Enjoy A Burro Burrito Today News

Yes, I think it's a Penalty!

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A Cuban assistant coach has joined the ranks of the defectors in Tampa. The total is now 7 players and 1 coach.

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Fulham's website has a video, of advertisement quality, begging the fans to support them and help the team rise up and avoid relegation. It's a little over the top on the melodrama, but not bad. (thanks to Brian for this)


MLS News

MetroFanatic has a picture of a new Red Bulls billboard featuring Jozy Altidore in New York City. Cool.
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Michael C Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune looks at Real Salt Lake's worldwide search for players.
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Lewis also looks at last years frustration and how it can make this years team stronger.
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Steve Pastorino also writing for the Salt Lake Tribune, is Real Salt Lake's former General Manager and he lends his insights to look at the teams new foreign signings.
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MLS Preseason Friendlies

Matches & Scores:
-Thu Mar 13
Dallas 4-2 U Tulsa at PHP
Tristan Suarez (Argentina) 1-1 Kansas City in Buenos Aires
-Fri Mar 14
New England v Marathon (Honduras) in New Orleans
Estudiantes (Argentina) v Kansas City in Buenos Aires
Bermuda (National team) v Colorado in Bermuda National Sports Center
-Sat Mar 15
Dallas v Los Angeles at PHP
Chivas USA v San Diego State at HDC
Ohio Dominican U v Columbus in Columbus
-Sun Mar 16
New Orleans v New England in New Orleans
Fresno Fuego v Chivas USA
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John Connolly of the Boston Herald looks at New England's games in New Orleans this weekend.
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Carolina Challenge Cup

-Preseason Tournament March 15-22 in Charleston South Carolina
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Teams:
Charleston Battery
New York Red Bulls
San Jose Earthquakes
Toronto FC
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Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 15
San Jose v Toronto
New York v Charleston
-Wed Mar 19
New York v Toronto
San Jose v Charleston
-Sat Mar 22
Toronto v Charleston
San Jose v New York
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MLS Rumors - Don't Tease Me Bro

Forward Indra Sahdan Daud, captain of the Singapore national team was not offered a contract by Salt Lake after a month long trial.
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Soccer By Ives is reporting that Columbus is about to sign an Argentine centerback, Gino Padula, from Montpellier in France.
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New York has acquired defender Scott Palguta from Rochester on a loan deal.
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England is sending their #2 Franco Baldini to Dallas to check on the progress of their former captain Daniel Bleckdom.
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Talented Colombian midfielder Victor Danilo Pacheco from the club Boyaca Chico is going to Toronto (this comes right from Chico's own website). The club is said to be in very bad financial shape, so they let the player out of his contract. Another report says another Chico player, forward Leonardo Mine Pole, is headed to Toronto FC as well, but there is no real word on that. USA Residency Academy coach Wilmer Cabrera once played for Chico.
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Other word from TFC land is that Kiki Musampa is no longer in the teams plans. Seems he wanted more money than they were willing to pay.
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USL First Division & PDL News

My Minnesota Thunder has signed midfielder Tighe Dombrowski. He played for the old San Jose Earthquakes, and most recently in Sweden at Start.
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USA Olympic Team

Official team blog.
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US Soccer's video show Studio 90 comes to us from Tampa, and features an interview with Dax McCarty, and other goodies.
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CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

Group A Matches & Scores (all games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa FL):
-Tue Mar 11
Panama 0-1 Honduras -Hon goal by Hendry Thomas.
USA 1-1 Cuba - USA goal by Freddy Adu. Cuba goal by Roberto Linares.
-Thu Mar 13
Honduras 2-0 Cuba - Hon goals by Marvin Sanchez & Hendry Thomas.
USA 1-0 Panama - USA goal by Freddy Adu(PK).
Match report from US Soccer.
Match report by Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer.
Match report from the St Petersburg Times.
Match report from the Tampa Tribune.
Match report from the Bradenton Herald.
Match report from the New York Times.
Match report by Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America.
Post game analysis by Ives Galarcep at Soccernet.
Post game quotes from USA coach and players via US Soccer.
Game photos from US Soccer.
Behind the scenes post game & player interview video from US Soccer.
Post game press conference audio from coach Peter Nowak and midfielder Sacha Klejstan from US Soccer.
Players ratings for Team USA from Goal.com
-Sat Mar 15
Cuba v Panama
USA v Honduras - live at 6pm central on Fox Soccer Channel
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Group B Matches & Scores (all games at Home Deport Center in Carson CA):
-Wed Mar 12
Haiti 0-1 Guatemala - Guat goal by Marvin Avila.
Canada 1-1 Mexico - Can goal by Will Johnson. Mex goal by Luis Landin.
-Fri Mar 14
Canada v Haiti
Mexico v Guatemala
-Sun Mar 16
Guatemala v Canada
Mexico v Haiti
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The top 2 teams from each group will meet in the semifinals: A1 v B2 & B1 v A2.

Semifinal Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Thu Mar 20

Final Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Sun Mar 23
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Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer talks to USA striker Jozy Altidore who says he was pulled from Tuesdays game due to a stomach ailment, not injury. I think that means he had "the runs."
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Luis Bueno at Sports Illustrated wonders why after 3 matches played the USA & Mexico only have 2 draws, 1 win and 3 total goals between them.
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My notes from USA v Panama:
-It was far from a pretty or entertaining game. But the USA did grind out the win they needed. And that in itself is good.
-Lots of changes from Game 1 on the field for our boys. 5 new starters, and 2 holdovers in new positions.
-As a matter of fact, all 4 defensive spots were changed. Marvell Wynne came on at rightback for Kamani Hill. Michael Orozco was at centerback for Patrick Ianni. Maurice Edu from defensive midfield slid back to centerback for Nathan Sturgis. And Sturgis slid out to leftback in place of Hunter Freeman.
-The USA defense did not give Panama a single quality look at goal.
-The USA team just looked a lot tougher over all. This was my first chance to see Michael Orozco and he is just what I had heard he was, a strong presence at centerback. I like him (and he wore the #3 which is always a brilliant move if you want me to like you). But I gotta say, there was one exception to the toughness - Eddie Gaven is a wimp out there. He is just so soft with his passes and defense and attack. Its kinda sad to see cuz I know he has talent, but.....
-Panama had some real bruisers out there too. Their team captain looked like a linebacker. But he was also a very cool calm head. Several times when things got tense and the two teams looked like they were ready to duke it out, he was always right in the middle getting his teammates out of there. I like that guys attitude - rugged yet smart.
-Dax McCarty had another strong game in the center of midfield. He and Sacha Klejstan were a decent combo behind Freddy Adu, except that for about the first 40 minutes of the second half I forgot Klejstan was out there, so maybe it wasn't such a good combo.
-The only real sub for the USA was Sal Zizzo in the 65th or so minute. He was immediately effective with his speed and attacking attitude - the team was falling into too much of a bunker at that point. Great job by him.
-The other two USA subs were Robbie Findley & Charlie Davies, but they didn't come on until after the 90th minute, and really had no impact on the game at all.
-Like the first game, I thought the referee did a good solid consistent job.
-Several USA players who needed to deliver upped their game. Maurice Edu, Jozy Altidore and Nathan Sturgis all improved.
-Goal keeper Chris Seitz was not really tested, and he did good covering the crosses. His distribution is really good, not just cranking it up the field all the time.
-Panama defense collapsed on Freddy & Jozy every time they touched the ball.
-The USA still needs to move the ball a lot faster and sharper though. Too many guys held the ball way too long and had it easily taken away. And so many passes were not nearly strong enough and were intercepted or guys received them with defenders already crawling over their back. This needs to improve for the team to advance to Beijing.
-I was again disturbed at seeing guys playing out of their normal positions. But luckily it was only two this game as compared to five in game 1. Nowak had central midfielders Maurice Edu & Nathan Sturgis at centerback & left fullback respectively. Luckily they both more than held their own.
-For game 3 I would make two changes, First I would start Sal Zizzo over Eddie Gaven. And second I would sub in attackers earlier.
-Several times during last nights game, TV cameras showed USA senior team coach Bob Bradley in the stands, and I noticed he was wearing an earpiece of some kind. I wonder who he was getting orders from. Aliens? Putin? Chavez? Cheney? Bruce?
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The Miami Herald with the story on the Cuban team that played the entire 90 minutes with 10 men, due to the defections and a Red Card.
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Andrea Canales on her Sideline Views blog has the story of an unintentionally funny exchange between Mexicoach Hugo Sanchez and a reporter from San Diego.
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Americans In Europe

