The fight for Dan Potts is on.

A U.S.-eligible, 17-year-old left back playing for West Ham, Potts has been called in by England's Under 18 national team for a friendly against Poland next month.

Potts, who has dual eligibility for both England and the United States, has never previously represented England on the youth level, and he took part in a U.

Monday evening's match at Anfield between Liverpool and Tottenham was a low-key affair. However, it did feature one standout moment: the return of Luis Suarez from his lengthy suspension for racially insulting Manchester United's Patrice Evra....
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The U.S. Soccer community lost a legend Tuesday, as Harry Keough, a national team captain during the memorable 1950 World Cup and a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, died at age 84.

Keough was one of the last surviving members of the 1950 team that beat England, 1-0, in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in all of soccer.

Darwin Jones was among the Seattle Sounders' recent cuts from preseason training camp, but that doesn't mean he'll be going very far. The 19-year-old has joined the University of Washington's 2012 recruiting class, giving the Huskies four Sounders Academy products in this class alone. Jones will be accompanied by Michael Gallagher, Ian Lange and Dominique Dismuke.

Can you still really play two sports at the elite level in Australia?
Ellyse Perry thinks so and with great support from Matildas Coach Tom Sermanni over the years she has done so.
But her recent decision to play cricket for Australia and miss the semi and final of the W-League season left me wondering where now for Ellyse?

The Philadelphia Union have officially completed a trade of Kyle Nakazawa to the LA Galaxy. Nakazawa will be sent to California with a second round selection in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft for one of the Galaxy's international roster spots.

Nakazawa was reported to be on his way to the Galaxy early this morning, when the Brotherly Game published a storywith information from a source knowledgeable on the situation.

Another Philadelphia Union player is on his way out of the club, as Kyle Nakazawa will be traded, the Brotherly Game has learned.

Sources tell the Brotherly Game that the Nakazawa will be moved to the LA Galaxy in a move that one of the sources said will be announced tomorrow. The trade has been in the works since sometime last week.

The Portland Timbers are certainly not resting on their laurels heading into February as they just announced a new player acquisition in Charles Renken, a midfielder, via the MLS waiver. According to assistant coach Amos Magee:

"While only 18, Charles is a talented player who is already accustomed to the professional environment," said Amos Magee, Timbers assistant coach.

As everyone by now knows, Kris Boyd will officially be a Timber sometime in the next few weeks, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Regardless of how we really feel about that, it sure was exciting to see Merritt Paulson bounding out of the tunnel on his way to us members of the press waiting on the side of the field.

7 games, 3 wins, 4 draws and 8 goals allowed. These were rookie Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath's numbers after filling in for an injured Faryd Mondragon late in the 2011 season. Pretty impressive for a twenty year old rookie backup goalkeeper who's only playing time before Faryd Mondragon's injury was a second half start in a friendly against EPL squad, Everton.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

The Philadelphia Union's preseason is starting to become more notable not for who is in camp but for the attackers who are spending time in England.

According to his agent, Richard Motzkin, third-year forward Danny Mwanga is training with Aston Villa for the next 10 days.

MISL NEWS RELEASE: Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Milwaukee's Bennett Named Player of the Week Recorded 15 points as the Wave took a pair of victories from three games
TAMPA, Fla. – The Major Indoor Soccer League announced on Tuesday that Milwaukee Wave forward Ian Bennett had been named the league's Player of the Week for the 12th week of the 2011-12 season.

Juventus and Italian national team legend Alessandro Del Piero has long been linked with a move to MLS, and despite recent reports having him wind up with the Montreal Impact, the club's president set the record straight on the matter.

Joey Saputo admitted to having discussions with the 37-year-old Del Piero's representatives on two occasions -- last April in Montreal and last June in Italy -- while discussing a potential move to MLS, but offered that Del Piero has his eyes on the league's two major markets should he come to America.

For the second time in three years, Lakeland is looking for a new soccer coach.

Tony Pierce, the former Milwaukee Wave standout goalkeeper who coached the Muskies' men's and women's teams for the past two seasons, resigned from the Sheboygan college earlier this month.

