Some News for Mon Apr 18, 2011

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Final

The next two weeks will be huge for RSL, MLS and the USA.

dN

RSL flew Sunday on a chartered flight to Monterrey.

dN

Brian Dunseth of The Original Winger is doing his secondary job and traveling with RSL to Mexico, so he gives us some snap shots of the trip south and then of the first training session in Monterrey.

dN

RSL will wear their Yellow/Gold uniforms on Wed night.

dN

Two injuries on the RSL squad - Alvaro Saborio is still struggling with fitness after offseason knee surgery and Paulo Jr pulled a hamstring muscle in a Reserve League game.

dN

James Edward of the Deseret News says heat could play a factor in the first leg.

dN

Martin Renzhoffer of the Salt Lake Tribune sees the two teams as very similar.

dN

Your basic Monterrey scouting report: They have two great forward in Antonio Aldo De Nigris and Humberto Suazo, while Sergio Santana and Abraham Carreno are capable back ups. Their Argentine playmaker Neri Cardozo is excellent, and he is surrounded by a veteran squad of 4 other talented midfielders. Young goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco has another veteran group in front of him led by Dulio Davino and Ricardo Osorio. Their coach is Victor Vucetich who has been managing for over 20 years winning 5 Primera championships along the way, the 2 most recent being the 2009 & 2010 Apertura with this Monterrey team.

NOTE: I mistakenly wrote Antonio De Nigris, but sadly, as Sasha pointed out, he passed away 2 years ago when playing in Greece for Larissa. RIP Antonio.

dN

I find all the talk of RSL and the FIFA Club World Cup a little bothersome. They are the underdog by quite a bit here, so lets not get ahead of ourselves. If they win this series, then the talk can begin.

dN

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Wed Apr 20
Monterrey v Real Salt Lake - 9pm CT on FSC
2nd Leg
-Wed Apr 27
Real Salt Lake v Monterrey - 9pm CT on FSC

THE QUADRACLASICO - MADRID V BARCA 2011

Real Madrid & Barcelona face off 4 times in 3 competitions in 18 days beginning on Saturday April 16.

dN

The first game - a league match - ended in a 1-1 draw with both teams scoring on Penalty Kicks.

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 16
Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona - Primera Division - RM goal by Cristiano Ronaldo(PK). Bar goal by Lionel Messi(PK).
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu - Madrid
-Wed Apr 20
Barcelona v Real Madrid - Copa Del Rey Final - 2:30pm CT on GolTV
Venue: Estadio Mestalla - Valencia
-Wed Apr 27
Real Madrid v Barcelona - UEFA Champions League Semifinal Leg 1 - 1:45pm CT on FSC
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu - Madrid
-Tue May 3
Barcelona v Real Madrid - UEFA Champions League Semifinal Leg 2 - 1:45pm CT on FSC
Venue: Camp Nou - Barcelona

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 16
Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona - a tie is a win for Barca as their 8 point lead remains fully intact.
Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United - the blue side of the city advances from the FA Cup Semifinal to the Final at Wembley Stadium in mid-May.
-Sun Apr 17
Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool - neither did themselves any favors with a draw.
Bayern Munchen 5-1 Bayer Leverkusen - Bayern closed the door on any hope Leverkusen had of stealing the championship.
Porto 3-2 Sporting - with the title already in Porto's pocket they also claimed the North-South derby.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Clint Dempsey - Superfly - Nike






















Inside Superfly Part 1

Inside Superfly Part 2

Be Yourself. Be Superfly.

The Superfly Mentality.

