I don't like Manchester United.

From the owners of the club, to the manager, to a whole host of players past and present and onward to "19″— I'm not a fan.

So, you'd naturally think I'd be supporting Barcelona in Saturday's Champions League final.

Lefty. Progressive. Unicef.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Diego Maradona has told an Argentine newspaper he will take legal action against Argentine football federation president Julio Grondona over perceived criticism of the World Cup-winner's drug problems. Maradona reacted angrily to comments the 80-year-old Grondona made to local media this week that have been interpreted as a veiled reference to [.

BERLIN, Germany — Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger will play no part in a friendly against Uruguay on May 29 or in two Euro 2012 qualifiers next month because of injury, the German football federation (DFB) said Friday. The 26-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder, one of the stars of Germany's strong 2010 World Cup performance, broke a [.

from the outside, in one man's journey to the heart of Calcutta

by Ashwin Warrior

I came to Calcutta on a whim. Time off from school, traveling and volunteering in India—one version of the American collegiate dream. I chose Calcutta, the sprawling metropolis of over fifteen million people, on the recommendation of a friend.

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Delays in getting Brazil ready to host the 2014 football World Cup could end up with the South American nation being "red-faced" when the time comes, retired soccer legend Pele said Friday. "We are really worried," he told a media conference in Sao Paulo, speaking for the Brazilian Football Confederation and [.

ORLANDO, Fl Defending MLS Western Conference Champion FC Dallas, the Houston Dynamo and Toronto FC as well as USL PRO upstart, Orlando City are set to play in the second annual Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic Feb. 24 and 26, at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World. On Thursday, [.

MANCHESTER, England Patrice Evra has committed his future to Manchester United and agreed a new four-year contract, with an announcement expected from Old Trafford on Friday morning. Evra had considered leaving Old Trafford, tempted by the possibility of playing in Spain, and had been linked with a move to Real Madrid.

EDMONTON, Alberta — Canada has a 50-50 chance of hosting the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015. Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli confirmed only Canada and Zimbabwe are left in the bid process. A decision is expected March 3. The FIFA Women's World Cup is FIFA's second biggest property, behind only the men's [.

LONDON — Tickets for this season's Champions League final at Wembley will be the most expensive in history, UEFA confirmed Thursday as officials revealed sharp price hikes for entry to the football showpiece. While the cheapest tickets sold via allocations to clubs will be 80 pounds (129 dollars/95 euros), the cheapest on general sale "category [.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil Roberto Carlos, Brazil's former World Cup-winning left back, joined Russian soccer club Anzhi Makhachkala after leaving Corinthians by mutual consent. The 37-year-old signed a 2 1/2-year contract, Anzhi Makhachkala said on its website last night, without giving financial details of the deal.

Manchester derby. Tie game. Wayne Rooney.

Samuel Eto'o has been in fine form for Inter Milan this campaign. But that doesn't mean we will let him off the hook for his epic miss on Sunday against Juventus.

David Barral ran around Barcelona's defense like it wasn't there. Sporting Gijon tied the league leaders and let Real Madrid back into the title race.

ZARAGOZA, Spain — The city of Zaragoza has honored Spain's World Cup victory by dedicating a square to the national team. Spanish football federation head Angel Villar was in attendance Monday as the "Plaza La Roja" square was inaugurated. On local newspaper Heraldo's website, Zaragoza sports official Manu Blasco describes the move as "a well-deserved [.

SANTIAGO, Chile Santiago The popular Argentine coach of Chile's national football team, Marcelo Bielsa, will remain in his position, the Chilean football association said Wednesday. Bielsa missed a deadline to turn in a notice of resignation and his contract would remain in effect, said the association's president Sergio Jadue.

LUBUMSASHI, DR Congo Morocco and South africa will host the 2015 and 2017 editions of the Nations Cup respectively Morocco have won the right to stage the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations while South Africa will host the 2017 edition. The decision was taken at a meeting of the executive committee of the Confederation [.

PARIS, France French soccer star Zinedine Zidane launched a legal complaint on Friday against a comedian for insulting him in a sports magazine over his support for Qatar's successful bid to host the World Cup, his lawyer said on Friday.ac Lawyer Alberto Brusso said he was suing comedian Christophe Aleveque and the magazine Sportmag [.

DOHA, Qatar FIFA has announced that there are no plans to move the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to winter to alleviate concerns over the country's climate. As temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius in the summer in Qatar, there had been strong indications that FIFA was ready to move the tournament. President Sepp [.

CHESTER, Pa. — Goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, the 39-year-old former starter for Colombia's national team, has agreed to a contract with Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union along with Colombian defender Carlos Valdes. Mondragon terminated his contract last month with Cologne in Germany's Bundesliga.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland Ukrainian referee Oleh Orekhov has lost his appeal against a life ban from football for helping fix matches. The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday dismissed Orekhov's appeal against his expulsion by UEFA last March. UEFA found he breached "principles of loyalty and integrity," but did not say which matches were [.

NEW YORK, NY CONCACAF wants FIFA to award them an extra place at the next World Cup, giving the region four guaranteed places for the 2014 tournament in Brazil. Under the previous qualifying format used for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football was awarded [.

Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar has snubbed a move to Tottenham Hotspur days after agreeing to join the club. Pienaar had also held talks with Chelsea over a move but instead is said to have agreed to move to a "major European side" according Sky Sports News. The South African has been a long term target [.

in 2010, photos change, words not so much.

MLS Superdraft breakdown - you know you're not getting that here. But every year the draft marks the beginning of a new soccer season. Beyond the MLS hot stove, it means the first USMNT game of the new year is around the corner, with the Gold Cup just down the road.

LONDON — Liverpool midfielder Ryan Babel was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association (FA) on Monday after posting a mocked-up photo of referee Howard Webb wearing a Manchester United shirt on social networking site Twitter. The picture appeared on the Dutch forward's official page on Twitter just hours after United beat Liverpool 1-0 [.

DOHA, Qatar — Saudi Arabian football chiefs sacked coach Jose Peseiro on Sunday immediately after his demoralised side slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of unfancied Asian Cup outsiders Syria. The 2007 finalists and three-time champions announced that Nasser Al Johar will take over from the 50-year-old Portuguese for the remainder of the [.

It's rare to see highlights from a Barcelona match in which the Catalan club's players don't hog the spotlight. But when Levante's Christian Stuani was subbed on for Levante, he decided to give Barca a taste of its own medicine. Despite Stuani's heroics, Barcelona held on for a 2-1 victory. New year, same old story.