Some Soccer News for Tue Jan 31, 2012

STARTERS

Wow! Philadelphia really wanted to get rid of Sebastian Le Toux! After he did not get signed by Bolton this week they turned around and sold him to Vancouver today.
-Why in the world would they dump their best player???
-Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com with the Le Toux saga.

dN

More weirdness in MLS - Portland has announced that they have acquired young American prodigy Charles Renken.
-I am confused. Isn't he at Hoffenheim???? I guess not. I really hope this works out for him!

dN

Toronto has sold 46,000 tickets for their Champions League game against LA in early March. The game is being played at the Rogers Center.

dN

Edson Buddle has been released from his contract by German 2nd div team Ingolstadt. What went so wrong? Where will he go? MLS? The LA Galaxy still control his rights. And boy oh boy could LA use another forward to cover for their newly weakened defense.

dN

The first 2 Quarterfinals are set in the African Cup of Nations:
-Sat Feb 4
Zambia v Sudan - 10am CT
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
Cote d'Ivoire v Equatorial Guinea - 1pm CT
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo

Tomorrow is the last day of the group stage of the ACN.

STORY OF THE DAY

Brian Sciaretta of Yanks Abroad talks to Thomas Rongen about his amazing journey as coach of American Samoa in 2011, and what it did for his life. Great stuff.

LANDON DONOVAN AT EVERTON

Again Landon Donovan set up Everton's only goal of the game, but this time they knocked off the #1 team Manchester City!
-Where would they be without him?

And some dude ran on the field and handcuffed himself to the goalpost during the action!!

BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL DAY

Young American midfielder Mikkel Diskerud has left his club Stabaek in Norway on a loan to reigning Belgian champions team Gent.

WELL WELL WELL

LE Eisenmenger of the Examiner does a Q & A with New England Revolution long time game commentator Brad Feldman - Part 1 - and - Part 2.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

CD CHIVAS USA

Chivas will introduce their 2012 uniforms on Wednesday.

COLORADO RAPIDS

The Raps officially named their assistant coaches today: Wilmar Cabrera, Paul Caffrey and David Kramer (goalkeepers).

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

NER will not have the services of forward Rajko Lekic this season as he was signed today by Lyngby in Denmark.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

With no details at all given, the Bulls announced that they have signed excellent midfielder Joel Lindpere to a contract extension. Great move.

PHILADELPHIA UNION

Philly has bought the contract of midfielder Roger Torres from American de Cali, who has been on loan the 2 previous seasons.

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Robert Jonas of Center Line Soccer tells us that Chris Leitch has been named the teams Youth Technical Director. Super nice guy that Lietch.

MLS/USA RELATED RUMORS

The Michael Ballack to Montreal rumors continue, but its very unlikely he is going anywhere until his contract expires in the summer.

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian sees Ballack's return to Bayer Leverkusen as a bad failure.
-And puts the blame all on the player, calling the situation "An auto-demise." Wow!

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action:

ENGLAND - Premier League
Landon Donovan - Everton - Tue Jan 31 - played the entire game as they won 1-0 v Manchester City.
Brad Friedel - Tottenham - Tue Jan 31 - went the full 90 as they won 3-1 v Wigan.
Tim Howard - Everton - Tue Jan 31 - went the distance as they won 1-0 v Manchester City.

ENGLAND - Championship League
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Tue Jan 31 - played the entire game getting a yellow card as they won 1-4 at Leeds.

ENGLAND - League One
Anton Peterlin - Wallsall - Tue Jan 31 - started and played 61 min but lost 0-1 v Notts County.

dN

Coming Up:

ENGLAND - Premier League
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Wed Feb 1 v West Brom
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - Wed Feb 1 v QPR
Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa - Wed Feb 1 v QPR
Tim Ream - Bolton - Wed Feb 1 v Arsenal
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - Wed Feb 1 at Sunderland

ENGLAND

A Man City loss today coupled with a Man U win sees the two Manchester teams tied at the top of the Premier with the blue team leading on a goal differential of +41 to +35.

SPAIN

Copa Del Rey - Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Jan 31
Mirandes 1-2 Athletic Bilbao
-Wed Feb 1
Valencia v Barcelona
2nd Leg
-Tue Feb 7
Athletic Bilbao v Mirandes (2-1)
-Wed Feb 8
Barcelona v Valencia (-)

FRANCE

Jerome Pugmire of the AP brings us up to date on all the transfers today across Ligue 1.

dN

Coupe de la Ligue - Semifinals

Lyon advances to the final.

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jan 31
Lorient 2-4 Lyon
-Wed Feb 1
Marseille v Nice

EUROPE

Netherlands
KNVB Beker - Quarterfinals
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jan 31
Vitesse 1-2 Heerenveen
-Wed Feb 1
Heracles v RKC Waalwijk
AZ Alkmaar v GVVV
-Thu Feb 2
PSV Eindhoven v NEC

TOP EURO CLUB GOAL SCORERS

As of Tue Jan 31

Premier League
19 Robin Van Persie
15 Demba Ba
14 Kun Aguero
13 Wayne Rooney
12 Yakubu Aiyegbeni

Bundesliga
17 Mario Gomez
16 Klaas Jan Huntelaar
15 Lukas Podolski
14 Robert Lewandowski
13 Claudio Pizarro

Serie A
15 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
14 Antonio Di Natale
12 Edison Cavani
12 German Denis

Primera Division
24 Cristiano Ronaldo
22 Lionel Messi
14 Radamael Falcao
14 Gonzalo Higuain
12 Roberto Soldado

Ligue 1
15 Oliver Giroud
9 Kevin Gameiro
9 Nene
9 Loic Remy

COPA LIBERTADORES

Qualifying Round
Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg (with Group and 1st Leg score included)
-Tue Jan 31
Sport Huancayo v Arsenal - G4 (0-3)
Libertad v El Nacional - G5 (1-0)
-Wed Feb 1
Flamengo v Real Potosi - G2 (1-2)
Once Caldas v Internacional - G1 (0-1)
-Thu Feb 2
Tigres UANL v Union Espanola - G3 (0-1)
Caracas v Penarol - G6 (0-4)

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2012

The African national team championship tournament begins Sat Jan 21 and is co-hosted by Gabon & Equatorial Guinea.

dN

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian on Sudan and Angola.

Wilson writing for Sports Illustrated raves about how much fun this tournament has been so far.

dN

ADVANCED: Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Sudan, Tunisia, Zambia

ELIMINATED: Angola, Burkina Faso, Libya, Morocco, Niger, Senegal

dN

Standings:
Group A
ADV-7 Zambia
ADV-6 Equatorial Guinea
OUT-4 Libya
OUT-0 Senegal
Group B
ADV-9 Cote d'Ivoire
ADV-4 Sudan (0 GD)
OUT-4 Angola (-1 GD)
OUT-0 Burkina Faso
Group C
ADV-9 Gabon
ADV-6 Tunisia
OUT-3 Morocco
OUT-0 Niger
Group D
ADV-6 Ghana
3 Guinea
3 Mali
0 Botswana

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Libya
Senegal 1-2 Zambia
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Sun Jan 22
Cote d'Ivoire 1-0 Sudan
Burkina Faso 1-2 Angola
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Mon Jan 23
Gabon 2-0 Niger
Morocco 1-2 Tunisia
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Tue Jan 24
Ghana 1-0 Botswana
Mali 1-0 Guinea
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Wed Jan 25
Libya 2-2 Zambia
Equatorial Guinea 2-1 Senegal
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Thu Jan 26
Sudan 2-2 Angola
Cote d'Ivoire 2-0 Burkina Faso
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Fri Jan 27
Niger 1-2 Tunisia
Gabon 3-2 Morocco
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Sat Jan 28
Botswana 1-6 Guinea
Ghana 2-0 Mali
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Sun Jan 29
Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Zambia
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
Libya 2-1 Senegal
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Mon Jan 30
Sudan 2-1 Burkina Faso
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
Cote d'Ivoire 2-0 Angola
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Tue Jan 31
Gabon 1-0 Tunisia
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
Niger 0-1 Morocco
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Wed Feb 1
Botswana v Mali
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
Ghana v Guinea
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville

dN

Quarterfinals
-Sat Feb 4
Zambia v Sudan
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
Cote d'Ivoire v Equatorial Guinea
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Sun Feb 5
Gabon v D2
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
D1 v Tunisia
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville

Semifinals
-Wed Feb 8
A1/B2 v D1/C2
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
C1/D2 v B1/A2
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville

Final
-Sun Feb 12
Semifinal Winners
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville

ENDERS

Goat

Some Soccer News for Mon Jan 30, 2012

STARTERS

Remember two weeks ago when forward Kris Boyd of Rangers turned down Houston? Well, today he signed with Portland!! Hoooo-Weeeee! Bet he won't receive a friendly welcome when he makes his first visit to whatever that new stadium in Houston is called.

dN

After getting a yellow card in the first minute of play(!) Oguchi Onyewu went to on to score TWO goals for Sporting CP in a much needed win! See the goals right here.
-I could watch Gooch score goals all day long!!

dN

In the last few days Liverpool has beaten both Manchester teams, City & United in Cup competitions.

dN

Huge congrats to the USA Women who stormed through CONCACAF Olympic qualifying with a scoreline of 38-0 in 5 games!!!

dN

Buuuuuuuuuuuuut, the top women's league in the USA, WPS, has announced that their 2012 season will not go forward. Who knows what that really means for all those players now. Just brutal. I really feel for those players.

STORY OF THE DAY

Steven Goff of the Washington Post gives us the low down on 3 potential friendlies before World Cup qualifying begins.

Possible pre-World Cup qualifying games:
May 26/27 v Scotland
May 30 v Brazil - Fed Ex Field in suburban DC?
Early June away game

August and November friendlies are being lined up too.

STORY OF THE DAY 2

Andrew Jennings of Transparency in Sport reveals an UNBELIEVABLE letter from a top FIFA executive to Jack Warner basically giving him World Cup TV rights for relatively next to nothing, without any FIFA committee knowledge much less approval. Warner supposedly turned around and sold these rights for $20Million!!!

COPA LIBERTADORES

Qualifying Round
Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg (with Group and 1st Leg score included)
-Tue Jan 31
Sport Huancayo v Arsenal - G4 (0-3)
Libertad v El Nacional - G5 (1-0)
-Wed Feb 1
Flamengo v Real Potosi - G2 (1-2)
Once Caldas v Internacional - G1 (0-1)
-Thu Feb 2
Tigres UANL v Union Espanola - G3 (0-1)
Caracas v Penarol - G6 (0-4)

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 28
Juventus 2-1 Udinese - #1 stays #1 in Italy with the win over #3.
Queens Park Rangers 0-1 Chelsea - bigger team wins in an old ugly London derby (in the FA Cup.)
Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United - a big upset in the FA Cup in the battle of bitter rivals.
-Sun Jan 29
Feyenoord 4-2 Ajax - a huge win for the hosts in the biggest of the Dutch rivalries.
Sunderland 1-1 Middlesbrough - a northeast derby in the FA Cup ends tied so they will have to play it again.

DO YOU REALIZE

Rumors out of Ecuador are that the USA could be the host (but NOT participate in) the 2016 Copa America. Huh? It will be the 100th edition of the tournament and they are looking for a neutral site for the 10 team South American confederation's championship. Mexico is also being considered.

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

Simon Kuper of the Financial Times writes about a study conducted by his partner in Soccernomics Stefan Szymanski on the best English club managers of all time.
-And for a change the Comments section is worth reading as well.

WELL WELL WELL

Santino Quaranta will play on FC Siliguri for head coach Marco Etcheverry in the brand new Indian Premier League.

OOF

NBC announced that they are filming a new cop show called Chicago Fire!

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

The Fort Myers News-Press reports on a relatively large crowd, 1800, that turned out to watch Chicago play DC Sunday at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
-They have a few words with Fire head coach Frank Klopas too.

dN

Philadelphia goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon has supposedly signed with his original professional club Deportivo Cali and will not be returning to the Union.
-So do they go with 2nd year player Zac MacMath or do they find another veteran.

Player Transactions

New York has signed former Chicago centerback Wilman Conde from Atlas in Mexico.

dN

Toronto signs 29 year old Chilean left fullback Miguel Aceval from Universidad de Concepcion in Chile.

dN

Columbus has signed 26 year old Costa Rican forward Olman Vargas of Herediano in Costa Rican.

CD CHIVAS USA

Scott French of ESPN talks to new Chivas midfielder veteran Pete Vagenas.
-And did new signing Marvin Iraheta sustain a bad knee injury in his first action of the year with Chivas??

COLUMBUS CREW

Adam Jardy of the Dispatch on the team's new forward Olman Vargas and other team notes.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

KC has signed Luke Sassano to a new contract.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

NER got the preseason off to a positive start with a 2-1 win over FC Tucson.
-Sainey Nyassi and Kenny Mansally(PK) got the goals.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Joshua Mayers of the Times gives us the Sounder roster as they head to Arizona.

dN

Mayers also does a Q & A with both Brad Evans - and - Jeff Parke who have just returned to the team from the USA January camp.

TORONTO FC

TFC lists the 41 players they have in training camp.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Oguchi Onyewu scored both goals for Sporting!

dN

After leading the Eredivisie for most of the season Jozy Altidore & AZ find themselves in 3rd place and more than 10 goals down in differential to the two leaders PSV & Twente.

dN

Eric Lichaj returned from long term injury and was on the bench for Aston Villa this weekend.

dN

Game Action:

ENGLAND - FA Cup - Round of 32
Conor Doyle - Derby County - Sat Jan 28 - on the bench as they lost 0-2 v Stoke.
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - Sun Jan 29 - on the bench as they lost 3-2 at Arsenal.
Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa - Sun Jan 29 - on the bench as they lost 3-2 at Arsenal.
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Sat Jan 28 - went the full 90 as they won 0-4 at Sheffield United.
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - Sat Jan 28 - played the entire game as they won 1-2 at West Brom.

BELGIUM - Pro League
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - started and went 76 min as they drew 0-0 at Beerschot.

BELGIUM - Second Division
Tristan Bowen - Roeselare - started but got 2 yellow cards and was ejected as they drew 2-2 v Lommel United.
Devann Yao - Boussu Dour Borinage - went the full 90 but lost 3-1 at White Star Woluwe.

ENGLAND - League One
Frank Simek - Carlisle United - went the full 90 but lost 4-0 at Hartlepool.

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Joe Gyau - Hoffenheim - on the bench as they lost 3-1 at Dortmund.
Fabian Johnson - Hoffenheim - started and played 77 min scoring a goal as they lost 3-1 at Dortmund.
Alfredo Morales - Hertha Berlin - on the bench as they lost 1-2 v Hamburg.
Daniel Williams - Hoffenheim - went the distance as they lost 3-1 at Dortmund.
David Yelldell - Bayer Leverkusen - on the bench as they drew 1-1 at Werder Bremen.

ISRAEL - Ligat Al
Ryan Adeleye - Hapoel Be'er Sheva - on the bench as they lost 3-1 at Maccabi Haifa.
Bryan Gerzicich - Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona - Mon Jan 30 - went the distance as they drew 1-1 at Maccabi Tel Aviv.

ITALY - Serie A
Michael Bradley - Chievo Verona - started and played 74 min as they lost 0-3 v Lazio.

