Some quick thoughts on this weekend's FA Cup semifinal contestants:
Liverpool's disastrous run in the English Premier League continued Sunday with a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle - the sixth defeat in the last seven for Kenny Dalglish's men.
Tottenham Hotspur survived a testing encounter at second-flight Watford to progress to the last 16 of the English FA Cup with a 1-0 win Friday.
White Hart Lane, a raw February night in 2004, Tottenham against Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Five things we learned from the weekend's action in the Barclays Premier League.
Tottenham moved up to third in the English Premier League as Emmanuel Adebayor helped welcome manager Harry Redknapp back to the dugout with both goals in Monday's 2-0 win against Aston Villa.
We're a quarter of the way into the season, which seems a good time to raise a few points about some of the players who've been thrilling or spilling so far in the Barclays Premier League:
A double strike from Welsh winger Gareth Bale helped Tottenham to a 3-1 English Premier League win over QPR on Sunday, a result that lifts them up to fifth place in the table and keeps their unbeaten run going.
Kyle Walker scored a superb second half winner as Tottenham Hotspur beat north London rivals Arsenal 2-1 at White Hart Lane Sunday for their fourth straight English Premier League victory.
English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur crushed Scottish outfit Heart of Midlothian 5-0 in the qualifying round of UEFA's Europa League.
The new Barclays Premier League season is upon us and the teams are jockeying for position on the starting line. Here are my thoughts on how the pack is likely to break up this season: the top six, the bottom five, and the tight bunch in the middle. The clubs are not necessarily listed in order but I'm tipping Manchester United to take the title:
updated: Tue Jun 28 2011 12:10:00
Little Baerke van der Meij of Holland is so good at kicking soccer balls into his toy chest, a Dutch club signed him!
Baerke van der Meij may only be 18-months-old but already he is making a name for himself in the fiercely competitive world of soccer.
On Wednesday evening in West London, Clint Dempsey became Fulham's top scorer in the Premier League era, scoring in each half against Bolton to first match and then surpass the benchmark of 32 set by fellow American Brian McBride and Steed Malbranque. It was somehow fitting that he should reach this milestone -- and in some style -- while all eyes were elsewhere, on the trumpeted and tempestuous Champions League meeting between Real Madrid and Barcelona. His quality seems forever caught in soccer's peripheral vision.
Tottenham fought back to clinch a 3-3 draw with Arsenal that further dented their north London rivals' English Premier League title hopes as another capital club, Chelsea, claimed second place on Wednesday.
This is Tottenham's biggest match for almost 50 years: the first leg of a knock-out tie in Europe's biggest cup competition. Gareth Bale definitely won't be playing, Luka Modric is a doubt and Jermaine Jenas is suspended, but Rafael van der Vaart is fit, and Harry Redknapp is sticking steadfastly to the club's principles: "Attacking football is what got us here in the first place," he insists. "We have had a go all through this competition so we will have a right go again at San Siro."
Manchester United returned to the top of the Premier League on Sunday after a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
Chelsea crashed to a second successive English Premier League defeat for the first time in four years on Saturday, allowing Manchester United to draw level on points with the leaders.
Champions League holders Inter Milan crashed to a 3-1 defeat at English club Tottenham on Tuesday night as the Italian side were again tormented by young winger Gareth Bale.
Manchester United claimed a controversial 2-0 victory at home to Tottenham on Saturday night to keep up the pressure on English Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Thoughts on the weekend's action in the Barclays Premier League:
Is Wayne Rooney done? -- Tim Delaney, San Antonio
Sunderland had the better of the chances against Manchester United at the Stadium of Light in the English Premier League on Saturday, but had to settle for a 0-0 draw against the 2009 champions.
Samuel Eto'o netted a superb hat-trick to help holders Inter Milan thrash Werder Bremen 4-0 in Champions League Group A.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has told CNN his Dutch playmaker Rafael Van der Vaart is key to the English club's fortunes this season.
updated: Mon Sep 27 2010 18:09:00
In an exclusive interview, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp hails the impact of new signing Rafael Van der Vaart.
Shhhh! Stop. Stay very, very still. Listen carefully. Prick up your ears and you might just catch it: a faint rustling in the bushes as it ducks and dives its way through the darkness of Padre Damián Street, scavenging. If you're really lucky, you might even hear its characteristic call breaking the still air in the dead of night, escaping from somewhere in the shadow of the Santiago Bernabéu:
Rafael Van der Vaart's dramatic deadline day transfer to Tottenham has finally been rubber stamped by the English Premier League.
MADRID -- Mesut Ozil mostly mumbled. The media mostly handled his presentation with predictable immaturity. There was little to grab, so reporters clutched at familiar straws when Ozil was unveiled as a Real Madrid player on Wednesday. He is the last of the summer signings at the Santiago Bernabéu, and the most exciting -- at least until he opened his mouth and his translated voice crackled through channel six on the headsets.
