Some News for Mon Apr 11, 2011
STARTERS
American Stan Kroenke has made his bid to buy controlling interesting in Arsenal FC of London. He is also the owner of the Colorado Rapids of MLS, along with many other sports teams.
-Here is the official statement from the team's website.
-Former MLS executive Ivan Gazidis is the Arsenal CEO. Here is a Q & A with him on the purchase.
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Mexico has won the CONCACAF U20 Championship. Huge congrats to them.
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Bayern Munich fired head coach Louis van Gaal yesterday.
-Andries Jonker will be the interim.
-With current Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes coming in to give it another try at Bayern for next season.
BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 9
Udinese 1-2 Roma - Udi thought they still had a shot at the title, but Roma put that to rest.
Hannover 2-0 Mainz - the win lifts Hannover over Bayern and into 3rd place.
-Mon Apr 11
Liverpool 3-0 Manchester City - Liverpool are inching closer to the Champions League spots, while Man City keep on day-dreamin' that they are a dominant team.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Kevin McCarra of the Guardian previews Chelsea and Man United.
Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune previews the three long-shot series.
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Quarterfinals
Matches & Scores: (1st Leg scores included)
2nd Leg
-Tue Apr 12
Manchester United v Chelsea (1-0) - 1:30pm CT live on FSC
Shakhtar Donetsk v Barcelona (1-5) - 1:30pm CT live on FSC Plus, and delayed at 4:00pm CT on FSC
-Wed Apr 13
Tottenham v Real Madrid (0-4) - 1:30pm CT live on FSC
Schalke v Inter (5-2) - 1:30pm CT live on FSC Plus, and delayed at 4:00pm CT on FSC
FACT OF THE DAY
2 big international stars got red cards this weekend for screaming at referees:
-Zlatan Ibrahimovic at AC Milan
-Arjen Robben at Bayern Munich
MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS
Week 4
Recap du Nord: 8 ejections in this round. Oof. Stunningly Philadelphia is on top of the East and have surrendered just 3 goals so far. They are not as dominant however as Salt Lake in the West who literally sent the second string to New England and pounded the Revs anyway. Seattle and Dallas both got their first wins of the season in quality fashion. Charlie Davies got his 4th goal of the season (3 on PKs) after taking a dive for DC. New York showed that they have a lot of outstanding players, but frankly are a gutless team. And Houston got it together themselves and taught the new boys from Vancouver a little MLS road lesson.
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Apr 06, 2011
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-1 New England Revolution - VW goal by Eric Hassli(PK). NER goal by Ilija Stolica.
Venue: Empire Field - Vancouver BC
Attendance: 19,396
-Fri Apr 08, 2011
FC Dallas 3-0 Colorado Rapids - FCD goals by Ugo Ihemelu & David Ferreira(2).
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX
Attendance: 12,261
-Sat Apr 09, 2011
Seattle Sounders FC 2-1 Chicago Fire SC - SS goals by O'Brian White & Steve Zakuani. CF goal by Diego Chaves.
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
Attendance: 36,223
Philadelphia Union 1-0 New York Red Bulls - PU goal by Roger Torres.
Venue: PPL Park - Chester PA
Attendance: 19,027
New England Revolution 0-2 Real Salt Lake - RSL goals by Chris Schuler & Paulo Jr.
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA
Attendance: 7,970
DC United 1-1 LA Galaxy - DCU goal by Charlie Davies(PK). LAG goal by Mike Magee.
Venue: RFK Stadium - Washington DC
Attendance: 26,622
CD Chivas USA 0-0 Columbus Crew
Venue: The Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Attendance: 13,385
San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Toronto FC - SJE goal by Simon Dawkins. TFC goal by Alan Gordon.
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium - Santa Clara CA
Attendance: 8,928
-Sun Apr 10, 2011
Houston Dynamo 3-1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC - HD goals by Cam Weaver, Bobby Boswell & Will Bruin.
Venue: Robertson Stadium - Houston TX
Attendance: 12,047
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EJECTIONS:
Gershon Koffie - Vancouver - red card
Eric Hassli - Vancouver - two yellow cards
AJ Soares - New England - red card
Shalrie Joseph - New England - red card
Pat Phelan - New England - red card
Will Johnson - Salt Lake - two yellow cards
Santino Quaranta - DC - two yellow cards
Jovan Kirovski - LA - red card (post match)
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Portland & Kansas City were off this week.
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Week 5
We get going early with 2 games on Wednesday including the Rocky Moutain Cup, and then a biggy on Thursday - the Portland home debut!
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Apr 13
Toronto FC v LA Galaxy - 7:00pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: BMO Field - Toronto ON
Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids - 8:00pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy UT
-Thu Apr 14
Portland Timbers v Chicago Fire - 10:00pm CT on ESPN2
Venue: JELD-WEN Field - Portland OR
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Standings (4 Games Played):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
9 Philadelphia Union (+2 GD)
6 New England Revolution (+1 GD) (5 GP)
5 Houston Dynamo (+1 GD)
5 Columbus Crew (0 GD)
5 Toronto FC (0 GD)
5 New York Red Bulls (-2 GD)
4 Chicago Fire SC (0 GD) (3 GP)
4 Sporting Kansas City (0 GD) (3 GP)
4 DC United (-2 GD)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
9 Real Salt Lake (+6 GD) (3 GP)
9 Colorado Rapids (+3 GD)
8 LA Galaxy (-1 GD) (5 GP)
5 San Jose Earthquakes (+1 GD)
5 Seattle Sounders FC (-1 GD) (5 GP)
5 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-1 GD) (5 GP)
4 FC Dallas (-1 GD)
2 CD Chivas USA (-2 GD)
1 Portland Timbers (-4 GD) (3 GP)
DU NORD PLAYER OF THE WEEK AND OTHER STUFF
Its easy this week as David Ferreira of FC Dallas came to life and took apart the champs from Dallas! I mean took them apart! Hail MVP David!
MY THOUGHTS
Dallas took out all their frustrations on the team that beat them for the title last year Colorado.
And David Ferreira had his first break out game of the season, scoring twice, and looking very dangerous like we saw last season. That second goal came just 17 seconds into the 2nd half.
I was hoping that Ferreira would not be another Alex Pineda Chacon, MVP one season, and rarely ever heard from again.
Ferreira also pulled a baby pacifier out of his shorts after scoring his first goal. Nasty. Someone should call OSHA to check the safety of those working conditions.
Eric Avila of FCD showed off his attacking prowess with a great cross for the final goal of the game. He came on in the 30th min when Marvin The Martian Chavez got his head busted open in a collision.
Things are getting worse in New England:
-Another game with under 8k in the stands.
-The coach having to make 2 subs at half time because guys weren't getting it done.
-And the final sub just 8 minutes later.
