Did we mention it was Danny Welbeck? Cristiano Ronaldo has spent £2,500 on Calvin Klein underwear for team-mate Danny Welbeck. The youngster's admission that he buys all his underwear from bargain high street store Primark proved a source of fun-poking for many of United's squad. But it was too much for C-Ron's designer sensibilities.

French striker Thierry Henry committed a blatant handball against Ireland today in the World Cup Qualifier which led to a goal by William Gallas and sent France to the 2010 World Cup, leaving Ireland's dreams dashed and Irish football supporters feeling understandably bitter.

The blatant handball by Henry was disgraceful and a horrible way to send Ireland out of the World Cup qualifying.

Watch the Thierry Henry handball video from the France versus Ireland game here. In the analysis by Irish TV station RTE, the pundits dissect the controversial moment in the game and analyze whether it should have been offside or not and whether the video of the Thierry Henry handball shows if he cheated on purpose or not.

Following the disappointing collapse of their most recent lead on building a stadium of their own in Prince George's County, MLS Commissioner Don Garber has spoken out about the situation that D.C. United finds itself in, granting an exclusive interview to the Washington Post's Steven Goff. Here are a few excerpts from the interview.

DPMM's coach Vjeran Simunic (with cap) with the media last Friday
Not only fans will get to see two of three unbeaten (so far) sides - Brunei DPMM and Gombak United in action for tomorrow's "Friday Night Football" fixture at Jalan Besar Stadium. Fans will also get up close and personal with DPMM's Croatian coach Vjeran Simunic, who is slowly gaining a cult following for his exquisite use of words in the media and also his distinctive, expressive way in urging his team from the sidelines.

The Argentine youngster's Franco di Santo future at Chelsea appears to be up in the air as Rovers hover. Following chairman John Williams' admission that Blackburn Rovers were interested in Franco Di Santo, Sam Allardyce has suggested that they could take the Argentine permanently rather than on loan, as was initially mooted.

Here's a tip: if you ever become president of UEFA and everyone is up in arms about one of the most blatant dives in recent memory that just happened to occur in your top competition, don't say that you would have done the same thing. That's just a no. For reasons that I really shouldn't have to explain.

As far as I know this is the only English-language feed of Saturday's game (that is not on TV period, if you didn't know) in the Los Angeles area.

First I was informed this game was on at this pub, then it was off and now it's on again in part by the sound of it because the Galaxy are involved.

As the world of football continues to mourn the suicide of German goalkeeper Robert Enke on Tuesday and the crippling depression that led to it, mentally challenged French national team manager Raymond Domenech had this to say in his Friday press conference:

"People can say what they want, when they want.

Having seen Stan Kroenke increase his stake by two shares yesterday, our loveable Russian has once again entered the fray and gone straight to the heart of our problem. The massive debt mountain we have, but more particular the £135 million loan that is associated with the Highbury Square development.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The subject of diving has become one of the most controversial and widely-discussed topics in European soccer, and it may be time to start addressing it in MLS.

Come join Minnesota supporters of the US Men's National team, along with readers of Inside Minnesota Soccer.com, and du Nord Futobl, for a U.S. National Team watch party.

The US National team plays Honduras on Satruday October 6th with a 9:00 p.m. CT kick off. Admission $10.

Change for the better
12 Early Rule Changes That Transformed The Sport Of Football
1. The offiside rule as we know it today was implemented - 1873
2. Teams forced to change ends at half-time - 1874
3. Introduction of the crossbar (rather than a piece of tape) - 1875
4. Match length set at 90 minutes - 1877
5.

Whether it's right or wrong in the sense that something is legal or not is not the issue. But news out of Milan has surfaced today that Inter president Massiomo Morratti will meet with Genoa President Enrico Preziosi today to agree a deal for Diego Milito and Thiago Motta.

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta confirmed today that the team has put in a bid with Valencia for David Villa, Barcelona's number one target this summer. Laporta told reporters, "He (Villa) is a player we're interested in, and we made a good bid for him, closer to €40 million than €50million.

Serie A giants Roma have admitted that they would be willing to discuss the sale of Alberto Aquilani.
The Italy international is reported to be a target for Liverpool, while Arsenal have expressed an interest in the creative midfielder in the past.
A move to Anfield has been touted in the wake of Real Madrid's continued interest in Xabi Alonso, with Aquiliani seen as an ideal replacement should the Spaniard head home.

If you are a fan of the team, 21 years or older, get ready for a rare opportunity to come face to face with your favorite Red Bull players. Seth Stammler and his Sporting Chance Foundation are having a charity event tonight, where fans will be able to play a little pool with Seth and a few of the Red Bull players.

Arrivederci!

According to Sky Sports 24, Premier League giants Liverpool have come to an agreement with Italian side Napoli over the transfer fee of Andrea Dossena.

The left-back has struggled since his €8 million move to Anfield, but having had a successful two-year spell with Udinese in years past, Dossena will hope that a move back to Serie A will rescue his career.

Worrying, very worrying!

Hull City's hopes of surviving a second season in the Barclays Premier League took a blow with the admission by manager Phil Brown that he will struggle to keep Michael Turner.
The defender was outstanding in Hull's first season in the top flight but Liverpool have tabled a bid for Turner and Brown fears the 25-year-old will want to leave.

Big Story

Arsene Wenger has gone on a media offensive ahead of what could be a difficult season for Arsenal beginning this weekend, with The Times including no less than four articles on the Frenchman, after an in-depth interview in an "anteroom" at a hospital (?

