Some Soccer News for Fri Sep 30, 2011

STARTERS

Vancouver Whitecaps will debut at the beautifully refurbished BC Place stadium this weekend against long time rivals Portland Timbers. Should be a skeptical spectacle. (Great typo - hahahahahahahaha.)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

The latest video from the Minnesota Stars follows them south to Cary North Carolina for the final game of the regular season - a must win. And they did!

dN

And if you missed it earlier this week - video of the Stars celebrating in the locker-room after the huge win that put them in the playoffs.

dN

You have no idea how much I want the team to win in Tampa so we can have 2 more home games (Semi & Finals) to sing I Am An NSC Fan more times this year!

To the tune of the Sex Pistols Anarchy In The UK:
I am an NSC fan
I am a Minnesotan
I know what I want and I know how to get it
I wanna destroy (opponents name)
Cuz IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Wanna Beeeeeeeeeeeeeee NSC

NASL SCOREBOARD

Playoffs

My team, the Stars have a huge game on Saturday night in Tampa Bay which you can watch live via the internets on the NASL website.

Quarterfinals - One-Off Series
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 1
FC Tampa Bay (3) v NSC Minnesota Stars (6) - 6:30 CT
Ft Lauderdale Strikers (4) v FC Edmonton (5) - 6:30 CT

STORY OF THE DAY

Raphael Honigstein of Sports Illustrated looks at how 1st year head coach Juup Heynckes has turned Bayern Munich into such a force so quickly.

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

Brian Sciaretta of Yanks Abroad reports that FIFA has approved Fabian Johnson's change of national team affiliation from Germany to the USA.
-He is currently recovering from a back injury.

2011-12 CONCACACHAMPIONS

Matchday 5

Recap du Nord: Alajuelense shifted all the weight of Group A on to the favorites Morelia & LA with a win last night that put them in 1st place. The final matchday will give us the other 6 knockout round teams.

Video highlights from all the games.

dN

Group Stage - Round robin, home & away - matches played Aug 16 to Oct 20

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Sep 27
Toronto 1-1 Pumas UNAM - Tor goal by Peri Marosevic. UP goal by Marco Palacios.
Comunicaciones 2-2 Seattle Sounders - Com goals by Transito Montepeque & Rafael Morales. SS goals both by Osvaldo Alonso.
Monterrey 1-0 Herediano - Mon goal by Aldo De Nigris.
-Wed Sep 28
Real Espana 1-1 Santos Laguna - RE goal by Mario Martinez. SL goal by Carlos Ochoa.
Tauro 5-3 Dallas - Tau goals by Luis Moreno, Auriel Gallardo, Temistocles Perez(2) & Marcos Sanchez. Dal goals by Jair Benitez(PK) & Ruben Luna(2).
LA Galaxy 2-1 Morelia - LAG goals by Mike Magee & Juninho. Mor goal by Rafa Marquez Lugo.
Isidro Metapan 1-3 Colorado Rapids - IM goal by Alredo Pacheco. CR goals by Eddie Ababio, Quincy Amarikwa & Omar Cummings.
-Thu Sep 29
Alajuelense 1-0 Motagua - Ala goal by Jonathan McDonald.

dN

Advanced: Santos Laguna, Seattle

Eliminated: Herediano, Motagua

Standings:

GROUP A
12 Alajuelense (Costa Rica) (+3)
9 Monarchas Morelia (Mexico) (+5)
9 LA Galaxy (USA) (+3)
OUT-0 Motagua (Honduras) (-11)
GROUP B
ADV-10 Santos Laguna (Mexico) (+8)
7 Colorado Rapids (USA) (-1)
6 Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) (-6)
5 Real Espana (Honduras) (-1)
GROUP C
8 UNAM Pumas (Mexico) (+5)
7 Dallas (USA) (-2)
7 Toronto (Canada) (-3)
5 Tauro (Panama) (0)
GROUP D
ADV-10 Seattle Sounders (USA) (+4)
9 Monterrey (Mexico) (+6)
7 Comunicaciones (Guatemala) (-2)
OUT-3 Herediano (Costa Rica) (-8)

dN

The final Group Stage Matchday is Oct 18/19/20.

Here are the games for the MLS teams:
-Tue Oct 18
Dallas v Toronto - 7pm CT
Seattle Sounders v Monterrey - 9pm CT
-Wed Oct 19
Santos Laguna v Colorado Rapids - 7pm CT
-Thu Oct 20
Motagua v LA Galaxy - 9pm CT

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Amy Lawrence of the Guardian with five things we learned from the Champions League this week.

Matchday 3 is Oct 18/19.

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 1
Everton v Liverpool - the Liverpool derby - blue v red
Hoffenheim v Bayern Munich - is #4 Hoff strong enough to stop the Red & White Machine?
Inter v Napoli - a big test for the newly rejuvenated Inter
-Sun Oct 2
Juventus v Milan - now we find out if Juve is for real
Tottenham v Arsenal - the North London derby
PSG v Lyon - tied for first place in France
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla - is one of these two going to at least try and stay with the leaders?
Fulham v Queens Park Rangers - a minor London derby

Official preview of the weekend ahead in the Barclays Premier League.

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

Rob Hughes of the New York Times feels that Barcelona lost some of their specialness by accepting giant money from Qatar to buy the front of their shirts.

STAT OF THE DAY

3 midweek MLS games this week averaged 18,854 fans. Impressive!

FACT OF THE DAY

@PeterHirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau: Zac MacMath of Philly v Bill Hamid of DC last night was the 1st time two 20 year old Keepers had ever faced off in MLS.

PODCASTS

The Jared Montz Podcast today welcome's guest former New England player and current TV commentator Taylor Twellman. Download or listen here.

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

WEEK 29

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Sep 28
Sporting Kansas City 2-1 Columbus Crew - SKC goals by Kei Kamara(PK) & Own Goal(Julius James). CC goal by Emilio Renteria.
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Atten: 17,838
Real Salt Lake 0-3 Chicago Fire SC - CF goals all by Marco Pappa.
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
Atten: 20,762
-Thu Sep 29
Philadelphia Union 3-2 DC United - PU goals by Sebastian Le Toux(2) & Michael Farfan. DCU goals by Dwayne DeRosario & Andy Najar.
Venue: PPL Park
Atten: 17,963
-Sat Oct 1
Houston Dynamo v Chicago Fire SC - 3:00PM CT on Telefutura
Venue: Robertson Stadium
Toronto FC v New York Red Bulls - 6:30PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: BMO Field
New England Revolution v Seattle Sounders FC - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Colorado Rapids v FC Dallas - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center
San Jose Earthquakes v Sporting Kansas City - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
-Sun Oct 2
Columbus Crew v DC United - 3:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Portland Timbers - 3:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: BC Place
CD Chivas USA v Philadelphia Union - 7:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center

dN

EJECTIONS:
Kyle Beckerman - Salt Lake - red card

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
44 Sporting Kansas City (31 GP) (+7 GD)
43 Philadelphia Union (30 GP) (+7 GD)
42 Houston Dynamo (31 GP) (0 GD)
41 Columbus Crew (31 GP) (-4 GD)
39 New York Red Bulls (30 GP) (+5 GD)
38 DC United (29 GP) (+1 GD)
36 Chicago Fire SC (30 GP) (0 GD)
30 Toronto FC (31 GP) (-23 GD)
27 New England Revolution (30 GP) (-15 GD)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
*61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
*54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (30 GP) (+12 GD)
46 FC Dallas (30 GP) (+3 GD)
42 Colorado Rapids (31 GP) (+1 GD)
37 Portland Timbers (30 GP) (-7 GD)
35 CD Chivas USA (31 GP) (+1 GD)
31 San Jose Earthquakes (30 GP) (-7 GD)
22 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (29 GP) (-20 GD)

*Playoff berth

MLS SUPPORTERS SHIELD STANDINGS

61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (30 GP) (+12 GD)

IF THE MLS PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY

The 10 teams:

Philly moves up to #2 in the East pushing Columbus dangerously into the Wild Card spots. The Crew hosts DC on Sunday.

WEST
1 LA Galaxy
2 Seattle Sounders
3 Real Salt Lake

EAST
1 Sporting Kansas City
2 Philadelphia Union
3 Houston Dynamo

WILD CARD
1 FC Dallas
2 Colorado Rapids
3 Columbus Crew
4 New York Red Bulls

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Jeremy Wilson of the Telegraph has an honest to goodness interview with Colorado owner Stan Kroenke. Yes, it is mostly about the little team he owns in London called Arsenal, but there there is a lot of Kroenke philosophy to interest MLS fans.

Steve Davis of the Daily Soccer Fix feels that MLS owners need to give more value to playoff spots by making them scarce. I know, easy concept. But Davis is right, they don't seem to grasp that.

Alexi Lalas at the Mirror picks Brek Shea of Dallas as his MVP.

CHICAGO FIRE

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle looks at the great second half to the season Dominic Oduro is having. He struggled in Houston last season.

CD CHIVAS USA

The team will honor recently retired player Jimmy Conrad at their game on Sunday night.

