FREDDY ADU (BENFICA)

The News: Adu made an appearance for Benfica in the Portuguese League Cup, his second for the club after coming on in a Champions League qualifier earlier in the year. Benfica ended up winning the match against Estrela Amadora in a shootout.

Of Note: Adu came on at halftime with Benfica losing, 1-0, and needing a goal to push the game to extra time. In a game of few chances, Benfica earned a penalty in the 90^th minute, which Adu stepped up and blasted into the right hand corner. The goal tied the game at one, and sent the match to penalties. Adu took a spot kick in the shootout as well, converting it with aplomb as Benfica went on to win 5-4. The goal in regulation time was Adu’s first for the Portuguese club.

Up Next: Benfica faces local rivals Sporting Lisbon on Saturday in what is one of the most anticipated games on the Portuguese calendar. Adu will look to follow up his goalscoring performance from tonight with an appearance in what is considered one of Europe’s most heated rivalries.

BOBBY CONVEY (READING)

News: Bobby Convey scored his first goal of the season for Reading, but his team was ultimately eliminated from the Carling Cup by Liverpool.

Of Note: Convey's goal (cool pic of his celebration) tied up the score at one before a hat trick from Fernando Torres propelled Liverpool to a 4-2 victory. The result eliminates Reading from the Carling Cup, and they now have to turn their attentions back to the Premier League, where they currently sit the precarious position of 16th in the table. Marcus Hahnemann was on the bench for Reading, getting some much needed rest after appearing in all of Reading’s games thus far.

Reading - Liverpool, Carling Cup

Up Next: Reading travels to Fratton Park on Saturday to face a Portsmouth side who, under Harry Redknapp, currently sits 11^th in the table.

Bocanegra's 100th Appearance

News: After captaining Fulham on Saturday, Bocanegra has now made 100 appearances for his club.

Of Note: Since joining Fulham in 2004, Bocanegra has been deployed in a variety of positions, both across the backline and even in defensive midfield. However, in the past few seasons, Carlos has held firmly to his position at center back for the Cottagers and this year has ascended to the rank of deputy captain in Brian McBride’s absence. In reaching the 100 Appearance mark in the Premier League, Bocanegra achieves a mark held by only 4 other Americans: Claudio Reyna, Brad Friedel, Kasey Keller, and Brian McBride.

Up Next: Fulham host Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday night in the 3^rd Round of the Carling Cup.

Brief Recap from England...

Some quick notes about a few results from the English Leagues this weekend:

Bobby Convey came off the bench in the second half, and provided some spark in Reading’s 2-1 victory over Wigan Athletic. The Royals snatched all 3 points, courtesy of a late winner from James Harper …


Meanwhile, Clint Dempsey and Carlos Bocanegra took part in an absolutely thrilling 3-3 draw against Manchester City and Craven Cottage. Twice the Cottagers went ahead, but both times Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side fought back, eventually even taking the lead. However, the scoring wasn’t finished and Fulham managed to grab a late equalizer through Hameur Bouazza …

Benny Feilhaber and Jonathan Spector came off the bench for Derby County and West Ham United, respectively. Unfortunately, however, both sides were on the losing end of their matches …

Over in the Championship, Frank Simek played a full 90 minutes as Sheffield Wednesday beat Hull 1-0, and finally obtained their first points of the season. Jay DeMerit started for Watford as they managed a 1-1 draw with QPR at Loftus Road. For Wednesday, they remain bottom of the table but are now level only 3 points away from moving out of the relegation zone. Watford, on the other hand, continue their good start to the season, though their lead at the top of the table has now been trimmed to only two points

MICHAEL BRADLEY (SC HEERENVEEN)

The News: Michael Bradley scored his second goal of the campaign, but a last-minute strike from Guiseppe Rossini lifted FC Utrecht to a 3-2 win.

