Gooch Goes Distance in Friendly Against Saint Etienne

American defender Oguchi Onyewu played a full 90 minutes for Standard Liege Saturday night in a 3-0 loss to French Ligue 1 side Saint Etienne. Despite the impending transfer of Onyewu, Standard coach Laszlo Boloni chose to use the Maryland native in the friendly.

This may indicate that he intends to use Gooch in the third round of Champion's League qualifying against Liverpool starting August 12th. While this would "cup tie" Onyewu, making him unable to play in European matches the rest of the year, this may be a of little consequence since few of the teams interested in him are playing in the Champion's League of UEFA Cup this season.

At the same time, a stout performance in a high profile match against the Reds may be just what he needs to get the offer he is looking for.