Three big saves by Rimando in the penalty shootout keeps the Fire out. Ned Grabavoy nails the winning penalty kick after Fabian Espindola misses his chance. The Fire fell victim to a peculiar directional bias that made them test Rimando low on his left as Thorrington, Pause, and Prideaux became predictable.

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by FRANCO PANIZO

Nine spots remain for the 2010 World Cup, and four of those will be decided through the UEFA playoffs, which are set to begin on Saturday.

Russia-Slovenia, Greece-Ukraine, Portugal-Bosnia Herzegovina and France-Ireland are the two-legged playoffs that will determine which remaining UEFA teams punch their tickets to South Africa next summer.

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As we saw once again against Birmingham on Monday, Glen Johnson's best work this season continues to come when he's playing higher up the field. Should Liverpool capitalise on this and convert him into a permanent right-winger?
In my view, the Birmingham game illustrated once again the occasional defensive lapses to which Johnson is prone; his failure to push out quick enough meant Christian Benitez was onside when he scored the equalising goal. Click to continue reading...

Jozy Altidore is a hot prospect who could hold the key to the future success of the US National team's attacking prowess but it seems that livestock is not an area of expertise. Here is the video he posted on Twitter when he found the road ahead full of cute sheep. It should be noted that the Hull City man has previously been in trouble for using his Twitter account to apologise for arriving late to a Premier League game, hence his amusing reference to hopefully not being made to arrive late for training as a result of these pesky woolly animals.

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A petition had been sent to the Vatican to begin the process of recognizing all Valencia CF fans as saints.

Its to be expected of course seeing how much suffering we are forced to endure week in and week out.

My blood pressure is high and my finger nails are non-existant.

Valencia will surely be the death of me.

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by TRAVIS CLARK

Tournament season is finally here, and today marks the kickoff of one of the premier tournaments in men's college soccer. The ACC, regarded by many as the best conference in the nation, gets underway today with a play-in match between Clemson and Virginia Tech.

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by TRAVIS CLARK

Tournament season is finally here, and today marks the kickoff of one of the premier tournaments in men's college soccer. The ACC, regarded by many as the best conference in the nation, gets underway today with a play-in match between Clemson and Virginia Tech.

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It was the Friday before the start of the Premier League season and I was on a plane home. The two gentlemen next to me starting talking and the conversation soon moved to football. One of them was lamenting Southampton's relegation into League One, he then said to his friend, "So it's four years without a trophy now then?

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- In addition to this site, try the combination messageboard and quasi-blog QPR Report Messageboard. If your're interested in constantly-updated QPR-related news; QPR nostalgia; and some other broader football-related isssues: QPR Report Messageboard is there for you. All opinions welcome! Click to continue reading...

Arsenal eased past Dutch club AZ Alkmaar after their attacking prowess left the visitors little or no chance of securing a result at the Emirates Stadium. Cesc Fabregas bagged a brace with an impressive performance that showcased his skill, intelligence, and goal scoring capabilities as he marshalled the midfield. Click to continue reading...

When Robin Van Persie scored Arsenal's third in the North London derby against Spurs, it prompted me to draw comparisons with the Real Madrid legend Raul. He has scored seven goals in the league and been given the role of the top of the Gunners attack. He has previously been compared to Dennis Bergkamp who was a genius at linking up attacks with the rest of his teammates.

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Bordeaux earned a 2-0 result at the Allianz Arena to cruise past Bayern Munich and ensure a place in the next round of the Champions League. The visitors' prowess at set-plays was evident throughout the game, as every time a decision went the French way, minor problems in the Bavarian box were never far away. Click to continue reading...

Well hello there.

I see you've caught me talking on the phone. Perhaps you are extremely jealous that you don't have my undivided attention? ... No, I'm not on a phone sex hotline, I'm talking to my cousin Timitar about my fantastic goal against Blackburn. Ha-HA! It really was quite impressive.

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Guardian Headline: Phil Brown has insisted that his players are "a million per cent" behind him despite speculation mounting that his job as Hull City's manager is under threat.
Yes, of course the players are a million percent behind me; even though the media wants to drop an H-Bomb right over Kingston-upon-Hull, my players know that I am the greatest manager who has ever lived. Click to continue reading...

Otherwise, Chivas USA or the Galaxy could hook up with this guy who e-mailed me last month in the wake of a recent column about the two teams' lack of scoring prowess:

Hi Nick, I read the article today. If Chivas USA or even the Galaxy need an effective playmaker to win the league, you should hook me up.

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- Visit also the combination messageboard and quasi-blog QPR Report Messageboard. If you're interested in constantly-updated news re anything QPR-related (not infrequently not found on other QPR sites)and also QPR nostalgia, the QPR Report Messageboard has both - along with assorted eclectic non-QPR football material. Click to continue reading...

In a replay of a game canceled due to rain, the Frisco Tournament semi-final between Crocker and Laquey was played this afternoon.

Crocker Lions 4
Laquey Hornets 0

Teddy Ziegenbien continues his scoring prowess, getting 2 goals and 2 assists while Jessie Tart and Cody Williams also scored, with assists added by Cody Gibson and AJ Imilkowski.

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In a replay of a game canceled due to rain, the Frisco Tournament semi-final between Crocker and Laquey was played this afternoon.

Crocker Lions 4
Laquey Hornets 0

Teddy Ziegenbien continues his scoring prowess, getting 2 goals and 2 assists while Jessie Tart and Cody Williams also scored, with assists added by Cody Gibson and AJ Imilkowski.

