SEATTLE -- The teams arrived in Seattle last night, all staying near the teeming town center, presumably to be close Pike Place Market in case they get the urge to throw some fish.

From a competition standpoint, I find it interesting that the teams didn't arrive a little earlier. On the one hand, I do get it: they want proper training during the week, and that's more manageable in nicer conditions.

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CaughtOffside contributor considers the ramifications of Fabio Capello considering selecting players born outside the British Isles.

So Fabio Capello's considering selecting some bloke called Aaron Hunt for the England squad. To me, he sounds like a Division One workhorse who's kicking lumps out of people at Colchester.

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Seems like a whole lot of past and present Arsenal connections have played or are playing a very influential part in the France vs Ireland match and its aftermath.

The latest is Liam Brady calling FIFA for a replay which he says would be only fair given that it was a clear handball by Thierry Henry that set up William Gallas equalizer.

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Carrying on from our look at the goalkeepers and defenders in Part II, it's now time to address the midfield and forwards. Once again, note that I'm including the loanees and injured reserve guys in this roundup. Midfielders John DiRaimondo: With... Click to continue reading...

Having assessed the general strengths and weaknesses of the team in Part I, it's time to move on to the player-by-player assessment portion of our program. We'll begin with the goalkeepers and defenders. Note that I'm including the loanees and... Click to continue reading...

Western Conference Final
LA 2-0 Houston

After two halves, two overtime periods, and two 18+ minute power outages the Western Conference final, which was appropriately played on Friday the 13th, came to an end with the number one seed in the west advancing to the final.

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Western Conference Final
LA 2-0 Houston

After two halves, two overtime periods, and two 18+ minute power outages the Western Conference final, which was appropriately played on Friday the 13th, came to an end with the number one seed in the west advancing to the final.

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According to Andy Walker at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham boss Alex McLeish would like to hold onto goalie Colin Doyle, despite his interest to leave. McLeish said,

"He (Doyle) is our third-choice goalkeeper, he's cover ... We need to have three good goalkeepers, Doyley's had a fair bit of experience without being given the total amount of experience of the other two.

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I will have a piece up at ESPN Soccernet later today looking back at the pair of weekend conference finals and gazing ahead at this weekend's MLS championship. Here's a little sneak peak at the most interesting note:

It involved Landon Donovan and his ability to convert penalty kicks. And it involves RealSaltLake goalkeeper Nick Rimando, whose heroic performance in Saturday's penalty kick tiebreaker against Chicago is a big reason why the men of Utah remain alive today.

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So President Nicolas Sarkozy went on Facebook to wish les Bleus good luck.

Pretty sure that will be all it takes to push them over the top.

GFC over at The Beantown Frog is cautiously optimistic about this leg of the match, predicting a 1-0 win.

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Carlo Cudicini, the Tottenham goalkeeper, fractured his wrists and injured his pelvis after being involved in a road accident this morning. A spokesman for London's Metropolitan police said the ambulance service and an emergency helicopter had attended the scene and found the 36-year-old motorcyclist suffering from injuries described by medics as "possibly life-changing". Click to continue reading...

Salt Lake vs. Chicago: Saturday's MLS playoff teams have one thing in common -- their goalkeepers are the shortest starting netminders in the league. Chicago's Jon Busch is listed at 5-10; Salt Lake's Nick Rimando at 5-9.
"People that tell me I wasn't going to achieve anything because I was too short, I just remember that, and I like to shove it in their face whenever I can," Rimando says. Click to continue reading...

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With the World Cup inching ever closer, it's just about time to stop nibbling around the edges of the U.S. depth chart conversations and start biting into the chewy center of that little candy bunny.

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Goalkeepers:
Sintaweechai Hathairattanakul (Persib Bandung - Indonesia), Kittisak Rawangpa (Osotspa-150 Saraburi FC)
Defenders:
Suree Sukha (Chonburi FC), Sutthinun Phuk-Hom (Chonburi FC), Nattaporn Panrit MuangThong United), Panupong Wongsa (Provincial Electricity Authority FC) ,
Nattapong Samana (Chonburi FC) , Kiatprawut Saiwaew (Chonburi FC) Peter Lang (FC Schaffhausen - Switzerland)
Midfielders:

Suchao Nuchnum (Persib Bangdung - Indonesia) , Surat Sukha (Melbourne Victory - Australia)
Sutee Suksomkit (Melbourne Victory - Australia), Rangsan Viwatchaichok (Provincial Electricity Authority FC) Nirut Surasiang (Hong Anh Gia Lai - Vietnam) Dasakorn Thonglao (Hong Anh Gia Lai - Vietnam) Therdsak Chaiman (Chonburi FC)
Forwards:
Teeratep Winothai (Muangthong United) Teerasil Dangda (Muangthong United) Pipat Thonkanya (Persisam Samarinda - Indonesia) Anon Sangsanoi (Bec Tero Sasana FC) Click to continue reading...

The death of Hannover 96 and Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke at the age of just thirty-two would have been a savage shock to anybody interested in international football regardless of the circumstances. The fact that his death is being widely reported as suicide is numbing. Our thoughts obviously are with his family and his friends at this time, and it would not be appropriate at this time comment much further on the specifics of what has happened this evening.

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(this looks like it's going to be my annual 'mulligan' game will fill in more details when I've seen more highlights)

When the league fixtures came out a few hearts sank.� The early going looked difficult, with Chelsea, Arsenal, Villa, Everton, Liverpool and Man City to be negotiated in the first ten games.

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Good Saturday to you all. Here is the news.

