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Americans abroad analysis

Wright & Sonora raise stock, Bello and Marsch stumble in rough Americans abroad weekend

Things have been going perfectly for some Americans like Haji Wright, Alan Sonora, and Cameron Carter-Vickers while many others are struggling at the end of a tough season. ASN's Brian Sciaretta breaks it all down for you in his Monday morning column. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
May 09, 2022
10:30 AM

THE WEEKEND FOR Americans abroad was, yet again, mostly poor. Injuries and loads of players either not playing or playing only limited minutes in cameos continued to be a major problem. In addition, relegation battles are not breaking in favor of a number of players – and one manager.

 

Let’s get right into it.

 

Pulassist

 

Christian Pulisic assisted for Chelsea in the 58th minute of a 2-2 draw with Wolves. The assist gave Chelsea a 2-0 lead which they would eventually squander.

It brings us to Pulisic, who gets a lot of grief from Chelsea fans about his level of production. He’s a starting winger who has played 1503 minutes between the Premier League and the Champions League this season. In that time, he has seven goals and three assists. That’s a goal or an assist every 150 minutes.



It's fair to complain about his injury frequency which keeps him off the field too much. But his production is a goal or an assist less than every two games. During the time he is on the field, he produces. Chelsea fans are naturally bitter, despite having won the Champions League last year. There are plenty of concerns, but the time when Pulisic is on the field is not one of them. Chelsea needs to find a way to get Pulisic on the field more, not less. Chelsea has far, far bigger problems.

 

Pefok injury

 

Jordan Pefok was subbed out of BSC Young Boy’s 3-1 loss to Lugano in the 34th minute due to injury. The league’s Golden Boot leader was holding both his ankle and abdomen after a collision. The good news is that he was able to walk off under his own power.

 

In terms of severity, all signs point to it being minor. BSC Young Boys plays St. Gallen on Wednesday and Pefok was listed as questionable. He was not listed among the players ruled out for injury.

 

Bello’s devastating own goal

 

United States national team left back George Bello had a brutal substitute appearance for Arminia Bielefeld on Friday during a 2-1 loss on the road to Bocuhm. Bello came into the game in the 78th minute and disaster struck in the 89th minute.

A long ball from the left side came into the box for Simon Zoller, who was able to get past Bello. Zoller’s shot was saved but the rebound bounced off Bello and into the goal for a 2-1 Bochum lead. Minutes later, the whistle would sound.



The consequence of the goal was enormous. Arminia Bielefeld is now three points deep, trailing VfB Stuttgart, in the relegation zone. They also trail Stuttgart by seven in the goal differential. Essentially, they have only the most remote of chances to qualify for the relegation playoff.

In other words, Arminia Bielefeld is heading to the 2.Bundesliga – which probably isn’t the worst place for Bello. He has a ton of skill, but his defense needs to be much, much sharper. Too frequently he is caught up the field.

Meanwhile, VfB Stuttgart and its American head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo drew Bayern Munich 2-2, in impressive fashion. They’re likely to do no worse than the promotion/relegation playoff but they now have a way to sneak out if they defeat Koln at home next week in the season finale and Hertha BSC looses on the road to Borussia Dortmund. Both are very realistic outcomes.

 

Nothing Much: McKenzie, Musah, Weah, LDLT, Vines

 

Several of the more known Americans in Europe all had starts this weekend, but nothing much to report.

Tim Weah started and went the distance for Lille in a 1-2 loss to Monaco at home. The U.S. national team winger was decent with 41 touches, two shots (both inside the box), three chances created, and was a perfect 3/3 off dribbles. He also won 5/6 of his duels. He seems destined, however, to finish without a goal this year. He has the skill but Lille has to look to improve his tactical understanding inside the final third because it is highly unusual for a player of his skill, playing for a good team, and having over 1500 minutes in an attacking role to not be more dangerous.

Yunus Musah played 66 minutes for Valencia on Saturday during a 0-0 draw with Athletic Bilbao. He switched positions during the match, playing either wing but when he was on the left side, he was able to cut into the middle of the field. Still, most of his touches were from out wide.

