Stephane Mbia did nothing to stem the common belief that professional footballers havedramaticallylittle going on in between their heads after admitting anabysmalawareness of his club's geographical location. The QPR midfielder -who has recently complained that the Premier League was "nothing but battles" full of "cuts and bruises" hit theimbecilicsweet-spot at the weekend.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is looking forward to seeing new manager Brendan Rodgers
revolutionize the Reds' offense but wants his teammates to use last season's disappointment as a
fuel to succeed in the coming campaign.
Gerrard has been out of action since England's Euro 2012 quarterfinal elimination but his
teammates have continued to struggle, remaining without a win in their first two pre-season matches
in the United States.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is looking forward to seeing new manager Brendan Rodgers
revolutionize the Reds' offense but wants his teammates to use last season's disappointment as a
fuel to succeed in the coming campaign.
Gerrard has been out of action since England's Euro 2012 quarterfinal elimination but his
teammates have continued to struggle, remaining without a win in their first two pre-season matches
in the United States.
Pablo Zabaleta is fully prepared for his Manchester City side to become the team to beat
following their Premier League triumph two months ago.
A thrilling last-day win allowed the Citizens to celebrate their first league title in over four
decades but now that pre-season training for the next campaign has already started, Zabaleta knows
that the focus will shift on his teammates' ability to successfully defend their crown.
"Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily."
Occam's Razor.
And so we have the Arsenal Uncivil War. The Arsenal way is no more.
Whatever the reasoning for two expected bombs landing in two sites occupied by the public, the
inner workings or malfunctions of our football club have conspired to make summer yet again, the
most foul of seasons for its fans.
"Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily."
Occam's Razor.
And so we have the Arsenal Uncivil War. The Arsenal way is no more.
Whatever the reasoning for two expected bombs landing in two sites occupied by the public, the
inner workings or malfunctions of our football club have conspired to make summer yet again, the
most foul of seasons for its fans.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has taken a swipe at former stars Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, and
Gael Clichy, insisting that he was a victim of their lack of commitment towards the Gunners'
cause.
Wenger coached Fabregas, Nasri, and Clichy as they went from talented starlets to popular
footballers across the continent, only to leave Arsenal and move elsewhere.
ARSENE Wenger should unleash Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to thrust Arsenal towards a Champions
League spot in tomorrow night's clash with Wigan at the Emirates.
And Wenger must instil the same mental toughness in the Gunners that helped them to Premier
League victories against Manchester City and Wolves to avoid an upset against Roberto Martinez's
side.
What if we told you one of these men is a professional footballer?
There's a strangely inevitable air to this, but the big news of the day down Brazil-way is that,
having not turned up at a Flamengo training session just 13 days into his latest stint at his
boyhood club, new signing Adriano (remember him?
This has gone on long enough. Mexico has been in the ascendant in CONCACAF for over a year now.
After a generation of US dominance, Mexico currently holds the regional championship in every age
level, from the Gold Cup to the U-17 World Cup, and by the end of this week they may be Olympic
Gold Medalists as well.
There's nothing quite like the chemistry of two strikers making music together by playing off of
each other's strengths or setting each other up. Sometimes, one guy is the emotional header and the
other is the acrobatic juggler or one guy is the stronger dribbler while the other has a quick
boot.
In Soccer, a strong scoring duo makes all the difference for fans and for a winning record.
HARRISON, New Jersey-- Connor Lade is very aware of his size.
He understands that, more often than not, each time he steps onto the field he will be the
shortest one out there. It's been this way his entire life, and now that he's midway into his
rookie season with the Red Bulls, he knows things aren't about to change.
FC Dallas made it three-for-three for the week and continued their strong form for August, as
they escaped from Rio Tinto Stadium with a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Saturday night. David
Ferreira notched a late stoppage time goal to steal the win for Dallas, stunning both Real Salt
Lake and the raucous crowd.
Rarely have two teams demonstrated what a tale of two halves can look like until the Colorado
Rapids Women and the Santa Clarita Blue Heat squared off over the weekend.
Playing at home, the Blue Heat dominated the first half and took a commanding 4-0 lead in to the
locker room.
For Santa Clarita, Laura Luis scored early off an Edite Fernandes assist in the fourth minute of
play.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho's ban for poking Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova in the eye last
year was lifted Tuesday, clearing the way for the pair to meet at the Spanish Super Cup next
month.
Mourinho had been banned for poking Vilanova in the eye during an on-field brawl at the end of a
Super Cup match last year.
Chelsea isn't known as a team that parks the bus. The prevailing images of the London side all
involve swagger and aggression, with high energy in midfield and Didier Drogba bullying defenders.
Many of the players in this year's side set the Premiership scoring record in their last
championship-winning season.
After three years of wait, Real Madrid eventually bring the La Liga title back to the capital
city after confirming their season effort at San Mames stadium this midweek by trashing Athletic
Bilbao 3-0.
Although there's still two more games left to play, Madrid's victory kept their seven points gap
with Barcelona intact, so considering there's only six more possible points that Barca could earn,
Jose Mourinho's side are mathematically un-catchable by the Blaurgrana.
