Whitecaps were impressive this preseason. (Photo via Vancouver Whitecaps)

So here we are the preseason is over and now we can begin to get back to normal around here with the season opening up this weekend. Can you believe it? It seems November to this point in March has flown by with transfer moves, loads of different MLS drafts, preseason tournaments and plenty of talking points for the new season.

Liverpool are thought to be lining up a raid on Celtic for their talented winger James Forrest.
The 20 year-old flyer made his debut for the Hoops at the end of the 2009/10 season, but has only truly established himself as a star in the making this season.
He has scored 5 goals in 22 Clydesdale Bank Premier League appearances this season, and great things are expected of the young Scot, who has so far earned 4 caps in his short career.

Today, US Soccer came out with their list of candidates available for selection to the US Soccer Hall of Fame. On that list are two current coaches of Sporting KC. Head coach and technical director, Peter Vermes is on the list again, as is assistant coach, Kerry Zavagnin, in his first year of eligibility.

Article by Brad Snook
Earlier today, Jurgen Klinsmann announced the first 16 players invited to the USMNT training camp in Orlando in preparation for the upcoming slate of friendlies and the start of the next stage of World Cup qualifying. Full roster announcement here. One glaring omission from the list is Timothy Chandler, the German-American defender whom many US fans had pegged as the left back of the future for years to come.

Toronto FC appears determined to fix its defensive problems, and it has turned to an Ecuadorian international to help it do so.

On the day it signed Richard Eckersley to a permanent deal, Toronto announced it acquired defender Geovanny Caicedo. The 30-year-old, who has earned eight caps for Ecuador since making his debut in 2009, last played for LDU Quito.

As if the defending MLS Champions needed any more offensive firepower, the LA Galaxy announced today that Edson Buddle would be rejoining the Galaxy after terminating his contract with FC Ingolstadt by mutual consent.

Buddle's addition gives LA the league's best forward tandem, as he and Robbie Keane will lead a line that should feast on the service provided by Landon Donovan and David Beckham.

In one of the biggest upsets in the history of the U.S. Men's National Team, the USA beat Brazil 1-0 on Feb. 11, 1998, in the semifinal of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. That game was the first U.S. win against the South American side, and today it remains the only time in 16 matches the U.S. has emerged victorious.

News from talkSPORT today that Newcastle are in a three-way fight to sign Napoli's Blerim Dzemaili this summer. Blerim Džemaili Napoli central midfielder The 25 year-old central midfielder was born in Tetovo in the old Yugoslavia, and he was signed by Napoli only last summer from Parma, and the 5'11″ player has 15 caps for [.

Morning all, a quick Saturday round-up for you.

Aside from the team news, which we'll touch on later or in tomorrow's blog (or Monday's blog), the first thing Arsene was asked at the press conference yesterday was whether or not a deal had been done for Lukasz Podolski.

Naturally, Arsene gave it the old, "When we sign a player we will tell you" stuff, said that a deal hadn't been done, cautioned people that even though a deal can be very close it doesn't take much to turn very close into very far away, and generally gave nothing away.

The Newcastle journal are reporting that Newcastle have invited Marseilles and France Under-19 international defender Christophe Lowinsky for a trial. Christophe Lowinsky French U19 defender The lad turned 20 only last Saturday, and Christophe has 6 caps for France at various youth levels and has been playing well for the Marseilles reserves side.

News in the Daily Mail today that Newcastle are lining up a move for the exciting young Ajax left back Nicolai Boilesen. Nicolai Boilesen Danish International left back This lad stands 6'1″ tall and has played for all the Danish youth sides, from U16 through U21, and has two full caps too, getting his first cap [.

Seattle and Vancouver headline a busy Week 11. (Getty Images)

Two games down, a bunch more to go as Week 11 rolls on.

Nine games headlined by two big rivalry games in Vancouver and in LA certainly a busy weekend in MLS. I have a busy day ahead of me here so I'll cut out the big intro and get to the meat of the post here, the items I'll be focusing in on this weekend.

Here is the USA's starting lineup against Venezuela:
Hamid
DeLaGarza Parkhurst Cameron Pearce
Larentowicz Jones (capt.)
Zusi Feilhaber Shea
Bunbury
1-Bill Hamid2-A.

