Clemente Lisi writes of Michael Bradley's start to his Serie A career with Chievo Verona.
The opening weekend of Italy's Serie A brought with it the familiar sights and sounds. The sight of loud fans tossing flares onto the field and the sound of coaches whining about referees. In the middle of it all was one American among the nearly 500 players spread out across 20 clubs.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Whether it was injuries, being out of form or something else, DaMarcus Beasley had a hard time getting minutes at the club level in recent years.

Those days are long gone, with Beasley's latest performance serving as the latest piece of evidence that Beasley is back.

This weekend's English Premier League action marked the one-third point of the season, leaving plenty of soccer left to play, but Manchester City could put a stranglehold on first place in England with a win against Liverpool today.

The Reds are the only thing standing between City and a seven-point lead atop the Premier League, and Liverpool has its own motivation for wanting to win at Anfield today.

Al Ahli 1-2 AC Milan ( Hassan A/ Clarence Seedorf, Beretta) January 2, 2011- Dubai, UAE Goals from Seedorf and Beretta gave AC Milan a 2-1 win over Al Ahli Dubai in their international club friendly on January 2, 2011. Also watch out for the Hassan Al Ahli goal- an absolutely stunning goal. Al Ahli [.

Between championship and playoff showdowns and other matchups with big implications, Sunday's slate has something for everybody.

Jonathan Spector's West Ham seeks a win against Wigan in a matchup of two desperate teams currently on the bottom of England's drop zone, while Liverpool and Tottenham meet in a match that will almost certainly decide which team qualifies for the UEFA Europa League next season.

The U.S. men's national team returns to action on Friday with a match-up against France, a match that should tell us plenty about the current state of Jurgen Klinsmann's team.

Klinsmann will have a strong group to choose from for Friday's match. Both Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey will be available, and German-born Fabian Johnson is set to make his national team debut.

Michael Bradley and Chievo Verona were dispatched in style by AC Milan at the San Siro on Sunday, in a game where one outspoken Swedish striker cracked the century mark in Serie A.

Michael Bradley and his Chievo Verona teammates had one last pre-Christmas task traveling to the Italian capital to take on Lazio, where the Veronans were unlucky only to get a point.

MILAN, Italy — Inter Milan manager Leonardo says Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has helped him settle into his new job. Leonardo, who won his debut 3-1 against Napoli on Thursday, says he owes former Inter coach Mourinho "a lot of gratitude, in this initial phase he's helped me ... He's been very open with [.

Clint Dempsey and Fulham aren't challenging for a European place, and are more concerned with avoiding relegation, but the FA Cup is still the club's best chance at glory and the Cottagers will need to knock off mighty Tottenham today to keep that dream alive.

Fulham-Tottenham headlines the day's FA Cup offerings, with Arsenal taking on Huddersfield Town in a battle of powerhouse vs.

Juventus' winless streak is now up to four as they lost 2-1 at Palermo, dropping them to eighth place in Serie A and in real danger of not playing in Europe next season.

Former Juventus striker Fabrizio Miccoli put Palermo in front seven minutes in with a shot under the legs of Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, then Giulio Migliaccio doubled the lead in the 20th minute with a header off a corner.

This Sunday we take on Chievo Verona, the team we usually beat away but struggle massively at home. Chievo has been quite inconsistent this season but nevertheless the fact that they have more points than, for instance, Fiorentina, Genoa and Sampdoria and that they beat second placed Napoli 2 days ago tell that we should [.

This Sunday we take on Chievo Verona, the team we usually beat away but struggle massively at home. Chievo has been quite inconsistent this season but nevertheless the fact that they have more points than, for instance, Fiorentina, Genoa and Sampdoria and that they beat second placed Napoli 2 days ago tell that we should [.

Almost a year to the day that Maurice Edu scored the game-winning goal for Rangers against rival Celtic to etch his name in Old Firm history, another edition of the storied derby takes place in Scotland (7:30 a.m., untelevised). With a win, Rangers could move even closer to first place in the Scottish Premier League, as Edu's side currently trails Celtic by five points with two games in hand.

Manchester United is marching toward an English Premier League title, but the Red Devils will have to beat a familiar face to take a step closer.

Former United goalkeeper Tim Howard and Everton will look to upset Manchester United in one of the day's marquee match-ups. Everton is chasing Liverpool for sixth place in the Premier League, while United has pulled away from Arsenal in the title race.

The relegation battle in Serie A who's going down then? is a post from: Just Football

Bari's 1-0 home defeat to Sampdoria on Saturday afternoon confirmed the club's relegation to Serie B, something which was inevitable months ago but is now mathematically certain. It Brescia's defeat to Milan by the same scoreline, although not sealing their fate, leaves them five points adrift with only 12 left to play for, meaning it is looking increasingly like five, six or even seven clubs trying to avoid what appears to be one remaining spot in the bottom three.

Scoring Stats Europe's key forwards - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

A scoring stat is defined as any goal or assist and through this combination we have so far investigated how reliant certain clubs across Europe are on star individuals. So which players actually contributed the most to the success of their teams in season 2010-2011?

photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

Michael Bradley was left off the U.S. mens' national team roster for the upcoming friendlies so as to allow him to find a resolution for his club situation. Bradley appears to have found that resolution, and it will take him to Italy.

Multiple reports in American soccer media and Italian dailies have U.S. Men's National Team midfielder Michael Bradley leaving Germany for Italy's Chievo Verona.
The Borussia Mönchengladbach man is on the outs and a move to the Serie A was exactly what new USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said was necessary for Bradley when he indicated that Bradley was left off the upcoming international friendly rosters for Costa Rica and Belgium to sort out his club situation.

