Americans Abroad roundup

A roundup of notable U.S. players in action in Europe over the past two weeks:

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Jozy Altidore, center, hammers home his first La Liga goal against Bilbao.

England

Premier League

Brad Friedel, Aston Villa: The keeper had a productive fortnight, winning three games for surging Villa. The highlight was perhaps a 3-2 victory over longtime his former club, Blackburn Rovers, on Oct. 29. Friedel made two good saves, denying Keith Andrews in the first half and reacting well to keep out Morten Gamst Pedersen's fierce volley with Rovers chasing an equalizer in the second. He notched the shutout in a 4-0 thrashing of Wigan on Oct. 26. With a point at struggling Newcastle on Monday night, Villa would overtake slumping Arsenal in fourth, the final Champions League spot.

Season: 15 games started (0 substitute appearances)

Tim Howard, Everton: Finally some respite for Howard. The Toffees and their keeper blanked Bolton 1-0 on Oct. 29 for a first clean sheet of the season and followed it up with a last-gasp 1-0 victory against inconsistent Fulham on Nov. 1. Like Friedel, the highlight, though, might have been Howard's performance in a 1-1 draw with his former team, Manchester United, on Oct. 25. With Everton trailing 1-0, Howard dived to his left to stop Cristiano Ronaldo, saved Nemanja Vidic's header off a corner kick and blocked Ryan Giggs' long-range effort ... all within minutes.

Season: 14 (0)

Clint Dempsey, Fulham: Three games for lower-table Fulham, and three more substitute performances from Dempsey midway or late in the second half. Despite scoring the tying goal in a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth on Oct. 26, the attacking midfielder didn't start Fulham's next two matches versus Wigan and Everton as manager Roy Hodgson stuck with the forward trio of Bobby Zamora, Andy Johnson and Zoltan Gera. Dempsey played just two minutes against Everton, replacing Gera after Louis Saha's 87th-minute winner at Goodison Park.

Season: 2 games started (6), 1 goal

Brad Guzan, Aston Villa: The keeper backed up Friedel against Ajax in the UEFA Cup, Wigan and Blackburn.

Season: 1 (0)

Jonathan Spector, West Ham: The versatile Spector, on the mend from a hip injury, began to take part in full training last week, the Hammers said. Season: No appearances

Championship

Jay DeMerit, Watford: DeMerit returned from a hamstring injury, contesting all 90 minutes of a 2-0 loss to Preston on Oct. 28 and 4-3 defeat to Blackpool at Vicarage Road on Nov. 1. The central defender hit the crossbar with a first-half header against Preston, with his poor defensive header leading to Blackpool's winner in injury time. Watford, in its second season in the Championship since Premier League relegation, lies above the relegation zone only on goal difference and has the worst defense in the division.

Season: 11 (0), 0

Marcus Hahnemann, Reading: With Hahnemann in goal, high-flying Reading won two games, lost one and drew another. He collected his sixth shutout in a 0-0 draw against QPR on Oct. 25 -- getting clattered by opposing forward Dexter Blackstock in the process -- and made a stunning save to deny Stern John in Reading's 4-1 win at Bristol City, previously sound defensively, two days ago. The Royals are third, three points out of an automatic promotion spot.

Season: 16 (0)

Bobby Convey, Reading: Convey, a hardworking winger, continues to be left out of the squad by Reading manager Steve Coppell. He wasn't in the squad in any of the four matches, and an expected reserve appearance against Charlton on Wednesday didn't materialize because the game was postponed due to snow.

Season: 5 (2), 0

Eddie Johnson, Cardiff City (loan from Fulham): Johnson figures to get more playing time -- and a chance to score his first goal in English soccer -- after injuries to top scorers Ross McCormack and Jay Bothroyd. He came on as a second-half substitute against Watford, Blackpool and Wolves in the past two weeks but struggled to make an impact for the playoff contenders.

