By FRANCO PANIZO
Inclement weather may have postponed a chunk of this weekend's matches in Europe, but that doesn't mean there were no Americans Abroad with noteworthy performances.
Ricardo Clark received his first start of the Bundesliga campaign, going the distance in Eintracht Frankfurt's 1-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund. Clark had two shots in the game that marked his first appearance since Oct. 30.
Another player who got some minutes after a lengthy spell of inactivity was Kenny Cooper. Having fully recovered from an ankle injury picked up in July, Cooper came off the bench and played 19 minutes in TSV 1860 Munich's 1-0 defeat to SC Paderborn 07.
Charlie Davies did not see the field for Sochaux, but he did dress in his first official match since being involved in a deadly car accident last year. Sochaux tied Bordeaux, 1-1.
Here is how the Americans Abroad fared this weekend:
England
PREMIERSHIP
- Tim Howard and Everton play Manchester City on Monday.
- Clint Dempsey and Fulham's game vs. Liverpool on Saturday was postponed due to the weather.
- Eddie Johnson and Fulham's game vs. Liverpool on Saturday was postponed due to the weather.
- Brad Friedel and Aston Villa's game vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday was postponed due to the weather.
- Brad Guzan and Aston Villa's game vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday was postponed due to the weather.
- Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa's game vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday was postponed due to the weather.
- Marcus Hahnemann and Wolverhampton Wanderers' game vs. West Bromwich Albion on Sunday was postponed due to the weather.
- Jonathan Spector started and played 57 minutes in West Ham United's 1-1 draw vs. Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Bolton Wanderers' 1-0 loss vs. Sunderland on Saturday.
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Conor Doyle did not dress in Derby County's 2-1 loss vs. Reading on Saturday. He was with the U.S. U-20 national team.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 2-1 win vs. Coventry City on Saturday. He is recovering from a calf injury.
LEAGUE ONE
- Frank Simek and Carlisle United's game vs. Yeovil Town on Saturday was postponed due to the weather.
- Mike Grella and Carlisle United's game vs. Yeovil Town on Saturday was postponed due to the weather.
- Anton Peterlin and Plymouth Argyle's game vs. Leyton Orient on Saturday was postponed due to the weather.
- Jemal Johnson and Milton Keynes Dons' game vs. Oldham Athletic on Saturday was postponed due to the weather.
Scotland
PREMIER LEAGUE
- Maurice Edu and Rangers' game vs. St. Mirren on Saturday was postponed due to the weather.
DIVISION ONE
- Dominic Cervi dressed but did not play in Dundee's 2-0 win vs. Stirling Albion on Saturday.
Spain
- Jozy Altidore came off the bench and played 6 minutes in Villarreal's 3-1 win vs. Mallorca on Saturday.
Italy
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in AC Milan's 1-0 loss vs. AS Roma on Saturday.
Germany
BUNDESLIGA
- Steve Cherundolo started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and scored an own goal in Hannover 96's 3-1 loss vs. Nurnberg on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley did not dress for Hannover 96.
- Michael Bradley started, played 78 minutes, and got an ASSIST in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 2-1 loss vs. Hamburg SV on Friday.
- Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04's 3-0 win vs. FC Cologne on Saturday.
- Ricardo Clark started and played 90 minutes in Eintracht Frankfurt's 1-0 win vs. Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
- Daniel Williams did not dress in SC Freiburg's 2-2 draw vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Kenny Cooper came off the bench and played 19 minutes in TSV 1860 Munich's 1-0 loss vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Sunday.
- David Yeldell started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in MSV Duisburg's 1-0 loss vs. VfL Bochum on Friday.
- Luis Robles and Karlsruhe play FC Union Berlin on Monday.
- Amaechi Igwe did not dress in FC Ingolstadt 04's 2-1 loss vs. VfL Osnabruck on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
France
LIGUE 1
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in St Etienne's 2-0 win vs. Arles on Saturday.
- Charlie Davies dressed but did not play in Sochaux's 1-1 draw vs. Bordeaux on Sunday.
LIGUE 2
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 1-1 draw vs. Troyes on Friday.
Belgium
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes in RSC Anderlecht's 2-0 win vs. Club Brugge on Sunday.
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What do you think of these performances? Do you see Clark getting more minutes in the near future? How do you think Cooper will fare in the coming weeks and months? How happy were you to see Davies in uniform on the Sochaux bench?
Share your thoughts below.
It is time for certain players to go elsewhere so they can get more playing time. Altidore and Onyewu need a transfer desperately. Beasley should go back home. Adu should go back home as well. Jones needs to look elsewhere. Guzan needs to go out on loan.
Now that Josh Gatt of SCR Altach appears to be the real deal (figured in all FIVE goals for US u-20 team against Canada recently), can we start getting Austrian league updates as a part of this? I know its technically Austria’s second league, but still, the guy deserves watching. I love the Americans Abroad updates though, keep em comin!
There is a cliche about how “timing is everything”.
It applies to Holden. First he gets his leg broken leading up to the World Cup. Now he is having his very best patch of form at a “bad” time, in the sense that, the Cup is over and the next meaningful USMNT games will be the Gold Cup roughly six months from now.
Six months is an eternity in the soccer world.
And if you think that MB is keeping Holden from his rightful place, besides the nepotism aspect, MB has been doing it at a high level much longer, is 2 years younger and may well have a higher ceiling and has a much better injury history. As they say, 80% of life is showing up.
I have nothing against Holden but there are plenty of objective reasons why Holden may have a difficult time displacing MB, though it may be possible play both at the same time.
All I’m saying is when everyone is healthy and playing. I prefer Bradley, Edu, Jones and Holden to Rico.
If Bob’s gonna call him up then whatever, but I don’t think it’s totally necessary for a friendly when the roster is somewhat limited (probably 18 guys or so) and Rico’s got at least 3 guys ahead of him (provided everyone is healthy & playing)
I’m just happy about the resurgence of Spector…
Agreed. Wise words.
“[…] postponed due to the weather.”
So, what do the people advocating the MLS switch to the winter schedule have to say about that?
What a huge boost of confidence for Charlie to make the bench. I watched the game on pins and needles and was disappointed he didn’t get in. The game was fun to watch though.
Agreed. He’s clearly fifth in the center midfield pool at the moment behind Bradley, Holden, Jones and Edu, but two of those four have a history of injuries, so it would not be a surprise at all to see him recalled.
Kicker rates him a 3 (from 1-6, the lower the better), which is a decent grade. Hopefully he can keep getting playing time when the Bundesliga reconvenes.
Yeah that bothered me too.
I’m gonna eat a little crow here and admit how good MB is looking. A nice move then that cross was a thing of beauty.
Would it be crazy to try MB at forward for USMNT? He’s played there before at his previous club, has always been a decent finisher. This may also disguise his weaknesses in distribution and possession from midfield. Especially now with the options at midfield…
“I suppose that’s good practice for Bradley right considering the state of the Nats CBs.”
daaaaaaaaamn….