All About Yanks Abroad Catchall Thread

Came across this Soccer America piece on Gus Kartes from 2001:
https://digital.la84.org/iiif/2/p17103coll2:19737/full/730,/0/default.jpg

It had a whole bunch of striking sentiments in it, including these two bits:

Overall, it's a potent reminder that what players go through is truly a human experience and how there's a lot of nuance inside and outside of the sport. Of course like with everyone and the unique experiences in their lives, it brings lots of opportunities to learn, too!

On another side of things, it also reminds me of when Erik Palmer-Brown was talking about his time at Porto (starting around 24:00 in the interview), and he was saying that he would basically just go to practice and then be by himself in his hotel room as a foreign teenager while seeing social media posts of his friends at college. He did say how these were valuable experiences for him, though again, it shows how these are life experiences at very many levels.

Anyway, I thought to share!

 

And needless to say, there's so, so many positive and beautiful stories we hear too! Just felt that was an interesting bit of color and a reminder of how these are people going through experiences beyond the sport as well - particularly in a world where we hear some takes flying around that may or may not capture the full picture of a given situation.

 

Just compiling some resources on getting official match reports for youth matches in various countries:

Spain (U19 / "Division de Honor Juvenil)
1. Go to https://resultados.rfef.es/pnfg/
2. In the dropdown menu on the left side, go to "Division de Honor Juvenil"
3. Use the other dropdown menu to find the intended team/match in one of the different groups
4. Bonus - if clicking on a player profile, it'll also give stats which seem to be updated at least semi-regularly

Example: Nathaniel (Junjyeong) Kim on Rayo Vallecano U19s
https://resultados.rfef.es/pnfg/NPcd/NFG_CmpPartido?cod_primaria=1000120&CodActa=69489777

Alternative for unofficial reports: Search for the team/player on https://www.lapreferente.com/
- Example: https://www.lapreferente.com/J486403C17419/rayo-vallecano/kim.html

Portugal (U19 / potentially U17 & U15)
1. Go to https://resultados.fpf.pt/
2. In the dropdown menu on the left side, go to "Junior A" (U19) or the others for younger squads
3. Find match

Example: Luis Medina on Belenenses U19s
https://resultados.fpf.pt/Match/GetMatchInformation?matchId=2098106

Alternative for unofficial reports (but might source from the official site): Search for the team/player on https://www.playmakerstats.com
- Example: https://www.playmakerstats.com/player/luis-medina/1383588

Germany (U19/U17 Bundesliga)
1. Go to https://www.dfb.de/en/data-center/clubs
2. Find the club you're looking for and click it
3. Scroll down to "Other Teams" and click on appropriate squad
4. Find roster and match info on the team page

Example: Alexander Staff on Eintracht Frankfurt U17s
https://datencenter.dfb.de/en/compe...rize_title=Eintracht+Frankfurt&historize_url=

Alternative for unofficial reports: Search for the team/player on Transfermarkt or Fbref (these might source from dfb.de)
- Example 1: https://www.transfermarkt.com/alexander-staff/leistungsdaten/spieler/1045243
- Example 2: https://fbref.com/en/players/3d52e0ff/Alexander-Staff

Bonus: On the dfb site, a player's profile also can show official nationality (h/t DMN)

For other levels of the German system, such as U16 and U19 Regionalliga, fussball.de has some match reports but it's not always the most straghtforward to navigate or search. Though when tracking it down for a specific player/squad, it can be useful.
- Example 1: Andre Gitau in a Wormatia Worms U19 match report:
https://www.fussball.de/spiel/ludwi...s/-/spiel/02M65SD1O8000000VS5489B4VSAUO6GA#!/
- Example 2: Jack Mize in Borussia Dortmund U16 match reports (h/t usmntyouthEU):
https://www.fussball.de/spiel/borus...r/-/spiel/02MDARNTV4000000VS5489B3VS8P6BMU#!/

Croatia (U19 and possibly younger)
1. Go to https://hns.family/arhiva/
2. Search for the player's name, ex "Andrei Jahić" https://hns.family/arhiva/?q=Andrei Jahić
- Note: The search seems to be sensitive of accents
3. See their stats/birthplace on the profile or click on "Utakmice" for match reports by date - can click on the score to go to that report

Example: Andrei Jahić
https://semafor.hns.family/igraci/1187890/andrei-jahic/

Can also do a Google site search for the player - ex: site:https://semafor.hns.family "Andrei Jahic"

Mexico
The LigaMX site has a lot of profiles for players - the easiest way might be to do a Google search for the player to find the player page where it'll have all their official matches played by squad.

