Yanks Abroad 2013-14: On The Road Again

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Titans Bastard

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There is still some unfinished business in the current season.  First, there is the Roma-Lazio derby in the Coppa Italia final.  The Rome clubs finished 6th and 7th and need to win to get into Europe next season.  Second, Hoffenheim is partaking in the two-legged pro/rel playoff with Kaiserslautern.  Both are YA clubs.  Third, Tijuana are still alive in the quarterfinals of Copa Libertadores, where they face Atlético Mineiro.
 
 
As usual, we can expect some changes in the offseason.  Bocanegra (Rangers) and Onyewu (Sporting) return to their clubs from loans and will likely be off to yet another destination before the end of the offseason.  On the other hand, Bursaspor might work out a transfer with Stoke after a successful loan for Maurice Edu.
 
We can expect clubs to come after Jozy Altidore after a 31 goal season for AZ.  Alejandro Bedoya could also make a modest move up the ranks.  He signed a short-term deal with Helsingborg through the summer and he's been red-hot this season, so the gamble might pay off.
 
I also anticipate Eric Lichaj departing from Aston Villa as he just can't truly break through even with manager after manager.  I think a modest Bundesliga club will pick up Fabian Johnson if Hoffenheim are relegated.
 
 
Lastly, we've already heard about one summer move.  Alfredo Morales, who was out of contract, signed with Ingolstadt on a free.  He started a number of games for Hertha down the stretch, but he won't go up to the top division with the Old Lady.
 
 
The list of players in "relevant" leagues as we head into the offseason:
 
Austria
 
FW – Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna)
 
Belgium
 
MF – Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht)
 
Brazil
 
MF – Freddy Adu (Bahia)
 
Denmark
 
DF – Clarence Goodson (Brøndby)
MF – Conor O’Brien (FC Nordsjælland)
FW – Charlie Davies (Randers FC)
 
 England
 
GK – Brad Friedel (Tottenham Hotspur)
GK – Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)
GK – Tim Howard (Everton)
DF – Geoff Cameron (Stoke City)
DF – Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa)
MF – Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur)
MF – Maurice Edu (Stoke City)
MF – Brek Shea (Stoke City)
 
DF – Will Packwood (Birmingham City)
DF – Tim Ream (Bolton Wanderers)
DF – Zak Whitbread (Leicester City)
MF – Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers)
MF – Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City)
FW – Conor Doyle (Derby County)
 
Germany
 
GK – David Yelldell (Bayer Leverkusen)
DF – John Anthony Brooks (Hertha Berlin)
DF – Timothy Chandler (Nürnberg)
DF – Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96)
DF – Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim)
MF – Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04)
MF – Joseph Gyau (Hoffenheim)
MF – Daniel Williams (Hoffenheim)
 
DF – Michael Parkhurst (FC Augsburg)
MF – Alfredo Morales (FC Ingolstadt)
FW – Bobby Wood (1860 Munich)
FW – Andrew Wooten (Kaiserslautern)
 
Italy
 
MF – Michael Bradley (Roma)
 
Mexico
 
DF – Ventura Alvarado (Club América)
DF – Jonathan Bornstein (Tigres)
DF – Edgar Castillo (Tijuana)
DF – Greg Garza (Tijuana)
DF – Michael Orozco (Puebla)
MF – DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla)
MF – Joe Corona (Tijuana)
MF – Benji Joya (Santos Laguna)
MF – José Francisco Torres (Tigres)
FW – Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna)
FW – Alonso Hernandez (Monterrey)
 
Netherlands
 
FW – Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar)
 
DF – Charles Kazlauskas (Helmond Sport)
 
Norway
 
GK – Steve Clark (Hønefoss)
MF – Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg)
MF – Josh Gatt (Molde)
FW – Kenneth Di Vita Jensen (Hønefoss)
 
Portugal
 
GK – Caleb Patterson-Sewell (Vitoria Setúbal)
DF – Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting CP)
MF – Sergio Duarte (Nacional)
FW – Tony Taylor (Estoril)
 
Scotland
 
DF – Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers)
 
Sweden
 
MF – Alejandro Bedoya (Helsingborg)
MF – Brian Span (Djurgården)
 
 
 
 
Managers
 
Bob Bradley – Egypt
Gregg Berhalter – Hammarby
 

Titans Bastard

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And some “youth” Yanks Abroad, a selective listing of players (w/ birth year) toiling in academies and reserve teams –
 
Many of these players will turn out to be academy churn and roster filler, but there are some legitimate
prospects here.
 
