Yanks Abroad 2015-16: Jürgen's Lament

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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How many strikers does Werder Bremen generally play with?

As a USMNT fan, it'd be exciting if Morris & Jóhannsson developed a strike partnership at club level that they could take into the national team. It's less exciting if it's just a Talented Mr. Ripley thing where Morris kills Jóhannsson's career and takes it for himself
According to transfermarkt, they mainly played two strikers before Jóhannsson got hurt and have done a bit more of that recently after bringing back Claudio Pizarro (again). Pizarro is 37 and not part of the future and after that they just have one other striker named Anthony Ujah but he doesn't seem like anything special. So we're probably talking about Morris/Johannsson/Ujah as three strikers for a team that will mainly play with two on the pitch, which would leave enough minutes for everybody.

The bigger concern might be that Werder may get relegated this year.
 

Schnerres

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Ujah is the No.1 striker and either they play with one man up front or two and Pizarro will get at least 30minutes of that, if he is healthy.
It is very hard to score 10 goals in half a season for a lower-league team, so seven goals, one assist in 17 league matches (Ujah) is good and definitely not the problem why Bremen is where they are. Johannson proved he can be dangerous before he got his injury, so i expect more offensive-minded play after the winter break.

They should still play Ujah alone vs. teams like Dortmund, Bayern,.. and pair him with Johannson vs. the rest of the league. Pizarro will come in after an hour (or so) for one of them and Morris, i don´t know. Fans in the Werder-forum don´t know him, obviously, either, some say he will be burned in the U23 (i doubt it, but it could happen), others say best-case he could play someday in the Bundesliga, but it takes time. I would say this season, he should be happy if he makes the 18-men-roster and gets some playing time as a sub, maybe he even scores a few goals in the Bundesliga. If Ujah and Johannson stay healthy, he won´t get any starts, i think.
 

Titans Bastard

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Morris not joining Bremen, prefers to stay in the US

Extremely disappointing. It seems that the majority of the talent in the USMNT pool prefers the money in the MLS to the real benefits of development and challenging themselves against better players that come with playing in a European league.
I'm not shocked. Morris has already made some unconventional moves in his career, like staying in school despite a good offer from Seattle. It seems that in the end Morris used the Werder trial to be respectful to Klinsmann and Herzog (who set it up) and to gain additional leverage with the Sounders.

While it's certainly possible that Seattle is offering him more money than Werder did, I would not jump to that conclusion. Seattle's his home town, his dad is the team doctor, and Morris has shown that money is not the sole determinant for his career decisions.

Klinsmann must be livid.
Indeed, Jürgen must be lamenting.
 

Cellar-Door

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I'm not shocked. Morris has already made some unconventional moves in his career, like staying in school despite a good offer from Seattle. It seems that in the end Morris used the Werder trial to be respectful to Klinsmann and Herzog (who set it up) and to gain additional leverage with the Sounders.

While it's certainly possible that Seattle is offering him more money than Werder did, I would not jump to that conclusion. Seattle's his home town, his dad is the team doctor, and Morris has shown that money is not the sole determinant for his career decisions.



Indeed, Jürgen must be lamenting.
SI indicated Werder offered more. Really disappointed that he took the MLS route. It's a league with no real challenge for strikers, semi-competence is all that's required to put up big numbers.
 

Schnerres

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Maybe he understood that his role was that he could train with the Bundesliga team but won´t play.
Would a move to Werder help him that much in the short-term? Training with Bundesliga players and getting his matches in the 3rd (german) League? I think that equals some MLS teams on a quality basis, but he is very young and can stay close to home now to earn his playing time. This may be the safer route. When he is older, he can still go to other european teams.
 

Infield Infidel

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Yeah, it's hard to fault him for not wanting to sign into a team in a relegation fight, development might not be a priority. If it was a team higher up the table, I'd be more worried. He could stay stateside for a year, and maybe sign elsewhere next January, especially if Werder stays up and has a better first half next season since they say they will maintain contact.
 