Season: 2 (8), 0

Frankie Simek, Sheffield Wednesday: Simek made his first senior appearance since last December, coming on as a 57th-minute substitute in a 1-0 loss to Plymouth on Tuesday. With mid-table Sheffield Wednesday not rushing his return from a serious ankle injury, he played all 90 minutes in a reserve game against Mansfield Town a day later and wasn't on the game-day roster (i.e., didn't suit up) against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Season: 0 (1), 0

League One

Jemal Johnson, MK Dons: The quick striker made substitute appearances late in the second half against Stockport County on Oct. 21 and Leyton Orient on Oct. 28. The Dons, who went up last season, have won three in a row and are a point outside automatic promotion.

Season: 4 (7), 0

Spain, Primera Liga

Jozy Altidore, Villarreal: Altidore made the most out of his 90th-minute appearance as a substitute against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, scoring his first goal in Spanish soccer since joining from MLS in the summer. The forward took a slide-rule pass from Santi Cazorla and netted the fourth in a 4-1 victory. He made his first start in an embarrassing 5-0 loss to Ejido in the Spanish Cup on Oct. 29, missing on what was described on Villarreal's Web site as two "great chances." Villarreal remains the lone unbeaten side in La Liga.

Season: 1 (3), 1

Italy, Serie B

Danny Szetela, Brescia (loan from Racing Santander): Brescia continues to move up the standings and would take over top spot with a win over Livorno on Monday. Sadly for Szetela, he's still being frozen out by new manager Nedo Sonetti. Szetela didn't feature in wins over Modena and Salernitana on Oct. 25 and Oct. 28, respectively.

Season: 5 (1), 1

Serie C1

Gabriel Ferrari, Perugia (loan from Sampdoria): Injured, Ferrari sat out games against Teranto and Paganese.

Season: 0 (2), 0

Germany, Bundesliga

Steve Cherundolo, Hannover 96: The right back played all 90 minutes in a much-needed 3-0 home win over northern rival Hamburg on Saturday that eased Hannover's relegation fears and moved the club up to 13th in the standings. He also started against Werder Bremen on Oct. 25 and Hertha Berlin on Oct. 29.

Season: 9 (1), 0

Michael Bradley, Borussia Moenchengladbach: Moenchengladbach's relegation worries intensified following a 2-1 loss at fellow struggler Eintracht Frankfurt. Bradley, a midfielder, came on as a substitute early in the second half Sunday. He had started a pair of games but was substituted in the second half against Karlsruhe on Oct. 25 and against Wolfsburg three days later. He squandered a chance in a 3-0 loss to Wolfsburg when he failed to control a pass early in the first half while in a threatening position.

Season: 4 (1), 0

Neven Subotic, Borussia Dortmund: The Bosnia and Herzegovina-born defender set up Dortmund's goal in a 1-1 tie with Bochum on Sunday, assisting on Egyptian striker Mohamed Zidan's effort on the counterattack late in the first half. Dortmund, in sixth place, extended its unbeaten run to six games after tying Hertha 1-1 and downing Koln 1-0, with Subotic playing all 90 minutes in both.

Season: 13 (0), 3

Bryan Arguez, Hertha Berlin: Arguez, a midfielder, wasn't on the game-day roster versus Borussia Dortmund, Hannover and Werder Bremen.

Season: 0 (0), 0

Sal Zizzo, Hannover 96: The midfielder wasn't on the game-day roster versus Hamburg, Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin.

Season: 0 (2), 0

France, Ligue 1

Freddy Adu, Monaco (loan from Benfica): Monaco won two games and drew a third to move away from the relegation zone. Adu, though, still hasn't gotten much playing time. The forward was an unused substitute against Toulouse on Oct. 25 and Nancy on Oct. 29, then didn't even make the roster in Sunday's 3-2 win at Le Havre.

