One player continued his scoring pace while another got on the board for the first time as many of
the members of the U.S. Men's National Team were in action this weekend. Here's some of the
highlights:
Clint Dempsey had a goal and an assist as Fulham captured a 2-1 win against Norwich.
Jermaine Jones may have issued an apology for his stomp on Marco Reus' injured foot, but the
German Football Federation (DFB) is having no remorse on the U.S. international.
The DFB has handed Jones an eight-week ban for his actions in Schalke 04's 3-1 loss to Borussia
Moenchengladbach in the German Cup Round of 16.
Germany's Federation has announced that Jermaine Jones will have to serve an eight week suspension
for a yellow card offense during Schalke 04's 3-1 loss to Borussia Moenchengladbach on December
21st last year. Jones stepped on Marco Reus's foot, with the German Federation judging the foul
intentional.
Timmy Chandler and Nurnberg had their hands full with on-fire Borussia Moenchengladbach, and Edson
Buddle played the second half in a losing effort to Matt Taylor and Paderborn in the 2. Bundesliga.
Before this weekend's action, the MNT Blog cited three sets of games to keep an eye on involving
U.S. internationals. Here's how they fared, and what it now means:
OGUCHI ONYEWU - DUTCH EREDVISIE
May 1 results Twente 4, Willem II0
Heerenveen 1, Ajax 2
With the home victory, Twente remains in the driver's seat to collect their second consecutive
league title.
LEVERKUSEN, Germany — Bayer Leverkusen went second in the Bundesliga table on Sunday with a 4-2
win at home to strugglers VfB Stuttgart that dropped their guests further into the relegation
battle. With bottom side Moenchengladbach beating Schalke on Sunday evening, only five points now
separate the bottom five clubs and Stuttgart, the 2007 German [.
BERLIN, Germany — Bundesliga bottom side Borussia Moenchengladbach sacked their coach Michael
Frontzeck on Sunday, 24 hours after their 3-1 German league defeat at St Pauli. 'Gladbach are seven
points from safety at the foot of the table and 46-year-old Frontzeck, who has been in charge for
18 months, was shown the door after his [.
STUTTGART, Germany — Johannes Flum's first-half goal earned Freiburg a 1-0 win at Stuttgart in
the Bundesliga on Sunday, ending the home side's unbeaten start to 2011. Flum scored in the 24th
minute, when he latched onto a through ball from Maximilian Nicu to shoot with his right foot under
Sven Ulreich.
Which teams are the worst (and best) defensive teams in the big leagues of European soccer? Let's
take a look at defensive performance so far this year - since it's roughly the halfway mark
everywhere, these numbers should be more or less comparable across teams and leagues (assuming that
the leagues are similar in important ways, which we know to be sorta true from previous analyses
I've posted here .
With the Seattle Sounders beginning their playoff run in the final season of U.S. goalkeeping
legend Kasey Keller, we decided to take a look back at one of the most interesting video features
we have done in the past with Kasey - a visit to his castle. And not a proverbial 'castle' - it's a
castle.
Prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Keller played for Borussia Moenchengladbach in the German
Bundesliga.
TUKWILA, Wash. — Goalkeeper Kasey Keller will retire after the 2011 season, his 23rd in
professional soccer. The former U.S. national team goalkeeper agreed Friday to a contract for next
season, his third with Seattle. He said 2011 will be his final season. "I don't want to be that guy
where everyone says, 'You should [.
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Michael Bradley isn't a fan of missing games, but that's exactly what he
had to do in September in order to sort a future that he is currently enjoying.
United States National Team midfielder Michael Bradley completed a move from Borussia
Moenchengladbach to Serie A club Chievo Verona on Tuesday. Bradley spent the second half of last
season on loan to Aston Villa with the expectation that he would move to the club permanently. When
that didn't work out, 'Gladbach had already set their squad for this season.
American midfielder Michael Bradley appears on his way to Italy, with the Serie A meddlers Chievo
having been successful with a $2.5 million transfer bid from Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Michael Bradley was left off the U.S. mens' national team roster for the upcoming friendlies so
as to allow him to find a resolution for his club situation. Bradley appears to have found that
resolution, and it will take him to Italy.
