by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

Freddy Adu has not played club soccer in quite some time, but that could all change this weekend.

Adu and his new club Belenenses take on Academica de Coimbra on Sunday, and a debut for Adu could potentially signal the beginning of the end to the club drought that has plagued him throughout the majority of 2009.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

American-born defender Edgar Castillo is a step closer to a potential spot with the U.S. men's national team after completing and submitting his application to switch from the Mexican national team to the United States, sources told SBI.

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

For the Americans Abroad, Wednesday was a decent day in terms of performance.

Kenny Cooper scored his third goal in European competition, netting in the 50th minute of 1860 Munich's match vs. Hertha Berlin. Cooper's goal gave 1860 Munich a 2-0 lead at the time, but Hertha Berlin would pull level and force penalties.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

One minute he's going, the next it's null and void. Heath Pearce, who had agreed to terms with Turkish club Bursaspor, seemed to have a contract signed and sealed.

It's Friday and it is time to start a new series, which is more like the old series.

Every Friday, I will touch on some of the week's popular subjects being discussed by readers, as well astouch on news stories SBI may have missed.

The first subject today is Jermaine Jones.

I decided to lower the bar for this edition, picking only players who cost their new clubs less than €7 million. Boy, am I glad I did.It turns out there was an awful lot of fine bargain shopping this summer - so much that I entirely ignored any and all loan players, including ones with buy options.

This past week it was officially announced that Vincenzo Bernardo had opted out of his contract with Italian Serie A club Napoli and is now a free agent. For some weeks there has been speculation that the New Jersey native, who joined Napoli's primavera squad in 2006, would be coming to Major League Soccer; however, no MLS side has publically expressed a strong interest in signing the small but talented Italian-American midfielder/striker.

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

After a few forgettable weekends, the Americans Abroad bounced back with some positive performances this weekend.

Edgar Castillo is an American, born and raised in New Mexico, but there were few American fans rooting for him two years ago when he made the decision to play for the Mexican national team.

A lot has changed for Castillo in the two years since. He has switched professional clubs, joining Mexican giant Club America before joining current club (and SuperLiga champions)Tigres UANL on loan.

U.S. national team midfielder Michael Bradley played his first club match in almost a month, starting and going the full 90 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 1-0 victory vs. Duisburg in the German League Cup action on Tuesday.

Bradley, who had not played for Moenchengladbach since being subbed out at halftime of a loss to Werder Bremen on Aug.

As promised, a small flood of TV viewing...We begin with a virtual fly-by unveiling of the San Jose Earthquakes new stadium.ESPN takes their regular weekend recap look at Americans Abroad.As always, we check in with MOTD2's 2 Good 2 Bad.2 Good 2 Bad - Sept 20von footballoveI've been talking up Diniyar Bilyaletdinov since before his yeoman's work at Euro 2008.

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

While there were few positives to draw from the U.S. U-20 national team's World Cup opener, there were reasons for optimism from some of the Americans Abroad this weekend.

Tim Howard once again provided Everton with a solid performance, making three saves en route to a 1-0 win over Portsmouth.

It's nearly USMNT game time, but let's quickly grab a look at both the first Leeds United league goal by Mike Grella (the first goal shown below) and the first strike of the season from MK Dons ace Jemal Johnson.Leeds 2 v 0 Stockport 05/09/09von sparkyman2- Greg Seltzer

This was going to be longer, but I had so many clips, it seemed best to separate them all into a Video Tuesday post. That will arrive shortly...#1 - I caught up with recovering Guimarães midfielder Kamani Hill, who has fingers crossed to make his club debut in Wednesday's Portuguese League Cup.Speaking of American attackers trying to make comebacks, Soccernet all-star Ravi Ubha talks with

There was a full schedule of matches in the top European leagues in the midweek with the English Carling Cup, German DFB-Pokal, Serie A, and La Liga all in action. Kenny Cooper played for 1860 Munich and continues to impress as he scored a goal while Tim Howard remains a solid goalkeeper for Everton.

I'm still monitoring several potential deals involving Americans Abroad. I can't spill everything I know and there are also some tidbits I haven't collected yet, so this isn't exactly a blazing start - but hopefully I will be updating this post with goodies over the next eight hours. At the same time, a few items probably won't be settled today, But I know how much you all love waiting!

The summer transfer window was a chance DaMarcus Beasley needed for a change of scenery. It was clear that Glasgow was not the place for the winger if he hoped to resurrect both his club and country career. Unfortunately for Beasley, rumors of a switch from Rangers to either Germany or Spain failed to come through today.

Yup, Wycombe Wanderers forward Jon-Paul Pittman has scored for the third straight match, knotting up a Football League Trophy first round contest with visitors Northampton from the spot just past the hour. It's still 1-1 with 20 to play, so he could add on with a winner.If it's just one goal, I won't bother trying to dig up a PK clip, but we do have an interview with the Wycombe site where JP

American goalkeeper Dominic Cervi is set to make his club debut for Celtic FC tonight as the Hoops take on Benfica in the CNE Cup, a friendly at BMO Field in Toronto.

Celtic will be without most of its top stars, which are away on international duty, including starting goalkeeper and Polish international Artur Boruc.

It's a busy weekend with a many International fixtures but there were many of the lower divisions still playing matches. The English League One had a full slate of matches (as most rosters don't have players who'd miss for WCQ) including Jemal Johnson playing for the Milton Keynes Dons and Mike Grella for Leeds United.

Norwegian second flighters Nybergsund have just kicked off the second half of their match with visiting Skeid leading 2-1 thanks to a 26th minute strike from Joe Lapira. We naturally will link up the video to that goal and any others he may bag later today.- Greg Seltzer

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

It was a relatively light weekend for the Americans Abroad, but there was still plenty to talk about at despite the

Mike Grella scored the game-winning goal for Leeds United in their 2-0 win over Stockport County. Grella, who was subbed out in the 72nd minute, netted in the ninth.

