Reverse Gear Goes Fast News

MLS Scoreboard

Week 23
Matches & Scores:
-Fri Aug 29
Salt Lake v Colorado - 8pm central on Direct Kick
-Sat Aug 30
New England v Los Angeles - 6:30pm central on HDNet & Direct Kick
DC v New York - 6:30pm central on FSC
Dallas v Columbus - 8pm central on Direct Kick
San Jose v Kansas City - 9pm central on Direct Kick
Chivas v Toronto - 9:30pm central on Direct Kick
-Sun Aug 31
Houston v Chicago - 6pm central on Direct Kick
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League Standings
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MLS News

CHICAGO FIRE

Glenn Davis of the Houston Chronicle on how wrong most people, himself included, were on the contributions Cuauhtemoc Blanco would have on the Fire and the league.
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CD CHIVAS USA

Defender Shavar Thomas will not play this weekend at home against Toronto due to Yellow Card accumulation suspension.
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COLORADO RAPIDS

Do you think the Raps could have a few more injuries for tonight's game?
Mehdi Ballouchy - concussion
Terry Cooke - hamstring
Greg Dalby - ankle
Pablo Mastroeni - hamstring
Ugo Ihemelu - concussion
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COLUMBUS CREW

Defender Danny O’Rourke will not play this weekend at Dallas due to Yellow Card accumulation suspension.
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FC DALLAS

Midfielder Pablo Richetti will not play this weekend at home against Columbus due to a Red Card suspension for Yellow Card infractions last weekend.
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RED BULL NEW YORK

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer with an article on a return to some promising talent for forward Mike Magee. He has been injured far too often in his career to find out if he can pull off what many once thought he could.
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Metrofanatic has words from MLS deputy dawg Ivan A Gazidis who denies the league blocked any deal for the Red Bulls to buy striker Macaoumba Kandji from Atlanta. Gazidis also takes a cheap shot at blogs, and makes about as much sense as when MLS operates on the same pay principles as Major League Baseball. Please don't throw stones sir.
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Defender Gabriel Cichero will not play this weekend at DC due to a Red Card suspension (2 games) for an infraction two weekends ago.
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Brian Lewis of the NY Post on his blog Extra Times has photographic proof that they are actually building Red Bull Arena in Harrison NJ. Hooray Beer. Boo East Rutherford turf.
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REAL SALT LAKE

Goal.com with an article on midfielder Kyle Beckerman.
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The Salt Lake Tribune says every game is huge for RSL from here on out if they want to taste post season action for the first time.
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CONCACAF Champions League News

Official CONCACAF website.
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The Preliminary Round - 1st Leg
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 26
Joe Public (T&T) 2-1 New England Revolution - JP goals by Gregory Richardson & Jamal Gay. NER goal by Mauricio Castro(PK).
Tauro (Panama) 2-0 Chivas USA - Tau goals both by Edwin Aguilar.
Cruz Azul 6-0 Hankook Verdes (Belize) - Cruz goals by Javier Orozco(3), Edgar Andrade(2) & Gerardo Torrado.
-Wed Aug 27
Montreal Impact 1-0 Real Esteli (Nicaragua) - Mon goal by Joey Gjersten.
Alajuelense (Costa Rico) 1-1 Puerto Rico Islanders - Ala goal by Argenis Fernandez. PRI goal by Osei Telesford.
Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) 2-2 Marathon (Honduras) - IM goals by Mario Aguilar & William Reyes. Mara goals by Jose Alvarado(OG) & Mariano Acevedo.
-Thu Aug 28
Jalapa (Guatemala) 1-0 San Francisco (Panama) - Jala goal by Juan Castillo.
-Fri Aug 29
Game Postponed due to bad weather: Harbour View (Jamaica) v UNAM Pumas - 7pm central on FSC
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2nd Leg Matches & Scores (1st leg scores included):
-Tue Sep 2
New England v Joe Public (1-2)
Chivas USA v Tauro (0-2)
Real Esteli v Montreal (0-1)
-Wed Sep 3
Puerto Rico v Alajuelense (1-1)
Hankook Verdes v Cruz Azul (0-6)
Marathon v Isidro Metapan (2-2)
-Thu Sep 4
San Francisco v Jalapa (0-1)
UNAM Pumas v Harbour View (-)
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USL First Division Scoreboard

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 27
Vancouver 2-0 Atlanta
-Fri Aug 29
Miami v Minnesota
Charleston v Puerto Rico
-Sat Aug 30
Carolina v Montreal
Atlanta v Rochester
-Sun Aug 31
Puerto Rico v Vancouver
Miami v Minnesota
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USL First Division Standings

Standings (games played) (goal difference):
45 Vancouver (25)
44 Puerto Rico (24)
36 Charleston (25) (GD +4)
36 Seattle (26) (GD 0)
34 Rochester (25)
32 Atlanta (26)
31 Montreal (23)
- - - - - - - - -
28 Portland (25)
27 Miami (24) (GD 0)
27 Minnesota (24) (GD -5)
27 Carolina (25) (GD -11)
(The top 7 teams advance to the playoffs.)
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US Soccer News

Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune on his blog The Red Card shows a little lesson to remember in life. Thanks Luis. And thank your editor from us fans!
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Team USA

2 changes and 2 additions were made to the roster for the 2 upcoming qualifiers. The changes from the Guatemala game are Dan Califf for Jay DeMerit, and Rico Clark for Pablo Mastroeni. And then the additions of Marvell Wynne and Michael Orozco.
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Andrew Hush at Soccernet feels the roster is very short on firepower. And other soccer notes.
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Ever wonder what it's like to go on the road to Guatemala with our team? US Soccer gives us the insiders video. Great stuff as always! (Thanks to BQ for the link)
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Americans In Europe

The Independent talks to DaMarcus Beasley about his wrongly disallowed goal last weekend.
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Heads Up: So many players are injured at Villarreal that there is a decent chance Jozy Altidore could see the field in his very first game at the club. They play at Osasuna on Sunday.
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TRANSFER RUMORS

With the Euro transfer deadline quickly approaching, where will all the Americans end up? These are the names thought to be in play:
-Oguchi Onyewu - by Greg Seltzer at Soccer 365
-Heath Pearce - by Greg Seltzer at Soccer 365
-Michael Bradley
-Marvell Wynne
-Sacha Kljestan - by Ives Galarcep at Soccer by Ives
-Kamani Hill - by Greg Seltzer at Soccer 365
-Preston Zimmerman - by Greg Seltzer at Soccer 365
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Greg Seltzer will be keeping his ears, eyes & nose on the case all weekend long, so watch for up to the minute updates at his blog No Short Corners.
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UPCOMING MATCHES

Who did the Americans draw in the First Round proper of the UEFA Cup:
-Bryan Arguez - Hertha Berlin v Saint Patrick's Athletic
-Vincezno Bernardo - Napoli v Benfica
-Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes v Twente
-Michael Bradley - Vitoria v Heerenveen
-Brad Friedel - Litex Lovech v Aston Villa
-Ryan Guy - Hertha Berlin v Saint Patrick's Athletic
-Brad Guzan - Litex Lovech v Aston Villa
-Kamani Hill - Wolfsburg v Rapid Bucuresti
-Tim Howard - Everton v Standard Liege
-Jared Jeffrey - Young Boys v Club Brugge
-Oguchi Onyewu - Everton v Standard Liege
-Neven Subotic - Borussia Dortmund v Udinese
-Preston Zimmerman - Hamburg v Unirea Urziceni
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CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying News

Goal.com takes a look at T&T and their semifinal qualifying group stage with the USA.
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T&T named their roster for Sep 6 v Guatemala, and Sep 10 at the USA:
G:
Marvin Phillips - W Connection
Jan Michael Williams – Ferencvaros
D:
Aklie Edwards- Defence Force
Cyd Gray – San Juan Jabloteh
Makan Hislop - United Petrotrin
Julius James - Toronto
Avery John - Miami
Dennis Lawrence – Swansea City
Osei Telesford – Puerto Rico
Keyeno Thomas- Joe Public
M:
Kerry Baptiste - Joe Public
Keon Daniel - United Petrotrin
Carlos Edwards - Sunderland
Akeil Guevera – North East Stars
Khaleem Hyland- no club
Clyde Leon - W Connection
Densill Theobald – Caledonia
Dwight Yorke - Sunderland
F:
Cornell Glen – no club
Jason Scotland – Swansea City
Andre Toussaint – W Connection
Anthony Wolfe – North East Stars
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Mexico & FMF News

