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Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

Eric Lichaj 1 (Getty Images)

By FRANCO PANIZO

Seeing Eric Lichaj's name in Aston Villa's starting line-up might become a frequent occurrence in the coming weeks after he put together a performance that he likely will not forget for the rest of his career.

Making his first Premiership start since December 2010, Lichaj almost single-handedly rescued Aston Villa from defeat against Chelsea. Down 2-0, the Villans cut the deficit when Lichaj launched a long throw-in that was headed home. Lichaj then pulled Aston Villa level, scoring his first goal in the Premier League with a diving effort following a cross from the left. Unfortunately for Aston Villa, Chelsea scored late to take a 4-2 win.

Lichaj was not the only player with that type of performance in the Premiership this weekend. Clint Dempsey paved the way for a Fulham win by scoring his 19th goal across all competitions in the second minute of Fulham's 2-1 triumph over Norwich City. Dempsey went from scorer to provider shortly after, delivering a pinpoint pass that Damien Duff buried into the back of the net.

Jozy Altidore also scored this weekend, netting his 15th goal in all competitions this season in AZ Alkmaar's 2-2 draw with Vitesse Arnhem. Altidore scored the opener when he headed home a cross from the left in the first half of a match that kept AZ within two points of Eredivisie leaders Ajax.

Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:

ENGLAND

Premiership

  • Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made 2 saves in Everton's 2-0 win vs. West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

  • Marcus Hahnemann did not dress for Everton.
  • Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes, had an ASSIST and scored a GOAL in Fulham's 2-1 win vs. Norwich City on Saturday.

  • Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made 1 save in Tottenham Hotspur's 3-1 win vs. Swansea City on Sunday.
  • Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 4-2 loss vs. Chelsea on Saturday.
  • Eric Lichaj started, played 90 minutes, had an ASSIST and scored a GOAL for Aston Villa.
  • Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers' 3-2 win vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
  • Stuart Holden did not dress. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Zak Whitbread started and played 45 minutes in Norwich City's 2-1 loss vs. Fulham on Saturday.
  • Adam Henley and Blackburn Rovers play Manchester United on Monday.

Championship

  • Jonathan Spector did not dress in Birmingham City's 3-1 win vs. Doncaster Rovers on Friday. He is recovering from a thigh injury.

  • Conor Doyle did not dress in Derby County's 1-1 draw vs. Bristol City on Saturday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
  • Robbie Findley did not dress in Nottingham Forest's 3-0 win vs. Crystal Palace on Saturday.

  • Daniel Potts did not dress in West Ham United's 4-2 loss vs. Reading on Saturday.
  • Robbie Rogers did not dress in Leeds United's 2-0 loss vs. Watford on Saturday.

League One

  • Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United's 2-1 win vs. Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
  • Anton Peterlin did not dress in Walsall's 3-3 draw vs. Rochdale on Saturday.
  • Mike Grella did not dress in Bury's 2-0 win vs. Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

SCOTLAND

  • Maurice Edu started and played 90 minutes in Rangers' 2-1 win vs. Motherwell on Saturday.
  • Carlos Bocanegra did not dress 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 2-0 win vs. St Johnstone on Sunday.

ITALY

  • Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Chievo Verona's 2-1 win vs. Fiorentina on Sunday.

GERMANY

Bundesliga

  • Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 2-1 win vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday.
  • Jermaine Jones started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Schalke 04's 1-1 draw vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Sunday.

  • Timmy Chandler started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in FC Nurnberg's 1-0 loss vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday.
  • Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 1-1 draw vs. Schalke 04 on Sunday.

  • Danny Williams came off the bench and played 9 minutes for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
  • Joe Gyau did not dress for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
  • Terrence Boyd did not dress in Borussia Dortmund's 4-4 draw vs. VfB Stuttgart on Friday.
  • Alfredo Morales dressed but did not play in Hertha Berlin's 4-1 loss vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
  • David Yelldell dressed but did not play in Bayer Leverkusen's 2-0 loss vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday.
  • Andrew Wooten did not dress in Kaiserslautern's 1-0 loss vs. Hamburg SV on Saturday.

2. BUNDESLIGA

  • Luis Robles did not dress in Karlsruher SC's 2-0 win vs. FC Union Berlin on Sunday.
  • Bobby Wood did not dress in TSV 1860 Munich's 1-0 loss vs. Hansa Rostock on Saturday.
  • Matt Taylor dressed but did not play in SC Paderborn 07's 0-0 draw vs. Eintracht Braunschweig on Friday.

FRANCE

  • Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 1-0 win vs. Lorient on Saturday.
  • Charlie Davies did not dress in Sochaux's 2-1 win vs. Brest on Saturday.

NETHERLANDS

  • Jozy Altidore started, played 70 minutes and scored a GOAL in AZ Alkmaar's 2-2 draw vs. Vitesse Arnhem on Sunday.

