DeMarcus Beasley Loaned To Manchester City

Former Chicago Fire player and 2002 and 2006 US World Cup player DeMarcus Beasley was loaned from PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie) to Manchester City (English Premier League)just prior to the European transfer deadline. Details here.

More Links To Champions League Group Stagers' Websites

Here are links to the websites of four more UEFA Champions League entrants who qualified directly to the group stage:

The Werder Bremer site, in English.

The Inter Milan site, with entry to English, Italian, and Spanish language versions.

FC Girondins de Bordeaux, in French.

AS Roma, in Italian, with a link to Chinese language info.

MLS Action, Wednesday, August 30

How 'bout a recap from Wednesday's Major League Soccer action?

At Kansas City, Missouri:

Josh Wolff's goal in the 71st minute lifted the Kansas City Wizards to a 2-2 draw with the New York Red Bulls, enabling KC to maintain their one-point advantage over Bruce Arena's club for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth. Details here.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

Andy Herron, with his eighth goal in ten games, a successful penalty kick in the 74th minute, lifted the Chicago Fire to a 2-2 draw with the Houston Dynamo. Details here.

At Salt Lake City:

How's this for coming back from a 6-0 frontier-styled fistbeating? Jeff Cunningham scored his 15th goal of the season in the 60th minute. It was the only goal in Real Salt Lake's 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy. Details here.

At Denver:

FC Dallas, on goals by Ramon Nunez and Richard Mulrooney, shut out the Colorado Rapids 2-0. Details here.

Links To UEFA Champions League Group Stage Entries

Here, I have decided to add links to the websites of those clubs that had directly qualified for the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League, whose sites are not linked on the sidebar of the front page on this blog:

Beginning with defending champion FC Barcelona, in English.

Two-time defending English Premier League champion Chelsea.

Flying Start For Sevilla

UEFA cupholders Sevilla, four days after trouncing FC Barcelona to win the UEFA Super Cup, began its' 2006-07 La Liga season in style with a 4-0 fistbeating of newly-promoted Levante at home at Seville, Spain on Tuesday. Details here.

Barcelona Hang On For 3-2 Opening Win Over Celta

At Viga, Spain on Monday, substitute Eidur Gudjohnsen, fifteen minutes into his first match for defending UEFA Champions League titleholders FC Barcelona, scored the game winner in the 88th minute to lift the visitors to a thrilling 3-2 win over Celta de Viga in the Spanish premier league (LaLiga) opener for both clubs. Details here.

Pompey Pummels Boro On Road

So much for Middlesbrough feeling their oats after the comback shocker against Chelsea. On Monday, in English Premiership action, Portsmouth went into Middlesbrough and robbed the corral by pasting the home club 4-0. Details here.

Kilmarnock, Rangers, Fit To Be Tied

At Kilmarnock, Scotland on Sunday, Steven Naismith popped in a successful game-tying penalty kick in the 90th minute to life home side Kilmarnock to a 2-2 draw against Rangers in Scottish Premier League action. Details here.

MLS Action, Sunday, August 27

Here's a rundown of the Sunday Major League Soccer action:

At Foxboro, Massachusetts:

Jeff Larentowicz scored his first career goal in the 34th minute to lift the New England Revolution to a 1-0 home win over the Columbus Crew. Details here.


At Kansas City, Missouri:

Scott Sealy scored the only goal of the match, in the 62nd minute, in the Kansas City Wizards' 1-0 win over FC Dallas. Details here.

Weekend Action In The Netherlands

A rundown of the weekend action in the Dutch Eredivisie:

Saturday:

At Heerenveen:

SC Heerenveen picked up their second win in as many starts to open the season with a 5-0 fistbeating of Willem II Tilburg. Details here.

At Utrecht:

Sparta Rotterdam and FC Utrecht battled to a 2-2 draw. Details here.

At Waalwijk:

Excelsior and RKC Waalwijk settled for a 1-1 draw. Details here.

At Arnhem:

Visiting AZ Alkmaar racked up a 3-1 win over Vitesse Arnhem. Details here.


Here's Sunday's Action:

At Rotterdam:

SC Heracles Almelo and home side Feyenoord Rotterdam played to a scoreless draw. Details here.

At Breda:

Two late goals by Dutch international Wesley Sneijder (at 73 and 84 minutes) propelled Ajax Amsterdam to a 2-1 win over NAC Breda. Details here.

At Nijmegen:

FC Groningen and homestanding NEC Nijmegen battled to a 1-1 draw. Details here.

At Enschede:

Blaise N'ufo's goal in the 71st minute lifted Twente Enschede to a 1-0 upset win over defending champ PSV Eindhoven. Details here.

The Weekend In France

Here's a look at the weekend action in Ligue 1:

Here's Saturday's action:
At Nice, France:

Karim Benzema scored twice to lead visiting Lyon to a 4-1 win over Nice. Details here.

At Montbeliard, France:

Homestanding FC Sochaux picked up a tight 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain. Details here.

At Lille, France:

Homestanding Lille bounced back after last week's loss at PSG by blanking Bordeaux 3-0. Details here.

At Troyes, France:

Toulouse kept Troyes winless with a 2-1 road win. Details here.

At Lorient, France:

Paced by Pierre-Andre Gignac's hat trick, homestanding Lorient defeated Nantes 3-1. Details here.


Now, here's Sunday's action:

At Nancy, France:

Benjamin Gavanon's successful penalty kick in the 73rd minute lifted AS Nancy Lorraine to a 1-0 home win over AJ Auxerre. Details here.

At Marseille, France:

Two goals in the last 20 minutes lifted homestanding Marseille to a 2-0 shutout of LeMans. Details here.

At Monte Carlo, Monaco:

AS Monaco racked win number one of the season, defeating visiting Sedan 2-1. Details here.

At Valenciennes, France:

Home-standing Valenciennes racked up a 3-1 win over Rennes. Details here.

At St. Etienne, France:

Home-standing St. Etienne held off a Lens rally to win 3-2. Details here.

Villareal holds Real Madrid To Scoreless Draw

On Sunday, in the first weeked of regular LaLiga play, visiting Villareal held Real Madrid to a scoreless draw. Details and scores of other Spanish premier league play here.

Sunday Bundesliga Action

In Sunday's play in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Hamburg, Germany:
Hertha Berlin came from behind on the road to gain a 1-1 draw with Hamburg SV. Details here.