Luis Bueno at Sports Illustrated thinks Sven Goren Erickson is off to a good start with Mexico. He also writes about stumbling Pachuca, and answers viewer mail.
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Mexico play at Jamaica on Sep 6, and at home v Canada on Sep 10.
Here is their roster:
G:
Jesus Corona - UAdG Tecos
Guillermo Ochoa - America
Oswaldo Sanchez - Santos Laguna
D:
Aaron Galindo - Eintracht Frankfurt
Jonny Magallon - Guadalajara
Rafael Marquez - Barcelona
Ricardo Osorio - Stuttgart
Fausto Pinto - Pachuca
Francisco Rodriguez - PSV
Carlos Salcido - PSV
M:
Fernando Arce - Santos Laguna
Leandro Augusto - UNAM Pumas
Andres Guardado - Deportivo la Coruna
Luis Perez - Monterrey
Pavel Pardo - Stuttgart
Gerardo Torrado - Cruz Azul
Francisco Torres - Santos Laguna
F:
Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Chicago Fire
Omar Bravo - Deportivo la Coruna
Carlos Ochoa - Monterrey
Giovani dos Santos - Tottenham
Carlos Vela - Arsenal
Matias Vuoso - Santos Laguna
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England News

Sport Magazine does a Q & A with one of the great interviews in the game today - David James.
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Kevin McCarra of the Guardian on the brutal starts for both the Arse and the Liverpeople.
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European News

GERMANY

Reuters says that while the locals are thrilled, not everyone in Germany is happy about the new money and new success for little Hoffenheim. But this rise didn’t' happen in one year like a Chelsea, this has been over 15 years in the making.
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ITALY

Feel Football has a video interview with Jose Mourinho where he looks back a little to Chelsea, and knows that he will end up back there playing with another club someday. (There is also some unintentionally funny stuff on this site about Ruud Gullit and his sexy football in LA. Ah, hindsight. It's perfect.)
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The Football Italia blog feels that even though Inter has hired Mourinho as their new coach, their run as Serie A champions is over. What they fail to do is tell us who will win it then.
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Here is how the main Scudetto contenders will kick off the new season:
-Sat Aug 30
Sampdoria v Inter
-Sun Aug 31
Milan v Bologna
Roma v Napoli
Fiorentina v Juventus - what a great way to kick off the season!
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RUSSIA

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian tells us all about Zenit. He calls their play erratic this season.
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SPAIN

Sid Lowe of the Guardian looks at the complete lack of forward movement at Real Madrid this offseason.
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Here is how the main La Liga contenders will kick off the new season:
-Sun Aug 31
Numancia v Barcelona
Osasuna v Villarreal
Racing Santander v Sevilla
Atletico Madrid v Malaga
Deportivo La Coruna v Real Madrid
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OTHERS

The Guardian on the struggle at Hibernian in Edinburgh Scotland.
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Big Euro Club Matches This Week

UEFA Super Cup
-Fri Aug 29
Manchester United v Zenit St Petersburg - the Champions League winner v the UEFA Cup winner in Monaco. Live at 1:45pm central on FSC
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-Sun Aug 31
Celtic v Rangers - the Old Firm derby
Chelsea v Tottenham - yet another London derby
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Ives Galarcep at Soccer by Ives gives us a great rundown of all the good matches this weekend.
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UEFA Cup

Here are this seasons First Round matchups.
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World News

FIFA.com does a Q & A with Tunisian defender Karim Haggui about his country and his club, Bayer Leverkusen.
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African World Cup Qualifying

Ethiopia are all but eliminated now from the World Cup after FIFA canceled their upcoming qualifier due to being suspended from international football. The country's football federation is in disarray and was suspended from FIFA until they get it sorted out. That has not happened yet, so the next game is off, and the rest of qualifying could well be in jeopardy too.
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Asian News

Pitch Invasion with a pretty great article on Japanese football fan culture.
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The Road To World Cup 2010 - South Africa News

Business Day with an article showing that mental hurdles may be even bigger than the physical ones for South Africa to pull of a successful World Cup.
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This Is The End

A photo left over from Beijing, showing that even egomaniacs can let down their guard and show respect to others who they usually call the enemy. From the Reuters Soccer blog.

Put Gravy On It News

Personal note: Can someone out there - anyone out there - hook me up with a ticket to see Rage Against The Machine on Wed Sep 3 here in Minneapolis, at the Target Center. I very much want to see this. Anyone. Please. Thank you.



Total heartbreak for Oguchi Onyewu yesterday as this team Standard Liege lost 1-0 in the Champions League at Liverpool, giving up the winning goal in the 118th minute. Just two more minutes and the game would have gone to Penalty Kicks. Damn.

~and~

Bad news for St Louis Expansion?? The Collinsville Herald with gloomy financial words from the lead investor. See MLS Expansion News section for details. (thanks to rns for the heads up)

~and~

US Soccer with video of the announcement of the USA roster for the 2 upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Cuba on Sep 6 and Trinidad & Tobago on Sep 10. See list of rostered players in Team USA section


CONCACAF Champions League News

Official CONCACAF website
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The Preliminary Round - 1st Leg
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 26
Joe Public (T&T) 2-1 New England Revolution - JP goals by Gregory Richardson & Jamal Gay. NER goal by Mauricio Castro(PK).
Tauro (Panama) 2-0 Chivas USA - Tau goals both by Edwin Aguilar.
Cruz Azul 6-0 Hankook Verdes (Belize) - Cruz goals by Javier Orozco(3), Edgar Andrade(2) & Gerardo Torrado.
-Wed Aug 27
Montreal Impact 1-0 Real Esteli (Nicaragua) - Mon goal by Joey Gjersten.
Match report from the Montreal Gazette.
Alajuelense (Costa Rico) 1-1 Puerto Rico Islanders - Ala goal by Argenis Fernandez. PRI goal by Osei Telesford.
Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) 2-2 Marathon (Honduras) - IM goals by Mario Aguilar & William Reyes. Mara goals by Jose Alvarado(OG) & Mariano Acevedo.
-Thu Aug 28
Harbour View (Jamaica) v UNAM Pumas - 7pm central on FSC
Jalapa (Guatemala) v San Francisco (Panama)
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Argenis Fernandez who scored for Alajuelense is on loan there from the New England Revolution! The Revs could have used him on Tuesday night.
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The two USL-1 teams did really well for themselves, especially Puerto Rico. Montreal needed a bigger cushion to take on the road next week, but PR did as good as any of the road teams so far.
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Many people will make the case that the USL-1 teams did better in this first leg then the two MLS teams did. But that is too simple. The MLS teams come in with much much higher expectations. The MLS teams come in as the big dog, and if you ever go see your local team play someone from a perceived higher division there is considerable more tension in the air then if they are playing someone considered their equal or lesser. It's human nature. So great job by the USL-1 teams, but let's see where everyone stands after the 2nd leg, then we can pass judgment.
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Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com reviews the first batch of games in the 1st leg.
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MLS Scoreboard

Week 23
Matches & Scores:
-Fri Aug 29
Salt Lake v Colorado - 8pm central on Direct Kick
-Sat Aug 30
New England v Los Angeles - 6:30pm central on HDNet & Direct Kick
DC v New York - 6:30pm central on FSC
Dallas v Columbus - 8pm central on Direct Kick
San Jose v Kansas City - 9pm central on Direct Kick
Chivas v Toronto - 9:30pm central on Direct Kick
-Sun Aug 31
Houston v Chicago - 6pm central on Direct Kick
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League Standings
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MLS News

COLUMBUS CREW

Michael Arace of the Dispatch urges the Crew owners to give coach Sigmund Schmid a contract extension NOW.
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FC DALLAS

Buzz Carrick at 3rd Degree looks at a possibly bad situation at the club where midfielder Andre Rocha and coach Schellas Hyndman are at odds. Here is his report.
-Diego Aparicio of the Dallas Morning News has more on the story, including quotes from Rocha.
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Carrick also makes his weekly trip to team training and gives us these notes.
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Goal.com talks to the teams newest forward, Jeff Cunningham, who showed up to his first FCD practice session with a cowboy hat on!
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TORONTO FC

