U-S-A!! U-S-A!!

It was a great weekend to be an American playing football abroad. Marcus Hahnemann helped Wolves secure only their second victory of the season in a shocker against Manchester City. It should be noted that of City's 19 shots, only two were on goal - and one of those got past him. Either way, Hahnemann gets a victory no matter how many stops he made.

Now to Craven Cottage where the most in-form American can't stop scoring. Clint Dempsey netted a brace in Fulham's 2-0 over Wigan. He has now tallied four goals this season, and very much on pace to better his total of seven all of last season. I would imagine a number of Americans cringed at the sight of Dempsey's embrace with Carlos Salcido. The Mexican international frustrated Wigan all game, wreaking havoc down the left side and setting up Dempsey's first. For what it's worth, this pair could be extremely menacing for opponents going forward. Highlights of both goals right this way.

One of the continent's big matches took place in Belgium as league leaders Racing Genk hosted second place Anderlicht. And wouldn't you know, Sacha Kljestan opened the scoring for the visitors with a poacher's goal. Kljestan signed a four year deal with the Belgian champions and has scored twice in five appearances (the first came in his debut for the club). Sacha's goal here.

MORE goals from Maurice Edu, and luckily not for the other team. The Rangers man put the home side up 1-0 against Inverness Caledonian Thistle (arguably the best name of any team on the planet). Edu showed great composure rifling the ball on the volley past the goalkeeper. Perhaps the best of all the American goals this weekend.

And although it was midweek, we should give Jozy Altidore a shout-out. The big striker who has struggled to impress anywhere in the past year finally scored for Villarreal in a Copa del Rey match. Playing time has been sparse for Altidore with his New Jersey counterpart Giuseppe Rossi and Nilmar being the preferred strikers. Let's hope this goal is the start of something good for him.

And while we are on the subject of American goals, remember when Landon scored that winner in the World Cup? This montage never gets old.

Charlie Davies recounts the moment he regained consciousness after his accident: "I'm in a hostel and they're trying to steal my organs"

The pictures speak for themselves. On October 13, 2009, Charlie Davies found himself in a horrific car crash, which claimed the life of one of the passengers. His injuries blow your mind and make you wonder how he is still alive: broken tibia and fibula, broken femer, lacerated bladder, fractured and dislocated left elbow, shattered nose, cheeks and forehead (for which they pulled down skin from the top of his head down to the chin to reconstruct). He probably has more metal in his body now than Wolverine.

Somehow, some way, Davies has recovered in a shockingly short time frame. He has already played a number of matches for the Sochaux reserve team and hopes to be back fully fit to play again for the United States in next year's Gold Cup.
In an interview on World Football Daily last week, Charlie went into chilling detail about the very first moments when he regained consciousness after the accident:

Bob Bradley Re-Signs

Some are asking, what might have been. Caution trumps ambition. I couldn't agree more with either of those reactions to Bob Bradley's four year extension by US Soccer. On the first comment of what might have been, we saw the peak (although apparently not) of Bradley's ability as manager. He took us to the final of the Confederations Cup, the farthest USA has advanced in any FIFA sanctioned tournament. We also won our World Cup group for the first time in history. Then we bowed out as swiftly as we entered. Bradley asked his players for everything, and received even more in return. But now it's time for a change. It's time to look forward to the next four years of American football and more importantly, to the next generation. A large number of players on the US squad will be well over 30 in 2014 and a complete overhaul of the system is needed.

MLS' All Star Crock

Events over the past 2 days have clearly illustrated why MLS will never be a significant entity until changes are made. The mentality in this country is skewed as it's become more and more apparent how much football has been Americanized into soccer. On the one hand there's no choice. Everyone agrees this isn't our sport and without tweaking it a bit to cater to the American public, it would never survive. However, this country still has a duty to respect the game, and quite frankly, we don't.

I'll get to the All Star game in a bit, but let's start with the Los Angeles Galaxy - this year's premiere team in MLS. They have dominated all competition so far winning 12, losing 2, and drawing 4. They've scored the most goals in the league and given up the fewest. Topping the Western Conference, they are still 9 points clear of second place Real Salt Lake and 6 points ahead of the Eastern Conference leader. You get the point - they ain't too shabby. The Galaxy took all this talent into Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions League qualifying match against the Puerto Rico Islanders who play in the USL - America's second tier league. Puerto Rico soundly thumped them 4-1 in Los Angeles. 4-1!! What a disgrace. LA is the face of Major League Soccer captained by arguably the most noticeable player on the planet right now in Landon Donovan. There shouldn't be any club team on the continent who comes close. Yet, in our Champions League, what should be the most prestigious tournament for club teams playing in CONCACAF, the Galaxy simply couldn't care less.

America!! F**k Yeh!!

Happy July 4th everyone! Surely you're all out and about drinking and making mistakes. But while I have a few minutes to rest my sprained ankle, I thought I'd pay homage to this great nation with some of the best we've had to offer in our footballing history.

Starting with, of course, Donovan's winner. This montage will probably give me goosebumps until the day I die.



This next video will take you from the glory of our 1950 win versus England up to the mammoth upset of Spain in the Confederations Cup last summer.

It Was Never Meant to Be

(Soccernet/Jim Brown/US Presswire)

Call me cynical for having always having my doubts. It's been a roller coaster supporting the United States men's national team leading up to and including the World Cup. The highs (and lows) of the Confederations Cup last summer, the comebacks against England and Slovenia after conceding early, the heart stopping finish against Algeria, and of course the finale versus Ghana. We are lucky to have a talented squad, oozing with mental toughness, class acts, hard workers, and potential. But all that amounts to nothing, however, if you can't convert that into a complete winning mentality with goals and victories. The key word here is a complete winning mentality. Quite frankly, this team didn't have it, nor the proper leadership to cultivate it.

How the Rest of the Country Reacted...

In Houston, TX



In Lincoln, Nebraska



In Pasadena, CA



In Kansas City, MO