Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com

After coming off a dominant run through CONCACAF Olympic qualifying, the U.S. women's national team had its hands full Saturday night with New Zealand before rising star Alex Morgan came to the rescue.

Morgan scored in the 88th minute and again in stoppage time to help the U.

Having already qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics by winning Friday's game versus Costa Rica, the USWNT's win over Canada in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament was the icing on the cake. The Canadian side came into tonight's match with a lot of confidence, but when it came time to perform, fell quite short.

Apparently, the best player in the world debate is fat from over judging from the recent comments made by Argentine football legend Diego Maradona. The Al Wasl coach claims that old age is starting to affect Pele's Judgement.

Now, it is starting to get amusing watching these fromer greats tearing into each other verbally concerning the best player in the world so to end this debate once and for all (however impossible that may be), we are asking for your opinion.

Marco Reus, the rising star in the German Bundesliga having helped Borussia Mönchengladbach to a respectable fourth place during the winter break, will be leaving the club at the end of the season to play for Borussia Dortmund.

It was announced today on Mönchengladbach's website that the player will remain at the club for the 2011-12 season before signing a five year deal with the current German champions Dortmund for a transfer fee of 17,5 million Euros.

Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has advised his club against buying rising star Marco Reus. The 22 year Borussia Mochengladbach player has been the centre of attention for a number of clubs including Arseanl who had shown an interest in him early last month.

Surprisingly, the reason why Schweinsteiger is opposed to Reus's move is because Reus is a direct rival for his position in the team.

Juan Agudelo will have a chance to impress at Liverpool beginning today as the New York Red Bulls rising star begins a two-week trial on Merseyside.

Agudelo is the youngest player in national team history to score for the United States, having scored on his debut against South Africa on November 17, 2010.

By Andrew Villegas Yeoman Dwayne De Rosario has one goal every 173 minutes this year. Sebastien Le Toux has one every 270. Rising Star Brek Shea? One every 241 minutes. And Charlie Davies, that death-defying, on-loan, one-time USMNT'er? He's scored one goal every 137 minutes, better than them all. Yet, there Davies is every week, [.

Brek Shea is a rising star in American soccer, and the 6'3" Texan has quite an athletic pedigree.
Shea's father played quarterback at Virginia Tech and Brek played quarterback and safety in middle school.
While at the U.S. training camp Brek explained to the Miami Herald's Michelle Kaufman why he chose soccer over football:
"Football was too much yelling, too strict, and soccer gave me more freedom and ability to express myself.

Holden is back and ready to get in the mix
U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden is back in business after playing for the first team at Bolton in their 1-0 victory on Sept. 20 against Aston Villa, ending a rehab stint of precisely six months and two days.
We spoke with Stuart in this exclusive Q&A about his feelings about the return, his performance, and his conversation with U.

Sebastian Coates insists the challenge of adapting to a new country and making a name for himself were the reasons behind his Liverpool switch.
The Uruguay international moved to Anfield before the transfer window closed and he made his debut in Sunday's 4-0 defeat to Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

When it was discovered today that Bobby Rhine passed unexpectedly of a heart attack, it hit the greater MLS community fairly hard. Rhine had played 10 years with Dallas and just recently entered the broadcasting field as a rapidly rising star. Fans in Dallas are holding a memorial this evening. His family is asking for donations made in his name to the FC Dallas foundation.

While Everton might be a mess, when it comes to come money, they do have something to smile about: Ross Barkley. Everton's rising star Barkley is the best come out of their academy since Rooney. Over the last couple of years, Everton's academy has produced a ton of talent over the last couple of years and is starting to look like the West Ham Academy that produced so many great players in the '90's.

By ADAM SERRANO

The chase for Club Tijuana forward Joe Benny Corona just got a bit more interesting.

Corona has been called up by Mexico's Under-22 side for a pair of matches against Chile's Under-22s. Corona is joined on the roster by another California native, Chivas de Guadalajara left back Miguel Angel Ponce.