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Shots fired! Benny Feilhaber has criticized Jurgen Klinsmann,
“I don’t think that Jurgen calls in the best players that are available to him,” Feilhaber said. “That, for me, is a problem. There’s players that are better than other players that don’t get an opportunity with the national team. That, for me, is a much bigger deal than anything else. Everybody points fingers at certain things. But for me, that’s the most important thing.”
Klinsmann responded to Benny Feilhaber's scathing attack by stating the midfielder simply didn't show enough in past call-ups.
“We had Benny several times with us and he never had an impact in the moments he had the opportunity with the national team under my guidance,” Klinsmann said. “I cannot speak for (former coach Bob Bradley). Bob had his own experiences with him. Whenever he came in with us he never made an impression that made us say, 'This is international level.' It’s as simple as that
 

Schnerres

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It´s insanely stupid to tweet such things. And in today´s media world it´s as dumb to answer (honestly and open,) such things if you´re asked a question in an interview that points in that direction. The reporter just wants to hear such stuff. Bite your tongue, stay classy, go the high route, even lie in an interview or just refuse to give an answer to the question, whatever.

And Klinsi should have done the same, too, IMO and said smth like "we have to talk about that internally". Obviously that´s not his way.
 

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- Sunderland's Lynden Gooch is going on a one-month loan to Doncaster Rovers in League One, who appear to be in the midst of an injury crisis. A good move if he can get some playing time. Gooch has done quite well in the U21 league and made his Sunderland debut in the League Cup and made the bench for an EPL game. But since Allardyce has come on, he hasn't gotten any additional opportunities, so it's best to prove himself elsewhere since I think he's out grown the U21s. Hopefully he does well and stays with Doncaster for the rest of the season.

- After four uneventful years as a backup with Columbus, big forward Aaron Schoenfeld has moved to the Israeli Premier League with Maccabi Netanya.

- Out-of-contract Dallas center back Walker Zimmerman is trialing with Viking FK in Norway. He's rumored to want a move to a place where there's a clearer road to playing time. He's an MLS-caliber starter at least, but he's stuck behind the duo of Matt Hedges and Zach Loyd, who complement each other very well. Viking is currently the home of former Revs CB A.J. Soares.

- Christian Pulisic is already doing videos in German for club-related media. I'm not surprised that he's proficient already - language skills are an underrated factor in development in foreign countries.
 

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- Pulisic is on the bench for Dortmund today(!!)

- Lynden Gooch went straight into Doncaster's lineup after being loaned two days ago.

- Ethan Horvath signed an extension with Molde through 2018

- Attacking midfielder Joel Soñora moved from Boca Juniors to Stuttgart, where presumably he'll play with the reserve team.
 

Titans Bastard

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How is it pronounced? PU-lis-SIC?
I've always heard and said POO-li-sitch, mainly on a small handful of youth national team broadcasts and in BVB promotional material. But it's still possible we're all wrong, it wouldn't the first time someone's name was consistently mispronounced.
 

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Carlisle reports that it's Chelsea

U.S. international and New York Red Bulls defender Matt Miazga is set to be sold to Premier League side Chelsea within the next 24 hours, a source told ESPN FC.

Miazga, 20, had less than a year to run on his current contract with the Red Bulls, and given his desire to test himself overseas, New York was left with little choice but to sell now rather than lose him for nothing at the end of the 2016 MLS season.

I sure hope he's not biting off more than he can chew. Chelsea could be a rough place for a young player.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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I guess the question is how good Vitesse Arnhem are at developing CBs.

Although depthwise, who does even Chelsea have there besides Terry, Cahill & Zouma?
 

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I can talk myself into thinking Chelsea is actually an interesting move considering where they are in the table this season. They probably won't make it into a CL spot, and Europa league would be a nuisance next year since they obviously want to compete for a title next year. Settling for 8th-12th would be preferable to an EL spot. And Hiddink probably couldn't care less since he's not going to be around next season. They might give some run to young players for basically meaningless games, at least against lower table sides.
 

Titans Bastard

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Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like Chelsea has used two of Terry, Zouma, and Cahill for every match they'd played this season, across all competitions. Even against Walsall and Scunthorpe.

They also have a bunch of CBs out on loan at the moment, perhaps most notably Andreas Christensen who is starting at Borussia Mönchengladbach. So maybe Miazga steps in as the #4 CB over the spring to provide cover if anything happens to one of the three other guys. Then God only knows what happens in the summer transfer window. Most likely outcome would be that Chelsea spends big and Miazga goes on loan?

Hard to say yet. At big clubs there are lots of moving parts and plans aren't made around players bought with spare change ($5m) like Miazga. You just have to hope that he adapts fast and seizes opportunities as they arise. Guys like Yedlin and Shea were unable to do so and quickly found themselves in the negative cycle of Loan Purgatory. I think Miazga is more talented than either of them, but Chelsea ain't Stoke City, either. Well, maybe they are this year, but still.
 