Ravi Ubha of Soccernet talks to young forward Gabriel Ferrari who has been a reserve player at Sampdoria in Italy, but is now training with the first team and has actually on the bench a couple times in the last month or so.
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Goal.com's weekly Starting XI column - 11 little known Americans who play in Europe.
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CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying

FIFA.com with a profile on another small CONCACAF nation - Aruba.
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CONCACAF Champions Cup

Quarterfinals - 1st Leg Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 11
Motagua 0-0 Pachuca
-Wed Mar 12
Harbour View 1-1 DC - Harb goal by Lovell Palmer. Dc goal by Devon McTavish.
Municipal 0-0 Houston
-Thu Mar 13
Atlante 2-1 Saprissa - Atl goals by Gabriel Pereyra & Christian Bermudez. Sup goal by Walter Centeno.
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Quarterfinals - 2nd Leg Matches & Scores (with 1st leg scores included):
-Tue Mar 18
DC v Harbour View (1-1)
-Wed Mar 19
Pachuca v Motagua (0-0)
Houston v Municipal (0-0)
-Thu Mar 20
Saprissa v Atlante (1-2)
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NOTE: There is no away-goals tie breaker used in this tournament.
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FMF News

El Clasico Joven - the Young Classic - two huge Mexico City clubs
-Sun Mar 16
Cruz Azul v America
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Copa Libertadores

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Mar 11
Chivas Guadalajara 0-1 Cucuta Deportivo - Cuc goal by Matias Urbano.
Cienciano 1-0 Coronel Bolognesi - Cien goal by Carlos Solis.
Bamin Real Potosi 2-3 San Lorenzo - Pot goals by Matias Loayza & Alvaro Pintos. San goals by Bernando Romeo, Cristian Chavez & Aureliano Torres(PK).
-Mar 12
Arsenal 0-1 Liga Universitaria Quito - Quito goal by Patricio Urrutia (PK).
Universidad Catolica 1-2 River Plate - Cat goal by Roberto Gutierrez. Riv goals by Sebastian Abreu & Mauro Rosales.
Atlas 3-0 Maracaibo - Atl goals by Gerardo Flores, Jorge Achucarro & Bruno Marioni.
-Mar 13
America 3-1 Dep Univ San Martin - Amer goals by Daniel Marquez, Rodrigo Inigo & Salvador Cabanas. Dep goal by Roberto Silva.
Lanus 0-0 Deportivo Cuenca
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Group Stage Standings
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European News

Russian club Zenit of St Petersburg has adamantly denied that their fans racially abused players from Marseille during the UEFA Cup game this week. But I have to say that I find their argument a bit baffling. Read it yourself and see what you think.
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Jeffrey Marcus of the New York Times Goal blog fills us in on the kick off of the new Russian season today with a game played in Chechnya.
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UEFA Champions League

The draw for the Quarterfinals was held Friday, and here are the results:
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-Apr 1 & 2 First Leg
Arsenal v Liverpool
Fenerbahce v Chelsea
Roma v Manchester United
Schalke v Barcelona
-Apr 8 & 9 Second Leg
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Paul Doyle of the Guardian gives his analysis of the draw (mainly for the English teams).
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UEFA Cup

Round of 16 - 2nd leg Matches & Scores (with first leg scores included):
-Wed Mar 12
Bayern 1-2 Anderlecht - Bay adv 6-2 on agg.
Hamburg 3-2 Leverkusen - series ends tied 3-3, with Lev adv on the away goals tie breaker.
Getafe 1-0 Benfica - Get adv 3-1 on agg.
Everton 2-0 Fiorentina - series ends tied 2-2, with Fior adv 4-2 on PK's.
PSV 0-1 Tottenham - series ends tied 1-1, with PSV adv 6-5 on PK's.
Zenit 2-0 Marseille - series ends tied 3-3, with Zen adv on the away goals tie breaker.
-Thu Mar 13
Sporting 2-1 Bolton - Sporting adv 3-2 on agg.
Werder 1-2 Rangers - Rangers adv 4-1 on agg.
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Quarterfinal 1st leg Matches & Scores:
-Thu Apr 3
Leverkusen v Zenit
Rangers v Sporting
Bayern v Getafe
Fiorentina v PSV
Quarterfinal 1st leg Matches & Scores (with first leg scores included):
-Thu Apr 10
Zenit v Leverkusen
Sporting v Rangers
Getafe v Bayern
PSV v Fiorentina
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Semifinals Apr 24 & May 1

Final May 14
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Big Euro Club Matches This Weekend

-Sat Mar 15
Valencia v Sevilla - two teams with tons of great players who are totally underachieving.
Roma v Milan - like two giant rams butting heads in Italy.
-Sun Mar 16
Zenit St Petersburg v Spartak Moscow - last seasons #1 opens the new season v last seasons #2.
Juventus v Napoli - practically an old world rivalry.
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World News

Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram ranks the 10 players he feels have been the most hyped in modern football. #1 is an easy guess.

Pop That Balloon News

2 more Cuban players have defected today, raising the total to 7. That would bring their available squad down to 13. How can they possibly play like that? One of the defecting players told a reporter: "My dream was always to play in the MLS." Other reports are quoting Cuban team officials who are claiming to be "stunned" by the defections. St Petersburg Times has 2 articles with more info. One -and- Two.

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West Ham has confirmed on their website that they will be the opponent for this years MLS All Star game. The match will be Thu Jul 24 in Toronto.


MLS News

Kartik Kirshnaiyer of the American Soccer Spot and American Soccer Radio Show has a heartfelt essay laying out how he feels MLS is failing in its original mission of growing soccer in America. There is some good stuff here.
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Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe reports on the final weeks ahead for New England's preseason - it will be tough.
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John Connolly of the Boston Herald with an article on Rev's midfielder Jeff Larentowicz. I think he quietly had a very good season last year, which is not something that I saw coming.
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Mike Biglin of the MetroWest Daily News on New England's trip to New Orleans this weekend for friendlies.
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Buzz Carrick at 3rd Degree with his weekly report from FC Dallas practice.
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FC Dallas Updates has video of players Abe Thompson & Dario Sala talking about preseason preparations.
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Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer on New York's #1 keeper Jon Conway.
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Frank Dell'apa at Soccernet says Claudio Lopez is great player for Kansas City to sign.
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Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star talks to TFC management about the complaints being lodged against them by fans of away teams who are being limited to 100 tickets per game.
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MLS Preseason Friendlies

