(With the World Cup less than four months away it is time to start thinking about the opponents the United States will face when the tournament begins in June. While most American soccer fans know who all of England's top players are, not as much is known about the top players for Algeria and Slovenia.
That is where we are hoping to help. SBI will begin a new series to focus on the performances of Algeria and Slovenia's best players in Europe's top leagues. Each week, we will let you know how these players do so you can track them and become familiar with them ahead of the World Cup. Here is our first installment.)
By FRANCO PANIZO
Algerian forward Rafik Djebbour didn't get on the scoresheet, but he still managed to help AEK Athens maintain their current Europa League spot with a win this weekend.
Djebbour started and played 89 minutes in AEK Athen's 1-0 win over Eddie Johnson, Freddy Adu and Aris Salonika on Sunday. Djebbour's start was his second in fourth-place Athen's last three games, and it helped Athens stay in fourth place in the Greek League.
Slovenian striker Zlatko Dedic and his club, VfL Bochum, aren't fighting for a top spot in their respective league, but they did continue their move away from the relegation zone. Bochum earned a point against Mainz in a scoreless affair that saw Dedic play 69 minutes and earn a yellow card before being subbed off.
Here is how the Algerians and Slovenians Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
- Algerian defender Nadir Belhadj started and played 90 minutes in Portsmouth's 2-1 loss vs. Stoke City on Saturday.
- Algerian midfielder Hassan Yebda started and played 66 minutes in Portsmouth's 2-1 loss vs. Stoke City on Saturday.
- Algerian forward Kamel Ghilas did not dress in Hull City's 3-0 loss vs. West Ham United on Saturday.
ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP
- Algerian forward Hameur Bouazza came off the bench and played 68 minutes in Blackpool's 2-0 win vs. Reading on Saturday.
- Slovenian defender Suad Filekovic did not dress in Barnsley's 2-0 win vs. Cardiff City on Saturday.
- Slovenian midfielder Robert Koren started and played 61 minutes in West Bromwich Albion's 2-1 loss vs. Bristol City on Sunday.
SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE
- Algerian defender Madjid Bougherra and Rangers' match vs. St Johnstone on Saturday was postponed.
- Algerian defender Ismael Bouzid did not dress in Heart of Midlothian's 2-0 win vs. Hamilton Academical on Sunday.
SPANISH LA LIGA
- Algerian midfielder Mehdi Lacen started and played 90 minutes in Racing Santander's 4-0 loss vs. Barcelona on Saturday.
ITALIAN SERIE A
- Algerian midfielder Abdelkader Ghezzal started, played 60 minutes and received a yellow card in Siena's 0-0 draw vs. Lazio on Saturday.
- Algerian midfielder Mourad Meghni did not dress in Lazio's 0-0 draw vs. Siena on Saturday.
- Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanovic started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Udinese's 3-0 loss vs. Genoa on Saturday.
- Slovenian defender Bojan Jokic dressed but did not play in Chievo's 1-0 win vs. Atalanta on Sunday.
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
- Algerian defender Antar Yahia dressed but did not play in VfL Bochum's 0-0 draw vs. Mainz on Saturday.
- Algerian midfielder Karim Matmour came off the bench and played 18 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 2-2 draw vs. TSG Hoffenheim on Friday.
- Algerian midfielder Karim Ziani did not dress in VfL Wolfsburg's 2-1 win vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday.
- Algerian forward Chadli Amri did not dress in Mainz's 0-0 draw vs. VfL Bochum on Saturday.
- Slovenian forward Milivoje Novakovic started and played 90 minutes in FC Cologne's 5-1 loss vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
- Slovenian defender Miso Brecko started and played 90 minutes in FC Cologne's 5-1 loss vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
- Slovenian forward Zlatko Dedic started, played 69 minutes and received a yellow card in VfL Bochum's 0-0 draw vs. Mainz on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Algerian forward Noureddine Daham did not dress in TUS Koblenz's 3-2 loss vs. FC Union Berlin on Friday.
- Slovenian defender Matej Mavric started and played 12 minutes in TUS Koblenz's 3-2 loss vs. FC Union Berlin on Friday.
- Slovenian midfielder Goran Sukalo did not dress in FC Augsburg's 1-0 win vs. Hansa Rostock on Saturday.
FRENCH LIGUE 1
- Algerian midfielder Yazid Mansouri starte and played 60 minutes in Lorient's 1-0 loss vs. Nice on Saturday.
- Slovenian defender Bostjan Cesar started and played 90 minutes in Grenoble's 1-0 loss vs. Valenciennes on Saturday.
- Slovenian forward Valter Birsa and AJ Auxerre's match vs. Bordeaux on Saturday was postponed.
DUTCH EREDIVISIE
- Slovenian midfielder Dalibor Stevanovic started and played 90 minutes in Vitesse Arnhem's 4-0 loss vs. Ajax Amsterdam on Sunday.
PORTUGUESE LIGA SAGRES
- Algerian defender Rafik Halliche did not dress in CD Nacional Madeira's 1-1 draw vs. Maritimo on Friday.
- Sloveniani midfielder Nejc Pecknik came off the bench and played 45 minutes in CD Nacional de Madeira's 1-1 draw vs. Maritimo on Friday.
GREEK SUPER LEAGUE
- Algerian forward Rafik Djebbour started and played 89 minutes in AEK Athens' 1-0 win vs. Aris Salonika on Sunday.
- Algerian midfielder Salim Arrache did not dress in PAS Giannina's 3-2 loss vs. Panionios on Sunday.
- Slovenian midfielder Aleksander Radosavljevic started and played 90 minutes in Larissa's 2-0 loss vs. Panthrakikos on Sunday.
- Slovenian midfielder Mimes Sisic started and played 90 minutes in PAS Giannina's 3-2 loss vs. Panionios on Sunday.
——————–
What do you think of these performances? Any player(s) you're particularly worried about? Think Djebbour is capable of causing havoc to the U.S. backline? Impressed by Dedic a
nd Bochum's result?
Share your thoughts below.
I guess there was no long suspension for Belhadj or Halliche for red cards vs Egypt in ANC semis, bc they are in the roster for the friendly?
Jeff, I agree that Belhadj is very, very good — there are reports that no less a club than Barcelona have offered 4 million pounds for him. He is a marauding wing back. I agree that his form is as strong as any left back in the EPL now besides Ashley Cole (although Leighton Baines has also been very good this season).
I would disagree that Algeria has a great defense. Yes, they have some good defenders but not much quality beyond Bougherra and Belhadj. See their losses in the ANC to Malawi and Egypt. They make some fundamental mistakes.
I think their strength is ball-handling in the midfield. But they have lacked cutting edge at times — Their lone goal in the WC playoff vs Egypt came from a defender, Yahia. They only got one goal in 3 ANC first round games (by a defender) and were shut out in the semis and third-place game, meaning they were held scoreless in four of six ANC matches. They needed rather surprising goals, from Bougherra and Hameur Bouazza in their ANC quarterfinal win vs. Ivory Coast, who couldn’t mark worth a damn. Only goal in the whole tourney from a striker was a cracker by Matmour, the Gladbach benchwarmer.
They also seem weak at goalie. All are domestically based. The young keeper, Chaouchi, who starred in their WC playoff win vs Egypt, made big errors in the ANC. He has been dropped for their next friendly, with the return from injury of their regular keeper.
I’m not writing them off. Just giving my assessment based on what I have seen of them.
yes, excellent idea for a weekly post.
Nice peice, Algeria has more players in top flight leagues than I thought, and Slovenia has less; However, We have more quality talent than both these teams, but they are not bad teams and probably will not beat themselves. It will be up to us to go out and win these games, rather than hope they just make mistakes
If i were an Algeria fan, I’d be concerned that Megni, Ziani, Halliche, Yahia were DNPs. I believe they have all been starters for Algeria recently. Ziani especially is important in pulling the strings in the midfield. Halliche started also in the ANC and they don’t have a very deep pool of defenders beyond Belhadj and Bougherra. Ghilas had played in big games, in World cup qualifying, but was dropped from ANC squad, presumably due to benching at Hull. Neither he nor Megni are in the roster for upcoming Serbia friendly.
Djebbour return could be very important for Algeria. I know he was scoring a lot of goals in Greece in the past, with Panionios, and that earned his move to a bigger club, AEK, for 3.2 million euros. But he has been in and out of favor for AEK.
Algeria is also pretty weak at striker. Lately they have started Ghezzal, from Serie A bottom feeders Siena, as a target man. But their top scorer with 18 intl goals, Rafik Saifi, is getting up there in age (35), has always been inconsistent and was playing in Qatar until I think he moved back to France, to Istres. Interesting that Saifi is not in their March 3 friendly roster but Djebbour is.
awesome feature. look forward to tracking these guys every week
Great idea Ives. This is fabulous information.
“We are the opposite. We have great midfielders, but our defense is poorer than anytime since before the 1994 World Cup.”
Really? Its practically identical to 2006 (Gooch, Boca, Cherunds, an aging Pope, Gibbs, etc) and clearly better than 2002 (Pope, Agoos, Llamosa, Sanneh, Berhalter). Comparing to 98 is just laughable (Mike Burns played. Yes, Mike Burns).
