Grand & Gracious News

Michael Bradley bagged 2 more goals for Heerenveen this weekend including the game winner. Many readers have disparaged the Dutch league as lacking in quality, yet while it is not the best I don't think you can discount the amazing season Bradley is having. See match details in Americans In Europe below.

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Make sure you check out the match reports for Dallas v Paranaense on Saturday. 2 Brazilian players were Red Carded in the first half for attacking the referee. Insanity. See MLS Preseason Friendlies below.

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"It’s an orgy of riches." Jozy Altidore on his blog post for the New York Times Goal blog. See USA Olympic Team below.


MLS News

Sports Illustrated with a slide show of the biggest names to change teams in MLS this offseason.
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Michael C Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune looks at Real Salt Lake's efforts to improve their defense during the offseason.
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Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch looks the Crew's desire to get "tougher" on the field with opponents.
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Nick Firchau of Chicago's Southtown Star with an article on former Fire player turned Technical Director Frank Klopas.
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Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune with a story on the Fire's really chaotic offseason.
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John Haydon of the Washington Times checks out the return from ankle surgery for DC's Ben Olsen.
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Andrew Winner at Soccer Training Info tries to find other ways that goals scored to measure the success of Lindsey Buckingham in the league. There are a lot of ways.
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MLS Season Previews

James Edward of the Deseret Morning News previews the Western Conference.
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MLS Stadium Talk

This one snuck in a couple of weeks ago and it was missed by me, but CNW is reporting that a company has officially been hired to do the actual construction work on Red Bull Park aka The Heavy Lifting. I know this doesn't seem like much, but the fact that one had not been hired yet is a bit surprising. Anyway, its moving forward right. (thanks to Gene for this one)
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MLS Preseason Friendlies

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 22
Chicago 0-1 Colorado in Jackson MS
Match report from the Jackson Clarion Ledger.
Dallas 2-1 Paranaense (Brazil) - The USA-Brazil Challenge at PHP - Dallas wins 4-1 on aggregate.
Match report by Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Match report by Diego Aparicio of the Dallas Morning News.
Match report from 3rd Degree.
Kansas City 1-0 Salt Lake in Norman OK at the Saturn Challenge Cup
Match report from the Norman Transcript.
Match report from the Oklahoman.
Match report from the Deseret Morning News.
Columbus v Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) at Crew Stadium
Match report by Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch.
Post game notes by Mitchell on his Covering The Crew blog.
Richmond (USL 2nd Div) 3-0 DC at University of Richmond Stadium
Match report from the Richmond Times Dispatch.
Chivas USA v Real Espana (Honduras) at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium
Match report from the Chivas website.
-Mon Mar 24
Salt Lake v Lobos in Salt Lake
-Fri Mar 28
Portland v San Jose in Portland at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex
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I wonder why every time I seem the name Metapan, my mind reads it as Meatpan?
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Carolina Challenge Cup

Preseason Tournament March 15-22 in Charleston South Carolina
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Final Team Standings:
9 San Jose Earthquakes
4 Charleston Battery
2 New York Red Bulls
1 Toronto FC
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Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 15
San Jose 1-0 Toronto - lightning shortened the game to 77 minutes.
New York 1-1 Charleston - weather caused them to move the game to Sunday.
-Wed Mar 19
New York 1-1 Toronto
San Jose 2-1 Charleston
-Sat Mar 22
Toronto 0-2 Charleston
San Jose 3-0 New York
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Charleston Battery - host team website.
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Saturday match reports from the Charleston Post & Courier.
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MLS Rumors - Don't Tease Me Bro

Word from MetroFanatic on a potential new Red Bull player - Venezuelan Ronald Vargas who plays for Caracas.
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Luis Arroyave on The Red Card blog says its looking good for a Barcelona game in Chicago this summer.
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College News

Here's a pretty cool one - a regular reader David told me that his brother Daniel who is an assistant coach at Winthrop University in South Carolina was headed to Uganda in Africa to scout players. Daniel has been doing a blog. I know that today is his last day there, but the two weeks worth of notes he posted are pretty cool. I love this kinda story. (Thanks for sending this to us David, much appreciated!)
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Team USA