He was 15/18 passing, 4/4 in dribbles, and he won 6/9 of his ground duels. All of that is good but there still needs to be more offensive bite in his game. He’s still young and he’s made progress this year while being given more responsibilities in the middle of the field. Next year, as well as at the World Cup, he will need to help in the production of more chances created.

Luca de la Torre has had a great season for Heracles in the Eredivisie, but he struggled on Saturday in both his and his team’s worst game of the season, a 2-0 loss to a Willem II team that was in last coming into the game. Heracles was completely flat in its offensive production.

Sam Vines and Royal Antwerp qualified for the Championship portion of the Belgian table but have struggled against the country’s best teams. On Sunday it was a 4-0 loss to Anderlecht. Vines was poor as was the rest of his team. This comes at a tough point in the season for Vines who is trying to make a case to be on the U.S. World Cup team as a back-up left back to Antonee Robinson. Currently everyone is struggling to make a case. Vines hasn’t stepped up, neither has Bello, Jonathan Gomez isn’t ready. Perhaps DeJuan Jones might get a look this summer?

Mark McKenzie played the full 90 for Genk in a 2-2 draw with Mechelen. This is part of a Belgian end-of-season tournament to see who will take the league’s final Conference League qualifying spot. It’s a four-team tournament and the winners qualify for the Conference League playoffs. With this draw, however, Genk fell four points behind Gent with three games remaining. McKenzie has been playing more, which is good, but he needs to show more. Even with Miles Robinson suffering a serious injury, he has or could easily fall behind Erik Palmer-Brown and Cameron Carter-Vickers for the national team. He is already behind Walker Zimmerman and Chris Richards. Then there are Tim Ream and John Brooks who are question marks.  

 

Loads of Americans struggle to play

 

Coming into this weekend, we knew Weston McKenne, Gio Reyna, Chris Richards, Sergino Dest, Josh Sargent, and Ian Harkes were all out with injuries.

But that is really just the tip of the iceberg. The real problem as been those not playing or playing just token minutes as part of coaches decisions.

Venezia rallied for a thrilling 4-3 win over Bologna while Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio watched from the bench. Despite the win, their relegation fate is nearly settled. Tessmann will probably remain but where will Busio go? With two games remaining, they have to make up a five-point gap. They must win both of their remaining games including a visit next weekend to Roma.

In the Bundesliga, neither Justin Che for Hoffenheim nor Kevin Paredes at Wolfsburg got off the bench. It’s tough for teenagers to play but neither of their clubs has anything on the line these days – no threat of relegation, no chance of qualifying for Europe. The hope for American fans is that both are allowed to play with the U.S. U-20 team this summer.

It probably isn’t as surprising given the stakes, but Richard Ledezma at PSV and Cole Bassett at Feyenoord watched their respective teams play to a 2-2 draw on Saturday.

Matthew Hoppe didn’t get off the bench for Mallorca which lost 6-2 to Grenada and fell into the relegation zone. Matt Miazga is stuck in the relegation zone and doesn’t play for an Alaves team that is in last place. On loan from Manchester City, this has been the toughest season of his career. Zack Steffen watched Manchester City win from the bench. Ethan Horvath also looks to remain as Nottingham Forest’s backup during the promotional playoffs as he continues to sit behind Brice Samba.

In terms of loans that just haven’t worked out, Sebastian Soto continues to only get token minutes for Livingston in Scotland and he played the final 10 minutes of a 1-1 draw with St. Johnstone. Nicholas Gioacchini in Ligue 1 played just the final four minutes for Montpellier in a very poor 2-1 loss to Clermont Foot. Both players will have question marks this summer as to what are the next steps? Gioacchini has already established that he can play well at Ligue 2. But Soto has never addressed his floor, let alone his ceiling.

 

Marsch & Leeds in trouble

 

Most people figured that Jesse Marsch and Leeds United were going to struggle during the three-game stretch it currently is on. The Manchester City – Arsenal – Chelsea run is its toughest of the season. On Sunday, the team lost its second game of that run in a heartbreaking 2-1 decision to Arsenal. Arsenal’s winning goal was scored on a baffling goalkeeping error.



