This weekend marked the beginning of a new chapter in Dejan Jakovic’s career.
The 28-year-old defender (above), formerly of D.C. United, made his debut in Japan for Shimizu S-Pulse on Saturday, coming on as a late substitute in a 3-2 win over Nagoya Grampus. While the distance will make representing the national team more difficult, Canada’s depth (or lack thereof) means that if Jakovic is playing regularly, he’ll likely remain on national team head coach Benito Floro’s radar.
Over in Germany, fellow center back Andre Hainault went the full 90 for VfR Aalen in a 1-0 win over Karlsruher, while defender/midfielder Nik Ledgerwood came on at halftime for MSV Duisburg in a 0-0 draw with Wehen Weisbaden (a club with Adam Straith on its roster, though he hasn’t played since early November).
Continuing a trend from previous weeks, the midfield veteran triumvirate of Pedro Pacheco (CD Santa Clara), Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas) and Julian de Guzman (Skoda Xanthi) all put in full-90 shifts for their respective clubs, while youngster Samuel Piette also went the distance for Fortuna Dusseldorf II.
Michael Petrasso, continuing his loan at Coventry City, played the full 90 in a 0-0 draw with Shrewsbury while Terry Dunfield, just one week removed from making his debut for Oldham Athletic, couldn’t get off the bench in a 2-2 draw with Tranmere.
Simeon Jackson played 72 minutes for Millwall in a 1-0 loss to Brighton on Saturday, while Lucas Cavallini played 75 minutes for Fénix in a 2-0 win over Wanderers in Uruguay’s top flight.
Randy Edwini-Bonsu made a late-game cameo for Stuttgarter Kickers in a 3-3 draw with Heindenheim on Saturday, while Tam Nsaliwa subbed in at halftime for Bucaspor before being subbed back out in the 73rd minute on Sunday.
