNP’s were, I have to say that Michael Bradley’s situation is giving me terrible flashbacks to Benny Feilhaber’s disastrous mover to Derby…

    Reply
  20. Has Cervi not officially signed for Celtic yet. I thought that was pretty much a done deal last week. I don’t expect him to play, or even dress, but I thought he had already linked up with the team.

    Reply
  21. No surprise Jozy isn’t seeing time. He’s got to climb quite the order. He was probably going to get loaned out until they had some injury issues at striker.

    Reply
  22. Dempsey looked good, it will be interesting to see if it earns him more time. Hodgson had this to say after the match:

    “clint dempsey who came in for the first time this year, had a very good game, and that’s good to know, that there are players who haven’t featured so much so far, who are capable of going in and playing well.”

    Reply
  23. Count me in among those concerned with the lack of playing time for our young guys. I’m really happy that Dempsey went 90 for Fulham, but Edu, Adu, Altidore, Bradley, Convey, Beasley, and Feilhaber didn’t play at all. Houston, we have a problem.

    Reply
  24. Dempsey played well but only got the start because Andy Johnson was sitting out a red card. Don’t think he can break back in to the starting 2 strikers but hopefully this bought him more playing time as a sub

    Reply
  25. Why does it seem like this list keeps getting longer and longer?

    Are there that many more Americans playing overseas, or is the word just starting to spread about the ones over there.

    Reply
  26. I do feel bad for brad friedel…the defense was non existent and it basically looked like he was facing a firing squad. And somehow friedel looked good doing it…god forbid something happen to howard..bb better be on this mans front door begging

    Reply
  27. +1 on the Dempsey comments.

    He had a couple of very good shots in the first half and was unlucky not to bag a goal – missing by narrow margins a couple of times.

    Reply
  28. “Taylor was the brightest of bright spots”

    Beg to differ. Seems to me that Bocanegra was the brightest star. Whereas Taylor plays in Bundesliga 2, Boca’s Rennes beat Lyon 3-0. Shutting out Lyon? That’s pretty good.

    As far as Dempsey goes, he played pretty well for the first 60 minutes, but disappeared for the last 30. Of course, that may have to do with the rest of Fulham, which seemed to play quite poorly for the last 30 minutes or so.

    Reply
  29. Dempsey started at forward and looked very good and very on it in the first half, setting up a couple of good chances and was very aggressive in shooting. But in the second half WBA came on very strong and increased the tempo and Dempsey had to start drifting back to get on the ball and wound up giving up a couple of frustration fouls as the ball stopped coming to him. Nevertheless, throughout the first half he was by far the greatest threat on the field and the commentators seemed to make a big thing out of this being a ‘show me something’ game with the manager.

    Anyway, he looked sharp and I am thrilled to think how the 90 mins will have him ready to play on saturday.

    Reply
  30. Its great to see Dempsey getting a start (full 90!) awesome. anyone know how he actually did though? Enough to get another start?

    Reply
  31. Borrussia ‘Gladbach sacked the coach following this weeks’ loss.

    Link-http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/8643628/Gladbach-fires-coach-Jos-Luhukay

    Guess you could see it coming. Hopefully the coach they bring in will be a fan of Bradley… But it seems to me, we may not hear from him for a while if the coach doesn’t know who he is…

    Reply

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