Aron_johannsson_-_asn_top_-_hammarby_vs_falkenbergs
Americans abroad analysis

Tough weekend for Americans in Europe but Johannsson & Matarazzo shine

After a standout weekend seven days ago, the most recent weekend was tough for Americans abroad. Of course, this was to be expected with a young cast and it will be telling how they respond. But Brian Sciaretta walks you through the weekend that was - as he does every Monday morning. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
September 28, 2020
4:50 AM

THE PAST WEEKEND was a learning experience for many American players in Europe, and for some it was difficult. That is to be expected with such a young core – many of whom are trying to push forward at a very high level.

Perhaps, however, it is a little surprising that so many struggled all at once but the season is still early. It is important to remember that there were always going to be struggles along the way, so the real question is what these players learned and how they will all adjust in the coming weeks.

 

McKennie, Reyna, Adams, Cannon

 

The top four stories came from Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna, Tyler Adams, and Reggie Cannon. These are four locks to be on the U.S. national team when healthy. All four are in transitional years. McKennie is trying to break through at one of the biggest clubs in the world in Juventus. Reyna, at just 17, is attempting to be the regular starting No. 10 at Borussia Dortmund after coming off the bench the second half of 2019/20. Adams is trying to reclaim his starting defensive midfield position at RB Leipzig after it advanced to the Champions League semifinals last season. Cannon, meanwhile, is fresh off a sale to Portugal where he hopes to make a rapid accent up the European ladder.

All four of these players had very impressive season openers last weekend and all four didn’t have the same level of impact in the season’s second week. The big takeaway is that all four have shown a high ceiling, but as is typical with youth, the challenge of consistently playing to once’s ceiling is very difficult.

For Weston McKennie, the stakes were raised as Juventus traveled south to the Italian capital to face a Roma side that is more talented than the Sampdoria team Juventus easily defeated in the opener. In this game, McKennie had a few sloppy turnovers but also failed to get going offensively. When he left in the 57th minute, he had yet to register a shot or a key pass. His passing percentage was at 92% but it was limited in its offensive bite. The Texan is typically at his best, however, when he is also making a big impact defensively – either through pressing, forcing turnovers, or disrupting opponents trying to attack up the middle. In this game, McKennie had no tackles, no interceptions, one aerial won, and just one clearance.

He left the game in the 57th minute with Juventus down 2-1 and reduced to 10 players. The nine-time champs, however, rallied for a 2-2 draw.

McKennie remains a very good player and it is very important to note that McKennie’s central midfield partner, Adrien Rabiot, was far, far, worse in this game. His expulsion from this game should keep McKennie in the starting lineup.

But the leash is not long at a club like Juventus where the players on the bench can also play at a very, very high level. McKennie is physically gifted and is more athletic than most players in Serie A. He has faced plenty of teams as good as Roma in the past but now he faces the responsibility and pressure to win the games.

For Gio Reyna, he dazzled for Borussia Dortmund last weekend in a win over Champions League-caliber Borussia Monchengladbach. On Saturday he faced an Augsburg team that has come out of the gate strong thanks to its superb midfield organization – with former FC Dallas defensive midfielder Carlos Gruezo playing a big part of that success.

In this one, Reyna certainly wasn’t bad but he wasn’t able to have too much of an impact as Augsburg were well prepared for this game. Reyna still had 90 touches, three key passes, three successful dribbles, and was fouled four times. He was three out of 10 in accurate crosses and was 2/2 in accurate long balls.

But Augsburg played Dortmund far differently than Monchengladbach did in the opener. Augsburg were content with ceding possession and playing on the counter (typically down the left side). Reyna, who thrives in an open game, will have to adjust to opponents and a style that is more defensively compact.

For Tyler Adams and RB Leipzig, a 1-1 away draw against Bayer Leverkusen is not a poor result but the team could have walked away from this game with three points if it played close to its normal level. Instead, it gave the ball away too many times and was overall sloppy. Last week, Adams had 92 touches in 90 minutes. In this game, he had only 40 over 90 minutes as Leverkusen forced Leipzig out wide on the field. Adams also had only completed 20/28 passes and with such few completed passes, Adams was only going to have a limited impact.

