Friday MLS Forecast

San Jose and Sporting Kansas City clash in the match of the weekend on Sunday afternoon, plus a glimpse at the rest of the Week 12 fare.

Meet Jack Butland – England's third choice goalkeeper for Euro 2012 who has only played for Cheltenham

An injury to England's third choice goalkeeper, John Ruddy, has seen Roy Hodgson call up a callow replacement in to his European Championship squad. But who is Jack Butland? No, seriously, who is he?

Topless protester attempts to snatch Euro 2012 trophy in Ukraine

Femen says Euro 2012, which will run in Ukraine from June 9 to July 1, will lead to a surge in prostitution in the former Soviet republic and entrench the country as a sex tourist destination in Europe.

"We needed to tear down this trophy to show that this phallic symbol does not need to stand on a pedestal, when our country is being turned into a brothel. UEFA have arranged this with our politicians in order to win back the money that has been put into the Euro 2012" said fellow Femen activist Oleksandra Shevchenko.

Sid Lowe in Spain

The Barcelona manager's final game will be against the man to whom went for advice upon first considering a career as a coach in 2006.

Pep Guardiola comes full circle for a reunion with Marcelo Bielsa.

Europe's top 50 transfer targets for summer 2012 – In pictures

I'll take Skrtel on my team...

A look at the players who will be on the shortlists of all the major clubs across Europe this summer – in no particular order – from Eden Hazard to Carlos Tevez, via Neymar, Gareth Bale, Falcao and more...

Norman Hubbard on Roberto Martinez and Liverpool

Roberto Martinez has been to Boston before. It was February 2004 when the Spaniard visited York Street. But that was Boston, Lincolnshire, not Boston, Massachusetts. Then he played the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw for a Swansea side mid-table in League Two. Now he has been discussing becoming the latest addition to an illustrious list, including Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish: the Liverpool managers. Martinez had seemed set for a summer of change long before the invitation from Fenway Sports Group arrived. After 29 games, only Wolves prevented Wigan from propping up the Premier League. They had 22 points. Oakwell, not Anfield, beckoned next season. Instead, after spending three-quarters of the last two seasons in the relegation zone, a promotion may be on the way.

Wigan's subsequent, startling renaissance may suggest Martinez is the flavour of the month. Had Dalglish been dismissed two months earlier, it is improbable the Spaniard would have figured on the shortlist to succeed him, and yet the timing and manner of Wigan's ascent suggests that, behind the ever-present smile, there is a manager of mettle.

Grant Wahl: Dempsey eyes next challenge after historic season with Fulham

Clint Dempsey leans forward in his seat and tells a story. Back in his hometown of Nacogdoches, Texas, during his days in the second grade, an old, crusty gym teacher named Coach Long staged a kickball game one afternoon between the boys and the girls. Dempsey played hard, just like he always does, but then came an unexpected twist. "Coach Long cheated and let the girls win," Dempsey says, "and I jumped up and tried to punch him." There were consequences, of course: Dempsey said he "got pops" at both the principal's office and at home that night, and he missed an ice cream party. (Coach Long, who presumably wore those tight-fitting BIKE coaches' shorts, also retired after that school year. "Hopefully it wasn't because of me," Dempsey says.) But the point is clear: Deuce does not like to lose. Never has.

Argentina: Racing Club players threatened by gun-toting fans

Armed Racing Club fans stopped a player in the street and threatened to shoot him in the legs if their team failed to win their next game, a team mate who witnessed the incident said. Giovani Moreno and Federico Santander had just pulled out of Racing Club's training ground in their car when another vehicle pulled in front of them and forced them to stop, Santander said. Two men got out and threatened Moreno with a gun. "They told Gio they would shoot him in the legs and would ruin his career," Paraguayan Santander told a radio interview late on Tuesday.

Paolo Bandini in Italy: The Bandinis 2012: An utterly exhaustive review of the Serie A season

From ghost goals to moped escapes, the best games and worst gaffes, it's our end-of-season Italian football awards.

