In less than a week, Europe's top international squads will compete for the European Championship, a tournament that gives anyone in play the most random opportunity to win. Squads full of top class players from around the continent will have finished up their club seasons, and because everyone just spent a huge amount of time killing themselves to win UFEA or league titles, almost every squad will have some players tuckered out and nursing some sort of an injury.

Last week I said that I would write a double post covering the Dallas and Columbus matches. Unfortunately, the Columbus match is too much in the forefront of my mind right now than the Dallas one. I was expecting to get three points out of Columbus, and I'm really bothered that we didn't. I just can't shake it, so I've obsessed over it this past week.

By Chris Wright

We'll be bringing you a few of these over the next week-and-a-bit in the run-up to Euro 2012; vintage images plundered from the archives of European Championships past the first being a great shot of the crowd disturbance at the Stadio Comunale in Turin during England's (surprise surprise) game against Belgium in the group stages of Euro 1980 (as ever, click through for the full-sized images).

I recently read somewhere (I wish I could remember where so that I could link to it) that OPTA uses the amount of passes in a game to determine possession. This surprised me. Basing possession on passing has the potential to produce some skewed results. The most obvious argument against this is that a team that uses the short passing game is going to have a larger portion of possession regardless of the actual amount of time that they truly have possession.

The emotional home opener at the newest cathedral of soccer in America is passed and it's time to get down to business. The Dynamo have limited time to recover and prepare themselves mentally and physically for a well rested Portland Timbers team that is desperate for points.

It's been a hectic week for the Dynamo, the dreaded side effect of having to compress the season's home schedule in a shortened amount of time.

Colorado played like the better team for 34 minutes when facing Dallas 11 on 11, then suddenly they were 11 on 9 and the game was essentially over. In the 25th minute Daniel "Real Championship" Hernandez was given a yellow card for dissent after complaining to the ref for not calling a foul on the Rapids.

La Liga champions Real Madrid were in Granada on Saturday to play a match that was far more important to their relegation-threatened hosts than it was to them. Before the match, former Liverpool player Xabi Alonso's focus was on his phone as he tried to follow his old club's 2-1 FA Cup final loss to Chelsea.

Chelsea travel to the Nou Camp for the second leg of this Champions League semi-final in what is sure to be a memorable clash. Chelsea lead Barcelona 1-0 thanks to a great goal from Didier Drogba last week at Stamford Bridge. They'll need to be able to repeat this performance, and again have luck on their side when they face a hurting Barcelona team who have just been beaten by Real Madrid in La Liga to effectively end their chances of clawing back the league.

Manchester City striker Sergio 'Kun' Aguero has been ruled out of Saturday's home match against Sunderland with a mystery injury that could keep him off the field for an indefinite amount of time. The only thing manager Roberto Mancini has revealed about the ailment is that it was 'stupid'.

As I expected when Emory was waived last week, Colorado added on of their trialists today. Midfielder/forward Kamani Hill has been signed and will be available as soon as his ITC is received from Germany (don't worry, there's no spurned club to throw a wrench into this one). Hill is a former U.S. National Team forward who got 2 caps in 2007.

It's quarter final time, and we have a few questions...

Benfica 0-1 Chelsea

1. Why the hell haven't we made good on our plans to speak to adidas about Chelsea's shorts? Speculation is rife in the Kickette newsroom (ok, sofa, but it's important we maintain a veneer of glamour) that the players are being issued specialist pants which propel their equipment forward for happier effect.

Image via espn.

Far be it from us to question the statistical nous of ESPN, but we would like to take issue with their exciting 'Heat Map' feature. The map, which is available for the majority of European league games, purportedly displays the amount of time a player spends in each section of the field, highlighting each hotspot with a little coloured circle.

Amare Stoudemire of the New York Knicks could be out for a while. If he's on your fantasy team, you should probably make plans to be without him for the rest of the season. Amare Stoudemire has been diagnosed with a bulging disk in his back and the Knicks are saying he will be out for an indefinite amount of time.

