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.
Leverkusen visit Stuttgart and Wolfsburg host Bremen in a pair of matches that may decide which teams finish in Europa and Champions League positions.
Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have confirmed that they are looking to sell the club after appointing British Airways chief Martin Broughton as chairman on Friday. Hicks and Gillett have been at the club since their 2007 takeover but have come under plenty of scrutiny throughout that time, notably from fans disappointed by their apparent reluctance to invest heavily in the squad. They also promised to move the club into a brand new ground in Stanley Park as part of their purchase three years ago, but a lack of funding meant the building work never began.
Any self-respecting Vegas kid will tell you that luck can turn in the blink of an eye and the turn of a card. But as his career threatened to settle into a predictable pattern, Herculez Gomez was beginning to wonder if he would ever hit the soccer jackpot. Just a few months back, the 28-year-old was reflecting on the seventh year of a Major League Soccer career that had once promised much but had become rutted in disappointment and stagnation. So what do you do to stop your career from heading south? Well, why not head south yourself?
Thousands of South African fans queued overnight at supermarkets and shopping malls on Thursday for a chance to buy 500,000 unsold World Cup tickets.Fifa agreed on Wednesday to drop a ruling that sales could only be made online or through a ballot procedure.
Barca return to action this Wednesday with a home game against a Deportivo La Coruna side whose European ambitions have been hampered by a six-game winless run. Madrid go to Almeria on Thursday with defender Sergio Ramos insisting they won't give up on the title yet.
There are still plenty of other issues to play for with two of the Champions League contenders, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao, meeting at the Mestalla on Thursday.
Third-placed Valencia are five points ahead of Real Mallorca and Sevilla, who occupy fourth and fifth respectively, with Athletic a further three points back.
A century ago when the Velez Sarsfield club was founded in Argentina their shirts were plain white - the cheapest they could find. Then they went with stripes of red, green and white - a tribute to the Italian origins of the club's founders.
Jozy Altidore, Hull City
"Could you please explain why Bundesliga teams are so funny. I know managers change, but in no other league do teams change positions so much in different seasons. There are some exceptions, like Villarreal, but the Bundesliga has more of this fluctuation. Why so?"
It's a good question. As I type this, the top four teams in the league are Bayern, Schalke, Leverkusen and Dortmund. Last year, they were Wolfsburg, Bayern, Stuttgart and Hertha.
So are on Manchester United on the brink of crisis? Is it the end of the empire? Or are we just witnessing the latest blip during two decades of incredible success?
Here is the A to Z of Manchester United’s 2009-10 campaign – good and bad!
After being held 2-2 at Fiorentina on Saturday, Inter Milan found themselves overtaken at the top of the standings as the Giallorossi beat Atalanta 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico to move a point clear.
Lionel Messi's 40th goal of the season in all competitions put the reigning Spanish and European champions on the road to victory in 'El Clasico', and Pedro Rodriguez sealed his side's 2-0 win 10 minutes after half-time. Valencia suffered a second setback in four days as Real Mallorca claimed a 3-2 win. Sevilla moved back into pole position for the last Champions League spot by staging a late comeback to triumph 2-1 at Malaga in a fiercely-disputed Andalusian derby.
Manchester United suffered a serious setback to their title hopes after a goalless draw against Blackburn. Manchester City strengthened their bid to finish fourth - and claim the final Champions League spot - after thumping Birmingham 5-1 at Eastlands. Brazilian striker Ilan is fast emerging as West Ham's unlikely saviour after he earned the Hammers a vital triumph over Sunderland.
