Liverpool have crashed out of the Champions League despite a narrow 1-0 Group E win over Debrecen in Hungary.
Barcelona are desperate to call on the services of Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Tuesday's vital Champions League group showdown with Inter Milan in the Camp Nou.
SEATTLE -- Bring up all the clichés you want: David over Goliath. Substance over style. Team over individual. They all fit Real Salt Lake, which outlasted the heavily favored Los Angeles Galaxy on penalty kicks Sunday night after a 1-1 draw and 120 minutes of last-man-standing soccer (RECAP).
Soccer star Thierry Henry became the villain of Dublin on Wednesday.
Real Salt Lake sealed an upset win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday night with a 5-4 penalty victory, after extra-time in the Major League Soccer Cup final that ended with the score at 1-1.
CARSON, Calif. -- When the Los Angeles Galaxy needed a deciding goal last Friday to send them to a sixth MLS Cup final appearance, neither of the team's biggest stars -- David Beckham nor Landon Donovan -- scored the winner in overtime against Houston.
Juventus stayed ahead of a resurgent AC Milan in second place in Serie A with a 1-0 home victory over Udinese in Sunday's late match.
David Beckham has pledged his future to the Los Angeles Galaxy and says that victory in Sunday's MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake would rank alongside other career achievements such as winning the Champions League with Manchester United.
SEATTLE -- Still dubious David Beckham is making an impact in this country? More than 40,000 tickets have been sold for Sunday's MLS Cup final between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake at Qwest Field (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Galavisión), with another 2,000 made available late in the week. That would mark the biggest crowd for MLS' season-capper in seven years and the third-biggest ever for a game not featuring the local team.
Tottenham Hotspur humiliated Wigan 9-1 with England striker Jermain Defoe scoring five to move into the Champions League spots in the English Premier League.
Liverpool have crashed out of the Champions League despite a narrow 1-0 Group E win over Debrecen in Hungary.
Barcelona are desperate to call on the services of Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Tuesday's vital Champions League group showdown with Inter Milan in the Camp Nou.
SEATTLE -- Bring up all the clichés you want: David over Goliath. Substance over style. Team over individual. They all fit Real Salt Lake, which outlasted the heavily favored Los Angeles Galaxy on penalty kicks Sunday night after a 1-1 draw and 120 minutes of last-man-standing soccer (RECAP).
Soccer star Thierry Henry became the villain of Dublin on Wednesday.
Real Salt Lake sealed an upset win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday night with a 5-4 penalty victory, after extra-time in the Major League Soccer Cup final that ended with the score at 1-1.
CARSON, Calif. -- When the Los Angeles Galaxy needed a deciding goal last Friday to send them to a sixth MLS Cup final appearance, neither of the team's biggest stars -- David Beckham nor Landon Donovan -- scored the winner in overtime against Houston.
Juventus stayed ahead of a resurgent AC Milan in second place in Serie A with a 1-0 home victory over Udinese in Sunday's late match.
David Beckham has pledged his future to the Los Angeles Galaxy and says that victory in Sunday's MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake would rank alongside other career achievements such as winning the Champions League with Manchester United.
SEATTLE -- Still dubious David Beckham is making an impact in this country? More than 40,000 tickets have been sold for Sunday's MLS Cup final between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake at Qwest Field (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Galavisión), with another 2,000 made available late in the week. That would mark the biggest crowd for MLS' season-capper in seven years and the third-biggest ever for a game not featuring the local team.
Tottenham Hotspur humiliated Wigan 9-1 with England striker Jermain Defoe scoring five to move into the Champions League spots in the English Premier League.
Real Madrid returned to the top of the table in Spain after edging past Racing Santander 1-0 on Saturday, while previous leaders Barcelona could only draw 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao.
Manchester United kept in touch with English Premier League leaders Chelsea with a 3-0 crushing of Everton on Saturday, but Arsenal's title hopes suffered a big setback.
The Iraqi Olympic Committee said Saturday it stands by its decision to disband the country's soccer association -- a move that led to the association's suspension from international football.
SEATTLE -- As the reborn Los Angeles Galaxy prepare to take on Real Salt Lake in the MLS Cup final on Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Galavisión), I can't help but think back to a scene in Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 13, 2008.
SEATTLE -- The Los Angeles Galaxy meet Real Salt Lake in the 14th MLS Cup final here on Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Galavisión), and I started the day off by meeting MLS commissioner Don Garber for breakfast in his hotel suite. The 52-year-old Garber, a former NFL executive, has been the MLS commish since 1999 and is widely expected to sign a contract extension in the next few weeks.