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Mar 12
Rosario Central (Argentina) 2-2 Salt Lake in Rosario
San Lorenzo (Argentina) 0-3 Kansas City in Buenos Aires
-Thu Mar 13
Dallas v U Tulsa at PHP
Boca Juniors or Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) v Kansas City in Buenos Aires
-Fri Mar 14
New England v Marathon (Honduras) in New Orleans
Estudiantes (Argentina) v Kansas City in Buenos Aires
Bermuda (National team) v Colorado in Bermuda National Sports Center
-Sat Mar 15
Dallas v Los Angeles at PHP
Chivas USA v San Diego State at HDC
New York v Hammarby (Sweden) at HDC
-Sun Mar 16
New Orleans v New England in New Orleans
Fresno Fuego v Chivas USA
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Diego Aparicio of the Dallas Morning News previews Dallas v LA on Saturday.
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Carolina Challenge Cup

-Preseason Tournament March 15-22 in Charleston South Carolina
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Teams:
Charleston Battery
San Jose Earthquakes
Toronto FC
New York Red Bulls
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Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 15
San Jose v Toronto
New York v Charleston
-Wed Mar 19
New York v Toronto
San Jose v Charleston
-Sat Mar 22
Toronto v Charleston
San Jose v New York
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SuperLiga

The two groups were announced today for this summers tournament. Website
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Group A:
DC
Houston
Guadalajara
Atlante

Group B:
Chivas USA
Santos Laguna
New England
Pachuca
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Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jul 12
DC v Guad
Hou v Atl
-Sun Jul 13
NE v Sant
Chiv v Pach
-Tue Jul 15
Dc v Atl
Hou v Guad
-Wed Jul 16
NE v Pach
Chiv v Sant
-Sat Jul 19
DC v Hou
Atl v Guad - location tbd
-Sun Jul 20
Chiv v NE
Sant v Pach - location tbd
-Tue Jul 29
Semifinal #1 - location tbd
-Wed Jul 30
Semifinal #2 - location tbd
-Tue Aug 5
Final - location tbd
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USL First Division & PDL News

Miami has signed 2 young Brazilian midfielders, Mineiro & Caue, from the Reserve team of Vitoria.
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USA Olympic Team

Official team blog.
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CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

Group A Matches & Scores (all games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa FL):
-Tue Mar 11
Panama 0-1 Honduras -Hon goal by Hendry Thomas.
USA 1-1 Cuba - USA goal by Freddy Adu. Cuba goal by Roberto Linares.
-Thu Mar 13
Honduras v Cuba
USA v Panama - live at 7pm central on Fox Soccer Channel
-Sat Mar 15
Cuba v Panama
USA v Honduras - live at 6pm central on Fox Soccer Channel

Group B Matches & Scores (all games at Home Deport Center in Carson CA):
-Wed Mar 12
Haiti 0-1 Guatemala - Guat goal by Marvin Avila.
Canada 1-1 Mexico - Can goal by Will Johnson. Mex goal by Luis Landin.
-Fri Mar 14
Canada v Haiti
Mexico v Guatemala
-Sun Mar 16
Guatemala v Canada
Mexico v Haiti
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The top 2 teams from each group will meet in the semifinals: A1 v B2 & B1 v A2.

Semifinal Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Thu Mar 20

Final Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Sun Mar 23
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Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer previews USA v Panama.
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Goal.com previews USA v Panama.
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USA Match preview from US Soccer.
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2 USA players, Charlie Davies & Dax McCarty, do an audio interview for US Soccer and preview the game.
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Soccer In America

Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald with a story on the first 5 Cuban Olympic team players that defected in Tampa on Tuesday night.
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Americans In Europe

Wednesday games to keep an eye on:
-Benny Feilhaber - Derby - did not dress for a humiliating 6-1 loss at Chelsea.
-Tim Howard - Everton - went the full 90 in his teams 2-0 win over Fiorentina in the UEFA Cup, but went on to lose 4-2 on Penalty Kicks to decide the winner after the aggregate scored ended 2-2.
-Eddie Lewis - Derby - started and went 58 minutes in that same awful match.
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CONCACAF Champions Cup

Quarterfinals - 1st Leg Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 11
Motagua 0-0 Pachuca
-Wed Mar 12
Harbour View 1-1 DC - Harb goal by Lovell Palmer. Dc goal by Devon McTavish.
Municipal 0-0 Houston
-Thu Mar 13
Atlante v Saprissa - 10pm central on FSC

Quarterfinals - 2nd Leg Matches & Scores (with 1st leg scores included):
-Tue Mar 18
DC v Harbour View (1-1)
-Wed Mar 19
Pachuca v Motagua (0-0)
Houston v Municipal (0-0)
-Thu Mar 20
Atlante v Saprissa (-)
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NOTE: There is no away-goals tie breaker used in this tournament.
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Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet reviews both the DC & Houston road games.
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My notes on last nights 2 games:
-Luciano Emilio did not have a good game for DC. His touch was bad, his shots weak, and his passing dreadful. But he never gave up and we all know what he can do.
-The DC back line looked pretty solid for a first game. The 2 Gonzalos in the middle are bruisers and Burch seems to picking up right where he left off.
-DC looked really out of shape though. They got so tired that they could not even jump on those last few free/corner kicks and it cost them a goal.
-New DC #10 Gallardo looks like he has some skill left in his old body. But you gotta hope he holds up all season long. (See Jaime Moreno who tweaked a hamstring 15 minutes in)
-That stadium in Jamaica looked very very small.
-Houston proves again that they have what it takes. Short on players? No problem. They didn't score, but they didn't give up a goal either.
-But Houston definitely needs more strikers. Badly. Chris Wondolowski is not gonna get it done.
-Speaking of goals - if Municipal could finish they could be a fantastic team. But they are like the Colorado Rapids in front of goal. High & Wide.
-Was it just me or did former LA midfielder Pando Ramirez of Municipal look like he wanted some revenge on MLS? He tried to kill a couple people with his wild tackles and cannon shots.
-I enjoyed watching both Harbour View and Municipal. They have some real skills and seem to have a lot of fun playing.
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FMF News

Mark Walsh of Soccer365 with another Mexican derby story - Clasico Joven. A Mexico City derby of America v Cruz Azul. Great stuff.
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South American News

FIFA.com looks at the Colombian national team and feels this one could make big strides.
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Gregory Sica of Sports Illustrated gushes for River Plate. He has them penciled in for a return to world power.
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Copa Libertadores

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Mar 11
Chivas Guadalajara 0-1 Cucuta Deportivo - Cuc goal by Matias Urbano.
Cienciano 1-0 Coronel Bolognesi - Cien goal by Carlos Solis.
Bamin Real Potosi 2-3 San Lorenzo - Pot goals by Matias Loayza & Alvaro Pintos. San goals by Bernando Romeo, Cristian Chavez & Aureliano Torres(PK).
-Mar 12
Arsenal 0-1 Liga Universitaria Quito - Quito goal by Patricio Urrutia (PK).
Universidad Catolica 1-2 River Plate - Cat goal by Roberto Gutierrez. Riv goals by Sebastian Abreu & Mauro Rosales.
Atlas 3-0 Maracaibo - Atl goals by Gerardo Flores, Jorge Achucarro & Bruno Marioni.
-Mar 13
America v Dep Univ San Martin
Lanus v Deportivo Cuenca
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Group Stage Standings
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European News

Martin Samuel of The Times does not like where the Champions League is leading European football.
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Sports Illustrated talks to Lionel Messi's father who is very angry that rumors are spreading that growth hormones are playing a part in his sons injury problems.
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Frank Lampard scored 4 goals for Chelsea in a Wednesday league match. One he scored on a PK, the other 3 from the run of play, and the team went on to a 6-1 demolition of last place Derby.
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Soccernet has a Q & A with the great Robert Pires, about his current team Villarreal, and his old team Arsenal.
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James Lawton of the Independent wonders if Liverpeople coach Rafa Benitez has finally decided to scrap his rotation system so he can win more games.
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There are reports coming from Russia that fans of Zenit used racial slurs to taunt Marseille players yesterday in the UEFA Cup match.
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And the Russian league kicks off their 2008 season on Friday. Zenit is the defending champs.
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UEFA Champions League

