A terrific little player, Damien Duff has decided to hang up his boots for the Republic of
Ireland after picking up his 100th cap at Euro 2012. The move by the 33-year-old comes hot on the
heels of Shay Given's decision to do the same.
The gifted wideman has enjoyed a fantastic club career with Blackburn, Chelsea, Newcastle and
his current club, Fulham, although it's probably fair to say that he never quite hit the heights
that his talent, back at the turn of the millennium, hinted at.
The prestigious 2012 Golden Foot award to honor the career accomplishments of a player within
European football will be handed out later this summer and the list of nominees for the award has
already been finalized.
This year's competition boasts of an exciting group of candidates, from world-class goalkeepers
all the way to prolific strikers.
Part of the reason why you should remember Giorgos Karagounis' performance on day nine of Euro
2012 is because, even though Greece again mocked prognosticators by advancing to the quarterfinals,
it might have been his last appearance in a European Championship. The 35-year-old captain, who is
suspended for Greece's quarterfinal match due to a dubious yellow card for diving -- a fate
similar, yet completely incomparable to when he was held out of Greece's memorable win in the
Euro 2004 final -- scored the only goal in Greece's final group match against Russia just before
the ref blew for halftime.
Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis has said that the club is not putting
any pressure on Robin van Persie to resolve his contract situation as soon as
possible and insisted that the club understands that their talisman needs to concentrate on the
upcoming European Championship.
Patrice Evra has seen his international career dip to an all-time low after being caught on
camera wiping his backside with teammate Mathieu Valbuena's shirt. Evra has had a rough twelve
months after seeing his club career with Manchester United finally questioned, and now his
international popularity has crashed to an all time low.
Even more than a Real Madrid-Barcelona Champions League final, EURO 2012 is what every European
and football enthusiast is waiting for in the coming months. We are now exactly 10 weeks away from
this Summer's 2nd-greatest sporting event (for all the love I have for soccer, even I have to admit
that the Olympics come before the Euros) and on paper, Italy's path to qualification has been
nothing short of excellent.
Even more than a Real Madrid-Barcelona Champions League final, EURO 2012 is what every European
and football enthusiast is waiting for in the coming months. We are now exactly 10 weeks away from
this Summer's 2nd-greatest sporting event (for all the love I have for soccer, even I have to admit
that the Olympics come before the Euros) and on paper, Italy's path to qualification has been
nothing short of excellent.
Tosaint Ricketts (UW-Green Bay) has had a tough time with his club career
recently, but he continues to progress with the Canadian national team.
Ricketts scored his fourth international goal to open the scoring as Canada went on to a 2-0
victory over CONCACAF rival Trinidad and Tobago in a friendly Wednesday night in Lauderhill,
Fla.
Ireland international defender Richard Dunne has consulted Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert
for advice about whether to retire from international football to focus on his club career.
Asked if he'd considered retirement, Dunne, who is entering the final year of his Villa contract,
replied: "Yes, it has a few times.
The answer to that question appears to be yes, as high-profile signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic is
expected to make his Paris Saint-Germain debut against D.C. United on Saturday night.
"He will start to train this afternoon," said PSG manager Carlo Ancelotti of Ibrahimovic in a
media conference call on Tuesday.
Its very hard to predict a Liverpool team these days under Kenny Dalglish as he does have a number
of options open to him from the squad (apart from a quality Striker).
But thats my stab at it, I chose Spearing instead of Henderson as Sunderland have become a very
dogged team under Martin O'Neill.
Very interesting reports emerging from Germany this weekend. Cologne striker Lukas Podolski has
threatened to quit the club at the end of the season after the club failed to honour their promises
to him.
Last summer, the 26 year old was linked with a move away from the Bundesliga with Arsenal
emerging as his most probable destination.
Terrence Boyd's career arc has been nothing if not unusual.
With no first-team club appearances to his name, Boyd has emerged as a favorite of U.S. national
team coach Jurgen Klinsmann and a cornerstone to build around for the future. After a 20-goal
season for Borussia Dortmund's reserve team and multiple appearances for the United States --
including the all-important cap-tying appearance on Friday -- Boyd is set for the next step in his
club career.
Edgar Castillo made a solid impression during his clausura campaign while on loan with Club
Tijuana, so much so that he won't be leaving the club anytime soon.
Tijuana completed a full transfer for Castillo, purchasing his rights from Club America on
Thursday. Castillo enjoyed a standout clausura season while on loan for Xolos, becoming a fixture
in the lineup and earning his way back into the national team picture.
Carli, Heather, Amy and Rachel look pretty chipper despite the long trip to Sweden
The U.S. Women's National Team has arrived in Sweden in preparation for a 10-day training camp
leading into matches against Sweden on June 16 and Japan on June 18, both in Halmstad, Sweden,
about 90 miles south of Gothenburg, where the USA will set up its training base.
