It's time again for a monthly check-up on the players scattered around the globe who got their start in Major League Soccer or a club academy.
We're getting near the end of most foreign leagues, which means there are plenty of championship playoffs, chases for Europa, promotion fights, survival drives, cup finals and even summer transfer whispers to discuss.
England
<p><strong>Geoff Cameron</strong><br>
HOU: 2008-12</p> |
<p>A rough season ends in a bit of a reprieve for the Stoke City veteran. Cameron has made just a single 28-minute sub appearance over the last seven matches, but that fact is actually sparing him the indignity of taking part as the Potters win drought stretched to 13 games. Their weekend loss to Crystal Palace sealed relegation, and it seems a fair bet that the American will be among the Premier League salaries shed this summer.</p> |
<p><strong>DeAndre Yedlin</strong><br>
SEA: 2013-14</p> |
<p>It has to be considered a mission accomplished for Yedlin and Newcastle. Despite dropping their last three EPL games, the Magpies sit 10th with survival already assured. As for the right back, he's up to 32 starts and set up the equalizer in the 2-1 comeback win over Arsenal on April 15 that capped a safety-clinching four-game win streak.</p> |
<p><strong>Emerson Hyndman</strong><br>
DAL Academy</p> |
<p>The lost season at Bournemouth continues. Manager Eddie Howe talks up Hyndman plenty, but hasn't even chosen him for the bench since January. Meanwhile, Rangers fans have been clamoring on Twitter for the US midfielder to come back to Ibrox, where former LA Galaxy man Steven Gerrard was just appointed manager.</p> |
Tim Ream, left, is among the the League Championship's most accurate passers. | Reuters
<p><strong>Tim Ream</strong><br>
RBNY: 2010-11</p> |
<p>Fulham's 23-game unbeaten streak (featuring 11 clean sheets) was finally snapped by Sunday's costly 3-1 defeat at Birmingham City. A win would have granted them automatic promotion, but now Ream and the Cottagers must gear up for the promotion playoffs. Their semifinal tie starts at Derby County on Friday. For the regular season, the St. Louis native finished third in the league with an 88.3 passing completion percentage.</p> |
<p><strong>Matthew Olosunde</strong><br>
RBNY Academy</p> |
<p>After being removed at halftime of a Premier League International Cup defeat to Villarreal with a hamstring knock in late February, the Manchester United reserves defender sat out a pair of league matches. What's more, rumors recently cropped up suggesting he could be loaned back to the Red Bulls for a spell.</p> |
Germany
<p><strong>Weston McKennie</strong><br>
DAL Academy</p> |
<p>The USMNT youngster ended March by missing two games with a muscle injury, but came back to play the next five games, starting two. Regardless of what happens in Saturday's final regular season game against visiting Eintracht Frankfurt, McKennie and the second place Miners already have a Champions League group phase pass in pocket for the fall.</p> |
<p><strong>Carlos Salcedo</strong><br>
RSL: 2013-14</p> |
<p>After missing six weeks with a collarbone fracture, the Eintracht Frankfurt defender returned to go all 90 minutes in Saturday's 3-0 win over Bobby Wood and Hamburg. The result put the team in prime position to earn a Europa League qualifying berth, which they can clinch by finishing no worse than their current seventh place standing after Saturday's closing day trip to Schalke. The following weekend, Eintracht can make it a group stage invite if they can manage to defeat Bayern Munich in the DfB-Pokal final.</p> |
Mexico
<p><strong>Omar Gonzalez</strong><br>
LA: 2009-15</p> |
<p>On Tuesday, Fox Deportes reporter Paco Montes claimed that the Pachuca defender <a href="http://twitter.com/PacoMontesD7/status/993951021654249472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">was all but set for an MLS return</a> this summer. Los Tuzos had one of the worst defenses in the league during the Clausura, but they can hardly blame Gonzalez. He sat 13 straight games before winning back a starting job for the last three, which were a 3-1 win followed by two scoreless draws.</p> |
<p><strong>Rogelio Funes Mori</strong><br>
DAL Academy</p> |
<p>The Monterrey forward missed the last three games of the Clausura season due to calf surgery, finishing with five goals and two helpers in 12 games. Funes Mori was expected back for the Liguilla semifinals, but Los Rayados were bounced in the quarters after Sunday's 2-1 home loss to Tijuana.</p> |
