By FRANCO PANIZO
Michael Bradley has scored in a number of countries during his eight-year career, and he can now add Italy to the list.
Bradley opened his Serie A account this past Saturday when he placed a low shot to the bottom right corner of Chievo Verona's 3-2 win over Catania. Bradley's sixth-minute goal was the opener in the game, and it helped Chievo extend its unbeaten streak to four games. The win raised Chievo to ninth place in the Serie A standings.
Clint Dempsey also found the back of the net, continuing his fine run of form with a two-goal performance that led Fulham to a 3-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday. Dempsey scored on a free kick for the first time in his career in the match before heading in a cross to raise his goals scored season total to 21 across all competitions.
The two other Americans to tally goals this weekend both did so in Mexico. DaMarcus Beasley scored his third goal in Puebla's last five games by netting the equalizer in the club's 2-1 win over Toluca, and Joe Corona rifled in the winner in Tijuana's 2-1 victory versus Atlante.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made 4 saves in Everton's 2-2 draw vs. Norwich City on Saturday. Howard and Everton play Sunderland on Monday.
- Marcus Hahnemann did not dress for Everton. Hahnemann and Everton play Sunderland on Monday.
- Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes and scored TWO GOALS in Fulham's 3-0 win vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday. Dempsey and Fulham play Chelsea on Monday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made 3 saves in Tottenham Hotspur's 0-0 draw vs. Sunderland on Saturday. Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Norwich City on Monday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 1-1 draw vs. Liverpool on Saturday. Guzan and Aston Villa play Stoke City on Monday.
- Eric Lichaj started and played 90 minutes for Aston Villa. Lichaj and Aston Villa play Stoke City on Monday.
- Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers' 3-0 loss vs. Fulham on Saturday. Ream and Bolton Wanderers play Newcastle United on Monday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanders. He is recovering from a knee injury. Holden and Bolton Wanderers play Newcastle United on Monday.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 2-2 draw vs. Everton on Saturday. Whitbread and Norwich City play Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
- Adam Henley did not dress in Blackburn Rovers's 3-0 loss vs. West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector did not dress in Birmingham City's 3-1 win vs. Crystal Palace on Saturday. He is recovering from a thigh injury. Spector and Birmingham City play West Ham United on Monday.
- Conor Doyle did not dress in Derby County's 0-0 draw vs. Ipswich Town on Saturday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury. Doyle and Derby County play Leeds United on Monday.
- Robbie Findley did not dress in Nottingham Forest's 1-0 loss vs. Bristol City on Saturday. Findley and Nottingham Forest play Peterborough United on Monday.
- Daniel Potts did not dress in West Ham United's 4-0 win vs. Barnsley on Friday. Potts and West Ham United play Birmingham City on Monday.
- Robbie Rogers came off the bench and played 5 minutes in Leeds United's 2-0 loss vs. Reading on Friday. Rogers and Leeds United play Derby County on Monday.
League One
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United's 1-1 draw vs. Wycombe Wanderers on Friday. Simek and Carlisle United play Scunthorpe United on Monday.
- Anton Peterlin did not dress in Walsall's 3-2 win vs. Chesterfield on Saturday. Peterlin and Walsall play Charlton Athletic on Monday.
- Mike Grella did not dress in Bury's 3-0 loss vs. Brentford on Saturday. Grella and Bury play Colchester United on Monday.
SCOTLAND
- Maurice Edu started and played 90 minutes in Rangers' 3-1 win vs. St Mirren on Saturday.
- Carlos Bocanegra started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card for Rangers. He was serving a suspension for being ejected from last week's game.
- Alejandro Bedoya dressed but did not play for Rangers.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 6-0 win vs. Kilmarnock on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Chievo Verona's 3-2 win vs. Catania on Saturday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Steve Cherundolo dressed but did not play in Hannover 96's 3-0 loss vs. Schalke 04 on Sunday.
- Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04's 3-0 win vs. Hannover 96 on Sunday. He was serving a suspension for yellow card accumulation.
- Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in FC Nurnberg's 2-2 draw vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday.
- Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 2-1 win vs. Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
- Danny Williams started and played 90 minutes for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Joe Gyau did not dress for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Terrence Boyd did not dress in Borussia Dortmund's 3-1 win vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
- Alfredo Morales dressed but did not play in Hertha Berlin's 0-0 draw vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday.
