Posted by ian Clarke

April 20 , 2014 Email

Ian Clarke



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The sun is shining, everyone has an extra spring in their step and it is an exciting time of year to be following football as there is barely a minute to spare following teams around the world. For Canadians outside of our borders, it is good to see a handful competing in MLS each week, and across the Atlantic in Europe, there are some big battles to get teams promoted, and some that are looking like they will avoid relegation. From Kevin McKenna at FC Koln, David Edgar at Burnley, Iain Hume at Fleetwood Town and Roberto Stillo at Perugia, all of them are in a good spot to get straight up a division, and in the case of McKenna and Edgar, are on the cusp of going back to the top flight in their respective leagues. McKenna specifically has been an inspiring story as he has returned from injury into a Koln side who were top of the table without him, but he has been given 90 minutes of late and has his side sitting in first place ahead of Greuther Furth. A win over Bochum on Monday will put them on step closer to promotion as third placed Paderborn are the only team within reach of stopping them from getting back into the Bundesliga. In Japan

Perhaps one of the most interesting moves this past offseason was seeing Dejan Jakovic move from DC United of MLS over to Shimizu S-Pulse of the J-League. Most are not familiar with the league or precedents set of North Americans going over and making an impact. Daigo Kobayashi, who played for Vancouver last season, was on S-Pulse and perhaps the only connection most could make of Jakovic’s move to the club. However, after a rough start to the season that saw them drop two their first three games, the Shizuoka side have been on an impressive four game winning streak and most importantly, Dejan Jakovic has been playing every game of the 360 minutes without conceding a goal. This past weekend they continued their find form away to Tokushima Vortis and Jakovic once again played all 90 in a 4-0 victory. The win has propelled them into 6th place and in the mix for the top of the table. Their form should continue as their next game is hosting second last placed Vegalta Sendai. In Turkey

In a huge battle to get into the Champions League, Atiba Hutchinson’s Besiktas earned a critical draw against Fenerbahce which has given them a bit of breathing room over Galatasary, who lost their second game in a row on Saturday, 4-0 to visiting Kasimpasa. Besiktas are coming together at the right time as they have not been consistent all season and their draw last weekend paired with Galatasaray’s loss was not ideal, but to earn a point against league leaders Fenerbahce is a positive in ensuring we could see the Canadian back in the Champions League for the first time since he was on Copenhangen. Besiktas have two tough games on their schedule coming up – away to Sivasspor and hosting Kasimpass. These two games will likely determine where they end up, either right into the Champions League, or just on the outside in the Europa League, which has been a blow to many teams domestic ambitions over the last few years.

Tosaint Ricketts sends home the winner as Bucaspor come out on top 2-1

Here's how the rest of Canada's Internationals did Across the Pond: Daniel Haber – Apollon Limassol (CPR – D1):

Next match, Wednesday April 23 v Anorthosis. David Edgar – Burnley (ENG - D2):

Friday, April 18, subbed in at the 90+ minute in a 1-0 victory over Blackpool. Simeon Jackson – Millwall (ENG – D2):

Saturday, April 19, did not play in a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough. Michael Petrasso – Queen’s Park Rangers (ENG – D2):

Saturday, April 19, did not play in a 1-0 loss to Leicester City. Terry Dunfield – Oldham Athletic (ENG – D3):

Friday, April 18, did not play in a 1-0 victory over Colchester United. Iain Hume – Fleetwood Town (ENG – D4):

Friday, April 18, played 75 minutes in a 2-1 victory over Cheltenham Town. Marcel De Jong – FC Augsburg (GER - D1):

Saturday, April 18, did not play in a 0-0 draw with Hertha BSC. Samuel Piette – Fortuna Dusseldorf (GER – D2):

Thursday, April 17, did not play in a 3-0 victory over Sandhausen. Kevin McKenna – FC Koln (GER – B2):

Next match, Monday April 21 v Bochum. Olivier Occean – Kaiserslautern (GER - D1):

Sunday, April 20, subbed in at the 85th minute in a 3-2 victory over FSV Frankfurt. Andre Hainault – Aalen (GER – B2):

Sunday, April 20, played all 90 minutes in a 0-0 draw with Ingolstadt. Randy Edwini-Bonsu – Stuttgarter Kickers (GER – D3):

Saturday, April 19, played 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Hallescher FC. Nik Ledgerwood – MSV Duisburg (GER – D3):

Saturday, April 19, subbed in at the 62nd minute in a 1-0 victory over Osnabruck. Adam Straith – Wehen Wiesbaden (GER - D3):

Saturday, April 19, did not play in a 1-0 victory over Chemnitzer FC. Daniel Stanese – Augsburg II (GER – D4):

Sunday, April 20, did not play in a 0-0 draw with Buchbach. Caleb Clarke – Augsburg II (GER – D4):

Sunday, April 20, played 70 minutes in a 0-0 draw with Buchbach. Tomer Chencinski – Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR – D1):

Next match, Monday April 21 v Maccabi Herzliya. Roberto Stillo – Perugia (ITA – D3):

Next match, Sunday April 27 v Salernitana. Dejan Jakovic – Shimizu S-Pulse (JPN – D1):

Saturday, April 19, played all 90 minutes in a 4-0 victory over Tokushima Vortis. Pedro Pacheco – Santa Clara (POR – D2):

Saturday, April 19, played 90+ minutes and received a RED CARD (accumulation) in a 2-1 loss to Tondela. Atiba Hutchinson – Besiktas (TUR – D1):

Sunday, April 20, played all 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Fenerbahce. Tosaint Ricketts – Bucaspor (TUR – D2):

Sunday, April 20, played all 90 minutes and scored A GOAL in a 2-1 victory over Orduspor.

Lucas Cavallini – Nacional (URU – D1):

Next match, Monday April 21 v Penarol.



ACROSS THE BORDER Issey Nakajima-Farran scores again for TFC, but it's not enough as they could not hold on and were downed 2-1 by FC Dallas.





Tesho Akindele – FC Dallas:

Saturday, April 19, did not play in a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC. Patrice Bernier – Montreal Impact:

Saturday, April 19, played all 90 minutes in a 4-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City. Karl Ouimette – Montreal Impact:

Saturday, April 19, played all 90 minutes in a 4-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City. Maxim Tissot – Montreal Impact:

Saturday, April 19, played all 90 minutes in a 4-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City. Rob Friend – LA Galaxy:

Saturday, April 19, subbed in at the 72nd minute in a 2-2 draw with Vancouver Whitecaps. Will Johnson – Portland Timbers:

Saturday, April 19, played all 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake. Dwayne De Rosario – Toronto FC:

Saturday, April 19, did not play in a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Issey Nakajima-Farran – Toronto FC:

Saturday, April 19, played 81 minutes and scored A GOAL in a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Kyle Bekker – Toronto FC:

Saturday, April 19, played all 90 minutes in a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Doneil Henry – Toronto FC:

Saturday, April 19, did not play in a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Jonathan Osorio – Toronto FC:

Saturday, April 19, played all 90 minutes in a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Russel Teibert – Vancouver Whitecaps:

Saturday, April 19, played 45 minutes in a 2-2 draw with LA Galaxy.