NETHERLANDS - Eredivisie
Jozy Altidore - AZ Alkmaar - came on as a sub at half time and got a yellow card as they lost 2-0 at Roda.

PORTUGAL - Primeira Liga
Oguchi Onyewu - Sporting - went the full 90 scoring 2 goals and getting a yellow card as they won 2-0 v Beira-Mar.

SCOTLAND - Premier League
Carlos Bocanegra - Rangers - played the entire game as they won 4-0 v Hibernian.
Mo Edu - Rangers - started and played 74 min as they won 4-0 v Hibernian.

dN

Coming Up:

ENGLAND - Premier League
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Wed Feb 1 v West Brom
Landon Donovan - Everton - Tue Jan 31 v Manchester City
Brad Friedel - Tottenham - Tue Jan 31 v Wigan
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - Wed Feb 1 v QPR
Marcus Hahnemann - Everton - Tue Jan 31 v Manchester City
Tim Howard - Everton - Tue Jan 31 v Manchester City
Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa - Wed Feb 1 v QPR
Tim Ream - Bolton - Wed Feb 1 v Arsenal
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - Wed Feb 1 at Sunderland

ENGLAND - Championship League
Conor Doyle - Derby County - Tue Jan 31 at Barnsley
Robbie Findley - Nottingham Forest - Tue Jan 31 v Burnley
George John - West Ham - Tue Jan 31 at Ipswich
Danny Potts - West Ham - Tue Jan 31 at Ipswich
Robbie Rogers - Leeds - Tue Jan 31 v Birmingham
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Tue Jan 31 at Leeds

ENGLAND - League One
Anton Peterlin - Wallsall - Tue Jan 31 v Notts County

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

DaMarcus Beasley scored the games only in a big Puebla road win. (He even used his RIGHT foot to bang home a beauty.)
-See video at the blog Over There.

dN

Game Action:

PRIMERA DIVISION
DaMarcus Beasley - Puebla - started and played 80 min scoring a goal as they won 0-1 at Chiapas.
Ricardo Bocanegra - Atlas - came on as a sub in the 77th min as they won 1-0 v Toluca.
Jonathan Bornstein - Tigres UANL - on the bench as they won 2-1 v Tecos.
Edgar Castillo - Tijuana - played the full 90 but lost 1-3 v Santos Laguna.
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - came on as a sub in the 29th min getting a yellow card as they lost 1-3 v Santos Laguna.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - on the bench as they won 1-3 at Tijuana.
Sonny Guadarrama - Atlante - on the bench as they drew 2-2 v Cruz Azul.
Michael Orozco Fiscal - San Luis - played the whole game getting a yellow card as they lost 1-3 v America.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - played the full 90 as they drew 1-1 v Queretaro.

LIGA DE ASCENSO (2nd division)
Marco Vidal - Leon - on the bench as they won 3-4 at Toros Neza.
Isaac Acuna - Merida - came in as a sub in the 73rd min getting a yellow card as they won 1-2 at Lobos BUAP.

CANADA

Here is the schedule for this years Canadian Championship.

Semifinals
1st Leg
-Wed May 2
Montreal Impact v Toronto FC
FC Edmonton v Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2nd Leg
-Wed May 9
Toronto FC v Montreal Impact
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v FC Edmonton

Finals
1st Leg
-Wed May 16
2nd Leg
-Wed May 23

ENGLAND

All the results from the latest round of the FA Cup.

Rob Bagchi, Evan Fanning, Ian McCourt and Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian with five things we learned from the FA Cup this weekend.

SPAIN

Sid Lowe of the Guardian on Spain's longest serving head coach and a review of the weekend in La Liga.

dN

Copa Del Rey - Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Jan 31
Mirandes v Athletic Bilbao
-Wed Feb 1
Valencia v Barcelona
2nd Leg
-Tue Feb 7
Athletic Bilbao v Mirandes
-Wed Feb 8
Barcelona v Valencia

ITALY

Paolo Bandini of the Guardian beats Inter over the head yet again (he hates them) for a horrible performance, and rounds up the rest of the weekend in Serie A.

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2012

The African national team championship tournament begins Sat Jan 21 and is co-hosted by Gabon & Equatorial Guinea.

dN

Ghana advanced to the knock out stage with a win on Saturday.

And on Sunday the Relentless Zombies of Zambia advanced, while the darlings of the tournament Libya were knocked out.

On Monday Sudan advanced over Angola on goal differential.

dN

ADVANCED: Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Sudan, Tunisia, Zambia

ELIMINATED: Angola, Burkina Faso, Libya, Morocco, Niger, Senegal

dN

Standings:
Group A
ADV-7 Zambia
ADV-6 Equatorial Guinea
OUT-4 Libya
OUT-0 Senegal
Group B
ADV-9 Cote d'Ivoire
ADV-4 Sudan (0 GD)
OUT-4 Angola (-1 GD)
OUT-0 Burkina Faso
Group C
ADV-6 Gabon
ADV-6 Tunisia
OUT-0 Morocco
OUT-0 Niger
Group D
ADV-6 Ghana
3 Guinea
3 Mali
0 Botswana

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Libya
Senegal 1-2 Zambia
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Sun Jan 22
Cote d'Ivoire 1-0 Sudan
Burkina Faso 1-2 Angola
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Mon Jan 23
Gabon 2-0 Niger
Morocco 1-2 Tunisia
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Tue Jan 24
Ghana 1-0 Botswana
Mali 1-0 Guinea
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Wed Jan 25
Libya 2-2 Zambia
Equatorial Guinea 2-1 Senegal
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Thu Jan 26
Sudan 2-2 Angola
Cote d'Ivoire 2-0 Burkina Faso
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Fri Jan 27
Niger 1-2 Tunisia
Gabon 3-2 Morocco
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Sat Jan 28
Botswana 1-6 Guinea - 10:00am CT
Ghana 2-0 Mali - 1:00pm CT
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Sun Jan 29
Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Zambia - 12:00pm CT
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
Libya 2-1 Senegal - 12:00pm CT
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Mon Jan 30
Sudan 2-1 Burkina Faso
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
Cote d'Ivoire 2-0 Angola
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Tue Jan 31
Gabon v Tunisia
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
Niger v Morocco
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Wed Feb 1
Botswana v Mali
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
Ghana v Guinea
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville

Quarterfinals
-Sat Feb 4
Zambia v B2
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
B1 v Equatorial Guinea
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Sun Feb 5
C1 v D2
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
D1 v C2
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville

Semifinals
-Wed Feb 8
A1/B2 v D1/C2
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
C1/D2 v B1/A2
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville

Final
-Sun Feb 12
Semifinal Winners
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville

Some Soccer News for Fri Jan 27, 2012

STARTERS

Landon Donovan set up both Everton goals today as they knocked Fulham out of the FA Cup. Clint Dempsey was a non-factor for Fulham, who are terrible away from home. And of course Tim Howard guarded the entrance to the cave like a momma bear as usual for Everton. And a 4th American was even on the team sheets today as Marcus Hahnemann was the Everton back up keeper.

STORY OF THE DAY

Clint Dempsey gives us his first "diary entry" at Goal.com.

COPA LIBERTADORES

Qualifying Round
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Jan 24
Arsenal 3-0 Sport Huancayo - Ars goals by Jorge Cordoba, Emilio Zelaya & Claudio Mosca.
El Nacional 1-0 Libertad - EN goal by Juan Luis Anangono.
-Wed Jan 25
Union Espanola 1-0 Tigres UANL - UE goal by Gonzalo Barriga.
Real Potosi 2-1 Flamengo - RP goals by Claudio Centurion & Edgardo Brittes. Flam goal by Luiz Antonio.
Internacional 1-0 Once Caldas - Int goal by Leandro Damiao.
-Thu Jan 26
Penarol 4-0 Caracas - Pen goals by Nicolas Freitas, Marcelo Zalayeta, Joao Pedro & Fabian Estoyanoff.

