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.
No 6: Damien Duff
Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea paid Blackburn £17m for Duff in 2003 but he initially looked good value on the opposite wing to Arjen Robben. Yet, injuries hampered the Irishman’s development and, three years after his arrival, the Blues sent him to Newcastle — who else? — for just £5m.
Chelsea's clash with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday is the key match of the weekend. Elsewhere Portsmouth travel to Man City, Liverpool host Stoke, Arsenal are at Bolton, Hull host Everton and Spurs get Wigan at White Hart Lane.
Seven-time European champion AC Milan began a rare foray into the UEFA Cup confidently Thursday, and Tottenham secured its first win of the season in the first leg of the opening round. Both teams have endured torrid starts to their league campaigns, but Milan beat FC Zurich 3-1 and Spurs secured a slender 2-1 advantage over Wisla Krakow.
Violence-plagued Napoli got a 3-2 victory over Benfica despite a bottle thrown onto the pitch in southern Italy, while Udinese won 2-0 at Borussia Dortmund. It was an easier night for Italian rival Sampdoria, which routed FBK Kaunas 5-0.
European heavyweights Liverpool, FC Barcelona, Chelsea and Inter Milan opened their Champions League campaigns with victories Tuesday. But the most striking results on the first night of the group stage came from the competition’s newcomers on the road, with Romanian team CFR Cluj upsetting AS Roma 2-1 and Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus holding Werder Bremen 0-0.
Don't say it too loudly if you're on holiday in either country, but at the moment the national football teams of great rivals Brazil and Argentina have a little more in common than they'd like to admit. The most recent round of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup featured a few surprises, but none more so than disappointing draws on Wednesday night for both South American giants. Both managers - Dunga of Brazil and Alfio Basile of Argentina - have a lot to answer for.
But sometimes you do exactly that - sitting and surfing, I mean - and suddenly there's glamour by association, so to speak.
Chelsea and Barcelona take centre stage on Tuesday when the Champions League group stage kicks off with eight matches.
| Club | Played | Points |
| Chelsea | 4 | 10 |
| Liverpool | 4 | 10 |
| Arsenal | 4 | 9 |
| Aston Villa | 4 | 7 |
| Hull | 4 | 7 |
| Man City | 4 | 6 |
| Fulham | 3 | 6 |
| West Ham | 4 | 6 |
| Middlesbrough | 4 | 6 |
| Portsmouth | 4 | 6 |
| Everton | 4 | 6 |
| Wigan | 4 | 4 |
| Bolton | 4 | 4 |
| Man Utd | 3 | 4 |
| West Brom | 4 | 4 |
| Newcastle | 4 | 4 |
| Sunderland | 4 | 4 |
| Blackburn | 4 | 4 |
| Stoke | 4 | 3 |
| Tottenham | 4 | 1 |
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Liverpool ended their miserable run against Manchester United after an odd own-goal from Wes Brown and a late score from sub Ryan Babel gave them a 2-1 victory at Anfield. Elsewhere, Robinho scored on his Citey debut but Chelsea rallied to win 3-1 despite a harsh red card on John Terry. Arsenal won 4-0 over Blackburn as Adebayor netted a hat trick, Hull heaped more misery on Newcastle, Tim Cahill made a timely return to give Everton the win over Stoke and Fulham beat Bolton at Craven Cottage. Spurs and Villa play today.
