Photo by ISIphotos.com

Even though TSG 1899 Hoffenheim was unceremoniously dumped out of the DFB Pokal quarterfinals by second-tier Greuther Furth on Wednesday, the match carried significance for one American.

U.S. Under-23 winger Joe Gyau, made his first-team debut for Hoffenheim, entering as an 80th-minute substitute for U.

We have seen how Liverpool suffered this season without any pace and creativity from midfield. Dalglish's preferred midfield foursome of Downing, Adam, Gerrard and Lucas will pass the ball to death but neither is comfortable to run with the ball.
Against teams that park the bus, especially teams that come to Anfield, the lack of unpredictability in the Liverpool play has caused the mighty Reds dearly.

However busy Gerland gardeners may have been to ensure this game would not be cancelled due to the current cold wave striking in Europe, the French football authorities tried to get a few more degrees in anticipating it to 4.15 PM instead of 9PM, in the hope that a few sunrays would heat up the atmosphere.

Gabon vs Mali 2012 AFCON Highlights Goals Video Mouloungui Diabate Penalty Shootout is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Gabon vs Mali 2012 AFCON Highlights Goals Video Mouloungui Diabate Penalty Shootout is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Gabon vs Mali 2012 ( Gabon Mali video below) Final score and result:- Gabon vs Mali 1-1 ( Mouloungui/ Diabate) Mali win 5-4 on penalties Libreville, Gabon- AFCON 2012 quarterfinals Mali progress [.

The Montreal Impact announced on Friday that more than 25,000 tickets were already sold for the home opener at Olympic Stadium, March 17, against the Chicago Fire.

The Impact are hoping to create a new record for attendance at the Olympic Stadium with additional sales leading up to the home opener.

Que dulce! Valencia kept to their promise to the fans last night and held Barca to a 1-1 draw with a 27th minute screamer from Jonas. Part of the promise was to play their best and not lose in front of the home fans, so this result is significantly better than a loss.

We've got to post a quick recap of what we watched this past weekend but first, very briefly, here are two games today that you could tune in for, in case you're looking for something to watch this afternoon/evening (depending on your timezone):

African Cup of Nations, Côte d'Ivoire vs Angola (1pmET, Al-Jazeera Sports / Eurosport International): The group stage of AfCON2012 wraps up over the next couple days.

Without a "Group of Death," and without 5 of the top 8 ranked African countries (Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa all failed to qualify), the opening stages of the African Cup of Nations lacks a bit in the tasty fixtures department. For perspective, Tunisia, the participating country with the fourth-highest FIFA ranking is still behind tiny Cape Verde Islands (who also did not qualify).

Two goals from Patrick Herrmann and another from highly rated forward Marco Reus guided Borussia Monchengladbach to a 3-1 win over Bayern Munich, cutting the Bavarians' lead atop the Bundesliga table to a single point.

Bastian Schweinsteiger struck late in the match for Bayern, but that was too little too late for the visitors, who could be joined at the summit by defending champions Borussia Dortmund over the weekend.

As if there was not enough drama the last time Ajax and AZ Alkmaar played.

AZ advanced to the quarterfinals of the Dutch Cup with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Ajax in their rescheduled round of 16 match on Thursday morning. A second-half penalty kick goal would be the decisive finish in a game that saw each team take and squander leads.

It's no wonder why Pepe is nicknamed "The Butcher."

The Real Madrid defender, who is either known for physical play or malicious attacks on his opponents depending on who you talk to, could face disciplinary action for deliberately stomping on Lionel Messi's hand during yesterday's Clasico.

In a game filled with attacking superstars, it was a pair of gritty defenders that decided the latest edition of El Clasico.

Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal turned around a 1-0 halftime deficit as Barcelona defeated eternal rivals Real Madrid, 2-1, at the Estadio Bernabeu in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey Wednesday.

Inter Milan - Genoa 3pm ET - GolTV The day's lone European game takes us to the San Siro for the Coppa Italia for the last game in the Round of 16. This is Inter's first game in the tournament, with the top eight Serie A clubs entering in this round. Genoa entered in the third round of Section 7, beating Nocerina and Bari to advance.

