Soccer Hooliganism In Sweden

No wonder Saturday's scheduled Malmo-Djurgarden match was abandoned.

Heartbreaking Setback For Santos

At Curitiba, Brazil:


In Sunday Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A action, Marcinho's game winner at 90 minutes lifted Atletico Paranaense to a 3-2 home win over Santos.

MLS: Hoops Blank Visiting Goats

At Frisco, Texas:


Marvin Chavez scored the only goal of the match in the 26th minute as FC Dallas blanked visiting Chivas USA 1-0 in the lone Sunday Major League Soccer contest.


Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman registered his 12th shutout of the season, breaking a 12-year-old club record.


MSL STANDINGS:


EASTERN CONFERENCE:


1. Columbus (GP: 22; GD: +4; PTS: 34)
2. Philadelphia (GP: 20; GD: +7; PTS: 31)
3. New York (GP: 23; GD: +7; PTS: 30)
4. Kansas City (GP: 21; GD: +1; PTS: 27)
5. Houston (GP: 22; GD: 0; PTS: 27)
6. DC United (GP: 20; GD: -4; PTS: 26)
7. New England (GP: 22; GD: -10; PTS; 21)
8. Toronto FC (GP: 24; GD: -22; PTS: 19)
9. Chicago (GP: 20; GD: -5; PTS: 18)


WESTERN CONFERENCE:


1. Los Angeles (GP: 23; GD: +16; PTS: 45)
2. FC Dallas (GP: 23; GD: +9; PTS: 42)
3. Seattle (GP: 23; GD: +7; PTS: 38)
4. Colorado (GP: 24; GD: +2; PTS: 34)
5. Real Salt Lake (GP: 19; GD: +13; PTS: 33)
6. Chivas USA (GP: 22; GD: +3; PTS: 26)
7. San Jose (GP: 22; GD: -5; PTS: 24)
8. Portland (GP: 20; GD: -10; PTS: 22)
9. Vancouver (GP: 22; GD: -13; PTS: 15)

Roses Wilt In Ljubljana

At Ljubljana, Slovenia:


Dare Vrsic (44') and Milan Andelkovic (72') provided the scoring on Sunday as Olimpija Ljubljana came from behind to overtake visiting ND Gorica 2-1 in Slovenian top flight action.

Yuzo's The Man As His Double Lifts Antlers To Road Win

At Osaka, Japan:


Yuzo Tashiro scored twice in the first half on Sunday (38', 45') as Kashima Antlers came from behind to dump Cerezo Osaka 3-1 on the road in J.League action.

Red Bulls And Mattersburg Battle To Scoreless Draw

At Wals-Siezenheim, Austria:


In Austrian Bundesliga action, SV Mattersburg battled hosts Red Bull Salzburg to a 0-0 deadlock.

MLS: Galaxy, Dynamo, Crew, DCU Pick Up Wins

Six games were contested in Major League Soccer on Saturday.


At Vancouver, British Columbia:


Landon Donovan scored twice (61', PK-75') as the Los Angeles Galaxy erupted in the second half and routed the hapless Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0, extending their unbeaten streak to 14 games.


At Houston:


Brian Ching scored twice (23', 70') as the Houston Dynamo defeated the visiting Seattle Sounders 3-1.


At Kansas City, Kansas:


Teal Bunbury's 89th-minute equalizer enabled Sporting Kansas City to gain a 1-1 home draw with the New England Revolution, whose tally came courtesy of Rajko Lekic at 38 minutes.


At Sandy, Utah:


Early goals from Eddie Gaven (4') and Tom Heinemann (9') held up as the Columbus Crew handed Real Salt Lake a very rare home setback 2-0.


At Santa Clara, California:


Dwayne De Rosario came back to haunt one of his former teams as he provided both goals (57', 67') in DC United's 2-0 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes, their first in Northern California since 1998.


At Portland, Oregon:


Peri Marosevic (71') and Danny Koevermans (81') provided the goal power that enabled Toronto FC to erase a two-goal deficit and gain a 2-2 road draw with the Portland Timbers.  Eddie Johnson (23') and Jack Jewsbury (PK-57') provided the scoring for the Timbers, whose home MLS winless streak stretched to six games (the two draws during this streak resulted from Portland blowing two-goal leads).

