The finalists for the 28th edition of the AFCON are now known after thrilling semi-final fixtures last night. The Ivory Coast will now face Zambia who made it to the final after causing one of the biggest upsets of the entire tournament by knocking out Ghana. The Black Stars however have no one to blame but themselves for their exist after failing to make a host of chances they had count including a missed penalty by Asamoah Gyan.

The finalists for the 28th edition of the AFCON are now known after thrilling semi-final fixtures last night. The Ivory Coast will now face Zambia who made it to the final after causing one of the biggest upsets of the entire tournament by knocking out Ghana. The Black Stars however have no one to blame but themselves for their exist after failing to make a host of chances they had count including a missed penalty by Asamoah Gyan.

Tom Thibodeau has transitioned from being an outstanding assistant coach in the NBA to the 2010-11 NBA Coach of the Year as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls.
Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun Times writes of what makes Thibodeau such a special coach.
‘‘Before we made the decision to hire him, we did an incredible amount of background work on all the candidates,'' says Bulls general manager Gar Forman, who with executive vice president for basketball operations John Paxson signed Thibodeau as the 18th head coach in franchise history on June 23, 2010.

Following Paul Scholes' return from retirement and Manchester United's issues settling in a new number one goalkeeper, Edwin Van der Sar has revealed people have been asking whether he has any plans on doing the same.

"I got a few text messages from friends saying, 'What about you?'," Van der Sar said.

Luis Suarez is back in business, whether any of you futbolitinos like it or not! Over the weekend, we spoke to a few Uruguayans about the striker's return to the Premier League and they all shared a similar nonchalant and supportive approach for the Liverpool man.

Les Murray on SBS's website wrote an article about the W-League coming of age this year - presumably because he watched the Grand Final and enjoyed it. Apparently the league is full of players with great technical skills this year!
Rubbish Les - not much has changed. The point being the standard from the top few teams has always been pretty high and remains so.

Photo: Paul Rudderow

In the hours following the Union's official announcement of their decision to sell Sebastien Le Toux to the Vancouver Whitecaps, the French striker who leaves Philadelphia as the club's statistical leader in nearly every measurable offensive category, showed the professionalism, character, and emotion that made him such a beloved figure in Philadelphia.

The addition of Wilmer Cabrera as Pareja's right-hand man has been the worst-kept secret in Commerce City for some time. Today the Rapids made it official, along with the rest of the coaching staff (all of which had been leaked prior to today). The new additions:
Wilmer Cabrera - Assistant Coach
Former Men's U-17 coach for the U.

The Portland Timbers are certainly not resting on their laurels heading into February as they just announced a new player acquisition in Charles Renken, a midfielder, via the MLS waiver. According to assistant coach Amos Magee:

"While only 18, Charles is a talented player who is already accustomed to the professional environment," said Amos Magee, Timbers assistant coach.

Today, US Soccer came out with their list of candidates available for selection to the US Soccer Hall of Fame. On that list are two current coaches of Sporting KC. Head coach and technical director, Peter Vermes is on the list again, as is assistant coach, Kerry Zavagnin, in his first year of eligibility.

The 2012 NHL Draft is still a ways away. It will take place at Consol Energy Center in the city of Pittsburgh starting on July 22nd. However, it's never too early to take a look at the best prospect available for the draft.

While there are a number of international players at the top of the list, there is also quite a bit of domestic talent.

Former Portland Timbers stalwart defender Cameron Knowles has been hired by the his old club as an assistant coach to replace Trevor James who left in December. Knowles joins the coaching staff lead by head coach John Spencer and assistant coaches Mike Toshack and Minnesotan, Amos Magee . Knowles, an Auckland, New Zealand native, attended [.

The Portland Timbers reached back into their USL history for their latest assistant coach hire after Trevor James left the team in December. Cameron Knowles, a defender for the USL/USSF D2 Timbers between 2007 and 2010, will join Coach John Spencer's staff effective immediately.