 
Argentina
 
FW – Nicolas Gaitan (95, Boca Juniors)
FW – Joel Sonora (96, Boca Juniors)
 
Croatia
 
DF – Thomas Ziemer (96, Dinamo Zagreb)
 
England
 
GK – Cody Cropper (93, Southampton)
MF – Gregory Ariyiba (95, Southampton)
MF – Emerson Hyndman (96, Fulham)
MF – Sebastian Lletget (92, West Ham United)
MF – Kris Scott (95, Stoke City)
MF – Kyle Scott (97, Chelsea)
MF – Marc Pelosi (94, Liverpool)
MF – Omar Thompson (95, Wigan Athletic)
FW – Villyan Bijev (93, Liverpool)
 
GK – Dylan Castanheira (95, Bristol City)
FW – Duane Holmes (94, Huddersfield Town)
 
France
 
MF – Max Morice (93, Rennes)
 
MF – Piakai Henkel (95, Amiens)
 
Germany
 
MF – Kainoa Bailey (95, Bayer Leverkusen)
MF – Russell Canouse (95, Hoffenheim)
MF – Junior Flores (96, Borussia Dortmund)
MF – Julian Green (95, Bayern Munich)
MF – Eric Lickert (95, Freiburg)
MF – Tyrone McCargo (93, Nürnberg)
MF – Zach Pfeffer (95, Hoffenheim, on loan from Philadelphia)
MF – Caleb Stanko (93, Freiburg)
FW – Jerome Kiesewetter (93, VfB Stuttgart)
FW – Mario Rodriguez (94, Kaiserslautern)
FW – David Spies (94, Nürnberg)
 
Italy
 
FW – Joshua Perez (98, Fiorentina)   [Hugo’s nephew]
 
Mexico
 
GK – Bernabé Magaña (93, Pumas)
DF – Cristian Cruz (95, Morelia)
DF – Jaime Frias (93, Guadalajara)
DF – Juan Pablo Ocegueda (93, Guadalajara)
DF – Raul Rodriguez (94, Tijuana)
MF – Daniel Cuevas (93, Santos Laguna)
MF – Alejandro Guido (94, Tijuana)
MF – Branco Rodriguez (95, Cruz Azul)
MF – Esteban Rodriguez (94, Tijuana)
FW – Paul Arriola (95, Tijuana)
FW – Alan Cortinas (94, Tijuana)
 
Norway
 
DF – Sean Cunningham (93, Molde)
FW – Ben Spencer (95, Molde)
 

BigRed07

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TB, I keep meaning to heap praise for all of the work you do to keep us up to date on Yanks Abroad. At this point your work is, in my view, more streamlined and more helpful than the actual yanksabroad website. So thanks for that.

What is everyone's take on where Jozy ends up this summer? I agree with you that people will be bidding on him but where do you think he can go and actually succeed? He doesn't seem to be Mr. Versatile as demonstrated by how the style of play of the USMNT vs. style of play at AZ yield wildly different results. Who out there would be a step up for him and also use him in an effective way? I'd hate to see him go somewhere "big" just to see him sit on the bench because he can't produce. I'd just as soon see him stay at AZ than be an infrequent 80th minute sub for a mid-table EPL squad--though I suppose his bank account might disagree with my opinion.
 

Mr. Wednesday

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Where I sit, the danger to Jozy is that someone looks at his body type, thinks "target striker", and figures they can just start hoofing balls to him a la his loan stint at Hull.  His target play isn't useless, but he doesn't really play the bull-in-a-china-shop game where he'll invent scoring chances just by banging bodies around.  He really does depend on adequate service, though when he has that, he'll then use his size and weight to great advantage to keep defenders from knocking him off the ball.
 

Titans Bastard

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BigRed07 said:
TB, I keep meaning to heap praise for all of the work you do to keep us up to date on Yanks Abroad. At this point your work is, in my view, more streamlined and more helpful than the actual yanksabroad website. So thanks for that.

 
 
Thanks....though as somebody who plays a small role at Yanks Abroad, I'm not sure how to take that!  To be honest, YA has a lot of dedicated writers, but the site as whole is less than the sum of its parts due to some issues with ownership.
 
 
What is everyone's take on where Jozy ends up this summer? I agree with you that people will be bidding on him but where do you think he can go and actually succeed? He doesn't seem to be Mr. Versatile as demonstrated by how the style of play of the USMNT vs. style of play at AZ yield wildly different results. Who out there would be a step up for him and also use him in an effective way? I'd hate to see him go somewhere "big" just to see him sit on the bench because he can't produce. I'd just as soon see him stay at AZ than be an infrequent 80th minute sub for a mid-table EPL squad--though I suppose his bank account might disagree with my opinion.
 