At Mainz, Germany:
A late goal by Ranislav Jovanovic enabled homestanding to salvage a 1-1 draw at home against Eintracht Frankfurt. Details here.

Villans, Blues, 2-0 Sunday Winners

In Sunday English Premier League action:

At Blackburn, England:

Frank Lampard's successful penalty kick in the 50th minute, coupled with sub Didier Drogba's late tally, lifted visiting Chelsea to a 2-0 win over the Blackburn Rovers.

At Birmingham, England:

Luke Moore and Juan Pablo Angel each scored a first-half goal in homestanding Aston Villa's 2-0 win over Newcastle United.

Details here.

MLS Action, Saturday, August 26

Here's a rundown of Saturday's Major League Soccer action:

At Washington DC:
Landon Donovan scored two goals and set up another as the Los Angeles Galaxy popped DC United 5-2. Details here.

At East Rutherford, New Jersey:
Reserve Edson Buddle scored three second-half goals, and Bruce Arena gets his first win as head coach of the home-standing New York Red Bulls, who massacred Real Salt Lake 6-0, scoring all their goals----in the SECOND HALF! Details here.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:
Defenseman Dasan Robinson scored his first MLS goal, which turned out to be the only goal in the Chicago Fire's 1-0 home win over the Colorado Rapids. Details here.

At Carson, California:
Forward Ante Razov scored twice to lead Chivas USA to a 3-2 win over the visiting Houston Dynamo. Details here.

Saturday Scottish League Action

Celtic defeated Hibernian 2-1, while Hearts dominated Inverness 4-1, to at least for the time being share first place in the Scottish Premier League after Saturday play. Details of those two games and the rest of the day's SPL action here.

FC Nuremburg's Scoreless Battle With Bayern Munich Highlights Saturday Bundlesliga Action

Highlighting Saturday play in Germany's Bundesliga, surprise leaders FC Nuremburg held homestanding FC Bayern Munich to a scorless draw at Munich. Details of that match and other Saturday Bundesliga action here.

Spanish Premier League Opens Season With A Valencia Win

Goals by Fernando Morientes and Raul Albiol guided Valencia to a 2-1 home win over Real Betis in the first regular season match of the Spanish Premiere league (LaLiga) for the 2006-07 season. Details here.

Citizens Stun Gunners, 1-0, To Lead EPL Saturday Roundup

In Saturday's action in the English Premier League:

At Manchester, England, Joey Barton's successful penalty kick in the 41st minute gave Manchester City their first goal of the season----and their first win by stunning Arsenal 1-0 at home. Details here.

At Watford, England, Manchester United remained undefeated and untied after being given a tough battle by pesky Watford on the road, 2-1. The Hornets are still looking for their first win. Details here.

At London, Darren Bent scored both goals as Charlton Athletic picked up their first win, 2-0 over the visiting Bolton Wanderers. Details here.

At London, Jimmy Bullard's 28-yard free kick was curled into the net for the only goal of the match as Fulham picked up its first win of the season with a 1-0 home blanking of Sheffield United. Details here.

At Liverpool, England, two goals in the final minutes before halftime lifted homestanding Liverpool defeated West Ham United, 2-1. Details here.

At London, Andrew Johnson popped in a goal in the 65th minute to lead 10-man visiting Everton to a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Details here.

At Wigan, England, Emile Heskey scored the only goal seven minutes from halftime as Wigan Athletic secured their first win of the season, 1-0 over visiting Reading. Details here.

Mo's The Man In Toronto

On Friday, the new Major League Soccer expansion club (and Canada's first-ever MLS franchise) Toronto FC named recently deposed New York Red Bulls coach(and Scottish playing legend---he played for BOTH Celtic and Rangers) Mo Johnston as their first head coach. Details here.

Sevilla Thumps FC Barcelona To Win UEFA Super Cup, 3-0

At Monaco on Friday, 2006 UEFA Cup winners Sevilla blanked UEFA Champions League titleholders FC Barcelona 3-0 to win the UEFA Super Cup. First half goals by Renato and Frederic Kanoute plus a late penalty kick by Enzo Maresca provided the scoring. Details here.

Here's Your Draw For The 2006-07 UEFA Cup

Here are the forty matchups for the first round proper of the 2006-07 UEFA Cup after today's draw in Monaco:

The first leg of each two-game total-goals set will be played on September 14, with the second leg to be played on September 28. The winners would advance to the group stage where they will be placed in eight groups of five teams each. Each team would play one game against each of the other four teams in its group. The top three finishers in each group would move on to the knockout phase, joined by the third-place finisher from each of the eight groups in the UEFA Champions League.


Here we go:

Chornomorets Odessa (Ukraine) vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel)

Sporting Braga (Portugal) vs. Chievo (Italy)

FC Levadia Tallinn (Estonia) vs. Newcastle United (England)

Molde FK (Norway) vs. Rangers FC (Scotland)

Standard Liege (Belgium) vs. Celta Vigo (Spain)

Maccabi Haifa FC (Israel) vs. PFC Litex Lovech (Bulgaria)

Derry (Ireland; even though the team plays in Northern Ireland) vs. Paris St-Germain(France)

Hertha BSC Berlin (Germany) vs. Odense BK (Denmark)

Legia Warsaw (Poland) vs. Austria Vienna (Austria)

Panathinaikos (Greece) vs. Metalurh Zaporizhzhya (Ukraine)

FC Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia) vs. SV Zulte-Waregem (Belgium)

AC Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) vs. Heart Of Midlothian FC (Scotland)

Fenerbahce SK (Turkey) vs. Randers FC (Denmark)

Red Bull Salzburg (Austria) vs. Blackburn Rovers FC (England)

FC Schalke 04 (Germany) vs. Nancy (France)

Ethnikos Achna (Cyprus) vs. Lens (France)

Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic) vs. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)

AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) vs. Kayserispor (Turkey)

Rubin Kazan (Russia) vs. Parma (Italy)

Atromitos (Greece) vs. Sevilla (Spain; 2006 UEFA Cup winners)

Brondby IF (Denmark) vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)

Besiktas (Turkey) vs. PFC CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria)

Vitoria Setubal (Portugal) vs. SC Heerenveen (Netherlands)

Olympique de Marseille (France) vs. Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic)

Atvidaberg (Sweden) vs. Grasshoppers (Switzerland)

Rapid Bucharest (Bulgaria) vs. Nacional (Portugal)

