Sacha Kljestan at Anderlecht [R]

Discussion in 'Yanks Abroad' started by prowazekii, Jun 3, 2010.

  1. Gorky

    Gorky Member+

    Jul 28, 2006
    NYC
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Yeah, I still feel a bit of entrenched Liege fan-ness. Can't quite get behind Anderlecht yet.
     
  2. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Prior to the united Euro zone, Anderlecht was a huge club.

    It was a legitimate European power, winning several European Cup competition during that era.

    During the 1978 WC, Anderlecht had both Rene Rensenbrink and Arie Haan of the final contender Dutch team on its roster.

    BTW, I doubt it's $3.5M. MLS was asking for that amount two years ago when Sacha was a hot commodity following the Olympics. His contract is expiring this season. It shoud be glad it got something.
     
  3. SoccerKowboy

    SoccerKowboy BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 13, 2007
    Virginia, USA
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Wow you guys scored alot of goals on alot of pretty good teams... impressive.
     
  4. SoccerKowboy

    SoccerKowboy BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 13, 2007
    Virginia, USA
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    I believe you mean Jupiler.
     
  5. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Lukaka is the next big thing ...
     
  6. Kool Herc

    Kool Herc Member

    Oct 17, 2008
    Dallas
    Club:
    Leeds United AFC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    [​IMG]
     
  7. prowazekii

    prowazekii Member

    Jun 21, 2008
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    The 3.5 million I mentioned was in response to a quote posted by McGarnagle about Kljestan being too expensive after the Olympics when Anderlecht were originally interested. Thus you have confirmed my vague recollection. Thanks. :D
     
  8. prowazekii

    prowazekii Member

    Jun 21, 2008
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Edited to remove a mysteriously duplicated post.
     
  9. jreadusaf

    jreadusaf Member

    Jun 18, 2009
    Tübingen, Germany
    Club:
    Fulham FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Kljestan has a very simple game with good vision and a good touch. There is nothing fancy about the way he plays, but he can be effective for possession if he plays to his ability. I don't, however, see him as thriving for Anderlecht and I'm not really a fan of his, but I do wish him all the best.
     
  10. Cade

    Cade Member

    Jul 7, 2008
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    happy for Sacha! he's taken a lot of heat here but I think only cause we know what he's capable of and we're deepest at his position. I think this move will go well for him to be in a more professional environment & surrounded by equal/better players.
     
  11. Bolo

    Bolo New Member

    Jan 16, 2007
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    If your getting Sacha, I believe you will be happy once he gets settled. Sacha's going to arrive with a chip on his shoulder and a desire to prove his worth. He has wanted to move to Europe for quite awhile now and motivation wont' be an issue.

    Sacha is skilled and creative and has the athleticism to execute his ideas. I'm excited for both Sacha and Anderlecht.


    I focused on the positives because I'm confident others will point out the opportunities.
     
  12. schrutebuck

    schrutebuck Member+

    Jul 26, 2007
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Good luck to Sacha. He definitely has the quality to force his way into the national team picture if he's successful.
     
  13. Rainer24

    Rainer24 Member

    Jan 6, 2008
    Nashville, TN
    Club:
    VfB Stuttgart
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    I like Kljestan quite a bit. His dip after the Celtic thing has been noted, but he finally seems to be on the upswing again. He has good size, good touch, a heavy shot, and can make a really nice pass on occasion, but he needs to be a bit more selective on when to attempt that killer pass. Anderlecht is a good club. It's a strong team, but not so huge that he won't have a chance to get in the team there. Nice move.

    Another thing for Anderlecht fans to like about Sacha is his girlfriend, who is a lingerie model
     
  14. Susaeta

    Susaeta BigSoccer Supporter

    Apr 3, 2009
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Sacha has long needed an environment that forces him to focus and train hard daily.

    He is underrated by US fans because he has shown the skill to pull off the spectacular but is just as likely to make a mess of a simple play. With the intense training he will get at a club like Anderlecht, combined with a fresh start, Sacha will be forced to clean up the simple mental errors he makes, or he will never see the playing field.