Team USA official blog.
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-Wed Mar 26
Poland v USA - International friendly from Krakow, live at 2:30pm central time on Fox Soccer Channel.
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USA Roster For Wednesday Match In Poland-
G:
Marcus Hahnemann - Reading
Tim Howard - Everton
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Fulham
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover 96
Jay DeMerit - Watford
Cory Gibbs - Charlton Athletic
Oguchi Onyewu - Standard de Liege
Heath Pearce - Hansa Rostock
Jonathan Spector - West Ham United
M:
Michael Bradley - Heerenveen
Ricardo Clark - Houston Dynamo
Landon Donovan - Los Angeles Galaxy
Benny Feilhaber - Derby County
Eddie Lewis - Derby County
F:
Brian Ching - Houston Dynamo
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Eddie Johnson - Fulham
Josh Wolff - 1860 Munich
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Man, it's great to see a picture of Cory Gibbs in action. This was stolen from the US Soccer Men's National Team blog. Our buddy Trent may have even taken it. He is one of the good guys. And we appreciate all their hard work.
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Kartik Krishnaiyer of the American Soccer Radio Show tells us why Kasey Keller should still be the USA #1 goalkeeper, on his American Soccer Spot blog.
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USA Olympic Team

Official team blog.
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Freddy Adu, Charlie Davies, Jonathan Spector & Sal Zizzo were all released from the USA team on Friday so they could rejoin their European clubs who had weekend matches.
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Jozy Altidore dropped a note on the New York Times Goal blog after the successful qualifying.
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Another Andrew Winner article today from Soccer Training Info, in which he calls Jonathan Spector the key to USA Olympic success.
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CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

The 2 semifinal winners will qualify for the Olympics in Beijing in late summer.
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Final Match & Score:
-Sun Mar 23
Honduras 1-0 USA - Hon goal by Georgie Welcome in extra time after regulation ended scoreless.
Match report from US Soccer
Match report from the Tennessean.
Post game analysis & player ratings by Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet.
Post game players ratings from Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America.
Post game USA coach & player quotes from US Soccer.
Game photos from US Soccer.
Post game video interview from US Soccer.
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Both Honduras and the USA had already advanced to the Olympics after winning their semifinal games on Thursday night.
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Here is the CONCACAF All-Tournament Best 11:
G:
Kevin Hernandez - Honduras
D:
Carlos Castrillo - Guatemala
Oscar Morales - Honduras
Michael Orozco - USA
M:
Nelson Barahona - Panama
Jose Manuel Contreras - Guatemala
Maurice Edu - USA
Dax McCarty - USA
F:
Freddy Adu - USA
Leonel Duarte - Cuba
Will Johnson - Canada
-USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan made the honorable mention list. But I thought Stuart Holden, Nathan Sturgis and Marvell Wynne also deserved high marks.
-Luis Angel Landin & Cesar Villaluz of Mexico made the honorable mention list.
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Soccer In America

A long time soccer news site has been re-launched: American Soccer News. They have been at it longer than most, and it's great that they didn't go away like many of us feared. Good luck to Nathaniel & Co.
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Americans In Europe

