After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the United States National Team players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Sean Donahue and Julian Cardillo contributed ratings for the USA's 0-0 draw with Canada.

I just want to make it clear quickly, that I'm not being petty here; I've got over Chelsea winning the Champions League and this article is not intended to have a dig (I've done that more than enough already), merely to have a look at something, admittedly kind of pointless, that interests me.

I may be getting phone ear, but it allowed me to hear many interesting things along my travels through the back corridors the last few days - much more than I let drop in this week's summer transfer window preview Postcard. Let's spill a few more items... Not exactly a great secret at this point, but it does from all appearance seem that Terrence Boyd is heading to Rapid Vienna very shortly.

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the United States National Team players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Sean Donahue and Brian O'Connell contributed ratings for the USA's 4-1 loss to Brazil.

The U.S. Open Cup, the American version of the storied FA Cup, makes its annual appearance Tuesday night with the 3-8-2 Galaxy in action on the other side of the country against the minor league 0-4-5 Carolina Railhawks (there's a couple of records to set pulses racing) and Chivas

Lots of stats from yesterday's win over San Jose.
Seth Sinovic made his 50th league appearance in his MLS career.
KC is now 9-0-0 when CJ Sapong scores in league play. In all competitions, KC is 12-0-0 when he scores.
CJ Sapong's goal was his 8th in all competitions at home for KC, tying him with Jose Burciaga and Chris Henderson for 19th on that list.

Liverpool have released Brazilian full-back Fabio Aurelio after six years at Anfield, with the 32-year-old set to return to football in his native country after agreeing terms with Gremio.

His new club announced the acquisition on its official website, stating: "Gremio confirm agreement with the left-back Fabio Aurelio Rodrigues".

By Alan Duffy

Norway 0-1 England International Friendly 26th May 2012

England secured their first win against Norway in 32 years on Saturday evening, courtesy of a single goal from Ashley Young. The United wideman netted superbly inside 10 minutes to give Roy Hodgson a winning start to his England reign, although overall, the Three Lions were rather sloppy in possession.

Of the players that are expected to leave this summer, there was only certainty around the departure of Fabio Aurelio. Today it's been widely reported that he'll head back to Brazil on a free transfer to join Gremio, where he'll surely see out the final days of his playing career. We've said goodbye to the player once before, which makes this a less traditional farewell post, but he's still deserving of a mention for the impact that he made during his time with Liverpool.

Michael Parkhurst will be reporting to U.S. national team camp Thursday as a champion.

Parkhurst's FC Nordsjaelland put the finishing touches on their Danish Superliga title on Wednesday, defeating Horsens 3-0 in the season finale to hold off FC Copenhagen and seal a place in the UEFA Champions League.

Photo: Nicolae Stoian

Ten games into the 2012 season and the third year Philadelphia Union are 2–6–2, a record only marginally better than where they were at after ten games in their first season when they were 2–7–1. Few need to be reminded that this time last year they were 5–3–2.

Shortly after Chelsea lifted the Champions League Trophy, the Pubs and Bars around Fulham Broadway emptied as Chelsea fans took to the streets to celebrate the best night of our footballing lives together.
Unfortunately, I was only there till around midnight as I had to make sure I got the last train home and besides, I was there from midday!

Today sees Kelantan play Premier League side Sime Darby in the Malaysia FA Cup Final. For Sime Darby it is their first final appearance while Kelantan are current Super League champions; they also lost in last year's final against bitter North East foes Teregganu in front of 87,500
1st Round
Kelantan v Sarawak 2-1
Sime Darby v Sabah 2-0
2nd Round
Penang USM v Sime Darby 0-2
Kelantan v KL 3-2
Quarter Finals 1st Leg
Sime Darby v Johor FC 3-2
SPA v Kelantan 0-3
Quarter Finals 2nd Leg
Johor FC v Sime Darby 1-2
Kelantan v SPA 2-0
Semi Final 1st Leg
Terengganu v Sime Darby 1-2
Kelantan v Kedah 1-1
Semi Final 2nd Leg
Sime Darby v Terengganu 0-0
Kedah v Kelantan 2-2

Here's a look at some stats from last night's game against Chicago.
Bobby Convey scored his first goal for Sporting KC last night.
Convey's goal was the 50th goal that KC has scored against the Fire.
Kei Kamara recorded his 12th assist for KC on Convey's goal, that ties him with Paul Wright for 19th for the most assists in league play.

