Onward To Managua News

We get instant feedback on where to watch your football in St Louis - from Anonymous: The Scottish Arms on Sarah St in STL is a football pub. So is the Dubliner on Washington Ave. Thank you to whoever posted the info

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The new San Jose Earthquakes collected their first trophy last night by winning the Carolina Challenge Cup (with one round of games still to be played). Congrats.

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One of the poorer kept secrets was the USA match in England on May 28, but it's official now. And the game a week later is Spain is all set to be played in Santander. Get yer plane tickets.

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A juicy rumor has been flying pretty low to the ground all week long that Mexico actually had champagne on ice last Sunday because they expected that they would make it out of the groups and into the last 4 for Olympic qualifying. If this is true, and it might just be great urban myth, its beyond arrogant. Because they still would of had to beat another team tonight to advance. But what a great rumor!


MLS News

MLS Direct Kick will cost you $79 again this season. Believe me when I say it is a steal! both DirecTV and Dish Network carry it, and you will need to call your cable operator to see if you can get it. You will see every MLS game that is not already shown nationally.
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Next Tuesday Seattle will announce the 3 finalists for the name of their new team, and a public vote will take place to decide the winner. The general consensus is that Sounders will NOT be one of the choices.
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Chivas USA fullback Alex Zotinca will be out for up to 9 months with a torn ACL that he suffered at the Texas Pro Soccer Festival last week. Damn.
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Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan is back training after his knee injury but he is not expected to be healthy for opening day. Let's wait and see on that.
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Carl Robinson of Toronto checks in again with an article updating his soccer life for his local newspaper back in Wales. It's really cool that he does this.
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The Toronto Sun says Amado Guevara is desperate to get back on a team in MLS.
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Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe & Mail says a win for Canada in Olympic qualifying would be a boon to Toronto FC later in the summer. I mean, who would you rather be missing Andrea Lombardo & Tyler Hemming, or Maurice Edu & Marvell Wynne. You got that right!
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Ben Knight of the Toronto Globe & Mail's On Soccer blog is counting the days to the season opener - 10 days!
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The CBC reports that one of Toronto's new prized young defenders Julius James has suffered a separated shoulder and will probably miss a couple of weeks.
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Diego Aparicio of the Dallas Morning News checks in on the FC Dallas preseason injury list.
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Steve Pastorino at the US National Soccer Players Assoc looks at how San Jose are building their brand new team - from the back forward. Just the opposite of what Toronto did last year.
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Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports introduces us to someone he calls the Mark Cuban of MLS - Robb Heinemann, owner of Kansas City.
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Dos Mundos from KC with the low down on new Wizard Claudio Lopez.
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Dan Loney who's blog resides at Big Soccer these days has the outrageous All-Time MLS Worst XI wearing shirts 1-11 for us today. I laughed hard at this one. I will give you the first one - starting at goalkeeper, from Chivas USA year 1 Martin Zuniga!!!! Brilliant.
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MLS Preseason Friendlies

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Mar 19
Chivas USA 5-0 Cal State Fullerton at HDC
-Sat Mar 22
Chicago v Colorado in Jackson MS
Salt Lake v Kansas City in Norman OK
Dallas v Paranaense (Brazil) at PHP
Kansas City v Salt Lake in Norman OK at the Saturn Challenge Cup
Columbus v Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) at Crew Stadium
Richmond v DC at University of Richmond Stadium
Chivas USA v Real Espana (Honduras) at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium
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The Chivas USA website has details on the win over CS Fullerton last night.
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Carolina Challenge Cup

-Preseason Tournament March 15-22 in Charleston South Carolina
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Team standings after 2 or 3 rounds:
6 San Jose Earthquakes - winner!
2 New York Red Bulls
1 Charleston Battery
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 v Charleston
San Jose v New York
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The Charleston Post & Courier with a Wed night match report.
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Charleston Battery - host team website.
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USL First Division & PDL News

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle is reporting that the Rhinos have a new owner. Great news.
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Vancouver has re-singed Eduardo Sebrango, their top goal scorer from last season.
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Jen Chang, soccer editor for ESPN Soccernet is in Charleston training with the Battery as if he were a players trying to make the team and give us the story as he goes along. Day Three.
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Team USA

Don't forget that our senior team plays in Krakow next Wednesday. Poland has named their roster, and it's the cream of the crop for them:
G:
Artur Boruc - Celtic
Lukasz Fabianski - Arsenal
Tomasz Kuszczak - Manchester United
D:
Jacek Bak - Austria Vienna
Grzegorz Bronowicki - Red Star Belgrade
Pawel Golanski - Steaua Bucharest
Mariusz Jop - FC Moscow
Arkadiusz Radomski - Austria Vienna
Marcin Wasilewski - Anderlecht
Michal Zewlakow - Olympiakos
M:
Dariusz Dudka - Wisla Krakow
Lukasz Gargula - GKS Belchatow
Jacek Krzynowek - VfL Wolfsburg
Mariusz Lewandowski - Shakhtar Donetsk
Wojciech Lobodzinski - Wisla Krakow
Rafal Murawski - Lech Poznan
Michal Pazdan - Gornik Zabrze
F:
Pawel Brozek - Wisla Krakow
Radoslaw Matusiak - Wisla Krakow
Lukasz Piszczek - Hertha Berlin
Euzebiusz Smolarek - Racing Santander
Maciej Zurawski - Larissa
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USA Olympic Team