PORTUGAL

  • Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in Sporting CP's 1-0 win vs. Uniao Leiria on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.

RUSSIA

  • Eugene Starikov did not dress in Zenit St Petersburg's 2-1 win vs. Spartak Moscow on Sunday.

BELGIUM

  • Sacha Kljestan started and played 86 minutes in RSC Anderlecht's 1-1 draw vs. Kortrijk in the Pro League playoffs on Sunday.
  • Mikkel Diskerud did not dress in KAA Gent's 3-0 win vs. Standard Liege in the Pro League playoffs on Saturday.

DENMARK

  • Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Nordsjaelland's 2-0 win vs. HB Koge on Sunday.
  • Clarence Goodson started and played 90 minutes in Brondby IF's 1-0 win vs. Odense BK on Sunday.
  • Chris Rolfe came off the bench, played 18 minutes and received a RED CARD in Aalborg BK's 1-0 loss vs. AC Horsens on Saturday.
  • Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE play AGF Aarhus on Monday.
  • Brad Rusin came off the bench, played 22 minutes and received a yellow card in HB Koge's 2-0 loss vs. FC Nordsjaelland on Sunday.

SWEDEN

  • Samuel Petrone did not dress in Mjallby AIF's 0-0 draw vs. AIK on Sunday.

NORWAY

  • Josh Gatt started and played 90 minutes in Molde FK's 2-0 loss vs. Haugesund on Sunday.
  • Steve Clark started and played 90 minutes in Honefoss BK's 0-0 draw vs. Sogndal on Sunday.
  • Ricardo Clark started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Stabaek IF's 5-1 loss vs. Fredrikstad on Sunday.
  • Sean Cunningham started and played 90 minutes for Stabaek IF.

MEXICO

  • Jose Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 1-0 win vs. Club Tijuana on Friday.
  • Herculez Gomez did not dress in Santos Laguna's 3-1 win vs. Toluca on Sunday.
  • DaMarcus Beasley started, played 88 minutes and had an ASSIST in Puebla's 1-0 win vs. Queretaro on Saturday.

 

  • Sonny Guadarrama did not dress in Atlante's 2-2 draw vs. Jaguares de Chiapas on Saturday.
  • Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Tigres UANL's 4-1 win vs. Morelia on Saturday.
  • Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas' 2-2 draw vs. Atlante on Saturday.
  • Michael Orozco Fiscal started and played 90 minutes in San Luis' 3-1 loss vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
  • Edgar Castillo started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Club Tijuana's 1-0 loss vs. Pachuca on Friday.
  • Joe Corona came off the bench and played 30 minutes for Club Tijuana.
  • Greg Garza dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.

——-

What do you think of these performances? Think Lichaj will get more starts in the near future? How many more goals do you see Dempsey scoring this season? Expecting Altidore to carry his goal-scoring ways over to the U.S. men's national team this summer?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Nope Chandler needs to play RW or RF not LF. You slot Donovan in at LW which provides even more creativity than F.Johnson. F.Johnson is a LB now.

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  2. Did anyone see how Ream played? Bolton looks safely away from the drop zone, for now, so I’m assuming he did well. BTW, what happened to all the Jozy haters? Lol.

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  3. Chandler has a lot of offensive ability from the MF/wing as well. He might not be as creative as Johnson, but Johnson’s more comfortable as an LB and provides better left footed service. We have a sample size of 1 game against an average opponent on which to judge Fabian’s skills as an LM.

    The U23s, despite their failings, have several players who can contribute on the wings: Gyau, Adu (even though he’s good centrally as well), and Corona.

    No reason to take our best left back who actually plays there out of the position and replace him with an all around athlete (Chandler) shoehorned into the position.

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  4. I’ve been hoping to see Chandler at RW for a while now.

    He’s better suited for the right side, and while he’s got a lot more top tier PT than Lichaj at FB, the difference in quality at that position is NOT that drastic. Plus, Chandler actually has attacking skills, unlike Danny Williams.

    Don’t forget Gyau in line at RW/LW as well. Could see him at least making the bench a few times during WCQ.

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  5. Well, good news is, the commentators on the FSC (or was it Gol TV) stream got it right, and generally had praise for the “American international”

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  6. Us Yanks aren’t the only ones getting his name wrong. The Chelsea feed on XM Radio was pronouncing the “J” the entire match.

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  7. To be fair, I don’t see a whole lot of George John fluffing on here anymore. But I definitely agree with you on the fact that it’s exciting that Ream is more than holding his own so far in helping Bolton survive.

    Reply
  8. Despite his strong play at LB, IMHO Johnson helps the Nats the most as a winger. The Nats are a stronger squad (because of the offensive creativity and ball skills of Johnson) with Johnson in rather than Shea. The falloff between Johnson and Shea is greater than the falloff if Chandler has to cover LB and Dolo takes over RB.