World Football Challenge: Red Devils Get Measure Of Revenge Against Barca

At Landover, Maryland:


Nani (22') and Michael Owen (76') each scored once as Manchester United, fresh off their beatdown of the Major League Soccer All-Stars, defeated Barcelona 2-1 in Saturday World Football Challenge action.

Dinamo Zagreb Blank Cibalia

At Zagreb, Croatia:


Luis Ibanez (26') and Jorge Sammir Cruz Campos (86') provided the scoring on Saturday as Dinamo Zagreb blanked visiting Cibalia 2-0 in HNL action.

Goose Eggs In Queretaro

At Queretaro, Mexico:


Saturday's Mexican Premira Division contest between Queretaro and visiting Tigres ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Alexander Frei Brace Carries Basel To Road Draw With Grasshoppers

At Zurich, Switzerland:

In Saturday Swiss Super League action, Alexander Frei's second-half double (55', 88') carried FC Basel to a 2-2 road draw with Grasshoppers.  Frank Feltscher (67') and Innocent Emeghara (77') provided the scoring for the hosts.

CAF Champions League: Enyimba Gets Win On The Road

Three games were played on Saturday as Match Day #2 in CAF Champions League group-stage play concluded.

Group A:

At Garoua, Cameroon:

Enyimba International FC defeated Coton Sport 3-2 on the road.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Enyimba FC (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
2. Al-Hilal (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
3. Coton Sport (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)
4. Raja Casablanca (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)

Group B:

At Casablanca, Morocco:

Wydad Casablanca proved way too much for visiting MC Alger 4-0.

At Rades, Tunisia:


Esperance ST blanked visiting Al-Ahly 1-0.

GROUP B STANDINGS:


1. Wydad Casablanca (GP: 2; GD: +4; PTS: 4)
2. Esperance ST (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
3. Al-Ahly (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)
4. MC Alger (GP: 2; GD: -4; PTS: 1)

Winning Start For FK Metalurg

At Skopje, Macedonia:

FK Metalurg got their Macedonian First League campaign off to a winning start with a 2-0 home win on Saturday over Teteks.

Late Goal Salvages Home Draw For Sogndal Against Troll Kids

At Sogndal, Norway:

Ole Halvorsen's successful penalty kick in the 85th minute on Saturday salvaged a 1-1 Eliteseriesn home draw for Sogndal versus Rosenborg.  Mushaga Bakenga scored at 64 minutes for the visiting Troll Kids.

Copenhagan Atop SuperLiga Standings

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Morten Nordstrand (16') and Thomas Delaney (90') provided the goalpower that carried FC Copenhagen atop the Danish SuperLiga standings following the Lions' 2-0 Saturday home win over FC Nordsjaelland.

Slavia Drop Season Opener On Road

At Prague, Czech Republic:

Jan Moravec (25') and Milan Skoda (26') each provided a goal a minute apart on Friday as Bohemians 1905 blanked visiting Slavia Prague 2-0 in the Czech Liga opener for both clubs.

Rangers Get On Right Track

At Perth, Scotland:

Steven Naismith (31') and Nikica Jalavic (50') provided the scoring prowess that carried Rangers to their first win of the Scottish Premier League season on Saturday, 2-0 on the road over St. Johnstone.

MLS: Rapids Knock Off Union In Philly

At Chester, Pennsylvania:


In the lone Friday Major League Soccer contest, Pablo Mastroeni (35') and Sanna Nyassi (45') each tallied once as the Colorado Rapids defeated the Philadelphia Union 2-1 on the road.

CAF Champions League: Al-Hilal Top Raja Casablanca

At Omdurman, Sudan:


In the lone CAF Champions League Friday contest, Edward Sadomba's successful penalty kick at 63 minutes (already his third goal in group-stage play) provided all the scoring as Al-Hilal blanked visiting Raja Casablanca 1-0 in Group A action.

Late Goal Sinks Anderlecht

At Heverlee, Belgium:


Patrick Amoah scored the game-winning goal at the death (90'+3) as OH Leuven came from behind to knock off visiting RSC Anderlecht 2-1 on Friday to open the new Belgian Juliper League season.

