Thursday, November 6, 2014

Americans in the UEFA Champions League

Big week for Sacha Kljestan and Anderlecht as the American played all 90 minutes of their epic come-from-behind draw against Arsenal. Trailing 3-0 through the first hour, Anderlecht scored three times in the final 30 minutes to erase what appeared to be an insurmountable deficit. It was a bit of a reversal for Anderlecht who in their previous match squandered a 1-0 lead late against Arsenal and fell 2-1. Former MLSer Andy Najar assisted on the equalizer.

David Yelldell - GK - Bayer Leverkusen - Yelldell again took his typical back seat to Bernd Leno and Dario Kresic as Leverkusen defeated Zenit St Petersburg 2-1.

Joe Gyau - MF - Borussia Dortmund - Gyau continues to rehab his injured knee. Dortmund won without him, 4-1 over Galatasaray and currently sit atop Group D a perfect 4-0.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

MLS Postseason Goal Scorers by Nationality, Part II

8 more goals in the first leg of the Conference Semifinals. Here's your updated postseason goal scorers by nationality:

ARGENTINA (1)

Federico Higuain - Columbus Crew (1) - Regular Season: 11 goals in 29 games

BRAZIL (2)

Michel - FC Dallas (2) - Regular Season: 8 goals in 25 games

CANADA (1)

Tesho Akindele - FC Dallas (1) - Regular Season: 7 goals in 26 games

ENGLAND (4)

Dom Dwyer - Sporting Kansas City (1) - Regular Season: 22 goals in 33 games
Bradley Wright-Phillips - New York Red Bulls (3) - Regular Season: 27 goals in 32 games

FRANCE (1)

Peguy Luyindula - New York Red Bulls (1) - Regular Season: 5 goals in 26 games

USA (7*)

Osvaldo Alonso* - Seattle Sounders (1) - Regular Season: 0 goals in 33 games
Charlie Davies - New England Revolution (2) - Regular Season: 3 goals in 18 games
Erik Hurtado - Vancouver Whitecaps (1) - Regular Season: 5 goals in 30 games
Justin Meram - Columbus Crew (1) - Regular Season: 8 goals in 32 games
Lee Nguyen - New England Revolution (1) - Regular Season: 18 goals in 32 games
Chris Tierney - New England Revolution (1) - Regular Season: 1 goal in 24 games

*Alonso defected from Cuba during the 2007 Gold Cup and became a U.S. citizen in 2012.

The 2010 World Cup Team, Where are they Now?

After our article yesterday about Oguchi Onyewu and then noticing that Robbie Findley was coming off the bench for Real Salt Lake last night I was curious as to where the rest of the 2010 U.S. Men's World Cup was at these days. Here's a quick rundown:

Goalies

Tim Howard - 4 years later, Howard's still with Everton and still at the top of his game. He posted another shutout against Swansea City Saturday.
Brad Guzan - Guzan has now emerged as the starter for Aston Villa and continues to make a name for himself in the Premier League.
Marcus Hahnemann - Now 42, Hahnemann is a backup goalie for the Seattle Sounders. He hasn't appeared in an MLS match since last year's postseason when he replaced the suspended Michael Gspurning.

Defenders

Jonathan Spector - The former Manchester United product has been with Birmingham City of England's Football League Championship since 2011.
Carlos Bocanegra - Bocanegra returned to his MLS roots in 2013 joining up with Chivas USA. He made 18 appearances for the Goats this year before suffering a concussion in July which led to his subsequent retirement.
Oguchi Onyewu - As discussed yesterday, Gooch has signed on with Charlton Athletic. He went unused as a substitute Saturday in their match against Sheffield Wednesday.
Steve Cherundolo - Cherundolo announced his retirement in March after 16 seasons with Hannover 96. He's now an assistant coach on the club's amateur team.
Jonathan Bornstein - After five seasons in MLS, Bornstein went south of the border in 2010.  But since signing with Tigres UANL, he's struggled to find playing time and is currently on loan to QuerĂ©taro.
Jay DeMerit -DeMerit tore a tendon in his ankle in June and since announced his retirement appearing in parts of the last four seasons with Vancouver.
Clarence Goodson - Goodson joined the San Jose Earthquakes in 2013, but was limited to just 10 appearances this year after suffering a toe injury.

