Soccer By Ives

Clifton native Giuseppe Rossi moving to Villareal

 

Clifton native Giuseppe Rossi has been sold by Manchester United to Spanish club Villareal for an undisclosed fee. Reports out of England have the transfer fee at approximately $14 million, which would be the highest transfer fee ever paid for an American-born player.

Villareal beat out Italian clubs Parma and AC Milan for the services of the 20-year-old striker, who will head to Spain on Wednesday to complete his move.

Rossi scored nine goals in a half season with Parma while on loan from Manchester United, helping Parma avoid relegation.

Rossi, who spent the first 14 years of his life living in Clifton, New Jersey, joins Chilean playmaker Matias Fernandez as two top-flight youngsters on a Villareal squad that will look to adjust to life without Diego Forlan and Juan Riquelme, who is expected to depart this summer.

What do you think of the move? Share your thoughts below.

Adu's Benfica deal is done

Freddy Adu has completed his transfer move to Benfica. He arrived in Portugal on Monday and didn't waste any time settling in. He passed a physical and signed a five-year deal with the club, completing a $2 million transfer from MLS. Adu went through his first training session on Tuesday.

The deal came complete with some revisionist history from MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis, who provided this gem:

Angulo in Colombia

Former St. Benedict's Prep star Jose Angulo's quest to become a professional soccer player has taken him to Colombia, where he is in the midst of a month-long training stint with Atletico Junior, the club his father starred for more than two decades ago.

Angulo is training under the watchful eye of Atletico Junior assistant coach Carlos Valderrama, who is a life-long friend and former teammate of Angulo's father.

Angulo, 19, will return to the United States in about a week and expects to make a decision on his pro career in the near future. Europe, MLS and South America are all possibilities for the left-footed striker.

SBI MLS Rankings

The Houston Dynamo didn't play an MLS match last week but they still managed to remind us that they're the class of Major League Soccer.

The Dynamo's win and tie in SuperLiga were impressive and the same could be said for DC United, which went into the tournament on a slide. Tom Soehn's team looks to have turned things in around just in time for its East showdown against New England on Sunday.

So who dropped the furthest in this week's SBI MLS Rankings? Yes, the Red Bulls, who could fall as far as fifth place in the East before they take the field again.

Here are this week's MLS Rankings:

European Transfer News

Here are just some of the latest transfer moves and rumors floating out of Europe:

Deco ponders Chelsea move. Portuguese midfielder Deco, whose days at Barcelona look numbered, admitted that reuniting with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea is an appealing proposition.

You Write the Caption (Weekend Edition's Best)

Sorry for the delay in getting you the results from Friday's YWTC but I took some time off from the blog and news on Monday forced me to put it on the backburner.

Now, without further delay, here were the Top Five entries for the weekend edition of You Write The Caption (I apologize to any of you who were offended by what was regarded as an offensive inclusion in my original top five for this photo. I thought the photo was taken in Iraq, which it wasn't. If it had been I believe it would have then been a reasonable context for the offending caption, but it wasn't.) :

Beckham to miss SuperLiga match against FC Dallas

David Beckham is set to miss his second straight Superliga match with an injured left ankle. Beckham will not travel to Texas for the LA Galaxy's match against FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park.

The only good news about Beckham's status is that he is expected to travel with the Galaxy for its upcoming MLS match against Toronto FC in Toronto on Aug. 5th. MLS and Galaxy officials will keep their fingers crossed that Beckham won't be forced to miss a very crucial four-match road trip that includes stops in Toronto, Washington D.C. and Boston. If he starts missing MLS matches then you could start to see some fan backlash after so many fans bought pricey tickets for a chance to watch Beckham play.

SUPERLIGA: MLS keeps rolling on

Major League Soccer upped its record in Superliga to 3-1-4 on Sunday with a DC United win against Club America and a Houston Dynamo tie against Morelia.

That impressive record against the Mexican clubs in the competition won't change until the semifinals as MLS teams and Mexican teams will face each other in the final stage of first-round games on Tuesday and Wednesday.

What should you make of the lop-sided record? Don't go filling out your MLS is better than Mexico's League banners just yet. Two key points that cannot be overlooked are the fact that Mexican teams are in their pre-season (which explains why a team like America started the tournament without a handful of Mexican national team players) and Mexican clubs are playing all these games on the road.