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 5

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Apr 13
Toronto FC 0-0 LA Galaxy
Venue: BMO Field - Toronto ON
Attendance: 22,453
Real Salt Lake 1-0 Colorado Rapids - RSL goal by Fabian Espindola.
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy UT
Attendance: 15,513
-Thu Apr 14
Portland Timbers 4-2 Chicago Fire SC - PT goals by Jorge Perlaza(2), Rodney Wallace & Dasan Robinson(OG). CF goals by Eric Brunner(OG) & Marco Pappa.
Venue: Civic Stadium - Portland OR
Attendance: 18,627
-Sat Apr 16
Philadelphia Union 1-1 Seattle Sounders FC - PU goal by Carlos Ruiz. SS goal by Alvaro Fernandez.
Venue: PPL Park - Chester PA
Attendance:
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0-0 CD Chivas USA
Venue: Empire Field - Vancouver BC
Attendance:
Toronto FC 0-3 DC United - DCU goals by Chris Pontius(2) & Charlie Davies.
Venue: BMO Field- Toronto ON
Attendance:
Columbus Crew 1-0 Sporting Kansas City - CC goal by Robbie Rogers.
Venue: Crew Stadium - Columbus OH
Attendance:7,695
New York Red Bulls 3-0 San Jose Earthquakes - NYRB goals by Luke Rodgers(2) & Thierry Henry.
Venue: Red Bull Arena - Harrison NJ
Attendance: 14,308
-Sun Apr 17
Chicago Fire SC 1-2 LA Galaxy - CF goal by Dominic Oduro. LAG goals by Chad Barrett & Omar Gonzalez.
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL
Attendance: 18,203
Portland Timbers 3-2 FC Dallas - PT goals by Jack Jewsbury, Kenny Cooper & Rodney Wallace. FCD goals by David Ferreira & Brek Shea.
Venue: JELD-WEN Field - Portland OR
Attendance: 18,627
Houston Dynamo 1-0 New England Revolution - HD goal by Hunter Freeman.
Venue: Robertson Stadium- Houston TX
Attendance: 15,176

dN

EJECTIONS:
Juninho - LA Galaxy - 2 yellow cards
Julio Cesar - Sporting Kansas City - 2 yellow cards

dN

Standings (5 Games Played):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
10 Philadelphia Union (+2 GD)
8 Houston Dynamo (+2 GD)
8 Columbus Crew (+1 GD)
8 New York Red Bulls (+1 GD)
7 DC United (+1 GD)
6 New England Revolution (0 GD) (6 GP)
6 Toronto FC (-3 GD) (6 GP)
4 Sporting Kansas City (-1 GD) (4 GP)
4 Chicago Fire SC (-3 GD)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
12 Real Salt Lake (+7 GD) (4 GP)
12 LA Galaxy (0 GD) (7 GP)
9 Colorado Rapids (+2 GD) (5 GP)
7 Portland Timbers (-1 GD)
6 Seattle Sounders FC (-1 GD) (6 GP)
6 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-1 GD) (6 GP)
5 San Jose Earthquakes (-2 GD)
4 FC Dallas (-2 GD)
3 CD Chivas USA (-2 GD)

DU NORD PLAYER OF THE WEEK AND OTHER STUFF

While he was not the best player of the round, the award this week goes to Columbus midfielder Dilly Duka. While his team around him looks timid and untalented he plays like he doesn't even notice that. Constantly charging toward goal with some really creative footwork and vision. Could he be for real. CC sure outta give him a shot to drive the team instead of the completely ineffective Emmanuel Ekpo.

MY THOUGHTS

This week makes it 4 straight clean sheets for Columbus. Impressive.

But they are still hideous to watch. And the locals obviously thought so too as about 700 of em showed up.

KC striker Teal Bunbury just one week after showing great poise in front of goal went back to his 2010 form and cranked wild shots all over the place, but not on frame.

I saw one article today say that the KC offense sputtered. Don't you have to get it going even a little to actually sputter?

And I still don't understand why KC won't play with a defensive midfielder. Wasn't Stephane Auvray supposed to be pretty good. Where is he? Gettin' splinters.

Lets not mention Vancouver v Chivas, OK?

Fredy Montero of Seattle was back from wrist surgery and played the last 25 minutes or so.

Seattle did what it took to stick around and stick around and the stole that point right at the end with great pressure.

Carlos Ruiz hit a great free kick goal that the announcer JP Dellacamera thought was "deflected", but I didn't see anything but a great curler.

New York sure weren't gutless this week. Some of those guys were more like pissed off. They should have been mad at themselves for giving away a game the week before. That was impressive.

NYRB just drilled San Jose, who showed almost nothing.

Where was Bobby Convey? Simon Dawkins? Ryan Johnson? Sam Cronin? I saw their names listed in the starting line up but I don't think I ever saw them on the field.

Luke Rodgers headed home his first Red Bulls goal after just 1:18.