The final 8 teams:
Arsenal - England
Barcelona - Spain
Chelsea - England
Fenerbahce - Turkey
Liverpool - England
Manchester United - England
Roma - Italy
Schalke - Germany
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The draw will be held on Friday.
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UEFA Cup

Round of 16 - 2nd leg Matches & Scores (with first leg scores included):
-Wed Mar 12
Bayern 1-2 Anderlecht - Bay adv 6-2 on agg.
Hamburg 3-2 Leverkusen - series ends tied 3-3, with Lev adv on the away goals tie breaker.
Getafe 1-0 Benfica - Get adv 3-1 on agg.
Everton 2-0 Fiorentina - series ends tied 2-2, with Fior adv 4-2 on PK's.
PSV 0-1 Tottenham - series ends tied 1-1, with PSV adv 6-5 on PK's.
Zenit 2-0 Marseille - series ends tied 3-3, with Zen adv on the away goals tie breaker.
-Thu Mar 13
Sporting v Bolton (1-1)
Werder v Rangers (0-2)
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FIFA Scandal News

The Telegraph latches onto the ISL/FIFA bribery story and keeps the momentum going against the greed.
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A little more on that same story from The Times Insider column.
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World News

This goes waaaay beyond any derby - Israel and Palestine club football. From the LA Times Babylon & Beyond blog.
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World Soccer has a Q & A with Frederic Kanoute of Sevilla & Mali. Via Sports Illustrated.
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World Cup 2010 - South Africa News

The Confederation Cup is a warm-up tournament sponsored by FIFA that takes place the summer before each World Cup in the host country, ie. South Africa. They use it as a test run of sorts. But it has become more than that when you see the prize money being handed out - Winner: $3.75 Million, 2nd Place: $3.25 M, 3rd Place: $2.75 M, 4th Place: $2.25 M, and the other 4 teams get $1.4 M each. The tournament is set for June 14-28 09.

Dude, Yer Like, So Busted News

5 Cuban soccer players left the team last night after their game against the USA are expected to seek political asylum.


MLS News

FIFA.com with a story on New England's two young Gambian players, Abdoulie Mansally & Sainey Nyassi.
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Steven Wells of the Philadelphia Weekly gives his view of the new MLS team and the supporters group Sons of Ben. Note: Swells has been one of my favorite writes on any topic going back to the early 80's.
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Real Salt Lake has launched their own official team blog - Behind the Shield
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MLS Stadium Talk

The San Jose Mercury News with the latest on stadium planning in that city.
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The Soccer Silicon Valley blog with more on the latest news from San Jose.
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MLS Expansion News

The Chicago Daily Herald pimps for a team in St Louis.
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MLS Preseason Friendlies

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 11
CANCELED San Luis (Mexico) v Chicago in Mexicali - canceled due to poor field conditions
Platense (Argentina) 0-0 Kansas City in Buenos Aires
Central Cordoba (Argentina) 0-2 Salt Lake in Rosario
-Wed Mar 12
Rosario Central (Argentina) v Salt Lake in Rosario
San Lorenzo (Argentina) v Kansas City in Buenos Aires
-Thu Mar 13
Dallas v U Tulsa at PHP
Boca Juniors or Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) v Kansas City in Buenos Aires
-Fri Mar 14
New England v Marathon (Honduras) in New Orleans
Estudiantes (Argentina) v Kansas City in Buenos Aires
Bermuda (National team) v Colorado in Bermuda National Sports Center
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MLS Rumors - Don't Tease Me Bro

The word had been floating around the Liverpool would be the opponent for the MLS All Stars up in Toronto. But today the Toronto Star reports that it will be West Ham. Oh gee goody goody. Quick, name a player on West Ham!
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New England is all set to sign Argenis Fernandez, a forward from Costa Rica who last played for Santos in CR.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrea Canales has this story on her Sideline Views blog, and it was so good I just had to steal it. David Beacham leaves a tip.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division & PDL News

Vancouver re-signed centerback Adrian Cann, and signed 15 year J-League veteran midfielder Takashi Hirano.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USA Olympic Team

Official team blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

Group A Matches & Scores (all games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa FL):
-Tue Mar 11
Panama 0-1 Honduras -Hon goal by Hendry Thomas.
USA 1-1 Cuba - USA goal by Freddy Adu. Cuba goal by Roberto Linares.
Match report from US Soccer.
Match report by Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer.
Match report from the Bradenton Herald.
Match report from the New York Times.
Post game analysis by Ives Galarcep at Soccernet.
Post game analysis and USA player ratings from Goal.com
Post game analysis by Jeffrey Marcus of the New York Times Goal blog.
Player ratings from Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America.
Post game quotes from USA coach and players from US Soccer.
Game photos from US Soccer.
Post game video from US Soccer.
-Thu Mar 13
Honduras v Cuba
USA v Panama - live at 7pm central on Fox Soccer Channel
-Sat Mar 15
Cuba v Panama
USA v Honduras - live at 6pm central on Fox Soccer Channel
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Group B Matches & Scores (all games at Home Deport Center in Carson CA):
-Wed Mar 12
Haiti v Guatemala
Canada v Mexico
-Thu Mar 14
Canada v Haiti
Mexico v Guatemala
-Sun Mar 16
Guatemala v Canada
Mexico v Haiti
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The top 2 teams from each group will meet in the semifinals: A1 v B2 & B1 v A2.

Semifinal Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Thu Mar 20

Final Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Sun Mar 23
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My thoughts on the USA v Cuba game:
Klunker City! Our team came out of the gate on fire, hit the post, made the keeper make a good save, and then scored a goal all in the first 10 minutes or so. Then they moved to Klunker City. My guess is that they thought it was going to be just that easy and switched off. Cuba fought back, with not very much, but got a nice goal on some really slack defending. Then Cuba put everyone behind the ball, laid on the ground in agony for minutes on end every chance they got, and earned themselves a point. Good for Cuba. Pathetic for the USA. Only 2 USA players had good games, Freddy Adu was very good early, moving, passing, shooting and scoring, after that not much. Dax McCarty played great all 90 minutes, refusing to stop or ease up, he was impressive in the center of midfield. The rest of em, well, they better work on their egos. Another problem with this whole team for me is that too many guys are playing out of position. Let's start on the left. Two right footers playing left fullback and left wing. Why? At right fullback you have a newly converted striker. A guy who has never played this position in a real game in his life. Why? At right wing you have a forward. Why? And in the center of defense you have a defensive midfielder. Why? That is 5 guys starting an important game out of position. Who is in charge of this team? Seems like the coach is Dr Frankenstein - putting the monster together from spare parts. And finally, I asked this question 2 weeks ago and will ask it again - why didn't they play any warm up matches before a competition that they say is important. PS. Paging Stuart Holden, Please pick up the white courtesy telephone, and hit your coach over the head with it so he remembers that you are there. PPS. Chad Barrett was of a particularly strong brand of horribleness.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The announced attendance was 4,359. I would believe it if they dropped the 4.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer reports that Jozy Altidore was subbed out at halftime due to injury worries. Here is the quote from coach Nowak: "Jozy got knocked a couple of times, We talked to our doctor and talked to Jozy. We have another two games. Hopefully, he will be ready for Thursday."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star says Team Canada is not ready for the qualifiers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union Tribune previews Mexico.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccer In America