Cellar-Door

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Miazga reportedly had not going on loan and the promise of a certain amount of first team action as a condition of where he signed. It is pretty different from a Yedlin who was always seen as a likely loan out.
 

Titans Bastard

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Official announcement:





Pulisic is on the bench again for Dortmund today.
 

Titans Bastard

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Pulisic on for his first team debut! 0-0 in the 68th minute - on FS2 if anyone is interested.
 

Titans Bastard

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- Like during BVB's winter friendlies, Pulisic looked like he fit in during his debut. He's very quick and quite technical - there were several occasions when he was able to beat a defender to the endline and get in a dangerous cross. On the second goal, he put himself in good position, but Aubameyang didn't need any help for the finish. Apparently Pulisic is the 8th youngest player to play in the Bundesliga and the 3rd youngest in the last 10 years (behind Julian Draxler and Marc Stendera).

- John Brooks signed a new contract with Hertha. Transfer rumors had been building around him, though this should quiet them down for a little while at least.

- Danny Williams scored another goal for Reading today in the FA Cup. He's scored five times in the Championship, as he's been playing as a box-to-box midfielder instead of as a true #6 -- something to note for NT purposes. He doesn't seem as much like a Beckerman replacement any more.

 

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Another MLS center back going abroad?



EPB is two years younger than Miazga. While he's a well-regarded prospect, he hasn't proven anything in MLS yet. It seems that he'll potentially be loaned to Porto's B team with a view to a permanent transfer. Porto B is currently on top of the Portuguese second division.
 

Titans Bastard

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more stuff --

- In a strange move, Aaron Schoenfeld has transferred to Hapoel Tel Aviv just two weeks after joining Maccabi Netanya. Hapoel TA is a reasonably big club by Israeli standards -- bigger than Netanya -- but they suck this year, almost as much as Netanya sucks. It's weird that Schoenfeld is such a hot commodity because had he stayed in the US he was very likely en route to the NASL or USL.

- Shane O'Neill has had a stranger career over the last year. He signed with a club in Cyprus but was immediately loaned out to a small Belgian club -- strange, because he has an Irish passport and shouldn't need to be routed through Cyprus like some non-EU players are. His loan was canceled without him ever making the 18. Now he's been loaned to Cambridge United in League Two. Hopefully he'll at least get back in the swing of things - he's shown way too much talent for that league.

- Former US U-20 Joel Sonora quickly made his debut for Stuttgart's reserve team in the 3. Liga. Sonora transferred to the club from Boca Juniors last month.

- Japanese-American midfielder Justin Kinjo left 1860 Munich and signed his first pro contract with Fortuna Düsseldorf. I imagine he'll start with their reserves, though.

- Erstwhile Louisville City midfielder Juan Guzman has signed with Patriotas in Colombia.

- Harrisburg City Islanders' backup GK Ciaran Nugent signed with Sligo Rovers in Ireland. Nugent is from Dedham.
 

Titans Bastard

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Let's do a post-winter-transfer window update:


Argentina
Primera B
MF Kevin Hoyos (Villa San Carlos)

Armenia
Premier League
AM Moises Orozco (Ararat)
FW Bryan de la Fuente (Ararat)

Bosnia & Herzegovina
Premier League
FW Danijal Brković (Olimpic Sarajevo)

Bulgaria
A Group
FW Bjørn Maars Johnsen (Litex Lovech)

Colombia
Primera A
GK Kevin Piedrahita (Rionegro Águilas)
MF Juan Guzman (Patriotas)
MF Juan Niño (Atlético Huila)

Costa Rica
Primera
CB Ramon Martin del Campo (Deportivo Saprissa)

Denmark
Superliga
CB Babajide Ogunbiyi (Hobro)
CM George Fochive (Viborg)

1st Division
CM Conor O'Brien (Horsens)
FW Sammy Adjei (Næstved)

El Salvador
Primera
CB Miguel Palafox (Santa Tecla)
FW David Lopez (Isidro Metapán)

England
Premier League
GK Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)
GK Tim Howard (Everton)
RB DeAndre Yedlin (Sunderland, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
CB Geoff Cameron (Stoke City)
CB Matt Miazga (Chelsea)