Defensively, Adams was steady and he covered a lot of ground. But to see his touches go down 56% from the first week to the second suggests that Leverkusen made it a focal point of taking Adams out of the game.

For Reggie Cannon, he got the toughest test he will face in Portugal when his Boavista team hosted reigning champions FC Porto. The result could not have been worse for Boavista as Porto cruised to an easy 5-0 victory. The good news is that Cannon was the least of Boavista’s problems. The bad news is that there is such a huge gap between the top teams in Portugal and the bottom teams, it makes the league tough to read for teams outside of the perennial powers. Also, Boavista has now conceded eight goals from its first two games. Making sure the team doesn’t enter into a spiral with a lack confidence will be a challenge.


Johannsson big streak continues


Aron Johannsson is the most in-form American forward at the moment. While the Swedish league is not one of Europe’s top leagues, the 2014 U.S. national team World Cup veteran is on a first-rate tear right now. On Sunday, Johannsson scored twice for Hammarby in a 3-1 away win over Falkenbergs. Those two goals now has Johannsson with eight goals in his last nine Allsvenskan games.

Johannsson’s first was a very nice volley after a clever run in the box to open up space.

 

The second goal came from the penalty spot and Johannsson seems to be Hammarby’s regular penalty taker.

 

 

With the win, Hammarby remains in seventh place in the Allsvenskan and Johannsson is tied for fifth in the league with goals. With his run coming at this time, there is every reason to think that he is in excellent shape for a surprising return to the U.S. national team.

 

Sargent & Werder sink Wagner

 

In a matchup between teams coming off poor opening game performances which could also be heading for relegation battles, Josh Sargent and Werder Bremen defeated Schalke 3-1

Sargent, 20, played 87 minutes and was sharp overall with an assist on the team’s first goal where he headed a corner towards the goal in the direction of Niclas Fulkrug who scored en route to a hat trick.

Sargent worked very hard in this one. He had three shots (all on target), three key passes, 32 touches, two dribbles, and was fouled three times. His low pass completion (5/12) wasn’t great but his completed passes generally were all dangerous.

But this was one of the few games Werder Bremen should win. Next weekend it has another winnable game vs. Arminia Bielefeld. If Werder wants to avoid another relegation battle, the pressure is on during these games.

For Schalke, this team is playing like the worst in the Bundesliga. Former U.S. national team forward David Wagner was sacked after the game as Schalke’s manager, although the club’s problems run much deeper than Wagner.

 

Wagner will likely find another job sooner than later. It is hard to think there is a manager that can keep this Schalke team in the Bundesliga without major changes to the roster.

 

Matarazzo wins first Bundesliga game

 

It was a historical moment for American soccer when VfB Stuttgart downed Mainz 4-1 on the road. With the win, Pellegrino Matarazzo became the first American-born and raised manager to win a game in the top German flight.

Stuttgart actually fell behind in this one early but was exceptional the rest of the way. In the second half, Stuttgart was dominant.

Next up is a matchup at home against Bayer Leverkusen.

 

Wright is SonderjyskE’s supersub

 

Haji Wright, 22, has had some tough seasons recently and last year he failed to score for VVV Venlo. With the move to SonderjysKE in the Danish Superliga, the Californian is having his best run of his young career.

In the season opener, Wright came off the bench in the 63rd minute and scored the second goal in a 2-0 win over the reigning champions Midtjylland. Then on Sunday, Wright again came in at about the hour mark against Aalborg with the score 1-1.

Wright managed to score two goals - in the 88th minute and in the seventh minute of stoppage time – to lift SonderjyskE to its second win of the season. Wright now has three goals in 68 minutes in the Superliga.

It remains to be seen if Wright will transform his role into a starting spot or if he will climb into the picture for the U.S. U-23 team but he clearly deserves some good news these after a few tough seasons.

 

Flach makes pro debut

 

Whether domestically or abroad, is always promising when U.S youth internationals make first team debuts in league play. That happened on Saturday when U.S. U-20 midfielder/left back Leon Flach made his debut with St. Pauli when he came on as an 87th minute sub in a 4-2 win over Heidenheim.

Flach was born in Houston due to his father’s employment but was mostly raised in Germany (where his parents are from). He made his U.S. debut in January at a U-20 camp and, multiple players at that camp told ASN that Flach was very impressive.

