‘In Flanders fields the poppies blow.� Between the crosses, row on row...'

91 years ago today, World War 1 hostilities ended. To commemorate the anniversary, most Premier League clubs will be sporting fresh kits this weekend emblazoned with the poppy emblem. Only three out of the twenty clubs in the league are refusing to conform to public sentiment: Manchester United, Liverpool and Bolton.

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So far I haven't been able to find full highlights unfortunately, though I have found a video of all the goals (you'll have to watch an advert about toothbrushes, but it's worth it). I will admit, I did not see the match, nor have I been able to watch full highlights (I was playing rugby), so this report will be a bit of an amalgamation of tidbits I stole form other reports.

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US National team members Clint Dempsey for Fulham and Jozy Altidore for Hull City met on the pitch at Craven Cottage as Fulham picked up the 2-0 victory. This match was significant because this was Fulham's 130th Anniversary of the club's existance. Hull City saw the return of former Cottager Jimmy Bullard.

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The most intriguing match of the weekend involving Americans Abroad, however, is the Fulham-Hull City clash, where Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson will take on Jozy Altidore in a battle of American attackers.

Hull City re-visit the scene of their last away win as they travel to Craven Cottage to meet a Fulham side who have lost two out of three at home.

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Diego Maradona suffered countless depressing lows amongst barely-remembered highs on Argentina's rollercoaster ride to the World Cup finals. Just two weeks short of his first anniversary as coach of the two-time world champions, Maradona was indebted to virtually unknown midfielder Mario Bolatti for the scrambled winner against Uruguay which put his . Click to continue reading...

They Think It's All Over... celebrates its first birthday and comes over a wee bit self-indulgent! Click to continue reading...

Two Vietnamese football teams will vie for the Cambodia Royal Cup and a prize of US$20,000 from November 8-13. The runners-up will take $10,000 and $5,000 respectively.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Vissai Ninh Binh will take part at the invitation of Cambodian Prime Minister Hu Sen and Cambodian Football Federation chairman Sao Sokha. Click to continue reading...

Today, Arsene Wenger becomes the longest-serving manager in the club's history surpassing the legendary George Allison on his 4,749th day as manager of the Arsenal. It is, then, a suitable occasion for a bit of retrospection and maybe even a bit of sentimentalism and nostalgia as well.

Having started following the club in the late-90s, I have never known an Arsenal side that was not managed by Arsene Wenger.

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I got a call yesterday from someone reminding me it was the 28th anniversary of Bill Shankly's death.
It's hard to believe so many years have passed since that time.
Of course, it is 50 years ago this December that Shanks first took over as manager of Liverpool. And the rest, as they say, is history. Click to continue reading...

Today marks the 28th anniversary of the death of Bill Shankly. It's really hard to believe it has been that long. Unlike most of you, I never had the privilege of watching Shankly in person.

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Today marks the 28th anniversary of the death of Bill Shankly. It's really hard to believe it has been that long. Unlike most of you, I never had the privilege of watching Shankly in person. My age made it impossible, so I've instead been watching tape of the man for the last 20+ years of my life.

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Today's Matches:
Fiorentina vs. Liverpool
Kuyt aims to be second-leading scorer in Europe
Barcelona vs. Dynamo Kiev
Debrecen vs. Lyon
Rubin Kazan vs. Inter Milan
Rangers vs. Sevilla
Fabiano plots Rangers downfall
Unirea Urziceni vs. Click to continue reading...

Yes, it is indeed a full decade since our last win at Anfield. And while that record is not something to be proud of, there are plenty of other teams with longer winless runs at our original home, so why not celebrate that win and see the anniversary as a motivation for a better future.
lets zoom back to the end of the last century, to the 27th September 1999 to be precise, and a Monday night clash with the old enemy. Click to continue reading...

Following last night's exit from the Champions League, we ease Celtic's pain by reminding them that their team is actually quite good. On the 9th anniversary of the game, we look back at one of the finest Old Firm games ever. Click to continue reading...

This blog neglected for too long the Brazilian second division. And this is a shame. The second division in 2009 has a giant (Vasco), former Brazilian champions (Guarani and Bahia), former Brasileiro runner's up (Sao Caetano, Bragantino and Portuguesa) and many other traditional sides that played the first division for many years (Figueirense, Parana, Fortaleza, Juventude, Ponte Preta).

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Full disclosure: I skipped Saturday's Galaxy-Sounders game at Home Depot Center for a wedding and another anniversary (where did the 30 years from Aug. 14, 1979 go?)

BTW, since I'm all about milestones congrats to Jesse Marsch on making his 100th Chivas USA appearance Saturday.

Between glimpses of what looked like a tedious Chivas USA-Red Bulls game and a 10-man Galaxy that never looked like challenging Seattle in the second half after David Beckham was sent off early, it doesn't appear I missed much.

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With Bruce Arena approaching his anniversary of taking over as the Head Coach of the LA Galaxy, Nick Green of the LA Daily Breeze examines the team transformation from MLS doormat to playoff contender under Arena.
Exactly two weeks shy of the anniversary of Bruce Arena's first day on the job as Galaxy general manager and coach, this unequivocally is his team. Click to continue reading...

