This feels absurd – my first game of the season and we're a month in. Damn you fixture list and blast you international week. Still, here we are and I'm ludicrously excited. So excited I've dusted off the blog! That's a sign that something giddy is afoot, if ever I've seen one.
Santos arrested by TS Arsenal defender and Brazilian footballer Andre Santos was arrested on
suspicion of dangerous driving the day before our EPL season opener against Sunderland. BBC reports
that he was arrested after officers spotted a car being driven erratically by a driver who failed
to stop on Friday morning.
On the eve of the 2012-13 Premier League season, Clint Dempsey remains in club limbo.Â
Fulham manager Martin announced that Dempsey, the club's leading scorer last season, will not be
part of Fulham's matchday roster for Saturday's season opener against Norwich City while also
confirming that Dempsey wants to leave Craven Cottage.
A few weeks ago, while covering Arsenal on tour, Futbolita spoke to the lovely Mikel
Arteta about Arsenal's upcoming season, his newborn son Daniel, life in the Premiership,
the tough preseason and his dreams of playing for Spain. Arteta is one of those rare players you
could absolutely stop on the pitch and do a "high-five" while yelling "manana,
OK tipo?
Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta has rubbished suggestions that his side starts the Premier
League campaign this weekend in a weaker position than major rivals such as Manchester City,
Manchester United, and Chelsea.
The Gunners looked far from title contenders last season but hammered European champions Blues
5-3 at Stamford Bridge and Arteta scored a sublime goal when they defeated Premier League winners
City 1-0 at the Emirates.
I think it's probably fair to say that most Gooners are approaching Saturday's season opener
with a mix of anticipation and expectation.
Or, to put it another way, excitement tempered by a nagging concern (like the way you might feel
if your most reckless friend invited you for a spin on the back of his new motorbike).
I think it's probably fair to say that most Gooners are approaching Saturday's season opener
with a mix of anticipation and expectation.
Or, to put it another way, excitement tempered by a nagging concern (like the way you might feel
if your most reckless friend invited you for a spin on the back of his new motorbike).
Lukas Podolski has told Arsenal fans that he is integrating well with his new surroundings and
hopes for a strong start to his Premier League career when the Gunners face Sunderland in their
season opener on August 18.
Podolski missed Arsenal's pre-season tour of Asia due to arriving late to training following
Euro 2012 duty but the Germany international has had two weeks of solid preparation to bolster his
confidence.
Reynolds' Late 2OT Score Lifts UMW Women's Soccer to 5-4 win in 2012 Opener Junior Erin Reynolds
scored her second goal of the day with just 36 seconds remaining in the second overtime to lift the
University of Mary Washington women's soccer team to a 5-4 win at Bridgewater College in both
teams' season opener on Friday afternoon.
Sampdoria, Inter Milan, Napoli, Lazio, Genoa, and Chievo Verona all won in the Italian Serie A
on August 26, 2012.
AC Milan 0-1 Sampdoria
The Rossoneri had a disappointing opening match as they lost at home to Sampdoria. Andrea Costa
scored the lone goal for Sampdoria who were not expected to get anything from this match.
Sociedad edged Celta Vigo, Zaragoza won at Espanyol, Rayo beat Betis, and Mallorca held Malaga
in the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) on August 25, 2012.
Real Sociedad 2-1 Celta Vigo
Real Sociedad recovered from conceding an early second half goal to win the season opener.
Imanol Agirretxe scored both goals for the home side.
Cavaliers Continue Homestand Wednesday Against Liberty Virginia looks for second straight
win over in-state competition
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 8 Virginia women's soccer team continues its season-opening
four-game homestand Wednesday as it hosts Liberty. Game time at Klöckner Stadium is set for 7 p.
Just as was the case in its season opener a week earlier, the University of Wisconsin men's
soccer team fell behind Washington on Friday.
The Badgers equalized twice, but couldn't find an answer after Dylan
Tucker-Gangnes scored his second goal of the night on a free kick in the 72nd minute and
dropped a 3-2 decision to the Huskies at the Portland/Nike Invitational in Portland, Ore.
Juventus blanked Parma at home and Fiorentina came from behind to defeat Udinese in the Italian
Serie A on August 25, 2012.
Fiorentina 2-1 Udinese
Fiorentina needed a second half brace from Stevan Jovetic to get the victory in their Italian
Serie A season opener. Udinese had a 1-0 lead at halftime thanks to a Maicosuel goal in the 28th
minute.
Virginia Opens Road Schedule Friday at Texas Cavaliers and Longhorns play on first day of
Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 7 Virginia women's soccer team makes its first road trip of the
season this weekend as it heads to Austin, Texas, for the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational.
If you were excited about the possibilities of an attack featuring Fred Montero, Mauro Rosales,
Eddie Johnson and Christian Tiffert before Saturday's game, you are probably about to explode with
excitement now. Sure, Montero scored his first MLS hat trick, but even beyond that the Sounders had
what has to be their most efficient offensive performance in their history which resulted in a 6-2
win over Chivas USA
Fueled by those four players, the Sounders turned 12 shots into six goals.
United States international Maurice Edu appears set to move to England as he closes in on
signing a deal with Championship outfit Ipswich Town. Edu is currently contracted to Glasgow
Rangers, but Ally McCoist has admitted a move could be imminent despite pen not hitting paper just
yet.
"There is nothing at the moment," McCoist told Sky Sports News.
Clint Dempsey is looking increasingly likely to leave Fulham following the news that Martin Jol has
left the American out of his squad for the club's first game of the season against Norwich Saturday
afternoon.