-The captain Shalrie Joseph getting a red card in the 70th, for what? I have no idea. I guess finger pointing!
-With his midfield partner Pat Phelan seeing the same fate in the 85th for a rotten tackle.
-To top it all off they lost to Salt Lake's 2nd string - starting the game on the bench for RSL: Kyle Beckerman, Nat Borchers, Fabian Espindola, Javier Morales, Andy Williams & Nick Rimando. Jamison Olave, Chris Wingert & Alvaro Saborio didn't even travel with the team. Only Beckerman played.
-Finally, during the game announcer Jay Heaps used the phrase: "Strokes the pipe."
Huge packed house in Philly saw them take down the superior but never urgent Red Bulls. (I wonder if that was a record attendance for them?)
Roger Torres was a the hero for the Union scoring with his first touch just moments after coming on as a sub.
Tim Ream gifted the Union their goal though with a lazy back pass that was intercepted by Danny Mwanga who set up Torres perfectly.
Juan Agudelo had one shot go off the post and another off the crossbar.
Thierry Henry is playing terrible right now. And the whole team lacks any real spirit. Yes, they are very talented and can control a game, but they never seem like they actually WANT it.
T&T national teamer Keon Daniel made his Union debut and had a really good game on the wing. He is not a world beater, but he is talented and relentless. You can see why coach Peter Nowak likes him.
Another sellout in Seattle!
Sounders forward O'Brian White scored my favorite goal of the week. Mauro Rosales, who looks like he could be yet another great Sigi Schmid Latino signing, sent in a great cross that O'Brian had to fight past 2 Chicago defenders to get his head on and snap into the goal. See it here!
2 goals for White on the season, and another forward that Toronto gave up on.
Chicago keeper Sean Johnson looked like a kid out there. Poor decisions all over the play, and really bad positioning on the Zakuani goal. Never get beaten near post on a guy coming across the endline.
17 year old Omar Salgado made his MLS debut, with Vancouver, this weekend. It was only 7 minutes, but it counts.
Camilo of Vancouver struck again giving him 3 goals in 2 games. Nicely done too.
Jay DeMerit only made it to half time with his groin strain, then had to come out. He probably should not have been put out there to start with.
I have been really impressed with the play-making skills of David Chiumiento of the Whitecaps.
Houston got their first win of 2011.
Three BIG guys got the goals for Houston as rookie Will Bruin got his first MLS goal, Bobby Boswell poked one home and so did Cam Weaver. Together they total 18 feet 8 inches in height.
Julian De Guzman made his second sub appearance of 2011 for TFC, returning from off season meniscus surgery. And he cut all his hair off.
With under 11,000 in capacity at Buck Shaw Stadium there is never a reason for San Jose not to have sellout.
Columbus was in the midst of a scoreless draw at Chivas and only used 2 subs leaving Jeff Cunningham on the bench. What is wrong with this picture?
Years ago (2003) I made my first trip to Crew Stadium and sat through the absolute worst MLS I have seen - Crew 0-0 Dallas. Hellish! Absolutely terrible garbage! And you know what, this weeks Chivas v Columbus game was not a whole hell of a lot better. But considering how far the league has come in the past few years, this might become my new standard for lows. They had an excuse back then. Not any more.
Jovan Kirovski of LA got a straight red card AFTER the game for getting in the referees face.
Speaking of red cards, holy smokes did David Beckham get away with one or what? He chopped down Josh Wolff so viciously that I felt it in my living room. That was ugly, and yet, nothing!
Landon Donovan did not even travel to the east coast with the team. After they announced on Thursday that he was suffering from burnout, they then announced at game time that he had a knee injury.
Fantastic crowd in DC!! The MLS original's are still the best, even if they are no longer the biggest.
DC academy signing Ethan White made his league debut this weekend at centerback, and saved a sure goal off the line.
MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS
General News
Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated with five things you should know about Week 4.
Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com with his Monday Morning Breakdown - Vancouver's roster and other topics of interest.
The league has named Dallas midfielder David Ferreira the Player of the Week.
COLUMBUS CREW
Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch with the weekly Crew Review. Always readable.
FC DALLAS
Our FIF DJ Walker gives us his latest Stream of Consciousness match report - FCD v Rapids.
DC UNITED
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Wide midfielder Colin Clark recovering from his second serious knee surgery played in the Open Cup last week, a few minutes in the league over the weekend, and then 82 minutes for the reserves today. Great news.
Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle with several post-weekend notes - including Andre Hainault playing the second half with 5 stitches in his forehead.
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
Frank Dell'apa of the Globe talks to fullback Didier Domi about the team's struggles to score goals.
-You want a reason? How about this - they don't have any good strikers!
NEW YORK RED BULLS
Thierry Henry is now suffering from an Achilles tendon strain. Will it keep him out of the lineup?
TORONTO FC
Jason de Vos of the CBC with a 5 point critical review of TFC.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
Bruce Constantineau of the Sun on Omar Salgado's league debut, which his family came to Houston from El Paso to witness.
-And many other Whitecaps notes.
Gerry Dobson of Sportsnet on what ails the Caps - red cards, inexperience and injuries.
MLS/USA & RELATED RUMORS
Today's ridiculous name in the hopper: Juan Riquelme
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Eurosport reports that Atletico Madrid representatives are in the USA this week searching for a MLS team to partner with. Whatever that means.
MLS RESERVE LEAGUE
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 9
FC Dallas 1-0 Colorado Rapids - FCD goal by Maykel Galindo.
-Sun Apr 10
Philadelphia Union 2-1 New York Red Bulls - PU goals by Jack McInerney & Chris Agorsor. NYRB goal by Jon Rooney.
POSTPONED Chivas USA v Seattle Sounders
-Mon Apr 11
Houston Dynamo 1-0 Sporting Kansas City - HD goal by Jason Garey.
-Thu Apr 14
Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids
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MLS Reserve League
NASL NEWS
The big surprise was Edmonton going to Ft Lauderdale and starting their existence off with a road win!
3 of the 4 road teams won by a 1-2 score. What kind of odds could you have gotten on that?
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Opening Weekend
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 9
Carolina RailHawks 1-2 Puerto Rico Islanders - CRH goal by Etienne Barbara(PK). PRI goals by Josh Hansen & Jay Needham.
Attendance: ???
FC Tampa Bay 1-0 Montreal Impact - FCTB goal by Tayuka Yamada.
Attendance: 3,693
Atlanta Silverbacks 1-2 NSC Minnesota Stars - AS goal by Matt Horth. NSCMS goals by Kentaro Takada & Andres Gotsmanov.
Attendance: 3543
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1-2 FC Edmonton - FLS goal by Martyn Lancaster. FCE goals by Shaun Saiko & Dan Antoniuk.