This Is American Soccer with another great interview. David Keyes of Culture of Soccer does the asking again, and gets answers from Luis Bueno, one of the great soccer writers in Southern California.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Oakland Tribune with a pretty cool story on a little know talent in American soccer history, and an early star of the San Jose Earthquakes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dave Lifton of the US National Soccer Players Assoc does a Q & A with Jack Huckel, director of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Sports Business Journal is covering the World Congress of Sports. Guests include MLS top dog Donald Garber and Liverpool co-owner George Gillet. The event goes on all week.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Americans In Europe

The Fulham website, fans pose questions and Clint Dempsey answers them. (thanks to Brian for this)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrew Rogers at Soccer365 does a Q & A with Jonathan Spector.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tuesday games to keep an eye on:
-Jay Demerit - Watford - came on in the 63rd minute of a 0-0 tie game at Bristol City.
-Matt Pickens - Queens Park Rangers - parked on the bench and the team beat Blackpool 3-2 at home.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CONCACAF Champions Cup

The action is underway!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Quarterfinals - First Leg Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 11
Motagua 0-0 Pachuca
-Wed Mar 12
Harbour View v DC - 7pm central on FSC
Municipal v Houston - 9pm central on FSC
-Thu Mar 13
Atlante v Saprissa - 10pm central on FSC
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Last nights first game of the tournament ended in a scoreless draw down in Honduras.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Steven Goff of the Washington Post says DC is all business in Jamaica.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Match preview of Harbour View v DC from Goal.com
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Jamaica Gleaner previews their local team Harbour View.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle previews Houston's game in Guatemala.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America previews the two MLS teams.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Haydon of the Washington Times and Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner preview DC United.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SoccerLens previews the first round of the tournament.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Mar 11
Chivas Guadalajara 0-1 Cucuta Deportivo - Cuc goal by Matias Urbano.
Cienciano 1-0 Coronel Bolognesi - Cien goal by Carlos Solis.
Bamin Real Potosi 2-3 San Lorenzo - Pot goals by Matias Loayza & Alvaro Pintos. San goals by Bernando Romeo, Cristian Chavez & Aureliano Torres(PK).
-Mar 12
Arsenal v Liga Universitaria Quito
Universidad Catolica v River Plate
Atlas v Maracaibo
-Mar 13
America v Dep Univ San Martin
Lanus v Deportivo Cuenca
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Group Stage Standings
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

European News

At the post game press conference last night Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini announced that he will leave the team at the end of the current season. Then this morning he went to speak with reporters again and said he had changed his mind, he is staying. Let the yo-yo begin!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Manchester United assistant coach Carlos Quieroz is the man rumored to be taking over the head job at Benfica.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Very interesting fact: Of the 92 teams in England Football League, only 2 of them have black managers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Guardian with an article on highly regarded manager Martin O'Neill, and the job he is doing at Aston Villa.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jack Bell of the New York Times Goal blog takes us back to the days when Man U boss Alex Ferguson ruled Aberdeen.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Champions League

Matches & Scores
Round of 16 - 2nd leg matches (with 1st leg scores included):
-Tue Mar 11
Inter 0-1 Liverpool - Liv adv 3-0 on agg. Liv goal by Fernando Torres.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A Red Card to a centerback in each of the two games certainly didn't help Inter, but did they really deserve to win anyway? And what was the deal with Luis Figo refusing to come on as a sub? Did that really happen?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune reviews last nights game and rounds up the final 8 teams.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Guardian with a fantastic look at Inter's San Siro stadium last night -what a scene that must have been.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The final 8 teams:
Arsenal - England
Barcelona - Spain
Chelsea - England
Fenerbahce - Turkey
Liverpool - England
Manchester United - England
Roma - Italy
Schalke - Germany
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Four of the Quarterfinalists are from England, and the other 4 are from separate countries.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The draw will be held on Friday.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Liverpool signed Fernando Torres last summer I questioned his toughness
when the games met something. He had not come through for Atletico
Madrid or Spain when he had the chance to. But I will admit my mistake
and say that he has become one hell of a striker. Great for him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Cup

Round of 16 - 2nd leg Matches & Scores (with first leg scores included):
-Wed Mar 12
Bayern 1-2 Anderlecht - Bay adv 6-2 on agg.
Hamburg 3-2 Leverkusen - series ends tied 3-3, with Lev adv on the away goals tie breaker.
Getafe 1-0 Benfica - Get adv 3-1 on agg.
Everton 2-0 Fiorentina - series ends tied 2-2, with Fior adv 4-2 on PK's.
PSV 0-1 Tottenham - series ends tied 1-1, with PSV adv 6-5 on PK's.
Zenit 2-0 Marseille - series ends tied 3-3, with Zen adv on the away goals tie breaker.
-Thu Mar 13
Sporting v Bolton (1-1)
Werder v Rangers (0-2)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Euro League Cup Competitions

-FA Cup-
Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune looks at the unlikely final 4.

Joe Walsh For Ex-Vice-President News

The derby du Nord was played in France today, delayed from mid-December when the field was in too poor of a condition to be used. Lille the away team won 1-2 at Lens. Vive la Lille.

~and~

US Soccer has put together a very comprehensive look at Landon Donovan's 35 career goals for Team USA. The have the goals broken down into very detailed categories, and a video reel of the whole batch! Fantastic! Do you know who he scored his first goal against?


MLS News

Jack Bell of the New York Times with an article on the new season for Claudio Reyna and the Red Bulls.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bob Luder of the Kansas City Star on the Wizards signing of Claudio Lopez.
-The paper also has a graphic comparing Lopez to other designated players in the league.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Glenn Davis of the Houston Chronicle with an article on the Dynamo's new Argentine forward Franco Caraccio.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Crewture blog has an interview with the head of ticket sales for the Columbus Crew. Some interesting stuff here.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe looks at how New England have built their team - by being frugal. Just like their cousins the Patriots.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pat Walsh at Goal.com calls out the clubs he feels don't try real hard to win. I want to say I love the win at all cost attitude. Just as long as it's not my money.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brandweek reports on the MLS overall league marketing strategy for the 2008 season: Football.Futbol.Soccer.MLS
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dan Freedman writing on the Huffington Post tells Americans its time to join in the worlds game, and start by embracing your own national league, MLS. Here here. (I would seriously doubt if anyone has ever written about soccer on the Huffington Post before.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Preseason Friendlies

Matches & Scores:
-Mon Mar 10
River Plate (Argentina) 1-2 Kansas City in Buenos Aires
-Tue Mar 11
CANCELED San Luis (Mexico) v Chicago in Mexicali - canceled due to poor field conditions
Platense (Argentina) v Kansas City in Buenos Aires
Central Cordoba (Argentina) v Salt Lake in Rosario
-Wed Mar 12
Rosario Central (Argentina) v Salt Lake in Rosario
San Lorenzo (Argentina) v Kansas City in Buenos Aires
-Thu Mar 13
Dallas v U Tulsa at PHP
Boca Juniors or Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) v Kansas City in Buenos Aires
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Rumors - Don't Tease Me Bro

Is Chivas USA serious about bringing Adolfo "Bozo" Bautista in from the mothership in Guadalajara? I think it's a great idea. But didn't we hear this about Omar Bravo a month or so ago?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another Scottish forward is in for a try out with Toronto - Dean McDonald of Inverness Caley.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division & PDL News

Vancouver has given new contracts to 2 of their defenders - Adrian Cann & Diaz Kambere.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USA Olympic Team

Contrary to previous reports, Maurice Edu has been named captain of the USA team.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Official team blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

US Soccer gives us photos from yesterdays training session.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Steven Goff of the Washington Post looks at how USA coaches put together their national teams when the players are scattered amongst so many clubs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

US Soccer has audio from players Jozy Altidore, Maurice Edu & Sacha Kljestan previewing the qualifiers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

Group A Matches & Scores (all games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa FL):
-Tue Mar 11
Panama v Honduras
USA v Cuba - live at 7pm central on Fox Soccer Channel
-Thu Mar 13
Honduras v Cuba
USA v Panama - live at 7pm central on Fox Soccer Channel
-Sat Mar 15
Cuba v Panama
USA v Honduras - live at 6pm central on Fox Soccer Channel

Group B Matches & Scores (all games at Home Deport Center in Carson CA):
-Wed Mar 12
Haiti v Guatemala
Canada v Mexico
-Thu Mar 14
Canada v Haiti
Mexico v Guatemala
-Sun Mar 16
Guatemala v Canada
Mexico v Haiti
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The top 2 teams from each group will meet in the semifinals: A1 v B2 & B1 v A2.