Rollin' With Ricketts. The official Rohan Ricketts blog. Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilarious! We need more guys like this in the league.
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Shaka Hislop at the Guardian with an article on coach John Carver. And other MLS notes.
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Dean McNulty of the Sun on the arrival of Carlos Ruiz.
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Morgan Campbell of the Star on the paper's Toronto FC blog has a few words on Ruiz, and other team notes.
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GENERAL

Frank Giase of the Newark Times Ledger gives us his thoughts - This Week In MLS.
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Goal.com with their Starting XI column on the stretch run.
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MLS Expansion News

The Collinsville Herald with bad news pertaining to St Louis expansion plans. Simply put, they don't have the money. If MLS falls through, they are looking at USL. (thanks to rns for the heads up)
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Tom Timmerman of the St Louis Post Dispatch talks to the same people and comes out with a much more optimistic article.
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USL First Division Scoreboard

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 27
Vancouver 2-0 Atlanta
-Fri Aug 29
Miami v Minnesota
Charleston v Puerto Rico
-Sat Aug 30
Carolina v Montreal
Atlanta v Rochester
-Sun Aug 31
Puerto Rico v Vancouver
Miami v Minnesota
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USL First Division Standings

Standings (games played) (goal difference):
45 Vancouver (25)
44 Puerto Rico (24)
36 Charleston (25) (GD +4)
36 Seattle (26) (GD 0)
34 Rochester (25)
32 Atlanta (26)
31 Montreal (23)
- - - - - - - - -
28 Portland (25)
27 Miami (24) (GD 0)
27 Minnesota (24) (GD -5)
27 Carolina (25) (GD -11)
(The top 7 teams advance to the playoffs.)
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Team USA

Here is the 20 man roster for the 2 upcoming World Cup qualifiers - Sep 6 in Cuba and Sep 10 v T&T in Chicago. There are no surprises here (unfortunately) - it's the last roster plus a few Olympic team players:
G:
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa
Tim Howard - Everton
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes
Dan Califf - Midtjylland
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Frankie Hejduk - Columbus Crew
Oguchi Onyewu - Standard Liege
Michael Orozco - San Luis
Heath Pearce - Hansa Rostock
Marvell Wynne - Toronto
M:
DaMarcus Beasley - Glasgow Rangers
Michael Bradley - Heerenveen
Ricardo Clark - Houston Dynamo
Maurice Edu - Glasgow Rangers
Sacha Kljestan - Chivas USA
Eddie Lewis - Los Angeles Galaxy
F:
Brian Ching - Houston Dynamo
Landon Donovan - Los Angeles Galaxy
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Eddie Johnson - Cardiff City
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Americans In Europe

MOST RECENT MATCHES

Clint Dempsey - Fulham - was on the bench but did not play in a 3-2 Carling Cup home win over Leicester City.
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UEFA Cup on Thursday:
-Brian Arguez - Hertha Berlin - won 1-0 at home against NK Ljubljana and advance 3-0 on aggregate.
-Vincezno Bernardo - Napoli - won 5-0 at home against Vllaznia and adv 8-0 on agg.
-Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes - won 2-0 at home against Stabaek and adv 3-2 on agg.
-Dan Califf - Midtjylland - had a nightmare game, scoring an own goal at Manchester City in the final minute of regulation time to make the aggregate 1-1. Then the team lost 4-2 on PK's. Damn.
-Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - lost 2-0 at Rennes and are elimidated 2-3 on agg.
-Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - drew 1-1 at home against Hafnarfjordur and adv 5-2 on agg.
-Ryan Guy - St Patricks Athletic - won 2-1 at home against Elfsborg and adv 4-3 on agg.
-Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - drew 1-1 at home against Hafnarfjordur and adv 5-2 on agg.
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Americans in Mexico

Luis Bueno at Sideline Views looks in on several mid-week games.
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England News

Steven Gerrard has suffered a torn groin muscle and will have to have surgery. He will not play for 2 weeks! Huge blow for England's World Cup qualifiers. Less so for Liverpool.
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Long time du Nord favorite footballing personality, defender Moritz Volz, has been loaned by Fulham to Ipswich for the season. So Volzy has to leave his beloved London for the east coast.
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European News

ITALY

Inter has signed Nigeria's Olympic captain Victor Obinna, and are rumored to be loaning him to Everton.
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OTHERS

Polish players Artur Boruc, Dariusz Dudka & Radoslaw Majewski have been suspended by their national team for 2 games due to some undisclosed poor behavior after a loss in a friendly to Ukraine.
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Big Euro Club Matches This Week

UEFA Super Cup
-Fri Aug 29
Manchester United v Zenit St Petersburg - the Champions League winner v the UEFA Cup winner in Monaco.
Live at 1:45pm central on FSC
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UEFA News

UEFA announced their list of "Bests" by position in European club football from the past season:
-Goalkeeper - Petr Cech
-Defender - John Terry
-Midfielder - Frank Lampard
-Forward - Cristiano Ronaldo
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UEFA Cup

Second Qualifying Round - 2nd leg matches were today. Matches & Scores here.

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw

Here is the draw for this seasons group stage:

A
Chelsea
Roma
Bordeaux
CFR Cluj

B
Inter Milan
Werder Bremen
Panathanikos
Anorthosis

C
Barcelona
Sporting
Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk

D
Liverpool
PSV Eindhoven
Olympique Marseille
Atletico Madrid

E
Manchester United
Villarreal
Celtic
Aalborg

F
Lyon
Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharesti
Fiorentina

G
Arsenal
Porto
Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kyiv

H
Real Madrid
Juventus
Zenit St Petersburg
BATE

To Take A Fall News

To start today off all wrong - Some bad news for us Dish Network users:

Dear GolTV Fan,
With the recent Bundesliga kick off and upcoming launch of La Liga action on Aug. 31, we want to you to know that we don't forsee reaching any compromise with Dish Network in the near future.
Because we don't want you to miss GolTV's unmatched soccer action, we recommend selecting an alternate video service provider at this time. On our site you will find a list of our distribution partners.
Once again, thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Deborah Montiel
VP of Marketing


Now, on with the show....


Two MLS teams started their CONCACAF Champions League pursuit in dreadful fashion last night. Yeah I'm talking about you Revs & Goats. See CCL News section for details.

~and~

Wales Online with a story on Eddie Johnson's debut for Cardiff City: "Indeed it is a long way from the razzmatazz of America’s MLS, but here it was that Eddie Johnson was handed his debut for Cardiff City". Yes they used razzmatazz and MLS in the same sentence. A first. You can't make that stuff up. See the full story in the Americans In Europe section.


CONCACAF Champions League News

Official tournament website
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The Preliminary Round - 1st Leg
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 26
Joe Public (T&T) 2-1 New England Revolution - JP goals by Gregory Richardson & Jamal Gay. NER goal by Mauricio Castro(PK).
Match report by Kyle McCarthy of the Boston Herald.
Tauro (Panama) 2-0 Chivas USA - Tau goals both by Edwin Aguilar.
Post game notes from the Chivas USA official blog.
Post game notes by Nick Green of the Daily Breeze on his blog 100 Percent Soccer.
Cruz Azul v Hankook Verdes (Belize) - 12 midnight central on FSC
-Wed Aug 27
Montreal Impact v Real Esteli (Nicaragua) - 7pm central on FSC
Match preview from the CBC.
Match preview from the Montreal Gazette.a36f-bb7a367602b7
Alajuelense (Costa Rico) v Puerto Rico Islanders - 9pm central on FSC
Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) v Marathon (Honduras)
-Thu Aug 28
Harbour View (Jamaica) v UNAM Pumas - 7pm central on FSC
Match preview from the Jamaica Observer.
Jalapa (Guatemala) v San Francisco (Panama)
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Whew! Those two MLS team really stunk it up last night. (Like Skynyrd said, "Ooh ooh that smell. The smell of death surrounds you.") I was amazed at how bad they both were. New England were lucky to get a goal back, and even luckier to not give up a couple more. I know home field is a huge advantage, but that was nuts. And speaking of home fields, were there more than 11 people at either of those games. Let's try to guess the attendance in New England for the return leg. Do you think they will break 5000. I don't, although the actual number may be higher, but definitely under 10,000 reported. Chivas got drilled too, run off the field is more like it, and like New England, the damage could have been much worse. Expect them to draw 9 people, 3 with wrestling masks, in their home leg. The Mexican team, Cruz Azul showed us how you get it done at home - 6-0 over Hankook Verdes. This is what I hope to see out of the two MLS teams in their home legs. Come on guys, you can get this done right!
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Luis Bueno at Sideline views with post game notes and video highlights from all three games last night.
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Special note: Tauro play in Rod Carew Stadium! When I was a kid he was one of the truly great baseball players right here with my Minnesota Twins. He did things no one has done since, including: An All-Star 18 times! Lifetime batting average of .328! And most amazingly he stole home 17 times in his career! My fondest memory is of him getting on first base, and then stealing the next three to score a run! I would like to see someone try that today! The last time someone stole home successfully in the Major Leagues was in 1996. So how did he do it 17 times?
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MLS News

