Kljestan to Anderlecht

Discussion in 'Americas' started by agoo, Jun 10, 2010.

  1. agoo

    agoo Member

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    A rumor that wouldn't die, despite Kljestan's dip in form, Sacha will be playing in Belgium next season with Anderlecht.

    I'd like to see more Americans making a move to Belgium. With the young guys they're developing, its a league that's drawing a ton of attention and an American can perform well there and earn an EU passport.

    As for Kljestan, he's got the skills, but hasn't put it together since he dropped a hat trick on a Swedish b-side in 2009, where crazy rumors and expectations started. Nothing really panned out for him as his form dropped with Chivas and he hasn't appeared regularly with the US since. Not surprising to see him move as he's 24 and has been looking to do so for a couple years now. Am surprised to see him move to Anderlecht, which will be playing in the Champions League.
     
  2. agoo

    agoo Member

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    Just for giggles, this is the second move for a US international this off-season with Herculez Gomez trading in his Mexican League training wheels from Puebla for Pachuca.

    Jay DeMerit is out of contract, while a good tournament could mean big money moves for Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Jose Torres, and Clarence Goodson.
     
  3. OSUBlazerfan

    OSUBlazerfan Writing Team

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    Anderlecht is a decent little side there
     
  4. agoo

    agoo Member

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    Yes...thus my shock. Belgium sure, perhaps Brugge or Germinal Beerschot (just like saying it), but not the reigning champs.
     
  5. agoo

    agoo Member

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    [​IMG]

    Kljestan will be making his Anderlecht debut**, his European debut, and his Champions League debut all at once today as the purple-clad Belgian champs take on The New Saints of Wales at what is apparently the oldest international football stadium in the world. Kljestan thinks they're ready, according to a quote from the neatly translated Anderlecht website. Its been alleged that he'll be starting in a 4-3-3 lineup in the midfield.

    **And by Anderlecht debut, what I mean to say is that I'm an idiot as Kljestan has played nearly all of the 17 friendlies that his new club have played. So scratch that.
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2010
  6. agoo

    agoo Member

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    Kljestan scored a goal in the 7th minute and Anderlecht are up 2-0 in the second half. The match is not being broadcast on television anywhere (including Wales).
     
  7. agoo

    agoo Member

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    [​IMG]

    This double-fist-pump is Sacha's way of saying, "I made this happen." Kljestan picked up the assist on Tom De Sutter's 17th minute goal as Anderlecht defeated TNS 3-0 to win 6-1 on aggregate. Romelu Lukaku added two goals after entering for De Sutter in the 59th. Kljestan played 73 minutes, leaving just before Lukaku scored his second in the 74th.
     
  8. agoo

    agoo Member

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    Here are some videos of the Anderlecht-TNS matches.

    Here's the 3-1 opener, with Kljestan scoring early. Nice instinctive celebration to run to where the crowd is...then he realized the crowd was somewhere else. To make up for that mistake a bit, he did find a fan somewhere to point to.

    [video=youtube;I_6MPQAnOQ0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_6MPQAnOQ0[/video]

    And here are highlights from today's 3-0 Anderlecht win. Lukaku is much bigger than I thought.

    [video=youtube;GphsOpNHhLI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GphsOpNHhLI[/video]
     
  9. CelticKing

    CelticKing The Green Monster

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    Why wasn't Kljestan in the US team during World Cup?
     
  10. agoo

    agoo Member

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    He had been struggling with Chivas USA for the last few years and hadn't done much in previous chances with the USMNT. From the looks of it, moving to Anderlecht has been a pretty big boost to him. He started most of their preseason games and came on as a sub in the others. Not sure why he's picked up the skills so much, but I'll take it. Bradley called him in for Brazil and he'll likely see some playing time, so we'll see if this form carries over.

    It might also be that he was being played out of his usual position. If he's central in a 4-4-2, he has more defensive requirements than he's capable of handling and if he's on the wing in the same formation, he's just out of position. He's best as an attacking mid behind the striker.
     
  11. CelticKing

    CelticKing The Green Monster

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    I liked what I saw from previous games that he played with US, that's why I asked, I really thought he was injured.
     
  12. agoo

    agoo Member

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    He hadn't really done much since the hat trick against Sweden. There were better options for him in a 4-4-2. If Bradley or whoever is managing the US goes to a 4-5-1 using someone in the attacking mid spot behind Altidore up top, then Kljestan would be the guy for that role. Until then, we still have better options.
     
  13. CelticKing

    CelticKing The Green Monster

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    Have they made up their mind on the coach yet?
     
  14. agoo

    agoo Member

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    Nope. Bradley's contract runs through December, but it looks like it could be November before a decision is announced one way or another. Personally, I think he'll stick around. I'm not sure how many better options there are available. If Hiddink was still out there, then I'd go for it, but its looking like we have Bradley or Jurgen Klinsmann at this point. I'm not convinced that Klinsmann would be more than a change for the sake of a change.
     
  15. CelticKing

    CelticKing The Green Monster

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    They gotta get a coach who will change things up a bit and plan on not conceding goals in first 20 mins of game. After those 20 mins they're a damn good team and can play with everyone, its just most of the time they're down at that point. 0-1, 0-2, etc.
     
  16. agoo

    agoo Member

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    I don't think that's ever really been a plan as much as a thing that just happens. There are some deficiencies in the player pool that cause these issues. We don't have speed in defense...at all. And we get burned for it against teams that play fast. Omar Gonzalez and Ike Opara should make a dent there and one will be next to Onyewu through Gold Cup and World Cup qualifying.

    Never playing Ricardo Clark ever again would also help as he's terrible at keeping possession and varies between being straight-up horrible and very good with no steady in-between. I'm hoping that Jermaine Jones can make a dent there.

    As for coaching, I'm not sure that any coach can suddenly make this team work right. We have a lot of good players who don't fit together very well and don't fit a single system. What we really need to do is start with the youngest youth level and set one single playing style that sticks with that generation up until they make the senior team. Of course, that's a decade long process, but we can still win CONCACAF in that time and get some results at the World Cup through that process.
     
  17. CelticKing

    CelticKing The Green Monster

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    Yeah, it will be interesting to see next few years how they develop the team.

    Do you want a foreigner as a coach or it doesn't matter to you?
     
  18. agoo

    agoo Member

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    Doesn't matter. We have foreigners as our main youth level coaches. Colombia's Wilmer Cabrera at U-17 and Holland's Thomas Rongen at the U-20. I'd take a foreigner if they were really a better option than available Americans. I'm not sure there are any though, given the issues in the player pool.
     

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