In this episode Luke is joined by Sports Illustrated journalist Grant Wahl to discuss the state of
US Soccer in both the men's and women's game. Wahl shares his views on Donovan, Dempsey, Solo and
the possibilities of a fourth DP in Major League Soccer. Daniel Paladini of the Chicago Fire also
drops in to talk about his resurgence in the line up, battling for a playing spot and the team
aspirations for the year.
The writers of MLSR take their picks in what we think will be the three most important matches
of the upcoming week. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below. PhiladelphiaUnion (5-9-2) vs. Sporting Kansas City (10-5-3)Lamar Hunt U.
The San Jose Earthquakes are no longer a one-man show, but that hardly means that their go-to
guy is not doing his part in the club's resurgence.
Chris Wondolowski's prolific season continued in April, as he scored four goals and had two
assists in helping lead the Earthquakes to a 3-0-1 record in the month and a place atop the Western
Conference standings to earn SBI MLS Player of the Month honors.
D.C. United are riding high on a six-game unbeaten streak following a 4-1 victory over the New
York  Red Bulls Sunday night.
Converted forward Chris Pontius is largely responsible for the resurgence in D.C., scoring four
goals, including a hat trick Sunday night, since being moved up top to provide the finishing touch
his club had been lacking.
FC Dallas is starting to think about a playoff push, something that would have been unthinkable
a month ago, before a dynamic Colombian duo stepped forward to revive a struggling Dallas
offense.
The Colombian connection of David Ferreira and Fabian Castillo have been the leading drivers of
an FC Dallas resurgence, and they were at it again on Wednesday night in Vancouver, manufacturing
both goals as FC Dallas posted an impressive 2-0 victory against the Vancouver Whitecaps in
Vancouver.
A little later than usual, but the information contained within is still just as relevant. As we
all know, the Portland Timbers' season has not gotten off to a great start. While things were
bright and cheery for the first couple games, things have gone decidedly sour since the New England
Revolution match.
Thanks to Mr. Peabody and Sherman for the Assist this Week Can you believe that
it has been nearly an entire month since SUB WATCH graced the pages of The Viper's Nest? Oppressive
summer heat, weekday games, a cross-country business venture and a top secret diversion into the
depths of the Marianas Trench are all to blame for this long absence.
It's matchday again @The Cathedral of Football, Red Bull Arena (built by Makita)! This time, our
glorious club takes on its I-95 rival Philadelphia Union (2:30pm ET, ESPN, match notes here). Let's
look at how both teams come into this one.
The Union are in the midst of a resurgence, as it has won the three MLS games played in the
month of July.
The Philadelphia Union continued their resurgence this past week by picking up a pair of
victories that has brought them within striking distance of other teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Union first grabbed a surprise 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center on
Independence Day before thoroughly beating Toronto FC, 3-0, at PPL Park on Sunday.
In an unprecedented twist, an asshat with a whistle made a mistake that drastically altered the
outcome of an MLS match, stretching the limits of fans' credulity and threatening any sense of
subtlety in online sarcasm. The incident put a damper on the Union's dramatic resurgence in recent
weeks, adding another loss to their shaky record, now standing at 3-9-2.
West Ham United skipper Kevin Nolan has hoped to re-ignite the Andy Carroll transfer saga,
insisting that he would be "delighted" to team up with the Liverpool striker once again.
Nolan and Carroll became close friends during the pair's time at Newcastle United, with their
camaraderie also resulting in a strong on-field showing during the resurgence of the Magpies
following relegation.
West Ham United skipper Kevin Nolan has hoped to re-ignite the Andy Carroll transfer saga,
insisting that he would be "delighted" to team up with the Liverpool striker once again.
Nolan and Carroll became close friends during the pair's time at Newcastle United, with their
camaraderie also resulting in a strong on-field showing during the resurgence of the Magpies
following relegation.
Joe Cole is determined to prove he can be a success at Liverpool and is delighted to be back with
the Premier League club.
The midfielder joined Liverpool on a free transfer in 2010 from Chelsea, but he made just nine
Premier League starts in his debut season before spending last term on loan in France with Lille.
Joe Cole hopes that he can use the 2012-13 campaign to help Liverpool reach their potential and
prove that he belongs at the "great" Merseyside club.
Former West Ham and Chelsea star Cole arrived at Anfield in a high-profile move two years ago
but after a disappointing first campaign, he was sent out on loan at French side Lille.
Group D favorites England and France meet in their opening match of the UEFA Euro 2012
tournament. The match will take place at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine with kickoff
scheduled for 18:00 local time.
France manager Laurent Blanc
"We've had our own problems too. Don't worry, the English will show up ready for us.
One question that often pops up in the English football themed chatter that I have with my mates
in the pub is "Which country should we go to, to watch a football game?" Whenever this has been
posed in the past, the answer that we usually settle on before our plans ultimately fizzle out due
to lack of funds or the inability to get the time off work, is Germany.
This list might very well create some controversy (hopefully positive) and that is fine.
