For most of the Americans playing abroad, the club season is over. The top players won't get much time off, as Bradley called in 16 foreign-based players for the upcoming Gold Cup. The US scheduled a Gold Cup tune-up against Spain on June 4th.
How did the top American players fare this past season?
Tim Howard (GK) - Howard started every key game for Everton this season - 42 games, with 9 shutouts. He performed well and helped push Everton to a 7th place finish. He's their main man for the foreseeable future.
Brad Guzan (GK) - Sat second-fiddle to Brad Friedel for most of the season at Aston Villa. In January, Villa loaned Guzan to Hull City in the Championship (2nd tier division). Guzan did very well, and Hull extended the loan. Guzan won't be back at Villa next season, but I imagine he'll have no difficulty finding a new club, perhaps back at Hull.
Marcus Hahnemann (GK) - Began the season as the first-choice keeper for premiership side, Wolverhampton. After a 17 starts, he was benched. The move paid-off, sort of, as Wolverhampton avoided relegation (barely). Hahnemann may move to the MLS to finish his career.
Carlos Bocanegra (D) - Another solid season for Bocanegra in Europe, as he helped St. Etienne finish in 8th place in France's top division. He started almost every match and scored 2 goals from set-pieces.
Steve Cherundolo (D) - Wonderful season for the Hannover captain. Cherundolo led Hannover to their best finish (4th), narrowly missing Champion's League honors. Other than missing time with yellow-card accumulation, Cherundolo started every match.
Eric Lichaj (D) - Yet another yank at Aston Villa. Thanks to injuries, the young defender saw some minutes early in the season and impressed enough to earn a call-up from US coach Bob Bradley. When the senior Villa players returned, Lichaj found himself back on the bench. He was loaned to Championship side Leeds United and fared very well. Leeds fought hard to gain promotion but ultimately fell short. I expect Lichaj to spend another season as a backup at Villa and likely earn another loan to a Championship squad needing right back help.
Jon Spector (D/M) - What a weird season for Spector at West Ham. He was coming off a dreadful 09/10 campaign and an injury that forced him to miss much of the World Cup. His drop in form was so stark that I feared his career was in jeopardy, despite his young age (27). At the beginning of the season, Spector wasn't even earning a spot on West Ham's gameday roster. He was a borderline reserve. Then a strange thing happened. One of the reserve coaches opted to try Spector at center midfield. The move worked wonders. While still not a regular starter, Spector shined as a center midfielder in West Ham's run through the Carling Cup. In regular league matches, Spector was back on the bench, earning regular minutes as a sub. Late in the season, they called on Spector once again to fill in as a starting defender. Spector's contract with West Ham is up this offseason. His versatility might help him earn another contract, but I expect it will be with a different club. West Ham got relegated and they might want to revamp their roster. Personally, I think Spector is better off playing in the Championship. He's not quite premiership quality yet.
Michael Bradley (M) - In his second season at Borussia Monchengladbach, Bradley fell out of favor. BM signed Bradley after a sterling season with Dutch outfit Heerenveen where he scored an incredible 16 goals. The top flight Bundesliga proved a difficult transition, and Bradley couldn't come close to matching that goal output for BM. Bradley got benched midseason and found himself loaned to Aston Villa. He hardly saw the pitch at Villa, while BM went on a late-season tear without Bradley. It's unfair to pin any of BM's previous failures entirely on Bradley, but it doesn't bode well for Bradley's return. For those of us that watch the US national team, we know Bradley's quality. Hopefully, he'll find a new club this summer and not open the season again at BM.
Clint Dempsey (M) - One of the great success stories this year. Fulham had a new manager who apparently didn't think highly of Dempsey. So he began the season, yet again, on the bench. It didn't last long, as Dempsey quickly proved himself to be the team's most dynamic scoring threat. He notched 39 starts and 13 goals, and Fulham finished an impressive 8th in the premiership. While many folks want to see Dempsey move to a bigger, Champion's League club, I'd prefer for him to stay at Fulham. He's got a good thing going there. Why mess with it? I wanted Bradley to stay at Heerenveen too, and look what happened to him when he left! Check out Dempsey's goals:
Jermaine Jones (M) - Like Bradley, he fell out of favor at his Bundesliga club (Schalke) and was loaned to a premiership side (Blackburn). Unlike Bradley, he started almost every game, and, in general, impressed the squad. Schalke definitely don't want him back, as Jones basically told-off the coach there, and Germans don't stand for that. A permanent move to Blackburn or a return to Germany, with a different club, is likely. Either way, I expect Jones to continue to earn playing time.
Freddy Adu (M) - He had all-but-fallen off the radar. Last September, nobody wanted him. He literally couldn't find a team. Benfica, who owned his contract, had no interest. And last year's team, Aris in Greece, didn't want him on a loan. Freddy practiced with a few squads around Europe, but nobody bit. Then came the January transfer window. A 2nd-tier Turkey side, Risapor, took a chance on Freddy. Freddy responded with 4 goals in 10 starts. His brief resurgence caught the notice of Bob Bradley who called Freddy up for the Gold Cup roster. This must be a massive confidence-boost for the kid who was so close to rock-bottom just seven months ago. While practicing with the US squad will help Freddy's career, he still needs to find a club for next season. A good showing this summer will make his hunt easier.
Damarcus Beasley (M) - Beasley signed with Hannover early in the season and played a bit part as a reserve. He started 11 games, mostly in the German Cup, not the League games. 1 goal. Strange to say, but it looks like his career in Europe is winding down.
Ricardo Clark (M) - Clark started the year with an injury that kept him sidelined most of 2010. He returned this Spring to start 9 games for Eintracht Frankfurt. Alas, EF was relegated, but I believe Clark remains part of their long-term plans.
Maurice Edu (M) - Edu was a key player for Rangers this year, helping them earn another Scottish League title. Edu also scored a goal in the Champions' League, becoming one of just a few Americans to earn that honor (others in that group include Beasley and Jovan Kirovski). Despite playing in the top-heavy Scottish League, competition at Rangers is fierce. Edu must fight for his minutes. So far, he's done just fine and may just be the US's best option at holding midfielder.
Jozy Altidore (F) - This young man needs a change of scenery. He wasn't earning regular minutes at Villareal in Spain, so they loaned him to Bursapor in Turkey during the January transfer window. The move gave Jozy minutes, but he only scored one goal in five starts. He's not in the long-term plans for Villareal or Bursapor, so another loan next season is likely. My hope is he moves to MLS just to earn some actual games. His career isn't progressing at the big club like Villareal. He'd be better off somewhere smaller.
Charlie Davies (F) - Quite an interesting few months for the former US striker. Most US fans held out hope last year that Davies would recover from his near-fatal injury in record time and somehow make the World Cup roster. When Bradley didn't select him, a lot of us lashed out, thinking Bradley was punishing Davies for breaking curfew. News later surfaced that it wasn't just Bradley's call. The US medical staff ran extensive tests on Davies and confirmed that he was nowhere near recovered. At the beginning of the 2010 season, Davies' club, French outfit Sochaux, confirmed that claim: "He is not at the level he was when he joined us." Those words must've been tough to hear after his grueling rehabilitation. But Davies is a fighter. He accepted his new role as reserve. He spent the entire first half of the season with the reserve squad, occasionally scoring, but not with any regularity you'd expect from an international-level striker (which was exactly what he was pre-injury). Finally, in December, he made the bench for the senior Sochaux squad. In the offseason, Sochaux loaded up on strikers, so Charlie's playing time would be limited at best. He was looking at more time with the reserves. But Sochaux are a good outfit, and they wanted what's best for Charlie. So they offered to loan him to DC United in MLS. DC set a league record last season with fewest ever goals scored. They desperately needed help. But head coach, Ben Olsen (yes, THAT Ben Olsen) wasn't sure Charlie was recovered enough to make the squad. MLS is a notch below the French League, but it's still competitive. Just as Beckham and Thierry Henry. Davies worked out for DC and, after two weeks, the good news came that Davies passed the fitness test. He made the squad and came off the bench in his first game and scored TWICE! To date, he's appeared in 9 games (six starts) and scored six goals (three from the penalty spot). Charlie isn't fully back to his pre-injury level, but to see him scoring again is a minor miracle.
No comments:
Post a Comment