It's not often you see European club Presidents make an error of this magnitude. Shortly after being signed from Atletico Madrid, new striker Diego Forlan was named by Inter Milan... Read more »

Friday, September 9
2:30pm AC Milan vs Lazio (FSC)

Saturday, September 10
9:30am Borussia Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin (GolTV)
10:00am Arsenal vs Swansea City (FSC)
10:00am Stoke City vs Liverpool (Fox Soccer Plus)
10:00am Sunderland vs Chelsea (ESPN2)
12:00pm Villarreal vs Sevilla (GolTV)
12:00pm Real Sociedad vs Barcelona (ESPN Deportes)
12:30pm Bolton vs Manchester United (FSC)
2:00pm Real Madrid vs Getafe (GolTV)
2:30pm Cesena vs Napoli (FSC)
2:30pm Wolverhampton vs Tottenham tape delay (Fox Soccer Plus)
4:00pm Valencia vs Atletico Madrid (ESPN Deportes)
4:30pm Everton vs Aston Villa tape delay (Fox Soccer Plus)
5:00pm Manchester City vs Wigan tape delay (FSC)

Sunday, September 11
6:30am Juventus vs Parma (Fox Soccer Plus)
7:30am Roda JC vs FC Twente (ESPN Deportes)
8:30am Norwich City vs West Brom (Fox Soccer Plus)
9:00am Roma vs Cagliari (FSC)
9:30am Cologne vs Nuremburg (ESPN Deportes)
11:00am Fulham vs Blackburn (FSC)
11:30am Wolfsburg vs Schalke (GolTV)
12:00pm Rayo Vallecano vs Zaragoza (ESPN Deportes)
2:30pm Palermo vs Inter Milan (FSC)
3:00pm PSG vs Brest (Fox Soccer Plus)
4:00pm Espanyol vs Athletic Bilbao (GolTV)

AVB was quick during pre season to have his say on Fernando Torres and what he believed at the time was a media obsession with the Spaniard. It seems that after just five games into the season the obsession with Torres has started again and yesterday Fernando Torres was linked with a move to AC Milan as part of a swap deal.

La Liga on ESPN Deportes: Real Madrid - Racing Santander at 2pm. On GolTV: Atletico Madrid - Sporting Gijon at 2pm and Valencia - Barcelona at 4pm. Carling Cup on Fox Soccer Plus: Brighton - Liverpool at 2:30pm and Chelsea - Fulham at 5pm. Serie A on Fox Soccer: Milan - Udinese at 2:30pm. CCL on Fox Soccer and Galavision: Dallas - UNAM Pumas at 8pm and Alajuelense - LA at 10pm.

VIVA VALENCIA! The city must be celebrating their 2-2 draw against Barcelona last night ("I told you so" messages from Valencian friends are on the way). Of course, the popular hero of the hour was deemed to be Cesc Fabregas for saving Barca but it's time to give credit where it's due to Los Che, who were 10 men down and stuck till the end.

La Liga heavyweights Barcelona and Real Madrid will want vast improvement when they host Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano respectively on Saturday.

Jose Mourinho's Real in particular need to buck up their ideas if they are to end Barca's three-year stranglehold on the title after dropping more points in an uninspiring 0-0 draw at Racing Santander in midweek following a shock 1-0 defeat at Levante on Sunday.

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid 5-0 Highlights 2011 Goals Messi Hat trick Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid 5-0 Highlights 2011 Goals Messi Hat trick Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter FC Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid 2011 ( Barca vs Atletico 2011) Score and result:- Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid 5-0 ( Messi*3, Villa, Miranda own goal) Nou Camp, 24 September, 2011- 21.

Atletico Madrid have signed Diego on loan while Barcelona's Alexander Hleb replacing him at Wolfsburg.

Diego, 26, joined Wolfsburg from Juventus last summer but ran into trouble with the club's hierarchy for disciplinary reasons. Wolfsburg have now confirmed he has now moved to Atleti for the coming season with Coach Felix Magath said:

"I'm convinced Diego will play an outstanding role in Madrid.