At AZ, Jozy is flanked by two wingers and has Adam Maher behind him.  With the USMNT, he is surrounded by central midfielders in every direction. Call me an Altidore apologist, but I don't think anybody would do well when thrust into the Jozy's situation with the NT.  The stark contrast between his Eredivisie production and his USMNT production supports this.  This season, he's been scoring tap-ins, headers, penalties, bombs from outside the box, and he's also racked up a respectable number of assists (7 or so).  He's effective as a target, but he's also been a good finisher, and he's part of the team's attacking buildup.
 
The USMNT lacks quality attacking midfielders.  Or at least, the quality of the central midfielders is superior enough to the quality of the attacking midfielders that Klinsmann can't help but try to use the CMs as AMs.  It hasn't worked, and fortunately we are slowly moving away from doing this.  
 
 

Mr. Wednesday said:
Where I sit, the danger to Jozy is that someone looks at his body type, thinks "target striker", and figures they can just start hoofing balls to him a la his loan stint at Hull.  His target play isn't useless, but he doesn't really play the bull-in-a-china-shop game where he'll invent scoring chances just by banging bodies around.  He really does depend on adequate service, though when he has that, he'll then use his size and weight to great advantage to keep defenders from knocking him off the ball.
 
Agreed.  Jozy is surprising technical for a big man and his tactical game as improved significantly under Verbeek.  It would be a waste of his abilities to put him in a Route One type situation.
 
I also think that the turmoil in Jozy's career after leaving New York has taught him some important lessons about making the right transfers.  I think he values what AZ Alkmaar has given him, which is stability and a nurturing place in which he could develop his game.  I'm guessing that when considering the offers that come in, he'll look at more than just the money.
 

Titans Bastard

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Called it:
 
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-allowing-darren-bent-4003591
 
Right-back understudy Eric Lichaj , third choice goalkeeper Andy Marshall and loanee winger Simon Dawkins will also depart after the claret and blues opted not to renew their deals.
 
 
Lichaj has the Polish passport, so he will not face any barriers to entry in searching for a job in Europe.  I'm sure there will be takers in the Championship, but perhaps he'll explore the continent as well.
 
Non-American, but I bet San Jose would love to have Simon Dawkins back.  They couldn't secure a renewal of his loan because an EPL club came calling, but it just doesn't look like he's up to this level.
 

BigRed07

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Titans Bastard

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BigRed07 said:
No offense meant, of course, TB. As you say, YA has just lost a little focus it seems, though I think Sciaretta is doing good work.

On another note, some interesting bits in this interview with Timmy Chandler (I assume in English given the...uh...interesting grammar) http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/3675/alex-labidou/2013/05/23/3998307/stoppage-time-timmy-chandler-opens-up-on-future-and-stalling?ICID=HP_HN_1

Hard to argue with his point that the travel for USMNT really sucks.
 
I was just giving you a hard time.
 
 
Yep, CONCACAF travel is no picnic for Euro-based players.  Even US-based friendlies are a haul, to say nothing of road WCQs.  Playing for the USMNT requires commitment and let's just say Chandler isn't future captain material.
 

Titans Bastard

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Another kid heads abroad:
 
 
Another MLS academy is leaving to join a foreign club. Goalie Arie Ammann signed with Watford's youth academy, the English club's first signing of the summer. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Mike Ammann, one of the first American keepers to play in England.

Arie is eligible to work in England because he holds a Swiss passport, through his father, who played two years in England with Charlton Athletic and then spent six seasons in MLS with Kansas City, the MetroStars and D.C. United.
 
This guy is a 96.  He had been with D.C. United's U-16 team.
 

Spacemans Bong

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Titans Bastard said:
I was just giving you a hard time.
 
 
Yep, CONCACAF travel is no picnic for Euro-based players.  Even US-based friendlies are a haul, to say nothing of road WCQs.  Playing for the USMNT requires commitment and let's just say Chandler isn't future captain material.
 
 
To be fair to him, Europeans freak out when they have to travel more than 3 hours in the air. Every time an English club goes to Eastern Europe it's portrayed like it's the other side of the world when it's about the same as a flight from Salt Lake City to New York. I vaguely recall Chandler had never been to the US before he came to play for the MNT, so his first flight to America would have probably been 2-3 times longer than any flight he'd ever taken in his life.
 

Titans Bastard

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Spacemans Bong said:
To be fair to him, Europeans freak out when they have to travel more than 3 hours in the air. Every time an English club goes to Eastern Europe it's portrayed like it's the other side of the world when it's about the same as a flight from Salt Lake City to New York. I vaguely recall Chandler had never been to the US before he came to play for the MNT, so his first flight to America would have probably been 2-3 times longer than any flight he'd ever taken in his life.
 
Sure, that's true.  Dennis Bergkamp must have gotten quite familiar with Europe's rail network.  But still -- you don't see any complaints from Jones, Williams, Johnson, Boyd, et al.  Chandler is just flaky and unreliable, I think.
 

