Jozy Altidore’s best birthday present came five days early, in the form of his first goal in Europe. Altidore came on as a 90th minute sub and promptly scored just seconds later in Villarreal’s 4-1 win vs. Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
The landmark goal, which came just days before Altidore’s 19th birthday, was just one of several highlights for Americans Abroad this weekend. Jeremiah White and Clarence Goodson both scored game-winning goals while Tim Howard posted a shutout for Everton against Clint Dempsey’s Fulham in other key highlights among Americans Abroad.
It wasn’t all good news. Freddy Adu failed to make the bench for Monaco, Michael Bradley started out on the bench for Borussia Moenchengladbach and Dempsey was given two minutes of playing time by Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, who is quickly becoming the most hated European club manager among American soccer fans.
Here is a rundown of how Americans Abroad did this past weekend:
ENGLAND
PREMIER LEAGUE
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Everton’s 1-0 win vs. Fulham on Saturday.
- Clint Dempsey came off the bench, played two minutes for Fulham.
- Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan and Aston Villa play Newcastle United on Monday.
- Jonathan Spector did not dress in West Ham’s 1-1 tie vs. Middlesbrough on Saturday.
COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
- Marcus Hahnemann started, played 90 minutes and made seven saves in Reading’s 4-1 win vs. Bristol City on Saturday.
- BobbycConvey did not dress for Reading.
- Jay DeMerit started and played 90 minutes in Watford’s 4-3 loss to Blackpool on Saturday.
- Frank Simek did not dress in Sheffield Wednesday’s 1-1 tie vs. Crystal Palace on Saturday.
- Eddie!Johnson came off the bench and played 35 minutes in Cardiff City’s 2-1 loss to Wolverhampton on Saturday.
SCOTLAND
- DaMarcus Beasley came off the bench and played 16 minutes in Rangers’ 5-0 win vs. Inverness CT on Saturday.
- Maurice Edu dressed but did not play for Rangers.
- Mike Videira did not dress in Hamilton’s 2-0 loss to Motherwell on Saturday.
GERMANY
BUNDESLIGA
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96’s 3-0 win vs. Hamburg on Saturday.
- Sal Zizzo did not dress for Hannover 96.
- Michael Bradley came off the bench and played 34 minutes in BorussiaIMoenchengladbach’s 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
- Neven Subotic started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-1 tie vs. VFL Bochum on Sunday.
- Brian Arguez did not dress in Hertha Berlin’s 5-1 loss to Werder Bremen on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Heath Pearce came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Hansa Rostock’s 1-0 loss to RW Oberhausen on Sunday.
- David Yelldell started, played 90 minutes and made one save in TUS Koblenz’s 1-1 tie vs. Duisberg on Sunday.
- Matt Taylor started and played 72 minutes for TUS Koblenz.
- Gregg Berhalter and 1860 Munich face Luis Robles and Kaiserslautern Monday.
- Grover Gibson came off the bench and played eight minutes in Ahlen’s 2-0 loss to Mainz 05 on Sunday.
SPAIN
- Jozy Altidore came off the bench, played one minute, and scored his first La Liga GOAL in Villarreal’s 4-1 win vs. Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
ITALY
SERIE B
- Danny Szetela and Brescia face Livorno on Monday.
FRANCE
LIGUE 1
- Carlos Bocanegra started, played 90 minutes and drew a yellow card in Rennes’ 1-0 win vs. Sochaux on Sunday.
- Freddy Adu did not dress in Monaco’s 3-2 win vs. Le Havre on Sunday.
- Andrew Jacobson did not dress in Lorient’s 1-1 tie vs. Grenoble on Saturday.
LIGUE 2
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Troyes’ 1-1 tie vs. SC Amiens on Friday.
BELGIUM
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Standard Liege’s 2-1 loss to Royal Charleroi SC on Friday.
DENMARK
- Jeremiah White started, played 81 minutes and scored the game-winning GOAL in AGF Aarhus’ 2-1 win vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.
- Danny Califf did not dress for FC Midtjylland.
- Benny Feilhaber did not play for AGF Aarhus.
- Lee Nguyen came off the bench and played seven minutes in Randers’ 4-1 win vs. Sonderjyske on Sunday.
- Tally Hall dressed but did not play in Ejsberg’s 1-1 tie vs. FC Nordsjaelland on Sunday.
NORWAY
FIRST DIVISION
- Troy Perkins started and played 90 minutes in Valarenga’s 1-0 loss to SK Brann on Sunday.
- Adin Brown did not play in Aalesunds’ 3-0 win vs. Lillestrom on Sunday. He is out for the season with an injury.
