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Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

Rubio Rubin of FC Utrecht FC Utrecht

 

By FRANCO PANIZO

During a European season in which there have not been too many bright spots from the Americans Abroad contingent, Rubio Rubin continues to impress.

Rubin made further strides in his development by putting together a two-assist performance for FC Utrecht on Saturday. Serving as a central midfielder and not a forward, the 18-year-old Rubin set up two goals within two minutes of one another early into the second half to give his side a 2-0 lead vs. Go Ahead Eagles. Utrecht could not hold onto the lead, however, as they surrendered three unanswered goals to fall, 3-2.

Fabian Johnson was another player to grab an assist, and he did so in his return to Borussia Moenchengladbach’s lineup. After missing a couple of games because of a minor injury, Johnson made his way back into the the club’s lineup and set up the opener in a 1-1 draw with Mainz. He lasted until the 70th minute of the match, and was used as a left midfielder.

Herculez Gomez also made an impact for his club, though it did not show on the scoresheet. Gomez looked to have scored a goal for Tigres UANL over Veracruz on Sunday, but the ball went in off a defender Leiton Jimenez and was ruled an own goal. Regardless, it still stood as the winner in the 1-0 victory and Gomez’s contribution helped the club stay within striking distance of Liga MX leaders Club America.

While there were positive performances, there were also plenty of negative developments. Jozy Altidore did not come off the bench for Sunderland in a 3-1 victory over a Geoff Cameron-less Stoke City, and Brek Shea and Julian Green failed to dress for Birmingham City and Hamburg, respectively.

Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:

ENGLAND

Premiership

  • Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Everton’s 2-1 loss vs. Manchester United on Sunday.
  • Jozy Altidore dressed but did not play in Sunderland’s 3-1 win vs. Stoke City on Saturday.
  • Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made five saves in Aston Villa’s 2-0 loss vs. Manchester City on Saturday.
  • Brad Friedel did not dress in Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 win vs. Southampton on Sunday.
  • Geoff Cameron did not dress in Stoke City’s 3-1 loss vs. Sunderland on Saturday.
  • Cody Cropper did not dress in Southampton’s 1-0 loss vs. Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Championship

  • Will Packwood dressed but did not play in Birmingham City’s 1-1 draw vs. Charlton Athletic on Saturday.
  • Brek Shea did not dress for Birmingham City.
  • Jonathan Spector did not dress for Birmingham City. He is recovering from a thigh injury.
  • Tim Ream started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Bolton Wanderers’ 2-1 loss vs. AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
  • Eric Lichaj started and played 81 minutes in Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw vs. Ipswich Town on Sunday.
  • Danny Williams did not dress in Reading’s 3-1 loss vs. Brentford on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Emerson Hyndman dressed but did not play in Fulham’s 2-0 loss vs. Middlesbrough on Saturday.
  • Zak Whitbread started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Derby County’s 0-0 draw vs. Millwall on Saturday.

GERMANY

Bundesliga

  • Fabian Johnson started, played 70 minutes and had an ASSIST in Borussia Moenchengladbach’s 1-1 draw vs. Mainz 05 on Sunday. You can see the assist here.
  • John Brooks did not dress in Hertha Berlin’s 3-2 win vs. VfB Stuttgart on Friday.
  • Timmy Chandler came off the bench and played one minute in Eintracht Franfkurt’s 3-2 win vs. FC Cologne on Saturday.
  • David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Saturday.
  • Julian Green did not dress in Hamburg SV’s 1-0 win vs. Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
  • Joe Gyau dressed but did not play in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 loss vs. Hamburg SV on Saturday.

2. Bundesliga

  • Alfredo Morales started and played 90 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 1-0 win vs. TSV Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday.
  • Terrence Boyd and RB Leipzig play Heidenheimer SB on Monday.
  • Bobby Wood dressed but did not play in TSV 1860 Munich’s 2-0 loss vs. VfR Aalen on Friday.
  • Andrew Wooten started and played 90 minutes in SV Sandhausen’s 3-0 loss vs. FSV Frankfurt on Sunday.

FRANCE

  • Alejandro Bedoya started and played 90 minutes in FC Nantes’ 1-0 win vs. Guingamp on Sunday.