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Eric Lichaj signed a two-year deal with Nottingham Forest.  Lichaj never could quite nail down a place at Aston Villa.  He did well in the Championship in the past, while on loan at Leeds.
 
Ethan Horvath signed with Molde FK.  Horvath is a young GK (born '95) who came up with Real Colorado and has been with the US U18 YNT.  He's the fourth young American on Molde's books now -- Gatt '91, Cunningham, '93, Spencer '95.
 
Tony Taylor is moving to Omonia in the Cypriot league, pending a physical.  He is coming off an undistinguished stint for Estoril across the top two divisions of the Portuguese league.
 

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This came out of nowhere:
 
Reading sign Daniel Williams
 
Williams started strong last year, but slipped out of form and then dealt with some injury issues.  The word is that Hoffenheim's new manager didn't think he was a good fit for the tactics he wanted to use, so a transfer was best for both parties.
 

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Steve Cherundolo went under the knife last week.  Arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and it's not expected to be too serious.  Still, I'm not expecting too much from Stevie at Hannover this season.  His playing time was reduced in 2012-13 and that's only going to continue in the twilight of his career.
 
Seltzer says Jozy has turned down four offers from Russia and Ukraine, including one from Dynamo Kyiv.  Meanwhile, AZ Alkmaar confirmed that Sunderland have made a bid.
 
Seltzer also says the U-17 standout Rubio Rubin will sign with FC Utrecht when he turns 18.  His birthday is March 1.
 
Spector re-signs with Birmingham City.
 
Beasley re-signs with Puebla.
 

Titans Bastard

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Seltzer says Sunderland is paying $12.6m for Jozy.  Wahl says $13m.  Either way, it's the largest fee ever paid for an American, so Jozy Altidore displaces...Jozy Altidore at the top of the list.
 
US U-20 forward Mario Rodriguez has moved from Kaiserslautern to Borussia Mönchengladbach.  He joined Kaiserslautern last season and played for their U-19s.  He'll spend the 2013-14 season with Gladbach's reserves.  I wasn't particularly impressed with what I saw from him with the U-20s, but who knows.
 
Brad Guzan signed a new four-year contract with Aston Villa.
 

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Josh Gatt needs knee surgery and is out for the season.  As a speedy winger with okay technique who really needs a lot of reps to improve his decision-making and tactical approach to the game, spending so much time on the shelf is extremely detrimental for multiple reasons.  Gatt is firmly in injury-prone territory and it's time to start adjusting long-term expectations for him.
 

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Alfredo Morales just made his Jonathan Woodgate-style debut for Ingolstadt.  He started the game, gave away a goal on a terrible backpass, and then conceded a PK on a play in which he also received a straight red.  The PK was converted and Ingolstadt lost 2-1.  That right there is straight-to-the-doghouse material.
 

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Titans Bastard said:
FW – Paul Arriola (95, Tijuana)
 
This guy was another one of LA's academy recruits, but he spurned the Galaxy's offer and signed with Tijuana instead.  He's from Chula Vista, so Tijuana is closer than LA and he can play in Liga MX while living at home.  As an 18 year old, I assumed he'd spend at least most of the year with the U-20s, but he made the matchday 18 in last night's season opener and dished this assist off the bench.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxUI57yGYjQ
 
 
That's class.
 

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Might want to add Michael Hoyos back to this list as it appears now he is wanting to do a switch the USMNT.
 
 
Fresh OFI Crete catch Michael Hoyos played 80 minutes from the start of a 1-0 friendly loss at ADO Den Haag on Saturday. The 21-year-old enjoyed a fine first half, despite missing on an early breakaway chance.
 
His career was set back by a 2011 car accident, but Hoyos is now fighting to start as a midfielder in Greek's top flight – a place of hearty central park battles, to say the least. The Southern California native has played with Argentina's U-20 side, but recently stated he hopes to work his way into the USMNT frame and make a FIFA allegiance switch.
 
 
 
Not sure how true this all is, but it should be something to watch for.
 

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Duane Holmes (18 year old attacker at Huddersfield) made a good first impression in his league debut last weekend:  (assist at :55, setting up a PK at 1:14)
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srlj8WkPUx0
 
 
 

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Bradley returned to the field for the first time since his ankle injury and scored the winner for Roma during his 12 minutes as a sub.
 
Jozy assisted on the winner in Sunderland's first win of the season.
 
Kljestan scored his fifth of the year in a still-in-progress game.
 

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Sacha Kljestan became the fifth American to score in the Champions League today, joining Kirovski, Beasley, Edu, and Jones.  Nonetheless, Anderlecht continued to stink up the joint, finishing their campaign with one point.
 