Egypt's Football Association faces punishment after FIFA decided to investigate an incident which saw Algeria's team bus pelted with stones before last Saturday's World Cup qualifier in Cairo.
In ever-evolving Major League Soccer, the league's history could be split almost evenly in half. There was the first stage, from 1996 to 2004, when MLS was a fledgling, young and small league. Then, from '05 through the present -- the Expansion Era might be an appropriate name -- the league has gotten some solid footing and grown a bit.
France striker Thierry Henry's handled assist broke Irish hearts in Paris on Wednesday night, denying Giovanni Trapattoni's team a spot in World Cup 2010.
If sources monitoring the Chicago situation are right, Denis Hamlett will soon join Preki in the unemployment line. Maybe if the Fire had reached the MLS Cup final, majority owner Andrew Hauptman would have been reluctant to cut him loose.
Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko expects to play for AC Milan next season.
Arsenal have confirmed that striker Robin van Persie will be out of action for "approximately six weeks" after suffering ankle ligament damage during the Netherlands' international friendly against Italy on Saturday.
The final 32 for the 2010 World Cup finals has become clearer after the latest round of qualifying matches with three more nations claiming places in South Africa.
David Beckham believes the furore that followed his return to the LA Galaxy from his loan spell with AC Milan earlier this year has galvanized the team.
Don Fabio Capello has ensured that England already has booked its place at next summer's World Cup, and this weekend, the Three Lions are sunning themselves ahead of a showpiece money-spinner against Brazil in Qatar.
Football's world governing body FIFA has called for greater security to be provided after three players from Algeria's national football team were injured when Egyptian fans threw stones at the team bus as it arrived in Cairo on Thursday.
English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur have announced record profits as a result of large gains from player transfers, despite difficult economic conditions.
CHICAGO -- There are certain indubitable truths I believe in. For example, I believe peanut butter should be crunchy, ATM fees are crimes against humanity and Van Hagar never existed.
David Beckham's commitments with Los Angeles Galaxy have forced him to withdraw from the England squad to face Brazil in a friendly in Qatar.
Champions Inter Milan failed to re-establish their seven-point lead in Italy's Serie A after being held 1-1 at home by AS Roma on Sunday night.
Chelsea moved five points clear in the English Premier League after claiming a controversial 1-0 victory at home to defending champions Manchester United on Sunday.
Barcelona made sure they will stay top of the Spanish La Liga with a 4-2 home win over Real Mallorca in the Camp Nou on Saturday.
Arsenal underlined their English title credentials with a 4-1 thrashing of Wolves at Molineux in Saturday's late kickoff in the Premier League.
Having ties to a rich and powerful foreign club seemed like a built-in advantage for Chivas USA. The ability to acquire and develop young Mexican talent and having strong financial backing seemed like a great opportunity for the Southern California-based team to build a powerhouse in a relatively short amount of time.
If you're a Liverpool fan, you're probably pretty angry right now. You've won one game since September (albeit a pretty important one, against Manchester United), qualification to the knockout stage of the Champions League seems extremely improbable right now and you're sixth in the English Premier League, after finishing second last year.
When a popular and successful head coach moves on, the simple choice can be complicated for the replacement.
If his incredible two-goal display against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday was any indication, Atlético Madrid superstar Sergio Agüero could be on the path to recovery after a frustrating beginning to the 2009-10 season.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes governing body UEFA should consider a system which will enable clubs to appeal against bookings.
Manchester United came from 3-1 down to salvage a 3-3 draw against CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford to secure qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Where have all the wonder teams gone? There was a time -- perhaps there still is that time -- when the Serie A championship was totally dominated by the three superpowers: Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus. Not only has this trio won 26 of the last 33 league titles, it has also tended (at least one has) to utterly dominate the season, home and away.
Two key players in the MLS playoffs were instrumental in helping their teams in the first leg of their respective aggregate-score series this past weekend. Despite their contributions, though, they and their teammates know full well that come January, they won't return to their current clubs for the preseason, but instead will be with other teams in other countries.
England striker Wayne Rooney is a "thrilled" father for the first time after his wife Coleen gave birth to a baby boy in a Liverpool hospital on Monday afternoon.
Second-placed Juventus gave Italian leaders Inter Milan the chance to move seven points clear after suffering a 3-2 home defeat by Napoli on Saturday, with striker Amauri sent off late to rub salt in the Turin giants' wounds.
Arsenal dealt a crushing blow to the top-four aspirations of London rivals Tottenham with a 3-0 victory on Saturday, while Chelsea remained top of the English Premier League with a 4-0 win at 10-man Bolton.