Jurgen's New Gig

We'll see how THIS honeymoon lasts.

CONCACAF Champions League: Hoops, Morelia, Motagua Take Series Openers

The last three two-game series in the CONCACAF Champions League's preliminary round got under way on Thursday.


At Morelia, Mexico:


Five different goal scorers----Joel Huiqui (15'), Migueal Sabah (PK-63'), Joao Rojas (67'), Angel Sepulveda (70'), and Jaime Lozano (76')----each entered the scoreboard as Morelia blasted visiting Tempete 5-0.


At San Salvador, El Salvador:


Jackson Govcalves scored the only goal of the match at 70 minutes as FC Dallas topped Alianza FC 1-0 on the road in their series opener.


At Tegucigalpa, Honduras:


Motagua horsewhipped visiting Municipal 4-0 in game one.  Jerry Bengston (40'), Odis Orlando Borjas Valencia (57'), Amado Guevara (69'), and Mario Ivan Guerrero (73') each scored once for the Honduran club.

World Football Challenge: Fabio Lifts Juve Past Goats In Carolina

At Raleigh, North Carolina:


Fabio Quagliarella scored at 12 minutes as Juentus defeated Chivas de Guadalajara 1-0 in Thursday World Football Challenge action.

Bob Bradley Gets The Boot

Bob's fate may have been sealed with Team USA's meltdown after taking an early 2-0 lead over archrival Mexico in last month's CONCACAF Gold Cup final.

Europa League Qualifying

The third round of qualifying for the Europa League continued on Thursday with the opening games of the remaining 34 series.


At Wroclaw, Poland:

The opening contest between WKS Slask Wroclaw and visiting Lokomotiv Sofia ended in a 0-0 stalemate.


At Larnaca, Cyprus:

Gregor van Dijk (62'), Gonzalo Garcia (73'), and Tim de Cler (90'+4) provided the scoring muscle that broke open a scoreless contest and provided AEK Larnaca with a convincing series-opening 3-0 victory over visiting Mlada Boleslav.


At Ventspils, Latvia:

Bruno Mezenga scored the winning goal of the match in second-half stoppage time (90'+3) as Red Star Belgrade took game one of their two-match series, 2-1 on the road over FK Ventspils.


At Vladikavkaz, Russia:

Malick Mane's 11th-minute equalizer lifted FC Aktobe to a 1-1 game-one road draw with FC Alania Vladikavkaz.  Atsamaz Burayev scored at 60 minutes to salvage the draw for the hosts.


At Lviv, Ukraine:

With goals from Arlem Fedetskiy (34') and Andrei Voronov (90'+3), FC Karpaty Lviv blanked visiting St. Patrick's Athletic 2-0 in their series opener.


At Ljubljana, Slovenia:

Dare Vrsic's equalizer at 60 minutes salvaged a 1-1 home draw in game one for Olimpija Ljubljana, though Austria Vienna did gain an important away goal at 33 minutes from Roland Linz.


At Aalesund, Norway:

Aalesund blanked and demolished visiting Elfsborg 4-0 in game one.  Solomon Okoronkwo (5'), Michael Barrantes (56'), Peter Orry Larsen (72'), and Andreas Augustsson (OG-74') each provided a goal for the Tangoshirts.


At Tbilisi, Georgia:

Abdoulrazak Boukari (17', 31') and Jonathan Pitroipa (42', 70') each scored twice as Rennes cruised to a 5-2 win on the road in their series opener with Metalurgist Rustavi.


At Salzburg, Austria:

Leonardo's 75th-minute goal provided all the scoring in game one as FC Red Bull Salzburg blanked visiting FK Senica.


At Larnaca, Cyprus:

Thanks to tallies from Milovan Petrovic (71') and Krste Velkosi (82'), FK Rabotnicki got a big jump on Anorthosis Famagusta FC in their two-game series with a 2-0 victory on the road.


At Prague, Czech Republic:

Leony Kweuke's hat trick (5', 69', 90'+3) vitually assured Spart Prague a berth in the playoff round following their 5-0 game-one home annihilation of FK Sarajevo.


At Poltava, Ukraine:

The opening match between FC Vorskla Poltava and visiting Sligo Rovers ended in a 0-0 stalemate.