Despite the fact that Liverpool are yet to make an official bid for the player, Dempsey has made
his intentions to leave Craven Cottage clear, and has consequently spent much of Fulham's
pre-season training away from the first team.
Javi Martinez is officially a Bayern Munich player.
After an on-again, off-again transfer saga, the Spanish international has completed his move
from Athletic Bilbao to the German giants for a €40 million fee that was necessary to trigger a
buy-out clause in his contract.
The NASL club landed Toyota as a sponsor for its new soccer-specific stadium, which is slated to
open in time for the 2013 season. It will be the second soccer-specific stadium in America with the
Japanese car company's name branded on it, joining the Chicago Fire's Toyota Park in Bridgeview,
Ill.
Everton have been notoriously slow to find their footing at the start of the past few
Premiership seasons, but the Toffees got off to a flying start to the new campaign on Monday.
Everton upset and blanked Manchester United, 1-0, in their season opener at Goodison Park,
winning courtesy of a Marouane Fellaini goal early in the second half.
The inevitiable end to Clint Dempsey's Fulham career is starting to get ugly.
According to reports from England, the club has fined Dempsey an undisclosed amount for refusing
to play in Saturday's season opener against Norwich City. This comes hours after Fulham manager
Martin Jol claimed that he was leaving Dempsey out of his squad for the match because he had not
trained with the club's first team for the last four weeks.
Jide Oluyedun's first collegiate goal capped an amazing season opener for the
University of Wisconsin men's soccer team.
Oluyedun, a sophomore transfer from Syracuse, scored from just outside the box in the 89th
minute to give the Badgers a wild 4-3 victory over host Memphis on Friday night.
It was a great season opener for the University of Wisconsin women's soccer team.
Midfielder Monica Lam-Feist scored on a shot that bounced off and the post and
into the net in the 84th minute and fellow senior Lauren Gunderson (Middleton)
made seven saves for the clean sheet as the Badgers blanked Notre Dame 1-0 Friday night at the
McClimon Complex.
After all the twist and turn, the deal that has been on the table for some weeks is finally
sealed. Emmanuel Adebayor will be back in North London again.
Once there were questions about his passion in football. Whatever portion Manchester City is now
contributing towards his salary, the deal is indeed a win-win-win one.
After all the twist and turn, the deal that has been on the table for some weeks is
finally sealed. Emmanuel Adebayor will be back in North London again.
Once there were questions about his passion in football. Whatever portion Manchester City is now
contributing towards his salary, the deal is indeed a win-win-win one.
Fulham thrashed Norwich, Swansea crushed QPR, Sunderland held Arsenal, and Newcastle edged Spurs
in the English Premier League on August 18, 2012. Other results include West Brom cruising past
Liverpool, Reading rallying for a draw, and West Ham winning their season opener.
Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Arsenal dominated possession and chances but couldn't find the back of the net.
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce appears to have given up the pursuit of signing Andy Carroll
after claiming a deal was never agreed with Liverpool for the striker.
The Upton Park club's co-chairman, David Sullivan, had on Wednesday announced England international
Carroll had snubbed a move to London.
English Football League Championship team Hull City AFC has unveiled its adidas 2012/13 away kit
ahead of Saturday's season opener at Brighton and Hove Albion. According to The Tigers' website:...
Ahead of Saturday's season opener at Stade Rennes, 2011/12 Coupe de la Ligue winners and French
Ligue 1 champions every season from 2001 to 2008 Olympique Lyon have launched their...
After a long Summer waiting for Manchester United to be back in action, there was widespread relief when the season opener saw us kicking off against Everton at Goodison Park. But then as quickly as the season started, the international break came along meaning there was another gap between United games.
Thomas McNamara converted a 23rd minute penalty to lift 24th-ranked Brown to a 1-0 victory over
Rhode Island in the Bears' season opener at Stevenson Field.
The senior midfielder, who also collected a team-high four shots on the night, put it past Adam
Blanchard from the spot while Brown's defense did the rest in the first game of the Ocean State
Classic.
Big spending Paris St. Germain looked set to make a splash in the world of football this season
after signing the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva. Les Parisiens were heavy
favorites to bring home the Ligue 1 title this season, but this weekend succumbed to a third
successive draw as the French league gathers pace.
Bundesliga champs Borussia Dortmund won their season opener against Werder Bremen through goals
from their wonder boys Marco Reus and Mario Gotze. Werder pulled back one through Theodor Gebre
Selassie.
LONGWOOD DROPS SEASON OPENER 4-0 to #17 COASTAL CAROLINA\ CONWAY, S.C.
-- The Longwood University men's soccer team was defeated by #17 Coastal Carolina
University, 4-0, in the Lancers' 2012 season opener and first-ever Big South Conference matchup at
CCU Soccer Field in Conway, S.
Zack Schilawski celebrates with teammate Nick Zimmerman during a 2-0 win over FC Edmonton
earlier this season. (Photo: Carolina RailHawks)
CARY, N.C. The flood lights may not be as bright as those at Gillette Stadium, and the
supporters may not be as boisterous as they are in The Fort. That, of course, is to be
expected.
Tribe Women's Soccer Host No. 1 Duke in Season Opener
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - In one of the most anticipated season openers in recent memory, the
William and Mary women's soccer team will begin the 2012 season against top-ranked Duke on Friday,
Aug.17, at 7 p.m. inside the friendly confines of Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
After the busiest summer of his brief professional career, Terrence Boyd joined Austrian club
Rapid Vienna from German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund in July with the idea that he would find the
necessary playing time to further his development.
