Tag: Tim Ream

USMNT captain Tim Ream justifiably called out Sergiño Dest over his embarrassing tantrum and red card

Dest had one of the uglier meltdowns we’ve seen.

The U.S. men’s national team qualified for the 2024 Copa America and advanced in the CONCACAF Nations League on Monday, but it certainly didn’t happen in the way the team would have preferred.

Heading into the second leg up 3-0 against 99th-ranked Trinidad & Tobago, the USMNT lost 2-1 and played much of the match down a man. The familiar score line and loss to Trinidad was embarrassing enough, but Sergiño Dest’s behavior on the field was on a different level of shameful.

Dest was shown a red card in the 39th minute after frustrations about officiating led to him kicking the ball towards the stands and shouting at the referee as his teammates desperately tried to calm the PSV defender down.

Though the USMNT was already playing an uninspired match, the team was up 1-0 at the time. Being forced to play a man down changed the entire dynamic of the game, and Trinidad responded with two unanswered goals. While the USMNT did hold on to the aggregate advantage, the players were visibly livid with Dest after the match.

Captain Tim Ream didn’t disclose what the players said to Dest in the locker room, but he didn’t hold back on his disappointment with Dest in the postgame press conference. You almost never see a player speak about a teammate like this, and in Ream’s case, he was totally justified for it.

Dest did apologize for his meltdown after the match, but that had to be one awkward flight back to the U.S. (and back to PSV with USMNT teammates Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman).

USMNT fans were also furious with Dest. He really had no excuse for that tantrum.

Inter Miami youngster Cremaschi impressing Pulisic, Ream at first USMNT camp

Add Pulisic and Ream to the list of players who see big things for Cremaschi

These are heady days for Inter Miami’s Benjamin Cremaschi.

Less than a year ago, the 18-year-old was suiting up for the club’s MLS Next Pro side, pursuing an MLS contract.

Flash forward just 10 months, and the dual national is routinely connecting with Lionel Messi and getting U.S. men’s national team call-ups.

The latest chapter showing just how much Cremaschi’s life has changed came Thursday, when USMNT veterans Christian Pulisic and Tim Ream both singled the versatile Miami midfielder out for praise.

Asked on Ream’s The American Dream podcast for new faces in camp that have impressed, Pulisic cited Cremaschi right away.

“I really like this kid out of Miami, man,” said Pulisic. “Nice kid. It’s been exciting to follow Miami recently for obvious reasons. And yeah, I like him. In the few trainings I’ve seen him, I see a lot of potential there as well. So that’d be one that I would say [has impressed], but, I mean, [I’ve] seen good things from a lot of them, to be honest, a lot of the new guys.”

Cremaschi has been a high-energy compliment to Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba, producing one goal and four assists since the trio of former Barcelona stars joined Miami. New manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino has used the Miami native as both a box-to-box midfielder and on the wing, and like teammate Robert Taylor has thrived in the open space created by opponents collapsing on Messi.

Cremaschi looking ‘sharp’ at USMNT camp

For his part, Ream’s evaluation of the USMNT’s newcomers took him to the same conclusion, with the Fulham defender praising Cremaschi’s game as well.

“Yeah, I would agree,” said Ream, adding that in his view, Cremaschi “has looked good.”

“He’s looked sharp. He’s technical, not afraid to get into a tackle,” continued Ream. “Benja and I think Kristoffer [Lund], he’s kind of settling in [too]. Obviously English is more of a second language, but both very good with their English. [Cremaschi] has been the most impressive for sure in the couple of training sessions that we’ve had.”

Ream alluded to another dual national in camp, the Danish-American fullback Lund. That proved timely, as FIFA approved the Palermo left back’s one-time federation switch shortly after the podcast episode was published.

For Cremaschi, meanwhile, an appearance in the USMNT’s friendlies against Uzbekistan (Sept. 9) and Oman (Sept. 12) would not guarantee his international future to U.S. Soccer. As both matches are friendlies, Cremaschi would still be eligible to play for Argentina, who have Messi lobbying his club teammate to keep the Albiceleste in mind.

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Americans in the Premier League in 2023-24

Eight USMNT players are in the English top flight this season

The U.S. contingent on Premier League rosters may have diminished in the last couple of months, but the group is still solid.

Even after Serie A became the summer’s hot new league to play in for U.S. men’s national team players, eight remain on rosters in the English top flight.

With Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson holding it down at Fulham, and moves for Tyler Adams and Matt Turner to stay in the English top flight, four players seem set for plenty of starts in the world’s most highly-regarded league.