At Oslo, Norway:

Vieirnha (72') and Pablo Garcia (90') provided the scoring punch as PAOK FC shut out Valerenga 2-0 on the road in match one of their two-game series.


At Bern, Switzerland:

David Degen scored twice (33', 79') as BSC Young Boys defeated visiting KVC Westerlo in their series opener.


At Bursa, Turkey:

With Serdar Aziz (52') and Ibrahim Kaz (72') providing the scoring, Bursaspor came from behind to top visiting FC Gomel 2-1 in game one.  Still, Igor Kuzmenok provided what could still prove to be a precious away goal for the club from Belarus at 42 minutes.


At Tel Aviv, Israel:

Hapoel Tel Aviv dismantled visiting FC Vaduz 4-0 in game one.  The Red Demons were fueled by goals courtesy of Omri Kende (24'), Toto Tamuz (45'+1), Omar Damari (49'), and Elroy Cohen (82').


At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Alex (PK-37'), Hernan Rengifo (58'), and Dimitris Christofi (77') each tallied once as Omonia made things miserable for visiting ADO Den Haag 3-0 in game one of their two-match set.


At Dugopolje, Croatia:

Fulham held hosts RNK Split to a 0-0 game-one deadlock.


At Sofia, Bulgaria:

Late goals from Vladimir Gadzhev (89') and Sjoerd Ars (90'+2) enabled Levski Sofia to come from behind and overtake visiting Spartak Trnava in match one 2-1.  Ladislav Tomacek's successful penalty kick at 80 minutes still provided what still could be a precious road goal for the visiting Slovakina club.


At Alkmaar, Netherlands:


Pontus Wernbloom (64') and Johann Gudmundsson (8') each tallied once as AZ Alkmaar took game one of their two-game series 2-0 on the road over FK Jablonec.


At Gaziantep, Turkey:


Miroslav Radovic scored the only goal of the match at 51 minutes as Legia Warsaw topped Gaziantepspor 1-0 on the road in their series opener.


At Bucharest, Romania:


In a game that saw all the scoring in the first half, NK Varazdin picked up two potentially precious away goals in their 2-2 series-opening deadlock with Dinamo Bucharest, as Mario Sacer (43') and Davor Vugrinec (45'+2) provided the scoring that erased a two-goal deficit.  The hosts got their tallies courtesy of Adam Susac (OG-6') and Cosmin Moti (16').


At Luxembourg City, Luxembourg:


Olympiacos Volou are 90 minutes away from the playoff round following their 3-0 road domination of FC Differdange 03.  Andre Schembri (66'), Noe Acosta (71'), and Elias Solakis (89') busted what had until then been a scoreless stalemate. 


At Szekesfehervar, Hungary:


Jamie Hamill's successful penalty kick (45'+2) enabled Heart of Midlothian FC to gain a 1-1 game-one road draw with Paksi SE.  The Hungarian club got their score from Istvan Sipeki at 32 minutes.


At Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina:


Roberto Colautti provided both goals (47', 56') as Maccabi Tel Aviv took game one 2-0 on the road over FK Zeljeznicar.


At Bruges, Belgium:


With Bjorn Vleminckx (9'), Victor Vazquez (55'), Ryan Donk (71'), and Nabil Dirar (83') each providing a goal, Club Brugge dominated visiting Qarabag 4-1 the opening game of their two-match series.


At Mainz, Germany:


CS Gas Metan Medias, with Taher Bawab equalizing at 60 minutes, gained a 1-1 road draw in their opening contest with FSV Mainz 05.  Niko Bungert scored for the hosts at 31 minutes.


At Palermo, Italy:


Thanks to goals from Benjamin Luthi (6'), and Marc Schneider (56'), FC Thun will be heading back to Switzerland for next Thursday's return match with a more-than-fighting chance to advance following their 2-2 road draw in game one with Palermo.  Josip Ilicic (13') and Fabrizio Miccoli (90'+2) provided the scoring for the hosts.


At Stoke-on-Trent, England:


Jonathan Walters scored the only goal of the match at 3 minutes as Stoke City blanked visiting Hajduk Split 1-0 in the opening contest of their two-game series.