Of Note: Bradley's rebound goal in the 50th minute put Heerenveen level at 1-1, and his side was able to erase another one goal deficit before Rossini's free kick cruelly took a deflection into the back of the net.

SC Heerenveen - FC Utrecht

Up Next: After scoring two goals himself in the first leg, Bradley and Heerenveen travel to Sweden to face Helsinborgs carrying a 5-3 advantage into the second leg of UEFA Cup first round action.

MICHAEL BRADLEY (HEERENVEEN)

The News: Heerenveen wins 5-3 shootout against Swedish side Helsingborg in the first leg of the UEFA Cup first round.

Of Note: Bradley hit the back of the net twice for his club tonight - his second and third goals of the week - as Heerenveen made it two in a row after their victory on Sunday. Michael opened the scoring in the 20^th minute, and the two clubs traded blows for the rest of the game. The midfielder knocked in Heerenveen’s fifth goal in the 68^th minute before making way in 72^nd. Helsingborg managed to pull a goal back in the 74^th through former Sweden international Henrik Larsson, but it was not enough and Heerenveen closed out the first leg of the series with a two goal advantage. On a personal level, Bradley appeared in USA Today yesterday, talking about his goals playing for the national team.

Heerenveen - Helsingborg 5-3

Up Next: Heerenveen look to make it three wins in three games when they host FC Utrecht this Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie. The return leg against Helsingborg will be played October 4, when Heerenveen will travel to Sweden with entry into the UEFA Cup group stage on the line.

'Keepers Preview this Weekend's Action

Kasey Keller and Marcus Hahnemann were both featured today on their respective clubs’ websites. You can read Kasey’s interview about Fulham’s upcoming match against Manchester City here. Likewise, Marcus talked to Reading’s website about how, despite their recent troubles, he’s confident that his team can turn its season around, starting this weekend against Wigan. Check that out here.

As stated, both these teams are in action this weekend, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted on how they fare.

DaMARCUS BEASLEY (RANGERS)

It's A Champions League Return!

For Rangers, Champions League action starts tonight in a tough one against German champions Stuttgart. For Beasley, it will be his first match in the Champions League since the 2005-06 season with PSV, where his side went all the way to the semifinals before falling to AC Milan. The match begins at 2:45 ET, and you can follow along in a few places, like the UEFA Website or Eurosport, for example ...

CLINT DEMPSEY (FULHAM FC)

Déjà vu? As soon as we post the blog for yesterday’s article on Clint Dempsey, we find that we’re already outdated…Today on Fulham’s website, the club has another piece on Clint and the upcoming match against high-flying side Manchester City.

CLINT DEMPSEY (FULHAM FC)

After scoring three goals in three consecutive English Premier League games, Clint Dempsey is turning heads in England. Add his goal against Brazil on September 9, and thats four goals in his last four games. Check out this piece on Fulham's website, where Clint talks about his position on the field. Forward, he says, is a position that is not his most natural, though his recent form for both club and country would suggest otherwise...Go figure.

Fulham FC interview with Clint

BENNY FEILHABER (DERBY COUNTY)

The News: Benny Feilhaber made his Premier League debut tonight, coming on in the 80th minute of a nail-biting 1-0 victory for Derby County against Newcastle.

Of Note: The Rams earned their first victory of this year’s Premier League campaign behind a stunning first half strike from Scottish international Kenny Miller. U.S. international Eddie Lewis also got into the action tonight, starting on the left wing for Derby. Feilhaber came on late in the second half, and showed some neat touches while tackling hard in the midfield to help ensure that his club held on for a massive win.

Up Next: With those three points, Derby has lifted themselves off the bottom of the table, but the road doesn’t get any easier for the newly promoted side. This Saturday’s schedule puts them on the road to London for a visit to Emirates Stadium and a duel with league leaders Arsenal.

DaMARCUS BEASLEY (RANGERS)

News: DaMarcus Beasley tallied his second SPL goal of the season, but it proved to be in vain as his team fell 4-2 to Hearts.

