American Players Abroad

Nine days after splitting ways with Ronald Koeman, Barcelona has found its dream replacement manager. Former Barcelona player Xavi Hernández will look to steer the Catalan cruiser in the right direction after being announced as the new manager. When will Xavi manage his first game?

Xavi will make his Barcelona managerial debut following the international break. His first game in charge will be on Nov. 20 against Espanyol at Camp Nou.

I’ve been watching a lot of Juventus matches lately. With Weston McKennie in fine goal-scoring form, it’s hard not to watch my fellow Texan do things no American has done before while converting soaring headers and powerful strikes. But one facet of his game has made him totally unique at Juventus: the long Weston McKennie throw-in.

Christian Pulisic is back. The American featured in about 20 minutes of Chelsea’s 1-0 Champions League victory against Malmö on Tuesday.

Pulisic was included in a Chelsea lineup for the first time since the Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on Aug. 14. While he might have spent the majority of the night on the bench, it’s the most action for him since his ankle injury against Honduras in September.

Chelsea midfielder Christian Pulisic is ready to return from a long-term injury for Tuesday's Champions League group game against Malmo but Mason Mount will miss out after failing to recover from illness, manager Thomas Tuchel said on Monday.

U.S. international Pulisic, 23, has not played since the Premier League opener in August due to an ankle problem, while Mount travelled with the squad for the 3-0 win at Newcastle United on Saturday but had to withdraw on the eve of the game.

American defender Joe Scally recorded his first Bundesliga goal and assist in the month of October. Scally picked up an assist on Halloween with a spooky good cross to give Borussia Monchengladbach the lead against VfL Bochum. 

Joe Scally Assist 

Weston McKennie scored for a second straight match, but a man who is in even finer goal scoring form struck twice as Juventus lost yet again, this time 2-1 to Hellas Verona on Saturday.

Giovanni Simeone — son of Atlético Madrid manager Diego — followed up his four-goal performance against Lazio on Sunday by scoring twice against Juve in the first 15 minutes on Saturday. The first was a simple tap-in; his second was an absolute worldie that proved to be the match winner.

Ricardo Pepi won’t be playing in Major League Soccer for much longer. The 18-year-old American phenom has requested a transfer from FC Dallas and is being eyed up by some of Europe’s biggest clubs. In an interview with 90 Minute Football, Pepi revealed that his dream is to play for Real Madrid. That begs the question; has an American played for Real Madrid?

As the calendar approaches Halloween, Sergiño Dest is having a truly horrifying streak of missed chances in LaLiga. Barcelona fell 1-0 to Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday in league action and a brutal Sergiño Dest miss could have been the difference.

With Barcelona trailing in the 36th minute, Memphis Depay made a brilliant move to fire in a dangerous cross toward the back post. Dest timed his run to perfection, and with the speed of a bullet he got on to the end of Depay’s cross. The only issue was Dest fired the ball into the stratosphere.

Since losing Cristiano Ronaldo in the offseason, Juventus has struggled to replace the Portuguese star’s impressive goal haul. Ronaldo had an incredible ability to leap for headed goals in his three seasons with the Bianconeri. But this Weston McKennie goal vs Sassuolo showed the Old Lady still has a pretty good option when lobbing balls into the box. Unfortunately for the American, the rest of his team wasn’t up to his level on Wednesday.