    In Sacha, Anderlecht gets a player with a great natural first touch, a player who is one of the fittest players on an extremely fit US team. When focused, he is actually a fairly strong defender. One of his best and most underrated performances for the US is when he started in central midfield as the US dominated Mexico to win 2-0 in qualification. He is a good off-the-ball runner and looks to play smart combinations off teammates. He keeps his head up and sees the field.

    With Sacha, it all comes down to execution. Put into an environment where he is forced to execute regularly, he could potentially be a great asset to Anderlecht and the US Team. Best of luck to him.
     
  15. KALM

    KALM Member+

    Oct 6, 2006
    Boston/Providence
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Kind of off topic, but I was just looking at the Jupiler League standings from last season to see how Anderlecht fared (1st place and 12 points ahead of 2nd place Club Brugge), and I was surprised to find that prior season's champions Standard Liege finished 8th out of 16 teams this past season.

    I'm guessing it wasn't simply Onyewu's loss that caused the drop - they appear to have lost their keeper as well, and it looks like Steven Defour was injured for 3 months - but his leaving must have had some significant impact.
     
  16. Tim1977

    Tim1977 New Member

    Jun 3, 2010
    Club:
    RSC Anderlecht
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    It will be extremelly hard to keep him 1 or 2 more years in the club.

    Lukaku finished best scorer of the championship at the end of his first season, confirmed his quality in Europa League against clubs like Ajax Amsterdam (2nd in The Netherlands), Bilbao (8th in Spanish Liga...they won against Real Madrid and did a draw against Barça, this year) or Hamburg (2nd budget of German League).

    The scouting of the top 15 european clubs was at our matches, this year, to see him.

    We have a good generation of players right now in the belgian national team: Lukaku, Legear (Anderlecht), Vermaelen (Arsenal), Fellaini (Everton), Kompany (Manchester City), Van Buyten (Bayern Munich), Verthonghen (Ajax Amsterdam), Defour (Standard), Witsel (Standard), Eden Hazard (LOSC in France but scouted by Barça & Real Madrid).

    They're just too young yet and need to be more experienced.
     
  17. Tim1977

    Tim1977 New Member

    Jun 3, 2010
    Club:
    RSC Anderlecht
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    This is much more complicated than that.

    In Belgium, Anderlecht is THE team (we won 30 titles, Bruges is 2nd with 13 titles and Standard have 10 titles). Some kind of Bayern Munich in Germany but at our level.

    After 25 years without winning anything, Standard finally won a title and then a second one after beating us in 2 extra-matches to name the champions (we got the same number of points and the same number of victories at the end of the classical season). Some kind of "war" between the 2 clubs was declared at that moment.

    Standard started to think they were "the best team on earth" and played their belgian matches as it was "too easy" for them (and of course, with that kind of mentality, they got beaten or did a draw in most of them). You have to add to this that they never replaced 2-3 of their main players left for bigger competitions (Dante in Gladbach, Fellaini in Everton & Onyewu in Milan AC) and that Defour, their captain, was injured most of the time from september til the end of the season. Their stars (especially their 2 strikers) thought only about playing European cup to sell themselves to bigger clubs at the end of the season. They finished 8th with no european competition for next year and most of their stars are leaving.

    In our side, the last title was considered as an insult (Anderlecht is known for winning every 2 years +/-...finishing 2nd for 2 seasons is a disaster for us) and we had to clean up our ego. Add to this the fact that, in the first match against Standard in last august, the players of Standard injured 2 of our players very badly (check out Wasil/Witsel on youtube) and we were angry as hell and wanted to prove to all here that we are the one and only best club in belgium. So, we did an almost perfect season and finished with 19 points before the 2nd & 3rd...and 30 points from Standard. One of our best season in the last 10 years.
     
  18. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    He will become your next Par Zetterberg.
     
