Landon Donovan has suggested he might end his playing days in Australia's A-League.
"My wife and I have talked about that (coming to play in Australia). Not now but maybe one day. I have got a couple more years at the Galaxy ... it might be a while (but) I love it here," he said.
He called the 80,000 strong crowd that watch the Galaxy take on Sydney FC 'awesome' and though they played a great game.

The Asociación del Fútbol Argentino didn't think this one through much, did they? Scheduling a midweek fixture with mostly European players half-way across the world, I'm sure they got an earful from Sir Alex Ferguson, Frank Riikjard, and Rafa Benitez among others. Anyhow, the Albicelestes have already traveled to Oz, so there's little to be done at this point.

It might seem like it is a long way away but there is still a great deal happening in preparation for 2010. Here is just some of the news about the biggest single sport event in the world.
The big news is that optimism in South Africa is growing that they will be ready to host the finals, with 70% now believing it will happen. However, only 52% think the country will be able to meet the electrical needs of the tournament.

One club is sponsored by a brothel while a whole soccer federation sells its soul to a betting firm, which gets more news? Welcome to sensational, stupid society.
Trento Calcio 1921, a Serie D club, has signed an advert agreement with an Austrian-based brothel, Casa Bianca or White House, to display the establishment's name on the club's website.

Fifa made it official today, the rotational system will die after the 2014 Brazil finals, meaning everyone except for little Oceania and Concacaf got a piece of the World Cup pie.
This comes as no surprise as Fifa boss Sepp Blatter has been hinting at this for some time now but still, one has to wonder why Concacaf President and Blatter's BFF Jack Warner was not able to bring his confederation the finals as he promised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWDkTs cog First, a confession: I am an LA Galaxy fan. And I am a Kevin Harmse fan. He's tough. He's scrappy. And I generally enjoy watching tough and scrappy. If something's going down on the field, Kevin's usually in the middle of it. And usually I'm okay with that.

With 2014 now in the bag for Brazil (fingers crossed, anyway), thoughts turn to 2018. With FIFA removing the system of rotating the World Cup around the confederations, the next contest will be far more fierce than the procession for 2014. Only countries from Africa and South America (as the last two host continents) will [...]

tormöglichkeit...
Originally uploaded by lembagg En partidos internacionales amistosos que iniciaron ayer estos fueron los resultados éntrale a ver los vídeos:
Austria 0 - Inglaterra 1 (amistoso Internacional, Noviembre 17, 2007)Los austriacos a pesar de jugar en casa perdieron contra los tres leones en el pecho de los ingleses, con gol de Michael Owen.

Substitute Pipat Thonkanya came off the bench to fire Thailand to their first ever victory at the AFC Asian Cup finals, scoring a second half brace as the hosts shocked a lacklustre Oman.
Thailand dominated the visitors but had to wait until the seventieth minute for Thonkanya to tap home at the far post, following a superb cross from fellow substitute Teeratep Winothai.

If body language is anything to go by then a picture tells a thousand words.
Whilst Australia coach Graham Arnold was subdued for most of the pre-match press conference in the build-up to his team's vital clash with Iraq, he bristled at suggestions that Australia are under any more pressure than usual.

Claiming that he had not read any of the criticism dished out by the Australian media in the wake of Australia's insipid display against Oman, Arnold suggested that he always knew that his team would be "under-done" - reminding the media that Australia had played only two matches in the past six weeks.

Friday the 13th, 2007 is a day that will dwell in infamy for Australian football fans. I pondered the depths of their despair as I tramped along the dusty perimeter of Rajamangala Stadium in the aftermath of Australia's 3-1 defeat to Iraq, where I stumbled upon a group of young Thai's playing street-ball in the expansive forecourt of Thailand's national stadium.

Australia have progressed to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup after they defeated Thailand 4-0 at a rain-soaked Rajamangala Stadium.
Coach Graham Arnold rang in the changes ahead of this match, and it was one of the newcomers in Michael Beauchamp who opened the scoring for The Socceroos, heading home his first ever goal for the national team after twenty-one minutes.

I'm not entirely certain that I'm staying in one of the more reputable hotels in Bangkok. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how many hotels usher you in through a side entrance because they are building a highway out the front. I can think of at least one. Still, I appreciated the thoughtfulness of the staff when I arrived back from Thailand's recent clash with Australia.

