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The U.S. men's national team had plenty of bright spots and highlights in 2009, but the final game of the year had few moments worth remembering.

With most of the team's top stars unavailable, Bob Bradley handed opportunities to several players to show that they deserve more playing time.

Click to continue reading...

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The U.S. men's national team had plenty of bright spots and highlights in 2009, but the final game of the year had few moments worth remembering.

With most of the team's top stars unavailable, Bob Bradley handed opportunities to several players to show that they deserve more playing time.

Click to continue reading...

Welcome to another edition of Groan in Brief, the weekly look at the world of football in bullet point form. Today, we tackle the Worst Handball Ever in History And Time Itself â„¢, and the curiosity of Egypt's continued absence from the grandest stage of international football.

'That' handball

Whenever the media decide to jump on a story, what transpires is the most unsightly of feeding frenzies, each reporter seeking to trump the last.

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Image via Wikipedia The Irish Justice Minister had already asked Football's Highest Governing Body, FIFA for a replay match for the World Cup qualification after the controversial incident of Thierry Henry handling the ball in the Irish penalty zone before passing the ball to teammate William Gallas who headed home. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Eboue was lucky to escape unhurt after being hit in the stomach by German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer who was trying to clear a backpass from teammate Heiko Westermann. The 26-year old could be ... Click to continue reading...

Arsenal defender William Gallas insists he did not see France teammate Thierry Henry handle the ball ahead of him poking home France's equaliser against the Republic of Ireland.
Barcelona striker Henry clearly handled the ball before setting up his former Arsenal team-mate William Gallas to head Les Bleus into the finals in South Africa next summer. Click to continue reading...

Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou and Abdoulaye Meite were both in the Ivory Coast squad to face Germany in Wednesday's international friendly (2-2 draw). Neither was available for Saturday's World Cup qualifiying win over Guinea after the two went all hyphy on each other in training. The two have since made up (awww).

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You've got to feel sorry for the Republic of Ireland after last nights match where they were cruelly knocked out of the World Cup 2010 qualifiers thanks to a Thierry Henry handball.

Ireland went into the 2nd leg of the game 1-0 behind from a Nicolas Anelka goal in the first leg played at home last week, and went level in tonights game through Robbie Keane.

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There are times in the life of the average non-league fan when he wonders if he is really and truly sane. I had such a moment Saturday as I watched Bath City defeat Chelmsford City 1-0. I was standing on the Bristol End terrace at Twerton Park in pelting rain and howling wind. I was cold and wet and tired. Click to continue reading...

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique joked with Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas on Spanish TV this week about moving to the Nou Camp.
Back in Spain for international week, Cesc has been forced to answer the frenzied speculation about his future with the Gunners.
And Pique, joking with his Spain teammate, told the Esport Club audience, "Hello, I present to you Cesc Fabregas, the future of FC Barcelona. Click to continue reading...

Rafael Van der Vaart is a good sport. After being pushed to the side like an old piece of furniture and neglected from many of the powerhouse's preseason matches, the star Dutch midfielder still wants to stick around and help out real Madrid as a part time player.Â

In the modern day this notion is nearly unheard of.

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Holland teammate Orlando Engelaar hopes his advice has lifted the spirits of injured Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.
Van Persie was told about Mariana Kovacevic, the housewife who is said to have the amazing healing powers, by two of his former Feyenoord team-mates Danko Lazovic and Orlando Engelaar, who both now play for PSV Eindhoven. Click to continue reading...

Sorry I haven't been around lately, it's been a bit hectic over here recently. Luckily it was an international break and nothing much happened in my absence, but I now dutifully bring you what did.

As you may have read in TheSpoiler (highly recommended by the way), Darius Vassell, ex-Man City striker, has been experience a few bumps over in Turkey.

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A friendly between Uruguayan clubs Paysandu and Cameta turned not so friendly (see what I did there?) when defender Carlos Eduardo decided to play a little prank on the linesman. While Eduardo's Paysandu teammate was being stretchered off the pitch, he went up to the linesman and, in his own words:

"I said, 'Boy, you're very jumpy' and threw water on him, which was very hot.

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According to a report released by IMScouting, el Kun Aguero is the most expensive U-21 forward in Europe.

Aguero's current transfer market value is 45 million euros.

Pipita Higuain and his Madrid teammate Karim Benzema are in second place with a transfer market value of 35 million euros each.

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For not including Jeremiah White in the roster for the Denmark friendly:

This, my friends, is a bush league maneuver.
Now, nobody is suggesting White should be thrust into the World Cup frame suddenly - but to not even call the guy into camp for a game at his club's home park is an overt slap in the face.

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A surprising bit of rumour is making the rounds in the Sunday morning papers that could possibly have some legs. Reports are linking the recently departed Chivas USA manager Preki to the vacancy on the Toronto FC bench.
The merit that this rumour has is that Preki, or Predrag Radosavljevic for our Serbian readers, was a long time teammate of Mo Johnston's at KC Wizards. Click to continue reading...

