I confirmed that eons ago, first thing this morning, but have yet to get the full details. Here is the gist, but check back for updates or perhaps some comments.Meanwhile, I'm going to go file a missing persons report on the Sion press officer.Elsewhere, Ajax are having a little trouble signing up AZ Alkmaar striker Mounir El Hamdaoui, meaning Jozy Altidore could still be in the picture for them.

Somebody tweeted this yesterday and I thought it was kind of interesting. (Thank you, Somebody.) The Castrol Rankings have have our very own Clint Dempsey listed as the 19th best player in the Prem. Just what are the Castrol Rankings, you ask? Well, here's what Castrol have to say:

"As an Official Sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ we've developed a definitive system for rating the world's best players.

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Freddy Adu waited two years between professional goals before snapping his drought last Sunday.

His next wait lasted just three days.

Adu scored his second goal in as many matches for Greek club Aris FC on Wednesday, netting the second goal in Aris' 3-0 Greek Cup quarterfinal second-leg victory against Skoda Xanthi.

Hull forward Jozy Altidore has fired home a Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink knockdown from just above the area to open his English account and put the hosts up 1-0 on Man City close to the half hour.- Greg Seltzer

Yup, Freddinho has lit the lamp just before halftime to put Aris FC up 2-1 on visiting Ergotelis. Much love goes out to an NSC pal, all-star BigSoccer poster Johan Derksen, for capping this clip.- Greg Seltzer

photo by Joe Toth/ISIphotos.com

Landon Donovan's strong World Cup showing was sure to attract interest from European clubs, and two of the better teams in England are interested in signing the U.S. national team midfielder.

According to News of the World, Everton is looking to reacquire Donovan, who enjoyed a successful three-month loan with the club earlier this year.

This was a really tough one, with so many variables and possible reality branches to come. But this is why they pay me the meager bucks: to make the tough decisions. Ahem.I've factored in everything that could possibly come to mind - age, potential ceilings, high-level skills, injury histories, mental make-up, international game evolution, positions and those of need for the USMNT four years plus

NSC pal Bryan Zygo was using pretty good logic when he guessed that Stuart Holden's impending New Year's Day appearance on Good Morning America meant that the U.S. midfielder would re-sign with the Houston Dynamo.However, it appears that Holden will be making a different announcement, delaying his decision while he auditions for Burnley manager Owan Coyle.

Everton loan item Landon Donovan has just scored his first goal in England to put the home side up 2-0 near the half hour. I'll get this clip up ASAP. The U.S. star fired home a Tim Cahill flick lefty with help from a deflection.- Greg Seltzer

So I was one game early on my prediction... Bolton winter catch Stuart Holden is in the line-up at White Hart Lane for a fifth round FA Cup replay. He's playing the middle, at least from the start.I will be popping in with periodic game updates at the S365 Twitter. I will return here later with clips of any Holden goal involvement, then finally the highlight reel.

Just ask Hamilton. Watch Mo Edu run behind the entire play, from the right side to the left... caused all sorts of problems in the 11th minute of Rangers' 1-0 victory.- Greg Seltzer

There's an interesting article over at MLSsoccer.com about the U-20s latest efforts to recruit players with American passports. After a poor showing at the last Under-20 World Cup, the USA invested significant resources toward an international scouting department which over the last year and a half has produced astonishing results.

[Photo: Villarreal]It had been three days short of two years since Jozy Altidore last scored a competitive match goal for Villareal until he supplied their marker in a 1-1 Copa del Rey first leg draw at Poli Ejido on Wednesday night.- Greg Seltzer

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With the winter transfer period in full swing, we are starting to see plenty of movement involving MLS players as well as Americans making moves to and around Europe.

Here are a few updates on MLS and Americans Abroad player moves:

Chicago Fire defender Gonzalo Segares has long been counted as a player on the move from MLS, now a destination has been identified.

Is there anything else to say?- Greg Seltzer

Of all the things that contributed to the United States Round of 16 exit at the 2010 World Cup, perhaps the most glaring deficiency of the team was the defensive cohesion. The Americans conceded first in all of their matches barring the Algeria game (although truly, they almost did in that one too, with a Algerian shot going off the cross bar) and found themselves climbing out of the grave time and time again.

Will he stay or will he go? That question is following Landon Donovan around wherever he goes.

Donovan, who signed a new contract with MLS last year, told Reuters at Wednesday night's All-Star game that he is considering offers from overseas. The 28-year-old has attracted interest during what has arguably been the most successful year of his professional career.

photo by Ben Queenborough/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

A day before the U.S. men's national team friendly against Brazil, Jozy Altidore revealed that although his club future is uncertain, he'd like to stay with Villarreal.

Jose Francisco Torres is enjoying a successful season in Mexico with Pachuca, and is a safe bet to make the U.S. World Cup team, but he probably saw his life flash before his eyes after being hit with one of the most cruel tackles you'll ever see.

Here is the tackle, which took place last week during Pachuca's 2-1 CONCACAF Champions League loss to Cruz Azul (let me preface this by saying Torres is fine and finished out that game):

What did you think of that tackle?

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when Jozy Altidore trotted onto the field for Villarrea's Europa League match against Dnepr Mogilev (a 5-0 win) on Thursday, he not only made his European tournament debut, and made his first official appearance for Villarreal in almost two years. Altidore also made it that much more unlikely that he leaves the Spanish club this summer.