Championship
GK Cody Cropper (Milton Keynes Dons)
RB Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest)
CB Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City)
LB Tim Ream (Fulham)
CM Emerson Hyndman (Fulham)
CM Danny Williams (Reading)
AM Duane Holmes (Huddersfield Town)

League One
GK Aleks Gogic (Fleetwood Town)
GK Brendan Moore (Fleetwood Town)
CB Zak Whitbread (Shrewsbury Town)
AM Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield)
FW Lynden Gooch (Doncaster Rovers, on loan from Sunderland)

League Two
CB Shane O'Nell (Cambridge United, on loan from Apollon Limassol)

Faroe Islands
Premier League
LB Mayowa Alli (KÍ Klaksvík)

Finland

....a bunch of guys, but it's their offseason and many players sign one year contracts, so who knows where anyone has landed.

France
Ligue 1
CM Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes)
FW Jordan Siebatcheu (Stade de Reims)

Ligue 2
GK Quentin Westberg (Tours)

Germany
Bundesliga
GK David Yelldell (Bayer Leverkusen)
RB Timothy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt)
RB Ashton Götz (Hamburg)
CB John Brooks (Hertha Berlin)
CM Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt)
AM Joe Gyau (Borussia Dortmund)
AM Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
AM Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund)
FW Aron Jóhannsson (Werder Bremen)

2.Bundesliga
CM Caleb Stanko (Freiburg)
AM Shawn Barry (FSV Frankfurt)
FW Terrence Boyd (RB Leipzig)
FW Fafà Picault (St. Pauli)
FW Bobby Wood (Union Berlin)
FW Andrew Wooten (Sandhausen)

3. Liga
GK Kenneth Kronholm (Holstein Kiel)
CB Ryan Malone (Magdeburg)
CM Royal Fennell (Würzburger Kickers)
AM Joel Soñora (Stuttgart II)
FW Marc Heider (Holstein Kiel)
FW Jerome Kiesewetter (Stuttgart II)

Regionalliga
GK Adam Hobbs (Optik Rathenow)
GK Zack Steffen (Freiburg II)
RB Ken Gipson (RB Leipzig II)
CM Russell Canouse (Hoffenheim II)
CM Justin Kinjo (Fortuna Düsseldorf II)
CM Eric Lickert (Freiburg II)
CM Devann Yao (Berliner AK)
AM Omar Castro (Eintracht Braunschweig II)
AM Junior Flores (Borussia Dortmund II)
AM Irvin Parra (Kaiserslautern II)
FW Jann George (Jahn Regensburg)
FW Julian Green (Bayern Munich II)
FW Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Mönchengladbach II)
FW David Spies (Augsburg II)
FW Matt Taylor (Saarbrücken)

Guatemala
Liga Nacional
FW Edward Santeliz (Antigua)

Iceland

see Finland

Israel
Premier League
CM Bryan Gerzicich (Maccabi Petah Tikva)
FW Aaron Schoenfeld (Hapoel Tel Aviv)

Italy
Lega Pro
CM Douglas Bentley (AlbinoLeffe)
FW Robbie Kristo (Tuttocuoio, on loan from Spezia)
FW Dylan Romney (Savona, on loan from Internazionale)

Japan
J.1
GK Daniel Schmidt (Matsumoto Yamaga, on loan from Vegalta Sendai)

Luxembourg
National Division
DF Omar Ontiveros (Grevenmacher)
MF Martin Ontiveros (Hamm Benfica)

Malta
Premier League
DF Jason Gorskie (Pietà Hotspurs)
MF Kyle O'Brien (Pembroke Athleta)
FW Arya Haghighi (Naxxar Lions)
FW James Togbah (Pembroke Athleta)
FW Gustavo Villalobos (Pembroke Athleta)

Mexico
Liga MX
GK Austin Guerrero (Puebla)
GK William Yarbrough (León)
CB Ventura Alvarado (América)
CB Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca)
CB Michael Orozco (Tijuana)
LB Jonathan Bornstein (Querétaro)
LB Edgar Castillo (Monterrey)
LB Gabriel Farfan (Chiapas)
LB Greg Garza (Tijuana)
LB Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna)
CM Joe Corona (Dorados, on loan from Tijuana)
CM Alejandro Guido (Tijuana)
CM Jose Torres (Tigres)
AM Paul Arriola (Tijuana)
AM Luis Gil (Querétaro)
AM Miguel Ibarra (León)
AM Luis Silva (Tigres)
FW Sebastian Saucedo (Veracruz, on loan from RSL)