CHICAGO FIRE

Some fascinating nuggets to be found out in blogland today about the teams new President Dave Greeley. Way bettter reading than a regular old newspaper article (no offense Luis, whattaya really gonna do with that story) where everyone proclaims that love is in the air, yadda yadda yadda. You MUST read the stories from one time Fire exec Steve Pastorino and former team president Peter Wilt about their encounters with the new boss, several years ago. Wow! They hired this guy??
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Steven Goff of the Washington Post on his blog Soccer Insider reports that the team has offered Cuauhtemoc Blanco another 2 year contract. Will he stay or will he go? He has obviously been just great for the Fire, but everyday I ask myself if he has run out of gas yet.
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CD CHIVAS USA

Goalkeeper Zach Thornton was acquired in early August, and in the 6 games he has played he has given up 12 goals. Do you think this was a good pick up. I sure don't.
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COLUMBUS CREW

Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch on the man leading the charge for the Crew's great season - Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
-Mitchell with a few other Schelotto & Crew notes on his blog Covering the Crew.
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DC UNITED

Steve Goff of the Washington Post has an article on new DCU midfielder Joe Vide. He has stepped into an injured team and contributed immediately.
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TORONTO FC

The Barrie Examiner on the growth boost of soccer in Canada, and the role TFC has played in that.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

GENERAL

Setanta has a list of 11 MLS players that they think could move to the English Premiership.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ridge Mahoney of Soccernet looks into the race for those 8 playoffs spots. Via Sports Illustrated.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrew Hush at Soccernet with his weekly league notes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Stadium Talk

John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News is getting pretty fired up for the new stadium they are building for 2010 in suburban Philly. I agree. I think the people in Seattle are going to be cheated of a great experience by not having a small intimate home field.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Expansion News

Ben Knight of the Toronto Globe & Mail on the On Soccer blog looks at possible new teams in Vancouver and/or Montreal, and wonders what needs to improve in Canada for this to work. More quality domestic players, more TV revenue, more journalists.....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division News

First Division Team of the Week.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Minnesota Thunder

Today the team signed former centerback, and current 2nd Division Defender Of The Year, Mark Schulte for the rest of this season. They also sold forward Alen Marcina (who I always thought showed a lot of promise) to Rochester.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division Scoreboard

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 27
Vancouver v Atlanta
-Fri Aug 29
Miami v Minnesota
Charleston v Puerto Rico
-Sat Aug 30
Carolina v Montreal
Atlanta v Rochester
-Sun Aug 31
Puerto Rico v Vancouver
Miami v Minnesota
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division Standings

Standings (games played) (goal difference):
44 Puerto Rico (24)
42 Vancouver (24)
36 Charleston (25) (GD +4)
36 Seattle (26) (GD 0)
34 Rochester (25)
32 Atlanta (25)
31 Montreal (23)
- - - - - - - - -
28 Portland (25)
27 Miami (24) (GD 0)
27 Minnesota (24) (GD -5)
27 Carolina (25) (GD -11)
(The top 7 teams advance to the playoffs.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Team USA

Robert Wagman of Soccer Times examines the win in Guatemala and gives us the good new and bad news.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccer In America

Our friend and rabid reader Brian in Portland works at the Portland Institue of Contemporary Arts, and has helped organize a screening of the artistic film about France football star Zinedine Zidane - Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. (WARNING TO NEOPHITES: This is not a strict soccer movie. This is a very artistically made documentary of sorts about a human & artist who happened to play football.)
Also of interest to some of you, the sound of the film is intense and was mixed by none other than Kevin Shields, and old friend of mine, of My Bloody Valentine fame.
The film will be shown 5 times during the run, and if it's anything like when it was shown here in Minneapolis you can count on those all being sold out or close to it.
So if you live in or anywhere near Portland you need to go to the PICA site for all the details on how to get your tickets.
Great job Brian!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Last night I went to the Minnesota State Fair and as I was leaving I saw former Minnesota Kicks goalkeeper Tino Lateri. (He stayed in this area after retiring and has run Italian restaurants ever since.) He had a booth selling food. I went over, said hi, and shook his hand. He didn't seem too impressed to meet me. Ha! My brother said Tino would have been more excited if I had bought something. Fare/Fair enough.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Americans In Europe

Wales Online with a bit on Eddie Johnson's debut for Cardiff.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TRANSFER RUMORS

Goal.com reports that Michael Bradley is still being chased by Middlesbrough, but a very high price tag may see him stranded in Holland and going nowhere during this tranfer window.
-Hamburg & Monaco are the other two most frequently rumors suitors.
-But Bradley's shot at Monaco may be gone because they are reported to have bought midfielders Alvaro Recoba & Tiago Mendes. This has not been announced by the team, so....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UPCOMING MATCHES

UEFA Champions League:
-Oguchi Onyewu - Standard Liege - went the whole match at centerback but lost the 2nd leg on the road at Liverpool 1-0 on a goal that came in the 118th minute. Just 2 minutes before it would have gone to Penalty Kicks. What a heartbreaker! They were elimidated by that same aggregate score.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Cup:
-Brian Arguez - Hertha Berlin - take on NK Ljubljana of Slovenia
-Vincezno Bernardo - Napoli - take on Vllaznia of Albania
-Carlos Bocanegra - Stade Rennais - take on Stabaek of Norway
-Dan Califf - Midtjylland - take on Manchester City of England
-Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - take on Stade Rennais of France
-Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - take on Hafnarfjordur of Iceland
-Ryan Guy - St Patricks Athletic - take on Elfsborg of Sweden
-Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - take on Hafnarfjordur of Iceland
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

English Carling Cup:
-Wed Aug 27
Clint Dempsey - Fulham v Leicester City
Jonathan Spector - West Ham v Macclesfield Town
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MOST RECENT MATCHES

English Carling Cup:
-Tue Aug 26
Bobby Convey - Reading 5-1 Luton Town - on the bench but did not play.
Jay DeMerit - Watford 2-1 Darlington - did not suit up.
Marcus Hahnemann - Reading 5-1 Luton Town - was not on the game day roster.
Eddie Johnson - Cardiff City 1-2 Milton Keynes - made his debut and went the distance.
Jemal Johnson - Cardiff City 1-2 Milton Keynes - played all 90.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Canada & CSA News

Dale Mitchell, head coach of Canada, says he hopes his team never has to play on that turf in BMO Field again. He hated it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mexico & FMF News

Graciela Resendiz at ESPN Deportes with the latest news from La Primera.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

South American News

Fernando Duarte at the Guardian (He Rocks!) says the Brazilian people want national team coach Dunga OUT NOW.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

England News

The Guardian ponders what happens at Chelsea if Shevchenko goes back to Milan and starts firing in the goals again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

European News

ITALY

Francesco Totti has an ankle injury and will miss the season opener for Roma.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Football Italia previews all 10 opening weekend matches.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Big Euro Club Matches This Week

UEFA Super Cup
-Fri Aug 29
Manchester United v Zenit St Petersburg - the Champions League winner v the UEFA Cup winner in Monaco.
Live at 1:45pm central on FSC
-I made a promise that if Zenit wins this one then my friend the crazy faux Russian Sean gets to guest edit du Nord for one day. Let's pray to any deity you believe in that this does not happen. Hahahahahaha.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Champions League

