When football pundits discuss Carlos Tevez, they often talk about his "work rate" and his "eye for the ball." At times, though, the words "work rate" can morph into a backhanded compliment as if those pundits are really saying, "He's rubbish as a goal scorer, but boy, he sure works hard, doesn't he?

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Max Lipset

Regular IMS readers will know that Max Lipset has been a contributor to the website in the past. Max is a very good writer and an even better soccer player. This past year Max played for the Kitsap Pumas and told us about life in Seattle, his experiences with the Pumas and the burgeoning soccer culture in the Pacific Northwest.

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Jozy Altidore will hope to have a shot to put one past one of his international teammates when Hull host the Hammers while Frank Simek should continue his role in Wednesday's starting lineup. Click to continue reading...

Prior Lake, MN native Teal Bunbury is having the season of his life, and so are his teammates at Arkon of Ohio. The Zips are currently undefeated at 20-0-0 in Men's Division I NCAA play.

Last Sunday the Zips defeated Hartwick by a score of 2-1 winning its third consecutive Mid-American Conference Tournament championship.

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Really not a lot out there today, but we'll make the most of it:

• Eduardo gets a new deal with Arsenal.
  
• Marseille talking about to the troubled Ben Arfa.
  
• Dzeko will be allowed to leave Wolfsburg.
  
• City won't be getting Gattuso, says agent.
  
• Robinho has told his City teammates that he wants to go to Barcelona.

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Last week football in Germany was brought to a standstill by the sad news of the passing of Robert Enke. Only 32 years old, the national keeper took his own life after years of suffering depression. It seems that only very few were made aware of his condition his closest family members, some medical practitioners and one or two friends.

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If you'll pardon the double dip, allow me to re-purpose something I knocked out for MLS Insider yesterday. I got to talking to Nick Rimando for a minute and he pointed out something that I didn't think of; he basically closed out his buddy Brandon Prideaux's career with that save in the shootout (they were teammates at D. Click to continue reading...

It's pretty easy to see why this season was a frustrating one for Fire defender Gonzalo Segares. After being a stalwart in the backline for years for the Fire, Segares was forced to the sidelines this year, only playing in 12 regular season games due to a combination of injuries and national team call-ups.

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The former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o promised his fellow countrymen that he will buy each of his teammates a £30,000 watch should they qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Last weekend after their 2-0 win over Morocco, Eto'o made good on his promise and gifted the same watch to all of his teammates.

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This is what an allergy to water would look like, I presume. This is how years of therapy start. (Water Cooler Offside) The mathematics of a statistic. (Uli Hesse) The truthiness behind Lampard's plane injury. (Studs Up) Samuel Eto'o dishes out some expensive watches for his Cameroonian teammates. (The Spoiler) FIFA wages war against Iraq. Click to continue reading...

As part of our continuing partnership with the guys over at Soccer Pro, from time to time they send us products to test out and review. This month we received a pair of Nike Mercurial Vapor V cleats to try out, and after three matches of playing in them I must admit that I have only good things to say about them.

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It would seem this vuvuzela thing is, at the very least, unpopular. As a direct result of its popularity, of course. Xabi Alonso left the Confederations Cup poo-pooing the vuvuzela and its effect on the field of play. The cacophony a bit too intense for such things as hearing the whistles and one's teammates not things entirely insignificant.

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According to Football Italia, Samuel Eto'o has cemented his reputation as the Oprah Winfrey of footballers by giving each and every member of the Cameroon national team, which he captains, a £30,000 watch simply because they qualified for the World Cup.

Meanwhile, every other national team captain is cursing his name for making them look bad.

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Eduardo da Silva is confident of filling the void left by injured Arsenal teammates Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner.
Eduardo replaced Bendtner in the 3-0 win over Tottenham and missed a couple of good chances to chalk up a first strike since mid-September.
The Croatian, though, would be entitled to feel somewhat aggrieved not to have been credited with Arsenal's second goal at Wolves, when his chip was deflected in off defender Jody Craddock, and he remains confident the rewards of continued hard work will come. Click to continue reading...

Another international has shockingly been lost. Former MLS target Antonio De Nigris, who was playing with Greek side Larissa, has died of a heart attack at the age of 31.This is hitting the El Tri community hard, as you might imagine. NSC condolences go out to his family, friends, teammates and fans. Click to continue reading...

What's most interesting to me is the focus on his "soccer-style" celebration after kicking a game-winning field goal in overtime last night to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl. Bob Hunter in the Dispatch:

When Devin Barclay the football player made the biggest kick of his life, Devin Barclay the soccer player took control of his body.

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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...

Yes, that is a serious question. Two players who 'offer more than just goals' as strikers. But how much more? Who would you rather have? Fortunately a member of the Football365 Forum (lol tb x) has done the analysis for us. Read on to see who comes out on top...

A comparison of their goals and assists since Tevez came here:

This is obviously an area where Tevez should win by a margin having played with some of the best players in the world.