With one playoff series underway (Houston and Seattle drew 0-0 Thursday night), we break down the remaining three series, all of which kick off this weekend:
Things are a little tight at the top of the English Premier League, and it's making people nervous. Only seven points separate the top seven teams, and the pack could further congest if Aston Villa, Manchester City and Arsenal win their games in hand.
Cristiano Ronaldo is in the running to win the FIFA World Player of the Year for a second successive year after being named on a 23-man shortlist for this year's award.
For just the second time in MLS history, a team won the Supporters' Shield while compiling less than 50 points during the regular season. Columbus' 13-7-10 record was good enough to lock down the league's best regular-season record, but such a mark doesn't exactly compare well to previous Supporters' Shield winners.
Arsenal's youngsters condemned Liverpool to their fifth defeat in six games with a 2-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium to reach the quarterfinals of the English League Cup on Wednesday night.
Manchester United No. 1 Edwin van der Sar reflects on his career after receiving his award as ESM Goalkeeper of the Year.
One of Major League Soccer's most exciting playoff races in the league's 14-year history concluded last weekend as New England waited 79 minutes before a Jeff Larentowicz free kick broke the tie in Columbus and sent the Revs to their eighth straight postseason. With all playoff-bound teams accounted for, Free Kicks decided to do one final power rankings with a special bonus: input from one player per team in which he offers his best pitch why MLS fans should root for his club in the playoffs.
Porto striker Hulk has been called up to the Brazilian squad for friendly internationals next month against England and Oman.
VfL Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel is under increased pressure after the Bundesliga team were knocked out of the German Cup by second-flight Greuther Furth on Tuesday.
Four teams could have been into the playoffs with a victory; four came up short. It's too easy to cite a team's failures on the final weekend of the regular season as primary reasons it missed out on playoff action. So instead, here's a look on what transpired on the previous 31 weeks to create those no-tomorrow scenarios:
If you had told me before this past weekend that, of the six teams gunning for the final two MLS playoff spots, Real Salt Lake and New England would emerge as winners, I would've responded, "Yeah, and I have a date lined up with Keira Knightley on Tuesday."
Champions Barcelona bounced back from a dismal week to return to the top of the Spanish league with a 6-1 crushing of Real Zaragoza on Sunday night.
Liverpool silenced their critics with a pulsating 2-0 victory over Manchester United to revive their English Premier League title hopes in a match at Anfield which saw both teams end with 10 men.
Real Madrid capped a disappointing week by being held goalless by Sporting Gijon in the Spanish Primera Liga on Saturday night.
Frank Lampard scored twice as Chelsea went back to the top of the English Premier League with a 5-0 thrashing of Blackburn at Stamford Bridge in Saturday's evening kickoff.
They were young, mostly in their early 20s, mostly attached to teams virtually unknown on the world stage, such as the Albany Capitals and the Milwaukee Wave. Two had no professional affiliation at all because they were still college players.
The group stage of the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League is over, and there are a handful of strange lingering sensations. The tournament won't resume until next year, and there's a sense of longing and impatience with that. It was an enjoyable spectacle for fans throughout CONCACAF; that the quarterfinals won't get underway until March is a bit disappointing.
We're halfway through the Champions League group stage, which means it's midterm report-card time for Europe's elite. In this evaluation, though, you don't get a straight grade -- you're on a curve based on how you've performed relative to expectations.
Brazilian Alexandre Pato scored twice as AC Milan stunned Real Madrid 3-2 in a thriller at the Bernabeu to get their Champions League Group C challenge back on track.
Antonio Valencia struck a late winner as Manchester United maintained their 100 per cent record in Champions League Group B with a 1-0 victory at CSKA Moscow.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
Turkish international Gokdeniz Karadeniz stuck a second-half winner as Rubin Kazan claimed a shock 2-1 Champions League Group F victory over holders Barcelona at the Nou Camp.
When Emmanuel Adebayor signed for English Premier League side Manchester City for a reported $41 million this summer, he became one of the world's most valuable strikers.
Whether or not Major League Soccer has let a potentially great head coach slip away with the departure of longtime New England Revolution assistant Paul Mariner back to his native England is open to debate, but what the league and this country have lost is a good chunk of institutional knowledge.
Liverpool will be without star striker Fernando Torres for the crucial Champions League visit of Olympique Lyon to Anfield on Tuesday.
Former champions France have been handed a tough task against Ireland in the European playoffs to qualify for next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has been charged by the English Football Association for his critical remarks about the fitness of referee Alan Wiley.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo leads a list of 30 nominees for this year's Ballon d'Or that does not include a single player from current world champions Italy.