Even with those factors, MLS can definitely come away from this tournament confident that it has made a strong case that there isn't that much of a difference in quality between the leagues. The argument can still be made that Mexico's league is a bit stronger but considering how much money the league spends on salaries it would be a crime if it weren't.

As good as that 3-1-4 record is, MLS needs one of its teams to lift the Superliga trophy to really drive the message home that MLS is no longer a league to be taken lightly. I'm sure many Mexican fans still won't give MLS credit but as long as some of them are converted, and some become MLS fans in the process, then Superliga will be considered a rousing success.

Manchester City: Spending more than Chelsea

I'm sure that headline might have sounded crazy before this summer but new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson's connections and new owner Thaksin Shinawatra have combined to give City the spending power and international pull to sign some quality players and get close to signing several more.

So far, Man City has acquired young Italian striker Rolando Bianchi, Bulgarian midfielder Martin Petrov, Swiss midfielder Gelson Fernandes and former Barcelona midfielder Geovanni. Their newest signing appears to be Brazilian winger Elano, who impressed at Copa America.

Blanco stars in Fire MLS Debut

 

While we keep waiting for David Beckham to play his first competitive game for the LA Galaxy, Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco made his debut for the Chicago Fire and it was a good one. He assisted on Chicago's first goal in its 3-0 win against Toronto at BMO Field on Sunday.

Blanco flashed his passing brilliance for the Fire in helping Chicago end its five-game losing streak. Will Blanco turn things around? Not by himself, but he won't need to. Paulo Wanchope is on his way and Justin Mapp and Chris Rolfe are out injured and will provide a big boost when they return.

Can the Fire turn things around? Will Chicago climb out of the East basement and secure an improbable playoff spot? I can see it happening.

What do you think? Share your thoughts below.

Monday Morning Center Back (Red Bulls deny deGrandpre report)

The Red Bulls are denying reports that Marc deGrandpre has been ousted from his position as the team's managing director.

Team spokesman Brian Tsao stated that there are no plans for a change in the club's management personnel and that deGrandpre still holds his same position.

The Red Bulls also denied an SBI report that plans for a training facility in Florham Park have been scrapped. The club is expected to have an announcement on the team's training facility in the coming weeks.

When will hear from a Red Bulls executive about what is going on with the Red Bulls? DeGrandpre is due back in the country on Wednesday.

SUPERLIGA: Chivas records first Mexican win

After MLS opened the new Superliga Tournament with a 2-0-2 record against its Mexican opponents, the boys from south of the borders responded tonight with a win as Chivas De Guadalajara beat the Beckham-less Galaxy, 2-1, on Saturday night.

FC Dallas outplayed Mexican power Pachuca but came away with just a 1-1 draw, in part because of a blown off-side call on what should have been a Clarence Goodson goal.

MLS is 2-1-3 heading into the next matchday, on Sunday. Houston faces Morelia while DC United plays Club America. Houston can clinch a spot in the semifinals with a win while DC would put itself in good shape to advance if it beats America.

The games have been very good, with plenty of fiesty clashes and technical skill. Have you been watching? What have you thought of the tournament? Are you a fan or has it failed to catch your attention? Share your thoughts below.

Soccer Saturday

Hello all. I'm afraid I won't be posting much today. It's my son's birthday so I'll be celebrating that with him. I'm sure I'll be posting something tonight but I'm throwing this post up to let you guys and gals talk about anything going on in the soccer world.

As you may have read yesterday (First on SBI I might add), Freddy Adu is heading to Portugal to seal his Benfica deal. I'm sure that'll be a popular topic of conversation.

Feel free to talk MLS, Superliga, Europe or anything else your heart desires. I'll jump into the discussion tonight and probably post on the most popular topics for tomorrow.

Fire away. If you want to talk soccer, do it here.

Adu and Benfica agree on deal (updated)

After hitting a snag earlier this week, Freddy Adu's transfer to Benfica is on again. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Adu's representatives and Benfica have agreed in principle on a contract, with Adu set to travel to Portugal next week to complete the deal. Terms of the contract were not available.

Adu's agent, Richard Motzkin, had turned down Benfica's original contract offer after Benfica agreed on a $2 million transfer with MLS. English club Tottenham and Scottish club Celtic had also been linked to Adu but Benfica's $2 million bid eventually won out.

For those of you who didn't see it, here is my column today on the Freddy Adu transfer situation on ESPN.com.

Adu had been expected to play against New England on Saturday but now his availability is in doubt. If he doesn't play on Saturday, Real Salt Lake's 1-1 exhibition tie against Boca Juniors will go down as Adu's last game for Real Salt Lake.

