Jan Molby is a player that I have a lot of time for. The Danish footballer was a maestro in midfield. While he's best remembered as being a pivotal player for Liverpool during his time there between 1984 and 1996, he has a special place in my heart for being a pioneer with the club I support, Swansea City, where he introduced a beautiful style of play as player manager which laid the groundwork for Roberto Martinez's arrival, much later, in 2007.

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Minnesota and the Twin Cities specifically have a new soccer team called the Kings FC. No, this is not the new team rumored from the National Sports Center or a renamed Thunder team but a brand new team in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). The NPSL is a rival to USL's PDL program.

According to the teams website: The team plans to expand and promote playing soccer at an elite level, creating hometown heroes as role models, and impacting the quality of life in the community by providing opportunities for minorities, ESL speakers, and the financially unable to participate in current programs.

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Switzerland vs Nigeria, Sunday 15 November, Abuja, 19.00 (local time)

Can the Eaglets make it a weekend to remember for Nigeria with their senior counterparts pipping the Tunisians with their 3-2 victory over Kenya for a 2010 World Cup spot?

The Golden Eaglets have a team full of homegrown talent in marked contrast to the number of players on the Swiss team who have found homes in Europe's top leagues.

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It's human nature for us to take things for granted. When they're taken away from us, we moan and complain. But while we have them, we often don't appreciate these things as much as we should.

The same goes for footballers and football managers. Years from now, we'll look back and talk incessantly about "the good 'ol days" when so and so was in the Premier League.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Philadelphia Union will be selecting its first players in just two weeks when Major League Soccer holds the Expansion Draft and Union head coach Peter Nowak will have his lead assistant coach in place for the draft.

The Union will announce the hire of former U.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Philadelphia Union will be selecting its first players in just two weeks when Major League Soccer holds the Expansion Draft and Union head coach Peter Nowak will have his lead assistant coach in place for the draft.

The Union will announce the hire of former U.

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Big Story
Your editor is behind today, as I spent last night meeting with Chicago Fire owner and chairman Andrew Hauptman, discussing many of the issues I raised in my open letter to Fire ownership last month.

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Tom Anselmi defended his decision to extend Mo Johnston's contract by saying, and I quote: "Our expectation was to not make the playoffs the first three years. We didn't think we would."
Bra. Vo.
Not expecting Toronto FC to qualify for the playoffs? In a league where half the teams move on to the post season? Click to continue reading...

Newcastle United confirmed today that Youth Academy Manager Richard Money will leave the Club with immediate effect to take up the position as Manager of Blue Square Premier League club, Luton Town. Richard Money has left Newcastle Richard has been at the club since June 2008, and has done a great job with the youngsters. Click to continue reading...

I read Mihir Bose's article on Harry's comments relating to the players Arsenal are bringing on.
Harry made a few interesting comments that I never knew were not in fruition at Spurs. For example, he said that Arsenal "have got full-time scouts all around the world and they have invested heavily". Click to continue reading...

Over the last few weeks I've been picking out the biggest derby fixtures from around the Premier League and elsewhere for my soccerondish articles. This weekend two of London's biggest clubs, and indeed historically London's biggest clubs before Roman Abramovic started the Chelsea revolution, meet in what is always massive fixture.

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- Chygrynskiy is back from his injury, more cause to rejoice! He's greenlighted for this Sunday's Liga meet with Zaragoza, wonderful news especially now that Dani's out. Medics are saying that Titi could be returning as well, things really seem to be picking up now don't they?
- People call Pep harsh for fining the players when they're naughty, but who would have guessed that the club's donating the money for great causes? Click to continue reading...

Photo by ISIphotos.com

When the U.S. Under-17 national team kicks off its World Cup in Nigeria on Oct. 26, scouts will have their eyes trained on several of the U.S. team's top prospects, including midfielder Luis Gil, who is being pursued by a growing number of European clubs.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

When the U.S. Under-17 national team kicks off its World Cup in Nigeria on Oct. 26, scouts will have their eyes trained on several of the U.S. team's top prospects, including midfielder Luis Gil, who is being pursued by a growing number of European clubs.

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Stefan Jerome, Earl Edwards and Jack McInerney headline the 21-man roster chosen to represent the United States in the Under-17 World Cup, slated for later this month in Nigeria.

Here is the squad:

GOALKEEPERS: Keith Cardona (NY Red Bulls; Glen Rock, N.

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Who are the very best young players in the world? For the purposes of this article, "young players" are those no older than 22.

First there are the obvious: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Alexandre Pato, Francesc Fabregas, Karim Benzema, etc. Their class has been established before this mysterious "young" label vanished, and subsequently they command enormous transfer fees, if their clubs are even willing to part with them.

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AS Monaco are the only Ligue 1 club not based in France as they are actually based in the principality of Monaco. They are, nevertheless, one of the most successful clubs in the country but Les Rouge et Blanc have struggled to return to the big stage ever since losing the Champions League final to Porto in 2004.

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Premier League powerhouse Liverpool are considering making a move for versatile Werder Bremen forward Aaron Hunt, according to English paper The People.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is desperate to add another striker to his squad to support Fernando Torres, and the Spanish manager has reportedly made Hunt his primary target. Click to continue reading...

Former Real Madrid midfielder and all round football superstar David Beckham is planning a return to Serie A. The 34-year-old enjoyed a productive loan spell with AC Milan during the latter half of last season and Becks claims he is closing in on a move back to the San Siro.

