Soccer By Ives

Philadelphia MLS expansion team breaks ground on $115M stadium

2008-12-01T20:26:47-05:00

The Philadelphia MLS expansion team broke ground on their new $115 million stadium project in Chester, PA on Monday, moving a step closer to building a new home for soccer in the Northeast.

MLS commissioner Don Garber was on hand (below, second from left), complete with hard hat and shovel. The Philly supporter's group, Sons of Ben, also made an appearance. Philly MLS chief executive Nick Sakiewicz was there, and I don't want to say he's been to his share of groundbreakings but he's put more shovels in the ground than Joe Pesci's character in Goodfellas. All kidding aside, Sakiewicz and the Philadelphia ownership group deserve credit for keeping their stadium project afloat amidst so much economic uncertainty.

Speakingo which, here is a more sobering take on the groundbreaking from the Phily Inquirer.

Concerns about the economy aside, Monday was an exciting day to be a soccer fan in the Philadelphia area. With an eager fan base, government support for a stadium, and a 2010 kick-off just 15 months away, thinks are looking up for soccer in the city of Brotherly Love.

What do you think of the groundbreaking ceremony? Are you excited about Philadelphia joining MLS? Are you a DC or Red Bulls fan who can't wait to have a team to cheer against just two hours away?

Share your thoughts below.

CONCACAF Abroad: Weekend Rewind

2008-12-01T17:48:23-05:00

(Hello all. It has been a few months since CONCACAF Abroad: Weekend Rewind left the regular SBI rotation. It has made its way back. New correspondent GianFranco Panizo, a journalism student from Florida Atlantic University, makes his SBI debut by giving us the latest on how CONCACAF's top players did in Europe this past weekend. Enjoy.)

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It was relatively a good weekend for CONCACAF players plying their trade in Europe. Not only did we witness Reggae Boyz Ricardo Fuller and Marlon King score goals in the Hull-Stoke deadlock but Honduran player Julio 'Rambo' Leon gave Serie B side Parma three points with his 70th-minute game winner.

The Jamaicans didn't have all the fun. Mexico's contingent enjoyed a strong weekend as the majority of their European-based players held key roles in their team's wins. Rafael Marquez, Andres Guardado, Ricardo Osorio and Pavel Pardo were among the players to help lead their teams to victories.

Here’s how CONCACAF Abroad faired this past weekend:

CANADA

Julian de Guzman came off the bench and played 4 minutes in Deportivo La Coruna's 1-0 win vs. Almeria on Sunday.

David Edgar dressed but did not play in Newcastle’s 0-0 draw vs. Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Paul Stalteri did not dress in Tottenham’s 1-0 loss vs. Everton on Sunday.

Rob Friend started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Monchengladbach’s 3-1 loss vs. Energie Cottbus on Saturday.

Daniel Imhof dressed but did not play in VFL Bochum’s 1-1 draw vs. Hamburg on Sunday.
Kevin McKenna did not dress in FC Cologne’s 2-1 loss vs. Hertha Berlin on Friday.
Nik Ledgerwood came off the bench and played 21 minutes in 1860 Munich’s 3-3 draw vs. SV Wehen on Sunday.
David Hoilett dressed but did not play in St. Pauli’s 1-0 win vs. FC Ingolstadt 04 on Sunday.
Josh Simpson came off the bench and played 22 minutes in Kaiserslautern’s 1-1 draw vs. Alemania Aachen on Friday.
Atiba Hutchinson started and played 90 minutes in FC Copenhagen’s 3-1 loss vs. AaB on Sunday.
Kenny Stamatopolous and Tromso are currently out of season.
Michael D'Agostino did not dress in Blackpool’s 2-1 win vs. Plymouth on Saturday.
Olivier Occean and Lillestrom are currently out of season.
Patrice Bernier did not play in FC Nordsjaelland’s 3-0 loss vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.
Issey Nakajima-Farran did not play in FC Nordsjaelland’s 3-0 loss vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.
Mike Klukowsi started and played 90 minutes in Club Brugge’s 3-0 win vs. Germinal Beerschot on Sunday.
Adrian Cann did not play in Esbjerg’s 2-2 draw vs. Randers FC on Sunday.
Andrew Ornoch came off the bench and played 10 minutes in Esbjerg’s 2-2 draw vs. Randers FC on Sunday.
Tam Nsaliwa started, played 65 minutes and drew a yellow card in AEK Athens’ 0-0 draw vs. Levadiakos on Sunday.
Marcel De Jong started and played 90 minutes in Roda JC’s 1-1 draw vs. De Graafschap on Saturday.
Richard Hastings started and played 90 minutes in Inverness’ 1-0 loss vs. Celtic on Saturday.

