The transfer window may be closed throughout most of Europe but one country in which it is still
open is Russia, and one club there is trying to take advantage of that by luring Manchester United
winger Nani.
The man who last led France to international glory as a player is now in charge of doing the
same as a coach.
Former France captain Didier Deschamps was hired as manager of Les Bleus on Sunday, agreeing to
a deal that will see him take charge of one of the more troubled sides in international soccer.
One of South America's most storied clubs is on the cusp of adding another Copa Libertadores
championship to its tally.
Argentine power Boca Juniors are a step away from their seventh Libertadores title after
eliminating Universidad de Chile with a 0-0 draw in the second leg of their semifinal tie Thursday
night to reach the final.
It's early in the stretch run of a season that MLS puts forth as a marathon. In a season where
Seattle fell short of two trophies already (Open Cup, 11/12 CCL) they still are capable of two more
major trophies as well as the Cascadia Cup. Travel concerns essentially end in September, unless
the Sounders are on the road for the MLS Cup Final, which is travel that any fan, supporter,
player, coach or front office personnel would love to be forced upon them.
The don't call it "the Beautiful Game" for nothing. Soccer is art. A great Lionel Messi goal
or a stunnig David Beckham free kick is a thing of beauty.
These small moments in soccer can create life-long fans of the sport (with the help of a
beer or two, perhaps?) and the memories of such sporting excellence can hang in our memories like
fine art in a gallery.
Two games are already in the books on a busy day around MLS, but a full night of action still
awaits. In the headlining matches of the night, the Houston Dynamo host Sporting Kansas City in a
rematch of the 2011 Eastern Conference final; the Los Angeles Galaxy head to Vancouver to take on
the Whitecaps in a meeting between a pair of teams in playoff position out west; and San Jose
returns to action after a 5-0 thrashing of Real Salt Lake by taking on FC Dallas.
Savor the moment of today's games. The next time we'll have a Premier League Saturday will be TWO
weeks from now due to the bloody international break. Ugh! Kicking off today's bevvy of Premier
League matches is West Ham United ...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.epltalk.com to read the entire article
It is a big season for Roberto Mancini and the defending Premier League champions. Can they
repeat at champions? Will they add a European trophy to their cabinet? We have tickets to all of
Manchester City's games this season both home and away.
Manchester City 2012-13 Schedule
Community Shield 12 August: Chelsea v Manchester City at
Villa Park - Buy Community Shield Tickets
Preseason Schedule
July 27: Arsenal (National Stadium, Beijing) (China Cup)
July 30: Malaysia XI (National Stadium, Bukit Jalil) TBC
Preseason
July 27 Arsenal (National Stadium, Beijing – China Cup) 1pm
July 30 Malaysia XI (National Stadium, Bukit Jalil) TBC.
We have tickets to all Stoke's games home and away.
Stoke City 2012-2013 Schedule
Preseason
July 24: Columbus Crew - Buy Columbus Crew v Stoke City Tickets
July 28: Orlando City (Citrus Bowl, Orlando)
August 1: Sporting Kansas City - Buy Sporting Kansas v Stoke City Tickets
Stoke City Premier League Fixtures
August
18 Reading (A)
25 Arsenal (H)
September
1 Wigan (A)
15 Man City (H)
22 Chelsea (A)
29 Swansea (H)
October
6 Liverpool (A)
20 Man Utd (A)
27 Sunderland (H)
November
3 Norwich (A)
10 QPR (H)
17 West Ham (A)
24 Fulham (H)
27 Newcastle (H)
December
1 West Brom (A)
8 Aston Villa (A)
15 Everton (H)
22 Tottenham (A)
26 Liverpool (H)
29 Southampton (H)
January
1 Man City (A)
12 Chelsea (H)
19 Swansea (A)
29 Wigan (H)
February
2 Arsenal (A)
9 Reading (H)
23 Fulham (A)
March
2 West Ham (H)
9 Newcastle (A)
16 West Brom (H)
30 Everton (A)
April
6 Aston Villa (H)
13 Man Utd (H)
20 QPR (A)
27 Norwich (H)
May
4 Sunderland (A)
12 Tottenham (H)
19 Southampton (A)
We have tickets to all Stoke's games home and away.