Beckham, one of the Manchester United youth academy's most famous graduates, confirmed he has interest from England but admitted he would feel uncomfortable playing in the Premier League if it wasn't for United.

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It may have been the worst kept secret in Minnesota, but the word is official now. Cody Cropper, the 16 year old goalkeeping phenomena from Maple Grove, MN is on his way to Leicester City FC to become their newest youth academy player.

Meet Cody Cropper – Leicester FC's Newest Youth Academy Player

As reported at IMS back in August, Cody Cropper was in England from mid-July through mid-August with English Championship League team, Leicester City FC.

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It may have been the worst kept secret in Minnesota, but the word is official now. Cody Cropper, the 16-year-old goalkeeping phenomenon from Maple Grove, MN is on his way to Leicester City FC to become their newest youth academy player.

Meet Cody Cropper – Leicester FC's Newest Youth Academy Player

As reported at IMS back in August, Cody Cropper was in England from mid-July through mid-August with English Championship League team, Leicester City FC.

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George Gillett's arrival on Merseyside last Saturday morning was greeted with great hostility. If the Reds co-owner was expecting the furore that surrounded events off the pitch over the past two years to have died down, he clearly underestimated the extent of his actions.
When Gillett and his business partner Tom Hicks strolled out onto the Anfield pitch in March 2007, they were given the most velvet of red carpet treatment by all connected with the club. Click to continue reading...

Today marks the day that Arsene Wenger becomes the longest serving manager in Arsenal history. To put into words the impact he has had on the club in a little over thirteen years is almost a futile exercise despite such a rich history, Arsenal are now different in almost every way from the day he arrived.

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Glenn Roeder played for Newcastle from 1983 until 1989, and was captain of the side, and he returned to Tyneside to manage the Youth Academy in the summer of 2005. Glenn Roeder - while at Newcastle Glenn went onto to take over from Graeme Souness in February of 2006, as interim manager, once Graeme was sacked and [. Click to continue reading...

Chelsea are enjoying one of the best starts of the season in their history and they are already looking like serious title contenders in both Premiership and Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti's side are winning games with ease and their performances have been very impressive lately but they have been looking a bit low on numbers considering all the competitions they've entered.

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Until recently, Sol Campbell had spent the whole of his football career at the top level of English football. A product of Lilleshall and the Spurs youth academy, his previous trips to lower division grounds had been largely reserved for the early stages of domestic cup competitions. As such, it is perhaps that he took one look at the glaring reality of football in League Two and decided that perhaps it wasn't worth all the effort.

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Stade Rennais or Rennes is one of the oldest clubs in France having been founded in 1901 but despite spending 49 seasons in the top division of French football, Les Bretons are yet to win the Ligue 1 title. They have won two French Cups, last of which was won in 1971, but considering how much progress the club has made during the past few years, I feel it is only a matter of time before they win their first league title.

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Merseyside's most handsome football trophy will adorn an Anfield trophy cabinet for another season, after Krisztian Nemeth's late strike saw Liverpool Reserves claim the Liverpool Senior Cup last night.
But the part-timers from the Liverpool County FA – champions Waterloo Dock – gave their illustrious full-time rivals all the trouble they could handle in a close contest at Marine's Arriva Stadium. Click to continue reading...

Over recent years the Arsenal youth academy has introduced some fantastic players into English football. On Tuesday night Arsene Wenger's side take on Championship high-flyers West Brom in the Carling Cup in a game where we may see the next crop of Arsenal youngsters make an appearance.

Wenger likes to use the Carling Cup to test his fringe and youth players and this season should be no different, even if they are under pressure to end their trophy drought.

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Youth development is often considered at the level of the US Soccer federation, but what progress has there been this year from MLS and its clubs?

It flew under the radar, but MLS' Board of Governors' decision in July to allow clubs to sign two "homegrown" players from their academies who would not count against the 24-man roster limit this year (though nor can they play in league matches) is starting to bear fruit (last year, a few clubs faced dilemmas over whether to sign an Academy player who might not be able to contribute to the first team, risking losing them abroad).

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At the center of all the fuss is Gael Kakuta.

Alright so I know this is a day late and that most of you probably have heard about this already but Chelsea have just been ripped a new one by FIFA.

I am, of course, talking about FIFA's ruling of banning Chelsea from making any transfers until 2011.

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Chelsea have just been hit with one of the harshest bans in the history of football and they won't be able to sign any new players before January 2011. This comes as a result of the breach of regulations following Gael Kakuta's transfer from Lens as the kid was practically stolen from the French club.

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Nigel Pearson has bolstered his Leicester City squad with the loan signing of Ryan McGivern from Manchester City.

The 19 year old left-back joins the Foxes until January from the Premier League side and City are waiting to hear back from the Premier League for Ryan to receive clearance to play in Monday night's clash against Newcastle United, at St.

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The 2009-10 La Liga season is nearly upon us and we here at Mad About Futbol will breakdown the chances and player movement of all 20 teams in Spain's 1st division for the 2009-10 season. This time we will breakdown Real Club Deportivo Mallorca.
LAST SEASON (2008-09):
The team from the Islas Baleares looked like a team headed for relegation but Ensaimada Mecánica turned it around in the 2nd half of the season. Click to continue reading...

A pretty big deal to those who want MLS clubs to get better youth academies. Steve Goff is reporting that DC United has signed Abdul "Bill" Hamid, a 18-year-old goalkeeper from their youth academy.

A few adjustments were made to the original offer from the league and should be finalized in the coming days, a source close to the negotiations said.

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