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

It was another weekend to forget for the Americans Abroad contingent as many U.S. national team players failed to see action.

Oguchi Onyewu and Michael Bradley were just two of the top Americans to miss out on the weekend festivities, while Freddy Adu also failed to find some playing time in his first official game with new Portuguese club Belenenses.

Jermaine Jones' chances of making his debut with the U.S. men's national team may have taken a major hit after word that he may need another surgery to address the shin fracture he had surgery for this summer.

Jones had attempted to training with Schalke 04 in recent weeks, but continued to feel pain in his leg, prompting Schalke officials to consider new options, one of which could be to perform another surgery.

Nybergsun forward Joe Lapira has scored his seventh of the season, and third in four games, to give his side a lead over Notodden in the 18th minute. The game is now at halftime, still at 1-0 to the hosts, so he could add on.Clip link much later...- Greg Seltzer[Photo: Digitalsport]

By TRAVIS CLARK

It's Davies vs. Bocanegra this afternoon as FC Sochaux-Montbeliard takes on Rennes in the Third Round of the Coupe de la Ligue. No word if both will start, but it's likely as the competition carries some weight, with the winner getting a spot in the Europa League.

There were several Americans playing in the English Premier League on Sunday August 30, 2009 including Tim Howard for Everton, Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson for Fulham, and Brad Friedel for Aston Villa. Here's the full recap of Americans playing in the English Premier League on Sunday August 30, 2009.

U.S. left back Heath Pearce has inked a three-year deal with Turkish Super Ligi outfit Bursaspor (currently fifth through four games. He has been given the #3 shirt. He said a few words about the move at his presentation.More to come...- Greg Seltzer

I will start a short string of goodbye-to-summer transfer Top 5's tomorrow with my seasonal Shrewd list. A few of these items may be slightly stale, but I've been distracted with window stuff and finally have time, so this is sort of an AFT, combined with a dash of Video Wednesday and a sprinkle of He Said What?

Do me a favor, open the door and let Alta IF defender Jay Needham in, because he just leveled matters at Sparta Sarpsborg. It's only halftime, so the highlight clip won't be here in this post for a good while yet. If anyone else scores today, I'll add it on here as well.And sorry I haven't been around much the last coupe days, really been feeling rough.

I initially missed this because the scoreboard I use was labeled wrong, but U.S. defender Michael Orozco sneaked forward to bag an easy second goal of the season as part of a San Luis 4-0 thrashing of Chivas. His is the second goal on the clip (still waiting for a Jay Needham clip without registration to surface, by the way).

I'm so excited!! The Office returns tomorrow!! Woooooo!!Ahem.Let's start with every goal from Matchday One of the Champions League group phase.Speaking of champions, Barcelona stars Lio Messi and Xavi talk with UEFA Magazine about retaining titles.ESPN with their weekly Americans Abroad recap commentary.

Ohhhhh Ajax, you're killin' me...#1 - I got fresh FC Dallas catch Heath Pearce on the phone today. The goods are here.The club also put him on camera after Wednesday training... Find more videos like this on MyFCDallas#2 - In case you missed it, my new MLS Club Ladder is up.#3 - SI super-scribe Grant Wahl talks with Everton/U.

Schalke midfielder and U.S. national team prospect Jermaine Jones' return to Bundesliga action is set to be delayed by up to three weeks, but it appears as though he will not need a new surgery on the shin fracture that has sidelined him for the summer.

This development is good news for Jones, who had been in jeopardy of needing a new surgery after continuing to feel pain in his leg, which had a metal plate inserted in it to help heel a shin fracture.

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

Freddy Adu has not played club soccer in quite some time, but that could all change this weekend.

Adu and his new club Belenenses take on Academica de Coimbra on Sunday, and a debut for Adu could potentially signal the beginning of the end to the club drought that has plagued him throughout the majority of 2009.

I know there was an AFT yesterday. And here's another while I try to think of a good Top 5 List topic...#1 - ESPN has tabbed 11 guys to watch at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. If you hadn't guessed by now, the American inclusion is a bit of a surprise: keeper Brian Perk.I was planning a similar article tomorrow at S365, but have now seen several of these around.

We have a lot of things going on tonight with possible debuts, Americans Abroad showdowns, cup games and a big league tilt in Sweden. As you can see some of these have begun. I will be making some updates to try and keep track of everything for you. Here's the slate, league contests first:Serie AUdinese v AC Milan (Oguchi Onyewu)AllsvenskanÖrebro (Alejandro Bedoya) v IFK GothenburgCarling

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

Brad Friedel is enjoying a great start to the Premiership season, and it could get even better for him this weekend.

Friedel and Aston Villa head to Ewood Park this Saturday to take on Friedel's former club, Blackburn Rovers. A win for Friedel in the stadium he is so familiar with, in front of the fans that used to cheer him on, would truly cap off the 38-year-old's remarkable start to the season, a start that includes three shutouts and 23 saves.

[Photo: Helmond Sport]Not only did Helmond Sport midfielder Charles Kazlauskas score his first for the club to open a 3-1 win over FC Emmen that kept them a point off the top, but he was nominated for Jupiler League Goal of the Week. Enjoy the clip and then vote for him here ("stem" is Dutch for "vote").

I've noticed that when I feature music from an opposing nation the day of a game, the U.S. lose. Bad. It's happened three times now. So that's over. Sorry, fine Cameroonian musicians who'd I'd otherwise love to highlight. Too bad for you.Now, for those long hours until our team gets to try and make things right (a ka the fourth longest wait in life).