C'mon Barcelona!

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

Atletico Madrid Comes From Behind To Top Barcelona 4-3

What a difference a year makes!

Almost a year ago, seven goals were scored in the springtime Barcelona -Atletico Madrid match, six by Barca, one by Atletico. Tonight, seven goals were scored in the match except this time, four were by Atletico and three by Barcelona. Atletico's come from behind win against the mighty Barca will go down as one of the top matches in the Primera this year.

This year:



Last year:


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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.

Barcelona Takes Another One Behind The Woodshed

Yes, the magic is back at Barcelona as they take yet another Primera team behind the woodshed for a spanking. This time it was Real Valladolid for six whacks. Gotta love the Sammy Eto'o hat trick plus one. Check it out here one of our partner sites Goal Junky.

Other notable thumpings so far this weekend include Slovan crushing Zlaté Moravce 6-0 in the Slovenian Superliga and Flora crushing Vaprus 6-1 in the Estonian Meistriliiga.

Just like my first sandlot coach used to say: it is a sin, to let so many in.

Happy Birthday Jozy!

Villarreal's American attacker Jozy Altidore turned 19 today just a few days after becoming the first American to score a goal in the Spanish Primera. Chances are good that he'll suit up for this Sunday's match against 11th place Almeria and try to score his second.

As LFV (not to mention our readers in a recent poll) have mentioned previously, chances are strong that Altidore may be loaned out to another club in January (probably not Huelva). That said, given nagging injury problems in the squad, don't be surprised if he stays on for the entire year.

Either way, he has earned his way to the most golden opportunity any young American player abroad has seen in years (if ever); the chance to make a meaningful contribution to one of Europe's top clubs before he even reaches 20. All the while, he'll be able to keep sharpening his shooting boots on the way to becoming the USA's target forward of choice. It hurts not to see Brian McBride on team USA these days but every time I see Altidore in action, I know the pain won't last for long.

Altidore Scores In Villarreal Romp Over Bilbao

Young forward Jozy Altidore became the first American ever to score in the Spanish top flight yesterday, opening his scoring account last night in a 4-1 romp over cellar dweller Bilbao. His fellow New Jersey native Giuseppe Rosssi opened scoring for the Yellow Submarine in the 22nd minute before Bilbao managed to equalize five minutes later, a score which stood until the half.

Second half goals by Robert Pires and Santi Cazorla put Villarreal on top 3-1. Altidore came on in the 89th minute a scored not even a minute later to make it 4-1. He told Spanish sports daily Marca: "I am very pleased with the goal and with the victory for my side in such a difficult place as San Mamés."

Barcelona: They're Ba-aaack!

After a few lackluster rebuilding years, Barcelona threw down a marker yesterday to prove they are once again a team able to win the Primera championship. Scoring five goals in the first 28 minutes, they demolished Atletico Madrid 6-1 at Nou Camp last night.

Goal scorers were Rafa Marquez, Sammy Eto'o (with two), Lionel Messi, Eidur Gudjohnsen, and Thierry Henry.

Watch them all here:

Donovan A Better Fit In Spain

Now that Sky Sports has mentioned that Landon Donovan is interested in a move to the English Premiership, many are speculating on what it all means. My spidey sense tells me that his agent, Richard Motzkin, is just testing the waters to gauge interest in Europe and to send a signal to MLS that his client's price will be going much higher when contract renewal time comes in 2009.

If I'm wrong, then England is not the place he should be going - the fit isn't right. Landon Donovan is a technical, smooth, flowing player with many similarities to Germany and Chelsea's Michael Ballack. Ballack is one of the world's best players but he has struggled in the forceful English game where he seldom has a chance to put his best tools to use -he would have been much better off at Real Madrid. Andrei Shevchenko also has many similarities to Donovan and Ballack and his English experience has not fulfilled expectations.

Its not fair at this point to look back to Donovan's frustrations at Bayer Leverkusen and compare them to how he would do now as a 26-year old veteran pro. He is a different player now and he has an opportunity to choose his new situation more carefully.

If Donovan wants to challenge himself in European soccer, he should do it where he can thrive, not just survive. That place is Spain, not England.

Altidore Sees First Action For Villarreal

Villarreal got a good look at its four new signings, including American Jozy Altidore in a Sunday friendly against third division side Navata. The match turned out to be a 12-0 romp for the primera side and the club's faithful got its first look at Altidore before he departs to participate in the Olympics for the USA.

Yellow Submarine coach Manuel Pellegrini has indicated that Altidore will remain with the first team until at least January due to an injury to veteran forward Nihat Kahveci. Kahveci suffered a thigh injury during the Euro 2008 tourney while playing for Turkey and eventually required surgery, keeping him out of action for the first half of the Spanish season.

So, Altidore will have a chance to prove his worth as Villarreal faces a tough run of Spanish league and Champions's League matches during the fall. Regardless of how well he does at the Olympics, he'll need to work extra hard to integrate into his new club team after missing so many weeks of preseason training. Opportunity is knocking - will he be ready to answer?

Gooch Picks Up A Second Passport

Friday in Brussels it was made official that Oguchi Onyewu is not only a US but also now a Belgian citizen. His naturalization, along with that of Standard teammate Mohamed Tchité was, made official in the Belgian government's Bulletin of Acts, Orders and Decrees posted at the end of the week.

By picking up an EU passport, Onyewu makes himself more attractive to teams in countries with restrictions on the number of non-EU players which can be on the field at one time. In France, only four non-EU players can be on the pitch at the same time while five are allowed in Italy's Serie A. The Spanish Primera allows only a maximum of three.

Meanwhile, FIFA has sought to apply such restrictions throughout Europe, although the European Union has sued the global soccer federation, citing violations of European labor law. Regardless, by picking up an EU passport, Onyewu has now removed a potential obstacle to moving to a bigger club this fall.

Altidore's Loan to Huelva Looking Less Likely

Villarreal's new signing from the New York Red Bulls, Jozy Altidore, is looking less likely to be loaned out to Recreativo de Huelva for a six-month period. While the Yellow Submaine have offered the loan to Huelva, there is less interest in borrowing the 18-year-old American now that they have signed striker Adrián Colunga from Las Palmas of the Spanish Segunda (second division).

Now its a waiting game to see if Huelva will consider bringing on Altidore as well or if Villarreal can find another team wanting a shirt term loan deal. Otherwise, he'll stay with his new team but will have a tough time working himself into the lineup. The fact that Villarreal was looking to arrange a loan means that there was no place for him in the scheme this fall. Of course, he has a chance to change all that if he can prove himself during pre-season training which starts on July 15th. Opportunity may be knocking but the question is - will Jozy Altidore be ready to answer?

Brescia: Probably Won't Pick Up Option on Danny Szetela?

As most fans may recall, American midfielder Danny Szetela signed for Spanish Primera side Racing Santander in 2007 and was loaned to Brescia of Italy's Serie B last year. Part of the loan deal was that Brescia has the opportunity to buy Szetela provided they pick up that option by June 30th. Current indications out of Brescia, where Szetela made 9 decent appearances this past spring, are that the club will send him back to Spain.

For my money, this is good news for Szetela since Brescia seem to be the eternal Serie B team and he may find better options to get quality playing time in 2008-2009. At the same time, he should not feel too bad about Brescia not wanting to keep him since they have their eyes on (among others) Fenherbance's Stephen Appiah, a Ghana international US fans probably remember well from Nuernberg in the summer of 2006.

Of course, if other deals fall through, Szetela could find himself at Brescia a bit longer. Such are the rules of the silly season.