As a fan of Barcelona I was thinking the other day about the club's rich history as well as their successes in the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona have won the UEFA Champions League three times in their history with two coming in the last four years which is extremely impressive.

It got me thinking; which Champions League winning side was better?

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Thanks to our friends at Dirty Tackle for bringing this to our attenion. Imagine you have two teams who quite literally hate each other to the core, two local rivals who can't stand the sight of each other. Then you take an away team who takes the spoils and you add a player who wishes to create mayhem.

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All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award winning Dirty Tackle...

The derby match between St. Pauli and Hansa Rostock once again brings fire and violence and police involvement, this time inflamed by St. Pauli's Deniz Naki. [101gg]

Every fan attending the Dynamo Kiev v Inter Champions League match will be given masks to protect against the terrifying dangers of swine flu.

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The second division rivalry between the German clubs FC Hansa Rostock and St. Pauli ended with a 2-0 victory for St. Pauli and some Hansa Rostock supporter being on the receiving end of a water cannon.
Angered by the loss on their home pitch, 500 die hard fans of FC Hansa Rostock tried to breach a police barrier and began throwing bottles and firecrackers. Click to continue reading...

American international Heath Pearce has signed for Turkish First Division side Buraspor (just south of Istanbul).
The Gators are currently in fifth place on seven points after the first four matches of the season.
For more details, check out LFV pal Greg Seltzer's report over on his blog No Short Corners. Click to continue reading...

                                                                Photo by ISIphotos.com

U.S. national team defender Heath Pearce may soon be plying his trade in MLS.

According to 3rdDegree.net, FC Dallas head coach Shellas Hyndman revealed that Pearce is interested in playing in MLS.

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                                                                Photo by ISIphotos.com

U.S. national team defender Heath Pearce may soon be plying his trade in MLS.

According to 3rdDegree.net, FC Dallas head coach Shellas Hyndman revealed that Pearce is interested in playing in MLS.

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F.C. Hansa Rostock is a German football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the former East Germany and made several appearances in the 1. Bundesliga. Hansa Rostock is currently campaigning in the German 2. Bundesliga. They finished in 13th position in the league [. Click to continue reading...

What a difference a week makes for the US national team. First they had a nice result in the Confederations Cup over in South Africa and due to their participation in that tournament CONCACAF is allowing Bob Bradley to increase his roster size for the Gold Cup from 23 to 30.

Here is the initial 23-man USA roster:

• GOALKEEPERS- Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Troy Perkins (Valarenga), Luis Robles (FC Kaiserslautern)
• DEFENDERS- Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Jay Heaps (New England Revolution), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaellands), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock)
• MIDFIELDERS- Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Logan Pause (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
• FORWARDS- Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Santino Quaranta (D.

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CONCACAF has ruled that the U.S. men's national team will be allowed seven extra roster slots for the Gold Cup because of the U.S. team's participation in the Confederations Cup. The ruling means the United States now has 30 roster spots.

So what seven players will be added? Those names haven't been revealed yet.

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CONCACAF has ruled that the U.S. men's national team will be allowed seven extra roster slots for the Gold Cup because of the U.S. team's participation in the Confederations Cup. The ruling means the United States now has 30 roster spots.

So what seven players will be added? Those names haven't been revealed yet.

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The Gold Cup roster is an interesting mix -- a handful of young players and a lot of MLS veterans getting a rare look.
Which players do you want to see starting? Let us know below.
Here's the roster:
GOALKEEPERS
Jon Busch (Chicago Fire)
Troy Perkins (Valerenga)
Luis Robles (FC Kaiserslautern)
DEFENDERS
Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96)
Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards)
Clarence Goodson (IK Start)
Jay Heaps (New England Revolution)
Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew)
Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaellands)
Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock)
MIDFIELDERS
Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards)
Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake)
Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids)
Sam Cronin (Toronto FC)
Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders)
Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo)
Logan Pause (Chicago Fire)
Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS
Freddy Adu (AS Monaco)
Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo)
Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas)
Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF)
Santino Quaranta (D. Click to continue reading...

U.S. Soccer released the Gold Cup roster today and only four members of the Confederations Cup squad will be with the team, with Charlie Davies being the only one of those four to have played in any of the U.S.'s first four Confed. Cup matches.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Troy Perkins (IK Start), Luis Robles (FC Kaiserslautern)

DEFENDERS (7): Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Jay Heaps (New England Revolution), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Logan Pause (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

FORWARDS (5): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Santino Quaranta (D.