Third Qualifying Round - 2nd leg
Matches & Scores (including 1st leg score):
-Tue Aug 26
Panathinaikos 1-0 Sparta Praha - Pana advance 3-1 on aggregate.
Artmedia 1-1 Juventus - Juve adv 5-1 on agg.
-Wed Aug 27
Slavia Praha 0-0 Fiorentina (0-2) - Fior adv 2-0 on agg.
Dynamo Kyiv 4-1 Spartak Moskva (4-1) - Kyiv adv 8-2 on agg.
BATE 1-1 Levski Sofia - BATE advance 2-1 on agg.
Dinamo Zagreb 1-3 Shakhtar Donetsk Shak adv 5-1 on agg.
Olympiacos 1-0 Anorthosis Famagusta - Anth adv 3-1 on agg.
Kaunas 0-2 AaB - AaB adv 4-0 on agg.
Steaua Buchuresti 1-0 Galatasaray (2-2) - Steaua adv 3-2 on agg.
Olympique Marseille 2-1 Brann - OM adv 3-1 on agg.
Atletico Madrid 4-0 Schalke - AM adv 4-1 on agg.
Arsenal 4-0 Twente - Arse adv 6-0 on agg.
Fenerbahce 2-1 Partizan Belgrade - Fen adv 4-3 on agg.
Liverpool 1-0 Standard Liege Liv adv 1-0 on agg.
Basel 2-1 Guimaraes Vitoria - Bas adv 2-1 on agg.
Wisla Krakow 1-0 Barcelona - Barca adv 4-1 on agg.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Cup

Second Qualifying Round - 2nd leg matches on Aug 28. Matches & Scores.
-Several Americans in action. See Americans In Europe section above for details.

Trouble In The Stands - Chicago Fans v Security - A Fan's Perspective

Our friend Dan G brings us his point of view on the struggle between a group of Chicago Fire fans, and Toyota Park stadium security. These are his words:


I have been a Chicago Fire supporter and Section 8 partisan since day one. While the fans in the stadium have always represented the ethnic diversity (as has the team itself) of Chicago there have been off again on again problems with racism at Fire matches.Over the years these issues have been tackled head on and Section 8 has become more unified because of it. Bruce has linked to the most recent troubles involving Monterrey Security and one of Section 8's quickest growing and loudest supporter groups, Sector Latino. S.L. were removed as a WHOLE GROUP for arguments that were happening with Chivas fans at the Fire/Chivas U.S.A.. Although no fights happened every one in Sector Latino (easily identified by red shirts with their crews name on it) was marched out of the stadium en masse and racist slurs like wetback and spic were used by some members of security.

Afterward Section 8 met with Fire representatives to resolve the situation and propose a re-organization of security around Section 8 in the style of D.C. United or Red Bulls. The Fire's position was that there was no problem. This stance was very frustrating for Sector Latino and all of Section 8. It was decided to stage a silent protest during the first half of last weeks Fire/D.C. match.It seemed all of Section 8 agreed with this tactic and there was widespread support for our brothers and sisters in S.L.

At the game various crews within Section 8 (shout out to the Shandy Sisters and NAME REDACTED AT THE REQUEST OF MEMBERS!!) had printed up over 225 t-shirts as a show of visible solidarity. There were fliers printed up in English and Spanish explaining the situation and a multilingual (English, Polish, Spanish, Irish/Gaelic) banner stating "No Racism In Our House". We took time during the tailgate to walk around, pass out the fliers and talk to fellow Fire fans about the situation at hand and the protest which was to take place. People were very receptive and a few had there own tales of discrimination at the hands of Monterrey.

Once inside the stadium I was met with an eerie silence as I approached Section 8. Instead of the usual raucous noise there were over 1,500 fanatics sitting down and quiet! It was an overwhelming show of unity and support. The game started and other fans throughout the stadium tried to get some cheers and songs going but it was clear that the silence had altered the atmosphere significantly.

A few minutes in Sector Latino and a couple folks unfurled a banner and signs decrying racism. Immediately security came barreling in and snatched them all away to the jeers of "culero" (a-hole in Espanol). One of the signs only joked "Blanco is my Drinking Buddy" after Blanco called S.L. drunks...most of them are in high school or under 21. This harsh move by security created a very tense vibe within the section and had us looking over our shoulders to see what might come next.

Around the 30th minute S.L. rose and began to sing and chant their love for the Chicago Fire. The plan was for the rest of Section 8 to remain silent out of respect and solidarity to S.L.. This also highlighted their contribution to the game and showed their passion as fans. They continued on their own for the rest of the first half.

At the half my brother and I (as well as others) fliered the west half of the stadium and were again met with great support and approval from fellow Fire fans outside of Section 8. We had many great conversations and folks were clearly concerned with the situation. Once the 2nd half started the Section joined the Sector Latino crew and things were almost back to the usual. The main difference being that there were no flags,drums or trumpet as these things were now being restricted by the Fire. Another large banner against racism was unfurled and again Monterrey came in and took it away. At this time it was noticed that an official from MLS was positioned above the Section watching all of the goings on.

After the match was over sector Latino walked out together and were supported by many Section 8 regulars. At this time the multilingual banner I mentioned before was unfurled at the top of the concourse so departing fans could see it. Maybe it was because mostly white fans held this banner but security did not try and take it. Sector Latino left the stadium and commenced with their traditional post-game mosh pit and dance in the parking lot. The mood was celebratory and defiant... even though the Fire lost.

Many people questioned the effectiveness of the silent protest but it cannot be debated that the multiracial show of total unity displayed by Section 8 was impressive. Our culture as fans is one that includes and welcomes all people as we celebrate the game and team we love. Since the game the acting team president, Javier Leon, has contacted Section 8 with a letter that has created some space for discussions to continue in order to resolve the issue of racist treatment by some members of Monterrey Security. There has been talk of a walkout by Section 8 during a match... something that was only done once after the firing of beloved former G.M. Peter Wilt. We hope it won't come to that or any other further escalations but Section 8 is united in support of Sector Latino and that is without question!!

You Got Yer Socks On Backwards News

653 days to till the World Cup

~and~

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated looks back at the Olympics: "(Kobe) Bryant has been following soccer closely in Beijing, attending at least three different games. When he went to the Brazil-Argentina men's semifinal he even sat in the common-man seats instead of the VIP section. "I didn't want to sit in the VIP section. I wanted to sit with the crazies," Bryant said. "It was awesome. Awesome. I had a chance to just be a fan.""


CONCACAF Champions League News

Official CONCACAF website.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Preliminary Round - 1st Leg
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 26
Joe Public (T&T) v New England Revolution - 7pm central on FSC
Match preview by Monique Walker of the Boston Globe.
Match preview from the Trinidad & Tobago Express.
Match preview from the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian.
Match preview from Soccer 365.
Tauro (Panama) v Chivas USA - 9pm central on FSC
Match preview from the LA Times.
Cruz Azul v Hankook Verdes (Belize) - 12 midnight central on FSC
-Wed Aug 27
Montreal Impact v Real Esteli (Nicaragua) - 7pm central on FSC
Alajuelense (Costa Rico) v Puerto Rico Islanders - 9pm central on FSC
Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) v Marathon (Honduras)
-Thu Aug 28
Harbour View (Jamaica) v UNAM Pumas - 7pm central on FSC
Match preview from the Jamaica Observer.
Jalapa (Guatemala) v San Francisco (Panama)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Steve Davis of Soccernet previews the games this week.
-More preview from David Mosse at Soccernet.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nick Green of the LA Daily News previews the new and fairly anonymous tournament.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kyle McCarthy - and - Pat Walsh of Goal.com with their thoughts on the CCL.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Scoreboard

League Standings
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS News

CHICAGO FIRE

The team has named local sports industry veteran Dave Greeley as their new President.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

COLORADO RAPIDS

Class VI has a Q & A with a team marketing exec.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Bernardo Fallas of the Chronicle say the Dynamo are frustrated after getting stomped in New Jersey and just want to get on with the next game. Sunday night at home v Chicago.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TORONTO FC