2nd Leg (with Group and 1st Leg score included)
-Tue Jan 31
Sport Huancayo v Arsenal - G4 (0-3)
Libertad v El Nacional - G5 (1-0)
-Wed Feb 1
Flamengo v Real Potosi - G2 (1-2)
Once Caldas v Internacional - G1 (0-1)
-Thu Feb 2
Tigres UANL v Union Espanola - G3 (0-1)
Caracas v Penarol - G6 (0-4)

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 28
Juventus v Udinese - #1 v #3 in Italy
Queens Park Rangers v Chelsea - a bitter London derby in the FA Cup
Liverpool v Manchester United - more bitter rivals face off in the FA Cup
-Sun Jan 29
Feyenoord v Ajax - the biggest of the Dutch rivalries
Sunderland v Middlesbrough - a northeast derby in the FA Cup

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Could Philadelphia be about to lose another important attacking player? Forward Danny Mwanga is in England training at Aston Villa.

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

Leander Schaerlaeckens of ESPN does a Q & A with Tim Howard.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Real Salt Lake introduces their jerseys for 2012. Not much of a departure, just detailing really.
-Lots of pictures of players modelling the new shirts here.













PICTURE OF THE DAY

Great image captured by TV cameras during Wednesday's Clasico in Spain between Barcelona & Real Madrid.
-Thanks to our friend-in-football JF for the image.


















MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Dasan Robinson who suited up for a couple of different MLS teams over the last 5 or 6 years announced his retirement today.

Player Transactions

DC has signed 30 year old Argentine centerback Emiliano Dudar from Young Boys in Switzerland.
-DC is his 13th team.

RSL has officially signed 26 year old Cuban defensive midfielder Yordany Alvarez who was on loan to them at the end of last season from Orlando City.

Toronto has signed 30 year old Ecuadorian defender Geovanny Caicedo from Liga de Quito.

San Jose has signed 31 year old Turkish forward Sercan Guvenisik from Preussen Munster in 3. Liga in Germany.

CD CHIVAS USA

Scott French of ESPN talks to Michael Lahoud about what he expects to be his role on the team in 2012.

COLUMBUS CREW

Steve Sirk launches off on his preseason Crew Notebook - PART 1 - and - PART 2.

Adam Jardy of the Dispatch looks at the teams new players, compared with last seasons huge crop of newcomers.

FC DALLAS

Todd Date of 3rd Degree does a Q & A with head coach Schellas Hyndman.

DC UNITED

Steven Goff of the Washington Post with an article on new DCU fullback Robbie Russell who they signed from Salt Lake this offseason.
-Also, the story of Russell and his wife and their careers.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Pete Grathoff of the Star with an update on a potential shirt sponsor for SKC.

LA GALAXY

Scott French of ESPN talks to fullback Todd Dunivant who had his best season as a pro last year.

MONTREAL IMPACT

Montreal finished their Mexican training camp with a 1-1 draw against Atlas in Guadalajara. Sanna Nyassi scored for the Impact.

PHILADELPHIA UNION

Word from Philly says Sebastian Le Toux will not be getting a contract offer from Bolton in England where he has been on a try out.

PU has announced a "strategic partnership" with Costa Rican powerhouse Saprissa. Don't know what that really means, but lets hope it leads to something good.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Geoffrey Arnold of the Oregonian looks into possible health issue of young DP Jose Valencia.

REAL SALT LAKE

James Edward of the Deseret on the youth influx at RSL this season.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Don Ruiz of the New Trib reports that the Sounders roster is looking stable and healthy.

TORONTO FC

Ryan Wolstat of the Sun looks at what TFC management has been doing to ensure the team is no longer in constant chaos.

Wolstat also writes about what has been the team's weak link since day 1 - the defense.
-Richard Eckersley has been permanently signed to try and help this situation.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IN AMERICA

Mike Woitalla of Soccer America does a Q & A with Werner Kern, Bayern Munich’s director of youth. PART 1 - and - PART 2.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Brian Sciaretta of the NY Times with an in-depth article on Joe Gyau assent onto the Hoffenheim first team.
-He will be dressing with the senior team for the 2nd week in a row on Saturday.

The Red Bulls posted audio of a Tim Ream telephone press conference from today.

Tim Chandler missed another Nurnberg game, this time due to a hamstring strain.

Our friend in football HHL tells us that Brondby is having a little fun with a friendly this weekend and Clarence Goodson will "Manage" the team.
-How's your Danish?

dN

Game Action:

ENGLAND - FA Cup - Round of 32
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Fri Jan 27 - played the full 90 getting a yellow card but lost 2-1 at Everton.
Landon Donovan - Everton - Fri Jan 27 - another big game going the whole match as they won 2-1 v Fulham.
Brad Friedel - Tottenham - Fri Jan 27 - on the bench as they won 0-1 at Watford.
Marcus Hahnemann - Everton - Fri Jan 27 - on the bench as they won 2-1 v Fulham.
Tim Howard - Everton - Fri Jan 27 - went the distance as they won 2-1 v Fulham.

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - went the full 90 as they won 1-0 v Nurnberg.

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - played the whole game as they won 0-1 at Fortuna Sittard.

PORTUGAL - Liga de Honra
Caleb Patterson-Sewell - Atletico CP - Thu Jan 26 - went the distance but lost 5-0 at Estoril.

dN

Coming Up:

ENGLAND - FA Cup - Round of 32
Conor Doyle - Derby County - Sat Jan 28 v Stoke
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - Sun Jan 29 at Arsenal
Tim Ream - Bolton - Sat Jan 28 v Swansea
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Sat Jan 28 at Sheffield United
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - Sat Jan 28 at West Brom

A full round from the English Premier League coming up next Tue & Wed.

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Tom Marshall of MLSsoccer.com has an article on 2 of the Americans playing for Tijuana - Greg Garza & Edgar Castillo.

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2012

The African national team championship tournament begins Sat Jan 21 and is co-hosted by Gabon & Equatorial Guinea.

You can watch the tournament online right here.

dN

Gabon & Tunisia both advanced to the knockout stages today with wins, thus eliminating Morocco & Niger from the tournament with 1 game still to be played

dN

ADVANCED: Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Tunisia

ELIMINATED: Burkina Faso, Morocco, Niger, Senegal

dN

Standings:
Group A
ADV-6 Equatorial Guinea
4 Zambia
1 Libya
OUT-0 Senegal
Group B
ADV-6 Cote d'Ivoire
4 Angola
1 Sudan
OUT-0 Burkina Faso
Group C
ADV-6 Gabon
ADV-6 Tunisia
OUT-0 Morocco
OUT-0 Niger
Group D
3 Ghana
3 Mali
0 Botswana
0 Guinea

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Libya
Senegal 1-2 Zambia
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Sun Jan 22
Cote d'Ivoire 1-0 Sudan
Burkina Faso 1-2 Angola
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Mon Jan 23
Gabon 2-0 Niger
Morocco 1-2 Tunisia
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Tue Jan 24
Ghana 1-0 Botswana
Mali 1-0 Guinea
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Wed Jan 25
Libya 2-2 Zambia
Equatorial Guinea 2-1 Senegal
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Thu Jan 26
Sudan 2-2 Angola
Cote d'Ivoire 2-0 Burkina Faso
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Fri Jan 27
Niger 1-2 Tunisia
Gabon 3-2 Morocco
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Sat Jan 28
Botswana v Guinea - 10:00am CT
Ghana v Mali - 1:00pm CT
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Sun Jan 29
Equatorial Guinea v Zambia - 12:00pm CT
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
Libya v Senegal - 12:00pm CT
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata

ENDERS

Here is the dance craze I want to see sweeping goal celebrations in 2012 - Shangaan

CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying - Semifinal Group Stage Round

Here is the USA group schedule for the next round of World Cup qualifying:

Group A
Antigua & Barbuda
Guatemala
Jamaica
USA

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Jun 8
USA v Antigua & Barbuda
-Tue Jun 12
Guatemala v USA
-Fri Sep 7
Jamaica v USA
-Tue Sep 11
USA v Jamaica
-Fri Oct 12
Antigua & Barbuda v USA
-Tue Oct 16
USA v Guatemala

Venues and Times to be announced.