A long-term work stoppage in Italy's Serie A has been avoided.

The players' union and league came to a temporary agreement that will last through June, allowing the season to commence this weekend after a one-week delay.

The hope is that the two sides come to a more substantial agreement within the next nine months to avoid a repeat scenario next summer.

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By FRANCO PANIZO

If Oguchi Onyewu is hoping to earn his first call-up under new U.S. men's national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann in the near future, he took one step closer towards achieving that this weekend.

Onyewu made his official Sporting Lisbon debut on Saturday, starting and going the distance in the club's 3-2 victory over Pacos de Ferreira.

Photo by Rick Osentoski/ISIphotos.com

Wednesday night represents a big night for MLS teams both in league and CONCACAF Champions League play, but prior to that, a pretty intriguing mid-week slate of European matches takes center stage.

In addition to Spanish powers Real Madrid and Barcelona being in action, some Americans Abroad should take to the pitch as well.

By FRANCO PANIZO

It took 15 years, but finally another member of the U.S. men's national team has started a Serie A match.

The man responsible for accomplishing that feat is Michael Bradley, who got the nod and went the distance in Chievo Verona's surprising 1-0 win over Napoli on Wednesday.

Serie A Weekly welcomes writer Ben Powell to the pages of Serie A Weekly. Throughout the 2011-2012 season Ben will be bringing Gialloblu updates and insights to the website. Make sure to leave your comments for Ben all Chievo Verona faithful. A new Coach, a raft of new faces, another year older but some things remain the same.

Serie A Weekly welcomes writer Ben Powell to the pages of Serie A Weekly. Throughout the 2011-2012 season Ben will be bringing Gialloblu updates and insights to the website. Make sure to leave your comments for Ben all Chievo Verona faithful. A new Coach, a raft of new faces, another year older but some things remain the same.

This week it was announced that American midfielder Michael Bradley, who was on the outs with German side Borussia Mönchengladbach, managed to secure a transfer deal to Chievo Verona in Serie A, along with a multi-year contract. Bradley, son of former United States National Team Coach, Bob Bradley, will be the only American playing in Serie A this season.

Nobody has been able to slow down Manchester City's high-powered attack, but U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard will have a shot at doing so on Saturday, when the Toffees venture into the Eastlands to take on City, which has scored at least two goals in every league game thus far.

As for a pair of American midfielders, Stuart Holden could be in line for his first Premier League minutes of the season after his 90-minute Carling Cup stint when Bolton travels to the Emirates to face vulnerable Arsenal on Saturday, while Michael Bradley aims for his second consecutive start in Chievo Verona's home match against Genoa on Sunday.

There are in fact only three "newcomers" who haven't yet been in a Jurgen Klinsmann-led national team camp: veteran defender Oguchi Onyewu, Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando and German-born midfielder Danny Williams, 21, who just got his American citizenship.

"We would like to continue seeing our players develop through these initial couple of months," Klinsmann said.

Jurgen Klinsmann has named his roster for the upcoming friendlies, and while most of the names should be familiar, there are a couple of new faces. The USMNT squares off against Honduras on October 8th at 5PM CST. The match will be played at Joe Robbie/Pro Player Park/Pro Player Stadium/Dolphins Stadium/Dolphin Stadium/Land Shark Stadium/Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL.

The U.S. men's national team will field as close to a full strength squad as it has had since Jurgen Klinsmann took over, leaving what should be some easy decisions when it comes time for him to pick a lineup for Saturday's match vs. Honduras.

Landon Donovan is the lone regular starter not to make the trip to South Florida, and now Klinsmann will have some good options as he tries to put together a team to deliver his first win as U.

As far as intense rivalries go, you can't find many more intense than the Rome Derby.

Roma and Lazio always produce some of the most intese matches in Europe, and today should be no different as the Serie A powers collide. Both teams have gotten off to slow starts in league play, and are currently tied on points, but today's derby could help catapult one of them up the standings.

Michael Bradley and Chievo Verona snatched a point off Serie A leaders Juventus on Sunday at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi in Verona.

photo by Javier Garcia/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Three months into the season, Everton and Fulham are each just two points away from the relegation zone, leaving Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey to attempt to help further their respective club away from there this weekend.

After defeating Napoli earlier this season, Michael Bradley and Chievo Verona continued to foil the big boys of Italian soccer last week as they scraped out a goalless tie against league leaders Juventus.

Surprise contender Levante and Real Madrid sat back and watched Tuesday as Barcelona leapfrogged both teams to take the top spot in the Spanish league table. Both have a chance to strike back as part of a packed Wednesday afternoon of soccer.

Between full slates of La Liga and Serie A games, there's plenty of domestic action to go around, but cup play is also a big part of the day, as the remaining four spots in the Carling Cup quarterfinals will be claimed by day's end.

The Major League Soccer playoffs will be in full swing today, taking center stage on a busy day in the soccer world.

The headlining match of the day takes place at Red Bull Arena, where the New York Red Bulls take on the Los Angeles Galaxy in the most star-studded playoff match in MLS history.

Michael Bradley and Chievo Verona will look to get off the snide as they host ACF Fiorentina on Sunday in Serie A.

Michael Bradley and Chievo Verona finally got back on the winning track at the Stadio Marc'antonio Bentegodi in Verona as the Flying Donkeys knocked off Fiorentina in Serie A action.

Slovenia has released its roster for the Nov. 15 game against the U.S. MNT in Ljubljana. The squad of new head coach Slavisa Stojanovic features 10 players who played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Group match against the USA, including goalscorers Valter Birsa and Zlatan Ljubijankič. There are also two teammates of Michael Bradley's from Chievo Verona: Bostjan Cesar and Bojan Jokic.