Thierry Henry finally got his first goal of the season off a powerful header, but it took him 3 or 4 great opportunities to pull it off. Come on buddy. You are getting the big bucks. Lets go.

Another display of the highest order from the Portland fans. All hail!

And some of their players again gave it everything they had and it paid off.

Kalif Alhassan in particular was great for the Timbers, constantly stirring up the midfield and making passes left and right that were effective.

I don't understand Dallas - they started the game in the complete opposite manner against Portland from the way they did against Colorado the week before. That is mental weakness personified.

David Ferreira to Brek Shea for my favorite goal of the week. What execution. See it here.

And can we please stop pretending that Brek Shea is a defender. He is an out and out attacker, and is really good at it. Start him at forward not centerback.

It was good to see Myakel Galindo came on for Dallas. He does not have the speed that made him a really good player a few years ago, but his story is so cool that you just have to cheer for him.

Troy Perkins was back from injury and on the Portland bench Sunday.

But the kid in goal Jake Gleeson had a giant save right at the end of the game off David Ferreira.

Dominic Oduro's goal for Chicago was just great. My second fave of the week. See it here.

Frankie Hejduk sighting! He didn't last 90 minutes but he helped LA hold down the fort.

Chad Barrett scored for LA and then in a brief halftime interview he said that he heard the Chicago fans chanting "Fire reject," at him and it fired him up. He said he hoped they continued that in the second half.

I wrote a few days ago that Chicago keeper Sean Johnson was really struggling, and obviously the coach felt that same way because Jon Jungle Warfare Conway got the start.

That young kid Lopez for LA looked pretty damn good and got the assists on both goals.

With no Donovan, Beckham or Juninho available I was really surprised to see Juan Pablo Angel not in the starting 11.

Chicago had to finish the game with 9 field players after using all three subs, then having Cory Gibbs go down with a thigh muscle injury. Carlos The Conch just threw up his hands in disbelief when he saw Gibbs come off.

That was the first time in their 7 games that LA scored more than 1 goal.
Toronto playmaker Stefanovic got smashed around all game long, and after it went to 0-3 he had look on his face that said, "Get me outta here."

I see TFC had a sponsor called Bruce Power. I have that, but that is not me doing the advertising, and I am a little angry that another Bruce is out there selling his Power. Shame on you Bruce.

DC finished the game with Chris Korb, Ethan White, Perry Kitchen and Bill Hamid at the back (along with Marc Burch, but for the sake of this example lets forget that) who's combined age is just 82. (Or an average of 20.5)

I did not expect to see Fred in the starting lineup this season for DC unless there was an emergency, but he started and played really well against Toronto.
-Fred also combined well up top with Josh Wolff, Charlie Davies and Chris Pontius.

Houston's goal should not have counted as it clearly went off the arm of Hunter Freeman and into the net for the game winner.

And New England felt they deserved a tie, but to me you only deserve that if you try to attack. Which they did not.

The more I think of it, New England actually deserved to lose.

Their new forward Rajko Lekic played the full 90, but was not seen by this viewer.

Houston's ineptitude/bad luck in front of goal is the only thing keeping that game from being 3 or 4-0.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated with 5 things you should know about Week 5.

Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com with his Monday Morning Breakdown featuring Benny Feihaber coming to MLS and more.

New York forward Luke Rodgers was named the league's Player of the Week.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

The Dynamo will host an international friendly this summer:
Dynamo Charity Cup
-Wed Jul 20
Houston Dynamo v Bolton Wanderers (England)
Venue: Robertson Stadium

LA GALAXY

LA centerback Leonardo suffered a knee injury at the end of the game in Chicago on Sunday. Further tests are being conducted to determine the damage.

TORONTO FC

Oscar Cordon who was signed to a senior contract from the academy team made his first MLS start, and did not look out of place.

TFC announced that they will build a new training facility on the north side of the city at Downsview Park. Both the senior team and the academy will be housed there. They expect it to be useable 12 months from now.

Kurtis Larson of the Sun sees a TFC roster of players not suited to the coaches desired playing style.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Bruce Constantineau of the Sun looks at forward Eric Hassli who has been tossed from 2 of his first 3 MLS games. What's next?