- David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen's 1-1 draw vs. Hamburg SV on Sunday.
- Andrew Wooten came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Kaiserslautern's 2-1 loss vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday.
2. BUNDESLIGA
- Luis Robles did not dress in Karlsruher SC's 0-0 draw vs. VfL Bochum on Sunday.
- Bobby Wood did not dress in TSV 1860 Munich's 2-2 draw vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Sunday.
- Matt Taylor came off the bench and played 26 minutes in SC Paderborn 07's 2-2 draw vs. TSV 1860 Munich on Sunday.
- Villyan Bijev came off the bench and played 8 minutes in Fortuna Dusseldorf's 2-1 loss vs. Hansa Rostock on Thursday.
FRANCE
- Quentin Westberg did not dress in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 3-1 loss vs. Stade Rennes on Saturday.
- Charlie Davies did not dress in Sochaux's 2-1 loss vs. Montpellier on Saturday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar did not play this weekend.
PORTUGAL
- Oguchi Onyewu and Sporting CP play Benfica on Monday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov did not dress in Zenit St Petersburg's 1-0 win vs. Lokomotiv Moscow on Saturday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes in RSC Anderlecht's 0-0 draw vs. Standard Liege in the Pro League playoffs on Friday.
- Mikkel Diskerud came off the bench and played 71 minutes in KAA Gent's 2-0 loss vs. Genk in the Pro League playoffs on Saturday.
DENMARK
- Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-1 draw vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.
- Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF play HB Koge on Monday.
- Chris Rolfe did not dress in Aalborg BK's 3-1 win vs. Silkeborg IF on Sunday. He was serving a suspension for being ejected last week.
- Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE play Odense BK on Monday.
- Brad Rusin and HB Koge play Brondby IF on Monday.
SWEDEN
- Samuel Petrone did not dress in Mjallby AIF's 0-0 draw vs. Orebro SK on Saturday.
- Matt Pyzdrowski started and played 90 minutes in Angelholms FF's 1-1 draw vs. Trelleborg FF on Friday.
- Lester Dewee came off the bench and played 4 minutes for Angelholms FF.
NORWAY
- Josh Gatt and Molde FK play Brann on Monday.
- Steve Clark and Honefoss BK play Fredrikstad on Monday.
- Ricardo Clark and Stabaek IF play Tromso on Monday.
- Sean Cunningham and Stabaek IF play Tromso on Monday.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and had an ASSIST in Pachuca's 1-0 win vs. Pumas UNAM on Sunday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQHVr8hGbUA]
- Herculez Gomez did not dress in Santos Laguna's 1-1 draw vs. Estudiantes Tecos U.A. de G. on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Puebla's 2-1 win vs. Toluca on Sunday.
- Sonny Guadarrama came off the bench and played 11 minutes in Atlante's 2-1 loss vs. Club Tijuana on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Tigres UANL's 2-0 loss vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
- Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas' 3-2 win vs. San Luis on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco Fiscal started and played 90 minutes in San Luis' 3-2 loss vs. Jaguares de Chiapas on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana's 2-1 win vs. Atlante on Saturday.
- Joe Corona started, played 70 minutes and scored a GOAL for Club Tijuana.
- Greg Garza did not dress for Club Tijuana.
——-
What do you think of these performances? Think Bradley will score again before the Serie A season is over? How many more times do you see Dempsey finding the back of the net this campaign? Hoping to see Beasley and Corona called in for the upcoming U.S. men's national team camp in May?
Share your thoughts below.
Cap him now!
“qualifying is a long road. The guys that contribute now may not be the guys that take the field in 2014.” — well said.
Bradley’s goal was indeed superb, but… …what atrocious defending!
Perhaps a more accurate comparison is to pro cycle stage racing (Giro d’Italia, Tour de France) — where cyclists punish their recovery systems day after day, often after horrific crashes, up the longest, steepest, most grueling climbs in Europe. The physio staff, and diet and preparation, are ultra-important.
You’re the only person making the argument/comparison of Shea to Demspey/Donovan.
FYI: The US National team only have two Dempsey/Donovan’s.
“You must be young”…talk about passive aggressive condescension.
one of the best goal scoring weeks for the americans abroad in quite some time. going to be very interesting to see how the lineup shapes up for qualifying. liking the idea of dempsey sitting under gomez and altidore.