The transfer window closed last night and we all now know the players AVB will have at his disposal between now and January at least. After weeks of intense speculation about the club ever since AVB became our manager, our new signings have been confirmed. They are Courtious, Romeu, Meireles, Mata, Piazon, Davilla and Lukaku.

By Chris Wright

Here's a few photos of Fenella the Kettle Witch (or 'Diego Forlan' as he's known outside Wheelie World) giving it the 'big thumbs' during his unveiling bash at Inter Milan earlier this morning.

Along with Mauro Zarate, the Forlanator moved to the Giuseppe Meazza on a two-year deal from Atletico Madrid yesterday not a bad afternoon's business by anybody's standards.

That facial expression on Wesley Sneijder screams :"What?! Another question about Man United...?" Get over it, Inter needs him more than any other club at this moment to provide support to Diego Forlan, of course! Yes, in case you were watering your plants excessively on transfer deadline day, the Uruguayan has officiated his move from Atletico Madrid to Inter.

There's nothing wrong with a little bit of positive outlook when moving clubs, hoping to make the most of one's experience, no matter the daunting task ahead.

It's also a properly good idea to know one's opponents. Diego, on a one-year loan to Atletico Madrid, apparently does not.

"I am glad to join Atletico, I was really eager to play here because this is a great club and I could not have arrived at a better moment," Diego said to reporters at his unveiling.

There's nothing wrong with a little bit of positive outlook when moving clubs, hoping to make the most of one's experience, no matter the daunting task ahead.

It's also a properly good idea to know one's opponents. Diego, on a one-year loan to Atletico Madrid, apparently does not.

"I am glad to join Atletico, I was really eager to play here because this is a great club and I could not have arrived at a better moment," Diego said to reporters at his unveiling.

By David Chalmers, writing from Clackmannanshire, Scotland

With the hype surrounding ‘Deadline Day' dying down, I thought I'd draw up a list of the smartest transfer deals ever made. Though subjective, this is based mostly on players that cost very little money who turned into major stars for their club.

Celtic will play in this seasons Europa League after UEFA chose to suspend FC Sion for fielding ineligible players. The result of UEFA's investigation process will be a huge relief to the hierarchy at Celtic, who faced a huge financial loss by not playing in Europe this season.

Shut the fucking door. El mercato has finally ceased, meaning we can finally get down to the proper business of actually focusing on the football. I, for one, am ecstatic.

That's not to say the summer wasn't enjoyable. A tad chaotic and frustrating at times, yes, but it certainly was an intriguing one for the club.

For the first time in quite a while, neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona placed among the five biggest spenders of the summer according to Transfermarkt.

Madrid shelled out just 55 million euros, and a large chunk of that was reserved for Fabio Coentrao. Nuri Sahin, Jose Callejon and Raphael Varane arrived for modest fees, while Hamit Altintop was acquired on a free.

For the first time in quite a while, neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona placed among the five biggest spenders of the summer according to Transfermarkt.

Madrid shelled out just 55 million euros, and a large chunk of that was reserved for Fabio Coentrao. Nuri Sahin, Jose Callejon and Raphael Varane arrived for modest fees, while Hamit Altintop was acquired on a free.

I wrote earlier that former Real Madrid director general Jorge Valdano believes that Barcelona and Real Madrid will abandon La Liga for a European league if their dominance of La Liga continues.

The dominance of Barca and Real derives in part from their control of revenue from TV rights, which gives them a far bigger share of the pot than rivals in other major European leagues.

I wrote earlier that former Real Madrid director general Jorge Valdano believes that Barcelona and Real Madrid will abandon La Liga for a European league if their dominance of La Liga continues.

The dominance of Barca and Real derives in part from their control of revenue from TV rights, which gives them a far bigger share of the pot than rivals in other major European leagues.

Despite being just 20 years of age David De Gea has shown maturity in recent weeks that bodes well for his future at Old Trafford.

The former Atletico Madrid keeper has not had the best of starts to his time at Old Trafford. In the first live football of the season, the Community Shield, he was to blame for both of Manchester City's goals.