What do you think about this deal? Is it a good move for Adu? Is it a good deal for Real Salt Lake and MLS? Share your thoughts below.

You write the caption (weekend edition)

Hey folks, sorry for the lack of posts today but I've been pretty busy today.

Here is something to tide you over for those last few hours in the office, the weekend edition of YWTC.

I have one photo as well as a bonus photo that you can just laugh at rather than write captions for. Just remember, when writing captions please try to keep them short and no expletives or overly raunchy themes. This is a family blog, at least for now.

Here goes the photo:

It's Q&A Time

Hello all. It is that time again. I want you to send me your soccer questions and I will try to do my best to answer them.

Please remember to keep them short and keep it to one or two questions. Post your questions below and I'll look to answer them all early next week.

Fire away.

TGIF: A relatively slow news day

Good morning all. Apologies for the lack of morning posts but I was busy finishing off a column for ESPN.com. The subject? Mr. Freddy Adu. It should be up later this afternoon or tomorrow.

Not much going on today in the soccer world. Here are some of the highlights:

Gabriel Heinze to fight for LIverpool move: Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze is consulting lawyers on what to do about his current situation. To sum up, ManU put Heinze up for sale. Liverpool met the asking price but Manchester United balked because it doesn't want him going to an arch-rival. The only problem is that it didn't stipulate in any of its transfer documentation that Heinze couldn't move to Liverpool. Now Liverpool, and apparently Heinze, are preparing to fight for the move to be allowed.

Beckham doubtful for Chivas match: David Beckham's status for the Galaxy's Superliga match against Chivas de Guadalajara is in doubt. He is still nursing an injured ankle.

Henry scores in Barcelona debut. French striker Thierry Henry made a successful debut for Barcelona, scoring the lone goal in his new team's 1-0 win against Dundee United.

Red Bulls vs. Chivas USA (Running commentary)

The game is about to kick off. Check in here for my running commentary and feel free to share your own thoughts on the match below.

Red Bulls lineup vs. Chivas USA (Get ready for it)

Anyone hoping to guess the lineup for tonight's match is going to be disappointment. An illness and Bruce Arena's own ingenuity have given us a 4-3-3 formation nobody could have seen coming:

Altidore-------------Angel------------------Wolyniec

Van Den Bergh------Reyna------------------Vide

Goldthwaite--------------------------------Freeman

---------------Stammler----Leitch--------------------

-----------------------Conway--------------------------

Yes, the nightmare came true. Apparently Carlos Mendes came down with an illness and will not start. Also, Arena pulled a fast one on us by starting the three-forward tandem he tried to make us think was an impossibility.

"I don't know where you're getting your information," Arena said when I asked him about using the three forwards together on Wednesday. Apparently the information was good.

Van Den Bergh gets the call over Mathis, which makes sense because the defensive work required from this formation isn't exactly Mathis' specialty.

What do I think about this lineup? I think I'm glad I made Maykel Galindo my captain in fantasy MLS this week. I also wonder what Chivas USA's wingers are going to do  to Van Den Bergh and Vide. Things could get ugly. On the other hand, the Red Bulls forward trio could wreak havoc on a Chivas USA team that wasn't expecting it. Either way, tonight's match won't be boring.

I'll be doing a running commentary for the match so keep an eye out for that.

Fire signs Wanchope

It is official. The Chicago Fire has signed Costa Rican forward Paulo Wanchope, adding him to an attack that already includes Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

Wanchope has had his share of knee troubles through the years but he is still a quality forward who will be an upgrade for the Fire. Will it be enough to help Chicago seriously challenge for a playoff spot? I'm not so sure about that one, particularly since the FIre's best young players, Justin Mapp and Chris Rolfe, can't stay healthy. Fire coach Juan Carlos Osorio should be able to help with that but Chicago needs to turn things around quickly.

SBI Fantasy MLS League (Week 17)

Apologies to those of you have been waiting for me to post The SBI Fantasy MLS Rankings. Things have tightened up near the top, with the top five teams separated by 140 points and teams two through five separated by 46 points.

Hudson FC has not let go of the top spot, even though I came close to catching him before laying an egg last week. Dunder-Mifflin (My favorite team nickname) moved into second place.

Here is the rest of the Top 10 through Week 16, as well as lineups of the top five teams for Week 17:

You Write the Caption (Wednesday's Best)

I'll give you folks some credit. The captions were better on Wednesday than Monday, but there were also some very weak ones.