Representatives of Uruguay defender Sebastian Coates fly to Europe as Liverpool & Manchester City prepare offers – report

The departure of Sotiris Kyrgiakos has convinced Kenny Dalglish that he needs to sign a new centre-back, but Roberto Mancini does not want to miss out on the rising star

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-08-23 15:36:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Representatives of Uruguay defender Sebastian Coates fly to Europe as Liverpool & Manchester City prepare offers – report

The departure of Sotiris Kyrgiakos has convinced Kenny Dalglish that he needs to sign a new centre-back, but Roberto Mancini does not want to miss out on the rising star

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-08-23 15:36:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Representatives of Uruguay defender Sebastian Coates fly to Europe as Liverpool & Manchester City prepare offers – report

The departure of Sotiris Kyrgiakos has convinced Kenny Dalglish that he needs to sign a new centre-back, but Roberto Mancini does not want to miss out on the rising star

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-08-23 15:36:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Recently I've been spending some time analyzing designated players around the league. The results of DPs on the field have been a mixed bag despite the immense amount of attention they receive when they enter the league. Some are consistently in the pack of the best players in MLS. Others barely see the field.

Joey Barton welcomes Gervinho to life in the Premier League with an embrace

Us Arsenal fans have been approaching the beginning of this new campaign with a sense of dread. On the field, the team fell of a cliff last spring in quick sucession, they handed the Carling Cup to Birmingham in the waning minutes; got eliminated from the Champions League yet again by nemesis Barcelona, and fell from within striking distance of the top of the Premier League to barely hanging on to a Champions League spot.

Fabregas! Jadson! Ki-Sung Yeung! Ayew! It's Mondays Football Spy video

The Cesc Fabregas saga is over, Harry Redknapp is looking at alternatives to Peter Crouch and Blackburn are in for a Far East rising star. The Football Spy Show also reveals the winner of our Premier League shirt competition and kicks off a new opportunity to win the shirt of your choice.

By Neil Blackmon Part I here

As noted in the first helping of the TSG Barclay's Premier League preview, last year saw at least nine teams threatened by relegation entering April, so we're taking liberties in suggesting that the following five teams will be unequivocally safe.

{Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore}
The image of the Official Emblem of 2014 World Cup is obtained from the official 2014 World Cup site
SINGAPORE, 31 July 2011: Preliminary Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™
The Preliminary Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ was held in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday 30 July 2011.

A Tale of Two 5-4s: Lille v Marseille / Santos v Flamengo (VIDEO) is a post from: Just Football

For every action there's a reaction. Perhaps it was the football gods repaying the world for an inhibited Copa America (to put it lightly), a tonic to ease the strained jaws of an often yawn-inducing few weeks in Argentina.

• Kop That: Skrtel: Liverpool belong in Champions League http://bit.ly/rp0DRC 23:31:13, 2011-07-20
• Kop That: Aquilani could be stuck at Liverpool agent http://bit.ly/nWuZM4 23:31:09, 2011-07-20
• Kop That: What are the odds Madrid proves to be Carlos Tevez's Real destination? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day http://bit.

LFC Move For Mexican Rising Star Marco Bueno

Liverpool have reportedly made a move to sign Mexican striker, Marco Bueno, from Pachuca. The 17 year old was a regular starter in Mexico's successful U-17 World Cup campaign in June, scoring against Panama in the 2nd round, and Pachuca's Vice President, Andres Fassi, has revealed that negotiations with the Reds are at an advanced stage.

Reds want Mexican rising star

Liverpool are said to be close to reaching a conclusion to talks with Mexican rising star Marco Bueno.

View the full story here: Sky Sports

A news article on 2011-07-20 09:20:07 from: Sky Sports

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Reds want Mexican rising star

Liverpool are said to be close to reaching a conclusion to talks with Mexican rising star Marco Bueno.