German World Cup star Sami Khedira joined up with his new Real Madrid teammates on Sunday after completing his move from Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart.
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez: "It was a match worthy of a semifinal. I am proud of my players, but we accept defeat against a team who were better than us. We are sad because we weren't far away."
Japan have comfortably beaten Denmark 3-1 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg to book their place in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Real Madrid have reduced Barcelona's lead at the top of the Spanish Primera Liga to three points after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Almeria on Thursday.
World Player of the Year Lionel Messi grabbed his second straight hat-trick in Spain's La Liga to power Barcelona to a 4-2 in over Real Zaragoza on Sunday night.
Barcelona left it late before struggling to a 2-1 victory at home to Malaga on Saturday night that restored the defending Spanish champions to the top of the table.
Samuel Eto'o missed a penalty as Barcelona's title celebrations fell flat on Sunday when they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Real Mallorca 24 hours after becoming Spanish champions.
It was Real Madrid's most humiliating European night in a long, long time. And in some ways, the 4-0 loss to Liverpool on Tuesday hurt more than the 5-0 defeat to Arrigo Sacchi's AC Milan team 20 years ago.
Guus Hiddink promises a performance full of "energy and passion" on his home 'debut' as Chelsea coach against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Manchester City new boy Nigel de Jong is in a 25-man provisional Netherlands squad, named by national coach Bert van Marwijk, for the friendly match away to Tunisia on February 11.
Robin Van Persie scored twice to give the injury-depleted Netherlands a comfortable 3-1 win over Sweden in their friendly in Amsterdam.
Ruud van Nistelrooy scored the decisive goal on Tuesday to give Real Madrid a 2-1 victory over Zenit St. Petersburg in Group H of the Champions League.
The Netherlands opened their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-1 victory away to Macedonia on Wednesday night to give new coach Bert van Marwijk his first competitive victory.
Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez scored the 5,000th Spanish league goal in Real Madrid's history to help the defending champions beat newly-promoted Numancia 4-3 on Sunday for their first win of the season.
Holland gave everything to Euro 2008. The team played dazzling soccer against France and world champion Italy. Pundits swooned over an updated version of total football and praised the individual skills of Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart & Co.
Russia joined Germany and Turkey in the semifinals of Euro 2008 with a 3-1 upset win over the Netherlands after extra time in Basle on Saturday night.
BASEL, Switzerland -- Eight days in and there's plenty of interesting stuff to admire at this European Championship. What struck me most was the tactical diversity on display. In fact, while the quality of the play has been roughly on par with expectations, the coaching has, in my opinion, surpassed them. There really are managers doing new and interesting things.
Hugo Almeida was on target as nine-man Werder Bremen edged Hamburg SV 1-0 Wednesday and reclaimed second place in the Bundesliga with an automatic slot in the Champions League at stake.
French midfielder Franck Ribery booked Bayern Munich's place in the last four of the German Cup with a dramatic penalty in the final minute of extra time to give them a 1-0 win over city rivals 1860 Munich.
SV Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen drew 1-1 on Saturday in a Bundesliga match that did little for either team's title chances.
Mario Gomez announced his return to form with a hat-trick in just 14 minutes to book Stuttgart's place in the German Cup quarterfinals.
Bayern Munich maintained their advantage at the top of Group F but missed the chance to reach the UEFA Cup knockout rounds with a game to spare as Braga came back to earn a point in a 1-1 draw in Portugal.
SV Hamburg shrugged off last week's news that coach Huub Stevens will leave the team by beating Hansa Rostock 2-0 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Schalke have moved up to second place in the Bundesliga, retaining their unbeaten record in the process, after a 2-0 victory at Duisburg.
Hamburg's disgruntled captain Rafael van der Vaart scored a second-half penalty for a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday but his efforts were overshadowed by a deepening controversy over his desire to leave the Bundesliga club.
Bayern Munich left-back Marcell Jansen will miss Saturday's visit to Werder Bremen after suffering a calf injury in training.
Hamburg have signed Dutch midfielder Romeo Castelen on a four-year contract from Feyenoord Rotterdam for a fee of three million euros ($4.10 million), the Bundesliga club have said.
An embarrassing blunder by debutant Australia goalkeeper Brad Jones handed Uruguay a 2-1 victory in a lively friendly international on Saturday.
League leaders Schalke stumbled again in the Bundesliga on Friday, losing 2-0 at home to Hamburg for their second consecutive defeat and third straight match without a win.
Goals from Lukas Podolski and Mark van Bommel gave Bayern Munich a 2-1 home win over Wolfsburg, which put them within nine points of Bundesliga leaders Schalke on Saturday.