For whatever reason, it may take a page refresh or different browser for the player profile to show up.
-Example: https://ligamx.net/cancha/jugador/162610/anthony-garcia-espinoza

Other sites to get stats/reports - may or may not be official

England (U18 Premier League)
Forza Football has U18 Premier League stats / match reports - https://forzafootball.com/tournament/u18-premier-league-1210053106/teams
- Ex: Keyrol Figueroa - https://forzafootball.com/match/liverpool-fc-academy-blackburn-rovers-fc-academy-1216492255

Italy
There might be a way to find official stats on the FIGC site but not sure:
https://www.figc.it/it/giovani/competizioni/under-17-serie-a-e-b/

Transfermarkt and BeSoccer tend to have at least some U17 and up
- Ex: Isaac Brown-Samper - https://www.transfermarkt.com/isaac-brown-samper/leistungsdaten/spieler/1168038 / https://www.besoccer.com/player/matches/isaac-brown-3459421

France
Tmarkt and BeSoccer for at least some U19s
- Ex: Adam Delplace - https://www.transfermarkt.us/adam-delplace/leistungsdaten/spieler/1177163 / https://www.besoccer.com/player/matches/a-delplace-3215323

Netherlands
Transfermarkt has at least some U17 and up
- Ex: Austyn Jones - https://www.transfermarkt.us/austyn-jones/leistungsdaten/spieler/1135624/plus/0?saison=2023

Czech Republic
Transfermarkt has at least U19 and Voetbal has some U17 too:
- Ex: Robert James Fritz - https://www.transfermarkt.us/robert-james-fritz/leistungsdaten/spieler/1167428 / https://www.voetbal.com/speler_profiel/robert-fritz/

Obviously there's more sites/methods floating around out there and of course these sites can be used for spotting potential eligibility too - again, noting these in case it's of help/interest to anyone else!

 

2024 shaping up to be a good year:

11 - Brenden Aaronson is the 11th different American to score a goal in the top 5 European Leagues this season, equaling the most in a season this century (also 11 in 2021-22, 2020-21 and 2018-19). Wings. pic.twitter.com/J6swJPnxiC

— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) February 17, 2024

 

Noticed Transfermarkt sometimes has player listings that don't appear in their advanced player search but do appear at this link:
https://www.transfermarkt.com/land-statistik/legionaere/statistik/stat/?land_id=184

Though, there are other players who don't appear there who might come up in the advanced player search:
https://www.transfermarkt.com/detailsuche/spielerdetail/suche

Might be because they are still newer listings, has to do with multiple nationalities, a particular search parameter, or another reason - not sure.

So, both can be worth checking - of course, along with any other ways that might exist.

Noting in case it's of help to anyone browsing on there!

 

I'm sure many searches have been done with the Liga MX site for a long time, and there very well might be a better Google search query than this one, but here's one that I came to after testing a bit:

YMMV, but for me I found it was helping to put "Mexicano" in quotes to isolate the Mexican-American players (the site logs Mexican-American players as Mexicano). Because without that, it was also pulling up players with other nationalities that the database had from tournaments and such - i.e., not Mexican-Americans with Liga MX clubs, which was making it a bit more to look through.

Then of course there's the "Estados Unidos" to isolate those with birthplaces in the US.

Lastly after working on it a bit, I added the age part at the end to try and isolate by age to make the results a bit more precise. And just starting at "14 Años" and working up from there.

Again there might very well be a better way, but that's what I came to after working on it for a bit. Came up with a number of results with not all too much to sift though, and posted a number of them tonight, still a chunk more out there of course.