Attendance: 6,402
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-Fri Apr 15
Fort Lauderdale Strikers v NSC Minnesota Stars
-Sat Apr 16
Carolina RailHawks v Montreal Impact
Atlanta Silverbacks v FC Edmonton
-Sun Apr 17
FC Tampa Bay v Puerto Rico Islanders
NSC MINNESOTA STARS
It was fantastic to be back with all my local friends in football to see our Stars begin the '11 season with a last minute winner on the road in Atlanta. We all gathered together to watch the game on the big screens at the Sweetwater and and sang the good ole songs in victory.
-I hope to see even more of you this Friday when we gather to watch the Stars play down in Ft Lauderdale.
SOCCER IN MINNESOTA
Our Minnesota Thunder Academy is sending a player to the USA U18 training camp for the very first time - high quality striker Isaac Kannah. I have seen him play a half dozen times over the past year and he is promising. So are some of his teammates, especially the younger ones!
He and 23 others will meet up with coach Mike Matkovich in Portland and then play 3 friendlies.
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Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 19
USA U18 v Portland Timbers
-Sat Apr 23
USA U18 v U of Portland
USA U18 v U of Washington
CONCACAF U20 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
Mexico is the champion for the 11th time!
The Guatemala based tournament is now over.
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Semifinals
-Fri Apr 8
Mexico 4-1 Panama - Mex goals by Ulises Davila, Oscar Linton(OG), David Izazola & Edson Rivera. Pan goal by Javier Caicedo.
Costa Rica 2-1 Guatemala - CR goals by Minor Escoe & Bryan Vega. Gua goal by Elias Vasquez.
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Final
-Sun Apr 10
Mexico 3-1 Costa Rica - Mex goal by Ulises Davila(2) & Carlos Orrantia. CR goal by Joseph Mora.
AMERICANS IN EUROPE
Game Action:
BELGIUM - Pro League
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - on the bench as they lost, their 2nd straight (of 10) playoff game, 3-0 at Club Brugge.
BULGARIA - A PFG
Jemal Johnson - Lokomotiv Sofia - started and went 84 min as they won 2-0 v Pirin Blagovgrad.
DENMARK - Superliga -
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - on the bench as they drew 1-1 at Odense.
Chris Rolfe - AaB - on the bench for a scoreless draw v Horsens.
ENGLAND - Premier League
Michael Bradley - Aston Villa - not even on the bench as they won 1-0 v Newcastle.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the full 90 but lost 2-0 at Manchester United.
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - in goal as usual and they won 1-0 v Newcastle.
Tim Howard - Everton - the full 90 as usual and they won 0-3 away to Wolverhampton.
Jermaine Jones - Blackburn - went the full 90 picking up a yellow card as they drew 1-1 v Birmingham.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - came on as a sub in the 76th min but lost 3-0 at Bolton.
ENGLAND - Championship League
Brad Guzan - Hull City - played the full game and won 1-2 at Watford.
Eddie Johnson - Preston North End - started and went 76 min as they drew 1-1 at Portsmouth.
Eric Lichaj - Leeds - played the whole match but lost 3-2 at Millwall.
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - went the entire game but lost 3-0 at Swansea.
ENGLAND - League One
Anton Peterlin - Plymouth Argyle - on the bench as they won 2-0 v Walsall.
Frank Simek - Carlisle United - played the whole game getting a yellow card and losing 3-2 at Milton Keynes.
FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Saint Etienne - went the full 90 as they tied 2-2 at Auxerre.
GERMANY - Bundesliga
Timmy Chandler - Nurnberg - played the full 90 as they drew 1-1 v Bayern Munich.
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - played the whole game as they won 2-0 v Mainz.
Ricardo Clark - Eintracht Frankfurt - on the bench as they drew 1-1 v Wolfsburg.
GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Edson Buddle - Ingolstadt - came on as a sub in the 75th min as they drew 1-1 at Paderborn.
Luis Robles - Karlsruher - in goal as they drew 1-1 at Erzgebirge Aue.
David Yelldell - Duisburg - went the full 90 getting a yellow card and winning 3-2 v Alemannia Aachen.
NETHERLANDS - Eredivisie
Oguchi Onyewu - Twente - on the bench as they drew 1-1 v Roda JC.
NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - came on as a sub in the 83rd as they drew 1-1 at Zwolle.
NORWAY - Eliteserien
Erik Benjaminsen - Stabaek - on the bench as they won 1-0 v Valerenga.
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - started and played 65 min as they won 1-0 v Valerenga.
Josh Gatt - Molde - came on as a sub in the 59th min as they drew 2-2 at Viking.
RUSSIA - Premier Division
Yevgeni Starikov - Tom' Tomsk - came on as a sub in the 70th min of a scoreless tie v Anzhi Makhachkala.
SCOTLAND - Premier League
Mo Edu - Rangers - started and played 70 min getting a yellow card as they won 0-1 at Hamilton Academical.
SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgarden - on the bench as they lost 3-2 at Kalmar.
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - started and played 89 min scoring the only goal winning 1-0 v Syrianska.
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - on the bench as they lost 3-1 at Malmo.
Samuel Petrone - Mjallby - on the bench as they lost 3-0 at AIK.
TURKEY - Super Lig
Jozy Altidore - Bursaspor - started and went 88 min scoring a goal and getting a yellow card but they lost 2-3 v Antalyaspor.
TURKEY - 1. Lig
Freddie Adu - Caykur Rizespor - started and played 65 min as they won 1-0 v Kartalspor.
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Coming Up:
ENGLAND - Championship League
Conor Doyle - Derby County - Tue Apr 12 v Leeds
Brad Guzan - Hull City - Tue Apr 12 at Swansea
Eddie Johnson - Preston North End - Tue Apr 12 at Doncaster
Eric Lichaj - Leeds - Tue Apr 12 at Derby
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - Tue Apr 12 at Watford
ENGLAND - League One
Frank Simek - Carlisle United - Tue Apr 12 at Leyton Orient
AMERICANS IN MEXICO
Herculez Gomez came on as a sub for Pachuca and brought his team to life in the goal scoring department bagging two as they won big, which they have not done a lot of this season.
Edgar Castillo got a goal to tie the game for Puebla in second half stoppage time.
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Game Action:
PRIMERA DIVISION
Daniel Antunez - Estudiantes Tecos - on the bench for a scoreless draw at Queretaro.
Jonathan Bornstein - Tigres UANL - came on as a sub in the 73rd min as they lost 2-0 at Pumas.
Edgar Castillo - Puebla - came on as a sub in the 86th min and scored to tie the game 2-2 v Toluca.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - came on as a sub in the 63rd min scoring 2 goal as they won 3-0 v Chiapas.