COLUMBUS CREW

No team in the playoff hunt has fallen as badly as the Crew in the last month. After spending a good chunk of the 2nd half of the season at #1 in the East they are now down to the Wild Card positions, with New York, Chicago and DC not far behind.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle reports that full/centerback Andre Hainault has told Canada that he will not report to the national team for 2 upcoming World Cup qualifiers because he wants to help Houston qualify for the playoffs more.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

The Times posts a transcript of head coach Sigi Schmid's weekly press conference.

TORONTO FC

MLSsoccer.com tells us about a "Town Hall meeting" the teams management held with fans.

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 1
Houston Dynamo v Chicago Fire SC
Toronto FC v New York Red Bulls
-Sun Oct 2
Colorado Rapids v FC Dallas
Columbus Crew v DC United
-Mon Oct 3
LA Galaxy v San Jose Earthquakes
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Portland Timbers
-Thu Oct 6
FC Dallas v Sporting Kansas City
-Sat Oct 8
Real Salt Lake v Chicago Fire SC

dN

Standings Etc.

MEXICO

Mexico - Primera Top 8 Standings (10 of 17 games played):
18 Jaguares (+3) (19 GF) - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 v Atlas
18 Cruz Azul (+3) (13 GF) - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 at Santos Laguna
18 Guadalajara (+1) - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 v Queretaro
17 Tigres (+7) - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 at Tijuana
17 Pumas (+2) - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 v America
15 Atlante - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 v Pachuca
14 Santos Laguna (9 GP) (+3) - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 v Cruz Azul
14 Queretaro (+1) - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 at Guadalajara

EUROPE

Reuters reports that women and children will be allowed into Turkish Super Lig matches for free in an effort to quell the rise of hooligans.

BRAZIL

Brazil - Serie A Top 5 Standings (26 of 38 games played):
49 Vasco - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 v Corinthians
47 Corinthians - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 at Vasco da Gama
46 Sao Paulo - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 v Flamengo
45 Botafogo (25 GP) - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 at Atletico GO
41 Fluminense - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 v Santos

2 big games coming this weekend as Vasco and Corinthians face off, and then Sao Paulo hosts 6th place Flamengo.

BIG PIMPIN

"England tend to perform like a cheap battery."

Simon Kuper of the Financial Times will have an update coming for his last book Soccernomics that looks closer at the track record of England under Fabio Capello. Here are his thoughts on the topic in the update.

dN

And look out for a review of Kuper's brand new book Soccer Men on Monday here at du Nord.

Some Soccer News for Thu Sep 29, 2011

STARTERS

During surgery yesterday to clean Stuart Holden's knee that he injured last spring more damage was found and more extensive surgery was needed. Do to this Holden wil not be out for 6 more MONTHS, not weeks as originally thought. Damn.

dN

Americans went an incredible 7W-0L-1D in the Europa League today, including 4 road wins!

dN

LA Galaxy can win the Supporters Shield this weekend with a win and Sounders loss.

dN

Who says mid-week MLS games don't draw crowds? 2 games last night both sold out - In Salt Lake and Kansas City. Can you believe that?!?!?!
-And odds are very good for a big crowd tonight in Philadelphia too.

dN

Javier Morales of Salt Lake made his return to the field last night for the first time since suffering a very badly broken ankle back on May 7. And if he can get himself back into top form it could be just the boost his up and down team needs to try and claim the title again.
-Great video of the incident, his recovery and return.

DU NORD AT THE CONTROLS

ALL NEW: du Nord at the Controls - Spotify Music Mix #4 - Tue Sep 27, 2011

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

The initial USA Roster for the 2 upcoming friendlies has been released. We are seeing a fairly similar group of players to the two previous bouts of friendlies under Klinsmann. I was hoping we would see more diversity as he took a look at more players, but that does not seem to be the case.

G:
Bill Hamid - DC United
Tim Howard - Everton
Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Rangers
Timmy Chandler - Nurnberg
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Oguchi Onyewu - Sporting
Michael Orozco Fiscal - San Luis
Tim Ream - New York Red Bulls
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham
M:
DaMarcus Beasley - Puebla
Kyle Beckerman - Real Salt Lake
Michael Bradley - Chievo
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Maurice Edu - Rangers
Jeff Larentowicz - Colorado Rapids
Brek Shea - FC Dallas
Danny Williams - Hoffenheim
F:
Juan Agudelo - New York Red Bulls
Jozy Altidore - AZ
Teal Bunbury -Sporting Kansas City
Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy

Another young German-American added to the mix - Daniel Williams.

dN

International friendlies
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 8
USA v Honduras - 5pm CT on Fox Soccer
Venue: Sun Life Stadium, Miami
-Tue Oct 11
USA v Ecuador - 6pm CT on ESPN2
Venue: Red Bull Arena, Harrison NJ
-2 more friendly games coming in November.

2011-12 CONCACACHAMPIONS

Matchday 5

Recap du Nord: Santos Laguna got the point they needed last night to become the second team to advance to the knockout rounds! LA (in stoppage time) and Taura (rolling) both got big home wins to keep them in the thick of things. Even though Dallas lost they still sit in 2nd place in their group and control their own destiny. And Colorado powered their way to a very important road win and also kept themselves right in the middle of the hunt for advancement. The final matchday will be big for a lot of teams.

Scott French of ESPN on LA's "poetic justice."

Video highlights from all the games.

dN

Group Stage - Round robin, home & away - matches played Aug 16 to Oct 20

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Sep 27
Toronto 1-1 Pumas UNAM - Tor goal by Peri Marosevic. UP goal by Marco Palacios.
Comunicaciones 2-2 Seattle Sounders - Com goals by Transito Montepeque & Rafael Morales. SS goals both by Osvaldo Alonso.
Monterrey 1-0 Herediano - Mon goal by Aldo De Nigris.
-Wed Sep 28
Real Espana 1-1 Santos Laguna - RE goal by Mario Martinez. SL goal by Carlos Ochoa.
Tauro 5-3 Dallas - Tau goals by Luis Moreno, Auriel Gallardo, Temistocles Perez(2) & Marcos Sanchez. Dal goals by Jair Benitez(PK) & Ruben Luna(2).
LA Galaxy 2-1 Morelia - LAG goals by Mike Magee & Juninho. Mor goal by Rafa Marquez Lugo.
Isidro Metapan 1-3 Colorado Rapids - IM goal by Alredo Pacheco. CR goals by Eddie Ababio, Quincy Amarikwa & Omar Cummings.
-Thu Sep 29
Alajuelense v Motagua

dN

Advanced: Santos Laguna, Seattle

Eliminated: Herediano, Motagua

Standings:

GROUP A
9 Monarchas Morelia (Mexico) (+5)
9 LA Galaxy (USA) (+3)
9 Alajuelense (Costa Rica) (+2)
OUT-0 Motagua (Honduras) (-10)
GROUP B
ADV-10 Santos Laguna (Mexico) (+8)
7 Colorado Rapids (USA) (-1)
6 Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) (-6)
5 Real Espana (Honduras) (-1)
GROUP C
8 UNAM Pumas (Mexico) (+5)
7 Dallas (USA) (-2)
7 Toronto (Canada) (-3)
5 Tauro (Panama) (0)
GROUP D
ADV-10 Seattle Sounders (USA) (+4)
9 Monterrey (Mexico) (+6)
7 Comunicaciones (Guatemala) (-2)
OUT-3 Herediano (Costa Rica) (-8)

The next matchday is Oct 18/19/20.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Matchday 2 is this week.

Recap du Nord: (Wednesday) Big teams like Barca, Milan and Arsenal all won, while Zenit bounced back from an opening round loss, and Marseille got a strong win over a Dortmund team that many people thought could be one of the new leaders in Europe but are struggling in this and their domestic competitions.

Rob Hughes of the New York Times with a round up of Wednesday's games featuring Arsenal's Alex Oxlade Chamberlain.

After 2 rounds here are some of the group leaders: Trabzonspor, Basel, Marseille & APOEL. Who had those bets placed?

Matches & Scores:

-Wed Sep 28
Zenit 3-1 Porto - Zen goals by Roman Shirokov(2) & Danny. Por goal by James Rodriguez.
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 APOEL - SD goal by Jadson. APO goal by Ivan Trickovski.
BATE 0-5 Barcelona - Bar goals by A Volodko(OG), Pedro, Lio Messi(2) & David Villa.
Milan 2-0 Plzen - Mil goals by Zlatan Ibrahimovic(PK) & Antonio Cassano.
Valencia 1-1 Chelsea - Val goal by Soldado(PK). Che goal by Frank Lampard.
Leverkusen 2-0 Genk - - Lev goals by Lars Bender & Michael Ballack.
Arsenal 2-1 Olympiacos - Ars goals by Alex Oxlade Chamberlain & Andre Santos. Oly goal by David Fuster.
Marseille 3-0 Dortmund - Mar goals by Andre Ayew(2, 1 via PK) & Loic Remy.

Group Standings

The next matchday is Oct 18/19.

