With just over a fortnight until the World Cup in South Africa, England's coach still has some big calls to make.
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.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Kevin McCarra: Five Questions Capello Must Resolve
With just over a fortnight until the World Cup in South Africa, England's coach still has some big calls to make.
Paolo Bandini in Italy
From Claudio Ranieri's nerve to Marco Materazzi's fashion sense, it's time for the end-of-season Italian football awards.
It's the Bandinis 2010! The complete review of the past Serie A season.
International Friendly: USA 2 - 4 Czech Republic
So who's on the 23?
That's what you want to know, and we'll learn the U.S.'s final 23-man World Cup roster soon enough: at approximately 1:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, when coach Bob Bradley announces his 23 Golden Tickets on ESPN.
In the wake of the U.S.'s 4-2 loss to the Czech Republic -- an almost meaningless result, considering the Americans were missing Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and other stars -- Bradley left Rentschler Field knowing that a long night lay ahead.
Carlisle: No reason to panicPlayer Ratings
Hagi: Maradona of the Carpathians
As one of the most skilful players of his generation, Romania's Gheorghe Hagi earned the nickname 'Maradona of the Carpathians' with worthy comparisons to the great Argentinean to be found both in playing style and temperament. Undoubtedly the finest player to have emerged from his country, Hagi's remarkable 16-year international career consisted of appearances at three World Cups, while his domestic exploits took in the sights of top European clubs Barcelona, Real Madrid and Galatasaray.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
International Friendly Previews: USA vs Czech Republic
When: 8 p.m. EDT
Where: Rentschler Field; East Hartford, CT
U.S. TV: ESPN
Preview
Jeff Carlisle: Bradley has many questions to answer
Players on the bubble getting nervous
Americans In The UK: Season Review Part 2
The Premier League produced some fine American performances this past season, with Clint Dempsey and Brad Friedel leading the pack.
International Friendly: Portugal 0-0 Cape Verde
Portugal and Cape Verde played out a frustrating 0-0 stalemate, which brings a wave of red flags ahead of the World Cup.
The Portuguese entered the game showing their attacking intent, but every time they got close to Cape Verde's goal, it was only with modest danger.
International Friendly: England 3 - 1 Mexico
Kevin McCarra: Capello finds more questions than answers
Richard Williams: England need Chelsea stars
Sid Lowe in Spain
From Cristiano Ronaldo's deification to Almería fans' 'pulsations', it's time for the annual end-of-season Spanish football awards.
It's the Sids 2010! The complete review of the past La Liga season.
Algeria eager to make up for lost time
England's World Cup rivals Algeria have one of Africa's most fascinating footballing histories, packed full, as it is, with passion, pedigree and political intrigue. But it is also irrevocably bound up with France.
This complex relationship has, at times, defined Algeria's independence, while also showing its lack of it. Plenty of Algerian talent has risen through French academies before going on to play for Les Bleus, as best exemplified by the great Zinedine Zidane.
But now a new generation of French-born Algerians has opted for the Desert Foxes.
How football helped to heal Honduras
"If we had not qualified for the World Cup the differences in Honduras would have become enhanced and probably we would have had high levels of violence," added Callejas.
"People were tranquilised by the game, it gave them hope and happiness."
Monday, May 24, 2010
Diva Diego Maradona not happy with bog-standard toilets!
Diego Maradona has demanded two state-of-the-art bidet toilets be installed for him at Argentina's World Cup base camp in South Africa.
They feature a heated seat, a warm air blow-dryer and front and rear bidet wands.
The toilet is available on www.sandman.com, which describes it as 'the best toilet seat in the world.'
World Cup blow for South Africa as foreign fans stay at home
Football authorities offer cut-price tickets to fill stadiums as forecasts for the number of international visitors fall by half a million.
Blackpool 3 Cardiff City 2: The hard work begins now for Ian Holloway’s side
No, seriously, it’s true. Blackpool. In the Barclays Premier League. I know, me neither. But that was definitely Ian Holloway, the manager, wandering the Wembley pitch on Saturday afternoon with the Coca-Cola Championship play-off final trophy, looking dazed, as if someone had run up and smacked him in the face with a cheque for £90 million.
2010 UEFA Champions League: Inter Defeat Bayern
Jose Mourinho wrote his name into the history books as Diego Milito inspired Inter Milan to Champions League glory against Bayern Munich at the Bernabeu.Matt Hughes: Abramovic thinks what if?
