Chelsea v Manchester United: A Battle Of Widths - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

According to Castrol EDGE Performance analysis, both Manchester United and Chelsea's wingers have been key to both club's positive play this season, with Antonio Valencia, Nani, Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge all enjoying impressive campaigns.

Founded by Spanish immigrant Eutimio Pérez in 1925 and name after his home city, Barcelona Sporting Club is an Ecuadorian based in Guayaquil and known for its highly successful professional...

The president of the Ecuadorian football federation suggests that the tournament would feature 16 teams, six of whom would come from CONCACAF. "I have no doubt that the obstacles are being overcome," Luis Chiriboga is quoted as saying."

United States, Mexico Both Reportedly In Running To Host 2016 Copa America - SBNation.

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.

Manchester United breezed past ‘poor' Bolton Wanderers last afternoon and in the process leveled points with league leaders Manchester City, who will visit Wigan on Monday. Bolton who was already languishing in the relegation zone suffered another routine defeat, while the victory of Blackburn Rovers over Fulham further compounded their misery.

By FRANCO PANIZO

The Seattle Sounders have acquired Danish midfielder Christian Sivebaek following his transfer from FC Midtjylland, the Sounders announced on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old midfielder arrives in Seattle after playing for Midtjylland since 2006.

A three-year deal Joao?"El MosQuito" will be buzzing around BMO Field for the foreseeable future as Toronto FC announced today that Joao Plata has signed a multi-year deal with the club. The dynamic yet diminutive Ecuadorian was often the only bright spark in a miserable first half of 2011 and his re-signing was considered as an off-season must in most supporters' eyes.

photo by Nick Turchiaro/ISIphotos.com

After uncertainty clouded his future with Toronto FC, Joao Plata is staying right where he is.

One of MLS's most technically-gifted players, Plata has agreed to re-sign with Toronto FC on a multi-year deal.

Hat Trick

Top of the story of the day comes from Orrin Schwarz at the Daily Herald:

The Chicago Fire has filed a discovery claim with MLS on a 19-year-old Ecuadorian midfielder the club found on a scouting trip to Argentina.

According to Andell Holdings' Javier Leon, the player is a two-way midfielder who can play the middle or right side and is "very dynamic, like Patrick Nyarko.

Another day of international duty for Sporting KC players today. Four players had national team duty today, three of them started. The one to not start, didn't even appear for his country, as Teal Bunbury didn't make the bench again for the United States in their 1-0 loss to Ecuador tonight in New York.

Will the same "core" get a runout on Tuesday?

First, some perspective.

The United States played a decidedly weak Honduran side on Saturday. Yes, Clint Dempsey was great, even Brek Shea and Jozy Altidore.

A big step-up is still needed from those three and the US as a whole when they face off Tuesday with CONMEBOL's Ecuador despite a terrible run of form by La Tri over the past few years.

Tonight's game represents the beginning of the final ten MLS Regular Season games for the Chicago Fire. The opponents in this stretch range from the bottom to the top so it will be a good test and preview for a what looks to be a core coming together. Cory Gibbs is off Friday's MLS Injury Report so Klopas has to decide between starting Jalil Anibaba and Yamith Cuesta again or benching one of them in favor of Gibbs.

Just imagine it constantly going up and downIN THE TUNNEL:
Sing with us... "The Chaaaaaaamp-pions!" While hardly the stuff of Internazionale visiting Barcelona at the Nou Camp, tonight marks the start of Toronto FC's journey through this region's premier club tournament.

Antonio Valencia has signed a new four-year deal which will keep the winger at Old Trafford until the end of the 2014/15 season. The 25-year-old Ecuadorian joined the Reds from Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2009 and has made 69 appearances, scoring 10 goals. He has won one Barclays Premier League title and a Carling Cup winners' medal.

Antonio Valencia has signed a new four-year deal with Man United, which will keep the Ecuadorian at the club until
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Peri nice!After acquiring Dasan Robinson in exchange for Dan Gargan this morning, we commented that more moves were likely. We didn't expect it to be 8 hours later.
This evening TFC announced that the club has picked up Bosnian-born American Perica "Peri" Marosevic, a once highly touted 22-year old forward.

Philadelphia Union striker Carlos Ruiz is apparently on Puebla FC's transfer radar, according to Periodico Digital.

Puebla wants to bring in "reinforcements" to improve the Mexican Primera Division club's title chances for the upcoming season. Finishing thirteenth in 2011, Puebla failed produce a winning side once, and did not progress into the league playoffs, finishing third in their group.

By Darshan Joshi, writing from Sydney

Nani may have notched up ten league goals and is closing on twenty assists in all competitions this season, but it looks as if even that will not guarantee the Portuguese winger, one of United's real revelations in the past ten months, a start in the Champions League final at the weekend.

Toronto FC forward Joao Plata was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters for Week 8 of the 2011 MLS season.

The 19-year-old Ecuadorian recorded his first MLS goal and first assist in his team's 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo at BMO Field.

Early in the second half, Nick Soolsma picked off a pass in the Dynamo defensive line.

In this post game video blog I heap yet more praise upon TFC's young Ecuadorian Joao Plata who scored a penalty and set up the game winner in TFC's 2-1 home victory over the Houston Dynamo at BMO Field on Saturday. In this episode I try and explain why the Plata effect did not just start on Saturday night, I talk about what such a hopeful and optimistic performance might mean for both the club [.

By CALEB SONNELAND

After a scoreless first half at BMO Field, Toronto FC netted twice after the break to take all three points from the Houston Dynamo.

Reds striker Joao Plata put in quite a performance after opening scoring in the 50th minute, the first goal of his MLS career.

In a recent U20 match down in South America, a Chile's Bryan Carrasco grabbed the arm of a player for Ecuador and pulled that player's fist into his own face. Carrasco's trick work, drawing a foul on the Ecuadorian, but Ecuador won the match 1-0.

Today before the team's intersquad scrimmage (where Korede Aiyegbusi (blue) and Kei Kamara (orange) scored the two goals as the Blue team went 1-0-1, Orange went 1-1, and Yellow went 0-1-1), the team put out the names of some of the trialists in camp who had previously been hidden under the name Trialist 1-6.

On 3 February 2011 Ecuadorian striker managed this incredible miss against Uruguay U-20 in the 2011 South American Youth Championships. The game finished 1-1 and as this was late in the game the miss could be said to have cost Ecuador two points. To his credit De Jesús has been one of several quality players in the Ecuador side and they still have a good chance of qualifying to play in the

Argentina and Independiente have both lost 1-0 to Ecuadorian sides in the last couple of days, but the attitudes to those defeats are very different. Argentina Under 20s' loss to their Ecuadorian counterparts on Monday night in the first match ... Continue reading →

Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil currently playing in the Ecuadorian Serie A (Primera Categoría Serie A) the top of the soccer pyramid in the country. Emelec has won 10 Serie A titles (third over in Ecuador soccer history) and 7 regional titles. The club also finished as the [.

Antonio Valencia looks to return to training earlier than expected. He has finally stopped limping and is making rapid progress. It seems Valencia has benefitted from the underwater treadmill designed by NASA. He has been taking part in revolutionary ‘water torture' sessions at Manchester United's Carrington training ground.