Juan Agudelo has an offer on the table from Valencia, but might sign with Stoke anyway, even though they'll have to loan him out because he doesn't qualify for a work permit.  Why?  I can only assume money.
 

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Brek Shea went on loan to Barnsley yesterday and immediately jumped into the starting lineup.  Apparently he did okay.  Dude needs games, badly.  I think he's a really good fit for the Championship, but even if he has success there I question whether he'll ever be EPL quality.
 
In other Championship news, a winger named Gboly Ariyibi (born in 1995, we're all old) has suddenly debuted for Leeds United and done well in his first two appearances.  Ariyibi was born in noted soccer non-hotbed West Virginia and had been looking for a club since being cut loose by Southampton over the summer.  Normally unemployed ex-academy players aren't very exciting, but Leeds signed him to a short-term contract and he went straight into the first team, so....huh.
 
In Germany, Fabian Johnson will be out of contract in the summer.  Current reports say that Hoffenheim is trying to re-sign him, but that he also has an offer from Borussia Mönchengladbach and is in talks with other clubs.  Hoffenheim is a weird club and a weird place to play.  I'd imagine getting a raise and playing in a more traditional place would be appealing.
 
And reports today say that Jermaine Jones isn't going to winter camp with Schalke and is on his way out.  If so, he may be gone by the end of the month.  MLS clubs will probably sniffing around here, but they'd probably have to overpay.
 
 
An updated YA list for January.  We'll probably have some additions and changes before the month is done.
 
EUROPE
Austria
Bundesliga
FW - Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna)
 
Belgium
Pro League
MF - Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht)
 
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Premier League
FW - Danijal Brković (Željezničar)
 
Cyprus
First Division
FW - Tony Taylor (Omonia)
 
Czech Republic
Gambrinus Liga
DF - Christian Ibeagha (Bohemians 1905)
MF - Nermin Crnkić (Znojmo)
 
Denmark
Superliga
DF - Babajide Ogunbiyi (Viborg)
MF - Conor O'Brien (OB Odense)
FW - Charlie Davies (Randers)
FW - Mike Grella (Viborg)
 
England
Premier League
GK - Brad Friedel (Tottenham Hotspur)
GK - Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)
GK - Tim Howard (Everton)
DF - Geoff Cameron (Stoke City)
MF - Clint Dempsey (Fulham, on loan from Seattle Sounders)
MF - Maurice Edu (Stoke City)
FW - Jozy Altidore (Sunderland)
 
Championship
DF - Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest)
DF - Oguchi Onyewu (Queens Park Rangers)
DF - Will Packwood (Birmingham City)
DF - Tim Ream (Bolton Wanderers)
DF - Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City)
DF - Zak Whitbread (Derby County, on loan from Leicester City)
MF - Gboly Ariyibi (Leeds United)
MF - Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers)
MF - Brek Shea (Barnsley, on loan from Stoke City)
MF - Daniel Williams (Reading)
FW - Duane Holmes (Huddersfield Town)
 
League Two
DF - Euan Holden (Bury)
FW - Jon-Paul Pittman (Wycombe Wanderers)
 
Finland
Veikkausliiga
DF - Mike Banner (FF Jaro)
DF - Giuseppe Funicelli (FF Jaro)
DF - Karsten Smith (VPS)
DF - Etchu Tabe (KuPS)
MF - Justin Moose (SJK)
MF - Jon Okafor (MYPA)
FW - Jordan Seabrook (VPS)
 
Ykkönen
MF - Kevin Sawchak (KooTeePee)
FW - Aaron King (Haka)
 
France
Ligue 1
MF - Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes)
 
Championnat National (D3)
GK - Quentin Westberg (Luzenac)
 
Germany
Bundesliga
GK - David Yelldell (Bayer Leverkusen)
DF - John Anthony Brooks (Hertha Berlin)
DF - Timothy Chandler (Nürnberg)
DF - Steve Cherundolo (Hannover)
DF - Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim)
DF - Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg)
MF - Jermaine Jones (Schalke)
 
2.Bundesliga
MF - Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt)
FW - Andrew Wooten (Kaiserslautern)
FW - Bobby Wood (1860 Munich)
 
3. Liga
DF - Royal-Dominique Fennell (Stuttgarter Kickers)
FW - Marc Heider (Holstein Kiel)
FW - Matt Taylor (Preußen Münster)
 
Iceland
Úrvalsdeild
GK - Josh Wicks (Thór)
FW - Chukwudi Chijindu (Thór)
 
Israel
Premier League
MF - Bryan Gerzicich (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
 
Liga Leumit
DF - Ryan Adeleye (Hapoel Ashkelon)
DF - Leonard Krupnik (Maccabi Umm al-Fahm)
 
