It was a Papuan derby in South Jakarta. Persiram Raja Ampat don't have a stadium that meets ISL standards so they have become a bit nomadic this season; this was their third home game at Lebak Bulus while they have also used Surajaya Stadium in Lamongan.

At the weekend the ‘hosts' earned their first win of the season, defeating Deltras 3-1, a result that had Deltras coach Jorg Steinbrunner fuming over what he saw as poor refereeing decisions that cost him the match while Persidafon, up in Palembang, were trounced 5-0 by Sriwijaya.

Here is my thinking:

1. Harry is battered and bruised after the court case, just look at the interview this morning outside his home in Dorset. Think all the media pressure and the cushy job at Spuds, no doubt a massive pay rise and more money for players to come from Levy will mean... thanks but no thanks.

As the build up continues and gathers pace for the big game this Saturday against our hated arch-rivals, Liverpool, the team we love to hate and that too with a passion wherever you are in the globe,...
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Yesterday in a comment on here I said that passion is not equivalent to anger. Once you start confusing the two, people begin using the notion to justify all sort of idiocy. I was looking for a way to make my point [...] Read the original post on Pissing Red

Rafael Da Silva has made just three league appearances this season after bad luck with injuries have kept him out of the team. Even when he does get on the pitch, there are plenty of tongue in cheek sweepstakes amongst United fans predicting what time he will be subbed off with an injury.

Rafael has reflected on this bad luck but wonders whether his style of play has an influence on it.

No goals. No clean sheet. No points. No drive. No passion. No desire. No shape. No tactics. No ideas. No creativity. No threat. No positivity. No hope? [...] Read the original post on Through the seasons before us

Relive the 2010 World Cup through this amazing documentary by One Goal. Their film project followed the American Outlaws (and other American soccer fans) to South Africa. Their footage shows the amazing passion for soccer in the United States and the future for the sport in this country.

The Portland Timbers announced another signing today, to the coaching ranks, in Cameron Knowles. Cameron as many of you know played for the Timbers during their USL era from 2007 until 2010. During that time he played in 77 games and was an integral part of the defense.
John Spencer says:

"I'm really pleased we can add Cameron to our staff.

Taye Taiwo has finally been officially unveiled as Queens Park Rangers' new signing this January and the player express his gratitude towards the club's manager, Mark Hughes, who reportedly was then one asking for the Nigerian international.

The six months loan deal with possible buy out clause at the end of season was actually done few days ago, but it's just got active after Taiwo received his working permit, a basic conditions for foreigners to play in the premier league.

By Sharon Hom
Head Coach Randall Porter about the away games in Cincinnati and Detroit – how well the team did and what he learned from this road trip:
"To be honest, I don't think we fared as well as we hoped we'd fare.

My dear beloved Forest, what on earth has happened to us? We used to have such great times and were so happy together and now we just seem to be drifting apart. Your flowing moves used to excite me to the point of distraction, and the climax to those moves was often unbelievable. Your passion and commitment used to warm me on a cold Saturday afternoon when we spent time together, but now your caresses have become cold and uncaring.

My dear beloved Forest, what on earth has happened to us? We used to have such great times and were so happy together and now we just seem to be drifting apart. Your flowing moves used to excite me to the point of distraction, and the climax to those moves was often unbelievable. Your passion and commitment used to warm me on a cold Saturday afternoon when we spent time together, but now your caresses have become cold and uncaring.

I love this clip. The frenzy associated with the Milan derby is captured perfectly. Part real passion, part theatrics. Tiziano Crudeli is a legend in AC Milan circles. He was not happy with the result obviously. And the female announcer is the cutest ever in that sea of testosterone.

Recently Pat McStay of Virginia Online Soccer News was able to catch up with Christian Metzler of Woodbridge, VA. Metzler who is an All-State goalkeeper recently received the first annual Inspirium Soccer Award along with a $7,500 academic scholarship.
Woodbridge Goalkeeper wins Inspireum Soccer Award, Scholarship
Watch his inpirational video!

Well that did take long. About 48 hours after firing Neil Warnock, QPR have hired Mark Hughes as their new manager.

Hughes told QPR.co.uk:

"It's a great feeling to be back in football and to be the manager of QPR. I'm fully aware of the challenge in the short and long term and I am genuinely excited about the ambition of the owners.

Well that did take long. About 48 hours after firing Neil Warnock, QPR have hired Mark Hughes as their new manager.

Hughes told QPR.co.uk:

"It's a great feeling to be back in football and to be the manager of QPR. I'm fully aware of the challenge in the short and long term and I am genuinely excited about the ambition of the owners.

At the Ballon d'Or ceremony last night, Sir Alex Ferguson was presented with the FIFA presidential award for services to football.

Ferguson claimed he was lucky to have managed so many great players who have helped him achieve the success he's had.

"It is an honour for me in the twilight of my life and very, very much appreciated," said Ferguson.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been given the FIFA presidential award for services to football. The United manager was presented with the award by FIFA president Sepp Blatter at the FIFA Ballon d'Or gala in Zurich.

Talking about SAF, Blatter said:

"Elite football is all about results and winning and there is no one better at it than him.

After much posturing, debate and media assumptions it seems David Beckham has made the decision not to move to Paris-St. Germain for 2012. The club's sporting direct Leonardo has told the media that the club's pursuit of the star is "finished".
Leonardo was the manager of AC Milan during Beckham's loan there in 2010.

Won on the lips Fan kiss a player right on the mouth by Anatolly7 Sunderland striker Ji Dong-Won got an unsolicited introduction to the passion of English football with a post-goal snog from a persistent fan. The South Korean starlet found himself on the receiving end of some love from a Black Cats supporter after [.