SECOND DIVISION
- Cam Weaver did not dress in Haugesund’s 2-2 vs. Moss on Saturday.
- Clarence Goodson started, played 90 minutes and scored the game-winning GOAL in IK Start’s 1-0 win vs. Notodden on Saturday.
- Kyle Veris did not dress in Hodd’s 3-0 loss to Sogndal on Saturday.
- Jay Needham started and played 90 minutes in Alta’s 3-0 loss to Loev-Ham on Saturday.
SWEDEN
- Charlie Davies and Hammarby face Malmo on Monday.
- Ryan Raybould did not dress in Gefle IF’s 3-3 tie vs. Trelleborgs FF on Sunday.
- Colin Burns started and played 90 minutes in Ljunskile’s 3-0 loss to GAIS on Saturday.
- Etche Tabe dressed but did not play for Ljunskile.
MEXICO
- Jose Francisco Torres started and played 78 minutes in Pachuca’s 2-1 win vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
- Daniel Hernandez started, played 63 minutes and drew a red card in Chiapas’ 5-2 loss to Morelia on Sunday.
- Sonny Guadamara did not dress for Morelia.
- Michael Orozco started and played 90 minutes in San Luis’ 1-1 tie vs. Necaxa on Saturday.
- Marco Vidal did not dress in Indios de Ciudad de Juarez’s 1-0 win vs. Puebla on Saturday.
- Jesus Padilla{did not dress in Chivas de Guadalajara’s 1-1 tie vs. UNAM Pumas.
- Sammy Ochoa did not dress in Tecos’ 3-1 loss to Club America on Friday.
American-born Players Playing for Other Countries
- Giuseppe Rossi (Italy) started, played 63 minutes and scored a GOAL in Villarreal’s 4-1 win vs. Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo (Mexico) started and played 90 minutes in Santos Laguna’s 1-1 tie vs. Tigres on Sunday.
- Joe Lapira (Ireland) started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Nybergsund’s 2-0 win vs. Sandness on Saturday.
- Brede Hangeland (Norway) started and played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 1-0 loss to Everton on Saturday.
- Boaz Myhill (Wales) started, played 90 minutes and made five saves in Hull City’ 4-3 loss to Manchester United on Saturday.
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What do you think of these performances? Share your thoughts below.
Piggybacking on theTim’s post – it makes sense not to include players until they start dressing, but any chance you can work something up on Nazzani in particular, or Torres? Nazzani seemed like such a highly regarded prospect with no previous ties to the US I’m curious what the story is and whether he’s just using us for exposure or wants to play US long-term.
Also, wouldn’t Sonny Guadamarra fall into the “Americans for Other Countries” category? I guess he’s still technically eligible, but that door seemed pretty well closed when the US players voted against him returning.
Other than that, incredibly disappointing and perplexing news with Adu, although Jozy and Davies getting goals makes up for it.
Charlie Davies scored a goal and had another shot on goal in Hammarby’s 6-3 loss to Malmö.
Friedel gives up 2 today, and Szetela comes into the game in the 83rd. Both of their teams lost.
Drew-ROC: The spanish channels count up to 45 in the first half, and then start again at zero and count up to 45 again. You have to check the corner of the box and see if it has a 1 or 2 to see what half they are in.
Paul beat me to the punch, but I was thinking pretty much the same thing.
However, while I understand the need to develop chemistry, there should also be a point in the game, and before the 87th minute, when it makes sense to try something different and score some goals.
They may yet develop that chemistry, but you just hope it doesn’t come at the point where it doesn’t matter for this season and they are only going to get to apply that new found chemistry in the Championship in ’09 – ’10.
Re: Hodgson and Fulham — it’s one thing to build chemistry through a consistent starting 11, but an entirely different matter to bury subs on your bench. The former does not require the latter. And the latter will come back to bite you when injuries, suspensions, etc. force you to use those forgotten benchwarmers.
Jay DeMerit news…
Boothroyd leaves Watford
Watford have parted company with manager Adrian Boothroyd by mutual consent with the Hornets only out of the Championship drop zone on goal difference.
Charlie Davies scored another goal today… he is quickly becoming a dominant striker
Drew, they usually will count up to 45 minutes for both halves in mexico and you’ll see a #1 on the left or a #2 depending on the half.
I’ve never seen a coach not use his subs like Roy H has been…
I’m a big Fulham fan, so I’ve been following this Dempsey playing debacle all season so far.
And the only logical explanation I can come up with is that Hodgson — being the true Englishman he is — likes playing it “safe and sure” with Gera.