I have been meaning to mention this for like a week now - I wrote that Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel faced off for the first time when Fulham played Blackburn, but several readers pointed out that Keller faced Friedel when he was at Tottenham. Excellent call!
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How'd their weekend matches go:
-Freddy Adu - Benfica - team did not play this weekend.
-Bryan Arguez - Hertha Berlin - on the bench but did not play in a 1-2 home loss to Schalke.
-Gregg Berhalter - 1860 Munich - played 90 but scored for an Own Goal in a 3-1 loss at Koblenz.
-Carlos Bocanegra - Fulham - on the bench but did not take part in a 2-0 loss at Newcastle.
-Michael Bradley - Heerenveen - went the full 90 and scored his teams first and last goals in a 4-3 home victory over Roda JC Kerkrade. He now has 15 Eredivisie goals this season.
-Dan Califf - Aalborg - played all 90 minutes, picking up a Yellow Card, and winning 2-0 at home over Viborg.
-Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - went all 90 as usual at left back and drew 1-1 at Duisburg. They played 85 minutes with only 10 men, not bad.
-Bobby Convey - Reading - still out with the knee injury
-Clint Dempsey - Fulham - came on in the 66th minute of a 2-0 loss at Newcastle.
-Jay DeMerit - Watford - started and went 90 in a 1-1 draw at Plymouth.
-Joe Enochs - Osnabruck - came on in the 60th minute of a 2-1 loss at St Pauli.
-Benny Feilhaber - Derby County - did not dress for a 1-0 loss at Middlesbrough.
-Gabriel Ferrari - Sampdoria - not on the bench for his teams 1-1 home draw with Cagliari.
-Brad Friedel - Blackburn - played the entire match and won 3-1 at home over Wigan.
-Cory Gibbs - Charlton - still out with the foot injury.
-Joshua Grenier - Koblenz - on the bench for his teams 3-1 win over 1860 Munchen.
-Marcus Hahnemann - Reading - in goal as usual and beat Birmingham 2-1 at home.
-Tally Hall - Esbjerg - did not play in his teams 1-0 loss at Randers.
-Tim Howard - Everton - played the whole match and tied West Ham 1-1 at home.
-Nate Jaqua - Rheindorf Altach - played the entire match but lost 3-0 at Linz.
-Will John - Randers - did not play in a 1-0 home win over Esbjerg.
-Eddie Johnson - Fulham - started and went 90 but lost 2-0 at Newcastle.
-Kasey Keller - Fulham - played all 90 but lost 2-0 at Newcastle.
-Eddie Lewis - Derby County - went the distance but lost 1-0 at Middlesbrough.
-Clint Mathis - Ergotolis - came on in the 83rd minute as the team beat Atromitos 1-2 on the road. They have climbed from last up to 4th from last since the beginning of the new year. Great for Mathis.
-Brian McBride - Fulham - started and went 66 minutes of a 2-0 loss at Newcastle.
-Lee Nguyen - Randers - started and played 54 minutes in a 1-0 home victory over Esbjerg.
-Oguchi Onyewu - Standard - started and went the distance in a 2-0 home win over Bergen Mons.
-Heath Pearce - Hansa Rostock - came on in the 43rd minute of a 4-1 road loss to Stuttgart.
-Matt Pickens - Queens Park Rangers - on the bench for a 3-3 tie game at Wolverhampton.
-Robbie Russell - Viborg - did not play in his teams 2-0 loss at Aalborg.
-Frank Simek - Sheffield Wednesday - still out with the ankle injury.
-Jonathan Spector - West Ham - came on for the final 8 minutes of a 1-1 road draw at Everton.
-Neven Subotic - Mainz - went 90 in a 1-1 home draw with Hoffenheim.
-Danny Szetela - Brescia - subbed into the action in the 74th minute but lost 1-0 at Triestina.
-Jeremiah White - Aarhus - went the full match but lost 2-0 at Odense.
-Josh Wolff - 1860 Munich - went the distance in a losing effort, 3-1 at Koblenz.
-Sal Zizzo - Hannover - did not dress for the teams 1-1 draw at Duisburg.
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One thing I have noticed this season is that Oguchi Onyewu has cut down considerably on his Yellow and Red Cards. That is a great thing to see.
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CONCACAF News

Friendlies - Matches & Scores:
-Sun Mar 23
Venezuela 1-0 El Salvador
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Canadian News

A new site has launched tracking the career's of Canadians playing in Europe - Canucks Abroad! (You know, like Yanks Abroad.) A crew of fans will all chip in and track your fave players. As a an added bonus, Canadian international Julian de Guzman is going to do some blogging on the site too. Very cool, and surprisingly well done for Canadians!!! (thanks to Al for the heads up)
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South American News