Despite that mistake, the real problem for the American head coach has been how other results just haven’t broken their way during this period. Barnsley went on a three-game winning streak. Everton leap-frogged Leeds in the relegation race after defeating Chelsea last week and then winning at Leicester over the weekend.

Marsch needs to find ways to come up with improbably results. Of course, that doesn’t stop some in the English community from taking potshots. As if the team Marsch inherited wasn’t bleeding north of four goals a game for nearly a month before he took over.



The sad part about this is that Marsch needs to win in order to stop the nonsense.

 

CCV nears title

 

Celtic didn’t quite clinch the Scottish title on Saturday with a 4-1 win over Hearts, but it almost certainly will on Wednesday when they visit Dundee United. Celtic leads Rangers by six points with two games remaining. For Celtic to not win the title, it needs to lose both of its games, Rangers needs to win both of its games and erase a 20-goal difference. That isn’t going to happen.

Carter-Vickers has been extremely steady this season, despite the club’s rocky appearances in European competitions. Celtic flatters CCV and its defense quite a bit due to their overall superiority over all of the league except for Rangers. CCV has a lot of time on the ball and while his passing has traditionally been a weakness of his, in Celtic games he has a ton of time. For instance, he completed 5/6 of his long balls against Hearts. The best thing for CCV would be for Celtic to buy him and then he gets starts in Champions League games to get an indication as to where he is. The good news is that he has played well against Rangers.

 

Sands starts in Rangers win

 

James Sands earned the start on Sunday for Rangers in a convincing 2-0 win over Dundee United FC. Sands played a defensive midfield role and had a nice outing. He was on the ball plenty of times with 94 touches and he covered a ton of ground. His touchmap reflects that.

Rangers will not win Scotland this year but Sands needs to put forth regular outings like this to build a case for next season. He was 84/87 in passing and his 4/5 in long balls helped to switch the point of attack.

 

Polvara earns first Aberdeen start

 

In Scotland, American attacking midfielder Dante Polvara, 21, earned his first start for Aberdeen and played 62 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Hibernian. Polvara joined the team in January after winning the Herman Trophy for a successful collegiate run with Georgetown University. The NYCFC academy product was able to secure a deal (and a UK work permit) with Aberdeen.4

Despite being sidelined two months shortly after his arrival, Polvara has started to make sub appearanes with Aberdeen. Then he got his first start, and by all accounts, looked promising. This will then take him into next season where he can put himself into contention to start.



Meanwhile, Christian Ramirez came off the bench and played the final 26 minutes for Aberdeen in the draw.

 

Americans set for promotional playoffs

 

There are a number of Americans who are set to take part in promotional playoffs starting soon.

In England, Duane Holmes started for Huddersfield and did well over 90 minutes on Saturday in a 2-0 win over Bristol City. That was the regular season finale and Huddersfield finished third.  Huddersfield has the all-important wave of momentum heading into the promotional playoffs having won the last four games of the regular season. The first leg of the semifinal gets underway with a visit to sixth-place Luton Town – who few figured would be in contention for a promotion.

Ethan Horvath and English-American Alex Mighten winger are sub options for Nottingham Forest. Mighten actually started over the weekend in a 1-1 draw with Hull City as nothing was at stake as Forest was guaranteed a fourth place finish coming into the game. Horvath continued to ride the bench, however, as he made way for Brice Samba.

In Italy’s Serie B it was a terrible ending to the season for Andrija Novakovich and Frosinone which lost its last two games to fall to ninth and just outside the playoffs (via the head-to-head tiebreaker). The 2-1 loss to Pisa on Saturday sealed their fate with Novakovich playing the last 20 minutes.

One American who will take part in the Serie B promotional playoffs is Anthony Fontana who made his club debut with Ascoli Calcio on Friday in a 4-1 win over Ternana. Fontana played the final seven minutes in the win and could be an option when Ascoli hosts Benevento in the playoff opener on Friday.

