ASN: Valentine’s Day Weekend Brings Yanks Sorrow, Pleasure

Geoff Cameron struggled badly in Stoke Metropolis’s 4-1 loss to Blackburn; Brad Guzan is now in a relegation battle; however two Yanks made the two.Bundesliga Group of the Week.

BY

Brian Sciaretta

Posted
February 16, 2015
9:38 AM

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FOR A PAIR of two.Bundesliga forwards, Valentine’s Day weekend 2015 offered reminiscences to cherish. However for just a few U.S. nationwide group defenders, it was a weekend they might quickly prefer to neglect.

All instructed it was an eventful few days for People overseas—with the Julian Inexperienced saga taking an unsightly flip and Ventura Alvarado seeing his inventory surge in Mexico. Listed below are the highest tales.

Andrew Wooten sparks Sandhausen

Someday after Bobby Wooden scored two targets for Erzgebirge Aue and earned Participant of the Week honors, fellow American Andrew Wooten adopted go well with, scoring a pair for Sandhausen in a really spectacular 3-1 away win over league leaders Ingolstadt. Wooten made the two.Bundesliga’s Group of the Week.

Wooten opened the scoring within the twelfth minute when his deflected shot discovered the again of the web. Six minutes later he scored from the penalty spot, placing Ingolstadt in a 2-0 gap early within the recreation. Wooten now has seven targets on the season and the win moved Sandhausen into thirteenth place, six factors away from relegation.

U.S. worldwide Alfredo Morales began the sport and went 81 minutes for Ingolstadt—which continues to be 5 factors forward of its closest competitor and would transfer as much as the Bundesliga if the season ended at this time.

Timothy Chandler’s Assists Proves Large

Timothy Chandler is quietly placing collectively a really good season for Eintracht Frankfurt and Saturday’s 1-0 win over fourth place Schalke was indication of that.

All through his 90-minute outing, Chandler was closely concerned with 76 touches—the second most on his group. He accomplished 79% of his 58 passes and had a complete of seven crosses. Most importantly, his Sixty fourth-minute cross took a slight deflection and located Lucas Piazon, who headed it dwelling for the sport’s solely aim.

After struggling to earn minutes early within the season, Chandler has now reclaimed the beginning spot with authority and Eintracht at the moment are in ninth place within the Bundesliga, trailing sixth place Bayer Leverkusen by 4 factors for a Europa League spot.

Danny Williams, Studying transfer on in FA Cup

Danny Williams missed the early levels of the 2014-15 season following knee surgical procedure and it took him awhile to get again to full energy as soon as he returned. However he is again now, and seemed strong.

Studying FC is within the midst of a formidable FA Cup marketing campaign, and on Saturday it defeated Derby County to maneuver into the quarterfinal spherical. Williams went a full 90 and helped to regulate the midfield—even getting right into a heated dispute with the referee on a penalty declare.

Geoff Cameron Struggles in FA Cup

Geoff Cameron had a foul day on the workplace on Saturday in Stoke Metropolis’s 4-1 loss to Blackburn. Beginning at proper again, Cameron was susceptible all through many of the first half and was getting beat out vast on a recurring foundation. Within the forty fifth minute he conceded a penalty was given a pink card, placing his group in a troublesome predicament.

Cameron has been among the many greatest American gamers in Europe partly as a result of he’s so mentally robust. He has had poor outings, actually, however he has rebounded rapidly from every of them. Everybody is aware of that he would favor to play as a central defender or a defensive midfielder however he has accepted the precise again place and discovered the position rapidly.

Saturday’s recreation was dreadful however the protected guess is that it received’t have an effect on his confidence.

Tijuana Stays in Liga MX competition

Although not a favourite to compete for the Liga MX title, Membership Tijuana has seemed spectacular via the primary six video games of the Clausura. Presently in second, the Xolos path league leaders Cruz Azul by only one level.

People proceed to play key roles on the group. Texas native Greg Garza has locked down the left again spot and confirmed no lingering results from an harm that compelled him out a recreation on January 30. Joe Corona has been used primarily off the bench however he has seemed sharp when doing so. And U.S. U-23 eligible midfielder Alejandro Guido is knocking on the door for taking part in time after being named to the primary group bench after robust Copa MX performances.

Garza’s constant play little doubt brings a smile to Jurgen Klinsmann’s face as a result of it permits him to play a pure left again at that all the time troublesome place. He can now go together with Garza on the left and stick to Chandler, Fabian Johnson, or DeAndre Yedlin on the precise.

Julian Inexperienced’s struggles proceed

Earlier within the week, it was reported that Julian Inexperienced was dropped to Hamburg SV’s U-23 group. The following day, nonetheless, Inexperienced refuted the experiences and stated he was nonetheless with the senior aspect. This previous weekend he did not make the matchday lineup for both squad.

Maybe it was for the perfect: Inexperienced’s former membership, Bayern Membership, defeated his present one 8-0 in probably the most lopsided Bundesliga contests you’ll ever see.

Earlier within the week, HSV coach Josef Zinnbauer made this considerably ominous assertion about Inexperienced: “I hope he doesn’t neglect what he has to do to make the squad.”

Then, Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge additionally chimed in, calling Inexperienced’s demotion “regrettable.” “That’s not what our intention was—we send players on loan so that they can play at the highest level, and develop.”

Both means, it appears as if Inexperienced must battle exhausting to get significant enjoying time the remainder of this season.

Alvarado matches new position at Membership America

Ventura Alvarado continues to impress at Membership America and may very well be working his means towards a U.S. nationwide group call-up. On Saturday, the 22-year-old central defender from Phoenix confirmed another excuse why he may match very properly into Klinsmann’s plans: He began on the precise aspect of a three-man backline and was very efficient as America defeated Chiapas 5-0.

If Klinsmann continues to dabble with a 3-5-2 formation, Alvarado’s familiarity with the system could be an added bonus.

Relegation battles for 2 Yanks

American soccer obsessives know all concerning the issues that face Aston Villa and its beginning goalkeeper, Illinois native Brad Guzan. The membership is now within the English Premier League drop zone, having scored simply 12 targets via 25 video games. Guzan, one of many extra dependable backstops within the EPL, will really feel loads of stress the remainder of the way in which.

However Guzan shouldn’t be alone now. Hertha Berlin dropped a 2-0 choice to Freiburg on Sunday and the loss moved Hertha into sixteenth place—which is the relegation playoff spot. Hertha has conceded 40 targets via 21 video games—third worst within the league.

Because the variety of Yanks in Europe continues to plummet, two first-team regulars are at risk of shifting to decrease leagues.
Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Comply with him on Twitter.