SoccerBlogs

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.

CHICAGO (Aug. 27, 2009) — U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named a roster of 24 players that will train in advance of the critical FIFA World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago. The U.S. first hosts El Salvador on Sept. 5 in Sandy, Utah (tickets). Kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium is set for 6 p.

You've probably heard the rumor by now that the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan has been linked to Paris Saint-Germain. What you probably haven't heard is that virtually every report (including this one) is just a recap of a blurb from French website 10 Sport.

But even 10 Sport only mentions that he is about to be engaged with the club (which could mean talks have begun), a far cry from being close to a signing - assuming this rumor has any truth to it.

NEW YORK (August 20, 2009) – The USA Bid Committee today announced the 27 United States cities that passed the third stage of the city and stadium proposal review process and remain under consideration as potential host venues for the FIFA World Cup™ in 2018 or 2022. These cities will continue working with the USA Bid Committee both on the development and promotion of their local and national campaigns.

Its official!

American striker Jozy Altidore has finally received his UK work permit and will be able to join Premiership side Hull, which opens the season this weekend against Chelsea.

Is a bidding war starting for American striker Jozy Altidore? The UK's Daily Mail thinks so.

If this pans out, it looks like Jozy's value has already jumped by $2 million since last summer.




Special thanks to LFV reader Marc Sarchet for digging up this nugget.

Wow! Fulham has just named its hospitality pub after former striker Brian McBride - I can't think of a more deserving player (no bias here, cough).

We've all seen McBride pour his heart, soul, and blood into every match he plays, whether its at Fulham, Columbus, Preston NE, Chicago, Wolfsburg, or for the USA.

Greek media are reporting that young American ace Jozy Altidore may be spending the next year with Olympiakos. The 19 year-old Villarreal striker, after turning more than a few heads in the recent Confederations Cup (including scoring against Spain), is still facing the prospect of not breaking into the Yellow Submarine's starting 11.

While the French media reported a few days ago that Hammarby's American striker Charlie Davies had all but locked up a deal with Sochaux, methinks the phone lines are burning up between his agent and several clubs, to include Rennes, Saint Etienne, and at least one Bundesliga club.

Word on the street is that the price tag for the 23 year-old US breakout star of the Confederations Cup will be anywhere from is currently somewhere between € 2.

Livorno crushed Danny Szetela's Brescia side 3-0 in the final leg of their promotion playoff and will return to Serie A next season. Livorno's win capped a 5-2 aggregate win in the Serie B playoffs. Lingering injuries kept Danny Szetela out of the side which will remain in Serie B for at least one more season.

Its been awhile since we've had some gratuitous transfer rumors about Standard Liege defender Oguchi Onyewu so let's fix that right now.

Kicker is now reporting that Michael Bradley's Borussia Moenchengladbach, which tried to acquire Gooch last winter, has renewed its interest in the 26 year-old Onyewu with a view toward picking him up on a free transfer this summer.

American Clint Dempsey gave Fulham fans a nice Easter gift by helping his team to a 3-1 road win at Manchester City.

City took a 1-0 lead on a gorgeous shot from distance by Stephen Ireland in the 27th minute. Fulham looked to be on the ropes for the next 22 minutes before
Dempsey levelled to game at 1-1 by picking up a loose ball from Zamora in the 49th minute which the Texan easily stroked into the goal with his right foot.

Michael Bradley has found his scoring touch again and all signs are that he is not letting it go anytime soon. Tonight against 1FC Cologne, he opened up a 1-0 lead for Borussia Moenchengladbach with a left footed tap from a Marko Marin pass in the 25th minute (see Morin's brilliant run in the video below).

BACOLET, Tobago (March 10, 2009) – The U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team secured a place at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup with a 2-0 win against El Salvador on Tuesday evening in their final Group A match of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Bacolet, Tobago. The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup will be held from Sept.

BACOLET, Tobago (March 8, 2009) – The U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team played to a scoreless draw against Honduras in Group A action on Sunday night at the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago.

The draw keeps the U.S. atop of the group with four points.

You couldn't make this one up...

Courtesy of Ligue 1:

Carlos Bocanegra's flawless displays at left-back for Rennes this season have won him many admirers, but it appears that the Californian's surfer-boy good-looks have also not gone unnoticed.

The 29-year-old American has been voted the Breton club's most sexy player in an Internet poll, and to celebrate his victory, all female spectators at Rennes' match with Auxerre on Sunday - which is also International Women's Day - will be given an eight-page publication with photos and a biography of the USA international.

Bob Wagman has a great piece on Landon Donovan's return to MLS over at Soccer Times. Chcek it out here.

Goalkeeper and new author Brad Friedel has told Sky Sports today that Aston Villa face '11 cup finals' in their quest for a Champions League berth.

After only collecting one point this weekend, blowing a 2-0 home lead to Stoke in the final three minutes for a 2-2 draw, Villa remain six points shy of Arsenal and eight from Tim Howard's Everton.

Courtesy of FIFA:

India goalkeeper Subrata Paul was the hero as the host nation held their nerve to retain the Nehru Cup winning 5-4 on penalties against Syria at New Delhi's Ambedkar Stadium on Monday.
Despite losing to Lebanon by a solitary goal in the opener, India bounced back to reach the final of the five-nation tournament with wins over Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka.

