Briefly:

*In praise of Galaxy GM and Coach Bruce Arena.

*For Real Salt Lake MLS Cup equals redemption.

* Former Chivas USA Coach Preki was officially unveiled as Toronto's new coach today. Wonder how much longer Amado Guevara will be around?

*Want to party like it's 1989?

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[I'm going to make this the featured post for the next five days, except for Saturday and next Wednesday when the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff is being played.] Next Thursday is the 20th anniversary of that historic World Cup qualifier between Trinidad & Tobago and USA. In my opinion, and I doubt I'm the only person who feels this way, it was the most important match in the history of US men's soccer because of where they were at that time and where they went from that point. Click to continue reading...

So yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and thusly the reunification of Germany. To mark the occasion I watched the rather brilliant film Goodbye Lenin! (recommended, if you haven't seen it), which basically takes place during the fall of the Berlin Wall, from the East German perspective.

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Charles Itandje still believes he didn't do too much wrong during the ceremony to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough.
The disgraced French goalkeeper was shown laughing during the service at Anfield and was fined and suspended before being sent on loan to Greek outfit Kavala. Click to continue reading...

Seeing as those savvy financial folk down at Liverpool have secured a £20 million a year deal shirt sponsorship with Standard Chartered, (one that should just about equal Manchester United's Aon deal) I have decided to flex my graphic designer muscles and design what I think the kit will look like next year.

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Liverpool have cashed in on midfielder Xabi Alonso and their lack of financial muscle means they have been unable to compete for stellar signings like Valencia striker David Villa.
However, manager Rafa Benitez remains convinced he can end a three-season trophy drought at Anfield and deliver the prize the fans crave the most. Click to continue reading...

Reading striker Simon Church during the season - with a view to signing him next year.
Former Liverpool boss Roy Evans has spoken to Rafa Benitez about the talented captain of Wales Under-21s.
Evans, who is the Wales assistant boss, rates Church, 20, highly and has told Benitez to keep an eye out for him in the Championship. Click to continue reading...

Why is he still employed by the club!

Liverpool keeper Charles Itandje is in talks with Greek club Panionios over a possible switch from Anfield.

Itandje signed for the Reds in the summer of 2007 but has only made seven cup appearances for the club and it has been made clear he does not figure in boss Rafa Benitez's plans.

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When the second link down on a footballer's Google search is a clip of a missed open goal, you could be forgiven for thinking such mishaps summed up their career.
But it seems YouTube has handed Ronny Rosenthal a bit of a raw deal.
His hilarious execution of the crossbar challenge at Villa Park in 1992 does make great viewing and today the Israeli looks back and has a good laugh at it. Click to continue reading...

There was recently an outpouring of grief in this country as the Hillsborough disaster was remembered. 96 innocent men, women and children lost their lives when out supporting Liverpool FC.

Four years earlier, Liverpool fans had been involved in another stadium disaster in which 39 fans died.

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On the 20th anniversary of Michael Thomas's title-winner at Anfield and the 10th anniversary of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Treble-clincher, we recall half a dozen other last-gasp goals. Click to continue reading...

Arsenals youth team ran riot last week and beat our youth team 4-1 in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup final. Tonight marks the return leg of the final at Anfield Road. It might seem almost inconceivable that our youths can overcome that deficit, but there's a bit of symmetry at play here.
You see back in the good old days (80s), it seemed almost inconceivable that any side could come to Anfield and beat Liverpool 2-0. Click to continue reading...

Today the club confronted the issue of the co-host of a mysteriously popular U.S. radio show that, on numerous occasions, stated factually incorrect information regarding the Hillsborough tragedy and the club's efforts to find justice for the 96 (here and here). It's been quite the firestorm over at EPL Talk in recent weeks, and until Monday there had been no apology.

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While I was away, a friend told me about this story concerning football 'shock jock' Steven Cohen and his foolish comments regarding the Hillsborough tragedy.
I'm not a Liverpool fan. But I can certainly sympathize with their anger regarding his comments.
So what happened? Click to continue reading...

