* Jermaine Jones will undergo tests tomorrow to see if he can play Tuesday or not. He likely picked up a concussion on Friday.
* Herculez Gomez is unlikely to play on Tuesday due to a knee injury that he picked up at the end of the Liga MX season.
* Danny Williams has been released to go on vacation after an agreement was made between US Soccer and Hoffenheim. I don’t think Williams had returned to full training since coming into the camp with an injury.
* Panama will also be without a top player as Blas Pérez will not travel to Seattle due to gastrointestinal problems. Perez has scored 10 goals for Panama so far through qualification (since the second round), tied for the second most in CONCACAF.
One last shameless plug for my Inside the Numbers piece on why Clint Dempsey is awesome. I am also happy to report, while still being completely vague, that there will be something new to the site in about a month and it is going to be awesome. I just got an e-mail yesterday from someone who is helping with the project and it looks great. I would tell you more but then I would have to kill you.
Moving on….
It looks like Jozy Altidore’s injury from the weekend is no big deal and he should be good to go come Friday’s game against Heerenveen.
Jozy also talked to Jason Davis about the latest transfer speculation and other things.
Danny Williams has been MIA for Hoffenheim the last couple weeks and I just assumed (incorrectly) that it was due to them getting a new manager and him trying out new things. Actually, Williams has been out with an ankle injury that he picked up while playing with the U-23 team in the Regionalliga earlier this month.
Brian Sciaretta caught up with Ben Spencer to talk about his time so far in Norway with Molde FK.
Tab Ramos has called in 24 players for the latest U-20 camp at the Home Depot Center for this week. He also has some quotes on it right here.
Gwendolyn Oxenham of Pelada fame (go see this movie if you haven’t already) wrote a nice piece for SI.com about pickup games and American players.
And finally, Romania’s stretchers are better than everyone else’s stretchers.
Fabian Johnson played all 90 minutes while Danny Williams came off the bench in the 78th minute in this 1-0 defeat to Hannover 96, who were missing captain Steve Cherundolo as he recovers from surgery.
Looking for full highlights, but here is the goal.
It looks like the site’s server woke up from its post-turkey nap and is running somewhat faster. That all said, here are a few links from the last week or so.
This report out of Scotland has Celtic manager Neil Lennon wanting to sign Juan Agudelo after impressing during his training stint with the Scottish club. STV Sport also did a 13-minute video interview with Agudelo right here.
Some Danish reports are saying Jurgen Klinnsman will help Michael Parkhurst find a new club come January.
Staying in Mexico, Tijuana (Joe Corona, Edgar Castillo, Greg Garza) are headed to the Liga MX final to face Toluca after defeating Leon 3-2 on aggregate. Both Corona and Castillo started in yesterday’s second-leg victory. By making the final, they also earned a spot in the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League.
The Bolton News recently did an interview with Tim Ream. Ream started at defensive midfielder on Saturday in Bolton’s 1-1 draw to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Continuing with the interviews, Brian K. Blickenstaff spent some time with Danny Williams in Germany.
Brian Sciaretta looks at some potential options for the USMNT central defense aside from Geoff Cameron.
Here is a highlight video of Kemi Kings’ Christian Eissele and his 2012 season in Finland, which saw him lead the Kakkonen in goals.
As for some noteworthy performances from the weekend. Fabian Johnson scored for Hoffenheim in their 2-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen (highlights here). Clint Dempsey assisted on one goal and “hockey” assisted on another in Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over West Ham United (highlights here). And Charlie Davies head-butted a guy (highlights here).
Marc Heider scored his eighth goal of the season in Holstein Kiel’s 3-0 win over Victoria Hamburg in German Regionalliga action. Eugene Starikov is starting to get more playing time in Russia, getting another start for Rostov in their 2-0 win over Mordovia Saransk. And Bobby Wood has fought his way back from injuries to make an appearance off the bench (16 minutes) for 1860 Munich in their 2-2 draw to Union Berlin.