United States National Team midfielder Michael Bradley will not be completing a permanent move to
Aston Villa. Though a deal had been arranged to make Bradley's loan deal to the club permanent, the
managerial change at Villa derailed the move. Bradley remains the property of Borussia
Moenchengladbach in the Bundesliga, where the club remained in the top flight after winning a
relegation playoff.
A few players will be in different locker rooms for the first time tonight as they shed their club
jerseys and put on the crest of their countries.
Juan Agudelo and Tim Ream are teammates with Canada attacker Dwayne de Rosario at New York Red
Bulls, while Michael Bradley and Rob Friend have been together at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
United States midfielder Michael Bradley has joined Premier League club Aston Villa on loan from
Borussia Moenchengladbach with an option to make the move permanent in the summer.
"I am really excited to be joining Villa," Bradley said on the Villa web site. "I am proud and
thrilled and can't wait to get going now.
United States midfielder Michael Bradley has joined Premier League club Aston Villa on loan from
Borussia Moenchengladbach with an option to make the move permanent in the summer.
"I am really excited to be joining Villa," Bradley said on the Villa web site. "I am proud and
thrilled and can't wait to get going now.
Aston Villa have signed U.S midfielder Michael Bradley from Borussia Moenchengladbach on loan
till the end of the season. He's currently under going a Medical which he's expected to sail
through.
Word out of Germany this morning is that Borussia Moenchengladbach has accepted a bid for Michael
Bradley (link in German).
It's not yet known where the midfielder is headed; the club simply indicated that Bradley will
leave in a press conference ahead of their weekend match with Eintracht Frankfurt, and that his new
club will announce the signing.
Michael Bradley appears to have played his last game for Borussia Moenchengladbach, with a
transfer expected to be completed before the close of the current transfer window.
Bradley has been linked with a handful of clubs in recent weeks, and Moenchengladbach's signing
of Michael Fink on Thursday set the wheels in motion for a winter transfer for the 23-year-old
Americans.
After being a regular starter for Borussia Moenchengldbach for the better part of two and a half
seasons, U.S. national team midfielder Michael Bradley days with the relegation-threatened German
club appear numbered.
Bradley has come off the bench in Moenchengladbach's past two matches, with rumors swirling
about clubs interested in his services.
Ives Galarcep reports that U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley could be headed to
the English Premier League, whose sixth-place Sunderland is lining up an offer to his German club,
Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Bradley is seen as a possible replacement for captain Lee Cattermole, who has been
battling a back injury.
The U.S. women's national team is a game away from reaching the final of the Women's World Cup for
the first time since winning it all in 1999.
After their breathtaking, come-from-behind victory over Brazil in the quarterfinals, the U.S.
women face France in a semifinal match in Moenchengladbach, Germany (12 p.
As ever, all too many politically correct, don't-muss-up-the-carpet type of tip-toeing through
the wonderful landmine fields that are pressers and interviews. Fortunately it's the summer, when
egos can swell and transfer moves can be made with the slight utterance of a few words.
Fernando Gago and Thomas Muller know of what we speak.
It's easy to be distracted by some of the soap opera-like goings-on we see in professional soccer;
every year (week, day?), there's plenty of gossip and bad behavior on and off the field. Some of it
is even entertaining and interesting. But it's easy to lose track of some of the fundamentals of
the game when we pay too much attention to that sort of stuff.
With just a few more days left before the Red Bulls jet off to Mexico to begin preseason training,
the seemingly endless Luke Rodgers transfer saga finally came to its conclusion this morning. The
former Notts County striker, who has spent his career bouncing around England's second and third
divisions, officially joined the squad at training today for the first time.
We continue our summer series of historical video compilations this afternoon with another of
the giants of English football, Liverpool FC. Liverpool started the 1962/63 back in the First
Division after eight years away, during which they finished in third place in he Second Division
four times and fourth place twice back in the days when promotion and relegation were limited to
just two clubs each before winning the Second Division title in 1962.
Well at least we all now know why the young Norwegian centre-back Havard Nordtveit hasn't been
given his chance to play in the Arsenal first team, even though the Gunners have been having a
defensive crisis this season. He has refused to sign a new contract after returning from his loan
at Nurnberg this summer, and [.
