Clint Dempsey Seemed Destined For Liverpool, Until Tottenham Swooped In At The Last Minute

After months of rumors that Clint Dempsey was headed to Liverpool, it turns out that he went to Tottenham only a few hours before the end of today's transfer window for European soccer.

The American midfielder signed a three-year deal worth $9.5 million, ending his 6+ years at Fulham. Without a doubt, Dempsey's transfer represents the biggest move in terms of an American-born men's soccer player in Europe. That's what happens when you score 23 goals for an English Premier League club in one season (2011/12).

From espnsoccernet.com
"I'm very excited and looking forward to the challenge," Dempsey told Tottenham's official website. "To play under this head coach and play for this club is a dream come true. I want to make the most of it and work as hard as I can to get onto the field and do well. There are a lot of great players here, I'm looking forward to training and playing with them and trying to fight for a spot in the team."

Apparently, Tottenham beat out Liverpool not to mention Sunderland and Aston Villa in their bid for the U.S. men's national team's top field player.

"Clint was a very influential player for Fulham over a number of seasons and the club thanks him for his contribution and wishes him well for the future," a statement on the Fulham website read.

Liverpool has spent much of the summer chasing Dempsey, sparking an angry reaction from Fulham manager Martin Jol after the player went on strike on the eve of the new season.

"A lot was said and written ahead of me leaving Fulham," Dempsey told Spurs' website. "It wasn't how it was portrayed, but that's in the past now and we move on. I want to thank the fans for everything, some of the best memories I've had in football and thank the chairman for giving me the opportunity to come from the MLS and compete over here. All I can say is thank you and now I'm looking forward to the next challenge."

At 29, he still has plenty of top-level soccer left in him since he only started playing for the New England Revolution (MLS) at age 21. Plus, he's durable and consistent, he scored 60 goals in 224 career appearances at Fulham. His objective of playing for a team that can compete in the Champions League should be fulfilled with the Hotspurs. They would have made the Champions League last season (they finished 4th) but were bounced out by Chelsea's improbable run to the title.

Don't be surprised to see Dempsey coming off the bench since Tottenham's midfield is already loaded with Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart not to mention forwards like Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor. After being the man the last few seasons for Fulham, it will be interesting to see how Dempsey adjusts to having an auxiliary role. Former US goalkeeper Brad Friedel (41 years old!) is Tottenham's starter so Dempsey at least has one close friend on the team.

Deuce wasn't the only American on the move as Maurice Edu officially completed his transfer to Stoke that I already wrote about. Carlos Bocanegra left Rangers for a season-long loan at Racing Santander, a Spanish club that was relegated from La Liga last season. Finally, Oguchi Onyewu (remember him?) was loaned from Sporting Lisbon to Malaga, a Spanish club that finished fourth in La Liga last season and by virtue of that, is in this year's Champions League.

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U.S. Men Beat Antigua & Barbuda 3-1 In World Cup Qualifying Opener

For the second game in a row, the U.S. men's soccer team played awful against an overmatched opponent. I'm ignoring the 4-1 loss to Brazil since they weren't all that bad in that match given the talent they faced but tonight's very uneven 3-1 win vs. Antigua and Barbuda left fans with many questions and concerns.

Yes, the bottom line is that the U.S. was able to start off this phase of World Cup qualifying with three points in front of a soaked pro-American crowd in Jacksonville, FL. However, playing like this against most other teams will likely result in a loss or at best a tie.

U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra scored his 13th international goal (tying Marcelo Balboa's record for American defenders) in the eighth minute following Landon Donovan's corner kick and Herculez Gomez's header that Antigua and Barbuda goalkeeper Molvin James left right at Boca's feet.

The small Caribbean island nation of 88,000 people that's just happy to be here (they've never made it this far) almost reached halftime only down 1-0 but Donovan was violently tackled on the edge of the box in the 44th minute. Clint Dempsey stepped up and scored on the penalty kick, his 26th for the U.S, as they took a more secure 2-0 lead.

Antigua and Barbuda's only real chance of the half was blocked in the box by U.S. defender Clarance Goodson's sliding challenge.

The troubling aspect of this match was that the U.S. showed no real ability to put away a team that they should beat by five goals every day of the week. I guess a long training camp and a bunch of games in a short amount of time (coupled with some injuries) has left them drained. It probably didn't help that this game was delayed by rain and it continued to pour all night.

Jose Torres went down with an ankle injury in the 54th minute and that's when the bad vibes really permeated for the U.S. With Fabian Johnson and Edgar Castillo both unavailable (due to injuries of their own), Torres had to start at left back. Once he was subbed out, Bocanegra had to shift over there while Oguchi Onyewu entered the action. I've long made my disdain for Gooch known so all I can hope is that his woeful defending which allowed Antigua and Barbuda sub Peter Byers to score in the 65th minute serves as the final nail in Gooch's USMNT coffin. I don't know how many more times he can continue to make critical mistakes before the U.S. finally pulls the plug on this failed experiment.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, a guy that had zero expectations when he made the World Cup roster in 2010 continues to see his performance level rise. Gomez scored his fourth international goal in the 72nd minute, the result of good old fashioned effort and hard work. After two U.S. shots were blocked by Antigua and Barbuda defenders, the ball bounced to Gomez who calmly dribble around James and finished, 3-1 U.S.