Some Soccer News for Thu Jan 26, 2012

STORY OF THE DAY

James Montague of the New York Times with an article on one of the surprise teams in all of world soccer right now - Ironi Kiryat Shmona in Israel.

Argentine-American Bryan Gerzicich is a key member of the team.

LANDON DONOVAN V CLINT DEMPSEY

FA Cup Match
-Fri Jan 27
Everton v Fulham - live at 2pm CT on Fox Soccer

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

The team is done with the annual January training camp.

dN

Gray-Ham Zusi got the games only goal in a 0-1 USA win in Panama last night.

The second biggest moment of the game was when centerback Geoff Cameron was red carded for fouling a player who was breaking in on goal.

US Soccer gives us video of Zusi's goal.

dN

International Friendlies
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
USA 1-0 Venezuela - USA goal by Ricardo Clark.
Venue: University of Phoenix Stadium
-Wed Jan 25
Panama 0-1 USA - USA goal by Graham Zusi.
Venue: Estadio Rommel Fernandez
Match report from US Soccer.
Post game quotes by coach & players from US Soccer.
Post game analysis by Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.
Player ratings by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
Match report by John Godfrey of the NY Times.
Post game notes and player ratings by Brian Sciaretta of Yanks Abroad.
Player ratings by Ives Galarcep of Fox Soccer.

dN

USA Roster
G:
Bill Hamid - DC United
Sean Johnson - Chicago Fire SC
Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake
D:
Geoff Cameron - Houston Dynamo
AJ DeLaGarza - LA Galaxy
Zach Loyd - FC Dallas
Jeff Parke - Seattle Sounders
Michael Parkhurst - FC Nordsjaelland
Heath Pearce - CD Chivas USA
M:
Ricardo Clark - Eintracht Frankfurt
Brad Evans - Seattle Sounders
Benny Feilhaber - New England Revolution
Jermaine Jones - Schalke
Jeff Larentowicz - Colorado Rapids
Brek Shea - FC Dallas
Graham Zusi - Sporting Kansas City
F:
Teal Bunbury - Sporting Kansas City
CJ Sapong - Sporting Kansas City
Chris Wondolowski - San Jose Earthquakes

dN

Panama roster
G:
Luis Mejia - Fenix
Kevin Melgar - Alianza
D:
Rolando Algandona - San Francisco
Edward Benitez - Sporting San Miguelito
Eduardo Dasent - Tauro
Carlos Rodriguez - Dallas
Sergio Thompson - Sporting San Miguelito
Eric Vasquez - Chorrillo
M:
Rolando Botello - Tauro
Gabriel Gomez - Philadephia Union
Juan de Gracia - Chepo
Luis Ovalle - Sporting San Miguelito
Alberto Quintero - Chorrillo
Marcos Sanchez - Tauro
Amir Waithe - San Francisco
F:
Manuel Mosquera - Arabe Unido
Blas Perez - Dallas
Luis Renteria - Tauro

COPA LIBERTADORES

Jonathan Bornstein went the full 90 for Tigres last night.

Ronaldinho and his teammates at Flamengo lost on the road.

dN

Qualifying Round
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Jan 24
Arsenal 3-0 Sport Huancayo - Ars goals by Jorge Cordoba, Emilio Zelaya & Claudio Mosca.
El Nacional 1-0 Libertad - EN goal by Juan Luis Anangono.
-Wed Jan 25
Union Espanola 1-0 Tigres UANL - UE goal by Gonzalo Barriga.
Real Potosi 2-1 Flamengo - RP goals by Claudio Centurion & Edgardo Brittes. Flam goal by Luiz Antonio.
Internacional 1-0 Once Caldas - Int goal by Leandro Damiao.
-Thu Jan 26
Penarol v Caracas

2nd Leg (with Group and 1st Leg score included)
-Tue Jan 31
Sport Huancayo v Arsenal - G4 (0-3)
Libertad v El Nacional - G5 (1-0)
-Wed Feb 1
Flamengo v Real Potosi - G2 (1-2)
Once Caldas v Internacional - G1 (0-1)
-Thu Feb 2
Tigres UANL v Union Espanola - G3 (0-1)
Caracas v Penarol - G6

BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL DAY

Bolton Wanderers of England officially announced the signing of American centerback Tim Ream from the New York Red Bulls.
-Words from Tim Ream.
-Words from Stu Holden.
-Video of an interview with Ream.

Jack Bell of the New York Times talks to Ream about his big move, and a tough 2011 season in New York.

Graham Parker of the Guardian with an in-depth article on Ream's progress and new adventure.

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

Brian Lewis of the New York Post with an article on the Red Bulls interest in building a residency youth academy.

STAT OF THE DAY

Don Ruiz of the Tacoma News Tribune quotes Seattle Sounder GM Adrian Hanauer of saying that the team is shooting for an average attendance this season of over 40,000 per game!!!

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times tells us that Kasey Keller was named Seattle's Professional Sports Star of the Year last night.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Real Salt Lake released their training camp roster to the public.
-It would be great to see a lot more MLS team's do this same thing.

Player Transactions

Toronto has signed fullback Richard Eckersley to a permanent contract from Burnley. He was with TFC last season on loan.

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Goalkeeper Jon Busch has signed a contract extension.

USL NEWS

Orlando has signed John Rooney, little brother of Wayne, who was on the Red Bulls roster last season.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

West Ham raves about George John's debut in a reserve match yesterday in which he scored the only goal and played a strong game.

dN

David Smith of Yanks Abroad talks to Jonathan Spector about his season in the Championship Division with Birmingham.

dN

Coming Up:

ENGLAND - FA Cup - Round of 32
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Fri Jan 27 at Everton
Landon Donovan - Everton - Fri Jan 27 v Fulham
Conor Doyle - Derby County - Sat Jan 28 v Stoke
Brad Friedel - Tottenham - Fri Jan 27 at Watford
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - Sun Jan 29 at Arsenal
Tim Howard - Everton - Fri Jan 27 v Fulham
Tim Ream - Bolton - Sat Jan 28 v Swansea
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Sat Jan 28 at Sheffield United
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - Sat Jan 28 at West Brom

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Game Action:

COPA LIBERTADORES - Qualifying Round
Jonathan Bornstein - UANL Tigres - Wed Jan 24 - went the full 90 but lost 1-0 at Union Espanola.

MEXICO

Guadalajara introduced new head coach Nacho Ambriz.

ENGLAND

English League Cup - Final

Match & Score:
-DATE TBA
Cardiff City v Liverpool

dN

Coming up this weekend is the next round of the FA Cup.

SPAIN

Copa Del Rey - Quarterfinals

Sid Lowe of the Guardian sees a comeback tie for Real Madrid as a big step forward.

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Tue Jan 24
Mirandes 2-1 Espanyol - series ends tied 4-4 - Mir advances on away goals tie breaker
-Wed Jan 25
Mallorca 0-1 Athletic Bilbao - AB advances 3-0 on aggregate
Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid - Bar advances 4-3 on aggregate
-Thu Jan 26
Levante 0-3 Valencia - Val advances 7-1 on aggregate.

