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.
It was midweek misery for both Manchester clubs in the Champions League but the bread and butter of the Premier League returns on Saturday. United are renowned for vicious responses after rare calamitous results so beware Wolves, who visit Old Trafford on the back of an impressive victory over Sunderland. Martin O'Neill was in the stands for that game, and he will take charge of his new side for the first time when Blackburn visit the Stadium of Light on Sunday. In-form Tottenham go to Stoke, while Arsenal and Liverpool both have home fixtures they will want to take maximum points from.
Held in 13 U.S. cities last summer, the CONCACAF Gold Cup drew a record attendance of 601,702, including 93,420 at the Rose Bowl for Mexico's 4-2 victory over the U.S. in the final. But the region's most important soccer tournament attracted something else too: Allegations of match-fixing. "There has been information that some matches in the Gold Cup were manipulated," FIFA head of security Chris Eaton confirmed to SI.com. "We worked with CONCACAF at the time, and CONCACAF have been very interested in following up any information that can be revealed in the future on that."
Those of you who watched Manchester United's shock exit from the Champions League two days ago will remember the moment the Red Devils almost scored an equaliser. Or rather, had an equaliser scored for them. On the hour, Basel's defender Markus Steinhöfer somehow contrived to volley a Nani cross against the underside of the crossbar from just a few yards out. Luckily for him, the ball rebounded into play, otherwise it would have been one of the more stunning - and crucial - own goals in recent memory. Then again, had the ball hit the back of the net it wouldn't have come as too much of a surprise, given that Steinhöfer is German. (He was born 35 miles south of Nuremberg and played for Bayern reserves.) Because just last weekend, there was an astonishing glut of own goals in the top two German divisions.
Marco Streller's early strike set Basel on their way to a shock place in the knockout round of the Champions League on a night where both Manchester clubs crashed out. Alexander Frei's strike six minutes from time effectively sealed United's fate and, although Phil Jones scored late on, the 2-1 win was enough for Basel to qualify as runners-up in Group C. Roberto Mancini's Manchester City pulled off a fine 2-0 win over group winners Bayern Munich in Group A, but Napoli's win by the same score at Villarreal rendered City's result irrelevant. In a remarkable turnaround in Group D, Lyon joined group winners Real Madrid in the knockout stages after Bafetimbi Gomis scored four goals in a 7-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia. There were more dramatic scenes in Group B where CSKA Moscow snatched a 2-1 win away to group winners Inter Milan, leapfrogging Trabzonspor and Lille to claim second place.
Wayne Rooney's ban has been reduced to two games on appeal, with the third game suspended for four years. UEFA's Disciplinary and Control Body handed Rooney a three-match ban after his petulant kick at Montenegro's Miodrag Dzudovic in England's final Euro 2012 qualifier in October. England had appealed against the severity of the ban.
German footballers have little obvious incentive to move to England. With such a strong domestic set up at home, those that leave are generally heading for the financial riches of the Premier League. 
Manchester United and Manchester City will learn their UEFA Champions League fates on Wednesday evening. In Group C, United travel to Basel knowing defeat would send them crashing out at this stage for the first time since 2005. However, victory could yet see Sir Alex Ferguson's men finish top of the pile, but that would need Benfica to slip up against pointless Galati. City's task in Group A is even more daunting as they stand on the brink of going into the Europa League. Bayern Munich, who have already won the group, travel to the Etihad Stadium to face City and have already confirmed that a number of key players will not feature. But even if City do manage to beat the German giants, they will also be looking to the group's whipping boys Villarreal to record an unlikely victory or draw with Napoli at El Madrigal to prevent the Italians from beating them to second spot.
As a penalty that could have saved a point is blazed over the crossbar, the anthem 'Pazza Inter' ('Crazy Inter') rings out from the raucous Curva Nord as the Giuseppe Meazza's most dedicated fans continue to back their side. But the Italian giants' latest defeat leaves them just three points off the Serie A relegation places, on their second coach of the season after Claudio Ranieri replaced Gian Piero Gasperini and having already used an incredible 29 players so far this term. The words to that club song, which goes on to ask the team not to let them suffer, are once again becoming ever more apt.
Chelsea have progressed to the next round of the Champions League as Group E winners after their 3-0 victory over Valencia at Stamford Bridge. Bayer Leverkusen went into the evening's games as group leaders but threw away top spot after they could only draw 1-1 with Genk. Marseille came from two goals down to beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in dramatic fashion in Germany. Goals from Jakub Blaszczykowski and Mats Hummels had put the hosts in control, but Loic Remy pulled a goal back just before the break and Andre Ayew levelled on 85 minutes. Two minutes later, Mathieu Valbuena produced a magical goal to send Marseille through in second and condemn Olympiakos to the Europa League. In Group G, Zenit St Petersburg will join Cypriot surprise package Apoel Nicosia in the knockout rounds after they drew 0-0 with FC Porto in Portugal. 
Two personnel decisions made headlines in Germany even before a single ball had been kicked on matchday fifteen. Last Wednesday, Bayer Leverkusen announced they had agreed terms with VfB Stuttgart and would sign Bernd Leno, the goalkeeper they had loaned four months earlier, for a transfer sum that could reportedly come to €8 million, depending on various factors. The announcement capped off one of the most amazing success stories of recent months, perhaps of the season so far. In fact, it's a Cinderella tale involving almost a handful of main characters that could be a textbook example for how quickly things change in football these days.