Of Note: With the loss, Rangers’ five-match unbeaten start to the season came to an abrupt end and they also slipped to second in the table. Hearts jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before a Rangers penalty by Daniel Cousin cut the deficit in half. Hearts went on to score twice more, however, and by the time Beasley grabbed a goal in the 74 minute, it proved to be mere consolation.

Up Next: Rangers open their Champions League season on Wednesday night against German Champions Stuttgart at Ibrox. You can see Beas talk about the competition in Group E here. Next Sunday they’ll try to get back on track in the SPL when they host Aberdeen in a lunchtime kickoff.

MICHAEL BRADLEY (HEERENVEEN)

News: Heerenveen earned its first win of the season, coming from behind to win 5-2 over Excelsior. Michael Bradley started the game in the center of the park, and scored Heerenveen’s fifth and final goal in his team’s victory.

Of Note: Heerenveen went down 2-0 early in the game, but fought back and ended up overcoming their slow start by netting an impressive five unanswered goals. Bradley got in on the scoring efforts, tallying the last goal to cap an excellent day for Heerenveen. With the three points, Heerenveen jumped into the top half of the table in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Up Next: The Dutch club opens its UEFA Cup campaign against Swedish side Helsingsborgs IF. The first leg is to be played this Thursday, Sept. 20 at the Abe Lenstra Stadium in Holland, with the second leg to be played Oct. 4.

CLINT DEMPSEY (FULHAM FC)

The News: Clint Dempsey put Fulham on top early, but a late penalty meant they split the spoils with Wigan in a 1-1 draw at JJB Stadium

Of Note: Dempsey continued his torrid scoring pace since cracking the starting lineup, netting in three consecutive EPL matches. Today's effort was a finish from eight yards out, Clint tucking home a left footer underneath the 'keeper off a deflected pass by strike partner Diomansy Kamara. Add in the goal against Brazil, and the 24-year-old remains white hot as summer starts to fade away.



Up Next: Fulham welcome a revamped Manchester City to Craven Cottage on Sept. 22 in London. In last season's meeting at Craven Cottage, Carlos Bocanegra scored Fulham's only goal while DaMarcus Beasley posted the game-winner in Man-City's 3-1 win.

300K and rising

This isn’t necessarily a blog about our players overseas, but more us giving props to all of the youtube viewers out there. Since Monday when we put video highlights of the USA-Brazil game on youtube, our view count on the piece has been rising astronomically, and today it topped 300,000 hits! For all you serious mathematicians out there – we happened to be good spellers, ourselves - that’s over 100,000 hits a day and about 70 hits per minute. So in that regard, this is a blog with global implications, considering the amount of people that have been checking out the clip. Pretty quiet here in Soccer House since most of our crew is in China. Speaking of which, hope you have your alarm clocks set for 5 a.m. ET tomorrow morning for the huge showdown between the U.S. women and Sweden live on ESPN2. That match kicks off a great weekend of soccer action in the Women’s World Cup and league plays resumes across Europe, so stay tuned to the blog for updates as they happen…

BLOG RE-SET

With 10 of the 11 starters making their way back to Europe after the game against Brazil, we’d like to take the time to welcome you back to the U.S. Soccer Global Blog. For the past ten days or so, we’ve been over on the MNT Blog covering our team’s camp in Chicago. Now with the guys heading back to their respective clubs, we’re switching gears again and diving back into coverage on the global scale. Stay tuned here for updates on your favorite U.S. players as they compete in some of the toughest leagues around the world. We’ll be filling you in on the news as it happens, as well as scouring the internet for highlights, videos, and anything else we think is cool. For starters, here’s a quick preview of some of the weekend’s biggest games:

Saturday, September 15:
Excelsior vs. Heerenveen: Michael Bradley and Heerenveen look to shake their sluggish start to the season against the side cemented to the foot of the table.

