This weekend was a memorable one for Americans Abroad as two recent MLS transfers made their European club debuts, while a few other Americans found the net.

Maurice Edu (pictured) made his debut for Glasgow Rangers on Saturday in a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock while U.S. Olympic teammate Jozy Altidore impressed in his La Liga debut for Villarreal.

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Some nine months after being an MLS first round draft pick, goalkeeper Dominic Cervi looks set to reap the rewards for passing up a minimum salary contract offer from MLS.

Cervi is set to sign a three-year deal with Celtic FC.

Today Real Madrid made it clear that they are no longer interested in signing Dutch ace Rafeal Van Der Vaart from Hamburger SV as an alternative to Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo. According to Real President Ramón Calderón, its Ronaldo or no one - they think their 85 million euro bid may still be workable.

Part III: The Post-1998 World Cup Breakout
By now, most of the trailblazers had returned home to play in Major League Soccer (MLS); Caligiuri to Los Angeles, Wynalda to San Jose, Harkes to DC United, and Lalas to New England. Nonetheless, the number of American players in Europe exploded to unprecedented numbers with over 20 playing in Germany alone – a combination of established professionals, young players, and journeymen.

 

If there was any doubt before, Clint Dempsey provided the clearest evidence to date that he is truly back to his best.

The U.S. national team star scored two goals, including an 89th minute equalizer to help Fulham register a 2-2 tie vs. Chelsea on Sunday.

Dempsey's brace was the highlight of a pretty good day for Americans in England.

Big, bad Brad Friedel posted another victory last weekend as he and Aston Villa kept on rolling.

Friedel was one of few bright spots for Americans Abroad last weekend. How bad were things? Consider this linep of Americans:

------------------------------Jozy Altidore-----------------------------

DaMarcus Beasley-----------Freddy Adu-------------Clint Dempsey

---------------------Michael Bradley---Maurice Edu------------------

Heath Pearce------Jay DeMerit----Jonathan Spector---Frank Simek

-------------------------------Brad Guzan------------------------------

Like that team?

Freddy Adu appears to be out of Benfica's plans, at least for now.  Benfica seem keen on loaning the 19 year old out and Monaco looks like a likely destination.  Jerome De Bontin, the chairman of the club said they "Will take up a young American." when he spoke to local newspaper Monaco-Matin.  With only [.

Pablo Mastroeni says he has "made his mind up" and he is ready to go to Europe to play.  Mastroeni who has been in MLS for the last ten years says he is finally "ready to go."  Mastroeni has been in Colorado for the last six years.  His hard nosed midfield play has earned him [...]

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Danny Szetela's five-year professional career has included many things. From the dispersal draft that landed him with the Columbus Crew as a 16-year old, to the transfer that saw him go from MLS to Spanish club Racing de Santander, to his first U.

So it's the day after the Los Angeles Galaxy's awful 3-1 loss to Chicago on Thursday and you're probably wondering where the Galaxy will go from here. I can tell you where at least one of their players is.

None other than David Beckham is in New York City today along with wife Victoria to promote their fragrance lines.

   

                                                                                                 Photo by ISIphotos.com

U.S. national team fans weren't the only ones who caught a glimpse of Kenny Cooper's performance against Guatemala on Saturday.

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It is that time of year again. Time for European leagues to kick off and time for American players to ply their trade throughout Europe (and Mexico).

This week marked the first week for the English Premier League and German Bundesliga, meaning several names joined the list of Americans playing abroad.

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With the deadline fast approaching for players to make transfer moves in Europe, several American standouts remain in limbo with just days to go before decision day.

Oguchi Onyewu, Michael Bradley, Frank Simek and Heath Pearce have all been mentioned as potential transfer targets this summer.

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Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard curled a beautiful free kick past Aston Villa goalkeeper Scott Carson in the 86th minute to give the Cottagers a sorely-needed 2-1 victory at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

With the announcement today that US goalkeeper Brad Friedel has signed a three year deal with Aston Villa – Americans will have yet another team of expats to tune in to this coming football season.
Last season Fulham became the side of choice for many newbie EPL fans because of the presence of Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson, Kasey Keller, and Brian McBride at Craven Cottage.

 

In the on-going battle for playing time, some of the U.S. national team's top young players enjoyed good weeks.

From Michael Bradley, who earned a start in Borussia Moenchengladbach's loss to Borussia Dortmund, to Jozy Altidore, who played significant minutes in a crucial match against Sevilla for Villarreal, there was definitely some progress to be made on at least a few Americans Abroad fronts.

Since the European transfer window opened on July 1st, there has been increasing speculation about Michael Bradley's potential transfer to a number of places.  Hamburg in Germany, Blackburn, and Middlesborough in England, and now, AS Monaco in France.  When the dust settles and Bradley chooses a place, we will presumably know his reasons, but for [.

Post-1994 World Cup: Breaking Into First Division Soccer
After the 1994 World Cup in which the US team showed great progress from 1990, the European soccer establishment started to notice two things; that the Americans do indeed play soccer and that a few more of their players are worth signing.

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Fulham is still alive. Yes, you read that right, the Cottagers' hopes of avoiding relegation stayed alive for another week courtesy of a 3-2 win against Manchester City. That means the five Americans who play for Fulham were given another chance to survive, at least one more game with something on the line.

If you ever wanted to ask Freddy Adu a question, here's your chance. - Greg Seltzer

It was a very light weekend of action for American soccer players in Europe, thanks in large part to all the England-based Americans having the weekend off.