As a note, sometimes the Liga MX website doesn't load the profile page right away and just goes to the homepage - what works for me is to refresh the page and the player profile pops up, but YMMV with that depending on browser etc.

So, just sharing that!

 

The time everybody has been waiting for.... the Yanks Abroad Relegation Battles, 2024 edition!

Already Relegated:
#1 Joe Gyau (Degerfors, Allsvenskan)

EPL:
Matt Turner (Nottingham, 17/20. Risk: Moderate)
Giovanni Reyna "
Auston Trusty (Sheffield, 20/20. Risk: High)

La Liga:
Luca de la Torre (Celta, 17/20. Risk: Moderate)

Bundesliga:
Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin, 13/18. Risk: Low)
Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg, 14/18. Risk: Low)

Ligue 1:
Emmanuel Sabbi (Le Havre, 14/18. Risk: Low)

Eredivisie:
Paxton Aaronson (Vitesse, 18/18. Risk: High)
Zach Booth (Volendam, 17/18. Risk: High)

Primeira:
Alex Méndez (Vizela, 17/18. Risk: High)

Jupiler:
Gabriel Slonina (Eupen, 14/16. Risk: )

Superligaen:
Jonathan Amon (Lyngby, 10/12. Risk: Moderate)

Scottish Premier:
Dante Polvara (Aberdeen, 9/12. Risk: Low)

Swiss League:
Lucas Pos (Lausanne Ouchy, 12/12. Risk: High)

Greek Super League:
Joseph Efford (Giannina, 14/14. Risk: High)

Championship:
Lynden Gooch (Stoke, 20/24. Risk: Low)

La Liga 2
Jonathan Gómez (Mirandés, 17/22. Risk: Moderate)

Serie B
Andrija Novakovich (Lecco, 20/20. Risk: High)

2.Bundesliga
Johan Gómez (Braunschweig, 16/18. Risk: Moderate)

Eerste Divisie:
Rickson Van Hees (Jong Utrecht, 20/20. Risk: Low)

* Promotion/relegation between Eerste and Tweede divisions (2nd/3rd tier) in the Netherlands is to be clarified in an upcoming meeting. It's likely only Tweede division teams that are reserve for big clubs will be allowed to promote if they end top of the league, and only if the number of reserve clubs in the Eerste does not exceed the maximum of four. The two reserve clubs allowed in the Tweede are #6 and #7 right now.

EFL League One:
Alex Mighten (Port Vale, 21/24. Risk: Moderate)

Serie C
Jack De Vries (Vis Pesaro, 18/20 Gruppo B. Risk: Low)

3.Liga
Santiago Castañeda (Duisburg, 18/20. Risk: High)
Mael Corboz (Arminia, 16/20. Risk: Low)
Terrence Boyd (Mannheim, 15/20. Risk: Low)

Championnat National:
Kobi Henry (Villefranche, 13/18. Risk Moderate)


Projection: 9 relegated. An improvement over the 12 and 13 from past seasons.

 

For some reason this didn't work:

Jupiler:
Gabriel Slonina (Eupen, 14/16. Risk: High)

Last right now in the 4-club relegation group. Top one is safe, #2 goes to a relegation "play out" and bottom 2 auto-relegated.

 

Vitesse punished with an 18 point reduction over violation of licensing regulations in obtaining foreign financing (Abramovich money).

They are officially relegated, and Paxton goes down with them.

Already Relegated:
#1 Joe Gyau (Degerfors, Allsvenskan)
#2 Paxton Aaronson (Vitesse, Eredivisie).

 

We need some clever folks to come up with a "YA co-efficient" to rank seasons. Some combo of YA minutes played per team in each league, league coefficient, team position in table, with bonus pts for Cup and Europe success and probably some other cool stuff.

Someone get on it and get us some numbers for the past 20 years or so.

Thanks.