Anyone with a eyes sees that Dempsey is much better, and shows more desire. But he’s also prone to dribble through defenders and hand over possession on a whim. Gera is a ghost who doesn’t really do much offensively besides hit posts, but also isn’t a liability on defense.
Objectively its absolute crap. But I really can’t comprehend any other explanation. Same goes for Nevland.
I watched most of the Cardiff game. Eddie did play better, with only bad luck keeping him from scoring an equalizer on a pretty nice half-volley. However, he still looks clueless a lot of the time and it took BOTH strikers getting injured for Cardiff to bring him on. When the first one went down, they brought on a defender and shuffled the other starters around.
Zach – agreed. Every EPL manager has to have at least 4 strong strikers. Dempsey is clearly #3 and will get time accordingly. I’m not sure that anyone could argue that he deserves a start over Zamora or AJ but for his sake, it would be nice if he could go somewhere that he would be in the starting 11 – might be the Championship. That being said, EPL managers don’t usually trade their 3rd striker mid-season – too important. Usually the 4th who goes on loan.
Speaking of the Championship as mentioned above, EJ should finally see significant playing time as both of Cardiff’s strikers went down with injuries. It’s now or never – let’s see what he does with it.
roy hodgeson is a good coach and is making fulham a better team. his sole goal is not to give dempsey minutes, but to win for the club. That being said, I want to see Dempsey play more, but I like roy’s leadership. If Dempsey doesn’t get more time under Roy, then I hope he gets transferred somewhere else where he will get the start. Then I will most likely become a big fan of that team. Come on you Whites.
Convey – well…he started the season going gangbusters. Played preseason and first few games of regular season at left wing while Stephen Hunt played left back. Then Reading picked up a left back, Hunt moved to left wing and Bobby on the bench. REading has a deep midfield and Convey has been fighting to dress. He also was injured based on lack of presence in the reserve matches.
I would love to hear what Ives says but here is my take. Hunt is probably going to transfer in January which means Convey goes to starting 11 at left wing. I suspect that is why he is not being loaned out which I would have thought Reading would do under normal circumstances. His contract is up next summer so I would think that Reading would try to sell him or loan him except that come January, they are probably going to need him.
Yes, what’s happening with Bobby Convey?
So we sailed on to the sun,
Till we found the sea of green,
And we lived beneath the waves…
I love Fulham and Dempsey. I think you will see Clint get more time and eventually replace Gera. Hooray for Jozy!
Thanks Brett…I didn’t think that team looked right, but I pulled it from Ives’ post (guessing he got it from ussoccer.com).
When was the last time Convey dressed for a game?
And, speaking as a Fulham fan, I don’t really understand why people think that Dempsey should just be given a starting spot on the team. He’s been far too inconsistent for the past 2+ seasons to deserve being handed the starting position.
I was watching the Pachuca-Cruz Azul game and I could have sworn the clock said 34:00 minutes when JFT came off the field. Do they run the clock down in FMF games? Or do they run the time separate for both halves?
Ives,
Just FYI, but Aalesunds actually beat Lillestrom yesterday, the scoreline being the same. Aalesunds plays this coming Saturday in a home and away playoff against Sogndal to see if AaFK stays up in the Norwegian Premier League for 2009.
There is no reason for Adu not to play — the team is awful, boring, and unimaginative, and could really use his energy and creativity. It is mystifying.
TheTim- Nazzani plays for bologna…. he’s currently out with a thigh strain ( i believe) and may end up missing the Madrid camp….
anyhow, i believe Ives has stated that he only points out the players who make the 18 (or at least have made the 18)… both bernardo and nazzani play on the Primavera team… both of which are highly regarded and both would be great additions to the US player pool…
Anyone at all disheartened about the fact that White is playing and thriving while Benny is not even making it into the squad @ Aarhus? Anything on that one Ives? Injury? Bust-up?
As info… Cardiff’s strikers both went down with hammy injuries. Eddie Johnson came on and played very well by his standards (I know that is not hat high). Even the folks on the Cardiff MBs who think he is a donkey said he played well. Expect a start or two out of him over the next few matches. I think he is going to score soon.
Hey Ives-
Any chance you could add some of the guys recently named to the U-20 squad? Here are the guys playing abroad:
Kyle Davies (Southampton FC)
Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin)
Gregory Garza (Sporting Lisbon)
Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge)
Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin)
Giuseppe Nazzani (Reggio Emilia, Italy)
Vincenzo Bernardo (SSC Napoli)
Jose Torres (Loros de Colina).
