{"id":26802,"date":"2021-03-11T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T17:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=26802"},"modified":"2021-03-11T12:00:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T17:00:26","slug":"stars-stripes-and-soccer-march-1-7-weekly-roundup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2021\/03\/11\/stars-stripes-and-soccer-march-1-7-weekly-roundup\/","title":{"rendered":"Stars, Stripes and Soccer: March 1-7 Weekly Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Cameron Meyer<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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 \u2018Best Performances\u2019 category in the short history of this column.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019t have to think about the Chelsea-blue elephant in the room.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here were the best, and only the best, performances from Americans this week:<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Best Performances of the Week:<\/h2>\n<h3><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/josh-sargent-goal-cologne.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/josh-sargent-goal-cologne-636x358.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"358\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-26808\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/josh-sargent-goal-cologne-636x358.jpg 636w, https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/josh-sargent-goal-cologne-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/josh-sargent-goal-cologne-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/josh-sargent-goal-cologne.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><em>(Photo courtesy of AP)<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daryl Dike (Barnsley\/England)<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forget what I said last week about not being sold on Dike. He\u2019s the real deal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MenInBlazers\/status\/1367198520244113408\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/MenInBlazers\/status\/1367198520244113408<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s a classic Dike goal, but wait till you see his second during the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Daryl Dike hit this with all the fury of the ancestors, my GOODNESS <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6uWFqjrEjS\">pic.twitter.com\/6uWFqjrEjS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Aaron West (@oeste) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/oeste\/status\/1368237140660740098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 6, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is an <em>absurd<\/em> 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\u2019m not sure where you can find the xG stat he had for this match, but I can assure you he outperformed it by margins.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s an example of the agility and first touch I said he lacked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/Weekly-Recap-3821-Gif-1.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/Weekly-Recap-3821-Gif-1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"289\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26809\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s safe to say I got it all wrong, but gladly so. Hopefully he can keep up the production; he\u2019s going to have a whole bunch of suitors calling Orlando come June.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cameron Carter-Vickers (Bournemouth\/England)<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s unfortunate that his career has been slowed down by Tottenham\u2019s loan policies, but it\u2019s always great to see CCV is putting in some shifts in England\u2019s second tier.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CCV has quietly been having an amazing season for the recently relegated side, consistently starting as their right center back. Although it doesn\u2019t happen often, he was able to score a goal midweek against Bristol City, the American\u2019s first for the Cherries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/Weekly-Recap-3821-Gif-2.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/Weekly-Recap-3821-Gif-2.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"309\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26810\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can\u2019t really say it was a purposeful goal &#8212; unless Carter-Vickers has been squatting in preparation for the ball to ricochet off his backside into the net &#8212; but it&#8217;s a winning goal nonetheless.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/afcbournemouth\/status\/1367053622224248832\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/afcbournemouth\/status\/1367053622224248832<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s a goal that capped off a fantastic month for the center back &#8212; 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\u2019ll be one of many trying to get out of North London.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chris Richards (Hoffenheim\/Germany)<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saturday\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/Weekly-Recap-3821-Gif-3.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/Weekly-Recap-3821-Gif-3.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"332\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26811\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s good service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re more of a semantics person, some stats for you: Richards had five interceptions, five ball recoveries and 55 touches. That doesn\u2019t sound like a 20-year-old against a team that\u2019s third in the Bundesliga.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generally speaking, I wouldn\u2019t be too upset if Richards decided to leave Bavaria to stay in Hoffenheim. It seems he\u2019s making himself home pretty quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen\/Germany)<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Josh Sargent is finally hitting his stride for Werder Bremen, and it couldn\u2019t 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 K\u00f6ln\u2014 and guided is an understatement.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Josh Sargent. All Hail American Soccer Gritty  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M8d5In1ySY\">pic.twitter.com\/M8d5In1ySY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MenInBlazers\/status\/1368596603343364099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 7, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His header in the 65th minute put Bremen up 1-0, and it was a solid finish at that. Jorge Mer\u00e9, who was marking him, didn\u2019t 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s 1.06 xG and the sole big chance created being the goal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s margin by three.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/Weekly-Recap-3821-Gif-4.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/Weekly-Recap-3821-Gif-4.