Heath Pearce Lands In.............Turkey!

American international Heath Pearce has signed for Turkish First Division side Bursaspor (just south of Istanbul).

The Gators are currently in fifth place on seven points after the first four matches of the season.


For more details, check out LFV pal Greg Seltzer's report over on his blog No Short Corners.

Rumor Links Donovan To Paris Saint-Germain

You've probably heard the rumor by now that the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan has been linked to Paris Saint-Germain. What you probably haven't heard is that virtually every report (including this one) is just a recap of a blurb from French website 10 Sport.

But even 10 Sport only mentions that he is about to be engaged with the club (which could mean talks have begun), a far cry from being close to a signing - assuming this rumor has any truth to it.




A move to the French league, even if its just a loan for one season, would probably be a good way for Donovan to stay tuned up for next year's World Cup. After seeing how effective Charlie Davies has been at Sochaux, there may be other French teams now interested in signing one of the available US strikers. All that said, until you see another original news source or a quote from someone in Donovan's camp, don't hold your breath.

Altidore Gets Work Permit: Ready To Help Hull

Its official!

American striker Jozy Altidore has finally received his UK work permit and will be able to join Premiership side Hull, which opens the season this weekend against Bolton.

Beckham's First Red Card in MLS

And to think he had the guff to criticize the referee for this sloppy studs-up challenge on Pete Vagenas:

Kenny Cooper Passes 1860 Physical

FC Dallas striker Kenny Cooper's transfer to 1860 Munich is now complete.

The final hurdle was passing his medical today, which makes him available for 1860's first match of the 2nd Bundesliga season Sunday against Koblenz.

Meanwhile, LFV pal Greg Seltzer has cleared up the latest Freddy Adu rumor.

Beckham Fine: A Whole $1000 MLS? Really?

So, MLS has decided to fine David Beckham a whopping $1,000 for taking the bait from jeering fans and exchanging words and gestures with them (of a less-than-gentlemanly nature).

I for one am glad to see this kind of passion coming from these MLS fans, who care enough about their club to be bothered by the way Beckham has disrespected the Galaxy over the past year. At the same time, its nice to see Beck's lacing up his "I-give-a-crap" boots for a change (glad they got packed in the luggage from Milan). How about more of that fire this year David, especially since you've missed 17 games and you're all rested up from your vacation with the Mrs? With Da Bruce at the helm and the Galaxy firing on all cylinders, how about winning a trophy or two?

All this said, if MLS wants to fine a player for misconduct, it should be commensurate with their salary in order to send the right message. A $1,000 fine sure packs a punch on those young players who are living in their cars (since their salary already puts them below the poverty level) but for Becks, come on. He can probably find that much loose change under the cushions of his couch.

Then again, if Beckham is half the cheapskate Donovan seemed to indicate in Grant Wahl's new book, perhaps MLS knew what it was doing on the level of the fine. But on whether he should have been fined in the first place, I'm not sure Becks, nor the fans (except the one who jumped down from the stands), really crossed the line.

The more you look at the videos, the more you see that this was nothing more than the kind of exchanges you see between fans and players in stadiums all over the world. We're seeing electric atmospheres in places like Seattle and Columbus (to name a few) so let's hope the league does not stifle the spirit they've worked so hard to build. This entire episode leaves me asking the same question LFV pal Phil Schoen asked recently; Is MLS Ready For The Passion?

MLS Fines Ching For Twitter Comment

With the number of professional players using Facebook and Twitter these days, it was inevitable that a player would get into hot water for making certain comments on these social media sites.

Houston Dynamo striker Brian Ching is now the first to be fined after criticizing a referee on his Twitter page during a recent match against the Sounders.

More details here.

Classic: Politi on Beckham

With all of the hoopla surrounding Beckham's (reluctant) return to the LA Galaxy, here is one observer who can see through the smoke and call this one like it is.

Thanks to New Jersey reader Marc S. for passing this one along.

Szetela To DC united

Midfielder joins. D.C. after two years in Spain, Italy

Washington, D.C. (July 15, 2009) - D.C. United today acquired midfielder Danny Szetela via its #2 allocation ranking. Szetela joins the Black-and-Red after spending two-plus years in Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie B. The 22-year old is currently with the team and will be available for selection upon receipt of his International Transfer Certificate. He is not expected to be available when United takes on the Colorado Rapids at RFK Stadium this Saturday (8 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet).

