U.S. national team striker Jozy Altidore scored the equalizing goal for Villarreal in Sunday's 2-2 exhibition draw against Besiktas, volleying home his first goal since scoring in a pre-World Cup friendly against Turkey.

The goal came against Turkish club Besiktas, the same team he was reportedly set to be sold to.

While we all sit around and wait to see if Jozy is actually going to end up at Besiktas, Jozy is back with Villareal scoring against Besiktas. Nice goal but I still hope he doesn't end up in Turkey; maybe I'm a selfish fan but it's always such a disappointment when Americans get outsourced to the non-U.

Trabzonspor visits in the first leg of the Europa League tie at Anfield.

Back when the draw for this round was announced, I lamented the fact that I knew little about Trabzonspor:

I usually expect my knowledge of the opposition to increase correspondingly. But I'm left grasping at straws and Google, and other than making weak generalizations about how traveling to Turkey is tough and this will surely be more difficult than the previous two rounds I have little to offer.

Thursday night's Europa League clash for Liverpool was not one of our most memorable European nights at Anfield but a win is a win and the sole goal from Mr.Potential allows Liverpool to go to Turkey with a slim lead over their opposition. Hodgson opted to rest some players who had featured in the game against [.

Robinho has made it abundantly clear that he wants out of Manchester City, but has now turned down a move to Turkey. The only way the 26 year-old striker is leaving though, is if it means he will playing in La Liga or Serie A.

While the Brazilian forward has been linked with Fenerbahce and Besiktas, the only this that is clear at this point, is that his future does not include playing in Manchester or Turkey.

After the poor result against Man City on Monday night Liverpool will be looking for a much better performance and result tonight in Turkey. With suggestions that Fernando Torres will not be playing it is reasonable to assume that Ngog will get another go up front for the Reds. Steven Gerrard will also miss out, suffering [.

Sir Alex Ferguson is happy with our Champions League draw, with our toughest opponent being Valencia, who have since sold their best two players from last season, David Villa and David Silva.

"You can't complain about that, it's a good draw for us," said Ferguson. "You always look at the travelling side of it and the only one that's of any great distance is the trip to Turkey.

The much awaited draw for the European Champions League has given Manchester United an eminently winnable group which should see them qualify for the knockout stages without harming their Premiership...
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The U.S. men's national team will take on Colombia at PPL Park in Chester, PA on Oct.12th, the Philadelphia Union announced on Saturday night.

The United States will be returning to the Philadelphia area after beating Turkey at Lincoln Financial Field in May in its final match before the 2010 World Cup.

Cameroonian legend Rigobert Song has ended his international career which started way back in 1993. Up until 2009 he had been a regular for his nation, but the 34-year-old was seen as a bench player when coach Paul Le Guen took over.

While qualifying for the 2010 World Cup he was released from captaining his country, and at the actual tournament he only played the last 17 minutes against Holland.

Last summer, Hedo Turkoglu signed a five-year, $53 million deal with the Toronto Raptors. After a tumultuous season in Toronto, the Raptors decided to ship the forward to the Phoenix Suns. Now in Phoenix, Hedo Turkoglu is blasting Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo.

In an interview posted at FoxSportsArizona.

Croatia Soccer Arrange the following European soccer teams in order from best to worst? Portugal Italy Poland Sweden Croatia Romania France Turkey Czech Republic Spain Russia Germany Switzerland Austria Netherlands Greece How can you put Poland the worst? Poland beat Portugal 2-1 and tied 2-2 in EURO qualifications I think Turkey is the worst US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish [.

Over the summer, we have seen a tremendous number of captains publicly declare that they no longer wish to wear the jersey of the team they lead. And I'm not talking about Raul here (I'm certain he would have worn the Real Madrid jersey his whole career if they wanted him).

As mentioned in a post earlier this week, each of the major European football leagues has a curtain-raising match before the top leagues start their proper weekly football. These are often "supercups", where the winner of the league plays the winner of the top domestic cup, or the winners of the two domestic cups play each other.

The domestic showpiece Super Cup match has been played in three countries this weekend and Stoppage Time International Football Blog reviews events in Germany, Portugal and Turkey.

After a fourteen year break the DFB Supercup was re-instated back into the German football calendar and it was no surprise to see last season's League and Cup double winners FC Bayern München lift the first silverware of the 2010-11 season.

U.S. national team striker Jozy Altidore scored the equalizing goal for Villarreal in Sunday's 2-2 exhibition draw against Besiktas, volleying home his first goal since scoring in a pre-World Cup friendly against Turkey.

The goal came against Turkish club Besiktas, the same team he was reportedly set to be sold to.

Tottenham starlet Giovani dos Santos has admitted that he needs to improve each and every day in order to live up to his high potential. The ex-Barcelona man was once tipped as the "new Ronaldinho" due to his excellent ball control and exciting playing style, but since moving to White Hart Lane he has failed to impress.

Nike may or may not have played FM.

• Excellent campaign visual, if a bit late. (West Ham Offside)
• Not quite maximizing potential profit. (The Best Eleven)
• Absolute headline bonanza. (Three Match Ban)
• Exclusive words with the real Rafa. (England WCB)
• Santos are going to look excellent on special occasions this year.