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"331\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26812\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you have guys that are fumbling away amazing balls like this from Sargent, you can\u2019t expect the man to get much help offensively. Also, yes, that is Sargent playing on the right wing. I don\u2019t get it either.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brenden Aaronson (RedBull Salzburg\/Austria)<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aaronson lit up the Austrian Bundesliga again this weekend; what\u2019s new? He had a goal and assist against St. P\u00f6lten on Sunday, and even without the points, he balled out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USMNT\/status\/1368577548955906049\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/USMNT\/status\/1368577548955906049<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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, \u201cSilky Smooth.\u201d It\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s really come into his own in Austria.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s pretty good, considering Aaronson is younger and needed three or so matches to adjust his game to a different league.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, he wasn\u2019t the youngest American to score a goal in this fixture.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taylor Booth (St. P\u00f6lten\/Austria)<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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 &#8220;who scored the best goal in the fixture&#8221; trophy, it would also go to the 19-year-old.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ForTheFansHQ\/status\/1368558381896699905\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/ForTheFansHQ\/status\/1368558381896699905<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If it weren\u2019t for Dike\u2019s strike, that would be the best American goal of the week. It\u2019s 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\u2019s youth setup?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cameronm1221\/status\/1369513752857620484\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/cameronm1221\/status\/1369513752857620484<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since Booth arrived at St. P\u00f6lten in February, he has averaged a point every 102 minutes from central midfield and a 7.3 rating via FotMob. That\u2019s 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\u2019t get a sniff at the starting eleven.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m definitely not saying Booth is better than Aaronson, but those stats are striking. It\u2019ll be exciting to see how he develops from now. I guess we\u2019ll all be loading up those St. P\u00f6lten games from now on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On a completely separate note, Brandon Servania also made his debut in this game for St. P\u00f6lten. He didn\u2019t play particularly well, but he came on as a substitute when his side was already down by two, so you can\u2019t really blame the guy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luca de la Torre (Heracles\/Netherlands)<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prior to the weekend, in an interview with Heracles&#8217; 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HeraclesAlmelo\/status\/1367873585352695819\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/HeraclesAlmelo\/status\/1367873585352695819<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI feel like I should be called up, especially if I keep performing in this way,\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sjq7bcTsjA\">pic.twitter.com\/sjq7bcTsjA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; FMF\u2019s Pot of Tears (@FmfPot) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FmfPot\/status\/1368588087178190851?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 7, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance to his performance came in stoppage time, as he scored a header to win the game for Heracles. That\u2019s 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<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that would\u2019ve been embarrassing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Couldn\u2019t be Luca though, as he made sure Berhalter took notice. If I were the gaffer, I\u2019d 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&#8217;t be overlooked.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s going to be a packed 2021 for the USMNT, and not calling up a guy who\u2019s constantly starting in the Eredivisie at 22-years-old seems like a crime.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Konrad de la Fuente (Barcelona B\/Spain)<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seeing Sergi\u00f1o 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\u2019s unfortunate that de la Fuente couldn\u2019t get many senior minutes under Ronald Koeman.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">Goool Konrad de La Fuente!! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EGeKCeflbl\">pic.twitter.com\/EGeKCeflbl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Piotr Guzi\u0144ski (@Nyctophile1_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Nyctophile1_\/status\/1368609525918470144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 7, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At least he\u2019s balling in the Spanish third tier? I\u2019ll look on the bright side\u2014 he\u2019s scoring goals in a competitive match. Although it can\u2019t be for Barcelona\u2019s senior team, this will make do. He\u2019s not just scoring goals either; he&#8217;s giving out nutmeg on wholesale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/Weekly-Recap-3821-Gif-5.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2021\/03\/Weekly-Recap-3821-Gif-5.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"290\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26813\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">C\u2019mon Konrad, some of these guys have children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">De la Fuente has been called up for Barcelona\u2019s Champions League game against PSG. God willing, he\u2019ll 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\u2019ve become a seer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>(Featured image courtesy of Adam Davy\/PA Images) (All statistics courtesy of FotMob)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 \u2018Best Performances\u2019 category in the short history of this column.\u00a0 It was really an action-packed weekend for USMNT supporters, with goals being scored left [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18640,"featured_media":26807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1024,1035,19],"tags":[1816,1786,1680,1815,1666,1463,1667,1675],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26802"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18640"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26802"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26851,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26802\/revisions\/26851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}