Miguel Ponce - Guadalajara - came on as a sub in the 5th min as they beat their hated rivals America 3-0 at home.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - started and played 62 min as they won 3-0 v Chiapas.
LIGA DE ASCENSO (2nd division)
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - started and went 61 min as they lost 2-1 at La Piedad.
Marco Vidal - Leon - went the full 90 but lost 2-1 at Cruz Azul Hidalgo.
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Coming Up:
PRIMERA DIVISION
Isaac Acuna - Queretaro - Wed Apr 13 v Atlante
Daniel Antunez - Estudiantes Tecos - Wed Apr 13 at Necaxa
Jonathan Bornstein - Tigres UANL - Wed Apr 13 v Pachuca
Edgar Castillo - Puebla - Wed Apr 13 at Santos Laguna
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Wed Apr 13 at Tigres
Sonny Guadarrama - Atlante - Wed Apr 13 at Queretaro
Sammy Ochoa - Estudiantes Tecos - Wed Apr 13 at Necaxa
Miguel Ponce - Guadalajara - Wed Apr 13 at Toluca
Adrian Ruelas - Santos Laguna - Wed Apr 13 v Puebla
Jose Torres - Pachuca - Wed Apr 13 at Tigres
MEXICO
Guadlajara won El Clasico 3-0 v America! A classic rout.
Recap du Nord: The race for the 8 playoff teams is coming to a climax and by the time next weekend is finished there will only 2 rounds left. And this could be the strongest 8 team battle we have seen in a long long time!
Group A
23 Tigres
21 Guadalajara
Group B
19 Atlante
19 America
Group C
28 Pumas
24 Morelia
Wild Card
21 Monterrey
21 Cruz Azul
ENGLAND
Recap du Nord: Man U (1), Arsenal (2), Chelsea (3) & Tottenham (5) were all victorious, while Man City who started the weekend in 3rd played on Monday and lost badly, kicking them dow to 4th.
Alan Gardner of the Guardian with five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend.
-Including "Jens Lehmann – still got it."
Top of the Premier League Table: (32 of 38 GP)
69 Man United - Sat Apr 9 W 2-0 v Fulham
62 Arsenal - Sun Apr 10 W 1-3 at Blackpool (31 GP)
58 Chelsea - Sat Apr 9 W 1-0 v Wigan (31 GP)
56 Man City - Mon Apr 11 L 3-0 at Liverpool
53 Tottenham - Sat Apr 9 W 3-2 v Stoke (31 GP)
SPAIN
Recap du Nord: #1 Barca & #2 Madrid both won easily, and face off next Saturday! while the big winner this weekend was solid #3 Valencia who dismantled #4 Villarreal 5-0! Sevilla stayed in 5th with a tie. There are literally 30 points between #1 and #4.
Sid Lowe of the Guardian on Mallorca rolling out the rude welcome carpet and the rest of the weekend in La Liga.
Phil Ball of ESPN gives us much time to teams at the bottom as to teams at the top, after another round in the Primera.
Top of the Primera Division Table: (31 of 38 GP)
84 Barcelona - Sat Apr 9 W 3-1 v Almeria
76 Real Madrid - Sat Apr 9 W 0-3 at Athletic Bilbao
60 Valencia - Sun Apr 10 W 5-0 v Villarreal
54 Villarreal - Sun Apr 10 L 5-0 at Valencia
46 Sevilla - Sat Apr 9 D 2-2 at Mallorca
FRANCE
Recap du Nord: #1 Lille lost this round, but the 2 teams closest to them failed to capitalize as #2 Marseille and then #3 (now #4) Rennes both tied. Lyon got a win and moved up to 3rd place, 5 points behind the league leaders. 5th place PSG also won.
Top of the Ligue 1 Table: (30 GP of 38)
58 Lille - Sat Apr 9 L 1-0 at Monaco
55 Marsielle - Sun Apr 10 D 2-2 v Toulouse
53 Lyon - Sun Apr 10 W 3-0 v Lens
52 Rennes - Sat Apr 9 D 2-2 at Brest
49 PSG - Sat Apr 9 W 1-2 at Caen
GERMANY
Recap du Nord: Well well well, another dropped 2 points by #1 Dortmund and their lead is down to 5 points with 5 games to play! Could we see a colasal failure? Leverkusen got another win to close that gap. Bayern drew also and dropped from 3rd to 4th behind Hannover who's victory jumped them up. #5 Mainz lost but stayed in the same place. Unfortunately those top two don't meet again this season, that would have been a doozy.
Bayern has finally fired head coach Louis Van Gaal. They have been pouring dirt on the guys head for months now, and I guess they figured he would just quit. But by not walking away they will have to pay him his full contract to leave.
Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian on Hannovers stellar season, and the rest of the weekend in the Bundesliga.
Top of the Bundesliga Table: (29 of 34 GP)
66 Borussia Dortmund - Sat Apr 9 D 1-1 at Hamburg
61 Bayer Leverkusen - Sun Apr 10 W 2-1 v St Pauli
53 Hannover - Sat Apr 9 W 2-0 v Mainz
52 Bayern Munich - Sat Apr 9 D 1-1 at Nurnberg
45 Mainz - Sat Apr 9 L 2-0 at Hannover
ITALY
Recap du Nord: Milan (with a 3 point gap), Napoli (with a 2 point gap) & Inter (with a 6 point gap) all won at the top, while Udinese lost to Roma dropping them to 5th behind Lazio who also won. 6 games left.
Paolo Bandini of the Guardian on the return of Luca Toni at Juventus and the rest of the round in Serie A.
Top of the Serie A Table: (32 of 38 GP)
68 Milan - Sun Apr 10 W 1-2 at Fiorentina
65 Napoli - Sun Apr 10 W 0-2 at Bologna
63 Inter - Sat Apr 9 W 2-0 v Chievo
57 Lazio - Sun Apr 10 W 2-0 v Parma
56 Udinese - Sat Apr L 1-2 9 v Roma
COPA LIBERTADORES
Advanced:(6 of 16) Cruzeiro, Estudiantes, Gremio, Junior, Libertad, Penarol
Out:(6 of 16) Guarani, Jorge Wilstermann, Leon de Huanuco, Oriente Petrolero, Depor Tolima, Union Espanola
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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 12
Penarol v Independiente
LDU Quito v Godoy Cruz
Colo Colo v Deportivo Tachira
-Wed Apr 13
Estudiantes v Cruzeiro
Guarani v Deportes Tolima
-Thu Apr 14
Cerro Porteno v Santos
Univ Catolica v Union Espanola
Caracas v Velez Sarsfield
Oriente Petrolero v Gremio
Junior v Leon de Huanuco
American Stan Kroenke has made his bid to buy controlling interesting in Arsenal FC of London. He is also the owner of the Colorado Rapids of MLS, along with many other sports teams.