COSTA RICA

Gilberto Martinez started and played 90 minutes in Brescia’s 2-0 win vs. Mantova on Saturday.
Bryan Ruiz started, played 90 minutes and scored a goal in KAA Gent’s 4-0 win vs. Roeselare on Saturday.
Randall Azofeifa came off the bench and played 3 minutes in KAA Gent‘s 4-0 win vs. Roeselare on Saturday.
Alvaro Saborio started and played 46 minutes in FC Sion Sitten’s 1-0 loss vs. FC Zurich on Saturday.

GRENADA

Jason Roberts dressed but did not play in Blackburn’s 3-2 loss vs. Portsmouth on Sunday.

HONDURAS

David Suazo started, played 90 minutes and scored a goal in Benfica's 2-2 tie vs. Vitoria Setubal on Monday.
Maynor Figueroa started and played 81 minutes in Wigan’s 2-1 win vs. West Brom on Saturday.
Wilson Palacios started and played 90 minutes in Wigan‘s 2-1 win vs. West Brom on Saturday.
Julio Cesar Leon started, played 90 minutes, drew a yellow card and scored the game-winning goal in Parma’s 2-1 win vs. Salernitana on Friday.
Edgar Alvarez did not dress in Pisa’s 3-1 win vs. Frosinone on Saturday.

JAMAICA

Marlon King started, played 90 minutes and scored a goal in Hull’s 1-1 draw vs. Stoke on Saturday.
Ricardo Fuller started, played 90 minutes and scored a goal in Stoke’s 1-1 draw vs. Hull on Saturday.
Ricardo Gardner came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Bolton’s 4-1 win vs. Sunderland on Saturday.
Nyron Nosworthy started, played 90 minutes and drew a yellow card in Sunderland’s 4-1 loss vs. Bolton on Saturday.
Damion Stewart started and played 90 minutes in Queens Park Rangers’ 0-0 draw vs. Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Jason Euell did not dress in Southampton’s 0-0 draw vs. Charlton on Saturday.
Claude Davis did not dress in Derby County’s 3-0 loss vs. Burnley on Saturday.
Deon Burton did not dress in Sheffield Wednesday’s 3-2 win vs. Norwich on Saturday.
Luton Shelton and Valarenga are currently out of season.
Rudolph Austin and SK Brann are currently out of season.

MEXICO

Rafael Marquez started, played 90 minutes and drew a yellow card in Barcelona’s 3-0 win vs. Sevilla on Saturday.
Andres Guardado started and played 90 minutes in Deportivo La Coruna’s 1-0 win vs Almeria on Sunday.
Omar Bravo did not dress in Deportivo La Coruna’s 1-0 win vs Almeria on Sunday.
Ricardo Osorio started and played 90 minutes in VFB Stuttgart’s 2-0 win vs. Schalke 04 on Sunday.
Pavel Pardo started and played 90 minutes in VFB Stuttgart’s 2-0 win vs. Schalke 04 on Sunday.
Carlos Salcido started and played 90 minutes in PSV Eindhoven‘s 2-2 draw vs. Heerenveen on Saturday.
Giovani Dos Santos did not dress in Tottenham’s 1-0 loss vs. Everton on Sunday. He was out with an ankle sprain.
Carlos Vela dressed but did not play in Arsenal’s 2-1 win vs. Chelsea on Sunday.
Nery Castillo did not dress in Manchester City’s 1-0 loss vs. Manchester United on Sunday.
Guillermo Franco did not dress in Villarreal’s 2-1 win vs. Recreativo Huelva on Sunday.
Hector Moreno started, played 90 minutes and drew a yellow card in AZ Alkmaar’s 2-0 win vs. FC Groningen on Friday.
Aaron Galindo dressed but did not play in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 5-0 loss vs. Werder Bremen on Saturday.
Antonio DeNigris came off the bench and played 20 minutes in Ankaraspor’s 1-0 loss vs. Ankaragucu on Saturday.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Kenwyne Jones started and played 90 minutes in Sunderland’s 4-1 loss vs. Bolton on Saturday.
Carlos Edwards did not dress in Sunderland’s 4-1 loss vs. Bolton on Saturday.
Dwight Yorke did not dress in Sunderland‘s 4-1 loss vs. Bolton on Saturday.
Darryl Roberts started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Denizlispor’s 4-3 loss vs. Eskisehirspor K on Saturday.
Stern John did not dress in Southampton’s 0-0 draw with Charlton on Saturday.
Jason Scotland started and played 90 minutes in Swansea City’s 2-2 draw vs. Cardiff City on Sunday.
Russell Latapy dressed but did not play in Falkirk’s 1-1 draw vs. Hibernian on Saturday.

