The boy's dream is to play for Chelsea. I reckon Roman is close to making that dream a reality.

Installing a manager remains at the forefront of summer business. That has done little to deter the rumor mill from churning, however, with an ungodly amount of talent some elite, some not being linked with a move to Stamford Bridge already this offseason.

It's just one of his rules This chap must have thought it was his lucky day. Not only did he happen to be leaving Aeropuerto de Barcelona El Prat at the same time as Lionel Messi, but the Barcelona star was also being shadowed by a camera crew so his autograph hunting antics were certain [...]

Argentina's friendly against Costa Rica -- a no-mess, no-fuss 0-0 draw -- was controversial for many reasons. First, Lionel Messi, who was the main draw for the public attending the second of the curtain-raising events at Estadio Nacional, did not play. That decision drew whistles and catcalls from the audience throughout the match.

Written by Gooner in Exile

Easter weekend brought Gooners to Lancashire in their droves. We took the whole end of the ground, upper and lower, the normal allocation is 3,000 but that is, I believe, half lower tier and all the upper. I would estimate the travelling ranks were closer to 5,000 on Sunday.

Saturday

- Victoria Beckham got teepeed at her baby shower around the same time as news about her husband and son, Brookyn, walking away unharmed from their LA freeway car crash broke. She's got her lucky stars to thank for her family's safety and for Gisele Bündchen wearing one of her dresses.

Argentina played Costa Rice in a friendly on Tuesday night, and though Leo was unable to play, he was still in Costa Rica, chillin' with his comrades. Pretty standard stuff, really.

Until he was swarmed by people, but not really just people Costa Rican national team players asking for his autograph.

Super Star title in the world of football should not be used a lot, and in my opinion, should be given very conservatively with players such as Platini, Cruyff, Zidane, Ronaldo1, Beckenbauer, Bobby Charlton .......
Messi at the age of 23, going to another country for the intention of playing against their team, but then missing the game because of light injury, and still ending up by a hero, with so many people asking for his autograph.

Want a chance to meet a soccer legend who is known for blocking shots as well as scoring them? Well, look no further because Mexican soccer legend Jorge Campos is teaming up with Farmers Insurance in the youth initiative "Juega y Aprende con Jorge Campos." (Play and Learn with Jorge Campos)
These free soccer clinics are open to 100 youth in each host city, and will allow each participant to develop their skills with the assistance of Jorge Campos and a number of MLS staff.

The West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has claimed that a drunken supporter racially abused a player, sparking the brawl that marred the club's end-of-season dinner on Monday night. The event was spoiled by a disturbance between supporters and players which caused the police to be called to the Grosvenor Hotel in central London.

Jack Jewsbury. Josh Wolf. Davy Arnaud. Jimmy Conrad.
One of these things is not like the other!
Yes they have all spent a massive amount of time with the Sporting Wizards KC. I guess Josh Wolf is the only true striker on that list. But that's not what different.

Over at Blazers Edge, whenever a player leaves the team a fanpost is made to commemorate the contributions (small as they may have been) of the outgoing player. It seems only fair that we should have this tradition here on Stumptown Footy too. Because we love our Timbers.

Adam Moffat is on his way now to Houston, and I wish him well.

Photo quality is terrible but just went to fish this out my draw, it's my autograph from Kenny Dalglish when i met him in the Molineux boardroom last year! :)...Liverpool Football Club today have parted ways with manager Roy Hodgson. In a move that was predicted to happen sooner rather than later it sees Roy leave on the back of just 7 wins out of 20games played in the league.

The U.S. team was going to have a light training yesterday after arriving, but were a bit delayed and the weather was drizzly, so the team did gym workouts. That meant today was the first on-field training of what could be up to six practices before the USA meets Sweden on Jan. 21 to open the competition.

It's a subject that occupies many of our waking thoughts. How, when finding ourselves in the proximity of a handsome young football player, do we attract his attention in a manner that implies we are deeply attracted to him but not remotely slutty and/or mad?

Well, alright. But we're not slutty.

It's not been uncommon to see silverware dished out at Anfield over the years - and it was no different on Thursday night as 48 local kids were honoured in Liverpool Football Club's annual Young Person of the Year awards.
More than 200 guests, including first-team stars Jonjo Shelvey and Jay Spearing, attended the special ceremony in the Shankly Suite to witness the club reward the outstanding achievements of young people in the city.

This story caught my attention today.

The Sun reports that the Italian striker was asked for an autograph by the young fan at City's training ground, but turned the tables on the lad by asking him why he was playing truant from school.

The boy explained that he was absent because he was being bullied sparking an incredible reaction from the 20-year-old superstar.

Easily one of the more excellent things you'll see this week, perhaps this month.

While doing his retirement tour in the land of Chechnya, Roberto Carlos, he of world-class sheen and galactic left foot, was approached by a pitch invader, seemingly a very big fan of one of the two aforementioned biblical skills Roberto holds.

Sit on your chairs, don't throw them...
West Ham's calamitous season endured another dose of ignominy last night after police were called to investigate disturbances that erupted after players were confronted by supporters at the club's end-of-season awards dinner at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.

It's been a while since we came across an in-depth interview with a Madridista and this one on FIFA.com with German international Sami Khedira certainly does the job! He spoke about adapting to the Spanish lifestyle, playing in the La Liga and facing competition from younger players.

Wes Knight is on his way to trial with the Seattle Sounders over the next few days. Joshua Mayers confirmed a tweet that indicated Knight would be headed to Seattle for a several day look. The 25 on Tuesday right back/right mid played with the Vancouver Whitecaps in both the USL (was a finalist for Rookie of Year in 2009) and in MLS.

The NSC Minnesota Stars, Minnesota Youth Soccer Association and Bricks Pub are pleased to present Minnesota Soccer History Night this Saturday, September 10, at NSC Stadium. This free event will take place before the Stars' final home game of the season against the Atlanta Silverbacks.

You think those kids wanted Abby's autograph? They got it...

The U.S. WNT arrived in Portland tonight at around 7:30 p.m. after a brief delay in their flight from Kansas City and received a rousing greeting from a few teams worth of young soccer players, who came out strong with signs, baloons, painted faces and quote a few things to autographs (including faces.

Dodgy parents! Team-mate affairs! Public urination! The Top 10 John Terry scandals

Poor old John Terry is in hot water again following allegations that he racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. As the investigation into that particular scandal gets underway, here's 10 other moments that the Chelsea and England star might want to forget.