Americans Abroad

Casey joins Mainz as injury problems persist.

Brian Dunseth is back with Boden in Sweden for a second season after six years in Major League Soccer -- Bodens BK web site photo --

By Robert Wagman (in Washington, D.C.)
SoccerTimes

(Sunday, July 18, 2004) -- United States striker Conor Casey's career with Mainz, his new German 1Bundesliga team, has gotten off to a somewhat rocky start.

Casey suffered an odd injury in the first U.S.-Grenada World Cup qualifying match, a pulled muscle behind his kneecap. He was still recovering from that when he reported to Mainz and, in light training, he suffered a further injury to the knee. While team trainers initially feared he had torn a muscle above the same knee, it turned out to be just a deep bruise and he is back running. Mainz reports he should be in full training by week's end.

France's Metz, which owns the contract of American defender Oguchi Onyewu, has clarified that he has been sent to Standard Liege in Belgium's Jupiler League, the top division, on a one-year loan. Last season, Metz loan him to La Louviere of the Jupiler, where he had a good season.

Onyewu, however, did not fit into Metz's plans for the upcoming season despite there being at least two more years on his contract. It was unable to sell him, so the club accepted Standard's loan offer which bested one from La Louviere which would have been happy keep him for another season.

In Sweden, Bodens BK lost 2-0 in an exhibition midweek against Leeds United, a team recently demoted to England's First Division.

American Brian Dunseth started on defense for Bodens, but did not have a terrific outing with both Leeds goals scored off crosses into his area.

Bodens has signed Jamaican striker Wolde Harris who was recently playing for the Charleston Battery in the American A-League. Harris started against Leeds and played the entire match. Another American, midfielder Leighton O'Brien, who suffered a groin injury in Boden's 1-1 draw at home against Café Opera, did not dress for the match.

Dunseth and Harris were teammates for two years with Major League Soccer's New England Revolution. Harris, who led the NCAA Division I in scoring and was named national "Player of the Year" at Clemson, played for four years with the Revolution after three seasons with the Colorado Rapids. Dunseth was traded in the middle of his fifth season with New England to the Miami Fusion and spent his sixth and final MLS campaign with the Columbus Crew before heading to Europe in the fall of 2002.

Bodens also returns another one-time A-League player for a second season, forward Destin Makumbu who was a marking back for the now-defunct Milwaukee Rampage. Makumbu was born in Zaire, but raised in London.

United States goalkeeper Kasey Keller, in a battle for the starting job at the English Premier League's Tottenham Hotspur, gave up two soft goals in a 2-2 draw in a training match against Swedish champion FC Copenhagen.

Keller saw the first goal chipped over his head and the second was the result of his poor clearance.

In Spurs' final training match in Sweden, young Hungarian keeper Marton Fulop made his Tottenham debut with a mostly reserve side in a 1-0 loss to Trollhattans IF. Paul Robinson, Keller's chief challenger, did not play in any of the Swedish training matches.

In England's First Division, American keeper Marcus Hahnemann made several good saves and earned a clean sheet for Reading which posted a 6-0 defeat of Bath which plays in England's Southern Football League Premier Division.

Hannover brought in Ricardo Sousa as the controlling midfielder and Tranquillo Barnetta and Leandro, both of whom play much the same role as Mathis did last season. Brazilian Leandro had 17 goals in the Swiss League last season. Moreover, Mathis is still recovering from a late-season injury, so it looks like he will start the season on the bench.

U.S. defender\midfielder Tony Sanneh is back home in Minnesota reportedly considering an offer from MLS as he waits to see what happens as European clubs fill their rosters following Euro 2004. Sanneh was often injured last season while playing for 1. FC Nürnberg in Germany's 1Bundesliga. He could not reach new contract terms with the team and is now a free transfer.

Robert Wagman is a SoccerTimes senior correspondent. E-mail Robert Wagman.