Bwooooooooooooooop News

MLS Team News

CHICAGO FIRE

Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune on his blog The Red Card reports that the Fire are close to signing a contract extension with Blanco.
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FC DALLAS

Dallas Soccer News talks to FCD coach Schellas Hyndman who says that Kenny Cooper will be with the team for the 09 season.
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Goal.com has a video interview with Kenny Cooper.
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Denilson is getting a try out at Bolton. How ironic would it be if he got signed there.
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DC UNITED

The team has re-signed Santino Quaranta.
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HOUSTON DYNAMO

Global Futbol talks to Bobby Boswell about his past, present and future, and MLS in general.
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RED BULL NEW YORK

Brian Lewis of the NY Post on his blog Extra Time gives us the latest on contracts for Dave Van Den Bergh and Juan Pablo Angel.
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SEATTLE SOUNDERS

The team has signed their USL1 goalkeeper Chris Eylander to the new roster.
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David Falk of the Examiner does a Q & A with SSFC GM Adrian Hanauer.
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SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

The Eastern Daily Press in England talks to Darren Huckerby who loves his new life in America, but really really really wishes he was still playing for Norwich.
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GENERAL

Sean Grybos of the Touchline says what we really need is the MLS Network! I could not agree more. Especially since Sean feels that I should host a reporters roundtable show! Oh Yeah Oh Yeah, yer a genius!
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The Cumberland News in England talks to former Houston goalkeeper Tony Caig who gives MLS a thumbs up, and hopes the future is bright.
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Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com looks at the young players who have been signed by the league to the special "Generation Adidas" development contracts, and their positive impact through the years.
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Long time MLS forward Chris Brown, most recently with the Portland Timbers, has retired.
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Gareth Wheeler of the Toronto Sun on the January transfer window and the possibility of MLS losing players to Europe.
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Kristian Dyer at ESPN Soccernet is not down with the dissolving of the Reserve League.
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Luis Bueno of the Press Enterprise gives us a 2009 preview for 4 big MLS stars.
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MLS College Draft Talk

Ives Galarcep of Soccer by Ives gives us the inside scoop on who the league has signed to Generation Adidas contracts.
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MLS Rumor City - Don't Tease Me Bro!

David Falk of the Examiner with several Seattle player rumors. Including talk of Valencia striker Fernando Morientes. Maybe they could still dump Ljungberg.
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Robbie Fowler to Chicago? Lets hope not.
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Gregory Sica of Sports Illustrated talks to Juan Sebastian Veron who says he has no reason to leave Estudiantes.
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MLS Expansion News

The latest news from the Delaware County Times in Philadelphia on the worrisome state of their stadium plans, and potential fallout for the whole team - Oof (WARNING: Spin mongering in full effect):
-Stadium financiers are keeping ball in the air
-Naming of soccer team delayed
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Jeff Rusnak of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes about the possible return to Miami of MLS.
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USL First Division News

Long time Montreal Impact defender Gabe Gervais has retired.
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Minnesota Thunder

Brian Quarstad of Inside Minnesota Soccer lists his Top Ten Minnesota Soccer events in 2008, not all Thunder related.
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Team USA

Keep track of the team on the official blog.
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Clarence Goodson will not be in this camp due to an ankle surgery.
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Cory Gibbs is also out, with no explanation given by US Soccer.
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The team has called in San Jose Earthquakes defender Jason Hernandez to fill the gap. Wow. Did not expect to see that name come up.
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US Soccer gives us video from Day One of camp - and - a video interview with Stuart Holden.
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Goal.com has a video interview with Kenny Cooper. Frankencooper knows his cliches.
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Nick Green of the Daily Breeze on his blog 100 Percent Soccer drops in at the start of the team camp and talks to a few important folks.
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Green also has a Q & A with defender Dan Califf.
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Andrea Canales of Goal.com on the opening of the January training camp.
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Ives Galarcep at ESPN Soccernet tells us what coach Bob Bradley expects to get out of this January training camp.
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Greg Seltzer at Soccer 365 talks to Dan Califf about the January camp.
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Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune gives us some info on Fire players Jon Busch and John Thorrington at the camp.
-And a little more info on his blog The Red Card.
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Richard Snowden of Soccer 365 feels the Hex will not be as easy as some folks might think. Agreed.
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The Trinidad Express writes about the USA January camp, and gives a little info on how T&T will prepare for qualifiers.
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Here is Sweden's roster for the game against the USA on Jan 24 and Mexico on Jan 28. Like I have written before, this is not the full Sweden squad, it is, like the USA and Mexico teams, a roster of domestic players who are on winter break. The one big name on the team is legendary striker Henrik Larsson.
ROSTER:
John Alvbage - Orebro
Daniel Andersson - Malmo
Patrik Anttonen - Orebro
Rasmus Bengtsson - Trelleborgs
Mattias Bjarsmyr - IFK
Andreas Dahl - Nordsjaelland
Mikael Dahlberg - Djurgarden
Rasmus Elm - Kalmar
Martin Ericsson - Elfsborg
Eddie Gustafsson - Lyn
Samuel Holmen - Brondby
Patrik Ingelsten - Kalmar
Adam Johansson - IFK
Andreas Johansson - Halmstads
Markus Jonsson - AIK
Andreas Landgren - Helsingborgs
Henrik Larsson - Helsingborgs
Marcus Lindberg - Kalmar
Max von Schlebrugge - Brondby
Gustav Svensson - IFK
Ola Toivonen - Malmo
Pontus Wernbloom - IFK
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USA U20 News