Morgan Campbell of the Star says coach John Carver has taken the team on a 2 day "retreat".
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And guess what? Carlos Ruiz made it to Toronto!!!! Hooray Hooters! Hooray Beer! Boo Gustavo Cabrera!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

GENERAL

Luis Bueno at the Press Enterprise look ahead to the Western Conference playoff possibilities.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Steve Davis for MLSnet checks out the transfer window and which teams improved the most.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jack Bell of the New York Times with his weekly soccer column - Extra Time.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Team USA

FIFA.com does a Q & A with Steve Cherundolo about World Cup Qualifying, but doesn't ask him about being Red Carded in Guatemala. Huh?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Americans In Europe

Rangers website with an article on their new signing Maurice Edu as he gets ready for this weekends first big European derby of the new season - The Old Firm! Edu could make his debut in this match.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Glasgow Evening Times on Edu's arrival.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wales On Line talks to new Cardiff striker Eddie Johnson.
-EJ will make his debut today in the Carling Cup.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Champions League:
-Oguchi Onyewu - Standard Liege - The 2nd leg will be played on Aug 27 in Liverpool, tied 0-0.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Cup (all Thu Aug 28):
-Brian Arguez - Hertha Berlin - take on NK Ljubljana of Slovenia
-Carlos Bocanegra - Stade Rennais - take on Stabaek of Norway
-Dan Califf - Midtjylland - take on Manchester City of England
-Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - take on Hafnarfjordur of Iceland
-Ryan Guy - St Patricks Athletic - take on Elfsborg of Sweden
-Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - take on Hafnarfjordur of Iceland
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

English Carling Cup
2nd Round Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 26
Bobby Convey - Reading v Luton Town
Jay DeMerit - Watford v Darlington
Marcus Hahnemann - Reading v Luton Town
Eddie Johnson - Cardiff City v Milton Keynes
Jemal Johnson - Cardiff City v Milton Keynes
-Wed Aug 27
Clint Dempsey - Fulham v Leicester City
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

South American News

Boca Juniors long time star forward Martin Palermo has blown out his right knee which will require surgery and many months of rehab. The team does not expect him to play again until next spring. (thanks to Joe J for this one)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

England News

It looks like the transfer saga for Real Madrid forward Robinho is over - he is of to Chelsea.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune looks at the Chelsea spinning drama door - Sheva out, Robi in.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Martin Samuel of the Times says Steven Gerrard MUST step up and deliver for England.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Paul Doyle of the Guardian looks at the last grasp of this seasons transfer window in England.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FIFA.com does a Q & A with Arsenal's young French striker Samir Nasri.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

European News

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune looks at the final few frantic days of this summers transfer period.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FRANCE

Ben Lyttleton of the Guardian looks at the mess at Nantes - crazy owner, terrible team, coach with no support of management, the death of fans, and the heart attack of defender during a practice session. They sound cursed!
-Coach Michel Der Zakarian was fired today.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lyon has sold forward Milan Baros to Galatasaray.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

GERMANY

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian tells us about one of the wilder football success stories in recent times - Hoffenheim. After 2 games this season they are the team in the Bundesliga with 2 wins. (It's a town of less than 40,000.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bild takes the long slow route to Hoffenheim to tell us what is going on.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bild also reports that after rough times at both Bayern Munich & Chelsea for Claudio Pizarro, he is ready for the challenge at Werder Bremen.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ITALY

Gazzetta dello Sport give us a preview of the new Inter Milan.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrei Shevchenko finally ends a long painfully couple of years at Chelsea (why did he stick around so long?) and goes back to AC Milan where he enjoyed his heyday.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Milan has also brought in Arsenal's big clumsy centerback Philippe Senderos a long deal.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

OTHERS

Remember last month when that team in Uzbekistan claimed that they were going to sign Samuel Eto'o? Well, we all knew that was silly, but they did signed a big name. Really. Rivaldo.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian tell us all about a team from Belarus called BATE. They are on the verge of making it to the group stage of the Champions League.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Guardian looks at Ajax and new coach Marco Van Basten as the Eredivisie launches another season this weekend.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Champions League

Third Qualifying Round - 2nd leg
Matches & Scores (including 1st leg score):
-Tue Aug 26
Panathinaikos v Sparta Praha (2-1)
Artmedia v Juventus (0-4)
-Wed Aug 27
Slavia Praha v Fiorentina (0-2)
Dynamo Kyiv v Spartak Moskva (4-1)
BATE v Levski Sofia (1-0)
Dinamo Zagreb v Shakhtar Donetsk (0-2)
Olympiacos v Anorthosis Famagusta (0-3)
Kaunas v AaB (0-2)
Steaua Buchuresti v Galatasaray (2-2)
Olympique Marseille v Brann (1-0)
Atletico Madrid v Schalke (0-1)
Arsenal v Twente (2-0)
Fenerbahce v Partizan Belgrade (2-2)
Liverpool v Standard Liege (0-0)
Basel v Guimaraes Vitoria (0-0)
Wisla Krakow v Barcelona (0-4)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

World News

Ravi Ubha of the Seattle Post Intelligencer with his weekly world soccer news round up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated wraps up is Olympic experience with a look at Chinese fans.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Road To World Cup 2010 - South Africa News

Sports Illustrated checks in to see how South African preparations are going. Slow.

Try Just A Little Taste News

Argentina win Men's Olympic gold beating Nigeria 1-0

~and~

Cleveland City Stars win their 2nd consecutive USL Second Division championship.

~and~

Porto has a Brazilian forward named Hulk! Yes, Hulk! Don't you have to be a fairly big jackass to go by that name??

~and~

Eddie Lewis, new to the Galaxy, talks to Nick Green of the Daily Breeze and reveals that he thinks the Guatemalans targeted him personally because he was just signed by the Galaxy and their teammate Carlos Ruiz was sent packing. Wow! See the full interview linked below in the Los Angeles Galaxy section.

~and~

Hello? Hello? Is anyone at MLS HQ home? Hello? Well, then I will leave this note on your door and see if you can get back to me on it. Why was Gabriel Cichero of NYRB given a 2 game suspension for a fairly innocuous elbow (that got him an initial Red Card), while Sean Franklin of LA throws an elbow so hard that he breaks a guys jaw, and he gets nothing (not even a foul in the game!). NOTHING. Hello? Still no one home?


CONCACAF Champions League News

The Preliminary Round - 1st Leg
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 26
Joe Public (T&T) v New England Revolution - 7pm central on FSC
Match preview from Soccer 365.
Tauro (Panama) v Chivas USA - 9pm central on FSC
Cruz Azul v Hankook Verdes (Belize) - 12 midnight central on FSC
-Wed Aug 27
Montreal Impact v Real Esteli (Nicaragua) - 7pm central on FSC
Alajuelense (Costa Rico) v Puerto Rico Islanders - 9pm central on FSC
Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) v Marathon (Honduras)
-Thu Aug 28
Harbour View (Jamaica) v UNAM Pumas - 7pm central on FSC
Jalapa (Guatemala) v San Francisco (Panama)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Steve Davis of Soccernet previews the games this week.
-More preview from David Mosse at Soccernet.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Scoreboard

