Luis Suarez of Liverpool (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
What constitutes a world-class striker? Is it the amount of goals produced, the number of links during the January transfer window, or is it the ability to involve other teammates into the attacking fold? Numerous questions surround who is the best attacker in the Premier League and with a current four way tie for the golden-boot in the Premier League (Robin van Persie, Demba Ba, Luis Suarez, Michu) the race is hotter than ever in England.
On the eve of the 2012-13 Premier League season, Clint Dempsey remains in club limbo.Â
Fulham manager Martin announced that Dempsey, the club's leading scorer last season, will not be
part of Fulham's matchday roster for Saturday's season opener against Norwich City while also
confirming that Dempsey wants to leave Craven Cottage.
Manchester United have agreed to a transfer for Arsenal's Robin van Persie for around 22 million
pounds (around 34 million US dollars). Van Persie had been linked with United, Manchester City, and
Juventus.
Arsenal released the following statement about the deal.
Arsenal Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for the transfer of Robin van
Persie to Manchester United.
Robin Van Persie shocked Arsenal fans when he announced his decision not to sign a contract
extension .
Club captain, Premier League Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner with 30 goals last
season, RvP naturally holds the key to Arsenal's title contention, depending on whether he stays at
the Emirates next season.
I'm not exactly sure what Manchester City's manager Roberto Mancini is getting paid to do, but
apparently signing new players isn't it. Mancini admitted that player transfers are out of his
hands as somebody else looks after them. This somebody is reportedly Brian Marwood, who is listed
as the club's football director.
Sir Alex Ferugson has admitted making a bid for Arsenal's Captain Robin van Persie. But he's not
the only game in town, as Manchester City also set their sights on last year's Golden Boot winner.
The Fantasy Premier League ... Continue reading →
Robin van Persie is a wanted man among Europe's top clubs, but Arsenal is maintaining their
ground before deciding to part ways with their star striker.
The Gunners have reportedly turned down a bid from Manchester United that is said to be not
close to one in the ÂŁ20 million range that is being sought after for the 28-year-old Dutch
international.
When a football player remains silent for weeks or even months on end about his future at a
specific football club, you know there's a good chance he's not quite happy with his situation.
When Robin van Persie announced he wasn't going to re-sign with Arsenal it shouldn't have surprised
anybody.
Off season is possibly the worst punishment for any football fan. For me it's even more painful
because I've graduated and unemployment is another punishment. I feel like the Greek economy. (I
did have my moment of glory)Â and in this gloomy phase where I have nothing to write about , I'm
going to write about whatever has been happening outside the football field and one moment from
inside it.
Leo Messi can add yet another piece of hardware to his stacked trophy case.
Messi was presented with his second Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals in a European league last season. The 25-year-old scored a La Liga-record 50 goals for Barcelona in 2011-2012, which was four more than Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo.
It has been far from smooth sailing for former Chelsea teammates Didier Drogba and Nicolas
Anelka in their foray into Chinese soccer.
With their club, Shanghai Shenhua, sitting in 10th place in China's top flight comes word that
the pair may have to be offloaded because of financial issues and a conflict among shareholders,
according to reports out of China.
The NASL officially announced today that San Antonio Scorpions super striker Pablo Campos has received the Golden Boot honors for most prolific goal scorer in the 2012 NASL regular season. The 29-year-old Brazilian international finished the season with 20 goals with the final tally coming in the Scorpions' 1-1 tie with the Minnesota Stars in [.
It didn't take former FC Dallas forward Jeff Cunningham long to catch on after he was released
by CSD Comunicaciones of Guatemala earlier this month. No, the former MLS Golden Boot winner is now
playing for the San Antonio Scorpions of the NASL, a club which has several former FCD players on
its roster like Aaron Pitchkolan and Blake Wagner as well as former SMU goalkeeper Craig Hill.
Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov is undergoing a medical at Fulham, their manager Martin
Jol has confirmed. Berbatov is a former Premier League Golden Boot Winner but has fallen down the
pecking order at Manchester United with the recent arrivals and ... Continue reading →
The gold medal favorites are within one win of fulfilling their lofty expectations.
Brazil's men's Olympic team got two goals from Leandro Damiao and escaped a controversial
no-call on a penalty shout to rout South Korea 3-0 and advance to the Olympic gold medal match
against Mexico.
PHILADELPHIA -- Thierry Henry's looming future teammate is one of Landon Donovan's former
teammates, and as the two MLS standouts prepare for the MLS All-Star Game against Chelsea, they
took the time to address Tim Cahill's pending arrival in the league.
Everton announced Monday that Cahill has been transferred to MLS, where he will play with
Henry's New York Red Bulls, and while the club has yet to confirm his capture, Henry is intrigued
at the possibility of adding him to the club's attacking arsenal.
If the Fire are unable to land a big name striker during the transfer window, it looks like they
have a backup option lined up. This report says the Fire have offered a contract to Peruvian
striker Andy Pando.
Pando, 28 years old, has spent his career bouncing around Peruvian clubs.
Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov faces life in limbo as no offers flood in to Old
Trafford. The 31 year old former Golden Boot winner would be an absolute stud on any number of
Premier League teams perhaps starting for ... Continue reading →
Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has dismissed any concerns regarding the mindset of striker
Fernando Torres, who will be asked to take charge of the Blues' attack next season.
Torres had a turbulent 2011-12 season with Chelsea, winning the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions
League trophies but playing sparingly behind the in-form Didier Drogba.
Riding a three-game winning streak, Sporting Kansas City has climbed back to the top of the
Eastern Conference -- a spot the New York Red Bulls are keeping a close eye on from a short
distance.
That first place slot will be on the line Sunday when Kansas City hosts New York in a nationally
televised clash at Livestrong Sporting Park in the first of three matches between these two clubs
in the next two months.
There was no late match heroics for San Jose this time around, as they built themselves too big
of a hole to come back from thanks to a two goal defecit. After falling behind early, Montreal
charged back, scoring three unanswered goals, and winning their fourth consecutive home match 3-1
at Stade Saputo on Saturday.
MĂłnica Mendes (D), Lindsey Lane (M), and Stephanie Hamilton (F) where all named to the Womens'
Super-20 All-Tournament Team.
Courtesy of USLSoccer.com
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Super-20 League announced its 2012 North American Finals All-Tournament Team
today, honoring Colorado Rapids forward Karisa Price as the Finals' Most Valuable Player for
leading her team to the championship this past weekend at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Chris Korb's likely reintroduction to D.C. United's starting lineup could not come at a more
convenient time for the Ohio native.
With Robbie Russell suffering a foot injury at Houston Sunday and out for "somewhere in the
month-plus region," according to D.C. United coach Ben Olsen, Korb will be looked at to fill in at
right back starting with Saturday's match at the Columbus Crew.
Days after adding centerback Thiago Silva, the club has finalized the purchase of mercurial
striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic from the Rossoneri, according to Italian publication Gazzetta Dello
Sport.
Current PSG sporting director and former AC Milan player and coach Leonardo told the outlet that
the signing, which has been in the works for the last week, is complete.
Sit back and relax, turn up your speakers and enjoy some of the best of Lionel Messi in this
collection of Skills, Goals, and Tricks. The Messi video is nicely put together and set to the
music and song by David Guetta featuring Sia, Performing Titanium...Soccer and Music at it's
finest.
Just in case you've been living under a rock and have no idea just how good a soccer player
Messi is or who he is.
You could argue that most of the attention has been on Team Great Britain at
the Olympics football tournament, with national pride at stake. But yesterday,
Spain's low-profile Olympic squad (yes, they do have one!) made their presence
known and gathered for an official team portrait at the training centre in Madrid.
