Yanks in Europe: Mega Weekend Rewind

It was a busy weekend for Yanks in Europe, with a lot of noteworthy performances to discuss.  Enjoy:

We'll start off in England, where Jozy Altidore got the start in Hull's pivotal match against Sunderland.  The opening 45 was far from Jozy's best performances, as he looked a little sloppy at times on the ball.  Things would only get a lot worse, however, at the close of the half, with his team trailing 1-0.  After getting tangled up with a Sunderland defender by the sideline, Jozy had a ball thrown at him and lashed out in response.  The headbutt earned him a straight red (the Sunderland player was sent off, too), as well as a multi-match ban that means his time at Hull City is done.  See below for video of the incident:



Jozy has since apologized, saying via Twitter:

"I'm so sorry about yesterday. Made a stupid, immature and costly mistake. I apologize to hull city and the fans who I let down. I let my emotions get the best of me and lost my composure. Believe it or not this year playing for hull was to date the best trip I've ever been on."

It's been a long season for Jozy on a poor team where he was rather frequently one of the only bright spots.  Nevertheless, he has to learn to control the frustration that comes with such a situation.  While some have chosen to chastise Jozy and question his maturity, I'm just going to say that I expect this to be yet another valuable learning experience for a young player.  If this happens again, then I'll start really wondering about what's going on between his ears.  For now, though, I'm hoping he'll learn from this and move forward to national team camp with a renewed focus.

Elsewhere in England, Jonathan Spector got the start once again at LB for West Ham, as they looked to essentially clinch safety against Wigan.  He hasn't exactly been on a great run of form lately, and it only went from bad to worse yesterday.  Spector headed home a goal from inside the six in the fourth minute, with a brilliant, low finish that the keeper could do nothing about.  Unfortunately, the keeper was teammate Robert Green, and the goal was his own.  Beyond the own goal, Spector just didn't look too comfortable on the left side and picked up a yellow in the second half for a bad tackle (which, to be fair, was the result of his covering for his teammates).  All in all, it was a pretty poor performance in what has been a string of rough outings.  It's clear that Spector isn't nearly as effective on the left, which should help put to rest a lot of the suggestions of him playing there in South Africa.   It wasn't all bad, however, as West Ham did get the win and basically secured safety, holding a six point lead and a far superior goal differential over Hull with two matches to play (which, in turn, means that Jozy's stint at Hull will end with relegation).

Marcus Hahnemann, meanwhile, once again played a big part in a Wolves result, as he made six saves in a 1-1 draw with Blackburn.  The result ensures safety for Mick McCarthy's side with two games to spare.  Hahnemann has played a huge part in Wolves' turnaround this season, consistently providing strong play between the posts.  In fact, it was his insertion into the lineup back in the fall that really seemed to spark the team's change in fortunes.

In Germany, Steve Cherundolo started and played 85 minutes for Hannover, wearing the captain's armband in their 3-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen.  The match caps off a hellish stretch of schedule for the relegation candidates, who now will finish out the season against Borussia Monchengladbach and Bochum with a realistic shot at avoiding the drop.

Ricardo Clark finally made his debut for Frankfurt yesterday, as well.  Rico started and played the full 90 in what finished as a 3-3 draw.  He had a solid game, completing a high percentage of his passes and contributing some good tackles along the way.  He wasn't involved in any of the goals on either end, and overall he didn't look out of place in a Bundesliga match (despite going months without any minutes).  With little to play for in the final two matches, manager Michael Skibbe will likely give Rico at least one more run out for evaluation purposes.  Yesterday's performance certainly didn't hurt Rico's case, and a strong finish to the campaign will go a long way towards boosting his hopes for a spot in the World Cup roster.


Michael Bradley started and went the distance for Borussia Monchengladbach, as they held league leaders Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw.  He played fairly deep in the midfield in the opening 45 before pushing a little farther up in the second half.  Bradley helped keep the dangerous Bayern attack in check and provided some tidy distribution throughout.  His hard work in the midfield was also key in the build up to BMG's lone goal, with Bradley picking up the secondary assist on the play.  Overall, it was a solid game for Bradley and company, with the result substantially impacting the Bundesliga title race as it comes to a close.

In France, Carlos Bocanegra returned from a minor injury and played the full 90 at LB for Stade Rennes in their 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain.  It was a fairly quiet game for Boca, whose good health is the most important thing at this point.

In Scotland, Maurice Edu turned in another solid performance in the Rangers midfield to help his team to a 1-0 win over Hibernian.  The win clinches Gers' second title in as many years, with Edu once again playing a key role in the stretch run. 

This morning, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey squared off at Goodison Park, with both playing the full 90 in what ended up finishing as a 2-1 win for Everton.  Howard made two saves along the way, while Dempsey turned in one of his strongest performances in recent memory.  He looked very confident on the ball and distributed very effectively and precisely.  The Fulham attack ran through his feet, and his decision making on the ball and field vision did not disappoint.  Deuce appears to be back into the full swing of things and should play a big part in this Thursday's Europa League semifinal against Hamburg.

Benny Feilhaber got the start as a withdrawn striker for Aarhus this morning in their match against Koge.  He played the whole match, but Aarhus once again turned in an awful performance, dropping a 3-0 decision to the last place team at home.  The team has been in free fall this spring, and it's looking like they're headed for the drop, as Randers have climbed to the brink of safety with a good run of results.  Aarhus was a nice landing spot for Benny after some tough times in England, but it might be time for him to move on to greener pastures.  Whether that is within Denmark or elsewhere remains to be seen, but it will certainly happen should Aarhus get relegated. 

Alejandro Bedoya, meanwhile, continued to make his push for a World Cup roster spot, making yet another 90 minute appearance for Orebro in their 3-0 home win over Halmstad.  He picked up a second half yellow card along the way.

Last, Freddy Adu came on as a substitute in the Greek Cup final yesterday, playing a very effective 10 minutes for Aris.  His passing and offensive play for smart and sharp, though he was unable to help his team eventually level the score.  Though Adu seems to be out of the picture for 2010, I figured this was worth mentioning since it's not everyday that an American is involved in a cup final. 

----

Injured/Did Not Play

Jay DeMerit underwent a late fitness test to see if he could go against QPR yesterday, but was eventually held out of the match day squad.  The fact that his status was still up in the air, however, seems to indicate that his injury isn't too serious and that he should be back to full health soon.  In his absence, Watford did manage to clinch safety.


DaMarcus Beasley, meanwhile, did not feature in Rangers' win.  Something worth considering, however, is that Beasley may be gifted some playing time in these last couple of meaningless matches in order to earn a winner's medal.  My sources (aka shoddy internet research) indicate that a player needs to make 10 league appearances to do so, with DMB currently falling two short of that total.  So keep an eye on Ibrox in these final weeks, as Beasley may get some minutes and a chance to prove his worth to Bob Bradley ahead of national team camp.

Finally, Charlie Davies has many a US fan buzzing with excitement after his latest tweet:

"I have some good news to tell you all! Let you know soon enough! Thank you for all the support and blessings!"

Fingers crossed, folks...


Charlie Davies (multiple injuries)
Stuart Holden (leg)
Jay DeMerit (abdomen)
Oguchi Onyewu (fitness)
Brad Guzan (unused substitute)
DaMarcus Beasley (unused substitute)
Eddie Johnson (unused substitute)

----