On the other hand, a quartet of players face something of a battle for minutes at their clubs, though Chris Richards has at least appeared in cup play for Crystal Palace.

Here are the eight Americans playing in the Premier League this season:

The Americans Abroad Five: PSV showing promise for USMNT trio

Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi should all be big factors for the Dutch giants this season

In the span of just a few months, PSV became one of the first clubs on the list of anyone monitoring Americans Abroad.

Three players who figure to play a key role over the next decade for the U.S. men’s national team — Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi — all joined the Dutch giants over the summer.

The transformation of PSV into a hub for Americans is largely due to Earnie Stewart, the former sporting director of U.S. Soccer who now holds the same position with PSV.

The season is still young, but there are some promising signs coming out of Eindhoven for all three USMNT players.

Dest looks to be the player who’s immediately benefitted the most, but Tillman and Pepi can also be encouraged by their first month at the club.

Let’s kick off this week’s Five with a look at PSV’s American trio.

The Americans Abroad Five: A fresh start for Brenden Aaronson

There are some early signs of positivity in Aaronson’s loan at Union Berlin

Last season was rough on Brenden Aaronson.

After a promising start with Leeds, the U.S. national team attacker faded badly down the stretch en route to an ugly outcome for both player and team.

For Aaronson? Just one goal and three assists in more than 2,300 league minutes. For Leeds? Relegation.

Though a season in the Championship could have had its benefits for the 22-year-old, the chance to join a Bundesliga side in the Champions League was clearly too good to pass up.

It’s obviously way too soon to judge Aaronson’s loan with Union Berlin, but there are at least some early signs of positivity. Let’s look at Aaronson’s Bundesliga debut to kick off the Five this week.

The Americans Abroad Five season review: The best and worst of 2022-23

Some teams were fun, some very much weren’t. Some players broke out, while others broke down

With the European club season in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to take stock of the year that was for Americans Abroad.

In many ways, 2022-23 felt like a preamble, a precursor to a much more significant club season to come. For the future of the U.S. men’s national team, what comes next will be more significant than what came before.

That’s because so many vital USMNT players are unsettled due to the nature of their 2022-23 campaign — some are ready to move up the food chain due to standout seasons, while others need a change of scenery for less positive reasons.

Before we turn the page to next season, let’s take a look back by handing out a few accolades for some notable Americans Abroad.

Ream: I’ll tell my grandkids about Guardiola compliment — even if it was backhanded

It’s true: Guardiola really did tell Ream he would be playing for him if he were 10 years younger

Tim Ream has said he’ll be able to tell his grandkids about an encounter he had with Pep Guardiola after a Fulham-Manchester City match last fall.

The story was originally recounted by then-U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter after Ream was selected for the 2022 World Cup roster.

“Tim Ream just played against Man City and after the game, Guardiola walks up to him and says, ‘If you were 24 instead of 34, you’d be playing for me,’” Berhalter said.

“So Tim said, ‘It’s too bad I’m not 34, I’m 35.’”

Speaking to Pro Soccer Wire, Ream called Berhalter’s version of the story “pretty accurate” and said the run-in with City’s manager took place in the tunnel of Etihad Stadium after Erling Haaland had scored a stoppage-time penalty to give City a 2-1 win.

“I was heading to the bus and [Guardiola] stopped me and said that,” Ream said. “For me, I wouldn’t say it’s the culmination, because I’m not finished playing, but to have a manager of that caliber, a manager of that quality stop and recognize what you’re doing is pretty cool.”

Ream said Guardiola may have been flying high after City’s win, but was still happy the manager felt compelled to offer some praise to “an old guy” who turned out to be even older than he thought.

“Some may see it as a backhanded compliment and it very well could have been,” Ream added. “I’m sure he was feeling good after they scored a 90-plus minute penalty to win the match and he felt like dishing out a compliment to an old guy.

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“It’s a pretty cool anecdote to have for myself in my career, just to have that recognition that somebody of his quality recognizes that you are doing something in a really good way. It was a pretty cool moment that I’ll be able to take. Obviously I told my kids, and I’ll tell my grandkids when he’s still managing in potentially 20 to 30 years.”

Ream had a stellar campaign with Fulham, starting every game and captaining the Cottagers until he suffered a broken arm in the reverse fixture against City on April 30.

The center back also started all four of the USMNT’s World Cup matches, though that arm injury will keep him out of national team action this summer.

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Tim Ream to miss USMNT summer tournaments with arm injury

A broken arm will sideline Ream for the Nations League and Gold Cup

Tim Ream’s broken arm will sideline him from CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup action this summer, the U.S. men’s national team defender has told Pro Soccer Wire.

