Heath Pearce Lands In.............Turkey!

American international Heath Pearce has signed for Turkish First Division side Bursaspor (just south of Istanbul).

The Gators are currently in fifth place on seven points after the first four matches of the season.


For more details, check out LFV pal Greg Seltzer's report over on his blog No Short Corners.

Transfer Window Closes

The January transfer window has closed without some of the moves American fans were hoping for as DaMarcus Beasley, Heath Pearce, Oguchi Onyewu, and Brian McBride (to name a few) will be staying put.

Since I'm in the middle of my own transfer, I'll let my friends Bob Wagman at Soccer Times and Greg Seltzer at No Short Corners fill you in.

A Few Things...

I'm sick as a dog today so here are a few things to tide you over.

DaMarcus Beasley is not ready to leave Rangers in Walter Smith's January fire sale.

In yet another sign that Fulham's Clint Dempsey is finally coming into his own, a London paper calls him the "One to Watch" in this weekend's match against West Ham.

And the nasty flu bug working its way around Europe appears to have hit three Hansa Rostock players particularly hard, including American defender Heath Pearce. The crud appears to be keeping Pearce out of training, just at the time when players are trying to prove themselves to new coach Dieter Eilts. Let's hope Heath gets well soon and can get back into the groove.





Get well soon Heath!

Pearce Gets New Coach At Rostock

Just a week after Heath Pearce's Hansa Rostock was crushed 6-0 at Kaiserslutern, a new savior has appeared in manager Dieter Eilts. After picking up only two points in their last five matches, a savior seems to be just what they need.

This is good news for American defender Heath Pearce, whose team is mired in 14th place and instead of seeking promotion back to the Bundesliga, is in danger of relegation to the 3rd division.

Eilts, a former German international with 31 caps, had a storied career at Werder Bremen making 397 appearances and was best know for his grit and incredible work rate in midfield and defense. Until recently he was the coach of Germany's U-21 squad before the federation let him go three weeks ago. Eilts has always had a reputation as a level-headed player and coach and he is expected to bring this approach to the troubled Hansa side.

Eilts makes his coaching debut for Hansa tonight in a nationally televised match against 1860 Munich (Gregg Berhalter's club). Pearce, suspended for two matches after a hard foul in last week's loss to Kaiserslautern, will watch from the stands.

Bundesliga: Pearce Suspended For Two Matches

Hansa Rostock's American defender Heath Pearce has been suspended for two matches for a vicious 64th minute foul he committed against Sidney Sam during his team's 6:0 debacle against 1FC Kaiserslautern on Monday night.

Rostock came into the season with big plans to climb back to the First Bundesliga but now they'll be fighting to prevent relegation to the third division. The club fired coach Frank Pagelsdorf after a slow start and has not fared much better under caretaker Juri Schlünz. There was talk of Thomas Doll or Lothar Matthäus being hired but now it seems no one wants the job. Meanwhile, the Hansa board announced last week that they "have a clear profile of what type of coach we want."

Let's hope for Pearce's sake that they don't take too long in their profiling efforts, otherwise, they'll have a hard time living up to the club's current motto: "Unsinkable since 1965."

Pearce will miss the match against Greg Berhalter's 1860 Munich and the following week against FC Augusburg. His next chance to play in Second Bundesliga action will be December 8th against 1FC Nuernberg, the former team of Joe-Max Moore and Tony Sanneh.

During the same match, Kaiserslautern's American keeper Luis Robles kept a clean sheet in a solid 90 minute performance.

Pearce's Rostock Coach Fired

Like a few other American players this past weekend, Hansa Rostock defender Heath Pearce had to watch from the bench as his team drew a home match with VFL Osnabruck 2-2 in Second Bundesliga play. The Hansa board and fans, after years spent in the First Bundesliga expected to be further along by now in their quest for promotion back to the top flight, not languishing in 12th place with only three wins in 12 matches.

So, this morning Hansa fired coach rank Pagelsdorf and will look to start anew. The 50 year-old former HSV coach was let go at a press conference this morning in Rostock and according to Kicker, Thomas Doll is ready to step in and take over. Doll, a longtime Hansa player back in the 1980s, is seen as a caretaker rather than a long-term solution given his spotty coaching record.

Pagelsdorf is the third coach to be fired in the Second Bundesliga so far this year, following Thomas von Heesen at 1. FC Nürnberg and Rudi Bommer at MSV Duisburg.

So, what does this mean for Pearce? Pagelsdorf was the coach who brought him on so he'll need to work even more to prove himself to Doll. That said, recent national team call ups have left Pearce out of the side and he appears to be having a tougher time getting reintegrated. Thus, a fresh start may give Pearce a chance to step up and reclaim his starting position at left back.

Doll has a reputation for being hard-headed coach and not much of a tactician - his substitution decisions at Dortmund last year left many observers scratching their heads. He is capable of motivating some (but not all) of his players but he always gives everyone a chance. One thing with Doll, if you get in his doghouse, there is no coming out. For Pearce, the trick will be to make sure he never gets in there in the first place.

