Barca duly wrapped up the 2011 Club World Cup in Yokohama on Sunday with a one-sided 4-0 win over South American champions Santos in front of a full house of 68,166 fans.
The team from Sao Paulo in Brazil had looked likely to provide stiffer opposition than they eventually offered after their impressive 3-1 win over J-League champions Kashiwa Reysol in the semi-final on Wednesday at Toyota Stadium.

Goals:
Maxi 58'
Kelly 63'
A diligent, comprehensive win sealed with two strikes within five minutes around the hour mark. After briefly basking in the afterglow of yet another away win and yet another victory over Chelsea, the result seems somewhat overshadowed by Lucas's frightening knee injury – the last thing the team needed from this poorly-scheduled fixture.

BY ADAM SERRANO

CARSON, Calif. -- Long derided for being injury prone, Calen Carr is used to be written off, but for Carr, redemption could be only 90 minutes away.

Since returning to from a concussion suffered in preseason while he was with the Chicago Fire, Carr has earned a starting spot alongside Dynamo captain Brian Ching, with his fast paced play adding a cutting edge to the Dynamo attack.

It was a process that took around six years from top to tail in total, and it came in three very distinct phases. I had been a supporter of the England national team, reasoning that, with no foreign blood in the family tree and a knowledge that we weren't all as bad as we were painted, I had to have someone to follow for international tournaments.

It was a process that took around six years from top to tail in total, and it came in three very distinct phases. I had been a supporter of the England national team, reasoning that, with no foreign blood in the family tree and a knowledge that we weren't all as bad as we were painted, I had to have someone to follow for international tournaments.

Euro 2012 Qualifying Playoffs: Portugal, Czech Rep, Turkey & Croatia on the line - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

The likes of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and England have all booked their places in Euro 2012 already, but four tickets to the festivities in Poland and Ukraine still have yet to be punched.

BY JONATHAN VERA

CARSON, Calif.-- The last time Real Salt Lake and the Galaxy competed for a trophy, it was the 2009 MLS Cup FInal and RSL took the championship. History did not repeat itself on Sunday as this time they lost to the Galaxy on Sunday in a Western Conference final filled with missed opportunities.

Wayne Rooney was sent off in England's 2-2 draw last night just a day after his father and uncle were arrested in a betting sting. The Manchester United striker is now set to miss the first 1 or 2 opening ... Continue reading →

Quick Recap:

The Portland Timbers played a great tactical game and got the early goal from a brilliant strike from Kenny Cooper. The Vancouver Whitecaps tried to make a game of it but looks like they decided they might as well go for the Wooden Spoon. Portland wins 1-0.

First Half:

Portland really came out looking good despite missing their captain and one of their dynamic play makers.

Stoke away in the Carling Cup third round it is. Only two days after our last match. That is ridiculous isn't it?! Trip to Greece on Thursday, Cheeky win over Liverpool on Sunday, off to Stoke on the Tuesday. It's the same for Stoke, they've had a Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday fiasco going on as well. So are we expecting a second sting side from both teams with all 22 players content not to get hurt, play out a 0-0 bore draw whilst at the same time failing to be good enough to make a stake for a first team start?

FireStingDoug recalls what many thought was the best NASL match ever played at the time.

On June 28, 1981 the Sting hosted what many consider to be the biggest regular season game in team history. The New York Cosmos came calling and 30,501 fans packed Wrigley Field for the spectacle.

Liverpool defender Martin Kelly believes new signing Jordan Henderson has all the attributes to become a great at Anfield.
Henderson, on international duty with the England Under-21s in Denmark, signed for Liverpool from Sunderland for a reported £16 million last week.
And Kelly, who established himself in the Reds first team last season, believes the young midfielder has the ability to make an even bigger name for himself.

Another look at the 1981 season from FireStingDoug:

With a record of 10-4 the Sting took on the Washington Diplomats at Comiskey Park on June 14, 1981. The Diplomats (also previously know as the "Dips") folded after the 1980 season but the NASL moved the former Detroit Express into Washington to start the 1981 season and also named them the Diplomats.

More from FireStingDoug on 1981: The Sting travelled to San Diego on June 7, 1981 to take on the team that eliminated them from the NASL playoffs in 1979 and 1980. The Sting scored only one goal but it was enough to beat the Sockers this time. Arno Steffenhagen scored midway through the first half cutting in towards goal from the right wing to place the ball past San Diego goalkeeper Volkmar Gross.

The Gold Cup is underway, much to the chagrin of Bruce Arena's Donovan-less Galaxy and the Wondo-less Quakes, who inexplicably aren't feeling the sting, as we'll get into later. And as soon as I start extolling the virtues of the league's ability to create goals, we have a weekend when only five teams score more than once.

Former Italian striker Giuseppe Signori has been put under house arrest in connection with match-fixing.

The former Lazio hero plus seven others were arrested by Police in a major match-fixing sting, after a second-tier game in Cremona last year had unusual betting patterns with hundred's of thousands bet on the game.

FireStingDoug looks back at May 27, 1981:

"The Sting travelled north of the border to Toronto to face the Blizzard at Exhibition Stadium, the site of the 1981 Soccer Bowl. Their six game winning streak came to an end at the hands of the second worst team in the league by a score of 3-1. Derek Spalding scored the only goal on a penalty kick.

Multiple games in less than one week's time was commonplace in the old NASL. FireStingDoug reflects on a match with the Seattle Sounders on May 23, 1981.

"Seattle came to town and paid a visit to Comiskey Park where 10,929 fans saw the Sting emerge victorious 3-1. The Sounders led the league in total points in 1980 and were once again a solid playoff contender in 1981 but the Sting continued their high energy style and outhustled Seattle.

In FireStingDoug's continuing series of trips down memory lane this edition takes a look back at the May 17, 1981 battle between the Sting and the New York Cosmos. A match that was televised on WGN TV.

The Cosmos had world class talent but the Sting seemed to own them through the years holding an overall 4-1 all time lead in the series.

Another look back at the Sting's 1981 season from FireStingDoug:

On May 10, 1981 the Sting won their third game in a row after sweeping a home and home series with Dallas. A 5-0 win at Wrigley Field saw Rudy Glenn score twice while Karl-Heinz Granitz, Pato Margetic, and Greg Ryan provided the other tallies.

Another Sting memory from FireStingDoug..........

On May 3, 1981 the Sting maintained their perfect franchise record at Comiskey Park by defeating the Tampa Bay Rowdies 3-1. Karl Heinz Granitza, Ingo Peter, and Charlie Fajkus scored the goals for the home side.

The win improved the Sting record to 3-2 but not many people saw it as only 5,857 were in attendance.

The SPL season heads inexorably towards its conclusion. Did last Sunday decide the destination of the title?
Perhaps.
Perhaps not.
All Rangers can do is keep winning, keep hoping and wait for Celtic to slip up. Not much else for it.
Celtic, of course, need to avoid slipping up.

Speaking after their loss at Anfield last week, Stoke City manager Tony Pulis was quick to defend his side, stating that the main difference between his team's 2-0 home win back in November and the match he had just witnessed was the venue. Perhaps it was a case of sour grapes, or maybe he was just trying to pick his side up before their game against Sunderland this weekend, but there was clearly a massive gap in quality – not just between the two sides on the pitch, but also the two performances on display from Liverpool.