Ascenso MX
LB Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Alebrijes de Oaxaca, on loan from Tigres)
CM Kevin Huezo (Murciélagos)
CM Marco Vidal (Atlético San Luis)
AM Isaac Acuna (Celaya)
AM Benji Joya (Necaxa)
AM Rodrigo Lopez (Celaya)
AM Jesus Vazquez (Universidad de Guadalajara)
MF Manny Guzman (Venados)
FW Joaquin Hernandez (Juárez, on loan from Monterrey)
FW Julio Morales (Coras de Tepic, on loan from Chivas)
FW Bruno Piceno (Tapachula, on loan from Tijuana)
FW Esteban Rodriguez (Atlante, on loan from Tijuana)
FW Cesar Romaro (Coras de Tepic)

Netherlands
Eredivisie
RB Desevio Payne (Groningen)
FW Rubio Rubin (Utrecht)

Eerste Divisie
DF Travis Brent (Almere City)

Norway
Tippeligaen
GK Ethan Horvath (Molde)
GK Alex Horwath (Brann)
CB Alex DeJohn (Start)
CB A.J. Soares (Viking)
CM Cole Grossman (Stabæk)
AM Josh Gatt (Molde)

Portugal
Segunda
CB Erik Palmer-Brown (Porto B)
MF Sergio Duarte (Oriental Lisboa, on loan from Nacional)

Republic of Ireland
Premier Division
GK Ciaran Nugent (Sligo Rovers)

Scotland
Championship
CM Gedion Zelalem (Rangers, on loan from Arsenal)

League One
DF Kevin Dzierzawski (Peterhead)

Sweden
Allsvenskan
GK Matt Pyzdrowski (Helsingborg)
CB Brendan Hines-Ike (Örebro)

Superettan
CB Patrick Hopkins (Sirius)

Ukraine
Premier League
FW Eugene Starikov (Chornomorets Odesa)


YOUTH PLAYERS
Argentina

MF Adam Ozeri (Racing Club de Avellaneda)

Colombia
GK Kevin Tenjo (Independiente Santa Fe)

Ecuador
MF Alexis Quezada (Deportivo Cuenca)

England
Premier League
GK Brandon Austin (Tottenham Hotspur)
LB Antonee Robinson (Everton)
CB Danny Barbir (West Bromwich Albion)
CB Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur)
CB Kyle Gruno (Leicester City)
CM Kyle Scott (Chelsea)
FW Brooks Lennon (Liverpool)

Championship
RB Marlon Fossey (Fulham)
CB Sam Golan (Brighton & Hove Albion)
CB Kasha Wallace (Birmingham City)
CM Luca de la Torre (Fulham)
FW Andrija Novakovich (Reading)
FW Anthony Wright (Nottingham Forest)

France
Ligue 1
MF Nicholas Pergjini (Troyes)
FW Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain)

Ligue 2
RB Kyle Duncan (Valenciennes)

Germany
Bundesliga
RB Toni Suddoth (Stuttgart)
CM Sidney Friede (Hertha Berlin)
CM Lyonel Hyer (Wolfsburg)
CM Abuchi Obinwa (Hannover 96)
AM Ian Hoffmann (Köln)
FW Jordan Dörr (Darmstadt)
FW Jalen Hawkins (Bayern Munich)

2.Bundesliga
DF Corey Anton (Kaiserslautern)
DF Demarveay Sheron (Karlsruhe)
MF Christian Albelo (FSV Frankfurt)
MF Alec Becker (Freiburg)
MF Kevin Coleman (Kaiserslautern)
MF Darian Gurley (Karlsruhe)
MF Justin Smith (Kaiserslautern)
FW Tyler Jankowski (Kaiserslautern)

3. Liga
DF Tyrese Chatmon (Energie Cottbus)

Italy
Serie A
FW Joshua Perez (Fiorentina)

