by GIANFRANCO PANIZO
Just three days after playing his most complete performance in a United States' jersey, midfielder Michael Bradley followed up his Columbus heroics by playing hero once again. This time scoring the equalizing goal for his club side Borussia Monchengladbach.
The 21-year-old followed up his brace against Mexico with a second-half goal for Moenchengladbach in their 1-1 draw against heavyweights Werder Bremen. The equalizer, which came in the 79th minute, saved Moenchengladbach from dropping three points as they attempt to climb their way out of the Bundesliga's relegation zone.
Bradley wasn't the only American to carry over his international successes to his club match this past weekend. In the battle of American goalkeepers Tim Howard contributed seven saves to help Everton to victory over Brad Friedel's Aston Villa in the FA Cup. Friedel tallied four saves but was beaten three times at Goodison Park.
But key figures in the United States national team continue to miss action. DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu and Freddy Adu were all passed up on during their respective team's matches. On the positive side of things, Steve Cherundolo's week off must have done him a world of good as he healed up enough to dress in Hannover 96's match this past weekend.
Here is how the rest of the Americans Abroad performed this week:
England
FA CUP
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Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made seven saves in Everton's 3-1 win vs. Aston Villa on Sunday.
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Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Aston Villa's 3-1 loss vs. Everton on Sunday.
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Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 3-1 loss vs. Everton on Sunday.
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Clint Dempsey came off the bench and played 30 minutes in Fulham's 1-1 draw vs. Swansea City on Saturday.
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Jonathan Spector dressed but did not play in West Ham's 1-1 draw vs. Middlesbrough on Saturday.
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Jay DeMerit started and played 90 minutes in Watford's 3-1 loss vs. Chelsea on Saturday.
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Eddie Johnson and Cardiff City play Arsenal on Monday in the FA Cup.
COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
- Frank Simek did not dress in Sheffield Wednesday's 1-0 loss vs. Doncaster Rovers on Saturday. He is recovering from an injury.
- Marcus Hahnemann and Reading were off this week.
LEAGUE ONE
- Jemal Johnson started and played 90 minutes in MK Don's 3-1 win vs. Hartlepool United on Saturday.
- Zac Whitbread started and played 90 minutes in Millwall's 2-2 draw vs. Stockport County on Saturday.
- Mike Grella came off the bench and played 16 minutes in Leeds United's 1-0 loss vs. Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
- Ian Joyce dressed but did not play in Southend's 2-1 win vs. Tranmere Rovers on Sunday.
Scotland
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DaMarcus Beasley did not dress in Rangers' 0-0 draw vs. Celtic on Sunday.
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Maurice Edu dressed but did not play in Rangers' 0-0 draw vs. Celtic on Sunday.
Germany
BUNDESLIGA
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Michael Bradley started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and scored a GOAL in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 1-1 draw vs. Werder Bremen on Saturday.
- Landon Donovan came off the bench and played 55 minutes in Bayern Munich's 2-1 loss vs. Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo dressed but did not play in Hannover 96's 3-3 draw vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
- Sal Zizzo did not dress in Hannover 96's 3-3 draw vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Heath Pearce and Hansa Rostock play SC Freiburg on Monday.
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Gregg Berhalter dressed but did not play in 1860 Munich's 2-1 win vs. Ahlen on Sunday.
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Luis Robles started and played 90 minutes in Kaiserslautern's 2-0 win vs. FC Ingolstadt 04 on Sunday.
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Matt Taylor did not dress in TUS Koblenz's 3-1 win vs. SV Wehen on Friday.
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David Yelldell started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in TUS Koblenz's 3-1 win vs. SV Wehen on Friday.
- Grover Gibson did not dress in Ahlen's 2-1 loss vs. 1860 Munich on Sunday.
Spain
- Jozy Altidore did not dress in Xerez's 2-1 win vs. UD Salamanca on Sunday.
Italy
- Danny Szetela dressed but did not play in Brescia's 1-0 loss vs. Ascoli on Saturday.
France
LIGUE 1
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Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in Rennes' 1-1 draw vs. AS Nancy Lorraine on Saturday.
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Freddy Adu did not dress in AS Monaco's 1-0 loss to Marseille on Sunday.
LIGUE 2
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Troyes' 1-0 loss vs. Nimes on Friday.
Belgium
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 67 minutes in Standard Liege's 4-0 win vs. AFC Tubize on Saturday.
- Jared Jeffrey did not play in Club Brugge's 2-0 loss to Racing Genk on Sunday.
Denmark
The Danish First Division is on winter break until March.
Austria
The Austrian Bundesliga is on break.
Mexico
- Jose Francisco Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 3-2 win vs. UNAM on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco did not dress in San Luis' 1-0 loss vs. UANL on Saturday.
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Marco Vidal did not dress in Indios de Ciudad Juarez's 1-0 loss to Toluca on Sunday.
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Daniel Hernandez did not dress in Chiapas' 0-0 draw vs. America on Saturday.
