David Villa: The George Harrison of Barcelona

Yes he is. Explained here.

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Liverpool Linked with Luis Suarez; Can He Solve Their Problems?

Article also here.Many outlets are reporting that Liverpool has contacted Ajax to discuss a bid for striker Luis Suarez.Ajax is saying they have yet to receive an actual bid for Suarez, but that doesn't mean there haven't been discussions.Apparently Suarez is interested in the move, which is good news for Liverpool as they need all the help they can get.But is Suarez the answer to Liverpool's problems?Many people are sounding off on Liverpool these days after their woeful start and continued poor play. The only thing that really seems to be consistent in all the analysis is that Liverpool apparently needs help in all areas.At first it was the coach.

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Higuain Is Out For the Season: Can Real Madrid Still win the Title?

This article is also found here.Real Madrid announced that Gonzalo Higuain would have season ending knee surgery.He has been sidelined since November, but it was anticipated that he would make his return in the next few weeks. Now, he is out for the season and Real needs to find a replacement.Higuain has been a huge part of Real's success over the past couple of seasons and his loss creates major issues for the club; even Jose Mourinho has admitted that the Higuain loss will impact the club.Last season, Higuain led Real Madrid with 27 goals, second most in La Liga. Cristiano Ronaldo finished with 26 goals. There were rumors as to whether the two pla

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Of Liverpool, Torres, Mourinho, and Spurs: Why do I watch so much soccer?

I'm a fickle fan.  When I first started paying way too much attention to European soccer five years ago, thanks in large measure to my passionate dislike of my job at that time, I committed myself to Fulham Football Club.  The team had a veritable truckload of Americans on the team with Kasey Keller in goal, Brian McBride as striker and captain, along with new recruit, Clint Dempsey.  The team also picked up Eddie Johnson, who promptly lost any semblance of ability and was loaned out to a team in Wales.  Around that same time period, Liverpool dropped off a wheelbarrow of cash in Madrid to sign Fernando Torres.  I had been a b

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Champions League: Real Madrid Wins But Are Still All Bark and Very Little Bite

Real Madrid beat AJ Auxerre in their Tuesday Champions League match in their now typical 2010 fashion. Lots of possession, some opportunities and very few goals.Madrid possessed the ball for 70% of the game and had 19 shots compared to Auxerre's 9 shots. Yet anyone that watched the game could tell you that even though Madrid had a lot of possession and shots, they had very few great opportunities. Granted, Gonzalo Higuain did have a great opportunity in the first half where his shot was blocked by a defender on the line. There were other good moments as well, but you have to expect more out of a team that possesses the ball for 70% of the game and

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Liverpool Ties Sunderland: Is It Too Soon to Write Off The Reds?

Liverpool suffered yet another draw this weekend. In six games they have three ties, two losses and only one win. Not the most impressive start.But with yet another tie to Sunderland on Saturday, one has to wonder if Liverpool actually has what it takes to win this season. Only six games in and it may not be too early to write them off.Normally with most teams, especially a team like Liverpool with a strong history of winning, you could just say that it's early in the season and they are just off to a slow start.You could also argue that they have had a tough first six games already having played three of the top four clubs in the Premier League -

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Cristiano Ronaldo: Can He Fill Raul's Shoes and Lead Real Madrid?

Note: This is a variation on a previous post about Raul. This article is also published on Bleacher Report. You can head over there as well if you want to read it. Cristiano Ronaldo is the new leader at Real Madrid. Although Iker Casillas has taken the captain armband, Ronaldo assumed the on-field leadership position by taking the # 7 jersey after Raul's departure. But is he deserving and ready to lead the team?This last decade for Real Madrid has been a generation aptly called The Galacticos - The Superstars. The team has a simple business model: buy all of the best players in the world. They seem to operate on the flawed logic that if

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Champions League Draw: Real Madrid 2 - 0 Ajax: Jose Mourinho to the Rescue

Real Madrid drew Ajax for their first match in the group stages of the Champions League.  They were clinical in their 2-0 victory over Ajax, as shown in the video below.  The best part about this video is the interview after the game with The Special One, Jose Mourinho.  His presence at Real Madrid makes up for all of the bad signings they've made over the past few years and should give Real fans hope that they get past the first round of the knock-out stage (I'm realizing that there is a lot of insider lingo when it comes to the Champions League so I'll start working on a Beginner's Guide to the Champions League).  The man has mor

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Hercules Hercules Hercules!

Newly promoted Hercules made their mark on La Liga this past weekend by going to the Camp Nou and beating the almighty and all powerful Barcelona 2-0.Quick note: the promotion/relegation system that they do in the European soccer leagues is the greatest sport invention ever. Here's how it works: In Spain for example, they have various soccer leagues. At the end of each season the bottom three teams in each league are relegated to the league below them and the top three teams are promoted to the league above. So last year the bottom three from the Primera Division - Valladolid, Tenerife and Xerez - were sent down to the Segunda Division while the

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Fabio Capello: Getting it Right for His Undeserved Second Chance

England played its first Euro 2012 qualifier this weekend. They easily handled Bulgaria and won 4-0. While it was a good victory for England, I feel like it was an undeserved second chance for their coach, Fabio Capello. England went with a different lineup from what they used two months ago in the World Cup. Here are the starting 11 from their first game at the World Cup:Robert Green (G)John Terry (D)Ledley King (D)Ashley Cole (D)Glen Johnson (D)Steven Gerrard (M)Frank Lampard (M)James Milner (M)Aaron Lennon (M)Wayne Rooney (F)Emile Heskey (F)And here are the starting 11 from the qualifier on Saturday:Joe Hart (G)Phil Jagielka (D)Ashley

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Blind Soccer

While there is plenty of football this weekend there isn't much futbol happening overseas as all of the leagues have the weekend off so the national teams can play in their Euro 2012 qualifiers. Hopefully France will provide some fun drama over the weekend so there is something to talk about.In the meantime, here is a video my friend sent me from kottke.org. Kottke was providing the video and a recap from a wired article. So it's traveling from an article to a website to a blog and now to you. It's simply amazing. The video that is. I can't believe these people are playing blind and/or blindfolded.Enjoy.

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UEFA Bans the Vuvuzuela: Well, At Least They Resolved One Issue

Of all the many storylines and issues from the World Cup this past summer, two stand out: 1. Instant Replay and 2. the Vuvuzelas. Many English Premier Teams have already banned vuvuzelas, but UEFA came out today and banned them from their tournaments - the European Championship and the Champions League.This isn't surprising for a couple of reasons:1. Vuvuzelas are as annoying as a mosquito flying into your eardrum, laying eggs and harvesting a community of mosquitoes in your ear.2. The Euros love hearing themselves sing. That's why they listen to so much techno. They prefer music with beats and sounds. If they want vocals, they add it themsel

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