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.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Americans In The UK: Boxing Day Blues
A slew of average and poor performances saw just one American play for a winning team over the weekend.
Tim Vickery in South America
Last week Phil Minshull picked his European team of the decade - so I was asked to do the same for South America. But what would be the criteria? Obviously in this globalised age the top South Americans play their club football on the other side of the Atlantic. But European football is not my beat, and I don't watch enough of it to supply an authoritative opinion. So if anyone wants to suggest a South American side based on club form, then use the space below - and let a hundred flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend.
England: Tuesday's Premier League Previews
Aston Villa vs. Liverpool
Kick-off: 7.45pm GMT
Villa Park, Birmingham
Bolton vs. Hull City
Kick-Off: 20:00 GMT
Reebok Stadium, Bolton
England: Monday's Premier League Roundup & Reports
Chelsea survived a scare at home to Fulham to open up a five-point gap at the top of the Premier League table as Tottenham Hotspur moved into the UEFA Champions League positions.Chelsea 2 - 1 Fulham
Kevin McCarra: Drogba sparks fightback
Kevin McCarra: Drogba sparks fightback
Wolves 0 - 3 Manchester City
Staurt James: Two-goal Tevez too much
Staurt James: Two-goal Tevez too much
Monday, December 28, 2009
England: Premier League Monday Preview + Lawro's Predictions
12 teams continue their busy festive schedule on Monday with Tottenham and West Ham kicking things off early. Bolton manager Gary Megson has urged his players to sink fellow strugglers Hull after having to settle for a derby stalemate on Boxing Day.
England: Premier League Saturday Review
Chelsea turned in another indifferent performance while Liverpool chalked up a hard-fought win against Wolves.
England: Premier League Special Reports
Arsenal 3 - 0 Aston Villa
Kevin Palmer: The Joy of Cesc
Richard Williams: Fab cameo fires Gunners
Hull City 1 - 3 Manchester United
James Drucker: Rooney finds atonement
Saturday, December 26, 2009
England: Premier League Weekend Preview
Roberto Mancini makes his bow as Manchester City manager on Boxing Day then 24 hours later Arsenal host Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium. Elsewhere on this festive weekend of footballing action, bottom two teams West Ham United and Portsmouth go head-to-head, league leaders Chelsea make the trip to Birmingham City, out-of-form Liverpool lock horns with in-form Wolverhampton Wanderers while Fulham meet London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.Thursday, December 24, 2009
Enjoying the Holidays
And some much needed time off. Still not much going on in the world so it's fine time to relax. Some big matches this weekend that I'll preview at some point.
Until then...
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Sid Lowe in Spain
Real Madrid's 6-0 thrashing of Real Zaragoza showed the team in fine form as the Spanish season reached the halfway mark.
Real Madrid finally win and convince but Barcelona still lead the way.
Raphael Honigstein in Germany
The perennial runners-up dubbed Neverkusen have broken the mould but have a lot to do to still be top in May.
Autumn champions Leverkusen are still tipped for a fall.
Paolo Bandini in Italy
The under-fire coach has vowed to fight on despite the 2-1 home defeat to Catania – Juve's fifth loss in six matches.
Big chill hits Serie A but Ciro Ferrara refuses to be frozen out at Juventus.
Americans On The Continent: Bad Break
Michael Bradley and Steve Cherundolo were unable to end 2009 with a victory as their respective sides both fell 3-2 over the weekend in the last matches before the winter break.
The Rest
Arsène Wenger fears US tourist trap for Arsenal
The biggest single shareholder, Stan Kroenke, is exerting the kind of influence over the club that suggests his full ownership will only be a matter of time, and the American wants Arsenal stateside next summer.
Carlisle: Europe no longer a straightforward decision for MLS players
"Should I stay or should I go?" is a question usually reserved for people in rocky relationships or legendary punk rock bands. But with the World Cup now a scant six months away, it's an issue facing several members of the U.S. men's national team, especially those MLS performers currently pondering moves to overseas clubs.
Dominic Raynor: Ten Best Players of the Decade
Whittling the best footballers of the decade down to just ten representatives was something of an arduous, if enjoyable, task here at Soccernet towers. But, following plenty of arguments, rolling of eyes and whistles of disbelief we eventually settled on the final ten...