As always, if there are CONCACAF players missing from the list who are playing regularly in one of Europe's top leagues, please feel free to let us know about him so we can add him to the list. The players who are out of season will be removed from the list starting next week.

What did you think of last weekend's performances? Are you glad to see Mexico's top players impress even after their national team stumbled through qualifiying? Are you starting to wonder what a Kenwyne Jones/Darryl Roberts strike force is going to look like for Trinidad & Tobago in next year's qualifying?

ESPN Press Pass discusses Donovan's potential Bayern move

2008-12-01T14:40:24-05:00

For those of you who have missed it, ESPN Classic has begun airing ESPN Soccernett Press Pass every Monday and Friday at 7pm. Hosted by Adrian Healey and Derek Rae, and including New England head coach Steve Nicol, Tommy Smyth and Janusz Mchallik, the show is one of the best you will see discussing American soccer.

Last week's episode included interviews with Juergen Klinsmann and Jozy Altidore. Tonight's episode will feature special guest Claudio Reyna. The former U.S. national team captain will discuss topics ranging from the U.S. national team to Landon Donovan's potential move to Bayern Munich.

Here is a sneak peak:

The MLS Hot Stove: Exodus of top defenders looming

2008-12-01T12:59:15-05:00

If you were to take a poll asking people who the best defenders in MLS are, the list would include each of the following names:

Chad Marshall
Michael Parkhurst
Bakary Soumare
Bobby Boswell

At least three of those names enjoyed career-type seasons while the fourth, Parkhurst, still played at a very high level. Needless to say, these four are easily among the Top 10 defenders in the league.

All four could be gone from MLS this winter.

With Marshall, Parkhurst and Boswell all out of contract, and Soumare drawing some serious interest from overseas, we could have an exodus of top defensive talent like we have never seen before.

Parkhurst appears to be the first to have lined up a move, with the Washington Post suggesting that a deal with a Danish club has already been lined up. Parkhurst's departure has appeared inevitable since he failed to make a transfer move last winter, a reality the Revs must have accepted back when it lined up a move for Costa Rican defender Gabriel Badilla.

Marshall and Boswell are two of the more surprising free agents because the both entered 2008 with plenty of uncertainty surrounding their futures. Marshall was coming off a lost season due to concussions while Boswell was coming off a terrible year at D.C. United that saw him go from 2007 MLS defender of the year to benchwarmer. All Boswell did was get traded to Houston, where he served as the anchor on the stingiest defense in the league. All Marshall did was put together a dream season that saw him win MLS defender of the year and his team, the Columbus Crew, win the MLS Cup title.

The Crew has been working hard to re-sign Marshall, but the allure if big bucks abroad could be too tough to pass up. Boswell seems even less likely to return to the Dynamo, as sources tell me that offers from some quality leagues have already come in.

