It was a busy weekend for American internationals. Some transfer news, a debut, and some solid performances were seen in the past few days. I’ll catch you up on what I’ve found out.
Starting on Friday in Mexico, Jose Torres made his Clausura debut for Tigres in a 2-0 loss to Morelia. He was brought on as a substitute in the 57th minute of a feisty match. The game ended with eight yellow cards between the two teams, and Tigres played out the last ten minutes with only nine men due to a pair of red cards late in the game
DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Orozco both had a good showing in Puebla’s 0-0 draw with Santos Laguna. Beasley started and played 65 minutes, while Orozco played the full 90.
On Saturday, also in Mexico, five Americans appeared in Club Tijuana’s 2-1 loss to Pachuca. Herc Gomez and Edgar Castillo both started. Herc played the full 90, while Castillo was replaced by fellow American Paul Arriola in the 83rd minute. Joe Corona came on as a substitute in the 77th minute and former youth international Greg Garza subbed on in the 64th. Good news is that Corona’s ankle appears to be all set and ready to go.
Across the pond in England, Brad Guzan was in the net for Aston Villa’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool. Guzan made four saves in the match. He was also called for a phantom foul on Luis Suarez in the box, which led to Steven Gerrard’s 53rd minute penalty goal which tied the match at 2-2. Guzan came out diving at Suarez in the box and Suarez fell over his own feet apparently, but the referee called for the penalty anyways.
Geoff Cameron started and went the full 90 minutes in Stoke City’s 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace. Stoke have a matchup with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Sunday in the FA Cup Fourth Round.
Jozy Altidore started and went 72 minutes before being replaced by Steven Fletcher. Sunderland tied Southampton 2-2.
In England’s second division, Danny Williams and his Reading squad laid a whopper on Bolton with a 7-1 win. Williams played the entire 90 minutes in the Reading drubbing. Former American international Tim Ream played the full game for Bolton’s defense. Not something he wanted to be a part of, I’m sure.
Brek Shea started and played 77 minutes for last-place Barnsley as they beat Blackpool 2-0 on Saturday. It was Brek’s second appearance since his loan move from Stoke on New Year’s Day.
Oguchi Onyewu made his debut for his brand new side Sheffield Wednesday of England’s Championship. He started and played the full 90 minutes for a resurging Sheffield side. They are unbeaten in their last seven matches. Onyewu is now playing for his eighth team in the last eight seasons.
In the Netherlands on Saturday, Aron Johannsson sported a new haircut for AZ’s 3-0 win. He started and went the whole 90 minutes, and scored a goal just before halftime. An awkward header that rolled down his chest and snuck into the corner of the net was his 19th goal across all competitions.
Early Sunday in Belgium, Sacha Kljestan and Anderlecht lost a 2-1 shocker on the road. Kljestan did not start, but came on just after halftime for the 2nd-place Anderlecht.
Happening now is Alejandro Bedoya and Nantes’ matchup with French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain. Bedoya is not in the starting lineup, but he is available as a substitute.
Tomorrow in England, Tim Howard and Everton take on West Brom in the UK’s version of “Monday Night Football.” The match will be broadcast on NBC Sports.
In transfer news, when I last spoke of on Thursday, he was supposedly headed for Stoke City on a loan deal until the end of the season. England has denied Agudelo a work permit for the second time. Early this morning, news came that Agudelo will be headed for FC Utrecht in the Netherlands, instead. He will be there for the rest of this season and will hopefully see some of the same success that Aron and Jozy have in the Dutch first league.
The Yanks Watch 