FRISCO, TX - On a night where two stars made their returns to the starting lineup after lengthy
injury layoffs, Seattle's Steve Zakuani and FC Dallas' Blas Perez each resumed their roles as key
difference makers.
In the 3rd minute of tonight's MLS match between the Colorado Rapids and Seattle Sounders, Brian
Mullan offered Steve Zakuani an ugly challenge that sent one to the locker room and the other to
the hospital. The pop is loud and clear and Zakuani's leg immediately goes to mush. Reports are
that he fractured both his tibia and fibula and will require immediate surgery.
The Chicago Fire suffered their first loss of the season Saturday afternoon and it happened at
the feet of the Seattle Sounders. The final score was 2-1 with goals coming from O'Brian White ('7)
and Steve Zakuani ('25) for Seattle and Diego Chaves ( '8) for Chicago. O'Brian White picked up an
assist on Zakuani's goal and Mauro Rosales hard a great cross to White on the header.
Since the trade of Danny Califf, the Philadelphia Union have had little depth between the
starting back line and a patchwork defense.
The team has brought in a few players, including former American youth internationals Andreas
Chronis and Christian Ibeagha, to fill depth positions that have either gone unfilled or without
able bodies.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's the next in PSP's series of fan posts, with Union fan Seth Finck
dreaming up alternatives to the Union's MLS malaise.Â
As I sit and watch the Union "play" another game as if it's their first and Bob Rigby confuses
Zac MacMath for Zack Morris, I cannot help but think of how much I'd rather watch this team do just
about anything than continue playing soccer at their current clip.
Danny Mwanga scored a second-half equalizer for the second time this season as the Philadelphia
Union came from behind to draw the Colorado Rapids 1-1 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Colorado's goal came via a controversial penalty kick goal that was converted by Conor Casey.
Union defender Danny Califf was whistled for a foul in the area for pulling on the shoulder of
Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni.
It's hardly a big surprise, but the news this morning that Newcastle's attempts to play in the
Vodacom Challenge in South Africa, along with the Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Congolese
champions TP Mazembe, have now officially broken down. Newcastle play Cardiff City on August 11th
Newcastle had apparently hoped to have made some big [.
It would appear that the last few grains of sand are about to run through the egg-timer of fate
for Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan, with almost every news outlet in Italy claiming
that the Spaniard is within a hair's breadth of the sack despite overseeing the
Nerazzurri's fifth title of 2010 over weekend, albeit the utterly vapid FIFA World Club
Cup bauble in Abu Dhabi.
TP Mazembe v Inter
Saturday, 2100 local, 1800 CET, 1200 EST
Despite the 'puncher's chance' and ample proof that TP Mazembe is for real, Inter is not Inter.
Or Internacional is not Internazionale, at least. Apples and mangoes, if you will, and this is
firmly, even more so than the semifinal, David v Goliath.
While there has still been no official announcement that Faryd Mondragon will be joining the
Union, this news from Germany seems to be another unofficial confirmation: former FC Köln keeper
Markus Proll is on trial with the club to see if he is a suitable replacement for Mondragon.
Prost Amerika tabs Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Juan Pablo Angel as the top choices in today's
second round of the Re-Entry Draft.
African Football is going from strength to strength, fresh from South Africa hosting the
World Cup Finals in the Summer and Ghana coming within one kick from reaching the World Cup
Semi-Finals, Congolese club TP Mazembe have wrote another great chapter in African football by
becoming the first African club team to reach the FIFA Club World Cup Finals.
Sky Sports News is reporting that Newcastle are planning a move for Coventry City's young star Gael
Bigirimana. Gael Bigirimana 18 year-old Coventry midfielder The Burundian-born Congolese football
player is 18 years old and plays in midfield, and he has so far played 26 times for Coventry
with 16 starts.
The 19-year-old Congolese-English winger has been on loan at League One side Brighton & Hove Albion
since September. He has four goals and three assists.
In the nine games Kazenga LuaLua has competed in, Brighton has six wins and three draws.
Will a call-up into England's youth squads be upcoming or will LuaLua play for his African birth
nation?
TweetSwansea University student Liam Stacey has been sentenced for 56 days after posting racist
tweets aimed at Bolton's Fabrice Muamba. Muamba collapsed unopposed during Bolton's FA Cup
quarter-final clash with Tottenham having suffered a cardiac arrest. After laying stricken in
hospital whilst anguished fans and fellow professionals sweated on whether or not the
Congolese-born star [.
