Some 78 clubs currently comprise US Soccer's Development Academy and three of those clubs—FC Delco, PA Classics and Players Development Academy—are part of the Philadelphia Union's Youth Development Affiliate program.

Evaluations of these clubs were first started by US Soccer in 2007 with the founding of the Development Academy.

Steven Gerrard expects striker Luis Suarez to establish himself as one of Liverpool's all-time greats over the next few years.
Suarez made an immediate impact following a £22.7 million move from Ajax in January, ensuring Liverpool did not suffer following the sale of Fernando Torres to Chelsea.

By Chris Wright

In which Cristiano Ronaldo slots away Real Madrid's first goal against Ajax last night (they went on to win 3-0) after Real made their way from one end of the Bernabeu pitch to the other in the space of 10 seconds and seven touches.

Just watch and drool.

Liverpool are looking into developing a long term partnership with top Uruguay side Nacional, which will offer them first refusal on their Uruguayan teams players.

The Red star Luis Suarez originally played for the Nacional team before joining Ajax and Liverpool have also just completed the signing of young star Sebastian Coates.

Champions League Group Stages Match Day 1

On to the most exciting competition of the season! Lyon looks to stamp its authority on the competition it has truly made its presence felt in. Group Stages are probably the only part of the Champions League that Lyon look comfortable in, so start off well, Les Gones!

Luis Suárez proves the difference as Liverpool overcome Wolves

• Suárez shows why he is an Anfield legend already • Liverpool bounce back from heavy defeat at Tottenham They were standing in the foyer before kick-off, two men who were absolutely assured of their place in the Anfield pantheon.

UEFA Champions League on Fox Soccer: Manchester United - Basel at 2:30pm and Real Madrid - Ajax at 5pm. Fox Soccer Plus has Bayern Munich - Manchester City at 2:30pm. CONCACAF Champions League on Fox Soccer: Toronto - UNAM Pumas at 8pm and Comunicaciones - Seattle at 10pm. All Times Eastern

Apologies.

When the names read across the back of the shirt read Ozil, Kaka and Ronaldo, one expects the spectacular from time to time. Or much of the time.

One of the continents great providers of technical footballers was given a lesson in skill and fluidity today when Ronaldo poked in Real's absurd team goal with a finish which wasn't insubstantial, but rendered a complete afterthought to the buildup.

Arsene Wenger was recently in Switzerland with a host of other top European managers to discuss the future of the game. Other attendees at the UEFA conference included Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola and Andre Villas-Boas. A ccording to the Metro Ajax coach Frank De Boer revealed a controversial proposal put forward by the Arsenal [.

Liverpool's director of football Damien Comolli has revealed the club are looking to tap into the talent emerging from Uruguay with two internationals from the country now at the club.
Liverpool signed 20-year-old Sebastian Coates from Nacional late last month and he will link up with countryman and former Nacional player Luis Suarez, who joined in January from Ajax.

Liverpool hot-shot Luis Suarez insists he is not worried about becoming a marked man from rival defences after lighting up the Premier League.
Suarez has been a revelation at Anfield since arriving during the January transfer window from Ajax and he has carried the form he showed last season into the new campaign.

AC Milan join Liverpool in chase for Ajax teen sensation

Christian Eriksen is a long-time Reds target but Italian giants are also now keen

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-09-08 11:38:39 from: Talksport

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has told boss Kenny Dalglish that he does not want a rest - despite only having a week off during pre-season.
Having starred in Uruguay's run to the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup, Suarez was a regular for both Liverpool and former club Ajax last season. He went on to fire his country to the Copa America title in July - being named Player of the Tournament in the process - to complete a hectic 12 months.

Liverpool are reportedly 'locked in battle' with AC Milan over Danish starlet Christian Eriksen.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who has earned rave reviews for his performances at both international and domestic level, had previously been earmarked as a star of the future at Ajax by Dennis Bergkamp and Johan Cruyff before graduating to the senior side in 2010.

Liverpool loan target Mario Gomez is keen on a move to England, and would relish the challenge of testing himself in the Barclays Premier League reveals German website TZ.
The 26-year-old Bayern Munich striker is looking to engineer a move away from the Bundesliga when the transfer window reopens in January, and according to the website that move could be to Merseyside.

Last year, Ajax was drawn into the same group as Real Madrid in the Champions League. And Barca and Ajax icon watched in disgust how his arch enemy club Real Madrid tore his beloved Ajax apart ( 2-0; 4-0).

These two games actually were the straw that broke the camel's back [read more]

Eredivisie: Il punto dopo la 5° Giornata Di Stefano Lazzarato Ennesima giornata ricca di gol (32) caratterizzata dalla prima sconfitta stagionale del Twente. Restano imbattute Ajax e Feyenoord.Cade il Twente contro il Roda. Parte meglio il Twente che ha la prima occasione con Dejong il cui colpo di testa è pero debole.

A breakdown of the Champions League by the CIES Football Observatory. The report states Ajax are young, Barcelona are short & France are well represented

A breakdown of the Champions League by the CIES Football Observatory. The report states Ajax are young, Barcelona are short & France are well represented

Liverpool veteran Jamie Carragher believes the Reds are lucky to have a player of Luis Suarez's ability within their ranks.
The 24-year-old has made an instant impact at Anfield following his arrival from Ajax back in January, scoring seven goals in just 18 appearances for the club thus far.
It's his all-round performances that have been earning rave reviews on Merseyside this season though, and Carragher believes the Uruguayan striker is quickly become a crucial ingredient in the Reds' side.