Week 22
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 20
New England 2-1 DC - NER goals by Taylor Twellman & Jeff Larentowicz. DCU goal by Jaime Moreno.
Attendance: 14,962
Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough MA
Houston 4-0 Chivas USA - HD goals by Stuart Holden, Kei Kamara(2) & Nate Jaqua.
Attendance: 10,908
Venue: Robertson Stadium, Houston TX
-Thu Aug 21
Los Angeles 0-1 Chicago - CF goal by John Thorrington.
Attendance: 27,000
Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson CA
-Sat Aug 23
DC 3-0 Colorado - DCU goals by Joe Vide, Santino Quaranta & Quavas Kirk.
Attendance: 17,283
Venue: RFK Stadium, Washington DC
Match report by Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
Match report by John Haydon of the Washington Times.
Match report by Chris Webb at United Mania.
Post game notes & DC player ratings by Goff on his blog Soccer Insider.
Toronto 1-1 New England - TFC goal by Chad Barrett. NER goal by Taylor Twellman.
Attendance: 20.461
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto ON
Match report by Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe & Mail.
Match report from the Toronto Star.
Match report by Monique Walker of the Boston Globe.
Columbus 3-0 Salt Lake - CC goals by Chad Marshall, Guillermo Barros Schelotto(PK) & Brad Evans.
Attendance: 12,448
Venue: Crew Stadium, Columbus OH
Match report by Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch.
Match report the Deseret News.
Post game notes by Mitchell.
Kansas City 1-1 Dallas - KCW goal by Jimmy Conrad. FCD goal by Andre Rocha.
Attendance: 9,825
Venue: CommunityAmerica Ballpark, Kansas City KS
Match report by Bob Luder the Kansas City Star.
Match report from the Dallas Morning News.
Match report from the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Chivas USA 0-0 San Jose
Attendance: 12,209
Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson CA
Match report from the Daily Breeze.
Match report by Grahame Jones of the LA Times.
Match report from the San Jose Mercury News.
Post game analysis by Nick Green of the Daily Breeze on his blog 100 Percent Soccer.
Post game notes by Green.
-Sun Aug 24
New York 3-0 Houston - NYRB goals by Juan Pablo Angel, Dane Richards & Mike Magee.
Attendance: 12,549
Venue: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford NJ
Match report by Dylan Butler of Big Apple Soccer.
Match report from the New York Post.
Match report by Stefan Bondy of the Herald News.
Post game analysis by Ives Galarcep of Soccer by Ives.
Post game notes by Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle on his blog Soccer y Futbol.
Post game analysis by Brian Lewis of the NY Post on his blog Extra Time.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ejections:
Pablo Ricchetti - Dallas - 2 Yellow Cards
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

League Standings
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS News

CHICAGO FIRE

Defender Lider Marmol finally got his first goal in Chicago uniform - but it was an own goal, in a friendly that the team lost 3-1 to Veracruz in Mexico. See a few more details in the MLS Exhibition Matches section below.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

COLORADO RAPIDS

Brian Forbes of the Denver Post answers viewer mail.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

COLUMBUS CREW

Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch with an article on long time, but little used midfielder, Duncan Oughton.
-More quotes that did not make the article, from Mitchell's blog Covering The Crew.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mitchell also tells us that forward Alejandro Moreno was in Venezuela last week playing for the national team and scoring a goal in a 4-1 win over mighty Syria. Sounds like the kind of game the USA used to play, like say while warming up for World Cup 2006. Good for Moreno, but what a waste of a game.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FC DALLAS

Not Good - the FCD Blog reports that newly signed midfielder Viktor Sikora has suffered a torn knee ligament and will need surgery. He will be out until early October.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Also the FCD Blog brings us notes and photos from a trip some team exec's just took to meet with exec's from the mighty River Plate in Argentina. Part 1 - and - Part 2. (One more segment on the way.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DC UNITED

DC has only tied 1 game all season. They also have 10 wins (most by any team in the league), and 10 losses (most by any team in the league). What a weird season.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Nick Green of the Daily Breeze on his blog 100 Percent Soccer has some notes for us from Galaxy training today, plus a Q & A with new winger Eddie Lewis. First Question - How's your head? It's the question we all want to hear the answer to.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrea Canales at Soccernet looks at Bruce Arena after one week on the job.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Steve Ralston played in his 350th MLS game. More than anyone else. By a mile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Young hotshot forward Kheli Dube has suffered a tear in his quad muscle and could be out until early October.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Monique Walker of the Boston Globe with two articles on unsung players who the team will depend upon if they are to earn more trophies this season: Jeff Larentowicz - and - Khano Smith.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Connolly of the Boston Herald pointed out that NE are in the middle of a 7 day, 3 country, 3 game road trip. DC to Toronto to Port Of Spain. Wow.
-Connolly also reports that new defender Gabriel Badilla from Saprissa will not be with the team until them return from T&T.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

RED BULL NEW YORK

Dylan Butler of Big Apple Soccer tells the reason why midfielder Jorge Rojas got stranded in his native Venezuela this past weekend and missed the game. It's one I have not heard before.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Butler also reported that Hunter Freeman is now mysteriously back on the bench. A couple weeks ago we were told he would never play for the team again because he had already agreed a deal with a team in Norway for January. So much for Juan Carlos Osorio being a tough guy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mexican centerback Diego Jimenez made his league and team debut on Sunday.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

REAL SALT LAKE

The team acquired young Canadian forward Will Johnson from Heerenveen in Holland (he also played 1 year on load at De Graafschap). Chicago held his MLS rights and got 2 future low round draft picks for his rights.
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TORONTO FC

Morgan Campbell of the Star says TFC are asking the same question that LA & Dallas were forced to ask many times over the past 6 or 7 years - Where is Carlos Ruiz? Oh, he is showing up on Monday? Really? Would you like to invest in emu meat? I hear it's very good, like beef, and will be all the rage....
-Campbell follows up on his blog at the Star by saying Ruiz didn't show up today. Shocking!
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GENERAL

Guillermo Barros Schelotto of Columbus was name Player Of The Week.
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Steve Davis at Soccernet with Ten Things We Need To Know from Week 22.
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Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com with his weekly league review, this time starring the playmaker.
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Steven Goff of the Washington Post on his blog Soccer Insider gives us his weekly review: The Good, The Bad and The Coyote Ugly.
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Jack Bell of the New York Times on their blog Goal looks at the huge amount of games (relatively) that some MLS teams are playing this summer, right into fall.
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MLS Exhibition Matches

-Sun Aug 24
Veracruz (Mexico 2nd Division) 3-1 Chicago Fire - Vera goals by Alejandro Leyva, Enrique Seccafien & Lider Marmol(OG). CF goal by Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
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MLS Player Of The Year

Here is our initial alphabetical list of the candidates:
Juan Pablo Angel
Guillermo Barros Schelotto
David Beckham
Cuauhtemoc Blanco
Edson Buddle
Jon Busch
Kenny Cooper
Landon Donovan
Luciano Emilio
Amado Guevara
Shalrie Joseph
Javier Morales
Alejandro Moreno
Jaime Moreno
Steve Ralston
Matt Reis
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Who did we miss?
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MLS Young Player Of The Year - 22 Or Under

Here is our initial alphabetical list of the candidates:
Corey Ashe
Emmanuel Ekpo
Roger Espinoza
Jorge Flores
Eddie Gaven
Michael Harrington
Abdus Ibrahim
Amaechi Igwe
Kenny Mansally
Dax McCarty
Yura Movsisyan
Sainey Nyassi
Marco Pappa
Robbie Rogers
Marvell Wynne
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Who did we miss on this one?
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USL First Division News

Minnesota Thunder

Some analysis of the teams current situation.
At the end of 2007 the Thunder sat at:
26 points from 28 games on 5 wins, 12 losses and 11 ties. They scored 32 goals and gave up 35. They finished 11th in a 12 team league.
Right now we have 4 games left to play and here is how the team sits:
27 points from 24 games on 7 wins, 11 losses and 6 ties. They scored 29 goals and gave up 34.
So, in general, they have improved minisculely. But their new ownership invested quite a bit in this team and I am sure they wanted a lot more in return. Let's hope that they are truly in this for the long run and continue the investment. Results come from consistency and patience, not quick fix blasts.
As a fan I am very frustrated.
The team fired long time player and coach Amos Magee in midseason after an awful run and brutal lack of effort on the field.
The season started brightly, but has now reverted to the same form we had seen over the previous 3 seasons.
When the team went to interim coach Don Gramenz the players seemed to respond with some very good if inconsistent performances. But the past 2 games have been back to that disastrous lack of guts.
When you watch from the stands week after week it starts to look like many of these guys simply don't care. I know they are not getting paid much money, but it's gotten to the point that they should be embarrassed. I am not going to lay it on every single one of them, because some guys really battle. But other guys are going through the motions, and sadly it seems to be some with the most skill, which I have to admit pisses me off.
There are 4 games to go, and the playoffs are still a possibility. So what will happen?
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USL First Division Scoreboard

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 20
Montreal 3-1 Atlanta
Seattle 0-0 Vancouver
-Fri Aug 22
Puerto Rico 2-1 Charleston
Minnesota 1-2 Carolina
Vancouver 2-1 Portland
-Sat Aug 23
Rochester 2-0 Atlanta
-Sun Aug 24
Miami 3-0 Charleston
Montreal 3-1 Atlanta
Seattle 4-3 Carolina
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USL First Division Standings