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  9. been here the hole time.. his missed most of last season, and most of this season.. safe to say that this injury is a game changer..

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  10. so you are just going to ignore what he has done so far? Jay Demerit is 32 isnt he?

    Some people are lost out here.

    Only onyewu and bocanegra are playing for better teams than bolton. We apparently are not paying attention to whitbread.

    Reply
  11. I might slot Mo Edu behind Bradley/Jones ahead of Williams. Also, with 2 major injuries in the last 2 years I might have to see Stu Holden have to earn his way back vice automatically penciling him in. As much as I like him, he still only has 17 caps.

    Reply
  12. Bradley played well I heard. His club won and still midtable. Not bad since it’s a small club.

    Jozy with his 11th league goal of the season. Still has a chance to finish with 20 goals in all competitions since he’s now at 15.

    Reply
  13. Yeah I could see Chandler being moved up to RW for the nats. Johnson is now a LB. He has solidified that position as his own with Hoffenheim, so there is no reason to slot Chandler over at LB for the Nats now that Johnson continues to blossom at the positon. Dolo is still our #1 RB. And now Lichaj looks poised to be Dolo’s successor. Chandler at RW and Donovan at LW. Sounds good to me. With Gatt as the back-up RW, and Shea as the back-up LW. Dempsey at CAM with Adu backing him up. Strikers: Altidore, Gomez, Boyd, Sapong, Wooten, Buddle, Agudelo. CAM’s: Dempsey, Adu, Feilhaber. Wingers: Donovan, Chandler, Gatt, Shea, Beasley. CM’s: Bradley, Jones, D.Williams, Torres, Holden(when healthy), Zusi, Kljestan. CB’s: Gooch, Boca, Whitbread, Ream, Goodson, Cameron, Parkhurst(can be used at both LB and RB as well). RB’s: Dolo, Lichaj, Chandler(when not used as a RW). LB: F.Johnson, E. Castillo. I think the USMNT is starting to take shape.

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  14. yes but we’ve got a pool going on “lick-edge”…

    it’s gonna make one heck of a drinking game once he and Terrence Boddy take the field…

    Reply
  15. Chandler, Gatt and Johnson can also play winger if needed there, that is all Chandler has been playing for the past few weeks.

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  16. Verbeek came to Jozy’s defense this week. This manager seems to be exactly what Jozy needs. He is tough on him but supportive as well.

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  17. Or better yet, when he finally does appear to be on the verge of playing for a US team, the team chokes and fails to qualify before he can even play in the big tournament (….TWICE. Man, reason number 4,080 i’m mad about the Olympic team fail…this is the second time we don’t get to see Gatt with a US team! booooo)

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  18. Correct, Eric eeeess ahhhh nice Poo-lish Ameer-ree-cahn boy named Lichaj, eees pronounce’ like Leee – high!

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  19. Is Josh Gatt real, or is he a just a fantasy player who always gets called up, but then departs for various reasons just before game day? The legend is that he has lightening speed, is great on the dribble and has a strong and accurate shot. If only he were real….

    Reply
  20. Tim ream has pulled bolton from 19th to 16th. he has performed so much bettter than zat knight was.

    Yet people still clamor for george john who couldnt even make a championship side.

    And Gonzo is just a trainers table at this point.

    Way to go Tim Ream in the top flight of one of the best football leagues in the world.

    Reply
  21. ESPN is pathetic when it comes to that. they can’t even pronounce half the club’s names, much less players. the “world wide leader in sports” actually sucks when it comes to anything other than football, baseball, and basketball, its pretty sad

    Reply
  22. Overall a nice weekend for the Yanks Abroad. Looking forward to the upcoming friendlies and WC qualification. Will be great to see a full strength USMNT.
    With Lichaj, Chandler, & Johnason all playing well we’ll likely get to see some real depth/compitition for our outside backs. Central midfield will be hard to sort out with the number of strong performances by Jones, Bradley, Edu, & Torres. Potentially add in Holden (mid/late summer) and Williams and JK will have some difficult decisions to make. IMO we’re still a little thin @ wide midfield….Donovan & Shea are the only real options, but still hoping Gyau, Bedoya, and Adu can hopefully break into the side. Still need to find the future center backs….but if Gooch can get healthy and Boca/Goodson can hold on for another year….JK (and their clubs) will hopefully get 2-4 of the younger generation up to speed (Ream, Gonzalez, John, Whitbread, Hines, and Orozco). The strikers are developing….and if they stay on task the young guns will be very good within a year (Jozy, Boyd, Wooten, & Sapong).

    Reply
  23. Gomez getting a breather this week or..?

    Once again, nice to see our YA starting and contributing to their club.

    Reply
  24. I wish Lichaj would become a US soccer superstar only so I can hear the average American media try pronouncing his name, some nob on sports center or whatever.

    Reply

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