Boo hoo!

Well done Spurs! You almost threw away the tie in the first leg last night.

Plastic pitch or not, they were pathetic last night.

Due to the two away goals scored I am sure they will go through fairly easily in the second leg.

I want Spurs to qualify!

Facebook is the most incredible online success of the last 5 years. Everyday around the world, millions of people share stories, update status, upload photos or videos. Most of the time, what's shared is more interesting for the one who published than for people who read. However, for football fans willing to show their support for a club or a player, Facebook is a blessing.

After tonight's frustrating, yet welcome win against Trabonspor of Turkey in which Liverpool won 1-0 but should have had two or three, Roy Hodgson was asked about the failure of alberto Aquilani to even make the subs bench for the second game running:
"At the moment we are considering loaning him to an Italian club.

Joe Cole a split personality? He slips a sublime pass to Ryan Babel who scores the only goal in Liverpool's only noteworthy moment in the first half. In the second half, Serkan Balci fouled Lucas in the box. Joe Cole steps up for the spot kick and sends it tamely Onur Kivrak. He must be wondering, fans must be wondering - what is next?

Joe Cole has apologized after missing a penalty in the Europa League on Thursday, but is keen to bounce back by helping Liverpool qualify for the group stage.
The Reds beat Trabzonspor 1-0 after Ryan Babel's well-taken goal on the stroke of half-time. Lucas then earned a penalty minutes into the second half and Cole was given the chance to score his first goal for the club, but saw his weak spot-kick saved.

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson admitted he was disappointed after watching his side record a narrow 1-0 victory over Trabzonspor in the first leg of their Europa League qualifier at Anfield.
Ryan Babel secured victory for the Reds in the first half before Joe Cole had a penalty saved and Christian Poulsen a goal ruled out in an eventful second half.

Babel celebrates his first goal of the season with team-mates Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic...Last nights Europa League clash for Liverpool was not one of our most memorable European nights at Anfield but a win is a win and the sole goal from Mr.Potential allows Liverpool to go to Turkey with a slim lead over their opposition.

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JOE Cole's dream start to his Liverpool continued against plucky Trabzonspor. Joey stepped up, in front of the Kop, to take a penalty which had he scored would have made the score 2-0 and sealed the tie.

Manchester City superstar Robinho has revealed that he turned down a move to the Turkish league. The Brazilian has struggled to adapt at City, and after spending the latter half of last season on loan in his native Brazil he's now looking to leave the Citizens again, but it certainly won't be to Turkey.

Ngog will certainly fancy his chances...After the poor result against Man City on Monday night Liverpool will be looking for a much better performance and result tomorrow night in Turkey. With suggestions that Fernando Torres will not be playing it is reasonable to assume that Ngog will get another go up front for the Reds.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has voiced his opinion on the future of international teammate Javier Mascherano. Mascherano is believed to be on the verge of an Anfield exit, and Messi has called for the Reds to be more "humane" and just let the want-away player leave English shores. Messi went a step further to confirm that Mascherano will never represent Liverpool again.

A potential banana skin is in store for Walter Mazzari's Napoli who missed a glut of chances in the first leg.
"We had 31 shots and 14 of those were on target. It is a shame that we only scored one goal," Mazzarri said after the 1-0 victory in Naples.
Liverpool nurse a one goal advantage from the first leg the Reds can coast through to the group stages by keeping a clean sheet in Turkey.

Javier Mascherano did not travel with the team to Turkey in Liverpool's second leg fixture. He is evidently trying to sulk his way out to any club that will have him.

Leo Messi is the latest to advocate for a move to Barca. The Catalan club now face competition for Mascherano's services from Inter which should drive up his price.

Maurice Edu's Rangers aren't hurting for big name opposition in their Champions League group. They'll play Manchester United, Valencia, and Turkey's Bursaspor in Champions League Group C, with their opening game scheduled for September 14th against Manchester United at Old Trafford. "Last year we had a strange situation where we performed far better away from home than we did at Ibrox," Rangers manager Walter Smith said.

With the Champions League draw which took place today, Manchester United drew Valencia, Rangers and Bursaspor in Group C.
Sir Alex is delighted with the draw because there won't be much of traveling except the trip to Turkey. Fergie's also looking forward to playing against Rangers and being reunited with friend and former assistant Walter Smith, who is Rangers current coach.

Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt confirmed his future is with Liverpool following the Reds' 2-1 win over Turkish outfit Trabzonspor in the Europa League.
The World Cup finalist's future at Anfield had been the focus of speculation in recent times, with rumours of interest from Inter becoming a cause for concern for many Liverpool supporters.

The U.S. men's national team will take on Colombia in a friendly at PPL Park in Chester, PA on Oct.12th, the Philadelphia Union announced on Saturday night.

The United States will be returning to the Philadelphia area after beating Turkey at Lincoln Financial Field in May in its final match before the 2010 World Cup.

The kid is back.

Throughout last season, Liverpool supporters groaned as Fernando Torres fell again and again into the arms of Ol' Mistress Injury. We groaned throughout the summer's World Cup as he looked far from his best and couldn't find a single goal (although we also groaned when Pedro ignored a wide open Torres to take a fruitless chance of his own against Germany).