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Remember Reyes or Cygan?

The European journey continues tonight for Arsenal against the champions of Dutch Eredivise, AZ Alkmaar. This is the first of back-to-back fixtures against the Ronald Koeman's team. Koeman who was at Arsenal's 6-2 thrashing of Blackburn, said that he saw some weakness in Arsenal's game during that game and will look to exploit it.

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Kansas City dropped a 3-2 result to Seattle Sounders FC tonight at CAB after falling behind early and surrendering a late lead. The Wizards had been eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the day by other results but could have put Seattle's playoff future in question with a win. As it turned out, Sounders FC clinched a playoff berth after a great performance from Designated Player and #10 Freddie Ljungberg. Click to continue reading...

With the Ballon d'Or nominations finally releasing this weekend, the headlines have mostly been devoted to the fact that world champions Italy have no representation whatsoever. But why blame the press for paying excessive attention to an irrelevant detail? After all, the award itself is destined to be heading Lionel Messi's way, which means very little is there to be talked about in terms of debating the winner, right?

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Reina
Skrtel Carragher Agger
Johnson Lucas Spearing Aurelio
Benayoun Kuyt Babel
Goals:
Bent 5'
A balloon takes the air out of Liverpool's title chances? A balloon, and Steve Bruce's balloon-shaped head.
If I don't laugh at this season's misfortunes, I'm going to cry. Click to continue reading...

In a Premier League full of seriously high stakes and grave financial ramifications for failure, it is easy to forget that football is just a game. And no player better embraced that philosophy - enjoying making a living playing the sport you love - than Dwight Yorke. For 15 Premier League seasons, the striker charmed English fans with his smiling demeanour and impressed them with his finishing prowess. Click to continue reading...

While Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas has clearly enjoyed his Spain side cruise to the World Cup 2010 finals with a perfect record (and no goals conceded at home), he has spoken to Arsenal.com to offer some backing to a couple of his teammates who won't be appearing in the showpiece event next summer.

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I noted in a recent post that so often, goals from set pieces can be the difference maker in Premier League games.
And at half time last night this looked to be the case. Two very evenly matched sides in terms of personnel and outlookwere seperated by a Richard Dunne (didn't you know it) header from a corner. Click to continue reading...

Manchester United's Michael Owen is going to become a father for the fourth time.

What's there to say: we all must bow down to his reproductive prowess.

Louise is a few months along and the baby is due in early March 2010. If you're not familiar with Mrs. Owen, she's a horse lover (much like her hubby), keeps out of the WAGtastic limelight, and she just keeps looking better and better after every baby.

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TORONTO - One of the positives to take out of the 2009 season was the performance of Rookie Sensation Rob 'The Rocket' Pikula, who's powerful kick is now known throughout the league.
Rob led all scorers this year with 9 goals, and missed very few games. His scoring prowess was a constant threat each game, and his fitness levels set the new PFC standard. Click to continue reading...

There are many legendary football players. There are many legendary hair styles. But only a select few managed to combine the two. Germany and Borussia Mönchengladbach playmaker Günter Netzer is one who had the hair of legends.

This post sets out to tell its' story.

Season 1965/1966 to 1966/1967

Here's the template from which to start.

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Ahead of this match at the DW Stadium, Gianfranco Zola has no injury worries except calf trouble from Jack Collision sustained during a Wales U-21 match. More good news is that Valon Behrami and Alessandro Diamanti had a fantastic reserves match against Birmingham City. Behrami and Diamanti are fast becoming great friends and that is sure to be helping Diamanti settle in at West Ham. Click to continue reading...

£80million

Right so; two players left two teams from the EPL for hotter climes this season; which have neutered two sides. Xabi Alonso was the first and now Liverpool find themselves at a loss to explain what it is exactly Lucas brings to the side. With two forgettable wingers, (although I do rate Riera at times) Stevie G finds himself clipping his fangs; meandering around the centre circle for 80mins.

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Controversial Chelsea youngster keeps hitting on other people's girlfriends The player at the centre of the Chelsea tapping-up storm has been making a few illegal approaches. Chelsea's Gael Kakuta is always attempting to chat up women with boyfriends on nights out, according to his academy team-mate Jacob Mellis (1min 55secs). Click to continue reading...

by CARL ELDRIDGE Nicklas Bendtner may well have looked pretty in pink but the most ardent Arsenalista out there must admit the great Dane didn't suit his outlandish footwear nor, indeed, did he live up such a flamboyant choice of footwear that often.

But fair play to Bendy boy, he has ditched the pink 'uns and you can buy them from him if you so desire because he is flogging them on eBay to raise cash for Danish charity. Click to continue reading...

Some moments are never meant to be forgotten. The entire world of football witnessed one such shocking moment a little less than two years ago in London. On a rainy evening at Wembley, hosts England were expected to advance to the finals of Euro 2008 with just a draw needed against visiting Croatia.

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Fabio Capello has backed Glen Johnson's defensive capabilities amid criticism of the Liverpool man's preference to bomb forward rather than defend.
The buccaneering right-back has enjoyed a brilliant start to his new career at Anfield and has been arguably the club's standout performer to date since his big-money move from Portsmouth. Click to continue reading...

via GettyImages

Don't you love it when strikers deliver as promised? It's what you'll get if you listen to David Villa! In La seleccion's triumphant 5-0 victory over Belgium last night, he reminded the world of his prowess by scoring a double despite a missed penalty in the first half.

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