The U.S. found a reserve of energy as they pressed for more. Bocanegra pulled it back to Gomez and his shot went off the crossbar. Then Michael Bradley's cross was nearly deflected in the net. Ultimately, 3-1 is probably what the U.S. deserved. They dominated possession in the first half but were more loose in the second half. Still they had many more scoring opportunities (19-7 shots) and a 14-2 advantage in corner kicks (9-0 first half).

For their troubles, Jurgen Klinsmann's team gets one last trip before a welcome break from their national team duties: they travel to Guatemala on Tuesday night (10 p.m., Pay Per View). Guatemala lost 2-1 at Jamaica tonight so they'll be desperate to salvage any kind of point(s). Getting zero in their first two games could be fatal. The U.S. will have their hands full, playing away in these CONCACAF matches can be dicey since many of the stadiums/field conditions are less than second-rate. They need to find a way to put forth a more complete effort against another team that they should normally have no problem beating.

UPDATE 6/9: Torres' x-rays were negative, he was diagnosed with a bone bruise and is receiving treatment. Exhale!

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Onyewu Is Hurt Once Again, This Time At Sporting Lisbon

If I ever believed in Oguchi Onyewu or counted on him to be a cornerstone of the U.S. men's national team, I would have gone insane many years ago.

The talented but injury-prone defender is hurt again, this time at his latest club-Sporting Lisbon. According to Soccer By Ives, Gooch will miss two months after suffering a torn ligament and meniscus in his right knee.

Onyewu suffered the injury in Sporting's victory over Pacos de Ferreira over the weekend, needing to be substituted off after 27 minutes. He had been enjoying a resurgence at Sporting after a failed and injury-altered stint at AC Milan and a loan spell at FC Twente in recent years. In addition to rediscovering his defensive form, Onyewu had recaptured his athleticism and scored five goals this season, emerging as a top aerial threat off set pieces.

This is relevant to Jurgen Klinsmann and the U.S. since they play a friendly in Italy a week from tomorrow. The U.S.' central defense is already a mess so this setback only hinders them further. Not to mention the more important business of World Cup 2014 qualifiers which start in June. Who knows in Onyewu will be healthy, fit and ready to play by then?

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Stop me if you've heard this before: Oguchi Onyewu is hurt

I'm not picking on the guy since he's hurt (again) but is it fair to ask if American defender Oguchi Onyewu will ever do anything for a European club team?

His latest injury happened today with his new club FC Twente (Netherlands). Onyewu hurt his back in his third appearance for the team, in their Dutch Cup quarterfinal vs. PSV Eindhoven.

I've never been an Onyewu fan, I feel like he's been overhyped from Day 1 and a project that hasn't seemed to progress. I have nothing against the guy and as always, we want to see American players pushing themselves to play at the highest level possible but when will he stop getting so many chances? I think it's a fair question at this point.

Apologize for the lack of posts

Our apologies for the lack of posts recently. With our jobs taking up much of our time and real life stuff to deal with, we haven't been posting at all lately.

With a day off from work and snow limiting my options of things to do, I thought I'd whip through some things we haven't touched on.

To sum up the important stuff we missed lately: Messi won men's player of the year (again), Marta won women's player of the year, Jose Mourinho was coach of the year, David Beckham is training with Tottenham, Ronaldinho has gone home to Flamengo (a Brazilian club), Oguchi Onyewu is with Dutch league champion Twente (on loan from AC Milan) and Edson Buddle is going to Ingolstadt (a second-tier German team).

Finally, Liverpool (Roy Hodgson out, Kenny Dalglish in) and Inter Milan (Rafael Benitez out, Leonardo in) got rid of their head coaches and hired new ones.

Jermaine Jones, another piece of the U.S. men's soccer team puzzle

I'm a man of my word so late last night, I watched the U.S. vs. Poland match from Soliders Field in Chicago on Saturday.

As stated before, it ended in a 2-2 tie but I thought I'd share some things I jotted down while I watched what turned out to be a pretty entertaining match in front of a split (half Polish, half U.S.) crowd.

No matter how his career with the U.S. national team ends up, this one will always be remembered for midfielder Jermaine Jones' long-awaited debut for Bob Bradley. He had some highlights: the lovely chip that led to Jozy Altidore's goal and some forgettable moments: failing to clear, leading to the second Polish goal. Shimer and I had a running conversation through text messages while I watched and we agreed that having another guy that plays in the Bundesliga on the team is a good thing. He's used to play at a high, physical level for Schalke and I'm sure he'll play better as he gets more comfortable.