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As you've probably noticed, your loyal Vagabond is slowing down for a bit since my father passed away last Sunday. We'll be up and running again soon but in the meantime, you can find great soccer updates on the Friends Of LFV links on the left side of the page.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='http://res1.

So, MLS has decided to fine David Beckham a whopping $1,000 for taking the bait from jeering fans and exchanging words and gestures with what appeared to be a less-than-gentlemanly nature.

I for one am glad to see this kind of passion coming from these MLS fans, who care enough about their club to be bothered by the way Beckham has disrespected the Galaxy over the past year.

The LA Times' Grahame Jones is reporting that the LA Galaxy has reached a deal with AC Milan to extend the loan until July, when Beckham would rejoin his team in LA.

The agreement will give Beckham a chance to stay in England coach Fabio Capello's scheme while compensationg the Galaxy and their sponsors in the process.

The transfer season arms race at the top of Spanish football continues as today's Gazetto Dell Sport and Marca indicates Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic may be heading for FC Barcelona. in a 42 million euro deal Its understood that Barça President Joan Laporta and Inter Boss Massimo Moratti came to an understanding on the transfer during a meeting last night in Milan.

Midfielder joins. D.C. after two years in Spain, Italy

Washington, D.C. (July 15, 2009) - D.C. United today acquired midfielder Danny Szetela via its #2 allocation ranking. Szetela joins the Black-and-Red after spending two-plus years in Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie B. The 22-year old is currently with the team and will be available for selection upon receipt of his International Transfer Certificate.

Ugh!




Great job by Tim Howard and to Carlos Bocanegra - please get well soon!

American striker Gabe Ferrari, on loan from Sampdoria, scored his first goal for Perugia last week in Serie C (Lega Pro) action.

In the match against a pesky Pistoise side, Ferrari scored in the 44th minute by converting a low bouncing free kick with a sneaky back heel. He also had two shots go just wide of goal in the Grifoni's 3-2 win.

Young American midfielder Danny Szetela played the second half of Brescia's 1-0 loss to Rimini in Serie B action tonight. Brescia is currently in 6th place in Serie B with 46 points - three points out of the promotion zone.

Brescia's enduring problem this year has been its finishing and this week's result is just another example.

The shocker in Coppa Italia tonight is the 3-0 butt-whuppin' Sampdoria just handed the mighty Inter Milan 3-0, with all goals coming in the first half. Samp is on a tear, having just put the wood to AC Milan, and now beating up on the other Milan team. Regardless of who the coach has been the past few years, Inter knows how to win the Scudetto but they always seem to choke in the Coppa.

Napoli primavera striker Vincenzo Bernardo seems to be inching closer to a chance to dress with the first team in Serie A action sometime before the season ends. After practicing most of the season with the first team, the New Jersey native has been spending more time playing each week with the primavera (reserve) squad and but drawing more attention from the Napoli management and local media.

In Italian primavera (reserve) action, Vincenzo Bernardo played in the second half of Napoli's 5-0 romp over Ancona, scoring one goal and assisting on another.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/8142369742165370623-4122918150728154115?l=lettersfromvagabondia.

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Letters From Vagabondia will be changing from a soccer-only format to a broader one including social commentary plus perspectives on travel and living a healthier, happier life. We'll still have a soccer blurb now and then but it will no longer be the focus of this blog.

Thanks for your readership and we hope you give us a look under the new format in the coming weeks.

Today the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body looked into the case of the Arsenal's Eduardo for "deceiving the referee" during the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg match on 26 August against Celtic FC, and has suspended him for the next two CL matches.

Arsenal now has three days to appeal the decision.

While Roma got shelled today 3-1 by Juventus, exposing its enduring weakness on the defensive end, newby keeper Julio Sergio did provide a moment of brilliance for the giallorossi.

Check out his brilliant save at the 9 second mark on the video. After that, check out Juve's Diego channeling Maradona (with a brief intermission by Roma's Daniel De Rossi with a gorgeous long range shot).

Please observe a moment of silence for that fine band of City fans from Manchester, Oasis. It looks like they'll be splitting up now that guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher will be leaving the band since he can no longer work with his brother, Liam.

Noel wrote on the band's website: "It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you I quit Oasis tonight.

American striker Gabe Ferrari has been transferred from Sampdoria to Serie C1 side Foggia after spending the past season on loan with Perugia. The New York native made 14 appearances for Perugia this season, scoring one goal.

Foggia, which last saw Serie A action in the early 1990s, has been trying to claw its way back into Serie B since 1998, coming close to promotion in 2007.

As you can probably tell, your loyal vagabond has been laying low these days since I just moved back to the USA after 10 great years of bouncing around Europe. Now I'm in sunny El Paso where neighboring club Indios (Juarez) just made a great run in the Mexican First Division playoffs.

So, I'll be on hiatus for a few weeks reacquainting myself to round doorknobs, large parking spaces, and late night Mexican food.

LFV pal and guitar maestro Greg Seltzer has a nice piece on Maurice Edu's latest goal for 'Gers.

Imagine the most beloved sports team in your country travelling abroad for a prestigious tournament, only to have their bus attacked with rifles, rockets, and hand grenades as they approached a stadium for a match. No, this one isn't about soccer but its all about sports.

Sri Lankan are crazy about volleyball but their national cricket team is widely followed, having developed itself into a global power, winning the 1996 World Cup and winning the Asian Cup in 1996 and 2004.