Italy
Serie A
MF - Michael Bradley (Roma)
 
Netherlands
Eredivisie
FW - Aron Jóhannsson (AZ Alkmaar)
 
Eerste Divisie
DF - Charles Kazlauskas (Helmond Sport)
FW - Dion Watson (Fortuna Sittard)
 
Norway
Tippeligaen
DF - Zarek Valentin (Bodø/Glimt)
MF - Mikkel Diskerud (Rosenborg)
MF - Josh Gatt (Molde)
 
Adeccoligaen
DF - Rhett Bernstein (Mjøndalen)
DF - Jonathan Borrajo (Mjøndalen)
DF - Sebastian Troupe (Bærum)
FW - Kenneth Di Vita Jensen (Hønefoss)
 
Portugal
Primeira Liga
GK - Caleb Patterson Sewell (Gil Vicente)
 
Segunda Liga
DF - Steven Silva Rodrigues (Leixões)
 
Segunda Divisão
MF - Sérgio Duarte (Mirandela, on loan from Nacional)
 
Russia
Premier League
FW - Yevgeni Starikov (Tom Tomsk)
 
Scotland
Championship (D2)
DF - Kevin Dzierzawski (Queen of the South)
 
Sweden
Superettan (D2)
GK - Matt Pyzdrowski (Ängelhom)
DF - Patrick Hopkins (IK Sirius)
DF - Aaron Nichols (Ljungskile)
MF - Paul Torres (Landskrona)
FW - Andy Stadler (Landskrona)
 
LATIN AMERICA
Costa Rica
Primera División
DF - Moises Hernandez (Deportivo Saprissa, on loan from FC Dallas)
 
El Salvador
Primera División
DF - Eddie Ababio (Águila)
MF - Marlon Duran (Águila)
 
Guatemala
Liga Nacional
DF - Jeffrey Payeras (Municipal)
 
Honduras
Liga Nacional
GK - Chris Sheridan (Platense)
MF - Kevin Hoyos (Victoria, on loan from Estudiantes de la Plata (ARG))
 
Mexico
Liga MX
GK - William Yarbrough (León)
DF - DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla)
DF - Jonathan Bornstein (Atlante, on loan from Tigres)
DF - Édgar Castillo (Tijuana)
DF - Greg Garza (Tijuana)
DF - Michael Orozco Fiscal (Puebla)
MF - Joe Corona (Tijuana)
MF - Michael Farfan (Cruz Azul)
MF - Jose Francisco Torres (Tigres)
FW - Paul Arriola (Tijuana)
FW - Herculez Gomez (Tijuana)
FW - Alonso Hernández (Monterrey)
FW - Jose Villarreal (Cruz Azul)
 
Ascenso MX
GK - Austin Guerrero (Altamira)
DF - Ventura Alvarado (Necaxa, on loan from Club América)
MF - Daniel Cuevas (Lobos BUAP)
MF - Ernest Nungaray (Correcaminos UAT)
MF - Marco Vidal (Lobos BUAP)
 
 
 
And youth players --
 
EUROPE
Belgium
Pro League
MF - Patrick Tshiani (Standard Liège)
 
Brazil
Campeonato Serie A
MF - Lipe (Cruzeiro)
 
England
Premier League
GK - Cody Cropper (Southampton)
DF - Danny Barbir (Manchester City)
MF - Luca de la Torre (Fulham)
MF - Lynden Gooch (Sunderland)
MF - Emerson Hyndman (Fulham)
MF - Sebastian Lletget (West Ham United)
MF - Marc Pelosi (Liverpool)
MF - Kristian Scott (Swansea City)
MF - Kyle Scott (Chelsea)
 
Championship
GK - Arie Ammann (Watford)
MF - Omar Thompson (Wigan Athletic)
 
League One
GK - Dylan Castanheira (Bristol City)
GK - Charlie Horton (Peterborough United)
 
France
Ligue 1
MF - Romain Gall (Lorient)
 
Germany
Bundesliga
MF - Russell Canouse (Hoffenheim)
MF - Junior Flores (Borussia Dortmund)
MF - Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim)
MF - Shawn Kauter (Hertha Berlin)
MF - Eric Lickert (Freiburg)
MF - Caleb Stanko (Freiburg)
MF - Quinton Washington (Hamburg)
FW - Christian Albelo (Hoffenheim)
FW - Kainoa Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen)
FW - Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
 
2.Bundesliga
MF - Benjamin Arnold (Kaiserslautern)
MF - Darian Gurley (Karlsruhe)
MF - Cody Sweatte (Sandhausen)
FW - Jann George (Greuther Fürth)
 