Stoke City 2012-2013 Schedule
Preseason
July 24: Columbus Crew - Buy Columbus Crew v Stoke City Tickets
July 28: Orlando City (Citrus Bowl, Orlando)
August 1: Sporting Kansas City - Buy Sporting Kansas v Stoke City Tickets
Stoke City Premier League Fixtures
August
18 Reading (A)
25 Arsenal (H)
September
1 Wigan (A)
15 Man City (H)
22 Chelsea (A)
29 Swansea (H)
October
6 Liverpool (A)
20 Man Utd (A)
27 Sunderland (H)
November
3 Norwich (A)
10 QPR (H)
17 West Ham (A)
24 Fulham (H)
27 Newcastle (H)
December
1 West Brom (A)
8 Aston Villa (A)
15 Everton (H)
22 Tottenham (A)
26 Liverpool (H)
29 Southampton (H)
January
1 Man City (A)
12 Chelsea (H)
19 Swansea (A)
29 Wigan (H)
February
2 Arsenal (A)
9 Reading (H)
23 Fulham (A)
March
2 West Ham (H)
9 Newcastle (A)
16 West Brom (H)
30 Everton (A)
April
6 Aston Villa (H)
13 Man Utd (H)
20 QPR (A)
27 Norwich (H)
May
4 Sunderland (A)
12 Tottenham (H)
19 Southampton (A)
Welcome back to the Premier League Southampton!! We have tickets to all of Southampton's games
this season both home and away.
Southampton 2012-13 Schedule
Preseason Fixtures
July 14 Rangers (St Mary's Memorial Cup) 5.15pm (45 minutes)
July 14 Arsenal (St Mary's Memorial Cup) 8pm (45 minutes)
July 21 Evian (Stade Joseph-Moynat)
July 28 Ajax (St Mary's)
August 4 Wolves (St Mary's)
August 7 Bristol City (Ashton Gate)
August 11 Udinese (St Mary's)
Southampton Premier League Fixtures
August
18 Man City (A)
25 Wigan (H)
September
1 Man Utd (H)
15 Arsenal (A)
22 Aston Villa (H)
29 Everton (A)
October
6 Fulham (H)
20 West Ham (A)
27 Tottenham (H)
November
3 West Brom (A)
10 Swansea (H)
17 QPR (A)
24 Newcastle (H)
27 Norwich (H)
December
1 Liverpool (A)
8 Reading (H)
15 Chelsea (A)
22 Sunderland (H)
26 Fulham (A)
29 Stoke (A)
January
1 Arsenal (H)
12 Aston Villa (A)
19 Everton (H)
29 Man Utd (A)
February
2 Wigan (A)
9 Man City (H)
23 Newcastle (A)
March
2 QPR (H)
9 Norwich (A)
16 Liverpool (H)
30 Chelsea (H)
April
6 Reading (A)
13 West Ham (H)
20 Swansea (A)
27 West Brom (H)
May
4 Tottenham (A)
12 Sunderland (A)
19 Stoke (H)
Los Angeles-based-Fox Soccer will unveil a new studio Saturday for its coverage of the English
Premier League, the same one used by NFL on FOX and MLB on FOX. The official Barclays Premier
League preview for this week's games is here. Weekly TV Listings: Saturday 4:45 a.m. West Ham
ROCK HILL, S.C. (July 29, 2012) - The remaining 2012 US Youth Soccer National
Champions were crowned today at Manchester Meadows, in Rock Hill, S.C., where the country's the top
teams in the Under-16 through Under-18 Boys and Under-16 through Under-19 Girls age groups met to
conclude the final stage of the 2012 US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, presented by the
National Guard.
Once again I sat on my couch on Wednesday with hopes of watching a Red Bulls match on MLS Live
and once again I was denied. In the Hartford area, the Red Bulls are blacked out despite the
absence of any means to watch the games through cable television. Yet again, fans in a
neighboring state are prevented from watching one of the league's hallmark franchises because of
the league's complex blackout rules.
Last night's games certainly did not lack offense. Excluding the Seattle friendly, eighteen goals
were scored in the seven MLS games and only two teams (not coincidentally, both playing midday)
failed to score a goal on Wednesday. And anytime you ...
Red Bull Arena may be a little hot tomorrow. (Getty Images)
Normally I hold off my weekly "What To Watch For" post until Thursday for the weekend games but
this is a special case. MLS has a full slate of games on Wednesday and when I say full I mean it
seven league games total with one friendly up in Seattle.
If you experienced a bit of deja vu when watching both matches between the Los Angeles Blues and
Dayton Dutch Lions this weekend, you likely were not the only one.
The Los Angeles Blues ousted the last-place Dutch Lions twice this weekend and both were 1-0
affairs at Cal State Fullerton Titan Stadium.
Five Eastern Conference teams are in action Wednesday night, with a pair of MLS matches being
complemented by the Houston Dynamo's opening match of their CONCACAF Champions League run.
In Washington, D.C., the Chicago Fire will look to snap D.C. United's 11-match home unbeaten run
while distancing themselves from the hosts even further in the playoff race.
It's been 56 days since Sporting Kansas City defeated Toronto 2-1 at Livestrong Sporting Park. That
game started a string of 17 games in that time frame. Basically a game every 3 days for an 8 week
period sees KC with some very tired legs. Meanwhile in that same stretch of time, Kansas City's
opponent tomorrow is DC United has played only 8 games.