Former Liverpool midfielder Craig Johnston claimed it was potentially "one of the great rivalries in Asian football." Japan defender Yuji Nakazawa predicted a 3-0 win for his side and told reporters "we can't lose twice." Australia and Japan fans have been poring over the minutia of every comment made by player or reporter alike - eager to highlight the flaws, desperate to imagine an advantage.

The country of Iraq doesn't have much to bring it joy these days, however their national soccer team is trying hard to change all that. The Iraqi squad beat Vietnam 2-0 in first knockout round of the Asian Cup to advance to the semi-finals for the first time since 1976.

Hundreds of Iraqis swarmed out of their houses after the victory, waving their country's flag and honking horns as men and boys jumped on top of minibuses and other vehicles.

Australia's U-19 Young Socceroos have won the Weifang Cup after recording a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan in their match to finish the tournament one point ahead of hosts China. Australia won four of their five matches winning the tournament ahead of second-placed China with Iran in third position. The only defeat for the Young Socceroos was against China who scored a late winner from the penalty spot.

David Beckham and the Galaxy gang were in New Zealand a few days back, actually winning a game. But that's not news. Oh. Wait. Yes it is. But it's not the news that interests me at the moment. It's what happened after the game. Seems Beckham went to a chicken restaurant and [...]

While the relocation of a club franchise hundreds of miles from one city to another is virtually unheard of in English football, such rebranding exercises are commonplace in Australia.
All the football codes do it, sometimes even blending two established teams into one and moving the entire operation to a new home.
The NSL, Australia's now-defunct national soccer league, was no stranger to clubs coming and going throughout its turbulent 28-year history, and now the same is happening again to its successor the A-League.

Security arrangements at the Asian Cup are being tightened after intelligence reports warned of possible terrorist threats in two of the four host nations, Thailand and Indonesia. On Tuesday, Thai police said that Bangkok residents should expect tighter security in places such as airports and department stores after they ordered more checkpoints and patrols, especially in Muslim communities and

Australia have progressed to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup after they defeated Thailand 4-0 at a rain-soaked Rajamangala Stadium.
Coach Graham Arnold rang in the changes ahead of this match, and it was one of the newcomers in Michael Beauchamp who opened the scoring for The Socceroos, heading home his first ever goal for the national team after twenty-one minutes.

Japan reached the AFC Asian Cup 2007 semi-finals Saturday when Yuji Nakazawa calmly slotted the winning penalty kick to give the defending champions a 4-3 shoot-out victory over fierce rivals Australia in Hanoi, Vietnam. The score was tied 1-1 at the end of 30 minutes of extra time with Australia down to 10 men after Vince Grella's controversial sending off in the 76th minute.

They are inimitable nicknamers, are loved the world over for their seemingly peerless brand of individual brilliance and have, finally, arrived en masse down under.
It's taken two seasons for the fledgling league to finally wake up to the unique combination of attributes Brazilian footballers of almost any standard can deliver to a new competition.

Do you want to see what a $3.25 million goal looks like? Of course you do. Here it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdwm55eRswY

Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Tim Cahill saves Australia...again

Australian midfielder Tim Cahill reprised his role as a super-sub from the FIFA 2006 World Cup, scoring in stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw against an impressive Oman.

The Socceroos were within seconds of plunging to defeat in their first ever Asian Cup match, only for substitute Cahill to lash home after Omani goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi had spilled Mark Bresciano's low drive.

Earlier today, the Iraqi soccer team pulled off a great upset when they trashed Australia 3-1 in the Asian Cup. This surprise victory sent people to the streets of Iraq in joy. They honked horns, waved flags an all around enjoyed the moment.
"Despite all of what is happening, the most important thing for us is Iraq. Soccer unites Iraq. Long live Iraq," a man shouted from inside his car before driving away.

Coach Graham Arnold has questioned whether his star-studded Australian line-up wants to be at the AFC Asian Cup after a dire 3-1 loss to Iraq in their second Group A match in Bangkok. The pre-tournament favourites were outplayed by a far better side after falling behind to a first-half goal. The Socceroos equalised through skipper Mark Viduka just after half-time, before being picked apart

"We won tonight, so our fans will be shooting in the air, and that is better than shooting at each other."

Such was Iraq coach Jorvan Viera's frank assessment after his team shocked Australia 3-1 at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok.

The wily Brazilian veteran has only been in the job for six weeks, and he was quick to deflect attention on to his players following Iraq's stunning win.