Greece
Superleague
MF - Nicholas Gaitan (OFI Crete)
 
Italy
Serie A
FW - Joshua Perez (Fiorentina)
 
Serie B
FW - Dylan Alexis Romney (Varese, on loan from Internazionale)
 
Japan
J.2 League
FW - Piakai Henkel (Fagiano Okayama)
 
Netherlands
Eredivisie
DF - Desevio Payne (Groningen)
FW - Kai Koreniuk (Vitesse)
FW - Rubio Rubin (Utrecht)
 
Eerste Divisie
GK - Benjamin Machini (Excelsior)
 
Norway
Tippeligaen
GK - Ethan Horvath (Molde)
FW - Ben Spencer (Molde)
 
Adeccoligaen
DF - John Armstrong (Fredrikstad)
 
Spain
La Liga
MF - Ben Lederman (Barcelona)
 
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina
Primera División
MF - Damián Paulette (San Lorenzo)
MF - Joel Sonora (Boca Juniors)
 
Mexico
Liga MX
GK - Bernabé Magaña (Pumas UNAM)
GK - Sebastian Mora (Pumas UNAM)
DF - Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Tigres)
DF - Raúl Rodríguez (Tijuana)
MF - Fernando Arce (Tijuana)
MF - Ernesto Espinoza (Tijuana)
MF - Alejandro Guido (Tijuana)
MF - Benji Joya (Santos Laguna)
MF - Ethan Lotenero (Pachuca)
FW - Joe Gallardo (Monterrey)
FW - Emilio Garcia (Pachuca)
FW - Esteban Rodriguez (Tijuana)
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
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And on the managerial front:
 
 
 
According to reports out of Norway, Bradley looks set to take the Stabaek job, which would make him the first American to manage in a European first division league.
 
Stabæk is a pretty small club in the grand scheme of Europe, but you have to start somewhere.  I really hope he does well.  There are only so many coaching jobs available in MLS, so blazing a trail overseas could open doors for others to follow.  I also think cross-pollination on the coaching level between MLS and other leagues would be a positive.
 

mgoblue2

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Sep 6, 2010
652
TB, what's the latest on Julian Green? Last I heard he was with the German U19 side?
 

Schnerres

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Apr 28, 2009
1,554
Germany
Schalke´s Jones wants to leave:
http://www.derwesten.de/sport/fussball/s04/jermaine-jones-will-den-fc-schalke-04-schon-zur-rueckrunde-verlassen-id8827098.html
Report says, he asked to leave and manager Heldt allowed him to look for a new club. It also mentions "fear over new Bayern loan Jan Kirchhoff"...It is a possibility, but i don´t know. Jones sure needs regular playing time, but with Schalke still in CL competition and Bundesliga having to face challenges to qualify for CL next season, they won´t give away many matches. There´s at least 20 competitive matches until WC@Schalke. And Jones is 32, so he could use some rest, too. I don´t know why he wants to leave.
 

Titans Bastard

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mgoblue2 said:
TB, what's the latest on Julian Green? Last I heard he was with the German U19 side?
 
Green is provisionally cap-tied to Germany after playing for the German U19 team in UEFA qualifiers in October.  This means that he'd need to file a one-time permanent switch to play for the US.
 
He's said that he's committed to the Germany's UEFA U19 Championship campaign.  They have another qualifying phase in late May/early June and if they qualify and do well at the finals, they'll play in the 2015 U-20 World Cup as well.
 
As long as he remains part of Germany's NT program, I don't see why he'd switch.  He grew up in Germany, he plays in Germany, and Germany is a better program.  Why not ride it out and see how far he can go?  The US will always be there.
 

Vinho Tinto

Member
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Dec 9, 2003
7,046
Auburn, MA
Titans Bastard said:
And on the managerial front:
 
 
Stabæk is a pretty small club in the grand scheme of Europe, but you have to start somewhere.  I really hope he does well.  There are only so many coaching jobs available in MLS, so blazing a trail overseas could open doors for others to follow.  I also think cross-pollination on the coaching level between MLS and other leagues would be a positive.
 
It's not sexy and will not grab a lot headlines, but this is a very important day for American coaching. Congrats to Bob and hopefully we will see many other Americans get chances to manage around the world. 
 

Titans Bastard

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There are Michael Bradley to Toronto FC rumors blowing up all over Twitter right now.  Or maybe Taylor Twellman and Alexi Lalas are trolling everybody.
 

soxfan121

JAG
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Dec 22, 2002
23,043
Titans Bastard said:
There are Michael Bradley to Toronto FC rumors blowing up all over Twitter right now.  Or maybe Taylor Twellman and Alexi Lalas are trolling everybody.
 