 

A bit of an update. We all know Trusty and Sheffield got relegated, but few realized on the 20th Efford got relegated after losing to Panserraikos, and a day before Port Vale got relegated after losing to Bolton. Also, Nova got relegated on Friday. The table at this point:

Already Relegated:
#1 Joe Gyau (Degerfors, Allsvenskan)
#2 Paxton Aaronson (Vitesse, Eredivisie)
#3 Alex Mighten (Port Vale, EFL League One)
#4 Joseph Efford (Giannina, Greek SL)
#5 Auston Trusty (Sheffield United, EPL)
#6 Andrija Novakovich (Lecco, Serie B)


EPL:
Matt Turner (Nottingham, 17/20. Risk: Moderate)
Giovanni Reyna "

With 3 games left and above hapless Luton by a point and 9 goals, I consider NF safe but the math says they're still at a moderate/high risk of relegation.

La Liga:
Luca de la Torre (Celta, 17/20. Risk: Moderate)

Five games to go, five points above relegation. They should be safe.

Bundesliga:
Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin, 14/18. Risk: Moderate)

3 games to go, 2 points above the line, but a dismal GD puts them at some risk. Wolfsburg is virtually safe.

Ligue 1:
Emmanuel Sabbi (Le Havre, 15/18. Risk: Moderate)

They have not won a game since early March and Metz may catch them. Of all the moderates, Sabbi is the one most at risk considering form of his club.

Eredivisie:
Zach Booth (Volendam, 17/18. Risk: High)

3 games left, 8 points behind safety, and a dismal GD. They're virtually relegated.

Primeira:
Alex Méndez (Vizela, 18/18. Risk: High)

3 games left, six points away from safety, another club virtually relegated.

Jupiler:
Gabriel Slonina (Eupen, 16/16. Risk: High)

Dead last in the relegation group, they need to win the last two games & hope Charleroi beats RWDM away, and Kortrijk also lose their last game. And that only to make it to the relegation playout. Goners.

Superligaen:
Jonathan Amon (Lyngby, 10/12. Risk: Moderate)

Five games to go, 2 points above the line, but terrible GD. Their game away at Vejle on the 15th is the one that decides it.

After their win vs. Motherwell, Dante Polvara & Aberdeen are safe.

Swiss League:
Lucas Pos (Lausanne Ouchy, 12/12. Risk: High)

Seven points behind the play-out position with five games to go, their form is terrible and they have the worst GD by far in the league (-33). Goners.

Gooch and Stoke are safe.

La Liga 2
Jonathan Gómez (Mirandés, 15/22. Risk: Low)

They won two in a row but still only 3 pts. above the drop line.

2.Bundesliga
Johan Gómez (Braunschweig, 14/18. Risk: Moderate)

They beat Osnabrück and are 2 points above the line, with 3 games to go.

Van Hees and Young Utrecht are safe, as per the Baroque Dutch regulations. No Tweede Divisie reserve team is finishing top two.

Serie C
Jack De Vries (Vis Pesaro, 17/20 Gruppo B. Risk: Moderate)

They play a home-and-away against Recanatese with the loser getting relegated. On paper, they should win. But that's on paper.

3.Liga
Santiago Castañeda (Duisburg, 18/20. Risk: High)
Mael Corboz (Arminia, 15/20. Risk: Low)
Terrence Boyd (Mannheim, 16/20. Risk: Moderate)

3 games to go, situation about the same as before except that Boyd's team lost at home to Essen.

Championnat National:
Kobi Henry (Villefranche, 13/18. Risk High)

Nîmes win over leader Red Star complicated their position. They depend on Châteauroux continuing its free fall.

Adjusted Projection: 11 relegated players. A slight improvement on 22/23 (13) and 21/22 (12).

 

After losing 1-0 to Moreirense...

#7 Alex Mendez (Vizela, Primeira Liga)

 

Volendam got hammered by Ajax at home, and 10-man Eupen lost their final prayer:

#8 Zach Booth (Volendam, Eredivisie)
#9 Gabriel Slonina (Eupen, Jupiler)

 

Mannheim drew Ingolstadt away yesterday, which relegates Duisburg:

#10 Santiago Castañeda (Duisburg, 3.Liga)

 

They were sanctioned back in February but their final appeal was rejected on Monday, I think.

https://desporto.sapo.pt/futebol/se...-perda-de-um-ponto-por-incumprimento-salarial

That means both Courtney Reum and Jude Burst were relegated. However, Reum is not a professional soccer player: he's a 45 year old American entrepreneur, brother in law of Paris Hilton, who paid to play for the club as a gimmick:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtney_Reum

I cannot in good faith count him as a Yank Abroad proper.