ITALY

Coppa Italia - Quarterfinals

Milan is the final team to move on to the next round.

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jan 24
Juventus 3-0 Roma
-Wed Jan 25
Chievo 0-1 Siena
Napoli 2-0 Inter
-Thu Jan 26
Lazio 1-3 Milan

Semifinal matchups:
Milan v Juventus
Siena v Napoli

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2012

The African national team championship tournament begins Sat Jan 21 and is co-hosted by Gabon & Equatorial Guinea.

You can watch the tournament online right here.

dN

Today Cote d'Ivoire advanced to the knock out stages and Burkina Faso was eliminated.

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian calls Equatorial Guinea sparkling.

dN

ADVANCED: Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea

ELIMINATED: Burkina Faso, Senegal

dN

Standings:
Group A
ADV-6 Equatorial Guinea
4 Zambia
1 Libya
OUT-0 Senegal
Group B
ADV-6 Cote d'Ivoire
4 Angola
1 Sudan
OUT-0 Burkina Faso
Group C
3 Gabon
3 Tunisia
0 Morocco
0 Niger
Group D
3 Ghana
3 Mali
0 Botswana
0 Guinea

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Libya
Senegal 1-2 Zambia
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Sun Jan 22
Cote d'Ivoire 1-0 Sudan
Burkina Faso 1-2 Angola
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Mon Jan 23
Gabon 2-0 Niger
Morocco 1-2 Tunisia
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Tue Jan 24
Ghana 1-0 Botswana
Mali 1-0 Guinea
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Wed Jan 25
Libya 2-2 Zambia
Equatorial Guinea 2-1 Senegal
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Thu Jan 26
Sudan 2-2 Angola
Cote d'Ivoire 2-0 Burkina Faso
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Fri Jan 27
Niger v Tunisia
Gabon v Morocco
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Sat Jan 28
Botswana v Guinea - 10:00am CT
Ghana v Mali - 1:00pm CT
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Sun Jan 29
Equatorial Guinea v Zambia - 12:00pm CT
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
Libya v Senegal - 12:00pm CT
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata

Poll du Nord: At This Point In The Klinsmann Era...

The USA has won 3 friendlies in a row. At this point in the Klinsmann era are you:
	Ecstatic
	Happy
	Optimistic
	Satisified
	Indifferent
	Confused
	Doubtful
	Angry
pollcode.com free polls

Some Soccer News for Wed Jan 25, 2012

DU NORD AT THE CONTROLS

du Nord at the Controls - Jan 24, 2012 - new music mix at Spotify.

STORY OF THE DAY

Reuters with an article on the record profits in the German Bundesliga for 2011.
-Also the highest average attendance in the world at 42,000+ per game.

LANDON DONOVAN AT EVERTON

Friday in the English FA Cup we will get to see LD, Tim Howard and Everton take on Clint Dempsey and Fulham.
-Everton has a video interview with Tim Howard talking about this big game.

Fox Soccer will show the game live on Friday at 2pm CT.

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

The team has come to the final day of the annual January training camp.

dN

US Soccer with the latest notes from Panama.

Brent Latham of MLSsoccer.com on what Klinsmann is expecting to see from his team tonight.

Jonah Freedman of MLSsoccer.com on Michael Parkhurst.

Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America talks to and assesses Brek Shea's development in the USA system.

John Godfrey of the NY Times with a preview of tonight's game.

Glenn Davis at Soccer Matters does a Q & A with Geoff Cameron.

dN

International Friendlies
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
USA 1-0 Venezuela - USA goal by Ricardo Clark.
Venue: University of Phoenix Stadium
-Wed Jan 25
Panama v USA - 7:30pm CT on ESPN3.com and Galavision.
Venue: Estadio Rommel Fernandez

dN

USA Roster
G:
Bill Hamid - DC United
Sean Johnson - Chicago Fire SC
Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake
D:
Geoff Cameron - Houston Dynamo
AJ DeLaGarza - LA Galaxy
Zach Loyd - FC Dallas
Jeff Parke - Seattle Sounders
Michael Parkhurst - FC Nordsjaelland
Heath Pearce - CD Chivas USA
M:
Ricardo Clark - Eintracht Frankfurt
Brad Evans - Seattle Sounders
Benny Feilhaber - New England Revolution
Jermaine Jones - Schalke
Jeff Larentowicz - Colorado Rapids
Brek Shea - FC Dallas
Graham Zusi - Sporting Kansas City
F:
Teal Bunbury - Sporting Kansas City
CJ Sapong - Sporting Kansas City
Chris Wondolowski - San Jose Earthquakes

dN

Panama's roster for Wednesday
G:
Luis Mejia - Fenix
Kevin Melgar - Alianza
D:
Rolando Algandona - San Francisco
Edward Benitez - Sporting San Miguelito
Eduardo Dasent - Tauro
Carlos Rodriguez - Dallas
Sergio Thompson - Sporting San Miguelito
Eric Vasquez - Chorrillo
M:
Rolando Botello - Tauro
Gabriel Gomez - Philadephia Union
Juan de Gracia - Chepo
Luis Ovalle - Sporting San Miguelito
Alberto Quintero - Chorrillo
Marcos Sanchez - Tauro
Amir Waithe - San Francisco
F:
Manuel Mosquera - Arabe Unido
Blas Perez - Dallas
Luis Renteria - Tauro

USA U23/OLYMPIC TEAM

Are now finished with the most recent training camp in preparation for the March qualifying tournament.

dN

US Soccer with a few details on the team's win in their 2nd match in Costa Rica.

dN

International Friendlies
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
Saprissa Reserves 0-0 USA U23
-Tue Jan 24
Alajuelense 0-1 USA U23 - USA goal by Tony Taylor.

dN

Roster
G:
Matt Lampson - Columbus Crew
Zac MacMath - Philadelphia Union
Brian Perk - LA Galaxy
D:
Royal-Dominique Fennell - Stuttgarter Kickers
Sebastien Ibeagha - Duke
Kofi Sarkodie - Houston Dynamo
Zarek Valentin - Montreal Impact
Jorge Villafana - Chivas USA
Andrew Wenger - Duke
Sheanon Williams - Philadelphia Union
M:
Isaac Acuna - Merida
Joe Corona - Tijuana
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek
Dilly Duka - Columbus Crew
Jared Jeffrey - Mainz
Sebastian Lletget - West Ham
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Kelyn Rowe - UCLA
Michael Stephens - LA Galaxy
F:
Freddy Adu - Philadelphia Union
Jack McInerney - Philadelphia Union
Tony Taylor - Atletico CP

COPA LIBERTADORES

Qualifying Round
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Jan 24
Arsenal 3-0 Sport Huancayo - Ars goals by Jorge Cordoba, Emilio Zelaya & Claudio Mosca.
El Nacional 1-0 Libertad - EN goal by Juan Luis Anangono.
-Wed Jan 25
Union Espanola v Tigres UANL
Real Potosi v Flamengo
Internacional v Once Caldas
-Thu Jan 26
Penarol v Caracas

DO YOU REALIZE

Seattle Sounders took over the Tacoma Tide PDL team today and will make them an official part of their academy set up.
-The team name will change to Seattle Sounders U23.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

MLS teams have signed EIGHT players from Colombia already this offseason. Wow.

Player Transactions

Colorado has signed 28 year old Colombian playmaker Jaime Castrillon from Once Caldas.

dN

The Red Bulls are expected to announce the signing of 20 year old Icelandic defensive midfielder Victor Palsson from Hibernian in Scotland.

dN

NYRB also signed 24 year old American goalkeeper Jeremy Vuolo from Finnish team Oulu.

dN

Chicago has signed forward Kheli Dube who was released by the New England Revs.