-Here is the official statement from the team's website.
-Former MLS executive Ivan Gazidis is the Arsenal CEO. Here is a Q & A with him on the purchase.
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Mexico has won the CONCACAF U20 Championship. Huge congrats to them.
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Bayern Munich fired head coach Louis van Gaal yesterday.
-Andries Jonker will be the interim.
-With current Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes coming in to give it another try at Bayern for next season.
BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 9
Udinese 1-2 Roma - Udi thought they still had a shot at the title, but Roma put that to rest.
Hannover 2-0 Mainz - the win lifts Hannover over Bayern and into 3rd place.
-Mon Apr 11
Liverpool 3-0 Manchester City - Liverpool are inching closer to the Champions League spots, while Man City keep on day-dreamin' that they are a dominant team.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Kevin McCarra of the Guardian previews Chelsea and Man United.
Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune previews the three long-shot series.
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Quarterfinals
Matches & Scores: (1st Leg scores included)
2nd Leg
-Tue Apr 12
Manchester United v Chelsea (1-0) - 1:30pm CT live on FSC
Shakhtar Donetsk v Barcelona (1-5) - 1:30pm CT live on FSC Plus, and delayed at 4:00pm CT on FSC
-Wed Apr 13
Tottenham v Real Madrid (0-4) - 1:30pm CT live on FSC
Schalke v Inter (5-2) - 1:30pm CT live on FSC Plus, and delayed at 4:00pm CT on FSC
FACT OF THE DAY
2 big international stars got red cards this weekend for screaming at referees:
-Zlatan Ibrahimovic at AC Milan
-Arjen Robben at Bayern Munich
MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS
Week 4
Recap du Nord: 8 ejections in this round. Oof. Stunningly Philadelphia is on top of the East and have surrendered just 3 goals so far. They are not as dominant however as Salt Lake in the West who literally sent the second string to New England and pounded the Revs anyway. Seattle and Dallas both got their first wins of the season in quality fashion. Charlie Davies got his 4th goal of the season (3 on PKs) after taking a dive for DC. New York showed that they have a lot of outstanding players, but frankly are a gutless team. And Houston got it together themselves and taught the new boys from Vancouver a little MLS road lesson.
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Apr 06, 2011
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-1 New England Revolution - VW goal by Eric Hassli(PK). NER goal by Ilija Stolica.
Venue: Empire Field - Vancouver BC
Attendance: 19,396
-Fri Apr 08, 2011
FC Dallas 3-0 Colorado Rapids - FCD goals by Ugo Ihemelu & David Ferreira(2).
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX
Attendance: 12,261
-Sat Apr 09, 2011
Seattle Sounders FC 2-1 Chicago Fire SC - SS goals by O'Brian White & Steve Zakuani. CF goal by Diego Chaves.
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
Attendance: 36,223
Philadelphia Union 1-0 New York Red Bulls - PU goal by Roger Torres.
Venue: PPL Park - Chester PA
Attendance: 19,027
New England Revolution 0-2 Real Salt Lake - RSL goals by Chris Schuler & Paulo Jr.
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA
Attendance: 7,970
DC United 1-1 LA Galaxy - DCU goal by Charlie Davies(PK). LAG goal by Mike Magee.
Venue: RFK Stadium - Washington DC
Attendance: 26,622
CD Chivas USA 0-0 Columbus Crew
Venue: The Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Attendance: 13,385
San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Toronto FC - SJE goal by Simon Dawkins. TFC goal by Alan Gordon.
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium - Santa Clara CA
Attendance: 8,928
-Sun Apr 10, 2011
Houston Dynamo 3-1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC - HD goals by Cam Weaver, Bobby Boswell & Will Bruin.
Venue: Robertson Stadium - Houston TX
Attendance: 12,047
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EJECTIONS:
Gershon Koffie - Vancouver - red card
Eric Hassli - Vancouver - two yellow cards
AJ Soares - New England - red card
Shalrie Joseph - New England - red card
Pat Phelan - New England - red card
Will Johnson - Salt Lake - two yellow cards
Santino Quaranta - DC - two yellow cards
Jovan Kirovski - LA - red card (post match)
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Portland & Kansas City were off this week.
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Week 5
We get going early with 2 games on Wednesday including the Rocky Moutain Cup, and then a biggy on Thursday - the Portland home debut!
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Apr 13
Toronto FC v LA Galaxy - 7:00pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: BMO Field - Toronto ON
Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids - 8:00pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy UT
-Thu Apr 14
Portland Timbers v Chicago Fire - 10:00pm CT on ESPN2
Venue: JELD-WEN Field - Portland OR
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Standings (4 Games Played):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
9 Philadelphia Union (+2 GD)
6 New England Revolution (+1 GD) (5 GP)
5 Houston Dynamo (+1 GD)
5 Columbus Crew (0 GD)
5 Toronto FC (0 GD)
5 New York Red Bulls (-2 GD)
4 Chicago Fire SC (0 GD) (3 GP)
4 Sporting Kansas City (0 GD) (3 GP)
4 DC United (-2 GD)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
9 Real Salt Lake (+6 GD) (3 GP)
9 Colorado Rapids (+3 GD)
8 LA Galaxy (-1 GD) (5 GP)
5 San Jose Earthquakes (+1 GD)
5 Seattle Sounders FC (-1 GD) (5 GP)
5 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-1 GD) (5 GP)
4 FC Dallas (-1 GD)
2 CD Chivas USA (-2 GD)
1 Portland Timbers (-4 GD) (3 GP)
DU NORD PLAYER OF THE WEEK AND OTHER STUFF
Its easy this week as David Ferreira of FC Dallas came to life and took apart the champs from Dallas! I mean took them apart! Hail MVP David!
MY THOUGHTS
Dallas took out all their frustrations on the team that beat them for the title last year Colorado.
And David Ferreira had his first break out game of the season, scoring twice, and looking very dangerous like we saw last season. That second goal came just 17 seconds into the 2nd half.
I was hoping that Ferreira would not be another Alex Pineda Chacon, MVP one season, and rarely ever heard from again.
Ferreira also pulled a baby pacifier out of his shorts after scoring his first goal. Nasty. Someone should call OSHA to check the safety of those working conditions.
Eric Avila of FCD showed off his attacking prowess with a great cross for the final goal of the game. He came on in the 30th min when Marvin The Martian Chavez got his head busted open in a collision.
Things are getting worse in New England:
-Another game with under 8k in the stands.
-The coach having to make 2 subs at half time because guys weren't getting it done.
-And the final sub just 8 minutes later.
-The captain Shalrie Joseph getting a red card in the 70th, for what? I have no idea. I guess finger pointing!
-With his midfield partner Pat Phelan seeing the same fate in the 85th for a rotten tackle.