Roberto Gotta: Tactical triumph for Mourinho
Richard Jolly: No Hollywood ending for Bayern
Richard Williams: Mourinho shows serene side
Player Ratings
Inter: Player By Player Look
Monday MLS Breakdown: RSL's MLS Cup Triumph Is No Overnight Success
Few gave Real Salt Lake much of a shot to defeat Los Angeles and win its first MLS Cup. Kyle McCarthy explains how RSL positioned itself for glory and grasped the opportunity in the Monday MLS Breakdown.
USA: Players are ready for some friendlies
As the U.S. men's national team wrapped up its weeklong training camp and headed for New England on Sunday afternoon, the feelings of the players could be summed up in two words: exhaustion and happiness. Exhaustion because the players have been pushed to the limit, with 90-minute practices, running and sprinting drills and daily weight lifting sessions. And happiness because the hard-core, boot camp training sessions are over and it's finally time for games -- be them friendlies or not -- to begin.
"That's enough running," forward Jozy Altidore said. "It's time to play."
Gallas in dune buggy injury scare
France defender William Gallas suffered an injury scare after crashing a dune buggy during Les Bleus' bizarre preparations for the World Cup.
Friday, May 21, 2010
2010 UEFA Champions League: The Final
Who: Internazionale Milan vs. Bayern Munich
When: May 22, 2:45pm EDT
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
U.S. TV: FOX
Preview I
Preview II
Richard Williams:
Sneijder & Robben return to Madrid with point to prove
Roberto Gotta:
Inter's long wait for glory
What makes Mourinho tick?
Both teams can enter The Treble Club
Head to Head
England: Classic Wembley Championship play-off finals
Cardiff City and Blackpool go head-to-head at Wembley in the Championship play-off final with a lot to live up to in terms of drama and spectacle. Telegraph Sport remembers some of the best matches in the ‘richest game in football.’
The Joy of Six: Things we miss about the World Cup
From the original trophy to official films and posters, here are half a dozen things we used to love about the tournament.
Nike's New Ad
Nike has launched its TV ad for the 2010 World Cup, featuring some of the world's top football players and Homer Simpson. Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Fabio Cannavaro, Franck Ribery, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott feature along with cameo appearances from Kobe Bryant and Homer Simpson.
The TV ad, "Write the Future", went online on Friday ahead of its live television debut during the Champions League final on Saturday.
Interesting the Ronaldinho is featured yet will not be in South Africa. I'm surprised Nike didn't pay off the Brazilian FA to get Dunga to include him in the squad...
Amy Lawrence: Bursaspor set Turkey alight as Fenerbahce fans torch own ground
The twist in the tale saw delirious celebrations in Bursa and Istanbul simultaneously, because some bright spark with a microphone at Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu stadium announced (wrongly) that Bursaspor had faltered and they were champions. Such cock-ups do not get accepted in Turkey with the kind of stoicism observed at Manchester City in 1996, when they famously welcomed the "news" that they had escaped relegation by easing off for the last 12 minutes of a crucial game, a scene that turned tearful and melancholy when corrected scores from elsewhere condemned them.
USA: Wayne Drehs Blog
Friday, May 21, will mark the seven-month anniversary of the day Oguchi Onyewu underwent surgery to repair a torn left patella tendon that many thought would keep him out of this summer's World Cup.
Yet there he was on the practice field Thursday afternoon, kicking, running, chasing, heading -- doing all the things every one of his teammates was doing -- in hopes of being ready to return to his customary spot of defensive anchor when the U.S. takes the field against England on June 12.
Blackpool on the edge of dreamland – and the great unknown
The Seasiders had planned for measured progress and a gradual rise to success but they suddenly find themselves on the threshold of the Premier League.
Friday MLS Forecast
The Forecast wonders whether Robert Pires will adapt to MLS after his comments about Philadelphia and then reveals its Week 9 picks.
Roberto Gotta's Serie A Team of the Season
The third of our end of season awards, in association with Castrol Rankings, is the Serie A Team of the Season. The formation of 4-2-1-3 worked for Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan as they won the title, so let's stick with that.
Eduardo Alvarez's La Liga Team of the Season
The second of our end of season awards, in association with Castrol Rankings, is the La Liga Team of the Season. With Barcelona and Real Madrid both finishing well clear of the rest of the field, it's an amazingly loaded team; let's just hope for more diversity next season. They line up in the 4-2-3-1 formation that has become so popular this season.
