Former Chivas USA midfielder Kljestan scores in UEFA Champions League debut
OK, so it was only against a Welsh Premier League outfit in a stadium that seats 1,000, but, hey, a goal is a goal:
(AP) American midfielder Sacha Kljestan scored in his European Champions League debut, helping Belgium's Anderlecht win 3-1 at Wales' The New Saints in the first leg of the third qualifying round on Tuesday night.Kljestan, of Huntington Beach, scored the game's first goal in the seventh minute, He was acquired in June from Major League Soccer and Chivas USA. The 24-year-old had 15 goals and 33 assists in 114 games for Chivas USA over 4½ seasons and was the team's most valuable player in 2008.
He was on the 30-man preliminary World Cup roster before getting cut when it was trimmed to 23.
Kljestan has 24 international appearances and played for the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics. Kljestan also played in Anderlecht's 1-0 win over Ghent in the Belgian Super Cup last Friday.
About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
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