At Funchal, Portugal:


Mateus scored twice (18', 45') as CD Nacional dominated visiting BK Hacken 3-0 in their series opener.


At Madrid:


Jose Antonio Reyes scored twice (54', 74') as Atletico Madrid doubled-up visiting Stromgodset 2-1.  Oyvind Storflor kept the Norwegian club alive in the series with his away goal at 80 minutes.


At Herning, Denmark:


The opening match of this two-game series saw Portugal's Vitoria SC hold hosts FC Midtjylland to a 0-0 stalemate.


At Reid-innkreis, Austria:


Florian Mader (32') and Daniel Royer (46') each delivered a goal as SV Reid blanked visiting Brondby IF 2-0 in their series opener.


At Reykjavik, Iceland:


After spotting KR Reykjavik a very early 1-0 advantage, Dimano Tbilisi, with goals from Giorgi Kakhelishvili (38'), Alberto Yague (50'), Xisco (PK-61'), and Irakli Lekvtadze (67'), came back and blitzed the hosts 4-1 in their series opener.

Santos Blow Three-Goal Lead And Lose At Home As Ronaldinho Nets Hat Trick

At Santos, Brazil:


Ronaldinho delivered a hat trick (27', 66', 79') as Flamengo came back from a three-goal deficit on the road and upended Santos 5-4 in Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A action.

CONCACAF Champions League: TFC, Isidro Metapan, Santos Laguna Take Series Openers At Home

The opening games of three respective two-game series in the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League were played on Wednesday.


At Toronto:


Joao Plata scored twice (56', 72') as Toronto FC defeated visiting Real Esteli 2-1 in their series opener. Rudel Calero kept the Nicaraguan club in the series with his away goal at 80 minutes.


At Metapan, El Salvador:


Edwin Sanchez (65') and Allan Kardeck (87') provided the scoring that carried Isidro Metapan to a 2-0 game-one home victory over the Puerto Rico Islanders.


At Torreon, Mexico:


Oribe Peralta (29'), Juan Rodriguez (PK-61'), and Carlos Quintero (63') each scored once as Santos Laguna defeated visiting Olimpia of Honduras 3-1 in game one of their two-game series.

MLS All-Star Game: Total Domination By Red Devils

At Harrison, New Jersey:


Four goal scorers---Anderson (19'), Ji Sung Park (45'), Dimitar Berbatov (51'), and Danny Welbeck (67')---each tallied once on Wednesday night as Manchester United blitzed the Major League Soccer All-Stars 4-0 in this year's edition of the MLS All-Star Game.

Sagging Antlers Embarrassed At Home

At Kashima, Japan:


Heun-Ho Lee scored twice (80', 88') as Gamba Osaka broke open what had been a deadlocked contest on Wednesday and defeated struggling Kashima Antlers 4-1 in J.League action.

UEFA Champions League Draw: Benfica, Maccabi Haifa, Viktoria Plzen, Dinamo Zagreb, FC Copenhagen Take Series Openers

The remaining seven two-game series in the third round of UEFA Champions League qualifying commenced on Wednesday.


Champions Path:


At Haifa, Israel:

Maccabi Haifa, thanks to goals courtesy of Vladimir Dvalishvili (PK-8') and Bamidele Yampolsky (70'), topped visiting NK Maribor 2-1 in game one.  The Slovenian club stayed in this series, thanks to a potentially precious away goal from Marcos at 27 minutes.


At Helsinki, Finland:

Sammir provided the winning goal at 77 minutes as Dinamo Zagreb topped HJK Helsinki 2-1 on the road in game one.


At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Solvi Ottesen scored the only goal of the match in the 4th minute as FC Copenhagen held on for a 1-0 series-opening home win over Shamrock Rovers.


At Trondheim, Norway:

Vaclav Pilaf scored the lone goal of the match at 33 minutes as FC Viktoria Plzen knocked off Rosenborg 1-0 in the opening contest of their two-game series.


Non-Champions Path:


At Odense, Denmark:

Sebastian Leto scored at 47 minutes as Panathinaikos gained a 1-1 series-opening draw with Odense Bollklub.  Tore Reginiussen equalized for the hosts at 90 minutes as they avoided defeat.