Trabzonspor (Turkey) vs. Osasuna (Spain)

FC Basel (Switzerland) vs. FK Rabotnicki (Macedonia)

West Ham United (England) vs. Palermo (Italy)

Feyenoord (Netherlands) vs. PFC Lokomotiv Sofia (Bulgaria)

Ruzomberok (Slovakia) vs. Club Brugge (Belgium)

FC Sion (Switzerland) vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)

FK Partizan (Serbia) vs. Groningen (Netherlands)

Skoda Xanthi (Greece) vs. Dinamo Bucharest (Romania)

Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (England)

IK Start (Norway) vs. Ajax (Netherlands)

Artmedia Bratislava (Slovakia) vs. Espanyol (Spain)

Wisla Krakow (Poland) vs. Iraklis (Greece)

Livorno (Italy) vs. SV Pasching (Austria)

Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) vs. AJ Auxerre (France)

Roda JC Kerkrade 1, ADO Den Haag 0

In Friday action in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Kerkrade, Netherlands, Jamaique Vandamme's first goal for Roda JC was the difference as the host team blanked ADO Den Haag, 1-0. Details here.

Schalke 04 Hands Werder Bremen First Loss, 2-0

At Gelsenkirchen, Germany on Friday, Kevin Kuranyi scored in the 7th minute to help lead homestanding FC Schalke 04 to a 2-0 shutout of previously unbeaten and untied Werder Bremen in German Bundesliga action. Details here.

Here Are The Eight UEFA Champions League Groups

Here are the eight groups of teams as drawn on Thursday in Monaco for the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League:

GROUP A:
FC Barcelona
Chelsea
Werder Bremen
Levski Sofia

GROUP B:
Inter Milan
Bayern Munich
Sporting Lisbon
Spartak Moscow

GROUP C:
Liverpool
PSV Eindhoven
Bordeaux
Galatasary SK

GROUP D:
Valencia
AS Roma
Olympiacos
Shakhtar Donetsk

GROUP E:
Real Madrid
Lyon
Steaua Bucharest
FC Dynamo Kiev

GROUP F:
Manchester United
Celtic FC
Benfica
FC Copenhagen

GROUP G:
Arsenal
FC Porto
CSKA Moscow
Hamburger SV

GROUP H:
AC Milan
Lille OSC
AEK Athens
RSC Anderlecht


Group play begins on September 12 and 13. Each team in each group would play two games against each of the other three teams in its group (one home, one away). The top two finishers in each group would reach the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, while the third place finishers would move on to the third round of the UEFA Cup.

Huge Shocker At Middlesbrough Tops Wednesday English Premier League Action

At Middlesbrough, England on Wednesday:

A goal in the 90th minute by substitute Mark Viduka capped off a comback which saw Middlesbrough score twice in the final ten minutes to knock off Chelsea 2-1 in Premiership action. Details here.

At Birmingham, England:

Martin O'Neill picked up his first home win as Aston Villa's new coach Wednesday in the Villans' 2-1 win over 10-man Reading. Details here.

At Blackburn, England:

Benni McCarthy scored in his home debut for Blackburn, while Tim Cahill's late goal tied the game for Everton, allowing the Toffees to salvage a 1-1 draw. Details here.

At London:

Charlton Athletic proved no match as Darren Fletcher, Louis Saha, and sub Ole Gunner Solskjaer each scored a goal as visiting Manchester United crowned the Addicks 3-0. Details here.

At London:

Jimmy Bullard's goal in the 90th minute enabled homestanding Fulham to gain a 1-1 draw with the Bolton Wanderers. Details here.

At Manchester, England:

Portsmouth and Manchester City battle to a scoreless draw. Details here.

Shakhtar Finishes Off Legia

At Warsaw, Poland, three first half goals, including two by Ciprian Marica, paced FC Shakhtar Donetsk to a 3-2 win over homestanding Legia Warsaw Wednesday, thus winning the two-game qualifying set 4-2. Thus, the Moles are off to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League while Legia will move on to the UEFA Cup. Details here.

Gunners Polish Off Dinamo Zagreb

At London on Wednesday, Matheiu Flamini's goal during second-half stoppage time enabled Arsenal to defeat visiting Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 in the match, and 5-1 on aggregate for the two-game total goals series. The Gunners are heading to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League while the visiting squad from Croatia's capital city heads for the UEFA Cup. Details here.

It's Back To The CL Group Stage After A Decade For Steaua

At Bucharest, Romania, homestanding FC Steaua Bucharest racked up a 2-1 win over Royal Stardard de Liege on Wednesday, thus winning the two-game set on aggregate 4-3, thus enabling the Speeders to reach the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time in ten years. It's the UEFA Cup competition for Standard. Details here.

Dynamo Kiev: CL Group Stage Bound

At Istanbul, Turkey, Maksim Shatskikh scored twice Wednesday to lead Dynamo Kiev to a 2-2 match draw with Fenerbahce SK and a two-game 5-3 on aggregate that sent the visiting Ukranian side to the UEFA Champions League group stage, and sent the home team to the UEFA Cup. Details here.

Shocking Win For FC Copenhagen

At Amsterdam on Wednesday, an own goal from Ajax Amsterdam's Belgian defenseman Thomas Vermaelan in the 77th minute enabled FC Copenhagen to bounce back from losing their two-game series opener at home (2-1) to knock Ajax out of the UEFA Champions League (and into the UEFA Cup) by winning 3-2 on aggregate after winning the match 2-0. It's a trip to the group stage for the Lions. Details here.

Broken Hearts

At Athens, Greece, Brazilian striker Julio Cesar scored twice to lead AEK Athens into the UEFA Champions League group stage, winning the Wednesday night match 3-0 and closing out Hearts (Heart of Midlothian FC) 5-1 on aggregate. For the broken-Hearted Jambos, it's on to the UEFA Cup. AEK joins fellow Athens club Olympiacos in the group stage. Details here.

Levski Make Bulgarian Soccer History

At Verona, Italy, PFC Levski Sofia came the first Bulgarian club on Wednesday to reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League by tying AC Chievo Verona 2-2 in the second game of their two-game set, and winning the series (and dispatching Chievo to the UEFA Cup) on aggregate, 4-2. Details here.

Mastiffs Reach CL Group Stage

At Skopje, Macedonia on Wednesday, Johan Audel scored the only goal of the match midway through the first half to help Lille blank FK Rabotnicki 1-0, and reach the UEFA Champions League group stage by a 4-0 aggregate. For the defeated Macedonian side, it's on to the UEFA Cup. Details here.