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The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup is just a few weeks away and the United States has named it's 23 man roster for the tournament. Many of the players from the Confederations Cup will be given a break as the team is largely made up from MLS teams. Here's the full roster.

U.S. ROSTER CONCACAF GOLD CUP 2009

GOALKEEPERS (3): Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF/NOR), Luis Robles (FC Kaiserslautern/GER)

DEFENDERS (7): Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start/NOR), Jay Heaps (New England Revolution), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaellands/DEN), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock/GER)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Logan Pause (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS (5): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco/FRA), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF/SWE), Santino Quaranta (D.

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GOALKEEPERS- Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Troy Perkins (Valarenga), Luis Robles (FC Kaiserslautern)

DEFENDERS- Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Jay Heaps (New England Revolution), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaellands), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock)

MIDFIELDERS- Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Logan Pause (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

FORWARDS- Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Santino Quaranta (D.

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GOALKEEPERS- Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Troy Perkins (Valarenga), Luis Robles (FC Kaiserslautern)

DEFENDERS- Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Jay Heaps (New England Revolution), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaellands), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock)

MIDFIELDERS- Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Logan Pause (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

FORWARDS- Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Santino Quaranta (D.

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Colorado Rapids midfielder Colin Clark has been named to the 23-player roster that will represent the U.S. at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup from July 3 to July 26.

Clark looks to make his first-ever appearance for the U.S.; his prior national team experience was in November 2008, when he participated in the U.

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GOALKEEPERS - Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Troy Perkins (Valarenga), Luis Robles (Kaiserslautern)

DEFENDERS - Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Jay Heaps (New England Revolution), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaellands), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock)

MIDFIELDERS - Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Logan Pause (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

FORWARDS - Freddy Adu (Benfica), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby), Santino Quaranta (D.

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Looks like there are more MLS players being picked than were announced in the preliminary roster. Via Yahoo! Sports:

Goalkeepers: Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Troy Perkins (IK Start, Norway), Luis Robles (Kaiserslautern, Germany)

Defenders: Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Jay Heaps (New England), Chad Marshall (Columbus), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaellands, Denmark), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock, Germany)

Midfielders: Davy Arnaud (Kansas City), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Colin Clark (Colorado), Sam Cronin (Toronto), Brad Evans (Seattle), Stuart Holden (Houston), Logan Pause (Chicago), Robbie Rogers (Columbus)

Forwards: Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Brian Ching (Houston), Kenny Cooper (Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF, Sweden), Santino Quaranta (D.

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Like Mexico, the US has called a clear "B" team for the North American Championship tournament leaving the door open for someone else to possibly win the event this year. (It won't be Trinidad and Tobago though because they failed to qualify). Here is the squad with some analysis:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Troy Perkins (IK Start), Luis Robles (FC Kaiserslautern)

Robles and Perkins were presumably split games in a competition to determine who becomes the front runner for the third keeper spot in South Africa next year.

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While the Confederations Cup still has one more game to play, the U.S. national team will begin play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup very soon. Now we know who will be on that roster.

Charlie Davies, Freddy Adu, Kenny Cooper, Steve Cherundolo and Jimmy Conrad are five of the players chosen for the U.

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While the Confederations Cup still has one more game to play, the U.S. national team will begin play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup very soon. Now we know who will be on that roster.

Charlie Davies, Freddy Adu, Kenny Cooper, Steve Cherundolo and Jimmy Conrad are five of the players chosen for the U.

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GOALKEEPERS (3): Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Troy Perkins (IK Start), Luis Robles (FC Kaiserslautern) DEFENDERS (7): Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Jay Heaps (New England Revolution), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaellands), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock) MIDFIELDERS (8): Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Logan. Click to continue reading...

Just a day after beating Spain in one of the biggest upsets in US Soccer history, head coach Bob Bradley announced his 23-man roster for next month's Gold Cup.

A few good calls include Kenny Cooper, Santino Quaranta, Stuart Holden and Sam Cronin. You can tell Bradley is back to giving those who haven't had time with the national team a chance in this tournament.