Skipper Backs Striker To Become Liverpool Legend

Liverpool Skipper Steven Gerrard has backed Luis Suarez to become a legend at Anfield, after many impressive display's in the red jersey of Liverpool Suarez signed for Liverpool from Ajax in January for a fee in the region of £22m, and has made quite an impression on club captain Gerrard and fans ever since.

The CL season has started. Always fun to make sure we all are up to speed with the 10 records we hold in CL football:

1. Clarence Seedorf
Most cups: 4 (1995, 1998, 2003 and 2007)

2. Clarence Seedorf
Only winner with three different clubs: (Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan)

3.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp regrets not beating Liverpool to the signing of Luis Suarez, who he felt was too similar to Rafael van der Vaart.
The Reds secured Uruguay striker Suarez's signature last January and soon after added Andy Carroll to their squad following the £50million sale of Fernando Torres to Chelsea.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp regrets not beating Liverpool to the signing of Luis Suarez, who he felt was too similar to Rafael van der Vaart.
The Reds secured Uruguay striker Suarez's signature last January and soon after added Andy Carroll to their squad following the £50million sale of Fernando Torres to Chelsea.

Belatedly posting our guide to today's matches to watch. In fact, the first match is already in progress it's 1-1 at halftime in Eindhoven, where PSV is hosting Ajax:

Sunday, Sept 18

Netherlands, PSV-Ajax 6:30aET (ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com): We said it last year, and we'll say it again: if you're only going to watch one Eredivisie match all year, might as well be this one.

Liverpool eyeing January swoop for Ajax ace

Kenny Dalglish is preparing to battle Inter Milan for defender Jan Vertonghen

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-09-19 15:40:54 from: Talksport

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Eredivisie: Il punto dopo la 6° Giornata Di Stefano Lazzarato Come di consueto, altra giornata ricca di gol (33) e una sola gara con meno di tre segnati. In testa torna la coppia Twente-Az che scavalcano l'Ajax. In coda è arrivata la prima vittoria stagionale del Nac, mentre nelle serie inferiori, ricomincia il valzer delle penalizzazioni.

talkSPORT transfer spotlight: Liverpool target Jan Vertonghen

All the info on the 24-year-old Ajax centre-back who's caught King Kenny's attention

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-09-20 16:03:16 from: Talksport

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Reports in Holland suggest the Liverpool are interested in Ajax central defender Jan Vertonghen. The club definitely needs a new centre-back, and judging by the following video, it looks like the Belgian is a quality player.Check out the brilliant piece of skill at 1:42 :-)Jaimie Kanwar<!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Subscribe: Predictions

On this week's predictions we feature games from Spain's La Liga, as well as some of the big Champions League matches taking place next week. You can listen to Damon and Damian discussing these games on this week's show.

Ajax could cash in on Arsenal and Liverpool target

Jan Vertonghen's future depends on how they fare in the Champions League group stage

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-09-22 13:23:14 from: Talksport

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

All of us came to soccer in remarkably different ways. Since most of us are American, soccer has never been a sport that's been shoved down our throats - at least not until recently. Maybe we played the sport when we were younger, maybe we got sucked into the 1996 World Cup, or maybe we travelled abroad and were taken by the spirit and passion of a side like Arsenal or Barcelona.

This weekend should be a great one for football but in a less traditional way. There are no Manchester United/Chelsea or Barcelona/Real Madrid matches going on but there are some matches in other countries that might be considered the local equivalent at the moment. The three in particular that I will have my eye on are Porto/Benfica on Friday, Shakhtar Donetsk/Dynamo Kyiv on Saturday and Twente/Ajax, also on Saturday.

The Noordwijk Experiment Ajax and the 3-4-3 is a post from: Just Football

by Mohamed Moallim

The last time Ajax regularly played three at the back, Sandra Bullock was one of the hottest young actresses in Hollywood with a bright future ahead, and the same could be said for Ajax who dined at the top of Europe's elite table.

Relatively slim picking this weekend for must-see matches. Here are a few quick picks for Saturday:

Saturday, Sept 24

Spain, Sevilla-Valencia 12pmET (GolTV): Valencia is atop La Liga, undefeated after drawing Barcelona at home mid-week, in an exciting game they very well could have won (or lost, actually).

No, Real Madrid is NOT in Crisis. We are merely in a slump. 5 dropped points over 2 games against La Liga teams whose objective is to stave off relegation is proof of that. Maybe Jose Mourinho's sarcastic remarks prior to the Levante game about just wanting to stay up were taken seriously by the team: prompting them to play as if we were a team battling relegation.

Thomas Vermaelen and Jan Vertonghen are close friends, having played together at Ajax and for the Belgium national team. If the latest reports coming out of Holland are true then Vermaelen could be the key as to where Vertonghen plays his future football. Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen was a target for Arsenal during the recent [.

Jan Vertonghen juega en el Ajax que se mide a los blancos en Champions. Es joven, rápido y es el único que ha sido capaz de eclipsar el fútbol de toque de Xavi. El belga completó 117 pases en su último encuentro de Liga de Campeones, sólo por detrás del cerebro culé. Madrid y Barça le pretenden.

Jan Vertonghen juega en el Ajax que se mide a los blancos en Champions. Es joven, rápido y es el único que ha sido capaz de eclipsar el fútbol de toque de Xavi. El belga completó 117 pases en su último encuentro de Liga de Campeones, sólo por detrás del cerebro culé. Madrid y Barça le pretenden.

By Chris Wright

Pies pick of the 15 most 'caption-tastic' photos from pre-Champions League training sessions across the continent(ish)...

"Just give that a sniff Danny, does it smell of broccoli to you?"

Bayern Munich's David Alaba is house-trained, though sadly not training pitch-trained

'The Chosen One' walks among the Ajax squad

"Oh right!