CSKA Makes It Two Moscow Clubs In CL Group Stage

At Ruzomberok, Slovakia on Wednesday, PFC CSKA Moscow joined intracity rival FC Spartak Moscow in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League for 2006-07 by blanking MFK Ruzomberok 2-0, thus taking the two-match series 5-0 on aggregate. For the Slovakian champions, it's on to the UEFA Cup. Details here.

Smooth Sailin' For Galatasaray

At Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic on Wednesday, Galatasaray SK and FK Mlada Boleslav battled to a 1-1 draw, assuring a spot in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the club from Istanbul, Turkey, who won the two-game set on aggregate, 6-3. As for FK Mlada Boleslav, they're heading for the UEFA Cup. Details here.

Spartak Heads To The CL Group Stage

At Moscow on Wednesday, FC Spartak Moscow fought off FC Slovan Liberec to win their game and two-set match, 2-1 to reach the group stage of the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League. FC Slovan Liberec will now head for the UEFA Cup. Details here.

Spurs Bounce Back and Hornets Get First Point

In Tuesday English Premiership Action:

At London, Dimitar Berbatov and Jermaine Jenas scored in the first 17 minutes to lift Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-0 blanking of visiting Sheffield United. Meanwhile, a Watford, England, West Ham United came from behind to draw 1-1 with homestanding Watford. Details here.

Valencia Bounces Back To Reach CL Group Stage

At Valencia, Spain, on Tuesday, Valencia CF benefited from first-half goals from Fernando Morientes and David Silva, and they recovered from the series-opening 1-0 setback at Salzburg to eliminate Red Bull Salzburg with a 3-0 home win to take the two-game set with a 3-1 aggregate. Next for Los Ches is an appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage for 2006-07. As for The Bulls, it's on to the UEFA Cup. Details here.

For Hamburger SV, It Pays To Score On The Road

At Pamplona, Spain, on Tuesday, Hamburger SV came back from a one-goal deficit to gain a 1-1 road draw against CA Osasuna. Because of the away goals rule, the German side, which battled the Spanish club to a scoreless home draw two weeks ago, wins the two-game set 1-1 on aggregate, and advances to the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League group stage. CA Osasuna heads now to the UEFA Cup. Details here.

AC Milan Beats Red Star On Road, Moves Into CL Group Stage

At Belgrade, Serbia on Tuesday, visiting AC Milan topped Red Star Belgrade 2-1, to win their two-game set on aggregate, 3-1, and reach the group stage for the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League. Red Star will move on to the UEFA Cup. Details here.

Three! Count 'em! Three Portuguese Clubs In The CL Group Stage!

At Lisbon, Portugal, SL Benfica blanked Austria Vienna 3-0 on Tuesday, to win their two-game set 4-1 on aggregate. This will mark the first time that three Portugese clubs (FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon being the others) will make it to the Champions League group stage. Austria Vienna will move on to the UEFA cup. Details here.

Big Scare For The Reds In Kiev

At Kiev, Ukraine, with their scheduled home match transferred from Israel due to the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, Maccabi Haifa FC gave five time European champ Liverpool all they could handle before the two teams' second match ended in a 1-1 draw on Tuesday, thus allowing the Reds to advance to the Group Stage in the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League on an aggregate of 3-2. Maccabi Haifa will now move on to the UEFA Cup. Details here.

Group Stage Berths At Stake Tuesday and Wednesday

Today and tomorrow mark the conclusion of the qualifying stage for the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League. The winners of these two-game sets would advance to the Champions League groups stage, while the losers would proceed to the UEFA Cup.

MLS Action, Sunday, August 20

At Foxboro, Massachusetts, Andy Herron's goal in the 24th minute was the only goal of the match, and goalkeeper Zach Thornton had a clean sheet as the visiting Chicago Fire blanked the New England Revolution, 1-0. Details here.

Meanwhile, at Carson, California:

Landon Donovan and Santino Quaranta each scored a first-half goal to lead the Los Angeles Galaxy to a badly needed 2-0 win over visiting FC Dallas. Details here.

Late Goal Lifts Lyon Past Bordeaux

Substitute Sylvain Wiltord knocked in the game-winning goal in the 85th minute to lift five-time defending Ligue 1 champ Lyon to a 2-1 victory at Bordeaux. Details of that game and other weekend action in France's top soccer division here.

Opening Weekend Roundup In Dutch Soccer

On Sunday, PSV Eindhoven defeated NEC Nijmegan 3-1 and Ajax of Amsterdam walloped RKC Waalwijk 5-0 as the Dutch Eredivisie wrapped up the opening weekend of its' 2006-07 regular season. Details of these games and other weekend action right here.

Inverness and Celtic: Fit To Be Tied

On Sunday, Inverness, on Grant Munro's equalizer in the 80th minute, gained a 1-1 home draw with Celtic. Details here.

Philipp Lamm's Goal Lifts Bayern Munich

Sunday play in the German Bundesliga:

At Bochum, Philipp Lamm's goal in the 65th minute lifted FC Bayern Munich to a 2-1 win over VFL Bochum, while VfB Stuttgart got into the win column with a 3-2 road win over Arminia Bielefeld on Brazilian forward Cacau's 30-yard goal in the 82nd minute. Details here.

Ringing Start For Chelsea's Defense

At London on Sunday, John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba each scored a goal as Chelsea began its' quest for a third straight Premiership title with a 3-0 whitewashing of 10-man Manchester City. Details here.

Smashing Win For Manchester United

At Old Trafford in Manchester, England on Sunday, Manchester United started its 2006-07 Premiership campaign with a 5-1 beatdown against Fulham. Details here.

MLS Action, Saturday, August 19

In Saturday action in Major League Soccer:

At Washington, Christian Gomez's goal in the 56th minute lifted DC United to a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids. Details here.

At Columbus, Ohio, a spectacular run by Joseph Ngwenya was capped by his goal in the 82nd minute, leading the homestanding Columbus Crew to a 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls, thus ending the Crew's franchise-record 13-game winless streak. Details here.

At Salt Lake City, Jeff Cunningham scored his 14th goal of the season and assisted on another to help lead Real Salt Lake to its' franchise-record fourth straight win, a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo. Details here.