A news release from the school indicated Pierce was leaving to pursue opportunities closer to his home in Green Bay.

Geoff Cameron has been a standout for the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer, and has not only lead the Dynamo into the MLS Cup this past season, but also received a recent call-up to the US National team.
His play is worthy of national team consideration, but it's his presence and positive attitude that have been key components in his success.

The beat (no pun intended) goes on for the Independence, announcing the signing of former US Women's National Team standout, Lori Chalupny earlier today. Chalupny comes to Philadelphia from the Atlanta Beat, where she played in 17 games and scored two goals. "Lori is a world class midfielder. She has great vision, is a fantastic engine and can play both the percentage and million dollar pass," Philadelphia head coach Paul Riley told the official Independence website today.

Arsene Wenger might consider his namesake Andrew Wenger in his search for a full back. Wenger, a Duke University standout shows why he is the top pick in this year's MLS SuperDraft. He is listed as a defender/forward and you can see why. He has impressive ball skills, attacks down the flanks with speed, and finishes impressively.

"Shay will go back between the sticks and we explained to Brad that our No. 1 goalkeeper is Shay. Brad didn't necessarily agree but Shay is my first-choice goalkeeper. Football is cruel at times, although Brad's been magnificent. It's the first time I've had a chance to see him in high-profile games and I've been really delighted.

Dynamo still negotiating with Ibeagha

In this report for Fox Soccer regarding various news and notes from the MLS SuperDraft, Ives Galarcep reported the following: "The Houston Dynamo continue to negotiate with Academy product and US Under-23 national team defender Sebastian Ibeagha but have yet to reach an agreement with the Duke standout.

Landon Donovan continued his strong run of form for Everton on Saturday, delivering his best performance since re-joining the Toffees in Everton's 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.

Donovan laid off a beautiful defense-splitting pass to set up Victor Anichebe's equalizer in a match that also so Donovan's LA Galaxy teammate, Robbie Keane, make his Aston Villa debut.

Nearly nine hours after being selected with the 10th pick in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft, and after doing who knows how many interviews, Ethan Finlay's voice was a little hoarse Thursday night.

But he was still excited to talk about his day and his future with the Columbus Crew.

The Philadelphia Union selected Chandler Hoffman with the 13th overall pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft. Chandler is a member of MLS' Generation Adidas program, having signed on as one of nine such players in this SuperDraft cycle.

Chandler was a standout striker at NCAA powerhouse UCLA, the former home of current Union midfielders Amobi Okugo and Kyle Nakazawa.

Photo: Michael Long

Midfielder Sinead Farrelly has officially agreed to terms to return to the Philadelphia Independence for the 2012 season. Farrelly was a standout at the University of Virginia where she was a second team All-American and a Hermann Trophy finalist. The Havertown-native was Philadelphia's first pick (second overall) in last season's draft.

The forward class in the 2012 MLS Combine is an intriguing one, as teams try to figure out who the top strikers will be on the board once Akron star Darren Mattocks is taken, as expected, with the first or second pick in the draft.

Three of the most likely candidates to go early from the forward pool are UCLA product Chandler Hoffman (pictured), Maryland standout Casey Townsend and South Florida star Dom Dwyer.

Sky: FA Cup fourth round draw

Liverpool will meet Man Utd in the standout tie of the fourth round after the draw for the last 32 threw up a number of mouth-watering clashes.

View the full story here: Sky Sports

A news article on 2012-01-08 17:32:10 from: Sky Sports

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Duke standout Andrew Wenger and Stanford senior Teresa Noyola were named winners of the Hermann Trophy on Saturday in recognition of being the top players in Division I NCAA soccer.

Wenger, who signed a Generation Adidas contract after a stellar junior year at Duke, led the ACC with 17 goals and eight assists.

Well we pretty much knew that it was happening, but today the Portland Timbers confirmed that Brent Richards has been signed as the Timbers first ever homegrown player. Richards joins the club after three seasons with the Timbers U-23 PDL side where he scored 26 goals and 12 assists in 37 games...