<p><strong>Landon Donovan</strong><br>
SJ: 2001-04<br>
LAG: 2005-14, 2016</p> |
<p>The former USMNT star got his first Leon start in their April 1 loss at Tigres, and then waited until a closing day win at Chivas to make his sixth Liga MX appearance (totalling 111 minutes) of the Clausura term.</p> |
<p><strong>Kekuta Manneh</strong><br>
VAN 2013-17</p> |
<p>In part due to some minor injuries, Manneh was limited to one league appearance as Pachuca narrowly missed out on the Liguilla. Word around town is that the Tuzos will look to offload the winger during the offseason.</p> |
<p><strong>Rafael Baca</strong><br>
SJ: 2011-14</p> |
<p>The former Earthquakes midfielder ably held his defensive midfield spot down until the end of the regular season, but Cruz Azul missed the postseason by three points despite going 3-0-1 to close out the Clausura schedule.</p> |
<p><strong>Jorge Villafaña</strong><br>
CHV: 2007-13<br>
POR: 2014-15</p> |
<p>The Santos Laguna left back saw his string of 14 consecutive league starts snapped after getting the 35th minute hook for a tactical switch in the away leg of their Liguilla quarterfinal against Tigres. Villafana watched from the bench as his team rallied to eliminate the favorites and set up a semifinal clash with Joe Corona and Club América.</p> |
<p><strong>Lalo Fernandez</strong><br>
RSL: 2012-17</p> |
<p>Following Tigres' unceremonious Liguilla ouster this weekend, 2018 will end without the 'keeper making his debut for the Liga MX side.</p> |
<p><strong>Marco Bustos</strong><br>
VAN: 2013-present</p> |
<p>The Vancouver midfielder has remained a bit player at loan side Zacatepec. Bustos' last outing was a 27-minute shift in their 1-0 league loss at Oaxaca on April 16.</p> |
Spain
<p><strong>Ballou Tabla</strong><br>
MTL Academy</p> |
<p>Since our last check-in, the Barcelona B winger has appeared has a second half sub in six of seven games. Tabla bagged his first goal in Spain with a fine finish to give his side late hope in a 3-2 loss to Rayo Vallecano on April 22. Watch it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w3gOsnoHcQ" target="_blank">here</a>. </p> |
Netherlands
Matt Miazga, seen here left in Europa League action, wore the captain's armband for Vitesse last Sunday. | Reuters
<p><strong>Matt Miazga</strong><br>
NY: 2013-15</p> |
<p>The defender on loan to Vitesse enjoyed a splendid closing day on Sunday. Not only was the US international handed the captain's armband for the first time, he helped the visitors log a 2-2 draw with his third goal of the season and placed on the Team of the Week. Miazga (who ended the regular season sixth in the league in clearances) will continue to marshal the league's fifth-stingiest defense when Vitesse opens their Europa League playoff semifinal tie at ADO Den Haag on Wednesday.</p> |
<p><strong>Shane O'Neill</strong><br>
COL: 2012-15</p> |
<p>The defender has not seen first-team action for Excelsior Rotterdam since February. The club finished the Eredivisie season in 11th place, six points clear of the drop zone. In between all of his bench duties, O'Neill started six of the last eight league games for the reserve side.</p> |
Belgium
<p><strong>Andy Najar</strong><br>
DC: 2010-12</p> |
<p>The Anderlecht man was able to reach his goal of returning to the field from hamstring surgery before the season's end. Najar ended the seven-month layoff by working 67 minutes at right midfield (in a 3-4-2-1) as the Mauves topped Jupiler League championship playoff guests Charleroi 3-1 on April 29. The Honduras ace followed that up this weekend by going the distance in a 2-1 triumph away to leaders Club Brugge that pulled his club to within two points of the summit with three rounds to go.</p> |
<p><strong>Erik Palmer-Brown</strong><br>
SKC: 2009-17</p> |
<p>It took a spell after arriving on loan from Manchester City, but the Kortrijk defender nailed down a line-up spot over the last month. Palmer-Brown has started in the right center back role four straight games, which the club evenly split. Unfortunately, their Europa League hopes were shaved thin by this weekend's 2-1 loss at playoff leaders Zulte-Waregem.</p> |
Turkey
<p><strong>Fabian Castillo</strong><br>
DAL: 2011-16</p> |