CONMEBOL

Copa Roca - Special Home & Home Friendly Series: (only players from the domestic leagues are used)

Brazil are the winners!

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Wed Sep 28
Brazil 2-0 Argentina (0-0) - Bra goals by Lucas & Neymar.

WHAT???

Brian Lewis of the NY Post reports that Rafa Marquez of the Red Bulls now claims his quotes last week in which he trashed his teammates were not taken as he meant them. Then he says that the crowds boos upset him. This after he said last week that he didn't hear the crowd booing.
-So which quotes should we believe now. Flip Flop Flip Flop Flip Flop Flip Flop. I just see a flop.
-I would suspend him another game for that lame explanation.

TWITTERVERSE/FACEBOOKING

@stuholden - Stuart Holden reflecting on his new knee injury/surgery setback via Twitter:

-Obviously I'm disappointed as I've worked so hard the last 6 months, but in the grand scale of things its only a minor blip :) ! Thx every1!

-Floored, devastated, gutted, just a few words I can think of. I will continue to fight and I'm ready for another tough journey.....

-Not looking 4 sympathy but rather your support as I get through another setback. Thx for all your heartfelt messages of encouragment

-Someone has a bigger plan for me and I look forward to keeping you updated over the next 6 months as I beat the odds once again .. Much love

-Time to head back up North, knee feeling good and I'm glad its all sorted! Heads back up and ready to rock and roll. Bring it on......

Holden's brother comes to visit post-surgery:



















QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Manchester City can confirm that striker Carlos Tevez has been suspended until further notice for a maximum period of two weeks.
The player’s suspension is pending a full review into his alleged conduct during Tuesday evening’s 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich.
The player will not be considered for selection or take part in training whilst the review is under way."
-Official statement from Manchester City Football Club.

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 1
Everton v Liverpool - the Liverpool derby - blue v red
Hoffenheim v Bayern Munich - is #4 Hoff strong enough to stop the Red & White Machine?
Inter v Napoli - a big test for the newly rejuvenated Inter
-Sun Oct 2
Juventus v Milan - now we find out if Juve is for real
Tottenham v Arsenal - the North London derby
PSG v Lyon - tied for first place in France
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla - is one of these two going to at least try and stay with the leaders?

Official preview of the weekend ahead in the Barclays Premier League.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

When is the last time that a guy on an MLS team scored a goal and you said to yourself, "Who the hell is that guy?"

It happened to me last night when Eddie Ababio scored a goal for Colorado in the CONCAChampions. I have never heard of him.

STAT OF THE DAY

Javier Zanetti has played in 758 games for Inter Milan! And now over 1000 in his pro career.

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

Buzz Carrick of 3rd Degree reports that MLS will be using a pink ball during October to raise awareness for breast cancer. Many other signifiers are planned as well.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Another amazing looking MLS stadium is taking shape quickly. This one in Houston Texas. Here is a shot from the webcam today.
















MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

WEEK 29

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Sep 28
Sporting Kansas City 2-1 Columbus Crew - SKC goals by Kei Kamara(PK) & Own Goal(Julius James). CC goal by Emilio Renteria.
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Atten: 17,838
Real Salt Lake 0-3 Chicago Fire SC - CF goals all by Marco Pappa.
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
Atten: 20,762
-Thu Sep 29
Philadelphia Union v DC United - 7:00PM CT on ESPN2
Venue: PPL Park
-Sat Oct 1
Houston Dynamo v Chicago Fire SC - 3:00PM CT on Telefutura
Venue: Robertson Stadium
Toronto FC v New York Red Bulls - 6:30PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: BMO Field
New England Revolution v Seattle Sounders FC - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Colorado Rapids v FC Dallas - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center
San Jose Earthquakes v Sporting Kansas City - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
-Sun Oct 2
Columbus Crew v DC United - 3:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Portland Timbers - 3:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: BC Place
CD Chivas USA v Philadelphia Union - 7:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center

dN

EJECTIONS:
Kyle Beckerman - Salt Lake - red card

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
44 Sporting Kansas City (31 GP) (+7 GD)
42 Houston Dynamo (31 GP) (0 GD)
41 Columbus Crew (31 GP) (-4 GD)
40 Philadelphia Union (29 GP) (+6 GD)
39 New York Red Bulls (30 GP) (+5 GD)
38 DC United (28 GP) (+2 GD)
36 Chicago Fire SC (30 GP) (0 GD)
30 Toronto FC (31 GP) (-23 GD)
27 New England Revolution (30 GP) (-15 GD)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
*61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
*54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (30 GP) (+12 GD)
46 FC Dallas (30 GP) (+3 GD)
42 Colorado Rapids (31 GP) (+1 GD)
37 Portland Timbers (30 GP) (-7 GD)
35 CD Chivas USA (31 GP) (+1 GD)
31 San Jose Earthquakes (30 GP) (-7 GD)
22 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (29 GP) (-20 GD)

*Playoff berth

MLS SUPPORTERS SHIELD STANDINGS

61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (30 GP) (+12 GD)

IF THE MLS PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY

The 10 teams:

WEST
1 LA Galaxy
2 Seattle Sounders
3 Real Salt Lake

EAST
1 Sporting Kansas City
2 Houston Dynamo
3 Columbus Crew

WILD CARD
1 FC Dallas
2 Colorado Rapids
3 Philadelphia Union
4 New York Red Bulls

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Kansas City tops the East for real this time, while Salt Lake's loss put the Galaxy on the verge of the Supporters Shied. Not to mention Chicago is still in the race in the East where 7 teams are separated by 8 points.

Marco Pappa hadn't scored a goal for Chicago in 3 months until he hit the hat-trick last night. I guess he was saving them up for drama-time.

COLUMBUS CREW

Stretching back to Aug 27 the Crew is 0W-1D-5L. An awful run toward the end of the regular season.

FC DALLAS

Since Sep 1 FCD has 1 win, 1 draw and 5 losses in all competitions. Not the trajectory you want with the playoffs approaching.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Davy Arnaud returned to the KC starting lineup last night for the first time since he had hernia surgery nearly 3 months ago.

LA GALAXY

Capacity at last night's CCL game was limited to just 7500 in a deal the team has with the college who's land the stadium stands.

PHILADELPHIA UNION

Kerith Gabriel of the Daily News sees the playoff implication in tonight's Union game against DC United.
-Freddy Adu talks about facing his old team.

REAL SALT LAKE

Captain Kyle Beckerman will be lucky if he does not get a longer suspension from his red card last night - that was a pretty vicious looking head-butt he laid on Daniel Paladini.
-See video of the incident here.

Martin Renzhofer of the Tribune has quotes from a very unhappy head coach Jason Kreis.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated takes a deeper look into one of this season's contenders for several trophies - The Sounders.

Joshua Mayers of the Times describes a giant corn maze with an image and name of Kasey Keller in the design!

MLS EXHIBITION GAMES

Tucson AZ announced that they will host another MLS preseason tournament next winter.
-The Tucson Citizen has the details.
-More on the soccer foundation Tucson is trying hard to build.

MLS STADIUMS

The Globe & Mail examines the newly refurbished and ready for business BC Place stadium in Vancouver.

NASL NEWS

The NASL announced (seemingly in secret) their Best 11 for the 2011 season: (as picked by the head coaches)

F:
Mike Ambersley, FC Tampa Bay
Etienne Barbara, Carolina RailHawks
M:
David Foley, Puerto Rico Islanders
Pascal Millien, FC Tampa Bay
Shaun Saiko, FC Edmonton
Matt Watson, Carolina RailHawks
D:
Hassoun Camara, Montreal Impact
Lance Laing, Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Kupono Low, Carolina RailHawks
Toni Stahl, Fort Lauderdale Strikers
G:
Brad Knighton, Carolina RailHawks

I agreed on both forwards, 2 of the midfielders (Foley & Saiko), 1 defender (Camara) and the keeper.

NASL SCOREBOARD

Playoffs - Quarterfinals
One-Off Series

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 1
FC Tampa Bay (3) v NSC Minnesota Stars (6) - 6:30 CT
Ft Lauderdale Strikers (4) v FC Edmonton (5) - 6:30 CT

US SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY

Mike Woitalla of Soccer America does a Q & A with NSCAA CEO Joe Cummings about the growing friction high school soccer coaches are directing at academy teams.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action:

UEFA - Europa League - Group Stage - Matchday 2
Jozy Altidore - AZ - Thu Sep 29 - started and played 82 min getting a goal and a yellow card as they drew 1-1 at Metalist.
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - Thu Sep 29 - played the full 90 getting a yellow card as they won 1-2 at Vorskla.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Thu Sep 29 - went the distance as they won 0-2 at OB.
Brad Friedel - Tottenham - Thu Sep 29 - did not suit up as they won 3-1 v Shamrock Rovers.
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - Thu Sep 29 - played the full 90 as they won 0-2 at Lokomotiv Moskva.
Jermiane Jones - Schalke - Thu Sep 29 - came on as a sub in the 77th min as they won 3-1 v Maccabi Haifa.
Oguchi Onyewu - Sporting - Thu Sep 29 - went the full 90 winning 2-1 v Lazio.
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Thu Sep 29 - played the whole game as they won 1-2 at Maribor.