Phil Ball Not in Spain
Do you want to hear about Brent Cross Shopping Centre in London, on a snowy Monday afternoon? Didn't think you did. But it's part the reason for the late delivery of this week's La Liga piece. It never fails to amaze me in England, but the appearance of a few snowflakes seems to convert the county into a collective hissy-fit, as if it had never seen the stuff before. Whilst in Scandinavia all functions smoothly at 20 below, and in any other European country with a vaguely organized infrastructure life goes on without a shrug, in England the whole thing comes to a neurotic halt. Bizarre. It makes Spain look like a pillar of organization.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend
Who's a canny manager then? Avram Grant, Mick McCarthy, Roy Hodgson and Steve Bruce all pass muster while on the pitch Michael Owen continues to miss his targets.
Kris Boyd backs DaMarcus Beasley to make World Cup squad
DaMarcus Beasley could play himself into a World Cup encounter with England this summer and save his Rangers career at the same time, according to his Ibrox team-mate, Kris Boyd, who watched the United States player score his second goal in two games.
Monday MLS Breakdown: A Snowy Weekend Reminder for Sepp Blatter
FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes MLS should eventually transition to the European calendar. This weekend's Nor'easter is just one example of why Blatter is off the mark, according to Kyle McCarthy.
Spain: La Liga Weekend Reviews
Italy: Serie A Weekend Review + Team of the Week
League leaders Inter Milan claimed the spoils at home to struggling Lazio to open up an eight-point lead at the Serie A summit.
Elsewhere, Juventus suffered a shock home defeat at the hands of Catania, Roma climbed above Parma and Livorno triumphed against Sampdoria.
England: Premier League Weekend Review + Table
The Manchester City axe that fell on manager Mark Hughes helped detract from another shocking result for Liverpool and a heavy defeat suffered by the Premier League champions Manchester United.
Review
| Pos | Team | Played | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 18 | 41 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 18 | 37 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 17 | 35 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 18 | 35 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 33 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 17 | 29 |
| 7 | Birmingham City | 18 | 28 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 18 | 27 |
| 9 | Fulham | 17 | 26 |
| 10 | Sunderland | 18 | 21 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 17 | 21 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 18 | 19 |
| 13 | Blackburn Rovers | 18 | 19 |
| 14 | Burnley | 18 | 19 |
| 15 | Everton | 17 | 18 |
| 16 | Wigan Athletic | 17 | 18 |
| 17 | Hull City | 18 | 17 |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 16 | 16 |
| 19 | West Ham United | 18 | 15 |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 18 | 14 |
England: Premier League Special Reports
Fulham 3 - 0 Manchester UnitedWilliams: No quick fix for broken defense
West Ham 1 - 1 Chelsea
McCarra: A tale of two penalties
Blackburn 0 - 2 Tottenham
Jolly: Typical Tottenham change the record
Arsenal 3 - 0 Hull City
Palmer: Gunners show much needed grit
Sparky's dream ends as Hughes is axed by Manchester City
In a statement issued by the League Managers' Association he said: "Notwithstanding media coverage to the contrary I was given no forewarning as to the club's decision.
"Given the speed with which my successor's appointment was announced it would appear the club had made its decision some considerable time ago.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Everton Land Donovan
Moyes said: "Landon Donovan will join Everton. It is all agreed and done now and hopefully he will be with us on 1st or 2nd January.
Amy Lawrence: Do José Mourinho's Inter have the power to tame old boys Chelsea?
The Champions League draw could have been kinder to English clubs but some thrilling ties await in the New Year.
Beasley Receives Assurances From Rangers
Glasgow Rangers manager Walter Smith has told midfielder DaMarcus Beasley there is no reason for him to leave the Scottish club to ensure he makes the U.S. World Cup squad.
Premier League Heroes: Gary McAllister: Indian summer at Anfield
A player who has followed the path of so many others before him and attempted to make a name for himself in management - somewhat unsuccessfully - McAllister's contribution during his playing days to the Premier League cannot be overstated.
