2.14.2014
ASN Morning Read: Another Injury for Johannsson
The Iceman has a setback; Brad Evans and DeAndre Yedlin apparently need some aspirin; Landon Donovan believes in Mexico; Oguchi Onyewu's club is in panic mode.
BY
Jesse Yomtov
Posted
February 14, 2014
8:36 AM
Preparing to return from a thigh injury, Aron Johannsson suffered an ankle injury in practice. He's unlikely to play Saturday against Juan Agudelo and FC Utrecht.
Back with the Sounders after national team duty, Brad Evans and DeAndre Yedlin are readjusting and Evans admits that it’s difficult to put aside thoughts of the World Cup. "It is a big deal and I try and dumb it down, but it is a big deal,” Evans said. Seattle coach Sigi Schmidt cautions that the pair might have “national team hangover.” What does that mean, you ask?
“It’s sort of like the chest puffs out a little bit. The game, tactically, is faster at the national team level, but it’s also on a certain aspect a little bit slower because, technically, all of the players are a little better, so possession is better. (They have) to get back into the rhythm of what you’re doing with your club team.”
Landon Donovan talked to the Mexican media and expressed his belief that El Tri can “do something special in this World Cup,” despite the team’s miserable qualification campaign.
Of course this is an excuse to post Landon’s famous commercial:
Brian Sciaretta caught up with Juan Agudelo, who talked about his first impressions of Europe and the impact Jozy Altidore had on his decision to join FC Utrecht.
“He said Holland would be a good match for me and thought I would do well here and I just have to be careful when I go onto maybe the Premier League. I have to be ready and the team has to be right for me. He was actually a big part of my decision as to why I came to Holland.”
The U.S. women dominated Russia (again), winning 8-0 after a 7-0 win on Saturday
As concerns swirl about Brazil’s preparation for the World Cup, a couple of Earthquakes players expressed their satisfaction with what they saw during national team camp. "I know there's been a lot publicized about them not being ready, but everything that we did with the U.S., all the facilities we were at and the hotels, they were all top-notch and ready to go. I didn't experience the other part,” Clarence Goodson said. Sochi set the bar pretty low so ... your move, Brazil.
Entering his fifth year in the league, Amobi Okugo is a veteran at age 22. He set career highs in just about every category in 2013 and the Union will count on him as a leader in 2014. "It's funny because this is one of those years where I'm (finally) older than the rookies," Okugo said. "It's just crazy to put it all in perspective, that you were one of the first guys here and you're still considered young.”
Oguchi Onyewu’s injury is not only hurting his World Cup chances, but his club Sheffield Wednesday is now frantically trying to find a defender to take on loan for Saturday’s FA Cup match.
He may be 3,300 miles away from Glasgow, but Maurice Edu is full of praise for Rangers manager Ally McCoist, who’s leading the club back up from the fourth division. After securing promotion to the third tier last season, Rangers are 22-1-0 with a 23-point lead in 2013-14.