I’m guessing you’re young, hence you don’t recall watching Dempsey or Donovan when they were young…
Brek Shea is 22 now
by 22, Landon Donovan had scored 15 USMNT goals, including 2 in World Cup and won 2 MLS Cups with San Jose
was voted Best Young Player at WC 2002, won best player at FIFA U-17, US Soccer athlete of the year….
Dempsey was a late bloomer, but by 24, Dempsey had 6 USMNT goals in 23 games, had scored in a World Cup, scored the goal that kept Fulham in Premiership, Honda Player of the year, MLS best XI….
Break Shea has 12 USMNT games- zero goals….if you think he can bridge the gap to Dempsey in 2 years-great, but he’s nowhere near Donovan at same age in terms of pedigree….
Shows great skill.
Most goal scoring chances, is that per minute or overall? Because Shea has played more minutes than anyone else.
And I think almost everyone thought that was too high a goal and didn’t expect Bijev to get first team minutes so soon.
Well there you go. Good stuff.
Don’t understand the hate for Shea. Few people realise that he has created the most goal scoring chances for his teammates under Klinsmann. I don’t think he is an automatic starter, but he is clearly in line to be a super sub for the time being. Actually I think he would be a great super sub. Donovan and Dempsey were just as inconsistent if not more at the same age as Shea.
Liverpool’s stated goal for Bijev was for him to make the Dusseldorf first team by the end of the season, he just played for them so he’s right on track.
What’s the story? He almost died in a car accident. You might have heard about it…
+1
How come Seb Hines is included some weeks and not others? I know he’s a “bubble American” but until he decides against joining the USMNT (like Rossi/Subotic), might as well include him right?
He’s on loan from Liverpool, right? It should be interesting to see if he can make an impact on his loan, although probably not this season.
I think it would be wise to wait a few years before including him then. LOL
There’s no way way soccer is as hard to recover from as football. Maybe from a pure endurance standpoint. But not close at all from an overall perspective. Pro football is basically freak athletes shattering their bodies against each other over and over and over again. The carnage and damage they cause to each other is absolutely brutal.
As tiring as a soccer match can be its nothing on the body compared to what a pro football player must go through.
You could never play anything close to a soccer schedule in a football league.
casting Beasley out from USMNT makes no sense- if someone earns a call up, like he is currently doing, they should be called up… it’s a different story when the coach’s pet gets called up regardless of form, (Bradley had Bornstein, Klestjan and Beasley, Klinsi had Rogers and Beckerman/Torres)-but now DMB is actually playing as opposed to riding the pine at Rangers, and he’s playing well
lest anyone forget Frankie Hejduk against El Salvador-we aren’t good enough to cast aside experienced players while trying to qualify…
and I have no faith in Shea and his generation-these guys have woefully underperformed expectations at every international tournament…
Good to see Bijev play in his first pro match.
A few thoughts…
LW for qualifying: 1. Fabian Johnson, 2.Damarcus Beasley; Shea still a work in progress.
Gomez: belongs on the roster, especially with Agudelo injured; Boyd as well, he’s MONEY.
Joe Corona is very calm and effective in front of goal; we need more like him.
Love CD9, but one bad decision cost hime his career as a top flight player.
Herc has an injury that will sideline him 7-10 days. Not sure on Whitbread, but if I had to guess, injury – he has a lot of groin and leg problems
So there are cheerleaders in the Mexican League?
No wonder why Bornstein is content to ride bench down there lol
Alfredo Morales did not play, hasn’t played a minute since the USA vs Mexico game, but Berlin wouldn’t release him.
Oops forgot to add, he’s only six, or about to be anyway.
Hey you can throw my kid in there as well. He scored 24 goals in two tourneys for Bohemians 1905 in the Czech Republic. The senior team plays in the top flight league! He holds dual citizenship…You never know…
From my (very non-professional) personal experience, 90 mins of soccer takes a few days from which to recover. I’m sure it’s much, much easier with a full physio staff and whatnot helping players. But in my opinion, soccer is just as difficult to filly recover from as American football. I know the hits are hard and taxing in football, but soccer expends SO much energy etc.
In lieu of the Olympic team fiasco, I see NO reason to not call up the likes of Gomez and Beasley. We can’t just give it to the likes of Shea without them earning it, as was made crystal clear in the Olympic qualifying. Perhaps their sense of entitlement and lack of maturity needs to be noticed. Grow up!