CD CHIVAS USA

Chivas announced two new signings yesterday and here is more detail on their positions on the field:
-John Valencia is a right centerback
-Marvin Iraheta is a central defensive midfielder

COLORADO RAPIDS

Recently fired USA U17 head coach Wilmar Cabrera has been hired as an assistant to new head coach Oscar Pareja.

dN

Ex Rapids head coach Gary Smith has been hired as they new boss of English League One team Stevenage.
-Here is the story from the new team.

COLUMBUS CREW

Adam Jardy of the Dispatch introduces us to new Chilean midfielder Milovan Mirosevic.
-The team is hoping they have found a new "#10".

dN

Jardy reports on the return from shoulder surgery for centerback Julius James.

dN

Jardy also ask an important question - with both forwards Andres Mendoza & Emilio Renteria gone, who is going to score the goals?

dN

Michael Arace of the Dispatch is intrigued by the team's offseason moves.

DC UNITED

Former USA prodigy Stefan Jerome is in preseason camp with DC!

dN

DCU put out this injured player update:
-Branko Boskovic (ACL tear) and Perry Kitchen (turf toe) are fully recovered and in full training.
-Chris Pontius (right tibia fracture) and Ethan White (right PCL tear) are working with team trainers on their recovery.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Tod Palmer of the Star looks for leadership on the KC roster.

MONTREAL IMPACT

Justin Braun scored for Montreal as they beat Tecos 0-1 down in Guadalajara Mexico.

REAL SALT LAKE

RSL begins their preseason on Thursday.

TORONTO FC

Fullback Richard Eckersley who was with TFC on loan last season from Burnley in England was released from his contract and will sign on with Toronto permanently.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

West Ham raves about George John's debut in a reserve match yesterday in which he scored the only goal and played a strong game.

dN

David Smith of Yanks Abroad talks to Jonathan Spector about his season in the Championship Division with Birmingham.

dN

Game Action:

ITALY - Coppa Italia - Quarterfinals
Michael Bradley - Chievo Verona - Wed Jan 25 - came on as a sub in the 80th min but lost 0-1 v Siena.

ENGLAND

English League Cup - Semifinals

Liverpool advanced today to face Cardiff in the Final.

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Tue Jan 24
Cardiff City 1-0 Crystal Palace - series ended tied 1-1, and CC wins 3-1 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
-Wed Jan 25
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City - Liv advances 3-2 on aggregate

dN

Coming up this weekend is the next round of the FA Cup.

SPAIN

Copa Del Rey - Quarterfinals

Mirandes will take on Bilbao in one side of the Semifinals, while Barcelona will face the winner of Valencia and Levante in the other.

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Tue Jan 24
Mirandes 2-1 Espanyol - series ends tied 4-4 - Mir advances on away goals tie breaker
-Wed Jan 25
Mallorca 0-1 Athletic Bilbao - AB advances 3-0 on aggregate
Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid - Bar advances 4-3 on aggregate
-Thu Jan 26
Levante v Valencia (1-4)

ITALY

Coppa Italia - Quarterfinals

Siena and Napoli advanced to the Semi.

Inter lost for the first time in 9 games in all competitions today.

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jan 24
Juventus 3-0 Roma
-Wed Jan 25
Chievo 0-1 Siena
Napoli 2-0 Inter
-Thu Jan 26
Lazio v Milan

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2012

The African national team championship tournament begins Sat Jan 21 and is co-hosted by Gabon & Equatorial Guinea.

You can watch the tournament online right here.

dN

Co-Host Equatorial Guinea won their 2nd game today and advanced to the knock out rounds.

While Senegal flops badly and becomes the first team knocked out.

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian on the frail Ghana team.

dN

Standings:
Group A
ADV-6 Equatorial Guinea
4 Zambia
1 Libya
OUT-0 Senegal
Group B
3 Angola
3 Cote d'Ivoire
0 Burkina Faso
0 Sudan
Group C
3 Gabon
3 Tunisia
0 Morocco
0 Niger
Group D
3 Ghana
3 Mali
0 Botswana
0 Guinea

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Libya
Senegal 1-2 Zambia
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Sun Jan 22
Cote d'Ivoire 1-0 Sudan
Burkina Faso 1-2 Angola
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Mon Jan 23
Gabon 2-0 Niger
Morocco 1-2 Tunisia
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Tue Jan 24
Ghana 1-0 Botswana
Mali 1-0 Guinea
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Wed Jan 25
Libya 2-2 Zambia
Equatorial Guinea 2-1 Senegal
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Thu Jan 26
Sudan v Angola
Cote d'Ivoire v Burkina Faso
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Fri Jan 27
Niger v Tunisia
Gabon v Morocco
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville

The New Chicago Fire 2012 Jersey with Quaker Sponsorship

With great joy I received a package the other day from the Chicago Fire Soccer Club. They had just announced a new sponsorship deal with Quaker and showed off their 2012 jerseys, so with fingers crossed I was hoping I would open that box and find myself the proud possessor of a new shirt from the Men In Red.

It turned out to be even more impressive than that!

Inside was a big round Quaker Oats canister just like the ones I have seen on store shelves and in kitchen cupboards my whole life.























But when I popped open that canister I did not get oats. Oh no! Inside was exactly what I had hoped it would be, a bright red 2012 Chicago Fire jersey!























And when I lifted it up to get a closer look at the shirt I saw the back was personalized just for me - MCGUIRE - 12. Beyond cool!























The packaging of the canister itself had some interesting features as well, like a stated commitment to Club, Community and Fans. Nice touch.























The pledge has been made.
























A huge thanks goes out to CFSC for sending me this very beautiful new shirt.

Some Soccer News for Tue Jan 24, 2012

STARTERS

US Soccer has named Clint Dempsey as the 2011 Male Athlete of the Year. And Brek Shea was named the Young Male Athlete of the Year.

dN

Richie Williams, the original Ankle Biter, has been named the new head coach of the USA U17 team. He had been serving as coach of the U18s, so I guess they are looking for a new boss now.

DU NORD AT THE CONTROLS

du Nord at the Controls - Jan 24, 2012 - new music mix at Spotify.

STORY OF THE DAY

This guy does not talk soccer often:

Don Ruiz of The Tacoma News Tribune has a Q & A with Seattle Sounders owner Joe Roth.

COPA LIBERTADORES

The Copa Libertadores begins today - Tue Jan 24 - with a home & away qualifying round for 12 teams to fill the final 6 places in the group stage. The next rounds begin on Feb 7.

Mexican Apertura champions Tigres play on Wed night.

Qualifying Round
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Jan 24
Arsenal v Sport Huancayo
El Nacional v Libertad
-Wed Jan 25
Union Espanola v Tigres UANL
Real Potosi v Flamengo
Internacional v Once Caldas
-Thu Jan 26
Penarol v Caracas
2nd Leg
-Tue Jan 31
Sport Huancayo v Arsenal
Libertad v El Nacional
-Wed Feb 1
Flamengo v Real Potosi
Once Caldas v Internacional
-Thu Feb 2
Tigres UANL v Union Espanola
Caracas v Penarol

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

The team is in the final days of the annual January training camp.

dN

Brent Latham at MLSsoccer.com talks to Jurgen Klinsmann about Jermaine Jones.

dN

Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated previews USA at Panama.

dN

US Soccer gives us extensive game preview notes.

dN

Jeff Parke was the only field player on the roster not to see action against Venezuela.