One thing I need to clarify is that captions are not supposed to be super long. They're also not supposed to be quotes of the subjects in the photos but I let those slide because they're funny. That said, some of you are writing scripts. Keep them short and you'll have a better chance of finishing in the top five or 10.

Back to business. Here are the Top 10 captions provided for Wednesday YTWC picture:

SUPERLIGA: Matchday 2 (Running Commentary)

We have two great games tonight in Superliga. DC United is playing (and beating) Morelia while Houston faces Club America in the best match of the first round at 10pm. Share your comments on these matches here. I will try to do a running commentary on the Houston-America game but can't promise it at this point.

Check here for comments throughout the night:

Who is the US national team player of the year?

Yes, I realize it is only July but I have to ask this question. Who is, to date, the US men's national team player of the year?

Voting for Honda Player of the Year is about to close and I just sent in my ballot (I'm one of about a thousand voters it seems) and really found this to be a tough year to call. Who would you say was the best player so far? Remember, this is counting just US national team matches. Landon Donovan has owned the award in recent years (2002-2004) while Clint Dempsey (2006) and Kasey Keller (2005) have won the award the past two years. Donovan is a safe bet to win it again, but I'm not sure it is as easy a call as in years past.

I want to hear some nominees and explanations. Let me hear yours.

Red Bulls Pre-Game Report

The Red Bulls held their final training session before Thursday's match against Chivas USA and right now it remains unclear what starting lineup Bruce Arena will use.

The biggest question figures to be which forwards Arena starts against Chivas USA. Juan Pablo Angel is obviously one choice but Arena must then decide between John Wolyniec and Jozy Altidore. If I had to guess on who gets the call I would go with Altidore. Just a hunch.

Dema Kovalenko is still hurting and Arena appears to be ready to play it safe yet again. When asked whether Kovalenko can start and play 90 minutes Arena responded by saying, "If you ask Dema he'll tell you he's ready." The Red Bulls don't want to rush Kovalenko back so don't expect him to start. Waiting one more game will give him two more weeks to heal the groin strain.

You Write the Caption (Wednesday)

Good afternoon all. Sorry I didn't put this up sooner but I went to Red Bull practice today.

I'm hoping you guys and gals can produce some better captions than Monday. Not that the Ronaldo captions weren't funny, but the bar was set pretty high after last week.

Today's picture features two of the best players in the world, and two of the most popular, caught in a goofy pose. Here are Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho in what looks like a rather strange practice drill:

Zizzo signs with Hannover 96

U.S. Under-20 national team midfielder Sal Zizzo has completed a move to German club Hannover 96. Zizzo joins U.S. national team defender Steve Cherundolo at the club and joins Heath Pearce as the second American player to make a move to the Bundesliga this summer.

Zizzo starred for the U.S. team at the Under-20 World Cup, showing flashes of brilliance on the right flank. His performance against Brazil and Real Madrid left back Marcelo was especially impressive.

The UCLA product follows in the footsteps of midfielder Benny Feilhaber, who followed up a strong Under-20 World Cup showing i 2005 with a move to German club Hamburg SV.

What do you think of the move? Share your thoughts below.

SUPERLIGA: Galaxy top Pachuca, FC Dallas ties Chivas

Landon Donovan netted the game-winning goal as the LA Galaxy defeated Mexican champions Pachuca, 2-1, in the opening match of the SuperLiga Tournament for both teams.

Alan Gordon opened the scoring when he ran onto a long pass from Donovan, chested it down and slotted it past Pachuca goalkeeper Miguel Calero in the 50th minute. Pachuca responded with a 78th minute equalizer but the Galaxy found the winner just three minutes later as Donovan redirected a shot from Cobi Jones to give Los Angeles the victory.

FC Dallas tied Chivas de Guadalajara, 1-1, in the opening match of the tournament earlier on Wednesday. Arturo Alvarez opened the scoring but Chivas found a 67th minute equalizer. The match was marred by a scuffle and red card to FC Dallas defender Drew Moor.

Superliga continues on Wednesday with DC facing Morelia at RFK Stadium and the Houston Dynamo meeting Club America at Robertson Stadium in Houston.

Adu transfer on hold....for now

The long-rumored sale of Freddy Adu to Benfica has hit a snag. Reports surfaced on Wednesday stating that MLS had agreed to a $2 million transfer but Adu and Benfica could not agree on personal terms.

