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Americans Abroad

Fabian Johnson & Gladbach Eye Champions League

Brian Sciaretta's weekly report on American soccer activity in Europe features some expected names—Johnson, Guzan, Shea, Green—along with a few you may not be familiar with.
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
September 15, 2014
2:10 PM
IT WAS AN EVENTFUL weekend for Americans abroad with some national team starts shining, some players finding success in unusual places, and some dual-nationals perhaps making a case to Jurgen Klinsmann.

Here are a few of the top stories, along with a handful of videos.

Fabian Johnson and 'Gladbach on the rise
It is pretty obvious these days that there isn't much activity among American field players in the top leagues of Europe. Fabian Johnson is one key exception and on Saturday Borussia Monchengladbach put on a performance that suggested this is a club that can contend for a Champions League spot this season.

Johnson earned the start and played a full 90 in a 4-1 rout of Schalke. Playing in his natural midfield position, Johnson was lively at times and was generally part of a dominating effort by Monchengladbach. Johnson plays on the best team of any American and with Jurgen Klinsmann saying he expects more of the Munich native, Johnson looks ready to deliver.

Brad Guzan and Aston Villa are surging
After spending the past few seasons in a relegation battle, Aston Villa and Brad Guzan are optimistic these days—and for good reason. Saturday’s stunning 1-0 win over Liverpool has the club sitting with 10 points through its first four games.

For his part, Guzan did not have much to do against Liverpool as Villa’s defense limited the Reds to just one shot on goal. Still, that does not take away from the fact that Guzan has conceded just one goal through four games. Given Villa's timid attack—the club has scored just four games so far this season—there is tremendous pressure on the 30-year-old Illinois native to always be at the top of his game.

Aston Villa has been the surprise in the early part of the season and the likely No. 1 American goalkeeper looks like a sound replacement for Tim Howard.

Kenny Saief and Andrew Wooten provide heroics
A pair of Americans are the talk of their teams this week after providing late, game-winning goals.

After missing most of the preseason, Kenny Saief came off the bench for Gent in the 75th minute and scored the game winner for Gent in the 82nd minute. The 1-0 win over Mouscron-Peruwelz moved Gent into second place in Belgium. It was the first Belgian goal for the 20-year-old Saief, and if this was his way of grabbing U.S. Soccer’s attention to approach him to make a switch from Israel to the U.S. internationally, it was a good start.

Andrew Wooten provided the heroics in the 2.Bundesliga, scoring an 83rd-minute winner for Sandhausen in it's 1-0 victory over Greuther Furth. It was Sandhausen’s first win of the season as the club looks to claw its way toward the middle of the table.

Wooten has shown glimpses of good form but has never been able to emerge as a consistent threat. He has never been looked at by Jurgen Klinsmann but fellow 2.Bundesliga strikers Terrence Boyd and Bobby Wood have both been called up to the national team in the past. If Wooten can ever find consistency perhaps he can earn that call-up.

Brek Shea Could Be a Fit at Birmingham
Birmingham City acquired Brek Shea on loan from Stoke City midweek but the struggling Championship club quickly inserted the American winger into the starting lineup for Saturday's game against Leeds United.

The Texan did not disappoint, delivering an assist in a 1-1 draw and putting on an overall effective performance. After his disastrous outing for the national team against the Czech Republic earlier in the month, this was a welcome turn of events for Shea.

This was just one game but perhaps this was what Shea needed to get his confidence going. Either way, it is a good start—and the U.S. certainly needs wing players.

Julian Green Makes Brief Bundesliga debut
Partly due to injuries at the club, Julian Green earned the start at Hamburg against Hannover this weekend. It was the 19-year-old attacker's first-ever appearance in a professional domestic league, as well as his Bundesliga debut.

Green showed some skillful moments but was also dispossessed and muscled off the ball too easily. He was subbed out at halftime of the 2-0 loss. The Bundesliga is an elite league and Green is going to have to be smart to adapt and adjust. He is still a small player and eventually he will physically mature. For now, it will be a test of Green's ability to learn quickly in order to contribute at this level.

HSV is off to a terrible start and have yet to score a goal in three games. In order to fend of relegation, the club's offense must improve—which means there could be an opening for Green as the season progresses.

Jacobson, Seabrook, and Punyed all score
Americans in Europe scored some impressive goals this past weekend, and three of the best came from the northern leagues.

New York City FC midfielder Andrew Jacobson has been enjoying a successful loan at Stabaek, where he has helped stabilize Bob Bradley’s club in the middle of the Tippeligaen table and seen it progress to the semifinal round of Norway's domestic cup. On Saturday, Jacobson found the back of the net in Stabaek’s 3-2 win over IK Start with a nice effort from distance.

The Icelandic club Stjarnan is attempting to make a run at the league title and Miami native Pablo Punyed has been a very effective part of the team so far this season. A year ago Stjarnan made a nice run in Europa League qualifying before being bounced by Inter Milan; this year, a Champions League qualifying spot for 2015-16 is within reach.

On Sunday, Punyed tallied on a nice free kick from 23 yards out to help lift Stjarnan to a 2-0 victory over Kaflavik. With the win, Stjarnan held onto second place and is only two points behind FH for the league lead.

In Finland, Jordan Seabrook came off the bench for VPS and scored an important goal in a 3-3 draw with Jaro. It was the fifth goal of the season for the Indianapolis native and it came off a nice reaction to a free kick.


Some noteworthy Eastern European successes
The Eastern European leagues tend not to receive much coverage in the United States, or anywhere, and there are generally few Americans in these leagues. A pair or Americans, however, deserve some recognition.

  • In the Czech Liga, Nermin Crnkic is usually a starter for third-place Jablonec but on Saturday he started the game on the bench against last place Pribram. It turned out to be a bad idea as Pribram held a 1-0 lead until the 72nd minute when Crnkic was subbed into the game. Crnkic, who last season was considered the fastest player in the Czech Liga by the media, was a menace upon entering and helped spark Jablonec to a 4-1 win on the road. The former Mid-Michigan Buck did not score but was part of the buildup to some of the goals in the rally.

  • In the Bosnian Premier League, Olimpic Sarajevo moved into third place with a 3-0 win over Mladost in a game where one site reported the attendance to be 50 people (and judging by the video, that seems generous). American forward Danijal Brkovic opened the scoring in the 2nd minute with a first-rate header (at 0:20 of the video below).

    Born in Dubrovnik but raised in upstate New York near Binghamton, Brkovic scored for the second time in three games for an Olimpic team hoping to earn a spot in 2015-16 Europa League qualifying.

    Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.
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