GK: John Mucha (Legia Warsaw), Ľuboš Kamenár (FC Nantes), Dušan Kuciak (FC Vaslui), Lubos Stonemason (Nantes) DEF: Marek Cech (West Bromwich Albion), Ján Ďurica (Lokomotiv Moscow), Peter Pekárik (VfL Wolfsburg), Martin Petras (AC Cesena), Kornel Saláta (Slovan Bratislava), Martin Skrtel (Liverpool), Radoslav Zabavník (Terek Grozny) MID: Marek Hamsik (Napoli), Miroslav Karhan (Mainz), Kamil Kopúnek (Spartak Trnava), Jan Kozak (Slovan Bratislava), George Kucka (Sparta Prague), Marek Sapara (Rosenborg), Miroslav Stoch (FC Twente Enschede), Zdeno Štrba (Škoda. Click to continue reading...

I have to start this off by saying thank you to the people behind the scenes at uefa.com for moving their subscription video service away from Windows Media and into a Flash-based format. It's allowed me to follow all the games from the comforts of my Mac. If you've not done so, I strongly recommend checking out their Replay service.

Click to continue reading...

Group A
Ajax Amsterdam 0-0 FC Timisoara; Dinamo Zagreb 0-2 Anderlecht
Group B
Genoa 2-0 Slavia Prague; Lille 1-1 Valencia
Group C
Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2-1 Celtic; Rapid Vienna 3-0 Hamburg SV
Group D
Heerenveen 2-3 Sporting Lisbon; Hertha Berlin 1-1 FK Ventspils
Group E
CSKA Sofia 1-1 Fulham; FC Basel 2-0 AS Roma
Group F
Panathinaikos 1-3 Galatasaray; SK Sturm Graz 0-1 Dinamo Bucuresti
Group G
Lazio 1-2 SV Salzburg; Villarreal 1-0 Levski Sofia
Group H
Fenerbahce 1-2 Twente Enschede; Steaua Bucuresti 0-0 Sheriff Tiraspol
Group I
Benfica 2-0 BATE Borisov; Everton 4-0 AEK Athens
Group J
Club Brugge 1-4 Shakhtar Donetsk; Partizan Belgrade 2-3 Toulouse
Group K
CFR Cluj-Napoca 2-0 FC Copenhagen; Sparta Prague 2-2 PSV Eindhoven
Group L
Athletic Bilbao 3-0 Austria Vienna; CD Nacional de Madeira 2-3 Werder Bremen Click to continue reading...

A colorful week in Colombia's capital for me, spiced up by snacking on the Beautiful Game. Like a medieval pilgrim seeking a shrine, the first thing I seek in a foreign capital is its stadium, and like my ancestors, I come home with tales and tacky trinkets. My family heirlooms will include a South Korea World Cup CD case, a Sparta Prague ashtray and an Atletico Madrid singing alarm clock with Click to continue reading...

The 2009/2010 Europa League group stage draw, in full:

Group A: Ajax, Anderlecht, Dinamo Zagreb, Timisoara.

Group B: Valencia, Lille, Slavia Prague, Genoa.

Group C: Hamburg, Celtic, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Rapid Vienna.

Group D: Sporting, Heerenveen, Hertha Berlin, Ventspils.

Click to continue reading...

Liverpool FC are reportedly in the process of signing Greek international defender Sotiris Kyrgiakos. Here is some information about the new signing and a glimpse of what fans can expect of the player.
Age – 30
Height – 6'5
Position – Centre back
Career (Games/goals)
2008–2009 AEK Athens (27/0)
2006–2008 Eintracht Frankfurt (51/8)
2005–2006 Rangers (43/1)
1998–2004 Panathinaikos (60/5)
1999–2001 Agios Nikolaos (56/3)
2002 – Greece (49/4)
From his personal website:
Sotirios Kyrgiakos was born at Megalochori, Trikala on July 23, 1979 and he made his first football steps with a local team, Thyella Megalochoriou. Click to continue reading...

Rumor has it that Toronto FC has yet another trialist in camp. Along with the much rumored dutchmen, Lesly Fellinga and Dominique van Dijk, Czech striker Michal Pospisil formerly with Sparta Prague, Scottish side Hearts and currently with Czech side Viktoria Žižkov is in camp and getting a look by Chris Cummins and the technical staff. Click to continue reading...

