C'mon Barcelona!

Today at home in the Nou Camp - got to get 'er done against Arsenal!

Impending UEFA Crackdown on Big Spenders

The Times of London sounded the alarm back in November with this article and now it appears imminent that UEFA will restrict the big spending habits of some of Europe's richest clubs.

In a 60-page plan being worked up at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, clubs would only be able to spend only what they earn and not be allowed to take on large debts (and operating at a loss) to fund player acquisitions.

The entire effort is an attempt by UEFA president, Michel Platini (pictured above), to end what he calls "financial doping" – in which wealthy owners underwrite huge losses, and transition to a system where clubs can only spend what they earn.

These proposals, which UEFA intends to bring online 2012, will permit owners to fund losses for a transitional period but under close scrutiny by the governing body. Initially losses of up to €45 million would be acceptable in the three years up to 2015. After that, the number will drop to €30 million over the next three years, with UEFA finally reaching a point where clubs are breaking even.

It seems these proposals are intended to fulfill two objectives. First, the ensure the solvency of Europe's biggest clubs to ensure their financial survival in tough economic times and secondly, to level the financial playing field in the European game; bolstering competition and making the leagues more attractive to fans who are tiring of seeing the same handful of clubs win all the trophies.

While much of the attention in the English language press has focused on the Premiership clubs, the need for these new rules is most starkly displayed in the Spanish Primera, where club revenues average €72 million but average net debt is €860 million - the kind of ratios we're used to seeing in failing Wall Street banks, not big football clubs.

Will these new rules have the desired effect or will clever owners find a way to circumvent them, by (for example) funding player bonuses through advertising schemes, etc? Or, will the big clubs. with broad brand recognition, continue to outpace the smaller clubs in revenues and stay on top? Only time will tell but its obvious that you won't see much change on this until the 2018-2020 timeframe when the policy (if it survives) is fully in effect and operating through two full transfer cycles.

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.

Hull Ready To Match Fulham Offer For Altidore?

Is a bidding war starting for American striker Jozy Altidore? The UK's Daily Mail thinks so.

If this pans out, it looks like Jozy's value has already jumped by $2 million since last summer.




Special thanks to LFV reader Marc Sarchet for digging up this nugget.

So I Guess Chelsea Won't Be Spending Much This Year

...since Abramovich just bought a huge yacht for $550 million. Buying the world's largest yacht, complete with a helipad and its own submarine, doesn't exactly leave much money to buy Franck Ribery from Bayern - leaving the door open for Real Madrid to swoop in.

Dempsey Double Sinks City

American Clint Dempsey gave Fulham fans a nice Easter gift by helping his team to a 3-1 road win at Manchester City.

City took a 1-0 lead on a gorgeous shot from distance by Stephen Ireland in the 27th minute. Fulham looked to be on the ropes for the next 22 minutes before
Dempsey levelled to game at 1-1 by picking up a loose ball from Zamora in the 49th minute which the Texan easily stroked into the goal with his right foot.

Ten minutes later, Fulham's Dickson Etuhu gave the visitors a 2-1 lead pouncing on a ball just outside the area and slotting it in for his first goal for the red and black.

Fulham and City continued to trade attacks including a 61th minute Dempsey header being easily handled by Man City keeper Given. In the 83rd, Zamora laid off a beautiful ball for Dempsey who, now using his left foot, poked it high inside the near post to cement to lead at 3-1.

The win solidified Fulham's mid-table place in 10th with 40 points, two points north of 11th place Man City. Dempsey's 6th and 7th goals make him Fulham's leading scorer so far this year.

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.

Disgusting Tackle of The Month

This is one of the worst challenges I've seen in a professional match for quite some time; Newcastle's Kevin Nolan with a two footed tackle directly onto the right shin of Everton's Victor Anichebe.

Almost as bad, was the way Nolan protested to referee Lee Mason for showing him a red card. After the match Nolan's managers swore up and down that the foul was unitentional but a professsional should have enough control not to make such out of control tackles that result in basically jumping on someone's shin with both studded cleats. Its the kind of thing that is supposed to separate the real pros from hacks like the rest of us.

It looked like Nolan had broken Anichebe's leg below the knee but he seemed OK and played on in the 0-0 draw. We'll see if he does not have any nagging problems after toughing it out the rest of the way.

If the FA wants to protect players from similar tackles, banning Nolan for three matches would seem to be in order.

Scolari Out At Chelsea

Wow! It turns out Luis Felipe Scolari only lasted seven months at Chelsea.

More details here and here.

And who will replace him? Maybe big Guus.

Some Great Soccer Writing

As we do every now and then, its time to point out some of the great soccer writing out there these days.