At Carson, California, Johnathan Bornstein knocked in his fifth goal of his rookie season in the 83rd minute, enabling Chivas USA to salvage a 1-1 draw with the Kansas City Wizards. Details here.

Rangers Pop Hearts 2-0 At Home

At Glasgow, Rangers FC, on two goals by Kris Boyd, blanked Hearts 2-0 in Scottish Premier League action on Saturday. Details on this game plus a rundown of other SPL matches here.

Hugo's The Man For Werder

In Saturday Bundesliga action, Hugo Ameida scored the game winner in the 77th minute to lead home-standing Werder Bremen to a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen. Details of the game and other Saturday action in Germany, here.

Dazzling Win For West Ham

At London on Saturday, two second half goals by Bobby Zamora led West Ham United to a 3-1 win over Charlton Athletic in the Premiership season opener for these two London area clubs. Details here.

Liverpool Escapes Sheffield With 1-1 Draw

At Sheffield, England, a controversial penalty kick enabled homestanding Liverpool FC to salvage a 1-1 draw against promoted side Sheffield United in the Premiership season debut for both clubs Saturday. Details here.

Blackburn Thumped, 3-0

At Portsmouth, England, Kanu scored twice, and missed on a penalty kick, in this, his Portsmouth debut on Saturday, as he led Pompey to a 3-0 blanking of shorthanded Blackburn in the season opener for both sides. Details here.

Magpies Top Wigan, 2-1

At Newscastle, England, Scott Parker and Shola Ameobi each scored a goal to lead Newcastle United to a 2-1 season-opening victory over Wigan Athletic on Saturday. Details here.

Everton Hold Off Newcomer Watford, 2-1

At Goodison Park in Liverpool, England, on Saturday, Everton won its first opening day home match in 10 years with a 2-1 victory over promoted side Watford in the two clubs' Premiership season opener. Details here.

Bolton Blanks Spurs, 2-0

At Bolton, England, Kevin Davies and Ivan Campo each scored an early goal to lead the home town Bolton Wanderers to a 2-0 blanking of Tottenham Hotspur in the Premiership opener for both clubs on Saturday. Details here.

Villa and The Gunners Are Fit To Be Tied

A late goal by Gilberto Silvo allowed home standing Arsenal to salvage a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in the first league game played at Emirates Stadium in London on Saturday. It was the Premiership season opener for both clubs. More here.

WHAT A DEBUT FOR READING!

At Reading, England, the Reading Football Club came back from a 2-0 deficit to knock off Middlesbrough 3-2 in their first ever game in England's top flight league on Saturday, the opening day of the 2006-07 Premiership season. Details here.

Juve's Demotion Appeal Fails

Juventus, on Friday, failed to persuade Italy's soccer federation to repeal their match-fixing-scandal-induced-relegation to Serie B, according to a statement issued by the Turin, Italy-based club. Details here.

FC Nurnberg Blanks Borussia Mochengladbach1-0

In Friday play in the German Bundesliga, in Nuremburg, hometown side 1.FC Nurberg blanked visiting Borussia Mochengladbach 1-0 on Markus Schroth's goal in the fifth minute. More on the home team's win right here.

Vitesse Gets Eredivisie Season Started With Road Win

At Rotterdam, Netherlands, Vitesse Arnhem got the 2006-07 regular season on Friday in the Eredivisie, the Netherlands' top flight soccer league, under way with a 2-1 win against home-standing Sparta Rotterdam. Details here.

Point Penalty But No Demotion For Reggina

Reggina received a 15-point penalty but would remain in Italia Serie A. That was the word Thursday from an Italian sports tribunal. The club was indicted earlier this month on match-fixing charges. Details here.

Internacional Wins Copa Libertadores!

At Beira-Rio Stadium, Porto Alegre, Brazil, home-standing SC Internacional, by virtue of a 2-2 draw with defending champion Sao Paolo FC on Wednesday night, wins its first Copa Libertadores championship on aggregate 4-3. The Red will compete in the FIFA World Club Championship, which will take place from December 10-17 in Japan. Details here.

MLS Action, Wednesday, August 16

In Wednesday Major League Soccer Action:

At Columbus, Ohio, late goals by Chris Klein (in the 75th minute) and Carey Talley in final minute of regulation time lifted Real Salt Lake to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew. Details here.

At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Bruce Arena's first MLS game as New York Red Bulls head coach ended up a scoreless draw against DC United, the team he coached to the first two MLS tltles (1996, 1997). Details here.

At Bridgeview, Illinois, Justin Mapp scored his first goal of the season to lead the Chicago Fire to a 3-0 win over the Kansas City Wizards. Details here.

Qualifying Begins For Euro 2008

Wednesday marked the opening day of qualifying for the 2008 European Championships. 50 countries are battling for 14 slots beside co-hosts and automatic qualifiers Austria and Switzerland. The fifty teams are divided into seven groups.

Perhaps it was still the hangover from B36's 5-0 home fistbeating at the hands of Fenerbahce in the second game of that second-round UEFA Champions League qualifying series, but the host country, the Faroe Islands, before the home fans at Torshavn; got plastered 6-0 by visiting Georgia in Group B play. Shota Arveladze scored a hat trick for the victorious visitors. Details here.

At Tallinn, Estonia, Goce Sedloski scored in the 74th minute to lead visiting Macedonia to a 1-0 win over Estonia in Group E play. Details here.

At Brussels, Kazakhstan and host country Belgium played to a 0-0 draw in action in Group A. Details here.

Successful Starts For New Coaches For England, Germany In Exhibition Matches

At Manchester, England, the English national team delivered a 4-0 beatdown to visiting Greece in Steve McLaren's debut as head coach, while in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Joachim Loew's debut as Germany's new coach was also a winner as the host nation blanked Sweden, 3-0 as Miroslav Klose scored twice for the winners. Details of these and other international exhibitions can be found here.

Chelsea Coach Not Too Crazy 'bout Friendly Schedule

Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho is not too crazy about the schedule for exhibition matches. Details on Jose's discontent can be found here.

Three-Match Bans For Man U Duo

Manchester United lost their appeals of the red cards issued to Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes during the Amsterdam tournament. Details here.

GOL TV

My cable system added GOL TV to its digital sports tier today.

Randy Lerner Now Owns Two Football Teams

English Premier League club Aston Villa reported Monday that it has agreed to a $118.8 million takeover by Randy Lerner, who owns the National Football League's Cleveland Browns. Details here.