  19. Lombard

    Lombard Member

    Jul 6, 2007
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    I've always admired Kljestan. This is a complicated and unforgiving game. A team of Xavis, Messis, Iniestas and Ibrahimovics scores two, three times a game -- nearly all the maneuvers of even these masters end in failure. Kljestan is many levels removed from their skill. But he has a quality that I admire -- against the difficulty of the sport, and for all his limitations, he has the ambition, the imagination and the talent to try. For years we've complained that we don't produce any creative players, with ambition and imagination and an eye for a pass that can spring open a defense. Well, Kljestan's one. And his ambition and imagination are enough to give me a few moments of enjoyment, and pleasure, every year. It's not good enough for Barcelona, and its not even good enough for the Nats this cycle. But its good enough for Anderlecht, and I think that's great. I wish there were more creative American players to follow. But I'm grateful for those who we do have.
     
  20. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Sacha was much better over the second half of the 09 MLS season than people give him credit for.

    They saw his dip in form for both the USMNT and Chivas following his failed move to Celtic, and then they stopped paying attention to him.

    Will Sacha ever be Xavi? Of course not. But he's more than capable of being quite successful at Anderlecht.

    With the elimination of foreign player rules in Belgium, I'm surprised that more American players don't make their way over there. Maybe other than the top clubs (Anderlecht, Standard, etc.), the rest of the league wouldn't offer wages much different than MLS. We've seen how great the league was for Onyewu..............

    I have full confidence that if Sacha makes this move, Anderlecht fans will be quite happy with him.
     
  21. Cudi

    Cudi New Member

    Jun 4, 2010
    Belgium
    Club:
    RSC Anderlecht
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    You know he's just been voted 'best Anderlecht player of the last decade' right? :D But he's the same type of player you mean?
     
  22. SeaOtter

    SeaOtter Member

    Nov 7, 2006
    Atlanta, GA
    Club:
    Fulham FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Really glad to see the Anderlecht fans showing up here to talk about Sasha. Welcome! I hope we continue to see you from time to time to give updates and analysis if this transfer goes through.
     
  23. SoccerKowboy

    SoccerKowboy BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 13, 2007
    Virginia, USA
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    We seem to have good luck with fans of teams that start with an "A."
     
  24. Fuel86

    Fuel86 New Member

    Jun 3, 2010
    Gent
    Club:
    RSC Anderlecht
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    it's been +- 24hours since the announcement in the US media...
    but we still do not have an official report from our club, or even speculations from European media...

    i still find i hard to believe that he'll join Anderlecht.
    There's no reason to assume he signed a contract.

    -no transfer rumours
    -our manager was busy in spain with 2 other players
    -the media say our manager had 8 hours during talks with another players manager... When would he have signed Kljestan?

    I need to see some actual proof before i believe the transfer is done...
     
  25. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Sacha Kljestan to Anderlecht

    Anderlecht fans, here is what I think will determine whether or not Kljestan works out there.

    Oftentimes, American players who transfer to Europe express dismay that the manager doesn't "coach" them. The Yanks want to know what they need to do better to get in the lineup, and the manager doesn't really communicate that. Obviously the prevailing style varies from country to country, and adherence to that style varies from individual to individual. But that's a common concern from Yanks Abroad. The American style of coaching is more "hands on" than is the norm in Europe.

    Sacha needs to be coached up. He needs a coach to tell him when the risks he takes are smart risks, and when they aren't, and get Sacha to make better decisions with the ball. If your manager does that with him, and doesn't bury him on the bench if he makes a mistake, I think Sacha will improve a great deal and be a very fine player for you guys. If your manager is a "hands off" kind of guy who expects his players to figure it out on their own, Sacha's mistakes will eat up his playing time and he'll be a bust.

    My 2 cents.

    One last thought...US fans, do you see Kljestan as a sort of poor man's Clint Dempsey, if we're talking about Clint when he left to go to Fulham?
     

Share This Page