One of MLS's staunchest critics of MLS has put his foot in it with remarks about the Hillsborough Disaster and lost a number of high profile, lucrative sponsors as a result. MLSR readers may remember we rain a video stream of World Soccer Daily here before pulling it down. One of the reasons we did was the amount of email we received from people supporting the boycott detailed in this article of Prost Amerika Soccer below:

Fox Football Phone-in presenter Stephen Cohen is in hot water with some Liverpool Football Club fans over remarks he made about the Hillsborough disaster.

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‘Arsenal Herts & Beds' have successfully created eight one-off clay foot imprints from Arsenal legends and current first team players that are under the hammer until Monday 4th May. The imprints are being auctioned via a dedicated website www.arsenalimprints.co.uk/afc, with all successful bids going directly to Arsenal's Charity of the Season, Teenage Cancer Trust.

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Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish is to take the lead in staging a charity match at Anfield next month to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster.
The game – involving legends from the Reds' illustrious past and an all-star celebrity team – will be played on the night of Thursday, May 14. Click to continue reading...

No rest for wicked: We're off to Anfield tonight, a month and five days short of the 20th anniversary of the most defining moment in Arsenal's modern era. Frankly, I can't believe it was 20 years ago, but I'd settle for the same scoreline again with jingling bells on.

I'd actually settle for a draw as the odds have to be stacked in Liverpool's favour.

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Home Secretary Jacqui Smith insists the Government is "committed" to helping families who lost loved ones in the Hillsborough disaster.
Last Wednesday was the 20th anniversary since 96 Liverpool supporters died in a crush at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium on 15th April 1989 where their team was to meet Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semi-final. Click to continue reading...

Steven Cohen, co-host of the World Soccer Daily radio show, has been at it again.

While the rest of the world last week was paying tribute to the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough Tragedy, Cohen was complaining on his U.S. radio show that Liverpool fans failed to take responsibility for Hillsborough as well as claiming that if 6,000-8,000 ticketless fans had not shown up, the Hillsborough Disaster would never have happened.

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Charles Itandje has been given a 14 day ban by Liverpool FC for his behaviour during the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy. The reserve keeper was shown swaying around and nudging the person next to him whilst smiling.

Itandje has recently issued an apology to the Liverpool Echo:

"First of all, if my behaviour has caused offence to anyone then I can only apologise.

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Liverpool will intensify their efforts to off-load Charles Itandje this summer after the reserve goalkeeper behaved offensively during the Hillsborough memorial service at Anfield on Wednesday.
The French goalkeeper was spotted laughing and acting the fool by TV cameras at the service to mark the 20th anniversary of the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters at Hillsborough. Click to continue reading...

Charles Itandje, the club's reserve goalkeeper, was reportedly caught by television cameras laughing and fooling around during the service to mark the 20th anniversary of the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters at Hillsborough, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Oh, dear. Click to continue reading...

Charles Itandje's Liverpool career could be in jeopardy following allegations that he behaved inappropriately at Wednesday's Hillsborough memorial service.
Television footage of the event appeared to show the out of favour keeper fooling around during the ceremony and senior officials at Liverpool are already looking into the incident with a view to taking disciplinary action against him. Click to continue reading...

What did you miss in the football world yesterday? Shame on you if you did miss any of these things, but I'm here to catch you up in case you did.

Where Were You on April 15, 1989?

Wednesday was the 20th anniversary of one of, if not the worst, days in the history of football, and many around the world (including Steven Gerrard) no doubt reflected on where they were that fateful day when 96 Liverpool fans died at Hillsborough.

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Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans died due to crushing at the Hillsborough Stadium during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final. A memorial was held at Anfield in which 30,000 people paid tribute to the deceased through song, minutes of silence, 96 red balloons being released and more. Click to continue reading...

Today marked the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives at Hillsborough on 15th April 1989.

read more

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Come back kings?

The pilgrimage to Rome for the Champions League final looks uncertain for Liverpudlians, unless their team can create some magic over Chelsea tonight. Last week's 3-1 thrashing in front of their home crowd means that the semi-finals look like a distant dream unless the reds can get revenge in Chelsea's back yard tonight.

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