Eight months after David Villa suffered a nasty leg break during Barcelona's Club World Cup
semifinal, forcing him to miss the rest of the season and Spain's historic Euro 2012 victory, the
prolific striker has returned.
With Barcelona already up 4-1 (two goals from Messi, of course) in the 75th minute of their La
Liga opener against Real Sociedad, Villa entered the match and nine minutes after that, he scored
after a combination of passes between him and Andres Iniesta.
I'm Bert Tiddle and you've never heard of me. I cemented my position as England's greatest ever
penalty taker when I scored with an inadvertent chip after Coventry City's 1987 FA Cup semifinal
against Leeds. After I did, Dave Bennett told me that we won in extra time and there was no
shootout.
Since I nailed the result in the US Open Cup Semifinal on two podcasts and here (it helps when
you say the same thing each time) people are asking for a prediction. I don't give predictions
often. I didn't on Around the League nor on Feuerstein's Fire this week. Nothing more than a simple
"I expect victory and several goals.
CHESTER, Pa. -- With a chance to host the US Open Cup final on the line, Sporting Kansas City
rose to the occasion and did what they had to do.
Sporting KC posted a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Union in their Open Cup semifinal at PPL Park
on Wednesday night, earning the right to host the 2012 US Open Cup Final at Livestrong Sporting
Park against the winner of Wednesday night's semifinal between the Seattle Sounders and Chivas
USA.
The U.S. Open Cup semifinal round takes place tonight, with four teams vying for a spot in the
finals and a chance to play for the title and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.
In the opening Open Cup match of the night, Sporting Kansas City aims to avenge a 4-0 drubbing
at the hands of the Philadelphia Union just a few weeks ago when they take the field at PPL
Park.
Sporting KC are back to league action tomorrow night when they host a rematch of the 2011 Eastern
Conference Finals against the Houston Dynamo. KC continues their busy schedule of this coming
Wednesday's US Open Cup semifinal in Philadelphia. And while KC likely has one eye on that game,
they can't completely overlook the Dynamo tomorrow night at LSP.
The Seattle Sounders took another step closer to a potential fourth straight U.S. Open Cup title
by knocking off the San Jose Earthquakes in their Open Cup quarterfinal in San Francisco on Tuesday
night.
Cordell Cato provided the early goal, scoring in the 19th minute, while the Sounders defense
made it stand up with a strong group effort to keep the Earthquakes off the scoreboard.
Despite racing out to a quick 3-0 lead, the Philadelphia Union were made to sweat out some nervy
moments before finally dispatching with the Harrisburg City Islanders 5-2, moving into the
semifinals of the US Open Cup.
An early Freddy Adu penalty kick was quickly followed by goals from Jack McInerney and Lionard
Pajoy, with the Union looking a certain winner at halftime.
Sporting Kansas City didn't have the most pleasant trip to Philadelphia last weekend, suffering
a 4-0 defeat. The won't have to wait too long for a chance to exact revenge after securing a place
in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, and a return trip to PPL Park.
C.J. Sapong scored two goals and Graham Zusi added his own tally to lead Sporting KC to a 3-0
U.
The road to the U.S. Open Cup title may very well go through Seattle again.
Should the Seattle Sounders defeat the San Jose Earthquakes in Tuesday's Open Cup quarterfinal,
the three-time defending tournament champions would host the semifinal match against either Chivas
USA or USL Pro's Charlotte Eagles at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.
U.S. Soccer has announced the semifinal possible pairings and locations for the 2012 Lamar Hunt
U.S. Open Cup.
The remaining eight-team field consists of five MLS teams three-time defending champion Seattle
Sounders FC, Chivas USA, the Philadelphia Union, the San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting Kansas
City.
Tomorrow's match against the Impact marks the beginning of the second dense stretch of games the
Sounders will have to play this season. If Seattle manages to make the US Open Cup semifinal by
beating the San Jose Earthquakes, they won't have a full week between games until after the July 18
friendly with Chelsea - a run of 10 matches in one month.
Jason Willan (Menomonee Falls) got things started on the right foot Friday on
what turned out to be a perfect day for Wisconsin teams at the U.S. Adult Soccer Association
National Cups.
Willan's eighth-minute goal gave the Croatian Eagles the early lead in their Men's Open Cup
semifinal and they went on to a convincing 4-0 victory over Texas side ASC New Stars in Bridgeview,
Ill.
The schedules are set for next month's U.S. Adult Soccer Association National Cups in
Bridgeview, Ill.
The Croatian Eagles will take on Region III champion ASC New Stars from Texas in a Men's Open
Cup semifinal at 1 p.m. July 20 on the Toyota Park Turf Field.
The winner advances to play Region I winner Greek American Atlas (N.
The Northwest Division in the PDL has recently become a murderer's row. In 2010 the Portland
Timbers U23s won all 16 of their regular season games with a +47 goal differential and went on to
win the championship in a league with nearly 70 teams. In 2011, the Kitsap Pumas under head coach
Pete Fewing and featuring Sounders keeper Bryan Meredith won the division and went on to give up
only a single goal in 4 playoff matches to win their own championship.
Ah memories. Here's the recap of the last time the Seattle Sounders hosted Chivas USA in a U.S.
Open Cup semifinal. The Sounders, of course, won that game 3-1 on their way to a second-straight
title.