The first thing I thought when I saw that report was, "What? Just $2 million?." It does seem like it isn't that much for a player who just starred at the Under-20 World Cup. That said, we don't know what other details were involved in the transfer. Benfica could have given MLS a 50 percent of next sale clause, something MLS has gotten in other transfer deals.

Expect this deal to get done at some point this summer. Right now Adu is trying to play hardball and get a bigger payday. Either way, Adu isn't likely to be around MLS come the fall.

What do you think of this latest development? Share your thoughts below.

Superliga: Galaxy vs. Pachuca (your comments)

Hello folks. I'm watching the Galaxy-Pachuca Superliga match and realized I should have a post up for people to comment. I should have known that members of the SBI Mafia had already taken over another post to follow along.

Instead of posting their, post here. Follow the match here (It is scoreless at halftime). I'll comment here and there but it won't be a running commentary (That was the plan, I'm commenting on the jump)

Fire away.

My column in today's Herald News

For those of you who hadn't seen it yet, here is my soccer column in today's Herald News. I make the point that Cuauhtemoc Blanco could wind up having as big an impact on MLS long term as Beckham. I started thinking about that on Sunday and you probably noticed I made it the subject of this week's MMCB. I just wanted to write something other than the millionth Beckham column. I should also note that I think Blanco will struggle in MLS, but if he does, he could be huge for the league.

The column also includes an update on Danny Szetela's transfer situation. My hunch is he'll leave in December. I just can't see him re-signing in MLS. He wants out.

Let me know what think of the column. Share your thoughts below.

Man City in for Nery Castillo

Mexican star Nery Castillo could be on his way to Manchester City. The Olympiakos striker is linked to a move to City but reports state that he is holding out for a move to a bigger club and is said to have contacted Chelsea and Real Madrid.

A move out of Greece is all but certain after Castillo starred for Mexico at the Gold CUp and Copa America this summer. His national team partner Andres Guardado has already parlayed his summer performance into a move to Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna and Castillo looks set to join him in Europe's top flight.

What do you think of the move? Is Castillo better off at City or should he hold out for a bigger club? Share your thoughts below.

Tevez transfer fiasco rolls on

Just when you thought we would finally get a resolution on the Carlos Tevez transfer situation, FIFA throws a curve ball by deciding not to make a decision on the case.

For those of you who aren't up to speed on the situation, Manchester United is set to buy Tevez for a hefty price tag but Tevez's agent, Kia Joorabchian, is claiming that he owns Tevez's economic rights, and not West Ham United, meaning he should receive the transfer funds for Tevez.

Sounds crazy doesn't it? It does but apparently Joorabchian must have a leg to stand on for FIFA to pass on ruling and leaving it up to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

What do I see happening? I see West Ham getting the bulk of the transfer, Joorabchian getting a cut and ManU getting another star for their collection.

What do you make of this mess? Share your thoughts below.

You Write the Caption (Monday's best)

The image of Ronaldo with hair was hilarious but I'm not sure the caption submissions lived up to that standard.

There were some decent ones but none of the captions was drop-dead funny. Maybe it's just me. I came up with seven good ones (and an eighth from yours truly). Here they are:

SBI MLS Power Rankings

Someone finally stopped the Houston Dynamo. Well, not completely stopped, but at least scored some goals on the MLS champions.

That team was New England, which flexed its offensive muscle against the normally-stingy Dynamo. That New England back-line still gave up goals, three to be exact, but The Revs look like the class of the Eastern Conference right now.

So what team has its stock flying the highest these days? Try Columbus, which is riding the heroics of Guillermo Schelotto and a defense that has become stingy again.

Where does the Crew ranking these days? Check out this week's SBI MLS Rankings to find out:

Fire to sign Wanchope

Juan Carlos Osorio appears to have his first signing since taking over as Chicago Fire head coach.

The Chicago Tribune's Luis Arroyave is reporting that the Fire is set to sign Costa Rican forward Paulo Wanchope.

The move makes perfect sense. Wanchope and Osorio had a very close relationship when both were at Manchester City and Wanchope was looking for a club after ending his short stint in Japan. I actually mentioned Wanchope to Osorio as a player he could add soon when we spoke two weeks ago and he just laughed and agreed. I should have read the laugh as a tell that Wanchope was already in the works.