Good guess. That would be Easter Monday…
Some great goals this weekend. Corona just solidified what I said before ths Olympic tournament. He is a FWD not a CAM. Beasley looks really good again. He adds quality depth at LW during this WC qualifying cycle for the USMNT. Man I can’t wait for the May roster to be announced. I think there may be some surprises on that roster.
I don’t buy your non sense. Beasley and Gomez are just as old as Donovan and Dempsey. You play whoever is fit and able to contribute. If you’re going to wait for the future to catch up then you’re going to regret the past. Think about that.
Those who think that we should ignore the form of former USMNT contributors need to consider the fact that qualifying is a long road. The guys that contribute now may not be the guys that take the field in 2014. We need to have effective players lined up to ensure that we win all the games we can. After watching Shea and (less frequently) Beasley, at this moment, I’d take Beasley over Shea. Shea probably has a higher ceiling, but he has a long way to go.
I’d have Beasley and Gomez both in the list of 23.
I feel like he will get back to somewhere he was before. People on here want to cast stones at him, but I will have faith and stand by Charlie regaining his form again.
He had a short term injury, and is back in contention soon.
Why did Zack Whitebread and Herc Gomez not play ? Also, I am excited about these two new players who play in Sweden we have now to add to Americans Abroad.
Hes not good enough. Im suprised people havent moved on. You dont shatter bones in both legs and return to full strength
beas was a beast and one of our best 5 players before the knee injury, unsettled club situation, left back experiment and the mistake versus brazil in confederations cup. having him back healthy and confident in time for world cup qualifying is a bonus. this is a guy who at 29 has played in 3 world cups and for two different teams in the champions league. he has 17 goals for the mnt even though he hasn’t added to that total in 3.5 years (basically since he was injured PLAYING IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE). brek, and anybody besides donovan playing on the left during that time period, are arguably stand ins.
Unrelated: What’s the story on Davies? I know he played just a few minutes a month or so ago, and hasn’t been on the team sheet since. Is there a new injury? A fall out? Is he ever going to be back to even 70% again?
Beasley can not be brought back to the National Team as anything but support in a qualifier or two. Anyone who wants to rely on his wafer thin frame is wrong.
He succeeds in Mexico because he still has some skill, and because the defensive pressure is low. He hasn’t been able to hold up to national team service in years, a stiff breeze is not an exaggeration.
Have you watched Brek play recently? He’s needs a break, and if the Olympic Fiasco didn’t prove anything else, its that we can’t presumptiously overlook the now for the future. JK is a hypocrite if he says form is the main thing and then plays a guy not in form over another guy who is playing much better in a better league. Moreover, DeMarcus is the same age as Landon and Clint.
I’m guessing Monday is some sort of holiday in England?
Agreed, Olympic qualifying disaster be damned. Joe Corona is a star in the making with his technique, vision and athleticism (same with Alfredo Morales).
I would love to see Corona get a call up.
Beasley is the past….we need to be looking at the Here and Now as well as the future. Left Mid is already filled by 1 player who is Just as good as Beasley (Brek Shea) and a future player who is just a step behind (Joe Gyau). Push comes to shove can also play Fabian Johnson as a Left Mid (I prefer him as a Left Back) who is miles ahead of Beasley.
Anyone else find it comical how British announcers always strive to diminish goals scored by American players? “Oh, the defending . . . ” Why not just praise Dempsey for hitting a nice header and move on?
Most goals are scored because of poor defending. In related news, the sun is hot.
Bradley’s goal was superb. Great placement.
I’ve never really been sure of this, how easy is it to play soccer games in a 2 or 3 day period, especially compared to say basketball or hockey. I presume its easier than football, harder than baseball. Is it kind of like in basketball where you obviously are more fatigued on the second night of a back to back, but you can still conceivably beat a team with more rest than you?
Wow. Pretty sweet goal by Corona.
Dempsey’s first goal was just ridiculous. i’ve seen him try that same technique a few times with the US and Fulham and hit the crossbar, he finally got it perfect. such a beautiful goal. he’s finally scored in just about every way possible except a bicycle kick (though he has hit the bar multiple times)
Excellent goal from Beasley. Working his way back onto the US squad in my opinion
I know many have been clamoring for Gomez, and he rightly deserves a shot. But Beasley has really showed he deserves a shot back with the national team as well. Pure speed.