Premier League: Nel segno di Muamba Di Raffaele Cautiero La ventinovesima giornata di Premier
League è stata segnata da un incidente che ha sconvolto tutto il mondo calcistico inglese e cioè
il grave infortunio accusato da Fabrice Muamba al 41esimo della sfida di FA Cup tra Tottenham e
Bolton , infatti il giocatore congolese si è improvvisamente accasciato a terra e dopo pochi
minuti i dottori
In a shocking turn of events, Liverpool strolled into the FA Cup quarter finals after a 6-1 win
over Brighton at Anfield today. Well, Liverpool's win was not as shocking as Brighton conceding
half of the 6 goals through own goals.
Brighton's Liam Bridcutt was on the Reds score sheet twice, scoring in the 44th minute and the
71st minute to cap off a horrible outing for the championship side.
Neil Warnock's sacking at QPR could have some implications for Spurs' winter transfer plans if
the new Loftus Road manager is given a transfer kitty worth up to £20m. Last week, Rangers are
reported to have offered £5m for Christopher Samba while Warnock was still at the club and it's
thought that the Congolese centre half remains a priority.
One of the areas that Harry Redknapp will surely need to strengthen is in defence and with that
in mind, there are a number of rumours today linking Tottenham with Elaquim Mangala. A defender of
Congolese descent who current plays his football with Belgian outfit Standard Liege.
Mangala is just 20 and has so far made a dozen appearances for France at Under 21 level.
Rennes star Yann M'Vila has confessed his love for the Premier League with a number of top clubs
reportedly tracking the midfielder.
Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa have all registered interest in the 20-year-old who has
recently broken into the senior French national team.
This catapulted the Frenchman of Congolese descent into the eyes of Europe's elite clubs despite
being contracted to Rennes until the summer of 2014.
The David Beckham to Paris Saint-Germain rumors are back.
PSG sporting director Leonardo said despite Beckham's rejection of the wealthy club "the door is
still open" to signing the English midfielder. Beckham, 36, cited family considerations as a major
factor in his decision to stay in LA and re-sign with the Galaxy.
It is being reported this evening that the Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is still adamant that the
Blackburn defender Christopher Samba is the right man to strengthen the Gunners' defence from
set-pieces next season, and has decided to increase his bid. Wenger originally went for Samba in
January but was turned down point blank, and [.
Leroy Lita could be making a move back to the Premier League after top flight newcomers Swansea
reportedly agreed to a £1.7m fee with Middlesbrough.
The Congolese-born striker has spent time in the Premier League before, where he started strong
in Reading's first season in the Premier League back in 2006 but soon found himself out of
favor.
In a bid to bolster his often-injured back line, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been in hot
pursuit of Blackburn center back Christopher Samba. Now, however, it appears the Gunners are set to
miss out on the giant Congolese player.
Blackburn's owners the Venky Group have confirmed that they would like to hold on to Samba, with
chairperson Anuradha Desai has called on her prized asset to stay at Ewood Park for one more
year.
Skysports.com understands a host of English clubs are tracking Auxerre midfielder Delvin
Ndinga.
Ndinga has impressed at Auxerre in the last couple of seasons after being snapped up from Congolese
side Diables Noires.
The 23-year-old caught the eye during Auxerre's Champions League campaign this season and he is
establishing himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe.
After three straight games without a win, Teal Bunbury decided that it was about time Sporting
Kansas City collected three points on Saturday night.
The striker took advantage of some sloppy play in the back by the New England Revolution,
stealing the ball and scoring a breakaway goal in the 20th minute of an Eastern Conference
showdown.
A quick round-up of the best of today's transfer to-ings and fro-ings...
QPR get twitchy...
It has been confirmed that QPR have blinked first and made the first move in the race to snafu
Chris Samba from Blackburn, lodging a £5 million bid for the collosal centre-half.
Internacional director and former president Fernando Carvalho has warned Internacional not to
underestimate the threat of TP Mazembe in Tuesday's FIFA Club World Cup semi-final.
The Congolese club stunned Mexican's Pachuca with a shock 1-0 victory yesterday. Carvalho spoke
to Radio Gaúcha where he affirmed the threat that awaited Inter.
Tante le amichevoli, molte le emozioni, parecchi i gol ai quali abbiamo assistito ieri sera. In
campole varie nazionali di calcio, impegnate negli ultimi test del 2010.
Il risultato più importante arriva dalla supersfida tra Argentina e Brasile,
risolta dal solito Messi con il guizzo vincente, nel finale di gara, che regala un
prestigioso successo alla nazionale di Batista.
The great wait is over and Steve Zakuani has made the decision to be Congolese; which if you've
been reading this site for a while you likely suspected. He's been very vocal about his connection
to his country of birth.
