Some News for Thu Mar 10, 2011

STARTERS

Happy Birthday to Samuel Eto'o - From Inter: Samuel Eto'o has scored 30 goals for Inter so far this season and today he turns 30 years old - he was born on 10 March 1981 in Nkon, Cameroon.

dN

Fox Soccer Channel has announced who their TV commentators will be for MLs in 2011: JP Dellacamera, Kyle Martino, Christopher Sullivan & Eric Wynalda. I like it.
-Allen Hopkins is expected to return to FSC as well.

CHARLIE DAVIES

Mark Rogandino of Fox Soccer sits down with Davies and a video camera to give us his whole story. Great interview.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

2nd leg Quarterfinal matches!

dN

Tottenham and Schalke join Barcelona and Shakhtar in the next round. The other 4 will be determined next week.

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune reviews Wednesday's games.

dN

Round of 16
Matches & Scores (1 Leg scores included):
2nd Leg
-Tue Mar 8
Barcelona 3-1 Arsenal - Bar advances 4-3 on aggregate - Bar goals by Lionel Messi(2, one via PK) & Xavi Hernandez. Ars goal by Sergio Busquets(OG).
Shakhtar 3-0 Roma - SD advances 6-2 on aggregate - SD goals by Willian(2) & Eduardo da Silva.
-Wed Mar 9
Tottenham 0-0 Milan - Tot advances 1-0 on aggregate.
Schalke v Valencia (1-1) - Sch advances 4-2 on aggregate. Sch goals by Jefferson Farfan(2) and Mario Gavranovic. Val goal by Ricardo Costa.

dN

The second batch of Quarterfinal matches next week.

-Tue Mar 15
Man United v Marseille (0-0)
Bayern v Inter (1-0)
-Wed Mar 16
Chelsea v Kobenhavn (2-0)
Real Madrid v Lyon (1-1)

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The Semifinals begin next Tuesday!!

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

-Fri Mar 11
Rennes v Marseille - #2 v #4 in France
-Sat Mar 12
Manchester United v Arsenal - unfortunately not a league game, but rather a cup game
Bayern v Hamburg - big big rivals
-Sun Mar 13
Roma v Lazio - the always nutso Roman derby
Mainz v Leverkusen - #4 v #2 in Germany

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

Mike Woitalla of Soccer America does a Q & A with director Pablo Miralles about the film he is making "Gringos At The Gate", the rivlary between the USA and Mexico. Can't wait to see it.

MLS FIRST KICK 2011

Now just 5 days away!

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

CHICAGO FIRE

The Fire signed 25 year old American midfielder Mike Videira from the New England Revolution, and 19 year old American forward Orr Barouch from the UANL Tigres youth team in Mexico.

Orrin Schwarz of the Daily Herald sees the Fire as one of the top teams in the Eastern conference.
-Hmmmmm. I am not seeing that same way.

CD CHIVAS USA

The team has officially acquired left midfielder Francisco Mendoza and goalkeeper Sergio Arias on a loan deal from Guadalajara Chivas.

COLORADO RAPIDS

Colorado lost 3-1 in Seattle last night, getting a penalty kick goal from Jeff Larentowicz.

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer reports that Macoumba Kandji is on schedule with his rehab from knee surgery and should be ready to play by mid-summer.

COLUMBUS CREW

Chad Marshall was back on the field yesterday after having some concussion symptoms a few weeks ago.

Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch on the return from injury of starting keeper William Hesmer.

The Crew signed 31 year old Serbian central midfielder Dejan Rusmir from Farul Constanta in Romania.

FC DALLAS

FCD will add more to the plate of Oscar Pareja who is currently the director of player development for the academy, he will not also be the reserve team coach.

Maykel Galindo was released by Dallas today.

DC UNITED

The Washington Post with the latest DCU preseason update.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle with an article on new fullback Hunter Freeman.

Jeff Carlisle of ESPN with a Dynamo season preview.

The Dynamo are talking to English team Bolton about a possible friendly in Houston.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Charles Gooch of the Star with the latest look at the SKC roster.

The reserves lost to RSL reserves 1-0 on Wednesday.

LA GALAXY

Phil Collin of the Daily Breeze with an article on the team's newest forward Chad Barrett.

The Galaxy beat UCLA yesterday 2-1 on goals by Juninho & Landon Donovan.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Metrofanatic has created a map so that we can track the movements of NYRB midfielder Joel Lindpere this season.

MF has has a note that the head coach Hans Backe has signed a contract extension through the 2012 season.

PHILADELPHIA UNION

Rick O'Brien of the Inquirer on the team's return back to Philly from their training camp in Greece.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Stephen Alexander of the Portland Sports Tribune with an article on left midfielder Sal Zizzo.

REAL SALT LAKE

Michael C Lewis of the SL Tribune reports on preparations for Saprissa.

The reserves beat SKC reserves 1-0 on Wednesday. Paulo Jr. got the games only goal.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Seattle won their Community Shield game last night beating Colorado 3-1. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado & Fredy Montero(2) got the goals.

Tim Booth of the AP calls Seattle one of the league's best. Via USA Today.