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Tom Marshall of MLSsoccer.com tells us about the road traveled by Daniel Antunez at Tecos.

ITALY

Roberto Gotta of ESPN says that what Claudio Ranieri brings to the Inter Milan's head coaches role is simple common sense.

EUROPE

Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala has named Brazilian player Roberto Carlos as their new co-head coach. He plays regularly for them as well.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Matchday 2 - Thu Sep 29 - a full slate of games.

Group Standings

Some Soccer News for Wed Sep 28, 2011

STARTERS

Stuart Holden has suffered an injury setback in his recovery from the badly broken and lacerated knee he incurred last spring. No word on the exact nature of the new injury but it will require surgery and another 6 weeks of rehab. Damn!

dN

Since its 2011/12 season kicked off in all competitions on Aug 1 Bayern Munich has won 11 and lost 1, and only conceded 1 goal! This is a staggeringly great start for any team to any season. That 1 goal came in their only loss, Aug 7 the opening day of the Bundesliga season at home to old school rivals Monchengladbach.

dN

3 MLS games tonight & tomorrow night sees 4 of those teams currently in playoff spots and trying to improve their lie, while the other two are battling to grab one of the last playoff spots.

STORY OF THE DAY

After refusing to warm up as a sub for Manchester City, head coach Roberto Mancini says star Carlos Tevez will never play for him again.

Rob Hughes of the New York Times with an examination of the story.

Tevez says it was a misunderstanding of languages.

The fans are more furious than ever with Tevez, who tried to leave the team all summer long.

What happens next?

Tevez current contract pays him $311,487 US dollars per week.

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

We have rosters for both upcoming USA opponents, but still waiting to hear who Jurgen Klinsmann calls in for our team.

International friendlies
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 8
USA v Honduras - 5pm CT on Fox Soccer
Venue: Sun Life Stadium, Miami
-Tue Oct 11
USA v Ecuador - 6pm CT on ESPN2
Venue: Red Bull Arena, Harrison NJ
-2 more friendly games coming in November.

Honduras has announced their roster for the game in Miami.
G:
Donis Escober - Olimpia
Donaldo Morales - Motagua
D:
Bryan Beckeles - Olimpia
Osman Chavez - Wisla
Maynor Figueroa - Wigan
Erick Norales - Marathon
Johnny Leveron - Motagua
Mauricio Sabillon - Marathon
M:
Roger Espinoza - Kansas City
Oscar Garcia - Olimpia
Julio Cesar De Leon - Shandong Luneng Taishan
Mario Martinez - Espana
Alfredo Mejia - Espana
Wilson Palacios - Stoke
F:
Jerry Bengtson - Motagua
Marvin Chavez - Dallas
Carlo Costly - Houston
Roger Rojas - Olimpia

Ecuador has announced their roster for the game in New Jersey.
G:
Maximo Banguera - Barcelona (Ecuador)
Adrian Bone - SD Quito
Alexander Dominguez - LDU Quito
D:
Gabriel Achilier - Emelec
Walter Ayovi - Monterrey Rayados
Giovanny Caicedo - LDU Quito
Diego Calderon - LDU Quito
Jairo Campos - SD Quito
Fricson Erazo - CD El Nacional
Eduardo Morante - Emelec
Juan Carlos Paredes - SD Quito
M:
Alex Bolanos - SD Quito
Segundo Castillo - Pachuca
Edison Mendez - Emelec
Jefferson Montero - Betis
Cristhian Noboa - Rubin
Luis Saritama - SD Quito
Antonio Valencia - Man United
F:
Michael Arroyo - San Luis
Jaime Ayovi - Pachuca
Christian Benitez - America
Joffre Guerron - Atletico PR
Cristian Suarez - Santos FC

2011-12 CONCACACHAMPIONS

Matchday 5

Recap du Nord: With a tie last night Seattle becomes the first team to advance to the knockout rounds. Herediano was eliminated. The tie between Pumas and TFC leaves them both having to wait until the final matchday to learn their fate. And Monterrey continued their resurgence as a regional power.

Video highlights from all the games.

4 more big games tonight, with Dallas, LA and Colorado all in action.

Luis Bueno of the Press Enterprise says a win would do big things for the Galaxy tonight.

LA is battling a lot of injuries at the wrong time of the season.

dN

Group Stage - Round robin, home & away - matches played Aug 16 to Oct 20

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Sep 27
Toronto 1-1 Pumas UNAM - Tor goal by Peri Marosevic. UP goal by Marco Palacios.
Comunicaciones 2-2 Seattle Sounders - Com goals by Transito Montepeque & Rafael Morales. SS goals both by Osvaldo Alonso.
Monterrey 1-0 Herediano - Mon goal by Aldo De Nigris.
-Wed Sep 28
Real Espana v Santos Laguna
Tauro v Dallas - live at 7pm CT on Fox Soccer
LA Galaxy v Morelia - live at 9pm CT on Fox Soccer
Isidro Metapan v Colorado Rapids - delayed at 11:30pm CT on Fox Soccer
-Thu Sep 29
Alajuelense v Motagua

dN

Advanced: Seattle
Eliminated: Herediano, Motagua

Standings:

GROUP A
9 Monarchas Morelia (Mexico) (+6)
9 Alajuelense (Costa Rica) (+2)
6 LA Galaxy (USA) (+2)
OUT-0 Motagua (Honduras) (-10)
GROUP B
9 Santos Laguna (Mexico) (+8)
6 Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) (-4)
4 Real Espana (Honduras) (-1)
4 Colorado Rapids (USA) (-3)
GROUP C
8 UNAM Pumas (Mexico) (+5)
7 Dallas (USA) (0)
7 Toronto (Canada) (-3)
2 Tauro (Panama) (-2)
GROUP D
ADV-10 Seattle Sounders (USA) (+4)
9 Monterrey (Mexico) (+6)
7 Comunicaciones (Guatemala) (-2)
OUT-3 Herediano (Costa Rica) (-8)

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Matchday 2 is this week.

Recap du Nord: The city that seemed invincible not long ago suffered badly yesterday as Man U was tied at home by Basel of Switzerland of all teams, and Man City went to Bayern and got throttled, proving that Bayern are REALLY that good.

Matches & Scores:

-Tue Sep 27
CSKA Moskva 2-3 Inter Milan - CM goals by A Dzagoev & Vagner Love. Int goals by Lucio, Giampaolo Pazzini & Mauro Zarate.
Man United 3-3 Basel - MU goals by Danny Welbeck(2) & Ashley Young. Bas goals by Fabian Frei & Alexander Frei(2, 1 via PK).
Otelul Galati 0-1 Benfica - Ben goal by Bruno Cesar
Lyon 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb - Lyo goals by Bafetimbi Gomis & Bakary Kone.
Real Madrid 3-0 Ajax - RM goals by Cristiano Ronadlo, Kaka & Karim Benzema.
Bayern 2-0 Man City - BM goals both by Mario Gomez.
Napoli 2-0 Villarreal - Nap goals by Marek Hamsik & Edinson Cavani(PK).
Trabzonspor 1-1 Lille - Tra goal by Gary Colman(PK). Lil goal by Moussa Sow.

-Wed Sep 28
Zenit 3-1 Porto - Zen goals by Roman Shirokov(2) & Danny. Por goal by James Rodriguez.
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 APOEL - SD goal by Jadson. APO goal by Ivan Trickovski.
BATE 0-5 Barcelona - Bar goals by A Volodko(OG), Pedro, Lio Messi(2) & David Villa.
Milan 2-0 Plzen - Mil goals by Zlatan Ibrahimovic(PK) & Antonio Cassano.
Valencia 1-1 Chelsea - Val goal by Soldado(PK). Che goal by Frank Lampard.
Leverkusen 2-0 Genk - - Lev goals by Lars Bender & Michael Ballack.
Arsenal 2-1 Olympiacos - Ars goals by Alex Oxlade Chamberlain & Andre Santos. Oly goal by David Fuster.
Marseille 3-0 Dortmund - Mar goals by Andre Ayew(2, 1 via PK) & Loic Remy.

Recap of today's games coming on Thursday.

Group Standings

CONMEBOL

Copa Roca - Special Home & Home Friendly Series: (only players from the domestic leagues are used)

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Wed Sep 28
Brazil v Argentina (0-0) - 8pm CT on ESPN3.com

QUOTE OF THE DAY

On his first visit to Livestrong Sporting Park, and what it represents for the growth of MLS:
"I've been in the league 15, 16 years, and when I came in, it was completely different. I am amazed how far we are right now, and we're still growing. I applaud all the owners who put in their hearts and their money, to make sure that the fans and the teams will have the best possible opportunity to play in the best environments.
It's a lot of changes. I'm sure that sooner or later, most teams will have a facility like that. I'm very impressed with what's going on here - the fans can even watch the press conferences. That's something new for me as well.
I believe that when we go in this direction, and have more teams with this kind of facility, and our facility, and Red Bull Arena - you name it, that's stuff that is going to make our league more internationally visible.
Everybody will want to come and play here. Not only the teams that you have a partnership with, but also international players will want to play in this kind of environment. All of us benefit from this kind of stuff, so it's great.
I've always believed in this league's future, because I know how much heart and money they have put in, and I believe it's going to get even better."