Salt Lake vs. Chicago: Saturday's MLS playoff teams have one thing in common -- their goalkeepers are the shortest starting netminders in the league. Chicago's Jon Busch is listed at 5-10; Salt Lake's Nick Rimando at 5-9.
"People that tell me I wasn't going to achieve anything because I was too short, I just remember that, and I like to shove it in their face whenever I can," Rimando says. Click to continue reading...

Hannover 96 goalkeeper Robert Enke died on Wednesday after being hit by a train. The 32-yer-old Enke had eight caps for the German National Team and played with Benfica and Barcelona. He was a teammate of United States internationals Steve Cherundolo and Sal Zizzo. He was in goal for Hannover's 2-2 draw with Hamburg on Sunday. Click to continue reading...

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo have combined for four MLS Cup titles this decade, and one of them will move a step closer to trying to claim Team of the Decade honors when they meet in Friday's Western Conference Final (11pm, ESPN2).

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo have combined for four MLS Cup titles this decade, and one of them will move a step closer to trying to claim Team of the Decade honors when they meet in Friday's Western Conference Final (11pm, ESPN2).

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Our old friend Eva Roob/Samira Summer, the female footballer turned stripper, has returned to her footballing roots by pulling on the boots one more time to play with men's team SC Leichlingen. But first she pranced around in the dressing room in her lingerie, making her perhaps the best teammate in the history of football.

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After weeks of competition and voting, the final of the Twitterverse Players League has arrived.
It's Teammate v. Teammate. Roommate v. Roommate. It's Chabala v. Holden for the TPL Crown.
poll by twiigs.com Click to continue reading...

Up and coming talent linked with Anfield move.

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Liverpool are reportedly lining up a move for young Hungarian midfielder Vladimir Koman.

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From the same game as yesterday's DTotD, we have Amauri's injury time act of frustration. He tried to be discreet about it, but in most circles kicking a goalkeeper in the face is frowned upon (as is tossing said goalkeeper's own teammate on top of him after the fact, though to a much lesser extent), so Amauri was shown a red card and may or may not have hoped that the referee would fall on the ground so he could kick him in the face, as well.

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If you had asked me six months ago who was England's best centre back I would have undoubtedly said Rio Ferdinand. However posed with the same question now I would be a little less sure. I think that the talk that he's "over the hill" is overly dramatic, but Ferdinand's form this season has definitely been more than questionable.

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Beckham learned a thing or two from Pato and Ronaldinho in Milan

• Theo Walcott's girlfriend Mel has "shunned the WAG lifestyle" to continue her university studies, yet still drives around London in a Ferrari. The winger is out for a month with knee ligament damage [The Sun]

• Walcott's young teammate Nicklas Bendtner is also facing a month long spell on the sidelines after picking up a groin injury against Tottenham.

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Fresh off her 101st career goal and a U.S. 1-0 win against Germany yesterday, it was announced that Women's National Team and Washington Freedom forward Abby Wambach is the only American nominated for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Award.

Freedom teammate and French National player Sonia Bompastor is also on the list of ten nominees.

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Fresh off her 101st career goal and a U.S. 1-0 win against Germany yesterday, it was announced that Women's National Team and Washington Freedom forward Abby Wambach is the only American nominated for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Award.

Freedom teammate and French National player Sonia Bompastor is also on the list of ten nominees.

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US Women's National Team and Washington Freedom forward Abby Wambach is the only American nominated for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Award. Freedom teammate Sonia Bompastor is also on the list of ten nominees. There are 23 nominees on the Men's side, with both lists reduced to five in early December. Click to continue reading...

From Saturday's Ukrainian SuperLiga match between Dnipro and league leaders Dynamo Kiev, we have Dnipro's Pavlo Pashayev sending Milos Ninkovic on a painful trip through the sky with a terrible high challenge that earned him a straight red. Even worse? His teammates actually had the gall to argue the ref's decision.

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Patrice Evra has told reporters of the pain that him and his United teammates are feeling following their 2-0 loss to rivals Liverpool. United were defeated by a Fernando Torres goal, and a late David N'gog goal added salt to United's wounds.

"Normally when United play we create at least five or six clear chances, but we only had the one when Valencia hit the crossbar.

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East Lansing, Mich. The University of Minnesota soccer team saw their 1-0 second half lead slip away this afternoon (Oct. 25), as host Michigan State answered with two goals in less than a 90Â second span for the 2-1 win.

After a scoreless first half, Minnesota (10-5-3, 3-3-2) was first to break through in the second when Tamara Strahota (Burnsville, Minn.

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DENVER — The University of Denver men's soccer team is at its best in close quarters. When one of the Pioneers closes in on an opponent who has the ball, it's in that player's best interest to find a teammate to pass to. Quickly. Otherwise, he's likely to turn the ball over and wind up on the ground in the process.

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First things first holy crap, who let him near guns?!?!?!?!?!???!

We all know about Joey Barton's long history as an awful awul person, but it's starting to look like he's becoming a new man one who doesn't use teammate's eyeballs as ashtrays or go to jail for fighting outside a McDonald's.

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