That leaves us with Soumare, whose second season in MLS was good enough to earn him MLS Best XI honors. It is no surprise that interest has come in for Soumare considering he's a 6-foot-4 beast of a center back who just turned 23 last month and who just happens to hold a French passport. Soumare's team, the Chicago Fire, is wary enough of his impending departure that it has already begun making inquiries with other teams about trading for potential starting central defenders.

What does the potential departure of this defensive quartet mean for MLS? It will certainly make scoring goals a bit easier in 2009, but it will also put more pressure on the league's top young defensive prospects to emerge. First-round pick Andy Iro would be a natural replacement for Marshall, though he is still a raw prospect. The Fire could turn to young Paraguayan defender Lider Marmol, who the club is actually still high on despite his lack of playing time in 2008. Houston would need Patrick Ianni to mature into the player some thought he could be as a one-time U.S. Olympic team prospect.

As a league, MLS will certainly look to replenish the talent pool in what is expected to be a deep 2009 MLS Draft (assuming most of the top underclassmen prospects sign with the league). With Wake Forest central defender Ike Opara and Maryland central defender Omar Gonzalez at the top of Major League Soccer's wish list of potential defensive Generation adidas signings, MLS could have some impact rookie defenders stepping in like MLS rookie of the year Sean Franklin did in 2008.

Ultimately though, the reason for this exodus falls on the inconvenient truth that the MLS salary structure is too small for teams to afford high-priced defenders. There are exceptions, like Jimmy Conrad, but in general defenders find it difficult to get the contracts they desire or deserve, and will more often than not simply play out their initial MLS contracts with an eye toward a bigger European payday. It happened with Carlos Bocanegra, Danny Califf, Clarence Goodson and now could very well happen with the three out-of-contract defenders listed above.

What do you think of the potential departure of the four defenders listed above? Do you see any of them staying in MLS in 2009? Do you think their teams can replace them?

Share your thoughts below.

Morning Ticker: Injuries mount for Real Madrid, Everton lose Yakubu and Riquelme shines

2008-12-01T11:32:36-05:00

Could things get any worse for Real Madrid?

Perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson succeeded in putting a hex on Ramon Calderon's squad as the reigning La Liga champions are enduring a hell of run of bad luck. First they sell Robinho and score no real replacement, then they lose Ruud van Nistelrooy for the season to a knee injury. Now a trio of injuries to key players threatens to crush Real Madrid's title hopes before Christmas.

Wesley Sneijder, Pepe and Miguel Torres are all out with injuries following the team's recent loss to Getafe. You can add those names to the following players who missed the Getafe match due to injury: Gonzalo Higuain, Arjen Robben, Mahmadou Diarra, Fabio Cannavaro, Gabriel Heinze and Ruben De La Red. That's nearly a full first-team's worth of star talent out.

As if things weren't bad enough, the suddenly fourth-place squad is poised to be severely short-handed for its showdown with FC Barcelona in two weeks. Considering how well Barca is playing these days, things could get real ugly.

And somewhere, Alex Ferguson is laughing.

Here are some other stories from the weekend:

Yakubu out for the season

Everton striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu is out for the season after suffering a torn Achilles early on in Everton's 1-0 win vs. Tottenham. The Nigerian striker played just 10 minutes on Sunday before hobbling off.

Yakubu's injury, coupled with Louis Saha's subsequent hamstring injury has the Toffees scrambling for some attacking help. Look for Everton to go shopping once January rolls around, though it remains to be seen just how much money David Moyes will be given to spend.

Riquelme double keeps Boca in first

Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme netted a pair of goals to help give Boca Juniors a 2-1 win over Racing Club on Sunday.

Riquelme notched a first-half penalty to open the scoring, then volleyed home the game-inning goal in the second half.

Here are some highlights:

What do you think of the above stories? Is Real Madrid finished? Who do you see Everton buying to replace Yakubu? Will Victor Anichebe step up? Will anybody catch Boca in Argentina? More importantly, do you see Riquelme finishing out his career in Argentina, or will a European club try to bring him back across the pond.

Share your thoughts on these and any other stories from Monday morning or the weekend in the comments section below.

Altidore staying put at Villarreal

2008-12-01T09:48:37-05:00

If you were hoping to see Jozy Altidore loaned out to a smaller European team with the hope of getting more playing time in the second half of the European season, it isn't going to happen.