At Liege, Belgium:

Nacho Gonzalez cheesed in the game-tying goal at 90 minutes, enabling Standard Liege to salvage a 1-1 home draw in their series opener with FC Zurich.  Admir Mehmedi scored for the visiting Swiss club at 79 minutes to technically give them the advantage heading to next week's return match in Zurich.


At Lisbon, Portugal:

Nolito (71') and Nicolas Gaitan (88') provided the goalpower as SL Benfica blanked visiting Trabzonspor 2-0 in their series opener.

World Football Challenge: Juve Top Club America At Citi

At Flushing, New York:


Cristian Pasquato scored the only goal of the match at 42 minutes on Tuesday as Juventus blanked Club America 1-0 in World Football Challenge action.

CONCACAF Champions League: Sounders Drop Series Opener On Road

The preliminary round of the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League commenced with the opening games of two two-game series on Tuesday.


At Panama City, Panama:


Roberto Brown's penalty kick at 28 minutes provided all the scoring as San Francisco FC took the opening match of their two-game series with the Seattle Sounders 1-0 at home.


At San Jose, Costa Rica:


A second-half natural hat trick from Jorge Barbosa (70', 77', 89') helped Club Sport Herediano destroy visiting Alpha United FC 8-0 in the opening contest of their two-match set, with the Costa Rican club all but assured of a spot in the group stage.

Europa League Qualifying: Bnei Yehuda Blank Helsingborg In Series Opener

At Tel Aviv, Israel:

Pedro Galvan scored the only goal of the match at 41 minutes on Tuesday as Bnei Yehuda defeated visiting Helsingborg 1-0 in the opening game of a two-match series as the third qualifying round for the Europa League commenced.

UEFA Champions League Qualifying: Rangers Drop Series Opener To Malmo

The third round of qualifying for the upcoming UEFA Champions League commenced on Tuesday with the opening games of eight two-match series.

Champions Path:

At Tbilisi, Georgia:

Patrick Wolf's equalizer at 78 minutes lifted SK Sturm Graz to a 1-1 road draw in game one of their two-game series with FC Zestafoni.  Nikoloz Gelashvili scored at 74 minutes for the Ferrovians.

At Panevezys, Lithuania:

The opening match between FC BATE Borisov and hosts Ekranas ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Slovan Bratislava held hosts APOEL FC to a 0-0 opening-match deadlock.

At Lovech, Bulgaria:

Michael Lamey (19') and Maor Melikson (76') each tallied once as Wisla Krakow knocked off Litex Lovech 2-1 on the road in their series opener.

At Genk, Belgium:


Late goals courtesy of Jelle Vossen (PK-70') and Marvin Ogunjimi (90'+2) enabled KRC Genk to take the opening contest of their two-match series 2-1 over Partizan Belgrade.  Nemanja Tomic's goal at 65 minutes could still prove to be a precious away goal for the visiting Serbian club.

At Glasgow, Scotland:


Daniel Larsson scored early (18') as Swedish champs Malmo FF took game one from Rangers 1-0 on the road.

Non-Champions Path:

At Kiev, Ukraine:

FC Rubin Kazan, with goals courtesy of Alan Kasaev (6') and Bebras Natcho (PK-68'), blanked Dynamo Kiev 2-0 on the road in the opening match of their two-game series.

At Arnhem, Netherlands:


Marc Janko scored both goals (PK-34', 57') as FC Twente blanked visiting FC Vaslui 2-0 in their series opener.

Djurgarden Blow Lead And Lose On Road

At Boras, Sweden:

Daniel Mobaeck (34') and Stefan Ishizaki (86') provided the scoring on Monday as Elfsborg defeated visiting Djurgarden 2-1 in Allsvenskan action.

Say Hello......

To the George Steinbrenner of Swiss soccer.  Is this guy going to change coaches every time his team loses?

Neuchatel, who were recently taken over by Chechen businessman Bulat Chagaev, lie at the bottom of the Swiss league after two games and two defeats, but took the steps to remove coach Francois Ciccolini, team manager Sonny Anderson and the rest of the staff who were only appointed in June.





If he owned Charlie Brown's baseball team, he would have already fired the entire team a million billion times over.