“We are pleased that Danny has decided to return to MLS and that he is now part of D.C. United,” said General Manager Dave Kasper. “He is a talented young player who now has some terrific international experience including two years playing in Italy and Spain, as well as all of his time at the U.S. Olympic, U-20 and U-17 National Team levels. Danny is very versatile and will compete for regular playing time in a number of spots on the field. We look forward to his future contributions to our club.”

Szetela originally joined Major League Soccer in 2004, when he was allocated to the Columbus Crew at just 17-years old. Over four seasons with the Crew (2004-07), the midfielder played in 34 games (24 starts), collecting three assists. In August of 2007, Szetela was signed by Racing Santander of Spain’s La Liga and in July of 2008, he was transferred to Brescia Calcio of Italy’s Serie B. While with Brescia for parts of the last two seasons, the Clifton, NJ native played in 26 games, tallying a goal and two assists.

Szetela has earned three caps as a member of the full U.S. Men’s National Team, which includes playing in two FIFA World Cup qualifying games last year. His first cap with the full national team came on October 17, 2007 against Switzerland, setting up the game’s lone goal in the 1-0 win.

The 5-foot, 11-inch midfielder has a long history playing with the U.S. youth national teams, as well, seeing time with the U.S. at the U-14, U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels.
Last year as a part of the U.S. U-23 side, Szetela played in two games (one start) at the Bejing 2008 Olympic Games. All told with the U-23s in 2008, Szetela played in four games (one start).

As a part of the U.S. U-20 National Team in 2007, Szetela scored three goals in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada, starting each of the team’s five games. In all, he played in ten games (all starts), scored three goals and assisted on two others with the U-20s in 2007. In 2005, at the FIFA World Youth Championship in Holland, he played in two games with the U-20s. He played in a total of six international games in 2005 with the U-20s.

As a 15-year old, Szetela joined the U.S. Residency Program in September of 2002, finishing the year with 23 appearances (17 starts). He was the second-youngest player on the 2005 Under-17 World Championship roster, starting all four matches of the World Championship, and helping the U.S. to a fifth-place finish.

Wahl's Book: ESPN Paid For "Beckham Infomercial"

The steady release of excerpts from Grant Wahl's forthcoming book "The Beckham Experiment" continues to stir interest (and no doubt pre-orders on Amazon) as more behind-the-scenes details from his tumultuous time in LA emerge.

The latest tidbit, that ESPN paid Beckham's management company to produce a one-hour special on Beckham sounds even more crass than the previous charge that Becks was a cheapskate.

Wahl, a guy who works his butt off to develop his stories, called it "checkbook journalism," and he's 100% right.

Galaxy Acquire Trinidad International Chris Birchall

CARSON, Calif. (Wednesday, July 8, 2009) – The LA Galaxy today agreed to terms with Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Chris Birchall. The 25-year-old received his P1 Visa on Monday and will officially be added to the club’s roster upon the receipt of his International Transfer Clearance (ITC), which cannot happen until the transfer window re-opens on Wednesday, July 15. Therefore, the first game for which Birchall will be eligible to play for the club is July 16 at New York . Per team and league regulations, details of the contract were not released.

“Chris is a player that I’ve tracked for a number of years,” Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena said. “He is an experienced midfielder with good qualities on both sides of the ball who I feel he will be able to contribute immediately as we push for a playoff position.”

Prior to joining the Galaxy, Birchall had spent his entire club career in the England with the exception of a short loan stint in Scotland during the 2007/08 campaign. Born in Stafford , England , Birchall began his club career with Port Vale, playing nearly 80 league games. He made his debut for the club during the 2001/02 season and spent five seasons at Vale Park before being sold to Coventry City in August 2006.

Birchall went on to score twice in nearly 30 games during his time with Coventry City, while also enjoying loan spells with St. Mirren in Scotland and Carlisle United. In January 2009, Birchall signed a contact through the end of the season with Brighton & Hove Albion of England’s League One. He helped the club avoid relegation, playing in nine games in the midfield as Brighton finished three points clear of relegation to League Two.

An established international, Birchall has appeared 32 times for Trinidad and Tobago , scoring four times. Eligible to play for the country as his mother was born there, Birchall helped T&T reach the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the country’s first-ever appearance in the tournament. He scored in a 1-1 draw with Bahrain in the first leg of the two nation’s World Cup Qualifying playoff in November 2005. The Soca Warriors won the second leg 1-0 to book their spot at the World Cup.