Jude Burst transferred from Trofense (3rd division) at the end of January. Trofense is safe. He's only played in the last couple of games for Vilaverde, a grand total of 9 minutes. Nevertheless, he does qualify: the conditions are that they are a professional player, eligible for the USA, and if dual (he is not) that he's declared an intention to pick the USA; and that he must have played at least one league minute. Hence:

#11 Jude Burst (Vilaverdense, Liga Portugal 2)

 

This might've been discussed somewhere - noting there will be changes to the German youth system starting next season.

An article earlier this year from Bayer Leverkusen's site:
https://www.bayer04.de/en-us/news/jugend/from-202425-dfb-youth-leagues-to-replace-youth-bundesligas

From the article:

From 2024/25: DFB Youth Leagues to replace youth Bundesligas
A reform of the most important youth competitions in German football has been introduced. From the 2024/25 season, the U19 and U17 DFB Youth Leagues will replace the previous U19 and U17 Bundesliga competitions. The aim of the German Football Association (DFB) is "an improved promotion of youth players through to greater creativity, enjoyment of the game and performance levels." Read on for further information on the new youth competition the Bayer 04 U19 and U17 teams will be involved in from next summer.

"The new competition structure makes it possible to have games at the highest level between teams from all over Germany," said Jefta Bresser in explaining the benefits. The new head of the Performance Centre also sees the opportunity of “avoiding defeats being put on the backburner through the abolition of relegation. The development of youth players can benefit from that."

Season divided into two phases
Bundesliga and other league clubs will compete from the start in the U19 and U17 DFB Youth Leagues. All clubs with an academy, like Bayer 04, will qualify for the DFB Youth Leagues. These are divided into two phases:

Vorrunde

A preliminary round will be staged in the first half of the season in regional groups that will include a maximum of eight teams in each group. Teams play each other home and away. The top two teams in each group plus the best third-placed sides qualify for League A in the ensuing main round (Hauptrunde) with the other teams playing in League B.

Hauptrunde

The 24 clubs in League A will be divided up into four groups of six teams with no regional restriction enabling games against teams from across Germany. After ten matches the four best teams in each group will progress to the Round of 16 in the German Championship. That will be followed by knockout rounds to determine the champions of Germany.

The clubs who fail to qualify for League A will play the second half of the season in League B. They will be joined by the eleven best teams from the second tier below the DFB Youth Leagues. League B will have a maximum of eight teams in each group.

Seven substitutions possible
To give the opportunity of more game time, each team in the DFB Youth Leagues can make seven substitutions per game (six outfield players plus the goalkeeper). That means all 18 players in a matchday squad can get more minutes on the pitch. There are three windows for substitutions during matches plus half-time.

Several rules and provisions on staging the highest tier of youth competition at the U19 and U17 levels have been adapted with Bayer 04 already meeting those requirements.

From 2025/26: changes in DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal at the U19 level will be increased to 64 teams in the 2025/26 season – in parallel to the senior cup competition. The U19 winners of the cup competitions in the 21 state associations of the DFB and the holders will be joined by all 24 teams in League A in the Hauptrunde of the DFB Youth League plus the 18 best teams from League B. The matches in this competition will be knockout games without a second leg.

 

Hi, I've not posted on this thread before but I am an English blogger/writer at www.the1888letter.com - I wrote about North American (but mainly US) players in the Football League, focussing on 1978-92 before the Premier League. Obviously there weren't many of them in those days! I added an appendix with their stats while in England. If interested, the two features are here:

https://the1888letter.com/north-america-foreign-players-in-the-football-league/
https://the1888letter.com/north-american-players-in-the-football-league-1978-92-appendix/

All the best,
Paul.