Midfielders

Michael Bradley - Bradley's first season with Toronto FC was a disappointment as they squandered a fast start and wound up missing the postseason all together. Bradley ended the year with just 2 goals and 4 assists in 25 games.
DeMarcus Beasley - Beasley became the first American to play in four World Cups this year filling the void at left back. He signed on with the Houston Dynamo after the tournament ended making his first MLS appearance since 2004. He started ten games for the Dynamo who missed the postseason.
Clint Dempsey - Deuce returned to MLS last August after a successful run in England, and this year he turned in his best MLS season with 15 goals and 10 assists in helping Seattle win the U.S. Open Cup and the Supporter's Shield.
Landon Donovan - Donovan has announced that he'll retire at the end of the season, but it wasn't because he can't play at a high level. In this, his last MLS season, Donovan finished with 10 goals and a career high 19 assists while the Galaxy finished with the league's second best record.
Stuart Holden - Holden's career has been one of disappointment as a slew of unfortunate injuries have kept him from realizing his full potential. He had his leg broken by Nigel de Jong in a friendly versus the Netherlands in 2010, he received 26 stitches and a fractured femur in a collision with Manchester United's Jonny Evans in 2011, and he tore his ACL in the Gold Cup Final in 2013. He has since suffered additional setbacks during his rehab, but he's still under contract at Bolton.
Ricardo Clark - Clark spent the full year with the Dynamo and scored 4 goals to go along with 4 assists in 25 games. He rejoined the club in 2012 after an injury-plagued stint in Europe.
Jose Francisco Torres - Torres has spent his entire professional career in Mexico playing 6 1/2 seasons with Pachuca before joining Tigres UANL. He joined Tigres in late 2012.
Maurice Edu - Edu spent the 2014 MLS season on loan from England's Stoke City to the Philadelphia Union. While the Union missed the playoffs, Edu started 31 of 34 matches scoring 3 goals and tallying two assists.
Benny Feilhaber - Feilhaber came to MLS after the 2010 World Cup and has now completed his fourth full season in the league. After helping Sporting KC to a title in 2013, he started 30 games this year scoring 4 goals to go along with 6 assists.

Strikers

Herculez Gomez - Gomez left MLS before the 2010 season and has been in Mexico ever since playing for six different clubs. He's currently on loan from Tijuana to Tigres UANL where he's playing alongside Torres.
Edson Buddle - Buddle scored his 100th MLS goal this season with the Rapids, but he appeared in just 18 matches on the year starting 12. Colorado missed the postseason.
Jozy Altidore - Altidore continues to excel for the U.S., but hasn't found similar success at the club level since leaving the Netherlands for Sunderland. He's scored just one English Premier League goal in parts of two seasons.
Robbie Findley - The speedy Findley made just 8 starts for Real Salt Lake this season after being injured for much of the year. He scored one goal, but tallied six a year ago.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Gooch Siting

Gooch!!! I'll be honest, I totally forgot about this guy. Once a mainstay in the U.S. defense, Oguchi Onyewu's career has been plagued by injuries starting with a ruptured patellar tendon back in 2009. Onyewu, now 32, has seen his career take him to France, Belgium, England, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. He spent last season with Queens Park Rangers, for whom he dressed but never played, and Sheffield Wednesday for whom he appeared 17 times across all competitions. He'll now join Football League Championship side Charlton Athletic in what's being termed a "short-term contract". Charlton enters play today in 9th place with a record of 5-2-7. Hopefully it works out for him, but if not, I'd love to see him finish his career at home in the U.S. Even at age 32, I bet there are some clubs that could use him in central defense.

Link to mlssoccer.com article

MLS Postseason Goal Scorers By Country

In case you haven't figure it out yet, I like making lists. Here's your postseason goal scorers by nationality through the Knockout Round:

BRAZIL (1)

Michel - FC Dallas (1) - Regular Season: 8 goals in 25 games

CANADA (1)

Tesho Akindele - FC Dallas (1) - Regular Season: 7 goals in 26 games


ENGLAND (3)

Dom Dwyer - Sporting Kansas City (1) - Regular Season: 22 goals in 33 games
Bradley Wright-Phillips - New York Red Bulls (2) - Regular Season: 27 goals in 32 games

USA (1)

Erik Hurtado - Vancouver Whitecaps (1) - Regular Season: 5 goals in 30 games