Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

After months of inactivity in the Scottish Premier League, midfielder Maurice Edu was penned into the Rangers' starting eleven in their 1-0 victory over Hamilton Academical on Saturday. The former Toronto FC player enjoyed his first start in league play since September and drew rave-reviews from head coach Walter Smith. Edu's International teammate, DaMarcus Beasley, just recovered from a minor injury and made the bench for Rangers, but did not see time on the pitch on Saturday.

Steve Cherundolo also returned to action this weekend, overcoming a hamstring injury to earn the start and play 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 1-0 victory against Bayer Leverkusen.

Michael Bradley also enjoyed a solid performance this weekend. Trailing Hertha Berlin, 2-0, Bradley cut the deficit in half when he was given the responsibility of taking Borussia Moenchengladbach's penalty kick in the 69th minute.

Michael Parkhurst opened up his Americans Abroad campaign this weekend as the Danish SuperLiga resumed its season. Parkhurst played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-1 draw with Vejle.

Here is how the rest of the Americans Abroad did this week:

England

PREMIER LEAGUE

COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP

LEAGUE ONE

• Jemal Johnson started and played 90 minutes in MK Don's 2-2 draw vs. Leicester City on Saturday.

• Zak Whitbread started and played 90 minutes in Millwall's 3-2 loss vs. Oldham Athletic on Saturday.

• Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Leeds United's 3-2 win vs. Scunthorpe United on Saturday.

• Ian Joyce dressed but did not play in Southend United's 2-1 win vs. Peterborough United on Saturday.

Scotland

• DaMarcus Beasley dressed but did not play in Rangers' 1-0 win vs. Hamilton Academical on Saturday.

• Maurice Edu started and played 90 minutes in Rangers' 1-0 win vs. Hamilton Academical on Saturday.

Germany

BUNDESLIGA

• Landon Donovan came off the bench and played 13 minutes in Bayern Munich's 0-0 draw vs. Werder Bremen on Sunday.

• Michael Bradley started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 2-1 loss vs. Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

• Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 1-0 win vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

• Sal Zizzo dressed but did not play in Hannover 96's 1-0 win vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

BUNDESLIGA 2

• Heath Pearce dressed but did not play in Hansa Rostock's 0-0 draw vs. Ahlen on Friday.

• Gregg Berhalter did not dress in 1860 Munich's 5-1 win vs. St Pauli on Sunday.

• Luis Robles started, played 90 minutes and made one save in Kaiserslautern's 2-1 loss vs. SpVgg Greuther Furth on Sunday.

• Matt Taylor came off the bench and played 45 minutes in TUS Koblenz's 2-0 win vs. FC Augsburg on Sunday.

• David Yelldell started, played 90 minutes and made five saves in TUS Koblenz's 2-0 win vs. FC Augsburg on Sunday.

• Grover Gibson did not dress in Ahlen's 0-0 draw vs. Hansa Rostock on Friday. 

Spain

• Jozy Altidore did not dress in Xerez's 1-1 draw vs. Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

Italy

• Danny Szetela dressed but did not play in Brescia's 3-0 win vs. Frosinone on Saturday.

France

LIGUE 1

• Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in Rennes' 1-1 tie vs. Lyon on Sunday.

• Freddy Adu did not dress in AS Monaco's 2-2 draw vs. St Etienne on Sunday.

LIGUE 2

• Quentin Westberg and Troyes play Lens on Monday.

Belgium

• Oguchi Onyewu started and played 80 minutes in Standard Liege's 4-0 win vs. Cercle Brugge on Sunday.

• Jared Jeffrey did not dress in Club Brugge's 2-1 win vs. Roeselare on Saturday. Jeffrey is with the U.S. Under-20 national team.

Denmark

• Dan Califf did not dress in FC Midtjylland's 1-1 tie vs. Ejsberg on Saturday.
• Jeremiah White started and played 77 minutes in AGF Aarhus' 2-1 loss vs. Randers FC on Sunday.
• Benny Feilhaber did not dress in AGF Aarhus' 2-1 loss vs. Randers FC on Sunday.
• Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-1 draw vs. Vejle on Sunday.
• Marcus Tracy did not play in Aalborg BK's 1-0 win vs. AC Horsens on Sunday.

Austria

• Preston Zimmerman started and played 90 minutes in Kapfenberg SV's 3-1 win vs. SK Sturm Graz on Saturday.

Mexico

• Jose Francisco Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 5-0 loss vs. Guadalajara on Saturday.

• Michael Orozco and San Luis face Club America on Sunday evening.

• Marco Vidal did not dress in Indios de Ciudad Juarez's 1-1 draw vs. Chiapas on Sunday.

• Daniel Hernandez did not dress in Chiapas' 1-1 draw vs. Indios de Ciudad Juarez on Sunday.

• Jesus Padilla did not dress in Chivas de Guadalajara's 5-0 win vs. Pachuca on Saturday.

American-born Players Playing for Other Countries

• Giuseppe Rossi (Italy) started and played 81 minutes in Villarreal's 2-2 tie vs. Real Betis on Sunday.

• Edgar Castillo (Mexico) and Club America face San Luis on Sunday evening.

• Brede Hangeland (Norway) started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 0-0 draw vs. Arsenal on Saturday. 

• Boaz Myhill (Wales) dressed but did not play in Hull City's 2-1 loss vs. Blackburn on Sunday.

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What do you think of these performances? Eager to see more of Edu with Rangers? Think Beasley is not far off from starting either? Think Cherundolo can play well enough in the coming weeks to get a call-up for the United States' next World Cup qualifiers? Excited to see Bradley taking on more responsibility with his club? Still wish Michael Parkhurst was in MLS?

Share your thoughts below.