Soccer By Ives

David Bentley's dream goal

There are goals, and then there are GOALS. Wednesday's soccer action in Europe featured plenty of quality scores, but none as jaw-dropping as the 40-yard bomb by David Bentley against his former club, Arsenal, on Wednesday.

You can see the video of the goal here (for now).

The goal was the first of eight scored in a match that ended with Tottenham scoring two goals in the final minutes to salvage a 4-4 tie against their London arch-rivals.

What do you think? Goal of the year? Not that special? Share your thoughts below.

Americans Abroad: Midweek Rewind

                                                                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

It took 10 months, but Frank Simek finally made his way back onto the field for Sheffield Wednesday.

The U.S. national team defender saw his lengthy recovery from torn ankle ligaments reach its conclusion when he played 33 minutes in Sheffield Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Plymouth. The appearance is good news for a player whose career was just really starting to blossom before the injury.

Simek was one of many American players to see action in mid-week play in Europe. Maurice Edu got off the bench and earned a start for Rangers while Jozy Altidore earned a start for Villarreal in Copa Del Rey action.

Here is a rundown of how all the Americans Abroad did in mid-week action (not that not all Americans Abroads play in leagues that had games in mid-week):

Soccer Wednesday: Your Running Commentary

Good afternoon folks. It is the rare Wednesday afternoon of European league action and there is plenty on TV for those of you who A) work the graveyard shift, B) work from home, C) can work your TIVO from the office, D) can get out of work early and E) have a slingbox.

here is a rundown of this afternoon and evening's soccer matches on TV:

3pm- GolTV- VFB Stuttgart at Hamburg

4pm- FSC- West Ham at Manchester United

4pm- SetantaUSA- Portsmouth at Liverpool

5pm- GolTV- Bayern Munich at Eintracht Franfurt

6pm- FSC- Chelsea at Hull

6pm- Setanta USA- Tottenham at Arsenal

7:45pm- Setanta USA-Manchester City at Middlesbrough

8pm- FSC- Marathon at D.C. United (CONCACAF Champions League)

11pm- FSC- Puerto Rico Islanders at Tauro FC (CONCACAF Champions League)

11:15pm- Setanta USA- Blackburn at Aston Villa

Please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below (and please do not comment on matches that have yet to be shown and are being shown on delay, and yes, I mean the Hull-Chelsea match).

Enjoy the action.

You Write the Caption: Best of the Ronaldo Entries

It is that time again people, time to enjoy the funniest caption entries for the most recent You Write the Caption Contest. The latest photo to be chosen for captioning was of Brazilian striker Ronaldo as he took a break from him intensive rehabilitation from knee surgery.

There were plenty of funny entries, including some that weren't quite family friendly enough for this site, but funny nonetheless. Here is the photo (the Top 10 caption entries are after the jump):

New MLS Cup trophy unveiled

                                            Major League Soccer/Tiffany

Major League Soccer unveiled its new MLS Cup trophy at a ceremony in New York City on Wednesday morning. The Tiffany-designed trophy has been named in honor of Los Angeles Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz and will be presented to the winner of MLS Cup on Nov. 23.

Here's a more detailed description of the trophy provided by MLS:

The Philip F. Anschutz championship trophy is 24” tall with an additional seamless base of 4 5/8”. The trophy features fluid and dynamic handles that include 11 facets on the front and back, symbolizing the 22 players that participate in a soccer match. The gold star represents the championship club, which often incorporates a star into its team crest for each MLS Cup title it wins.  The new trophy inherits select design elements from the previous two trophies, thereby honoring the League’s history while moving forward. The bottom of the Philip F. Anschutz trophy features a map of North America, with a star identifying the location of each MLS market.

What do you think of the new design? Love it it? Like it? Hate it? Share your thoughts below.

poll by twiigs.com

Morning Ticker: Seattle introduces Ljungberg, Ronaldo to play in Brazil and Heinze slams Sir Alex

Seattle Sounders FC introduced Freddie Ljungberg to the masses on Tuesday, showing off the club's first designated player and the player Seattle is hoping will be its own answer to David Beckham.

Seattle is certainly spending close to Beckham money on Ljungberg. Reports have Ljungberg signing a multi-year contract with a base salary of $2.5 million, though sources have told SBI the contract is a two-year guaranteed deal valued at $3.5 million per season.

While Ljungberg is clearly talented and, at 31, still relatively young, he is also an injury risk, arguably the biggest injury risk designated player signing since Claudio Reyna.

