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.
Inter Milan go into Saturday's game against Bologna on the back of three consecutive wins, including Wednesday's 3-2 triumph over Genoa in the cup. Milan, meanwhile, travel to relegation-threatened Lecce 24 hours later looking to return to winning ways after being held to a 4-4 draw by Udinese last time out. A slip by Milan could see second-placed Napoli reduce their four-point lead at the summit. Napoli host Fiorentina looking to replicate the form they displayed in last weekend's 3-0 triumph over Juventus.
Sunday is derby day in the Premier League as huge contests in the Second City, Merseyside and Wear-Tyneside take the spotlight. Birmingham host Aston Villa in a 12pm kick-off, while Sunderland and Newcastle also meet at high noon, and Liverpool welcome Everton across Stanley Park later in the afternoon. To add to Sunday's drama, top-of-the-table rivals Tottenham and Manchester United clash at White Hart Lane in what promises to be an engrossing encounter in North London. On Saturday, defending champions Chelsea welcome Blackburn, Manchester City seek revenge against Wolves, and Arsenal travel to West Ham in the evening kick-off. Elsewhere, relegation-threatened Wigan see Fulham arrive at the DW Stadium, out-of-form West Brom will hope for a reprieve against a confident Blackpool side, and Bolton visit Stoke.
Never underestimate the randomness of any draft. Sure enough, Vancouver stunned the room right away Thursday with its choice to begin the process, taking project striker Omar Salgado rather than one of the two players everyone had projected to go at Nos. 1 and 2. From there, a draft chalk full of quality defenders saw just one of them taken among the first five names called. See -- the next surprise is never far away.
Byron Moreno, who is being held without bail, pleaded guilty to one count of heroin smuggling, spokesman Robert Nardoza said. He faces up to 5¼ years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. No sentencing date was set.
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, Wesley Sneijder attempts to sweet talk Jose Mourinho at FIFA's awards gala, Tuncay hawks his wares on Facebook, Edin Dzeko scores an own goal at Manchester City, FIFA bend over backwards for Qatar and the greatest goal in the world.
Qatar's winning bid to hold the 2022 World Cup was marked by a spending spree that included investments in the home countries of several executives who were responsible for choosing the host nation, according to internal documents from the emirate's bidding committee. The spending sheds light on how FIFA regulations—outlined in the two-page rules of conduct for World Cup host-nation bidding—left the door open for hopefuls to open wallets to exert indirect influence on international soccer's small circle of decision-makers.
Qatar also paid soccer-world luminaries—hailing from France, Spain, Argentina and elsewhere— who publicly endorsed its bid, according to Qatar bid committee documents and emails reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Some were paid more than a million dollars in connection with the endorsements, said a person familiar with the situation.
Things really couldn't have gone more swimmingly for Bayern Munich during its winter training camp in Qatar. Long-term absentee Arjen Robben was back on the pitch, moving freely and feeling good. Franck Ribéry, another worry in recent months, was as sharp as he has been since getting injured in Euro 2008. New addition Luiz Gustavo, who will most likely start as a left back, added quality to the squad, and the central midfield pairing of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mark van Bommel was reunited. Despite all the harmony, Louis van Gaal seemed intent on causing a giant storm in the desert before the flight home. On Friday, out of the blue, he decided that substitute keeper Thomas Kraft, 22, will take over the No.1 spot from veteran Hans-Jörg Butt, 36, immediately. To say that the Bayern hierarchy was shocked by this decision would be a serious understatement.
Of all the figures I've encountered in soccer over the years, Terry Byrne is right near the top of my most intriguing people list. A 44-year-old Englishman, Byrne has gone on a remarkable life journey from London taxi driver to massage therapist for Chelsea and England to David Beckham's best friend and personal manager to a sports business career of his own. Byrne's latest gig, however, may be his most fascinating of all. He has moved his family from London to the Big Apple to help relaunch the New York Cosmos.
This is the second in a series looking in detail at Manchester United's finance. In December I wrote about the various sources of revenue the club has. This post looks at operating costs. Revenue minus operating costs equals the famous "EBITDA" (earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation). I will write separately about the costs that come below EBITDA, namely those relating to player transfers and of course interest and related charges.
Tottenham Hotspur is on a collision course with its local political representatives.
Leo Messi was wearing a dickie bow last night. Proof, some said with a smile, that he knew he was going to be awarded with a second successive Ballon d'Or – after all, Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta were only in ties. But he didn't know: amid all the shock, the disgust and the pathetic patriotic paranoia, the man most surprised at Messi's award was Messi. On his way into the gala, he was asked whether it felt a bit strange to be the best player in the world and yet still know that he wasn't going to get the award for the world's best player. Messi mumbled something along the lines of: no, not really – Xavi and Iniesta won the World Cup.
Not so long ago Major League Soccer's draft could be somewhat forgiving. With just 10 or 12 teams selecting, the deciders were usually only minutes away from their next selection, never far from an opportunity to tidy up a blunder. Those days are long gone. The league keeps growing and one byproduct is a significantly reduced margin for error in the annual January draft.
The room will be crowded with officials from 18 teams during Thursday's MLS SuperDraft in Baltimore. Teams have four minutes to select in rounds one and two, then three minutes for round three. Each club may call one five-minute timeout as it plucks from the college and amateur ranks.
Here's how things might go on Thursday (assuming no trades):
For all of the problems on and off the pitch in Ronaldinho's career over the past few years, none has had more of an impact on his future than missing out on the 2010 World Cup for Brazil. The pain of being left behind in the summer was tempered by a recall to the squad for the 1-0 friendly defeat against Argentina at the end of last year, but his decision to return to his homeland to play club football with Flamengo is rooted in his desire to reclaim his place at the centre of the national team.
Sacha Kljestan, Anderlecht (Belgium) Vs. Lierse, 6-0, 79 Minutes; Away to KV Kortrijk, 2-0, Did Not Play
Sacha Kljestan played well in his 79 minutes for Anderlecht crushed Lierse 6-0 at home last week. He was then rested as Anderlecht coasted to a 2-0 win away to KV Kortrijk. With the wins they now sit six points clear atop the Belgian Jupiler League above Club Brugge with a game in hand.
"Football isn't a matter of life and death, it’s much more important than that,” is a quote often attributed to Bill Shankly, the legendary manager of Liverpool FC. As exaggerations go, this one gets pretty close to the truth. Millions of fans identify intensely with the highs and lows of their favourite sports team, perhaps a modern substitute for the tribal loyalties of bygone days. Fandom is a bit more complicated than mere tribalism, though. Which team you support is the result of an intricate compound of ancestral, regional, social, and sometimes even religious loyalties. And, of course, personal choice. However, this map of London seems to indicate that geography is a major factor in fan loyalty.
Uuuuf - as the Spanish say. In the Riazor stadium (A Coruña) on Saturday night, a lone banner required Deportivo to put up some manly resistance to the might of the visiting Barcelona, so that La Liga would not be converted into 'The Scottish League' [sic - sort of], but it only took David Villa twenty-five minutes to put paid to that idea (the resistance). Once Messi made it two on fifty-one minutes you did get the impression that Deportivo were thinking about next week and their difficult but less terrifying trip to Valencia. Without exactly throwing in the towel, they seemed to be more interested in keeping the score down. They also failed to do that.
Newcastle crashed out of the FA Cup to League Two strugglers Stevenage, losing 3-1 in Saturday's late kick-off at Broadhall Way. A Mike Williamson own goal sparked the Magpies' downfall five minutes after half-time, completing a miserable weekend for the North East after Sunderland and Middlesbrough also exited the competition.