 

Already Relegated:
#1 Joe Gyau (Degerfors, Allsvenskan)
#2 Paxton Aaronson (Vitesse, Eredivisie)
#3 Alex Mighten (Port Vale, EFL League One)
#4 Joseph Efford (Giannina, Greek SL)
#5 Auston Trusty (Sheffield United, EPL)
#6 Andrija Novakovich (Lecco, Serie B)
#7 Alex Mendez (Vizela, Primeira Liga)
#8 Zach Booth (Volendam, Eredivisie)
#9 Gabriel Slonina (Eupen, Jupiler)
#10 Santiago Castañeda (Duisburg, 3.Liga)
#11 Jude Burst (Vilaverdense, Liga Portugal 2)

EPL:
Matt Turner (Nottingham, 17/20. Risk: Low)
Giovanni Reyna "

2 games left. NF 29/-18, Luton 26/-29. NF has vs. Chelsea and @ Burnley left, likely no points. Luton has @ West Ham and vs. Fulham. Because of GD, Luton needs to win one and draw another at least, which is unlikely.

La Liga:
Luca de la Torre (Celta, 15/20. Risk: Low)

Four games to go, eight points above relegation. Practically safe.

Bundesliga:
Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin, 15/18. Risk: Moderate)

2 games to go, 1 point above the line. Bad GD. Mainz has vs. Dortmund and @ Wolfsburg. Union has @ Koln and vs. Freiburg. Koln must win to have any chance, and a win is very likely to save Union --counting on Dortmund beating Mainz. So the game tomorrow is decisive.

Ligue 1:
Emmanuel Sabbi (Le Havre, 15/18. Risk: Low)

3 points above the line and a good GD. Two games to go. Their situation is similar to Forest's and I think it's likely they save themselves.

Superligaen:
Jonathan Amon (Lyngby, 9/12. Risk: Moderate)

4 games to go, 3 pts. above the line, decent GD. They're very close to being safe.

Swiss League:
Lucas Pos (Lausanne Ouchy, 12/12. Risk: High)

They lost 3-1 to ten-man Yverdon. Just a matter of time, they're going down.

La Liga 2
Jonathan Gómez (Mirandés, 16/22. Risk: Moderate)

Loss at home to Valladolid complicated their position a bit. Still 3 above, but good GD.

2.Bundesliga
Johan Gómez (Braunschweig, 15/18. Risk: Moderate)

3 points above, 3 games to go, equal GD. It's a close shave.

Serie C
Jack De Vries (Vis Pesaro, 17/20 Gruppo B. Risk: Moderate)

They play a home-and-away against Recanatese with the loser getting relegated. On paper, they should win. But that's on paper. First leg this Sunday, second next.

3.Liga
Mael Corboz (Arminia, 15/20. Risk: Low)
Terrence Boyd (Mannheim, 16/20. Risk: Moderate)

2 games to go. Boyd is 2 above with a good GD. It's going to be close, but I think they'll save themselves with a win over Sandhausen (who play for nothing) tomorrow.

Championnat National:
Kobi Henry (Villefranche, 13/18. Risk High)

@ games left, @ Epinal (virtually relegated) and vs. Nancy (slight hope of promotion, they must win vs. Châteauroux to keep the hope alive first). They might save themselves yet, but it's unlikely.

Adjusted Projection: 13 relegated players.


In context:
21/22 -- 12 relegated out of 81 active
22/23 -- 13 relegated out of 97 active
23/24 -- ? relegated out of 114 active

* Semi-pro and amateur leagues not considered. Also, duals who have not expressed any wish to play for the USA excluded. Also, leagues far too deep for me to keep tabs (Finnish, Hungarian and Israel leagues below the second division, where we have players) not counted.

Active player = any player who has played at least 1 league minute. Players only playing in cups, U23, second teams, not counted.

Thanks to the Yanks Abroad List for proving the basis of this work.

 

Châteauroux beat Nancy away, and even though Villefranche also won, they were officially relegated.

#12 Kobi Henry (Villefranche, National)

 

As expected, Lausanne-Ouchy has been relegated.

#13 Lucas Pos (Lausanne Ouchy, Swiss Super League)