Enzo Martinez has signed with MLS. (Photo via UNC Athletics)

The Generation adidas class for 2012 is nearly complete. UNC midfielder Enzo Martinez has signed his GA deal with the league but his former Tar Heel teammate Billy Schuler declined his offer from the league to go to Europe.

Reports out of Sweden say that Hammarby IF (yes, Greg Berhalter's new club) is close to signing the Tar Heel to a deal.

Featured image: Courtesy of Dan Morrison and bethlehemsteelsoccer.org

Against the expectation of many in the US, the United States Football Association's first international tour in Scandinavia in the summer of 1916 had been a great success. The cash-strapped USFA had come out of the trip in the black—the Swedish FA had paid for the tour thanks to the backing of a leading Swedish newspaper—and the team had performed well to garner a 3–1–2 record despite having been put together only days before departure to Europe without the benefit of tryouts.

This actually happened before Christmas but I haven't gotten a chance to mention it. Baggio Husidic, who's rights the Rapids acquired in the Re-Entry Draft, has decided to decline Colorado's contract offer and instead sign with Hammarby IF in Sweden. Former U.S. Nats player Gregg Berhalter was recently named manager of the AEG-owned club and this will probably be the first of multiple signings from MLS for the team.

photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

Hammarby IF head coach Gregg Berhalter won't be the only one at the club with MLS experience next season.

Hammarby signed midfielder Baggio Husidic on Friday morning, the club announced on its website. Husidic, who has spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Fire, agreed to a two-year deal with the Swedish club.

The next stage of Gregg Berhalter's career will come as coach of Hammarby, and the former defender is confident despite the pressures that come with leading one of Sweden's top teams.

Recently retired LA Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter has moved directly into coaching. But to the surprise of many, it won't be in America. He was confirmed as the new manager of Hammarby IF in the Swedish second division today -- article from the AP is here, press release from Hammarby's website is here (in Swedish).

STARTERS
Tigres is the winner of the Mexican Apertura Championship. Huge win! Congrats to them.
dN
Sporting Kansas City has agreed to release Omar Bravo so he can return to Mexico and play for Cruz Azul in the upcoming Clausura.
-I have no idea what this really means.

With all due respect to Abed Nadir, at Hammarby, it's now Gregg Berhalter.- Greg Seltzer

Galaxy owner Anschutz Entertainment Group is a part-owner of Swedish club Hammarby, so the news isn't as strange as it first appears. Still, Gregg Berhalter has been an assistant coach at the Galaxy for less than a year, so it's still a big step up. And it's a sign of

Today it was announced that former US national team defender Gregg Berhalter was hired to be the new head coach of Swedish club Hammarby.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

The 2012 MLS Draft is a month away, and the Montreal Impact's options with the No. 1 overall pick are ready to get a lot weaker.

Akron University striker Darren Mattocks, a consensus pick to be among the first two players selected in January's MLS Draft, is ready to pass on the Generation adidas contract offered to him by MLS to sign in Europe.

Matt Pyzdrowski and Angelholms FF need a win against Hammarby for a shot at automatic promotion while Brian Edwards and Degerfors IF look to finish their season on a high note.

Andy Stadler (Wauwatosa West) scored his first professional goals this week in a pair of wins for Sweden's Sandvikens IF.

The former George Washington standout forward scored twice in a 3-0 win over host BKV Norrtälje in a Division 2 Norra Svealand match Saturday.

That followed the goal he scored Wednesday after coming on as a 60th-minute substitute in a 9-0 rout of Gestrike Hammarby in a DM semifinal.

Defender Katie Kelly (Marquette) is headed back to Sweden to continue her soccer career.

Kelly, who played for FC Indiana in the Women's Premier Soccer League this summer, recently signed with Hammarby IF in the Damallsvenskan.

Hammarby (0-7-4) is in a relegation battle, sitting in 11th place in the 12-team league, the top division of women's soccer in Sweden.

Matt Pyzdrowski (Marquette) made two saves in his fifth clean sheet of the season as Ängelholms FF extended its unbeaten streak to six with a 1-0 victory over host Hammarby in Sweden's Superettan on Monday.

Ängelholms FF, which reaches the midpoint of the season Saturday, improved to 7-3-4 and pulled within one point of league leader Degerfors IF in the second division.

Hammarby Fotboll is a Swedish soccer club based in Johanneshov just south of Södermalm, the southernmost district of Stockholm city centre. In Sweden, the club is often referred to by its nickname Bajen. Swedish top flight (Allsvenskan) champions in 2001 and a UEFA Intertoto Cup winner in 2007, Hammarby suffered a series of poor results [.

Alexander Skarsgård. Pictured without false teeth and cape. Image: Getty Images/Daylife

‘Ordinary' football fans wouldn't understand, but for Kickettes, maintaining any kind of club loyalty is frequently challenged by the movement of hot players.

Yes, we said it. Some of us choose our club affiliations by affording consideration to how much we fancy the players in various teams.

WASHINGTON, DC D.C. United acquired United States international forward Charlie Davies on a loan deal from French Ligue 1 club Sochaux for the 2011 season, the Major League Soccer club announced on Wednesday. "We are really pleased to have concluded a deal that will bring Charlie to United," D.C. General Manager Dave Kasper said.

Washington, D.C. (February 16, 2011) - D.C. United announced today that the club has acquired forward Charlie Davies. The Black-and-Red have signed the striker to a loan deal from French side FC Sochaux for the 2011 season. The club used its position in the MLS allocation ranking to acquire the forward.

I just saw this video with the top 10 goals of the year and thought it's worth sharing. Hamit Altintop won the ‘FIFA Puskas Award' for the goal of the year but all the other goals are worth watching as well.

It seems Nasri's mesmerizing run against Porto was 5th but I haven't been able to find any official list declaring the order.

Young Amercian JC Banks will have at least offer in his pocket to start 2011 as Swedish Superettan club Hammarby has offered the midfielder a contract.