A favorite quote of mine comes from a statement I heard years ago about adversity being a building block in developing one's character. I used to even prescribe to the theory: 'A B C - Adversity Builds Character'.
Helen Keller once said, "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.

Like many high school seniors across Wisconsin, Lucas Cardona is planning to go to college and play soccer.

But it's highly unlikely any of his peers are taking the same approach as the former Madison Memorial standout.

Cardona will graduate in January, a semester ahead of his classmates, and head to his native Uruguay to study at the University of the Republic in Montevideo.

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As the calendar gets set to turn to 2012, it's an obvious time to reflect and look back at the year that was for U.S. Soccer.

While the year provided the ushering in of a new coaching era, a 6-8-3 international record and a breakout stage for a number of players, it also saw some of the more familiar names rise to the occasion on both the club and international levels.

D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid and former JMU standout and 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year C.J. Sapong have been called into the upcoming U.S. Men's National Team camp to prepare for matches against Venezuela and Panama.
Hamid spent time during the offseason training with EPL team West Bromwich Albion and is eligible to compete in 2012 Olympic Games qualifying.

Launching in January in time for the spring training season, the Nike Pro Combat line of baselayer evolves with both a short-sleeve top and shorts a standout combination for the modern athlete looking for premium performance benefits including breathability and compression. The Nike Hypercool Fitted Short Sleeve Top 2.

As Seattle Sounders FC's Academy enters its winter break to rest and recharge they stand in strong in the standings. The U-18s are first in the Northwest Division and seventh by PPM among teams with 10+ games. At the U-16 level the team is dominating tied for first by PPM with 10+ games and in first in the division.

The 2012 MLS Draft is less than a month away and Major League Soccer has secured the services of the two highest-rated prospects coming out of college this year.

Sources have told Fox Soccer that Duke standout Andrew Wenger and Akron star Darren Mattocks have signed Generation adidas contracts, with MLS expected to announce the first of its Generation adidas signings on Tuesday.

FC Dallas traded Honduran winger Marvin Chavez to the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday, securing an allocation in the process.

The deal sent Chavez, who enjoyed a standout season in Dallas, to San Jose, where he should slot right in as the team's starting right winger.

Chavez delivered six goals and four assists for FC Dallas, providing a perfect complement on the right wing to Brek Shea's forays from the left flank.

It looks like we Timbers fans are going to get an early Christmas present from the Timbers organization as they've announced, for really reals, that Jose Adolfo Valencia, the Colombian U-20 national team standout has been officially signed as the Timbers second Designated Player.

We've essentially covered El Trencito over the last few weeks so there's not much to say that you shouldn't already know.

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When Caleb Porter released his initial roster for the upcoming U.S. Under-23 training camp in Florida, a few omissions raised some eyebrows.

A couple of those players in question are now included, as Borussia Dortmund striker Terrence Boyd and UCLA playmaker Kelyn Rowe were added to the camp, during which Porter will get a look at 30 players eligible for Olympic qualifying.

Just 48 hours before scoring against Chelsea Manchester City star Mario Balotelli received an almighty scare when Manchester United fans attacked him whilst driving in his white Maserati! The incident occurred on Saturday when Balotelli was driving his rather standout Maserati Gran Turismo through the streets of Manchester alongside girlfriend Raffaella Fico.

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The 2012 MLS Draft is a month away, and the Montreal Impact's options with the No. 1 overall pick are ready to get a lot weaker.

Akron University striker Darren Mattocks, a consensus pick to be among the first two players selected in January's MLS Draft, is ready to pass on the Generation adidas contract offered to him by MLS to sign in Europe.

Sky Sports is reporting that Minnesota Stars midfielder Luke Mulholland has been training with English League One side, Walsall. The Saddlers are currently 4th from the bottom of the 24 team league and are looking for support in the midfield. According to the Sky article, the 23-year-old put in a standout showing for the Saddlers' [.