Here is piece of brilliant writing by Rob Hughes on how after a terrible storm took the lives of four boys in Barcelona, the team gave the grieving city something to cheer about.

Also, this one is three weeks old but its still worth pointing out Brent Lathem's insightful article on Neven Subotic's decision to play for Serbia instead of the USA. Brent offers some perspectives few others have been privy to (including yours truly) which I've got to say has opened my eyes. So, In my humble opinion, Brent's piece is must reading for anyone who wants to know what happened.

And for you Liverpool fans out there enjoying the club's success after the doldrums of the 1990s, the Observer's Andy Hunter does a great job of examining the downfall of Kenny Dalglish in "The Day The Magic Walked Out Of Anfield."

If you want to nominate some great soccer writing you'd like us to feature, just drop us a line here.

A Few Things...

I'm sick as a dog today so here are a few things to tide you over.

DaMarcus Beasley is not ready to leave Rangers in Walter Smith's January fire sale.

In yet another sign that Fulham's Clint Dempsey is finally coming into his own, a London paper calls him the "One to Watch" in this weekend's match against West Ham.

And the nasty flu bug working its way around Europe appears to have hit three Hansa Rostock players particularly hard, including American defender Heath Pearce. The crud appears to be keeping Pearce out of training, just at the time when players are trying to prove themselves to new coach Dieter Eilts. Let's hope Heath gets well soon and can get back into the groove.





Get well soon Heath!

Benitez Blasts Sir Alex

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez comes out swinging against Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson's record with the officials.

Everton Eyes Altidore

According to the UK's Sky Sports network, Premiership side Everton is interesting in acquiring Villarreal's American striker Jozy Altidore. Check out the story here.

According to the article, manager David Moyes has no money to so they may have the idea to take him on loan for the second half of the season.

Alas, injury issues at the Yellow Submarine and Altidore's early season form have led the club to spurn the Toffee's offer - for now.

And watch this space because Altidore's growth in Spain is not just being noticed by Everton - FIFA just named him as one of the young players to watch in 2009.

Bocanegra, Rennes Draw Marseille 4-4 In Wild Finish

France's Ligue 1 got underway tonight as 19 teams try to break Olympique Lyon's 7-year grip on the championship. American defender Carlos Bocanegra anchored the central defense for Stade Rennais in a battle with traditional power Olympique Marseille. It did not help matters that going into the match, star striker Sylvain Wiltord had been suspended after criticizing coach Guy LaCombe in an interview with L'Equipe. At the same time, the club has been in the hunt for a quality central defender to pair up with Bocanegra, bringing in Lucien Aubey from Racing Club Lens in the last two days - too late to start with the team tonight.

Rennes got on top early with an Olivier Thomert goal in the 6th minute but soon found themselves under a Marseille barrage starting with a 12th minute goal by Bokari Kone (who beat Bocanegra badly in the process) and one by Hatem Ben-Arfa in the 14th. Mamadou Niang added one in the 29th to make it 3-1, which held going into halftime. Thomert scored again in the 51st, making it 3-2.

The Rennes home fans saw a wild finish thinking they had at least managed a draw when Marseille's Elamin Erbate scored an own goal to make it 3-3 in the 90th minute. Then, two minutes into injury time, Elliot Grandin thought he had the winner tapping in a goal to put the visitors on top 4-3. With injury time running out, a thrusting attack by Rennes led to midfielder Bruno Cheyrou finding the back of the net to make it 4-4 just before the final whistle blew.

An hour's drive away in Lorient, Andrew Jacobson did not suit up as the home side collected all three points, beating Le Mans 1-0 on a Christophe Jallet goal.

While Freddy Adu readied himself to face the Netherlands in Olympic play, his AS Monaco teammates faced Paris Saint-Germain. After a scoreless 78 minutes, Frédéric Nimani knocked one in to give Monaco the win 1-0.

The English Coca Cola Championship also started competition this week as Jay DeMerit went distance for Watford in a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.

Earlier in the week, Reading and Aston Villa faced off in a friendly featuring three American players. New signing Brad Friedel played the full 90 minutes in goal and made an impression on the Villa fans stopping a Stephen Hunt penalty in the 10th minute. The penalty was awarded after Marin Larsen took down Reading's American midfielder Bobby Convey in the box. Friedel could do nothing in the 36th minute when a deflected ball got past him for a Reading goal. A few minutes later, Reading's American keeper Marcus Hahnemann had to stop a John Carew header from tying the match.

Friedel made a few more key stops later before Villa equalized when Gabriel Agbonlahor slotted a cross past an onrushing Hahnemann in the 80th. The Royals start the Championship season Sunday against Nottingham Forest. Villa's other American keeper, Brad Guzan, is in China to play with the US Olympic team.