Say it ain't so, Mero. Say it ain't so.
 

cromulence

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Aug 25, 2009
6,699
Me too. If that happened it would start to feel like all of our best players are just settling for MLS. And don't get me wrong, I like MLS etc etc. But I wanna see a guy like Bradley succeed in Europe.
 

Titans Bastard

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It looks like this is happening.  Some guy on Twitter reporting that Toronto is buying down Matias Laba's contract so that he won't count as a DP any more.  That would leave only Gilberto as a DP on the books, making room for Bradley and Defoe.
 

OilCanMDS

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Jan 29, 2007
453
Washington, DC
The Bradley move will be especially disappointing if it happens because of the shortage of MFers on a lot of teams in major European leagues.  In Premier League, just off the top of my head, Fullham, Sunderland and Manchester United are all in desperate need of MFs.  I have to believe that he had the opportunity to move to one of those teams and instead elected to play in MLS.  It's admirable that some of the top US talent is coming back to MLS to help build the league, but it seems like it will come at the cost of the development of the players. 
 

Billy R Ford

douchebag q momfingerer
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Feb 10, 2010
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OilCanMDS said:
The Bradley move will be especially disappointing if it happens because of the shortage of MFers on a lot of teams in major European leagues.  In Premier League, just off the top of my head, Fullham, Sunderland and Manchester United are all in desperate need of MFs.
 
Sunderland actually bid 7 million Euros for Bradley last summer, but had it turned down by Roma. It really doesn't seem like Roma wanted him to go: he's a versatile player who could cover for any of De Rossi, Pjanic, or Strootman in Roma's 3-man midfield.
 
At the start of the season I wasn't worried about Bradley's playing time even if he wasn't first choice, since I figured he'd get plenty of starts as a rotational player. Circumstances worked against him though: when Roma raced off to their perfect start, Bradley was out with a broken foot for almost two months. I think that hot start entrenched De Rossi/Pjanic/Strootman into the starting eleven pretty firmly, and that's what made Bradley so nervous about playing time.
 
A few days ago Roma picked up another quality central midfielder, Radja Nainggolan, on loan with an option to buy in the summer. To me that looks like they saw the writing on the wall with Bradley and made the move to replace him.
 

EP Sox Fan

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Bradley Transferring from a top flight Seire A club to a MLS club during the offseason in a World Cup year is terrible for the USMNT. I really hope he stays in. Europe. He has plenty of time to move to the MLS. He definitely has the talent to play in any major league in Europe. If this goes down Klinsmann will not be pleased to see two of his top players plying their trade in the MLS.
 

Jeff Van GULLY

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Jul 13, 2005
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I would hope Bradley or his agent have spoken to Klinnsy at some point in this process.

Furthermore there's no way in hell he and Gulati didn't hear about the possibility Bradley could move to MLS from the league far in advance. Since apparently his agent told MLS awhile ago he was open to a move.

Also, I hate this.
 

Bailey10

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Jul 6, 2013
411
As a long time Michael Bradley supporter, I would be beyond disappointed by this transfer. I understand financially it is hard to turn down and the MLS wants to buy marketable American players.
 
However, make no mistake, the MLS bringing back Dempsey and now maybe Bradley has hurt the US national team. You want your top stars challenging themselves at the top levels. Bradley and Dempsey became two of the US' most important players precisely because they were able to go to Europe and play against better competition. If I am Klinnsmann, I am disgusted with the attitudes of my top players, who would rather quit when things get tough in Europe for a fat payday.
 
It's mindboogling how Bradley would consider leaving Europe during the prime of his career to play in Toronto in a league that isn't even in-season right now during a World Cup year.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Jul 2, 2006
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Philadelphia
Bradley will reportedly make 6.5M per year on a five or six year deal. That's way beyond what he could earn in Europe. I don't blame him so much as I blame MLS. If there's a limited amount of money available for stars, it seems self-defeating in the long run to allocate that money to America's best Europe-based players.
 

cromulence

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Aug 25, 2009
6,699
I hate it so much. He wants to "help the growth of American soccer", but I don't think this does all that much to help. The rest of the world doesn't care that an American came to play in the American league. I'd be excited if a non-American, talented, 26 year old came from Europe to America - this does nothing for me and I don't see how it does much for MLS, other than show that American players like to play there.
 

EP Sox Fan

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I can't blame the guy for taking that kind of money. I just really, really hate the timing. Clearly he was getting squeezed for playing time at Roma. But as someone pointed out upthread, there are a number of European teams that could use his skills. There's no way that Toronto FC was the only team in for his services. I may be crazy, but I think he's exactly the kind of midfielder that ManU could use right now.  So what in the hell is he going to do during the MLS offseason?  It will be interesting to see what Klinsmann thinks of this.
 
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