We're a small city in a region of 700,000 people. Not a professional mens football team worthy of a mention, not now, not in living memory.
And yet we still produce quality - quality footballers and in the case of Joe Simunic, Carl Valeri who are both still playing, star Internationals.
Throw in excellent A-League stalwarts, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Matty Kemp and Brisbane Roars Kofi Danning and we've almost got a half a team.

BY ADAM SERRANO

Friday's scrimmage between the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy may have been a rematch of the 2011 MLS Cup, but last November's match was far from the minds of all involved.

The Dynamo defeated the Galaxy 1-0 after Nathan Sturgis scored the lone goal of the match on a header from a looping cross from Josue Soto in the 68th minute.

The Rapids open the regular season 1 month from today against the Crew. Tonight they'll play San Jose in San Luis Obispo. The Earthquakes will be streaming the game live on both team's websites.
We also found out today that Colorado will announce the new Argentine midfielder at 3pm on Monday.

Newly promoted Persidafon have become the ISL's whipping boys. Back to back thumpings, 5-0 at Sriwijaya, 5-2 at Persiram, have left them 15th in the 18 team league with nine points from their opening 11 games. Of concern to Sergei Dubrovin will be a defence that has leaked 30 goals in that time; an ignominy they share with fellow Papuans Persiram.

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson believes that playing at Old Trafford tomorrow afternoon could actually prove beneficial for the Reds, who have not been at their best at home this season.

Despite using the Kop to their advantage to knock Manchester City out of the Carling Cup and Manchester United out of the FA Cup, Liverpool's league form at Anfield has been nothing to rave about.

Photo: Courtesy of Philadelphia Union

After last week's tumultuous events concerning the departures of Sebastien Le Toux and Faryd Mondragon from the Philadelphia Union, and the cancellation of the WPS season, this week's installment of the Philly Soccer Show podcast slows down the pace with a look at the Union as they begin training camp in Orlando.

Israeli midfielder Ashraf Soliman was involved in arguably the most exciting game of his life when Maccabi Umm al-Fahm took on Hapoel Afula in a cup tie. With his team 2-1 up and injury-time looming, Soliman contrived to score perhaps the worst (or best depending how you look at it) own goal ever as he [.

Pint-sized midfielder Jay Spearing is aiming to be in peak condition for the big match tomorrow. So much so that he's installed a home gym of sorts. Via @FeintZebra

By Chris Wright

While making their way home from an away match against Kardemir Karabükspor a couple of nights ago, Turkish top flight side Samsunspor flirted with disaster when their team coach was side-swiped by a train on a level crossing.

The incident was captured on CCTV.

Nicklas Bendtner and Lee Cattermole have both been charged with five counts of criminal damage in relation to an incident involving cars parked in Newcastle city centre. Midfielder Cattermole, aged 24, and 23-year-old Danish striker Bendtner were both arrested following an incident in Stowell Street on 6 December.

photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Real Salt Lake are looking to the future just as much as they are hoping to win an MLS Cup title in 2012.

Real Salt Lake announced four moves on Thursday, including the re-signings of Fabian Espindola and Ned Grabavoy.

Ivory Coast midfielder Jean Jacques Gosso Gosso celebrates his team's progress to the final by mounting Emmanuel Eboue. How nice! Image: FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images.

Well, despite our promises, the Africa Cup of Nations has been continuing without us paying it the slightest bit of attention.

In one of the biggest upsets in the history of the U.S. Men's National Team, the USA beat Brazil 1-0 on Feb. 11, 1998, in the semifinal of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. That game was the first U.S. win against the South American side, and today it remains the only time in 16 matches the U.S. has emerged victorious.

Park Ji-sung has silently achieved a feat that many cannot even think of - to play 200 games for Manchester United. He completed the milestone when he was introduced as a substitute in United's staggering comeback draw at Chelsea on last Sunday. The 30-year-old energetic midfielder who joined Manchester United in 2005 from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven was considered a money-making venture by many

This is a bit delayed, but in case you missed it, earlier this week the Revolution welcomed 5 new trialists to training camp. Three of them are relatively unknown: Patrick Otte, Gabe Mercier, and Brandin McClay. Otte, a midfielder, currently plays for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL.

