Well after signing Gary Cahill, it hasn't taken Chelsea long to get their business done before the game tonight as the Belgian side have announced that we have signed Belgian International Kevin De Bruyne on a five and a half year deal for a reported £7m. DeBruyne will remain with Genk on loan until the end of the season.

The race for the Bundesliga title is getting very interesting with each passing week as Bayern Muinch, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke all notched up wins to ensure that there was no let up in the league standings.

All three teams are level on 40 points with fourth place Borussia Mochengladabch only a point behind.

One thing I have noticed on my blog and amongst Chelsea fans in general is a difference of opinion about our formation and who should be starting games. Of course we all know that for now AVB prefers the 4-3-3 formation as per managers before him here, but I just wonder what you the Chelsea fan reading this believes to be our better option(s).

After a month's hiatus (due primarily to an extended internet-free trip to India see below), we're back with a TV guide to the weekend. As usual, we provide US TV listings with ET kickoffs, since that's where we reside. For our non-US readers, we've included a link to livesoccertv.com for each match.

With just two weeks of the January transfer window left, Tottenham Hotspur yesterday made their first signing. Iago Falque's loan from Juventus was made permanent for a fee rumoured to be around £1.5m. The young Spaniard was immediately sent out on loan to Championship club Southampton.

With just two weeks of the January transfer window left, Tottenham Hotspur yesterday made their first signing. Iago Falque's loan from Juventus was made permanent for a fee rumoured to be around £1.5m. The young Spaniard was immediately sent out on loan to Championship club Southampton.

When I was in Germany back in December, I watched an interview with Bayern Munich's Sporting Director Christian Nerlinger. Part of the discussion revolved around Bayern's interest in the newest young German football star, Marco Reus, who Bayern executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge termed "a person of interest.

DFB Pokal (German Cup) holders Schalke 04 were dumped out of this season's competition by Borussia Mönchengladbach following the latter's 3-1 home win in Wednesday's Round of 16 tie.

Borussia Mönchengladbach ensured that there would be no repeat triumph for Schalke 04 in this year's DFB Pokal.

By Chris Wright

Let me list the reasons I hate Arjen Robben with the burning fire of one thousand imploding suns...

1) He doesn't run, he gingerly minces.
2) He, and you may have noticed this yourselves, feigns career-ending injuries quite regularly only to get up when it suits and keep on gingerly mincing.

Bochum vs Bayern Munich 1-2 DfB Pokal Highlights Video Goals Kroos Robben is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Bochum vs Bayern Munich 1-2 DfB Pokal Highlights Video Goals Kroos Robben is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Bochum vs Bayern Munich 2011 ( VfL Bochum vs FC Bayern video below) Final score and result:- Bochum vs Bayern Munich 1-2 ( Federico/ Kroos, Robben) Rewirpower STADION- DfB Pokal ( German [.

By Chris Wright

Daniel van Buyten's 'Major Ball Blow-Out' wasn't actually quite as painful as it sounds, but the Argentinian centre-half gave the ball such a thunderous leathering from a set piece that he tore the fabric of the universe Adidas Torfabrik and the match ball's insides swiftly became it's 'outsides' during Bayern's 3-0 win over FC Köln last night.

AVB in his comments about Didier Drogba leaving for the African Cup of Nations in January made a point that I believe to be quite interesting. He said:

"Of course, Anelka will not be available anymore but we have Sturridge, Lukaku and Fernando competing for that place when Drogba will be away.

Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen 4-1 Highlights Video Goals 2011 Ribery Robben is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen 4-1 Highlights Video Goals 2011 Ribery Robben is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen 2011 ( FC Bayern Werder Bremen 4-1 Video Below) Final score and result:- Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen 4-1 ( Ribery*2, Robben*2/ Rosenberg) Allianz Arena, Munich- 3rd [.

By Geoff Reid

Group A
Bayern Munich vs Villarreal from the Allianz Arena, Munich
After losing on the weekend at home to rival Borussia Dortmund, Bayern manager Juup Heynches believes it's good for his team to have this came only three days later.

We sometimes tend to over estimate our national team. Sure, in 1974 and 1990 we should have won it. Without a doubt. In 1998, we could have won it. And in 2010 we were extremely close too, if Robben and Webb had done their jobs (and Casillas handn't).

But we do [read more]

The Adizero F50 miCoach launched in London, on Monday this week. To give you a little more insight on the latest product that Messi, Robben and now you can road-test, EPL Talk has an interview with Andreas Konrads, the Senior Product Manager for...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.

Choosing titles for posts is an art. With Man United flunking it against Basel, Arsenal looking like a 40 year old Virgin on a first date and all those Dutch players benched ( Van Persie, Robben, Maduro) you do wonder what the angle needs to be.

But it feels only right [read more]

The man who always finds a job: Claudio Ranieri (By Dominic Vieira)

Whether you think he's world class or not, it's clear Claudio Ranieri is a lucky manager. Since the Italian retired as a player in 1986, he has rarely experienced unemployment.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Subscribe: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

In this week's review section, we look at stories from some of the biggest clubs in Europe: Man United, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Real Madrid. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below, or highlighted in blue.

Franck Ribery loves life without Louis. And it starts to show on the pitch. One of the best games of the French winger in a while. Robbery sounds great on paper. In reality it was usually about Arjen Robben cutting inside and scoring decisive goals, while Ribery was doubled, frustrated and ineffective.

Its easy on transfer deadline day to only focus on the acquisitions made on transfer deadline day. It's almost as if all the other summer signings are suddenly forgotten about, like how the newest toy immediately replaces all the others in their heart.

Well, let's ignore that and gauge our summer acquisitions in full.