Wanchope has wanted to play in MLS for years and still has enough in the tank to be a servicable forward in MLS. I don't see him having the productivity of a Juan Pablo Angel but he will provide a boost for a Chicago attack that has been in need of forward help.

The Red Bulls were interested in adding Wanchope in the off-season but Wanchope chose to take a bigger payday in Japan. With his stint there over, the Costa Rican striker appears ready to step in and be Cuauhtemoc Blanco's top target man.

What do you think of this move? Is it enough to help the Fire make the playoffs? Is it too little, too late? Share your thoughts below.

Red Bull to buy out AEG's stake in Red Bull Park

When Anschutz Entertainment Group sold the MetroStars to Red Bull more than a year ago, it sold everything but a 50 percent stake in the Harrison Stadium Project now known as Red Bull Park.

That too has been sold now.

After weeks of negotiations to buy AEG's stake, sources have confirmed that Red Bull is ready to announce a deal that would remove AEG from a project it had been working on for seven years, leaving Red Bull as the sole owner of the stadium, which is set to open in late 2008. No financial details have been made public but the deal could be worth as much as $50 million.

Parke out with a torn hamstring

Red Bulls central defender Jeff Parke will be sidelined at least two weeks with a torn right hamstring suffered during Sunday's 1-0 win against DC United.

Parke suffered the hamstring injury late in the first half when he jumped in the air to clear a ball out. The injury will likely mean that Seth Stammler will start in central defense.

In other injury news, Ronald Waterreus is questionable with a bone bruise in his left ankle and Santino Quaranta has a right toe sprain and is out.

You Write the Caption (Monday)

I'm sure you were waiting patiently for your chance to write a caption. Here it is.

Before I get to the latest installment of YWTC, let me state that I will have three You Write the Captions this week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We'll see how that schedule works out before making it the set routine.

Now, to the photo. We are turning to Brazilian star forward Ronaldo, who is known to the masses for his shaved bald head. Well, he hasn't gotten around to getting a haircut yet and the result is an image crying out for a caption. Here goes.

Adu transfer to Benfica imminent

 

The Freddy Adu era in MLS is all just about over.

Sources in MLS state that a transfer to Portuguese power Benfica is on the verge of going through. No word on the transfer amount yet but the Washington Post's Steve Goff reported that MLS is asking for $7.5 million for the 18-year-old playmaker.

If Adu does leave it would signal the not so amazing Adu Era in MLS. It is hard to believe that the Adu circus began more than three years ago. Count me among the people who thought he would be dominating MLS around now. That never happened and now it never will since Adu is riding the wave of an impressive Under-20 World Cup to bolt for Europe while he still can garner some serious interest.

I think the move is a smart one for Adu, who needs to play in a better environment with more talent around him than he had at Real Salt Lake. I know the overly optimistic fans in Utah are happy again after watching their team beat Everton in a friendly on Saturday but the club is still in shambles and Adu is better off developing with a team like Benfica, where expectations won't be too high and he can be brought along slowly.

What do you think of Adu's pending move to Benfica? Do you think he should stay in MLS? Are you glad to see him leave? Share your thoughts below.

Ljungberg joins Hammers

An off-season of departures continues for Arsenal, which added Swedish midfielder Freddie Ljungberg to the list of long-time players to leave after Ljungberg joined West Ham United. West Ham, which is enjoying a strong transfer season (The whole Tevez mess aside), adds Ljungberg to an already impressive summer haul that includes Scott Parker and Craig Bellamy.

Arsenal fans, does the departure of your favorite underwear model leave you sad? Are you confident that the youngsters will be able to hold things down in London? I know there are West Ham fans in the SBI Mafia, how do you feel about this signing? Share your thoughts below.

The European season is fast approaching

Spanish powerhouse Barcelona began training this weekend, meaning Thierry Henry's first sessions with his new team. It also means the European soccer seasons are fast approaching.

SBI will be providing coverage of Europe's top leagues for those of you who enjoy your EPL and Serie A as much, if not more, than you're MLS.

Barcelona fans eager to see Henry make his debut won't have to wait much longer. Henry should debut on Thursday during Barca's tour of Scotland.

For those of you who haven't heard me say it I just don't see how Barcelona doesn't win La Liga AND the Champions League this year. The additions of Henry, Gabriel Milito and Yaya Toure will be the perfect additions to an already potent squad.

Are you as eager to see the European season begin as I am? If so, tell me what you're most looking forward to.

Monday Morning Center Back (What about Blanco?)

