By FRANCO PANIZO
Steve Cherundolo may be known as the Mayor of Hannover, but he now holds another distinct title for his club: all-time leader in Bundesliga appearances.
Cherundolo set the Hannover 96 record for most league matches played in on Saturday, as he took part in his 299th game for the club. Earning the milestone that signifies his longevity and consistency since joining Hannover in 1999 may have been a proud moment for Cherundolo but the result of the game was one to forget, as Hannover suffered a 3-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen.
Alfredo Morales is another player who enjoyed a memorable weekend. Celebrating his 23rd birthday on Sunday, Morales made the day even more special by scoring the first goal of his professional career in Hertha Berlin’s 2-1 win over FC Cologne. The goal was not only the eventual winner in the match, but it also assured that promotion-bound Hertha Berlin would finish their impressive season as 2. Bundesliga champions.
Clint Dempsey also made an impact for his respective team, scoring a goal and assisting on another in Tottenham’s 2-1 come-from-behind win over Stoke City on Sunday. Dempsey first pulled Spurs level in the game with a great left-footed strike from distance before setting up Emmanuel Adebayor’s winner seven minutes before the final whistle. Dempsey’s goal gave him seven in league play and 12 across all competitions this season, and also helped keep Tottenham’s hopes of earning a UEFA Champions League spot alive.
Here’s how the Americans Abroad fared this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Geoff Cameron came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Stoke City’s 2-1 loss vs. Tottenham on Sunday.
- Brek Shea did not dress for Stoke City.
- Sebastian Lletget did not dress in West Ham United’s 2-0 loss vs. Everton on Sunday.
- Clint Dempsey started, played 84 minutes, had an ASSIST and scored a GOAL in Tottenham’s 2-1 win vs. Stoke City on Sunday.
- Brad Friedel dressed but did not play for Tottenham.
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Everton’s 2-0 win vs. West Ham United on Sunday.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made five saves in Aston Villa’s 2-1 loss vs. Chelsea on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj started and played 90 minutes for Aston Villa.
Championship
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Leicester City’s 3-1 loss vs. Watford in the second leg of their promotional playoffs semifinals series on Sunday. Leicester City lost on aggregate, 3-2.
SPAIN
La Liga
- Oguchi Onyewu dressed but did not play in Malaga CF’s 0-0 draw vs. Sevilla on Sunday.
Segunda Division
- Carlos Bocanega started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Racing Santander’s 1-0 win vs. Real Madrid Castilla on Sunday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in AS Roma’s 0-0 draw vs. AC Milan on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Fabian Johnson came off the bench and played 45 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 4-1 loss vs. Hamburg SV on Saturday.
- Danny Williams did not dress for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
- Timmy Chandler did not dress in FC Nurnberg’s 2-1 win vs. Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Augsburg’s 3-0 loss vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones started and played 90 minutes in Schalke 04′s 2-1 loss vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
- David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen’s 3-1 win vs. Hannover 96 on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96′s 3-1 loss vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
2. Bundesliga
- Joe Gyau did not dress in St Pauli’s 5-1 win vs. TSV Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday.
- Alfredo Morales started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Hertha Berlin’s 2-1 win vs. FC Cologne on Sunday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRPya7FPP_M?feature=player_detailpage]
- John Anthony Brooks started and played 90 minutes for Hertha Berlin.
- Andrew Wooten started and played 90 minutes in SV Sandhausen’s 3-0 loss vs. Energie Cottbus on Sunday.
- Bobby Wood came off the bench and played five minutes in TSV 1860 Munich’s 2-0 loss vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Sunday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore started and played 73 minutes in AZ Alkmaar’s 2-0 loss vs. Willem II Tilburg on Sunday.
PORTUGAL
- Tony Taylor came off the bench and played 13 minutes in G.D. Estoril Praia’s 2-1 win vs. Beira Mar on Saturday.
- Caleb Patterson-Sewell did not dress in Vitoria Setubal’s 2-1 loss vs. Moreirense on Saturday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov did not dress in FK Rostov’s 1-1 draw vs. Zenit St Petersburg on Sunday.
TURKEY
- Maurice Edu and Bursaspor play Eskisehirspor K on Monday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes in RSC Anderlecht’s 2-1 win vs. Racing Genk in the Pro League playoffs on Sunday.
DENMARK
- Clarence Goodson started, played 64 minutes and scored a GOAL in Brondby IF’s 1-1 draw vs. Aalborg BK on Sunday. You can see the goal here.
- Charlie Davies dressed but did not play in Randers FC’s 3-0 loss vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.
- Conor O’Brien came off the bench and played 12 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland’s 4-1 win vs. Odense BK on Friday.
AUSTRIA
- Terrence Boyd came off the bench and played 76 minutes in Rapid Vienna’s 0-0 draw vs. Wolfsberger AC on Saturday.
SWEDEN
- Alejandro Bedoya and Helsingborg IF play BK Hacken on Monday.
- Brian Span dressed but did not play in Djurgarden IF’s 3-2 win vs. Malmo FF on Sunday.
NORWAY
- Josh Gatt started and played 90 minutes in Molde FK’s 0-0 draw vs. Sandnes Ulf on Sunday.
- Steve Clark and Honefoss BK play Rosenborg BK on Monday.
MEXICO
- Herculez Gomez started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Santos Laguna’s 3-1 win vs. Atlas in the second leg of their Liga MX quarterfinals series on Sunday. Santos Laguna won on aggregate, 3-1.
- Benji Joya did not dress for Santos Laguna.
- Joaquin Alonso Hernandez came off the bench and played five minutes in Monterrey’s 1-1 draw vs. Tigres UANL in the second leg of their Liga MX quarterfinals series on Saturday. Monterrey won on aggregate, 2-1.
- Jose Torres started and played 54 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 1-1 draw vs. Monterrey in the second leg of their Liga MX quarterfinals series on Saturday. Tigres UANL lost on aggregate, 2-1.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress for Tigres UANL.
- Ventura Alvarado did not dress in Club America’s 2-1 win vs. Pumas UNAM in the second leg of their Liga MX quarterfinals series on Saturday. Club America won on aggregate, 3-1.
BRAZIL
- Freddy Adu did not dress in Bahia’s 7-3 loss vs. Vitoria in the first leg of the Baiano finals on Sunday.
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What do you think of these performances? How amazed are you by Cherundolo’s longevity with Hannover? More impressed with Morales scoring his first professional goal on his birthday or Dempsey’s performance?
Share your thoughts below.