Sportspress Northwest previews the Sounders season.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Sportspress Northwest does a Q & A with team CEO Paul Barber.

Sportspress Northwest also looks at the building presence of the team in Vancouver.

Marc Weber of the Province on Caps fullback Wes Knight who was one of the few players to come with the Whitecaps from the 2nd division.

Weber also introduces us to new forward signing Eric Hassli.

The Canadian Press has a good article on Hassli too. Via TSN.

MLS EXHIBITIONS

CAROLINA CHALLENGE CUP
Venue: Blackbaud Stadium - Charleston SC

DCU won for the second time in two game, and Toronto lost for the second time in two games, this time to 3rd division hosts Charleston.

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 5
Charleston Battery 1-2 DC United - CB goal by Stephen Armstrong(PK). DCU goals by Chris Pontius & Joseph Ngwenya.
Toronto FC 0-1 Chicago Fire - CF goal by Marco Pappa.
-Wed Mar 9
Charleston Battery 2-1 Toronto FC - CB goals by Dane Kelly & Mike Zaher. TFC goal by Nathan Sturgis(PK).
DC United 1-0 Chicago Fire - DCU goal by Blake Brettschneider.
-Sat Mar 12
Charleston Battery v Chicago Fire
DC United v Toronto FC

dN

ATLANTA PRO SOCCER CHALLENGE
Venue: KSU Soccer Stadium - Kennesaw GA

Columbus won game #1.

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Mar 9
New England Revolution 1-3 Columbus Crew - NER goal by Ilija Stolica. CC goals by Tommy Heinemann(2) & Bernardo Anor.
-Fri Mar 11
Columbus Crew v Houston Dynamo
-Sun Mar 13
Houston Dynamo v New England Revolution

MLS EXPANSION

Steve Davis of the Daily Soccer Fix puts his foot down firmly on expansion talk in San Antonio, Atlanta, Miami, Austin, St. Louis, San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix etc etc.

SOCCER IN AMERICA

The Washington Post with an article on the popular Three Lions Pub in Charleston SC that is built right into the Charleston Battery's stadium, Blackbaud.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Mo Edu played but Oguchi Onyewu did not as both of their team's were in Europa League action today. Results and details below.

dN

US Soccer does a Q & A with Oguchi Onyewu.

dN

Brian Sciaretta of Yanks Abroad talks to Alejandro Bedoya about the upcoming season at Orebro.

dN

Game Action:

EUROPA LEAGUE - Round of 16 - 1st Leg
Mo Edu - Rangers - Thu Mar 10 - played the full 90 as they drew 0-0 at PSV.
Oguchi Onyewu - Twente - Thu Mar 10 - on the bench as they won 3-0 v Zenit.

dN

Coming Up:

ENGLAND - FA Cup - Quarterfinals
Stuart Holden - Bolton - Sat Mar 12 at Birmingham

ENGLAND

There are no Premier League games this weekend as the FA Cup Quarterfinals matches take precedence.

FA Cup
Quarterfinals
-Sat Mar 12
Birmingham v Bolton
Manchester United v Arsenal
-Sun Mar 13
Manchester City v Reading
Stoke v West Ham

SPAIN

Top of the Primera Division Table: (27 GP)
74 Barcelona - Sun Mar 13 at Sevilla
67 Real Madrid - Sat Mar 12 v Hercles
54 Valencia - Sat Mar 12 at Real Zaragoza
50 Villarreal - Sun Mar 13 v Sporting Gijon
41 Athletic Bilbao - Mon Mar 14 at Getafe

FRANCE

Top of the Ligue 1 Table: (26 GP)
49 Lille - Sun Mar 13 v Valenciennes
49 Rennes - Fri Mar 11 v Marseille
45 Lyon - Sat Mar 12 at Sochaux
45 Marsielle - Fri Mar 11 at Rennes
44 PSG - Sun Mar 13 v Montpellier

GERMANY

Top of the Bundesliga Table: (25 GP)
61 Borussia Dortmund - Sat Mar 12 at Hoffenheim
49 Bayer Leverkusen - Sun Mar 13 at Mainz
47 Hannover - Fri Mar 11 at Koln
43 Mainz - Sun Mar 13 v Leverkusen
42 Bayern Munich - Sat Mar 12 v Hamburg

ITALY

Top of the Serie A Table: (28 GP)
61 Milan - Sun Mar 13 v Bari
56 Inter - Fri Mar 11 at Brescia
53 Napoli - Sun Mar 13 at Parma
51 Lazio - Sun Mar 13 at Roma
50 Udinese - Sun Mar 13 at Cagliari

EUROPE

Phil Minshull of the BBC looks at Dynamo Kiev as they try to rebuild the team to their European glory days.

dN

Top Goal Scorers In Europe's Biggest Leagues (As of Thu Mar 10)
27 Lionel Messi - Barcelona
27 Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
22 Antonio Di Natale - Udinese
20 Edinson Cavani - Napoli
19 Dimitar Berbatov - Manchester United
19 Hulk - Porto
18 Alex - Fenerbache
18 Samuel Eto'o - Inter
18 Mario Gomez - Bayern Munich
18 Carlos Tevez - Manchester City
18 Bjorn Vleminckx - NEC Nijmegen
17 Dmitry Bulykin - ADO Den Haag
17 Papiss Demba Cisse - Freiburg
17 Moussa Sow - Lille
17 David Villa - Barcelona

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Round of 16 first leg matches Thursday.