Arsenal has endured a rough start to the new Premier League season, but a busy transfer deadline day helped Arsene Wenger restock his roster, with the hope being the Gunners could re-load enough to stay a top four teams.

We will get our first chance to see whether the new Arsenal additions can help the Gunners get over the loss of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas when they take on Swansea City today (10am, Fox Soccer Channel).

RIP Spanish football? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Spanish football is dying.

In 2007 La Liga had one of the most exciting title races in living memory as four teams had the possibility of winning the title, even with four rounds of matches still to play. Valencia fell away towards the end and Sevilla ran out of steam en route to winning the UEFA Cup (in an all-Spanish final against Espanyol) and Copa del Rey that year.

Betis and Valencia joined Real Madrid with maximum points from their two games after 1-0 wins against Mallorca and Atletico Madrid, whilst Sporting's defeat in Pamplona means they are the only team still without a point.

There weren't too many goals this weekend in La Liga, with just 22 in the nine games played, Roberto Soldado got his fourth of the season and leads the league's goalscorers alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, whilst Betis are still concede this campaign.

Just like walking in your grandparents making out, this one is going to get real ugly real fast.As some of you may remember, Switzerland's FC Sion had illegally lured Egyptian keeper Essam El-Hadary away from Al-Ahly in 2008 while still under contract and had been subsequently punished. Part of that punishment is no player transfers may play for the club in competition.

Balls Out for the UEFA Champions League

Tues 13 September 2011

Group E:

Chelsea-Leverkusen (Stadium: Stamford Bridge, London): The Blues should win at home, despite not being quite settled: seems like they're still adjusting to new manager Andre Villas-Boas, the Fernando Torres situation is still unclear, especially after AVB sat him for the entire match over the weekend; and it's same old guys at the core of the squad (Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole).

Fernando Torres' performance since joining Chelsea has been below average on the field, and now the Spanish striker is taking a bit of heat for comments he has made off the field.

According to reports, Torres called out some of his older Chelsea teammates for being "very slow" in an interview with a Spanish soccer website.

The Pot 4 Club Dinamo Zagreb is a post from: Just Football

The Pot 4 Club continues on Just Football with an analysis of Dinamo Zagreb from the writers of CroatianSoccerReport:

Club: Dinamo Zagreb

Straight outta': Croatia

Group: D with Real Madrid, Olympique Lyonnais and Ajax

Recent History

Dinamo Zagreb is the most successful Croatian football club of all time with a rich history in domestic and European play.

Fernando Torres may yet to answers the pressure asking for him to immediately getting his name on the scoresheet for Chelsea this season, but his vital contribution in the Blues' latest Champions League victory on Tuesday night apparently has soften Andre Villas-Boas' order for the Spaniard.

Europa League on GolTV: PSG - Salzburg at 1pm and Atletico Madrid - Celtic at 3pm ET.

By CALEB SONNELAND

Jozy Altidore should make his Europa League debut tonight as AZ Alkmaar lines up against Swedish outfit Malmo FF.

Altidore, currently on a hot streak with his new club, has five goals in six appearances and has been an immediate hit for the Dutch side since signing in mid-July.

Atletico Madrid v Celtic Highlights 2011 Europa League Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Atletico Madrid v Celtic Highlights 2011 Europa League Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Atletico Madrid v Celtic 2011 Score and result:- Atletico Madrid vs Celtic 2-0 ( Falcao, Diego) Vicente Calderon, Madrid- Europa League 2011 Group I- 15 September, 2011 Goals from Radamel Falcao and Diego help Atletico [.

Atletico Madrid v Celtic Highlights 2011 Europa League Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Atletico Madrid v Celtic Highlights 2011 Europa League Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Atletico Madrid v Celtic 2011 Score and result:- Atletico Madrid vs Celtic 2-0 ( Falcao, Diego) Vicente Calderon, Madrid- Europa League 2011 Group I- 15 September, 2011 Goals from Radamel Falcao and Diego help Atletico [.