On Tuesday, the United States Soccer Federation announced that Richie Williams has been named coach of the Under-17 National Team. Williams - a former National Team and Major League Soccer player who also served as an MLS assistant coach - had been coaching the U-18 team. The U-17 coach is a fulltime role.

via www.elheraldo.hn

The former Man in Red may be a part of the Fire's future. Honduran websites El Heraldo and La Prensa are repoting that former Fire midfielder Ivan Guerrero is training with the Fire at their pre-season camp in Ave Maria, Florida. La Prensa also claimed Guerrero was "very close" to signing with the Fire.

The out-Stoking of Stoke at Anfield two weeks ago, followed a week later by the utter shambles of a performance at Bolton, set the table for a four-day stretch in which Liverpool's future, not only in the two domestic cup competitions, had been placed in the balance by a fairly significant portion of those who fancy themselves supporters of both Liverpool and general unrest.

Philadelphia Union and Faryd Mondragon confirmed Monday that the veteran goalkeeper will leave to sign with Colombian club Deportivo Cali.

Mondragon, 40, will return to his hometown to play for the team he made his professional debut for more than 20 years ago.

"For family reasons, I have requested the club to allow me the opportunity to finish my career where it started," Mondragon said in a statement released Monday afternoon by the Union.

Talk about a 180.

Just a week or so ago it was Sebastien Le Toux on a plane to England to train with Bolton. Now he is back in North America and has been traded to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

No word yet on what the terms of the deal will be but the Frenchman just tweeted out that it is official.

United States National Team alum, Olympian, National Soccer Hall of Famer, and National Soccer Coaches Association of America Hall of Famer Harry Keough passed away on Tuesday morning. Keough was 84, a member of the 1950 USA World Cup team that beat England. He was also the architect of the St. Louis University soccer dynasty, leading them to five NCAA championships starting in 1967.

Shannon Smyth (Mequon/Milwaukee DSHA) was named to the Republic of Ireland squad for the Algarve Cup in Portugal.

The 24-year-old Smyth, who will start her second season with Amazon Grimstad FK in Norway's Toppserien in April, has six career caps. She has dual citizenship because her father, Brendan, was born and raised in Ireland.

Our giant of a German Per Mertesacker's ankle looks as battered and bruised as my bank account after buying a hot-dog with a pint of Carlsberg at the Emirates.
It looks in seriously bad shape and I can imagine the pain Per felt when his 6ft 6in frame went over and buckled himself.
Seeing the photo made me wince.

The Philadelphia Union added defensive depth today, signing free agent Chris Albright to a contract.

Albright is a Philadelphia native, attending William Penn Charter School during his youth. Last year, with the New York Red Bulls, Albright made $100,800.00 in base salary and $104,133.33 in guaranteed compensation.

U.S. Men's National Team goalkeeper Brad Guzan earned the first of his 19 caps in 2006, but it's been more than a year since his last appearance in a U.S. shirt. The Aston Villa ‘keeper, who had gone on loan last year to Championship side Hull City, started a string of games since December, posting wins against Chelsea and Bolton Wanderers and a clean sheet against Stoke City.

After John Terry was stripped of the England captaincy last month which consequently lead to the resignaiton of manager Fabio Capello, the nation is anticipating who interim manager Stuart Pearce will name as captain when he chooses his team to face Holland tomorrow evening.
Steven Gerrard is the stanjames favourite to be names skipper but Joe Hart is also a popular bwin free bet, and Hart is certainly up for the challenge and responsibility of leading his country to the European championships.

Amazing how a good result or two can change how we look at things. Everyone seems fairly relaxed now, including Martin Jol.

Glenn Moore's story about the game is instructive:

I thought he was worth a chance because he scored regularly in Russia, and he has 45 caps," said Martin Jol.

U.S. national team legends Claudio Reyna and Tony Meola were the easiest selections in the latest ballot for the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and voters agreed, making them the headliners in the Hall's Class of 2012.

Reyna received 96 percent of the voting and Meola received 90 percent of the voting to headline a class that also includes former U.