Ligue 1 Action, Sunday, August 13

Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie banged home two goals to help lead Lille to a decisive 4-0 home win over Lens, while French winger Franck Ribery played for Marseille in their 2-0 home victory over Rennes. Details here.

Big Win For Werder Bremen

Brazilian midfielder Diego had a hand in three late goals in his Werder Bremen debut, leading the visitors to a 4-2 victory over Hannover 96 on Sunday. Details of the Sunday Bundesliga action here.

Fit To Be Tied, Scottish Style

At East End Park, Dumfermline came from behind to earn their first point of the season, courtesy of a 1-1 draw against Rangers, in Scottish Premier League action. Details here.

Peter Crouch Wins One For The Reds

At Cardiff, Wales, Peter Crouch headed in the game winner as Liverpool defeats Chelsea 2-1 to win the annual Community Shield match, the traditional curtain raiser to the English Premier League season. Details here.

MLS Action, Saturday, August 12

In Saturday action in Major League Soccer:

At Denver, Nicolas Hernandez scored a goal in the 41st minute to lift the Colorado Rapids to a big 1-0 home win over the Los Angeles Galaxy. Details here.

At Kansas City, the home town Wizards ended a nine-game losing streak by delivering a 4-0 beatdown to the Columbus Crew. Details here.

At Houston, Chris Waibel scored the lone goal, in the 37th minute, in the hometown Dynamo's win over FC Dallas. Details here.

At Bridgeview, Illinois, Claudio Suarez converted a penalty kick to help lead Chivas USA to a 2-1 road win (only their second of the season away from home) over the Chicago Fire. Details here.

Toulouse Tie Lyon In Last Minute, 2-1

Brazilian Fabinho scored the tying goal in second-half stoppage time to lift Toulouse to a 1-1 draw against five-time defending Ligue 1 champion Lyon. Details of the match as well as other Saturday action in France's top soccer division here.

Saturday Bundesliga Action

Borussia Moenchengladbach defeated Energie Cottbus 2-0 in American World Cup goalkeeper Kasey Keller's first game as its' new captain. Details on Kasey's big day as well as other Saturday German Bundeslilga action, here.

Barcelona, Real Madrid Win In USA

In exhibition matches on Saturday:

At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Ronaldinho scored twice to lead FC Barcelona to a 4-1 pasting of the New York Red Bulls. Details here.

At Salt Lake City, Ruud van Nistelrooy scored on a penalty kick at the end of the first half and assisted on a second-half goal to lead Real Madrid to a 2-0 blanking of Real Salt Lake. Details here.

Celtic Shows St. Mirren Just Who Is Boss

Celtic reverted to form by beating previously unbeaten St. Mirren in Saturday Scottish Premier League play at Glasgow, 2-1. Details of this match and the other Saturday games here.

End Of The Line For David Beckham?

England's new coach Steve McLaren has left David Beckham off their roster for this coming Wednesday's exhibition against 2004 European champion Greece. Details here.

Oliver Kahn Blanks Dortmund In 500th Match

Veteran goalkeeper Oliver Kahn played his 500th match and posted a shutout as Beyern Munich opened the 2006-07 German Bundesliga season with a 2-0 home win over Borussia Dortmund at Munich on Friday. Details here.

New Captain For England

John Terry, who is the captain of two-time English Premier League champion Chelsea, is the new captain of England's national team. Details here.

Big Win In Copa Finals Opener For Internacional

At Sao Paolo, Brazil, striker Rafael Sobis scored twice in the second half to lead visiting Internacional to a 2-1 win over Sao Paolo FC in the opening leg of the two-game final of the Copa Libertadores. All the Red would need next week at home in Porto Alegre, Brazil to win its first ever title in the competition is a draw against the reigning champs. Details here.

Stirring Comback For Barcelona In Houston

Before the largest crowd ever to witness a soccer match in Texas, 70,550 fans at Houston's Reliant Stadium, FC Barcelona put on an incredible comeback, bouncing back from a 4-1 deficit with five minutes remaing, scoring the final three goals, capped off by Samuel Eto'o's goal in the 90th minute, to gain a 4-4 draw with Mexico City side Club America, in an exhibition match Wednesday night. Details here.

Wednesday MLS Action

Here's stuff from Wednesday, August 9, 2006, MLS style:

At Denver, Jeff Cunningham scored twice, and had an assist, to lead Real Salt Lake to a 4-1 win over his former team, the Colorado Rapids. Details here.

At Foxboro, Massachusetts, the Kansas City Wizards and New England Revolution battled to a scoreless draw. Details here.

At Houston, just one day after being acquired in a trade from DC United, Santino Quaranta scored a goal in the 69th minute to lift the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo at Reliant Stadium. Details here.

Wednesday Action In Third Round of Qualifying For UEFA Champions League

Here's the rundown on Wednesday's action in the third round of qualifying for the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League:

At the opener of their two-game home-and-away set, homestanding Lille defeated FK Rabotnicki 3-0. Details here.

Before the home fans in Kiev, Dynamo Kiev racked up a 3-1 opening match win over Fenerbahce. Details here.

Croatian striker Ivica Olic scored twice during the course of six minutes around the one-hour mark to lead CSKA Moscow to a big 3-0 opening match home victory against MFK Ruzomberak. Details here.

In Donetsk, Ukraine, Elano Blumer's successful first-half penalty kick provided all the scoring as Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Ligia Warszawa 1-0 in their series opener. Details here.

At Sofia, Bulgaria, Levski Sofia blanked ChievoVerona 2-0 in this series opener. Details here.

At Hamburg, Germany, AC Osasuna and Hamburger SV battled to a scorless draw in the two teams' opener. Details here.

At Salzburg, Austria, Karel Pitak scored in the 73rd minute to lead Red Bull Salzburg to a 1-0 win over Valencia CF in their series opener. Details here.

At Istanbul, Turkey, homestanding Galatasaray SK rang up a 5-2 series-opening win over FK Mlada Boleslav. Details here.

At Milan, Italy, Filippo Inzaghi celebrated his 33rd birthday by scoring the only goal in AC Milan's series-opening 1-0 win over visiting Red Star Belgrade. Details here.

At Copenhagen, Denmark, Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored twice to lead visiting Ajax to a 2-1 win over FC Copenhagen in the opening match of the two-game set between these two clubs. Details here.