Speaking of Altidore, his goal was great (in the 13th minute) but is it too much to ask to have Jozy shoot at a little higher percentage? In our unofficial count, he had two or three other chances that most above average strikers would bury without problems. Thankfully he's still very young but we do get paranoid about Altidore since Hernandez is tearing it up for Mexico and Manchester United. After a great buildup by Jones, Holdan and Michael Bradley, Altidore smashed one off the crossbar in the 42nd minute then a few moments later, he was free for a header but put it wide.

One of my personal favorites showed up in a big way vs. Poland. Stuart Holden looked great in the midfield, linking up with Altidore and showing the toughness and finesse that he needs with Bolton in the EPL. One of the great unknowns is how much better the US would have been in South Africa with him and or Jones (since both were out with injuries).

Please don't make Maurice Edu a defender. The U.S. defense is still a mess (witness Poland's two laughable goals that were off bad U.S. clearance attempts) but Edu isn't the solution. He's a good midfielder and it's a big adjustment to play in the back. Maurice was burned on a couple plays by Poland, who had serviceable midfielders and forwards but nobody world-class at all.

Oguchi Onyewu continues to be the most frustrating player on the U.S. roster. He has always had the size and power but the big guy still has a brutal touch. His two dual roles of hero and villian were on full blast as his bad header led to the first Poland goal but then he scored in the second half on a great corner by Holden, heading it in. I guess we have to accept him for what he is at this point, Onyewu will never become smoother.

Seeing Bob Bradley on the sidelines for the first time since the U.S. failed to get
Juergen Klinsmann was a disappointing feeling. Sure Bradley improved to 38-21-9 (a fine record) but you have the sense that he's analogous to a lame duck politician. He's good but he won't get you to the next level.

The U.S. had a bunch of chances to score in the last minute as a corner bounced in the box for as long as I can ever remember but nothing came of it. Poland almost put an own goal in but it was saved off the line.

In the end, the 2-2 result was fair since Poland dominated for a stretch in the first half and the U.S. did likewise in the second half before a Polish snipe tied it up.

The U.S. is in Chester, PA tonight to face Colombia in another exhibition. Which reminds me, if you haven't seen the ESPN 30 for 30 about the Colombian soccer team in the 1990s and the defender that was killed, you have to see it. That series for the most part has been terrible but that's the one that they really got right. Powerful stuff.

Gooch might have the worst agent in the world not named Scott Boras

I'm all for honoring contracts and being good to your club (seeing is how my professional career went so far) but AC Milan and American defender Oguchi Onyewu might have taken it a step too far.

Gooch has decided to sign on for another year with AC Milan-taking him through June 2013-but the extra year won't cost the team anything. Is this real life?

Somewhere Jerry Maguire weeps.

Onyewu missed all but one match last season with a knee injury.

In a note announcing the extension, Milan called Onyewu's move "exemplary," adding that he "deserves sincere congratulations."

Onyewu had left knee surgery Oct. 21, seven days after tearing his patellar tendon during a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica.

He joined AC Milan last summer from Belgium's Standard Liege but played in just one competitive match for the Rossoneri, appearing as a 60th-minute substitute against Zurich in the Champions League on Sept. 30.

Does Eddie Johnson have naked pictures of Bob Bradley?

It's only fitting that a day after being named to the 30-man preliminary roster that U.S. striker Eddie Johnson strained his hamstring playing for Aris in a Greek playoff game against AEK Athens on Wednesday.

He will report to U.S. training camp on Monday and not to belabor the point that Shimer and I have made a million times but why does Eddie Johnson get this many chances?

Freddy Adu has become a cautionary tale of rushing a guy that's too young into professional soccer but doesn't he deserve a shot more than Johnson? Adu didn't make the 30-man roster and I guess we have more faith in him than anybody else in the world.

Other than a hot start with the U.S. national team, when he came out of nowhere, Johnson has done absolutely nothing to earn any type of recognition. I will still root for him if he makes the team but come on Bob, get real.

Carlos Bocanegra should be fine for training camp next week and it looks like Oguchi Onyewu will play for AC Milan tomorrow night in their season finale. Gooch hasn't seen the field since injuring his knee in October.

Gooch is back on the pitch

This might have to become a regular feature since there's been so many injured U.S. players lately but on the brightside, many of them seem to be coming back at the right time (Edu, Dempsey, Davies) and you can add defender Oguchi Onyewu to that list of vital players.

That's right, the guy that used to be a complete project but turned into our best defender, he was back on the practice field today for the first time since his knee surgery on October 21.

The AC Milan defender ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee during the Americans' final World Cup qualifying game vs. Costa Rica (Oct. 14). Onyewu plans to train with the U.S. men's national team tomorrow and continue rehabbing in Carson, CA (the U.S's home base) until he can rejoin AC Milan.

Bob Bradley's All-MLS team will travel to Florida on Sunday ahead of Wednesday's meeting with El Salvador. This report also said that Americans on European clubs will return for the Netherlands match, clearing up that question which I brought up yesterday (who would be on that squad?).

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/wires/02/18/2050.ap.soc.us.onyewu.1st.ld.writethru.0324/index.html