Chelsea will be desperate to join Arsenal in qualifying for the last 16 on the biggest night of Andre Villas-Boas' short reign at Stamford Bridge. They are level on points with Valencia going into the match, knowing that a victory would be enough to go through. Arsenal, who had to negotiate a two-legged play-off against Udinese just to make the group phase, have already been confirmed as Group F winners ahead of their meeting with Olympiakos. In Group G, Porto and Zenit St Petersburg will battle it out for the final qualification spot. Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia have been the surprise package and are already certain to have Champions League football in the New Year, although they would love to clinch top spot by beating a Shakhtar Donetsk team that has fared surprisingly poorly. There is nothing left to be resolved in Group H in terms of qualification for the next phase, with reigning champions Barcelona already assured of finishing first ahead of their home fixture against BATE Borisov. AC Milan are also through already in second place, but Viktoria Plzen will still be determined to see off the Italians and protect their two-point lead over BATE to clinch a Europa League spot.
It takes a special set of circumstances for a player to be approaching cult status at their football club by the age of 19. That is especially so when the teenager in question was sent off on the first of only two Premier League starts. Yet through a combination of his obvious on-field commitment, flamboyant personality and the sheer power of Twitter, Emmanuel Frimpong’s popularity and standing among fans is snowballing. Take this tweet during a summer at Arsenal that became dominated by the departures of key first-team players, including Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. “Arsenal FC is pumping through my veins,” wrote Frimpong. “I will never leave Arsenal even if I get released. I will beg on both knees to stay. They’re going to have to escort me [out].”
Clint Dempsey has more money than he knows what to do with, a wife who has modeled swimwear and now a place in the record books.
Dempsey’s game-winning goal Monday not only sent Fulham past Liverpool, but also represented a milestone for the midfielder. The goal was Dempsey’s 37th in the English Premier League, which put him ahead of Brian McBride as the highest-scoring American of all-time in the toughest division on the planet. In soccer terms, he may be his nation’s greatest export ever.
Bethany Dempsey...
| 2011-12 Table | |||||||||
| Team | GP | W | D | L | Pts | GF | GA | GD | |
| Manchester City | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 48 | 13 | 35 | |
| Manchester United | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 31 | 13 | 18 | |
| Tottenham | 13 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 29 | 16 | 13 | |
| Chelsea | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 28 | 31 | 17 | 14 | |
| Arsenal | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 23 | 7 | |
| Newcastle United | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 26 | 19 | 15 | 4 | |
| Liverpool | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 23 | 17 | 13 | 4 | |
| Stoke City | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 14 | 23 | -9 | |
| Aston Villa | 14 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 18 | -2 | |
| Everton | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 17 | -2 | |
| Norwich City | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 20 | 26 | -6 | |
| Queens Park Rangers | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 15 | 25 | -10 | |
| Fulham | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 0 | |
| West Brom | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 13 | 21 | -8 | |
| Swansea | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 20 | -6 | |
| Wolverhampton | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 24 | -9 | |
| Sunderland | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 17 | -1 | |
| Blackburn | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 21 | 32 | -11 | |
| Bolton | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 9 | 19 | 34 | -15 | |
| Wigan Athletic FC | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 28 | -16 | |
I must have been about seven years old. The playground behaviour was very hierarchical, and only the 'big kids' played football at break time. At my age, you didn't dare join in, and neither were you asked. The bigger kids seemed to organise everything, decide who would play, and who were the big shots. The best players seemed to enjoy a certain status, and the games seemed to generate a lot of emotion, given that they were only quick playground matches. You took all this in subliminally. You just weren't a part of it. The whole playground was used as a football pitch, and you just hung out and played marbles on the margins.
Some knockout blows were landed by Europe’s heavyweights this weekend, including Spain’s top two, who both prepared for next week’s top-of-the-table clash by making light work of their respective opponents, and the Premier League’s high-fliers, who chalked up a hatful of goals while securing three valuable points. In Germany, Bayern Munich took advantage of the draw between Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach to move back to the top of the league. In France, meanwhile, Montpellier won to maintain their lead in Ligue 1, and Juventus did likewise in Serie A.
The top of the Premier League table has a familiar look about it following weekend wins for Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. But Tottenham continue to defy the odds with Harry Redknapp's side sitting third with a chance of winning the title for the first time since 1961 after beating Bolton. At the top of the table City and United saw off challenges from Norwich and Aston Villa, respectively, while Chelsea claimed a 3-0 win over Newcastle in controversial circumstances. Blackburn's victory over Swansea saw them climb off the foot of the table, while Wigan are back at the bottom after a home drubbing at the hands of Arsenal. Wolves boosted their hopes of avoiding the drop with a crucial win over Sunderland, while Sunday's other game saw Stoke secure a rare three-point haul at Everton. The points were shared at Loftus Road as West Brom claimed a 1-1 draw at QPR.
To most Brazilians he was known fondly as "Doutor" (The Doctor), a reference to his medical degree. Well-read and highly politicised, Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira was unlike many footballers.