As we enter the home-stretch of a remarkably active summer, we break down the latest stories being banded about. More after the jump:

Scarface to The Bridge?

First, let me just say that it's wonderful to be back stateside after a week in The Kingdom (not of Saud, mind you).

By Andrew McCarten

The final of the 2010 World Cup. Your country has never won the tournament despite being universally acclaimed for a football philosophy that has developed over the course of time. Your side has knocked out heavy favorites Brazil in the quarters, and survived an absolute battle against Uruguay to make it to the final, and now you find yourself in a match that has been hard-fought to say the very least.

Manchester City certainly turned many eyes with an emphatic 5-1 destruction of Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane earlier today but Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes insists that life in the Champions League isn't about to get any easier for the Barclays Premier League leaders.

Heynckes, who inherited an underachieving Bayern squad at the Allianz Arena at the end of last season, sent a message to all of the Bavarian side's rivals by claiming that they will only get better after an impressive 3-0 win over Kaiserslautern yesterday.

I posted on here the other day about Chelsea's interest in Juan Mata and added a video of him and exactly what he could do and offer Chelsea. As you can imagine like all of you, I was delighted to see that the club officially announced the agreement in place to sign him with Valencia. The deal is reported to be around £23-24m.

I posted on here the other day about Chelsea's interest in Juan Mata and added a video of him and exactly what he could do and offer Chelsea. As you can imagine like all of you, I was delighted to see that the club officially announced the agreement in place to sign him with Valencia. The deal is reported to be around £23-24m.

It's rare to see a new name linked with a move to Spurs these days, but the rumours this week have a certain Dutch flavour to them. While Spurs may have been connected with Arjen Robben in the past, his name hadn't cropped up for a while until the weekend, when several stories appeared.

The suggestion was that Rafael van der Vaart may have some influence over his countryman but as soon as the rumours appeared, it seemed that Bayern Munich were quick to deny them.

Anfang der Woche trat Bayerns japanischer Neuzugang Takashi Usami zum ersten Mal in Deutschland vor die Presse. Unter großem Medienandrang – ungefähr 20 Journalisten waren extra aus Japan angereist – begann damit die Präsentation des 19-jährigen Talentes. Seine Gäste empfing der Mittelfeldspieler mit den Worten: "Servus, mein Name ist Takashi Usami.

In his first press conference as Chelsea manager, Andre Villas-Boas said that he wants to create a culture of attacking, successful football, similar to how Porto played last season:

"In my small past experience I was able to manage Academica and Porto in a very successful way, thanks mainly to the quality of the players I had and we were able to play good quality football.

In his first press conference as Chelsea manager, Andre Villas-Boas said that he wants to create a culture of attacking, successful football, similar to how Porto played last season:

"In my small past experience I was able to manage Academica and Porto in a very successful way, thanks mainly to the quality of the players I had and we were able to play good quality football.

BERLIN, Germany — German-born Turkish international Nuri Sahin, who is leaving Borussia Dortmund for Real Madrid, has been voted Bundesliga player of the 2010-11 season by his peers, Kicker magazine said Monday. The 22-year-old midfielder was voted best outfield player with 46.1 percent of the vote, the magazine's survey of 298 players showed, followed in [.

Chivas USA (0-2-3 3 points) take on the Quakes (1-2-2 5 points) at home tomorrow, Saturday, for an afternoon match. This will be, barring any schedule changes or additional games, the only afternoon game this season. Chivas has been on a poor run in their first 5 games. Their offense has been quiet and defense shaky.

Tuttomercato had a short, interesting article up this morning about Arjen Robben and what seems to be a possible/inevitable (depending on how you read it) move to the league leaders. Below is the full translation, which begs the questions: is such a move even likely, and if so, would he be a good fit at a team like Milan?

Diego Forlan is being linked with a shock return to Manchester United after allegedly falling out with Atletico Madrid manager Quique Sanchez Flores
Continue to the full story

Arjen Robben is being linked tentatively with a return to Chelsea in the summer. Robben now 27 years old has revealed that he doesn't know where his future lies and as a result a return to Stamford Bridge is being touted.
Robben said:

"I am happy here in Munich and want to stay here.

Things went so well when asking Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery on the Europa League, journos the world over continue going back to the well. We're onto Captain Lahm now who, while perhaps a bit more tactful, was in no way offering confusion on his thoughts of the continent's second tournament.

We can only hope Der Kaiser is next on the list.

I was reading this article posted by a Chelsea fan who was giving his opinion on the 10 players Roman Abramovich should not have sold/released during his time at Chelsea and it got me thinking to say the least.
He lists the 10 players as the following:
10. Gianfranco Zola
9.

Por Rocheteau
Estaba en un aeropuerto francés con mucho tiempo por delante y varias revistas de fútbol. Francesas, claro. Tras dos horas de lectura, me imaginé en un aeropuerto español con dos horas por delante y lo poco que se puede encontrar de temática deportiva en un quiosco español.

The Eruopa League is nice. It's swell. It's neat-o.

But it's nothing spectacular. The games are nice, but it's typically lacking the elite and thus is very much a second competition.

Arjen Robben doesn't think it much of a competition at all, which is too bad, because that's exactly where Bayern are headed next year should the table stay the status quo.

After Milan's and Roma's eliminations from Europe's top flight competition, the peninsula looks solely to the nerazzurri to fly the Italian flag. The club finds itself in the same position as its crosstown rivals did against the Spurs, going into the second leg with a 1-0 home loss to overcome.

Bayern Munich will not be an easy opponent if this past weekend is any indication, as they thumped Hamburger SV 6-0 at home.