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.
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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.