Some Soccer News for Fri Dec 2, 2011

STARTERS

A new champion will be crowned in Argentina this weekend, and most likely in Brazil too.

UEFA EURO 2012

The draw for the group stage of UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, hosted by Poland and Ukraine, was held today and here are the groups:

The tournament kicks off on Fri Jun 8 at National Stadium Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland.

The final will be played on Sun Jul 1 at Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Official Website

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Standings

GROUP A
1 Poland
2 Greece
3 Russia
4 Czech Republic

GROUP B
1 Netherlands
2 Denmark
3 Germany
4 Portugal

GROUP C
1 Spain
2 Italy
3 Ireland
4 Croatia

GROUP D
1 Ukraine
2 Sweden
3 France
4 England

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Here is the full game schedule:

Group Stage

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Jun 8
Poland v Greece
Russia v Czech Republic
-Sat Jun 9
Netherlands v Denmark
Germany v Portugal
-Sun Jun 10
Spain v Italy
Ireland v Croatia
-Mon Jun 11
France v England
Ukraine v Sweden
-Tue Jun 12
Greece v Czech Republic
Poland v Russia
-Wed Jun 13
Denmark v Portugal
Netherlands v Germany
-Thu Jun 14
Italy v Croatia
Spain v Ireland
-Fri Jun 15
Sweden v England
Ukraine v France
-Sat Jun 16
Greece v Russia
Czech Republic v Poland
-Sun Jun 17
Portugal v Netherlands
Denmark v Germany
-Mon Jun 18
Croatia v Spain
Italy v Ireland
-Tue Jun 19
Sweden v France
England v Ukraine

Quarterfinals
-Thu Jun 21
1A v 2B
-Fri Jun 22
1B v 2A
-Sat Jun 23
1C v 2D
-Sun Jun 24
1D v 2C

Semifinals
-Wed Jun 27
1A/2B v 1C/2D
-Thu Jun 28
1B/2A v 1D/2C

Final
-Sun Jul 1
Semifinal Winners

STORY OF THE DAY

Al Jazeera talks to UEFA president Michael Platini who is pushing for Qatar to host a Winter World Cup.

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

A huge weekend in the German Bundesliga as the top 4 face off against each other!

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Dec 3
Monchengladbach v Dortmund - #2 v #1
Bayern Munich v Werder Bremen - #3 v #4
Barcelona v Levante - Barca is looking to right their ship before next weeks Classico, against the team that surprised everyone early on

PICTURE OF THE DAY

The Montreal Impact introduced their inaugural MLS uniforms last night, and while I find the colors of the shirts over quite dull, the detailing is pretty cool.

































































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Randy Phillips of the Montreal Gazette tells more about the new uniforms, and a little on the two goalkeepers that will be wearing them.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Steven Goff of the Washington Post talks to the agent of Charlie Davies who says its looking like Davies will NOT play on an MLS team next season.

dN

Peter Vermes and the Sporting Kansas City coaching staff will lead the MLS Generation Adidas select team on a tour of the Netherlands beginning on Mon Dec 5. Here is the roster and schedule.

Tour Itinerary
Mon Dec 5 - depart
Tue Dec 6/7 - train at Ajax Academy
Wed Dec 7 - attend Champions League match: Ajax v Real Madrid
Thu Dec 8 - Game 1: MLS v Ajax Reserves
Fri Dec 9/10 - train at Ajax Academy
Sat Dec 10 - attend Eredivisie match: AZ v De Graafschap
Sun Dec 11/12 - train at Ajax Academy
Mon Dec 12 - attend match: Ajax U23 v PSV U23
Tue Dec 13 - Game 2: MLS v FC Volendam (in Volendam)
Wed Dec 14 - Game 3: MLS v Almere City FC (in Almere)
Thu Dec 15 - return

Roster
G:
David Bingham - San Jose Earthquakes
Zac MacMath - Philadelphia Union
D:
Kevin Alston - New England Revolution
Conor Shanosky - D.C. United
Kofi Sarkodie - Houston Dynamo
Michael Tetteh - Seattle Sounders FC
Zarek Valentin - Montreal Impact
M:
Dilly Duka - Columbus Crew
Sacir Hot - New York Red Bulls
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake
Matt Kassel - New York Red Bulls
Jack McInerney - Philadelphia Union
Tony Tchani - Columbus Crew
F:
Will Bruin - Houston Dynamo
Corey Hertzog - New York Red Bulls
Danny Mwanga - Philadelphia Union
Omar Salgado - Vancouver Whitecaps FC

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Trades etc

KC has acquired midfielder Bobby Convey from San Jose in exchange for an international roster spot.

CD CHIVAS USA

CUSA has signed their centerback Ante Jazic to a new contract.

FC DALLAS

FCD did not pick up the option on the contract of forward Maicon Santos who really didn't add to their team last year after he arrived mid-season.

MONTREAL IMPACT

MI could start a game tomorrow with this very respectable line up:
G
Donovan Ricketts
D
Nelson Rivas
Bobby Burling
Zarek Valentin
Tyson Wahl
M
Davy Arnaud
Josh Gardner
Justin Mapp
Sanna Nyassi
F
Justin Braun
Brian Ching

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

The Revs released 4 of their big money foreign signings from last season yesterday: Milton Caraglio, Franco Coria, Rajko Lekic and Monsef Zerka. Wow.