MLS/USA & RELATED RUMORS

Today's ridiculous name in the hopper: We get a very funny 2-for-1 - Owen Hargreaves & Andrei Shevchenko.

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Sun Apr 17
POSTPONED - Toronto FC v DC United
Vancouver Whitecaps 1-1 Chivas USA - VW goal by Omar Salgado. CUSA goal by Chris Cortez.
-Sat Apr 23
Toronto FC v Columbus Crew
-Sun Apr 24
Chicago Fire v Houston Dynamo
San Jose Earthquakes v Chivas USA
LA Galaxy v Portland Timbers

dN

MLS Reserve League Standings Etc.

NASL SCOREBOARD

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Apr 15
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1-1 NSC Minnesota Stars - FLS goal by Eduardo Coudet(PK). NSC goal by Devin Del Do.
Attendance: 4,442
-Sat Apr 16
Carolina RailHawks 2-1 Montreal Impact - CRH goals by Etienne Barbara & Pablo Campos. MI goal by Kevin Hatchi.
Attendance: 1,219
Atlanta Silverbacks 0-1 FC Edmonton - FCE goal by Alex Surprenant.
Attendance: 3,161
-Sun Apr 17
FC Tampa Bay 0-2 Puerto Rico Islanders - PRI goals both by Jonathan Fana.
Attendance: 2,913
- - - - -
-Wed Apr 20
Carolina RailHawks v FC Edmonton
-Sat Apr 23
Montreal Impact v Tampa Bay FC
Atlanta Silverbacks v Ft Lauderdale Strikers
-Tue Apr 26
Puerto Rico Islanders v NSC Minnesota Stars

dN

Standings

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Travis Clark of MLSsoccer.com with an article on DC United's Santino Quaranta who has helped start a new youth club in his native Baltimore, called Pipeline Soccer.

USA U20 TEAM

Noah Davis of MLSsoccer.com feels that Thomas Rongen should remain as USA U20 head coach.

USA U18 TEAM

Friendlies
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

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Sacha Kljestan was back in the first 11 for Anderlecht and their win over fellow contenders Genk bumped them back into 1st place.

dN

4 Americans faced off in Norway this weekend as Josh Gatt & Molde beat Mix Diskerud & Stabaek. The other 2 Americans were on the benches.

dN

Good news and bad news for Edson Buddle at Ingolstadt. GN: since the first of the year they have climbed their way out of the relegation zone. BN: after scoring a goal in his first game Buddle hasn't scored again, and his minutes have dwindled to the point where this week he did not play.

dN

Freddy Adu found himself back on the bench watching this weekend. Not good. He should be dominating on this team if he has a future.

dN

Game Action:

BELGIUM - Pro League - Playoff I
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - went the full 90 as they won 2-0 v Genk.

BULGARIA - A PFG
Jemal Johnson - Lokomotiv Sofia - started and went 60 min in a scoreless draw at Lokomotiv Plovdiv.

DENMARK - Superliga -
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - came on as a sub in the 31st min but they lost 1-2 v AaB.
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - still out injured as they lost 1-3 v Kobenhavn.
Chris Rolfe - AaB - on the bench as they won 1-2 at Brondby.

ENGLAND - Premier League
Michael Bradley - Aston Villa - did not dress as they won 1-2 at West Ham.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - No game this weekend.
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - went the full 90 and won 1-2 at West Ham.
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton - No game this weekend.
Tim Howard - Everton - went the distance and won 2-0 v Blackburn.
Jermaine Jones - Blackburn - went the full 90 but lost 2-0 at Everton.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - on the bench as they lost 1-2 v Aston Villa.

ENGLAND - Championship League
Conor Doyle - Derby County - Mon Apr 18 at QPR
Eddie Johnson - Preston North End - started and played 72 min as they won 3-1 v Sheffield United.
Eric Lichaj - Leeds - played the full 90 as they drew 2-2 v Watford.
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - played the whole game as they won 2-1 v Nottingham Forest.

ENGLAND - League One
Anton Peterlin - Plymouth Argyle - started and played 87 min but lost 2-1 at Peterborough.
Frank Simek - Carlisle United - played the whole game as they won 4-1 v Colchester.

FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Saint Etienne - played the whole game as they won 2-1 v Nancy.

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Timmy Chandler - Nurnberg - went the full 90 as they won 0-2 at Kaiserslautern.
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - played the entire game as they drew 0-0 at Hamburg.
Ricardo Clark - Eintracht Frankfurt - rode the pine as they lost 1-0 at Hoffenheim.

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Edson Buddle - Ingolstadt - on the bench but did not play as they won 3-0 v Bochum.
Luis Robles - Karlsruher - Mon Apr 18 v Augsburg
David Yelldell - Duisburg - went the distance but lost 3-1 at Energie Cottbus.

NETHERLANDS - Eredivisie
Oguchi Onyewu - Twente - on the bench as they drew 1-1 at De Graafschap.

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - played the whole game as they won 1-0 v Maastricht VV.

NORWAY - Eliteserien
Erik Benjaminsen - Stabaek - on the bench as they lost 3-2 at Molde.
Sean Cunningham - Molde - on the bench as they won 3-2 v Stabaek.
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - went the full 90 but lost 3-2 at Molde
Josh Gatt - Molde - came on as a sub in the 71st as they won 3-2 v Stabaek.

RUSSIA - Premier Division
Yevgeni Starikov - Tom' Tomsk - came on as a sub in the 77th min as they won 1-2 at Spartak Nalchik.

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgarden - went the full 90 but lost 0-1 v Malmo.
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - Mon Apr 18 v Gelfe
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - on the bench as they lost 0-2 v GAIS.
Samuel Petrone - Mjallby - didn't suit up as they won 2-1 v Kalmar.

TURKEY - Super Lig
Jozy Altidore - Bursaspor - came on as a sub in the 66th min but they lost 1-0 at Trabzonspor.

TURKEY - 1. Lig
Freddie Adu - Caykur Rizespor - on the bench for a scoreless draw at Boluspor.

dN

Coming Up:

ENGLAND - Championship League
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - Thu Apr 21 at Ipswich

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - Thu Apr 21 at Freiburg

SCOTLAND - Premier League (last game of regular season)
Mo Edu - Rangers - Tue Apr 19 at Dundee United

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgarden - Tue Apr 19 at GAIS
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - Thu Apr 21 at Hacken
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - Wed Apr 20 at Norrkoping
Samuel Petrone - Mjallby - Wed Apr 20 at Malmo

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Game Action:

PRIMERA DIVISION
Isaac Acuna - Queretaro - started and played the first half but they lost 3-0 at UNAM Pumas.
Jonathan Bornstein - Tigres UANL - did not dress as they won 0-1 at Chiapas.
Edgar Castillo - Puebla - did not dress as they won 2-0 v Cruz Azul.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - played the entire game but lost 1-2 v Atlas.
Miguel Ponce - Guadalajara - went the full 90 but lost 0-1 v Santos Laguna.
Adrian Ruelas - Santos Laguna - came on in the 88th min as they won 0-1 at Guadalajara.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - went the distance getting a yellow card and lost 1-2 v Atlas.

LIGA DE ASCENSO (2nd division)
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - came on as a sub in the 76th min as they won 2-0 v Indios.
Marco Vidal - Leon - played the full 90 as they won 3-2 v Pumas Morelos.

MEXICO

Recap du Nord: Just two rounds to go now - In Group A #1 Tigres won & clinched a playoff spot, and #2 Guadalajara lost. Group B #1 Atlante drew and #2 America won to pull within 1 point. And in Group C #1 overall Pumas won clinching their playoff spot, and #2 Morelia drew. Then in the race for the two Wild Card spots, Cruz Azul lost and Monterrey drew. Waiting in the wings are three teams, Santos Laguna, Toluca & Atlas just waiting for someone else to screw up.

Playoff Standings as of Sun Apr 17:
Group A
ADV-29 UANL Tigres
24 Guadalajara
Group B
23 Atlante
22 America
Group C
ADV-32 UNAM Pumas
28 Morelia
Wild Card
24 Cruz Azul
22 Monterrey
- - - - -
20 Santos Laguna - A
20 Toluca - B
20 Atlas - B

ENGLAND

Owen Gibson of the Observer looks at the attraction American's with tons of money have to the Premier League.