The Rapids signed Jaime Castrillon this morning, their first major player move of the offseason. As is typical terms were not released but those will leak out eventually. Castrillon is expected to be an immediate starter in the midfield, and Pareja has talked recently about playing a 4-3-1 or 4-2-1-3.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

It's been a bit of a whirlwind year for Richie Williams, but he has landed in a spot of extreme importance in the U.S. Soccer community.

Williams was named U.S. Under-17 national team coach on Tuesday, a position that also entails overseeing the federation's residency program in Bradenton, Fla.

U.S. Soccer Press Release:
RICHIE WILLIAMS NAMED U.S. U-17 MNT HEAD COACH Former U.S. MNT Midfielder to Oversee U-17 Residency Program
CHICAGO (Jan. 24, 2012) - U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati has named former U.

On Tuesday, the United States Soccer Federation announced that Richie Williams has been named coach of the Under-17 National Team. Williams - a former National Team and Major League Soccer player who also served as an MLS assistant coach - had been coaching the U-18 team. The U-17 coach is a fulltime role.

Cold air, but sunny skies down at Starfire for the last split session training on the schedule. Session One, the younger players, saw 10v10 action. They needed a warm body to fill out the full 20, instead assistant coach Ezra Hendrickson (now on twitter) played as a left back in their three back set.

Joe Paterno, the longtime Penn State coach who won more games than anyone in major college football but was fired amid a child sex abuse scandal that scarred his reputation for winning with integrity, died Sunday of lung cancer at the age of 85.
Paterno's legacy was clearly tarnished by the terrible tragedy of child abuse and his inability to manage and prevent it, but that shouldn't totally overshadow his positive influence on their university and players who competed for him.

Roberto Mancini has said it is "impossible" for Carlos Tevez to play for Manchester City again.

Recently, City assistant coach David Platt suggested Tevez could play for the club again if his future was not resolved in this month's transfer window, but Mancini threw cold water on that suggestion today:

"It is impossible.

Chasing the Big Leagues Sassuolo (Serie B) is a post from: Just Football

Tales from Tier Two is a series on Just Football in partnership with @tiertwofooty, in which we assess the promotion chances of the clubs in tier two of Europe's major leagues at the midway point of 2011/12.

Paul Mariner believes Khano Smith could make an MLS comeback. (Photo by Art Donahue/artdonahue.com)

Former New England Revolution midfielder Khano Smith's MLS career came to a screeching halt in 2010 at just 29-years-old thanks to extremely inconsistent and often frustrating play. Now former Revs assistant coach and current Toronto FC director of player development Paul Mariner believes the ex-pro could make a comeback at left back, according to a report in the Bermuda Gazette.

Very interesting news emerging from Paris. PSG Coach Carlo Ancelotti is claiming that he has been offered Chelsea striker Fernando Torres. Of course Chelsea have maintained that Torres is not for sale so there is a very high likelihood that the deal won't go through.

That said, with notable Chelsea strikers Drogba and Kalou having linked up with their national side for the African Cup of Nations, Torres has been gifted the perfect opportunity to prove himself.

I read a comment made by Carlo Ancelotti yesterday about possible transfer targets and when Fernando Torres' name came up I immediately thought bollocks!. I thought straight away that the press would make his comments out to be something that they aren't and when I woke up this morning I was proved right.

Jurgen Klinsmann, Dawn Scott (WNT Fitness Coach), Pia Sundhage, Caleb Porter (U-23 MNT Head Coach), Andreas Herzog, Martin Vasquez (MNT Assistant Coach), Eric Yamamoto (U-23 MNT Assistant Coach)
Two World Cup veterans. Two players who scored bushels of goals for club and country.

Jurgen Klinsmann, Dawn Scott (WNT Fitness Coach), Pia Sundhage, Caleb Porter (U-23 MNT Head Coach), Andreas Herzog, Martin Vasquez (MNT Assistant Coach), Eric Yamamoto (U-23 MNT Assistant Coach)
Two World Cup veterans. Two players who scored bushels of goals for club and country.

