ASN had the chance to speak with Chicago Fire technical director Frank Klopas to talk about some of the recent departures from the Fire as well as the realities of the soccer business.
Jeff Tobin reports from the Windy City.

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Oh man, I twisted the holy hell out of my ankle last night. Came down from a jump halfway on someone else's foot in the last minute of the game. Suddenly, my four flights of stairs up aren't so charming...#1 - Landon Donovan is your MLS MVP. He also won Goal of the Year. Somehow, he was beaten out for Save of the Year by Pat Onstad. Click to continue reading...

17 arrests for a match fixing scandal which affects 200 matches in nine European countries.

The matches include the Bundesliga second division, and the leagues in Belgium, Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia and Austria. 12 Europa matches and 3 CL matches are said to be manipulated this year, and it is unclear as to whether it is the group stage or qualifying rounds.

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L' Equipe on France's entry into the World Cup makes no excuses.

"Henry controlled the ball with his hand."

The article lambastes the team. When you call Kevin Doyle, the Leo Messi of the match then you know something is terribly wrong. If it was not for Hugo Lloris, France would not have qualified.

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As you might expect, we have plenty of things going on today. Two or three plenties worth, actually...#1 - Let's begin with my double interview with Real Salt Lake strikers Robbie Findley and Yura Movsisyan.Other RSL tidbits:- Rogue Cavaliers Brigade blog Denz's Sopabox has interview videos- Have a ticket but no flight yet? Click to continue reading...

Naguib Sawiris feels that the match should be postponed

Want an Orascom cell phone?

Egypt's giant telecom company, Orascom had its Algiers compund burned and ransacked by thousands of Algerian fans. Property worth $5m was either destroyed or stolen according to Orascom's CEO Naguib Sawiris.

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RVP's convalescence time has been reduced to 4-6 weeks, less than the two months feared. He has a partial tear of the ankle ligament. A Dutch official said it was not a fracture but there was still significant ankle damage.

"It's impossible to put an exact time frame on it because some players heal more quickly than others.

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RIP: Robert Enke: 24 August 1977- 10 November 2009

A sight never seen in Germany as tens of thousands turn AWD Arena into a church to pay their last respects to Robert Enke and to support his wife, Teresa a brave figure in black, who knew best her husband's terrible depression and in the end could do little.

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From the NYT's "The Lede"

Coca Cola invokes the infamous 1989 match between Algeria and Egypt as part of their present ad campaign. Its all about marketing emotions and Coca Cola brings it up without any reference to the violent underbelly of that encounter.

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The carpet bagger wants to leave but an angel waits in the wings.

Something about Brazilian music not being good enough for the neighbours.

Mark Hughes seems to be doing a good job of getting rid of all the Brazilians in the team. Elano, Jo, and now Robinho. We can also look forward to the African clique, Adebayor and Kolo Toure, being broken up.

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I know we had one yesterday, but so much has been going on that we have another. And I meant to have it up sooner, so a few of these may be old news to some...#1 - The National Soccer Hall of Fame has unveiled this year's list of nominees, which includes the two gentleman pictured at left.#2 - Yesterday, MLS tabbed Seattle forward Fredy Montero as Newcomer of the Year and Chivas USA keeper Zach Click to continue reading...

I am so pumped because on November 11th Emily and I will be on flying to our long awaited honeymoon vacation in St. Lucia!! We got married August 8th of this year and with moving, private training, and running the Online Soccer Academy there was no time for a honeymoon until now!

We are staying at one of those Sandals resorts!

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The oldest professional football club believe it or not faces the possibility of court proceedings for non-payment of taxes.

Months after a Qadbak Investments, a Middle East company, whose owners remain largely unidentified bought over Notts County, they are faced with a huge tax bill which had accrued under Blenheim 1862, the former parent company.

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Chelsea 1 Man Utd 0 at Stamford Bridge.

Not exactly classy football but Man Utd was the team with better ideas and creativity. It also unfortunately had more loose cannons, specifically, Jonny Evans.

In fact, Evans provided a menace that the Chelsea attack had a hard time mustering.

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Patrick Nyarko was elusive and hard to pin down by the Revs

How did Pat Phelan not bury that pinpoint Kenny Mansally cross into the back of the net? It was the clearest look at the goal all night and Phelan heads the ball out. He could have been a hero forcing extra time. As it turned out, the Fire did not have to go through that route.

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The Fire meet the Revs today at Toyota Park, 8:30 PM

New England are up 2-1 in the first leg and are in great position to cause the second upset of the playoffs. This match is of great interest for Fire fans because it could also be Blanco's last MLS game as he is out of contract and is returning to second division Mexican club Veracruz.

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Most of the sweet weekend games haven't started yet, so why not kill time with some tube?We begin with another promo clip from Wayne Rooney's Street Striker challenge show. In this clip, you get to see a bit of how the show works and meet a few of the kids. I despise and avoid most "reality challenge" programs, but I love this show! Click to continue reading...

I've lifted the F-bomb ban on Cut of the Day because it's Friday and I wanna...#1 - In the aftermath of last night's Real Salt Lake upset of the champs, James Edward pops the surprise cork and Shawn Mitchell does the Crew autopsy.#2 - After another loss to Benfica at home last night, Everton keeper Tim Howard knows his side is in a real scrap for the Europa League knockouts. Click to continue reading...

