The other side... plus

We spend so much time going over all things American transfer scuttlebutt, that I figured it would be good to take a quick gander at things popping overseas that don't involve our favorite soccer sons.

As you know, I am health-challenged (the term "sick" demeans my mental status... and is slightly too accurate in that regard), so it's stick-and-move time...

• Bundesliga darlings Hoffenheim have been searching high and low for a replacement striker to spell done-for-the-season goal monster (and former St. Louis University Billiken) Vedad Ibišević... and they came up with a loan for Werder Bremen's Boubcar Sanogo.
  
  Muh huh.
  
  All that coin, all that time, all those actual excellent forwards linked with a transfer to you (Brozak, Dindane, Guilherme, Janko, Kalinić, etc.)... I hope you enjoy how he routinely gets himself in amazing positions before firing over wildly.
  
  Bayern, enjoy your crown.

• While not a transfer, PSV Eindhoven boss Huub Stevens has jettisoned himself out of FarmerTown after just over six months on the job because he's lost the room.
  
  I'm not exactly sure why the players think they are so much better than this fine coach, being that the four-peat champs are 15 points off the league lead. I don't recall him backing off any tackles, missing any sitters, allowing any bleeders or discussing glamour moves in the media for months on end.
  
  (giggle)
  
  

• Here are some of the key club/position vacancies to watch over the last few days of the transfer window: AC Milan/center back, Ajax/striker, Arsenal/striker, Bayer Leverkusen/keeper, Bayern Munich/keeper, Everton/striker, Hamburg/defensive midfielder, Juventus/attacker, Paris. St. Germain/defender, Portsmouth/defensive midfielder, Schalke/attacker, Tottenham/striker and finally, of course, Manchester City/somebody really expensive.

Okay, I know I said this wouldn't involve American topics earlier... scrap that, I don't want to make a separate post for these snippets.

• A Belgian report claims that Russian holders Rubin Kazan have Oguchi Onyewu on their short list for the obligatory Champions League strengthening.
  
  I'm not sure this would be attractive to Gooch, but as you can see, his addition would give them quite the nice spine along with Ryzhikov/Popov/Semak/Noboa/Gökdeniz/Kabze.
  

• No one is talking at all in the Sacha Kljestan affair, not a word. They're even sending other people to decline comment now. There has to be a new player at the table, folks. This can't just be MLS jacking the price up from a "B" friendly... right?
  

• Heath Pearce will play out the season at Hansa Rostock, then be free to choose this summer. Two Danish teams and a Dutch team tried (to varying degrees) in recent days, but the Germans have insisted on keeping him.

• And now, I'm even gonna tackle a bit of Women's Pro Soccer, which kicks off in spring. Chicago have nicked Arsenal ace Karen Carney, who can now team up with USWNY stars Carli Lloyd and Lindsay Tarpley in what should be one heck of an attack. With Kate Markgraf marshaling the back line, the Red Stars look like early favorites to me. Find out when they open against Hope Solo and St. Louis on April 5th.
  

• The Orlando Sentinel says Real Salt Lake are battling Newell's Old Boys and others for young Quito forward Luis Miguel Escalada.

• I forgot to mention this earlier: Kamani Hill reportedly has an offer from Aue and is thinking it over.

I will add as I go, there's more I want to get to, but it's dizzy time again. I usually only get ill once a year, and I've already done so twice this winter. I must be peaking.

Again, back in a spell...


- Greg Seltzer