dN

International Friendlies
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
USA 1-0 Venezuela - USA goal by Ricardo Clark.
Venue: University of Phoenix Stadium
-Wed Jan 25
Panama v USA - 7:30pm CT on Galavision.
Venue: Estadio Rommel Fernandez

dN

USA Roster
G:
Bill Hamid - DC United
Sean Johnson - Chicago Fire SC
Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake
D:
Geoff Cameron - Houston Dynamo
AJ DeLaGarza - LA Galaxy
Zach Loyd - FC Dallas
Jeff Parke - Seattle Sounders
Michael Parkhurst - FC Nordsjaelland
Heath Pearce - CD Chivas USA
M:
Ricardo Clark - Eintracht Frankfurt
Brad Evans - Seattle Sounders
Benny Feilhaber - New England Revolution
Jermaine Jones - Schalke
Jeff Larentowicz - Colorado Rapids
Brek Shea - FC Dallas
Graham Zusi - Sporting Kansas City
F:
Teal Bunbury - Sporting Kansas City
CJ Sapong - Sporting Kansas City
Chris Wondolowski - San Jose Earthquakes

dN

The Panamaniac's roster for Wednesday
G:
Luis Mejia - Fenix
Kevin Melgar - Alianza
D:
Rolando Algandona - San Francisco
Edward Benitez - Sporting San Miguelito
Eduardo Dasent - Tauro
Carlos Rodriguez - Dallas
Sergio Thompson - Sporting San Miguelito
Eric Vasquez - Chorrillo
M:
Rolando Botello - Tauro
Gabriel Gomez - Philadephia Union
Juan de Gracia - Chepo
Luis Ovalle - Sporting San Miguelito
Alberto Quintero - Chorrillo
Marcos Sanchez - Tauro
Amir Waithe - San Francisco
F:
Manuel Mosquera - Arabe Unido
Blas Perez - Dallas
Luis Renteria - Tauro

USA U23/OLYMPIC TEAM

Finishing training with a game in Costa Rica today in preparation for the March qualifying tournament.

dN

International Friendlies
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
Saprissa Reserves 0-0 USA U23
-Tue Jan 24
Alajuelense v USA U23

dN

Roster
G:
Matt Lampson - Columbus Crew
Zac MacMath - Philadelphia Union
Brian Perk - LA Galaxy
D:
Royal-Dominique Fennell - Stuttgarter Kickers
Sebastien Ibeagha - Duke
Kofi Sarkodie - Houston Dynamo
Zarek Valentin - Montreal Impact
Jorge Villafana - Chivas USA
Andrew Wenger - Duke
Sheanon Williams - Philadelphia Union
M:
Isaac Acuna - Merida
Joe Corona - Tijuana
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek
Dilly Duka - Columbus Crew
Jared Jeffrey - Mainz
Sebastian Lletget - West Ham
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Kelyn Rowe - UCLA
Michael Stephens - LA Galaxy
F:
Freddy Adu - Philadelphia Union
Jack McInerney - Philadelphia Union
Tony Taylor - Atletico CP

BEST IDEA I'VE HEARD ALL DAY

Simon Borg of MLSSoccer.com rolled out a grand idea today - Have the MLS All Stars take on the Mexican Primera Division All Stars!!!

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Nick Green of the Daily Breeze asks one of the biggest offseason questions in all of MLS - How does LA replace centerback Omar Gonzalez?
-Some people saw him as the league MVP. I thought he was the key to their championship season.

DID YOU KNOW?

Colorado Rapids owner Stan Kroenke has realized that he has a soccer team in rural Denver and will host them at a Denver Nuggets NBA game on Friday night. Good for him.

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

John Godfrey of the NY Times tells us how he comes up with his post game player ratings.

WELL WELL WELL

Yes, the Philadelphia Union will host the MLS All Star Game next summer on Jul 25.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

Player Transactions

Chivas has signed 30 year old Colombian defender John Alexander Valencia from Junior.

Chivas has also signed 19 year old Salvadoran midfielder Marvin Iraheta from their academy team.

CD CHIVAS USA

CUSA will take on Mexican neighbors Tijuana Xolos in an exhibition on Wed Feb 22 in the San Diego Classic.

COLORADO RAPIDS

Terry Frei of the Post reports that Pablo Mastroeni will remain as team captain under the new head coach.
-Last week Pareja answered reader questions in the Post.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Terez Paylor of the Star with an article on centerback Matt Besler who will be counted on as a key member of SKC this season.

LA GALAXY

The LA Galaxy gives us a video interview with head coach Bruce Arena and star David Beckham.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Bryan Lewis of the Post tells us what the Bulls will get from their sale of Tim Ream.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Geoffrey Arnold of the Oregonian after the first day of Timbers preseason.

Arnold also talks to new forward Jose Valencia.

REAL SALT LAKE

The Tribune with details of the team's new local TV broadcasting deal.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Joshua Mayers of the Times introduces us to the Sounders new goalkeeper Michael Gspurning.

Mayers does a Q & A with former Sounders keeper, now broadcaster Kasey Keller.

Mayers also writes about young Trinidad forward Cordell Cato, and other team notes.
-More from Cato.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Marc Weber of the Province on the Caps as the preseason began yesterday.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action:

BELGIUM - Pro League
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - Tue Jan 24 - played the whole game as they won 3-1 v Gent.

dN

Coming Up:

ITALY - Coppa Italia - Quarterfinals
Michael Bradley - Chievo Verona - Wed Jan 25 v Siena

ENGLAND

English League Cup - Semifinals

Cardiff City advances to the Finals!

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Tue Jan 24
Cardiff City 1-0 Crystal Palace - series ended tied 1-1, and CC wins 3-1 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
-Wed Jan 25
Liverpool v Manchester City (1-0)

GERMANY

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian on Gladbach's latest romp over Bayern, and the rest of the latest round in the Bundesliga.
-3 teams tied for the top spot with 37 points.

ITALY

Coppa Italia - Quarterfinals

Juve is the first team to move into the Semifinals.

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jan 24
Juventus 3-0 Roma
-Wed Jan 25
Chievo v Siena
Napoli v Inter
-Thu Jan 26
Lazio v Milan

TOP EURO CLUB GOAL SCORERS

Premier League
19 Robin Van Persie
15 Demba Ba
14 Kun Aguero
13 Wayne Rooney
12 Yakubu Aiyegbeni

Bundesliga
16 Mario Gomez
15 Klaas Jan Huntelaar
14 Robert Lewandowski
14 Lukas Podolski
12 Claudio Pizarro

Serie A
14 Antonio Di Natale
14 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
12 German Denis
11 Edison Cavani

Primera Division
23 Cristiano Ronaldo
22 Lionel Messi
14 Radamael Falcao
14 Gonzalo Higuain
12 Roberto Soldado

Ligue 1
14 Oliver Giroud
9 Kevin Gameiro
9 Nene
9 Loic Remy

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2012

The African national team championship tournament begins Sat Jan 21 and is co-hosted by Gabon & Equatorial Guinea.

You can watch the tournament online right here.

dN

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian writes about Gabon's big day on Monday.

dN

Standings:
Group A
3 Equatorial Guinea
3 Zambia
0 Libya
0 Senegal
Group B
3 Angola
3 Cote d'Ivoire
0 Burkina Faso
0 Sudan
Group C
3 Gabon
3 Tunisia
0 Morocco
0 Niger
Group D
3 Ghana
3 Mali
0 Botswana
0 Guinea

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jan 21
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Libya
Senegal 1-2 Zambia
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Sun Jan 22
Cote d'Ivoire 1-0 Sudan
Burkina Faso 1-2 Angola
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
-Mon Jan 23
Gabon 2-0 Niger
Morocco 1-2 Tunisia
Venue: Stade d'Angondje, Libreville
-Tue Jan 24
Ghana 1-0 Botswana
Mali 1-0 Guinea
Venue: Stade de Franceville, Franceville
-Wed Jan 25
Libya v Zambia
Equatorial Guinea v Senegal
Venue: Estadio de Bata, Bata
-Thu Jan 26
Sudan v Angola
Cote d'Ivoire v Burkina Faso
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo