photo by ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
Eddie Johnson and Freddy Adu could soon join Maurice Edu and DaMarcus Beasley as the first Americans to win hardware this season after Aris Salonika defeated Kavala in the Greek Cup semifinal on Thursday.
Aris was held to a 1-1 draw on its 96th birthday, but advanced on a 4-2 aggregate. Johnson came off the bench and played the final six minutes of the match, while Adu made the gameday roster but did not play.
Aris will meet the winner of PAS Giannina and Panathinaikos in the Greek Cup final on April 24.
Johnson and Adu weren't the only ones in action during the midweek. Here is how the Americans Abroad fared on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday:
England
PREMIERSHIP
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Everton's 2-0 win vs. Manchester City on Wednesday.
- Clint Dempsey came off the bench and played 21 minutes Fulham's 3-1 loss vs. Tottenham Hotspur in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup on Wednesday.
- Jonathan Spector came off the bench and played 45 minutes in West Ham's 3-1 loss vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Aston Villa's 1-1 draw vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.
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Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 1-1 draw vs. Sunderland on Wednesday.
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Marcus Hahnemann started, played 90 minutes and made eight saves in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 3-1 win vs. West Ham United on Tuesday.
COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
- Jay DeMerit started and played 90 minutes in Watford's 2-1 loss vs. Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday.
- Frank Simek dressed but did not play in Sheffield Wednesday's 2-1 win vs. Watford on Wednesday.
- Kenny Cooper dressed but did not play in Plymouth Argyle's 2-0 win vs. Ipswich Town on Tuesday.
Scotland
- Maurice Edu started and played 90 minutes in Rangers' 1-0 loss vs. Dundee United in the sixth round of the Scottish Cup on Wednesday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes in Rangers' 1-0 loss vs. Dundee United in the sixth round of the Scottish Cup on Wednesday.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 4-0 loss vs. St Mirren on Wednesday.
Italy
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in AC Milan's 1-0 loss vs. Parma on Wednesday.
Germany
- Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04's 1-0 loss vs. Bayern Munich in the semifinals of the DFB Pokal on Wednesday. He is recovering from a leg injury.
France
- Charlie Davies did not dress in Sochaux's 4-3 loss vs. Monaco in the quarterfinals of the Coupe de France on Wednesday.
Greece
- Freddy Adu dressed but did not play in Aris Salonika's 1-1 draw vs. Kavala in the semifinals of the Greek Cup Wednesday.
- Eddie Johnson came off the bench and played 6 minutes in Aris Salonika's 1-1 draw vs. Kavala in the semifinals of the Greek Cup on Wednesday.
Denmark
- Benny Feilhaber did not dress in AGF Aarhus' 2-1 loss vs. Randers FC on Wednesday.
- Michael Parkhurst dressed but did not play in FC Nordsjaelland's 2-0 win vs. FC Copenhagen on Wednesday.
- Marcus Tracy did not dress in Aalborg BK's 1-0 win vs. Silkeborg on Wednesday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Chris Rolfe did not dress in Aalborg BK's 1-0 win vs. Silkeborg on Wednesday.
Sweden
- Alejandro Bedoya started and played 90 minutes in Orebro BK's 3-0 loss vs. Malmo FF on Tuesday.
Argentina
- Michael Hoyos did not dress in Estudiantes La Plata's 2-0 win vs. Bolivar in the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday.
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What do you think of these performances? Think Adu, Johnson and Aris will win the final? Surprised by Beasley and Edu's elimination from the Scottish Cup? Think West Ham and Spector will wind up relegated?
Share your thoughts below.
wow Adu did not play…at least he dressed!!!
EJ had a couple of good chances in the few minutes he was on… looked pretty dangerous. He probably won’t feature much in the cup final, but hope he impresses in the few league matches left
I am not entirely sure but one of my friends down in Houston was saying that the Dynamo will announce Barrett as a member of the coaching staff. It looks like his playing days are over.
1) How did Bedoya look?
2) How did Beasley look?
I hope they looked stellar.
Cody Arnoux and Anton Peterlin are on trial with Motherwell. Cody did very well in the reserve game against Celtic (Cervi was in goal) he won a pk for Motherwell and “lead the line well”. Their trial has been extended so they can play in another game.
So do you think Adu deserves to play more for Aris than he has?
Ives, what’s the story on Gooch? Is he healthy but not being dressed at least or is he still trying to work his way back via taining? He began training with the US in Tampa a month ago and I thought he’d be back by now.
As I listen each week to the large list of “Did not dress” and “Dressed but did not play” reports on U.S. players abroad, I have to wonder if playing overseas is beneficial for these players.
White is in the Saudi league, and according to Wikipedia their season is over (or rather a team is listed as being 09/10 champion)…not that I would be able to verify that without knowing Arabic.
Isn’t White playing somewhere in the Middle East – shouldn’t he be reported on too?
Yao is at Ipswich – although he’s not getting any more minutes than Adu, he’s one to keep an eye out on.
Makes you wonder what backwater, jungle league Adu has to play in to get solid minutes after having a solid performance or two… Shocking.
We can officially say Watford sucks. Also it will be interesting to see if Cooper gets time next season with Plymouth in the Cola 2.
I guess six minutes is outshining… They’ve kind of taken it in turns this season, but I think Adu has been more effective overall.
haha. well i hope someone’s slapping their forehead for that. i agree MLSoccer makes complete sense.
It’d be nice to hear a good progress report on Gooch some time soon.
did anyone see how edu and beasley played?
mlsfootball would be hilarious
As much as I would like to hear about Yura, he is not an american abroad….. If they ever did a Former MLS player abroad than Yura should def be on it
Can you please start including an update on Yura Movsisiyan for Randers FC – Even though he was on Red Card suspension this week, he should be reported on as he actually gets minutes.
Thanks
ya, but i love me some major league soccer soccer
they should have called it MLSoccer.com
Ives this is unrelated but any idea on what the dynamo player announcement will be?
Unrealted, but MLSsoccer.com is live.
Still waiting for the report(s) that have Davies, Onyewu, Holden, Feilharbor, Clark, and (Fingers Crossed) Jones with minutes played after their names instead of “Did Not Dress” or “Recovering from ___ Injury”. Hoping to see all get PT in Next Month.
“Adu made the gameday roster but did not play”
Ugh. Who ever thought Eddie would outshine Freddy?!