HexagonalBlog

Three Americans are champions in Europe

Oguchi Onyewu won his second Belgian League title when his Standard Liege side defeated Anderlecht 1-0 in the second leg of the championship playoff.  Onyewu also cost his side the championship when he conceded a penalty in the final minute of the final game, but this time it was time for another CONCACAF player to be the goat.  Honduras' Víctor Bernárdez committed the penalty that Axel Witsel converted just before halftime. 

It was the second league championship for an American player today.  Rangers FC, where DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu play, won their 52nd Scottish league title after defeating Dundee United 3-0 today. 

I need to compile a list of the CONCACAF players who played on title-winning sides throughout Europe.  I hope to have that list in a few days or weeks.

Gooch almost the goat, Ruíz almost the hero

In the final round of the Belgian league, Anderlecht (of Honduras' Víctor Bernárdez) and Oguchi Onyewu's Standard Liege were even on points (74) and victories (23), which is the only tiebreaker.  Anderlecht traveled to Genk, while Standard had to travel to Gent.  Anderlecht were winning their match rather comfortably, but Standard suffered throughout their match and only took the lead through a penalty right at halftime.  Right at the stroke of fulltime, Onyewu committed a foul in the penalty area and up stepped Costa Rican international Bryan Ruíz to take the penalty, which would have sent the title to Anderlecht.  However, Standard 'keeper Sinan Bolat made the save to preserve the win.

As a result, Anderlecht and Standard will playoff for the title over two legs, starting Thursday and concluding on Sunday.

Bocanegra and Rennes upset in French Cup Final

The USA's Carlos Bocanegra scored for his side Rennes in tonight's French Cup Final, but second-division side Guingamp came from behind to score a memorable upset 2-1.  It's only the second time that a team from below the top flight has won the French Cup, and Guingamp will play in the Europa League (ex-UEFA Cup) next season.

Bocanegra scored in the 69th minute by a header off a free kick.  It was his third goal in all competitions this season.

Rennes had not allowed a single goal in their French Cup matches up to the final, and Bocanegra had played every minute of every match.  But what a time to allow two goals. 

Reflected glory

Both European cup finals will feature a Mexican on the roster of at least one of the finalists.  Rafael Márquez is on the squad of Barcelona, who will appear in the UEFA Champions League final, and Nery Castillo plays for Shaktar Donetsk, who advanced to the UEFA Cup final today at Dynamo Kiev's expense.  Unfortunately, neither player will take part in either European final.  Márquez is out for the remainder of the European season because of a knee injury, while Castillo has fallen down the pecking order at striker and is unlikely to be selected for the final. 

Nevertheless, if their respective teams win their finals, they will be able to say that they were on a side that won a European club competition.  A bit of reflected glory, but glory nonetheless.

Rafa Marquez goes down

The bad news keeps getting worse for Mexican football: Barcelona's central defender Ráfa Márquez went down with a knee injury in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal against Chelsea.  The preliminary indication is an injury to the meniscus of the left knee.  What made it especially unfortunate was that Márquez had not been under contact; rather, the ground gave way under him as he made a move with the ball in the center of the field.

It looks like Márquez could be out for the rest of the season (four rounds left), and he may be out for the June qualifiers as well.  Mexico might miss him against El Salvador, but not against Trinidad & Tobago.

Alberto Zapata leaves Panama camp, heads to Israel

Panama striker Alberto Zapata has confirmed that he will play for Israeli side Maccabi Netanya, and has already left Panama's camp in Honduras to travel to Israel.  Zapata scored the lone goal in the Guatemala match that confirmed Panama's place in this summer's Gold Cup.  He wasn't on the field for the semifinal against Honduras and won't be there for the final against Costa Rica.

Zapata joins two other CONCACAF players on Netanya's roster -- Costa Rican defender Luís Marín and fellow countryman Alberto Blanco, who plays in midfield.

I know that UNCAF Cup is not an official FIFA event and clubs therefore are not required to release players, but it is odd to see a player leave a camp in the middle of a tournament to join up with his club.  Then again, as both teams are already qualified for the continental tournament, Zapata's departure doesn't really matter all that much.

Hugo Sanchez to Almeria

Another Mexican coach is going to the Spanish league, as Hugo Sánchez was hired by Almería on Monday, barely 24 hours after letting go their previous manager Gonzalo Arconada.  Sánchez's task will be to save the club from relegation, as they currently lie three points above the relegation zone.

(Really, this is my last post of the year!  See ya in '09!)

CONCACAF at the UEFA Champions League, Matchday 1

The first matchday of the group stage is complete, so here's a summary of the CONCACAF players in the UEFA Champions League:

Rafa Márquez scored the opening goal (a header from a corner kick) in Barcelona's 3-1 victory over Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.  He played all 90 minutes.

Carlos Vela played the last six minutes of Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Dinamo Kiev.  I don't know if he participated in the counter that led to William Gallas' equalizer.

PSV succumbed to a 3-1 away loss to Atlético Madrid (coached by former Mexico coach Javier Aguirre and inspired by a brilliant Sergio Aguero).  Carlos Salcido started and played all 90 minutes, while Francisco Rodríguez entered the match in the 74th minute.

Villarreal drew 0-0 to Manchester United (aka America's Team) at Old Trafford.  Guille Franco played 77 minutes for the Yellow Submarine and came closest to scoring when his shot hit the post on the hour mark.  Jozy Altidore didn't travel with the team because he was not listed on the squad list before the competition started.

Canadian goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld wasn't present for the biggest result of the week as CFR Cluj defeated Roma 2-1 away.   He wasn't placed on the substitutes list for this game.

CONCACAF Players in the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League

Just in time for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, here's a list of the CONCACAF players who will be participating in the world's premier continental competition:

Player	Club	Country
Guillermo Franco	Villarreal	Mexico
Rafael Márquez	Barcelona	Mexico
Francisco Rodríguez	PSV Eindhoven	Mexico
Carlos Salcido	PSV Eindhoven	Mexico
Carlos Vela	Arsenal	Mexico
Lars Hirschfeld	CFR Cluj	Canada

I do know that Jozy Altidore also plays for Villarreal, but he was not listed on the roster that the club sent to UEFA, so he cannot play in the group stages.

I looked at all the rosters of the 32 teams in the group stage, so to the best of my knowledge it's a complete list.  If I missed anyone, please let me know.

A PBC kid does good

Credit: Villarreal FC website

He's Boca Raton's own, and now he's part of Villarreal as MLS' first 8-figure transfer.  Jozy Altidore has come a long way in the last three seasons.  He showed promise in MLS with the Red Bulls, burst upon the international scene at the U-20 World Cup, and shortly thereafter appeared on the transfer shortlists of some of the major clubs in Europe (and some smaller ones as well).  Altidore's arrival in Spain has already generated some excitement, from over 4000 visits to the official Villarreal CF website (most from the USA) to the club president likening the transfer to Pau Gasol's move to the Lakers.  We'll see about that, but perhaps that's why the club may not want to immediately loan him to Recreativo after all. 

Several of the US players who have played in Europe have given Altidore advice.  Jozy doesn't know me from the next random guy, but I'll give him some as well: be patient, keep improving, stay hungry, and don't forget what it took to get to this point.  And to quote the advice given by the coach who played Diego Maradona for the first time, "Get in there and see if you can nutmeg somebody!"