Bixente Lizarazu. 97 Caps for France, one World Cup winners medal, one European Championships medal, one Champions League winners medal and six Bundesliga titles.
Did you know that he is also the current European jiu-jitsu champion in the under 76kg category for blue belts aged 35-40? Click to continue reading...

It is midnight. My bag for the day is packed. Replica kit and scarf are carefully folded. Mobile is charged. Sandwiches for the twelve hour return coach trip are prepared. I am ready.
In just under seven hours I will be boarding Supporters Coach Number 2 outside a pub on the Radstock roundabout. Click to continue reading...

When: Tonight, 7:30pm
Where: USF Soccer Stadium
With a three game unbeaten streak under their belts and four consecutive home games lying ahead, South Florida (4-4-2) has to be feeling that now is the time to make their move up in the Big East standings. The Bulls are 1-1-1 in conference play and take on Seton Hall (4-5-1) tonight, who are win less in Big East contests this season. Click to continue reading...

When: Tonight, 7pm
Where: University Field, St Leo campus
The St Leo Lions (0-0-1) will play their second match of the 2009 season tonight after the first three games were cancelled for weather and then because of flu concerns. The Robert Morris Eagles (3-2-1) have more game experience under their belts as they make the trip from Illinois to Florida for the match. Click to continue reading...

The comedian belts out a few West Ham United Songs. Click to continue reading...

 The Champions League group fixtures were decided earlier this week and Inter was handed the cruelest draw of anyone in the lottery by ending up in the same group as defending champs Barca. In fact when the announcement was made at the ceremony, groans quickly filled the room as club officials from all around the world whispered their fears of ending up in Group F.

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The performance against Stoke was the perfect response to last Sunday's setback at Tottenham.
What happened at White Hart Lane was hugely disappointing.
It looked to me as though a lot of players needed to get 90 minutes under their belts.
Pre-season wasn't the best with players coming back late and other things happening plus the injuries. Click to continue reading...

This season promises to be a pivotal one in the reign of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. Wenger has been one of the most influential managers in Arsenal's history but for the first time last year there were rumblings of discontent from the fans.

In the build up to the new Premier League season the Arsenal manager has again been bullish about his side's prospects.

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Morning all. Let's get right to it then. Yesterday was the Champions League 3rd Round Qualifier draw. The general consensus was we wanted to avoid Atletico, Fiorentina, and Celtics. Well, two out of three's not bad, we drew Celtic. Seems to me that a lot of people are worrying when I don't really think they need to. Click to continue reading...

Skysports.com understands Liverpool defender Robbie Threlfall is poised for a loan move away from Anfield.
A number of clubs are thought to be keen on signing the talented left-back, who is also equally adapt at centre-half, after Liverpool made him available for a loan switch.
The 20-year-old is highly regarded at Liverpool and the Anfield coaching staff are willing to farm him out again so that he can continue his development. Click to continue reading...

Continuing what we hope will be the most comprehensive pre-season previews of the season that you will be able to find anywhere on the net, we're heading north of the border tonight for the first of a gargantuan two-part look at what we can expect in Scotland. Gavin Saxton is your guide to the 2009-10 season in the SPL and the SFL Division One, with The SFL Divisions Two and Three to follow tomorrow.

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Good morning, we got a win under our belts today and it will only take a draw now (I think), to regain the Emirates Cup. I feel it is quite important to win this thing because it will give the squad that extra little boost of confidence going into the Champions League qualifiers.

The win yesterday, for the majority, was fairly mundane and we had Andrey Arshavin to thank for his goal instincts to sniff out two goals in four minutes.

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On the surface, Getafe's new kits are pretty normal ugly design, tacky sponsor logo, and an overall vibe that apparently makes at least one member of the team feel suicidal (they really need to take away the guy in white's belts and shoelaces quick).

But when the Spanish club signed their one-year sponsorship deal with Burger King, it apparently wasn't limited to just the outside of the shirt.

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CONMEBOL is the South American Football Confederation (officially known as the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol) which covers the majority of the continent of South America. It is the oldest of FIFA's confederations, originally forming in 1916, almost a century ago. The federation's formation was begun by Héctor Rivadavia Gómez who had a grand plan for a federation for South American football.

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Fiorentina have asked for Emmanuel Eboue plus cash for Arsenal to bring Confederations Cup winner Felipe Melo to the Emirates.