So, Van Persie's gone Manchester City. Or United. Whatever. I honestly don't care. Yes, he
scored 40 percent of Arsenal's goals last year, but the rest of the team scored 60 percent. A clear
majority. Plus he always used way more towels than one person could possibly need.
I can't tell you how many times other players would come up to me and complain that there were
no more towels and every single time Robin would have a giant pile.
Manchester City opened the new season by picking up where they left off with the last one --
coming from behind to beat a 10-man side and win a shiny trophy. Fernando Torres opened the scoring
for Chelsea two minutes before Branislav Ivanovic was shown a straight red for a nasty challenge
shortly before halftime.
The high-spending French power swooped in to sign rising Brazilian star Lucas Moura, outbidding
the likes of Manchester United and Inter Milan for the Sao Paulo attacking midfielder. Reports
Tuesday had PSG making a €45 million move for Lucas, who is currently on the Brazilian Olympic
team that is vying for the gold medal in London.
Ahead of their match against Mexico, Jurgen Klinsmann has released the full roster for the US Men's
National Team. Nine MLS players were selected to the 23 man roster and they will have their hands
full against a powerful Mexican team at Azteca Stadium in Mexico.
The MLS Week 19 fireworks exploded late Saturday night, with some of the league's most
recognizable names putting forth the best performances of the week to earn SBI MLS Best XI
recognition.
David Beckham marked his top performance of the season with two highlight-reel goals in
Portland, and his goal tally was matched by fellow DP teammate Robbie Keane.
Major League Soccer has announced the First XI All-Star roster that could wind up taking on Chelsea
in this years All-Star match. A star studded group headlines the list, with more selections to be
made by coach Ben Olsen and two supplemental picks by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.
While the United States Women have already made it through the Group Stage at the 2012 London
Olympics Women's Soccer Tournament today's match against North Korea will help determine the
Knockout Rounds. The match is on NBC Sports Network (Comcast 626 in Puget Sound) at 9:15AM.
With the USA certainly moving on Pia Sundhage will be able to tinker a bit and try new
things.
 Brice Colcombe, FASA  Brice Colcombe of Virginia club FASA was named to the Super-20 League
All-Tournament team. Official USL Soccer Release: TAMPA, Fla. – The Super-20 League announced its 2012 North American Finals
All-Tournament Team today, honoring Chicago Fire midfielder Felipe Cortez as the Finals' Most
Valuable Player for leading his side to the championship this past weekend at IMG Academy in
Bradenton, Florida.
I think it's fair to say that ever since Fernando Torres joined Chelsea the press have had him in
their sights. Just like AVB said at the time he was Chelsea manager, the press had turned Torres
into "an obsession!". It still seems to remain the case today.
The season for Torres has only finished a week ago after winning Euro 2012 with Spain,
scoring in the final and winning the golden boot but again it doesn't seem to be
good enough.
Chelsea coach Roberto di Matteo, who was rudely jolted from his summer holidays
to give this interview, declared that despite Fernando Torres' recent Euro 2012
win, the Spaniard will still have to fight for a starting berth in the Chelsea squad next
season.
The Fire's goal scoring drought has been no secret to anybody. And it's been a point of
contention all year for the club, but it was at no time more evident then in the month of July.
They were shut out four times in six games- including the Aston Villa friendly, and only scored two
goals the entire month.
It was announced this morning that Geoff Cameron's work permit has been approved and the former
Dynamo defender is now officially a member of Stoke City. Congratulations to Geoff on having the
opportunity to pursue this incredible personal opportunity and we wish him all the success in the
English Premier League.
Wisconsin won the U.S. Youth Soccer Association Region II 1996 Olympic Development Program boys
tournament last week in Rockford, Ill., beating Michigan 1-0 in Sunday's final.
The win in the championship game avenged a 3-1 loss in pool play, and Wisconsin advanced to the
final by outlasting Minnesota on penalty kicks following a 4-4 draw.