England: Player Ratings for Various Clubs 2011-2012

Newcastle United

Chelsea

Arsenal

Tottenham

Manchester City

Manchester United

Uli Hesse in Germany

It's become a heart-warming tradition to open the end-of-season column with what football is all about - goals. Those among you who've been following for a while know very well what's coming now, but let's spare two sentences for the new kids on the block. Once the season has ended in the five major European footballing countries - England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - I calculate how many goals per game those leagues have produced and compare the numbers.

It's partly just a habit I accidentally picked up and now can't kick, partly a perplexing puzzle, as the result never seems to change: the German Bundesliga has the most goals per 90 minutes of football, the French Ligue 1 the fewest. Yes, for the 22nd year in a row, to be precise: since the 1989-90 season (when England topped this particular chart by the narrowest of margins), the Bundesliga has again outscored the other major leagues. Taking into account how often I have typed a sentence like that over the past ten years, you'd think I expected this result - but no, not this time.

Grant Wahl: Donovan candidly discusses future, retirement in wide-ranging Q&A

It hit me for the first time listening to Landon Donovan on Wednesday: the U.S.'s all-time leading scorer may be closer to the end of his soccer career than any of us thought. Donovan turned 30 in March, and he's back with the national team here for the first time in eight months ahead of the U.S.'s five games between May 26 and June 12. But Donovan is also a player who freely says that after playing in three World Cups, winning four MLS Cup titles and amassing 138 national team caps, his hunger isn't the same anymore. On Wednesday he spoke of wanting to play two more years with club and country "and then sort of reevaluate it from there," as he put it. Donovan doesn't give a lot of interviews these days -- and almost never a one-on-one -- but he did sit down with a group of four U.S. journalists for 30 minutes on Wednesday ahead of Saturday's friendly against Scotland in Jacksonville (8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Galavisión). Donovan was thoughtful and candid, too. Here are several nuggets from the interview, edited for length and clarity:

Joey Barton hit with 12-match ban for violent conduct in QPR's 3-2 defeat against Manchester City

Joey Barton will no longer be involved with the Queens Park Rangers first-team after yesterday receiving a 12-match ban from the Football Association.

Paul Hayward: No sensible Premier League manager will take a risk on disgraced Joey Barton

Jonathan Wilson: Juan Román Riquelme and Boca have the final word – just for a change

Oops! Wrong Riquelme...

Juan Román Riquelme never changes. He is the eternal question at the heart of Argentinian football, the solemn-faced representative of a romanticised former age constantly rebuking the present for not being quite as graceful, quite as thoughtful, as he is. He can be frustrating. He can drift around the field like a bored ghost. He is politically manipulative. Martín Palermo admitted his decision to retire last season was in part prompted by the fact that he could not stand occupying the same dressing room as Riquelme any longer. Riquelme's complaints about the pragmatic style Boca Juniors tend towards under Julio César Falcioni almost prompted the coach to quit in February, despite having ended a three-year trophy drought by winning the Apertura three months earlier.

And yet he remains a wonderful footballer capable of turning games in the blink of an eye.

Goalline technology to be tested during England's friendly with Belgium

Goalline technology is to be tested at England's friendly against Belgium at Wembley on 2 June.

The Hawkeye system will be installed at the national stadium for the match, which will be Roy Hodgson's first home game in charge of England.

If there are any close calls, however, only the scientists monitoring the system will know the results – the referee will not be informed.

If the tests are successful, the go-ahead for technology is expected to be given on 2 July.

Europe: Honours List 2011-12

A run-down of all the honours across Europe's top leagues, and qualification for the 2012-13 Champions League and Europa League.


Serie A:
Champions League: Juventus (champions), AC Milan
Champions League final qualifying round: Udinese
Europa League group stage: Napoli (Coppa Italia winners)
Europa League final qualifying round: Lazio
Europa League third qualifying round: Inter Milan
NB: Serie A has lost a Champions League place to the Bundesliga from 2012-13.
Relegated: Lecce, Novara, Cesena
Promoted to top flight: Torino, US Pescara. Plus one from Sassuolo, Hellas Verona, Varese and Sampdoria via play-offs. One match remaining in regular season.