Big wins today for Dynamo Kyiv & Twente at home, and Porto, Villarreal & Spartak Moscow on the road.

dN

Round of 16
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Thu Mar 10
CSKA Moscow 0-1 Porto - Por goal by Fredy Guarin.
PSV 0-0 Rangers
Leverkusen 2-3 Villarreal - Lev goals by Michal Kadlec & Gonzalo Castro. Vil goals by Giuseppe Rossi & Nilmar(2).
Braga 1-0 Liverpool - Bra goal by Alan(PK).
Benfica 2-1 PSG - Ben goals by Maxi Pereira & Franco Jara. PSG goal by Peguy Luyindula.
Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 Man City - DK goals by Andriy Shevchenko & Oleh Gusev.
Twente 3-0 Zenit - Twe goals by Luuk de Jong(2) & Denny Landzaat.
Ajax 0-1 Spartak Moscow - SM goal by Alex.

dN

Matches & Scores.

2nd Leg matches will be played next Thu Mar 17.

COPA LIBERTADORES

Junior of Colombia are the first team to reach 9 points! Libertad of Paraguay, Argentinos Juniors of Argentina and Cruzerio of Brazil all have 7 points.

At the other end of the spectrum Orient Petrolo of Bolivia, Jorge Wilstermann of Bolivia and Guarani of Paraguay are all pointless.

The majority of teams have played 3 group stage games, but a few are still on two.

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 8
Libertad 5-1 Univ St Martin - Lib goals by Rodrigo Rojas, Angel Orue, Manuel Maciel, Victor Ayala & Omar Pouso. USM goal by German Alemmano.
Oriente Petrolero 1-2 Junior - OP goal by Juan Arce. Jun goals by Victor Cortes & Luis Paez.
Chiapas Jaguares 2-1 Emelec - CP goals by Francisco Torres(PK) & Antonio Salazar. Eme goal by Cristian Menendez.
-Wed Mar 9
Penarol 1-0 LDU Quito - Pan goal by Luis Aguiar.
Univ Catolica 1-3 Caracas - UC goal by Pablo Calandria. Car goals by Luis Cabezas(2) & Nelson Barahona.
Guarani 1-2 Estudiantes - Gua goal by Pablo Caballero(PK). Est goals by Pablo Barrientos & Leandro Gonzalez.
-Thu Mar 10
Union Espanola v Velez Sarsfield
Cerro Porteno v Depor Tachira

dN

Standings:
Group 1
7 Libertad (Paraguay) (+5 gd) (3 gp)
6 Univ San Martin (Peru) (+1 gd) (3 gp)
2 Once Caldas (Colombia) (-3 gd) (3 gp)
1 San Luis (Mexico) (-3 gd) (3 gp)
Group 2
9 Junior (Colombia) (+3 gd) (3 gp)
6 Gremio (Brazil) (+4 gd) (3 gp)
3 Leon de Huanuco (Peru) (-2 gd) (3 gp)
0 Oriente Petrolo (Bolivia) (-5 gd) (3 gp)
Group 3
7 Argentinos Juniors (Argentina) (+3 gd) (3 gp)
6 America (Mexico) (+1 gd) (3 gp)
2 Fluminense (Brazil) (-1 gd) (3 gp)
1 Nacional (Uruguay) (-3 gd) (3 gp)
Group 4
6 Caracas (Venezuela) (+1 gd) (3 gp)
4 Univ Catolica (Chile) (-1 gd) (3 gp)
3 Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) (+2 gd) (2 gp)
1 Union Espanola (Chile) (-2 gd) (2 gp)
Group 5
4 Cerro Porteno (Paraguay) (+3 gd) (2 gp)
3 Colo-Colo (Chile) (-1 gd) (2 gp)
2 Santos (Brazil) (0 gd) (2 gp)
1 Depor Tachira (Venezuela) (-2 gd) (2 gp)
Group 6
6 Chiapas Jaguares (-1 gd) (3 gp)
4 Internacional (Brazil) (+4 gd) (2 gp)
4 Emelec (Ecuador) (0 gd) (3 gp)
0 Jorge Wilstermann (Bolivia) (-3 gd) (2 gp)
Group 7
7 Cruzeiro (Brazil) (+9 gd) (3 gp)
6 Estudiantes (Argentina) (-3 gd) (3 gp)
4 Depor Tolima (Colombia) (0 gd) (3 gp)
0 Guarani (Paraguay) (-6 gd) (3 gp)
Group 8
6 Penarol (Uruguay) (0 gd) (3 gp)
3 Liga Quito (Ecuador) (+1 gd) (3 gp)
3 Independiente (Argentina) (0 gd) (2 gp)
3 Gody Cruz (Argentina) (-1 gd) (2 gp)