PPL Park is set to host its third ever international friendly, according to an article out of Chile.

Chilean news outlet La Tercera is reporting that the Philadelphia Union's home will be the location of a February 29 friendly between Chile and Ghana. "The swanky modern stadium" was apparently the top choice after MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.

Ryan Kinne dribbles the ball during training last summer (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com).

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. One minute. That's the total amount of time Ryan Kinne saw on the field with the Revolution first team last season.

Typically, a player with a stat line of sixty seconds at the end of his rookie season never sees another minute.

The club has announced that Tom Carroll has joined Derby County on loan and will stay there until the end of the season. Tom has featured heavily in our Europa League campaign and this looks to be an ideal move for the player as Derby look to push into the play off places.

"We are delighted to welcome Tom on board.

The fallout from last week's El Clasico loss was astounding. The fallout from the coming El Clasico – should we lose (which is a likely event) will perhaps be equally astounding. . The players are shit – we need to buy 6 new players. We need a new defense We need a new midfield, We need better strikers.

By Joel Greenwaldt
@JoelGreenwaldt (On Twitter)
At this point of the MISL season, it's safe to say that barring an unprecedented collapse by one or both teams, the Milwaukee Wave and Baltimore Blast will win their respective divisions. While it's no surprise that either of these teams will likely be the top seed in their respective semifinal playoff match ups, the biggest shocker may be that the race for the top spot in each division has virtually been secured this early in the season.

Last night the US Soccer's "Camp Cupcake" Team followed up Saturday night's 1-0 win over Venezuela with a 1-0 win over Panama. I admit that the "Camp Cupcake" moniker is not my favorite for the annual US Soccer winter camp that primarily gives numerous MLS players and some European journeymen an extended audition for the US National Team, but I think it's important to use this moniker in light of the apparent "every match is a live or die match" attitude that seems to dominate the most vocal of the US Soccer fan base.

This doesn't sound too promising. While the rest of the boys headed off to Spain after the disappointing draw with Norwich City, Frank Lampard remained behind. Poor guy.

He instead headed back to London in order to undergo scans on what is suspected to be a torn calf muscle. You may recall him being removed after only 37 minutes at Carrow Road.

Besides using nothing but acronyms, if you missed the record setting game yesterday for the USWNT, then, wow...Let's break it down for you:14-0... Scoreline for the US.37"... The amount of time for the US to score their first goal.1991... The last time the US scored at least 12 goals in a match.5... record tying number of goals scored by a USWNT player, in this case, Amy Rodriguez (5 in one half,
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At White Hart Lane last night, Tottenham Hotspur beat Everton by two goals to nil. There was nothing particularly unusual about this result apart from the fact that Spurs have occasionally struggled to break Everton down in recent years but this was a result that may just prove to be one of the most important of manager Harry Redknapp's season.

I spent a significant amount of time reading through the FA's very detailed report on their decision to ban Luis Suarez for eight games. I would wholeheartedly advise anyone else interesting in this case to do the same, and certainly I would advise anyone to read it before commenting on the case in any forum.

The picture here is my interpretation of the logo of Liechtenstein's national soccer federation. Just sayin'.

Now for MLS:

As far back as November, rumors swirled about David Beckham's next move. Under the surface of the MLS blogsphere, a small media circus simmered near a boil regarding whether Becks would stay, or move on to Paris.

Liverpool urged to abandon appeal against Luis Suárez's eight-game ban

• Head of Fare warns against damage to club's reputation • Liverpool have until 13 January to respond to FA's decision Liverpool have been urged to abandon any thoughts of appealing against the eight-match ban and £40,000 fine that Luis Suárez received for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra, with a leading anti-racism campaigner warning the club that their vehement support of the Uruguayan is damaging their reputation.

The Football Association has now released full written reasons for Liverpool star Luis Suarez's ban for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.
In the reasons for the sanctions the independent regulatory commission claim Suarez gave "unreliable" and "inconsistent" evidence to the commission.