Â

Jozy Altidore looks like he will be playing in England this upcoming season, just where remains to be seen.

Altidore revealed his plans to head to England on Wednesday to finalize a move via Twitter, stating "England early in the morning so im going to get some sleep."

So where is he headed?

Click to continue reading...

The 2009-10 Champions League Qualifying third round wraps up this week as the second legs took place. On Tuesday five teams advanced to the next round of qualifying. Here's a recap of the matches on Tuesday along with video highlights.

Maccabi Haifa FC advances past FK Atobe 4-3 on aggregate Video Highlights

It was 0-0 after the first leg and Maccabi had to come from behind to advance 4-3 on aggregate.

Click to continue reading...

TORONTO FC VS. PUERTO RICO ISLANDERS
BMO Field - Wednesday 8:00PM EST
TV: GOL-TV
Who's wants to sing the song? "THE CHAAAAAMPIONS!" Just like UEFA - but poor. It's CONCACAF Champions League! Wednesday is the night where Toronto FC and their supporters finally get to feel what its like to be Sparta Prague or FC Copenhagen. Click to continue reading...

Tomas Rosicky's return will allow Arsenal to play a more fluid and expansive game again after the relative failures of last season.
______________________________________________________________________________

It was October 2002 when many Arsenal fans would have first seen Tomas Rosicky in action.

Click to continue reading...

Arsenal's path to the Champion's League group stages has been clarified somewhat today with the draw for the qualifying round of the Champions League.

Arsenal are automatically in the "Play-off" round along with Atletico Madrid, Lyons, VfB Stuttgart and Fiorentina. We will be joined by the winners of the following matches:

Sparta Prague  v Panathinaikos Â

Shakhtar Donetsk  v Timisoara (Rom)

Sporting Lisbon  v Twente Â

Celtic v Dynamo Moscow Â

Anderlecht  v Sivasspor (Tur)

The draw for the "Play-off" will take place on 7 August.

Click to continue reading...

Many of you maybe wondering why I am writing about Gambrinus Liga side SK Slavia Praha. Ten bucks says that you have no idea what league the Gambrinus Liga is. Suffice to say that my interest in said team has been piqued as my brother has just join the club's U-19 squad. As most of you, I hadn't heard of SK Slavia Praha which is why I am writing this post to educate myself and any of you who cares about Czech football.

Click to continue reading...

All English Premier League transfers are listed on this page.

You'll find the January 2009 Premier League Transfers. Archives for older transfer seasons are at the end of this page. For the latest transfer rumours and transfer lists for other leagues, see our transfer news column.

If you find a transfer not listed here let us know and we'll add it.

Click to continue reading...

Get up, son As far as I can tell, this incident took place during a game in the Czech league between Sparta Prague and FC Tescoma Zlin (please correct me if that's not right). Using my amazing powers of deduction,...

Click to continue reading...

Defeat at the hands of Chelsea mean that we finish the season in 4th place and qualify for the Champions League knock-out stage. Â Â What does this mean, and how does this differ from previous seasons?

 Under Michel Platini's plan to get greater inclusion for team like Cluj and BATE Borisov, qualification for the group stages is split into two; the Champions of the smaller nations play in one section and the runners-up, third place and fourth place teams play in the other section.

Click to continue reading...

Defeat at the hands of Chelsea mean that we finish the season in 4th place and qualify for the Champions League knock-out stage. Â Â What does this mean, and how does this differ from previous seasons?

 Under Michel Platini's plan to get greater inclusion for team like Cluj and BATE Borisov, qualification for the group stages is split into two; the Champions of the smaller nations play in one section and the runners-up, third place and fourth place teams play in the other section.

Click to continue reading...

Three transfers occur this week around MLS. Here is the weekly info on the latest transfers....
1. Andre Hainault(Sparta Prague) to Houston Dynamo
Pros: This transfer will add a good strong European like physique to the depth of the Houston Dynamo's defence. Click to continue reading...

Football is a passionate game. That is like saying cliff-walking is a dangerous one. Plenty of sports have their passion, but to me, football's remains the most tribalistic. How many people do you know who can transform from run-of-the-mill Mr. Average to vein-through-the-head Mr. Angry, and all because of a contentious penalty decision. Click to continue reading...