Villarreal manager Manuel Pellegrini stated after his team's recent win against Recreativo Huelva that none of Villarreal's players will be leaving on loan this winter, and that all, including Altidore, will remain until the end of the season.

Altidore impressed in his start vs. Huelva, proving to be a handful for the opposition defense. He is still raw, and the lack of playing time has him rustier than he might otherwise be if he were playing regularly, but Altidore looks to be sticking around a while with the Yellow Submarine.

The combination of injuries to strikers such as Nihat Kahveci and Guillermo Franco, coupled with the looming strain of the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds, means that Altidore could and should see more playing time in the second half of the season than he did in the first half.

What do you think of the news that Altidore will stay with Villarreal? Do you see him getting more starts? Might he actually be named to the Champions League roster? Do you think he would have been better served moving to a smaller club where he would play more?

Share your thoughts below.

Euro Top 25: Arsenal topples Chelsea, Barca rolls and Man Utd downs City

2008-11-30T18:22:18-05:00

Chelsea looked to be in complete control on Sunday in its London Derby showdown vs. Arsenal. Up a goal and cruising, the Blues look poised to win and hold on to first place in the EPL. At least until Robin Van Persie delivered a pair of great goals three minutes apart to give Arsenal the 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge.

The win helped restore some faith in an Arsenal squad that had struggled badly in recent weeks with inconsinstent form and major injuries. The Gunners' victory, coupled with Aston Villa's draw with Fulham on Saturday, pulled Arsene Wenger's squad past Villa for fourth place in the EPL.

Manchester United closed to within five points of Chelsea with its Derby Day victory against Manchester City as Wayne Rooney's 100th goal for Man Utd proved the difference in the 1-0 win.

In Spain, Barcelona extended its lead to four points (and six points ahead of defending champion Real Madrid) with a convincing 3-0 win against Sevilla. Real Madrid's struggles continued with a loss to Getafe.

In Germany, both Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim registered victories, setting up a juicy showdown between first and second place in the Bundesliga on Friday.

Here is how the SBI European Club Top 25 performed this weekend:

ENGLAND

(No. 2) Liverpool faces West Ham on Monday.

(3) Chelsea lost, 2-1, to (18) Arsenal on Sunday.

(6) Manchester United beat Manchester City, 1-0, on Sunday.

(15) Aston Villa tied Fulham, 0-0, on Saturday.

SPAIN

(1) Barcelona beat (14) Sevilla, 3-0, on Saturday.

(5) Real Madrid lost to Getafe, 3-1, on Saturday.

(7) Villarreal beat Recreativo Huelva, 2-1, on Sunday.

(16) Atletico Madrid beat Racing de Santander, 4-1, on Sunday.

(17) Valencia beat Real Betis, 3-2, on Sunday.

ITALY

(4) Inter Milan beat (12) Napoli, 2-1, on Sunday.

(9) AC Milan lost to Palermo, 3-1, on Sunday.

(10) Juventus beat Reggina, 4-0, on Saturday.

(21) Lazio lost to Atalanta, 2-0, on Saturday.

GERMANY

(8) Bayern Munich beat Bayer Leverkusen, 2-0, on Saturday.

(13) TSG Hoffenheim beat Arminia Bielefeld, 3-0, on Saturday.

FRANCE

(11) Lyon tied Valenciennes, 0-0, on Saturday.

(20) Bordeaux tied Sochaux, 0-0, on Saturday.

GREECE

(19) Olympiakos beat Panonios, 4-0, on Sunday.

NETHERLANDS

(22) Ajax Amsterdam tied FC Utrecht, 1-1, on Sunday.

UKRAINE

(23) Dinamo Kiev beat Dnipro, 2-1, on Sunday.

BELGIUM

(24) Standard Liege tied KV Mechelen, 0-0, on Sunday.

CYPRUS

(25) Anorthosis Famagusta beat Atromitos, 3-0, on Sunday.

Needless to say, we will see a shaking up of the Top 25, both at the top and at the bottom.

What was the most impressive performance of the weekend? How about the most disappointing?