View the full story here: Sky Sports

A news article on 2011-07-20 09:20:07 from: Sky Sports

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Rising star Stewart Downing looking to fulfil his potential at Liverpool

Aston Villa's in-demand winger has overcome personal tragedy and stinging criticism to re-emerge as one of the Premier League's most prolific stars, as a move to Anfield beckons

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-07-13 14:27:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

So Marc Pelosi, a seventeen-year-old rising star of American soccer, may be be headed to Liverpool to develop his skills in the Reds' youth program. He has made an interesting comment: "I have been told the current Barcelona coach said that if you don't go to Barcelona, the second best place to develop is at Liverpool.

Liverpool is the latest club to be linked to Caen rising star M'baye Niang and are reported to have made an initial enquiry to the French club.
Skysports.com understands that Tottenham made a bid for the 16-year-old sensation in the closing days of June after watching the striker burst onto the scene at the end of last season.

Photo by Sam Teigen

Earlier this month DC United let midfielder Fred leave for Australia as a free transfer, signaling to the league that they would be in the market for a creative, play-making midfielder. Today they got their man. In a shocking move, DC sent midfielder and former captain Dax McCarty to New York for five-time All Star Dwayne De Rosario.

For the simple reason that we think the Seagulls would have been less likely to stroll to promotion like they did without him, Elliott Bennett takes this year's Young Player award. Of course, the man of the protruding tongue has since caved in to Paul Lambert's advances but given the Canaries' rising star, who can really blame the lad?

Jozy Altidore, from in.com

In the months since the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Jozy Altidore has been a source of much frustration for United States men's soccer fans. Tonight he showed America why his Coach Bob Bradley continues to have faith in him. Altidore notched a goal and set up another as the United States overwhelmed Canada 2-0 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan to open the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Well, that certainly was a weekend chock full of internationals. And stuff. But mostly internationals. I liked the part where something exciting happened. No, not the Spain-USA match—though it was wall to wall excitement if you enjoy watching small, defenseless animals caught up in jet engines and also don't happen to be a US of American.

Chelsea's young player of the year and rising star Josh McEachran is the subject of press speculation this morning. In this article in the Express, it's believed that ex-employee Frank Arnesen is trying to take advantage of the uncertainty at Chelsea at the moment as we continue to look for a new manager, by making his interest in McEachran public.

We love us some Australia here on the Liverpool Offside, and when we got an email requesting that we give our adopted countrymen and women an assist, there's no convincing needed.

Fox Sports Australia are running a poll to see which match viewers want to watch on Sunday, and the winning selection will be the feature match for the final day of the season.

Liverpool has made a formal approach for £20million-rated rising star Eden Hazard.
Anfield chiefs asked the young winger's French side Lille to keep them informed of all developments in the close-season chase for the Belgium international.
Reds boss Kenny Dalglish is ready to battle it out with other interested parties, such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Real Madrid, for the signature of one of the finest new talents in European football.

A few months ago, we told you about the documentary "Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story."

The movie, which was filmed and produced by some of DeMerit's friends, tells the story of the Green Bay native's amazing and unlikely career in professional soccer, rising from low-level semipro leagues in England all the way to the Premier League and the World Cup.

STARTERS
Milan won Serie A. Congrats to them.
dN
8th seeded Chivas has knocked out #1 seed Tigres out of the Mexican playoffs!
dN
Where oh where has Oguchi gone? Onyewu has not been playing at all lately for his club Twente, and did not even dress as they won the Netherlands KNVB Beker aka League Cup.

The Houston Rockets and Rick Adelman have decided to part ways. Sources say Adelman and the Rockets management weren't on the same page. Although the Rockets have missed the playoffs the last two years, they are still a team that will draw plenty of interest from coaches due to their nucleus of young talent.

During the Bundesliga winter break, Nurnberg's Timothy Chandler was just another young reserve player, but now two months later he is a rising star with his club and a member of the US national team.