As it turns out, today is also the third anniversary of the podcast! But because my nine-month hiatus yielded on four other episodes in the past year, there won't be an outtake clip show like there was in 2007 and 2008.

Also, it wasn't until after I put this together yesterday that I realized that there's an Americana theme running through all four acts.

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Kilmarnock Football Club are a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" are the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. As Kilmarnock Football Club continues to celebrate its 140th anniversary, it has launched its away strip for season 2009/10. Click to continue reading...

To commemorate the 50th of anniversary of the Camp Nou, Barcelona contracted English architect Norman Foster to re-structure the stadium in 2007. His plan was to spend around €250m on remodelling and to expand capacity by 10,000. However... not everyone is impressed with Foster's plan, as it apparently fails to solve some access problems. Click to continue reading...

Real Madrid played a friendly against Shamrock Rovers and Ronaldo didn't make the best of debuts.He could have made history by scoring on his first free kick but only succeeded in bouncing the ball of the wall.He got a few boos for his efforts and bowed out of the game at half time.An ingenious comparision of Ronaldo's forgettable debut on the anniversary of the moon landing here.

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July 16 marks an anniversary of sorts for Abby Wambach. One year ago tonight she broke her leg against Brazil, knocking her out of the Olympic Games. In a classic case of "time heals all wounds" Wambach is back with the USA, in her hometown, in search of a win over Canada and her 100th career international goal. Click to continue reading...

For the fifth consecutive year, Uhlsport will dress Espanyol and this will be the season when Los Pericos might have raised the most eyebrows as far as their kit is concerned.
Few times has a second jersey brought so much attention to the kit. Espanyol's return to yellow was the highlight of the club's presentation to their 2009-10 kit. Click to continue reading...

Photo by Brad Graverson

This blog began two years ago, almost to the day David Beckham came to Southern California and the Galaxy.

So it was appropriate I should mark the anniversary Saturday standing on a sweltering El Segundo field dripping sweat awaiting the arrival of his Beckhamness (and, more significantly, the incomparable Zinedine Zidane).

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It's July 13, the anniversary of one of my favorite all-time soccer moments. Ironically, the moment was generated by a team that I really – if I'm speaking honestly – have historically disliked. I have always admired certain Italian players. But collectively, the Italians are just such a ridiculously cynical lot. Click to continue reading...

Italian sportswear company Kappa have replaced Nike as Spanish La Liga club Valencia CF's kit provider for the 2009/10 season. � Yesterday, Valencia CF presented their 2009/10 Kappa home, away and goalkeeper kits in an elaborate ceremony. � This includes a special edition 90th anniversary home shirt featuring a bat on the chest that will be used [. Click to continue reading...

Watch as seven champion athletes and undeniable Title IX beneficiaries celebrate the historic legislation's 37th anniversary.

Here's a few quotes I collected throughout the day:

"I was in High School when it took effect, we went from having options of gymnastics, volleyball, and track.

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Before I start, I just have to say thank you to all the folks who shared their wonderful stories of falling in love with Arsenal yesterday. It was a special thread and it confirms the validity of an idea I have had for a while now. More on that latter bit once I work out the details. In the mean time, I will try to incorporate more user generated content in the blog.

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French giants Olympique Marseille (OM) have unveiled their new home and away shirts for the 2009-10 season. The new OM kits are manufactured by Adidas. They celebrate the 110th anniversary of the club that was founded in 1899. The home jersey is white with vertical blue pinstripes. You also have blue adorning the V shaped collar, the [. Click to continue reading...

Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez hold the CL trophy aloft

The number 4s are a special breed in Barcelona history:

It was love at first sight, so the story goes. When Barcelona's then-captain Pep Guardiola first clapped eyes on youth team midfielder Xavi Hernandez he turned to a team-mate and said: "This kid will retire me.

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The French Football Federation as a cool tribute to Louis Braille lined up.
To honor the 200th anniversary of his birth, the French national soccer team will have jerseys made with the names written in braille.

Coach Raymond Domenech said Monday the jerseys will be worn for the exhibition game against Nigeria on June 2 in Saint-Etienne.

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Kilmarnock Football Club are a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" are the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. As Kilmarnock Football Club continues to celebrate its 140th anniversary, it has launched its first team home strip for season 2009-10. Click to continue reading...

Scottish club Kilmarnock have released their new 2009-10 home kit. The new Kilmarnock 2009-10 home shirt was worn for the first time in the SPL game against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on May 16, 2009. Killie won that game 1-0. The new Killie home strip celebrates the 140th anniversary of Scotland's oldest football club. Click to continue reading...

The story has been told a million times before. The greatest team in football, on their flight home from an exhibition game in Lisbon, meet with a premature end when their G-212� plane smashes into the Basilica di Superga. All 31 passengers died, including the entire Torino squad. Sixty years on, the pain felt on 4 May 1949 is still very much in evidence in the city of Turin.

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Frank Lampard was making the news yesterday - though not for footballing reasons.

Lampard lashed out, after a DJ said on his London talk-show, suggested Lampard was a bad father - after it emerged Lampard's girlfriend is now living with the couple's two young children in a flat in Chelsea, after the couples' recent split.

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