By the skin of our teeth, we're walking away victorious. More, after the jump:
You already know
Just like that, we're heading to Spain with a 1-0 lead. Yeah, that actually happened. If you
witnessed the match, you might have lost your mind. Barcelona did precisely what they came to
accomplish- they knocked it about, made our defense chase the triangles, and altogether dominated
the ball for extended stretches.
Well that wasn't the start John Hackworth would have been hoping for in his first match leading
the Union away from PPL Park.
But it was only one match. And amid a regime change and a congested fixture schedule, it is hard
to read too much into one less than sterling performance.
It's looking more and more like something special is going on with the U-23 US Men's National
Team. Led by a prodigy-turned-elder-statesman, a team of prodigious talent is turning in to the
most exciting group of players to come through the American system in a long time.
Fast start
It took eleven minutes of poking and prodding for the US to take the lead over Cuba on
Nashville's LP Field.
D.C. United is on the cusp of earning what has turned into a rare distinction for the club this
deep into the season in recent years. With a win over the New England Revolution Saturday night,
D.C. will enter its three-week international break in first place in the Eastern Conference.
OK, everyone, Brad Davis showed up for us and now it's time for us to show up for him. Vote for
his goal to be MLS' Goal of the Week. The video at this link here showcases the five contenders
this week, and I think the true winner is clearly an Orange one. As I'm writing this, Lee Nguyen's
is winning?
Spanish duo Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid will face off in the Europa League final slated
for May 9th after defeating Sporting Lisbon and Valencia respectively in last night's semi
finals.
Bilbao were 4-3 winners over Sporting while Atletico had a 5-2 aggregate win over Valencia.
In a straw text poll before the match last night, I asked 7 people whether it was going to be W, D
or L at the Stadium of Light. Four went for a win, two for a draw (one of which was me) and two for
a defeat. It just goes to show that optimism often triumphs over despair, despite most of the
evidence stacking up against it.
Are you bored with having to rely on luck or the performance of others to win money? Football betting can be fun of course and can win you substantial amounts of money, yet you have ultimately have no control over the results. There are many options provided for us with regards to gambling online out [.
Next time you see Peter Crouch complaining about a referee's call, you may want to consider these
findings from a study by two Dutch academics. Though a couple of years old, it's one of the more
interesting pieces of academic research I have come across recently. In a study titled "How
embodied cognitions affect judgments: Height-related attribution bias in football foul calls" the
authors (van Quaquebeke and Giessner) examine the decisions referees make – in particular the
kinds of biased decisions they can make unconsciously.
We are still six weeks away from the first El Clasico of the season but the rhetoric is already
at a mid- season level.
The news that the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) had lifted Jose Mourinho's touchline ban
imposed on him for poking his finger in the eye of then Barcelona assistant manager Tito Vilanova
last season has not gone down well in Catalonia.
Sammy Ochoa was the most popular player interview after Seattle Sounders practice. The
traditional target forward recorded a brace in the Reserve game against Chivas USA. He knows that
the expectations from Sigi Schmid on the First Team or Ezra Hendrickson on the Reserves is to score
goals. Sigi reminded the gathered media that players can and do work their way up from success in
secondary competitions to meaningful minutes in MLS matches.
Awfully puzzling game this one, as you no doubt recall. The first half of dedicated
non-aggression was followed by Chelski probably edging things, only for our lot to carve out enough
clear-cut chances to hand out a right thrashing. Alas, the conclusion to draw was that our lot to a
man need to spend a full week engaged in nothing but shooting practice (or they could just stick
Defoe on the pitch, and watch as some of those chances miraculously cause the net to bulge).
I've been calling for a Singapore team to play in Malaysia for several years. Singapore is safe,
dull and nice. Aggression in Singapore is whining on internet forums or pushing past people to get
on the MRT or to the head of a queue at a sale. Not the best environment for building a football
team that can develop beyond their own borders.
Gerrard has hailed Jay Spearing as one of Liverpool's best players this season and backed the
midfielder to enjoy a long and successful future at the club.
The Reds captain backed the midfielder to follow his footsteps and become an essential part of
the Anfield setup. Spearing received praise for his performance in the 3-0 Merseyside derby win
this week and Gerrard believes the 23-year-old has improved hugely this season.
(P.S: If you access this site via "come.to/matchpix", please click the "Facebook" icon
after you click "HERE" when you want to view the album as that will redirect you to the album,
thank you)
S.League Charity Shield 2012
Kenji Arai (L) and Alek Duric (R) tussling for possesssionA much cohesive Tampines Rovers benefit
from some shrewd recruiting had shown plenty of depth in squad when they left Aleksandar Duri,
Ismadi Mukhtar, etc.
My friends and I often indulge in extended debate on the club vs. country issue and how so far,
it's ‘OK' to support England. We eschew the jingoism, the hooliganism, the sheer repugnance of
many of those called on to sport the jersey, the overreaction to defeat and over-anticipation of
victory, the arrogance and the aggression, but still wish for a team we can support.