The Rest

VACATION

Chelsea won the Champions League.  We'll be back on Thursday.

2012 UEFA Champions League Final: Previews & Hype

Who: Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea

When: May 19, 2:45pm EDT

Where: Allianz Arena, Munich

U.S. TV: FOX

Preview

Preview II

Duncan White: Bayern court scandal and success in drama of FC Hollywood
David Lacey: Chelsea v Bayern Munich not really a tale of Anglo-German rivalry
Barney Ronay: Frank Lampard eager to lead Chelsea over final hurdle
Jupp Heynckes: Drogba a "great actor"

NPOWER CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF FINAL PREVIEW

Will we see you in the Premier League next year?

Blackpool vs. West Ham

Preview

Grant Wahl: Bayern Munich: A Model Franchise

The annual Super Bowl of world soccer is finally here. Saturday's UEFA Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea (2:45 p.m. ET, FOX) may lack the sexiness of recent European finals -- neither team finished at the top of its own domestic league, after all -- but I still think this should be a highly entertaining contest. Why? For starters, Bayern will have plenty of incentive to attack on its home field, attempting to become the first team to win the European Cup at home since Inter in 1965. What's more, both teams will have a nearly full quiver of creative players. Of the seven players suspended on both teams for the final, all but one (Chelsea's Ramires) are defensive-minded. As long as Chelsea doesn't completely park the bus as it did against Barcelona (and I think Bayern will prevent that from happening with an early goal), this final will be a fun watch for the neutral. If you want to hear more about the final itself, you can check out SI.com's preview podcast, but for now I wanted to provide a bit more information on one of the finalists. Part of my goal in becoming a full-time soccer writer in 2010 was to learn more about the world's top clubs and present that to the U.S. audience. On my way to Madrid a while back for a story on José Mourinho I stopped for a few days in Munich. I ended up writing about Bayern's star midfielder, Bastian Schweinsteiger, but I also got an audience at Bayern's international media day with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. A former star forward for Bayern and the German national team (he was twice named European player of the year), Rummenigge, 56, is now the chairman of Bayern Munich and the powerful European Club Association. What makes Bayern Munich special? Here are some of the things I found interesting from our 90-minute round-table conversation (in which Rummenigge spoke fluent English):

AS Roma, Zaglebie Lubin to play at Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs' home ballpark, last hosted a football match when the then Chicago Sting played the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Friday MLS Forecast: Week 11 - Swapping names and locations

Forecast

Rewind to 2001

It takes a special side to come back from the pain of losing a Champions League final; it takes an even greater one to win the competition just two years later. After the last-minute suffering caused by Manchester United in the unforgettable Champions League final in Barcelona in 1998-99, Bayern Munich had bounced right back and in 2001 met Valencia in the final in Milan. They would end a 25-year drought on penalties and finally ensure that German football was back on top of the European scene.

Jonathan Wilson: Suspensions leave Bayern, Chelsea with lineup quandaries for Champions League final

David and Gary ponder the situation...

It's rare to approach a game of the magnitude of Saturday's Champions League final with so many massive questions about the lineups of both sides. Four Chelsea players -- defenders John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic, and midfielders Ramires and Raul Meireles -- will be suspended for the final; Bayern Munich will be without three (defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo, along with defenders Holger Badstuber and David Alaba). And that means any assessment of what might happen is going to be dotted with ifs and maybes.

Final day of EPL season seen by 1.35 million in US

A total of 1,348,000 viewers tuned into the U.S. television coverage of the final day of the Premier League season, an increase of 72 percent over 2011. U.S. networks televised all 10 games Sunday on seven English-language networks, two Spanish-language networks and three Internet streams, up from coverage on two networks each in English and Spanish plus the Internet last year. The largest rating was for Manchester City's title-winning 3-2 victory over Queens Park Rangers, which was seen by an average 600,000 viewers on ESPN2 and 189,000 on ESPN Deportes, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Paul Marshall in France

It is appropriate that on the day François Hollande, France's freshly-elected president, was picking key members of the team that will help him lead the country over the next five years, 'Le President' of Les Bleus was selecting his squad for Euro 2012. Monsieur Hollande would barely have had the opportunity to discover where Nicolas Sarkozy had hidden the Elysées Palace remote control when he moved into the presidential digs in Paris on Tuesday before Laurent Blanc made public the full 26 names of his preliminary squad for this summer's European championship.