Official team blog.
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US Soccer with a new Studio 90 video show for game day.
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CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

Tonight's 2 semifinal winners will qualify for the Olympics in Beijing in late summer.
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Semifinal Matches & Scores (both games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Thu Mar 20
Guatemala v Honduras
USA v Canada
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Final Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Sun Mar 23
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The Tennessean newspaper of Nashville confirms that their city is not exactly gripped with soccer fever over the Olympic qualifiers.
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US Soccer has an audio interview with midfielder Sacha Kljestan previewing the Canada match.
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Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports looks at the nearly unwatchable way the USA has advanced to the knockout game.
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The Toronto Sun with a Canada preview.
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Ridge Mahoney at USA Today previews USA v Canada.
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Canada's roster for tonight's game:
G:
Asmir Begovic - Portsmouth
Joshua Wagenaar - no team
David Monslave - no team
D:
Graham Ramalho - Groningen
Andrew Hainault - Sparta Praha
Nikolas Ledgerwood - 1860 Munchen
Andrazes Ornoch - Esbjerg
Ryan Gyaki - Hansa Rostock
Diaz Kambere - Vancouver
Tyler Hemming - Toronto
M:
Jacob Lensky - Feyenoord
Jehan Jakovic - U Alabama
Tyler Roselund - no team
Keegan Ayre - Berwick Rangers
Isidro Sanchez - no team
F:
Andrea Lombardo - Toronto
Will Johnson - De Graafschap
Tosaint Ricketts - UW-Green Bay
Kyle Hall - Syracuse U
Marcus Haber - Gronengen
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Hillcrest Road, the official KC Wizards blog has an interview with the USA V Honduras Streaker. Seriously.
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Soccer In America

Adam Spangler of This Is American Soccer gives us the low down on last nights gala event in New York to raise money for the Harlem Youth Soccer program. It was a lot of high rollers slapping each other on the back. Let's hope they raised the right amount of $$$.
-Take special notice of this pic of Beltman's new "US Marine Boot Camp" inspired hair-do.
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Americans In Europe

This is really cool - The Best Eleven website has a map showing where all the Americans are playing at in Europe. There is a little guy on the map for each one and you click on him to get the player and club name. Awesome graphic. (thanks so very much to Mary G for sending that our way.)
-The have a Canadian map too!
-It looks like the two countries have about the same # of players abroad.
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Midweek Games-
Wed Mar 19:
-Dan Califf - Aalborg - did not play due to Yellow Card suspension, but the team went to Horsens and came away 1-2 winner.
-Tally Hall - Esbjerg - did not play in his teams 2-1 home win over Copenhagen.
-Andrew Jacobsen - Lorient - lost 0-1 at home to Metz in the French Cup.
-Nate Jaqua - Altach - played all 90 and scored his teams goal in a 1-2 home loss to Sturm Graz.
-Gabe Ferrari - Sampdoria - did not dress for the teams big 1-2 road win at Milan.
Thu Mar 20:
-Jeremiah White - Aarhus - v Randers
-Will John - Randers - at Aarhus
-Lee Nguyen - Randers - at Aarhus
-Robbie Russell - Viborg - v Nordsjaelland
-Luis Robles - Kaiserslautern - v Kickers Offenbach
-Joe Enochs - Osnabruck - at St Pauli
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CONCACAF Champions Cup