FA CUP

Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 16
Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United
-Sun Apr 17
Bolton 0-5 Stoke

Final
Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 14
Manchester City v Stoke City

dN

Recap du Nord: only #2 Arsenal who tied, and #3 Chelsea who won, played this weekend, and the standings stayed the same. Everyone plays midweek games.

Top of the Premier League Table: (32 of 38 GP)
69 Man United - Off this weekend - Tue Apr 19 at Newcastle
63 Arsenal - Sun Apr 17 D 1-1 v Liverpool - Wed Apr 20 at Tottenham
61 Chelsea - Sat Apr 16 W 1-3 at West Brom - Wed Apr 20 v Birmingham
56 Man City - Off this weekend - Off this midweek too
53 Tottenham - Off this weekend - Wed Apr 20 v Arsenal (31 GP)

dN

The English Professional Footballers Association has handed out their season ending awards with several weeks left to play. OK!?!?
-Player of the Year - Gareth Bale - tottenham
-Young Player of the Year - Jack Wilshere - Arsenal
-Team of the Year:
Edwin van der Sar - Manchester United
Bacary Sagna - Arsenal
Ashley Cole - Chelsea
Nemanja Vidic - Manchester United
Vincent Kompany - Manchester City
Nani - Manchester United
Samir Nasri - Arsenal
Jack Wilshere - Arsenal
Gareth Bale - Tottenham Hotspur
Carlos Tevez - Manchester City
Dimitar Berbatov - Manchester United

SPAIN

Recap du Nord: #1 Barca & #2 Madrid played to a tie leaving 8 points still between them. #3 Valencia won big again securing their spot in the standings. 4th place Villarreal play later today. And Sevilla lost dropping them from 5th to 7th and seeing Athletic Bilbao jump up to #5 with a win.

Sid Lowe of the Guardian on Real Madrid's tie against Barca that was not appreciated by many critics, and the rest of the round in La Liga.

Top of the Primera Division Table: (31 of 38 GP)
85 Barcelona - Sat Apr 16 D 1-1 at Real Madrid
77 Real Madrid - Sat Apr 16 D 1-1 v Barcelona
63 Valencia - Sat Apr 16 W 0-3 at Almeria
54 Villarreal - Mon Apr 18 v Zaragoza
48 Athletic Bilbao - Sun Apr 17 W 1-2 at Osasuna
- - - - -
46 Sevilla - Sat Apr 16 L 1-0 at Getafe

FRANCE

Recap du Nord: Leaders Lille suffered another tie, while #2 Marseille got a win to bring them within 1 point. Lyon in 3rd lost to PSG who moved up from #5 to #4, dropping Rennes, who lost.

Ben Lyttleton of Sports Illustrated shows who the most sought after players in France are right now.

Top of the Ligue 1 Table: (31 GP of 38)
59 Lille - Sat Apr 16 D 1-1 v Bordeaux
58 Marsielle - Sun Apr 17 W 1-2 at Montpellier
53 Lyon - Sun Apr 17 L 1-0 at PSG
52 PSG - Sun Apr 17 W 1-0 v Lyon
51 Rennes - Sat Apr 16 L 1-2 v Lorient

GERMANY

Recap du Nord: #1 Dortmund with a dominating win moves back out to an 8 point lead with 4 games to play as #2 Leverkusen lost. Bayern Munich were the ones who beat Leverkusen and they move from 4th to 3rd after Hannover was held to a scoreless draw. Mainz remained in 5th place with a win.

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian on the talk of the Bundesliga today, Schalke, and the rest of the league from the weekend.

Top of the Bundesliga Table: (30 of 34 GP)
69 Borussia Dortmund - Sun Apr 17 W 3-0 v Freiburg
61 Bayer Leverkusen - Sun Apr 17 L 5-1 at Bayern
55 Bayern Munich - Sun Apr 17 W 5-1 v Leverkusen
54 Hannover - Sat Apr 16 D 0-0 at Hamburg
48 Mainz - Fri Apr 15 W 1-0 v Monchengladbach

ITALY

Recap du Nord: #1 Milan won easily and now hold a 6 point lead. #2 Napoli & #3 Inter both blundered badly in losses and are now closer to being caught by #4 Lazio and #5 Udinese who both won.