Francois Hollande and his companion Valerie Trierweiler...

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille).

Defenders: Gael Clichy (Manchester City), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Philippe Mexes (AC Milan), Adil Rami (Valencia), Anthony Reveillere (Lyon), Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (Montpellier).

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle), Alou Diarra (Marseille) Yoann Gourcuff (Lyon), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Marvin Martin (Sochaux), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Samir Nasri (Manchester City).

Forwards: Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier), Jeremy Menez (Paris Saint-Germain), Loic Remy (Marseille), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille).

Hodgson Euro racism fears, Walcott family to stay away

Walcott's brother Ashley revealed on Twitter that he and his father Don would not be following England during their group matches in Kiev and Donetsk next month because of concerns for their safety.

"Unfortunately my dad and I have taken the decision not to travel to the Ukraine because of the fear of possible racist attacks confrontations (sic) ..." Walcott wrote on the micro-blogging site.

"Somethings aren't worth risking, but begs the question why hold a competition of this magnitude in a place that can not police itself for foreigners of any creed to feel safe, but I'll be watching every minute.

Sky's Report 

Henry Winter: Roy Hodgson should use Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from the start of England's Euro 2012 campaign

Away from the centre-backlash over John Terry’s controversial inclusion, the England squad selected by Roy Hodgson is largely a parade of familiar faces given an adrenalin shot by the exciting inclusion of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Manchester United's release of Michael Owen continues the striker's long decline

Michael Owen has had storied career and played for some of the world's biggest clubs, but it has not gone entirely to plan. Telegraph Sport charts the dimming of his light.

Liverpool Sack King Kenny

Kenny Dalglish has been sacked as Liverpool manager after finishing eighth in the Premier League. Dalglish, 61, led the club to Carling Cup glory and the FA Cup final, but could not seal a Champions League spot.








Chris Bascombe: Dalglish Pays Price for League Failure
Phil McNulty: Liverpool Need to Move Quickly
Richard Jolly: The End of Sentiment at Liverpool
David Conn: Has Fenway Taken on Too Much at Liverpool?
Andy Hunter: No More Excuses for Henry

Raphael Honigstein: Bayern's All-Time Greatest XI

In the inner sanctum of the Bayern Munich players' quarters, on a wall next to the communal dining areas, there's a giant black-white picture with photos and red letters. They spell out the clubs unofficial mantra Mia san Mia (We are who we are) and a number of its defining ideals. Full of confidence, loyal, technically brilliant, innovative, effective, focused, attacking, tactically flexible. In between those big words there are snap shots of 11 men who don't need any names or introduction, Bayern's all-star team:

MLS Week 10 Power Rankings: Houston stadium's winning debut

Houston's homecoming, Freddy Adu's action-packed half and more from Week 10 in MLS:

Euro 2012: 10 to watch at finals in Poland and Ukraine, in pictures

10 To Watch

Dominic Fifield: Five talking points about Roy Hodgson's England squad

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can provide the X factor; the inclusion of John Terry represents a risk; Andy Carroll's raw promise deserves recognition; and Phil Jones is a vital utility man.

Five Talking Points

Paul Wilson: A Premier League season of surprises – and probably more to come

There was more to 2011-12 than its dramatic denouement, extended by Joey Barton, who was just one of the campaign's many controversial figures. Some storylines are not over yet …

Chandler turns down U.S. for World Cup qualifiers

Defender Timmy Chandler has declined an invitation to attend the United States' training camp ahead of its opening qualifiers next month for the 2014 World Cup. The 22-year-old, a regular starter for Nuremberg in the Bundesliga, made his U.S. national team debut in March 2011 and has eight international appearances. He holds American and German passports and because he has not yet played in a competitive match, he still could switch to Germany's national team.