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Jesus Padilla did not dress in Chivas de Guadalajara's 2-1 loss to Santos Laguna on Sunday.
American-born Players Playing for Other Countries
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Giuseppe Rossi (Italy) started and played 90 minutes in Villarreal's 1-1 draw vs. Racing Santander on Sunday.
- Edgar Castillo (Mexico) started and played 72 minutes in America's 0-0 draw vs. Chiapas on Saturday.
- Brede Hangeland (Norway) started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 1-1 draw vs. Swansea City on Saturday in the FA Cup.
- Boaz Myhill (Wales) started, played 90 minutes and made seven saves in Hull City's 1-1draw vs. Sheffield United on Saturday in the FA Cup.
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What do you think of these performances? Happy to see Bradley playing well for both club and country? Think Tim Howard was Everton's Man of the Match against Aston Villa? Think DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu and Freddy Adu should make moves to new clubs once the summer transfer window rolls around? Eager to see Steve Cherundolo heal up completely?
Share your thoughts below.
Matt Taylor is injured according to Tus Koblenz press report before the Wehen game
MLS is League One quality? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!
English football is the most overrated sport in the world. Just because a player is in England, or from England people seem to think he is a world-caliber player. English League One is on par with the NCAA caliber football. As a matter of fact, the NCAA would be better, with better quality if it was professional and year round like the Cola League One. To say MLS is the same as League One is just plain stupid. MLS is there in the Cola Championship level, but certainly NOT League One.
When will people realize just because it’s English football that doesn’t mean is the BEST football.
When Johnson plays for a real club, then the USMNT will give him a look, not until then. MK Dons. Sheesh!
what the hell are you talking about jemal johnson not on,ly would start for every team in the mls but would score ten goals. mls is is league one quality. and not only does sztela need to move to a better club and will eventually but definetly will not be moving to the mls. you must have not have ever watched a european soccer game in your life.
Great for posting the WC 90 team… I keep telling people and now can prove to them that there are more players with “higher status” clubs in our under 21 then in that 90 team.
baloosh–LD kicked some serrrriiioousss butt last year too. I can’t wait to see him do it again if he comes back to MLS. ( Except to the Bulls ) He’s gonna let everybody know they’re missing out. I’m thinking 30 goals this year stateside.
Hey NATO,
Dida definitely is NOT a Top 10 keeper in the world. Maybe was at one time, but he doesn’t play for club or country much any more.
if donovan comes back to MLS after playing at bayern he is gonna rip the defenses to shreds until eventually fatigue kicks in around may or june
I would be a lttle less hard on Donovan than the others, but he’s not going to generate a transfer MLS will accept unless he seriously steps it up.
http://www.fcbayern.t-com.de/en/news/start/index.php?fcb_sid=e6b3bf6e601515641f975c10a2f6c8e1
Danny – Donovan was in poor from from the start, timid, too cautious and lost too much testosterone from his extending stay him in the US. He had a nice head on goal that was saved by the GK in style. He then flubbed a gift grom Ribery and also had one or two more chances he failed to convert. Regardless, either Donovan scores this weekend in place of an injured Toni or he is packing his bags elsewhere.
Donovan sucked ass in the Berlin match. Sorry, but there it is. He played like he was scared, couldn’t hold possession/got dispossessed easily, looked to backpass immediately, and didn’t come to the ball. On the two occasions where he got service in a dangerous situation, he muffed the chance. But even apart from the missed opportunities, he played poorly.
Baloosh – I asked the same question prior to the USMNT camp being called in. BB doesn’t know that he has two solid GKs in the 2BL. I think FCK is now at the point where it is trying to showcase Robles IOT sell him at season’s end. They like Sippel as the GK of FCK future, but they know it’s Robles quality GK helping them stay top of 2BL. Yelldell is good and is the only reason Koblenz isn’t pointless.
I wish everyone would stop saying Szetela needs to move to another club. He is in Serie B, if he can’t get minutes there his only option is MLS.
Jemal Johnson wouldn’t start for any team in the MLS so why would the USMNT give him a look?
I’m hoping Donovan is playing the way Klinsmann wants him to. He seems to be either running off the ball looking for a header or a quick pass-redirect – OR – lurking for a break-away counter attack. His only touches in the run of play are one-touch back passes with his back to the goal. I’ve not yet seen him attack the goal with the ball – but then again, that’s the LD we know, isn’t it? He did have 2 quality chances in the last match – that came from his off the ball movement, but he couldn’t finish.
did they have assists bcus jemal johson did. dont report unless you can report. we also enjoy a good cross, a shot on goal whatev! cut some guys out to report a real game that we are interested in.shots , assist, not just saves cus its easy. myp2p.eu
DC Josh-
“I’m still very confused by Beasley and Adu’s positions on their teams.
I know Beas is not in favor with the Rangers, but are they racist or something? How can he not produce for the team? It isn’t like he is a bad player. I don’t see how he can’t even get Eddie Johnson minutes.”
In short, yes, the huns are racist.