FC Barcelona booked their place in the Copa Del Rey final with a 2-0 victory against Valencia at Camp Nou. Goals from Cesc Fabregas and Xavi gave Barca a bit of nervous victory. Now the final will be against Atletic Bilbao, between the two most successful teams in the Copa Del Rey history.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

By ADAM SERRANO

CARSON, Calif. – The Colorado Rapids squeaked past Chivas USA, 1-0, in a physical preseason scrimmage between the two sides on Tuesday.

Second-half substitute Quincy Amarikwa put the Rapids ahead in the 85th minute.

Harry Redknapp is a free man.

Redknapp and Sheffield Wednesday owner Milan Mandaric were acquitted of tax evasion charges after being found not guilty of avoiding to pay taxes on payments made into an offshore account in Monaco between 2002 and 2007, when both men were at Portsmouth.

Outside of Harry's court case, the issues surrounding John Terry and the England captaincy have been firmly in the media spotlight this week and while the attention is currently on manager Fabio Capello, two of Tottenham's England internationals could be set to profit from the affair.

Scott Parker emerged last season to command a regular place in the England side and since his move to White Hart Lane, our outstanding midfielder must surely be one of the first names on Capello's team sheet.

Now that the dust has settled, here's a look at some of the transfers that took place during the January transfer window, and see if we can separate the wheat from the chaff.

Whereas last season money was being splashed out on the likes of Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll like a mad gambler who got his greasy mits on a load of free bets, the window this time around was a lot more sensible, indicating a lot less value in the market.

AC Milan will be looking to put behind them their disastrous weekend outing when they host Juventus at the San Siro tonight in the Coppa Italia first leg semi-final. With Juventus also having settled for a similar barren draw with Siena in the weekend, the match will definitely be an explosive one.

Even though they're one of the biggest teams in the world when it comes to money, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told a Belgian publication that he can only splash out on new players once the team has made a profit of £20 million. This apparently means he's admitting there's a restriction on his spending at the London club and he's worried the team will suffer because of it.

For many, there has been a belief that in order to get the most out of Charlie Adam he must be played as part of a three-man midfield, alongside players who will be able to cover for his shortcomings and in doing so allow him to do what he does best—break down tough opponents and create scoring opportunities.

David Silva is behind more goals than any other midfielder, having a total of 17 goals and assists, followed by Gareth Bale on 16. Nani and Mata are tied on 13, Valencia and Nasri on 10, Giggs with 9 and Young on 7. However, when you take in to consideration the games they've actually played in, specifically focussing on starts, Giggsy comes out top with an impressive 1.

Athletic Bilbao midfielder Oscar de Marcos insists his side will show Mirandes total respect on Tuesday night as the two clubs clash in the Copa del Rey semi-final.

Athletic, whose record of 23 Copa titles is second only to Barcelona (25), are favourites heading into the semi-final second leg after earning a 2-1 lead from last week's first meeting at Mirandes' Anduva stadium.

The Philadelphia Union announced that Keon Daniel, along with Danny Mwanga, has joined the team at its preseason training camp in Florida today.

The 25-year-old has been missing from the Union since a September call up to the Trinidad and Tobago national team. Daniel left the United States on August 28 or 29, then did not re-enter the country until possibly today.

Jose Balcazar - No position announced (Deportivo Cali)
Joe Bendik - Goalkeeper (Sogndal)
Lance Davids - Midfielder (Lierse SK)
Miguel Ibarra - Midfielder
Ryan Kawulok - Defender
Brendan King - Midfielder
Sebastián Rincon - Forward (Santa Fe, Colombia)
Franck Songo'o - Midfielder (Albacete Balompie)

Per the Timbers site, here are the non-roster/trialists that are in California with the Timbers.