Season: 1 (5), 0

Carlos Bocanegra, Rennes: Rennes allowed two goals for the first time in the league since a 4-4 shootout against Marseille on the opening weekend of the season in early August, tying Le Mans 2-2 on Oct. 25. Order was restored in its next two games as Rennes kept a clean sheet in a draw against Valenciennes and downed Sochaux 1-0 on Sunday. Bocanegra continues to be a mainstay in the middle of the defense.

Season: 12 (1), 0

Belgium, Jupiler League

Oguchi Onyewu, Standard Liege: The defending champion slid to fourth in the league, held to a 0-0 draw at Genk on Oct. 26 while losing 2-1 at home to Charleroi on Oct. 31. Onyewu, the towering central defender, just missed with a second-half header against Genk as he played 90 minutes in both games. After losing to Liverpool in Champions League qualifying and eliminating Everton in the first round of the UEFA Cup, it won't get easier for Standard in Europe as it faces Sevilla in the group stage Thursday.

Season: 13 (1), 2

Sweden, Allsvenskan

Charlie Davies, Hammarby: Hammarby, coasting upper mid-table with the Swedish season nearing an end, snapped its seven-game winless streak by downing Djurgarden 3-0, with Davies scoring in late October. He was kept off the score sheet in a 3-0 defeat to Gefle on Oct. 26 and entered as a second-half sub in a 2-1 victory over Halmstads on Oct. 29.

Season: 23 (2), 11

Colin Burns, Ljungskile: Burns was in goal as struggling Ljungskile drew Norrkoping 1-1 before losing 3-1 to Malmo and 3-0 to GAIS. At best, Ljungskile faces a playoff with a second-division side to keep its spot in the Allsvenskan. At worst, the club can still get overtaken in third last and drop down automatically.

Season: 13 (1), 0

Etchu Tabe, Ljungskile: Tabe, a forward, started against Norrkoping and Malmo. Season: 16 (2), 0

Ryan Raybould, Gefle: Raybould, a defender, didn't make the squad in Gefle's four matches during the fortnight. Gefle won two and drew another to move past Ljungskile in the standings.

Season: 4 (0), 0

Scotland, Premier League

DaMarcus Beasley, Rangers: Beasley returned to the midfield in a 3-1 win over Hamilton on Oct. 25 and played the final 16 minutes of a 5-0 rout over Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday.

Season: 3 (4),0

Maurice Edu, Rangers: Edu made his second start of the season, helping Rangers advance to the semifinals of the League Cup with a 2-0 win over Hamilton on Oct. 28. The midfielder's performance was good enough to land him a spot on the bench against Inverness.

Season: 2 (0),0

Denmark, Superligaen

Danny Califf, FC Midtjylland: An injury meant Califf, Midtjylland's defensive leader, sat out a 2-1 loss to Aarhus on Sunday, its second straight on the road following a 3-0 defeat at Brondby on Oct. 26.

Season: 11 games played, 0 goals

Jeremiah White, Aarhus: The forward scored what turned out to be the winner against Midtjylland in the 66th minute, his shot from the left side taking a deflection, and was substituted in the dying minutes of a 2-1 league win over Vejle on Oct. 25. He featured for 27 minutes in a 1-0 Danish Cup loss to Odense on Oct. 29. Aarhus pulled to within three points of Midtjylland, which currently occupies fourth.

Season: 14 games played, 2 goals

Benny Feilhaber, Aarhus: The international midfielder is sidelined with a knee injury.

Season: 1 game played, no goals

Lee Nguyen, Randers: Nguyen started and scored in a 3-2 loss to AC Horsens in the Danish Cup on Wednesday. The winger was an early second-half substitute in a 2-2 tie against defending champions Aalborg on Oct. 26 and played the final seven minutes Sunday in a 4-1 win at Sonderjyske.

Season: 9 games played, 3 goals

Tally Hall, Esbjerg: Hall remains the backup to veteran Lars Winde in goal; did not see action against Nordsjaelland and Sonderjyske.

Season: 1 game played

Ravi Ubha is a London-based freelance journalist covering Americans abroad for ESPNsoccernet. He also covers tennis for ESPN.com.