Jon Carter's Champions League Team of the Season
As the dust settles on another Champions League season, many players have shown themselves to be heroes in Europe. There can, however, only be eleven names in our Champions League Team of the Season. Here, we pick out the outstanding performers from this season's competition.
Grant agrees West Ham deal
Avram Grant has agreed a deal in principle to become West Ham United manager and sources inside the club insist it is "95% certain" he will take control at Upton Park.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Ooh-la-la! Ice-cool French go a little over the top in their preparations for the World Cup
While the England squad has been forced to relocate to Austria for its altitude training ahead of the World Cup, the French of course have no such difficulties.Les Bleus only had to make their way to Tignes, in the heart of the French Alps, to begin their preparation for the football festival in South Africa next month.
The squad stayed up he mountain last night to acclimatise to the thin air they'll experience during the tournament before walking up the glacier today.
The South Africa Angle
Tucked away in their mum's upstairs bedroom with nothing but a tin-foil helmet, the X-Files box set and detailed diagrams of the Kennedy assassination to keep them company, the conspiracy theorists are a strange bunch. But this week, they have been let loose on the World Cup thanks to Kevin-Prince Boateng's loose tackle on Michael Ballack and Lord Triesman's even looser tongue.
Divorce helped Donovan reconcile differences
Donovan and actress Bianca Kajlich, who stars on the television sitcom “Rules of Engagement,” were married for three years before separating last July and finalizing a divorce in late 2009. In discussing that deeply personal subject, the 28-year-old United States forward refers to the relationship and the split as a catalyst for his improvement as both a man and a player.
Americans In The UK: Season Review Part 1
The first chapter explores the exploits of the Scottish league standouts as well as lower league American players, including the Championship and League One.
The secrets of the world's most successful football school
Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue, Salomon Kalou, Didier Zokora, Yaya Toure... the list of international stars to have emerged from Asec Mimosa's Academy is remarkable. But why should one club, and one country have had so much success?
Debrecen probed over Champions League match-fixing
Debrecen, one of Liverpool’s opponents in this season’s Champions League, are being investigated over allegations of match-fixing. The claims relate to the Hungarian champions’ match against Fiorentina in October.
Jamie Carragher issues red alert over exodus
Jamie Carragher has told his unsettled team-mates that if their commitment to Liverpool is in doubt, they should not bother returning to the club for pre-season training.
The centre back is thought to have been referring to Javier Mascherano, who has expressed an interest in joining Barcelona, but his words of warning are equally pertinent to Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, whose futures at Anfield are also uncertain.
The story of the 1978 World Cup
Set against a backdrop of political uncertainty and shorn of the illuminating genius of the world's finest footballer in Johan Cruyff, the 11th staging of the World Cup was perhaps the most controversial of them all.
That it ended with a fairytale first victory for the hosts Argentina remains the subject of contention to this day, with the suggestion the country's military dictatorship aided the team's triumph continuing to cast a regrettable shadow over their achievement.
Barcelona complete £34.2m deal for Valencia striker David Villa
The 28-year-old, who will lead the line for the European champions at the World Cup in South Africa, has agreed a four-year deal and will be officially unveiled after completing his medical tests.
Barcelona confirmed: "FC Barcelona and Valencia CF closed a €40m deal for Spanish striker David Villa on Wednesday morning... He will make an appearance on the Camp Nou pitch [on Friday]. The stadium doors will be opened to the public."
Diego Maradona runs over cameraman at World Cup squad announcement
According to a witness, Maradona's car rolled over the lower part of the cameraman's leg. "What an asshole you are," Maradona shouted from the car. "How can you put your leg there where it can get run over, man?"
Uli Hesse in Germany
Now that the Eurovision Song Contest is almost upon us, I guess it's finally time to talk about David Hasselhoff and the World Cup. If you're American and have no idea what the Eurovision Song Contest is - it's what brought you Abba. If you're Martian and have no idea who David Hasselhoff is - he's an actor and singer (I'm using these terms in a very broad sense) who is supposed to be hugely popular in Germany.
France Agree Blanc Deal
Laurent Blanc will become France head coach following the World Cup finals after the country's national federation finalised negotiations with his club Bordeaux.
Monday, May 17, 2010
I'm on Vacation
Barcelona and Inter claimed the top prize in Spain and Italy, respectively. Chelsea edged Pompey to nab the 2010 FA Cup. Michael Ballack is out of the World Cup due to an injury sustained in Saturday's match. Chelsea are also reportedly lining up a mega-bid for Fernando Torres. More on Thursday...
-Sanford
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