Bitter rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona are set to write the next chapter in their storied Clasico history as they meet in the opening leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (4 p.m., GOLTV/ESPN3.com).

While Barcelona is looking for revenge in this tournament after being beaten by Madrid in last year's final, it is Madrid that is looking to try to even the overall score.

Yet another Clásico the two Spanish superpowers meet again today, in what will be their 8th battle in the past 9 months (see table below). Real Madrid hosts Barcelona at the majestic Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, for the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal tie. Kickoff is at a very Spanish 10pm in Madrid, which corresponds to 4pmET/1pmPT here in the US (where ESPN Deportes and GolTV will be televising the match, and ESPN3.

Two of Spain's oldest rivals square off today in another Clasico in the Spanish Copa del Rey quarterfinals at Bernabeu. FC Barcelona head coach Pep Guardiola recently crowned FIFA 2011... Read more »

Here we go again.

The world's top rivalry takes center stage when Real Madrid hosts Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals (4 p.m., GOLTV/ESPN3.com), the first of two meetings in a week's time that will determine which club advances to the semifinals.

Ahead of the Supplimental Draft this morning, the Timbers announced the signing of Colombian defender Hanyer Mosquera. The signing has long been rumored and is likely one of the "significant (international) defensive signings" that Merritt Paulson hinted at before the Superdraft.

A central defender, Mosquera's highlight reel shows a player who is good at breaking up plays in the air or on the ground and one who is able to get forward and contribute a goal on occasion.

The MLS SuperDraft is over and teams are now gearing up for the start of training camps later this month. As typically happens this time of year, some of the best exposure for MLS came in the form of local newspaper articles about draftees. By covering the success of their locals products, these hometown papers expose the league and its teams to new audiences that typically don't receive coverage of soccer in their paper.

This week saw some serious Coppa Italia action as the Serie A was put on hold. On Tuesday, Lazio fielded a side culled from both their first team and reserves against Serie B side Hellas Verona – a gamble for which they almost paid dearly. After securing a 2-0 lead, Lazio seemingly fell asleep, and Hellas got back into the game with two goals in the second half.

Big time changes are ahead for the CONCACAF Champions League. A change that will certainly help out a couple MLS sides this summer.

Starting this summer, the two-leg preliminary round – in which 16 teams would face off in a home-and-home series – has been eliminated. Instead, all 24 teams in the event will be drawn straight into the group stage.

Dynamo get to skip preliminary round of ConcaChampions League

Other than the SuperDraft, there was some other news today. CONCACAF changed the format for the Champions League competition, eliminating the preliminary round. The four-year-old competition will remain a 24-club tournament, but instead of an initial knockout phase of 16 teams, all qualifiers will proceed to a main stage of eight, three-team groups, from which only the winners will advance to the quarterfinals.

The four-year-old competition will remain a 24-club tournament, but instead of an initial knockout phase of 16 teams, all qualifiers will proceed to a main stage of eight, three-team groups, from which only the winners will advance to the quarterfinals.

The knockout, or Championship Round, will not be altered.

Five years ago the New England Revolution won their first major title: the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Since then, the team's participation in the 98-year-old tournament has been less than memorable.

The Revs fell in the semifinals in 2008, lost in the third round in 2009 and failed to qualify for the competition the past two seasons.

The US Open Cup will have a slightly different format this year:

The biggest news is expanding the field to 64 teams, making it the largest in a modern era that started in 1995 (previous: 42 in 2005-06). That's an increase of 24 teams from last year and all professional clubs from the top three tiers of U.

Today, US Soccer has announced changes to the US Open Cup that had been rumored for a few months. Plenty of changes have been made to the format and the design of the tournament. As a whole, all the moves that were made I would say were for the better.
First, all 32 professional teams in the United States will be competing in the tournament.

US Open Cup Changes Announced

Great changes but they still have the blind bid system once the cup reaches the quarterfinals. Still don't like that system but apparently it is the only way to make the tournament financially viable.

The US Soccer Federation has approved a major change to the US Open Cup. A change that will certainly enhance how the tournament is played in the US.

