After Benny Feilhaber's impressive performance in the Confederations Cup, it was assumed that he would be able to ride the momentum into a successful club season. It didn't take him long to prove it.
On Monday, Feilhaber assisted on the game-winning goal in AGF Aarhus' season opener, and it only took him 16 seconds.
The U.S. national team midfielder hit a one-touch left-footed through ball to spring forward Peter Graulund, who ended the play with a clinical finish.
The goal, which is the fastest ever scored in the Danish Superliga, would be the only score of the match, and Feilhaber went the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 victory. Jeremiah White also got the start for Aarhus, also playing 90 minutes.
Feilhaber and Aarhus next play Randers FC on July 27.
What do you think of Feilhaber's assist? Impressed? Known he was capable of plays like this since back in 2007? Should he be a super sub for the U.S. national team, a spot starter or a fixture in the starting XI?
Share your thoughts below.
Aarhus just as bad as Livorno. MLS sides would destroy this garbage. They need to ramp up pay.
The pass was fine, but the guy was offside.
This is great news to hear, the best part of this is to hear that 2 Americans played the full 90. I hope this continues for both Feilhaber and White. If they could get there team into Europe that would be huge, and maybe lead them to moving to bigger clubs.
Only in football could a player “assisting” on a goal lead to 44 comments and a news article.
I wasn’t too impressed with White on that video. He made a nice run with the ball, but instead of dishing it off to a teammate on the right, he tried to do some fancy stepovers and ran out of room. Kind of like Freddy Adu.
Feilhaber is fast becoming one of the best US players
i say keep Benny as our super duper sub. He has the power to change a momentum of a game but im sure his quality will last for the full 90. Bradley would be paired with another midfielder who is also a two way attacking/defending midfielder. If the going gets tough and we need a goal or two, then put in the offensively capable Feilhaber whose sole job is to spark the US offense.
Feilhaber has definitely ruined Adu’s chance of even making the sub’s bench.
Here is my US central midfield depth chart:(so this excludes Dempsey, Donovan)
Bradley > Clark > Feilhaber > Torres > Jones(unproven) > Edu (unproven)> Adu > Kljestan
The
The highlight of that video is Jeremiah White. Why the hell hasn’t that guy got called up???
Jeremiah White: what the hell did he do in the 2008 Cup-cake that he cant get called back again…..when he is a 2-3 year starter on Benny’s new team.
Benny ought to be a fixture in our Starting IX. There’s tough competition I know, but he ads skill, creativity, and the ability to shoot from distance. He should at least be starting every other game or so.
Nate – I never said it was a “random” American. I am a fan of both the USMNT and Feilhaber and I am very aware of his history. I said congrats before and I am very happy that he is healthy again, being productive, and getting playing time with Aarhus and the USMNT.
AI17 – I am a Red Bulls fan. The name is a cheap shot at DC United and their pending relocation 🙂
I apologize if I came off too negative. I appreciate that Ives gives us updates on US players overseas. But this is the type of news that I wouldn’t expect to get its own posting when the European season kicks into full gear. I prefer to wait until Benny puts in a few more quality performances to get excited.
The only problem I see here is that he didn’t do anything else the entire 90+ minutes…
I don’t even think I can run from the midline to the goal in 16 seconds
Anyone know how this league compares to MLS?
Keep watching that video. The next play by the other team results in the howler of all howlers. It’s an absolute shank that should have been a goal.
For all the nay-sayers out there… screw you guys. Go someplace else if you don’t want updates on U.S. players. Sheesh. Ives brings us the news about our boys and you guys complain? Get the hell out of here. We want you guys as much as we want an STD. Piss off.
Great start for Benny! Love to see a player with promise making progress.
Regardless, of if the forward was off-side or no this was a pass that showed great vision and touch.
Benny has got to be the #2 CM in our pool by now, and he can also play the SMF spots in a pinch. I know he doesn’t have the great work rate of a Bradley or Clark, but the quality he brings in attack is unmatched by any of the current crop. As happy as I was to see Edu break through with Rangers, he did need another player to have a public meltdown to get his shot.
If J. Jones enters the fold I’m okay with bumping Benny down to #3 and making him the super-sub in the midfield, but for now I think he’s got to be in the picture.
Fredua is quickly finding himself off the SA10 roster. Benny can do nearly all the things Adu does and quite a few he doesn’t. He may quickly become our first attack option of the bench. With a healthy Edu our first defender off the pine.
Woohoo!!! Where do I pick up an Aarhus jersey? haha jk
well he has more assists now than Torres got last season…
I think Feilhaber is a player with alot of potential. He delivers that creative touch to our midfield and sometimes it’s really needed. I think he is ideal to bring into a match where we are looking dead in the center of the park and we need an offensive spark. I say when he is in form he is as effective as edu and more effective than clark. I’d like to see how jones fares with our midfield mix as it is, but depending on the form of edu and jones to be great, I think it’s better to have Feilhaber as that talented option on the bench to mix things up. I wish all the best for him.
Atta boy Benny. I hope he continues to make an impact at the club level and that a club in a more competitive league that will play him, buys him.