Fan panic alert mode and bad form/injuries aside the quality of our players is better than its ever been.
It’s a useful reminder and very interesting, but beating Russia in a two game playoff and allowing only a handful of goals through qualification should have alerted us to Slovenia’s quality. Algeria has also been tested with brutal contests against Egypt. None of these games will be easy, by any stretch (even for England.)
That makes sense — it’s definitely going to be much easier for Slovenian players to join lower division clubs and get on the radar, as it were — easier to get a work permit, easier for German clubs to build relationships with Sloveniean clubs, etc.
agree, i love this idea – great post. dividing up the Algerians and the Slovenians would be good, and if you would be okay with not showing it by league it would be interesting to read this like a depth chart….
GK from Algeria played 90 for ….
GK ……
RB ……, etc.
keep up the good work Franco!
I love this column. Had never heard of this player:
Slovenian midfielder Aleksander Radosavljevic started and played 90 minutes in Larissa’s 2-0 loss vs. Panthrakikos on Sunday.
Damn you, Preki, for letting your son play for Slovenia 😉
Daniel, your last name isn’t Williams, by any chance, is it :)? I believe that at least immigration-wise, Germany’s requirements for citizenship are much tighter than, say, the USA’s–not sure how this works with the sports/work permit situation though.
Huzzah! Now I can cheer for DNP’s!
Pardon your French.
I may be wrong about Germany, but I do think it’s more difficult than Scandinavia when it comes to work permits. Cooper has a European father — no problem there. Not sure about Robles. Donovan was an exceptional talent, and this makes it easier to get permits.
But the point is that there is no requirement for permits for Slovenians and a much easier route for Algerians — therefore you’ll see more of their players the caliber of the better MLS players playing Germany/France/etc.
Belhadj from Portsmouth is an amazing player. He is arguably the best left back in the Prem this year other than the tabloid king Ashley Cole.
Other than that Slovenia and Algeria have a lot of good players, but no standout ones.
Belhadj is so good that Pompey if they are allowed to sell now outside the window may stay in business on his sale alone. Then again, why would any team knowing Pompey’s dilemma pay fair market value for his services?
His quality is particularly scary when you consider we are unsettled at right back and Belhadj tears down the field and puts in great crosses. He also is a good corner taker from the right side.
I think Algeria has a solid defense but are weak in the attack. Same for Slovenia. We are the opposite. We have great midfielders, but our defense is poorer than anytime since before the 1994 World Cup.
The group is up for grabs. I think Algeria versus us in the final game will decide things. Honestly, I think that game is a toss up. Slovenia will be credible but will finish last in the group.
Agree with everybody here…great idea but might be easier if listed by country.
Great! Now, Bob Bradley just needs to visit SBI to get his weekly scouting report.
I seconded the idea of separating the Algerians and Slovenians players.
And do you think you can put an asterisk next to the one that most likely be in the WC? I mean for the US, I don’t think some (if not all) of the second/third division players will make it.
Try whoareyadesigns.com, pretty good stuff there
Oustanding Feature, Thank you.
Kenny Cooper, Luis Robles, Landon Donovan — be surprised if they had German grandparents (although I’ve been surprised before). Ditto with all of the Brazilians, etc.
Are you sure about Germany? I am German and as far as I know it is pretty easy to get a work permit for Bundesliga I & II -much easier than in England or Italy. There are no restritions to foreign players as far as I know – at least in the top-flight.
This is a great feature. Could I suggest maybe dividing up the Algerians and the Slovenians under different headings? It could make it easier to read and get a better sense of how good Algeria and Slovenia each is individually.
Great idea!!!
Denmark, Norway, etc. are another animal; much easier (that’s why so many of our guys go over there). Germany and England, I know for a fact, have very tight work permit restrictions for people with no ancestry connected with the country (grandparents from those countries, that is). That’s why a player like Jay Demerit could play in England.
Chris Rolfe is anything but a national team regular, and he got to Denmark just fine. I *think* that it is fairly easy to play in Europe. As far as I know each country still has control over its work permit situation; that’s why it is so hard for guys to play in the UK. Other countries aren’t so choosy, though. And I think, once you get your foot in the door– maybe at a smaller league– that it is fairly easy to move around afterwards.
I remember 1982 in Spain.
Algeria upsetting the Germans. Then, the disgraceful German-Austria match fixing. I have played with Algerians, they can be fun teammates – creative and spontaneous – yet frustrating at the same time.
love this idea Ives! certainly need to keep track of our opponents. thanks!
I know a Nigerian Price that will purchase all of them, he just needs your routing number, we would purchase them directly but there is some legal issue that we dont need to get into.