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A partir de mañana arranca una nueva edición de la Copa Confederaciones Sudafrica 2009 y desde Tremendamente Motivados seguiremos las acciones más importantes de este torneo que se disputa cada cuatro años y es el plato previo a la copa del Mundo de 2010.
A las 11 (hora argentina), el anfitrión, Sudafrica y su par de Irak abrirán la competencia que tendrá su mejor partido de la fecha inicial a las 15:30 cuando se enfrenten Nueva Zelanda vs España. Click to continue reading...

Injured forward Brian Ching was left off the U.S. roster for the Confederations Cup in South Africa along with defender Frankie Hejduk.

And how this further affects your MLS roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England), Luis Robles (Kaiserslautern, Germany)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (Midtjylland, Denmark), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege, Belgium), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock, Germany), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England), Marvell Wynne (Toronto)
Midfielders: Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Ricardo Clark (Houston), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus, Denmark), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca, Mexico)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Xerez, Spain), Conor Casey (Colorado), Charlie Davies (Hammarby, Sweden), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles)

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The FIFA Confederations Cup is set to start next week in South Africa is a warm-up for next summer's World Cup. The United States will be participating as the representative from the CONCACAF region and has named their 23-man roster. The team is composed of players who play in European Leagues with a few Major League Soccer stars mixed in the roster.

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Conor Casey, the leading scorer in Major League Soccer, is among 23 Americans called to camp by coach Bob Bradley to compete in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup from June 14-28 in South Africa.

Casey has 10 career caps with the national team; the most recent in a 2-1 victory over Honduras on Wednesday in World Cup qualifying.

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2009 FIFA Confederations Cup June 14-28, 2009 - South Africa GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Luis Robles (Kaiserslautern) DEFENDERS: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (Midtjylland ), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC) MIDFIELDERS: Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan. Click to continue reading...

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Luis Robles (Kaiserslautern)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (Midtjylland ), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Xerez), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Charlie Davies (Hammarby), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

The US is in a very tough group with current Confederation Cup champion Brazil, World Cup winners Italy, and African champions Egypt.

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It was ugly, the USA losing to Costa Rica 3-1, and some say the goals against the USA could have been much worse if Costa Rica did not let up.

Let's face it, a team without a solid defense is pretty hopeless. USA fans will want to love their players, but some realism is needed: do we have a back 4 that is up to the task of playing World Cup soccer?

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The U.S. are playing Costa Rica in an important World Cup qualifying match this Wednesday night at 10:00 PM EST and it will be broadcast on ESPN. I decided to take a look at the squad that manager Bob Bradley has named and review where they are at in their careers. I think its important to examine this as the U. Click to continue reading...

The national US team has announced their roster for the 2010 FIFA qualifying matches. USA Coach Bob Bradley has revealed to reporters the names of the 24 players he has chosen and have accepted to represent their country in the world's biggest sporting event.

Image: Zuma Press Images

Team USA are set to face Costa Rica on June 3rd in Estadio Saprissa for their first qualifying match.

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U.S. coach Bob Bradley made only a couple of changes in his standard roster of 20-something players for the camp ahead of World Cup qualifiers in June.
He has 24 players rather than 22, so only a couple of players have been dropped. Marcus Hahnemann was not called in, as Bradley is going with only two goalkeepers officially. Click to continue reading...

All the pomp and circumstance of ESPN yielded us a predictable 24 for the upcoming qualifiers versus Costa Rica and Honduras. Much more analysis on this squad to come later in the day.

GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 5/3 SO), Tim Howard (Everton: 9/7 SO)
DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes: 19/2), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA: 1/0), Danny Califf (Midtjylland: 4/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford: 1/0), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew: 17/2), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege: 14/1), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 9/0), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United: 2/1), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC: 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Freddy Adu (Monaco: 5/1), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers: 24/6), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach: 9/4), Maurice Edu (Rangers: 4/0), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus: 0/0), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 9/0), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids: 13/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 4/0)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Xerez: 6/5), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo: 15/6), Charlie Davies (Hammarby: 1/1), Clint Dempsey (Fulham: 15/4), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy: 28/9)
*numbers indicate all-time World Cup Qualifying caps/goals

Related posts:

1. US Squad for T&T Qualifier Goalkeepers: Troy Perkins, Brad Guzan.

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