As is usually the case on the day of the MLS SuperDraft, several draft-day deals went down around the league on Thursday, with three former members of the United States Men's National Team sent packing to new destinations.First, the New England Revolution have sent the rights to defender Chris Albright to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for the 31st- and 48th-overall selections in today's SuperDraft.

With every day that passes, the chances of Stuart Holden returning to the Houston Dynamo and Major League Soccer next season seem to get slimmer and slimmer. The budding U.S. international has just completed a well-publicized trial with Premier League club Bolton Wanderers and is apparently on the verge of being offered a contract, according to new Bolton manager Owen Coyle.

It was cold, wet and pretty miserable in Fort Lauderdale on the first day of the MLS Combine, but that didn't stop the players on dsiplay from actually putting forth some better soccer than we've come to expect from the first day of the Combine.

Many of the draft's top prospects played like top prospects, while some others experienced what could be written off as the traditional first-day jitters that can hit even the best players (like Omar Gonzalez last year).

Playing fantasy football manager games means one thing: you're always after the next hot player. That could be Manchester United midfielder Antonio Valencia. The Ecuador-born player has been part of ManU for half a season now and has already broken his previous EPL-record with 5 goals scored and 6 assisted.

Former Arsenal star and current Seattle Sounders FC Designated Player Freddie Ljungberg is being courted by a number of clubs in Italy, according to reports emerging from the country in recent days. One of the clubs that is openly chasing the former Swedish international is Serie A strugglers Livorno, who have allegedly contacted David Beckham in Milan to get his opinion on Ljungberg's current form.

Seattle Sounders FC's leading goalscorer Fredy Montero has received offers from at least two teams overseas, according to a Colombian report. One of the potential suitors was revealed to be Turkey's Fenerbahce; the other team, an unidentified club from Russia.
Montero, 22, appeared in 27 games in his first season in Major League Soccer after joining the club from Deportivo Cali in his native country.

Mike Seamon, Villanova Wildcat attacker and 2010 MLS Combine participant was voted first team Big East this season in a tough conference. Seamon's five goals and seven assists led the Wildcats, the fourth time in his career that he has led the team in scoring, a testament to his value in the Villanova squad.

Romanian side Steaua Bucuresti has expressed interest in Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Mike Magee, according to reports coming out of the country in recent days. A roughly-translated article from the country appears to indicate that Magee will be joining the club on trial in the near future.
"I do not know too much about it," said club owner Gigi Becali.

This rumor started early yesterday, I didn't find a link at the time, but have found one now. Anyways, it appears that the first movement of the offseason for the Wizards is to lose Herculez Gomez to Mexican first division side, Puebla FC. According to the article, Puebla has signed Gomez to be a boost to their offense, which was apparently one of Puebla's biggest struggles this past season.

20 years old Mexican Carlos Vela was a key player yesterday for Arsene Wenger's Gunner Side as he produced two very crucial assists to help Arsenal to turn around things in the FA Cup clash against West Ham at Upton Park.

Vela has handed a start from the Arsenal Manager to get match time and finally he repaid the French man with two remarkable assists, first as Alex Song find Carlos Vela in the box and as the Mexican lost control over his body the play was almost finished, but he found a way to keep his balance to nudge the ball to Welsh teenager Aaron Ramsey and the young lad slotted home with a firing effort into the far corner.

Kansas City Wizards midfielder/forward Herculez Gomez has revealed that he will not be returning to Major League Soccer next season. Instead, he will become the next American-born player to ply his trade abroad after signing a contract to play for Puebla FC of the Mexican first division.
"I couldn't be happier," Gomez told MLS Daily of his move to Puebla.

Chicago Fire defender Gonzalo Segares has reportedly agreed to a deal that will see him join Cypriot side Apollon FC this winter. Fire Confidential's Sam Stejskal says the only thing standing in the way of the Costa Rican international's move is a physical before the deal is officially announced.
"I talked to his agent and I talked to Gonzalo and I think they're pretty close to an agreement with Apollon," Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas told Stejskal.

