By Graig Carbino - ALBANY, NY (Apr 20, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- Oguchi Onyewu's two goals this past weekend in Belgium is a quality reminder that he only has a few more weeks left in Liege. His contract is up come summer and no one thinks he'll be returning to Les Rouches. It will be interesting to see where Onyewu ends up after a few years of really solid play in the Jupiler League.
I read a report recently linking him with Borussia Monchengladbach of the Bundesliga in Germany. Now you can really take these "reports" with a grain of salt. A few years ago some papers had him going to Chelsea. That never quite panned out. For Onyewu's sake I hope this story turns out to be incorrect as well.
No offense to Michael Bradley's current club, but saying things aren't going so well for 'Gladbach this season would an understatement. They sit in 16th place on 23 points and look like they might be making a quick return back to the 2.Bundelsiga.
It would be refreshing to see a US player of Onyewu's talent not settle for a meddling club which typically resides towards the bottom of their respective league's standings. I get that most players from America aren't exactly number one on Barcelona or AC Milan's transfer wish list. Still, are players from the states still in a position to simply take what they can get as far as a European team is concerned?
Maybe the history proves me wrong on this one, but I would really think that Onyewu in particular could find a better situation. Obviously there are numerous factors that come into play when changing teams. If a club doesn't need a central defender, Onyewu wont be heading there. If he isn't at least afforded the opportunity to win a starting role, he wont be going there either.
There have to be a few better clubs than Monchengladbach out there that could use some help in the back though, no? Obviously he has to want to go to whichever new club he ends up with.
If Germany is his absolute desire and 'Gladbach is the only true suitor then I guess you have something there, but it doesn't make a ton of sense to me.
Players of Oguchi Onyewu's age and talent don't make lateral moves when its time for a transfer. They put themselves in positions to play meaningful minutes for clubs that are better than their current places of employment. If Onyewu ends up in Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach he would be moving sideways or even down from his current playing situation.
Not the best outlook for a towering US defender who could do better.
American Abroad Report Card
English Premier League: Brad Friedel started in goal for Aston Villa in their 1-1 draw with West Ham United. Brad Guzan watched from the bench for Villa. Emile Heskey scored for Villa and Diego Tristan had the goal for the Hammers. Jonathan Spector is still recovering from a concussion and missed out for West Ham.
Clint Dempsey started and played the full match for Fulham in their 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough. Fulham managed only two shots on goal despite having 55% percent of the games possession. Dempsey came close to winning it for Fulham in the 83rd minute when his left-footed shot from just outside the box dropped agonizingly wide of the goal.
FA Cup: Tim Howard was in goal for Everton in their penalty shootout victory over Manchester United. Howard made consecutive penalty saves from Dimitar Berbatov and Rio Ferdinand to send Everton on their way to victory. The Toffees have advanced to the FA Cup final and will meet Chelsea back at Wembley on May 30th.
The Championship: Marcus Hahnemann was in goal for Reading in their 0-0 draw with Barnsley. Hahnemann made two saves in keeping the shutout for the Royals.
Frank Simek watched from the bench for Sheffield Wednesday in their 2-0 win over Southampton. Luke Varney scored twice for Wednesday.
Jay Demerit started and played 90 minutes for Watford in their 1-0 loss to Birmingham. Cameron Jerome scored the only goal of the game for the Blues.
Eddie Johnson was a 76th minute substitute for Cardiff City's 6-nil drubbing at the hands of Preston North End. Neil Mellor (2), Jon Parkin, Mark Kennedy (og), Chris Brown and Lee Williamson scored for Preston.
Germany: Michael Bradley started and played the full match for Borussia Monchengladbach in their 4-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt. Alexander Meier, Nikos Liberopoulos, Marco Russ and Michael Fink scored for Frankfurt. Filip Daems converted a penalty for 'Gladbach in the 75th minute, ten minutes after Bradley saw his own penalty effort saved.
Sal Zizzo was an 86th minute substitute for Hannover 96 in their 2-1 loss to Hamburg. Mladen Petric scored twice for Hamburg. Mikael Forssell converted a 70th minute penalty for Hannover. Steve Cherundolo is recovering from hip surgery and missed out for Hannover.
Bryan Arguez was not involved for Hertha Berlin in their 2-1 win over Werder Bremen. Josip Simunic and Raffael scored for the Berlin club. Per Mertesacker scored for Bremen.
Grover Gibson was not involved for Ahlen in their 0-0 draw with Mainz in 2.Bungesliga action.
Heath Pearce has been demoted to the Hansa Rostock reserves for the rest of the season and missed out on their 3-1 win over RW Oberhausen. Mario Fillinger, Kevin Schindler and Enrico Kern scored for Rostock. Tim Reichert scored the Oberhausen consolation.
David Yelldell started and played 90 minutes in goal for TuS Koblenz in their 3-2 victory over MSV Duisburg. Zoltan Stieber, Manuel Fischer and Du-Ri Cha scored for Koblenz. Sandro Wagner and Cedric Makiadi tallied for Duisburg. Matt Taylor did not make the bench for Koblenz.
Luis Robles and Kaiserslautern take on 1860 Munich at the Allianz-Arena on Monday evening.
Scotland: Maurice Edu played 90 minutes and scored the winning goal for Rangers in their 3-2 victory over Hibernian. Steven Whittaker and Andrius Velicka also scored for Rangers. Steven Fletcher and John Rankin scored for Hibs. DaMarcus Beasley missed out for Rangers.
France: Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes for Rennes in their 3-1 loss to Monaco. Goals from Jerko Leko (pen) and Juan Pablo Pino (2) accounted for the Monaco scoring. Lucien Aubey scored for Rennes. Freddy Adu was an unused substitute for Monaco.
Spain: Jozy Altidore is recovering from toenail surgery and was not involved for Xerex in their 2-1 win over Alaves. Antonio Sanchez de la Calle and Jeronimo Cabrera Momo scored for Xerex. Javi Guerra scored for Alaves.
Belgium: Oguchi Onyewu played the full match and scored twice for Standard Liege in their 3-1 win over Royal Excelsior Mouscron. Wilfred Dalmat also scored for Liege who sit second in the Jupiler League standings behind rivals Anderlecht. The two teams are even on 67 points with Anderlecht holding a three goal advantage in goal differential.
Jared Jeffrey did not feature for Club Brugge in their 3-2 win over RAEC Bergen Mons. Joseph Akpala and Wesley Sonck (2) scored for Brugge. Mustapha Jarju and Moussa Gueye scored for Mons.
Italy: Danny Szetela was not involved for Brescia in their 2-1 win over Vicenza. Andrea Rispoli and Marco Gorzegno scored for Brescia. Sasa Bjelanovic scored for Vicenza.
Austria: Preston Zimmermann was a 45th minute substitute for Kapfenberg SV in their 2-1 loss to Austria Vienna. Rubin Okotie and Milenko Acimovic scored for Vienna. Boris Huttenbrenner scored for Kapfenberg.
Graig Carbino covers American Abroad and writes a weekly column for USSoccerPlayers. Contact him at graiger11@yahoo.com