Share your thoughts on this weekend's results in the comments section below.

NCAA Quarterfinal field is set

2008-11-30T16:33:25-05:00

All eight places in the NCAA men's soccer tournament quarterfinals were booked this weekend, with North Carolina earning the last spot in thrilling fashion.

Michael Callahan's 86th-minute equalizer gave the Tar Heels life, then Brian Shriver's 94th-minute game winner set off the celebration as North Carolina knocked off University of Illinois-Chicago, 3-2, on Sunday night.

The Tar Heels became the third ACC school to reach the Elite Eight. Defending NCAA men's soccer champion Wake Forest sent a scary message to the other teams trying to prevent them from repeating after smashing Dartmouth, 7-0, in their round of 16 match on Sunday. Cody Arnoux scored twice while Marcus Tracey delivered two assists to book a place in the Elite Eight, where the Deamon Deacons will face South Florida next week.

Wake joined UNC and Northwestern as teams to book quarterfinal berths on Sunday. Northwesten upset Akron, 1-0, to become the only unseeded team to reach the elite eight.

Here are the quarterfinal match-ups:

Wake Forest vs. South Florida (Saturday, 4:30pm)
Northwestern vs. North Carolina (Saturday, 2pm)
St. John's vs. Indiana (Saturday, 5pm)
Maryland vs. Creighton (Saturday, 1pm)

What do you think of the NCAA Tournament so far? Can you see anybody preventing a Wake-Maryland final? Will St. John's bring the NCAA title to New York? Share your thoughts on the NCAA Tournament and the Round of 16 results in the comments section below.

Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

2008-11-30T14:03:53-05:00

It was a landmark weekend for Americans in Europe. From Brad Friedel record-breaking performance to Jozy Altidore's impressive start for Villarreal, several Americans Abroad enjoyed success across Europe.

Friedel set a new record for consecutive matches played, with 167 in a row in the English Premier League. Clint Dempsey made it tough on his countrymen by testing Friedel with a pair of quality shots in an inspired performance that should keep him in the Fulham starting lineup for the forseeable future.

Altidore earned a rare start for Villarreal and proved a handful for Recreativo Huelva in a 2-1 victory. Sal Zizzo didn't play for Hannover 96, but did make the subs bench for one of the few times this season. Matt Taylor continued his impressive first season in Germany's second division by scoring another goal for TUS Koblenz.

Not all the news was good for Americans this past weekend. Michael Bradley notched an own goal in a Borussia Moenchengladbach loss while Freddy Adu, Danny Szetela, Maurice Edu, Eddie Johnson and Heath Pearce failed to play.

Here is a rundown of how Americans Abroad did this past weekend:

ENGLAND

PREMIER LEAGUE

Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Aston Villa's 0-0 tie vs. Fulham on Saturday.
Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes, drew a yellow card and forced both of Friedel's saves for Fulham.
Brad Guzan dressed but did not play for Aston Villa.
Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Everton's 1-0 win vs. Tottenham on Sunday.
Jonathan Spector and West Ham face Liverpool on Monday.

COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP

Jay DeMerit started and played 90 minutes in Watford's 1-1 tie vs. Doncaster on Saturday.
Frank Simek dressed but did not play in Sheffield Wednesday's 3-2 win vs. Norwich on Saturday.
Eddie!Johnson did not dress in Cardiff City's 2-2 tie vs. Swansea City on Sunday.
Marcus Hahnemann, Bobby Convey and Reading face Coventry on Monday.

SCOTLAND

Maurice Edu dressed but did not play in Rangers' 2-1 loss to Hearts on Saturday.
DaMarcus Beasley did not dress for Rangers.

GERMANY

BUNDESLIGA

Steve Cherundolo started and played 45 minutes in Hannover 96's 3-2 win Karlsruhe on Saturday.
Sal Zizzo dressed but did not play for Hannover 96.
Michael Bradley started,played 69 minutes and scored an own goal in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 3-1 loss to Energie Cottbus on Saturday.
Neven Subotic started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Dortmund's 0-0 tie vs. VfL Wolfsberg on Sunday.