Ljungberg's official unveiling was just one of Tuesday's big stories. Here are some more stories from early Wednesday to get your day going:

Dynamo reserves settle for Champions League tie

                                                                  Photo by ISIphotos.com

Hey John Spencer, your Houston Dynamo reserves just won the MLS Reserve Division. Where are you going next?

To San Salvador!

That's right, fresh off clinching the most least coveted title in Major League Soccer, the Dynamo reserves won an all-expenses paid trip to San Salvador to play in the CONCACAF Champions League Tuesday night against Luis Angel Firpo.

The match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, was important in terms of advancing from Group B to the knockout stages. But because the two-time defending MLS Cup champions were playing the opening game of the Western Conference Semifinal Series at Giants Stadium in four days, nearly every Dynamo starter remained in Houston.

Maradona set to coach Argentina

In one of the most intriguing developments to hit the soccer world in years, Argentine legend Diego Maradona is set to become head coach of Argentina's national team.

Yes, wow.

Maradona would take over for Alfio Basile, who stepped down after Argentina's World Cup qualifying loss to Chile on Oct. 16. And if you are wondering, Maradona doesn't have much coaching experience to speak of and certainly nothing close to national team coaching experience.

What's my take? I think he's a brilliant mind who is also very capable of having a meltdown. He will either flourish and become a great manager or will go down in flames. There won't be any in-between with Diego Maradona. Argentina better hope it's the former.

What do you think of this crazy turn of events? Think Maradona can spin some magic and bring the best out of Argentina's supremely talented team? Think Maradona is doomed to fail and will be out of the job before next summer?

Share your thoughts on the news in the comments section below.

Who will win in the MLS Playoff First Round?

                                                         Photo by ISIphotos.com

The 2008 MLS Playoffs are set to kick off on Thursday night and it is time to start taking a closer look at the match-ups.

You can read my in-depth take on the Eastern Conference playoffs on ESPN.com. As you can see, my East preview was written before the Taylor Twellman news surfaced. Colleague Jeff Carlisle tackled the Western Conference playoff preview.

Here is my question for you. Which teams do you see winning the four first-round series? I see Columbus, Chicago, Houston and Chivas USA. Now it's your turn to vote on all four series after the jump:

Twellman out indefinitely with concussion-related symptoms

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for the New England Revolution heading into its MLS playoff series vs. the Chicago Fire, the Revs have been hit with more bad news. The Boston Globe is reporting that star striker Taylor Twellman is out indefinitely with 'concussion-related problems'. Sources with knowledge of the injury have confirmed to SBI that Twellman is expected to miss both games of the Chicago series.

The club has confirmed Twellman's status on Tuesday afternoon:

“Taylor has been experiencing some on-going issues related to the concussion he suffered against LA,” Revolution Vice President of Player Personnel Michael Burns said. “Concussions, especially repeated concussions, are very dangerous and the most important thing for Taylor and his future – both off the field and on – is to get the rest he needs so he can return to normal as quickly as possible.”

Hull's Geovanni says 'Chelsea will be next'

Just when you thought Wednesday's clash between Chelsea and Hull had enough subplots, leave it to Hull playmaker Geovanni to stir things up before the battle of second-place EPL squads.

The Brazilian midfielder spoke out ahead of Wednesday's match, warning Chelsea that the London giants are in trouble.

"Big clubs should be wary of us because we are going to continue to surprise them," Geovanni said. "Chelsea will be next after Arsenal. The Blues have a tremendous squad but they just lost to Liverpool, which is a blow for their morale, so let's take advantage of it.

"Scolari is a top coach and I do not doubt he will be a success at Chelsea, but I feel sorry for him because we are going to beat his team."

Wow. Admit it. Wouldn't you love to hear some trash talk like that from MLS playoff participants?

What do you think of Geovanni's proclamation? Do you believe him? Think Chelsea is going to burst Hull's balloon? Share your thoughts below.

U.S. Under-20 national team heading to Spain

                                                                                Photo by ISIphotos.com

The 2009 Under-20 World Cup is still almost a year away but it isn't too early to start thinking about the U.S. Under-20 team that will look to improve on the 2007 tournament performance that saw Michael Bradley, Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore lead the Americans to the quarterfinals.

U.S. Under-20 national team coach Thomas Rongen selected an 18-player roster for a training camp in Madrid in November. The list is chock full of many of the best prospects in the U.S. pipeline.