Birchall played in all three of his country’s games at the tournament, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in each. This year, he has played in four of Trinidad & Tobago’s five CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, starting three of the matches.

Berhalter Leaving 1860 Munich For MLS

1860 Munich has announced that American defender Gregg Berhalter will be leaving the club immediately to continue his career back home on Major League Soccer (MLS). Berhalter's contract with the Second Bundesliga club was set to expire in June 2009 but the club has agreed to release him early.

This marks an end to Berhalter's long career in Europe after playing in the Netherlands, England, and for the past seven years - in Germany. Reflecting on his European career, Berhalter remarked that: "I had a very good and successful 15 years in Europe but the time has come to say goodbye and go home." He thanked the club for their understanding to release him early and in a parting statement to the fans said: "I had a super time here in Munich and I'm excited to start a new chapter of my life playing in MLS."

What remains unclear is which MLS team he will be playing for in the coming weeks as he starts a new 2-year deal with the league.

Berhalter made 23 appearances in the Bundesliga and 88 in the Second Bundesliga. During his stint at 1860 Munich, he made 73 appearances, scoring eight goals.

U.S. CLINCHES BERTH IN UNDER-20 WORLD CUP WITH 2-0 VICTORY OVER EL SALVADOR

BACOLET, Tobago (March 10, 2009) – The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team secured a place at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup with a 2-0 win against El Salvador on Tuesday evening in their final Group A match of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Bacolet, Tobago. The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup will be held from Sept. 24-Oct.16 in Egypt. The trip to Egypt marks the CONCACAF-record 12th appearance for the U.S. at the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the seventh straight.

First-half goals from Brek Shea and Tony Taylor combined with Brian Perk’s third shutout in as many games provided the U.S. with a 2-0-1 record in group play and the top spot in Group A. The U.S. advances to the semifinals where they will face the second-place finisher from Group B, which rounds out play on Wednesday night in Trinidad.

The kickoff time for the semifinal will be determined after the conclusion of the Group B matches. Honduras, who defeated Jamaica 4-0 in the other Group A game of the night, clinched second place in the group and also advanced to the World Cup. The other two CONCACAF berths will come from the top two finishers in Group B.

The U.S. finished the game with only nine players after Shea received his second yellow card in the 60th minute. Shea's first yellow came in the 26th minute after a foul on Diego Jose Chavarria. In the 60th minute he was shown a second yellow when the referee judged him to have tripped up a Salvadorian player on a 50-50 ball. With only nine players against El Salvador’s full squad, the U.S. was able to hold on for the shutout victory. Jorge Flores was sent off in the 84th minute on a straight red card for a foul that occurred away from the ball.

It was the first time that the U.S. defeated El Salvador in the U-20 qualifying tournament outside of the United States. The U.S. evened their record against the Central American side all-time in qualifying at 3-3-1.

“Even though we only needed a tie tonight, we wanted to be aggressive,” said U.S. Under-20 head coach Thomas Rongen. “We did a very good job in the first half of playing together and scoring the two goals. We played three tough games and put ourselves in a position to get to Egypt, which we did. We were able to determine our own fate in this game and I couldn’t be happier with this team as they showed a lot of character through some adversity tonight.”

The game started out at a high pace, with the teams exchanging possession in the early stages. El Salvador got the first good chance of the night in the 12th minute when Fabricio Alfaro unleashed a well-struck shot from long range that looked destined for goal, but Perk responded in time to make the lunging save.

From that point on, the U.S. took control of the game, forcing several corner kicks and winning dangerous free kicks in El Salvador’s final third, but it was a nice build-up in the run of play in the 30th minute that gave them the lead. Brian Ownby, who provided tireless effort down the right wing all night, received a lofted pass from Dilly Duka, cut around his defender and struck a driven cross into the penalty area. Jared Jeffrey dummied the ball to force El Salvador goalkeeper Diego Cuelller to over-commit and leave his net wide open for Shea to easily place the pass inside the far post. Taylor entered the game in the 20th minute, marking his first international appearance, and immediately created one of the numerous dangerous chances he would have on the night, flicking a header just off target.

Five minutes before halftime, Taylor had another opportunity and this time he didn’t disappoint to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead. Peri Marosevic slipped a through ball behind El Salvador’s back line and into the box, providing the speedy Taylor time to take a touch and look up before slotting the ball inside the far post. Ownby, who was named ussoccer.com Man of the Match, continued his spectacular play into the second half, creating two opportunities early on. In the 47th minute, Ownby pounced on a deflected ball and ripped a first-time shot that went just high of Cuellar’s net, and three minutes later smacked a hard shot that deflected off a defender and nearly snuck into the goal.