Ream suffered the injury with Fulham in a Premier League match against Manchester City on April 30, with the veteran center back undergoing surgery days later.

Fulham has said it expects Ream back for its preseason, which will begin in July. Ream said he was holding out hope he could play some part for the USMNT this summer, but the two competitions ultimately would arrive too soon.

“I’m definitely not playing any part with the U.S. unfortunately,” Ream said in an interview. “There was an outside chance that I would have been able to for the Gold Cup. Nations League is too soon.

“I am under strict orders of six weeks of no-contact training or physical activity. So six weeks comes I believe two days before the Nations League semifinal. And that only leaves me two days of contact training, and that’s not really conducive to performing at a high level with the national team.

“So I’m obviously ruled out of [Nations League] medically and then with the Gold Cup being so soon after, we’ve taken the decision to let the arm heal even more.

“Because if I leave it and come back for preseason that puts me at between nine and 10 weeks of of healing. And that’s a whole heck of a lot better than saying ‘OK, let’s take a risk at six weeks.'”

The USMNT will face Mexico on June 15 in the Nations League semifinal, with the final scheduled for three days later. The U.S. will then kick off the 2023 Gold Cup against Jamaica on June 24, with the final set for July 16.

Ream started all four of the USMNT’s games at the 2022 World Cup, and was set to play a major role in the Nations League at least.

Ream set for Summer Series

Though he’ll miss out for the USMNT this summer, Ream said he expects to be fit for Fulham’s preseason tour of the United States.

The Cottagers are one of six teams in the Premier League Summer Series, the league’s first preseason tournament in the USA. Ream said he’s looking forward to showing his teammates how big the Premier League has become in his home country.

“I’m looking forward to bringing the team to the U.S. and showing them the amount of fans that are based in the U.S.,” the 35-year-old said. “Being able to come and play in some big cities, nice stadiums and just show where the culture is with soccer in the U.S. and show my teammates what it’s like.

“Obviously there’s a lot of [Americans] playing in the Premier League now and the interest just grows with the number of players that we have over here.”

Ream first moved to the Premier League in 2011-12 with Bolton and he said that compared to back then, more fans in the United States have made up their minds when it comes to their Premier League allegiances.

“There was a lot of flip-flopping teams, right? Whatever teams were winning at the time, fans were happy to kind of jump on bandwagons,” Ream said. “Now you’re seeing more and more people who are picking teams and sticking with them, no matter what happens.”

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The Americans Abroad Five: Carnage, carnage everywhere

It was the kind of weekend where those who played envied those who didn’t

This has not been the greatest season overall for Americans Abroad, and this weekend was a nice little encapsulation of that sad reality.

It was the kind of weekend where those who played envied those who didn’t. Where, in one day, three of the best performing Americans in Europe were lost for the season. Where more shocking performances left some top USMNT players staring relegation right in the face.

It was carnage. And relief may not be coming anytime soon.

Let’s look back on a truly ugly weekend in the Five.

Tim Ream exits Fulham-Man City match with ugly arm injury

The veteran defender has played his last game in 2022-23

One of the best performing Americans in Europe has played his last game this season.

Tim Ream, who has started every Premier League game for Fulham in a resurgent 2022-23 campaign, was forced out in the first half of Sunday’s match against Manchester City with a serious looking arm injury.

Midway through the first half at Craven Cottage, Ream awkwardly fell after a collision with Julián Álvarez in the box. The defender immediately grabbed his right arm in pain after what looked like a bad injury.

Issa Diop came on to replace the U.S. international, who received a big ovation from the home fans as he left the field in a makeshift sling.

After his side fell 2-1 to City, Fulham manager Marco Silva confirmed that Ream had suffered a broken arm.

Speaking to Sky Sports about Ream and Andreas Pereira, who was also injured in the game, Silva said: “They are both in hospital. They both look [like] serious injuries. Tim Ream looks like a fracture in his arm. Let’s wait to see if it’s not serious with Andreas.”

Silva later added to to Match of the Day: “It looked clear Tim Ream will not play for us this season, [he’s] broken his arm.”

Ream has experienced a renaissance in 2022-23, becoming one of the top center backs in the Premier League at age 35 while working his way back to the U.S. national team. The veteran started all four of the USMNT’s games at the 2022 World Cup.

The 35-year-old will not only miss Fulham’s remaining five games of the season, but is now also a major doubt for the USMNT’s two competitions this summer.

The USMNT will face Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal in June, and will also look to defend its Gold Cup title starting the same month.

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