NETHERLANDS

  • Aron Johannsson did not dress in AZ Alkmaar’s 2-2 draw vs. FC Twente on Sunday. He is recovering from a groin injury.
  • Rubio Rubin started, played 90 minutes and had TWO ASSISTS in FC Utrecht’s 3-2 loss vs. Go Ahead Eagles on Saturday.

BELGIUM

  • Sacha Kljestan dressed but did not play in RSC Anderlecht’s 0-0 draw vs. Racing Genk on Sunday.

AUSTRIA

  • Conor O’Brien started and played 90 minutes in FC Magna Wiener Neustadt’s 4-1 loss vs. Red Bull Salzburg on Sunday.

NORWAY

  • Mix Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in Rosenborg BK’s 2-0 win vs. Lillestrom on Friday.
  • Andrew Jacobson started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Stabaek IF’s 1-1 draw vs. FK Bodo Glimt on Sunday.
  • Michael Stephens started and played 90 minutes for Stabaek IF.
  • Ethan Horvath did not dress in Molde FK’s 2-1 win vs. Viking on Saturday.
  • Josh Gatt did not dress for Molde FK. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Zarek Valentin did not dress in FK Bodo/Glimt’s 1-1 draw vs. Stabaek IF on Sunday. He is recovering from an Achilles injury.
  • Jeb Brovsky did not dress in Stromsgodset’s 0-0 draw vs. Sarpsborg 08 on Sunday.

SERBIA

  • Freddy Adu dressed but did not play in FK Jagodina’s 2-0 win vs. Borac Cacak on Saturday.

MEXICO

  • Michael Orozco started and played 90 minutes in Puebla’s 1-1 draw vs. Toluca on Sunday.
  • Edgar Castillo and Atlas play Chivas de Guadalajara on Sunday evening.
  • Jose Torres started and played 90 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 1-0 win vs. Veracruz on Saturday.
  • Herculez Gomez started and played 79 minutes for Tigres UANL.
  • Ventura Alvarado did not dress in Club America’s 4-0 loss vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
  • Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Queretaro’s 2-1 loss vs. Club Leon on Friday.
  • Greg Garza started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 1-1 draw vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
  • Joe Corona started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card for Club Tijuana.
  • Paul Arriola dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
  • Alejandro Guido dressed but did not play Club Tijuana.
  • Amando Moreno did not dress for Club Tijuana.
  • Fernando Arce Jr did not dress for Club Tijuana.
  • John Requejo did not dress for Club Tijuana.
  • Joaquin Alonso Hernandez did not dress in Monterrey’s 1-1 draw vs. Club Tijuana on Saturday.
  • Gabriel Farfan did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas’ 2-0 loss vs. Pachuca on Saturday.

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What do you think of these performances? How impressed have you been by Rubin this season? Surprised to not see Altidore, Shea and Green receive minutes for their clubs?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

    • The reality is clubs in Holland want young players they can sell on. Neither Ajax or PSV have a single attacking player over 25. So he’s probably starting to get to the age where the interest just isn’t going to be there. Might have a better chance in France or Italy.

      Reply
  1. How long until Bob Bradley gets a job offer at a bigger clue, what he has done at stabeak is remarkable considering the small budget he has. I also love that he is got unwanted mls players to join him and improve the team on the cheap

    Reply
    • Didn’t Mexico announce there roster like 2 weeks ago? Clearly the players have been told as Green is tweeting pictures of him landing in Boston. However Klinsmann holding any announcement is pretty annoying.

      Reply
  2. It’d be a depressing litany of “dressed but did not plays” and “did not dress”…if we weren’t so used to it.

    Definitely am starting to think if you can’t get regular minutes abroad, you’re better off in MLS. The league could use the quality; the players could use somebody who’s actually invested in them. Altidore, Cameron, Gyau, and maybe even Brooks are guys who might could use an MLS move.

    One thing I would hope the league explores with the new collective bargaining agreement, in addition to maybe upping the number of DP’s, is to add a single, maybe tradable “loan” slot that does NOT contain MLS’s current stipulation that all loans have an ultimate option to buy, especially if that player is eligible for the USMNT. We need to make it attractive for foreign clubs that aren’t playing their American players to loan them to MLS…and get them minutes. Our off-norm schedule would help immensely with this because the loaning club would know, for instance, that a player loaned out in January could be brought back in the summer transfer window. Get the Julian Greens, the Gyau’s, the John Anthony Brooks’ some regular minutes here in MLS.

