Stars, Stripes and Soccer: March 1-7 Weekly Roundup

By Cameron Meyer

Talk about starting the month out with a bang. Across the board, Americans truly showed out this past week in what has become the first shutout by the ‘Best Performances’ category in the short history of this column. 

It was really an action-packed weekend for USMNT supporters, with goals being scored left and right (and with the head) from the Austrian Bundesliga to the Spanish third tier. It really gave Americans something to be happy about, so we don’t have to think about the Chelsea-blue elephant in the room. 

Here were the best, and only the best, performances from Americans this week:

Best Performances of the Week:

(Photo courtesy of AP)

Daryl Dike (Barnsley/England)

Forget what I said last week about not being sold on Dike. He’s the real deal. 

https://twitter.com/MenInBlazers/status/1367198520244113408

After scoring last week, the striker upped his game even more the past seven days with two goals and two overall dominant performances. Against QPR midweek, he scored a header with his mark on him like a straight jacket. It’s a classic Dike goal, but wait till you see his second during the weekend.

This is an absurd strike. With almost no angle to work with, he hits this ball with enough force to level the city of Barnsley to rubble as upper 90 as you can get. I’m not sure where you can find the xG stat he had for this match, but I can assure you he outperformed it by margins.

This ended up being the winning goal for Barnsley to cap off a seven-game winning streak for the promotion-seeking side. By the way, that streak started when Dike arrived. Coincidence?

On top of his rocket of a finish, he also won ten aerial duels, got himself an 8.0 rating by FotMob (he got a 7.9 vs. QPR three days earlier) and was picked for the Championship Team of the Week. And just in case my previous column needs to be disproved any further, here’s an example of the agility and first touch I said he lacked. 

It’s safe to say I got it all wrong, but gladly so. Hopefully he can keep up the production; he’s going to have a whole bunch of suitors calling Orlando come June. 

Cameron Carter-Vickers (Bournemouth/England)

If you close your eyes and randomly pick a club on the Championship table, chances are Carter-Vickers has gone to them on loan. It’s unfortunate that his career has been slowed down by Tottenham’s loan policies, but it’s always great to see CCV is putting in some shifts in England’s second tier.

CCV has quietly been having an amazing season for the recently relegated side, consistently starting as their right center back. Although it doesn’t happen often, he was able to score a goal midweek against Bristol City, the American’s first for the Cherries. 

Can’t really say it was a purposeful goal — unless Carter-Vickers has been squatting in preparation for the ball to ricochet off his backside into the net — but it’s a winning goal nonetheless. 

https://twitter.com/afcbournemouth/status/1367053622224248832

It’s a goal that capped off a fantastic month for the center back — one that earned him Bournemouth Player of the Month honors as voted by the fans. Hopefully CCV will be able to earn himself a move away from Tottenham at last this summer. He’ll be one of many trying to get out of North London. 

Chris Richards (Hoffenheim/Germany)

Saturday’s faceoff between Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim marked the first center back duel between the unequivocal starting USMNT pair of John Brooks and Chris Richards. Both Americans put out impressive performances in this match, but it was Chris Richards that came out on top individually and with the three points.

I become more impressed every single match I see Richards play in the Bundesliga. He reads the game like a veteran and has the passing ability out of the back that USMNT fans have been craving from a center half not named Brooks. 

This is beautiful stuff. Finally, we no longer have to see Aaron Long pass the ball to an opposing player once every three passes. This ball comes in the first minute as well; it seems Richards gives dimes on a silver platter any time during his shift. Now that’s good service. 

If you’re more of a semantics person, some stats for you: Richards had five interceptions, five ball recoveries and 55 touches. That doesn’t sound like a 20-year-old against a team that’s third in the Bundesliga.

Generally speaking, I wouldn’t be too upset if Richards decided to leave Bavaria to stay in Hoffenheim. It seems he’s making himself home pretty quickly.

Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/Germany)

Josh Sargent is finally hitting his stride for Werder Bremen, and it couldn’t come at a better time with World Cup qualifiers just around the corner. At the weekend in the Bundesliga, the striker guided his side to a 1-1 draw against Köln— and guided is an understatement.

His header in the 65th minute put Bremen up 1-0, and it was a solid finish at that. Jorge Meré, who was marking him, didn’t do a great job of tracking his movement, but the American was able to find space just outside the six and did what he needed to do. 

Sargent also won ten duels, made two key passes and had 100 percent shot accuracy (his goal was his only shot). You can hardly blame his lack of shots on him, though. His team is pretty awful at creating scoring opportunities, as evidenced by the team’s 1.06 xG and the sole big chance created being the goal.

If you need any more evidence that Sargent is the crown jewel to this boring Bundesliga side, look no further than the fact that the nine combined goals and assists that Sargent has this season beats any other Bremen player’s margin by three. 