The USA' starting lineup against Italy:
1-Howard
2-Cherundolo 4-Goodson 5-Bocanegra (capt.) 3-Johnson
6-Bradley 8-Edu
7-Williams 10-Dempsey 11-Shea
9-Altidore
Subs12-Rimando13-Spector14-Parkhurst15-Cameron16-Kljestan17-Buddle18-Boyd
Roster notes:

• Brek Shea makes his 10th consecutive appearance, remaining the only U.

Two Sporting KC players were representing their national team at two different levels. Roger Espinioza was away representing the Honduran national team as they took on Ecuador yesterday as part of the international window. Espinoza started for Honduras, earning another cap, his 22nd for Honduras. He has the fourth most caps for his national team while a member of Sporting KC, behind only Josh Wolff, Jimmy Conrad, and Preki.

Some notes of interest, several of which may place the current U.S. players in some historical perspective as compared to past '99 WWC legends:
U.S. forward Abby Wambach played in her 173rd match against Denmark on Feb. 29, tying her for 10th on the all-time caps list with...Briana Scurry.

We have all been talking about needing depth in the defense this off-season. While our core seems to play quite well, Frank Klopas and Co. have been working behind the scenes trying to help the situation.
Today Frank told the media that they have been talking with Arne Friedrich. For those of you that are not familiar with Arne here are some numbers.

Arne Friedrich to the Fire?

Frank Klopas stated recently that the Fire were looking at Friedrich as a late preseason addition to the roster. I talked about this on Twitter yesterday, and tried to do a little digging for a scouting report on Friedrich as well. Despite reaching out to a Hertha BSC supporters group, all I really was able to find out is that he is a center back but can also play right back, which would give us some much needed depth at RB.

Some fans and pundits, particularly in Argentina, have on several occasions claimed that Lionel Messi saves his best performances for Barcelona. The Argentine wizard has responded with a hat-trick against Switzerland to secure a 3-1 win for his country. Then there are those who attribute Messi's success with Barca to the presence of Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com

Andy Najar is a step closer to representing his country in its quest for the Olympics.

Najar has been included on Honduras' 28-man preliminary roster for Olympic qualifying, which will be narrowed down to the final cut on Friday, according to reports out of Honduras.

Croatian international Ivica Olic may be a player the Seattle Sounders are interested in, but that doesn't necessarily mean his arrival is imminent. In response to an Internet report that the Sounders were in "advanced conversations" with the current Bayern Munich forward, Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer had this to say in via email: "Ivica is a player who we like very much.

Finally the off season has ended. With the hot streak Chicago finished 2011 on, the winter seemed unbearably long. A few moves have been made in the downtime. And the remaining players have had another preseason to gel as a team. Today I will break down the team by goalie, defense, mid-field, and forwards.

Colorado's reserves traveled to Houston yesterday for a game this morning. I don't cover reserve games very much here, mainly because the focus of the reserves isn't winning games so much as getting players ready for the first team. in this case the Rapids lost 1-0 on a late goal, but the reason I mention the game is that Edu got the start for the team.

One of the main focuses for the transfer gossip columns is a mission to find a long term replacement for Ledley King. The name of Darijo Srna is the latest to earn a mention but does he have the experience and credentials needed to step into the club skipper's boots?

At first glance the answer may be no because his favoured position is at right back.

Photo: Nicolae Stoian

The Philadelphia Union announced on Friday that they expect Sunday's opener to be standing-room only. The club strongly urges everyone to arrive early for the game to ensure everyone has enough time to park and enter the stadium before the 4pm kickoff.

Parking

For recommended directions to the stadium, click here.

Ji-Sung Park has revealed that he turned down a place in South Korea's Olympic squad to focus on his Manchester United career.

"I was called but I had to say no," Park said. "I know how it is like at the Olympics because I was involved in Sydney (2000). "I have also played in three World Cup finals and my best memory was the tournament in Japan and South Korea in 2002.

As I expected when Emory was waived last week, Colorado added on of their trialists today. Midfielder/forward Kamani Hill has been signed and will be available as soon as his ITC is received from Germany (don't worry, there's no spurned club to throw a wrench into this one). Hill is a former U.S. National Team forward who got 2 caps in 2007.