Paolo Bandini of the Guardian on the damage Udinese inflicted on Napoli's dream of a title, and the rest of Serie A from the weekend.

Top of the Serie A Table: (33 of 38 GP)
71 Milan - Sat Apr 16 W 3-0 v Sampdoria
65 Napoli - Sun Apr 17 L 1-2 v Udinese
63 Inter - Sat Apr 16 L 2-0 at Parma
60 Lazio - Sun Apr 17 W 1-4 at Catania
59 Udinese - Sun Apr 17 W 1-2 at Napoli

SCOTLAND

Scottish Cup

Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 16
Motherwell 3-0 St Johnstone
-Sun Apr 17
Aberdeen 0-4 Celtic

Final
Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 21
Motherwell v Celtic

COPA LIBERTADORES

This is the final week of Group Stage games. 7 spots are still open.

dN

Advanced:(9 of 16) Cruzeiro, Estudiantes, Gremio, Junior, LDU Quit, Libertad, Penarol, Univ Catolica, Velez Sarsfield

Out:(10 of 16) Caracas, Depor Tachira, Godoy Cruz, Guarani, Independiente, Jorge Wilstermann, Leon de Huanuco, Oriente Petrolero, Depor Tolima, Union Espanola

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 19
Jorge Wilstermann v Jaguares
Internacional v Emelec
Libertad v San Luis
Univ San Martin v Once Caldas
-Wed Apr 20
Santos v Deportivo Tachira
Colo Colo v Cerro Porteno
Nacional v America
Argentinos Juniors v Fluminense

dN

Standings:
Group 1
ADV-11 Libertad (Paraguay) (+6 gd) (5 gp)
6 Univ San Martin (Peru) (-2 gd) (5 gp)
5 San Luis (Mexico) (-1 gd) (5 gp)
4 Once Caldas (Colombia) (-3 gd) (5 gp)
Group 2
ADV-13 Junior (Colombia) (+2 gd) (6 gp)
ADV-10-Gremio (Brazil) (+3 gd) (6 gp)
OUT-6 Oriente Petrolero (Bolivia) (-1 gd) (6 gp)
OUT-5 Leon de Huanuco (Peru) (-4 gd) (6 gp)
Group 3
9 America (Mexico) (+1 gd) (5 gp)
7 Argentinos Juniors (Argentina) (+1 gd) (5 gp)
7 Nacional (Uruguay) (0 gd) (5 gp)
5 Fluminense (Brazil) (-2 gd) (5 gp)
Group 4
ADV-12 Univ Catolica (Chile) (+2 gd) (6 gp)
ADV-11 Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) (+5 gd) (6 gp)
OUT-9 Caracas (Venezuela) (-3 gd) (6 gp)
OUT-4 Union Espanola (Chile) (-4 gd) (6 gp)
Group 5
9 Colo-Colo (Chile) (0 gd) (5 gp)
8 Cerro Porteno (Paraguay) (+4 gd) (5 gp)
8 Santos (Brazil) (+1 gd) (5 gp)
OUT-2 Depor Tachira (Venezuela) (-5 gd) (5 gp)
Group 6
10 Internacional (Brazil) (+9 gd) (5 gp)
9 Chiapas Jaguares (-1 gd) (5 gp)
8 Emelec (Ecuador) (+1 gd) (5 gp)
OUT-1 Jorge Wilstermann (Bolivia) (-9 gd) (5 gp)
Group 7
ADV-16 Cruzeiro (Brazil) (+19 gd) (6 gp)
ADV-10 Estudiantes (Argentina) (-2 gd) (6 gp)
OUT-8 Depor Tolima (Colombia) (-3 gd) (6 gp)
OUT-0 Guarani (Paraguay) (-14 gd) (6 gp)
Group 8
ADV-10 LDU Quito (Ecuador) (+8 gd) (6 gp)
ADV-9 Penarol (Uruguay) (-5 gd) (6 gp)
OUT-8 Independiente (Argentina) (-1 gd) (6 gp)
OUT-7 Gody Cruz (Argentina) (-2 gd) (6 gp)

ENDERS

The Philadelphia Connection:

Carlos Ruiz - meet - Carlos Ruiz