The writers of MLSR take their picks in what we think will be the three most important matches
of the upcoming week. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below. PhiladelphiaUnion (5-9-2) vs. Sporting Kansas City (10-5-3)Lamar Hunt U.
Last night at Livestrong Sporting Park, Kansas City and Houston played to one of the more dull/drab
performances of the season. Neither team really looked overly interested going forward. The heat
yesterday in Kansas City certainly played a role, even thought a minor cold from came through and
dropped the temperature from near 100 to near 90 instead.
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish admits that he has very few words to add in his continuing defense
of an inconsistent Reds side but argues that the club's Premier League position could have been a
lot better had luck gone their way.
Yesterday's 1-0 defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion was one of the many setbacks that the
team has suffered at Anfield this season.
Roberto Di Matteo has been another inspired decision by Roman Abramovich. The perceptive Italian
has managed to solve the old and new divide within the Chelsea squad. There is finally a distinct
feeling of squad harmony not seen since the happy times of Mourinho. Winning matches usually helps,
but more importantly, man management is the key.
Andy Carroll started the last two Liverpool games, and they were important games in some respect.
Liverpool ended a four game win-less streak with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers. The
Reds followed that up with a come-from-behind FA Cup victory over Everton, thus maintaining their
hoodoo spell over the blue of Merseyside.
FA Cup semifinal today but it doesn't involves The Arsenal. There's a couple of Premier League
matches, none of which involves us as well. Our game against Wigan will only be on Monday night and
that give the players plenty of time to recover from the midweek exertions at Molineux.
FA Cup semifinal today but it doesn't involves The Arsenal. There's a couple of Premier League
matches, none of which involves us as well. Our game against Wigan will only be on Monday night and
that give the players plenty of time to recover from the midweek exertions at Molineux.
If Chelsea is going to defeat Tottenham in Sunday's FA Cup semifinal, the club will have to do
it without Branislav Ivanovic.
The Serbian defender was handed a three-match ban by the FA on Thursday after video caught him
striking Wigan's Shaun Maloney in the midriff during Chelsea's 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge on
Saturday.
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini admits that his side lacks the winning spirit of
Manchester United and he believes that this key ingredient will decide the title in favor of the
defending champions once again.
United dealt clinically with Chelsea's stiff title challenge towards the end of last season but
City were quietly working on their own credentials during that time.
It is a known fact that Roman Abramovich goes into panic mode when his Chelsea team stumbles either
in the Premier League or in the Champions League. He has done so in numerous occasions during his
ownership of the Blues. With the inevitable departure of Andre Villas Boas, Roberto Di Matteo was
entrusted with the task of seeing the current Chelsea players through the season.
We review Liverpool's 2-1 win over Everton in Saturday's FA Cup semifinal, explaining why big
men like Andy Carroll should not be expected to win every single ball in the air. We also touch on
Jozy Altidore's long-range strike for AZ, weigh up a solution for all of Wolves' problems and close
the show with some Wikipedia Game.
Spurs haven't been to an FA Cup final since 1991, when they won the trophy via a 2-1 win over
Nottingham Forest. It would be most agreeable and most enjoyable if we were able to extend that
barren run a year longer by making our fourth final appearance in six years.
Motivation
Chelsea, you know, rather enjoy these 21st century days out at New Wembley.
FA Cup Semifinals Preview: Backing Liverpool and Chelsea to win - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
It's FA Cup semi-final weekend, and first up is a fascinating Merseyside derby clash between
Liverpool and Everton (12.30pm KO, Live on ESPN).
Liverpool v Everton, FA Sup Semifinal
Both sides have god records at this stage of the competition, bit on current form Everton simply
have to be the bet at a massive looking 3 withbet365 and Boylesports.
Tim Howard and Everton's quest for silverware can move one step closer to bearing fruit today as
the Toffees take on arch-rival Liverpool today in a highly-anticipated FA Cup semifinal showdown at
Wembley Stadium (7:30 am, Fox Soccer Channel).
The Toffees have enjoyed an outstanding run of form in Premier League play, and will look to
make their second FA Cup Final appearance in four years with a win against a Liverpool side that
has endured a disappointing season in league play.
Frankly none of Saturday's games are all that compelling, but if you must:
FA Cup Semifinal, Liverpool vs Everton (7:30amET; FSC & Fox Deportes): A
Merseyside derby at Wembley. Liverpool have been in rotten form, while Everton have been coming on
strong.
Bundesliga, Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund (9:30amET; GolTV): The Ruhr derby
or, in the German, the Revierderby is the biggest rivalry in Germany.
During the first leg of a cup semifinal between Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United, Pirates
defender Rooi Mahamutsa decided the best way to reach the ball was through his opponent's. He
delivered a kick directly between Thabiso Nkoana's legs and was then shown a red card.
The best part, however, is Mahamutsa's astonishment upon being sent off.
Mason Trafford and Mariehamn will look to avenge last season's Finnish Cup semifinal loss to KuPS
while Aaron Wheeler and FC KooTeePee will try to win their quarterfinal date with holders HJK.
Conor O'Brien played 90 minutes in SoenderjyskE's central midfield, as they overcame a bad start to
remain alive in Danish Cup semifinal against Copenhagen.
In the Tottenham v. Chelsea FA Cup semifinal last weekend we again had the issue of a close goal
line decision. This time the decision of the referee was to award a goal to Chelsea even though it
appeared that...
