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Stalemate At The Theater Of Dreams - Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea

Manchester United and Chelsea battled to a 0-0 draw today, the first home match under David Moyes. The flow of possession was held by United who seemed to sizzle behind the play of a reenergized Wayne Rooney, the international transfer man of mystery.   Breakdown Chelsea's approach from the kickoff, a formation with no true out and out striker, was a gamble which did not pay off.  United seemed to dictate the majority of good chances.  Controlling 55% of possession, The Reds were denied a possible handball in the box off a shot which Frank Lampard blocked.  As for the rest of the chances, Rooney had two strikes on net which Cech handled cooly.  Danny Welbeck was gifted a chance early in the first half but sent his curling effort high and wide. The play of Rio and Vidic was as expected: solid.  The speedy young guns of Chelsea were unable to crack the veteran center backs even with the second half substitution of Fernando Torres.  The use o...

Bale Set At 94 Million Pounds

Tottenham standout, Gareth Bale, is set to complete a transfer to switch to Real Madrid sometime early next week.  The proposed fee of 94 million pounds would overtake Cristiano Ronaldo's 80 million pound move from Manchester United to Real Madrid as the world record transfer fee. According to the Spanish press, Real Madrid seems confident of making the announcement of the completed transfer on next Tuesday morning.   However, the real magnitude of this transfer would be seen in it's aftermath.  If Spurs were to make this move they would be in a position to give there already highly talented squad an injection of pure class. With links to possibly signing Erik Lamela (AS Roma) and Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid).   When Spur's boss Andre Villas-Boas was interviewed he responded as saying, " "Coentrao and Lamela, both great players but that's all I can say," said the Spurs manager. Already with the additions of  Roberto Soldado (£26 million), Pa...

"Joe Willis, No Spillage" - DC United 2-0 Chicago Fire

Soccer has been known to have some colorful commentary, especially from European play-by-play announcers. Once again it have proven true. DC United beat the Chicago Fire tonight, winning by a score of 2-0. DC will play the winner of the other US Open Cup semi-final for a shot at the title.  However, the most entertaining part of the match was not a goal or a play but a phrase used to address DC United's goalie Joe Willis.  After making a decent save in the first half the Chicago Fire's Irish play-by-play announcer Kevin Egan referred to the covering of the ball by emphatically stating  "Joe Willis, no spillage." Catchy and when said with an Irish accent, humorous, I believe we may have stumbled upon a phrase which is here to stay in the DC United fans arsenal of terms.   After all, no spillage is a good thing. Willis Allowing No Spillage He Also Has An Awesome Beard

Gold Cup 2013: USA 1-0 Panama

The USA was victorious over Panama this Sunday by a score of 1-0, capturing the 5th Gold Cup Championship for the Red, White and Blues.  As expected veteran Landon Donovan played superb providing an assist on substitute Brek Shea's goal in the 69th minute.  The USA played extremely well dominating possession with 69.3% as well as limiting Panama to 0 shots on net.  The statistics tell the total story of the match, as the USA completed 84% of there passes while Panama only completed 67%.  The Gold Cup Championship captured by the USA has seemed to pave the way for the likes of Landon Donovan, Mix Diskerud, Kyle Beckerman, Joe Corona and Brek Shea all possibly playing themselves back into contention for the 2014 World Cup squad. The biggest aspects the USA capitalized on during the match was owning the time of possession and playing with total composure.  The entire match, the USA seemed to dictate the flow of the game. Previous USA sides have not been able...

Gold Cup 2013 Final: USA vs Panama Preview - 3 Keys To Victory

Uncle Sam's Army comes blazing into the 2013 Gold Cup Final with a 3-1 victory over Honduras. The USA's ability to high pressure Honduras and keep them on the defensive was extremely instrumental in the win.  Coupled with the play of Landon Donovan, who tallied 2 goals and an assist; the Red, White and Blues have reached the target final.  They will be facing Panama who upset favored Mexico in the other semi-final 2-1 with goals by Roman Torres and Blas A. Perez.  In the duos last meeting, during the hexagonal World Cup Qualification group, the US beat this Panama side 2-0.  With this in mind, the task still is not an easy one as Panama proved there place in the final.  The Red, White and Blues have their work cut out for them come this Sunday at 4 pm. Landon Donovan has once again proven why he has been the "golden boy" of US soccer since breaking through to the national team.  His play has elevated the overall play as well as moral of the entire star...

A Song of Rooney and Moyes: A Transfer Is Coming

The contract disputes between reigning EPL Champion's Manchester United and English international Wayne Rooney has been overloading the football press all over the world and recently have taken a sour turn.  Rooney has reached out in the media with the remarks responding to comments David Moyes has made about his future as "angry and confused," according to an article released by ESPN FC this morning, July 16th.  David Moyes was quoted stating,  "Overall, my thought on Wayne is that if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie we are going to need him. I want as many options as possible."  Rooney, who scored 22 goals and tallied 14 assists in 37 total  appearances  last season, was a constant under ex-boss Alex Ferguson who stepped down as United boss this summer.  The confrontational saga of the two has developed into a mid summer's day time drama.  With Rooney's fuse seeming to shorten the transfer possibilites are begi...

USA Gold Cup Preview - Landon's Triumphant Return

The USA will enter the 2013 Gold Cup with a roster composed of youngsters, journeymen and a few veterans.  Uncle Sam's Army will face Belize in there first match which will take place on July 9th in Portland, Oregon.  The Gold Cup will serve as tryout as USA boss Jurgen Klinsmann looks for the possible players to earn a spot for the rest of World Cup Qualifying and down the road in the 2014 World Cup.  In past years players have showcased there talents in this tournament, mostly being players whom may not normally get a shot on the international level.  This years 23 man roster is composed of what I feel is a solid yet unproven, deep pool of potential and talent.  The USA's outlook, as usual, will be to win.  I believe our chances are high. Roster Breakdown Goalkeepers Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Bill Hamid (DC United) This year, Klinsmann has named 3 goals to the 23 man roster.  Nick R...