In another preseason friendly, Clint Dempsey put in an unremarkable 15 minutes for Fulham in a 2-2 draw with Torino.

Over in Germany, Hannover 96 opened up its German Cup campaign tonight with a 5-0 win over 4th division side Halle with American Steve Cherundolo going the distance at right back. In the 79th minute, referee Lutz Wagner had to stop the match for 10 minutes due to fighting in the stands and fireworks being launched onto the field.

A Humbling Weekend For Serie A Powers

You saw it on Italian newsstands everywhere today under somber headlines; Chelsea 5 : AC Milan 0 , Hamburger SV 3 : Juventus 0. Never mind that these were meaningless preseason friendlies in which coaches experimented with new players and different lineups - Italian football had been shamed.

AC Milan took its lumps in the Railway Cup tournament held in Moscow on an astounding four-goal performance by Cheleas's Nicolas Anelka. The Premiership side took the lead in the second minute on a Frank Lampard free kick, which Milan keeper Zeljko Kalac could not stop.

Anelka's romp started in the eighth minute with a successful long range shot then caught Kalac out of position to tally his second not ten minutes later. Anelka's two second half goals came thanks to assists from fellow Frenchman Florent Malouda, nodding home a cross in the 51st then tapping in another cross from the winger seven minutes later.

Juventus figured it would fare better in the Emirates Cup after just beating Arsenal 1-0 but a weak first half against Hamburg saw them dig a hole they could not claw their way out of. The unavailability of Jorge Andrade and other defensive injuries have left the Old Lady looking pretty old in the back. Some well-taken early shots by Hamburg were easily saved by Antonio Chimenti but a defensive error by Nicola Legottaglie in the 18th minute allowed Jose Paolo Guerero to slot a left-footed shot in for Hamburg's first goal.

An unfit Mauro Camorenesi tried to rally Juve in the attack but the Torino-based side struggled to support the ball in forward areas. An early second half knee injury to Juve defender Dario Knezevic did not help matters and Christian Molinaro also had to be taken out due to injury.

Nonetheless, Juventus looked more lively in the second half and Amauri nearly scored on an header which was stopped by Frank Rost. Later Claudio Ranieri inserted Vincenzo Iaquinta, who muffed an easy chance before Hamburg struck again on two late goals from Croatian Ivica Olic to make it 3-0 Hamburg.

It seems more than a few Serie A teams are still looking for defensive help as unfilled roster spots and recent injuries are depleting the back lines of several teams. Among those still looking for help in central defense are Fiorentina, Genoa, Inter, Lazio, Siena and Udinese.

Is Onyewu The Answer To Inter's Defensive Woes?

I recall during the 2006 World Cup when a colleague from La Stampa turned to me and called Oguchi Onyewu, the "American Materazzi." Of course this was well before Materazzi's incident with Zinedine Zidane during the World Cup final so there was no doubt he meant it as a compliment to the American player curently with Standard Liege. Two years later, I wonder if the fates of Materazzi and Onyewu may now somehow be connected.

Jose Mourinho has taken the reins of a powerful Inter Milan side which now finds itself in a defensive emergency just three weeks before the start of the Serie A season. Recent injuries to defenders Marco Materazzi and Christian Chivu have left the Nerazzurri with some big holes in central defense as they look to defend the Scudetto for yet another year. This has led Inter's president Massimo Morratti to back onto the transfer market looking for a solution.

The loss of the soon to be 35 year-old Materazzi is a particularly hard blow given his strong physical presence in the middle, which is hard to replace at this stage. There was some talk in Milan of an interest in bringing in Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvahlo, who played for Mourinho at both Porto and Stamford Bridge. This may not be so easy since the failure to seal a deal on Frank Lampard may have soured both sides soured on any further negotiations right now.

When you look at the transfer pool at this late stage, there is not much depth in the available central defenders. This makes me wonder if Mourinho may look to acquire Oguchi Onyewu not only as an early season stand-in but as a player to take on Materazzi's role in the future or better yet, to give him a sturdy physical partner to replace the often ailing Chivu. The new Inter boss had been keen to sign Onyewu in January 2007 during his last season at Chelsea but was not able to convince his club to spend the money at the time. Having been sold on him once before, could Mourinho now decide that the "American Materazzi" is at least a short term answer to Inter's defensive woes?

At the same time, if Chelsea did sell Carvahlo to Inter, could this open an opportunity for Onyewu at Stamford Bridge and give Gooch the Premiership break he has been looking for? Is Gooch even ready for either club?

All speculation aside, the Bundesliga's FC Cologne remains among the most interested in acquiring Onyewu for the 2008-2009 season. With 30 days left in the transfer period, only time (and money) will tell where he ends up.