SoccerBlogs

Eintracht (red/black shirts) plays FC Bayern in an U-19 game

Hi everybody, I'm back! Yes, it has been a while since I've written anything new for the blog and I won't bore you with the reasons for my prolonged absence. It's also been a while since I went on an Away Day to Frankfurt am Main and wanted to share with you the joys of celebrating promotion with my favourite German club Eintracht Frankfurt.

After the trauma of Eintracht Frankfurt's relegation on Saturday came a little bit of light relief on Sunday. Frankfurt's second club is FSV and it was to their Frankfurter Volksbank Stadion that I went to in order to see their 2. Liga match against Erzgebirge Aue, a club hailing from the east of the country.

Things really have gone from bad to worse for Eintracht Frankfurt since the winter break. Only one win in 16 games going into their final game of the season away to the newly-crowned champions of Germany saw the club who occupied seventh� place at the winter break start the day in second bottom and were involved in a real relegation dogfight which hadn't looked like coming at Christmas.

It's not every day that you get to spend time with your childhood heroes. That's exactly what I was able to do this summer, as Liverpool Football Club visited the United States for its preseason tour. LFC legends old and new descended on Boston for the club's friendly at Fenway Park against AS Roma in late July.

Meeting Vitālijs Astafjevs (right) before the game

Sunday, October 30th, 2005: Skonto Riga, fourteen times champions of Latvia with all of those titles won consecutively from 1991-2004 in order to create a world record, have finally been deposed from their number one position. Their opponents on this day are Liepājas Metalurgs who, only the week before, clinched their maiden Latvian league title with four matches left to play such was their domination in that season.

Having lamented Liverpool's woeful start to the 2010-11 Barclays Premier League season Stoppage Time International Football Blog went back to Anfield yesterday for what proved to be a crucial three points won for the Reds.

I wrote a report for this section of the blog towards the end of last season regarding Liverpool's UEFA Europa League quarter-final, 2nd leg against Lille OSC.

The sign says it all

Stoppage Time International Football Blog has made the relatively short trip to the North Wales town of Prestatyn to take in a game from the Welsh Premier League.

On Monday I knew that I could wake up and forget about work for at least another 24 hours as it was a public holiday. Therefore I decided that I would go to a football ground in my home city that I'd been meaning to go to for quite some time.

The Arriva Stadium, at one time known as Rossett Park before the ground was sponsored by the Arriva bus company, is the home of Marine AFC and lies in the outer Liverpool suburb of Crosby.

The first thing that will jump out to you about newly-renovated BC Place is the roof. This focal point of Vancouver Whitecaps FC's new building provides a sense of space unrivaled in any MLS venue. It's a suspension-based structure that is retractable, much like a few of the new European venues seen in Germany.

Some photos from my first trip to Philadelphia's PPL Park. We played the Union last season in the club's inaugural MLS match, but that contest was hosted at Lincoln Financial Field. PPL Park was a much more intimate environment, and like its European predecessors, the venue rises out of a working class neighborhood (Chester, Pa.

It was good being back in the Emerald City, a place that in many ways still feels like home to me. Though United's result against Sounders FC left much to be desired, I had a great time catching up with family and friends. Here are some of the snaps from my walk around town, our training session at Starfire and the club's pregame routine at CenturyLink Field.

Much has been made of Sporting Kansas City's newly-constructed� LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. I won't repeat what has already been written it's a beautiful facility. From a communications perspective, I was particularly impressed with the club's post-match media setup. Inside a glass-enclosed press room, commentary from both head coaches is delivered to an an adjoining membership lounge via surround sound.

Denver is a funky place. The last time I was in the Rocky Mountain city I was 12-years-old, on my way to a family vacation in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. In many ways Denver reminds me of Seattle without the constant presence of water. There are beautiful vistas on all sides of you, with the mountains looming large over the city.

Intense, gritty, and downright volatile. These are the adjectives that have come to define the blood rivalry between D.C. United and the New England Revolution in MLS. Saturday's match at Gillette Stadium was the latest chapter in this storied feud, with controversial officiating, player scuffles, and an ejection all factoring into the day's festivities.

The 2011 preseason is upon is, and United's March 19 season opener against Columbus is rapidly approaching. Camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. is coming to a close, and below are some of the best shots that I have taken thus far. With Charlie Davies in camp on trial, there have been a number of media members out to see us, including the Miami Herald and Washington Post.

Not wanting to dwell on today's disappointing World Cup announcements from FIFA, I found these great pictures from our July 31 trip to Rio Tinto Stadium to play Real Salt Lake. Built in 2009, I think this facility in Sandy, Utah is my favorite road venue in Major League Soccer. The pictures will explain why, as there are few grounds around the League that display such a harmonious mix of natural beauty and architectural achievement.

The view from the pressbox at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois.

It's not often that a person has three birthdays in one year. My first of 2010 came on the actual date of my birth, February 9, having recently moved from Seattle to DC. My girlfriend Kelsey was visiting from the Pacific Northwest helping me to get settled in the District, and she cheered me up over a bit of homesickness amidst one of the worst snowstorms in the history of the Mid-Atlantic.

Toronto's BMO Field; a stunning view.

I was told going into the Toronto match that the entire experience would be my cup of tea. A vibrant cosmopolitan city, a wonderful stadium with a stunning backdrop, and the chance to silence a hostile crowd. The trip delivered on all three counts, with D.

Greetings from Los Angeles, California, where I am onsite with D.C. United ahead of the club's clash with Chivas USA. Being back on the West Coast is like a breath of fresh air, literally, as our hotel south of the city has a nice cool Pacific breeze blowing eastward from Hermosa Beach. Today the boys trained one last time before tomorrow night's nationally televised match with Chivas.

With a number of European clubs on American soil throughout the summer, FOX Soccer hit the road over the past month to catch-up with some of the biggest names in the global game. My travels took me up to Seattle to coordinate interviews with reigning European champion Chelsea FC before heading east to New York for the Blues' match with PSG on July 22.