So I flagged it months ago on here and it seems like Katie Gill is finally back in the country and set to play for Perth Glory this weekend. Well according to the FFA snapshot they sent out yesterday, which suggests she will be a prime candidate to score the leagues 200th goal when it goes off this weekend. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal came into its own with crisp, free flowing football. Cesc with a brace, Nasri with a very welcome contribution on his return, and Diaby rounded up the scoring. But Arshavin was the source having a hand in three of the goals. And Wenger singled him out.

Wenger highlighted Andrey Arshavin - who had a hand in three of the goals - for special praise, saying: "He was outstanding.

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A 35th minute goal by Jack McInerney was enough for the USA to beat the UAE.

A snapshot by Nick Palodichuk was parried by Ahmad Shambih in the UAE goal and the ball fell to the prowling McInerney who made no mistake.

The UAE also made it to the next round based on the Fair Play rankings.

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Strikers live and die by their goal tallies, so I thought it'd be interesting to take a peak to see who is doing well as the European season gets under way. Â Here's a snapshot, see the link below for the goal tallies on an on-going basis.

Top
League in Goals Top
Scorers England 4 Jermaine Defoe, Wayne Rooney France 4 Yoann Gourcuff Germany 4 Paolo Guerrero, Stefan Kiessling Italy 3 Antonio Di Natale Portugal 3 Oscar Cardozo, Garcia Radamei Spain 3 Roberto Soldado

The players above have scored at an amazing rate over the first league games.

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If I have to hear one more time about how Arsenal's forward line is experiencing a goal drought, I may just shoot the person who professes this view.
It's unimportant because firstly, Eduardo scored against Everton; and secondly, and perhaps more pertinently, the 4-3-3 is not the ultra-attacking formation its made out to be: Arshavin and Bendtner have consistently tracked back, rather than playing as fully-fledged strikers who just play in attack. Click to continue reading...

Turns out some young innocent girl paparazzi aide was camped outside of Cristiano Ronaldo's house in hopes of an autograph a snapshot or two.
The Portuguese winger got upset and smashed the window of the car she was in, sending shards of glass onto the 17 year old.
She claims (like the strikethrough phrases) she was injured and reported the attack to the police. Click to continue reading...

Most of us who follow sports have a sort of mental photo album, kind of like a file folder of images which for one reason or another ended up indelibly etched in our minds.
Sometimes the image is just what you'd expect: a snapshot of joy from a signal victory of some kind, or a favorite player on a favorite team scoring a crucial goal. Click to continue reading...

Part Three of a Series on American Style

*As the U.S. National Team attempts to qualify for the World Cup in 2010, I will write a series of pieces concentrating on the style, or lack of it, of American soccer. See the other two here and here.

Watching the U.S. play Italy in the Confederations Cup made glaring all the differences we already knew existed between the two teams.

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Part Three of a Series on American Style

*As the U.S. National Team attempts to qualify for the World Cup in 2010, I will write a series of pieces concentrating on the style, or lack of it, of American soccer. See the other two here and here.

Watching the U.S. play Italy in the Confederations Cup made glaring all the differences we already knew existed between the two teams.

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Because of the holiday (and a busy week previewing the season opener for the Colorado Force) this week's Tuesday List comes on Friday and (as a bonus) comes in two parts.

Today we take a look at the Colorado Rapids' leaders in minute played.

810: Colin Clark
810: Jordan Harvey
793: Conor Casey
791: Ugo Ihemelu
785: Omar Cummings
711: Mehdi Ballouchy
710: Nick LaBrocca
697: Pablo Mastroeni
559: Kosuke Kimura
509: Scott Palguta
492: Cory Gibbs
450: Matt Pickens
360: Preston Burpo
210: Terry Cooke
173: Jacob Peterson
34: Ty Harden
11: Gregory Richardson
5: Greg Dalby

Observations: This is just a snapshot of where we are after nine fixtures, and this order will shake up considerably in the coming weeks.

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The best players in Holland this season provide a snapshot of yet another generation of talent likely to be lost to ambition and the foul economics of football. Click to continue reading...

Thanks to Futbolita for the picture find.
Somehow the fine folk over there always have a fun snapshot or two. Supposedly it's for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. Click to continue reading...

A-League season IV so far ONE-SEVENTH of the way into what is shaping as a much-improved season and, while it's too early to draw any major conclusions, here's a quick snapshot of the good and bad from every A-League team, and an area or two that could do with some tinkering given there's a break in the calendar next week. Click to continue reading...