If you were getting bored with American soccer news and the MLS off-season, then you certainly have something to catch your attention now. Today via twitter American soccer play Preston Zimmerman set a debate in motion that will likely be rolling around for a while. The young attacker wrote a diatribe that brings several issues to the forefront of conversation and there were two points that should be taken note of.

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has reiterated his desire to return to the English Premier League after his spell at Real Madrid is over.

Mourinho told BBC Radio Four's Today programme last week:

"I am very, very happy to be in Real Madrid. It is a great experience for me.

U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati speaks to U.S. supporters (including the American Outlaws) in Chicago. He might have been taking about this....
The idea is simple: invite your friends to a soccer game, buy them a beer. There... you've done it! You're now a participant in the Free Beer Movement.

FIFA's Club World Cup is again taking football down the wrong alley. FIFA is looking at the financial gains in organizing this competition instead of prioritizing the 3 key points that matter most:

• Stay close to the fans of the competing clubs
• Bring back the passion of a 2 leg competition in the home stadiums of the 2 finalists
• Limit this to a European vs South American champion final (until other continents reach the same level of football excellence)

Instead of that, the current edition is played in the neutral grounds of Japan or UAE for so-called football promotion efforts and some degree of sponsorship pressure (thanks Toyota.

These are not the Dubes you're looking for It's Michael Duberry. But with boobs. It's Michael Booberry. The former Chelsea defender is now plying his trade in League Two with Oxford United, where the Christmas parties are every bit as wild as the Premier League. Well, we're assuming that this was for a Christmas party.

Mario Balotelli and Micah Richards have been involved in a training ground bust-up. The pair squared up to each other at the end of a practice game ahead of Manchester City's match against Arsenal on Sunday. The confrontation followed a war of words. Richards was particularly angry by what had been said, the Guardian reports.

What does it mean to be a fan of the Houston Dynamo? It's a simple question which I am sure everyone will have an answer to, some similar, some not so much. It begs the follow-up question, what are the varying degrees of being a fan of the Dynamo? Is being a fan bleeding Orange every day? Is it attending or viewing as many games each season?

Liverpool defender Sebastian Coates has declared that he cannot wait to run onto the pitch at Anfield and hear the loyal supporters roar the team on.
The Uruguay international signed for the Reds in August and has made four appearances so far which have all been away from home.
The young centre-back has watched many games from the bench this season and he has expressed his desire to play in front of the Kop fans at home.

Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva is (sadly) out for injured for the rest of the season, and there are several candidates in the frame to cover for him, including Jay Spearing, Jordan Henderson and Jonjo Shelvey. Craig Bellamy has played alongside all three (either in training or on the field), and he reserved special praise for one of the three youngsters.

So last week, despite making it difficult for ourselves, we managed to get all three points at home. Great. But here comes the true test can we back it up with another strong performance? Will we see the same passion, desire and teamwork that was evident against Gold Coast? I think so. I hope

NBC Sports announced today that it has hired Arlo White as the play-by-play voice of its MLS coverage starting in 2012. White had served as the voice of the Seattle Sounders the past two seasons.

His first broadcast with NBC Sports will be March 11 on opening weekend.

"It is a tremendous honor for me to join the NBC Sports Group, an organization that I have revered from afar for many years," said White in a news release.

So now we enter into that long, dark, cold, lonely time that the more cavalier among us call the "offseason". Basically, we won't be seeing any real MLS action until March. Granted, there's the Superdraft and some other small events in between, but for the most part we're now adrift in an MLS-less winter.

By Alan Duffy

Won Jae Yang wants to be Bath City manager, and he wants it bad. The 17-year-old Korean student has bombarded the Blue Square Premier League strugglers with in excess of 100 emails highlighting how the club can improve and how he's the man/boy to replace current manager Adie Britton and lead them to glory.

Why Le Classique is shaping up to the best since the Marseille kids upset PSG in 2006

MirrorFootball is teaming up with some of the blogosphere's best new writers to bring you even more great football reads every single day. Thursday is Ligue 1 day, and here's French Football Weekly's Andrew Gibney with his take on events across the Channel.

"Tipoooo! Want a signed copy of my autobiography?" is probably what Ibrahimovic asked good ol' Messi in this photo, after Milan's 2-3 loss to Barcelona last night. Neither side really have anything to worry about they're both through to the second round!

Back to the future: How Liverpool and Bellamy could make history today

Any Liverpool fans watching Craig Bellamy on the club's TV station at the weekend, must surely have been heartened by the experience. Here was a player with passion for his employers, and not only because they deposit a huge check in his bank account every month.

Decided tonight, in the midst of some serious procrastination, to check on the old blog and see how it's gone. I'm very pleased to know that my post regarding the average number of minutes of actual playing time is the most commonly cited post on here. While I enjoyed the momentary notariety that came with predicting Jorge Larrionda would red card an American midfielder in our Confederations Cup match against Spain in 2009, I didn't start the site to criticize refs.

More from Grant v. Garb...

SI.com: Is it possible you may have some teams not playing each other at all in the regular season next year?
Garber: Yeah. Just by the fact it'll be unbalanced. That's possible.
SI.com: That sounds like a bummer.

News has broken today that Dennis Wise has agreed to re-join the board of the Chelsea Pitch Owners as one of two new directors. If you hadn't heard, the statement released by the CPO said:

"Dennis is delighted to rejoin as a director. As a hugely popular former skipper of the Blues, he has a passion for Chelsea, and in particular for the fans, and sees this as an opportunity to reconnect with his football 'family'.

I forced myself to watch the England against Spain game delay on Saturday night. I didn't have high expectations. And I wasn't excited about watching the England team play. They've lacked the passion for so long when they've played that ...
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