Where Your UEFA Champions League Starters Come From - Round of 16

One can't help but notice that the UEFA Champions League has a serious lack of American footballers. Here's a rundown of all 43 countries that were represented by players in the Starting Elevens for both Legs of the Round of 16. The only countries ranked higher than the U.S. in the latest FIFA poll without representation: #13 Costa Rica, #14 Romania, #22 Slovakia, #26 Israel, #28 Denmark and #29 Ecuador. Some of the more surprising nations to be represented? #89 Morocco, #80 Paraguay, #79 Armenia, #71 Bulgaria, #61 Albania and #54 Gabon. Other stuff worth noting:

-Brazil has the most players (31) despite not being in Europe.
-Portugal's FC Porto starts no Portuguese players
-None of England's 3 Teams start more than 2 English players
-Belgium and the Netherlands, the 2nd and 3rd highest ranking teams in Europe each only featured 3 players in UCL Round of 16 Starting XIs.
-The highest ranking team in Europe without representation in the UCL Round of 16 is Romania (#14)

Here's the complete list:

Weekly Top Tens - 1/12/15

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1) Diego Costa (Spain) - Chelsea - 15
2) Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 14

3) Charlie Austin (England) - Queens Park Rangers - 13

4) Alexis Sánchez (Chile) - Arsenal - 12
5) Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast) - Swansea City - 9
5) Saido Berahino (England) - West Bromwich Albion - 9

5) Papiss Demba Cissé (Senegal) - Newcastle United - 9

8) Robin van Persie (Netherlands) - Manchester United - 8

8) Graziano Pellè (Italy) - Southampton - 8

8) Wayne Rooney (England) - Manchester United - 8

8) Diafra Sakho (Senegal) - West Ham United - 8
8) Eden Hazard (Belgium) - Chelsea - 8
8) Harry Kane (England) - Tottenham Hotspur - 8

Weekly Top Tens - 1/5/15

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1) Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 14

1) Diego Costa (Spain) - Chelsea - 14 

3) Charlie Austin (England) - Queens Park Rangers - 12

4) Alexis Sánchez (Chile) - Arsenal - 10
5) Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast) - Swansea City - 9

5) Papiss Demba Cissé (Senegal) - Newcastle United - 9

7) Robin van Persie (Netherlands) - Manchester United - 8

7) Graziano Pellè (Italy) - Southampton - 8

7) Wayne Rooney (England) - Manchester United - 8

7) Diafra Sakho (Senegal) - West Ham United - 8
7) Saido Berahino (England) - West Bromwich Albion - 8
7) Eden Hazard (Belgium) - Chelsea - 8

Weekly Top Tens - 12/29/14

Get used to this fact, I like lists... Here's a rundown of some of Europe's leading scorers.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1) Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 14

2) Diego Costa (Spain) - Chelsea - 13 

3) Charlie Austin (England) - Queens Park Rangers - 12

4) Alexis Sánchez (Chile) - Arsenal - 10

5) Papiss Demba Cissé (Senegal) - Newcastle United - 9

6) Robin van Persie (Netherlands) - Manchester United - 8

6) Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast) - Swansea City - 8

6) Graziano Pellè (Italy) - Southampton - 8

6) Wayne Rooney (England) - Manchester United - 8

10) 5 tied with 7

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.

Americans in the UEFA Champions League

Another quiet round for the Americans as once again, only Sacha Kljestan dressed, and he wasn't called upon in Anderlecht's 2-1 loss to Arsenal.

David Yelldell - GK - Bayer Leverkusen - Yelldell took his typical back seat to Bernd Leno and Dario Kresic as Leverkusen defeated Zenit St Petersburg 2-0.

Sacha Kljestan - MF - Anderlecht - Kljestan dressed, but once again went unused, this time getting passed up in favor of Leander Dendoncker and Matías Suárez. Anderlecht squandered a 1-0 lead over Arsenal giving up goals in the 89th and 91st minutes to fall 2-1.

Joe Gyau - MF - Borussia Dortmund - Gyau injured his knee in the U.S.'s match against Ecuador on October 10th and is out until January. Dortmund won without him 4-0 over Galatasaray.

Najar Scores Vs Arsenal

Former MLS Rookie of the Year Andy Najar nearly provided Anderlecht with a huge upset over Arsenal yesterday when his goal gave them a 1-0 lead in the 71st minute. But Arsenal would not be denied equalizing in the 89th minute and then stealing the match in the 91st. Najar spent three seasons with DC United before moving to Belgium to play alongside American Sacha Kljestan at Anderlecht.


 

Americans in the UEFA Champion's League

Quiet round for the Americans as of the now three players on Champions League rosters, only Sacha Kljestan dressed, and he wasn't called upon in Anderlecht's 3-0 loss to Joe Gyau's Borussia Dortmund.

David Yelldell - GK - Bayer Leverkusen - Yelldell again took a back seat to Leno and Kresic as Leverkusen defeated Benfica 3-1. Yelldell hasn't appeared in a competitive match since July of 2011 when he conceded 4 goals to Dynamo Dresden in a 4-3 loss in the German Cup (DFB-Pokal). He last dressed in May for a league match against Bremen.

Sacha Kljestan - MF - Anderlecht - Kljestan dressed, but was passed up in favor of strikers Frank Acheampong (Ghana, Age 20), Gohi Bi Zoro Cyriac (Ivory Coast, Age 24) and Nathan Kabasele (Belgium, Age 20).

Joe Gyau - MF - Borussia Dortmund - The 22 year-old Gyau dressed for four Bundesliga matches in September making his debut as a substitute in the 73rd minute on the 24th against Stuttgart. He has yet to dress for a Champions League match.

Americans in the UEFA Champions League

Only two Americans are on active rosters for the 32 remaining clubs playing in the UEFA Champions League this year. Here's a rundown of how they fared on Match Day 1.

David Yelldell - GK - Bayer Leverkusen - The 32 year-old Yelldell is currently the 3rd string keeper behind Bernd Leno, the youngest GK to play in a Champions League match, and Dario Kresic, a former youth national team keeper in Croatia. A lot's going to have to happen before Yelldell makes an impact for Bayer Leverkusen who he's yet to play for in a league match despite signing with the club back in 2011.

Sacha Kljestan - MF - Anderlecht - Kljestan is in his 5th season with Belgian powerhouse Anderlecht setting a professional career high with 8 goals in league play last year. He scored in the Group Stage of the Champions League in 2013 against Olympiacos (Greece), in the Third Qualifying Round of the Champions League in 2012 against Ekranas (Lithuania), in the Group Stage of the Europa League in 2011 against Lokomotiv Moscow, and in the Third Qualifying Round of the Champions League in 2010 against The New Saints (Wales) in 2010. Kljestan came into the match against Galatasaray Tuesday in the 66th minute up 1-0, but Anderlecht couldn't hang on to the lead yielding a late equalizer to Burak Yilmaz.