Champions Manchester United returned to the top of the English Premier League on Saturday after previous leaders Chelsea crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa.
Bayer Leverkusen retained top spot in the German Bundesliga after coming away from second-placed Hamburg with a 0-0 draw on Saturday night.
Team Limey was basking in an unfamiliar relaxed state leading up to this week's final round of World Cup qualifiers, as its beloved England team safely qualified at the beginning of September with two games to spare.
It has been an excellent year for rookies in Major League Soccer. Expansion has meant increased opportunities for young players. With smaller rosters, most teams demand more from their college products then they've done in the past. How did so many rookies get so much playing time in MLS this year?
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
ARLINGTON, Va. -- This was not how the U.S. soccer team had intended to follow up its newly won World Cup berth. This was not how rising-star forward Charlie Davies had hoped to become a trending topic on Twitter.
If you think Honduran defenders are losing sleep over the image of big Conor Casey marauding on goal like a freight train, try being this season's leading scorer in Major League Soccer. With 121 career regular-season goals, FC Dallas' Jeff Cunningham ranks second on the all-time list in MLS. But he readily admits he can't shake the vision of Casey, who's hot on his heels for this year's scoring lead.
If no news is good news, then it's tempting to conclude that good news is no news at all. Not when it's this familiar, anyway, because when it's this familiar, the extraordinary becomes ordinary.
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out of Portugal's crucial final World Cup qualifier against Malta on Wednesday with an ankle injury and could be sidelined for up to a month.
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras -- You'd be forgiven for thinking you had traveled in a time warp back to the 1980s for the U.S.' big World Cup qualifier against Honduras here on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET, closed-circuit TV in English and Spanish).
MIAMI -- The U.S. could clinch a World Cup berth on Saturday night, and not many American soccer fans will be watching.
Le Havre teenager Paul Pogba is to become a Manchester United player after FIFA approved his transfer to the English Premier League champions.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
Brazil and Paraguay already booked their tickets for the 2010 World Cup, but six other teams are still in the running. There are only two automatic tickets left for South America, and one playoff berth against the fourth-place team from CONCACAF.
The English Football Association have written to Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, asking him to explain comments he made about referee Alan Wiley following the 2-2 draw with Sunderland.
CARSON, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Galaxy weren't celebrating Friday's big victory too much, perhaps taking a cue from their coach, Bruce Arena.
Palermo shocked high-flying Juventus with a 2-0 home victory to prevent the Turin giants from going top of Serie A.
Second half goals from Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda gave Chelsea a 2-0 victory over title rivals Liverpool at Stamford Bridge to take over at the top of the English Premier League from Manchester United.
Pedro Rodriguez's superb first half goal gave Barcelona a 1-0 home win over Almeria to equal their best ever start to a Spanish league season.
Manchester United's eight-game winning run came to an abrupt end as they salvaged a fortunate 2-2 home draw against Sunderland in the English Premier League on Saturday.
Bayer Leverkusen went to the top of the German Bundesliga with a 4-0 thrashing of Nuremberg as defending champions Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich both drew on Saturday.
Manchester United came a goal behind and shrugged off the early loss of Michael Owen to injury to beat German champions Wolfsburg 2-1 for their second victory in Champions League Group B.
Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that winger Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out of his side's La Liga clash with Sevilla on Sunday with an ankle injury.
In this early stage of the English Premier League season, experience has played a major role in two contrasting ways. The club at the top of the league is reaping the benefits of it, with Ryan Giggs flourishing for Manchester United. At the other end of the standings, judging by its current plight, rock-bottom Portsmouth hasn't taken heed of history.
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has been fined £25,000 ($40,000) for his controversial goal celebration against his former club Arsenal, but only received a suspended two-match ban -- partly due to fans provoking him.
German side Werder Bremen moved three points clear at the top of Europa League Group L after seeing off Athletic Bilbao 3-1 despite losing Peter Niemeyer to a red card just five minutes after he appeared as a second-half substitute.
Real Madrid's big summer spendings continued their scoring spree in a 3-0 Champions League win over Marseille but fellow European giants AC Milan suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat to Swiss minnows FC Zurich.
Picture the scene: your star striker is bearing down on goal, seconds before the end of a crucial, season-defining match. A heavy touch takes him away from the danger area but, thanks to the attentions of a nearby defender, a tenuous fall to the turf procures a dubious penalty.
Holders Barcelona recorded their first Champions League win of the season as goals from Lionel Messi and substitute Pedro secured a comfortable 2-0 Group F victory over Dinamo Kiev.
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