Depending on how Jones works out, starting Benny in the center of the field isn’t a bad idea.
I’d be interested in seeing Feilhaber start at right midfield for us and pushing Dempsey up to the second forward spot. It was the most effective change we made during games at the confed cup and might be worth trying from the start. IMHO Dempsey doesn’t play enough defense to play midfield for us since we have depth at the position and could be so much more important for us up top.
Deserves to start, but so does Bradley, Clark, Torres and probably Jones… If not a starter certainly the first or second sub…
hopefully he can have a great season followed by a good WC, and then a nice transfer to someplace warm like spain
It’s news to me as long as someone with such promise is healthy again and getting games. Sure, he could probably compete for a spot at a bigger club, in a bigger league, but what he really needs is games. He is 24 years old and has been a pro for four years, but he has only played less than 30 pro club games (plus 23 USA caps). After 2 years at a big Bundesliga club where he didn’t play much, a year at a crappy EPL team where he hardly got to play, and a year in Denmark with injuries, it is good for us that he is playing at all and playing well. If he can play 30 games in the Danish league, in the year heading into the World Cup, it would be great for the US team.
As he said in an interview recently, he could go to a bigger league — preferably Germany — at some point in the next 4-5 years. I bet it is sooner, but it is good PR and a good attitude in general for him to focus on his Danish club and prove himself there before looking ahead at all. They have stuck by him thru injuries and national team call-ups, and now he is starting to deliver for them. Like Charlie Davies in Sweden after the Confed Cup, AGF would be happy to sell Benny for a nice little profit after the World Cup. I think they got him on a free, after Derby had spent millions to buy him from Hamburg.
It’s all about playing time. Better to be playing in what is considered a second tier euro team than languishing on the bench at Derby or where ever else. Is this news worthy? It’s not huge news but it’s a positive thing!
I’ll take any updates on Benny. Ever since he moved to the bench for derby, we’ve been wandering in a Bennyless desert. Now that he’s back, I drink this stuff up like a dehydrated wino.
That sounds pathetic, I know.
Should be starting in a top tier league.
Someone with the tag St. Louis United is questioning what’s news worthy? Now that’s pretty damn funny to me.
A team that doesn’t exist with a logo from the Crusades, I think you should stay away from telling others what’s news worthy. These guys play for a time that actually exist and not Don Quixote.
😉
This proves he will be the greatest player ever 😉
Joking, but I’m happy he got an assist. Good luck to him.
This league does not seem to be much better than MLS. I wonder how a MLS side would fare.
I look forward to the day when this sort of event is not news.
St Louis United said, “An entire post because an American had an assist in a league game in Denmark? Not even a goal, an assist. Congrats Benny and best of luck to you, but this is hardly news-worthy.”
It’s not a random American getting an assist. It’s a kid who showed tons of promise, but then fell off hugely in form, and according to some, in attitude. After fighting injury, he works his way back in to the national team mix, and begins his season off with a start and assist for his club. Pretty newsworthy to me.
I think he’s got a little spark in his game that we haven’t seen in many American players. He needs playing time to nurture it and looks like he’s getting it. Not only is it news, it’s good news.
St. Louis United,
I think this is about more than just “an assist”: (1) it’s symbolically important as hopefully indicative of the type of form top American players will find coming off the Confederations Cup, (2) this very well may have been the Superliga record for the fastest goal, (3) this (a inch perfect through ball from a deep-lying position) is precisely the type of play USMNT looks to Benny to make.
st. louis, there’s nothing else going on in terms of news in the american soccer world…good update ives
agree
An entire post because an American had an assist in a league game in Denmark? Not even a goal, an assist. Congrats Benny and best of luck to you, but this is hardly news-worthy.
The pass was inch perfect. In that both of our young forwards are shoulder of the last defender types, such displays by Benny bode well for the future.
The bar is being raised, again and again. After the Confederations Cup, Onyewu was signed by Milan and Davies transferred to Sochaux. Then, back with their team clubs, Donovan delivers a swerving strike into the corner and Feilhaber gets the fastest assist in league history.
I can’t wait to see what Dempsey, Bocanegra, Howard, Bradley, Altidore, and others will do.
Just hope Benny can stay healthy and get consistent playing time this year. If he can he should be a lock for the WC.
Good news, keep it up!
Don’t forget about Marcus Tracy who entered the game in the 78th minute for Aalborg. He didn’t do too much but had some nice flick-ons late which none of his teammates were in good enough positions to latch on to.
I’m just happy he’s getting first team minutes.
The assist was a rather ‘speculative’ ball, as they say, but I’m pleased Benny is linking up with his teammates.
I’m thinking he could be a spot starter, depending on the opponent, of course.
Remind me, why doesn’t Jeremiah White ever get called up for the Nats?
looked a little lucky. the forward did the work on that play.
Super-sub works for me. Replace the guy next to Bradley for more attacking options, or replace one of the two forwards for more possession in midfield. Assuming we stick with a 4-4-2 that is.
Super duper game changing sub.