SSN is a digest of the day's soccer/football/futbol articles with a focus on the top European leagues and the United States National Team. Below, you’ll find links to articles and video, as well as additional features and commentary. We locate the top news of the day so you can stay updated with ease.
North London derbies need no added ingredients to make them feisty encounters but Saturday's clash at the Emirates will have some extra spice in the return of William Gallas.
Arsenal can climb to the top of the Premier League table if they beat bitter North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday lunchtime. 
The mood in AC Milan's camp is in stark contrast.
The Rossoneri host Fiorentina on Saturday on the back of three straight wins and top Serie A by one point from Lazio after 12 games played.
Barcelona, who have won their last five league matches - one less than the run Madrid are on, are away to third-bottom Almeria this weekend.
There is already a gap starting to develop between the big two and the rest of the pack, and that could increase in the 12th round of action as third-placed Villarreal - who are five points behind Barca - meet local rivals Valencia, who are three points further adrift in fourth place.
It isn't much of a surprise to see weather crop up as a point of discussion ahead of Sunday night's MLS Cup clash between Colorado and FC Dallas.
Landon Donovan benefited from some hasty rule-bending by Major League Soccer chiefs in order to be selected to the league’s annual Best XI. Donovan was listed on the ballot for the award, which selects a goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards – as a forward.
Yet after the votes cast by players, coaches, general managers and the media were tallied, Donovan was left out in the cold, with his Los Angeles Galaxy teammate Edson Buddle and league top scorer Chris Wondolowski of the San Jose Earthquakes being named in the forward roles.Off The Ball never rests in its mission to scratch around the underbelly of professional football to find the most bizarre, humorous and inexplicable stories.
This week, Zlatan Ibrahimovic auditions for the Karate Kid, Crisitiano Ronaldo has a tantrum after Nani ruins his wonder goal, Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola "should be in a mental asylum" and the miss of the century.
On one flank at the Bernabeu stood Cristiano Ronaldo. Opposite him stood Jose Antonio Reyes. Ronaldo was wearing the white of Real Madrid. Reyes donned the red and white stripes of Atletico, but as the Madrid derby progressed on Sunday night, it became increasingly difficult to shake off the feeling that he also should have been decked out in Real’s colours. Although both Ronaldo and Reyes were once regarded as two of the brightest young talents in English football, their careers have veered off wildly in opposite directions.
Last Sunday night, with one final smolder for the cameras, David Beckham conveyed his hairstyle off the pitch and out of the MLS playoffs. The L.A. Galaxy's 3-0 loss to F.C. Dallas—a game in which Beckham's slow-wilting sprout of a ponytail was an accurate meter of his side's fortunes—deprives the competition of its most telegenic team. It also sends unheralded Dallas on to face the Colorado Rapids on Sunday in the least obviously glamorous sports final since, oh, the 2010 World Series. Instead of mashing CTRL-V on Beckham and his teammate-turned-World-Cup-hero Landon Donovan, the marketing wing of MLS now faces the task of selling a championship game contested by two teams who don't even fill their own stadiums.
The Premier League season that keeps on giving in unpredictability again delivered as Sunderland beat champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal played prior to Chelsea's slump as they travelled to Everton and won 2 - 1. Despite Manchester United drawing at Aston Villa, the result turned out to be a point gained by the Red Devils - although they again left it late. Liverpool's improvement in form was halted as Stoke City ran out 2-0 winners at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday evening. Tottenham Hotspur earned their first win in five attempts as they saw off Blackburn Rovers in a hugely entertaining encounter at White Hart Lane. The pressure continues to build on Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini's shoulders after his side played out a goalless draw against Birmingham City. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bolton Wanderers played out a cracking match-up at Molineux which the latter won 3-2. West Ham United failed to defeat newly-promoted Blackpool as the game at Upton Park finished goalless, despite there being chances aplenty for both teams. Wigan Athletic edged their meeting with West Bromwich Albion 1-0 to lift the Latics out of the relegation places following a first win achieved in six matches. Lastly, Newcastle United and Fulham played out a third goalless draw of the weekend.
Borussia Dortmund pulled further clear at the top of the Bundesliga as two second-half goals saw off Hamburg. Bayern Munich climbed above local rivals Nurnberg into sixth in the Bundesliga with a 3-0 victory in the Bavarian derby. Kaiserslautern and Stuttgart remain just outside the relegation zone after the home side came back from a three-goal deficit in the second half to snatch a draw. Wolfsburg and Schalke also shared the spoils with a dramatic 2-2 draw at the VW-Arena. A late goal from Renato Augusto earned Bayer Leverkusen a narrow win at St Pauli to consolidate third place, the Brazilian striking nine minutes from time. In the day's late game, Sergio Pinto's 44th-minute goal was enough to give Hannover a 1-0 win at Mainz, despite the visitors playing the last 22 minutes with 10 men following the dismissal of Steve Cherundolo.
A solitary goal from AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was enough to beat city rivals Inter Milan 1-0. Lazio had earlier temporarily climbed to the summit after easing to a 2-0 win over Napoli. Juventus and Roma had to settle for a share of the points in a lively 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico. Fiorentina moved up to ninth thanks to a 1-0 win over struggling Cesena.
GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Dom Cervi (Celtic, Scotland).
