Johnny Cardoso pushing for a top award, Brenden Aaronson’s creative Union Berlin goodbye and Timothy Weah’s emotional farewell to the boss all play a part in this week’s USMNT player tracker.
Each week we’ve been bringing you updates on how American players in leagues around Europe fared over the weekend.
With a Copa America to host this year and 2026 World Cup co-hosting duties looming ever larger on the horizon, we’ve kept tabs on how they have performed. Welcome to your final instalment of the USMNT Player Tracker for the 2023-24 campaign.
How to follow the Copa America on The Athletic…
Issue of the weekend
Arriving in a major European league from abroad is supposed to be tough. Players frequently take up to a whole season to adjust fully to the different demands.
Johnny Cardoso did not get that memo.
The USMNT midfielder hit the ground running in La Liga after his January move to Real Betis from Brazilian side Internacional on a five-year deal. In just five months, he looks like a Spanish top-flight veteran, producing enough polished displays to earn rave reviews and reportedly alert bigger clubs across Europe.
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The latest acknowledgement of the 22-year-old’s success was his nomination for La Liga’s young player of the season despite only gracing half of the campaign.
Cardoso is in esteemed company: Barcelona’s 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal is on the shortlist, too, as is Real Madrid forward Rodrygo.
Regardless of whether the New Jersey-born midfielder wins or not, his star is firmly in the ascendancy and, should he impress at the USMNT training camp pre-tournament, it raises another conundrum for national coach Gregg Berhalter as he ponders his over-stocked midfield options.
Cardoso’s unflappable ability with the ball in tight spaces, operating in a defensive role, has received praise and he credits his time in Brazil’s Serie A for helping him transition smoothly into Spanish football.
“Here, the game is much more with the ball on your feet, much more technical,” he said in an interview with ESPN Brazil. “And in Brazil, there was a lot of physical stuff too.
“But obviously Brazil was very important to me, and I use a lot of the things I learned in Brazil here so that I can continue to evolve and enjoy it too, because it is a very special league, a league that I always dreamed of playing in. And, well, my adaptation has been incredible.”
Before a busy summer back in the United States, his experience in South American football will continue to stand him in good stead.
Player of the weekend
Credit to Brenden Aaronson, who responded to a difficult start to the campaign in Germany by battling back to become an important player for Union Berlin.
The 23-year-old struggled for starts as his side suffered nine consecutive league defeats between September and mid-November. But Aaronson, who spent the season on loan in Berlin after struggling to break into the team at parent club Leeds United, found his fortunes improving from February.
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He broke into Marco Grote’s first XI and scored twice, with two assists, as Union’s relegation scrap went down to the last day of the campaign on Saturday.
The second of those assists was undoubtedly the most important as he created Benedict Hollerbach’s opening goal in the 2-1 win against Freiburg that ultimately sealed their top-flight survival.
That relief seemed on a knife’s edge after Ritsu Doan scored an 85th-minute leveller for the visitors, but Janik Haberer’s stoppage-time penalty rebound ensured Union will compete in the Bundesliga again next term.
For Aaronson, it was a fitting farewell as he signed off on a high before his likely involvement in the USMNT squad at July’s Paris Olympics.
The Union website referred to the New Jersey-native as a ‘Wunderkind’ in an article confirming his exit but, despite his potential, there is still uncertainty over where he will play his football next term.
With Leeds pushing for a return to the Premier League via the play-offs this weekend, it remains to be seen whether he will feature for them in England next season — or be allowed to leave for regular minutes again.
Quote of the weekend
“Sad day in Turin. Dear Mister Allegri, as you bid farewell to Juventus, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for how dedicated you were to the cause and for the passion you brought to our club. Thank you for having believed in me and thank you for changing my life. I will forever be in debt.”
Tim Weah offered a heartfelt farewell to sacked Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri.
