Could it have been Onyewu with Malaga? Frankly, I don’t even remember his time there. But, this popped up when I was thinking of him: they were top of group when he was there though perhaps they never played him. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/20570415
Not Hejduk. He played 5 Champions League matches in the 1999-00 season, and another 1 the following season, but all in the group stage. Not Friedel, he only played in the UEFA Cup/Europa League. Not Fabian Johnson. He played 5 games in the 2015-16 season, and 5 more the following season, but all in the group stage. Not Onyewu. He played 3 group stage matches for Malaga in late 2012, plus one group stage match a few years earlier for Milan, but none in the knockouts. I've racked my brain long enough at this point that I'm going to say it's probably Thomas Dooley's 1991-92 European Cup appearances, under a very relaxed definition of "Champions League knockout stage" matches. (Like I said, it could also be Rossi, but that would be a mistake, since there's no criteria I can think of that would include him and wouldn't also include Neven Subotic, unless you limit it to American born players, in which case you'd have to exclude Jermaine Jones and then you're back down to 9.)
Damn, you guys are harsh. Yes, he did get caught out of position once or twice. One led to a good scoring chance. A couple of missed passes. But he made a lot of good passes and didn't look tentative and all. He moved up into the box once, but his teammates covered for him. Really, he was OK. His D was generally good. The whole team looked in synch.
I agree. However I also agree with the rating- he was one of the worst RBL players out there . . . and yet he was still pretty good. RBL had a good day. Spurs did not.
And David Regis too. Boca played (and scored) in qualifying for both Rennes and Rangers I think, but don't think he ever made it close to that deep. Gooch played in the group stages for both Malage and AC Milan. Milan made the knockout stages that year, but Gooch was broken by then. Thought it was Horvath - but his excellent run was all group stage I think? This is fun! Can we pretend it's on topic? (and someone should eventually tweet Carr and see his list, which probably is just wrong )
The relative glut in midfield has to be a factor, they already shipped out Demme, as well as a relatively weaker RWB position has meant an opportunity for minutes comes at a less than ideal position. He does have a great deal of freedom. It's just that some of his instincts for defending and passing are a little off. Playing middle out to spring wingers and backs is a different than trying to cross or pinch in to find passes. He needs to get better connecting passes in traffic. But I think given his recovery and the relatively small number of matches he does need work hard on that, because situational opportunities to move back centrally are going to be much rarer for now. He should enjoy the opportunity to attack freely and work to improve, and also remember to track back, he still lets players get into space behind him, the easiest thing is to play the passing lane and try to win the ball without running too much, but if that doesn't work he needs to hustle back with some urgency. I'm not to worried, chalking it up to rust and the positional switch. RBL move the ball so well on the ground, that he is able to mesh with his teammates is a testament to his talent.
Well thought out post. Much appreciated. My major concern now is that we are quite deep as a team (USMNT) at RB and he looked like a phenom at CDM for RBL for almost half of last season before getting hurt.... Really want him getting time at CDM... but it looks like Laimer and Sabitzer have a current hold on those duel positions. But any starting time in the Bundesliga for him is a net positive so I am just hoping he stays healthy and on the pitch... that is while the Bundesliga stays open.
Exactly, filling in (and hopefully doing well at) the RWB position can be good for him. Of course, if everything is grinding to a halt, how is that going to affect his recovery? It could actually be good, but who knows.
I know it is slow around here, but I was surprised no one is talking about this hour long interview Herculez Gomez posted with Tyler:
Does it bother anyone else how many idioms Tyler uses wrong or just says wrong? Every interview with this guy I walk away thinking that. Lol. It’s like when Pulisic used to do that thing where everyone he answered a question he would shake his head all over the place. I do really love his attitude, though.
I joined a few other reporters in speaking with USMNT's Tyler Adams about small-group training at RB Leipzig and the possible Bundesliga restart. Here's what he had to say: https://t.co/KHidfky7Hs— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) April 18, 2020
Exclusive @Transfermarkt interview by @ManuelVethTyler Adams: "I wanted to prove that an American kid can be successful in Europe"#USMNT #RBLeipzig #Bundesliga https://t.co/kNGJ5FCzbA— Daniel Busch (@dan_bu) April 24, 2020
He's proving that a MLS transfer can be successful in Europe. Yedlin had sort of proved that before, kinda, but Adams is proving it better.
I don't think the question is "can be successful" as there have been numerous MLS players who have moved up the ladder but rather "is highly likely to be successful" and I think MLS has a ways to go before they earn the trust of elite teams that other developmental leagues (and really individual teams) have earned. Adams and Davies are good examples but I think what intrigued their buying team is their raw potential and off-the-chart athleticism. I'd also point out that they were sold as teens, which i believe is very important. I'd argue that Almiron wasn't helpful for MLS - certainly not at the price he went for. Let's see where the next wave of MLS players (Pomykal, Cannon and Long) go to and at what price. Who knows what will happen after Covid19....
I mean recently. And American. How many recent Yank field players have we had move from MLS to a Top Five™ Euro league and do well there? Yedlin is almost stretching it.