The Minnesota Stars announced today they are exercising options on 18 players that were part of the 2011 NASL Championship team. Players returning for the 2012 season will be: Goalkeeper and defenders Matt VanOekel, Justin Davis, Kyle Altman, Cristiano Dias, Gino Mauro, Jack Stewart and Brian Kallman.

By Alan Duffy

Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Chelsea Premier League 5th November 2011

With his sixth goal of the season, surely Frank Lampard has finally silenced all those critics who were claiming the England man was a spent force this season.

Maybe the most shocking development from the Seattle Sounders' 3-0 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday was the play of Osvaldo Alonso. Throughout his three-year MLS career, he has been the most reliable Sounders player. Fredy Montero is prone to hot and cold streaks; Kasey Keller has allowed a soft goal or two; the defense has looked shaky at various times.

Wet turf and over 36,000 hostile fans weighed upon the visiting team, but that didn't force the Philadelphia to play the young, inexperienced and almost frightened role that was seen nearly 18 months ago in Seattle. Rather, the Union controlled and played aggressively, showing what a new season can bring to a formerly struggling team.

Bologna: Bisoli esonerato, Pioli a Casteldebole Di Mauro Giordano L'annuncio ufficiale dell'esonero di Pierpaolo Bisoli è arrivato verso le 13,30. Il primo a parlare in casa Bologna è stato il vice presidente Setti, che ha lanciato un messaggio chiaro: «Non c'erano più le condizioni per andare avanti».

Udinese-Bologna: Bisoli cerca la conferma Di Mauro Giordano Dopo l'1-3 rimediato contro l'Inter per il Bologna arriva un quinto turno di campionato impegnativo. Si gioca a Udine dove squadre di prestigio sono spesso incappate in brutte figure. Campo ostico perfino per l'Arsenal, protagonista nei preliminari di Champions League di un doppio turno molto combattuto.

Another week down, another week with the top clubs remaining on top. The playoff race in Major League Soccer is certainly hotter than it has ever been.

I'll keep the intro nice and sweet too. Here's how I see things after this week.

Team Rank Record (W-L-T) Comments 1 (1) 16-3-10 58 pts.

While the first half at times seemed like a passing clinic by the Seattle Sounders they only managed a single goal. That one Fredy Montero shot won the US Open Cup Semifinal match over FC Dallas, but it certainly will not be what people will remember from the match. Unfortunately the second half of chipping, sometimes violent, play by both teams will over shadow what was a truly amazing goal sequence.

Mauro Zárate's Agent Reveals Liverpool Approach

Liverpool have enquired about the availability of Lazio forward, Mauro Zárate, according to the player's agent. Speaking to Sportsitalia , Beppe Bozzo is reported to have said that Liverpool have moved for the former Birmingham man, presumably after talks to release Craig Bellamy from his contract at Manchester City collapsed.

Los xolos de Tijuana pensaban sacar su primer triunfo en casa pero los gallos de Queretaro les dijeron que no. Los canes aztecas dominaron generaron 8 tiros de esquina, pero los visitantestomaron la pelota y se fueron al ataque en superioridad numérica. José Martínez prendió un zurdazo seco de fuera del área para el 0-1 al minuto 33 todo propiciado por un balón perdido por Fernando Arce.

Mais um jogo da Europa League, foi realizado no dia 14/07/2011, na cidade de Niksic-MNE, onde jogaram os clubes, Rudar (MNE) e Áustria Viena (AUT).
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Mauro Bergonzi (ITA)

Michael Arteta gave Everton their first win with a last minute penalty at Ewood Park against Blackburn after Christopher Samba fouled Marouane Fellaini, Blackburn themselves missed two penalties after David Hoilett and Mauro Formica failed to score from the spot.

Editor's note: I moved the card below the jump. It was taking a little longer to load than I wanted. - Jeremiah

For a second, please ignore the names on the matchcard and give a serious look at our newest toy. As you can probably see, it's much more interactive than the old one.

The Seattle Sounders took a major step toward establishing themselves as the leading candidate to challenge the Los Angeles Galaxy atop the Western Conference after a hard-fought 1-0 win against FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park on Monday night.

The Sounders pounced on an Ugo Ihemelu turnover to catch Dallas on the counter, and Mauro Rosales provided the game's only goal courtest of a Fredy Montero pass to give Seattle the goal it needed to knock off a Dallas side playing without suspended defensive standout George John.

Por Juan Manuel Puliti
El pincha se trajo de Rosario un valioso punto para comenzar de buena manera el campeonato Apertura 2011, al empatar en cero frente al local Newell´s old Boys. El equipo de Russo (hizo su presentación de manera oficial como DT albirrojo) tuvo un flojo primer tiempo, pero en el segundo hizo valer la jerarquía del plantel, que apunta alto, tanto en el certamen local como en la próxima Copa Sudamericana.

As much as I would like to ignore the big friendly against Manchester United, it was the big thing happening in Sounders land this week, so a little writeup and some links are in order. The Seattle Sounder's first team managed to hang with one of the top five teams in the world for a full 45 minutes.