    Maybe even make the loan slot contigent upon participation in CONCACAF Champions League. Would reward the teams that qualified and give them some badly-needed depth with which to compete. And it would do the players – and the pool – a lot more good than letting them rot on the bench overseas. And it would add some cheap depth to teams that currently find it hard to compete in the CCF in the middle of also trying to make the playoffs.

    Reply
    • Gyau has broken into the first 23 for one of the biggest Bundesliga clubs (albeit one that is sucking right now). I think he’s doing just fine.

      Cameron was doing just fine (and getting a lot of interested suitors) when he came up with an injury at the absolute worst time.

      Brooks is too young and has shown too much potential to give up on Europe yet. He’ll be back in the first squad somehwhere before the end of the season.

      Altidore, on the other hand, seems like he’d be better off on an MLS DP deal than anywhere else for now. He’s still pretty young, so he could be getting more looks abroad if he puts himself in the Golden Boot race a couple of seasons in a row and shows well for the USMNT.

      Reply
      • Gyau is being called to the first team just because Dortmund is in an injury crisis, once things go back to usual he’ll be back to the reserves.

    • I think it does strengthen the idea that we need a quality domestic league that is going to have an investment in American players. At the same time, there will always be stories of players who go places and struggle. Even the best of the best countries have players going places that don’t work out and see them sitting.

      I think the elephant in the room is Altidore at Sunderland. There seems no light at the end of that tunnel. All the other situations have their reasons or players who can break through. But Sunderland is just out right depressing. Even if he did play it would probably be depressing. It’s depressing no matter what player on that team you’re rooting for.

      Reply
    • Each of their clubs is invested in them and wants them to succeed.

      The problem with American fans is most of us expect their European clubs to babysit them. This is a professional sport with millions to play for. If you aren’t playing well you don’t get a cuddle. You’ll get encouragement but no one is going to hold your hand.

      We need players on our team who are champions. You fight through. Even stars like Rooney have a whole country’s media attacking them yet they’re mentally strong enough to get it done.

      I don’t want our players in MLS because there’s little competition for their place on the team and no real pressures.

      Our players fail in Europe because they aren’t good enough or strong enough. Guys like McBride and DeMerit showed that grit and a strong will gets you places.

      If Jozy had McBride’s attitude and if Brooks had DeMerit’s, they’d start every game. This generation just has a few entitlement issues.

      Reply
    • quozzel.

      If you think highly of your players you loan them to a club that is close to your own situation to keep them fresh and sharp should they be needed.

      If you want to sell them then a loan can serve to showcase them.

      Regardless of anything else, MLS is a very different environment from the top Euro leagues. Right now most Euro players loaned to MLS teams are on their way out the door ( See Edu,Maurice). If a Euro club thinks highly enough of their American player, they will find ways to get him playing time

      As loathed,despised and ridiculed as Brek Shea is by SBI fans I notice Stoke still retains him and has him on loan at Birmingham while they have let Mo Edu, a much more popular and beloved figure on SBI , go on what is probably a permanent loan to the Union.

      I find it very odd that you think that every American soccer player abroad is hampered by his nationality. What is this BS about how their clubs have no investment in them?
      Their clubs signed them did they not? Why would they not want them to do well?

      It is hard for anyone to make a living in a foreign culture. Try talking to all the Latin ballplayers in baseball’s minor leagues. There were 53 players listed in Americans Abroad spread across the world, which is not a lot of players.

      There were 89 players from the Dominican Republic just in the American major leagues, many of them top players. It takes time, and a lot of hard work and yes, a lot of failure along the way to get to that point.

      I don’t understand why you think American soccer players should not have to go through the same sort of process.

      Reply
    • It’s not same grand conspiracy that European teams aren’t invested in Americans or don’t want them to succeed. Our players simply aren’t playing well enough to start for their teams. This could change at any moment, and hopefully it does. But I don’t know that simply giving up and coming back to MLS is the answer. I’d rather they come back to MLS after starting abroad, because that will mean they worked hard. And I’m not saying that because OMG EUROPE IS BETTER, I want MLS to succeed.

      Reply

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