Quarterfinals - 2nd Leg Matches & Scores (with 1st leg scores included):
-Tue Mar 18
DC 5-0 Harbour View - DC advance 6-1 on aggregate. - DC goals by Devon McTavish(2), Luciano Emilio(2) & Fred.
-Wed Mar 19
Pachuca 1-0 Motagua - Pach adv 1-0 on agg. - Pach goal by Luis Montes.
Houston 3-1 Municipal - Hou adv 3-1 on agg. - Hou goals by Dwayne De Rosario(2) & Chris Wondolowski. Mun goal by Pando Ramirez.
Match report by Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle.
Player grades for Houston by Fallas on his Soccer y Futbol.
-Thu Mar 20
Saprissa v Atlante (1-2)
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Semifinals - 1st Leg Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 1
Pachuca v DC
Semifinals - 2nd Leg Matches & Scores (with 1st leg scores included):
-Wed Apr 9
DC v Pachuca
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NOTE: There is no away-goals tie breaker used in this tournament.
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Houston takes on the Atlante/Saprissa winner, and hosts the first leg.
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I was excited to see Corey Ashe have a break out game for Houston last night. I first saw him with the USA U17 team way back when, and I just loved his tenacity and leadership on the field. The speed helped too. When Houston picked him up last year I figured it was a good sign for him. And his appearance last year were never embarrassing, like they can be for some first year players. But last night he took it to a whole new level. Tearing up and down the left flack, torching the Muni defenders and slamming in some nice crosses. Plus the kid plays defense. I hope he really grows on the field this season. Congrats man, you did an awesome job.
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Pat Walsh of Goal.com likes the odds of DC & Houston both making it to the finals.
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A day later we get reports from Jamaica on Harbour View's heavy loss in DC.
Match report from the Observer
Match report from the Gleaner
Post game analysis from the Gleaner
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CONCACAF News

The Toronto Sun looks at the dismal state of the organization that runs the top flight of soccer in Canada, The Canadian Soccer Association.
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Then the Sun have an article where they talk to current CSA Pres Domenic Maestracci who says change is already underway.
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Friendly Matches & Scores:
-Wed Mar 19
Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 El Salvador
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Mexico & FMF News

Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle gives his thoughts on whether or not Hugo Sanchez will keep his job.
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Copa Libertadores

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 18
Audax Italiano 1-0 Atletico Nacional - Aud goal by Fabian Orellana.
Estudiantes 2-0 Danubio - Estu goals by Juan Sebastian Veron(PK) & Leandro Desabato.
Caracas 1-1 Cruzeiro - Cara goal by Juan David Valencia. Cruz goal by Marcelo Moreno(PK).
-Wed Mar 19
San Jose 2-1 Santos San J goals by Luis Cerutti & Luis Garcia. Sant goal by Kleber Pereira.
Flamengo 2-0 Nacional - Flam goals both by Marcinho.
Libertad 1-2 Fluminense - Flum goals both by Washington. Lib goal by Juan Samudio.
-Thu Mar 20
Deportivo Cuenca - Lanus
Sportivo Luqueno v Sao Paulo
Colo Colo v Boca Juniors
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Group Stage Standings
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European News

The Times has an article on Fulham and their record for road futility, and what they have to do to avoid relegation.
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The Times also looks at former Boy Wonder Michael Owen at Newcastle - is he back to his top form?
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Soccernet has a Q & A with Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez.
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Arsenal and Liverpool are set up to play 3 games against each other in just 7 days in April:
1. Wed Apr 2 in London for the Champions League
2. Sat Apr 5 in London for the Premiership
3. Tue Apr 8 in Liverpool for the Champions League
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Everyone fave whipping boy Dale Backman has been included in the initial roster for England's friendly in France next week.
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Paolo Bandini of the Guardian gives us the scoop on Lazio's derby win over Roma, which kicks the Romans 7 points behind Inter at the top.
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In the 73rd minute of the Bucharest derby the referee called off the match. Fans of both Rapid & Steaua were throwing rocks and other debris on to the field. The Rapid coach quit the team immediately afterward saying he was embarrassed by all of Romanian football.
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Euro League Cup Competitions

-Coupe de France-
Round of 16 - Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 18
Paris Saint Germain 2-1 Bastia
Dijon Football 3-1 Tours
Sedan Ardennes 2-0 Angers
Lyon 2-1 Sochaux
-Wed Mar 19
Bordeaux 2-0 Lille
Amiens 1-1 Arles - Amiens adv 4-2 on PK's.
Lorient 0-1 Metz
Carquefou 1-0 Marseille
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-DFB Pokal-
Semifinals - Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 18
Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Carl Zeiss Jena
-Wed Mar 19
Bayern Munchen 2-0 Wolfsburg
Final in Berlin
-Apr 19
Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munchen
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-KNVB Beker-
Semifinal Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 18
Feyenoord 2-0 NAC Breda
-Wed Mar 19
Heracles Almelo 2-2 Roda JC Kerkrade - Roda adv 4-3 on PK's.
Final
-Apr 27
Feyenoord v Roda JC Kerkrade
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-Copa Del Rey-
Semifinal - 2nd leg Matches & Scores (with first leg scores included):
-Wed Mar 19
Racing Santander 1-1 Getafe Get adv 4-2 on agg.
-Thu Mar 20
Valencia 3-2 Barcelona - Val adv 4-3 on agg.
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Big Euro Club Matches This Week

-Wed Mar 19
Lazio 3-2 Roma - the Capital derby in Italy is one of the all time best, but Roma can't use it to gain on the league leaders Inter who tied again.
PSV 0-0 Ajax - #1 v #2 in Holland, with PSV still leading by 6 points.
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World News

Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated with his latest and greatest edition of the World Soccer Club Power Rankings.