Semifinal Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Thu Mar 20

Final Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Sun Mar 23
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By far the most familiar name from the USA's group stage opponents is Ramon Nunez who played in Dallas for several years, Chivas USA last season and has now transferred to Olimpia in Honduras.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Tampa Tribune gives us a preview of Cuba, Honduras & Panama.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luis Bueno at the Press Enterprise says the USA has what it takes to advance out of this tournament to the big time in late summer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ives Galarcep at the Herald News previews the USA.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News says the USA needs to succeed in this here tourney.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Bradenton Herald previews the USA team. This paper has seen many of these players grow up as they went through the USA Residency Academy in that town.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Yuma Sun with an article on their sort-of-son, USA striker Chad Barrett.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

St Petersburg Times on Jozy Altidore.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald with a story on the Cuban team.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nick Green of the LA Daily News previews the USA and the tournament.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A crusty old dude at the Tampa Tribune tries to write about the Olympic qualifiers, but after only 86 words it just turns into another article by a guy who knows nothing at all about soccer, pining away for the good old days of the NASL. The Tampa Bay Rowdies. Oh what grand time it was. When soccer was manly. Blah-dy frickin da.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccer In America

Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle says that there are way to few places for the people of Houston to play some soccer. This needs fixing. Now.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrew Dixon of the US National Soccer Players Assoc ponders this - what's next for Bruce Arena?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Americans In Europe

American Soccer Daily talks to Cory Gibbs about his return from yet another injury.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Monday night games:
-Greg Berhalter - Munich 1860 - suspended due to Yellow Card accumulation, as the team drew 0-0 on the road at St Pauli.
-Josh Wolff - Munich 1860 - came on at half time of a 0-0 draw on the road at St Pauli.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tuesday games to keep an eye on:
-Jay Demerit - Watford - at Bristol City
-Cory Gibbs - Charlton - at Burnley
-Matt Pickens - Queens Park Rangers - v Blackpool
-Frank Simek - Sheffield Wednesday - at Colchester
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CONCACAF Champions Cup

The action kicks off tonight!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Quarterfinals - First Leg Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 11
Motagua v Pachuca - 11pm central delayed on FSC
-Wed Mar 12
Harbour View v DC - 7pm central on FSC
Municipal v Houston - 9pm central on FSC
-Thu Mar 13
Atlante v Saprissa - 10pm central on FSC
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet previews both DC & Houston.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Jamaica Gleaner & Jamaica Observer both have previews of Harbour View & DC.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here are the names of some Municipal players you might recognize: Freddy Garcia, Pando Ramirez, Mario Rodriguez & Freddy Thompson.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FMF News

Graciela Resendiz of ESPN Deportes with a round of news from the Mexican league.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Mar 11
Chivas Guadalajara v Cucuta Deportivo
Cienciano v Coronel Bolognesi
Bamin Real Potosi v San Lorenzo
-Mar 12
Arsenal v Liga Universitaria Quito
Universidad Catolica v River Plate
Atlas v Maracaibo
-Mar 13
America v Dep Univ San Martin
Lanus v Deportivo Cuenca
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Group Stage Standings
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

European News

Parma has hired Hector Cuper as their new coach. There is a guy who has been around the block a few times. Hey Hector, enjoy some of that delicious ham for me, won't you.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Football Italia has pictures from Inter's 100th Anniversary celebration last Saturday. Lots of big name former players in the stands.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune writes about bitter rivals Sheffield United & Wednesday laying down their grudges for a few minutes to honor a great one from the 50's.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian says Bayern Munich usually just buy their way out of troubling spots.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ben Lyttleton of the Guardian sees Lyon beat their closest competitors Bordeaux and all but clinch their 7th league title in a row.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian with an incredible article on a "death match" staged in 1942 by the German Nazi Luftwaffe. What a story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nick Townsend of the Independent marvels at the talent of the young Arsenal team.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gavin Hamilton of Sports Illustrated says the recurring injuries of Lionel Messi are potentially very disturbing. Questions need to be asked about his health as a young boy and how he was treated. I have heard whispers of the "S" word - steroids.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Champions League

Matches & Scores
Round of 16 - 2nd leg matches (with 1st leg scores included):
-Tue Mar 11
Inter v Liverpool (0-2)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Euro League Cup Competitions

The Independent with a look at Barnsley's improbable run to the English FA Cup semifinals. Beating Liverpool & Chelsea back to back is something very few teams can ever brag of doing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FIFA Scandal News

Reuters with a story on the trial of 6 executives of a company called ISL. They were closely tied in to FIFA for a long time, as their TV marketing partner. But they went belly up owing over $300million. The review of their finances turned up a whole lot of irregularities, and a lot of missing money. This is one of FIFA Pres Sepp Blatters deepest darkest corners (among many).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Reuters also reports that the trial will look to tie in a FIFA official to ISL and their missing money.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrew Jennings has been hot on the trail of FIFA, Sepp Blatter & Jack Warner for years. His story for the Sunday Herald on the ISL debacle.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

World News

Reuters Soccer Blog with a story on another of the worlds great but little known derby's - Al Ahli v Zamalek - the Cairo derby. Great story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As a follow up to yesterdays story from Cali Colombia where local derby between America & Deportivo exploded into violence that started on the field. The coach of America, Diego Umana, has been suspended for 11 months for punching the Cali coach during an argument over a Penalty call. It escalated all the to riots outside the stadium and 80 people being injured.
-America's main supporters group The Red Baron have been banned from the stadium for 10 games after their part in the fighting. 10 games huh? That's it? Banned for life is the only way I see it working.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This Is The End

A video clip from the Fox Soccer Report featuring a scarf from the soccer team of a Minneapolis college - Augsburg. That's my town! Most Excellent!

Fad File Fergy News

One thing that I have seen almost no one mention is that Freddy Adu is back playing for Peter Nowak. Do you think they speak to each other, or is it strictly business. And why don't the journalists ask Nowak about it during press conferences?

~and~

In England this weekend we had Brad Friedel v Kasey Keller in the nets for Blackburn v Fulham. I would have to assume that the old rivals for the #1 USA job have never faced off head to head in a club match before. The win would have to go to Keller for the road draw.