A temporary reprieve for Chelsea and they will be allowed to sign new players. CAS has yet to render its final verdict. Gael Kakuta four month suspension has also been lifted.

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I weep for the Newcastle fans who have to put up with this execrable name. How about MikeAshleydumbass@StJames'Park while we are at it?

I remember living in Miami when they renamed Joe Robbie stadium, home of Miami Dolphins as Pro Player Stadium which I thought was soulless but inoffensive.

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" Mmmmmmm. Where is my Rolodex? "

With Franck Ribery out, Bayern has been struggling without his creativity. They lost to Bordeaux, 0-2 in the CL and are almost out of contention to make the round of sixteen.

In the Bundesliga, Bayern are in sixth place with 19 points after five wins, four draws, and two losses.

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The Zapatero government is proposing a tax rate hike from 24% to 43% for overseas players who earn more than 600,000 euros ($884,600) a year. Spain is reeling from the recession with 20% unemployment.

This will effectively end the "Beckham Law", named when the tax rates were amended in 2002 for the English midfielder to make it attractive for him and and other highly sought talent to come to the Liga.

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I think headaches should be outlawed on Wednesdays. I mean, you are as far removed from the most recent weekend as you are from getting to the next one. That's enough misery. A headache on Wednesday is overkill. I vote "no" on Wednesday headaches. What say you?#1 - Chivas USA netminding monster Zach Thornton was tabbed as the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year for a second time today. Click to continue reading...

Stan Koenke just bought up 427 more shares. His holding increases to 29.6%, less than a percentage point from the automatic trigger for a full offer for the club.

No knowing if the Denver Nuggets owner is planning a bid. But he still owes £50m for the shares that he bought from Danny Fiszman and the Carr family.

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The bad news just keeps getting worse for Liverpool with Torres to join Steven Gerrard as a possible candidate for surgery. He has a hernia which could be cured with a long layoff of a month but if symptoms persist then surgery will be the other alternative.

Rafa has no choice but to play Torres in today's match against Lyon at the Stade de Gerland.

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One of the great disconnects in the Argentina World Cup qualifiers was the anemic performance of Leo Messi when compared to his stellar Barca exploits. It was as if there were two different performers inhabiting the same body.

Maradona might have come to the realization that Messi needs the sort of laissez faire environment that he enjoys at Barca where his creative genius alongside that of Iniesta and Xavi create parallel points of attack.

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With his contribution key to the Galaxy making the playoffs, Beck's Milan departure raises fewer eyebrows. He will play his first Serie game on January 6th and if all goes as planned, he will join the Galaxy after the World Cup.

I am of the camp that the criticism which he received on his return was fully deserved.

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Sunday's edition of FSC's business minute sponsored by British Airways discussed the economic implications of David Beckham's arrival at Milan. Keith Costigan, Warren Burton, and Chris Miles all nodding in agreement that Becks arrival would bring back the crowds to the San Siro, boost T shirt sales, and relieve them from the desperate reality of rapidly emptying coffers.

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I did not know that the MLS was a giant holding area for players seeking addiction counseling.

Through the Revs vs Fire match, Sullivan and Bretos in their verbiage sprinkled the word "intervention". Even in their word salad, that word stuck out. Whereas Bretos usage was confined to the more physical aspect of the game when a defender cut off a pass or cleared a corner, Sullivan's was a bit more cognitive when he said that Jeff Larontewicz's "intervention" pushed Shalrie Joseph to play better.

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Nice bit of stimulus. 65,000 and 100,000 total new jobs would be created in the various host cities during the preparation and operation of the tournament in the year of the event. If the USA does get awarded the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, one of the goal will be to generate immediate tangible effects.

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The Seattle Sounders vs Houston Dynamo playoffs got the MLS playoffs to a raucous start with their edge of the seat performances even it ended in a goalless draw. Seattle also boasts the highest home attendances in the MLS. It all looks promising.

Except as this article points out, there is enough deadwood in the MLS.

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Juande Ramos would be forgiven if he suffers panic attacks close to the fourth week of October every year from now on, as almost a year to the day since his dismissal from Spurs, he was once again relieved of his CSKA duties.

This article highlights some similarities between his CSKA departure and the way his days at Spurs came to an end.

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Manuel Pellegrini's coaching career at Real is in danger. The shocking defeat at the hands of lowly Alcorcon has sent shock waves through the echelons of the most decorated football club in the world.

Jorge Valdano and Florentino Perez have given the Chilean the Getafe match this weekend and the return match against Milan in the Champions League next week to prove himself.

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Phil Brown, ex manager and current suntan oil salesman?

The Independent says that Adam Pearson's shock arrival from Derby means that current chairman Andy Duffen and Phil Brown's biggest ally might be on his way out. If that happens then Brown's tenure at Hull is in danger. The abrasive Hull coach has had a unsettled relationship with some players and was booed by fans when he took off Stephen Hunt against Portsmouth.

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In Family Guy:

Chris Griffin: Dad, was there ever a real city of New Orleans?"
Peter Griffin: "No one knows, Chris. No one knows."

It is interesting to see anyone and everyone walk into Pompey, buy up the club, and walk out two days later. The revolving door has led to Pompey being dead last in the Premiership, player wages being delayed, and transfer fees that have yet to be paid two years later.

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