Obama kids Beckham about his age, underwear line

Obama welcomed Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy to the White House Tuesday to celebrate their third Major League Soccer Cup. The president joked that the star-studded Galaxy, led by Beckham, midfielder Landon Donovan and forward Robbie Keane, are the "Miami Heat of soccer.''

Euro 2012: Some Squads

Portugal:
Manchester United winger Nani and Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles have been included in Portugal's 23-man squad for Euro 2012.

France:
Tottenham defender Younes Kaboul has missed out on a place in France's Euro 2012 squad because of a knee injury.

Italy:
Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has been selected as part of Italy's provisional 32-man squad for Euro 2012.

Czech Republic:
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech and Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky have been included in Czech Republic's provisional squad for Euro 2012.

John Brewin: Hodgson adds to England malaise

A Downing: The effect that Roy Hodgson's 23-man selection has had on any national sense of expectation. All bets are off, quite frankly. Perhaps it's better to be underwhelmed rather than hopeful. However, it would feel more comfortable if the headline selection were not John Terry. He is English football's teflon don. No matter what is thrown at him, he glides on by, seemingly without care for actions nor their consequences. In selecting him, Hodgson has possibly opened the door on a whole world - or at least continent - of pain. Rio Ferdinand is the latest collateral damage resulting from the Terry phenomena. Can there be a player as vilified as the Chelsea skipper? Yet he still commands loyalty and respect among those in the game. Tabloid tales, court cases and putsches against managers litter his career but still he remains the go-to guy for national managers.


England squad:

Goalkeepers - Joe Hart, Robert Green, John Ruddy.

Defenders - Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, John Terry.

Midfielders - Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young.

Strikers - Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck.

Standby - Jack Butland, Phil Jagielka, Jordan Henderson, Adam Johnson, Daniel Sturridge.

Uli Hesse in Germany

The final week of the professional domestic season, or at least the week following the most recent of these reports, began... no, not with the cup final but with the relegation/promotion play-offs in the two top-flights.

Sid Lowe in Spain

Rayo Vallecano and Granada survived but Villarreal were relegated on a dramatic end to La Liga.

Mayhem in Vallecas as the Yellow Submarine is sunk without trace.

The Guardian's Premier League Review

The Guardian's football writers pick their best goals, greatest games and biggest gripes from the season.

English Premier League 2011-2012; that was the season that was: in pictures

Photographs

Jim White: Just like Carlos Tevez to rain on Manchester City's parade of togetherness with tasteless banner

Printed on the sky-blue bus carrying Manchester City’s players on a victorious tour round the streets of the town in which they ply their trade was one word: “Together”.

Sam Allardyce to sue Blackburn manager Steve Kean over YouTube video slur

Sam Allardyce is suing Steve Kean and considering the prospect of taking legal action against Blackburn after the Rovers manager's astonishing attack on YouTube, Telegraph Sport can reveal.

Paolo Bandini in Italy

Juventus fans wave tearful goodbye to the forward who has given 19 years of service to the new – and unbeaten – Serie A champions.

Juventus say emotional farewell to their beloved Alessandro Del Piero.

The Trawler: Hammers look to nail top four

Welcome to The Trawler, your weekly submersion through the teeming waters of life in the Championship, League One and League Two. You might be surprised what you find down there.

MLS: 5 things we learned in week ten

• 60,000 see Montreal thwart LA Galaxy despite Beckham
• Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City slumping
• New York Red Bulls top in the east

And More

Americans Abroad

For the most part, another season is in the books for Americans playing abroad. Sure, some leagues around the world operate on a different schedule, and a couple will carry on throughout the summer, but with the UEFA Champions League final on tap this weekend and most major leagues involving Americans on break until next season, it's a good time to dole out a few superlatives from this season along with taking a look at the most pressing storylines involving Americans ahead of the summer transfer season:

Raphael Hongstein in Germany

Does Bayern's 5-2 defeat in the German cup final hurt their chances of Champions League success, or was it just a trick?

Bayern Munich shaken to the core by Borussia Dortmund humiliation.