Mexico
Liga MX
GK Benny Diaz (Querétaro)
GK Hector Holguin (Santos Laguna)
GK Carlos Lopez (Tijuana)
GK Bernabé Magaña (Pumas)
GK Justin Perez (Monterrey)
GK Adrian Zendejas (Tijuana)
DF Jose Adame (Atlas)
DF Guillermo Bermudez (Tijuana)
DF Adrian Bravo (Atlas)
DF Adair Casas (Morelia)
DF Carlo Chavez (Tijuana)
DF Cristian Cruz (Morelia)
DF Jonathan Esparza (Tijuana)
DF Luis Martir (Chivas)
DF Franco Mestre (Tijuana)
DF Juan Monticelli (Tijuana)
DF Antonio Nava (Tijuana)
DF Joseph Perez (Puebla)
DF Juan Perez (León)
DF Victor Ramirez (Tijuana)
DF John Requejo, Jr. (Tijuana)
DF Victor Reyes (Querétaro)
DF Raul Rodriguez (Tijuana)
DF Jesus Vazquez (Tigres)
DF Angel Uribe (Tijuana)
MF Juan Albisar (Querétaro)
MF Jose Alfaro (Morelia)
MF Fernando Arce, Jr. (Tijuana)
MF Alexis de la Rosa (Santos Laguna)
MF Ernesto Espinoza (Tijuana)
MF Dennis Flores (León)
MF Jonathan Gonzalez (Monterrey)
MF Ruben Gonzalez (Tijuana)
MF Leo Marquez (León)
MF Lorenzo Ramirez (Tijuana)
MF Alex Ramos (León)
MF Jacobo Reyes (Monterrey)
MF Josue Soto (Querétaro)
MF Luis Tavares (Santos Laguna)
FW Jesus Enriquez (Tijuana)
FW Carlos Flores (Santos Laguna)
FW Luis Garza (Tigres)
FW Benji Lopez (Santos Laguna)
FW Manuel Lopez (Santos Laguna)
FW Jose Montes de Oca (León)
FW Amando Moreno (Tijuana)
FW Andres Muniz (Morelia)
FW Miguel Padron (Tijuana)
FW Brandon Vazquez (Tijuana)

Netherlands
Eredivisie
DF John Hilton (Ajax)
DF Kik Pierie (Heerenveen)
MF Joshua Pynadath (Ajax)
FW Kai Koreniuk (Vitesse)
FW Lateef Omidji (Dordrecht)

Norway
Tippeligaen
FW Ben Spencer (Molde)

Portugal
Primeira Liga
MF Ethan Lotenero (Boavista)

Spain
La Liga
MF Mukwelle Akale (Villarreal)
MF Ander Egiluz (Athletic Bilbao)
FW Konrad de la Fuente (Barcelona)

Segunda
GK Benjamin Machini (Mallorca)
DF Shaq Moore (Real Oviedo)

Sweden
Allsvenskan
RB Christopher McVey (Elfsborg)

Switzerland
Super League
FW Maki Tall (Sion)

Challenge League
GK Nicholas Ammeter (Aarau)
 

Titans Bastard

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Pulisic is on the bench again for Dortmund against Hertha on FS1. Brooks is starting as well.


- 18 year old goalkeeper Christian Herrera has been loaned from Real Monarchs (RSL's USL team) to Pachuca. RSL's GM said that Herrera wasn't likely to get minutes in the USL this season. Who knows if that's the real reason - RSL players with Mexican passports have been heading south of the border with great frequency. Luis Gil and Luis Silva left on frees this winter. Carlos Salcedo (not an American) moved to Chivas last winter and has since been capped by Mexico. Sebastian Saucedo is on loan at Veracruz and despite his youth has already played in Copa MX and been in the squad for league games.

- Nice goal from Bobby Wood yesterday. Never mind the terrible goalkeeping. 8 goals in 20 games now.


- Josh Perez finally turned 18 and was able to officially sign with Fiorentina, and made his first appearance for their Primavera team.

- Former US U17 center back Danny Barbir made his first start at the U21 level for West Brom.

- On the less glamorous side, this is what a preseason friendly in the Faroe Islands looks like for Mayowa Alli:

 

Titans Bastard

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Pulisic on in the 72nd minute in a 0-0 game. Brooks has been immense.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Interesting to see if Yedlin gets a shot next week after that horror show from Jones.

Being an actual PL quality right back seems beyond him right now, but being less shit than Billy Jones to get some run in Sunderland's first 11 is an achievable goal.
 

Titans Bastard

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- Kurt Zouma will be out for up to six months with an ACL injury after his bad-looking landing yesterday. This is potentially a big opportunity for Matt Miazga, since now Terry and Cahill are the only other CBs in the squad and they can't play every game. Chelsea are still in four competitions, but really have nothing to play for in the EPL, so hopefully Miazga gets a shot.