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

MLSsoccer.com does a season review Q & A with head coach Frank Yallop.

TORONTO FC

The Royal Gazette of Bermuda says the Impact TFC will sign Reggie Lambe.
-NOTE: I had incorrectly written Montreal when I first posted this. Of course its Toronto (it says so in the first sentence of the article) and a big thanks to everyone who pointed this out to me.




MLS EXHIBITION GAMES

LA Galaxy Asia Pacific Tour 2011

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Nov 30
Indonesian Super League All-Stars 0-1 LA Galaxy - LAG goal by Robbie Keane.
Venue: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium - Jakarta, Indonesia
-Sat Dec 3
Philippines National Team v LA Galaxy - 5:30am CT on Fox Soccer.
Venue: Rizal Memorial Stadium - Manila, Philippines
-Tue Dec 6
Melbourne Victory v LA Galaxy - 2:30am CT on Fox Soccer.
Venue: Etihad Stadium - Melbourne, Australia

MLS STADIUMS

Marco Carbajal of the Memorial Examiner in Houston writes about the impact building stadiums in having on the league.

USL NEWS

I have been told by three different people that for the most part Phil Rawlins who owns Orlando City FC is a stand up guy. Good to know. I had my doubts.

COLLEGE SOCCER

NCAA Championship Tournament - Quarterfinals

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Dec 3
North Carolina v St Mary's
Louisville v UCLA
Creighton v USF
-Sun Dec 4
Connecticut v Charlotte

Semifinals will be played on Dec 9 and the Final on Dec 11 in Hoover AL.

USA U17 TEAM

The Nike International Friendlies.

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Nov 30
USA 2-2 France - USA goals by DeAndre Robinson & Wesley Wade.
Brazil 1-0 Turkey
-Fri Dec 2
USA v Turkey - 4pm CT on FOX Soccer
France v Brazil
-Sun Dec 4
USA v Brazil - 4pm CT on FOX Soccer
Turkey v France

Standings:
3 Brazil (+1)
1 France (0)
1 USA (0)
0 Turkey (-1)

USA roster
G:
Paul Christensen - Seattle Sounders
Evan Louro - New York Red Bulls
D:
Adonis Amaya - Chivas USA
Connor Donovan - NC Alliance
Shaquell Moore - Cobb FC
Kevin Politz - New York Red Bulls
John Requejo Jr. - Real So Cal
Tyler Turner - South Central Premier
M:
Jorge Calix - DC United
Steven Echevarria - New York Red Bulls
Angel Heredia - San Jose Earthquakes
Guyllain Kabala - New England Revolution
Danya Kafai - Juventus Sports Club
Christopher Lema - New York Red Bulls
Herber Mejia-Flores - McLean Youth Soccer
Rubio Rubin - Westside Metros
F:
Corey Baird - San Diego Surf
DeAndre Robinson - Concorde Fire
Wesley Wade - New York Red Bulls
Dembakwi Yomba - Concorde Fire Academy

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Tom Marshall of MLSsoccer.com talks to Edgar Castillo about his new team Los Xolos de Tijuana.

MEXICO

LAGUILLA - Semifinals

It all comes down to the second leg matches now.

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Wed Dec 30
Morelia 2-1 Santos Laguna - Mor goals by Jaime Lozano & Edgar Lugo. SL goal by Oribe Peralta.
-Thu Dec 1
Queretaro 0-0 Tigres
2nd Leg
(1st leg scores included)
-Sat Dec 3
Santos Laguna v Morelia (1-2)
-Sun Dec 4
Tigres v Queretaro (0-0)

ENGLAND

FA Cup - 6th Round - This weekend
Matches - and - Scores

EUROPE

Taca de Portgal - Round of 16

A big upset today. Benfica is out!

Matches & Scores:
-Thu Dec 1
Moreirense 2-1 Torreense
-Fri Dec 2
Maritimo 2-1 Benfica
-Sat Dec 3
Estoril v Olhanense
-Sun Dec 4
Mirandela v UD Oliveirense
Desportivo Aves v Ribeira Brava
Tirsense v Nacional
Leixoes v Academica
-Mon Dec 5
Sporting CP v Belenenses

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Matchday 6 to be played on Dec 14 & 15.

ADV: Anderlecht, Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, Legia Warszawa, Lokomotic Moskva, Metalist, PAOK, PSV, Schalke, Sporting CP, Standard Liege, Stoke City, Twente

OUT: AEK, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Malmo, Maribor, OB, Rapid Buchuresti, Rennes, Shamrock, Slovan Bratislava, Sturm Graz, Vorskla and Zurich.

Group Standings

BRAZIL

Recap du Nord:

Serie A Standings (37 of 38 games played):
70 Corinthians - NEXT: Sun Dec 4 v Palmeiras (11th place)
68 Vasco da Gama - NEXT: Sun Dec 4 v Flamengo (4th place)

ARGENTINA

Recap du Nord:

Primera Division - Apertura - Standings (16 of 19 played):
36 Boca Juniors - NEXT: Sun Dec 4 v Banfield
27 Tigre (+4) - NEXT: Sun Dec 4 at San Lorenzo

ENDERS

This video is sooooo bad, but the song is just plain great:

Husker Du - Love Is All Around

And you might as well listen to this one too:

The Troggs - Love Is All Around (a completely different but equally great song)

Now go spend your weekend listening to everything by both Husker Du and the Troggs. Brilliant.