-To top it all off they lost to Salt Lake's 2nd string - starting the game on the bench for RSL: Kyle Beckerman, Nat Borchers, Fabian Espindola, Javier Morales, Andy Williams & Nick Rimando. Jamison Olave, Chris Wingert & Alvaro Saborio didn't even travel with the team. Only Beckerman played.
-Finally, during the game announcer Jay Heaps used the phrase: "Strokes the pipe."
Huge packed house in Philly saw them take down the superior but never urgent Red Bulls. (I wonder if that was a record attendance for them?)
Roger Torres was a the hero for the Union scoring with his first touch just moments after coming on as a sub.
Tim Ream gifted the Union their goal though with a lazy back pass that was intercepted by Danny Mwanga who set up Torres perfectly.
Juan Agudelo had one shot go off the post and another off the crossbar.
Thierry Henry is playing terrible right now. And the whole team lacks any real spirit. Yes, they are very talented and can control a game, but they never seem like they actually WANT it.
T&T national teamer Keon Daniel made his Union debut and had a really good game on the wing. He is not a world beater, but he is talented and relentless. You can see why coach Peter Nowak likes him.
Another sellout in Seattle!
Sounders forward O'Brian White scored my favorite goal of the week. Mauro Rosales, who looks like he could be yet another great Sigi Schmid Latino signing, sent in a great cross that O'Brian had to fight past 2 Chicago defenders to get his head on and snap into the goal. See it here!
2 goals for White on the season, and another forward that Toronto gave up on.
Chicago keeper Sean Johnson looked like a kid out there. Poor decisions all over the play, and really bad positioning on the Zakuani goal. Never get beaten near post on a guy coming across the endline.
17 year old Omar Salgado made his MLS debut, with Vancouver, this weekend. It was only 7 minutes, but it counts.
Camilo of Vancouver struck again giving him 3 goals in 2 games. Nicely done too.
Jay DeMerit only made it to half time with his groin strain, then had to come out. He probably should not have been put out there to start with.
I have been really impressed with the play-making skills of David Chiumiento of the Whitecaps.
Houston got their first win of 2011.
Three BIG guys got the goals for Houston as rookie Will Bruin got his first MLS goal, Bobby Boswell poked one home and so did Cam Weaver. Together they total 18 feet 8 inches in height.
Julian De Guzman made his second sub appearance of 2011 for TFC, returning from off season meniscus surgery. And he cut all his hair off.
With under 11,000 in capacity at Buck Shaw Stadium there is never a reason for San Jose not to have sellout.
Columbus was in the midst of a scoreless draw at Chivas and only used 2 subs leaving Jeff Cunningham on the bench. What is wrong with this picture?
Years ago (2003) I made my first trip to Crew Stadium and sat through the absolute worst MLS I have seen - Crew 0-0 Dallas. Hellish! Absolutely terrible garbage! And you know what, this weeks Chivas v Columbus game was not a whole hell of a lot better. But considering how far the league has come in the past few years, this might become my new standard for lows. They had an excuse back then. Not any more.
Jovan Kirovski of LA got a straight red card AFTER the game for getting in the referees face.
Speaking of red cards, holy smokes did David Beckham get away with one or what? He chopped down Josh Wolff so viciously that I felt it in my living room. That was ugly, and yet, nothing!
Landon Donovan did not even travel to the east coast with the team. After they announced on Thursday that he was suffering from burnout, they then announced at game time that he had a knee injury.
Fantastic crowd in DC!! The MLS original's are still the best, even if they are no longer the biggest.
DC academy signing Ethan White made his league debut this weekend at centerback, and saved a sure goal off the line.
MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS
General News
Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated with five things you should know about Week 4.
Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com with his Monday Morning Breakdown - Vancouver's roster and other topics of interest.
The league has named Dallas midfielder David Ferreira the Player of the Week.
COLUMBUS CREW
Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch with the weekly Crew Review. Always readable.
FC DALLAS
Our FIF DJ Walker gives us his latest Stream of Consciousness match report - FCD v Rapids.
DC UNITED
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Wide midfielder Colin Clark recovering from his second serious knee surgery played in the Open Cup last week, a few minutes in the league over the weekend, and then 82 minutes for the reserves today. Great news.
Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle with several post-weekend notes - including Andre Hainault playing the second half with 5 stitches in his forehead.
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
Frank Dell'apa of the Globe talks to fullback Didier Domi about the team's struggles to score goals.
-You want a reason? How about this - they don't have any good strikers!
NEW YORK RED BULLS
Thierry Henry is now suffering from an Achilles tendon strain. Will it keep him out of the lineup?
TORONTO FC
Jason de Vos of the CBC with a 5 point critical review of TFC.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
Bruce Constantineau of the Sun on Omar Salgado's league debut, which his family came to Houston from El Paso to witness.
-And many other Whitecaps notes.
Gerry Dobson of Sportsnet on what ails the Caps - red cards, inexperience and injuries.
MLS/USA & RELATED RUMORS
Today's ridiculous name in the hopper: Juan Riquelme
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Eurosport reports that Atletico Madrid representatives are in the USA this week searching for a MLS team to partner with. Whatever that means.
MLS RESERVE LEAGUE
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 9
FC Dallas 1-0 Colorado Rapids - FCD goal by Maykel Galindo.
-Sun Apr 10
Philadelphia Union 2-1 New York Red Bulls - PU goals by Jack McInerney & Chris Agorsor. NYRB goal by Jon Rooney.
POSTPONED Chivas USA v Seattle Sounders
-Mon Apr 11
Houston Dynamo 1-0 Sporting Kansas City - HD goal by Jason Garey.
-Thu Apr 14
Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids
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MLS Reserve League
NASL NEWS
The big surprise was Edmonton going to Ft Lauderdale and starting their existence off with a road win!
3 of the 4 road teams won by a 1-2 score. What kind of odds could you have gotten on that?
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Opening Weekend
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 9
Carolina RailHawks 1-2 Puerto Rico Islanders - CRH goal by Etienne Barbara(PK). PRI goals by Josh Hansen & Jay Needham.
Attendance: ???
FC Tampa Bay 1-0 Montreal Impact - FCTB goal by Tayuka Yamada.
Attendance: 3,693
Atlanta Silverbacks 1-2 NSC Minnesota Stars - AS goal by Matt Horth. NSCMS goals by Kentaro Takada & Andres Gotsmanov.
Attendance: 3543
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1-2 FC Edmonton - FLS goal by Martyn Lancaster. FCE goals by Shaun Saiko & Dan Antoniuk.