By Chris Wright

Pies pick of the ten best photos from yesterday evening's round of Europa League tomfoolery...

Birmingham mascots Belle and Beau brave the darkness to salute the St Andrews crowd before their 3-1 defeat to Portuguese side Braga

Shamrock Rovers' Craig Sives launches into an unorthodox tackle on Rubin Kazan's Salvatore Bocchetti at the Tallaght Stadium, Dublin.

Friday, September 16
2:30pm Freiburg vs Stuttgart (ESPN Deportes)

Saturday, September 17
7:30am Blackburn vs Arsenal (ESPN2)
9:45am Bayer Leverkusen vs Cologne (ESPN Deportes)
10:00am Aston Villa vs Newcastle (FSC)
10:00am Wolverhampton vs Queens Park Rangers (Fox Soccer Plus)
12:00pm Bolton vs Norwich City Tape Delay (FSC)
12:00pm Cagliari vs Novara (Fox Soccer Plus)
12:30pm Kaiserlautern vs Mainz (GolTV)
2:00pm Barcelona vs Osasuna (ESPN Deportes)
2:00pm Swansea vs West Bromwich Albion Tape Delay (Fox Soccer Plus)
2:30pm Inter Milan vs Roma (FSC)
4:00pm Sevilla vs Real Sociedad (GolTV)
5:00pm Everton vs Wigan Tape Delay (FSC)

Sunday, September 18
6:30am PSV Eindhoven vs Ajax (ESPN Deportes)
6:30am Atalanta vs Palermo (Fox Soccer Plus)
8:30am Tottenham vs Liverpool (Fox Soccer Plus)
9:00am Siena vs Juventus (FSC)
10:00am Zaragoza vs Espanyol (ESPN Deportes)
10:30am Fulham vs Manchester City Tape Delay (Fox Soccer Plus)
11:00am Manchester United vs Chelsea (FSC)
11:30am Schalke vs Bayern Munich (GolTV)
12:00pm Atletico Madrid vs Racing Santander (ESPN Deportes)
12:30pm Sunderland vs Stoke City Tape Delay (Fox Soccer Plus)
2:00pm Levante vs Real Madrid (GolTV)
2:30pm Napoli vs AC Milan (FSC)
3:00pm Lyon vs Marseilles (Fox Soccer Plus)
4:00pm Athletic Bilbao vs Real Betis (GolTV)

Liverpool striker Daniel Pacheco believes the sacking of Rafa Benitez has hampered his progress at Anfield.
Kenny Dalglish has sent the Spain Under-21 international on loan to Atletico Madrid but in a strange twist - and without playing a single game - he has been loaned out further to Rayo Vallecano.

Liverpool striker Daniel Pacheco believes the sacking of Rafa Benitez has hampered his progress at Anfield.
Kenny Dalglish has sent the Spain Under-21 international on loan to Atletico Madrid but in a strange twist - and without playing a single game - he has been loaned out further to Rayo Vallecano.

We have a rare midweek slate of matches in La Liga this week, with the highlight being league leaders Valencia hosting Barcelona on Wednesday. That match is just one of 10 midweek matches spread across three days.

A dramatic 4-3 opening day win against Racing Santander, thanks to two goals in the last five minutes, has been followed by successive 1-0 wins against Atletico Madrid and Sporting Gijon as Unai Emery's side moved to the top of the table.

There are a couple of little nuances in the following press release so we are going to publish the whole thing and give full thoughts and analysis later on. Contents after the break.

*******

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (Sept. 20, 2011) - The Chicago Fire Soccer Club, in conjunction with Atletico Madrid, Club América and Sport Club Internacional announced today a strategic alliance enabling for greater relationships between the Fire and its partner clubs in Spain, Mexico and Brazil.

Normally a mid-week Serie A game wouldn't necessarily register on our radar, but when it happens to involve a world power continuing its slide by falling to a newly promoted minnow, it merits a mention.

Inter Milan fell to Novara on Tuesday, 3-1, to drop to 0-2-1 in league play.