The two teams combined for 44 fouls during the game, but after the U.S. went down to 10 men in the 60th minute they were content to possess the ball and maintain the lead. With rough play continuing, the U.S. went down to nine men in the 84th minute and therefore played with four defenders, four midfielders and no forwards to close out the game. With 12 FIFA U-20 World Cup appearances, the U.S. has qualified more than any other CONCACAF nation, but has never won the regional crown. In 2005 and 2007, when CONCACAF qualifying was held as two groups at two separate venues, the U.S. has won their group. In the previous three editions in 1999, 2001 and 2003, the U.S. qualified for the World Cup as the second-place finisher in their respective group.

U.S. UNDER-20 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA 2 0 2 SLV 0 0 0 USA – Brek Shea (Brian Ownby) 30th minute USA – Tony Taylor (Peri Marosevic) 40

Lineups:
USA: 24-Brian Perk; 4-Sheanon Williams, 22-Gale Agbossoumonde, 2-Kyle Davies (capt.),11-Jorge Flores; 15-Brian Ownby, 8-Jared Jeffrey, 10-Dilly Duka (5-Aaron Maund, 82), 23-Brek Shea; 9-Peri Marosevic (7-Danny Cruz, 69), 14-Sam Garza (13-Tony Taylor, 21) Subs not used: 1-Sean Johnson, 6-Amobi Okugo, 18-Josh Lambo, 12-Bryan Arguez, Subs not available: 3-Anthony Wallace, 16-Billy Schuler Head coach: Thomas Rongen

SLV: 1-Diego Andres Cuellar, 2-Cesar Antonio Lopez, 2-Andres Eduardo Menendez (14-Herbert Arnoldo Sosa, 77), 4-Moises Xavier Garcia (capt.), 6-Juan Carlos Alas, 8-Diego Jose Chavarria, 9-Andres Alexander Flores, 11-Ricardo Jose Orellana (13-Irza Romel Santos, 66), 12-Mark Lester Blanco, 15-Fabricio Alfaro (17-Gilberto Arnulfo Baires, 70), 20-Jaime Enrique Alas Subs not used: 5-Alexander Enrique Mendoza, 10-William Antonio Maldonado, 18-Oscar Daniel Arroyo, 19-Jorge Luis Moran Subs not available: 7-Irving Arnulfo Flores, 16-Nelson Ismael Rivera, Head Coach: Jose Norberto Huezo

Rennes Fans Vote Bocanegra Mr."Sex On Legs"

You couldn't make this one up...

Courtesy of Ligue 1:

Carlos Bocanegra’s flawless displays at left-back for Rennes this season have won him many admirers, but it appears that the Californian’s surfer-boy good-looks have also not gone unnoticed.

The 29-year-old American has been voted the Breton club's most sexy player in an Internet poll, and to celebrate his victory, all female spectators at Rennes' match with Auxerre on Sunday - which is also International Women's Day - will be given an eight-page publication with photos and a biography of the USA international.

Donovan to wrap up Munich tenure and rejoin Galaxy in MLS

Bob Wagman has a great piece on Landon Donovan's return to MLS over at Soccer Times. Chcek it out here.

Arena: That's Madness!

You've got to hand it to LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena, who is not one to sit quietly and let the Beckham circus distract his new club any further.

Coppa Italia Shock: Sampdoria Beats Inter 3-0

The shocker in Coppa Italia tonight is the 3-0 butt-whuppin' Sampdoria just handed the mighty Inter Milan 3-0, with all goals coming in the first half. Samp is on a tear, having just put the wood to AC Milan, and now beating up on the other Milan team. Regardless of who the coach has been the past few years, Inter knows how to win the Scudetto but they always seem to choke in the Coppa.

The question now for Jose Mourinho's Nerazzurri is whether they can leverage this loss into the motivation they need for their Champion's League second leg match against Manchester United in Old Trafford.

Other upsets in European cup play tonight was Bayer Leverkusen's 4-2 win over Bayern Munich, which knocked the Bavarian powerhouse out of the DFB Pokal (German Cup). This loss is sure to put extra pressure on embattled Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann, whose team is making a strong showing in the Champion's League but not in the Bundesliga.

The fifth place Bayern, is only four points shy of league leaders Hertha Berlin and it seems winning some silverware may be necessary for Klinsmann to keep his job.