Attendance: 6,402
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-Fri Apr 15
Fort Lauderdale Strikers v NSC Minnesota Stars
-Sat Apr 16
Carolina RailHawks v Montreal Impact
Atlanta Silverbacks v FC Edmonton
-Sun Apr 17
FC Tampa Bay v Puerto Rico Islanders
NSC MINNESOTA STARS
It was fantastic to be back with all my local friends in football to see our Stars begin the '11 season with a last minute winner on the road in Atlanta. We all gathered together to watch the game on the big screens at the Sweetwater and and sang the good ole songs in victory.
-I hope to see even more of you this Friday when we gather to watch the Stars play down in Ft Lauderdale.
SOCCER IN MINNESOTA
Our Minnesota Thunder Academy is sending a player to the USA U18 training camp for the very first time - high quality striker Isaac Kannah. I have seen him play a half dozen times over the past year and he is promising. So are some of his teammates, especially the younger ones!
He and 23 others will meet up with coach Mike Matkovich in Portland and then play 3 friendlies.
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Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 19
USA U18 v Portland Timbers
-Sat Apr 23
USA U18 v U of Portland
USA U18 v U of Washington
CONCACAF U20 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
Mexico is the champion for the 11th time!
The Guatemala based tournament is now over.
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Semifinals
-Fri Apr 8
Mexico 4-1 Panama - Mex goals by Ulises Davila, Oscar Linton(OG), David Izazola & Edson Rivera. Pan goal by Javier Caicedo.
Costa Rica 2-1 Guatemala - CR goals by Minor Escoe & Bryan Vega. Gua goal by Elias Vasquez.
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Final
-Sun Apr 10
Mexico 3-1 Costa Rica - Mex goal by Ulises Davila(2) & Carlos Orrantia. CR goal by Joseph Mora.
AMERICANS IN EUROPE
Game Action:
BELGIUM - Pro League
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - on the bench as they lost, their 2nd straight (of 10) playoff game, 3-0 at Club Brugge.
BULGARIA - A PFG
Jemal Johnson - Lokomotiv Sofia - started and went 84 min as they won 2-0 v Pirin Blagovgrad.
DENMARK - Superliga -
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - on the bench as they drew 1-1 at Odense.
Chris Rolfe - AaB - on the bench for a scoreless draw v Horsens.
ENGLAND - Premier League
Michael Bradley - Aston Villa - not even on the bench as they won 1-0 v Newcastle.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the full 90 but lost 2-0 at Manchester United.
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - in goal as usual and they won 1-0 v Newcastle.
Tim Howard - Everton - the full 90 as usual and they won 0-3 away to Wolverhampton.
Jermaine Jones - Blackburn - went the full 90 picking up a yellow card as they drew 1-1 v Birmingham.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - came on as a sub in the 76th min but lost 3-0 at Bolton.
ENGLAND - Championship League
Brad Guzan - Hull City - played the full game and won 1-2 at Watford.
Eddie Johnson - Preston North End - started and went 76 min as they drew 1-1 at Portsmouth.
Eric Lichaj - Leeds - played the whole match but lost 3-2 at Millwall.
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - went the entire game but lost 3-0 at Swansea.
ENGLAND - League One
Anton Peterlin - Plymouth Argyle - on the bench as they won 2-0 v Walsall.
Frank Simek - Carlisle United - played the whole game getting a yellow card and losing 3-2 at Milton Keynes.
FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Saint Etienne - went the full 90 as they tied 2-2 at Auxerre.
GERMANY - Bundesliga
Timmy Chandler - Nurnberg - played the full 90 as they drew 1-1 v Bayern Munich.
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - played the whole game as they won 2-0 v Mainz.
Ricardo Clark - Eintracht Frankfurt - on the bench as they drew 1-1 v Wolfsburg.
GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Edson Buddle - Ingolstadt - came on as a sub in the 75th min as they drew 1-1 at Paderborn.
Luis Robles - Karlsruher - in goal as they drew 1-1 at Erzgebirge Aue.
David Yelldell - Duisburg - went the full 90 getting a yellow card and winning 3-2 v Alemannia Aachen.
NETHERLANDS - Eredivisie
Oguchi Onyewu - Twente - on the bench as they drew 1-1 v Roda JC.
NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - came on as a sub in the 83rd as they drew 1-1 at Zwolle.
NORWAY - Eliteserien
Erik Benjaminsen - Stabaek - on the bench as they won 1-0 v Valerenga.
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - started and played 65 min as they won 1-0 v Valerenga.
Josh Gatt - Molde - came on as a sub in the 59th min as they drew 2-2 at Viking.
RUSSIA - Premier Division
Yevgeni Starikov - Tom' Tomsk - came on as a sub in the 70th min of a scoreless tie v Anzhi Makhachkala.
SCOTLAND - Premier League
Mo Edu - Rangers - started and played 70 min getting a yellow card as they won 0-1 at Hamilton Academical.
SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgarden - on the bench as they lost 3-2 at Kalmar.
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - started and played 89 min scoring the only goal winning 1-0 v Syrianska.
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - on the bench as they lost 3-1 at Malmo.
Samuel Petrone - Mjallby - on the bench as they lost 3-0 at AIK.
TURKEY - Super Lig
Jozy Altidore - Bursaspor - started and went 88 min scoring a goal and getting a yellow card but they lost 2-3 v Antalyaspor.
TURKEY - 1. Lig
Freddie Adu - Caykur Rizespor - started and played 65 min as they won 1-0 v Kartalspor.
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Coming Up:
ENGLAND - Championship League
Conor Doyle - Derby County - Tue Apr 12 v Leeds
Brad Guzan - Hull City - Tue Apr 12 at Swansea
Eddie Johnson - Preston North End - Tue Apr 12 at Doncaster
Eric Lichaj - Leeds - Tue Apr 12 at Derby
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - Tue Apr 12 at Watford
ENGLAND - League One
Frank Simek - Carlisle United - Tue Apr 12 at Leyton Orient
AMERICANS IN MEXICO
Herculez Gomez came on as a sub for Pachuca and brought his team to life in the goal scoring department bagging two as they won big, which they have not done a lot of this season.
Edgar Castillo got a goal to tie the game for Puebla in second half stoppage time.
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Game Action:
PRIMERA DIVISION
Daniel Antunez - Estudiantes Tecos - on the bench for a scoreless draw at Queretaro.
Jonathan Bornstein - Tigres UANL - came on as a sub in the 73rd min as they lost 2-0 at Pumas.
Edgar Castillo - Puebla - came on as a sub in the 86th min and scored to tie the game 2-2 v Toluca.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - came on as a sub in the 63rd min scoring 2 goal as they won 3-0 v Chiapas.
Miguel Ponce - Guadalajara - came on as a sub in the 5th min as they beat their hated rivals America 3-0 at home.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - started and played 62 min as they won 3-0 v Chiapas.
LIGA DE ASCENSO (2nd division)
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - started and went 61 min as they lost 2-1 at La Piedad.