At Liverpool, England, Mark Gonzalez scored in the 88th minute, roughly two minutes after entering the match as a substitute, lifting Liverpool FC to a 2-1 win over Maccabi Haifi FC in the first game of the two teams' two-game set. Details here.

At Liege, Belgium, Steaua Bucharest and Standard Liege battled to a 2-2 draw in the two teams' opener. Details here.

At Liberec, Czech Republic, FC Spartak Moscow and FC Slovan Liberec played to an opening match scoreless draw. Details here.

At Edinburgh, Scotland, AEK Athens scored two goals in the final two minutes to steal a huge win on the road, 2-1, over Heart of Midlothian FC (Hearts, or in this case, Broken Hearts). Details here.

Arsenal Wins; Benfica, Austria Vienna Draw

In Tuesday action from the third round of qualifying for the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League:


At Zagreb, Croatia, Cecs Fabregas scored twice to lead Arsenal to an easy 3-0 pasting of Dinamo Zagreb. Details here.

At Vienna, SL Benfica and homestanding Austria Vienna battled to a 1-1draw. Details here.

Still More Links

Here are links to websites of more entrants in the third round of qualifying for the 2006-2007 UEFA Champions Leaague:

Here's the link to Ajax of Amsterdam English language site.

Next, we present the Hamburger SV site, in German, with a link to the English language version.

Here's the CA Osasuna site, in Spanish, with a link to the English language version (which is under construction).

Here's the link to the Liverpool FC site.

Next is the Maccabi Haifa FC site, in Hebrew. There is an English language overview from the official site.

Here's the link to the Lille OSC website, in French.

More Links

Here are some links to websites of more clubs in the third round of 2006-07 UEFA Champions League qualifying:

Here's the AEK Athens soccer club website, available in Greek and English. To access the English language version, just click on the link labled "EN."

Here's the English language website for PFC CSKA Moscow.

The website of AC Milan, in Italian, English, Portugese, Chinese, and Japanese.

Next, we see the English language website for Galatasaray SK.

Here's you link to the Standard Liege website in French, Dutch, English, and German.

This link will take you to the Austria Vienna site in German. There's a link at that site to the English language version.

This is the link to the SL Benfica site. The site is in Portuguese, but there is a link to the English language version.

Here's the link to one of England's legendary clubs, The Gunners of Arsenal.

Huge Crowd In LA To Watch Doubleheader

On Sunday, at an exhibition match before a sellout crowd of 92,650 fans at the Los Angleles Memorial Coliseum, FC Barcelona began their tour of these United States with a 1-1 draw against Chivas de Guadalajara. This was the second half of a doubleheader that took place at the Coliseum. Next up for the reigning European Champions League titleholder will be a match this coming Wednesday at Houston's Reliant Stadim against Mexico City's Club America. Details here.

In the first game, the largest crowd ever in the United States to watch a soccer match involving a club team, 92,516 fans at the Coliseum watched the New England Revolution and Chivas USA battled to a 1-1 draw. Details here.

Hearts Beat Celtic 2-1

Roman Bednar scored twice to lead Hearts to a 2-1 win Sunday against Celtic. Details here.

Boca Juniors, River Plate Win Openers

At Buenos Aires, Sunday, Boca Juniors began regular season play in Argentina's Apertura first-division play with a 3-0 whitewashing of Banfield. Meanwhile, River Plate, another Buenos Aires power, blanked Lanus 2-0. Details of these games and other action here.

Werder Bremen Wins Bundesliga League Cup

Ivan Klasnic scored twice to pace Werder Bremen to a 2-0 home win over Bayern Munich to win the preseason Bundesliga League Cup at Bremen, Germany on Saturday. Details here.

English League Championship Season Opens

Two teams freshly relegated from the Premiership, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City, opened the League Championship (one step below the Premiership) regular season with wins, in hopes of winning quick promotion back to the big league. The Baggies blanked Hull City 2-0, while the Blues downed Colchester 2-1. Details of the Saturday League Championship action here. As for the English Premier League, action opens on August 17.

Saturday Action From Scotland

Rangers battled back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 draw at home Saturday against Dundee United. Details from that game as well as other Scotish Premier League action can be found here.

Saturday's Ligue 1 Action

In Saturday action in France's top soccer division, Bordeaux opened its season campaign with a 2-0 win over Toulouse. Details of this game and other Saturday action can be found right here.

MLS All-Stars Top Chelsea 1-0

At Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, Dwayne De Rosaria scored the only goal in the 70th minute and Joe Cannon came up with several key saves late in the second half to lead the Major League Soccer All-Stars to a 1-0 victory over two-time defending English Premier League champion Chelsea at the 2006 MLS All-Star Game. Details here.

Time For Links

Here are links to officials websites of clubs that are in the third round of qualifying for the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League:

Here's the FC Slovan Liberec site in Czech.


Next is the FC Shakhtar Donetsk site, in English and Ukranian.


Here, we have the Valencia CF site, in English. Also available in Spanish and Catalin.


And here, we have, for your approval, is the AC ChievoVerona website, in English and Italian.

New Boss Man For Villa

English Premier League club Aston Villa on Friday named former Celtic and Leicester coach Martin O'Neill as their new manager. Details here.

Lyon Begins Title Defense

Sebastien Squillaci and Fred scored goals to lead Lyon to a 3-1 season-opening win over Nantes on the road Friday to begin their defense of their Ligue 1 title. Details here.

An All-Brazil Copa Final For The Second Straight Year

After last week's scoreless draw at Asuncion, Paraguay, Internacional went home to Porto Alegre, Brazil, and on Thursday, posted a 2-0 victory in the game, and a 2-0 win on aggregate for the two-game semifinal set in the Copa Libertatores. This sets up an all-Brazilian two-game final against defending champion Sao Paolo, with the games set for August 9 and 16. Details Here.

Lyon Preparing For Ligue 1 Defense

Five-time defending French Ligue 1 champion Olympique Lyonnais (known to one and all as either OL or Lyon) will open defense of their crown (and the entire Ligue 1 regular season to boot) Friday with a road match at Nantes. Details here.

Sao Paolo Reaches Finals Again

With their 3-0 home victory over Chivas de Guadalajara on Wednesday night, Sao Paolo FC advanced to the finals of the Copa Libertadores. They outscored Chivas 4-0 on aggregate for the two matches. Leandro, Mineiro, and Ricardo Oliveira each scored a goal for the Tri Colors. Details here.