Felipe Melo recently signed a one-year contract extension at Fiorentina - the main purpose of which now seems to be the addition of a £21m release clause to help La Viola as much money as possible for the Brazilian midfielder.

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Skysports.com understands Liverpool are ready to loan out young defender Robbie Threlfall before the start of the season.
The 20-year-old, who has come through the youth ranks at Liverpool, is highly-regarded by the coaching staff at Anfield.
Threlfall has enjoyed loan spells at Hereford and Stockport in the last few seasons and Liverpool are willing to farm him out again so that he can continue his development. Click to continue reading...

Brisbane RFC 4 v Brisbane Wolves 1 - Very wet pitch (most games were canceled this weekend). Sounded even for most of the first half, Wolves went ahead before Craig Moore equalised. Van Dijk scored 4 including a late penalty scored by sub Charlie Miller. See Roar website for details.
Adelaide 1 v Perth 0 - even game with both sides perhaps lacking match fitness. Click to continue reading...

With the Premier League over for another season. Here are some of the things I noticed from the 08/09 campaign:

Like a bat out of Hull

Hull City were everyone's favorite to go straight back down this season. They seemed like a sweet little feel good story, content to have their moment in the big leagues before quickly sinking back to lower level obscurity where they could be patronized by football and non-football people alike for sounding like a thoroughly dull and uninspiring place to live.

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Ronaldo wasn't exactly robbed the way Pele was over the summer, but 3 young FC Porto fans robbed Ronaldo's CR7 store in Portugal.Ronaldo's sister who is featured in the video below was actually working at the store at the time, and she claims that the young men said insulting things about her brother and ran off with various hats, belts, and shirts. Click to continue reading...

So here we are, FA Cup semi-final day, and the butterflies can officially start fluttering like the dickens.

I'll be off to Wembley later for my first visit to the new old ground, and I can't wait. My own band of gooners will be converging on Wembley from London, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex, four merry old souls with years of experience under our belts.

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At long last, Tuesday April 7th is here. Yes, it's Chelsea youngster Franco di Santo's birthday.

Okay, that's not why you're here, and it's not what I'm excited about. The Champions League quarterfinals are finally here. Funny enough, less than 50% of the teams remaining are "champions," while only a few of the other competitors are even in the hunt for a domestic title this season.

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In light of the financial crisis gripping the world right now it has been very difficult to imagine football carrying on in its current business model. In Europe many of the elite clubs operate from the model that the best case scenario determines budgets.For example stadium sales,TV right's and shirt sales are projected at what a club thinks it will earn and then spend according to its best case projections. Click to continue reading...

Hopkins seems to think so. I'll back him up and say Sigi's the front-runner but only if the Notorious P.I.E. grabs the mic strong during his acceptance speech and belts out "The Warning" to the astonished and appalled crowd. Do that and I'm down for life. You can watch the clip below and cast your own vote. Click to continue reading...

I'd have gladly taken a one nil win had someone offered it to me on a plate before the game, getting three points under our belts was all important at this early stage. The icing on the cake was Tottenham's defeat to Boro at the Rivserside, top four my arse, some people never learn do they? Forty million on new players and null points, spending does not appear to guarantee glory. Click to continue reading...

After dropping their opener against Norway, the U.S. women finally got a win under their belts, topping Japan 1-0 on Saturday. Let's see if the U.S. men can make it two in a row - they beat Japan on Thursday... Click to continue reading...

I thought it was appropriate to quote some Pink Floyd lyrics when looking at these 2 stores in the London Times. According to this article, the Gareth Barry deal has fallen through for the 342ns time this summer due to the unwillingness of Liverpool's owners to provide the funds to sign Barry.
This other article from the London Times describes how Harry Redknapp would like to try and mount a challenge on the bigger clubs, but isn't being given any additional funds to acquire the players that he needs to complete his squad. Click to continue reading...

No soccer-related posts today as I have family in town for my brother's high school graduation tonight.
I've had to spend a little "quality time" with the relatives this afternoon and will be doing the same this weekend, as well as go out to dinner and celebrate with my brother and whatnot. Click to continue reading...

Last two games in the semi-final round of play in the MLS playoffs. Two games are under our belts and two teams look to move on. Normally these predictions are out a day in advance, but I felt like taking an extra day to figure out who I thought looked good enough to win these [...] Click to continue reading...