Australia finished second in Group A to book a quarter-final against similar 'slow starters' Japan in Hanoi on Saturday after posting a 4-0 victory over Thailand in their final AFC Asian Cup group match in Bangkok. A first-half goal to Michael Beauchamp, two to skipper Mark Viduka in the second and a late goal to substitute Harry Kewell sealed Australia's spot in the second stage with a

7/21/2007
Alastair Himmer

HANOI (Reuters) - Yuji Nakazawa blasted in the decisive penalty to lift Japan to a 4-3 shootout victory over Australia in an absorbing Asian Cup quarter-final on Saturday.

The match finished 1-1 after extra time following second-half goals from John Aloisi and a rapid Japan response from Naohiro Takahara.

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi was the hero for Japan as they beat Australia 4-3 in a penalty shoutout to progress to the semifinals of the Asian Cup.

The score was 1-1 at full time when John Aloisi's 70th minute opener was cancelled out by Naohiro Takhara from close range two minutes later. Australia then played the last 14 minutes with 10 men after Vince Grella was sent off for elbowing.

The Australia v Japan AFC Asian Cup football match on Saturday night created a new Australian Subscription TV record audience with an average of 419,000 people watching the game on Fox Sports. The quarter-final had a higher average audience than any program in the history of Australian STV as well as a peak audience of 515,000 during the penalty shoot out.

Soccerphile columnist Marc Fox picks the bones out of Australia's quarter-final exit from an Asian Cup debut blighted by over-ambition and arrogance.
For an exiled Englishman, the goings-on of the past couple of months have followed a painfully familiar recipe.
Step one: take a sprinkling of the highest earners from the Premiership off the back of another marathon season.

Before Fred was exciting play at RFK, he was part of Australia's Melbourne Victory. But despite assisting in many goals, including four of the five in the final, his former coach Ernie Merrick doesn't understand why fans and players see him as a legend.
"The Victory coach said it was 'ludicrous that he has become a legend' after being reminded that veteran Socceroo defender Tony Vidmar, now of the Central Coast Mariners, had said after Sunday's scoreless draw that without Fred there was no Victory.

I caught the start of the 2nd half. It was 1-0 in favor of Canada, who needed to beat Australia in order to advance to the knockout stage of the Women's World Cup. Australia needed to at least draw in order to advance, and they'd fallen behind on the 2nd fastest goal in WWC history, [...]

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has signalled that the policy of World Cup rotation is about to be ditched.
Speaking to the BBC, Blatter admitted he would welcome England bidding for 2018, a tournament which under the present model, should be held in North or Central America.
"I am advocating we open the market," said Blatter. Back in May, he described rotation as "a milestone", speaking to FIFA delegates in Zurich, while only a month ago, announced that a final decision on rotation with regard to 2018 would come at the end of October.

Three members of the Iraqi Olympic team as well as an assistant coach have deserted their country while in Australia. The four have grown tired of security concerns back home and are seeking political asylum.

Assistant coach Saadi Toma and playing trio Ali Mansour, Ali Khidhayyir and Ali Abbas were not present for the team's flight back home after their 2-0 defeat, with Toma later informing the Iraqi FA by telephone that the quartet had applied for asylum.

China completed its Asian Cup warm-up with a 1-0 win over Australian A-League champions Melbourne Victory in Hong Kong in a wierd three-half game format requested by China coach Zhu Guanghu. "The rules change every five minutes. They want to make sure it's an exhibition match," said Victory chairman Geoff Lord before the game. "It's changed four times since we've been here.

When Australia sought to transfer from Oceania to the Asian Football Confederation in the 1990s, a vote was taken of members of the world football body, FIFA, to back Australia's request. Then Soccer Australia Chairman David Hill was the only one to vote in favour. From that embarrassment, Australia's Socceroos prepare to play their first game in the Asian Cup finals against Oman.

No podía quedarme con las ganas de publicar esto, espero no herir susceptibilidades. Pero resulta ser que las estadounidenses son la potencia de fútbol femenil, eso es cierto, las mexicanas tienen a un técnico ex-jugador mexicano con tremendo corte de pelo ochentoso, y que poco a poco suben de nivel, las brasileñas tienen a una crack entre sus filas.

Former Netherlands and South Korea football coach Dick Advocaat will take charge of Australia's national men's team, the Socceroos, later this year, Australian newspapers have reported. The unconfirmed articles stated that Football Federation Australia concluded negotiations with Advocaat who will take up his new role when he completes contract commitments to Russian club Zenit St.