With head coach Curt Onalfo finally in place, DC United has initiated a series of roster moves ahead of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Let's review:
Firstly, the club has exercised the option on Fred's contract, meaning the Brazilian midfielder will return for the 2010 season. His guaranteed salary of $257,000 made him the fourth-highest paid player on United's roster last year, only trailing Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno and Christian Gomez.

photo credit: prettyfriendship

1) Lionel Messi/Barcelona

The twenty two year old is not only the best young player in all of La Liga, but the Argentine forward/winger is flat out the best player in all of the world. Make no mistake about it.

Shelbee Stewart, Parkview Vikings

I caught up with Shelby Stewart on Saturday at Lake Country Soccer where she and her friends were preparing to battle for the Winter session title in their division. I was interested in hearing about her recent verbal commitment to play soccer for the Division 1 Missouri State Bears.

Shelbee Stewart, Parkview Vikings

I caught up with Shelby Stewart on Saturday at Lake Country Soccer where she and her friends were preparing to battle for the Winter session title in their division. I was interested in hearing about her recent verbal commitment to play soccer for the Division 1 Missouri State Bears.

Since the season began – and Chelsea made such a good start to their Premier League campaign – much has been made of the potential impact of this month's African Cup of Nations on Ancelotti's title hopes. The loss of the influential Drogba and Essien, who have scored 23 goals and made 8 assists for Chelsea so far this season between them, would surely spell disaster for Chelsea's title charge.

The Colorado Rapids have sent midfielder Jacob Peterson to Toronto FC in exchange for allocation money.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Peterson,drafted by Colorado with the ninth pick in the second round of the 2006 MLS draft, recorded eight goals and five assists in 92 games for the Rapids.

20 years old Mexican Carlos Vela will be in the starting line-up for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side, when the Gunners heading to the Britannia Stadium for a battle with Stoke City in the 4th Round of this years FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.

Vela will probably start on the left hand side or maybe in the central forward position, but it is up to the Arsenal Manager which team he picks to shut down a motivated Stoke City side.

The relationship between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray is widely recognised as one of the fiercest rivalries in World football.
A simply audacious attempt by Fenerbahce chairman, Aziz Yildirim, to lure Galatasaray golden boy, Arda Turan, fuelled months of debate among pundits and fans.
Having already signed Emre Belozoglu, previously seen as a product of the Galatasaray youth system, it may be that this was simply an attempt by Yildirim to rub salt in to an already open wound at the Ali Sami Yen.

Cal Roselieb, Downers Grove South 2010

Confirmed today with the University coaching staff, this article from the West Suburban Sports website outside of Chicago, Cal Roselieb is on campus at Missouri State in time to participate in Spring practices this year.

Missouri State will be getting the services of Downers Grove South's Cal Roselieb, and they'll be getting those services earlier than they might have anticipated.

MilanKakaBaros - Maxi Rodriguez Goals and Assists Compilation- Argentina and Atletico Madrid

The lad looks good, lets hope we get him.

photo credit: terren in Virginia

Well they say it isn't over until the fat lady sings, but for now I will spare you all the entrance of Rosie O'Donell and instead we will evaluate the first half of the season and try to figure out who will most likely take home some of the most coveted awards known and recognised by the football world.

photo credit: Rick212

Out of all of the major football leagues in all of the world, nobody has made as many headlines as La Liga has this season. The rage all started before the year had even begun when three of the world's biggest footballers (Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Kaka) all joined the Spanish league in mega multi-million dollar moves.

Photo from Creighton University / Eric Francis

By: Sean Grybos, Special to Major League Soccer Talk

Creighton's Seth Sinovic was an MLS combine invitee not once but twice. The savvy left back with projectable offensive skills trained for the 2009 MLS Combine but was granted an additional year of eligibility just prior to leaving for the event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Villanova's Michael Seamon leaves the Wildcats program as one of its all-time greats. He led the team in scoring in each of his four seasons. This year, Seaom was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. He ended 2009 with five goals and seven assists.
Recognized as one of the country's top senior prospects, the midfielder has been invited to attend the 2010 MLS Combine.