Jozy Altidore is 20 years old. He's a starting striker in the English Premier League and he's begun playing the type of soccer expected of him when he drew a $10 million transfer as a teenager.

Oh, and in case you forgot, he is American.

This seems silly to point out here, but it seems some folks lose sight of the fact that Altidore is a 21-year-old American striker playing in the world's biggest league.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Kenny Cooper's quest to help Plymouth Argyle avoid relegation has begun, and Cooper's next match could prove pivotal at achieving that goal.

Cooper will look to build on his 32-minute Plymouth Argyle debut, as the club takes on fellow relegation-threatened Reading.

Freddy notched his second goal in a week...

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And it was the first time he did so. We talk so much about what's his face lately, Everton keeper Tim Howard gets forgotten a little. Well, today he helped the Toffees topple defending champs Manchester United at home for the fist time in nearly five years.It was a 3-1 final, I will have highlights here ASAP and I will switch them for better until we reach Match of the Day-land in the

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Landon Donovan is loving life at Everton, so much so that he has every intention of returning to the Liverpool club at some point if and when he leaves to return to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The U.S. national team star is enjoying a dream run with the Toffees, and spoke recently of his intention to come back to Goodison Park some time during his career.

If Fulham is to pull off the improbable and reach the Europan League semifinals, the Cottagers will need to do so without Clint Dempsey.

The American midfielder/forward will miss Fulham's quarterfinal second leg vs. Wolfsburg on Thursday with a thigh injury. He suffered the injury during Fulham's recent win vs.

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With one flash of rage, Jozy Altidore saw his season end, and likely his tenure with Hull City.

The headbutt Altidore hit Alan Hutton with last weekend not only meant a red card and suspension, it has meant a ticket back to Spain and the club that owns his rights.

There has been some discussion recently about the number of American players employed abroad, but not currently playing. For examples, see Sounder at Heart's article and Match Fit USA's discussion of it. Both provide a good analysis, but we'd like to add a few points to this discussion.

While most of us can agree that Freddy Adu would benefit from moving back to the MLS and getting some consistent playing time, it's not always in a player's best interest to jump ship when things get shaky.

With injury woes plaguing the U.S. national team, fans will be relieved to hear some good news about one of the walking wounded.

U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu was in Philadelphia this past weekend for the NSCAA Convention and spoke with the MLS Insider Blog about his rehab and the progress he has made in recent weeks and months.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Jozy Altidore had not seen the field for Hull City since Jan. 2, but that didn't stop him from making a major impact in Hull's 2-2 draw against Wolves.

Returning from compassionate leave due having family members affected by the tragedy in Haiti, Altidore made an immediate impact on Saturday, latching onto a long ball, shielding it with his body and delivering an assist to Jan Vennegoor for the opener in the 11th minute.

Yup, Aris FC loan item Freddy Adu has now scored in two straight after a nice volley redirection of a right wing cross put his side up 2-0 on Greek Cup guests Xanthi in the 23rd minute. The game is now approaching halftime, so perhaps we could have a scoring update.Of course, I'll get the clip up ASAP.

I was planning to do a By The Numbers column on Everton loan ace Landon Donovan from Saturday's 3-1 win over Manchester United... but changed my mind in favor of a different idea.Still, there's no need to throw out the raw data, which you may remember comes from both typical soccer stats and some of my own invented categories.

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By ADAM SERRANO

There is a chance, just not a very good one.

That's is how LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena described a potential extension on Landon Donovan's loan at English Premier League side Everton after the Galaxy's training session on Monday.

Clint Dempsey's impressive and quick recovery from a slightly torn PCL was the news of the day on Thursday, with the U.S. national team striker playing 30 minutes in Fulham's 3-1 Europa League loss to Juventus.

Dempsey didn't make much of an impact on the match, but his return provides a major boost to a national team in dire need of options at forward.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been flirting with the drop zone all season long, but against fellow relegation-threatened Burnley, Marcus Hahnemann did his best to improve Wolves' chances of staying another year in England's top flight.

Hahnemann made his 16th consecutive start for Wolves and had one of his busiest days of the year, making a season-high eight saves en route to a 2-1 victory that ended a four-game losing streak.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Alejandro Bedoya has begun to establish himself as a starter for Orebro SK, and his performance on Monday was the latest piece of evidence.

Bedoya started and played 90 minutes in his fourth consecutive match as Orebro disposed of AIK, 1-0. The win ended Bedoya and Orebro's two-game skid and puts them in sixth place of the 16-team Swedish League.

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For those of you haven't seen it yet, here is my FoxSoccer.com piece on Jozy Altidore. The column started out as another take on the "What next for Jozy Altidore" theme, but ultimately turned into a piece on the current unsettled state of his career and what he can (and should) do to improve his position.

Charlie Davies isn't happy about having missed out on the U.S. national team preliminary World Cup roster and he's placing the blame for missing the United States World Cup training camp squarely on his club team's handling of his situation.

Davies spoke with a national French radio program on Wednesday and slammed FC Sochaux president Alexandre Lacombe for his actions, saying Sochaux kept him from joining the U.

If Freddy Adu is to find consistent playing time in Europe next season, it likely won't be with Aris Salonika.

While Aris departed for a Europa League qualifier on Tuesday, Adu was busy trialing for Swiss club FC Sion. The club, which finished seventh in the 10-team Swiss League last season, is looking to land Adu on loan for the entire upcoming season.