Thanks, T
He’s going to take Recreativo de Huelva up the table baby! The oldest club in Spain.
A couple of Jozy quotes in Marca here:
http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/futbol/1a_division/villarreal/es/desarrollo/1180552.html
Since I first thought that he would get loaned out, I think that it’s a great sign that he’s stayed with the 1st team and is making appearances… and now has scored a goal!
Im beginning to get worried abut freddy adu. He figures to be a huge part of the national team set-up for 2010, yet he cant see the field with monaco. Something is going on, and he needs to fix it fast, because if hes not playing club soccer reguraly then being a starter in 2010 will be unlikely. This would be a shame. Come on FREDDY!!
good comprehensive list ives. YAY JOSMER!!! WTF DEMPSEY???
I don’t blame Roy, his side is better than it was last year. Maybe Dempsey will be the next to leave. Where do you think he will go?
Yeah, the lack of goals for Fulham is worrying. Andy Johnson bagged 2 against Wigan midweek, hopefully he is still integrating himself into the team and will score many more.
Clint scored 6 league goals last year and i believe all came when he was playing as a striker. Later in the season when he was in the midfield he was not scoring. With the current forwards at Fulham it is highly unlikely that Clint will be featured up front. That leaves him competing for a midfield spot.
Adam’s point is spot on that Hodgson wants to develop understanding and flow among his consistent starting 11. I want to see Dempsey playing too but Hodgson’s IDEA makes sense. But after a while, Good Ol’ Roy needs to notice that his team has scored 8 goals in 11 matches. Yuck.
Official time of Jozy goal was 16 seconds from the time he came on.
GOOD JOB JOZY
OUR NATIONAL TEAM STARTING DEFENSE ARE THE ONLY ONES GETTING CONSITENT PLAYING TIME.
DEMPSEY,ADU,NGUEYN (LEE IS REALLY GOOD, RAW BUT CAN DEVELOP INTO A GREAT PLAYER ONE DAY. NEED MORE PLAYING TIME.
DA FOWORDS NEED TO SCORE GOALS AS THEY HAVE BEEN RECENTLY. GOOD JOB.
CHARLIE DAVIS IS A GREAT PROSPECT, DANNY SZETELA, JOZY, COOPER ARE THE FUTURE. PLEASE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP.
Maybe Adu belongs in a small team in Spain?
Maybe the problem is with Freddy and his inconsistent skills and his well-documented bad relationships with coaches.
Regarding Roy Hodgson, it seems his approach is to develop team chemistry through continuity. By playing the same starting 11 he hopes the team will create the chemistry necessary to play the kind of game he wants to play. That being a quick 1 touch passing game, advancing the ball on the ground.
Good for him. That is the way the game should be played. And, for the most part, he is achieving this. Fulham are a much better team than last year. The problem is that so are all the other teams. So, all things being basically equal, Fulham is still a bottom half team fighting relegation. This is not Hodgson’s fault, it is the reality of Fulham Football Club.
I think most Fulham faithful (those living in the SW6) do want to see Dempsey given a chance in the starting 11. He has earned it. So who in the side doesnt merit their place in the team? Who should Clint replace? What position does Clint play? I would like to see him come in for Gera.
does anyone know what position Bradley is playing for Mochengladbach? Is it a D-Mid or more of an attacking role? Just curious.
oh and Roy Hodgson is not a good coach. Fulham will face a relegation battle again this year, but hopefully Dempsey will be playing for another team by that time.
Jozy’s goal was pure class, and only being a year older than him, I truly realize the special things he is doing as an 18 year old kid. He just scored in a big time league with a big time team. Big things to come for this kid from New Jersey.
Yeah, I don’t like Hodgson. Apart from my US Nats bias, I have hardly any faith in his as a club manager
Hodgson just wants to save face by starting these “stars” he brought in. Gera, Zamora, and AJ will start for the time being over Dempsey, that is until Hodgson can deal with his pride issue.
its still disheartening to see so many top americans still languishing on the bench or not even dressing for a game. its not like they are injured.
And with the whole Fullham thing. that is pure crap. Dempsey has paid his debt and proven he is an effective player.
As much as YA fans might be annoyed with Hodgson, Ricardo is easily the most hated right now.
i’d really like to know what is going on in monaco- is there some sort of rift between freddie and the coach, is he not playing well when has has had a chance? i just don’t know anything about the situation.
i’d also like to know what is happening with dempsey. it seems that most times i read about when he went on, he was the best man on the pitch. but his minutes seem to be very limited.
if anyone can shed light on either of these, it’d be much appreciated.
way to go jozy!!!!