-Philadelphia Union head coach Peter Nowak responding to a question by Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com.

BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL DAY

RSL is expecting to use Javier Morales against Chicago tonight. It will be his return from the severely broken ankle he suffered in May.

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

Fred Dreier of the Sporting News with an article on Sporting Innovations the new high tech company that has been spun off from Sporting Kansas City.

FACT OF THE DAY

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle sees the connection between the Dynamo moving Geoff Cameron to centerback and the team getting hot and moving up in the standings.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Kyle McCarthy of MLSsoccer.com reports on the surprising sight of Edgar Davids training with the New England Revolution this week.















MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

WEEK 29

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Sep 28
Sporting Kansas City v Columbus Crew - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Real Salt Lake v Chicago Fire SC - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
-Thu Sep 29
Philadelphia Union v DC United - 7:00PM CT on ESPN2
Venue: PPL Park
-Sat Oct 1
Houston Dynamo v Chicago Fire SC - 3:00PM CT on Telefutura
Venue: Robertson Stadium
Toronto FC v New York Red Bulls - 6:30PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: BMO Field
New England Revolution v Seattle Sounders FC - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Colorado Rapids v FC Dallas - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center
San Jose Earthquakes v Sporting Kansas City - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
-Sun Oct 2
Columbus Crew v DC United - 3:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Portland Timbers - 3:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: BC Place
CD Chivas USA v Philadelphia Union - 7:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
42 Houston Dynamo (31 GP) (0 GD)
41 Sporting Kansas City (30 GP) (+6 GD)
41 Columbus Crew (30 GP) (-3 GD)
40 Philadelphia Union (29 GP) (+6 GD)
39 New York Red Bulls (30 GP) (+5 GD)
38 DC United (28 GP) (+2 GD)
33 Chicago Fire SC (29 GP) (-3 GD)
30 Toronto FC (31 GP) (-23 GD)
27 New England Revolution (30 GP) (-15 GD)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
*61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
*54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (29 GP) (+15 GD)
46 FC Dallas (30 GP) (+3 GD)
42 Colorado Rapids (31 GP) (+1 GD)
37 Portland Timbers (30 GP) (-7 GD)
35 CD Chivas USA (31 GP) (+1 GD)
31 San Jose Earthquakes (30 GP) (-7 GD)
22 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (29 GP) (-20 GD)

*Playoff berth

MLS SUPPORTERS SHIELD STANDINGS

61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (29 GP) (+15 GD)

IF THE MLS PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY

The 10 teams:

WEST
1 LA Galaxy
2 Seattle Sounders
3 Real Salt Lake

EAST
1 Houston Dynamo
2 Sporting Kansas City
3 Columbus Crew

WILD CARD
1 FC Dallas
2 Colorado Rapids
3 Philadelphia Union
4 New York Red Bulls

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

CHICAGO FIRE

Charlie Corr of ESPN reports that the Fire will be without their late season spark Sebastian Grazzini due to a hamstring strain. His status for the next batch of games is unknown.
-They will need him next week in the US Open Cup Final.

CD CHIVAS USA

Nick Green of the Daily Breeze writes that Chivas USA feel their team is now headed in the proper direction.
-After a failure two seasons ago, and a false start last year, Robin Fraser looks to be the person who can make things work.

DC UNITED

Craig Stouffer of the Examiner calls midfielder Stephen King the team's good luck charm.

Former DC player Fred has been named captain of his new team Melbourne Hearts.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Charles Gooch of the Star sees tonight's game as a possible "most important game of the season" for SKC.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Brian Lewis of the Post on the case for Rafa Marquez to stay in the NYURB lineup, in the midfield.

REAL SALT LAKE

Martin Renzhofer of the Tribune talks to Javier Morales who says that returning from his bad injury has him feeling like a rookie all over again.

TORONTO FC

John Molinaro of the CBC feels that Torsten Frings could be the fix to a TFC defense that hasn't worked since day 1 of the franchise.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Geoffrey Arnold of the Oregonian on Portland's trip north to help open the Caps new stadium this weekend.
-Nothing better than opening a new place with a derby.

Bruce Constantineau of the Sun examines Eric Hassli's barren goal patch.

NASL SCOREBOARD

Playoffs - Quarterfinals

One-Off Series

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 1
FC Tampa Bay (3) v NSC Minnesota Stars (6) - 6:30 CT
Ft Lauderdale Strikers (4) v FC EDmonton (5) - 6:30 CT

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Greg Seltzer at MLSsoccer.com talks to Josh Wicks about life in Finland.

dN

Game Action:

DENMARK - Landspokal - 3rd round
Brad Rusin - HB Koge - Wed Sep 28 W 1-3 at Esbjerg. They move on to the Round of 16.

NORWAY - 1 Divisjon
Jonathan Borrajo - Hamarkameratene - Wed Sep 28 - went the full 90 as they won 2-0 v Alta.


dN

Coming Up:

UEFA - Europa League - Group Stage - Matchday 2
Jozy Altidore - AZ - Thu Sep 29 at Metalist
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - Thu Sep 29 at Vorskla
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Thu Sep 29 at OB
Brad Friedel - Tottenham - Thu Sep 29 v Shamrock Rovers
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - Thu Sep 29 at Lokomotiv Moskva
Jermiane Jones - Schalke - Thu Sep 29 v Maccabi Haifa
Oguchi Onyewu - Sporting - Thu Sep 29 v Lazio
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Thu Sep 29 at Maribor

ENGLAND

Gabriele Marcotti of the Wall Street Journal sees Fernando Torres of Chelsea finally starting to re-emerge as a great soccer player only to self destruct with a horrible tackle.

Jere Longman of the New York Times on the nouveau riche style of Manchester City.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Matchday 2 coming up on Thu Sep 29.

Group Standings

TACTICS

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian looks at what Claudio Ranieri has done differently to Gian Piero Gasperini at Inter to turn them to winners from losers.

Some Soccer News for Tue Sep 27, 2011

STARTERS

My huge thanks go out to Joe the Curmudgeon for posting the du Nord news last Thursday and Friday while I was off on safari.

STORY OF THE DAY

Awesome video of my favorite team NSC Minnesota Stars singing in the lockerroom down in Cary NC after clinching their playoff spot. I am grinning from ear to ear watching this!

2011-12 CONCACACHAMPIONS

Matchday 5

A Seattle tie or win tonight will put them into the next round.

A win for Pumas tonight will move them on to the knock out rounds.

dN

Group Stage - Round robin, home & away - matches played Aug 16 to Oct 20

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Sep 27
Toronto v Pumas UNAM - live at 7pm CT on Fox Soccer
Comunicaciones v Seattle Sounders - live at 9pm CT on Fox Soccer
Monterrey v Herediano
-Wed Sep 28
Real Espana v Santos Laguna
Tauro v Dallas - live at 7pm CT on Fox Soccer
LA Galaxy v Morelia - live at 9pm CT on Fox Soccer
Isidro Metapan v Colorado Rapids - delayed at 11:30pm CT on Fox Soccer
-Thu Sep 29
Alajuelense v Motagua

dN

Advanced: None

Eliminated: Motagua

Standings:

GROUP A
9 Monarchas Morelia (Mexico) (+6)
9 Alajuelense (Costa Rica) (+2)
6 LA Galaxy (USA) (+2)
OUT-0 Motagua (Honduras) (-10)
GROUP B
9 Santos Laguna (Mexico) (+8)
6 Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) (-4)
4 Real Espana (Honduras) (-1)
4 Colorado Rapids (USA) (-3)
GROUP C
7 UNAM Pumas (Mexico) (+5)
7 Dallas (USA) (0)
6 Toronto (Canada) (-3)
2 Tauro (Panama) (-2)
GROUP D
9 Seattle Sounders (USA) (+4)
6 Monterrey (Mexico) (+5)
6 Comunicaciones (Guatemala) (-2)
3 Herediano (Costa Rica) (-7)

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Matchday 2 is this week.

Recap du Nord:

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Sep 27
CSKA Moskva v Inter Milan
Man United v Basel - live at 1:30pm CT on Fox Soccer
Otelul Galati v Benfica
Lyon v Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid v Ajax - delayed at 4:00pm CT on Fox Soccer
Bayern v Man City
Napoli v Villarreal
Trabzonspor v Lille
-Wed Sep 28
Zenit v Porto
Shakhtar Donetsk v APOEL
BATE v Barcelona - delayed at 4:00pm CT on Fox Soccer
Milan v Plzen
Valencia v Chelsea - live at 1:30pm CT on Fox Soccer
Leverkusen v Genk
Arsenal v Olympiacos
Marseille v Dortmund

Group Standings

CONMEBOL

Copa Roca - Special Home & Home Friendly Series: (only players from the domestic leagues are used)

Tim Vickery of the BBC previews the Brazil v Argentina match on Wednesday.