Jürgen Klinsman called in twenty players for the Russia friendly, including two potential debutantes and some long-absent faces:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Tim Howard (Everton), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (6): Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg), Maurice Edu (Stoke City), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Michael Bradley (Roma), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Joshua Gatt (Molde), Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim)
FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna)
The biggest name is Timmy Chandler, making his first appearance in a year. In a Q-and-A with USSoccer.com, the on-again, off-again rightback discusses his commitment issues:
ussoccer.com: The first question on many people’s minds will be: Why now? Timmy Chandler: “I spent a lot of time thinking this over. I have had many conversations with Jurgen, my family, my girlfriend and the people close to me, and I finally feel ready to make the commitment.”
ussoccer.com: What were some of the issues you felt were holding you back from being fully committed? TC: “I was a young player trying to get settled into my club team and wasn’t sure about the long travel and everything that goes into being a part of this National Team. My coaches didn’t like the idea, so I think even I felt some pressure. I’ve had a chance to get settled in with the club and also have grown up a lot. I know what I want to do.”
ussoccer.com: Given what has transpired in the last two years, there may be some people who are skeptical of your commitment to the U.S. team at this point?
TC: “I understand that a lot of people in the USA may be unsure because they think I have said [I’m committed] in the past. All I can say is that I am clear in my head about the commitment moving forward. This was about me being ready to accept the responsibility of being a part of the National Team and everything that goes with it, and now I am ready. I hope I will get chances in the future. I am in 1,000 percent.”
Actual wingers [Josh Gatt (Molde) and Joe Gyau (St. Pauli)] are nice to see. Despite a down year in MLS, Juan Agudelo is back, and despite a recent spat with the head man, Jozy Altidore is back.
Sacha, Gatt, Mix, Herc….it’s like the fan favorite XI.
Danny Williams and Fabian Johnson both went the full 90 minutes with Johnson assisting on Hoffenheim’s first goal in their 3-2 win over Jermaine Jones (no yellow card!) and Schalke. Here are the highlights.
So apparently there were some interesting additions/omissions from the latest USMNT roster, who knew (he said sarcastically)? Jurgen Klinsmann explains some of his decisions in his post-roster teleconference.
One player I think we can all agree on about being on the roster is Danny Williams, especially after his performance in Columbus once he was allowed to play his natural position. Mr. Williams spoke to Mathew Wagner recently about the US team.
Brian Sciaretta is reporting that Anthony Brooks is no longer headed to Spain to play with the US U-20 team over the international break, but will rather stay with Hertha Berlin.
Who wants to see a video of Stuart Holden running and cutting? Here you go. I also enjoyed the article on him in the first edition of Howler (I am still making my way through it, but it has been pretty good so far).
West Ham United’s website has a story up on Sebastian Lletget.
Remember Babajide Ogunbiyi? The 25-year-old central defender was last seen failing a physical with the Red Bulls has now popped up in Sweden with Hammarby to train for a week. Gregg Berhalter seems to be working his MLS connections.
Grant Wahl talked to Stuart Holden recently and it looks like we might get to see a Holden return in late October. I am guessing that means his return to training with the team, not when he will first see game action (but I could be wrong).
It looks like Josh Gatt was purposely held out of Molde’s game this past weekend, so he would be ready to go for Thursday’s Europe League match against Stuttgart.
I missed this last week, but Jurgen Klinsmann did an interview with ESPN.
Michael Parkhurst, Conor O’Brien and Aron Johannsson all made the Danish Superliga team of the week for last week.
Marc Pelosi came off the bench and help set up a goal in Liverpool U-21′s 3-0 win over Fulham. You can see the third goal right here. And here is a US-based story on Pelosi.
Danny Williams and Fabian Johnson both went the distance in Hoffenheim’s 3-0 victory with Johnson scoring for his second straight game. Here are the highlights.