England: Premier League Weekend Previews & Predictions
Portsmouth and Liverpool kick-off the latest round of Premier League fixtures on the last weekend of top-flight action before Christmas Day. Elsewhere amidst the festive fixture schedule, leaders Chelsea make the short trip to London rivals West Ham United on Sunday, Fulham host champions Manchester United eyeing a repeat of last season's surprise scalp, Hull City boss Phil Brown will receive an interesting reception at Arsenal on Saturday evening, Manchester City tackle an out-of-form Sunderland outfit while high-flying Tottenham Hotspur head to Blackburn Rovers.
Preview I
Preview II
Lawro's Predictions
Italy: Serie A Weekend Preview
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho wants to leave a controversial week behind him and guide his team to victory at home against Lazio this weekend. Elsewhere, Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara will be under enormous pressure to take a positive result at home against rock-bottom Catania on Sunday.
Preview
Spain: La Liga Weekend Preview
Real Madrid will look to close the five-point gap to leaders Barcelona at the top of La Liga when they host Real Zaragoza at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Elsewhere, fourth-placed Valencia seek to bounce back from defeat against Real Madrid as they travel to face Deportivo, while lowly Malaga target just their second win of the season when they host Mallorca.
Preview
Germany: Bundesliga Weekend Preview
Schalke v Mainz and Hamburg v Bremen are among this week’s fixtures to watch..
Friday
Schalke – Mainz
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen – Borussia M’gladbach
Bayern Munich – Hertha Berlin
Borussia Dortmund – Freiburg
Eintracht Frankfurt – Wolfsburg
Hannover – Bochum
Stuttgart – Hoffenheim
Sunday
Hamburg – Werder Bremen
Koeln – Nuernberg
30 Cultural Differences Between Italy & England
It's an Anglo-Italian super-battle again in the Champions League last 16 as Inter play Chelsea and Milan take on Manchester United. It is often said that the two countries and leagues are poles apart, so here are 30 comical cultural differences between Italy and England…
Bowled Over by Robinho Exclusive
The exclusive! The sort of thing that every journalist dreams about but almost never delivers. In the world of modern media, an "exclusive" is almost as rare as a defender's hat-trick or a tasty brown banana.
And yet last week we had one. There weren't any clandestine meetings or weeks of research, but it was a bona fide exclusive nevertheless. A "you can hear the rest of that interview on Football Focus" jaffa.
The subject was Robinho and this blog is the story of how it came about.
The Joy of Six: Footballers of the Decade
In no particular order, here are half a dozen of the best players of the noughties, from Ronaldinho to Claude Makélélé.
Spurs Xmas Party Shame
Tottenham's senior players have heaped shame on the club by organising a secret Christmas party in Dublin behind the back of manager Harry Redknapp.
The plot to hoodwink Harry.
Champions League Draw: Jose Mourinho Returns to Chelsea
Jose Mourinho will return to Chelsea with Internazionale in the last 16 of the Champions League, while David Beckham also has the chance of a reunion with Manchester United after last season's beaten finalists were drawn against AC Milan.
The matchdays are:
First Legs:
February 16&17 and 23&24
Second Legs:
March 9&10 and 16&17
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Thursday, December 17, 2009
Premier League team of the decade: Henry Winter's Noughties XI
Telegraph Sport's Football Correspondent Henry Winter has chosen his team of the decade from the Premier League.
The Question: How did a nutmeg change football tactics in the noughties?
For the first time in over 30 years, an English side became a world leader in tactical innovation this decade – thanks to Henning Berg being nutmegged.
Europa League Wednesday Review
Bobby Zamora continued his hot run as Fulham secured their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League at the expense of Basle. Second-half goals from Mika Vayrynen, Viktor Elm, Gerald Sibon (two) and Darryl Janmaat won the game at a canter for the hosts, but it proved not to be enough as Hertha Berlin did the necessary against Sporting Lisbon.
Review
Views on Wolves
Oliver Kay argues that the Wolves manager was right to send out the stiffs to face Manchester United on Tuesday.
Tony Cascarino says Mick McCarthy was guilty of bad management by fielding a reserve team at Old Trafford.
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