N.º Posición Jugador
1 POR Cirilo Saucedo Xolos
2 DEF Miguel Ángel Valdez Xolos
3 DEF Javier Gandolfi Xolos C 4 DEF Miguel Almazán Xolos
5 DEF Joshua Ábrego Xolos
6 MED Fernando Arce Xolos
7 MED Leandro Augusto Xolos
8 DEL Dayro Moreno Xolos
9 DEL Mauro Gerk Xolos
10 DEL Raúl Enríquez Xolos
11 DEL Luis Orozco Xolos
13 DEL Alejandro Molina Xolos
12 DEF Carlos Rubio Xolos
14 MED Noé Maya Xolos
15 MED Joe Benny Corona Xolos
17 MED Félix Ayala Xolos
18 DEL Bruno Piceno Xolos
19 POR Adrián Zermeño Xolos
20 MED Ismael Iñiguez Xolos
21 MED Antonio Madueña Xolos
22 MED Juan Carlos Núñez Xolos
23 DEF Richard Ruiz Toledo Xolos
24 DEL Javier Yacuzzi Xolos
27 MED Fernando Santana Xolos
28 MED Armando Pulido Xolos
DEF Juan Pablo Santiago Xolos
POR Humberto Martínez Xolos
DEL José Sand Xolos
MED Egidio Arévalo Xolos
Gracias por tu visita Estadísticas de Fútbol

01.05.2011 - Las balas le pican cerca de Julio Grondona pero (por ahora) las balas también pasan. A horas de la (escandalosa) reelección de Joseph Blatter en la FIFA que lo vio como sostén principal de la gestión y embarrado de denuncias por corrupción, en el ámbito local la situación no le difiere demasiado.

Obviously, right?

No one's pretending like Italy's been even remotely clean or not covered with a slightly less thick layer of filth since the dark days of Calciopoli rattled the soul of Serie A and simply torpedoed the league's standing in the European community. The Bundesliga even gets their fourth Champions League spot in 2012-13, so they're still paying out of pocket.

Saturday was the first really rain soaked Philadelphia Union game. The Seattle Sounders must have felt right at home. I discovered that layered synthetics + rain poncho + surf shoes = not all that wet. The roof over my section performed better than expected. It didn't seem to extend over the first row, but it did provide some coverage.

This is a story about Alvaro Fernandez, and Branko Boskovic in a curious way, but it could be a tale of crock-pots, lawnmowers, desktop computers, Flip video, or beer - pretty much anything. It is a tale of sunk costs and guaranteed money.

It is Jim McIlvaine, and Milton Bradley and Ken Griffey Jr 2.

Small confession: I did not watch Saturday's 2-1 Seattle Sounders victory over the Chicago Fire. I was setting up my wife's surprise birthday party and used the game as plausible cover. So, my impressions are are based on what I heard on the radio and saw in highlights.

First off, it should be said that listening to a Sounders game on the radio is really a very enjoyable experience.

In trentamila al Dall'Ara, arriva il Napoli da scudetto Di Mauro Giordano Passa da Bologna una delle tappe della corsa scudetto del Napoli di Mazzarri. Una delle sette tessere che mancano a un mosaico che a fine stagione potrebbe far materializzare nella citt partenopea un sogno nemmeno immaginato all'inizio del campionato.

Brescia-Bologna: scommettiamo che? Di Mauro Giordano Dopo la sosta dovuta agli impegni della nazionale toccher a Brescia e Bologna riaprire le danze del campionato. Sabato alle 18 il Rigamonti sar il palcoscenico di una sfida che in questi giorni ha appassionato molto il mondo degli scommettitori, un po' meno chi si interessa di valori tecnici e tattici.

Life without Fredy Montero will start this weekend, hopefully only this weekend due to his injury and recovery. Tomorrow the lineup card will be posted, and you'll see who we expect Sounders coach Sigi Schmid to start as his two forwards, but today let's just look at what could happen. First let's look within Sigi's Arrow, second at changes that could be inspired by San Jose Earthquakes stadium and then by just outright let's do something different.

Maybe we should have seen this coming, but we now have a bona fide position battle going on in the Seattle Sounders midfield. Through three games, we've seen three combinations, six different starters and eight players see time at the four standard midfield positions.

Only Osvaldo Alonso has started all three matches at the same position (ostensibly the center defensive midfielder), but it's also safe to say Steve Zakuani is the clear first-choice on the left side.

GUATEMALA CITY The president of a soccer team whose second-in-command was killed two days ago has also received threats apparently related to the club's poor performance, Guatemalan police said Sunday. Carmelino Hidalgo, a spokeswoman for police in the northern province of Huehuetenango, said Xinabajul club president Mauro Rodriguez reported receiving threats as did [.

Xoloitzcuintles jugó con 10 desde el minuto 20

TIJUANA, BAJA CALIFORNIA._ el Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente y los Albinegros de Orizaba protagonizaron un cerrado empate a cero goles en la cancha del Estadio Caliente en duelo de la jornada 8 del Clausura 2011 en la Liga de Ascenso del futbol mexicano.

Por Gastón del Torto
En la última fecha del hexagonal final del Sudamericano de Perú 2011, la Selección Argentina venció a Colombia 2-0 y selló su participación para el Mundial Sub 20 que comenzará el 29 de julio en tierra cafetera.
Más allá de las dificultades, Argentina comenzó el encuentro predispuesta a convertir la mayor cantidad de goles para luego esperar una ayuda uruguaya.

Talenti Argentini: Mauro Abel Formica Di Simone Melis Nato: Rosario 4 aprile 1988Soprannome: El GatoSquadra: Newell's (ceduto al Blackburn)Ruolo: CentrocampistaAltezza: 175 cmPeso: 73 kg E' cresciuto in una squadra che ha avuto due dei più forti talenti della storia del calcio, Lionel Messi e Diego Armando Maradona, quindi non può essere un giocatore qualsiasi.

It's transfer deadline day in England, and with numerous things still up in the air it remains to be seen whether Blackburn Rovers really are going to secure the signature of Newell's Old Boys' playmaker Mauro Formica whose move ... Continue reading →

It hasn't been a good week for Lazio, on Wednesday they lost to Roma in the Coppa Italia and today they lost 3-1 to Bologna and fell below Roma on the Serie A table. To make matters worse, it appears that Lazio's Mauro Zárate managed to make contact with a referee when throwing a punch during a post match dispute with Bologna players.