Photo by ISIphotos.com
Serving as Brad Friedel’s understudy at Aston Villa hasn’t given Brad Guzan many chance to show his stuff, but one of those precious opportunities finally came on Thursday and Guzan made the most of it. The former Chivas USA netminder made nine saves in a standout performance to help Aston Villa defeat Slavia Prague, 1-0, in UEFA Cup action on Thursday.
With Friedel getting a rest, Guzan made several highlight-reel quality saves to impress in his Villa debut. The performance may or may not have marked the first shutout by an American goalkeeper with hair in England since Kasey Keller’s Millwall days.
What do you think of Guzan’s debut? Glad to see him finally get a game? Do you see Guzan getting more playing time? Will he head out on loan to get more games?
Share your thoughts on Guzan’s debut below.
great result for villa away from home,couple good saves by brad.
I guess Ives isn’t counting that thing under Marcus Hahnemann’s lower lip.
GREAT for Guzan and US Soccer. I didn’t get to see the game, but sounds like a stellar performance.
Isaac: was that joy or fear (!) that you expressed about Lalas in the pre-game show.
Personally, I remember the days when Alexi used to do soccer show on ESPN (2?) with Rob Stone, I think. He made me crack up every single time. I actually looked forward to the show, solely because of Alexi. I hope he does return to showmanship in some form. He is very creative and funny–I don’t care what you think of his GM-ing.
Joamiq:
Spurs have hardly set the Premiership and Europe alight in the last ten seasons. Spurs have finished 5th twice during that time–rarely cracking the top ten in the other eight seasons–while going through 7 managers in 7 seasons. But you’ll sign a few big names in this offseason (like Gomes) and believe that you’ll finally, finally crack the top 4. Then you’ll finish 12th.
Villa will finish ahead of you for the second consecutive season and may, just may, hurdle Arsenal for a spot in the top 4. Of course, you may get up to 10th, and that’s good.
Sorry, I meant when he caught Mendosa/Ruiz in the face region.
I just wish he would do something about that scar tissue on his lip from when he face planted into the post in MLS. It still kind of creeps me out and brings back memories of watching that video.
Spurs is where GKs go to die. He doesnt need to go anywhere, yet. Even Tim Howard was at Man U for at least a year before his loan deal. Bide his time behind Friedel, who is probably one of the top 3 GKs in England, and he might be a starter following the 2010 WC, maybe sooner.
EL GUZANO
Villain from Texas: Spurs are the same sad story every season? Really? When was the last time Villa got past the first round of UEFA? When was the last time Villa even made UEFA? Right.
Glad Guzman performed well in this game after his awful game against T&T. Maybe he does have a future with the USMT after all, but he has a way to go yet.
He definitely had some solid stops, but boy, does he ever look nervy on crosses — Timmy had to improve in that area before he was able to nail down a starting spot in the EPL and Brad will, too.
nvm, found em without any sound
http://supergoller.blogspot.com/2008/11/slavia-prague-aston-villa-0-1-video.html
anyone got links to highlights?
NOLA, um, you missed the “with hair” part. It was partly a joke, but not that far off (Brad Friedel still had some hair at Liverpool so maybe he had one).
Really the first us shutout since keller at millwall?
makes me wonder about howard…has he really never had a shutout in epl play?
Alex: “I think Tottenham should consider him, but lack of international experience probably wont let that happen.”
Why would Guzan leave Villa for Spurs? Spurs are the same sad story every season. Guzan is without a doubt our keeper of the future at Villa, and he is here to stay. Spurs could only be so lucky.
As a Villa fan and an American, I was thrilled to see Guzan’s performance today. He is still a bit unpolished and mistake prone, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Today, though, he was CLASS.
Personally, I think Guzan could have done better.
onyewu played the full 90 in a 1-0 win over sevilla
he’ll be at villa park until their various cup runs are over, then he’ll go get 90 a week in the soda league.
Great for Guzan, but too bad it had to be against my favorite team.
Very glad Guzan got the start and the win. Hope he keeps progressing. 🙂
Ives, no commentary for Fire-Revs?
Parkhurst just cleared a shot off the line from Rolfe.
….Alexi Lalas said SOB….like the abbreviation not the actual words….
I managed to catch the last 70 minutes of the game via stream and Guzan without a doubt was MOTM. He looked superb. I never doubt his reflex ability but it’s the other areas that impressed me. The way he commanded the back four in front of him, the way he focused on the ball when coming for crosses, the way he cut the angles down, and his distribution were all class. Those are the areas that have been the biggest concern and based on this game and what I saw recently with the national team, he is rounding into a fine keeper. I can only imagine what influence Friedel has had. It is always tough, no matter the club and what league you come from, to get a result at Slavia with hostile and boisterous atmosphere. Guzan passed the test. He was under heavy siege most of the second half. Slavia were unlucky not to level the match. Kudos for O’Neill for giving Guzan the opportunity. It’s such a luxury having two keepers you can depend on.
HOLY CRAP ALEXI LALAS IS HELPING ROB STONE IN THE PRE GAME SHOW!!!!
. . . with HAIR . . . lol, Ives, thanks for the chuckle! 🙂 Have a great day, sir!
It’s great news, but this actually wasn’t Guzan’s debut. His first game with Aston Villa was in the Carling Cup against QPR (Aston Villa lost).
Guzan better get more chances like this to keep himself sharp. What are the chances of Hahneman or Troy Perkins or Chris Seitz being our no3 on the roster for the WC 2010?
Guzan is our no2 and i bet will be our no1 come World Cup 2014
It’s been looking like Guzan is losing his hair the last couple of years. He won’t become a full-time starter until he goes bald.
Time to get the razor out Brad.
Great start…check out the player ratings on the BBC – pretty impressive! It seems like loaning out the back-up keeper to another team is a pretty common practice in the EPL and I’m sure lots of interest after this….Championship would be a good place for him to get used to the speed.
Exactly my thought – that’s your line of the month, Ives
” . . . the first shutout by a American goalkeeper with hair in England since Kasey Keller’s Millwall days.”
Thanks Ives, Just made my day! LOL!
I’m sure that Chivas USA would love to have him back right about now….
Dope.
I think Tottenham should consider him, but lack of international experience probably wont let that happen