Steven Goff of the Washington Post on his blog Soccer Insider reveals the 4 players who were dismissed from the teams recent training camp for disciplinary reasons: Bryan Arguez of Hertha Berlin, Vincenzo Bernardo of Napoli, Gabriel Hoyos of Freiburg and Guiseppe Nazzani of Bologna. No other details are known publicly at this time.
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USA U17 News

The Merced Sun Star (California) with an article on a young player, Cristian Alvarez, who burned out at the US Soccer Residency Program in Florida, and came home to sort out his soccer future.
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Soccer In America

John Haydon of the Washington Times previews the year ahead.
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Andrew Dixon of Black Athlete gives us his A-Z for 2008. Good stuff as always. And I wrote that before I even knew that du Nord got the "D" spot on the list!
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Greg Seltzer at Soccer 365 gives us his 2008 All-American Best 11.
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Beau Dure of USA Today does the same - 2008 American Best 11.
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Greg Lalas at Sports Illustrated gives us his USA 2009 Soccer Almanac. And one of his New Year's resolutions was to spend LESS time reading du Nord - Booooooooooooo! Hahahahahaha.
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Steve Davis at ESPN Soccernet looks ahead to 2009 and tells us what he sees.
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Major League Soccer Talk has a video interview with the one and only Ray Hudson, commentator at GolTV.
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Michael Lewis for the NY Daily News poses 10 questions that need to be answered by 10 big names in American soccer in 09.
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Americans In Europe

The Bayern Munich website has an interview with Landon Donovan about his official arrival at the team. (thanks to BQ for this link)
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Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America in the growth and future of Charlie Davies.
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Greg Seltzer at Soccer 365 talks to Jonathan Spector who is finally back on the field after a long term hip injury.
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Yanks Abroad lets readers ask questions of Matt Taylor who plays for Kublenz of the 2nd division in Germany.
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MOST RECENT MATCHES
(only players who saw the field are listed)

Several Americans saw action in the English FA Cup:
-Bobby Convey - Reading - started and played 74 minutes but they lost to Cardiff 2-0 on the road.
-Jay DeMerit - Watford - played the full match and they beat Scunthorpe United 1-0 at home.
-Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the full 90 as they won at Sheffield Wednesday 1-2.
-Brad Friedel - played the full 90 as they won 1-2 at Gillingham.
-Tim Howard - Everton - in goal as usual and they won 0-1 at Macclesfield Town.
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Only one American played in the 9th round of the Coupe de France:
-Carlos Bocanegra - played all 90 as they won 0-1 at Sochaux.
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Americans In Mexico

Jack Bell of the New York Times blog Goal says Pachuca midfielder Jose Francisco Torres is very happy he chose to play internationally for the USA.
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Luis Bueno at Sports Illustrated reports on Edgar Castillo signing with Club America, and Jesus Padilla at Chivas.
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CONCACAF News

Goal.com names their Best 11 for 08 from the region. Only 2 Americans make the list.
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Mexico & FMF News

The El Paso Times with an article on their sister city of Juarez, Mexico and their team Indios who were just promoted to the Primera league.
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Inter Liga

The tournament that sends Mexican teams to South America's Copa Libertadores tournament.
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Official website.
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Matches & Scores:
-Fri Jan 2
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Dallas TX
Toluca 1-1 Morelia - Tol goal by Sergio Santana. Mor goal by Fernando Salazar.
UAG Tecos 0-4 Pachuca - Pach goals by Edgar Benitez, Marco Ivan Perez, Edy Brambila & Victor Omar Manon.
-Sat Jan 3
Venue: Robertson Stadium - Houston TX
UANL Tigres 0-0 Atlas
Guadalajara 1-1 America - Guad goal by Sergio Amaury Ponce. Amer goal by Jean Beausejour.
-Mon Jan 5
Venue Robertson Stadium - Houston TX
Pachuca 1-0 Toluca - Pach goal by Edgar Benitez.
UAG Tecos Morelia - UAG goal by Diego Jimenez.
-Tue Jan 6
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX
UANL Tigres v America
Guadalajara v Atlas
-Thu Jan 8
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Morelia v Pachuca
Toluca v UAG Tecos
-Fri Jan 9
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Atlas v America
UANL Tigres v Guadalajara
-Sun Jan 11
Finals
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With their second win in 2 games Pachuca advance to the final round next Sunday in Carson CA with one group stage game still to play.
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Diego Jimenez who scored for Tecos on Monday night is the say player who just left the New York Red Bulls.
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Glenn Davis of the Houston Chronicle with an article on Chivas head coach Efrain Flores.
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Nick Green of the Daily Breeze writes about InterLiga as the matches move to So Cal.
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South America News