When you have guys that are fumbling away amazing balls like this from Sargent, you can’t expect the man to get much help offensively. Also, yes, that is Sargent playing on the right wing. I don’t get it either. 

Brenden Aaronson (RedBull Salzburg/Austria)

Aaronson lit up the Austrian Bundesliga again this weekend; what’s new? He had a goal and assist against St. Pölten on Sunday, and even without the points, he balled out.

https://twitter.com/USMNT/status/1368577548955906049

He had four key passes and recovered the ball five times in what ended in a 4-1 win for the league-leading side. His finish for his goal was also, as the USMNT admin put it, “Silky Smooth.” It’s not an easy finish to rocket a ball into the side netting with a defender squaring up to you, but Aaronson makes it look effortless.

This is just what we have come to expect from Aaronson in Europe: consistent goals and Man-of-the-Match-type performances (which is what a 8.4 rating is). He’s really come into his own in Austria.

Aaronson has averaged a goal or assist every 113 minutes in the Austrian Bundesliga and has averaged around a 7.0 rating. For a little bit of context, the guy he replaced, Dominik Szoboszlai, who went to Leipzig for over $27 million, averaged a goal or assist every 73 minutes and averaged a 7.6 rating. That’s pretty good, considering Aaronson is younger and needed three or so matches to adjust his game to a different league. 

However, he wasn’t the youngest American to score a goal in this fixture.

Taylor Booth (St. Pölten/Austria)

The man, or should I say teenager, to take away that award would be Bayern product Taylor Booth, who scored his first goal in the Austrian Bundesliga. If we were making a “who scored the best goal in the fixture” trophy, it would also go to the 19-year-old.

https://twitter.com/ForTheFansHQ/status/1368558381896699905

If it weren’t for Dike’s strike, that would be the best American goal of the week. It’s a finish and a half, and the amount of technique it takes to hit a ball with that much pace with that much accuracy on the half volley is astounding. Who knew this talent was being wasted away in Bayern’s youth setup?

https://twitter.com/cameronm1221/status/1369513752857620484

Since Booth arrived at St. Pölten in February, he has averaged a point every 102 minutes from central midfield and a 7.3 rating via FotMob. That’s paces better than Aaronson, who Americans laud every week for his performances. If the U-20 World Cup had been played, he would have to fight for his spot in the squad and wouldn’t get a sniff at the starting eleven. 

I’m definitely not saying Booth is better than Aaronson, but those stats are striking. It’ll be exciting to see how he develops from now. I guess we’ll all be loading up those St. Pölten games from now on. 

On a completely separate note, Brandon Servania also made his debut in this game for St. Pölten. He didn’t play particularly well, but he came on as a substitute when his side was already down by two, so you can’t really blame the guy. 

Luca de la Torre (Heracles/Netherlands)

Prior to the weekend, in an interview with Heracles’ social media team, Luca de la Torre was asked about his spot in the USMNT set up. The former Fulham player mentioned the amount of games and competitions the U.S. is scheduled to play this year and acknowledged his Olympic eligibility.

https://twitter.com/HeraclesAlmelo/status/1367873585352695819

“I feel like I should be called up, especially if I keep performing in this way,” de la Torre said. This is before he had easily his best game for Heracles this Sunday. He absolutely dominated the midfield, touching the ball 100 times and passing the ball accurately an eye-popping 73 times. 

The pièce de résistance to his performance came in stoppage time, as he scored a header to win the game for Heracles. That’s how you walk the walk. Imagine if you went on an interview to say you deserve attention from your national team and you absolutely dogged it in a competitive match a couple days later— that would’ve been embarrassing.

Couldn’t be Luca though, as he made sure Berhalter took notice. If I were the gaffer, I’d call him out just for his gusto. It has been awhile since de la Torre got called into the senior setup, but after finally getting away from Fulham, he shouldn’t be overlooked.

It’s going to be a packed 2021 for the USMNT, and not calling up a guy who’s constantly starting in the Eredivisie at 22-years-old seems like a crime. 

Konrad de la Fuente (Barcelona B/Spain)

Seeing Sergiño Dest and de la Fuente on the field at the same time for Barcelona in the Champions League earlier this year felt like a fever dream. It’s unfortunate that de la Fuente couldn’t get many senior minutes under Ronald Koeman. 

At least he’s balling in the Spanish third tier? I’ll look on the bright side— he’s scoring goals in a competitive match. Although it can’t be for Barcelona’s senior team, this will make do. He’s not just scoring goals either; he’s giving out nutmeg on wholesale.

C’mon Konrad, some of these guys have children. 

De la Fuente has been called up for Barcelona’s Champions League game against PSG. God willing, he’ll score a hattrick off the bench to send the Spanish side to the next round. By the time this column comes out next week, hopefully I’ve become a seer.

(Featured image courtesy of Adam Davy/PA Images) (All statistics courtesy of FotMob)

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