<p>The Trabzonspor winger was thought to be lost for the season with an ankle fracture, but actually made a late cameo in their rout of Kayserispor on April 7. It turned out to be too early of a comeback, as Castillo has missed all four games since. The bigger story, though, may be the one hitting all the Turkish papers. The left winger, who'd already reportedly handed in a transfer request, was said to have met with homeland side Atletico Nacional while recovering back in Colombia.</p> |
<p><strong>Cyle Larin</strong><br>
ORL: 2015-17</p> |
<p>The Besiktas striker made his first and to date only appearance in a 5-1 rout of Goztepe exactly a month ago. He celebrated the seven-minute shift by breaking in alone to coolly bag the Eagles' fourth. With three games left in the Super Lig season, the club stand four points shy of the top in fourth place.</p> |
Denmark
<p><strong>Bill Hamid</strong><br>
DC: 2009-17</p> |
<p>The FC Midtjylland recruit made his bow in a 2-1 DBU Pokalen victory over Emmanuel Sabbi and Hobro on April 12. All three goals came in extra time, after Hamid's three saves helped keep the game scoreless through regulation. Hamid settled for a 3-3 draw in his first league start (which came in round five of the Superliga's championship hexagonal) at Aalborg BK on April 22. They currently stand three points behind Brondby with three games left. Four days later, the American suffered a 3-1 semifinal loss away to that same Brondby side.</p> |
Guatemala
<p><strong>Moises Hernandez</strong><br>
DAL: 2011-16</p> |
<p>The Comunicaciones left back and his teammate were left to suffer heartbreak on Clausura closing day for the second straight term, as a 3-1 defeat at Xelaju knocked them out of the final playoff spot. Hernandez finished the full year with an amazing 17 yellow cards from 30 outings.</p> |
Israel
<p><strong>Aaron Schoenfeld</strong><br>
CLB: 2012-15</p> |
<p>Over the back half of April, the Maccabi Tel Aviv forward notched two assists in the first three games of the Ligat Ha'al championship playoff. He got one in their opening loss, started a win over Bnei Yahuda, and then got another in a draw at Hapoel Haifa that ended with him ejected by a second yellow card. Because of the ensuing ban, he missed Monday's victory that put them in the final Europa League slot with three rounds to play. </p> |
Norway
<p><strong>Sam Adekugbe</strong><br>
VAN: 2013-17</p> |
<p>After working every minute of Valerenga's first five Eliteserien games of the season, the Canada left back sat out the last two games of April. Adekugbe returned to the line-up on Sunday as the Bohemians extended their unbeaten run to four games with a 2-2 share against FK Haugesund.</p> |
Romania
<p><strong>Anatole Abang</strong><br>
RBNY: 2015-16</p> |
<p>This past Monday, the Astra Giurgiu striker snapped a nine-game goal drought with the early winner against CSM Politehnica Iasi. A four-game unbeaten streak has the club standing two points shy of a Europa League berth with two rounds to play in Liga I's championship hex.</p> |
Scotland
<p><strong>Andy Rose</strong><br>
SEA: 2012-15</p> |
<p>A knee setback has seen the Motherwell midfielder limited to a pair of sub shifts over their last seven games. The injury did not, however, keep Rose from going the distance as the Steelmen booked a Scottish Cup final date with Celtic by blanking Aberdeen 3-0 a few weeks back. The club still have two games left in the relegation playoff, but are safely 12 points above the trap door.</p> |
Sweden
<p><strong>Romain Gall</strong><br>
CLB: 2014-15</p> |
<p>The Sundsvall winger's fine early form has continued, if not elevated, since our last update. Gall opened his Allsvenskan account with a late equalizer on April 22, and has followed that up with consecutive braces. The first saw him single-handedly down Elfsborg, while Saturday's came in a 4-3 losing cause at first place Hammarby. The left winger is up to seven goals and two assists through nine outings across all competitions.</p> |
Poland
<p><strong>Brian Iloski</strong><br>
LA Academy</p> |
<p>The young midfielder has not dressed for Legia Warsaw since making a quick cameo debut in March. The Legionaries slipped from the summit to third over the last few rounds of the regular season, but are back in first by a point (with a game in hand over the nearest chaser) with four games left in the championship playoff.</p> |
