Clemente Lisi writes of Michael Bradley's start to his Serie A career with Chievo Verona.
The opening weekend of Italy's Serie A brought with it the familiar sights and sounds. The
sight of loud fans tossing flares onto the field and the sound of coaches whining about referees.
In the middle of it all was one American among the nearly 500 players spread out across 20
clubs.
Photo by ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
Whether it was injuries, being out of form or something else, DaMarcus Beasley had a hard time
getting minutes at the club level in recent years.
Those days are long gone, with Beasley's latest performance serving as the latest piece of
evidence that Beasley is back.
This week it was announced that American midfielder Michael Bradley, who was on the outs with
German side Borussia Mönchengladbach, managed to secure a transfer deal to Chievo Verona in Serie
A, along with a multi-year contract. Bradley, son of former United States National Team Coach, Bob
Bradley, will be the only American playing in Serie A this season.
A long-term work stoppage in Italy's Serie A has been avoided.
The players' union and league came to a temporary agreement that will last through June,
allowing the season to commence this weekend after a one-week delay.
The hope is that the two sides come to a more substantial agreement within the next nine months
to avoid a repeat scenario next summer.
By FRANCO PANIZO
If Oguchi Onyewu is hoping to earn his first call-up under new U.S. men's national team head
coach Jurgen Klinsmann in the near future, he took one step closer towards achieving that this
weekend.
Onyewu made his official Sporting Lisbon debut on Saturday, starting and going the distance in
the club's 3-2 victory over Pacos de Ferreira.
Photo by Rick Osentoski/ISIphotos.com
Wednesday night represents a big night for MLS teams both in league and CONCACAF Champions
League play, but prior to that, a pretty intriguing mid-week slate of European matches takes center
stage.
In addition to Spanish powers Real Madrid and Barcelona being in action, some Americans Abroad
should take to the pitch as well.
By FRANCO PANIZO
It took 15 years, but finally another member of the U.S. men's national team has started a Serie
A match.
The man responsible for accomplishing that feat is Michael Bradley, who got the nod and went the
distance in Chievo Verona's surprising 1-0 win over Napoli on Wednesday.
Serie A Weekly welcomes writer Ben Powell to the pages of Serie A Weekly. Throughout the 2011-2012
season Ben will be bringing Gialloblu updates and insights to the website. Make sure to leave your
comments for Ben all Chievo Verona faithful. A new Coach, a raft of new faces, another year older
but some things remain the same.
Serie A Weekly welcomes writer Ben Powell to the pages of Serie A Weekly. Throughout the 2011-2012
season Ben will be bringing Gialloblu updates and insights to the website. Make sure to leave your
comments for Ben all Chievo Verona faithful. A new Coach, a raft of new faces, another year older
but some things remain the same.
Nobody has been able to slow down Manchester City's high-powered attack, but U.S. goalkeeper Tim
Howard will have a shot at doing so on Saturday, when the Toffees venture into the Eastlands to
take on City, which has scored at least two goals in every league game thus far.
As for a pair of American midfielders, Stuart Holden could be in line for his first Premier
League minutes of the season after his 90-minute Carling Cup stint when Bolton travels to the
Emirates to face vulnerable Arsenal on Saturday, while Michael Bradley aims for his second
consecutive start in Chievo Verona's home match against Genoa on Sunday.
Jurgen Klinsmann has named his roster for the upcoming friendlies, and while most of the names
should be familiar, there are a couple of new faces. The USMNT squares off against Honduras on
October 8th at 5PM CST. The match will be played at Joe Robbie/Pro Player Park/Pro Player
Stadium/Dolphins Stadium/Dolphin Stadium/Land Shark Stadium/Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens,
FL.
There are in fact only three "newcomers" who haven't yet been in a Jurgen Klinsmann-led national
team camp: veteran defender Oguchi Onyewu, Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando and German-born
midfielder Danny Williams, 21, who just got his American citizenship.
"We would like to continue seeing our players develop through these initial couple of
months," Klinsmann said.