Two questions that could loom large over Sporting KC in the coming days. First is a rumor that has
come up only today. LA Galaxy midfielder, David Beckham had been named to the MLS all star team
that will be taking on Chelsea at PPL Park this coming Wednesday. But the opening ceremonies for
the London Olympics are on Friday, and Beckham is possibly going to play a role or want to attend
those ceremonies.
Many of us are still recovering from the excitement of the Union's 4-0 victory over Sporting
Kansas City. Some of the hoped for positive developments of the Hackworth era were on display
Saturday night at PPL Park- first and foremost, a win.
The Union continued with the4-3-3 formation trotted out in the game against D.
The dust is very gradually settling on an almost entirely successful London Olympic Games. And
the BBC aren't about to let us forget how good they were, as they had as successful a Games as
anybody – even "Square Eyes", the TV critic in satirical magazine Private Eye, gave the BBC's
Games coverage a great review, and (s)he never gives great reviews.
Gareth Bale may have withdrawn from Team GB's squad for the 2012 Olympics but Stuart Pearce has
included Danny Rose and Steven Caulker in his group for this month's games.
2012-13 promises to be a big season for both players and this is probably the best possible
start as far as the two are concerned and if they are involved to any great extent, they could have
an early opportunity to show the new Spurs manager what they can contribute.
Here is this week's former Wizards update. All of Wednesday's games will appear on next week's
update.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Jonathan Leathers
Carlos Marinelli
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Ryan Pore
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
luke Sassano
Sam Scales
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson
MLS Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 2-1 loss to
Philadelphia.
Sorry, it's a little later than usual, but here are The Daily Wiz's answers to our three
questions preceding tonight's game against Sporting Kansas City. (No questions the other way,
sorry)
1 - Sporting's typical three forward set is Kamara, Sapong, Convey.
Will Seattle see those three in light of international duty and injury?
By Charles Boehm - WASHINGTON, DC (Aug 23, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Last week the United States
broke a 75-year winless streak on Mexican soil with its 1-0 friendly win in Mexico City, providing
a timely boost for both the team and its supporters ahead of next month's brace of CONCACAF World
Cup qualifiers against Jamaica.
There's always a split second in which a dog decides whether it likes you or hates you. It
growls fearsomely as the hackles rise and the teeth are bared, before waddling to you and
conducting a thorough sniff-check; a moment of fire if there ever was one, for a dog is not going
to be apathetic towards you.
The MLS disciplinary committee came out with one announcement today regarding a retroactive
suspension from this past weekend's games. The one suspension announced is from KC's game against
Columbus. Columbus Crew forward, Emilio Renteria has gotten himself a 1 game suspension for his
head butt on KC midfielder, Paulo Nagamura.
The LAST of this years Peoples Games is taking place this Saturday 14th July and this is a
last chance reminder and thank you for those who have taken part in this free event.
You can register now for Free Represent your country, hear your national anthem and collect your
Awards !
The Timbers held their first practice at Jeld-Wen Field since Gavin Wilkinson assumed the head
coach's position. Although today's practice was closed, the press was not booted off the field
until almost 10:40, a record in recent weeks. Wilkinson started things off with the usual warm ups
before moving to passing drills and games of keep away before practice was closed.
Chicago came out early and looked like they were going to try and take three points home from
Houston. I really enjoyed that; and for a couple of moments in the first half, they came close to
doing it, too. Once the second half began, it became more about trying to get back home with a
result. The Fire went into this one with a four point lead over Houston, and they return home with
a four point lead intact.
The Revolution have offered an entertaining, if ulcer producing, last few games. Last minute
goals secured last-second ties where losses seemed imminent. It was entertaining and both
encouraging (we did come back!) and frustrating (but we could have, should have, won!) stuff.
As we look back, amid the discussion of tactical adjustments, substitutions, defensive lapses,
last minute heroics and (clearly) offside goals, one element that you hear much less about is
attitude.
Reading United entered last weekend's home stand against Bermuda Hogges and Brooklyn Knights
smarting from a three game winless streak. That streak included two consecutive losses for the
first time since the club finished fourth in the PDL's Mid Atlantic Division in 2007, which also
happens to be the last time the club failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Fernando Gago's tennis playing wife is one of 150 athletes sponsored by P&G ahead of this summer's
games. Image: PRNewsFoto/P&G. Le sigh. Another WAG, another great head of sponsored hair. Where in
our career trajectories did we possibly go wrong? We'd love to give you more information about
Fernando Gago's tennis playing wife's exploits at [.
Our match viewing beer/spritzer/liquor goggles, caught in still frame. Yowser, yesterday's games
were doozies, weren't they Kickettes? Wayne Rooney scored in his triumphant return from suspension,
John Terry saved the day for England (which the referees' chief later said should've been a goal)
and Shevchenko's 20 minute cameo failed to give us a good glimpse of [.
