The second time around wasn't nearly as sweet for Carlos Ruiz, as the Guatemalan forward was mercifully traded to Toronto FC on Tuesday afternoon, ending weeks of speculation over his future with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

It wasn't clear what the Galaxy would be getting from Toronto in return for one of Major League Soccer's most prolific goal-scorers, but the trade certainly falls into the 'addition by subtraction' category. Click to continue reading...

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Los Angeles Galaxy has traded Carlos Ruiz to Toronto FC, sources told SBI on Tuesday evening. Details of the deal were not available yet. To make room for Ruiz on the roster, TFC has waived French midfielder Laurent Robert.

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I've decided to document my journey this season as I follow my new team Middlesbrough. Thanks again to all of you that left comments and suggestions on teams to follow for this season. This week's goal was to do some reading and research ahead of the season opener. While I was familiar with the club on [. Click to continue reading...

Dimitar Berbatov's side fell to Middlesbrough in their season opener, as the very frustrated Bulgarian sat on the bench. "If I had been laughing when I was on the bench, people would say I was an idiot," he said. Obviously Berbatov has fallen out of favor with Tottenham. So like any heavily pursued footballer Berbatov revealed his "dreams", [. Click to continue reading...

"Spurs without Berbatov are a different team."

"Tottenham need to make big signings to appease the fans but they need time to adapt. You saw that today with Giovanni, an excellent player."

Former Spurs Striker Mido sums up Tottenham's performance as his Middlesborough take the season opener 2-1 at the Riverside, via The Telegraph. Click to continue reading...

United drawing with Newcastle on Sunday did not surprise me, I'd predicted it might well happen on this blog, nor has it surprised me in the slightest that Gary Neville looks to have dropped down the pecking order with Wes Brown and Raphael da Silva being preferred to the England defender.

Gary Neville has done well to recover following his 16 month struggle to regain full fitness, but in some ways his biggest battle lies ahead. Click to continue reading...

And so, it begins. The offseason, if we even had one, is now officially over. EPL clubs are back at it, the Champions League qualifiers are in the final round and the hottie interns have left the office to return to campus. The signs, in other words, are everywhere: summer is ending. But don't be sad. Click to continue reading...

Great to see former Belconnen junior Adam Casey playing for Sydney FC last night...

And didn't he shine particularly in the first half. Adam is back from a long-term injury but has pace to burn.

It's a fantastic asset and he caused Melbourne Victory a heap of problems last night in Sydney's season opener. Click to continue reading...

Ah, football. So nice to have you back. Having not been able to see the entirety of the Twente match - not a bad thing from the sound of it - this was my season opener.

And didn't it open in a lovely fashion? Nice work by Clichy led to a precise pass by Denilson and a smooth finish from Nasri. Click to continue reading...

Reports claim that long term transfer target Dimitar Berbatov is at Carrington undergoing a medical ahead of joining the Champions this weekend. The transfer is unlikely to completed in time for the player to play against Newcastle but if all goes well the Bulgarian could be unveiled as a United player this weekend when the two sides clash in the season opener at Old Trafford. Click to continue reading...

French soccer is wild!

Nantes midfielder Djamel Abdoun was knocked unconscious after being kicked in the head by teammate Stefan Babovic during a violent dressing-room bust-up on Friday.

Oddly enough, two days later both were in the starting line-up and played all 90 minutes in the season-opener against Auxerre. Click to continue reading...

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Plymouth Official Site - BARKER SIGNS

ARGYLE have signed defender Chris Barker from QPR.

The Yorkshire-born defender has followed former Loftus Road team-mate Simon Walton to Home Park on a three-year deal after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee. Click to continue reading...

How's that for a confidence booster? With only 7 of our normal starting 11 in the lineup, and only 6 guys starting who started against KC in the season opener, United somehow came together to produce a big win and their first shutout of the year. With a first look at the starting lineups and the revelation that Ryan Pore was starting at forward, I kind of had a feeling that this could finally be THE ONE, and the team did not disappoint. Click to continue reading...

This match sounds like it just about turned into a fight. With Mitchell Prentice earning a straight red (Wellington Captain Andrew Durante go his 2nd yellow in this incident), and Alex Brosque and Dez Giraldi earning suspension causing yellows. With Sydney now out of the pre-season cup, and only 19 signings and Giraldi as cover for injured Aloisi, born again Melbourne Victory have been prized an easy round one for the start of the A-League season. Click to continue reading...

Week Two (or Jornada 2) in the Mexican Apertura 2008 is upon us. Several of our America-born players have already seen action in both la Primera and Primera A but others have yet to debut and won't debut this weekend either.

Here is a preview of the Mexican-Americans down south.

Edgar Castillo, Santos vs Pumas, Sunday 3 p. Click to continue reading...

Apologies, busy with a big project and not much time to blog.

A few things to pass along:

*Pacific Palisades-based W-League team Pali Blues defeated reigning champion Washington Freedom 2-0 earlier tonight earning a berth in Saturday's final against FC Indiana. Game reports here.

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As we pushed through the bustling crowd that had gathered at Mile End Stadium, I think some of the Boafista stars were feeling the pressure a bit. We all knew what was required of us: one win out of the two remaining games would earn us promotion to the Premier League, with both our closest promotion rivals, Southwark Lions and the formidable Fidel, standing in the way. Click to continue reading...

Edgar Castillowas profiled in the New York Times on Wednesday.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, there may be little new information in there that you haven't already come across here. But his story is clearly of interest to more than just soccer fans as a whole new audience has now been exposed to his tale. Click to continue reading...

  Arsenal and Mexico forward Carlos Vela is already keen to start for Arsene Wenger's side, when the Gunners take on League 2 side Barnet tomorrow afternoon at Underhill in the traditional pre-season opener. Arsenal manager Arséne Wenger has included him in the squad, which is a mixture of first team and Reserve players. Click to continue reading...

James Milner's switch to Liverpool has moved a step closer with Newcastle interested in a player-plus-cash deal for the England Under-21 midfielder.

Newcastle are reluctant to sell the 22-year-old this summer but are keen on an exchange deal worth £7m plus Danny Guthrie.

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MARKHAM - Reigning champions Pistolas F.C. picked up where they left off last season - on a winning note - taking the season opener from Cornell F.C. by a score of 2-0.

Amidst cool and wet temperatures, coupled with a less than ideal playing field, the squad came out from the onset and immediately started the pressure led by David B. Click to continue reading...

TORONTO - PFC officially launched Pistolas FC Channel, thanks to our friends at YouTube.com, which will bring you highlights and player favourite soccer videos to its fans.

The team launched the official channel, www.youtube.com/pistolasfc, with video from its opening day Intersquad practice at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada.

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Last year's results: 4th in the East and 7th overall with 40 points. Lost to New England 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Championship game after getting by favorite DC United in the first round. Head-to-Head - In the first game RSL tied them 0-0 in Chicago. The Fire took the second game 2-0 in Salt Lake City. Click to continue reading...