Jozy Altidore didn't score a goal, nor was he one of the standouts for Villarreal against Getafe on Saturday, but the fact is the young American striker played 90 minutes in a crucial La Liga match and didn't look out of place.
Altidore didn't score in his second straight league start, but he did have a header that forced a save and eventually led to Villarreal's first goal as the 'Yellow Submarine' rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to salvage a 3-3 tie.
It was a mixed week for Americans Abroad, with Altidore's start among the bright spots. Another of the bright spots was U.S. national team defender Frank Simek making his first start in 14 months after being sidelined by major ankle surgery. He got beaten for a goal but settled down and played a strong game for Sheffield Wednesday in a 1-1 tie against Southampton.
Brad Friedel got the better of Tim Howard in the battle of America's best goalkeepers as Everton's defense left Howard out to dry in a 3-2 Aston Villa victory that included an unbelievable ending.
Other positives including DaMarcus Beasley earning the start in a Rangers blowout, Freddy Adu getting off the Monaco bench for some minutes in a weekend loss and Luis Robles recording the shutout for Kaiserslautern in a scoreless draw vs. Duisburg.
Here is how the rest of the Americans Abroad did this weekend:
ENGLAND
PREMIER LEAGUE
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made five saves in Aston Villa's 3-2 win vs. Everton on Sunday.
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made three saves for Everton.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play for Aston Villa.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 1-1 tie vs. Manchester City on Saturday.
- Jonathan Spector and West Ham face Tottenham on Monday.
COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Sheffield Wednesday's 1-1 tie vs. Southampton on Saturday.
- Jay DeMerit did not dress in Watford's 3-2 loss to Birmingham on Saturday. He was sidelined with a groin injury suffered in Watford's 2-1 Carling Cup loss to Tottenham. DeMerit started and played 57 minutes vs. Tottenham.
- Eddie!Johnson did not dress in Cardiff City's 1-0 win vs. Preston North End on Saturday. He missed the match with a badly bruised foot.
- Marcus Hahnemann started, played 90 minutes and made nine saves in Reading's 1-0 victory against Barnsley on Saturday.
- Bobby Convey did not dress for Reading.
SCOTLAND
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 78 minutes in Rangers' 7-1 win vs. Hamilton Academical on Saturday.
- Maurice Edu dressed but did not play for Rangers.
GERMANY
BUNDESLIGA
- Michael Bradley came off the bench and played 23 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 3-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo did not dress in Hannover 96's 2-1 loss to VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday. He suffered an injury last week vs. Karlsruhe.
- Sal Zizzo did not dress for Hannover 96.
- Neven Subotic started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Dortmund's 0-0 tie vs. Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Luis Robles started, played 90 minutes and made one save in Kaiserslautern's 0-0 tie vs. MSV Duisburg on Sunday.
- David Yelldell started, played 90 minutes and made eight saves in TUS Koblenz's 3-2 loss to St. Pauli on Sunday.
- Matt Taylor started and played 90 minutes for TUS Koblenz.
- Grover Gibson came off the bench and played 26 minutes in Ahlen's 2-1 loss to VfL Osnabruck on Sunday.
- Gregg Berhalter started and played 90 minutes in 1860 Munich's 2-0 loss to Alemania Aachen on Friday.
- Heath Pearce and Hansa Rostock face Nurnberg on Monday.
SPAIN
- Jozy Altidore started and played 90 minutes in Villarreal's 3-3 tie vs. Getafe on Saturday.
ITALY
SERIE B
- Danny Szetela did not dress in Brescia's 1-0 win vs. Albinoleffe on Saturday.
FRANCE
LIGUE 1
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in Rennes' 1-1 tie vs. Caen on Saturday.
- Freddy Adu came off the bench and played nine minutes in AS Monaco's 1-1 tie vs. Sochaux on Sunday.
LIGUE 2
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Troyes' 1-1 vs. Dijon FCO on Friday.
BELGIUM
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Standard Liege's 2-1 loss to Zulte-Waregem on Saturday.
DENMARK
- Jeremiah White, Benny Feilhaber and AGF Aarhus face CF Nordsjaelland on Monday.
- Danny Califf started, played 77minutes and drew a yellow card in FC Midtjylland's 1-1 tie vs. Sonderjyske on Sunday.
- Lee Nguyen came off the bench and played 19 minutes in Randers' 2-1 loss to AaB on Sunday.
- Tally Hall dressed did not in Ejsberg's 1-1 tie vs. Vesjle on Sunday.
AUSTRIA
- Preston Zimmerman started and played 90 minutes in Kapfenberg SV's 3-1 win vs. SV Mattersburg on Satuday.
American-born Players Playing for Other Countries
- Giuseppe Rossi (Italy) started, played 90 minutes and scored a goal in Villarreal's 3-3 tie vs. Getafe on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo (Mexico) started, played 90 minutes and scored a goal in Santos Laguna's 2-1 Mexican Apertura playoff semifinal loss to Toluca on Sunday.
- Brede Hangeland (Norway) started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 1-1 tie vs. Manchester City on Saturday.
- Boaz Myhill (Wales) started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Hull City's 2-1 win vs. Middlesbrough on Saturday.
————————
What do you think of these performances? Happy to see Frank Simek making his way back into the starting lineup? Glad to see Beasley earning a start? Disappointed with Altidore's performance, or encouraged by the fact that he was left on the field for 90 minutes and made his second straight start for a powerhouse like Villarreal?
Share your thoughts below.