David Nikolic, a Milwaukee native who spent 18 years in the UW-Milwaukee program, was named the Great Lakes Region women's assistant coach of the year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Nickolic and head coach Michael Moynihan left the Panthers last month to take the same positions at Northwestern.

Philadelphia Union assistant coach John Hackworth spoke to reporters via conference call on Wednesday night ahead of today's SuperDraft. He discussed the Union's approach to the Players Combine, the possibility of trades, particularly for an international spot, and how the Union are in a different position going into the 2012 SuperDraft compared to 2010 and 2011.

Photo: Paul Rudderow

In a conference call on Wednesday, Union assistant coach John Hackworth confirmed that Michael Farfan is in northern England training with English Premier League club Sunderland. "But with Michael, he's there because he wanted to make himself fully prepared and ready, he wanted to go experience it and make sure he's ready for preseason," Hackworth said.

photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

If at first you don't succeed, try again.

That is the approach Sochaux is taking in terms of Rangers midfielder Maurice Edu.

Having had a previous bid worth an estimated $774,400 turned down, Sochaux has launched a second bid for the U.

Minnesota Stars FC. That's the new name of the former NSC Minnesota Stars. Both CEO Djorn Buchholz and player assistant coach Kevin Friedland, who also does some promotional work with the team, said the NSC name on the logo was confusing. "It's not something we looked at and said, this has got to change.

The legend of Pep Guardiola continues as he was named the best manager of 2011, ahead of José Mourinho (Real Madrid), last year's winner, and Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United).

Guardiola, who was recently named the world's best manager by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), picks up yet another acknowledgement to his brilliant career.

The legend of Pep Guardiola continues as he was named the best manager of 2011, ahead of José Mourinho (Real Madrid), last year's winner, and Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United).

Guardiola, who was recently named the world's best manager by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), picks up yet another acknowledgement to his brilliant career.

University of Redlands Coach Ralph Perez, a former Galaxy assistant coach, is a class act. He (gently) coached me when I participated in a Galaxy fantasy camp for a column. He is often an analyst on Galaxy radio broadcasts with Joe Tutino. And he has assumed numerous coaching roles

The Chicago Fire announced that Mike Matkovich and Leo Percovich will return to the club as Frank Klopas' assistant coaches for the 2012 season. Matkovich rejoins the Fire as an assistant coach, having previously served in the role for the club from 2009-10. The fact that Klopas is bringing Matkovich back on suggests that there was some kind of rift between Matkovich and former Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos.

Today Colorado made it official and hired Oscar Pareja as the team's 7th head coach. The Rapids say 6th but I like to count Roy Wegerle's 1 game as player/manager at the end of the 1996 season. ;) There's been no details as to the amount or length of his contract other than "long" according to Tim Hinchey at the press conference.

photo by John Dorton/ISIphotos.com

The Colorado Rapids have signed Oscar Pareja as their head coach, the club announced on Thursday.

Having beaten out three other finalists, Pareja will attempt to lead the Rapids to the MLS Cup final in his first head coaching position.

FC Dallas reserve team coach and academy director Oscar Pareja will be leaving that role to take the head coaching job with the Colorado Rapids. Pareja, an MLS veteran as a player, also worked as an assistant coach with the United States Under-17 National Team in 2007-08. "I am honored to join such a great organization like the Colorado Rapids, and want to thank everyone at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment for the opportunity.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

American players are not the only ones going abroad for training stints during the MLS offseason.

In an effort to keep sharp and maintain fitness, Rafael Marquez has begun practicing with Barcelona B.

The New England Revolution today announced the additions of three members to new head coach Jay Heaps' staff. Jay Miller joins Heaps as his primary assistant, while former Revolution defender Nick Downing was named strength and conditioning coach and Scott Emmens was hired as the team's equipment manager.