I onlt saw Donovan from about the 65th minute and on. He looked tentative, had few touches and off the ball spent more time running away from it. Also, didn’t take anyone on in the time I saw. I hope he has great success there (for the sake of the national team) but he made no case yesterday.
I watched the Bayern match – Toni was pulled off before half, don’t know why. Commentator said Klinsmann didn’t like his performance – but I thought it was typical Toni. LD came on & had two good chances – a first class glancing header and a neat one-touch redirect from a hard incoming pass. The keeper got to both. Darn! It was his chance to be the hero. Don’t finish and you’re the goat.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t watch the Bayern game. But the German media has severely criticized his performance. Apparently he missed a good chance.
Take a look back a generation 18 years ago and our big international player at the World Cup was Tony Meola playing for Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club in England.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_FIFA_World_Cup_squads
The reality is we have come a long way in not very much time.
Too many DNPs and DNDs for me…
Fulham will beat Swansea at Craven Cottage. Shame they drew Man U, but wonders happen.
Guzan should get a loan to a Bundesliga team.
Brad Friedel and Tim Howard are without a doubt 2 of the top10 GK’s in the world. And that list includes
Van Der Sar
Reina
Dida
Buffon
Cech
Casillas
Valdez
Given
Good points northzax.
In addition, never write a team off. Greece is ranked once place above us and won the European Championships. On any given day, with a run of good luck, magic can happen to a team with heart and skill
And having a squadron of elite players doesn’t guarantee you World Cup success either…it’s a short tournament and there is less levelling out. We’re at least decades off from producing players of Portugal or Holland’s caliber in that quantity and they’ve never won a World Cup. So nothing to get too uptight about
Looks like Rangers will be offloading Beasley to a La Liga or Bundesliga team. Hopefully some good performances in qualifying increases his interest.
Edu is in Ranger’s long term plans. He’s at least on the bench.
Mike F:
first off, we are hardly the largest country in the world, by any measure (Russia and Canada are bigger geographically, while China and India are far larger by population.)
second off, of course we can’t ‘seriously compete’ in the 2010 work cup, why is that the standard you use? we don’t have a superstar player yet. we are ranked 20th, and that’s about where we belong. the point is that if we continue to improve as we have over the past 15 years, we might have a shot at 2018-2022, when the current crop of 10-12 year olds is moving into the realm of playability. success for the US would be winning, sure, but advancing out of the group stage is a win for us. that should be the regular goal these days, and depending on the group, it’s perfectly possible. the downside is that our presence in a group is to be feared now, we’re likely to be in the group of death, as one of the best non-seeds.
There seems to be a ton of guys that look like they could make a move up into a bigger and better league: Robles, Szetela, Yelldell, Whitbread, Pearce, Johnson, and Hahnemann. Any chances of these guys moving any time soon?
Ives, I heard J. Johnson set up the second (game winning goal for MK Dons).
With our LW options seemingly limited to DMB and Rogers, (and maybe Convey), I’d say JJ deserves a look.
He’s playing DY-NO-MITE ball.
Anyone see the Bayern match? How did Donovan look in his extended time on the pitch?
Too many DNPs for us to seriously compete in a world cup. Simple as that. Guys need new teams, need to get better, or we need to identify and give chances to new talent. Probably all three. I just find it hard to believe in the largest country in the world we can only find the Chings, Hejducks, Pearces worthy of our national team.
Guys, don’t panic about Jozy dressing or not. He’s probably had two practices with the team, given the four-five day trip stateside. A manager won’t play a player who he’s not seen in training yet, right? Give him a full week of training and I’m sure he’ll get time.
anyone know why Jozy didn’t dress for Xerez?
Posted by: el granadero | February 15, 2009 at 05:14 PM
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Xerex could not find a dress that would fit Jozy. I am sure they have ordered one and will arrive soon.
I don’t like Jozy not dressing for Xerez. Sounds like he was better off continuing to practice with Villareal then practice with Xerez.
Marcus Hahnemann, will he ever play again for Reading? Since he’s been out their young backup has proven to be a worthy started.
Bring Run-DMB home. We need him playing in competitive league matches.
where are Yelldell and Robles on the US depth chart? or does perkins have that spot locked up tight?
Jozy hasn’t been dressing for Xerez since arriving. Probably because he’s not familiar with his teammates yet, so he’ll keep sitting until he is. I’m sure the U.S. midweek game didn’t help that.
I’m still very confused by Beasley and Adu’s positions on their teams.
I know Beas is not in favor with the Rangers, but are they racist or something? How can he not produce for the team? It isn’t like he is a bad player. I don’t see how he can’t even get Eddie Johnson minutes.
Freddy is such a phenomenal player when he plays with passion. Maybe he just isn’t showing he wants to be on the team and isn’t trying very hard in training. But again, he is too good a player for the coaching staff to let him rot in the stands, not even the bench.
Both of those players will move this summer. I hope they both come back to the MLS to help the competition over here.
Freddy, we’d be glad to have you back here in DC:)
anyone know why Jozy didn’t dress for Xerez?