Today's practice at the team's Beaverton training facility saw the Timbers' starters return to
action for the first time since their loss to Colorado on Wednesday. The starters practiced
separately from the rest of the team, undergoing a lighter workout as they regen from last week's
game before splitting into two teams and playing a game of 6v6 with Gavin Wilkinson and Jose Adolfo
Valencia rounding out the sides.
With two games against Colorado in six days, the Timbers had a light practice session today at
the team's Beaverton training center. Friday's starting eleven broke off and took part in a short
regen session before heading inside while the rest of the team did their fitness work and played a
short field game.
After the big news of Troy Perkins' trade today the Timbers still practiced at their Beaverton
training facility. Perkins was sighted briefly before practice as he stopped by to say goodbye to
his teammates and clean out his locker.
Donovan Ricketts, who was picked up in exchange for Perkins, will practice with the team for the
first time on Friday, according to Gavin Wilkinson.
The Timbers held practice today at Jeld-Wen Field for the first time since their 5-0 loss to FC
Dallas on Saturday. With only one day of practice between their two game road trip through
California and Texas last week and tomorrow's friendly match against Aston Villa, the Timbers kept
practice short today, heading inside to watch the tape of Saturday's loss together shortly after
eleven.
In the latest instalment of Wayne Rooney's autobiography, which is currently being printed in
The Mirror, our striker reflects on his red card at the World Cup in 2006. Ronaldo was one of five
Portuguese players who was complaining to the ref but the press in this country blamed him not only
for Rooney's red card, but for England's exit from the tournament, despite the game finishing in a
draw and Gerrard, Lampard and Carragher all missing their penalties.
He's listed as 6'2", weighing 180 pounds. He looks like a pure athlete, like he could have played
American football or NBA basketball. But, Mario Balotelli is a forward in Soccer, a goal-scorer, a
striker.
He's coming off excellent performances in Euro Cup 2012 that raised his profile worldwide.
If Brad Guzan is going to permanently claim a starting goalkeeping spot in the near future, he
will have to do so at the club where he has struggled to breakthrough thus far.
After flirting with free agency, Guzan re-signed with Aston Villa on Monday, the Premiership
club announced on its website.
Despite a change of manager at Spurs it could be another frustrating year on the sidelines for
Jermain Defoe, particularly if AVB does back up the rumours and sign two new strikers before the
start of the season.
JD has spent much of the last two years in and out of the side and there have been constant
rumours of a move away during that time.
As Fernando Torres drifted into the dark behind the Italian defence, the ball sliding towards
his feet, a sense of responsibility must have danced upon his thoughts. For near to three years
now, the Spaniard has taken it upon himself to shatter any perception that he was once an
accomplished striker – almost certainly, at one point, the best on the planet.
A comprehensive, 90-minute performance was just what the doctor ordered for the ailing
Revolution, and that's just what went down on Wednesday night against the Columbus Crew. For the
first time in a long time (if at all) this season, Jay Heaps' squad not only limited the petty
mistakes that have cost them so many points this year, but they also pressed high, played physical,
and controlled the tempo.
It was another disappointing road result for the Revs tonight as they fell 2-1 to the Chicago
Fire, bringing their 2012 record to 6-13-5 with still only one road win on the season. Meanwhile,
with tonight's result the Fire sit comfortably in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference standings and
look more than ready to extend their campaign into the post-season.
Injuries form a brutal reality of football that every player hopes to avoid as much as possible
but for Arsenal's Abou Diaby, a background plagued by injuries is now only powering a redemption
mission.
The 26-year old Diaby has featured minimally for the Gunners over the last two seasons and
recently admitted that an extended period on the sidelines sometimes led him to the shocking lows
of depression.
Abou Diaby has opened up about the extent of his sadness during a long spell on the sidelines
last season, conceding that there were moments when he was depressed to be out of action.
Diaby, 26, made a total of five appearances across all competitions for Arsenal last season and
despite making a successful return to start off the current campaign, the Frenchman has not
forgotten his frustrating journey to regaining full fitness.