Schalke 04 missed a chance to go seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday when they squandered a two-goal lead and had to settle for a 2-2 draw at VfL Wolfsburg.
Four Dutch goals in the second half made up for a poor first half as the Netherlands scored a comfortable 4-1 win over Russia in a friendly international on Wednesday.
Hamburg captain Rafael van der Vaart has been banned for the next four matches as punishment for his tackle on Tommy Bechmann in Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Bochum.
Bayern Munich stayed in touch near the top of the Bundesliga by recovering from going a goal down to defeat crisis club Hamburg 2-1.
Defender Emmanuel Eboue spared Arsenal's blushes by firing a late goal in a tense 3-1 Champions League victory over Hamburg that sent the Gunners to the top of Group G.
Midfielder Rafael van der Vaart scored a late equalizer for the Netherlands who salavaged a 1-1 draw with England in their international friendly on Wednesday.
Lucho Gonzalez struck a sublime volley to lead Porto to a 3-1 win over Hamburg SV on Wednesday, putting his side back in the hunt in Champions League Group G and knocking the Germans out.
Bundesliga title aspirants Hamburg struggled to a 1-1 home draw with Arminia Bielefeld in their opening match of the season.
Dutchmen Phillip Cocu and Wesley Sneijder were ready to start the World Cup opener against Serbia & Montenegro on Sunday after coming through a final training session on Saturday.
Injured midfielder Rafael van der Vaart will miss the Netherlands' final World Cup warm-up match against Australia on Sunday.
Hamburg's Dutch international midfielders Rafael van der Vaart and Nigel De Jong are both having surgery on Tuesday in a bid to be fit for the World Cup finals in Germany.
Hamburg beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0 on Sunday to slash Bayern Munich's lead at the top of the Bundesliga to just four points.
High-flying Bundesliga side SV Hamburg crashed out of the UEFA Cup on away goals after beating Rapid Bucharest 3-1 in Wednesday's last-16 stage return.
Third-placed Hamburg suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Stuttgart on Sunday to fall 11 points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
Hamburg lost further ground in the Bundesliga title race when they escaped with a 0-0 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has been banned for three Bundesliga games for an altercation at the end of Saturday's match against Wolfsburg.
The Netherlands qualified for the 2006 World Cup finals on Saturday after beating the Czech Republic 2-0 in Prague to clinch first place in European qualifying Group One.
German champions Bayern Munich saw their 15-match unbeaten run come to an abrupt end with a 2-0 defeat at Hamburg SV on Saturday.
Arsenal's Robin van Persie has received his first Netherlands call-up since August 2004, for their two World Cup matches.
Brazilian defender Maxwell scored late in the first half to give Ajax a slender 1-0 advantage over Auxerre in the first leg of their UEFA Cup last 32 tie on Wednesday.
Ajax Amsterdam qualified for the UEFA Cup after finishing third in Champions League Group C with a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Dutch champions Ajax were held to a 1-1 draw by arch-rivals Feyenoord on Sunday, both sides losing further ground on leaders PSV Eindhoven.
Dutch league leaders PSV Eindhoven's match at ADO Den Haag was abandoned after 80 minutes with PSV 2-0 ahead when referee Rene Temmink took exception to anti-semitic insults aimed at him from the home crowd.
Feyenoord topped the early pacesetters in the Dutch Premier League after an easy 4-0 away win over Willem II Tilburg.
Franz Beckenbauer said the Dutch could beat themselves if they do not play their best strikers in the Euro 2004 Group D match against Germany on Tuesday.
Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf should be available for the Euro 2004 finals, a spokesman for the Netherlands football association said on Sunday.
Marc Overmars scored one goal and set up another Tuesday as the Netherlands beat the Faeroe Islands 3-0 in a European Championship warmup match.
Bart Goor converted a 78th minute penalty to give Belgium a 1-0 win over the Netherlands in the 124th low countries derby in Eindhoven.
Ajax's run of 23 consecutive home wins in the Dutch first division ended when the leaders were held 1-1 by Roosendaal at the Amsterdam Arena on Sunday.
A late equalizer from Feyenoord striker Dirk Kuijt held leaders Ajax Amsterdam 1-1 in the Dutch first division.
France came up short in their bid for a record 15th straight international win as they were held to a goalless draw by the Netherlands.
Arjen Robben's second-half strike gave the Netherlands a 1-0 win over the United States as the Dutch began their build-up for the Euro 2004 finals.
Two young Ajax defenders have been named in a provisional Netherlands squad for their friendly against the United States on February 19.
Dutch leaders Ajax have signed Greek striker Yannis Anastasiou to boost their attack ahead of Sunday's key league clash with PSV Eindhoven.
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