Early in the second half, before Angel di María opened the scoring with a sublime curler to the right far post to give Real Madrid the 0-1 lead, "El Especial," José Mourinho, lambasted referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz for showing a yellow card on Sergio Ramos for an apparent trip on young Real Sociedad starlet Antoine […]

Whether they're man marking the opposition's left sided attacking winger or bombing up and down the flank conducting intelligent overlapping runs in support of their right sided midfielder, the modern day right sided full back is an integral part of a team's make up. Although not a glamour position like that of his brother the winger, a solid right back […]

La Liga provides its supporters and spectators with its first midweek round of the season, and through three rounds of this long campaign, the table has already sorted itself out in terms of the apparent three tiers in La Primera División. The top six teams are the same teams that usually occupy the European places […]

Sometimes I wish I supported one Premier League club. Instead, I support Swansea City, the club I've followed since I was 10 years-old. The reason why I sometimes wish I followed a Premier League club is two-fold. One, there would conceivably be only one fixture on my TV schedule each weekend that I would feel […]

Editor's note: Three weeks ago, Earl began this series as a chronicle of his quest to find the Premier League team that connects with his spirit as a fledgling soccer fan from afar. Between the Euro 2012 qualifying weekend (where I found myself happy for Wayne Rooney to overcome his personal distractions) and a weekend […]

On this edition of the Major League Soccer Talk podcast, myself and co-host Chris Riordan look back on a weekend highlighted by the Seattle Sounders' dominant 4-0 win in Columbus. We talk about the Crews' problems, how Seattle exploited them, as well as the other matches from the past weekend. Also discussed: Thierry Henry's punishment, […]

The Serie A has produced another slate of interesting results, and with even more on the way this midweek, the table positions are beginning to fix themselves. If you're interested in reading about how AC Milan and Fiorentina did at home (not well) in their two matches, you can click here, but please read on […]

The Bundesliga resumes midweek this week with a host of important fixtures. On Tuesday, Bayern Munich will travel to Hoffenheim it was could be the match of the round, Hannover will host Werder Bremen, and table-topping Mainz will host Koln. TSG Hoffenheim – Bayern Munich High-flying Hoffenheim may have the upper hand against title holders […]

Dimitar Berbatov's hat-trick against Liverpool on Sunday, which included an audacious overhead kick, sealed a crucial win for Manchester United. Moreover, it was the first hat-trick by a United player in this fixture since Stan Pearson scored three for United in a 5-0 trot past their ancient rivals on September 11, 1946 in a match played at Man City's Maine […]

The League Cup is now entering the stage of when the remaining big boys who are flying the flag in Europe enter the fray, and without question the tie of the round is Tottenham vs. Arsenal. Three seasons ago The Gunners visited White Hart Lane and were left humiliated, as they missed out yet again […]

It is never surprising to hear Sir Alex Ferguson saying something 'controversial'. Whether it's emotional, pointless sniping at a beleaguered enemy or an attempt some kind of Jedi Mind Trick deployed to 'psych out' Liverpool and their players is up to you. An interesting point with Ferguson's 'Torres is the biggest cheater ever, EVER' (possible paraphrase) comments is that […]

So after a somewhat belated start to his managerial career at Villa Park, Gerard Houllier will need little time to assimilate himself back in to the rigours of English football. His six year stint at Liverpool is still fresh in the memory for many, especially for landing us with El Hadj Diouf for the last […]

Remember when we were all trying to figure out what Sunil Gulati was doing in the aftermath of the 2010 World Cup in regards to Bob Bradley and the somewhat-up-in-the-air coaching situation for the U.S. Men's National team? Apparently, Gulati was making another run at former Germany and Bayern Munich manager Juergen Klinsmann. Another […]

After watching the Premier League games on television this past weekend, I realized that we've now reached a monumental place in the evolution of English football. Out of the 20 clubs in the Premier League, there's only one that plays a traditional English style of football. And that is a huge achievement. In the past, […]

When you consider that the match between Manchester United and Liverpool didn't come alive until the 65th minute when Gerrard scored a penalty, it's amazing to consider how much drama and action were sandwiched into the last 25 minutes of the clash between these two legendary sides at Old Trafford. For the first 65 minutes, […]