Wigan vs. Fulham: The USA’s goalscorers against Brazil line up against Wigan Athletic at the JJB stadium, with Dempsey still basking in the glow of being named Player of the Month of August for Fulham and Bocanegra continuing to serve as captain for both club and country.

Standard Liege v KAA Gent: Standard maintains a perfect five wins from five matches so far this season, while KAA Gent sits in third place not far behind. Oguchi Onyewu has been a strong performer for the Belgian league leaders thus far, who have netted 18 goals while surrendering a paltry four.

Everton v Manchester United: Probably the pick of the week, this match sees former Red Devil’s goalkeeper Tim Howard attempting to get a result against the team that brought him to England. Howard and Everton have been in sparkling form this season, while Manchester United have been slow to get off the ground following last year’s title charge. Howard’s availability remains in question after he suffered a dislocated finger against Brazil.

CLINT DEMPSEY (FULHAM FC)

News: Clint Dempsey named Player of the Month for August by Fulham’s supporters.

Of Note: Dempsey earned the first accolade of his Fulham career after coming on strong in the final stages of the month. Clint has filled in for the injured Brian McBride, and, with two goals in two games, not to mention a pair vital assists in the game against Tottenham, looks to be acclimatizing himself nicely to the role of spearheading the Cottagers’ attack.

News: Fulham travels to the JJB Stadium on Saturday where they will face Wigan Athletic.

DANNY SZETELA (RACING SANTANDER)

The News: Danny Szetela signed a two-year contract with Racing Santander in Spain's La Liga.

Of Note: Szetela, now with the Columbus Crew, becomes the third member of the U.S. Under-20 World Cup team to transfer to a European club, joining Freddy Adu (Benfica) and Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96). Szetela holds a Polish passport.

Up Next: At the moment, Szetela traveled to Spain for a physical with his new club. The midfielder's contract with MLS expires on Dec. 31.

DAMARCUS BEASLEY (RANGERS)

The News: Beasley earned an assist in helping the Rangers to a 4-0 victory against Gretna on Saturday.

Of Note: Beasley, who started and played 83 minutes, earned the assist by sending in a corner kick that was headed home by Andy Webster in the 63rd minute for Rangers’ second goal.

Up Next: DaMarcus will be looking to get on the starting squad when the U.S. face Brazil this Sunday, Sept. 9 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

CARLOS BOCANEGRA (FULHAM)

The News: Carlos Bocanegra captains Fulham to a 3-3 draw against Tottenham

Of Note: Handed the captain's armband after the loss of Brian McBride to injury, Bocanegra is elevated to the rarified air of those who serve as captain for both club and country.

Up Next: Bocanegra will head back to his old stomping grounds in Chicago for the USA's upcoming duel with Brazil on Sept. 9 at Soldier Field.

CLINT DEMPSEY (FULHAM)

The News: Fulham earned a 3-3 draw with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur today at Craven Cottage. Dempsey was in and around the scoresheet all day, notching Fulham’s first goal on a header, and assisting for teammates Alexei Smertin and Diomansy Kamara.

Of Note: Dempsey started and played 90 minutes for the third successive time on Saturday, and looked dangerous deputizing up front for injured Brian McBride. After a slow start, Fulham picked it up just before halftime through Dempsey’s powerful header from a Simon Davies corner. The Cottagers were behind by two goals just after the interval and the game looked lost until a late flurry of action. In the 78th minute, Dempsey laid the ball into the onrushing path of Smertin, whose deflected effort from twenty yards left Paul Robinson helpless in the Tottenham goal. The scoring wasn’t over yet, and in the 90th minute, Fulham’s consistent pressure paid off. From a long throw by Chris Baird, Dempsey got a head to the ball in the box, flicking it up for Kamara whose outrageous bicycle kick earned a share of the points for Fulham.

Up Next: Dempsey is set to be in the squad to face Brazil on Sept. 9 in Chicago. After the international break, Fulham travel to Wigan on the 15th of September