 

Good morning all. As I sit here trying to recover from the hangover following David Beckham's party last night I can't help but think about how little media coverage was given to the other star MLS newcomer's debut this weekend.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the Mexican playmaker American soccer fans love to hate, made his debut for the Chicago Fire on Sunday and it barely registered a ripple on the national media radar. This despite the fact that his debut went much better than Beckham's. Blanco started and scored the Fire's lone goal in a 1-1 tie against Celtic. He flashed his skills and gave the fans in Chicago a real taste of what could he could be providing on a regular basis.

The performance left me wondering if anyone would be willing to admit that, on some levels, Blanco's impact could be greater for MLS than Beckham's.

Red Bulls vs. DC United (running commentary)

Sorry for the delay but the Red Bulls-DC United game is under way. Follow along here.

Red Bulls starting lineup vs. DC United

Hello all. I'm here at a basically empty Giants Stadium. We're 40 minutes from kickoff and here is the lineup the Red Bulls will use (It is the same lineup I projected yesterday.)

---------Altidore-----Wolyniec----------

Mathis----------------------------Richards

------------Reyna----Stammler-----------

Goldthwaite----------------------Freeman

------------Mendes---Parke-----------------

------------------Conway---------------------

No Dema and no Joe Vide. Also, no Waterreus. Expect to see Kovalenko in the second half. I will do a running commentary so stay tuned for that.

My story previewing the Red Bulls-DC United game

For those of you who haven't seen it, here is my story previewing today's match between the Red Bulls and DC United. The highlights of the story are Bruce Arena saying that Claudio Reyna needs to step up and Jozy Altidore passing up a few days off in order to be ready for DC United, which he is on a mission to beat.

Beckham makes debut

David Beckham made his debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night, coming in as a second half substitute in the Galaxy's 1-0 exhibition loss to Chelsea.

The game had all the hype and media coverage expected back when Beckham first signed with the league. Celebrities made their way to Home Depot Center to take in the action and paparazzi covered every second of it.

Well, every second but the actual soccer. The match itself wasn't all that bad and the Galaxy spared some blushes after looking so bad against Tigres. Chelsea is early in its preseason so there shouldn't be all that much made of their ability to put up more goals. It was a promising showing for the Galaxy and it will certainly be interesting to see if this collection of players Alexi Lalas has thrown together will be able to salvage a season that has been disappointing thus far.

Now that the prom portion of Beckham's arrival is behind us, the superstar can now get to the business of playing real soccer and helping the Galaxy win real games. We will find out soon enough just how much of an impact Beckham will make in the United States for soccer and for MLS. I think he will have a good impact, and some people will stick around well after the flashbulbs stop blinding us, but I think I speak for many who can't wait for the overhype to cease and the emphasis on substance to begin.

What did you think of Beckham's first match? Share your thoughts on the match and the hype below.

Beckham's Debut Nears

David Beckham's first match with the LA Galaxy is at halftime and it looks as if Beckham will actually make his debut. I tried hard to ignore the event, or at least not blog about it, but I'm sure some of you are watching and are interested.

With that in mind I figured I could provide a forum for you to discuss the Beckham love-fest. So talk about anything you want to relating to tonight's match.

Fire away:

Red Bulls Pre-Game Report

It was a beautiful day at Giants Stadium today and the vibe around the team is a pretty positive one heading into tomorrow's game against DC United.

Here is the scoop on things going on in Red Bulls land:

The weekend is here (And yes, I'm back)

Hello all. Apologies for the light posting the past few days but I'm back now and ready to resume regular SBI duties. I hope some of you took advantage of the light posting to actually get some work done at your day jobs.

I'll be heading to Giants Stadium in a short while to get the latest on tomorrow's big Eastern Conference clash between the Red Bulls and DC United. I know many of you have been wondering about player availability for the game. The latest I've heard is that Dema Kovalenko will be starting. Carlos Mendes appears likely to go. Not so sure about Ronald Waterreus at this point but I will hopefully know more by this afternoon.

Check back this afternoon for a Red Bulls update.

Beckham likely to miss Chelsea friendly

As you have probably heard by now, David Beckham's ankle injury is likely to keep him out of the LA Galaxy's friendly against Chelsea on Saturday.

While this is devastating news to the fans who have shelled out big bucks for that game in part because of Beckham's participation, what is more important to MLS is that Beckham doesn't miss actual MLS matches. The Galaxy would be foolish to rush him back for some meaningless friendly when real games are ahead and they are still not in playoff position.