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Wed Sep 28
Brazil v Argentina (0-0) - 8pm CT on ESPN3.com

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Should he stay or should he go?

Frank Dell'Apa of the Boston Globe ponders the future of New England Revolution head coach Steve Nicol whose contract expires at the end of this season.

FACT OF THE DAY

Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times reports that the Sounders are currently on a 10 day 9000 mile trip.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Mauricio Cienfuegos son Lester is a giant moose who plays American football, quite well. Big #75 seen here in white on offense, its him that is going in motion and throws a huge block as they score a touchdown.
(Thanks to Frank for this one)

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

WEEK 29

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Sep 28
Sporting Kansas City v Columbus Crew - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Real Salt Lake v Chicago Fire SC - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
-Thu Sep 29
Philadelphia Union v DC United - 7:00PM CT on ESPN2
Venue: PPL Park
-Sat Oct 1
Houston Dynamo v Chicago Fire SC - 3:00PM CT on Telefutura
Venue: Robertson Stadium
Toronto FC v New York Red Bulls - 6:30PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: BMO Field
New England Revolution v Seattle Sounders FC - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Colorado Rapids v FC Dallas - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center
San Jose Earthquakes v Sporting Kansas City - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
-Sun Oct 2
Columbus Crew v DC United - 3:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Portland Timbers - 3:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: BC Place
CD Chivas USA v Philadelphia Union - 7:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
42 Houston Dynamo (31 GP) (0 GD)
41 Sporting Kansas City (30 GP) (+6 GD)
41 Columbus Crew (30 GP) (-3 GD)
40 Philadelphia Union (29 GP) (+6 GD)
39 New York Red Bulls (30 GP) (+5 GD)
38 DC United (28 GP) (+2 GD)
33 Chicago Fire SC (29 GP) (-3 GD)
30 Toronto FC (31 GP) (-23 GD)
27 New England Revolution (30 GP) (-15 GD)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
*61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
*54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (29 GP) (+15 GD)
46 FC Dallas (30 GP) (+3 GD)
42 Colorado Rapids (31 GP) (+1 GD)
37 Portland Timbers (30 GP) (-7 GD)
35 CD Chivas USA (31 GP) (+1 GD)
31 San Jose Earthquakes (30 GP) (-7 GD)
22 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (29 GP) (-20 GD)

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

DC UNITED

Steven Goff of the Washington Post with the latest in DCU team notes.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Frank Giase of the Newark Star Ledger with more examination of the Rafa Marquez situation.

Will Marquez play in Toronto on Saturday?

MLS POST SEASON AWARDS

Here is our current list of candidates for...

Rookie Of The Year
Jalil Anibaba - Chicago Fire
Rich Balchan - Columbus Crew
Will Bruin - Houston Dynamo
Perry Kitchen - DC United
Stephen McCarthy - New England Revolution
Darlington Nagbe - Portland Timbers
CJ Sapong - Sporting Kansas City
AJ Soares - New England Revolution
Zarek Valentin - Chivas USA
Ethan White - DC United

Who else should be on this list?
And who should be left off?
I have a good idea who I would vote for as the winner, but I will keep that to myself for now.

MLS OFFENSIVE STATS LEADERS

As of Tue Sep 27

Goals:
13 Dwayne De Rosario
12 Landon Donovan
12 Thierry Henry
11 Charlie Davies
11 Andres Mendoza
11 Dominic Oduro
11 Chris Wondolowski
10 Eric Hassli
10 Alvaro Saborio
10 Brek Shea
9 Five players tied

Assists:
14 David Beckham
14 Brad Davis
12 Mauro Rosales
11 Dwayne De Rosario
9 Kyle Beckerman
9 Davide Chiumiento
8 Jack Jewsbury
8 Sebastien Le Toux
8 Fredy Montero
7 Four players tied

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Sep 27
Portland Timbers 5-1 CD Chivas USA - PT goals by Jorge Perlaza, Rodney Wallace, Bright Dike(2) & Brian Umony. CUSA goal by Ben Spencer.
-Sat Oct 1
Houston Dynamo v Chicago Fire SC
Toronto FC v New York Red Bulls
-Sun Oct 2
Colorado Rapids v FC Dallas
Columbus Crew v DC United
-Mon Oct 3
LA Galaxy v San Jose Earthquakes
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Portland Timbers
-Thu Oct 6
FC Dallas v Sporting Kansas City
-Sat Oct 8
Real Salt Lake v Chicago Fire SC

dN

Standings Etc.

MLS STADIUMS

Robert Jonas of Center Line Soccer gives us genuine substance in the progress of a stadium for the San Jose Earthquakes.

US OPEN CUP

Ticket sales crossed the 29,000 mark for the final next week in Seattle, where they host Chicago.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Andrew Vorce of Yanks Abroad reports that Everton in England has signed Marcus Hahnemann to be their third keeper!

The 3 Americans were all in the lineup for Rangers again today.

dN

Game Action:

ENGLAND - Championship League
Robbie Findley - Nottingham Forest - Tue Sep 27 - came on as a sub in the 27th min as they got clobbered 5-1 at Burnley.

SCOTLAND - Premier League
Alejandro Bedoya - Rangers - Tue Sep 27 - came on as a sub in the 75th min as they won 2-0 v Kilmarnock.
Carlos Bocanegra - Ragners - Tue Sep 27 - played the entire game and won 2-0 v Kilmarnock.
Mo Edu - Rangers - Tue Sep 27 - went the distance as they won 2-0 v Kilmarnock.

Some Soccer News for Mon Sep 26, 2011

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

In case you missed it last week, Jose Torres has suffered a broken bone in his left foot and after surgery he will be on the shelf until some time in January or the beginning of February.

STORY OF THE DAY

This story has popped up in every city where a club team from the US Soccer development academy has told their players to make a choice between the club that plays in a national league or their high school team. The High School who complain are extremely short sighted.

The Oregonian talks to high schools who are upset that the Portland Timbers will soon tell their academy players to choose between the club or school for playing soccer. (Thanks to Adam for the link.)

2011-12 CONCACACHAMPIONS

Matchday 5

A big week for all the MLS team hoping to advance. Most went from the catbird seat after 2 rounds to struggling after 4.

dN

Group Stage - Round robin, home & away - matches played Aug 16 to Oct 20

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Sep 27
Toronto v Pumas UNAM - live at 7pm CT on Fox Soccer
Comunicaciones v Seattle Sounders - live at 9pm CT on Fox Soccer
Monterrey v Herediano
-Wed Sep 28
Real Espana v Santos Laguna
Tauro v Dallas - live at 7pm CT on Fox Soccer
LA Galaxy v Morelia - live at 9pm CT on Fox Soccer
Isidro Metapan v Colorado Rapids - delayed at 11:30pm CT on Fox Soccer
-Thu Sep 29
Alajuelense v Motagua

dN

Standings:

GROUP A
9 Monarchas Morelia (Mexico) (+6)
9 Alajuelense (Costa Rica) (+2)
6 LA Galaxy (USA) (+2)
0 Motagua (Honduras) (-10)
GROUP B
9 Santos Laguna (Mexico) (+8)
6 Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) (-4)
4 Real Espana (Honduras) (-1)
4 Colorado Rapids (USA) (-3)
GROUP C
7 UNAM Pumas (Mexico) (+5)
7 Dallas (USA) (0)
6 Toronto (Canada) (-3)
2 Tauro (Panama) (-2)
GROUP D
9 Seattle Sounders (USA) (+4)
6 Monterrey (Mexico) (+5)
6 Comunicaciones (Guatemala) (-2)
3 Herediano (Costa Rica) (-7)

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Matchday 2 is this week.

Recap du Nord:

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Sep 27
CSKA Moskva v Inter Milan
Man United v Basel - live at 1:30pm CT on Fox Soccer
Otelul Galati v Benfica
Lyon v Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid v Ajax - delayed at 4:00pm CT on Fox Soccer
Bayern v Man City
Napoli v Villarreal
Trabzonspor v Lille
-Wed Sep 28
Zenit v Porto
Shakhtar Donetsk v APOEL
BATE v Barcelona - delayed at 4:00pm CT on Fox Soccer
Milan v Plzen
Valencia v Chelsea - live at 1:30pm CT on Fox Soccer
Leverkusen v Genk
Arsenal v Olympiacos
Marseille v Dortmund

Group Standings

FIFA SCANDALIZATIONINGS

Tales Azzoni of the Associated Press reports that a decade after the allegations came to light Brazilian police are finally going to investigate kickback charges against Brazil & FIFA exec Ricardo Teixeira. From Yahoo.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

The Daily Mail of England asks, Is the next Freddy Adu, well, Freddy Adu?