Reuters reports on the violence of Racing Club fans that got their game v Estudiantes called off in the 77th minute. Is it getting worse than ever in Argentina?
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Copa Libertadores

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Mar 25
Coronel Bolognesi v Cienciano
Maracaibo v Atlas
San Lorenzo v Bamin Real Potosi
-Mar 26
Liga Universitaria Quito v Arsenal
River Plate v Universidad Catolica
Dep Univ San Martín v America
-Mar 27
Cucuta Deportivo v Chivas Guadalajara
Boca Juniors v Colo Colo
Danubio v Deportivo Cuenca
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Group Stage Standings
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European News

Fans of the team Stockport County own their team and are now trying to buy the stadium too. They are just looking for 1 Million people to each pledge 1 English Pound as a down payment against a loan. Join in won't you! (They have a long way to go.)
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La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy says Pato is no longer the red hot youngster at Milan, Alberto Paloschi is.
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Barcelona have found themselves a new young saint as well. Bojan Krkic. The name is Serbian, but the boy is Spanish. Without Messi or Ronaldinho this weekend, Krkic scored 2 and assisted on 2 others. Impressive. And he has a great smile too.
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Then there is the well known commodity of Cristiano Ronaldo - very simple - 33 goals in 32 games this season. Wow!
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FIFA.com has a Q & A with Germany & Arsenal goofy goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
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The Reuters Soccer Blog on how Liverpool's Javier Mascherano talked himself into a Red Card. By the way, both Mascherano and his coach Rafa Benetiz claim they have "no idea" why he was sent off. He didn't curse. Yeah right. Any chance that an English translation of Mascherano is "Moronic Idiot"?
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Reuters blog also has an article on the slide of Mexico and coach Hugo Sanchez.
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A 3rd Reuters blog story on a shirt design for Eintracht Frankfurt that is NOT going to be used, to avoid religious criticism.
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Paolo Bandini at the Guardian writes about Alessandro Del Piero, who is still ripping it up for Juventus, but not getting a shot with Italy.
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Sid Lowe of the Guardian is in Spain and tells us that with Valencia staring into the abyss, they made a move in the right direction.
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Martin Samuel of the Times says England coach Fab Capello is looking for the new young guns. He is not finding them.
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The Observer (early this month) with a story on a real jet set playboy who owns Queens Park Rangers - Mr F1 Renault, Flavio Briatore. Have you ever seen this dude? He has a car racing mullet!
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Duncan Castles of the Observer has a profile of Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini.
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Mike at Needle In The Hay has a long essay/tribute/history on what I can only assume is his favorite team - Arsenal, of North London.
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Long time readers will know of my hair-style fetish, and Ollie at Who Ate All The Pies has compiled the 10 Worst EPL Hair-do's of 07-08. Right up my alley. Gallas gets my vote for worst!
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Big Euro Club Matches This Week

Matches & Scores:
Inter 1-2 Juventus - derby d’Italia, and Inter's lead is crumbling before their eyes.
Sevilla 1-2 Atletico Madrid - #5 v #4 battled it out for the last Champions League spot.
Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool - #1 v #4, and nothing between them changes.
Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal - starts as #3 v #2 and ends as #2 v #3.
Sparta 3-2 Feyenoord - the Rotterdam derby
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Top 5 Teams in Euro's 5 Biggest Leagues

-Premiership-
73 Manchester United
68 Chelsea
67 Arsenal
59 Liverpool
57 Everton

-La Liga-
62 Real Madrid
58 Barcelona
56 Villarreal
50 Atletico Madrid
47 Racing Santander

-Serie A-
68 Inter Milan
64 Roma
58 Juventus
53 Fiorentina
49 Milan

-Bundesliga-
53 Bayern Munich
46 Hamburg
44 Bayer Leverkusen
44 Werder Bremen
44 Schalke

-Ligue Un-
64 Lyon
55 Bordeaux
52 Nancy Lorraine
46 Marseille
43 Nice