Gennaro Gattuso and Filippo Inzaghi two very iconic players for AC Milan will be leaving the club this summer and today the Milanchannel have released farewell video interviews with the players for fans. We wish you well and play this Sunday, a 300th appearance for club in football is outstanding and for you well deserved, ciao ciao Pipo!

Around 400 Athletic Bilbao fans are believed to have missed their side's Europa League final appearance after getting their European capitals muddled. The barmy Basques turned up in the Hungarian capital Budapest expecting to see their team take an Atletico Madrid, only to discover that the match was taking place 500 miles away in Bucharest, [.

When word first leaked that Warrior and not adidas would be making Liverpool's kit in coming seasons, some reacted with skepticism. After all, adidas have a long history in football—and just as importantly, a long history of supplying Liverpool kits. Warrior, on the other hand, is an offshoot of New Balance known for lacrosse and hockey equipment, and their deal with Liverpool represents their first foray into the world's most popular game.

Bright Dike practiced with the Timbers today in what could be his final appearance with the team in 2012. Word from practice is that Dike will go on a season long load to the LA Blues of the USL Pro division as was rumored on twitter yesterday. Dike will still take up a spot on the Timbers roster and will be able to be recalled to the team if necessary.

Steve Clark and Honefoss recorded their first loss of the season, while Molde's Joshua Gatt made an appearance for the first time in almost a month.

No Thierry Henry for this nationally televised clash from Carson tonight, but Juan Agudelo is likely to put in an appearance for injury-riddled New York for the first time since the season opener. And if you're going to the game, don't forget to arrive early for Cinco de Mayo

The Graham Norton Show isn't perhaps the most normal of environments for Premier League footballers, but maybe Didier Drogba isn't a 'normal' footballer. The Chelsea striker's appearance was related to his humanitarian efforts in the name of the Didier Drogba Foundation, which aims to build orphanages in poverty-stricken Africa.

The Liverpool Skipper has been the hero for the Reds on a number of occasions, especially in cup finals when he has single handedly inspired Liverpool to victory.

The England midfielder was instrumental in the Reds' last appearance in the FA Cup showpiece, scoring twice and setting up the other against West Ham at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, now widely regarded as 'the Gerrard final'.

The Revolution parted ways with veteran midfielder/forward Kenny Mansally (middle) on Friday. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

After failing to find the field with the first team this season, Revolution midfielder/forward Kenny Mansally was waived by the club on Friday.

The 23-year-old Gambian international, who played in 25 games last season, was limited to reserve team duty in 2012.

And, ladies and gents, we have our first real goal of the year frontrunner. Seattle's own Fredy Montero makes a flash appearance with a thunderclap from on high to set the final score at 2-0 in a tone-setting win over the Galaxy. Watching this game tonight made me wonder whether Bruce Arena conceded defeat before the opening whistle blew.

Fabrice Muamba was moved to tears when he appeared on the pitch at Bolton's Reebok Stadium before their match against Spurs. It was six weeks ago that Muamba collapsed on the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest at White Hart Lane during an FA Cup match against Spurs. He was "in effect" dead for 78 minutes, but made an improbable recovery and was released from the hospital on April 16.

Oh, how the seasons in football change so quickly! Three years ago, you'd hardly bat your eyelid at the prospect of the Manchester Derby. Today, you're all going to write down your predictions before Mancini can even manage a "KUN!" over his buttered toast at breakfast.

Amateur side US Quevilly were the darlings of the Coupe de France this season, toppling Ligue 1 sides like Marseille and Rennes on their way to an improbably appearance in the final. On Saturday, Lyon (wearing their new 3D kit) put an end to the fourth-division club's giant-killing ways by winning the final 1-0.

