La Gazzetta dello Sport Balotelli: A true Italian - makes his Azzurri debut this evening against Greece (il grande momento) President Berlusconi speaks out on violence (by defending Napoli?): Napoli shouldn't pay Zamparini, 27 sackings - From Palermo, Out goes Colantuono, in comes Ballardini _________________  Balotelli was born in Palermo and is the son of Ghanaian immigrants. Click to continue reading...

The roster for the US U23 squad that will play at the upcoming Olympic games has been named. Lots of familiar names including including Brian McBride, Brad Guzan and Michael Parkurst as the three older players allowed under the rules. Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley and some others. Then there's the fellow pictured in the photo (by Micheal Goulding, Orange County Register) who I've seen plenty of as I've become a Chivas USA fan this season:

Sacha Kljestan, captain of Team USA during Olympic qualifying, is also a lock to be named Thursday to the U.

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It's amazing how people who've grown up watching and playing this sport can be so bloody ignorant - you kick a ball, at point-blank range, into the guys arm (which is plastered against the side of his body), it's not a freakin' hand-ball! Nor is it a handball when you kick it against someone's arm, when his back is turned and couldn't see it coming! Click to continue reading...

With torrents of cash flying back-and-forth through the now completely shattered and bent-framed European transfer window, it's nice to remember a time when print journalists could secure the services of knighted football players for travel, room and board, and about $125 a week. In Toronto in 1961, soccer was the sport of immigrants. Click to continue reading...

Scott Wolf looks at the adjustments overseas players have to make in MLS from the perspective of the Galaxy's foreign contingent.

Dunno about you, but Abel Xavier's criticism of the tactical awareness of U.S. players might hold more water if he could still, y'know, play defense.

In a related story the L.

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If German national team one day finds itself lacking players, it has a precious superresource in Brazil, where many local players have German surnames:

Kretzer (Flavio)
Spellmeier (Felipe)
Hahn (Jerri)
Mestiner (Mauro)
Boeck (Marcelo)
Richartz (Eder)
Muller (Luiz Muller)
Hering (Hering)
Stival (Cleyber)
Scherpel (Eduardo)
Vergner (Danilo)
Buttenberder (Fernando)
Schwenk (Schwenk)
Weisheimer (Guilherme)
Mutt (Jorge Mutt)
Hinterholz (Danrlei)
Back (Marciel)
Hubner (Ramon)
Baier (Paulo Baier)
Lammel (Anderson Lammel)
Doring (Andre)
Horn (Neto)
Diniz (Fernando Diniz)
Hahn (Marcio Hahn)
Schmitz (Rafael Schmitz)
Schmidt (Edu)
Hallmann (Geufer)

While the half of them for some reason are keepers, the efforts of Herr Ramon, Herr Danilo and Herr Paulo Baier, jointly with Edu from Betis and Rafael Schitz from Birmingham, as well as Fernando Diniz, who has gained wonderful form, will be definitely enough to win the World Cup. Click to continue reading...