- After a real stinker two weeks ago, Ventura Alvarado has been demoted back to América's U-20 team. I don't know if it's permanent or just a one-off shot across the bow. And to think we spent so much time on him during the Gold Cup when we could have been blooding other defenders....

- 20 year old fullback Desevio Payne got another start for Groningen this past weekend and received good reviews at left back, although he was pulled prematurely because of a hamstring issue. I liked Payne with the U-20s this past summer. He's really a right back, but he's having trouble getting playing time at that position, which is currently occupied by the delightfully named Hans Hateboer.

- Omar Gonzalez has continued his very strong start for Pachuca - they are unbeaten in the Clausura, with 11 points from five games and have only conceded four times. This weekend, he added a late equalizer in Mexico City against Pumas:


His celebration was....weird.

- Aaron Schoenfeld is really making the most out of Jewish heritage...his domestic status in Israel has made him a bizarrely hot item; within two weeks of signing on a free with Maccabi Netanya, Hapoel Tel Aviv had purchased right of first refusal on a future transfer and then bought him out entirely. This weekend, he made his debut for Hapoel TA against their cross-town rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv. He scored in the second minute:


In Columbus, he was just a big lumbering backup forward who they occasionally threw into the end of games. He had an excellent nickname there, "Big Celery". He is undoubtedly the best Jewish forward ever to come out of eastern Tennessee.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
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Alejandro Bedoya scored a late winner for Nantes in a cup match at Bordeaux. Nantes came back from a 3-2 deficit in extra time to win 4-3 thanks to Ale's 118th minute goal.



Bedoya has six goals in his last four games, including two Coupe de France winners in extra time.


- Roslindale native and forward Charlie Rugg signed with Eintracht Trier in one of the German Regionalligas. Rugg went to BC and spent the last three years on the books with the LA Galaxy, although he hasn't played in MLS since 2013. During 2014 and 2015 he was either playing in the USL for LA Galaxy II or on loan in the NASL with Indy Eleven.

- Maki Tall has been released by Sion and is reportedly on trial at Standard Liège.

- Gabriel Wirz, a center back who played at Amherst, has signed for FC Jazz in Finland. Tyler Back, a goalkeeper, has signed for RoPS of Finland as well.
 

moly99

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Jun 28, 2007
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Sam Allardyce says that Yedlin is not being played due to his inexperience, and that with Sunderland in a relegation battle he wants a veteran in defense instead.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/emmanuel-eboues-move-to-sunderland-depends-on-fitness-says-sam-allardyce-a6869021.html

And this is why I don't think young American players should be jumping to the top leagues at the first chance. With Spurs Yedlin was buried. With Sunderland near the bottom of the table Yedlin is not allowed to play through mistakes.

I know that fans want to see American players on TV, but going from college or MLS to the Netherlands before jumping to the Premier League seems a sounder approach than trying to the Premier League as soon as possible.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
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- Another goal for Bobby Wood today, his 9th of the year. This one game in a 3-0 win over his old club 1860 Munich, who are firmly in the relegation zone of the 2.Bundesliga now.


- Fabian Johnson has also scored, though Gladbach are losing to Hamburg at the moment.


- In other good news Alejandro Bedoya continued his hot streak with an assist in Nantes' win over Lorient. Nantes are in a four-way tie on points for the CL qualifying spot in Ligue 1.

- Christian Pulisic made his third appearance for Dortmund in a 1-0 win over Hannover.

- After scoring the equalizer in his debut, Aaron "Big Celery" Schoenfeld scored the winner in his second appearance for Hapoel Tel Aviv in a comeback victory over Hapoel Ra'anana. Apparently being a huge lug of a striker is enough to be a big success in Israel!

- Bob Bradley guided Le Havre to a huge 1-0 away win over Metz, bringing his club within two points of the last promotion spot.

- The bad news - Tim Howard was benched this week in favor of Joel Robles. Timothy Chandler has been nowhere to be seen for Eintracht Frankfurt since the winter break. Ventura Alvarado remained with América's reserves this week, after his string of bad performances.