 

Now it will be interesting to see if his minutes increases in the weeks and months ahead.

 

Efford surprising in Belgium

 

Waasland Bevern is not a good team in Belgium’s top flight. The club finished last in 2019/20 but avoided relegation via a lawsuit due to COVID shortening the season. This season it is expected to be relegated and so far, it is living up to those expectations. Through seven games, Waasland-Beveren is in last place with three points and a -10 goal differential.

 

It’s best player, however, is American winger Joe Efford, 24, who has two goals and three assists in six games. On Saturday, he scored with a low shot from inside the box during a 3-2 loss to Beerschodt.

The good news for Efford is that while Waasland Beveren is struggling, his success will likey find him another buyer should the club get relegated.

 

Dest nears mega move to Barca

 

ASN will, of course, break this deal down for you in detail once it is formally announced but for now, it looks massive. Like with the deal that brought Weston Mckennie to Juventus, Dest will get a significant and long chance to prove himself at Barcelona. From there, it will be up to him.

 

It certainly is a huge and exciting move for a young American player who, while born and raised in Holland, has represented the United States at both the U-17 and U-20 World Cups.

 

Mostly struggles elsewhere else

 

It really wasn’t a great weekend overall for Americans in Europe and it wasn’t just the most high-profile Americans either who didn’t have standout games. It was throughout the entire cast. Either it was poor performances, going as unused substitutes, poor results, or a combination.

It was good to see Duane Holmes back for Derby County after the Georgia-born attacking midfielder has been working his way back from a thigh injury. Unfortunately for Holmes, he was subbed into Derby’s 4-0 loss to Blackburn in the 71st minute with his team down 3-0. With the loss, Derby has lost its first three games of the season with a -7 goal differential.

In England’s third-tier League One, Indiana Vassilev came into Burton Albion’s 4-2 loss to Swindon Town in the 66th minute but could not spark a comeback. Meanwhile, Lynden Gooch started for Sunderland in a 1-0 win over Peterborough United.

In Germany’s 2.Bundesliga, Julian Green came off the bench for Greuther Furth in the 77th minute of a 1-1 draw vs. Erzgebirge Aue. Meanwhile, Alfredo Morales did not get off the bench for Fortuna Dusseldorf in a 1-0 win over Wurzburger Kickers.

In Italy’s Serie B, Andrija Novakovich came off the bench for Frosinone in the 70th minute of a 2-0 loss to Empoli.

In Belgium, Ethan Horvath did not play, as usual, for Club Brugge in a 2-1 win over Cercle Brugge. Chris Durkin played 84 minutes for St. Truiden in a 2-0 loss Mechelen. St. Truiden now has just five points from seven games.

Emmanuel Sabbi has played well to start the season for OB in the Danish Superliga but AGF downed OB 4-2 on Sunday. Michael Lansing continues to go as an unused sub for Horsens as its backup goalkeeper.

In the Eredivisie, Luca de la Torre did not get off the bench for Heracles in a 1-1 draw with PSV (Richard Ledezma’s shot with the PSV first team is still pending). Ulysses Llanez did not dress for Heerenveen as he only recently joined the club. Heerenveen has nine points from three games to start the season too.

In the Austrian Bundesliga, Erik Palmer-Brown went 90 minutes for Austria Vienna in a 2-2 draw with Admira.



In Brazil's top flight, Johnny Cardoso did not feature for Internacional in a 1-1 draw with Sao Paolo. 

But now to end the recap with some good news.

It was good to see 2015 U.S. U-20 right back Desevio Payne continue to get minutes and he played the final 30 minutes for Emmen in a 1-1 draw with Willem II. Payne has always been talented but staying healthy has always been the issue.

On Saturday, Ian Harkes, Dillon Powers, and Dundee United played Hamilton Academical to a 1-1 draw in the Scottish Premiership. It’s been a decent start for the newly promoted club that is seeking survival in its first season back in the top flight.

Christian Pulisic should be coming back soon for Chelsea, maybe as soon as next week.

Jesse Marsch and Red Bulls Salzburg are at a perfect nine points from three games to start the Austrian Bundesliga season. On Saturday it defeated Ried on the road 3-1.

 

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