By FRANCO PANIZO
For the second straight year, Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht are champions of Belgium.
Kljestan and Anderlecht successfully defended their title on Sunday with a 1-1 draw against second-place Zulte-Waregem in their season finale. Kljestan missed on a chance that would have given Anderlecht the win but the post-game scenes were festive ones all the same for the midfielder and his teammates, as they secured the necessary result that allowed them to hoist the Pro League trophy for the 32nd time in the club’s history.
Jermaine Jones and Schalke did not have any hardware after the final game of their respective season, but they too had plenty of reason to celebrate. Jones and Schalke clinched fourth place in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 win over fifth-placed SC Freiburg on Saturday, which means the Royal Blues will partake in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers next season.
John Anthony Brooks also had a memorable outing to close out his campaign, as he scored the first goal of his blossoming career on Sunday. The enormous centerback netted an 87th-minute equalizer for Bundesliga-bound Hertha Berlin in their 1-1 draw with Energie Cottbus on Sunday, assuring that the Blue-Whites would not end their impressive season on a sour note.
On the other side of the spectrum, Fabian Johnson and Hoffenheim avoided relegation from the Bundesliga, at least for the time being, with a shocking 2-1 win over second-place Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. The result, combined with Fortuna Dusseldrof’s 3-0 loss to Hannover, saw Hoffenheim jump into 16th place in the standings and they will now have to face 2. Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern in a two-legged series that will determine which team will be in Germany’s top flight next season.
It was not all good news this weekend. Clint Dempsey and Tottenham failed in their bid to try and earn a Champions League spot, defeating Sunderland on Sunday but not getting the result they needed in Arsenal’s game with Newcastle United. Dempsey started and lasted 73 minutes before being removed in Spurs’ season finale.
Here’s how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Geoff Cameron started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in Stoke City’s 1-1 draw vs. Southampton on Sunday.
- Brek Shea did not dress for Stoke City.
- Sebastian Lletget did not dress in West Ham United’s 4-2 win vs. Reading on Sunday.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 73 minutes in Tottenham’s 1-0 win vs. Sunderland on Sunday.
- Brad Friedel dressed but did not play for Tottenham.
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Everton’s 2-1 loss vs. Chelsea on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Aston Villa’s 2-2 draw vs. Wigan Athletic on Sunday.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress for Aston Villa.
SPAIN
La Liga
- Oguchi Onyewu and Malaga CF did not play this weekend.
Segunda Division
- Carlos Bocanega started and played 90 minutes in Racing Santander’s 2-0 win vs. CD Sabadell on Sunday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in AS Roma’s 2-1 win vs. Napoli on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 2-1 win vs. Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
- Danny Williams did not dress for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Timmy Chandler did not dress in FC Nurnberg’s 3-2 win vs. Werder Bremen on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Augsburg’s 3-1 win vs. SpVgg Greuther Furth on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones started and played 90 minutes in Schalke 04′s 2-1 win vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday.
- David Yelldell dressed but did not play in Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-0 win vs. Hamburg SV on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in Hannover 96′s 3-0 win vs. Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday.
2. Bundesliga
- Joe Gyau came off the bench and played 18 minutes in St Pauli’s 2-1 win vs. Kaiserslautern on Sunday.
- John Anthony Brooks started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Hertha Berlin’s 1-1 draw vs. Energie Cottbus on Sunday.
- Alfredo Morales did not dress for Hertha Berlin. Morales signed with FC Ingolstadt on Friday.
- Andrew Wooten started and played 90 minutes in SV Sandhausen’s 1-0 loss vs. FC Erzgebirge Aue on Sunday.
- Bobby Wood started, played 73 minutes and scored a GOAL in TSV 1860 Munich’s 3-0 win vs. VfR Aalen on Sunday.
PORTUGAL
- Tony Taylor came off the bench and played five minutes in G.D. Estoril Praia’s 3-1 win vs. Gil Vicente on Sunday.
- Caleb Patterson-Sewell did not dress in Vitoria Setubal’s 1-0 loss vs. Braga on Sunday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov came off the bench, played 35 minutes and scored TWO GOALS in FK Rostov’s 3-2 loss vs. FK Amkar Perm’ on Friday.
TURKEY
- Maurice Edu did not dress in Bursaspor’s 2-2 draw vs. Genclerbirligi on Sunday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes in RSC Anderlecht’s 1-1 draw vs. Zulte-Waregem in the Pro League playoffs on Sunday.
DENMARK
- Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF play AC Horsens on Monday.
- Charlie Davies and Randers FC play Aalborg BK on Monday.
- Conor O’Brien and FC Nordsjaelland play Esbjerg on Monday.
AUSTRIA
- Terrence Boyd started and played 78 minutes in Rapid Vienna’s 2-0 loss vs. SV Mattersburg on Saturday.
SWEDEN
- Alejandro Bedoya and Helsingborg IF play Elfsborg on Monday.
- Brian Span dressed but did not play in Djurgarden IF’s 1-0 win vs. Halmstad BK on Sunday.
NORWAY
- Josh Gatt and Molde FK play Rosenborg BK on Monday.
- Steve Clark and Honefoss BK play Lillestrom on Monday.
MEXICO
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Santos Laguna’s 2-1 loss vs. Cruz Azul in the second leg of their Liga MX semifinals on Sunday. Santos Laguna lost on aggregate, 5-1.
- Benji Joya did not dress for Santos Laguna.
- Joaquin Alonso Hernandez dressed but did not play in Monterrey’s 2-1 loss vs. Club America in the second leg of their Liga MX semifinals series on Saturday. Monterrey lost on aggregate, 4-3.
- Ventura Alvarado did not dress in Club America’s 2-1 win vs. Monterrey in the second leg of their Liga MX semifinals series on Saturday. Club America won on aggregate, 4-3.
BRAZIL
- Freddy Adu came off the bench and played 26 minutes in Bahia’s 1-1 draw vs. Vitoria in the second leg of the Baiano finals on Sunday. Bahia lost on aggregate, 8-4.
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What do you think of these performances? Impressed with Kljestan and Anderlecht succesfully defending their Pro League title? Bummed that Dempsey and Tottenham did not reach the Champions League?
Share your thoughts below.