BUNDESLIGA 2

Matt Taylor started, played 90 minutes and scored a goal in TUS Koblenz's 4-1 win vs. Ahlen on Saturday.
David Yelldell started, played 90 minutes and made one save for TUS Koblenz.
Grover Gibson started and played 45 minutes for Ahlen.
Gregg Berhalter started and played 90 minutes in 1860 Munich's 3-3 tie vs. SV Wehen on Sunday.
Heath Pearce did not dress in Hansa Rostock's 2-0 loss to FC Augsburg on Sunday.
Luis Robles started, played 90 minutes and made no saves in Kaiserslautern's 1-1 tie vs. Alemania Aachen on Friday.

SPAIN

Jozy Altidore started and played 77 minutes in Villarreal's 2-1 win vs. Recreativo Huelva on Sunday.

ITALY

SERIE B

Danny Szetela dressed but did not play in Brescia's 2-0 win vs. Mantova on Saturday.

FRANCE

LIGUE 1

Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in Rennes' 1-0 win vs. Paris St. Germain on Sunday.
Freddy Adu dressed but did not play in Monaco's 1-0 win vs. Auxerre on Saturday.

LIGUE 2

Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Troyes' 1-0 win vs. Stade de Reims on Friday.

BELGIUM

Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Standard Liege's 0-0 tie vs. KV Mechelen on Sunday.

DENMARK

Jeremiah White, Benny Feilhaber and AGF Aarhus face Odense BK on Monday.
Danny Califf started and played 90 minutes in FC Midtjylland's 3-0 win vs. FC Nordsjaelland on Sunday..
Lee Nguyen did not play in Randers' 2-2 vs. Ejsberg on Sunday.
Tally Hall dressed did not play for Ejsberg.

AUSTRIA

Preston Zimmerman started and played 90 minutes in Kapfenberg SV's 2-1 loss to Austria Vienna on Saturday.

MEXICO

Michael Orozco dressed but did not play in San Luis' 2-1 loss to Santos Laguna on Saturday. The loss eliminated San Luis from the Mexican Apertura playoffs.

American-born Players Playing for Other Countries

Giuseppe Rossi (Italy) started and played 89 minutes in Villarreal's 2-1 win vs. Recreativo Huelva on Sunday.
Edgar Castillo (Mexico) started and played 90 minutes in Santos Laguna's 2-1 win vs. San Luis on Saturday.
Brede Hangeland (Norway) started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 0-0 tie vs. Aston Villa on Saturday.
Boaz Myhill (Wales) started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Hull City's 1-1 tie vs. Stoke on Saturday.

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What do you think of these performances? Were you impressed with Jozy Altidore's start? Did Clint Dempsey's performance make you start thinking about what he could do during next year's busy U.S. national team schedule? Having visions of an Altidore-Dempsey strike force at Confederations Cup? Are you starting to wonder if you will see Freddy Adu get any significant playing time for Monaco this year?

Share your thoughts below.

Blanco helps lead Santos to playoff win

2008-11-30T11:49:33-05:00

Who said Cuauhtemoc Blanco can't deliver in the playoffs in November?

The Chicago Fire playmaker missed out on an MLS Cup final this fall, but he moved one step closer to a Mexican League Apertura final when his penalty kick helped Santos Laguna beat San Luis, 2-1, in the second leg of their home-and-home series.

Taken on loan just before the Mexican Apertura playoffs, Blanco has stepped right in and been a revelation for Santos, which is now one series away from the final after entering the playoffs as the No. 8 seed.

For those of you wondering, U.S. national team defender Michael Orozco did not play in Saturday's second leg after starting in the first leg, which Santos Laguna won, 3-1.

Here's a question for American soccer fans (excluding Fire fans). Could their possibly be a team easier to hate than Santos Laguna? Santos now boasts Blanco, goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez and American-born Mexican international Edgar Castillo. I'm not sure you could put together a team more hated by American fans, unless Giuseppe Rossi joined on loan that is.

What do you think of Blanco's success with Santos Laguna? Which of the three aforementioned players do you hate more? Who do you see winning the Mexican playoffs?

Share your thoughts below.