Bradley, 'Gladbach Get First Road Win Of Season

It took 12 weeks but Borussia Moenchengladbach finally recorded its first road win of the season by downing Arminia Bielefeld 2-0. Michael Bradley went the full 90 and contributed offensively and defensively to the effort - a positive sign after only five previous appearances, mostly as a substitute.

'Gladbach coach Hans Meyer changed five players from last week's 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt but it was German youth phenom Marko Marin who scored both goals for the Foals, staring with a brilliant 6th minute free kick from 20 meters out which tucked just inside the left post. Marin's second came in the 80th minute when he mis-kicked a one-timer which still found the back of the net.

The three points pulled Gladbach out of the relegation zone with 10 points and left Bielefeld in 17th place with 8 points. The Foals will need to collect at least 28 points in their remaining 26 matches if they hope to stay up in the Bundesliga. It won't be easy, especially with next week's test coming against Bayern Munich.

Up north in Hamburg, Neven Subotic and the other Borussia, Dortmund that is, fought hard but fell 2-1, despite the Bosnian-American defender contributing to several dangerous chances and taking two shots of his own.

Elsewhere in Germany tonight, a nagging back injury will keep Grover Gibson out of Rot Weiss Ahlen's side in their Second Bundesliga match against Duisburg. Tomorrow afternoon, Heath Pearce and Hansa Rostock take on VFL Osnabruck in their own DKB Arena.

Edu To Rangers, Subotic and Gibson Score, Pearce On The Move?

Various UK news sources, including Sky Sports and the Globe and Mail are reporting that the final details are being worked out in a deal to bring American Maurice Edu (picured to the right) from Toronto to Glasgow Rangers. After returning from Olympic duty in China, Edu was supposed to be in Glasgow yesterday for Rangers' home opener against Hearts to iron out a deal worth a reported $5 million. Rangers boss Walter Smith confirmed the reports but cautioned that it all "depends on a work permit so it will be a few days before we know about that."

If the deal goes through, the young central midfielder will become the third American to pull on the distinctive blue and white striped Rangers jersey after former midfielder Claudio Reyna and current left midfielder DaMarcus Beasley.

At the same time my buddy Greg Seltzer tells us that some Bundesliga clubs may be interested in acquiring Hansa Rostock's American defender Heath Pearce. If this is the case (and Greg is usually right on), then my spidey sense tells me that interest may coming from none other than Borussia Dortmund boss Juergen Klopp (who recently brought American Neven Subotic from FSV Mainz with him). After BVB's star left back Dede was injured in yesterday's 3-2 win over Leverkusen (in which Subotic scored the match winner in the 49th), Dortmund is in dire need of an experienced left back. Dede will have knee surgery on Monday and will miss at least half of the season. Thus, a Bundesliga-experienced left back like Pearce could be exactly what BVB needs.


In the Second Bundesliga yesterday, LR Ahlen's American striker Grover Gibson (pictured to the left) scored a 56th minute goal to put his team to a 1-0 lead in a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

American defender Steve Cherundolo and his Hannover 96 squad had a rough Bundesliga start in a 3-0 loss to Schalke 04, giving up two goals in the first seven minutes. Hannover's other American, defender Sal Zizzo, did not play.

Still waiting on Freddy Adu's arrival, AS Monaco tied FC Nantes last night 1-1. After a disappointing midweek 2-1 UEFA Cup loss to Norway's Stabaek, Carlos Bocanegra went the full 90 minutes in central defense as his Stade Rennais side lost to Ligue 1 newcomer Grenoble 1-0. FC Lorient midfielder Andrew Jacobson did not dress as his team held French league juggernaut Olympique Lyon to a 0-0 draw.

Howard's Heroic Hands Hold Of Argentina for 0-0 Draw

What a difference a week makes! The US Soccer team showed well this weekend after two sub-par performances against England and Spain the previous week.

Sunday Tim Howard put in one of the best performances by a US goalkeeper since Kasey Keller's 1998 effort against Brazil or Brad Friedel's run in the 2002 World Cup. His stunning seven saves against Argentina in a 0-0 international result this week have taken him from the ranks of the aspiring to the those of the arrived.

And what about Heath Pearce? He was everywhere the Argentines did not want him while his touch and work rate seem to be just what the team needs. He looks like a completely different player since coming under the tutelage of Frank Pagelsdorf at Hansa Rostock. Coach, I think you've found your left back.

There were some other fine performamces from Landon Donovan (who had too much responsibility to carry) and right back Steve Cherundolo for his great job marking Maxi Lopez and Leo Messi (this guy never gets a week off eh?). DaMarcus Beasley looks like he his finding his stride again after his long injury layoff - it was fun to see Messi fouling him in frustration after losing a challenge (and not wanting "Jitterbug" to get away). Others, such as Clint Dempey and Oguchi Oneywu looked effective but tired after their long European seasons.