Given he's got an autobiography to sell, I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing for former England and Southampton star Matthew Le Tissier that the revelation he placed a spread bet on a game he played in hit the press today, well-buried under the Chelsea news. Le Tissier explained what he says was the only time he ever did this, betting on the time the first throw-in would come:

We were safe from the threat of relegation when we went to Wimbledon on April 17 and, as it was a televised match, there was a wide range of bets available.

So I was reading an excellent piece from Steve Davis (link here) about the US-El Salvador game tomorrow at Big Sandy. Davis speculates about line-up options for the US and also includes this little tidbit:

(Brian) Ching is almost sure to be in the lineup. His ability to rattle around and make things happen by winning second balls will be critical against what is sure to be a crowded Salvadoran defensive third.

The University of Minnesota will be playing North Dakota State on Sunday September, 6 2009 at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium on the St. Paul campus. Game time is 2:00 pm with $1.00 admission.

On Friday night, the Gophers tied with University of Tennessee 0-0. The Bison enter the match with a 2-1-1 record and have won two straight.

Old Bill talk to FA about failed spread betting rip-off Police have been in contact with the FA over Matt Le Tissier's admission in his autobiography that he took part in a failed betting scam. OTP thought that giving the book the criminal title Taking Le Tiss was a more heinous offence, but what do we [.

When: Today, 1pm
Where: UCF Soccer Complex, Orlando
The Bulls (2-2-1) found their scoring touch in a big way on Friday night, exploding for six goals against Austin Peay. They will need some of that goal scoring ability to handle UCF on the road. The Knights (4-1-1) upset number four ranked FSU at home on Thursday night in overtime and have not been scored on in the last three matches.

The Minnesota women's soccer team closes out its 2009 spring schedule this Saturday as it hosts the Gopher Spring Classic at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in St. Paul.

Admission is free for all games and the action gets underway at 9 a.m., when the Golden Gophers take on Nebraska.

Energie Cottbus' players will reimburse the entrance fee of their fans who made the 610 kilometres journey to see the team lose 4-0 at Schalke this past weekend. The German club are second from bottom in the Bundesliga table, and are in danger of relegation.
The players will refund the cost of admission to supporters and apologized for their performance in a press release titled, "Sorry.

The Dynamo (minus most of their starters) take on the Laredo Heat of the USL Premier Development League at 10 a.m. today at the Carl Lewis Track Complex at the UH campus. Admission is free. The match was first planned...

Rafa Benitez has insisted Javier Mascherano is not thinking of quitting Anfield despite the midfielder's surprise admission that he will be considering his future this summer.
The Reds boss also revealed that his midfield general has already rejected overtures from at least one leading club who are looking to prise him away from Anfield.

Wenger tells us something we already knew!

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed what many fans have always suspected his view of controversial incidents is not always obstructed.
Wenger is notorious for claiming not to have seen certain incidents, often when one of his players is accused of committing a foul.

We got one. Finally. It's not Jim Rome but that's never going to happen so why even entertain the thought (and really when you think about it would we every really want him?). ESPN's Bill Simmons is a fantastic writer/sports nut and even though he has written about European and World Cup soccer before, by his own admission has been a soccer hater from time-to-time.

I'm giddy as a school girl! I leave for the match in about 3 hours. Since I live in podunk Virginia, it will be a bit of a drive to get to DC. I've even made a sign that may or may not be like the title of this post. If they let me bring it in, it will be across the field from the camera on the left-ish side, near the corner flag.

The University of Minnesota will be playing North Dakota State on Sunday September, 6 2009 at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium on the St. Paul campus. Game time is 2:00 pm with $1.00 admission.

On Friday night, the Gophers tied with University of Tennessee 0-0. The Bison enter the match with a 2-1-1 record and have won two straight.

Rafael Benitez is confident he has seen signs that both Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher are on the verge of recapturing top form.
By their own admission, the Reds duo have not been at their imperious best this season, but the boss is convinced they will soon show what they are made of.
"If you analyse the performance of the centre-backs, it was clear to see they were much better at Chelsea and that was the positive thing to take from the game," said Benitez.

Well it's been a busy news day for Newcastle United fans today....... Literally nothing of note to write up about except for a slightly tardy mention of Barton's belated 'olive branch' to Alan Shearer, after his admission that there was a falling out. More on the story and Joey's quotes can be found here, but [.

Everybody is talking about it, so I thought I'd join in. It has been dubbed the Hand of god II. As if the plot of this sequel is similar to the first one.

Before we can go into further debate, I'm not denying that it wasn't a handball. It will be very difficult to suggest otherwise. The actual handball happened in two parts, the first seemed accidental but the second most definitely wasn't.

The Minnesota women's soccer team closes out its 2009 spring schedule this Saturday as it hosts the Gopher Spring Classic at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in St. Paul.

Admission is free for all games and the action gets underway at 9 a.m., when the Golden Gophers take on Nebraska.

Energie Cottbus is offering its fans a refund after a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of German league stalwart Schalke 04.

The club notified their fans of the refund by sending out a press release titled, "Sorry." In the press release, the team said, ""By refunding the cost of admission for their supporters, the red and whites would like to apologise for the pitiful performance which they displayed at the Veltins Arena.

Today is not exactly good news day for Newcastle fans, as news leaks out that Alan Shearer may have given up on getting the managers job at Newcastle, and an incompetent owner, by his own admission, continues to take the club down even further - or so it seems. Alan Shearer - Mike will not hire [...

"RSL at LA Galaxy: two teams headed in opposite directions," read the headline of ASN's preview of this match. Real Salt Lake came into the Home Depot Center mired in a seven game winless streak, while the LA Galaxy had gone 10 games without losing. The pattern didn't hold. Even by Bruce Arena's own admission, the home side were outplayed and outhustled Saturday night.