- Some new players heading abroad: midfielder Zach Kobayashi has joined Dinamo Zagreb and Nicolas Garcia-Morillo is with Atlético Madrid. Eder Arreola isn't a youth player any more, but he's just signed with FC Shirak in Armenia.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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- Christian Pulisic made his third appearance for Dortmund in a 1-0 win over Hannover.
I feel like this should be much bigger news in the US soccer world than it seems to be, unless I'm just missing it. Dortmund isn't some club struggling to stay up, they are sitting second in the Bundesliga and not only is a 17 year old getting minutes, a 17 year old AMERICAN is getting minutes.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Aug 23, 2008
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I feel like this should be much bigger news in the US soccer world than it seems to be, unless I'm just missing it. Dortmund isn't some club struggling to stay up, they are sitting second in the Bundesliga and not only is a 17 year old getting minutes, a 17 year old AMERICAN is getting minutes.
Bundesliga isn't as sexy as the Premier League.
 

soxfan121

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Dec 22, 2002
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I feel like this should be much bigger news in the US soccer world than it seems to be, unless I'm just missing it. Dortmund isn't some club struggling to stay up, they are sitting second in the Bundesliga and not only is a 17 year old getting minutes, a 17 year old AMERICAN is getting minutes.
I've consulted a physician, as my Pulisic has lasted well more than 4 hours.
 

Titans Bastard

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TB, Howard was hurt; has he now officially lost his job?
I don't think he's lost his job officially, but he's on thin ice and it feels like it's slipping away. He missed games on 2/3 and 2/6 because of injury and now he's on the bench. Maybe Martinez is easing him back into it, but he hasn't had a great year and there's been consternation about his performance level in some Everton corners.

Here's an article that captures some of the feeling of the situation.

Howard's contract at Everton runs through June 2018, so there's a ways to go. I wouldn't be surprised if he looks for a move to MLS during the summer if it appears that Everton is ready to move on from him. That being said, I don't know his current salary, what sort of offer he'd get from an MLS club, and what sort of offer he'd demand or accept to come to MLS. Colorado was rumored to be interested, but there aren't a ton of other clubs who would appear to be good fits. Maybe NYCFC and Orlando as well.

Bundesliga isn't as sexy as the Premier League.
Pretty much this. The Anglophilia among non-Hispanic American soccer fans is pretty strong, for a variety of reasons. For Pulisic, it's all for the best. While he seems like a pretty mature 17 year old, it's not a bad thing to let him develop in relative peace - from the American media/fandom anyway. He's getting plenty of attention from BVB fans and the German press.

Also, it's possible that at this point we've been through so many hype/disappointment/acceptance cycles that maybe our collective fanbase and media is somewhat more skilled at taking a more measured approach.
 

Gunfighter 09

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Sam Allardyce says that Yedlin is not being played due to his inexperience, and that with Sunderland in a relegation battle he wants a veteran in defense instead.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/emmanuel-eboues-move-to-sunderland-depends-on-fitness-says-sam-allardyce-a6869021.html

And this is why I don't think young American players should be jumping to the top leagues at the first chance. With Spurs Yedlin was buried. With Sunderland near the bottom of the table Yedlin is not allowed to play through mistakes.

I know that fans want to see American players on TV, but going from college or MLS to the Netherlands before jumping to the Premier League seems a sounder approach than trying to the Premier League as soon as possible.

I don't think it would be too crazy to see Kyle Walker sold and Yedlin take over the roll of speedy right fullback to go with Kerian Treppier for Spurs. Of course, that whole process might take another year as well. Either way, I think Yedlin still has a future at Spurs.
 

coremiller

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Jul 14, 2005
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I do think RB is one spot where Spurs might look to upgrade in the summer. Walker has great athleticism but his positioning can be suspect and his ability on the ball is nothing special. Plus Walker is fast and English, so you know some dumb mid-table team will overpay for him. Whether that upgrade is via internal promotion or in the transfer market is harder to say.
 

Titans Bastard

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With Zouma and Terry out, Miazga is on the bench for Chelsea against PSG, while Cahill and Ivanovic start. This doesn't mean much other than that Miazga is ahead of Jake Clarke-Salter, an academy CB who has been training with the first team and who also traveled to Paris.
 

bosox4283

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Mar 2, 2004
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Wikipedia can be fun:


  1. Matt Miazga
    Soccer Player
    Matthew Miazga is an American mofo who's making the bench on the biggest game of the season against PSGsoccer player who plays as a defender for English club Chelsea. Wikipedia
 

Seven Costanza

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Apr 11, 2007
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With Zouma and Terry out, Miazga is on the bench for Chelsea against PSG, while Cahill and Ivanovic start. This doesn't mean much other than that Miazga is ahead of Jake Clarke-Salter, an academy CB who has been training with the first team and who also traveled to Paris.
Hey kid, no pressure or anything! ;)