Americans Abroad

Sanneh reserve effort helps Nürnberg retake first place; Cherundolo excels for Hannover 96.

Steve Cherundolo (left) was dangerous attacking on the right flank from his defensive position. -- Hannover 96 web site photo --

By Harris King (in Bamberg, Germany)
Special to SoccerTimes

(Tuesday, April 13, 2004) -- United States defender Tony Sanneh made his much-anticipated return to the pitch and he was in fine form, coming in as a 55th-minute substitute for FC Nürnberg which defeated Eintracht Trier 3-1 last night

It was Sanneh's first appearance for his 2Bundesliga side since December 7, 2002, after fighting through a chronic back problem. Many thought the problem would be career-ending, but Sanneh always said he would be back.

Coach Wolfgang's Wolf faith in the American was rewarded with a solid outing that saw him receive the highest Kicker rating of any his defensive teammates. With the home win, Nürnberg (14-7-7, 49 points) moved back into first place over Energie Cottbus, but the promotion battle rages on. The top three teams move up, but only four points separate first and fifth places with six matches remaining.

Sanneh did train with the U.S. men and played the first half of the 1-1 draw with Haiti in Miami and then the final 17 minutes of the 1-0 road victory over Poland March 31.

U.S. defender Steve Cherundolo of Hannover 96 continued his recent strong play and was a big part of the 1-0 victory yesterday over 1. FC Köln in the 1 Bundesliga.

For the second game in a row, Cherundolo and his defensive teammates didn't allow a goal and he started the play that led to Thomas Bdaric's decisive goal in the 34th minute. After having pushed the ball forward from his right back position, Cherundolo put a cross onto the head of Thomas Christiansen's who then connected with the post. Bdaric scored off the rebound at his feet.

U.S. striker Clint Mathis was much improved from last week's off-game and missed scoring by a couple of inches when his shot from distance hit the crossbar shortly before the half. He was replaced by Julian de Guzman in the 71st minute.

After two victories in as many weeks, Hannover (8-12-8, 32 points) is now 11th in the table, four points clear of the relegation zone. Next week Hannover travels to first-place Werder Bremen.

Zsolt Löw put Cottbus on top 1-0 with just under 20 minutes to play, but two goals by Bielefeld in the last 10 minutes, the second coming off of a penalty in stoppage time, sealed the home side's fate.

Cottbus (13-7-8, 47) dropped to third and is now only one point clear of Alemannia Aachen (13-8-7) in fourth place and two ahead of Oberhausen (13-9-6). Bielefeld (14-8-6, 48) moved into second place.

U.S. striker Conor Casey of Karlsruher SC returned to the starting lineup after sitting out his one-game yellow-card suspension, and his presence was instrumental in the 1-0 home victory over MSV Duisburg. Casey didn't make it onto the scorer's sheet, but he constantly drew Duisburg defenders to him, thus freeing up his teammates.

Karlsruhe's only goal came in the 45th minute when Casey stepped out of the way to allow the better-positioned Christian Hassa to score off of a rebound from the Duisburg keeper. Karlsruhe (10-11-7, 37) moved back to ninth place and travels to VfB Lübeck for a Friday night game.

American midfielder Joe Enochs sat out the first of a two-game suspension for a red card, but his team, VfL Osnabrück, was able to come away with a convincing 3-0 home victory over Jahn Regensburg.

The victory came after coach Frank Pagelsdorf resigned earlier in the week. He stepped down on amicable terms with the management, but was clearly disappointed at a season in which is team is in last place at 7-16-5 with 26 points, though only eight points from 14th place and safety from relegation.

Co-trainer Thorsten Haas was acting head coach for the game against Regensburg. When a new coach will be selected is still unclear.

Co-trainer Gerhard Noll will take over until a replacement can be found.

Three days after Feichtenbeiner received his walking papers, colleague Gerd Schwickert of SV Elversberg was relieved of his duties after Elversberg fell 3-1 to 1. FC Saarbrücken Saturday. In the game, former U.S. international Michael Mason went the distance, while Americans Grover Gibson and Tim Lawson did not play.

Former U.S. international and current Elversberg co-trainer Brent Goulet will take over the team until a new coach can be found. Goulet ended his career in Elversberg after the 2000-01 season and played for several third-division German clubs throughout the 1990s.

Goulet was the 1987 "U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year" and was a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team.

American striker Jonathan Cummings of VfR Aalen did not play in a 3-2 home victory against 1. FC Eschborn.

In the Regionalliga Nord, American defender Pellegrino Matarazzo of Preussen Münster sat out his one-game yellow-card suspension and watched his team lose 4-3 to the Werder Bremen Amateurs. After falling behind 2-0, Münster was able to take the lead shortly after the start of the second half, but was unable to hold the lead.

Still recovering from an injury, American defender Ian Joy also did not play at the weekend, and the "young talents" of Hamburger SV went down 2-0 on the road to Holsten Kiel.

American striker Jacob Thomas of Eintracht Braunschweig was back in the starting lineup for a 1-0 triumph on the road to the Borussia Dortmund Amateurs. Braunschweig's goal came when Jürgen Rische converted a penalty kick in the 70th minute. Thomas was replaced in the 82nd minute.

Harris King, an American from South Carolina, has lived in Germany for five years. He is a Business English lecturer at the University of Bamberg. E-mail Harris King.