Are you upset about this development? Are you more concerned about Beckham playing in MLS matches? Are you basically tired of hearing about Beckham? Share your thoughts below.

A look ahead to the second half of the MLS season

With the All-Star Game now behind us and the real important part of the MLS season upon is, it is time to think about what we can expect in the second half of the season.

I will be posting something for Saturday on the teams I see making the playoffs, breakout players and potential disappointments. First, I wanted to ask you, the readers, your thoughts on some of these issues.

What teams do you see pulling away in the second half? What players do you see having stellar months ahead? What players do you see flopping or failing to match their first half of the season?

I want to hear it all, as well as what player on your MLS team you think needs to step up and why. Try to keep the answers brief. No thousand word essays on why Claudio Reyna needs to step up.

Fire away.

MLS All-Star Game (Your Running Commentary)

Good evening folks. The MLS All-Star Game is coming up later tonight and while I won't be able to do a running commentary on the match I did want to give you all a forum to discuss the match.

With that in mind, please use this thread to talk about tonight's game with other members of the SBI Mafia. In other words, the running commentary is in your hands. Feel free to provide the insight and comedy that makes the commentaries fun.

Enjoy the match tonight.

You Write the Caption (Wednesday's Best)

Hello all. Sorry for the lack of posts today but I'm on the road right now and will being posting infrequently tonight and tomorrow.

It's a little late but here are the best captions submitted for the picture of Cuauhtemoc Blanco on the phone:

Who should really start in the MLS All-Star Game?

Admit it, when the MLS All-Star Starting XI was announced you had some issues with the squad selected.

That's generally what happens when you have an American soccer fanbase that can come up with so many different views on the same players.

Steve Nicol put together a very respectable and functional starting lineup and few can complain that the group Nicol is starting can match up well with Celtic FC, but are Nicol's choices the most deserving based purely on performance during the first half of the MLS season?

The US national team depth chart

After a summer full of tournaments and after seeing so many familiar and unfamiliar faces donning the stars and stripes, U.S. national team fans can't help but think about what sort of shape the national team pool is in.

The truth is the pool is strong and deeper than it has ever been. I know that may be hard to believe after the disappointing showing at Copa America but a deeper look at the US talent pool reveals some good quality. No, there aren't Ronaldinhos and Kakas but there are good veterans, promising talent and enough for Bob Bradley to work with in the coming years.

So what would the US national team depth chart look like? I decided to take a shot at it by naming an A, B, C and D team with the thinking being that these would be the lineups for the World Cup opener if it were next month AND all available players were healthy (like Kenny Cooper and Chris Albright, who are out injured right now, but not John O'Brien, who has vanished). How did I come up with it? I started with the A team and once I did that I eliminated all the chosen players from the pool and then built the B team and so on and so forth (No retired players included like McBride and Friedel).

You Write the Caption (Wednesday)

After starting the week with a few obviously funny photos for you to write captions for, I will go with a more subtle entry for Wednesday.

It is none other than soon-to-be Chicago Fire star Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who is set to join the Fire on Friday. This photo is from a while back but I always thought it had comedy potential.

Prove me right folks. Here is the photo (submit your caption suggestions below):

MLS All-Star Game starters set

New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol announced his starting 11 for Thursday's MLS All-Star Game between MLS stars and Scottish champions Celtic in Colorado.

Nicol had no major surprises in the starting 11, though Landon Donovan not being in the 11 will be a surprise to some. Here is the Starting XI:

You Write the Caption (Tuesday's Best)

The captions are out of control.

There's no other way to say it as submissions keep growing with each installment of You Write the Caption. The comedy value wasn't quite as good as Monday's photo of Ailton on a Blue Zebra but Jose Mourinho looking like a tanned Spongebob Squarepants still produced good humor and did generate some gems.

Here are the best captions from Tuesday:

Earthquakes back in 2008

The San Jose Earthquakes are coming back.

Sports Illustrated is reporting that San Jose will join Major League Soccer as an expansion team in 2008. The news comes after weeks of growing speculation that San Jose was in the driver's seat to return to the league after seeing the old Earthquakes leave San Jose after the 2005 season and transform into the Houston Dynamo.

Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff is heading the ownership group for the new club, which will be called the Earthquakes, and will give the league 14 teams for 2008.

What do you think of the news? Do you love having San Jose back or were you hoping some other market would come aboard in 2008? Share your thoughts below.