Yanks in Europe: Nothing to See Here, Folks

As is usually the case, Sunday featured fewer club games involving USMNT players.  As if that wasn't bad enough for the blogger looking to turn performance recaps into an entire post, most of the American players involved didn't play many minutes, and those that did had fairly unremarkable days.  Nevertheless, here's your Sunday edition of Yanks in Europe:

The bright spot of the day has to be the return of Clint Dempsey to the Fulham starting XI.  He partnered up top with Bobby Zamora in the Cottagers' road match against Manchester United.  Dempsey, who made a substitute appearance in Fulham's midweek Europa League loss to Juventus, went 72 minutes in the 3-0 loss.  There isn't too much to say about his play, other than he didn't receive much support up front and looked rusty with some cheap giveaways.  With all things considered, it was a decent performance by Deuce; it's clear he's still shaking off some rust, but he had some solid moments even though Fulham were frequently chasing the game.  I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that his performance today wasn't nearly as important as the fact that he is healthy once again.

Elsewhere, Carlos Bocanegra got another start at LB for Stade Rennes in their 2-0 victory over Valenciennes.  He played 90 minutes, and by all accounts it was a fairly ho-hum game for him, without many notable moments.  Going the distance in a clean sheet usually indicates a solid showing, and regardless, USMNT fans can take comfort in the fact that Boca seems to have re-cemented himself as the go-to LB option at the club level.  With Jonathan Bornstein's...eventful game against the Netherlands, I think Bocanegra could very well be the starting LB when the US and England take the field on June 12.

In Scotland, Maurice Edu came on in the 74th minute of Rangers' Scottish Cup clash with Dundee United, with his team leading by a score of 3-2.  Dundee United would level the score just six minutes later off of a corner kick, but Edu was not involved in the play.  DaMarcus Beasley came on in the 85th, but neither he nor Edu could help produce the game-winner, as the match finished in a draw.  All in all, the American duo turned in fairly unremarkable performances in their limited minutes, as is the theme today.

Last, but not least, Eddie Johnson came on for the last three minutes of Aris' 2-0 victory over local rivals PAOK.  Once again, few minutes, little action; not much to discuss.  EJ's underwhelming showing in Amsterdam might have you wondering why he's still even included in this segment, but the general lack of quality striker options and the potential for injury is still keeping him in the picture (however slim his hopes may be), so I'll continue to fill you in on how he fares in Greece.

Freddy Adu's World Cup hopes, meanwhile, seem to be dwindling even further, as he's found himself rooted to the bench for the last couple of club games.  Adu needed a miracle to get back into the World Cup picture and a bright start to 2010 had some (including me) believing that he was finally back on track.  But once again, Adu is struggling to find club minutes (we've heard that one before), and the reemergence of DaMarcus Beasley with the national team is only compounding his dilemma.  The clock is ticking, and Adu's already long odds of making the roster for South Africa are only getting longer. 

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Tomorrow, Alejandro Bedoya and Orebro will be in action, while AGF Aarhus will also play, though I don't think Benny Feilhaber would be available for that one due to an ankle injury.

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Injured/Did Not Play

Oguchi Onyewu (knee injury)
Freddy Adu (unused substitute)