It looks like Manuel Almunia is back in pole position. Or, he would be if Arsenal was a Forumula 1 team and he'd just come fastest in qualifying, but you know what I mean. A mixture of a chest infection, family tragedy and just plain old poor form meant his start to the season was a bit all over the shop, but it seems as if the manager is ready to put his faith in him again.

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That second trivia question was a little tougher, apparently.

Far fewer readers could name one of two goalkeepers who had dressed for both the Galaxy and Chivas USA this season than correctly answered the first question.

The answers: Miguel Benitez of Cal State Dominguez Hills and Kevin Guppy of Cal State Northridge.

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by FRANCO PANIZO

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the best player in the world,� but his spot in next year's World Cup will be determined when Portugal and Bosnia square off in a two-legged playoff later this month. There is only one problem for Ronaldo:� He may not have a say in if Portugal qualifies.

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Benni McCarthy is Back in the Bafana Bafana Squad

When Carlos Alberto Parreira returned as head coach, the writing was on the wall, Benni Mc Carthy would be asked to come back. The door to the Bafana Bafana team would once again be opened to the man who has scored 31 goals in 76 caps for his country.

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Goalkeepers : Frenky Irawan, Muhammad Ridwan
Defenders : Rendy, Elvis Nelson, Rahmat Latif, Djayusman Triasdi, Yudi Khoerudin, Ruben Karel, Stevie Bonsapia
Midfield : Mahadirga Lasut, Nasution Karubaba, Egi Melgiansyah, Sultan Samma, Muhamma Fauzan Djamal, Lucky Wahyu, Johan Juansyah, Tony Sucipto
Strikers : Boaz Solossa, Andika Yudistira, Yongky Aribowo, Dendi Santoso, Engel Berth
The squad are currently in training with the national team in Palembang before heading to Lao next month for the SEA Games. Click to continue reading...

No wonder Sir Alex Ferguson admires him so much. Igor Akinfeev may have conceded three goals though none of them was his fault but he had pulled off a number of world-class saves which had frustrated Manchester United.

He is only 23, but he has been first choice 'keeper at CSKA Moscow for six years now, and was just 17 when he broke into the Russian side making him the youngest ever.

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The big Zach attack. (AP Photo)

Readers of this blog didn't agree, but Chivas USA's Zach Thornton was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year today, 11 years after first taking the honor with the Chicago Fire.

That time span between awards was undoubtedly one of the reasons the 34-year-old took the honor, beating out the Galaxy's Donovan Ricketts and Seattle Sounders veteran Kasey Keller (both in their first MLS seasons).

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Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton was named 2009 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year on Wednesday, marking the second time he's won the award.

Thornton enjoyed a career renaissance with Chivas USA this season, posting career highs in shutouts and goals against average while helping guide Chivas USA to the playoffs.

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Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton was named 2009 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year on Wednesday, marking the second time he's won the award.

Thornton enjoyed a career renaissance with Chivas USA this season, posting career highs in shutouts and goals against average while helping guide Chivas USA to the playoffs.

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Kieran Gibbs will cover Clichy's absence and Thomas Rosicky is back in training but will not play against AZ Alkmaar.
Arsene Wenger told at Tuesday's press conference ahead of the Champions League game:

We have some bad news.
Bendtner is quite seriously injured.

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The standard of Arsenal's goalkeepers has come into question but changes in the modern game mean there is more to the position than shot-stopping.
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If goalkeepers are crazy then imagine having to summon the sparse vestiges of your sanity to defend three of them.

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We finished the regular conference games this weekend extending our unbeaten run to 11 games. We have only conceded 6 goals in the last 10 games, so our defense deserves a lot of credit.

When I say our defense, I should really say our defensive play. We have to defend from all positions all over the pitch and the hardwork our forwards put in pressurising the opponents in our attacking third deserves as much credit as the defenders working hard in and around our penalty box.

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This is the game Southern California MLS fans have long awaited.

I'd like to say there's a buzz in the air, a sense of anticipation and tension and plenty of concrete expressions of the rivalry that have temporarily divided friends and families.

I'd like to say that, but it wouldn't be true.

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Okay, so first things first...the MLS HQ troglodytes should be ashamed of themselves. Fining Payne $5k for criticizing other teams' style of play? Shameful...and predictable. Also predictable? Payne's apology. But what to make of this bit of... Click to continue reading...

When posting the 2009 ADRs earlier this week, I asked what jumped out at you. Well here's some questions that jumped out at me:
1. Is Dejan Jakovic really all that good? The biggest surprise for me on the whole was Jakovic's even 3.00 rating. After winning three Benny Awards, you would have thought his rating would be among the best on the team. Click to continue reading...

It's like playing Where's Waldo, only you're looking for the person with infinitely more money than anyone else in the photo could ever and will ever imagine. We see you, JT!

In case you missed our tweet earlier this week: once you've seen this item, you may not be able to carry on living until you own it.

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It's like playing Where's Waldo, only you're looking for the person with infinitely more money than anyone else in the photo could ever and will ever imagine. We see you, JT!

In case you missed our tweet earlier this week: once you've seen this item, you may not be able to carry on living until you own it.

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Alright all,

I'm still half dying from Swine Flu here, its horrible I tell you, absolutely bloody horrible. Anyway, it didnt stop me from watching the lads the other night and what a great game it was, I really enjoyed it. It was entertaining and you got that feeling that anything could happen at any time.

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They all want to be at Qwest on Nov. 22. Where is the playoff upset as the MLS post-season begins tonight?

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I've already weighed in a bit on the playoffs in this ESPN.

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