Chivas USA forward Eduardo Lillingston will be joining Mexican second division side Club Tijuana on loan until the summer, the team announced this afternoon. He will be eligible to rejoin Chivas upon the opening of the mid-season transfer window on July 15th.
"This move allows us some flexibility with our roster, and will give Eduardo a good opportunity to play games during the offseason and before rejoining our team," said Chivas USA vice president of soccer operations Stephen Hamilton.

photo credit: nicknbecka

For those of you who do not know what the silver fox is, it is a term used to describe an older genleman that still is on the top of his game. For example Brett Favre is often referred to as the silver fox of the NFL. This list is of the top three Premier League players that have impressed so far this year despite being over 34 years of age.

It was cold, wet and pretty miserable in Fort Lauderdale on the first day of the MLS Combine, but that didn't stop the players on dsiplay from actually putting forth some better soccer than we've come to expect from the first day of the Combine.

Many of the draft's top prospects played like top prospects, while some others experienced what could be written off as the traditional first-day jitters that can hit even the best players (like Omar Gonzalez last year).

Manchester City's "money-no- object" bid to become one of football's leading forces took on a new chapter, when they announced the signing of former Arsenal midfield maestro Patrick Vieira on Friday.

I assume the lure of being paid in excess of £100,000 a week was too great for the 33 year old, as well as reuniting with manager Roberto Mancini at who managed him at Inter in 2006.

So stupid. Stupid weather. Stupid cold. And stupid me, still here.
I have to admit I haven't paid much attention to anything going on around me. Everyone who thought it was great to make the playoffs, wouldn't it have been nice to have a high draft pick? Something where we maybe could have picked up Teal Bunbury or another impact player?

Mo Johnston isn't accustomed to sitting still in the days leading up to the annual MLS SuperDraft. Indeed, his tendency to move players and draft picks around like chess pieces has earned Johnston the nickname ‘Trader Mo' from some around the league. With the club having just two picks in this year's draft (and none in the first round), it was expected that the club would wheel and deal in an effort to move up the list.

photo credit: nicknbecka

For those of you who do not know what the silver fox is, it is a term used to describe an older gentleman that still is on the top of his game. For example Brett Favre is often referred to as the silver fox of the NFL. This list is of the La Liga players that have impressed so far this year despite being over 34 years of age.

E

We all have off-days. If we play sports, we have off-days and occasional injuries. If we're Arsenal we have off-days, occasional injuries, and the opportunity to win a lot of trophies if we use the transfer window well. If not? Well, it's not as up in the air as last year felt at this time, but it's still up in the air.

Surprise starter (and with a hat-trick of assists under his belt) Benjani has spoken of his hope that his recent appearances may translate into a new deal come the end of the season:

"I'm very happy because I've started two games in a row and it's been a long time since that happened.

After looking far apart at the start of negotiations, the Columbus Crew and Guillermo Barros Schelotto have reportedly agreed to a contract for the upcoming season. According to the Washington Post's Steven Goff, the new deal also includes a club-held option for the 2011 season.
No financial details were immediately available, but the speculation is that Schelotto would have to take a big pay cut to stay in Columbus.

When FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman told SBI earlier this week that he was open to offers for midfielder Dave Van Den Bergh, the news came as no surprise to MLS teams. However, when he said that the team's assist leader was still in Dallas' plans, that statement came as news to one person.

When FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman told SBI earlier this week that he was open to offers for midfielder Dave Van Den Bergh, the news came as no surprise to MLS teams. However, when he said that the team's assist leader was still in Dallas' plans, that statement came as news to one person.

The midfielder from Kentucky had five goals and three assists for the Zips last season.

He was the 10th overall pick in today's draft.

More info on Gavin is here.

In addition, the Philadelphia Union took UCLA freshman midfielder Amobi Okugo with the sixth pick overall and former UCLA Coach Sigi Schmid plucked Bruin forward David Estrada for his Seattle Sounders with the 11th overall pick.

The Colorado Rapids have drafted forward Andre Akpan of Harvard University with the 22nd overall pick of Thursday's Major League Soccer draft. Akpan was taken in the second round with Colorado's first pick of draft, and he was the first Ivy League player taken in the draft.

As a senior, the Grand Prairie, Texas, native registered 12 goals and 30 points in 19 games (all 19 were starts) for the Crimson.