Hello everyone and good day to you. The clock is ticking furiously away and we're now 40 hours
from the end of the transfer window (as I type this). Surprisingly, we were not linked with any new
names yesterday. There were no rumours. Absolutely zero. One hopes that this is the calm before the
storm but with Arsenal, it is hard to make a guess either way.
Arsene Wenger has said that when injured midfielder Jack
Wilshere regains full fitness, it will be like a fresh new signing for the club, but has
insisted that the England international will not be forced back into action ahead of schedule.
The tug of war between Arsenal and Liverpool over the signing of Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin
has been excruciating to watch from the sidelines. Arsenal thought they had signed the Turkish
maestro earlier this week until the deal seemingly...
Well, I picked a pretty interesting week to go out of town from an Arsenal perspective. When I
left last week there was hope that RvP might be staying put, everyone was jazzed up about the new
signings, and there was talk of more to come. I land in San Francisco on Wednesday last week, turn
on my phone, and immediately receive 5-10 texts from both Arsenal and ManUre fans about the now
confirmed transfer of one Robin Van Persie to Manchester.
With the start of the season quickly creeping up on the calendar and the transfer window being open
until the end of August, Arsenal, like most other Premier League teams, aren't sure who will be in
the line-up on opening day and who might not be with the club anymore.
One thing looks certain though, and that's that Gunners midfielders Tomas Rosicky and Jack
Wilshere won't be ready to play when the season kicks off.
The Young and talented English man has been out injured for a while now. Just like Aaron Ramsey
had been not so long ago, and I have to wonder what his return will be like.
Most gooners would agree that Jack Wilshere , When fit, Should be one of the first names on the
team sheet.
Shinji Kagawa is trending on Twitter after suffering a fake broken leg playing for Japan. A false
rumour that the new Manchester United player was facing six months on the sidelines spread around
the social networking site, sparking panic among United fans. Anyone doing a quick check on the
progress of Japan's match against UAE [.
Berbatov's stubbornness could cost him a move - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
With the summer arrivals of Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa at Manchester United, the already
out-of-favour Dimitar Berbatov's time at Old Trafford is up. The Bulgarian frontman was forced to
watch-on from the sidelines for the majority of last term, and Sir Alex Ferguson is willing to sell
the attacker given the strength in depth at his disposal in attack.
Bridge practising his 'sitting on the bench' technique
More famous in recent seasons for the whole sorry John Terry shagging-his-ex palavar than his
performances on the pitch, ex-England full-back Wayne Bridge has left Manchester City in a loan
deal with bright young things of the Championship, Brighton & Hove Albion.
Paging Nuri Sahin. Please return immediately to Real Madrid, do not stop at duty free to pick up
chocolate bonbons, board the next flight. We have a problem. Only one point against the also rans.
Luka may not do it.
Getafe's heroes were Juan Valera with a superbly placed header and then Abdel Barrada, the pick
of the Azulones, in a breakaway with Adrian Colunga, finishing with aplomb.
Giampaolo Pazzini and Antonio Cassano are all set to trade clubs. Pazzini will be moving to
Milan as he no longer fits in with Andrea Stramaccioni's plans while Cassano is moving to Inter
because he's Cassano and a rolling stone.
Both clubs are strapped for cash but Milan is worse off but are willing to pay €7.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has admitted both Kaka and Nuri Sahin could be on their way out
of the club in the coming weeks.
The 30-year-old Brazilian has found it difficult to nail down a first team spot in Real Madrid
since his move in 2009 after a series of injuries.
Kaka was on the sidelines as Real Madrid beat Real Oviedo 5-1 in a pre-season friendly on
Tuesday and the fact that he also failed to make the squad for a tour of the United States has
fuelled speculation over his future in the Spanish capital.
Canadian's are celebrating Canada's birthday this weekend, and I took the opportunity of a long
weekend to go to Toronto and take my dad to watch Toronto FC v New York Red Bulls.
TFC has been one of the biggest disappointments in MLS this season and I was curious to see how
they looked under former New England assistant Paul Mariner.
Fabio Borini has explained that the tremendous excitement he felt following his first Liverpool
goal last night was the reason behind his dramatic celebration.
Former Roma forward Borini latched on to a poorly cleared ball from the Gomel defense and
clinically steered home from the top of the box to open the scoring in yesterday evening's 3-0 win
at Anfield.
Liverpool star Lucas Leiva has revealed he can't wait to play at Anfield against FC Gomel as he
continues his rehabilitation after a serious knee injury.
The Brazilian midfielder, 25, is likely to play a part in the Reds' Europa League qualifying round
second leg clash with the Belarusians on Thursday.
Scott Parker has been troubled with an Achilles problem since the final few games of 2011-12 and
according to new head coach Andre Villas-Boas, the midfielder may miss the start of the season.
Scott is currently being assessed as to whether he needs surgery ahead of the kick off.
"There might be a small tear on his Achilles," said Villas-Boas.
Alan Pardew has revealed that the summer tours for Newcastle are very difficult for the
Newcastle staff, and Alan wants to end the view that it's a walk in the sun for the NewcastleÂ
squad. Alan Pardew on the sidelines during Monaco game The squad has only just returned from
their games in Germany and Austria and then they will fly out to Portugal on [.
This has to be one of the most entertaining andunbelievable hissy-fits we have ever witnessed from a football manager. The match in question is a top-tier Bulgarian clash between CSKA Sofia and Botev Vratsa and the madness kicks off when a Botev player concedes a red card for a handball in his own area.
Being a parent isn't easy when it comes to what to do, and what not to do on the sidelines. Nixa Soccer club recentlyposted an article on their blog with a few ideas to help soccer parents listen, and maybe make things a little less stressful.
Just two days removed from Friday's disappointing 2-1 loss to Jamaica, Jurgen Klinsmann is left
to figure out just which 11 players he can turn to for Tuesday's crucial rematch against the
'Reggae Boyz' in Columbus.
There were few good performances across the board for the Americans, and some that should lead
to changes in the lineup.
A brace from Lionel Messi, and goals from Carles Puyol, Pedro, and David Villa as Barca
sauntered through their opening fixture against Real Sociedad. The opposition got a consolation
from Chory Castro.
Perhaps no goal was as satisfying as Villa's coming back to the game after an 8th month injury
absence.
Gimp walkers, fear not. We still have love for you! Image: CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/GettyImages. As we
head into one of the more exciting parts of the footie season, let's take a moment to think of the
many players who can only sit injured and frustrated on the sidelines. From Jack Wilshere to Chris
Smalling, through Martin Caceres and [.
Chicago Fire Team Writer Jeff Crandall just broke some damaging news regarding a lengthy stay on
the sidelines for Logan Pause. Logan is nursing two broken ribs and pneumothorax after a collision
with Bakary Soumare in the Philly game. Jeff states the injury occured in the 25th minute, and
Logan toughed it out until the 44th minute when Patrick Nyarko replaced him.
We've featured 39 year old Sao Paulo keeper Rogerio Ceni here before scoring his 100th career
goal and following six months on the sidelines following shoulder surgery he was back to his very
best as he scored another trademark free-kick in just his second game back as Sao Paulo beat Bahia
2-0 in the Copa Sudamericana.
Matt Pyzdrowski (Marquette) has found a home with Swedish club Ängelholms FF,
playing every minute of Superettan play since joining the club in January 2011.
But the goalkeeper was forced to the sidelines for the first time Sunday, coming off at halftime
after suffering his third concussion of the year in a 4-1 loss to Trelleborgs FF.
Jack Robinson is hoping to put his injury problems behind him and impress new manager Brendan
Rodgers.
The Liverpool left-back became the club's youngest ever player when he came on against Hull City as
a 16-year-old in May 2010.
Rafa Benitez was the manager in charge then but Robinson has since seen Roy Hodgson and Kenny
Dalglish come and go before the appointment of Rodgers earlier this summer.
So Robin Van Persie has 'kindly' released an 'update for the fans'. Â The great irony is that he
pretends to care for the loyal Arsenal fans who have supported him through the good and the bad
times, and in RVP's Arsenal career there have been many more bad times given the massive amount of
time he has spent out injured on the sidelines.