This is Jiří Kladrubský, a 22 yo left back for Sparta Praha, one time Czech NT participant and wannabe kung fu artist. His victim is Tomas Jun, forward for FK Teplice and formerly of Sparta. He also now features a pounding headache, maybe even a couple stitches, and a severe distaste for roundhouse kicks. Click to continue reading...

I have never been a fan of Nicolas Anelka so I know I am totally biased against him. Actually, that isn't totally true, when he was a teenager at Arsenal I was as impressed with him as was everybody else. It is since he left Arsenal that he has been such a disappointment. Watching Chelsea play against Manchester United on Sunday, I couldn't help but feel that Anelka looked totally out of place. Click to continue reading...

Pick up a newspaper today and the chances are the back pages are filled with talk of Robinho, Berbatov and the many other players moving to new clubs before the Premier League transfer window closed last night.
Yet for all the players grabbing the headlines and milking the spotlight, there are those that have been shown the door to make way for them in recent weeks. Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: James Milner (Newcastle United), Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Luke Young, (Middlesbrough), Nickey Shorey (Reading), Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Shaun Maloney (Celtic), Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg. Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: James Milner (Newcastle United), Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Luke Young, (Middlesbrough), Nickey Shorey (Reading), Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Shaun Maloney (Celtic), Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg. Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: James Milner (Newcastle United), Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Luke Young, (Middlesbrough), Nickey Shorey (Reading), Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Shaun Maloney (Celtic), Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg. Click to continue reading...

The UEFA Cup first-round draw was held on Friday and there are a number of interesting new faces in the competition. One of those teams is Dutch side FC Twente, who as we've detailed in previous posts, is now coached by former England boss Steve McClaren. Twente, who were entered into the UEFA Cup after [. Click to continue reading...

Panathinaikos will return to the group stage of the UEFA Champions this coming September, after defeating Sparta Prague 3-1 on aggregate to feature in the tournament's group stage for the first time in three years. Unfortunately, the Athenian club will be the only Greek representative in the Champions League for Click to continue reading...

Summer signing Rodrigo Souza was the lone scorer in Panathinaikos' 1-0 win over Sparta Prague tonight in Athens. Leaving it late, Panathinaikos won the game as they did a fortnight ago to end Sparta Prague's Champions League run prematurely. A must-win game for the visitors was level until Souza tallied Click to continue reading...

Panathinaikos face their final qualifying test tonight at OAKA, as Czech club Sparta Prague pays a visit to the Greek capital. Holding a 2-1 aggregate lead heading into tonight's deciding leg, Panathinaikos is favourite to progress to the group stage of the Champions League. The Greek side gave a formidable performance Click to continue reading...

Uefa Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round Leg 2: Panathinaikos Athens are meeting  Sparta Prague Tuesday August 26th. Watch the highlights and LIVESTREAM here at footiedb.com Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Luke Young, (Middlesbrough), Nickey Shorey (Reading), Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Moore (West. Click to continue reading...

Panathinaikos took a big step towards qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stage with a gritty 2-1 win over Sparta Prague in the Czech capital. An exchange of goals including an own goal scored by Sparta Prague gave Panathinaikos two away goals to take back to Athens. A shaky opening Click to continue reading...

Panathinaikos will meet Czech club Sparta Prague tonight for the first leg of their 3rd Qualifying round for a spot in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Both clubs overcame opposition to reach this stage of the tournament; Panathinaikos knocked out Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi, while Sparta Prague edged past Click to continue reading...

No, not this year. Not yet. In a couple years time though Villa, Pompey, City or Spurs fans will rejoice as they look forward to a couple of matches against Sparta Prague, before being outclassed by some Spaniards and crashing out in the group stages. Still, it will be a better crusade than that experienced by Everton in 2005. Click to continue reading...

The second qualifying round brought two big upsets as Rangers and Anderlecht became two of the biggest clubs to be knocked out at this stage. A 2-1 win (video highlights here) in Lithuania saw FBK Kaunas (pictured celebrating at the right) take full advantage of the 0-0 draw they earned at Ibrox to send the beaten [. Click to continue reading...