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Singapore coach Raddy said he's glad with the media turn out today that he felt this must be something good about the game tomorrow.
Thailand's coach Bryan Robson this is first time he comes to Singapore in a capacity as a coach and he's looking forward to the game and challenge ahead.
At the meantime, the former England skipper gave an update to the media on his team preparation and said,"everything is going well. Click to continue reading...

Butt Buddies
Chelsea's captain Frank Lampard picked up a thigh injury while training today and will be out of England's friendly with Brazil this weekend.
Lampard has been a hot topic for us this season - he started off incredibly slow, but then finally scored from open play a few weeks ago and has been on fire ever since. Click to continue reading...

We're sure you've heard the terrible news by now: Robert Enke, the German National Team goalkeeper and Hannover captain has committed suicide and died.

His wife Teresa spoke at a press conference today, saying that Robert had been suffering from depression for some time and hid it from the public for fear of how it would affect his family and career.

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We're sure you've heard the terrible news by now: Robert Enke, the German National Team goalkeeper and Hannover captain has committed suicide and died.

His wife Teresa spoke at a press conference today, saying that Robert had been suffering from depression for some time and hid it from the public for fear of how it would affect his family and career.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

In one of the easier results to see coming, Seattle Sounders striker Fredy Montero was named MLS Newcomer of the Year. He beat out Sounders teammates Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg for the honor.

Montero scored 12 goals and added seven assists in helping lead the Sounders to the playoffs.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

In one of the easier results to see coming, Seattle Sounders striker Fredy Montero was named MLS Newcomer of the Year. He beat out Sounders teammates Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg for the honor.

Montero scored 12 goals and added seven assists in helping lead the Sounders to the playoffs.

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Northwest MO State Bearcats, Shannon Fitzgerald (2010)

I sat down with Shannon Fitzgerald last week, following her final college game for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, a 2-1 loss to the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. You may recall the short update I did on Shannon and her teammates in late October

Shannon is a Catholic 2005 graduate who played on 2 State tournament teams for the Irish, and played in 74 games for the Bearcats.

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Northwest MO State Bearcats, Shannon Fitzgerald (2010)

I sat down with Shannon Fitzgerald last week, following her final college game for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, a 2-1 loss to the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. You may recall the short update I did on Shannon and her teammates in late October

Shannon is a Catholic 2005 graduate who played on 2 State tournament teams for the Irish, and played in 74 games for the Bearcats.

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There might just be a Kickette brawl, folks. This morning our Spanish amigas from Poprosa alerted us to cougar-on-the-Migi-prowl Patricia Conde and her advances towards our coveted pillow lips. He's 23 – she's 30.

Rumour has it, after being introduced recently by Iker "the evil matchmaker" Casillas, they went shopping (sob) and to the movies.

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There might just be a Kickette brawl, folks. This morning our Spanish amigas from Poprosa alerted us to cougar-on-the-Migi-prowl Patricia Conde and her advances towards our coveted pillow lips. He's 23 – she's 30.

Rumour has it, after being introduced recently by Iker "the evil matchmaker" Casillas, they went shopping (sob) and to the movies.

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Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas says being named captain last season hasn't changed his relationship with teammates.
Fabregas paid tribute to the way the rest of the players helped him develop his leadership style.
"The captaincy hasn't changed me at all," he said.
"My team-mates have done a great job for me as well. Click to continue reading...

The issue regarding former Arsenal club captain William Gallas has completely gone now according to his replacement Cesc Fabregas.Last season, the French defender questioned the character of his teammates among other things and was stripped of his captaincy privileges by Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. Click to continue reading...

The official Ligue 1 website is proclaiming Sunday's 10 goal thriller between Lyon and Marseille to be "The Game of the Century!" and while that statement is weighed by a tremendous amount of hyperbole, they may not be completely off base. Though the game ended without a true winner at 5-5, insanity prevailed in a number of ways that can hardly be conveyed in a short clip of just the goals, so revel in the extended highlights included above (for now, at least).

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Via the Narwhal (did Beau Dure really have to say she was suspended for "actions caught on video"?). I think it's an little bit of an over reaction, but we'll see what the final punishment is once this all blows over.

"I am deeply and wholeheartedly regretful for my actions," said Lambert.

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Former teammates; Alonso and Gerrard

I really can't wait to read the December installment of FourFourTwo Magazine. In this issue Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard finally states what we all know: the departure of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid has undeniably damaged the Merseyside club.

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So, how do you prepare your players for the biggest game of their lives so far?

We play in a few hours, we play the semi final of our conference tournament at home in front of the biggest crowd of our careers.....

Last night we gave them the night off from practice so that they would be rested and refreshed for today.

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You've got to give� Steve McClaren some credit. The man was a pitiful England manager, but for a brief moment in time he was able to derail one of the most powerful forces in modern football:� David Beckham.

When Becks stepped down as England's captain after the� 2006 World Cup, McClaren dropped him entirely from the team.

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