The Football Association has now released full written reasons for Liverpool star Luis Suarez's ban for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.
In the reasons for the sanctions the independent regulatory commission claim Suarez gave "unreliable" and "inconsistent" evidence to the commission.

Liverpool Football Club has responded to the FA's reasons for banning Luis Suarez for eight games for racist behaviour.
The following statement has been issued by the club following the FA's comments:
The Club can confirm that they received the written reasons from the Regulatory Commission at short notice on the evening of the game against Newcastle United.

Liverpool Football Club has responded to the FA's reasons for banning Luis Suarez for eight games for racist behaviour.
The following statement has been issued by the club following the FA's comments:
The Club can confirm that they received the written reasons from the Regulatory Commission at short notice on the evening of the game against Newcastle United.

Liverpool acknowledge 115-page document concerning reasons to ban & fine Luis Suarez

Reds' legal advisors are to take the "necessary amount of time" to go through the reasons behind the suspension and fining of the forward in the race row involving Patrice Evra

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2012-01-01 09:47:00 from: Goal

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

We are only days from the opening of the January transfer window. The rumor mill has already been spinning out of control over the past few weeks but, of course, as the new year approaches the links with a Chelsea clearly in need of something special will reach new levels of absurdity.

So, with that being said, why not take the absurdity to new heights ourselves?

I shook my head in disbelief when I read an interview with Florent Malouda featured in The Telegraph. Malouda, who has struggled to reach anywhere his best form for two seasons now is quoted as saying:

"I'm not getting enough playing time, It's too limited for the ambitions I have.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has a problem, and the solution is sitting in his dressing room.
The Reds' scoring record has been rightly criticized over the past two months, as it is pretty sub-standard for a team who are supposed to be challenging for a top four finish.
The record was then coupled with their best player and forward being handed an eight-match ban from the FA - this issue has caused much controversy, but the fact remains that Liverpool are facing a significant amount of time without him.

At long last, Matchfit USA is un-dead. Unfortunately, Jason Davis will be hacking it out elsewhere:

So that's it. Find me doing things at KCKRS, writing for US Soccer Players, podcasting on The Best Soccer Show, and just generally bouncing around the world of America soccer internet tomfoolery.

Two sets of fairly gifted attackers: one set made space and moved the ball like lightning, the other kept on trying to walk the ball through the most crowded area of the pitch. The game finished 5-0.

We may feel aggrieved at the scoreline, which did flatter United slightly, but our attacking play, though exciting, was not very bright.

Luis Suárez case: 'It was key the FA produced an emphatic judgment'

The former Chelsea captain praises the Football Association for taking the chance to establish the boundaries of acceptability and send out a message of zero tolerance of racism Clearly this was an extremely complex and sensitive case, but it was key that the FA demonstrated it could organise an independent, transparent and fair process, and produce a clear and emphatic judgment.

United States Under-23 coach Caleb Porter has been a star here in the US at the collegiate level, and is now charged with the responsibilities of managing the US Olympic team. His goals are not only to qualify for the Olympics, but also to help develop a nucleus that will compete for the US in the 2014 World Cup.

Kenny gets it right again – Villa 0 Liverpool 2

Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 2 Premier League – Result – December 18 2011 KENNY DALGLISH'S side came away from Villa Park with a 2-0 win that didn't do their performance justice but ensured they started the hectic festive fortnight with three points and ended the day three points from the Champions League places.

The Football Association has begun the disciplinary hearing into claims that Liverpool striker Luis Suarez racially abused Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.
Suarez was accused of racially abusing Evra during Liverpool's 1-1 draw with United at Anfield in October.
The Uruguayan has categorically denied using any racist language towards Evra and Liverpool have backed the player over the incident
Suarez has been charged with abusing Evra, and referring to his "ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race" by the FA.

One of the more bizarre incidents of the weekend's action came from the clash between Reading and West Ham. The Royals' Jimmy Kebe decided to rub salt into the Hammers' wounds with a bit of sock-related showboating. The Mali international chose to highlight the amount of time he was getting on the ball by pulling [.