HOLY CRAP

These daft punks at the Freeport News see the Bahamas as the natural spot for the next MLS team.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Have you ever scored on a header from 65 yards out? This dude from Odd Grenland has! Check the incredible footage right here. (thanks to Nick for the link)

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

WEEK 28

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Sep 21
DC United 2-2 CD Chivas USA - DCU goals by Dwayne DeRosario & Ethan White. CUSA goals by Juan Pablo Angel(2).
Venue: RFK Stadium
Atten: 14,849
New York Red Bulls 1-3 Real Salt Lake - NYRB goal by Joel Lindpere. RSL goals by Alvaro Saborio & Fabian Espindola(2).
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Atten: 14,266
Portland Timbers 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes - PT goal by Kenny Cooper. SJE goal by Khari Stephenson.
Venue: JELD-WEN Field
Atten: 18,627
-Fri Sep 23
Sporting Kansas City 1-1 Philadelphia Union - SKC goal by Omar Bravo. PU goal by Sebastien Le Toux.
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Atten: 18,778
-Sat Sep 24
FC Dallas 0-1 Houston Dynamo - HD goal by Geoff Cameron.
Venue: Pizza Hut Park
Atten: 10,849
DC United 4-1 Real Salt Lake - DCU goals by Andy Najar & Dwayne De Rosario(3). RSL goal by Alvaro Saborio.
Venue: RFK Stadium
Atten: 16,367
Columbus Crew 0-1 LA Galaxy - LAG goal by Chad Barrett.
Venue: Crew Stadium
Atten: 21,203
New York Red Bulls 2-0 Portland Timbers - NYRB goals by Dane Richards & Luke Rodgers(PK).
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Atten: 25,008
Colorado Rapids 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes - CR goal by Drew Moor. SJE goal by Chris Wondolowski.
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Atten: 17,877
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-3 Seattle Sounders FC - VW goal by Camilo. SS goals by Brad Evans(PK) & Fredy Montero(2).
Venue: Empire Field
Atten: 21,000
CD Chivas USA 3-0 Toronto FC - CUSA goals by Juan Pablo Angel(2) & Justin Braun.
Venue: The Home Depot Center
Atten: 14,357
-Sun Sep 25
Chicago Fire SC 3-2 New England Revolution - CF goals by Sebastian Grazzini(PK), Dominic Oduro & Patrick Nyarko. NER goals both by Ryan Guy.
Venue: Toyota Park
Atten: 14,567

WEEK 29

-Wed Sep 28
Sporting Kansas City v Columbus Crew - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Real Salt Lake v Chicago Fire SC - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
-Thu Sep 29
Philadelphia Union v DC United - 7:00PM CT on ESPN2
Venue: PPL Park

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EJECTIONS:
Kalif Alhassan - Portland - red card

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Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
42 Houston Dynamo (31 GP) (0 GD)
41 Sporting Kansas City (30 GP) (+6 GD)
41 Columbus Crew (30 GP) (-3 GD)
40 Philadelphia Union (29 GP) (+6 GD)
39 New York Red Bulls (30 GP) (+5 GD)
38 DC United (28 GP) (+2 GD)
33 Chicago Fire SC (29 GP) (-3 GD)
30 Toronto FC (31 GP) (-23 GD)
27 New England Revolution (30 GP) (-15 GD)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
*61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
*54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (29 GP) (+15 GD)
46 FC Dallas (30 GP) (+3 GD)
42 Colorado Rapids (31 GP) (+1 GD)
37 Portland Timbers (30 GP) (-7 GD)
35 CD Chivas USA (31 GP) (+1 GD)
31 San Jose Earthquakes (30 GP) (-7 GD)
22 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (29 GP) (-20 GD)

*Playoff berth

MLS SUPPORTERS SHIELD STANDINGS

There are only 3 teams left with a shot at the regular reason title.

61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (29 GP) (+15 GD)
OUT-46 FC Dallas (30 GP) (+3 GD)
OUT-42 Colorado Rapids (31 GP) (+1 GD)
OUT-42 Houston Dynamo (31 GP) (0 GD)
OUT-41 Sporting Kansas City (30 GP) (+6 GD)
OUT-41 Columbus Crew (30 GP) (-3 GD)
OUT-40 Philadelphia Union (29 GP) (+6 GD)
OUT-39 New York Red Bulls (30 GP) (+5 GD)
OUT-38 DC United (28 GP) (+2 GD)
OUT-37 Portland Timbers (30 GP) (-7 GD)
OUT-35 CD Chivas USA (31 GP) (+1 GD)
OUT-33 Chicago Fire SC (29 GP) (-3 GD)
OUT-31 San Jose Earthquakes (30 GP) (-7 GD)
OUT-30 Toronto FC (31 GP) (-23 GD)
OUT-27 New England Revolution (30 GP) (-15 GD)
OUT-22 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (29 GP) (-20 GD)

IF THE MLS PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY

The 10 teams:

WEST
1 LA Galaxy
2 Seattle Sounders
3 Real Salt Lake

EAST
1 Houston Dynamo
2 Sporting Kansas City
3 Columbus Crew

WILD CARD
1 FC Dallas
2 Colorado Rapids
3 Philadelphia Union
4 New York Red Bulls

No new teams in the mix this week, just a slight reshuffling amongst the Eastern teams.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Houston has surprisingly moved into 1st place in the East.

Seattle has become the 2nd team to qualify for the playoffs.

LA is the first team this season to cross the 60 point barrier.

Dwayne DeRosario of DC United was named MLS Player Of The Week.
-This is the 3rd time DDR has been given the award since arriving from New York in late June.

Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated with five things we learned from Week 28.

LA GALAXY

LA is so dominant right now that they left David Beckham and Robbie Keane off the field completely, and didn't start Landon Donovan, yet they still won on the road at Columbus.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

With Rafa Marquez suspended after his comments about his teammates, the Bulls played with toughness, heart and soul to get a much needed convincing win over Portland. So what happens with Marquez now.

Kristian Dyer of Metro New York does the math on Marquez in the lineup, and it comes up snake eyes.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Luke Wileman of TSN feels the Whitecaps could learn a lot from the way the Sounders have operated for their first 3 years of MLS existence.

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Sun Sep 25
FC Dallas 2-0 Houston Dynamo - FCD goals by Ruben Luna & Will Bruin(OG).
-Tue Sep 27
Portland Timbers v CD Chivas USA

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Standings Etc.

MLS EXPANSION

Randy Philips of the Montreal Gazette tell us about the Impact moving directly into MLS mode after being eliminated from a potential playoff berth in the NASL.

MLS STADIUMS

Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times got a tour of Vancouver's new BC Place stadium that will open this weekend.

Nigel Reed of the CBC on the Whitecaps final days at Empire Field.

NASL NEWS

Minnesota claimed the final playoff spot on Saturday night sending the MLS bound Montreal Impact packing.

I am in heaven over this one. I love the playoffs. Now the Stars need to win down in Tampa, where they are due, to get a home a game against Carolina who we all know the Stars can beat! Finals here we come! Then the championship will return to its rightful place. Minnesota!

NASL SCOREBOARD

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Sep 24
FC Tampa Bay 2-0 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Carolina RailHawks 1-2 NSC Minnesota Stars
Atlanta Silverbacks 0-4 Montreal Impact

END OF REGULAR SEASON.

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Playoffs - Quarterfinals
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 1
FC Tampa Bay v NSC Minnesota Stars - 6:30 CT
Ft Lauderdale Strikers v FC EDmonton - 6:30 CT

dN

Final Regular Season Standings (as of Sat Sep 24):
*#54 Carolina RailHawks (+24 GD)
*#52 Puerto Rico Islanders (+9 GD)
*41 FC Tampa Bay (+5 GD)
*38 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (-1 GD)
*36 FC Edmonton (-5 GD)
*36 NSC Minnesota Stars (-2 GD)
%35 Montreal Impact (+8 GD)
%16 Atlanta Silverbacks (-38 GD)

* Secured playoff berth
# First playoff round bye
% Eliminated from playoff berths

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Marcus Tracy will not have his contract extended at AaB in Denmark and it will expire on Dec 31. He has barely played in 3 years due to injuries so whoever signs him will most likely sign him as a reclamation project. (thanks to Henrik for the info.)

Carlos Bocanegra & Mo Edu started for Rangers and Alejandro Bedoya came on as a sub and all played at once for Rangers on Saturday. Pretty frickin cool.

Not forgetting that Boca & Edu scored the first two goals in an impressive 0-4 win at Dunfermline.
-Match report by Gary Ralston who heaps praise on the two.
-Edu talks about his goal.

Scott McDermott of the Sunday Mail talks to Ale Bedoya about life at his new team Rangers.

Euan McLean of the Daily Record in Scotland says Mo Edu has been the fans whipping boy lately. This is the first I have heard of this.

The Guardian has high praise for Michael Bradley's game for Chievo this weekend. (Scan way down the page to the bullet point.)

Get this: Charles Kazlauskas has scored 3 goals for Helmond Sport this season including one this past weekend. Amazing.

dN

Game Action:

BELGIUM - Pro League
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - went the full 90 as they won 3-2 v Beerschot.

CZECH REPUBLIC - CZECH LIGA
Stefan Jerome - Sigma Olomouc - on the bench as they won 1-0 v Telice.