BRAZIL

Tim Vickery of Sports Illustrated jumps ahead 5 years to Brazil hosting the 2014 World Cup.
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England News

The Guardian outs the 3 players at Manchester City who are making the job miserable for coach Mark Hughes.
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Paul Doyle of the Guardian on the struggling Big Phil and Chelsea.
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The Telegraph introduces us to the latest crop of talented youngsters at Manchester United.
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John Molinaro of the CBC feels no sympathy for struggling Manchester City.
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FA CUP

Here are the scores from the Third Round, and then the upcoming replays and 4th Round games.
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Simon Kuper of the Financial Times writes about the mythology of the tournament. (From last Saturday)
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LEAGUE CUP

The semifinals begin today.
1st leg Matches & scores:
-Tue Jan 6
Tottenham 4-1 Burnley
-Wed Jan 7
Derby v Manchester United
1st leg Matches & scores (with 1st leg scores included):
-Tue Jan 20
Manchester United v Derby (-)
-Wed Jan 21
Burnley v Tottenham (1-4)
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European News

FRANCE

The Telegraph tells us that the main reason Lyon have won 7 titles in a row is their academy.
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FIFA.com with an article on Lyon star Juninho who is talking retirement.
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GERMANY

FIFA.com has a Q & A with Bayern forward Lukas Podolski.
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Deutsche Welle reports that Bayern President Franz Beckenbauer has called Hoffenheim's title aspirations "delusions of grandeur." Harsh.
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DW's blog Ballspiel talks "Hot Stove League".
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DFB does a Q & A with FA General Secretary Wolfgang Niersbach looking back at his first year in charge. Good stuff.
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The Bundesliga website looks back at Beckenbauer's career with Hamburg, after he left the New York Cosmos.
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ITALY

DB played the first 45 minutes today for Milan in the friendly v Hamburg. The game ended 1-1, and Milan won 4-3 on PK's.
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Gazzetta talks to Jose Mourinho about the future of troubled Adriano at Inter.
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SCOTLAND

Scotland's Daily Record tells us about 10 Scottish youngster to keep an eye on.
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SPAIN

Sid Lowe of the Guardian reports on the triumphant return to the Valencia line up of David Silva, and the rest of the weekend bunch in La Liga.
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Barney Ronay of the Guardian tells us about a ref in a lower division game who sent off 19 players in one game!
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COPA DEL REY
Round of 16 First leg Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jan 6
Atletico Madrid 1-3 Barcelona
-Wed Jan 7
Polideportivo Ejido v Espanyol
Racing Santander v Valencia
Sporting Gijon v Real Valladolid
Real Union Club du Irun v Real Betis
Sevilla v Deportivo La Coruna
-Thu Jan 8
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao
Mallorca v Almeria

Round of 16 Second leg Matches & Scores (with First leg scores included):
-Wed Jan 14
Barcelona v Atletico Madrid (3-1)
Espanyol v Polideportivo Ejido (-)
Valencia v Racing Santander (-)
Real Valladolid v Sporting Gijon (-)
Real Betis v Real Union Club du Irun (-)
Deportivo La Coruna v Sevilla (-)
Athletic Bilbao v Osasuna (-)
Almeria v Mallorca (-)
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OTHERS

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune bids a fond RIP to Belgian great Lei Clijsters.
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The Weekends Biggest Club Matches From Around The World

Scotland Premiership
-Sat Jan 3
Hearts 0-0 Hibernian - the 2nd biggest Scottish derby produces 1 point for each
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Spain La Liga
-Sat Jan 3
Valencia 3-1 Atletico Madrid - the hosts moves up to #2, while the visitors drops down to #5
-Sun Jan 4
Real Madrid 1-0 Villarreal - the home team moves up to #3, while the road team drops down to #6
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Greek Super League
-Sun Jan 4
Panathinaikos 0-0 AEK Athens - a stalemate between long standing rivals
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World News

Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports gives us his list of 10 soccer names to watch in 09.
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Middle Eastern News

Not surprisingly all game in the Israeli league have been canceled for now due to their military attack on Gaza.
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Australian A-League News

Standings after 18 of 21 games played:
32 Melbourne Victory
30 Adelaide United
28 Central Coast Mariners
26 Queensland Roar
25 Wellington Phoenix
20 Sydney
19 Perth Glory
15 Newcastle Jets
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The Road To World Cup 2010 - South Africa News

World Soccer checks in on progress for the Confederations Cup and the World Cup. How are they doing? Via Sports Illustrated.