The competition will feature a Modern Professional Era (1995-present) record 64 teams, including every US-based professional club in the American soccer pyramid from Major League Soccer (16 teams), the North American Soccer League (6 teams), and USL PRO (10 teams).

By FRANCO PANIZO

The 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will much different than any of its predecessors.

U.S. Soccer announced a number of changes for the 99th edition of the tournament. Those changes include a 64-team field (the largest in the modern era), a random selection process for determining home teams from the opening round until the quarterfinals, and the inclusion of all professional teams from the top three divisions, meaning the MLS qualifying bracket is no more.

U.S. Open Cup Changes Official: Sounders Open Play On May 29

The long-rumored changes to the U.S. Open Cup format are now official. The biggest changes have to do with all 32 pro teams gaining entry into the main draw, bringing the total field to 64 teams. MLS teams will start play in the third round on May 29.

Disaster for Malaga's goalie as Karim Benzema's speculative shot results in the ball squeezing past his arms and legs and trickles into goal. A case of the willies? It was actually the only blemish in an otherwise fine performance by Willy Caballero to keep Real at bay.

The 1-0 victory in the second leg gave Real a winning aggregate of 4-2 advancing them to the Copa Del Rey quarterfinals where they are almost sure to meet Barca, 4-0 winners against Osasuna in their first leg.

Brazilian Swag King Neymar arrived in Barcelona from Zurich last night to ... (*drumroll courtesy of Sandro Rosell*)... film a sports commercial. Unfortunately, he won't be staying in the city for very long and you can imagine how paranoid Santos is about keeping him anywhere near the Blaugranas, especially since they both share similar sponsorship agreements!

By FRANCO PANIZO

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Dom Dwyer did not know he was heading to the 2012 MLS Combine until a day before the event kicked off, but that did not stop him from having a decent showing at the event that he capped off with a goal.

Dwyer helped adiZero (blue) to a 3-1 win over Prime (green) on Tuesday morning, scoring an insurance goal in the 52nd minute of the game when he pounced on a rebound and knocked the ball into the back of the net.

It's back to Anfield for Liverpool as they host Blackburn in the penultimate match of 2011. Home victories have been hard to come by for Kenny Dalglish's squad, with only three wins in their eight matches at Anfield. There's no better opposition for remedying that problem than tomorrow's, though, as they'll face a Rovers side that's winless in eight away fixtures and stapled to the bottom of the Premier League table.

The presence of the holidays seems to signify to most MLS die-hards that the 2012 season grows ever-closer, and it's with that thought in mind we continue our player profiles with a pair of midfielders: National Champion UNC's Enzo Martinez, and Louisville's Nick DeLeon!

Enzo Martinez has been on the radar of MLS clubs for quite some time already.

"This ain't our house!"One of the worst kept cats in town is apparently out of the bag this afternoon. No, Nick Soolsma didn't visit the Humane Society - but John Molinaro at Sportsnet is reporting that Toronto FC will imminently announce that the Champions League Quarterfinal against LA Galaxy will be played at SkyDome.

With AC Milan in the runner-up pot, the odds of a high-profile matchup in the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League were quite high. As it turns out, the draw did not disappoint.

Arsenal got paired with Milan during Friday's Champions League draw, setting the stage for an intriguing battle in the tournament's Round of 16.

The draw for the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League is complete. The Chels popped out of that giant serving bowl very early on.

Who'd we get, then? Fucking Napoli.

Dangerous

I think we all agreed prior to the draw that all of our potential opponents in the first knockout stage of this competition represented tricky ties to navigate.

Two weeks after it was reported, the Portland Timbers have officially signed Colombian Jose Adolfo Valencia as a Designated Player.

The 19-year-old Valencia joins Portland from Colombian club Sante Fe pending the succesful completion of a physical, the Timbers announced on Thursday.

Mauro Rosales enjoyed an outstanding first season in Major League Soccer, leading Seattle's high-powered offense and earning MLS Newcomer of he Year honors in the process.

The Sounders rewarded Rosales outstanding debut, and secured his services in the process, signing the 30-year-old playmaker to a multi-year contract.