Marco Vidal - Leon - went the full 90 but lost 2-1 at Cruz Azul Hidalgo.
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Coming Up:
PRIMERA DIVISION
Isaac Acuna - Queretaro - Wed Apr 13 v Atlante
Daniel Antunez - Estudiantes Tecos - Wed Apr 13 at Necaxa
Jonathan Bornstein - Tigres UANL - Wed Apr 13 v Pachuca
Edgar Castillo - Puebla - Wed Apr 13 at Santos Laguna
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Wed Apr 13 at Tigres
Sonny Guadarrama - Atlante - Wed Apr 13 at Queretaro
Sammy Ochoa - Estudiantes Tecos - Wed Apr 13 at Necaxa
Miguel Ponce - Guadalajara - Wed Apr 13 at Toluca
Adrian Ruelas - Santos Laguna - Wed Apr 13 v Puebla
Jose Torres - Pachuca - Wed Apr 13 at Tigres
MEXICO
Guadlajara won El Clasico 3-0 v America! A classic rout.
Recap du Nord: The race for the 8 playoff teams is coming to a climax and by the time next weekend is finished there will only 2 rounds left. And this could be the strongest 8 team battle we have seen in a long long time!
Group A
23 Tigres
21 Guadalajara
Group B
19 Atlante
19 America
Group C
28 Pumas
24 Morelia
Wild Card
21 Monterrey
21 Cruz Azul
ENGLAND
Recap du Nord: Man U (1), Arsenal (2), Chelsea (3) & Tottenham (5) were all victorious, while Man City who started the weekend in 3rd played on Monday and lost badly, kicking them dow to 4th.
Alan Gardner of the Guardian with five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend.
-Including "Jens Lehmann – still got it."
Top of the Premier League Table: (32 of 38 GP)
69 Man United - Sat Apr 9 W 2-0 v Fulham
62 Arsenal - Sun Apr 10 W 1-3 at Blackpool (31 GP)
58 Chelsea - Sat Apr 9 W 1-0 v Wigan (31 GP)
56 Man City - Mon Apr 11 L 3-0 at Liverpool
53 Tottenham - Sat Apr 9 W 3-2 v Stoke (31 GP)
SPAIN
Recap du Nord: #1 Barca & #2 Madrid both won easily, and face off next Saturday! while the big winner this weekend was solid #3 Valencia who dismantled #4 Villarreal 5-0! Sevilla stayed in 5th with a tie. There are literally 30 points between #1 and #4.
Sid Lowe of the Guardian on Mallorca rolling out the rude welcome carpet and the rest of the weekend in La Liga.
Phil Ball of ESPN gives us much time to teams at the bottom as to teams at the top, after another round in the Primera.
Top of the Primera Division Table: (31 of 38 GP)
84 Barcelona - Sat Apr 9 W 3-1 v Almeria
76 Real Madrid - Sat Apr 9 W 0-3 at Athletic Bilbao
60 Valencia - Sun Apr 10 W 5-0 v Villarreal
54 Villarreal - Sun Apr 10 L 5-0 at Valencia
46 Sevilla - Sat Apr 9 D 2-2 at Mallorca
FRANCE
Recap du Nord: #1 Lille lost this round, but the 2 teams closest to them failed to capitalize as #2 Marseille and then #3 (now #4) Rennes both tied. Lyon got a win and moved up to 3rd place, 5 points behind the league leaders. 5th place PSG also won.
Top of the Ligue 1 Table: (30 GP of 38)
58 Lille - Sat Apr 9 L 1-0 at Monaco
55 Marsielle - Sun Apr 10 D 2-2 v Toulouse
53 Lyon - Sun Apr 10 W 3-0 v Lens
52 Rennes - Sat Apr 9 D 2-2 at Brest
49 PSG - Sat Apr 9 W 1-2 at Caen
GERMANY
Recap du Nord: Well well well, another dropped 2 points by #1 Dortmund and their lead is down to 5 points with 5 games to play! Could we see a colasal failure? Leverkusen got another win to close that gap. Bayern drew also and dropped from 3rd to 4th behind Hannover who's victory jumped them up. #5 Mainz lost but stayed in the same place. Unfortunately those top two don't meet again this season, that would have been a doozy.
Bayern has finally fired head coach Louis Van Gaal. They have been pouring dirt on the guys head for months now, and I guess they figured he would just quit. But by not walking away they will have to pay him his full contract to leave.
Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian on Hannovers stellar season, and the rest of the weekend in the Bundesliga.
Top of the Bundesliga Table: (29 of 34 GP)
66 Borussia Dortmund - Sat Apr 9 D 1-1 at Hamburg
61 Bayer Leverkusen - Sun Apr 10 W 2-1 v St Pauli
53 Hannover - Sat Apr 9 W 2-0 v Mainz
52 Bayern Munich - Sat Apr 9 D 1-1 at Nurnberg
45 Mainz - Sat Apr 9 L 2-0 at Hannover
ITALY
Recap du Nord: Milan (with a 3 point gap), Napoli (with a 2 point gap) & Inter (with a 6 point gap) all won at the top, while Udinese lost to Roma dropping them to 5th behind Lazio who also won. 6 games left.
Paolo Bandini of the Guardian on the return of Luca Toni at Juventus and the rest of the round in Serie A.
Top of the Serie A Table: (32 of 38 GP)
68 Milan - Sun Apr 10 W 1-2 at Fiorentina
65 Napoli - Sun Apr 10 W 0-2 at Bologna
63 Inter - Sat Apr 9 W 2-0 v Chievo
57 Lazio - Sun Apr 10 W 2-0 v Parma
56 Udinese - Sat Apr L 1-2 9 v Roma
COPA LIBERTADORES
Advanced:(6 of 16) Cruzeiro, Estudiantes, Gremio, Junior, Libertad, Penarol
Out:(6 of 16) Guarani, Jorge Wilstermann, Leon de Huanuco, Oriente Petrolero, Depor Tolima, Union Espanola
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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 12
Penarol v Independiente
LDU Quito v Godoy Cruz
Colo Colo v Deportivo Tachira
-Wed Apr 13
Estudiantes v Cruzeiro
Guarani v Deportes Tolima
-Thu Apr 14
Cerro Porteno v Santos
Univ Catolica v Union Espanola
Caracas v Velez Sarsfield
Oriente Petrolero v Gremio
Junior v Leon de Huanuco
posted by brucio at 20:01
2 Comments:
Tim Ream's mistake wasn't a back pass. He tried to send it over an onrushing Mwanga and mis-hit it. Otherwise, this is another great load of du Nord goodness.
Mr. Bruce,
I'll be flying out of the Northern woods to see the Fire take on the Timbers on Thursday...should be crack-a-lackin!! Good to see the Stars come out with a win.
Ciao ...dang
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