World Football Challenge: Citizens Win PK Shootout Thriller At HDC

At Carson, California:


In the lone Sunday World Football Challenge contest, Mario Balotelli's successful penalty kick at 20 minutes put Manchester City up 1-0, only to see Mike Magee equalize at 53 minutes for the Los Angeles Galaxy.  With the score deadlocked at 1-1 after regulation time, and with no overtime periods, the match went to the penalty-kick shootout.


James Milner, Vladimir Weiss, Denis Suarez, Aleksandr Kolarov, Nigel de Jong, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Joe Hart all made their spot kicks as the Citizens won the shootout 7-6 after nine rounds.

Grasshoppers Stepped On At Thun

At Thun, Switzerland:


Stephen Andrist scored twice on Sunday (43', 50') as FC Thun dominated visiting nine-man Grasshoppers 3-0 in Swiss Super League action.

Bulls Grab Three Points At Innsbruck

At Innsbruck, Austria:


Alan scored the only goal of the match at 50 minutes with his successful penalty kick as FC Red Bull Salzburg topped FC Wacker Innsbruck 1-0 in Sunday Austrian Bundesliga action.

Bhoys Blank Hibs In Edinburgh To Start SPL Campaign

At Edinburgh, Scotland:


Anthony Stokes (14') and Ki Sung-Yueng (63') provided the scoring as Celtic blanked Hibernian 2-0 on the road to open their Scottish Premier League campaign.

URUGUAY DOMINATES PARAGUAY FOR COPA AMERICA CROWN

At Buenos Aires:





Luis Suarez (11') and Diego Forlan (41', 90') provided the scoring on Sunday as Uruguay dominated Paraguay 3-0 to win the Copa America championship.  For the Uruguayans, pictured here celebrating following the match, this marked their 15th title.  They will take part in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, to take place in Brazil.


Getty Images photo

A Loss And A Draw To Start Season For Gorica

Beginning with the first two weeks of their new season, action from Slovenia's top flight, in particular, ND Gorica will be covered here.


At Maribor, Slovenia:


ND Gorica dropped their 1.SNL opener last Saturday 2-1 on the road to Maribor.  Etien Velikonja (79') and Dejan Mezga (PK-82') scored late as the hosts came from behind to win.


At Gorica, Slovenia:


Miha Gregoric's own goal at 63 minutes cost ND Gorica a shot at three points this past Saturday as Mura 05 came back to gain a 1-1 road draw.  Goran Galesic scored at 25 minutes for the hosts.

World Football Challenge: Man U, Galacticos, Lions Pick Up Wins

Three games were played on Saturday as the World Football Challenge continued.


At Chicago:


Wayne Rooney (66'), Rafael Pereira da Silva (75'), and Nani (82') each scored a second-half goal as Manchester United came from behind to upend the Chicago Fire 3-1.


At Toronto:


Yannick Dialo scored twice in the first half (13', 36') as Sporting CP, in their only WFC contest, held off Juventus 2-1.


At Philadelphia:


Real Madrid topped the Philadelphia Union 2-1. Jose Maria Callejon (2') and Mesut Ozil (11') provided the early scoring for Los Galacticos.

Tigres Come Back To Gain Home Draw In Season Opener

At San Nicolas, Mexico:


Hector Raul Mancilla Garces equalized at 37 minutes for Tigres as the hosts salvaged a 1-1 road draw with Cruz Azul in the Mexican Premira Division season (Torneo Apertura) opener on Saturday.  Javier Aquino Carmona scored at 19 minutes for the visiting Mexico City club.

MLS: Crew, SKC, RSL, Goats Ring Up Wins

Six games were played in Major League Soccer on Saturday.


At Harrison, New Jersey:


Juan Agudelo (39') and Thierry Henry (85') provided the scoring that lifted the New York Red Bulls to a 2-2 home draw with FC Dallas.  Marvin Chavez provided both goals (51', 78') for the Hoops.


At Columbus, Ohio:


Eddie Gaven scored the lone goal of the match in the 79th minute as the Columbus Crew blanked the visiting Portland Timbers 1-0.