MLS News

Kansas City made it official signing Argentine forward Claudio Lopez. Good move. Here is camera phone pic of Lopez standing in a 75 degree room, and modeling the KC shirt. (from the Wizards Hillcrest Road blog)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FIFA.com with an article on KC's new man El Piojo.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccer by Ives reporting that New York winger Dane Richards is injured worse than first thought. He suffered a torn, not strained ligament in his knee and will need surgery. 3 months is how they say he will be out. I bet it's longer than that.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrea Canales at Soccernet with a season preview of Chivas USA.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jeffrey Marcus of the New York Times Goal blog on the return of Santino Quaranta to DC.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLSnet with an article about DC midfielder Ben Olsen's gradual return to playing form after yet another off season ankle surgery.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune ponders a big question for the Fire - Who will be the new team captain? They have only had 2, Peter Nowak & Chris Armas.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Philadelphia Inquirer on the importance of their new MLS teams name.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star Soccer blog gets all defensive about TFC's awful field turf playing surface.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Boston Globe has an article on New England's trip to Mexico. Kinda takes a back handed jab at a lack of fans too.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MetroWest Daily News with a story on the New England Revolution out in the community meeting kids. This is what its all about man. I remember meeting baseball players when I was a kid, it was so awesome.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dallas couldn't figure out a way to re-sign forward Roberto Mina after a long injury layoff, so that player have signed with Gimnasia in Argentina.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Electric New Paper of Singapore gives us an update on their countries top soccer player Indra Sahdan who is on an extended try out with Real Salt Lake.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TV Sports Daily gives us their list of "11 MLS players to watch in 08". That's all fine and dandy, but this list is the players that everyone is already watching. Who do they think they are tipping off? Someone who has never seen a game before? And exactly who reads TV Sports Daily?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kyle McCarthy with his usual quality weekly MLS wrap-up/break-down.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pretty cool article by Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star - he gets an inside look at the personal drama of a player being traded from former Wizards defender Nick Garcia who was shipped off to San Jose.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Preseason Friendlies

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Mar 7
Everton Reserves (England) 1-0 Columbus in Liverpool
Deportivo Moron (YES!) (Argentina) 1-5 Kansas City in Buenos Aires
-Sat Mar 8
Avai (Brazil) 3-1 Dallas at Gonder Stadium in Florianopolis Brazil
Hong Kong Union 2-2 Los Angeles - Hong Kong win 5-4 on PK's.
-Sun Mar 9
Jockey Club Rosario (Brazil) 0-3 Salt Lake in Rosario
-Mon Mar 10
River Plate 1-2 Kansas City in Buenos Aires
-Tue Mar 11
San Luis (Mexico) v Chicago in Mexicali
Unknown Argentine team v Kansas City in Buenos Aires
Central Cordoba v Salt Lake in Rosario
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Was it just me or did David Beckham appear to strain his groin taking his last Penalty Kick on Saturday. No reports of an injury anywhere, and with his desire to play for England I am sure that if he were injured he would keep it as quiet as possible.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Texas Pro Soccer Festival

Houston were declared the champions. I am not sure how it was determined. Both they and DC finished with 2 wins and a the 1-1 draw against each other. The only difference between the two that I can see is that Houston scored 6 goals and DC 4 in the three games.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Preseason tournament March 3-9 in San Antonio TX. Here is the official website.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Teams:
Chivas USA
DC United
Houston Dynamo
Toronto FC
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Mar 5
Chivas 1-2 DC - Chiv goal by Jorge Flores. DC goals by Quavas Kirk & Cezar.
Houston 4-3 Toronto - Hou goals by Brian Ching(2), Chris Wondolowski & Erik Ustruck. Tor goals by Tony Zairelles, Martin Britton & Kiki Musampa.
-Fri Mar 7
Toronto 0-1 DC - DC goal by Josh Gardner.
Chivas 1-0 Houston - Hou goal by Dwayne De Rosario.
-Sun Mar 9
Toronto 3-2 Chivas - Tor goals by Jeff Cunningham (2, one on PK) & Danny Dichio. Chiv goals by Kiki Musampa (Own Goal) & Ante Razov.
Houston 1-1 DC - Hou goal by Franco Caraccio. DC goal by Cezar.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On Thursday night in San Antonio, DC's 3 Argentines Marcelo Gallardo, Franco Niell & Gonzalo Peralta took in the San Antonio Spurs NBA game and met their fellow countrymen Manu Ginobli & Fabricio Oberto. They took a picture together. Pretty cool.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Rumors - Don't Tease Me Bro

Carlos Pavon formerly of Los Angeles has signed with Real Espana in Honduras.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Is Dunfermline forward Tam McManus about to sign with Colorado?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division & PDL News

My Minnesota Thunder signed controversial striker Ricardo Sanchez who played last season for California. He is a true fire-brand, love him or hate him kinda guy. I used to hate him, and now that he is here, I love him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Portland has signed midfielder Arsene Oka. He was on the New England developmental roster last season.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USA Olympic Team

As expected Jonathan Spector was added to the USA roster for the games. When he will arrive, we do not yet know.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here is the 20 man roster for the tournament:
G:
Dominic Cervi - Chicago
Chris Seitz - Salt Lake
D:
Hunter Freeman - New York
Kamani Hill - Wolfsburg
Patrick Ianni - Houston
Michael Orozco - San Luis
Jonathan Spector - West Ham
Nathan Sturgis - Real Salt Lake
Marvell Wynne - Toronto
M:
Freddy Adu - Benfica
Maurice Edu - Toronto
Eddie Gaven - Columbus
Stuart Holden - Houston
Sacha Kljestan - Chivas USA
Dax McCarty - Dallas
Sal Zizzo - Hannover
F:
Jozy Altidore - New York
Chad Barrett - Chicago
Charlie Davies - Hammarby
Robbie Findley - Salt Lake
-This video from US Soccer has the players introducing themselves: Qualifying Roster Unveiled
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There were some big surprises left off the team: Arturo Alvarez, Benny Feilhaber & Mike Randolph. Robbie Rogers & Tally Hall were also part of the training camp that did not make the roster.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Official team blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet feels there are some surprises on this USA team.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The New York Times with an article on Freddy Adu.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America on the USA team captain Sacha Kljestan. Via Sports Illustrated.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

St Petersburg Times previews the USA for the tournament being held in their neighboring city Tampa.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Tampa Tribune with an article on Freddy Adu as well. The article is written by Bill Ward, sadly that is not Bill Ward the drummer from Black Sabbath - how cool would that have been?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Jozy Altidore.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

Group A Matches & Scores (all games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa FL):
-Tue Mar 11
Panama v Honduras
USA v Cuba - live at 7pm central on Fox Soccer Channel
-Thu Mar 13
Honduras v Cuba
USA v Panama - live at 7pm central on Fox Soccer Channel
-Sat Mar 15
Cuba v Panama
USA v Honduras - live at 6pm central on Fox Soccer Channel

Group B Matches & Scores (all games at Home Deport Center in Carson CA):
-Wed Mar 12
Haiti v Guatemala
Canada v Mexico
-Thu Mar 14
Canada v Haiti
Mexico v Guatemala
-Sun Mar 16
Guatemala v Canada
Mexico v Haiti
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The top 2 teams from each group will meet in the semifinals: A1 v B2 & B1 v A2.
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Semifinal Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Thu Mar 20

Final Matches & Scores (all games at LP Field in Nashville TN):
-Sun Mar 23
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FIFA.com previews the tournament.
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Americans In Europe