Wednesday Action In UEFA Champions League Second Round Of Qualifying

In Wednesday action in UEFA Champions League second round of qualiying:

As a result of a scoreless draw at Moscow, coupled with last week's 1-1 draw in Moldova, Spartak Moscow defeated Sheriff Tiraspol 1-1 on aggregate because of the away goals rule. Next up for the Red-Whites will be FC Slovan Liberec, with the opening game to be played next week in Moscow. Details of the Wednesday match here.

At Tiblisi, Georgia, PFC Levski Sofia registered a second straight 2-0 win over FC Sioni Bolnisi to advance to the third round of qualifying. The Bulgarian side will next face AC Chievo Verona, with a spot in the group stage at stake. The first game of the two game set will take place next week in Sofia, Bulgaria. Details of the Wednesday match here.

Before the home fans, Rusian Rotan scored twice to spur Dynamo Kiev to a 4-0 pasting of FHK Liepajas Metalurgs to easily win that two-game set on an aggragate of 8-1. Details of the match can be found here. Next up for Dynamo is a two-game set against Fenerbahce SK with the first match next week in the Ukranian capital.

With last week's 2-0 home win in tow, FC Copenhagen battled MyPa to a 2-2 draw in Anjalankoski, Finland, thus enabling the Danish side to win 4-2 on aggregate. You can find the details of this Scandanavian battle here. Next up for the Lions is Ajax of Amsterdam, with the opening game of this two-match third round qualifying series next week in Copenhagen.

At Ruzomberok, Slovakia, it appeared that losing their opener 1-0 at Stockholm did not bother MFK Ruzomberok too much, for before the home fans, they defeated Djurgarden 3-1 to take the two game set on aggregate 3-2. Details here. Next up for the Slovak side is a trip to Moscow for next week's opening game of their third-round qualifying set against CSKA Moscow.

The three goals that Heart of Midlothian FC (Hearts) scored last week at Edinburgh, Scotland were more than enough for the Jambos to advance to the next qualifying round. A scoreless deadlock at Siroki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina locked up a Hearts series win against NK Siroki Brijeg on aggregate, 3-0. Details here. Next up for Hearts is a two-game set against AEK Athens, with the first match next week in Edinburgh.

Following up their 2-0 road win of last week, Steaua Bucharest kept it up in front of the home fans in Bucharest with a 3-0 whitewashing of ND Gorica to finish off the Slovenian side on aggregate 5-0. Details here. Next up for the Speeders will be Royal Standard de Liege, with the opening match of that two-game set in Liege, Belgium, next week.

At Skopje, Macedonia, homestanding FK Rabotnicki registed a 4-1 victory in their second match against Debrecen to dispatch the Hungarian club on aggregate, 5-2. Details here. For the winners, this means a two-game set against Lille OSC, with the opening match next week at Lille, France.

FK Mlada Boleslav and Valerenga IF Fotball battled to a 2-2 draw on the Valerenga pitch in Oslo, Norway. That enabled the Czech side to win the two-game set on aggregate, 5-3. Details here. Next up: a two-game set againt Galatasaray SK, with opening game next week in Istanbul, Turkey.

Goran Ljubojevic's hat trick helped propel Dinamo Zagreb to an easy 5-2 win over Ekranas before the home fans at Zagreb, Croatia, thus completing the 9-3 victory in the two-game set on aggregate. Details here. Next for Dinamo, a two-game set against Arsenal, with the first match next week at home in Zagreb.

After last week's 1-0 victory at Cork City (thanks to an own goal), FC Red Star Belgrade left nothing to chance for the return match in the Serbian capital, and they prevailed 3-0 in the game, thus taking the set on aggregate, 4-0. Details here. Next for the men from Belgrade is a two-game set against AC Milan, with the opening match next week at San Siro Stadium, in Milan, Italy.

Coupled with last week's 1-0 win on the road at Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, Ligla Warszawa finished off FH Hafnarfjordur with a 2-0 home win at Warsaw, Poland, with the Polish side taking the two-game set on aggregate 3-0. Details here.
Next up, a two-game set against FC Shakhtar Donetsk, with the first game to be played next week at Donetsk, Ukraine.

After losing the opener at Zurich, 2-1, last week, Red Bull Salzburg returned to the friendly confines of Wals Siezenheim Stadium in Salzburg, Austria, posted a 2-0 victory over FC Zurich, and overtook the Swiss side on aggregate, 3-2. Details here. Next for the Red Bulls, a two-game set against Valencia CF, with the first match to be played next week at Salzburg.


Third qualifying round matchups that were determined at last Friday's draw:

Austria Vienna vs. Benfica, with the first match next week at Vienna.

Hamburger SV vs. Osasuna, with the first match next week at Hamburg, Germany.

Liverpool FC vs. Maccabi Haifa, with the first match next week at Liverpool, England.

It's Official: AC Milan In Champions League

AC Milan will play in the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League. Details here.

Former Brazil Coach To Take Helm Of Bafana Bafana

Former Brazil head coach Carlos Alberto Perreira has agreed over the weekend to become the new head coach of South Africa's national team, to prepare them for the 2010 World Cup, in which South Africa is the host nation. Details here.

New Man In Charge For Argentina

Alfio Basile, who had a previous stint as Argentina's head coach (1990-94), has returned to helm the Argentinian national team. Details here.

New Man In Charge For England

Steve McLaren officially took over for Sven-Goran Erikkson as England's new head national soccer coach Tuesday. Details here.

Smooth Sailin' For Fenerbahce

On Tuesday, on the road at Torshavn, Faroe Islands, Fenerbahce of Istanbul completed their beatdown of B36 with a 5-0 fistbeating, thus taking their two-game total-goals set in the second round of qualifying for the 2006-07, by an aggregate of 9-0. The amateur side from the Faroe Islands, who played impressively in their first qualifying round victory over Maltese side Birkirkira (5-2, including a 3-0 blanking in Malta), were simply out of their league when they played the Turkish side. Fenerbahce was clearly a step up in class for B36. Details here. Next up for the team known as the Yellow Canaries will be a third-round qualiying matchup against Dynamo Kiev, with the first match to take place next week in Kiev, Ukraine.

Israel To Protest UEFA Decision

Israel will protest the decision by UEFA to move its European soccer matches out of the country. Details here.

Bruce and John, Together Again

The New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer on Monday, announced the hiring of John Harkes, the former United States National Team player and former DC United star as an assistant coach on Bruce Arena's staff. Details on the hiring here.