Choosing this list is much like choosing who England should take to Euro 2012, everyone will have
an opinion and this opinion can be debated down at the pub until closing time. But I do want to set
a list of ground rules for my Premier League MVP XI.
After a campaign of both joy and despair, it has come to this. Spurs are within touching
distance of an automatic Champions League spot and although I would have been devastated by the
prospect had you told me this is where would would end up back in January, it is only thanks to a
resurgence in the last few games that we have any chance of playing against Europe's elite next
season.
Chelsea's Summer 2012 Transfer Targets - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Chelsea resurgence under Roberto Di-Matteo has been truly impressive this season. However, he
has inherited a squad whose quality and age has been questioned. Providing the Italian manager
keeps the Chelsea job on a permanent basis, I'm sure he'll make quite a few changes in summer to
re-invent the team as ‘his' side.
A late goal from Steve Morison helped Norwich secure a hard-fought 3-3 draw away to Arsenal,
condemning the hosts to two costly dropped points in Arsene Wenger's 900th match in charge.
Yossi Benayoun opened the scoring in the second minute to celebrate his 32nd birthday in style
but 10 minutes later, Wes Hoolahan punished Wojciech Szczesny's sloppiness to equalize for the
Canaries.
Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham's top four hopes to be decided today? - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
With as tight a race for Champions League qualification as in the recent memory, Chelsea,
Newcastle and Tottenham all have three games left to play to ensure a top-four finish. The Blues
have the FA Cup final on Saturday and their Champions League finale clash with Bayern Munich coming
up, but are the form side of the three.
FIFA Ranking: 50 (as of July, 2012) CAF Ranking: 2nd Coach: Enow Nagatchu Number of Olympics Appearances: This will be Cameroon's first time participating
in women's soccer at an Olympics.
Arsenal are about to sell their Russian midfielder-and then buy a Russian midfielder! by BA Andrey
Arshavin had a great start to Euro 2012 and has made Arsene Wenger's job of recouping some of his
transfer fee a lot easier. He has been on loan at his old club Zenit St. Petersburg and his
resurgence [.
Five reasons underdogs Chelsea can beat Bayern at the Allianz Arena - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
It has been quite the Champions League campaign this season, with a number of shocks, surprises
and upsets, none more so than the fact that Chelsea ousted Barcelona in the semi-finals to set up a
final against Bayern Munich.
On the eve of arguably their most important match of the season, Chelsea have strangely shown no
signs of any turmoil in Europe. With AVB, they set a new record in the 'least time with one
manager' category, and his memory seems to have lasted even less than the man himself. Of course,
that might have to do with the sudden resurgence in domestic form, Torres scoring again, John Terry
back to managing the team playing through pain and of course the minor matter of having beaten
Barcelona.
Now that Andre Villas-Boas' brief and confrontational reign at Chelsea has been mercifully end,
giving way to the club's resurgence under caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo, all the little
details about how AVB and Chelsea just weren't a good fit for each other are coming out.
According to the London Evening Standard, some in the dressing room came up with a nickname for
Villas-Boas, who served as Jose Mourinho's opposition scouting video compiler in his first stint at
Chelsea.
The gang is all here this week as we take a close look at all the controversial referee
decisions with none other than Shawn. We also have a full list of correspondents to talk about the
wild draw in Philadelphia, Dallas and Columbus' resurgence, and the wilting Chivas USA.
Correspondents include: DC, New York, Columbus, Dallas, Colorado, and Seattle
Storylines, storylines everywhere! Where do I start? We could start with the standings of the NASL,
in which the top four teams are all separated one point each? We could talk about the resurgence of
the Atlanta Silverbacks, who, despite having a whopping -14 goal differential, have moved out of
the cellar and have pushed Edmonton down into the bottom.
France were a laughing stock at the World Cup in 2010 but Laurent Blanc has come in and stabilised
the ship, meaning the French are now a dark horse to win the Euro 2012 tournament.
Roll back the clock two years to South Africa, and Raymond Domenech's squad was blighted by
in-fighting and other problems that saw them limp out in the group stages amid a mutiny led by
full-back Patrice Evra.
So our journey through the season (belatedly) continues. It's time to grade the midfield. I've
followed the club's definition of "midfielder for this – see the link here. So you'll have to
wait another day or two for the
Anyway, here goes.
Abou Diaby: F
I'm not going to lie, I find it hard to muster too much sympathy for anyone who has become a member
of a Premier League football squad.
Mike Williamson came in for the injured Steven Taylor in December and has fully played his part
in Newcastle's resurgence this season. Mike Williamson challenges Pablo Zabaleta on Sunday Mike
was a little rusty when he came back into the side, which was to be expected after being injured
in the Carling Cup tie at Scunthorpe United last August, but he quickly regained form and [.
A fine win, but one I followed only via the Opta messages on the notification screen of my phone. I
like to experience new matchday experiences, you see. It was a bit underwhelming if I'm honest.
Unlike the game itself, which from an Arsenal perspective at least was entirely whelming.