In Spain, Shaq Moore and Tenerife look set for a promotional playoff spot and they will essentially lock one up if they can defeat Girona on Monday. Moore has struggled for playing time this season with reports a number of MLS teams are interested.

 

Brooks & Wolfsburg post away win

 

John Brooks and Wolfsburg are safely in midtable and Saturday’s 1-0 away win over Koln gave them a nice boost at the end of the season as they sit 11 points clear of the relegation playoff position. Next weekend’s home game against champions Bayern Munich will be the last game of the season.

It will also be the last Wolfsburg game for John Brooks if he plays. The club has already announced that he will not return next season.

Brooks has been playing better as of late and was quite solid in the 1-0 win over Koln. Brooks had eight clearances in the win to help preserve the clean sheet.

There are so many questions about Brooks right now. What club will he play for next? Will he return to the national team? What has made it so tough for him and the national team? Does the Miles Robinson injury change that?

But for now, Brooks is doing his part by ending the season in strong fashion.

 

Adams vs. Pepi

 

Two Americans faced off against other an uneventful, undramatic game that was more reflective of two Americans with less than subpar situations. In January, this would have been an anticipated matchup for Americans. Instead, the big story is how lackluster it was. 

RB Leipzig defeated Augsburg 4-0. Tyler Adams came on in the 71st minute after all the scoring was completed and Ricardo Pepi came on in the 75th shortly after Lepzig’s third goal. Neither American did anything of note but it reflects that Adams might need to be in a position to make a career change as there are certainly a number of clubs who would be interested in him as a starter.

As for Pepi, Augsburg avoided relegation but Pepi did not play any part in that. Next year, the club is not going to want to take part in another relegation race and Pepi is not one who has proven he can help. Pepi desperately needs a strong preseason or else he could go out on loan. My guess is that he does begin Augsburg in preseason before a loan alternative is explored.

 

Wright scores again in Turkey

 

It will be really interesting to watch what happens to Haji Wright this summer as his parent club, SonderjyskE will certainly sell him as they are set to be relegated in Denmark. Wright is on an unbelievable career-defining run in Turkey with Antalyaspor and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

For one, he is going to find himself at a club next year that will play him and pay him well. He needed a big end-of-the-season run to force the issue and he got it. With his history in Denmark, Holland, and Germany not great, a move to the top teams in Turkey seems to make the most sense.

On top of that, it will likely get him a critical look with the U.S. national team with only two international windows before the World Cup. The striker position is wide open.

 

On Monday, Wright scored again for Antalyaspor in a 3-2 win over Konyaspor. His goal came from the spot in the 66th minute and it was the eventual winner.

Wright now has 13 goals on the Super Lig season. He has scored eight goals in eight games and has goals in six straight games. It is the perfect run at the perfect time for the Californian.

 

Sonora continues Independiente run

 

Alan Sonora scored his second goal of the Argentine season to go along with two goals in the Copa Suderamericana. This was is second goal in two straight games as he scored midweek in a 2-0 win over General Caballero in the Sudamericana.

This goal on Saturday night came in a 3-0 win over Huracan. It was a beautiful left footed free kick.

 



The big question is whether or not Sonora gets a look from the national team. Things might be breaking in his direction too. He’s playing well and there are openings with Gianluca Busio struggling. Then you have McKennie and Gio Reyna out with injuries that might put their Nation’s League involvement in question.

Like Wright, Sonora is doing all the right things at a big moment.

 

Notes around the globe

 

Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream started for a Fulham team that had already won the Championship and were apparently checked out in a 4-0 loss to Sheffield United, which was motivated to qualify for the playoffs.

Erik Palmer-Brown and Troyes played to a useful 2-2 draw with PSG on Sunday. The point will likely keep the club safe from relegation out of Ligue 1. Unfortunately, for Palmer-Brown he conceded a penalty when he fouled Kylian Mbappé in the first half. Troy

In the Bundesliga, Eintracht Frankfurt played Borussia Monchengladbach to a 1-1 draw. Eintracht had a heavily rotated squad following their Europa League heroics midweek. Timothy Chandler earned the start and went a full 90 while Joe Scally played the final four minutes for Gladbach. Perhaps it was the Ghost of USMNT Right Backs Past meeting the Ghosts of USMNT Right Backs Future.