Standings (games played) (goal difference):
44 Puerto Rico (24)
42 Vancouver (24)
36 Charleston (25) (GD +4)
36 Seattle (26) (GD 0)
34 Rochester (25)
32 Atlanta (25)
31 Montreal (23)
- - - - - - - - -
28 Portland (25)
27 Miami (24) (GD 0)
27 Minnesota (24) (GD -5)
27 Carolina (25) (GD -11)
(The top 7 teams advance to the playoffs.)
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USL Second Division News

Cleveland City Stars won the league championship on Saturday night.
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Final Match & Score:
-Sat Aug 23
Cleveland City Stars 2-1 Charlotte Eagles - CCS goals by Steve Shak(OG) & Sallieu Bundu. CE goal by Joseph Kabwe.
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Americans In Europe

Just like that, the American love affair with Fulham is nearly over. Last season they had 5 on the books, but now it's just Clint Dempsey all by his lonesome. And he's not even starting.
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It's nearly a perfect parallel to all of the Premiership for Americans where there were 11 last year and only 5 this year with two of them fighting for one spot on the same team. How quickly the starkness rolls in.
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Ravi Ubha at Soccernet talks to Brad Friedel about his new team, Aston Villa.
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American's in English Carling Cup
2nd Round Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 26
Bobby Convey - Reading v Luton Town
Jay DeMerit - Watford v Darlington
Marcus Hahnemann - Reading v Luton Town
Eddie Johnson - Cardiff City v Milton Keynes
Jemal Johnson - Cardiff City v Milton Keynes
-Wed Aug 27
Clint Dempsey - Fulham v Leicester City
Jonathan Spector - West Ham v Macclesfield Town
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MOST RECENT MATCHES

French Ligue 1
-Freddy Adu - Monaco - came on as a sub in the 87th minute of a 1-1 draw at home against Caen.
-Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes - started and played 82 minutes as the team got their first win of the season, 2-1 at home over Lille.
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French Ligue 2
-Quentin Westberg - Troyes - an unused sub at they lost 1-0 at Vannes.
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Scottish Premiership
-DaMarcus Beasley - Rangers - came on as a sub in the 81st minute as saw his game winning goal wrongly disallowed for offside as they tied 1-1 at Aberdeen.
-Maurice Edu - Rangers - did not dress for his new team as they drew 1-1 at Aberdeen.
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German Bundesliga 1
-Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - came on as a sub in the 72nd minute (got booked 2 minutes later) as the team drew 0-0 at home against Energie Cottbus.
-Neven Subotic - Borussia Dortmund - went all 90 as they tied Bayern Munich 1-1 at home.
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German Bundesliga 2
-Gregg Berhalter - 1860 Munich - started and played 77 minutes of a 1-2 home loss to Mainz.
-Grover Gibson - Rot Weiss Ahlen - started, lasted 52 minutes, picked up a Yellow Card and they lost 3-0 at Augsburg.
-Heath Pearce - Hansa Rostock - on the bench but did not play as they beat Alemania Aachen 1-0 at home.
-Matt Taylor - Koblenz - started and went 60 minutes of a 0-0 draw at Frankfurt.
-David Yelldell - Koblenz - in goal as they drew 0-0 at Frankfurt.
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Dutch Erstedivisie
-Charles Kazlauskas - TOP Oss - played all 90 of a 2-2 tie game at Stormvogels Telstar.
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Belgian Jupiler League
-Oguchi Onyewu - Standard - came on as a sub in the 74th minute and won 3-0 over Westerlo.
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English Premier League
-Clint Dempsey - Fulham - came on as a sub in the 77th minute and they beat Arsenal at home 1-0. It was only their 2nd win ever over their city rivals.
-Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - played all 90 as normal, but lost 3-2 at Stoke City.
-Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - did not dress for the teams 3-2 loss at Stoke.
-Tim Howard - Everton - went the distance in goal and won 1-2 at West Brom.
-Jonathan Spector - West Ham - out with a long term hip injury - the team lost 3-0 at Manchester City.
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English Championship Division
-Bobby Convey - Reading - started and played 73 minutes of a 4-2 loss at Charlton.
-Jay DeMerit - Watford - played the entire 90 minutes but lost 3-2 at Nottingham Forest.
-Marcus Hahnemann - Reading - went the distance as always but lost 4-2 at Charlton.
-Eddie Johnson - Cardiff City - did not suit up for his new team as they drew 2-2 at home against Norwich.
-Frank Simek - Sheffield Wednesday - out with a long term ankle injury - the team drew 1-1 at home against Preston.
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English League One
-Jemal Johnson - MK Dons - came on in the 65th minute as they won 1-3 at Huddersfield.
-Zak Whitbread - Millwall - went the full 90 and drew 0-0 at Northampton.
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Norwegian Tippeligaen:
-Adin Brown - Aalesunds - out injured as they lost 1-0 at Tromso.
-Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - drew 1-1 at home against Lyn Oslo
-Troy Perkins - Valerenga - lost 1-2 at Stromsgodset
-Brian Waltrip - Molde - lost 1-2 at home against Bodo Glimt
-Brian West - Fredrikstad - drew 1-1 at Hamarkamaratene
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Norwegian Adeccoligaen:
-Matthew Allen - Bryne - lost 4-1 at Alta
-Clarence Goodson - Start - won 0-2 at Hodd
-Joe Lapira - Nybergsund - scored a goal as they drew 2-2 at Sparta Sarpsborg.
-Jay Needham - Alta - scored a goal as they won 4-1 at home over Bryne.
-Chris Rodd - Bryne - lost 4-1 at Alta
-Kyle Veris - Hodd - lost 0-2 at Start
-Cam Weaver - Haugesund - got himself a Yellow Card as they drew 1-1 at Honefoss.
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Swedish Allsvenskan:
-Colin Burns - Ljungskile - won 2-0 at home over Sundsvall.
-Charlie Davies - Hammarby - started and went 65 minutes of a 1-0 home loss to Kalmar in the League Cup.
-Ryan Raybould - Gelfe - play on Tuesday at home against Helsingborgs.
-Etchu Tabe - Ljungskile - won 2-0 at home over Sundsvall.
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Americans in Mexico

Luis Bueno at Sideline Views gives us the review of the Americans in the FMF from Round 5.
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Olympic Soccer Scoreboard

Men's Final Matches & Scores:
-Sat Aug 23
Nigeria 0-1 Argentina
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Big Euro Club Matches This Week

Spanish Super Cup
(1st leg score included)
-Sun Aug 24 - 2nd leg
Real Madrid 4-2 Valencia - Real win it 6-5 on aggregate.
-Real played with 9 men for the last 41 minutes and still got the win.
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Dutch Super Cup
-Sat Aug 23
Feyenoord 0-2 PSV
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Italian Super Cup
-Sun Aug 24
Inter 2-2 Roma - Inter win 6-5 on PK's after the game and Extra Time end tied.
-Francesco Totti is the player who missed his Penalty Kick for Roma.
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-Sat Aug 23
Fulham 1-0 Arsenal - one of the seemingly endless string of London derbies, but this time Fulham won, and that never happens.
Stuttgart 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen 1-1 Schalke
Spartak Moscow 1-1 Dinamo Moscow - #4 hosted #2 and nothing changed
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UEFA Champions League

Third Qualifying Round - 2nd leg
Matches & Scores (including 1st leg score):
-Tue Aug 26
Panathinaikos v Sparta Praha (2-1)
Artmedia v Juventus (0-4)
-Wed Aug 27
Slavia Praha v Fiorentina (0-2)
Dynamo Kyiv v Spartak Moskva (4-1)
BATE v Levski Sofia (1-0)
Dinamo Zagreb v Shakhtar Donetsk (0-2)
Olympiacos v Anorthosis Famagusta (0-3)
Kaunas v AaB (0-2)
Steaua Buchuresti v Galatasaray (2-2)
Olympique Marseille v Brann (1-0)
Atletico Madrid v Schalke (0-1)
Arsenal v Twente (2-0)
Fenerbahce v Partizan Belgrade (2-2)
Liverpool v Standard Liege (0-0)
Basel v Guimaraes Vitoria (0-0)
Wisla Krakow v Barcelona (0-4)