How'd their recent matches go:
-Bryan Arguez - Hertha Berlin - on the bench for a 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund.
-Gregg Berhalter - 1860 Munich - suspended for Monday game at St Pauli due to yellow Card accumulation.
-Carlos Bocanegra - Fulham - was on the bench for his teams 1-1 tie game at Blackburn.
-Michael Bradley - Heerenveen - played all 90 and got back on the goal scoring streak with another in a 3-0 home win over NAC Breda. Note: other reports have called Bradley's goal an own goal by a Breda defender.
-Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - played all 90 minutes of a 2-0 loss at Bayer Leverkusen.
-Bobby Convey - Reading - still out with knee injury, as team beat Manchester City 2-0 at home.
-Clint Dempsey - Fulham - started and went 66 minutes in a 1-1 tie at Blackburn.
-Jay DeMerit - Watford - fully back from injury but they had no weekend game - play at Bristol City on Tuesday.
-Joe Enochs - Osnabruck - on the bench as the team beat Erzgebirge Aue 0-1 away from home.
-Gabriel Ferrari - Sampdoria - on the bench for a 1-2 win at Parma.
-Brad Friedel - Blackburn - went 90 and drew 1-1 at home to Fulham.
-Joshua Grenier - Koblenz - dressed but did not play as they lost at Koln 1-0.
-Marcus Hahnemann - Reading - played all 90 and beat Manchester City 2-0 at home.
-Tim Howard - Everton - played the entire match as usual and got a 0-1 win at Sunderland.
-Nate Jaqua - Rheindorf Altach - started in a 3-2 win over Josko Ried.
-Will John - Randers - came on in the 32nd minute for debut, a 2-1 loss at Brondby in the Danish Cup.
-Eddie Johnson - Fulham - went all 90 minutes in a 1-1 tie at Blackburn.
-Kasey Keller - Fulham - back on the field, going 90 at Blackburn and coming home with a 1-1 tie.
-Eddie Lewis - Derby County - no weekend game, play at Chelsea on Wednesday.
-Clint Mathis - Ergotolis - tie game at Asteras Tripoli 1-1.
-Brian McBride - Fulham - came off the bench in the 66th minute of a 1-1 tie at Blackburn.
-Lee Nguyen - Randers - debuted and went the full 90, setting up his teams goal on a free kick, but lost 2-1 at Brondby in the Danish Cup.
-Oguchi Onyewu - Standard - started and beat St Truiden 2-1 at home to remain in First place.
-Heath Pearce - Hansa Rostock - came on in the 78th minute of a 1-1 tie game at Duisburg.
-Matt Pickens - Queens Park Rangers - on the bench for a 2-1 loss at Sheffield Wednesday.
-Luis Robles - Kaiserslautern - on the bench for a 0-0 draw at home v Freiburg.
-Jonathan Spector - West Ham - got a chance to play the entire 90 minutes, but they got pounded 4-0 at Tottenham.
-Neven Subotic - Mainz - started and went the distance as they won at home 1-0 over Kickers Offenbach.
-Danny Szetela - Brescia - injured and did not dress of a 3-0 home win over Cesena.
-Josh Wolff - 1860 Munich - at St Pauli on Monday.
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More games coming this week:
-Cory Gibbs - Charlton at Burnley on Tuesday
-Matt Pickens - QPR v Blackpool on Wednesday
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Freddy Adu will have his 3rd coach of his first season at Benfica. The first coach Fernando Santos was fired after only a couple of weeks, and now the current manager Jose Antonio Camacho has resigned with the team struggling badly. Assistant Fernando Chalana with take over in the interim.
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American Soccer Daily reports that after becoming the face of Watford over the past 24 months Jay DeMerit finds himself stuck on the bench. He tells them what he is gonna do about it.
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ASD also has the info on Danny Szetela's abductor muscle injury.
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Steve Davis at Soccernet says now is the time for Eddie Johnson to show what he is really made of.
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CONCACAF Champions Cup

The action kicks off this week!
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Quarterfinals - First Leg Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 11
Motagua v Pachuca - 11pm central delayed on FSC
-Wed Mar 12
Harbour View v DC - 7pm central on FSC
Municipal v Houston - 9pm central on FSC
-Thu Mar 13
Atlante v Saprissa - 10pm central on FSC
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FMF News

UANL Tigres beat Monterrey 3-2 in the Monterrey derby on Saturday night. You will not be surprised to hear that there were controversially disallowed goals involved. Ah, derby matches!
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Copa Libertadores

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Mar 11
Chivas Guadalajara v Cucuta Deportivo
Cienciano v Coronel Bolognesi
Bamin Real Potosi v San Lorenzo
-Mar 12
Arsenal v Liga Universitaria Quito
Universidad Catolica v River Plate
Atlas v Maracaibo
-Mar 13
America v Dep Univ San Martin
Lanus v Deportivo Cuenca
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Group Stage Standings
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The Guardian with an article on the teams from Brazil who are being flummoxed by the teams from Uruguay.
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European News

Raul scored his 200th goal in a Real Madrid shirt! 200!
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Phil Ball at Soccernet reports on a fairly bleak 7 days all around Spanish futbol.
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Sid Lowe of the Guardian ponders the awful season Real Zaragoza is having in Spain.
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Paolo Bandini of the Guardian says coach Claudio Ranieri struggling to satisfy the Old Lady's unreasonable desires. That's Juventus to you and me.
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Martin Samuel of The Times on the Newcastle-Keegan disaster, and other exciting news.
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Fulham defender Moritz Volz in the Times tells us what it really takes to be a professional football player.
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Football Italia with the winners & losers from Week 27 in Serie A.
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UEFA Champions League

Matches & Scores
Round of 16 - 2nd leg matches (with 1st leg scores included):
-Tue Mar 11
Inter v Liverpool (0-2)
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The Times with a story on Liverpeople elder Tommy Smith who wants the Reds to get revenge for a loss he suffered in Milan 43 years ago. The old duffer holds a grudge. Good for him.
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Euro League Cup Competitions

-English FA Cup-
Quarterfinal Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 8
Manchester United 0-1 Portsmouth
Barnsley 1-0 Chelsea
-Sun Mar 9
Middlesbrough 0-2 Cardiff City
Bristol Rovers 1-5 West Bromwich Albion
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Semifinals will be played the weekend of April 5, both at Wembley Stadium:
Barnsley v Cardiff City
West Bromwich Albion v Portsmouth
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David James, the Portsmouth keeper, writes about his teams big win for The Guardian: Dodgy boots, dodgy kick, but what a result! James always writes great stuff!
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Big Euro Club Matches This Weekend

Scores & Matches:
Real Madrid 2-1 Espanyol - Last week Barcelona lost to Madrid's crosstown rival last, this week it was completely reversed and Madrid beat Barca's crosstown nemesis.
Stuttgart 6-3 Werder Bremen - last years champs (this years bums) got it together and thumped this years contenders (pretenders?).
Lyon 4-2 Bordeaux - #1 beat #2 in France, as the champs showed that even though the race is closer than usual, they are still the team to beat.
Barcelona 1-2 Villarreal - #2 v #3 in Spain.
Napoli 0-2 Roma - a rivalry as old as the hills. And Napoli had not lost at home this season.
Guimaraes 2-0 Sporting Lisbon - big upset as #3 beat #1 in Portugal. This leaves Guimaraes just 2 points behind second place Benfica, but still 16 points behind the leaders.
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World News

Reuters with a story on a horrible scene in Cali Colombia where reports say as many as 80 people where hurt during the Cali derby - America v Deportivo. It all started with a controversial Penalty call, players got in a fight, the coaches joined in and not long after the fans of both teams cut loose. The game was called off in the 82nd minute. Another report I read said the fighting continued outside the stadium and that several people were stabbed. Damn. (thanks to Andrew for tipping me off to this story)
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FIFA.com has a Q & A with Paraguay & Blackburn forward Roque Santa Cruz.
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Highlighted Podcast

EPL Talk's new episode "features interviews with two prolific soccer writers. The first interview is with Paul Gardner, the most veteran soccer writer in the US, who is best known for his writings in Soccer America. The second interview is with Martin Rogers, the former Daily Mirror journalist who now writes for Yahoo Sports in the US." Download or listen here.