No, Michael Bradley did not score a goal. The U.S. national team midfielder's insane hot streak was halted as Heerenveen settled for a tie, dropping the club from second place to fifth place in the Dutch first division.

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Good morning all. The end of a very busy and news-filled week is upon us and as we wind down toward Saturday's MLS schedule (and David Beckham's return to the New York area), it is time to catch up on some news and notes from the soccer world.

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U.S. national team defender Carlos Bocanegra is looking for a new team.

To the surprise of nobody, Fulham manager released Bocanegra, making him one of eight players let go by the Cottagers on Friday.

I'm sleepy, so let's not dillydally... #1 - The weekend Americans Abroad goal roundup won't take long this time around, but at least somebody broke the drought. For the second straight Danish Cup match, Randers FC attacker Lee Nguyen lit the lamp. Check out his opportunistic marker here. A pair of homies in Norway's second fight picked up assists: Nybergsund's Joe Lapira and Haugesund's Cameron

 

                                                       Photo by ISIphotos.com

For those of you who missed it, here is a piece I wrote for ESPN.com this morning on ten top MLS transfer targets this winter. It is a group of ten MLS players who European clubs could and very likely will make moves for when the January transfer window opens up.

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Michael Bradley did it again.

The U.S. national team midfielder and Heerenveen star scored in his fourth straight game, netting a brace to help Heerenveen record a 3-0 victory against DeGraafschap on Saturday.

Death, taxes and Michael Bradley scoring goals.

The boy wonder did it again, notching the equalizer in Heerenveen's 1-1 tie with Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven on Saturday. The tie moved Heerenveen into second place in the Dutch First Division. The goal raised Bradley's goal total to 17 total goals and 13 league goals.

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U.S. national team midfielder DaMarcus Beasley made the most of his first start since recovering from knee surgery by scoring a goal and delivering the game-winning assist in Glasgow Rangers' 3-2 Scottish Cup final victory against Queen of the South on Saturday.

Good morning folks. Apologies for the delay in getting the day started but a blackout in North Bergen, home of the SBI compound, last night and this morning was to blame.

Let's get to some news:

Altidore may stay with Villarreal

As we reported last night, Jozy Altidore is set to be introduced at Villarreal today and now comes word from Spanish daily Marca that Altidore may stay with the 'Yellow Submarine' a while.

You know it works, I may add as the day goes... #1 - English outlets are now talking up young Charles Renken-to-Arsenal academy. It should be quite fun to watch this young man's career unfold. Infamous (trust me... he'll like that modifier) BigSoccer blogger Bill Archer talks about the fuss and argues that he should forgo Euro-training to remain in the USSF Bradenton Residency program.

It took a while, but Freddy Adu finally made his first start for AS Monaco. The U.S. Olympic midfielder made the starting XI in Monaco's French Cup match against Paris St. Germain. It could be Adu's last start for a while after a goal from one-time Chicago Fire target Fabrice Pancrate gave PSG the win, thus ending Adu's potential source for major playing time.

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Hello all. With the day winding down, here are some tidbits to pass along after another eventful Tuesday in the soccer world:

Edu poised for 'Old Firm' debut

U.

It was a landmark weekend for Americans in Europe. From Brad Friedel record-breaking performance to Jozy Altidore's impressive start for Villarreal, several Americans Abroad enjoyed success across Europe.

Friedel set a new record for consecutive matches played, with 167 in a row in the English Premier League.

 

Good afternoon folks. Hope you are all enjoying some time off around the holidays, and if you're one of the people who have faced the horror of flight delays and bad weather, good luck on your travels.

This won't be your standard Ticker, moreso just a chance to catch you all up on the latest.

 

DaMarcus Beasley could be looking for work soon, and the potential search for employment has him eyeing a return to Major League Soccer.

Rangers is ready to part ways with the U.S. national team winger in January and sources tell SBI that Beasley is looking for a return to MLS, but his asking price might prevent the reunion from happening.

Attention all U.S. national team fans, if you have seen Clint Dempsey please contact SBI. He has gone missing since returning to Fulham. At least missing on the field.

Dempsey has found a seemingly permanent place on the bench at Fulham, making him one of several key American players to ride the pine last weekend without getting a single minute of action.

On a day that has seen several Americans enjoy strong performances in Europe, none enjoyed as good a day as Michael Bradley, who scored the equalizing goal in the 81st minute in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 2-2 tie vs. Bayern Munich.

Here is the goal:

So yeah, those of you talking about Michael Bradley struggling in Germany can relax.

To call last weekend a bad one for American soccer plays in Europe would be an understatement.

Fulham lost again, as did Reading. Michael Bradley's Heerenveen blew a late lead and fell to sixth place in the Eredivisie after being in second place two weeks ago. Oguchi Onyewu's Standard Liege dropped points to KAA Gent and fell into second place in the process.

With one clutch header, Brian McBride helped the fortunes if five Americans Abroad. His game-winner for Fulham against Everton served as the top highlight of a good weekend for Americans in Europe.

All five Fulham Americans saw playing time, with Kasey Keller posting the shutout and Eddie Johnson enjoying his best game to date since arriving in England.

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Brad Guzan is on his way to England and the English Premier League is about to add another American goalkeeper.

The Chivas USA and U.S. national team goalkeeper is heading to Aston Villa for a transfer fee of $1.