At Kansas City, Kansas:


Doubles courtesy of Kei Kamara (28', 34') and Omar Bravo (36', 65') enabled Sporting Kansas City to double up visiting Toronto FC 4-2.


At Commerce City, Colorado:


Shalrie Joseph's successful penalty kick in the 90th minute lifted the New England Revolution to a 2-2 road draw with the Colorado Rapids.  Benny Feilhaber scored earlier for the Revs at 24 minutes.  Caleb Foran (PK-65') and Kosuke Kumura (82') each tallied once for the Rapids.


At Sandy, Utah:


Alvaro Saborio (PK-62', 75') scored twice in the second half as Real Salt Lake busted open what had been a scoreless stalemate and ended up routing the visiting San Jose Earthquakes 4-0.


At Carson, California:


Justin Braun's hat trick (32', 40',87') provided all the scoring as Chivas USA stretched their unbeaten MLS run to five games with a 3-0 home domination of the Houston Dynamo.  The win ended the Goats' 12-match winless run against the Dynamo dating back to 2006.


MLS STANDINGS:


EASTERN CONFERENCE:


1. Philadelphia (GP: 19; GD: +8; PTS: 31)
2. Columbus (GP: 21; GD: +2; PTS: 31)
3. New York (GP: 23; GD: +7; PTS: 30)
4. Kansas City (GP: 20; GD: +1; PTS: 26)
5. Houston (GP: 21; GD: -2; PTS: 24)
6. DC United (GP: 19; GD: -6; PTS: 23)
7. New England (GP:21; GD: -10; PTS: 20)
8. Chicago (GP: 20; GD: -5; PTS: 18)
8. Toronto FC (GP: 23; GD: -22; PTS: 18)


WESTERN CONFERENCE:


1. Los Angeles (GP: 22; GD: +12; PTS: 42)
2. FC Dallas (GP: 22; GD: +8; PTS: 39)
3. Seattle (GP: 22; GD: +9; PTS: 38)
4. Real Salt Lake (GP: 18; GD: +15; PTS: 33)
5. Colorado (GP: 23; GD: +1; PTS: 31)
6. Chivas USA (GP: 21; GD: +4; PTS: 26)
7. San Jose (GP: 21; GD: -3; PTS:24)
8. Portland (GP: 19; GD: -10; PTS: 18)
9. Vancouver (GP: 21; GD: -9; PTS: 15)

Copa America: Peruvians Blast Venezuela To Finish Third

At La Plata, Argentina:


Jose Paolo Guerrero's second-half hat trick (63', 89', 90') busted open Saturday's Copa America third-place game as Peru overpowered Venezuela 4-1.

Winning Start To Title Defense For Dinamo Zagreb

On this blog, we will start putting up stuff about the top flight in Croatian soccer, concentrated on Dinamo Zagreb.

At Zagreb, Croatia:

Mateo Kovacic (26') and Ante Rukavina (88') provided the goals as Dinamo Zagreb began their defense of their HNL title with a 2-0 home blanking of Inter Zapresic.

Lions Held To 2-2 Home Draw By OB

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

In a battle of teams preparing for the opening contests of their respective two-game series in the third qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League, OB battled back to gain a 2-2 stalemate on the road with FC Copenhagen in Saturday Danish SuperLiga action.  Bernard Mendy (14') and Peter Utaka (64') provided the scoring for the guests while Solvi Ottesen (18', 40') delivered both of the Lions' goals.

TSV On Winning Track

At Munich, Germany:

In Saturday action from the 2.Bundesliga, Stefan Aigner scored the winning goal at 56 minutes as TSV Munich 1860 defeated visiting Karlsruher SC 2-1.

More Struggles For Antlers

At Kashiwa, Japan:

In Saturday J.League action, Leandro Domingues scored the winning goal at 80 minutes as Kashiwa Reysol found themselves in second place in the league standings following their 2-1 win over visiting Kashima Antlers.

Rangers Held To 1-1 Home Deadlock In Season Opener

At Glasgow, Scotland:

Steven Naismith's equalizer at 58 minutes enabled Rangers to salvage a 1-1 home draw with Heart of Midlothian on Saturday in the Scottish Premier League season opener for both clubs.  David Obua scored at 16 minutes for Hearts.