- 33 Years Ago: Clive Allen Scores a Debut Hatrick (Photo from the Bushman Archives)
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- NEXT: Chelsea!

By Alan Duffy

Super Michael patiently waits for his moment of glory...

Manchester United fans worried that your beloved team's grip on the Premier League trophy may be loosening? Well don't fear, because boy wonder Michael Owen is here.

There's less than a month to go in the season, and already a few supposed primary targets for Liverpool Football Club have begun to take shape. Plus there's some potential good news for anybody hoping the club might change their stance on the usefulness of players like Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez.

Earmarked by many as relegation candidates at the start of 2011-12, Crystal Palace can be proud of their efforts in advance of their final match at home to Cardiff City next week. At one point, a flirtation with the play-offs seemed possible, while a famous win at Old Trafford led to a League Cup semi-final appearance.

By Chris Wright

In which we see 17-year old Finnish prospect Joel Pohjanpalo score a perfect hat-trick (left foot, right foot, header). In the space 162 seconds. On his full debut.

Having only ever made one substitute appearance for HJK Helsinki over in the Finnish Premier League, Pohjanpalo was drafted into the first string for their game against IFK Mariehamn last Sunday and immediately repaid the faith sticking in all three goals in the space of two minutes and 42 seconds during HJK's come-from-behind 3-1 victory.

By Chris Wright

In which we see 17-year old Finnish prospect Joel Pohjanpalo score a perfect hat-trick (left foot, right foot, header). In the space 162 seconds. On his full debut.

Having only ever made one substitute appearance for HJK Helsinki over in the Finnish Premier League, Pohjanpalo was drafted into the first string for their game against IFK Mariehamn last Sunday and immediately repaid the faith sticking in all three goals in the space of two minutes and 42 seconds during HJK's come-from-behind 3-1 victory.

The Portland Timbers have promised to do whatever is necessary to be competitive, and that philosophy fed into two roster adjustments the team announced today. In separate announcements, the Timbers traded with Montreal for forward Mike Fucito, who has made one appearance with the Impact after spending the last three seasons in Seattle.

During a match against Montanesa in the Spanish fourth division, 24-year-old Espanyol B striker Bubacar Njie Kamba (known as Bacari) pulled off a beautiful variation of the backheel you don't often see.

Bacari made the most of a pass that came in behind him as he made his run into the box by flicking his leg up behind him and getting off a shot that floated over his head, over the outstretched keeper and landed gently in the goal.

When you think showbiz, glitz, glamour and pop stardom, your thought naturally turn to Liverpool stalwart Jamie Carragher. The veteran defender hit a few bum notes during his FA Cup semi-final appearance against Everton, but that didn't stop him popping up on US talent show American Idol. Carra fronted a message of support to teenage [.

It's power vs. power as Bayern Munich takes on Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal matchup (2:45 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel).

For Bayern Munich, maintaining their blistering home form is crucial if they want to entertain thoughts of returning to Allianz Arena for next month's final and become the first team to play for a European cup title at its home stadium since Roma did in 1983.

The Football Association has confirmed that the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea will kick-off at 5.15pm on Saturday, 5th May.
The showpiece event will be the first to be played under floodlights in 19 years, with the last being the 1993 replay between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday.
It is the first time the final has been moved away from its traditional 3pm kick-off since the new Wembley opened its doors in 2007.

Manchester United were tonight crowned Reserves League North champions. The lads needed just three points from their remaining five games but after going 3-0 down to Newcastle Reserves tonight, it looked unlikely that the title would be wrapped up tonight.

However, after four goals from Will Keane, one each from Ritchie De Laet and Davide Petrucci, our Reserves were named champions with a 6-3 win.

Fabio Da Silva will be leaving Manchester United next season to secure a loan move in order to play regularly football. The 21-year-old has made only one Barclays Premier League appearance this year and Sir Alex believes Fabio needs regular football at this stage of his career. Fabio's contract with Manchester United will keep him at Old Trafford till June 2014.