DENMARK - Superliga
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - went the full 90 but lost 1-2 v Kobenhavn.
Conor O'Brien - SonderjyskE - started and went 78 min of a 0-0 tie v Koge.
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - played the whole game but lost 1-0 at AGF
Chris Rolfe - AaB - came on as a sub in the 68th in but lost 1-2 v Lyngby.

ENGLAND - Premier League
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - played the whole game as they drew 0-0 at West Brom.
Brad Friedel - Tottenham - in goal as usual as they won 1-2 at Wigan.
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - on the bench as they drew 1-1 at QPR.
Tim Howard - Everton - played the entire match but lost 2-0 at Man City.

ENGLAND - Championship League
Conor Doyle - Derby County - on the bench as they won 3-0 v Millwall.
Robbie Findley - Nottingham Forest - started and played 74 min as they won 0-1 at Watford.
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - started and went 56 min as they drew 1-1 v Barnsley.

ENGLAND - League One
Anton Peterlin - Wallsall - on the bench as they lost 1-0 at Colchester.

FINLAND - Veikkausliiga
Etchu Tabe - RoPS - went the distance as they won 2-1 v MYPA.
Mason Trafford - Mariehamn - played the whole game as they lost 0-3 v TPS.
Josh Wicks - Mariehamn - played the full match getting a yellow card as they lost 0-3 v TPS.

FINLAND - Ykkonen
Kyle Luetkehans - PS Kemi Kings - came on as a sub in the 83rd min as they won 3-0 v PK-35.
Dan Stevens - PS Kemi Kings - started and went 73 min as they won 3-0 v PK-35
Kellan Wilson - HIFK - went the full 90 but lost 0-2 v Lahti.

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Timmy Chandler - Nurnberg - went the distance but lost 1-0 at Gladbach.
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - on the bench as they drew 0-0 at Augsburg.
Daniel Williams - Hoffenheim - on the bench as they lost 2-0 at Koln.
David Yelldell - Bayer Leverkusen - on the bench as they lost 3-0 at Bayern.

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Edson Buddle - Ingolstadt - came on at half time but lost 4-1 at Paderborn.
Luis Robles - Karlsruher - on the bench as they drew 1-1 at Hansa Rostock.
Matt Taylor - Paderborn - on the bench as they won 4-1 v Ingolstadt.

ISRAEL - Ligat Al
Ryan Adeleye - Hapoel Be'er Sheva - went the distance but lost 1-4 v Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Bryan Gerzicich - Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona - played the full match getting a yellow card as they tied 0-0 v Bnei Sakhnin.
Leo Krupnik - Maccabi Netanya - played the whole game as they won 1-2 at Hapoel Acre.

ITALY - Serie A
Michael Bradley - Chievo Verona - went the full 90 setting up the first goal as they won 2-1 v Genoa.

NETHERLANDS - Eredivisie
Jozy Altidore - AZ Alkmaar - started and went 69 min as they won 2-1 v Feyenoord.

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - played the entire game scoring a goal and getting a yellow card as they drew 2-2 at Cambuur.

NORWAY - Eliteserien
Joe Bendik - Sogndal - on the bench as they won 1-0 v Brann.
Erik Benjaminsen - Stabaek - on the bench as they lost 1-0 at Stromsgodset.
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - played the whole game but lost 1-0 at Stromsgodset.
Josh Gatt - Molde - played the whole match as they drew 0-0 v Viking.

NORWAY - 1 Divisjon
Jonathan Borrajo - Hamarkameratene - played the whole game as they won 2-1 v Asker.
Colin Burns - Sandefjord - on the bench as they lost2-1 at Bryne.
Steve Clark - Honefoss - went the full 90 as they drew 2-2 at Kongsvinger.
Kyle Helton - Mjondalen - started and went 80 min getting a yellow card as they lost 4-1 at Sandnes Ulf.
Kenneth Di Vita Jensen - Honefoss - played the entire game as they tied 2-2 at Kongsvinger.

PORTUGAL - Primeira Liga
Oguchi Onyewu - Sporting - played the entire game and won 3-0 v Vitoria Setubal.

PORTUGAL - Liga de Honra
Caleb Patterson-Sewell - Atletico CP - went the distance but lost 2-0 at Arouca.
Tony Taylor - Atletico CP - played the whole game losing 2-0 at Arouca.

SCOTLAND - Premier League
Alejandro Bedoya - Rangers - came on as a sub in the 74th min as they won 0-4 at Dunfermline.
Carlos Bocanegra - Ragners - played the whole game scoring the first goal as they won 0-4 at Dunfermline.
Mo Edu - Rangers - went the distance scoring the second goal as they won 0-4 at Dunfermline.

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - played the entire match but lost 0-1 v Syrianska.
Samuel Petrone - Mjallby - on the bench as they won 2-1 v Elfsborg.

SWEDEN - Superettan
Brian Edwards - Degerfors - went the full 90 as they tied 0-0 at Landskrona.
Nick Noble - Ljungskile - played the whole match winning 1-0 v Assyriska.
Matt Pyzdrowski - Angelholms - played the entire game but lost 3-0 at Jonkopings Sodra.
Michael Thomas - Ljungskile - went the distance as they won 1-0 v Assyriska.

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Coming Up:

ENGLAND - Championship League
Conor Doyle - Derby County - Tue Sep 27 v Barnsley
Robbie Findley - Nottingham Forest - Tue Sep 27 at Burnley

NORWAY - 1 Divisjon
Jonathan Borrajo - Hamarkameratene - Wed Sep 28 v Alta

SCOTLAND - Premier League
Alejandro Bedoya - Rangers - Tue Sep 27 v Kilmarnock
Carlos Bocanegra - Ragners - Tue Sep 27 v Kilmarnock
Mo Edu - Rangers - Tue Sep 27 v Kilmarnock

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Herculez got another goal, but in a losing effort.

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Game Action:

PRIMERA DIVISION
DaMarcus Beasley - Puebla - went the distance picking up a yellow card but lost 1-2 v Santos Laguna.
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - came on as a sub in the 68th min as they drew 1-1 at America.
Herculez Gomez - Estudiantes Tecos - started and played 64 min scoring a goal but losing 1-2 v UNAM Pumas.
Sonny Guadarrama - Atlante - on the bench as they won 2-3 at Atlas.
Michael Orozco Fiscal - San Luis - played the whole game as they drew 1-1 at Pachuca.

LIGA DE ASCENSO (2nd division)
Marco Vidal - Leon - on the bench as they drew 1-1 v Irapuato.

MEXICO

Recap du Nord: The weekend when many of the top teams faced off gave us no revelations and only made the race tighter. The top 4 played each other and all tied, then #5 Pumas got a win to move them tied on points with 4th and only 1 point from the top. Amazing. 7 games to go.

Mexico - Primera Top 5 Standings (10 of 17 games played):
18 Jaguares (+3) (19 GF) - LAST: Sat Sep 24 D 1-1 at Tigres - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 v Atlas
18 Cruz Azul (+3) (13 GF) - LAST: Sat Sep 24 D 1-1 v Guadalajara - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 at Santos Laguna
18 Guadalajara (+1) - LAST: Sat Sep 24 D 1-1 at Cruz Azul - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 v Queretaro
17 Tigres (+7) - LAST: Sat Sep 24 D 1-1 v Jaguares - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 at Tijuana
17 Pumas (+2) - LAST: Sat Sep 24 W 1-2 at Tecos - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 v America

ENGLAND

Alan Gardner & Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian with five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend.

Paul Hayward of the Guardian does an interview with the still considerably young Michael Owen.

SPAIN

Sid Lowe of the Guardian describes the specialness of Real Betis fans, and the rest of the weekend in La Liga.

GERMANY

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian watches Bayern Munich demolish another opponent and gear up for Man City in the Champions League, plus the rest of the weekend in the Bundesliga.

The AP reports that Bayern Munich player Breno has been arrested and charged with arson for setting his own house on fire. Via the Guardian.

ITALY

Paolo Bandini of the Guardian tells us about the fine start for Atalanta despite their 10 point penalty, and the rest of the round in Serie A.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Matchday 2 coming up on thu Sep 29.

SOUTH AMERICA

FIFA.com does a Q & A with Paolo Guerrero about the re-birth of Peru as a South American soccer power.

CONMEBOL

Copa Roca - Special Home & Home Friendly Series: (only players from the domestic leagues are used)

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Wed Sep 28
Brazil v Argentina (0-0) - 8pm CT on ESPN3.com

BRAZIL

Brazil - Serie A Top 5 Standings (26 of 38 games played):
49 Vasco - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 v Corinthians
47 Corinthians - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 at Vasco da Gama
46 Sao Paulo - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 v Flamengo
45 Botafogo (25 GP) - NEXT: Sun Oct 2 at Atletico GO
41 Fluminense - NEXT: Sat Oct 1 v Santos

2 big games coming next weekend as Vasco and Corinthians face off, and then Sao Paulo hosts 6th place Flamengo.