Beckham To Stay With Milan Until July

The LA Times' Grahame Jones is reporting that the LA Galaxy has reached a deal with AC Milan to extend the loan until July, when Beckham would rejoin his team in LA.

The agreement will give Beckham a chance to stay in England coach Fabio Capello's scheme while compensationg the Galaxy and their sponsors in the process.

Whether the Galaxy can improve over last year's embarassing run while missing its most expensive player for half the new season remains to be seen. I for one don't think he'll pull on a Galaxy jersey ever again. Don't be fooled folks, this is something akin to a separation agreement awaiting a final divorce.

Read more about it here.

Given how hollow Beckham's previous words and promises to MLS and LA Galaxy fans are ringing these days, you've got to wonder when the Rossoneri faithful will discover that his only loyalty appears to be to no one but himself.

Friedel: We Have 11 Cup Finals Ahead Of Us

Goalkeeper and new author Brad Friedel has told Sky Sports today that Aston Villa face "11 cup finals" in their quest for a Champions League berth.

After only collecting one point this weekend, blowing a 2-0 home lead to Stoke in the final three minutes for a 2-2 draw, Villa remain six points shy of Arsenal and eight from Tim Howard's Everton.

Friedel thinks both Arsenal and Everton will make it tough on Villa but he seems to think they can pull off a CL slot, telling Sky Sports: "You are always going to have ups and downs in a season. We have 11 games left and we're quite pleased with the position we're in. "We're not absolutely delighted with the position we're in because there are a few games where we have lost points out on the pitch."

"We have 11 cup finals ahead of us to hopefully cement a place in the Champions League. It's going to be hard for us, it's going to be hard for a lot of teams. "David Moyes has Everton playing really well, they are a very strong team. "We all know how good Arsenal can be and I believe they're going to be getting some of their players back. "It's going to be tough but hopefully the quality we have in our changing room will help us get to where we want to be."

Meanwhile, Friedel has released a new book entitled: Thinking Outside the Box: My Journey in Search of the Beautiful Game, which is already being reviewed in the English papers here by a writer who seems to think there is a MLS franchise in Cleveland, but who does a great interview nonetheless.

Bocanegra, Rennes Grab A Point At Lyon

Facing a home side bent on revenge for a 3-0 loss earlier this season, Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes marched into Lyon’s Stade Gerland tonight and took a point from the league leaders.

Rennes came out with a good measure of confidence, trading scoring chances with Lyon from the beginning . In the 12th minute, Bocanegra appeared to have given Rennes an early lead when, displaying an NBA-quality vertical jump, he out-jumped the keeper to put away corner for an apparent goal. Unfortunately, it was called back for a foul in the area.

Star Lyon striker Karim Benzema started after all but was effectively marked out of most of the match by Rennes captain Petter Hansson with no small amount of shirt pulling by the big Swede.
Bocanegra and Hansson both directed the defense well with Bocanegra also serving the midfielders and forwards with some clever through balls. Bocanegra also did a good job of preventing Ederson from sending any effective crosses across the Rennes goal.

Coming back into the drizzle from the halftime break tied 0-0, both teams played tug-of-war until the 63rdh minute when Benzema finally beat Hansson but then couldn’t beat Rennes keeper Nicolas Douchez. Rennes countered with a nice over-the-top ball to striker Jimmy Briand who muffed a golden opportunity to give his team the lead. Lyon then pounced quickly, thanks to quick and excellent distribution from keeper Lloris which was touched on to Kader Keita who then slotted the ball left to a criminally unmarked Kim Källström who cranked it into the Rennes goal for a 1-0 lead.

Rennes answered yet again with Briand being sprung by a through ball from Fabian Lemoine, finding himself once again one-on-one with the keeper, only to muff the shot in the 68th minute. Benzema left the match in the 73rd minute after suffering a sneaky hip check from Rennes midfielder Moussa Sow.

Both teams continued to probe and attack with Rennes shifting to a 3-5-2 in the 75th minute and Bocanergra becoming more involved in supporting attacks forward. Rennes applied good pressure on a tiring Lyon team from the 80th to 88th minutes and it looked like they would go home empty handed and frustrated by Briand’s missed chances.

But Briand finally came through in injury time, when a Lemoine long ball was flicked forward to him by Hansson, which he collected and fired home for a 1-1 draw. The result placed Rennes in 6th place with a total of 43 points, four of them coming against Lyon this season.