Here is the group:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Earl Edwards (San Diego, Calif.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas)

DEFENDERS (5): Gale Agbossoumonde (Syracuse, N.Y.), Anthony Arena (Kenmore, Wash.), Kyle Davies (Southampton FC), Zarek Valentin (Lancaster, Pa.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA), Gregory Garza (Sporting Lisbon), Josh Hernandez (Dallas, Texas), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Giuseppe Nazzani (Reggio Emilia, Italy)

FORWARDS (4): Vincenzo Bernardo (SSC Napoli), Tristan Bowen (Los Angeles Galaxy), Abdusalam Ibrahim (Toronto FC), Jose Torres (Loros de Colima)

Who is on your MLS Best XI?

                                                         Photo by ISIphotos.com

With the MLS regular season finally over, it is time to start thinking about the winners of the league's season ending awards. SBI will be naming its award winners as we get closer to the MLS Cup final, but we will be asking you, the readers, for your take on all of the awards.

Let us start off with MLS Best XI, which honors the players at every position who have had the best 2008 season (remember, it's not who the best players are, but what players had the best season). While there are some easy choices to make for MLS Best XI, such as Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Landon Donovan, there are also plenty of difficult choices to make.

To submit your informal SBI ballot, simply type the list of 11 players consisting of a goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards like this:

Josh Wicks, Duilio Davino, Greg Vanney, Eduardo Dominguez, Laurent Robert, Alvaro Pires, Marcelo Gallardo, Juan Pietravallo, Jorge Rojas, Tomasz Frankowski and Jovan Kirovski

SBI will reveal its own MLS Best XI on Friday. For now, please submit your Best XI, along with your brief reasonings for your selections, in the comments section below.

Morning Ticker: Sir Alex rips Blatter, Adams named Pompey manager and Gilardino's handball suspension

Just when you thought the Roy Keane-Jack Warner war of words would win the 2008 Verbal Warfare award, there is a new battle brewing. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson slammed FIFA president Sepp Blatter, questioning whether Blatter's penchant for controversial remarks is a sign that he might be too old for his job.

Ferguson went after Blatter in a new issue of GQ magazine, where he questions Blatter's competency amidst the myriad of unique comments the 72-year-old FIFA president has made in the past year.

“I think Sepp Blatter is in danger or has reached a point now where he is being mocked within the game,” Ferguson said of Blatter. “Whether he is getting too old I don’t know but these things can happen to people in power. Look at some of the despots in Africa."

Yes, he went there.

We can only hope that Blatter will have a sharp comeback similiar to Jack Warner's response to Roy Keane's jabs back in September.

Here are some other soccer stories to get your day started:

How would you fix the LA Galaxy?

                                                                          Photo by ISIphotos.com

The 2008 MLS playoffs are set to kick off on Thursday and, for the third straight season, the Los Angeles Galaxy won't be involved.

LA had the league's poster boy in David Beckham, Golden Boot winner in Landon Donovan, and the winningest coach in MLS history in Bruce Arena (for the second half of the season at least) and still couldn't avoid its season ending early.

Scoring goals wasn't a problem, but everything involved with trying to stop opponents from scoring was. From goalkeeper to the back-line to the defensive midfield, the Galaxy were woefully inadequate and its salary cap situation made addressing these issues impossible.

Now that the Galaxy's season is over, it is time to consider what Arena can and will do to rebuild the Galaxy and end the playoff drought in 2009.

SBI European Club Top 25

When Xabi Alonso's game-winner for Liverpool on Sunday went in, it didn't just move Liverpool into sole possession of first place in the English Premier League. It also catapulted the Reds into the No. 1 spot in the SBI European Club Top 25.

There is little arguing Liverpool's claim. Going unbeaten in EPL and Champions League play through October is impressive enough, and there is little reason to believe Rafa Benitez's boys will give up the spot any time soon.

If there is one team that looks better in recent weeks than Liverpool, it is red-hot Barcelona, which is shredding opponents with scary ease. While Barca does have a La Liga loss, Lionel Messi's boys are also the only team in the Champions League with a perfect 3-0 mark. Also, outscoring their past four opponents 17-2 is enough to take Barcelona seriously again as a multi-cup contender.

The top of the rankings wasn't the only area shaken up last week. You saw Juventus storm back into the top 25 after beating Real Madrid and Torino last week. You also saw Dynamo Kiev take its rightful place in the rankings after staying unbeaten in Champions League play while continuing to dominate the Ukraine League. You also saw TSG Hoffeinhem manhandle Hamburg to take over first place in the German Bundesliga. Lastly, you saw several teams tumble out of the Top 25, including CFR Cluj, Lazio and Olympiakos.

Here is how this week's SBI European Club Top 25 shook out: