Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

As it turns out, Arturo Alvarez won't be suiting up for Chivas USA heading into the 2012 MLS season after all.

Alvarez, who was selected by Chivas in the first stage of the MLS Re-Entry Draft but never came to terms with the club as he sought opportunities overseas, has reportedly signed with Portuguese top-flight club Pacos de Ferreira on a two-and-a-half-year contract.

Inglewood resident Jose Villarreal, 18, who still lives at home with his parents, has become the first South Bay native to join the South Bay-based Galaxy from the club's youth academy. He spent his first day on the job Monday, not so much overawed by training on the same field

Well, this is unique. Luton Town announced today that Chelsea have signed three players from the Hatters' youth academy.

According to the Luton Town website:

Brothers Rio, Cole and Jay Dasilva have signed terms with the Blues in separate transfers each worth five figures which will in total net the Town a suitable sum.

Liverpool are said to be monitoring Sporting Lisbon's Joao Teixeria and will hope a deal can be struck this transfer window to bring him to Anfield.

The young midfielder will turn 19 this month and has put in some impressive performances for Sporting Lisbon in the NextGen Series, scoring against Liverpool in Sporting's 3-0 victory.

STARTERS
Its the worst case scenario for Omar Gonzalez - Torn MCL. Yesterday he was introduced at Nurnberg, went out to train with the team in hopes of earning a contract and promptly blew out the ACL in his left knee. (In German)
dN
Arsenal has announced that they have signed Thierry Henry for a short term loan through an unspecified date in February.

It's official: Thierry Henry is going back to Arsenal.

The New York Red Bulls forward and his former Premier League club put the final touches on a short-term loan that has Arsenal's all-time leading goal scorer returning to the Emirates through the end of February.

Henry will be eligible for the club's FA Cup match against Leeds United on Monday.

Today Colorado made it official and hired Oscar Pareja as the team's 7th head coach. The Rapids say 6th but I like to count Roy Wegerle's 1 game as player/manager at the end of the 1996 season. ;) There's been no details as to the amount or length of his contract other than "long" according to Tim Hinchey at the press conference.

Columbus Crew technical director Brian Bliss can add U.S. Under-20 national team assistant coach to his resume after becoming the first assistant appointed to Tab Ramos' staff on Wednesday.

Bliss will maintain his duties with the Crew while assuming the added international responsibilities.

First I just want to wish everybody a happy New Year and I hope everybody got home safe last night. If you're reading this now then I'm also happy you're not suffering from a severe hang over. Seriously, kudos! I managed to escape one myself!

In any case, with 2011 now officially over I thought it might be a good time to relive some of the year's more interesting moments.

There is news in France today that Newcastle are close to signing young wonder-kid Sofiane Elbekri of Racing Club Lens. According to the French Daily L'Equipe, Newcastle are close to capturing the signature of 15 year old midfielder Sofiane Elbekri, who is currently at the Lens Youth Academy. The lad has been compared to Manchester City's Samir Nasri, but [.

New England soccer fans who can't get enough of the sport will have plenty of opportunities to watch live soccer this summer, thanks in part to the arrival if three new USL Premier Development League (PDL) teams in the region. Boston Victory Soccer Club, Connecticut FC Azul and Worcester Hydra FC have all been announced over the past month as expansion clubs in the PDL.

A pivotal trip to White Hart Lane is on the holiday horizon. Slow your roll, though. First, we need to navigate this potentially tricky venture to Greater Manchester on Saturday.

Hey, it's Franco

On paper, away to Wigan doesn't appear to be too much trouble.

The Portland Timbers announced a new academy appointment, moving current MLS goalkeepers coach Adam Smith to their youth academy to coach the youth goalkeepers at their respective club levels. Meanwhile, three current Timbers are named to Soccer America's Best of 2011 in MLS lists while one former USL Timber talks about his bout with depression.

Photo by Stephen Brashear/ISIphotos.com

By JOSE M. ROMERO

The MLS Cup final was played not even three weeks ago, but teams are already making training plans in preparation for next season.

Three MLS teams are confirmed for training at Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Ariz.

The Revolution Youth Academy rebounded from Sunday's disappointing defeats with a pair of wins against North Meck SC to close out the Winter Showcase on Tuesday.

The U-18s earned a 3-0 win while the U-16s grabbed a 3-2 victory as the both squads returned to their goalscoring ways two days after they were shutout at the hands of the Chicago Fire.

Sunday was a day to forget for the Revolution Youth Academy as the U-16s and U-18s were each handed 3-0 losses by the Chicago Fire during New England's second match of the Winter Showcase.

The 18s fell into a hole two minutes into their match when Andrew Conner's goal put the Fire in front early.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. Two weeks removed from opening their season undefeated, the Revolution Youth Academy squads will sojourn south for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's Winter Showcase, which kicks off today and will run through Dec. 6.

On tap for the lads will be matches against Charlotte Soccer Academy (Dec.

Photo courtesy of Don Liebig/UCLA

By ADAM SERRANO

LOS ANGELES –- Chandler Hoffman is an opportunist.

His ability to get into the right place at the right time has helped him develop into one of the most feared attackers in college soccer, scoring 18 goals this season at UCLA.

Recreating 'Reservoir Dogs' could not lift the boys
After Blackburn Rovers' exit from the League Cup at the hands of Cardiff City on Tuesday night, Steve Kean suggested his side had "forfeited" the game to concentrate on Premier League survival.
And, while Tottenham are approaching the halfway point of the season with the opportunity to strengthen their hold on a place in the top four, Harry Redknapp showed no signs of surrendering the club's place in the Europa League against PAOK ahead of the clash at White Hart Lane.

FALL RIVER, Mass. He may not have a pink mohawk or have a life-sized wall decal in his likeness, but Dominik Machado is gunning to become the next homegrown talent to emerge from the Revolution Youth Academy.

After a pair of successful seasons with the U-16s, the creative midfielder didn't skip a beat with the U-18s last weekend.

Liverpool will welcome two young Asian players to Merseyside as part of the Chinese Football Association's 'Future Star' program in January.
Long Cheng [16], and Chen Xiaomao [14], will link up with the Reds Youth Academy following a successful week-long trial at Melwood last month.
Frank McParland, director of the Liverpool academy revealed how the club had been extremely impressed with the youngsters during their first visit, praising their commitment and professionalism.

By Azeem Banatwalla

Andre Villas-Boas's visage has leapt across many extremes over the last month and a half. From quiet confidence to near-childish defiance, and more recently, after falling at home to Arsenal and Liverpool, a mix of anger and worry.

AC Milan striker Robinho has left football scouts and coaches around the world drooling after he innocuously showcased his son's rather impressive football skills! Have a look for yourselves and play the part of a hopeful scout looking for 'the next big thing'. Ok, so he might not necessarily be 'big', but he is certainly [.

FALL RIVER, Mass. The Revolution Youth Academy remained perfect (4-0-0) on the weekend after their squads claimed 3-2 and 2-0 wins over the New York Cosmos Sunday at BMC Durfee High School during the first weekend of the 2011-12 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season.

The U-18s opened Sunday's action with an aggressive attack against the Cosmos that featured goals from Dominik Machado (4′) and Chandler Burnham (9′) to give the Revs an immediate two goal cushion inside of 10 minutes.

FALL RIVER, Mass. The Revolution Youth Academy kept the Met Oval squads scoreless on Saturday afternoon by claiming 2-0 (U-18s) and 3-0 (U-16s) wins at Durfee High School on a blustery Saturday afternoon.

For the 18s, it was a game that saw them dominate on the possession scale in the first half, but nothing to show for it, as scoreboard flashed a 0-0 scoreline at the half.

NEW COACH ABDULLAH AVCI AND TURKISH FOOTBALL FA PRESIDENT M.ALI AYDINLAR AT THE CEREMONY.
PHOTO BY TFF
Abdullah Avci has been appointed new coach of the Turkish national team, replacing Guus Hiddink.
The Turkish football federation has appointed Abdullah Avci as Turkey coach.

Watford FC Academy Hertfordshire's very own La Masia is a post from: Just Football

by Ally Poole and Rob Hazell

Elton John, a meteoric rise from the fourth division to the first division in the late 70s and early 80s and a stadium with one derelict stand are what people normally associate with Championship outfit Watford.