Mexico's Olympic team is not coming together as El Tri might have hoped.
Along with Javier Hernandez being denied a chance to compete this summer by Manchester United,
star striker Carlos Vela has turned down a call-up to the Olympic team, leaving El Tri shorthanded
on star power that was expected to make the team a serious contender during the Olympic
tournament.
And so the season finally ended. It was a season filled with drama, with more ups and downs for all
clubs than in any previous season. Who would've scripted a more dramatic end to the Premier League
title race? The excitement involved is what makes the Barclays Premier League the best league to
watch.
Liverpool have won all five previous Premier League meetings with West Brom at Anfield without
conceding a goal.
Albion's last victory at Anfield was exactly 45 years before the day of this fixture. They have
since gone 24 league and cup visits without success (D6, L18).
D.C. United aims to end one dubious streak Wednesday night, while Sporting Kansas City looks to
keep their impressive one intact.
That is what's on the line in two mid-week MLS matches, as D.C. hosts the Montreal Impact and
Sporting Kansas City leaves the confines of Livestrong Sporting Park, heading north to face the
Vancouver Whitecaps.
After three years as a backup, Brad Guzan will make his first Premier League start on Saturday
for Aston Villa, and the club is already in the process of trying to extend his stay at Villa Park
before his current deal expires this summer.
With joy in the air and consumerism driving television right now, my dreams are of big purchases
for the Seattle Sounders. A little girl may want two front teeth, I'd rather two amazing fullbacks,
possibly one as a youth DP. I know enough that these are just dreams, the reality is more likely a
player like Heiner Mora and Ever Alvarado.
Former U.S. goalkeeper Tony Meola was among four inducted to the National Soccer Hall of Fame on
Wednesday (Photo: Peter Stuart).
The first time proved to be the charm for former U.S. Men's National Team members Claudio
Reyna and Tony Meola on Wednesday after both were elected to the National Soccer Hall of
Fame.
The U.S. Soccer community lost a legend Tuesday, as Harry Keough, a national team captain
during the memorable 1950 World Cup and a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, died at age
84.
Keough was one of the last surviving members of the 1950 team that beat England, 1-0, in what is
considered to be one of the greatest upsets in all of soccer.
There's a whole slate of FA Cup 4th Round matches this weekend, kicked off by a match today that
is especially interesting for viewers on this side of the pond. Everton hosts Fulham, which means
it's also a faceoff of the two best American players of this generation: Landon Donovan vs. Clint
Demspey.
The New York Red Bulls have had an awfully quiet offseason, which has been used more to deflect
rumors and links to star players as opposed to making improvements to a team that vastly
underachieved by its own expectations in 2011.
Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey admits to having held talks with the Scottish FA about the
prospect of turning out for them at international level.
The 20-year-old playmaker was born in England and has represented the Three Lions at youth
level.
He could, however, switch allegiance as his grandfather was born in Scotland.
If anybody knows about how to score goals it is the one and only Ian Wright. Wrighty scored 185
goals for the Gunners, a club record only surpassed by King Henry. With 305 goals in his club
career, the man was a goal scoring legend, and has turned his attention to the goal scoring
problems [...]
The infectious smile is now gone from the locker room. Today, Sporting KC announced that they have
waived midfielder, Birahim Diop. Diop hadn't been in camp at all this year, instead had been away
from the team for personal reasons. The random speculation was that Diop was angling to try to go
down to Colombia and join Octavio Zambrano, who Diop has followed around for quite a bit of his
club career.
The Chicago Fire have taken what appears to be a major step in improving their back line.
According to reports out of Germany, the Fire have agreed to a one-year deal with Arne
Friedrich, a German national team centerback. Friedrich confirmed the signing on his own
website.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Teyyip Erdogan and "Turkey's Chief EU Negotiator Egemen Bagis seen
amongst the crowd." PHOTO BY (AA)
Thousands of Fenerbahce fans and fans from several Turkish clubs, bid farewell on Sunday to
Lefter Kucukandonyadis, one of Turkey's top football players, who has died at 86.
Another week of former SKC Wizards updates, some extra news this week as well. By now you've heard
about Craig Rocastle signing with the Missouri Comets, but there's other news as well. Eddie
Johnson's club career continues to spiral down for him, as he's already out at Puebla in Mexico.
Apparently the forward failed his physical and was not fit and was released basically 2 days after
showing up in Mexico.
In yet another foreign news or Twitter released move, the Philadelphia Union have officially
signed Gabriel Gomez. The 27-year-old midfielder/defender will join the team upon receiving his
International Transfer Certificate and the acceptance of his application for an American P-1
Visa.
Gomez was rumored to be joining that Union last week, when a Central American news outlet,
Presna.