Partial answer to your question and comment on some of the others…
Yes, this is a long list playing in various places (I am sure there are even more Algerians/dual French in various levels of French soccer that aren’t part of the national team set up and various mid-level Slovenes all around Europe given their ease of entry with EU membership), but this is partly because there isn’t a reasonable level in their home leagues. The last number I saw for the UEFA league coefficient (somebody commented on this around the time of the draw) put the Slovenian league around 30th in Europe (not the world) behind powerhouses leagues like Latvia and Ireland I don’t know much about Latvia’s league but I gather Ireland is quite weak, definitely below MLS. I bet (but haven’t done the research – gotta work some time) you will find most mid-level Algerians who can’t get a job in a European league play in Qatar or Egypt or some place like that, so domestic league and players abroad lists will both be hard to use to compare the national teams directly.
That said, a very interesting feature – kudos to SBI – and I agree with those who feel this is confirmation (if we needed any)that there will be no easy games.
Anyone know a good website to get rid of 6 extra tickets to each USA game in S Africa? Had people bail on me and now I have 6 extra tickets to each game.
Great Feature
USA going undefeated in the group stage!!! Bring on England!!!!
FYI, the players listed as playing in the “English First Division” really should be listed as playing in the English League Championship or the Coca Cola Championship.
It did read quite a bit like an American Abroad page. Lots of did not dresses, but also a lot of acomplished starters, especially from Slovenia, thoses fuckers really spread out across Europe don’t they?
I like the new section. Personally, I think it’d be easier to read if it were separated by country rather than just league.
Great new feature!! Even as fans, we should become more familiar with the upcoming opponents for the USA. It will make the games more interesting if we know something about these other teams. I’ve been hearing some of these names for years, without linking them to any national team. Gilas, Belhadj, Bougherra and Mansouri for Algeria; Jokic, Dedic and Birsa for SLovenia. This list gives me a sense of both teams great depth.
Notwithstanding a comment made above, the USA doesn’t have a comparable list of this kind. The number of players each time has with teams in the top leagues is far more impressive than our own, not to mention that most of these guys are getting a lot of playing time for their club sides. Nothing like the long list of “did not dress”that marks the Americans Abroad list every week. Algeria’s got midfielders starting in La Liga and Serie A, where midfielders are prized, and numerous other players on EPL, Ligue Une and Bundesliga rosters. Slovenia is well represented with a goalie starting in Serie A, and other starters in Bundesliga and Ligue Une. The USA has some depth at goalie, but we’ve got ten or eleven field players who are actually in these top leagues, and half of them are injured. Only Donovan, Spector, Altidore, Bocanegra and Bradley are healthy and seeing time on the pitch. Anyone who thinks we’ve got an easy path through is mistaken.
Excellent idea to bring this information forward for all Armchair Managers out there. Gives a more complete and rounded perspective of what the USMNT will face in the group phase of the World Cup. Based on the players presented I would imagine that both Algeria and Slovenia will be bringing a number of players from their domestic leagues to fill out the roster. Anyone know how the Algerian and Slovenian leagues match up against MLS? If favorably let’s hope the Labor dispute gets resolved quickly so our Fringe players are as prepared as possible in the event they are called upon to contribute.
awesome feature!!!
I guess they don’t make ’em anymore.
Seconded. Because of this post, I’m gonna buy an SBI Mafia t-shirt.
This is a great idea!
I believe we would have more players with lower level Bundesliga and Ligue 1 teams if more of our mid-level quality MLS Americans had a way to get visas to play in Europe. I may be mistaken, but I think there’s a reason why the only non-national team regulars to play in Europe (versus the US) have ancestry that allows them to get ahold of passports and visas.
It might be easier for Algerians to gain work permits for France, Germany, etc., without having a senior national team cap requirement.
Thank you for bringing us this info. Indeed much of these players statuses reads like an Americans Abroad update. Frankly I’m more worried about these two relative unknowns then I am the up and down millionaires club that is the Three Lions. Good stuff SBI!!
Excellent idea for a column! It seems Algeria at least has a similar number of european based players compared to us. Goes to show none of the teams in our group are pushovers.
A necessary reminder that there is quality throughout these two “minnows”.
Especially pay attention to the fact that Brecko and Novakovic know each other’s game perfectly at Cologne, with Brecko the left back who often gets forward to put crosses in for Novakovic.
Ives, this new feature shows why you are the best. Thanks for helping us keep an eye on the WC opponents.
I wish the US had more Bundesliga and Ligue 1 players.
looks like we’re not the only ones with players in all the top European leagues- this is great perspective to many of our tunnel vision fans