My SI.com editor Jonah Freedman was out at the Oakland A's-LA Angels game on Saturday and brought back with him a somewhat positive snapshot of the San Jose Earthquakes' presence in the Bay Area.
Even though they're the worst team in MLS (though the Red Bulls are giving them a run for their money), they are still beloved in NoCal. Click to continue reading...

Some news to read as you get a gas rebate for visiting a brothel: Is MLS illegally censoring video of the Blanco incident? (Dave's Football Blog) David Trezeguet retires from international football (France blog) Snapshot: Trail of destruction. (Also: Schalke blogger wanted) (Bundesliga Offside) Romario and Schumacher turn down the chance to play in the [. Click to continue reading...

Oliver Fowler takes a quick snapshot of what footballers are doing this summer. Take a look for yourself: Frank Lampard is living la dolce vita. Cristiano Ronaldo is looking for a posh house near Madrid. Andrei Arshavin is wishing that one of his agents will let him play for Barca. Joey Barton is eating porridge. Click to continue reading...

C-Ron soaks up the sun with his WAG du jour Say hi to C-Ron and girlfriend Nereida Gallardo. The classy lovebirds are currently on holiday in Sardinia, Italy - a destination the soon-to-be-ex-Man Utd star probably chose as it means... Click to continue reading...

Czech Republic fan and "friend" lament Euro exit I can only admire a man who has the time to facepaint an inflatable sex doll.... Click to continue reading...

The usual array of supporters who've gone mad with the crayons Two Swiss fans become one Swiss flag. More below...... Click to continue reading...

Italian captain injures ankle ligaments, will miss Euros Cannavaro, who led Italy to World Cup victory in 2006, has been ruled out of Euro 2008. The central defender will have surgery on his left ankle in Vienna so he can... Click to continue reading...

The best snaps from yesterday's friendly in Port of Spain T&T's fans: prettier than England's fans.... Click to continue reading...

Another meaningless friendly international? You bet! David Beckham, talking to sleeve, stretching groin.... Click to continue reading...

Happel Stadium, Vienna: Almost 2,000 people took of their clothes to pose for US photographer Spencer Tunick, who's famous for contriving such acts of mass public nudity. My favourite model is the tubby old guy on the right, who... Click to continue reading...

Because relegation can be fun Admit it - there is something enjoyable in seeing other team's fans crying like little girls because their team went down. Here's a young Reading fan blubbing into his River Island shirt, like he's just... Click to continue reading...

Inter Milan met Pope Benedict XVI this week to celebrate their centenary. Most of the squad must have been praying that they can hold onto their three-point lead over Roma and win the Serie A title. Captain Javier Zanetti presented the Pope with a personalised replica shirt with his name and number on the back. Click to continue reading...

Barcelona swallowed their pride to form a guard of honour and applaud fierce rivals Real Madrid onto the field. Barca's respect for the new La Liga champions did not stop there. The Catalan club then proceeded to bend over and be spanked 4-1 (a show of deference which probably went a bit too far for most of their fans' liking). Click to continue reading...

Don't ask us why he's wearing a swimming cap... Who ate all the pies? This gutted Leicester City fan, by the look of him. And all the pasties, crisps and biscuits too. [Spotted on The Offside] Photo Getty Images... Click to continue reading...

"They told me to hold up this scarf and look confused... how I'm doing so far?" At least Trap spoke English at the press conference to unveil him as boss of the Irish national team. Which is more than... Click to continue reading...

Old man of Italian football takes control of the Republic of Ireland "They told me to hold up this scarf and look confused... how I'm doing so far?" At least Trap spoke English at the press conference to unveil him... Click to continue reading...

What's this? Is Kevin Keegan Head Over Heels In Love? It sure looks that way as he grasps Alan Curbishley by the head and looks longingly into his eyes. I'm not sure Curbs is quite up for it as much, but he looks pleasantly surprised by the offer. Click to continue reading...

C-Ron admires Sir Alex Ferguson's ball control during a training session at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, ahead of tonight's Champions League quarter final first leg between Man Utd and AS Roma. Photo Getty Images... Click to continue reading...

The scythe has been Photoshopped in. The scary Grim Reaper lookalike with the black hood is genuine! Click to continue reading...

Landon Donovan and David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy confer during the Galaxy's MLS game against the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids thrashed the Galaxy 4-0 in the season opener. More great photos after... Click to continue reading...

4 July 2003 Fernando Torres crashes to the floor after his attempted overhead kick during the making of a Pepsi TV commercial in Madrid, Spain. Ooh, check out his big, toned, manly thighs. Photo Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Pepsi... Click to continue reading...

Pies had long suspected that Arsene Wenger viewed Arsenal as the French Embassy in London. And what have we here? Monsieur Wenger is now hosting state visits from French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Emirates Stadium. Click to continue reading...