Along with compatriot Weston McKennie, Weah, 24, ended his season with silverware after he was introduced as a second-half substitute for Juve in their Coppa Italia win over Atalanta last Wednesday.
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Graphic of the weekend
Antonee Robinson has been a standout performer in Fulham’s solid second season back in the Premier League.
The USMNT full-back can be a force of nature up and down that left flank, offering energy and athleticism alongside his defensive aggression. His display on Sunday was perhaps not his most eye-catching of the campaign but he was still a useful outlet, making 12 touches in the attacking third (see graphic above) as Fulham won 4-2 at relegated Luton Town.
Robinson will hope to carry his encouraging club form with him to the Copa this summer.
How did other U.S. players get on?
Name: Kevin Paredes
Club: Wing-back/midfielder
Position: Wolfsburg
Appearances in all competitions: 29
Goals: Three
The 21-year-old scored for his club on the final day of the season, putting them 1-0 up against Mainz on Saturday. The visitors responded emphatically to win 3-1, leaving Wolfsburg 12th, but Paredes enjoyed a strong second half to the campaign after breaking into the first team in January.
Name: Tim Ream
Club: Fulham
Position: Centre-back
Appearances: 21
Goals: One
Ream, 36, had not played a club game since February but returned to the starting lineup as captain for Fulham’s final game of the season, a 4-2 win at Luton Town.
Name: Chris Richards
Club: Crystal Palace
Position: Centre-back
Appearances: 31
Goals: One
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Richards signed off an impressive campaign in style, putting in an assured display as Palace signed off with a 5-0 win against Champions League-bound Aston Villa.
The centre-half has established himself as a key part of Palace’s back line this season. Oliver Glasner even asked returning captain Marc Guehi to play in midfield rather than disrupt his established back three of Richards, Joachim Andersen and Nathaniel Clyne.
Name: Kristoffer Lund
Club: Palermo
Position: Left-back
Appearances: 42
Goals: Two
Lund produced a strong performance against Sampdoria, contributing an assist in Palermo’s 2-0 Serie B play-off win over Andrea Pirlo’s side.
It means Lund will now confront compatriots Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio as Palermo take on Venezia in the two-legged semi-final for a chance at promotion to the Italian top flight. The Danish-American made 35 league appearances for his club after joining from Swedish side Hacken last summer.
Name: Tyler Adams
Club: Bournemouth
Position: Midfield
Appearances: Four
The USMNT star did not feature for his Premier League club on the final day of the season, raising fresh concerns about his fitness for this summer’s Copa America — but, after Bournemouth’s 2-1 defeat against Chelsea, manager Andoni Iraola clarified that the absence was not down to a new injury concern for a player who missed large parts of the campaign with hamstring and back issues.
“We didn’t want to take any risks,” said Iraola. “The last game of the season, for us it’s very important that Tyler starts the pre-season in the best condition, without any small issues. So we decided not to take any risks there.”
Name: Paxten Aaronson
Club: Vitesse Arnhem (on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt)
Position: Midfield
Appearances (for Eintracht and Vitesse): 28
Goals: Four
The younger Aaronson brother produced a strong display for his relegated loan club Vitesse as they drew 2-2 with Ajax on Sunday to close out a difficult season on a defiant note.
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What’s coming up?
(All times Eastern)
Cameron Carter-Vickers will hope to finish a title-winning season on another high as his Celtic team face rivals Rangers in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday (10am).
Cardoso has been great for Real Betis but let’s not forget the gifted Luca de la Torre, another USMNT player who has impressed in La Liga this season. De la Torre’s Celta Vigo play Valencia on Saturday (3pm, ESPN+). At the same time, Cardoso will hope another strong display boosts his chances of being named the La Liga Under-23 player of the year, as Betis play champions Real Madrid (3pm, ESPN +).
Also on Saturday, Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah will look to end successful seasons at the San Siro on a high as AC Milan face Salernitana (TBC, Paramount +).
(Top photos: Getty Images)
