The theory is that because of the low amount of scoring in football, using particularly protective and cynical tactics ruins the sport whose nature inhibits a high amount of goals per match. Football's common nickname is "The Beautiful Game," but from where did that phrase initially originate? Credit is usually given to 50's and 60's […]

Villarreal 0-2 Real Madrid 0-1 Ronaldo, 2’ 0-2 Kaka (pen), 73’ With four wins in four league games and three clean sheets in the bunch, it’s statistically difficult to find fault with Real Madrid’s early season performances. They have ostensibly done everything right in their opening games: they have incorporated all the new faces into […]

After another underwhelming performance in a 0-2 loss to Real Madrid at El Madrigal on Wednesday evening, Villarreal currently sits in 18th place with only two points from four La Liga matches. In their defense for their showing against Madrid, Villarreal played with one less man for 65+ minutes after Gonzalo Rodríguez received his second […]

Athletic Bilbao would have no problems with the proposed UEFA plan of mandating eight homegrown players in the squad of eighteen for every match or the theoretical 6 + 5 rule, where six players of the starting eleven would have to be eligible for the national team of their club's country. Athletic Bilbao refuses to […]

Continuing the La Liga preview, part three will discuss the final six teams in alphabetical order: Tenerife, Valencia, Valladolid, Villarreal, Xerez, and Zaragoza. Tenerife Will the tandem of Juan Francisco Martinez, commonly known as Nino, and Alejandro Alfaro translate their scoring prowess from the Segunda División to La Liga? After seven seasons in the Segunda […]

One positive to come out of Italy’s disastrous Confederations Cup adventure was the emergence of Giuseppe Rossi. Having been on the fringes of the Azzurri squad for some months, he finally made his breakthrough against the nation of his birth, putting himself firmly in the shop window this summer. Having begun his career in the […]

Major League Soccer has announced Everton as the opponent for this year’s MLS All-Star game. "We are very excited about Everton FC agreeing to be the opponent for the 2009 MLS All-Star Game," MLS commissioner Don Garber said in a league statement. "Everton is an elite European club that features many world-class players, including former […]

On Friday, the Champions League Quarterfinal draw was revealed and La Liga teams were given a difficult path towards an all-Spain final. Futbol Club Barcelona FC Barcelona who are chasing a historic treble will face Bayern Munich in the quarters and if they can get past the German super club than they will face either […]

Real Madrid have suffered another major injury blow as striker Ruud van Nistelrooy's season looks to be over after it was announced that he will undergo an operation to correct a problem with his right knee. The reigning Spanish champions already have Arjen Robben and Mahamadou Diarra out of action due to calf and thigh […]

I thought I would share with you some of the articles that have caught my eye over the past couple of days: Kartik of Major League Soccer Talk argues that Landon Donovan's trial with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich is a good move for the player. Kudos to Werder Bremen for taking a tough stance on […]

With World Cup qualifying on, its been a little slow for UEFA club competition news but here are some stories around the web that I thought you'd find interesting. ESPN Soccernet details the problems at Fenerbahce Bundesliga Talk has posted a quick update on every club in the league Owen Slot, Chief Sports Reporter for […]

The La Liga Team Of The Week for Week 3 of the Spanish 1st division was an easy choice. Considering the results and the environments the TOW had to perform in, there is no doubt that the runaway Week 3 winner of the La Liga Team Of The Week is: Villarreal Club de Fútbol The […]

Just a quick editorial note to start, I had hoped to complete my Group Previews before Matchday 1 but that was not the case. I will still be pushing those out, hopefully finish before Matchday 2 hits. Now, on to last night's action. After absences last season for perennial Champions League participants Bayern Munich (pictured […]

Boca Juniors' striker Ricardo Noir is the latest gem to emerge from the club's prolific youth program that exported players in recent years like Fernando Gago, Ever Banega, and Carlos Tévez, . After a thunderous start to his first-team career, he is now being looked at by various Spanish teams as a viable option or […]

Big Loser: Chile and Colombia. If there is a tiebreaker it would hav to be based on the result. So La Roja woud have to earn that honor. These were the only two that lost at home. But it was not their loss on the scoreboard, it was their offensive ineptitude that raised questions- again. […]