- Fabian Johnson is starting in the Champions League against Man City today. He's very likely the only American who will play in the CL group stage or beyond this season.
- Bobby Wood has three goals in his last four games, which takes him to four goals in nine games on the season. He was a terrible finisher while at 1860 Munich but seems to be doing a little better now. After going goalless in limited time over 1.5 seasons, he bagged three for Erzgebirge Aue on loan last season and has been decent so far for Union Berlin.
- Alfredo Morales has fractured a bone in his nose. Presumably he'll use one of those masks and not miss any time. He's played every minute for Ingolstadt, who have started well in the Bundesliga.
- After being MIA for a year or two, Eugene Starikov has popped up on the radar again. He's with Chornomorets Odesa in Ukraine, playing in the city of his birth. Chornomorets appears to suck this year, winless in nine thus far. Starikov joined earlier this month and has made two starts so far, scoring one goal. While with Tom Tomsk in Russia, Starikov got called up to the 2011 January camp under Bob Bradley, but never played in a game for the US.
- Forward Benji Lopez, who came through RSL's academy but never made an impact with the first team and was eventually released, has landed at Santos Laguna where he's playing for the U-20 team. He's still only 20 and seems like one of many players who would have really benefited from a USL team, had RSL had one at the time.
- I'm aware of 21 American players in the Club Tijuana system and most likely, there are more. No other Mexican club has nearly that number, but many have at least a handful. It's amazing how bad the attrition rate is down there among academy players, though. I'm currently intrigued by a 16 year old defender named Ángel Uribe, who is playing up with the Xolos' U20 team despite a few more years of U17 league eligibility. He even made the bench for a Copa MX game at one point. Liga MX provides great statistical data about playing time for their youth leagues, but it's really hard to find any qualitative information or reports. Progression relative to age is all I got.