Also in the Bundesliga, Julian Green came off the bench for Greuther Furth in the 71st minute in a 3-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund at home on Saturday.

In the 2.Bundesliga, Ryan Malone went the full 90 for Hansa Rostock in a 0-0 draw at Ingoldstadt.

In the Austrian Bundesliga, Brenden Aaronson played the final 29 minutes for Salzburg in a 4-1 win over Altach. Salzburg has already won the title and the cup. Now it is just playing out the final two games, which will likely be Aaronson’s final two games for Salzburg.

In Austria’s second tier, Ulysses Llanez started but was subbed out at the half for St. Poelten in a 3-0 loss to Austria Lustenau. Llanez hasn’t been poor this season but it’s hard to see him having done enough to warrant a move upward.

In Spain’s Segunda, Jonathan Gomez played the final 10 minutes for Real Sociedad B in a 2-1 win over Fuenlabrada. Sociedad's reserve team is only two points from safety at the bottom of the Segunda with three games remaining.

In Turkey’s Super Lig, Tyler Boyd did not play for Rizespor in a 3-1 win over Yeni Malatyaspor. Despite the win, Rizespor has been relegated out of the Super Lig. Boyd faces an uncertain future as he is on loan from Besiktas, where he is not rated. He now as two unsuccessful loans in Turkey from Besiktas.

In Portugal’s top flight, Alex Mendez started and played 89 uneventful minutes for Vizela in a 1-1 draw with Maritimo. Reggie Cannon went the distance for Boavista in right central defense during a 1-1 draw with Vitoria de Guimaraes. It’s been a decent season for Cannon although it’s tough to say he stood out too much from the pack.

In Scotland’s Premiership, Joe Efford started and went 63 for Motherwell in 1-0 away win vs. Ross County (the score was 0-0 when he was subbed out). Scott Pitttman started went 90 for Livingston in a 1-1 draw with St. Johnstone. Neither Pittman or late-sub Sebatian Soto was involved in Livingston’s late equalizer.

In Norway, Sam Rogers made his Rosenborg debut when an injury forced him into action in the 21st minute of a 3-0 loss to Stromsgodset.

In Sweden, Joe Corona started and played 75 minutes for GIF Sundsvall in a 3-2 loss to Degerfors. Corona actually left with his team up 2-0 and watched from the bench as his team collapsed. This was a matchup of the two last-placed teams. GIF Sundsvall now occupies the basement with this loss. Joe Gyau was not in action for Degerfors. Jeff Gal was Degefors unused backup keeper.

In Denmark, Christian Cappis started for Brondby in a 1-1 draw vs. Copenhagen. The good news is that the result ended Brondby’s seven game losing streak. The bad news is that it extended their winless streak to eight games. Cappis played 63 minutes and Brondby was down 1-0 when he left.

In the relegation half of the Danish Superliga, Emmanuel Sabbi came off the bench and played the final 15 minutes for OB Odense in a 1-1 draw vs. Nordsjaelland. He was on the field for OB’s late equalizer. Meanwhile, Jose Gallegos started and played 80 minutes for last-place SonderjyskE in a 1-1 draw with AGF Aarhhus. With three games remaining, SonderjyskE is eight points deep in the relegation zone.

In the Championship half of Greece’s Super League, Caleb Stanko started and played 90 minutes for PAS Giannina in a 1-0 win over PAOK.

In Iceland’s top tier, Aron Johannsson started and played 80 minutes for Valur in a 2-2 draw with FH. It was 1-1 when he was subbed out. First place Breidablik defeated IA 5-1 on the road. New York Red Bull attacker Omar Sowe played the final 27 minutes in the win.

Finally, in the Canadian Premier League, York United’s Osaze De Rosario started and assisted on the winning goal in a 1-0 win over Forge FC. The American-born De Rosario has three goals and an assist in his last four games for York United.

 

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