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.
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.
From the outside looking in, most don't appreciate how hard it is to qualify for the World Cup from the South American region.
We knew it was coming sooner or later. Michel Platini, president of UEFA, had said as much. And now we're one step closer, after UEFA approved what it calls the "concept" of "financial fair play."
Juventus missed the chance to go top of Serie A as they were held to a last-gasp 1-1 draw by Bologna on Sunday.
SV Hamburg regained top spot in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in Saturday's vital league clash in Germany.
Manchester United went to the top of the English Premier League as Chelsea lost 3-1 at Wigan to see their perfect start to the season ruined.
Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Real Madrid may have grabbed all the headlines but here at CNN we hope to pull a major transfer coup of our own - by signing up some of you!
Inter Milan's new strikers Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito were on target again as they beat Napoli 3-1 in the San Siro on Wednesday to go top of Serie A.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
Manchester United are given more injury-time at the end of matches to equalize or score winning goals than their English Premier League rivals, a study has revealed.
When FC Seoul played Umm Salal at the Qatar Sports Club in Doha on Wednesday, it marked the half-way point of a remarkable 14,000 kilometer round trip for the Korean club.
Craig Bellamy has escaped punishment following his clash with a fan at the end of Sunday's tumultuous Manchester derby, with the City striker receiving a warning from the English Football Association.
Samuel Eto'o has stunned European champions Barcelona by reportedly asking for an extra $4.4 million payoff following his summer switch to Inter Milan.
Back in 2007, a developmental milestone seemed to have been reached with respect to Major League Soccer's contribution to the U.S. soccer federation's progress. More than half of the 21 players named to the 2007 United States' U-20 World Cup roster came from the ranks of MLS. There were 11 in all based in the domestic league. Three more players were professionals with other teams overseas, making pro players a clear majority on the squad.
Unlike many foreign players who have come to America and promised much but delivered little, Darren Huckerby gave everything: his zealous commitment to team, his unquenchable daring to scorch opponents, his indomitable spirit, his puckish humor and ultimately, his health.
Sampdoria moved to the top of Italy's Serie A with a 4-1 trouncing of Siena as city rivals Genoa dropped their first points after losing 3-1 at Chievo.
Manchester United substitute Michael Owen broke Manchester City hearts with a dramatic winning goal deep into injury-time at Old Trafford on Sunday, but Chelsea stayed top of the English Premier League with a 3-0 crushing of London rivals Tottenham.
Argentina star Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona thrashed Atletico Madrid 5-2 in the Camp Nou to maintain their perfect start to the Spanish league season.
Arsenal and Liverpool boosted their English Premier League title challenges with contrasting victories on Saturday.
Bayern Munich closed to within two points of Bundesliga leaders Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen with a 2-1 victory at home to Bavarian rivals Nuremberg on Saturday.
Manchester City's headline-grabbing 4-2 home win over Arsenal last weekend delivered more talking points than a double-bill Oprah healthcare special. City struggled to contain a probing, possession-heavy Arsenal offense. But on the break, the speed of Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy and Shaun Wright-Phillips pierced a dispersed Gunners defense three times over a frenetic 10-minute second-half spell.
Lionel Messi committed his future to reigning Spanish champions Barcelona by signing a new six-year contract with the Catalan giants.
Alex Ferguson has branded English Premier League rivals Manchester City "cocky" ahead of their top-of-the-table derby clash with United on Sunday.
Park Ji-Sung made history this year when the Manchester United midfielder became the first Korean to appear in the final of the European Champions League.
Emmanuel Adebayor has been charged twice by the English FA following last Saturday's bad-tempered match between his former team Arsenal and current paymasters Manchester City.
Everton manager David Moyes was left unimpressed by UEFA's trial of goalline assistants despite his side's resounding 4-0 Europa League win over AEK Athens at Goodison Park.
South Korean star Park Ji-sung has signed a two-year contract extension at English Premier League champions Manchester United.
An unrepentant Emmanuel Adebayor has launched an outspoken attack on his former Arsenal teammates after receiving a three-match ban for stamping on Robin van Persie in Manchester City's 4-2 win on Saturday.
SANDY, Utah -- So who has been the standout for U.S. Soccer this past year? That's the question I need to answer, as my ballot arrived just this past week for the Honda Player of Year, voted on annually by the American soccer media.
Defending champions Shakhtar Donetsk opened the group stages of UEFA's new-look Europa League with a comfortable 4-1 win away to Belgian club Bruges on Thursday night.
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has been handed a three-match suspension for his stamp on Arsenal's Robin Van Persie last weekend.
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