All had been quiet on the Luka Modric front until the end of last week when Spurs midfielder and Everton loanee Steven Pienaar made comments to the press suggesting that Tottenham would have difficulty in holding on to their Croatian genius once the season comes to an end.

It's worth looking at the South African's quotes in full,

"Luka is a top player for Spurs and if he leaves it is hard to say what will happen there," Pienaar told the Sunday Mirror.

Anderlecht midfielder Sacha Kljestan fired home the second via free kick in their 4-2 victory over Belgian holders Genk (not to be confused with Mix Diskerud's Gent, as can easily occur).The clip may take a while, but it'll surface sooner or later.- Greg Seltzer

By Chris Wright

I'm willing to bet your gut reaction to the news that Sergio Busquets got well and truly knobbled in a challenge with Real Sociedad's Carlos Martinez during the home side's 2-1 win at the Nou Camp last night was somewhere along the lines of 'what goes around, comes around' but that doesn't make the deep laceration that the Barca midfielder suffered any less grotesque.

Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing's bid to establish himself as a viable replacement for Lucas Leiva was disrupted recently with a red card and an injury in quick succession recently, but the homegrown midfielder returned to great effect against Manchester City and Wolves, and according to Liverpool legend Jan Molby, Spearing is becoming one of the most important players in Kenny Dalglish's team,

Arsene Wenger was allegedly seen loading briefcase after briefcase of unmarked bills into each of the Blackburn players' cars at precisely noon today in every time zone.

The 7-1 home exhibition match between Arsenal and Blackburn in the early kickoff Saturday contained everything anyone could ask for in a match.

Photo: Random free speech/satire from the Internet

Philly native Dan Borislow continues to show he has absolutely no shame or class by pushing for his Florida club to play friendlies this season while the rest of WPS had to cancel their season because of legal battles with Borislow.

-
- From Bushman Photo Archives
-
- For comprehensive and latest QPR news-related pieces and discussion, visit the football-only, somewhat-different QPR Report Messageboard. All QPR Perspectives genuinely welcomed! Or comment on any of the articles posted below - QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!

In this week's Philly Soccer Show podcast, your co-hosts KYW's Greg Orlandini and PSP's Eli Pearlman-Storch are joined by Philadelphia Union and USMNT U-23 midfielder Amobi Okugo and Delco Daily Times journalist Chris Vito.

In part one, Okugo talks with Greg and Eli about the upheaval on the team after the departure of forward Sebastien Le Toux and captain, goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon.

During his playing career, Liverpool legend Graeme Souness played alongside some fantastically talented players, and according to the combative midfielder, Spurs legend Glenn Hoddle is as good as any of them.In an interview with TalkSport, Souness enthused:"He [Hoddle] was a star. "He had ridiculous ability, and in terms of sheer talent, he was up there with anyone you want to name.

In our last poll, we asked whether the club needed to sign a striker, winger, attacking midfielder, or holding midfielder in the transfer window to shore up one of the areas of weakness that had become apparent over the course of the 2011-12 season. An overwhelming majority of nearly 70% said that what the club needed more than anything was a striker, while 17% said winger, 8% said attacking midfielder, and only 5% said holding midfielder.

By DAVID GUBALA

The Chicago Fire are now a good two weeks into their first phase of preseason camp and have been making all of the necessary adjustments as the start of the new 2012 campaign nears. Part of the preseason activity, though, has included shooting down rumors of a superstar Designated Player acquisition.

By Alan Duffy

The FA have finally decided that, until the John Terry case is resolved, the England man should be stripped of the captaincy. The FA expect the trial to be over and done with prior to the Euro Finals, but one wonders if JT will ever have the pleasure of sporting the captain's armband for his country again.

By Alan Duffy

Young midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong is one of the Premier League's more charismatic chaps, with his all-action and passionate performances on the pitch endearing him to Wolves' fans ever since he made his loan move from Arsenal.