David Villa signs for Benitez

Spain are in London this weekend to face England in the friendly at Wembley but Rafael Benítez caught up with the squad before their trip and persuaded a number of them to sign football shirts for him to be auctioned for charity. As already mentioned on this site, a shirt signed by Spain's World Cup winning coach Vicente Del Bosque is up for auction and all proceeds from the sale will go the various charities that the Montse Benítez Foundation (MBF) raises funds for.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It would be a skyscraper-sized understatement to say that the Revolution fell short of expectations in 2011.

Between the five wins (franchise low), the 58 goals allowed (second worst in MLS), the negative-20 goal differential (the second worst in MLS), a nine-game winless streak (tied a franchise high), and.

Hello and welcome to your favorite new television program EMEYAE (Extreme Makeover English Youth Academy Edition)! We are so excited to see you! Basically, after the new EPPP guidelines were passed, a lot of people got angry. Local communities felt threatened that the free movement of individual youth labor would leave them devastated.

• Ah, did we get your Krispy attention?! It's going to be a super exciting football weekend with the Manchester derby tomorrow as well as Valencia/Bilbao and Real Madrid/ Malaga in Spain! Interestingly, Manchester City have only won once at Old Trafford since 1974 under Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2008 and Kun Aguero and the Polecats will be looking to change that tomorrow when they face the King of Donuts, David de Gea.

Everybody, we are sometimes told, loves a bargain, and this morning an agreement was reached between the Premier League and the Football League which will likely mean that England's biggest clubs will have an unlimited supply of one of the most valuale assets in the game: young players. The Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) was an agreement which hinted at the Football League being led by clubs that are run by eunuchs, but their defenders will claim that the forty-six clubs that voted for a revised youth academy which will mean that a selling club is paid just £3,000 per year for every year of a player's development between the ages of nine and eleven, while the annual fee for a player from the age of twelve to sixteen will range between £12,500 and £40,000 because the Premier League effectively held a gun to its head by witholding the £5m that it is due to pay the clubs of the Football League to help cover the cost of funding youth development until it voted in favour of the decision.

Spurs appear to be happy with the development of their summer signing Cristian Ceballos and reports today are suggesting that they could head back to Barcelona in an attempt to solve their centre half problems.

With Ledley King, Michael Dawson and William Gallas all out injured, the need for cover is evident and the names of Marc Batra and Martin Montoya are being suggested as long term answers.

Moc Moc! Our amics at Barcelona sent over these exclusive images of their newly-revamped La Masia academy bringing together all eleven of their players in Guardiola's XI, who were successfully graduates of the renowned youth academy. And we're sure many of you Culés are brimming with pride as you look at this right now!

Steven Gerrard has experienced many more highs than lows during his fantastic Liverpool career, but there's one particular low that still haunts him to this day, and that's his failure to get into FA youth academy at Lilleshall.In 1994, Gerrard went for trials at Lilleshall, and despite getting to the final round, he was not selected to continue, which he admits was very upsetting:"It killed me

The head coach for the Rapids All-Time Team is Gary Smith.
How Joined: Hired as a liaison for the Arsenal Academy.
Years In Colorado: 2008 through present
There have been 6 total head coaches in Colorado's history, but there were only two under consideration for this spot, Glenn 'Mooch' Myernick and Gary Smith.

Newcastle's Youth Academy seems to be getting better and better. John Carver - former Youth Academy Director Mike Ashley comes in for a lot of criticism from Newcastle fans, but the one thing that he did when he came in, which will bear fruit for Newcastle in the future, is pouring millions of pounds into the Youth Academy.

Newcastle didn't always have a good Youth Academy, or even a Reserve side for that matter. Michael Carrick - one that got away When Kevin Keegan was at the club, he did away with the Reserve side, and we never could understand that, but it cost Newcastle a few top youngsters at the time, because where were they going to get a game as they progressed [.

Newcastle didn't always have a good Youth Academy, or even a Reserve side for that matter. Michael Carrick - one that got away When Kevin Keegan was at the club, he did away with the Reserve side, and we never could understand that, but it cost Newcastle a few top youngsters at the time, because where were they going to get a game as they progressed [.

Some time ago, a friend and I were discussing youth power in football and how an academy brings out talent time and again. I thought this would be an interesting topic to write on though it has been thrown around quite a bit in the blogosphere already. But, given that it's international weekend, Phil Jones has been prompted as a future England captain, and Jack Wilshere is causing people the age of his Dad sweat over him, it sounds appropriate to devote something to the Next Gen.