Yanks Abroad Week Recap
There was a ton of yank abroad action this past week. Brad Guzan and Oguchi Onyewu both started and went the distance in UEFA Cup action. Guzan allowed a goal in a 1-1 tie with CKSA Moscow while Onyewu’s team suffered through a tough 3-0 loss to Portuguese side Braga. Two other Americans, Brad Friedel and Marcus Tracy, rode the pine. Michael Orozco and Jose Torres were both in the starting 11 for their teams in a mid-week jornada. Clint Dempsey started and went 90 for Fulham in the Cottagers’ 3-0 loss to Manchester United although his “5″ rating on Sky Sports indicates that his performance was slightly under par. Mike Grella made another appearance off the bench for Leeds and may have a chance to start in Leeds’ next match. Miraculously, both Mo Edu and Run DMB featured for Rangers in their Scottish Cup match against Forfar. Beasley played wickedly until a terrible challenge by a Forfar fullback prompted Walter Smith to take him off as a precautionary measure. The word is that had his feet been solidly on the ground, he may have broken a leg and been out for another extended period of time. He played very well until then and therefore merits said title…
Far Post Yank of the Week: DAMARCUS BEASLEY.
Quick Review
Started: Brad Guzan, Oguchi Onyewu, Maurice Edu, DaMarcus Beasley, Clint Dempsey, Michael Orozco, Jay DeMerit, Zak Whitbread, Jose Francisco Torres
Subbed in: Mike Grella
Made the bench but did not play: Marcus Tracy, Eddie Johnson, Heath Pearce, Ian Joyce
Did not make the bench: Danny Szetela, Marco Vidal, Daniel Hernandez, Jesus Padilla
Injured: Frank Simek
In UEFA Cup action…
D Oguchi Onyewu, Standard Liege: started and played 90 minutes in Standard’s 3-0 loss to Portuguese side Braga.
D Marcus Tracy, Aalborg: made the bench but did not play in Aalborg’s 3-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna.
G Brad Friedel, Aston Villa: made the bench but did not play in Villa’s 1-1 draw with CSKA Moscow.
G Brad Guzan, Aston Villa: started and played 90 minutes in Villa’s 1-1 draw with CSKA Moscow.
In English FA Cup action…
S Eddie Johnson: made the bench but did not play in Cardiff’s 4-0 loss to Arsenal.
In English Premier League action…
M Clint Dempsey, Fulham: started and played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 3-0 loss to Manchester United.
In English Championship action…
D Jay DeMerit, Watford: started and played 90 minutes in Watford’s 2-0 win over Swansea City.
In English League One action…
D Zak Whitbread, Millwall: started and played 90 minutes in Millwall’s 1-1 tie with Swindon Town.
S Mike Grella, Leeds United: made the bench and played 31 minutes in Leeds’ 2-0 loss to Hereford.
G Ian Joyce, Southend United: made the bench but did not play in Southend’s 1-0 loss to Crewe Alexandra.
In Scottish Cup action…
M DaMarcus Beasley, Rangers: started and played 72 minutes in Rangers’ 4-0 win over 3rd division side Forfar. He came off after a brutal challenge from Elliot Smith and was lucky to escape serious injury.
M Maurice Edu, Rangers: started and played 90 minutes in Rangers’ 4-0 win over Forfar.
In Bundesliga 2 action…
D Heath Pearce, Hansa Rostock: made the bench but did not play in Rostock’s 3-1 loss to SC Freiburg.
In Italian Serie B action…
M Danny Szetela, Brescia: did not make the bench for Brescia’s 3-0 loss to Ancona.
In Mexican Primera action…
M Jose Francisco Torres, Pachuca: started and played 68 minutes on the left in Pachuca’s 2-2 draw with Puebla. Pachuca was up 2-0 when he was subbed out.
D Michael Orozco, San Luis: started and played 90 minutes in San Luis’ 2-2 draw with Cruz Azul. His late red card on a breakaway prevented a third Cruz Azul goal and allowed San Luis to break even a few minutes later.
S Jesus Padilla (Chivas), D Marco Vidal (Indios), and D Daniel Hernandez (Jaguares) did not play this week.
John Prust
