Frank Lampard handed Chelsea the 2-0 win over Everton with a double.

Frank Lampard took responsibility for Chelsea’s fourth win in a row by scoring twice to win 2-1 at Everton today.  The 34-year -old England midfielder has been with the club since 2001 and has yet to be offered an extension to his contract ending in June.

Today’s win helps to keep the Blues in contention for the Premier League title race and also might give some hope the club will hold onto the seasoned Lampard.

On Saturday, Manchester United took their seventh win in eight matches thanks to star striker Robin van Persie.  His 90-minute shot, his League-leading 14th goal of the season, made the score 2-0 over West Brom.  United now have a seven-point lead in the standings going into 2013.

Arsenal dominated Newcastle 7-3 with help from a Theo Walcott hat trick.  The England national has refused to re-sign with the Gunners and there is speculation he will be sold in January.  In an attempt to change his mind, for the last few games, Arsene Wenger has allowed the winger to start as center striker, his requested position for many years.  He has been very effective, but is it too little too late will remain to be seen.

Manchester City squeaked out a 4-3 win over Norwich Saturday no thanks to Samir Nasri’s first half send off.  The thrilling match was a fight to the finish, but Edin Dzeko replaced the ill Carlos Tevez up front to score two plus the usual quality from Sergio Aguero helped City hold on to the lead.

Even after Sunderland beat Manchester City 1-0 last Wednesday, Tottenham managed a come-from-behind win over Sunderland in the 52nd minute thanks to a fine strike by England winger Aaron Lennon.

Other matches played over the weekend:

Stoke City 3 – 3 Southampton

Fulham 1 – 2 Swansea

Reading 1 – 0 West Ham United

Aston Villa 0 – 3 Wigan

QPR 0 – 3 Liverpool

He might not like being called a super sub, but Edin Dzeko helped Manchester City complete yet another comeback. This time against Tottenham Spurs. The visitors scored first in the 21st minute and the fact that City had more possession than Spurs didn’t really matter. Spurs had the lead until the 65th min when Kun Aguero equalized for City! Bot teams had chances to score, but it wasn’t until the 88th minute, when who else but Edin Dzeko, scored for Manchester City, completing their comeback. With this 2-1 win over Spurs, City is still undefeated in EPL. 

Some other matches this weekend included Chelsea v. Liverpool and Manchester United v. Aston Villa. Just like City, United also had to come back in order to win all 3 points. However, they came back from a two-goal deficit. Villa shocked the visitors (and everyone that was watching) by scoring seconds before half time. They doubled their lead just minutes into the second half. It looked like United was headed for a defeat, but they brought on Mexican forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez at the beginning of the second half and he helped United’s comeback. At first it looked like he had earned a hat trick, but the second goal was later ruled an own goal. Either way, United was able to come back yet again from an early goal deficit.

Chelsea players and fans will be disappointed that they weren’t able to get all 3 points  Sunday, especially when they had more chances and played better overall than Liverpool. Chelsea captain John Terry scored first for the home team in the 20th minute. His goal came off a corner kick, when he was left unmarked. He later collided with Luis Suarez of Liverpool and had to be stretchered off. Suarez equalized in the second half and with this draw, Chelsea and United’s gap at the top of the table widened a little bit more.

Here are the rest of the scores from EPL (Saturday and Sunday)

One of the worst soccer kits of all time? You decide

I think it’s fair to say that fashion and soccer are two words that aren’t used together very often.  Of course, there are some flambouyant footballers who have been known to defy the laws of fashion off the pitch.  But when they are showing off their skills on the pitch, what they are wearing shouldn’t really come into “play”, right?

Well think again.  I came across an article from The Bleacher Report where they ranked the ten worst soccer kits of all time.  Some of these kits, some of the worst in soccer history, are downright distracting.  And despite the fact that the teams are playing “the beautiful game”, these kits are anything but beautiful.

Do you have a worst kit you remember?  We’d love you to share it with us.  

Here they are according to The Bleacher Report:

Number 10: Palermo’s Pink Kit

I’ve never really had a problem with this kit, and maybe that stems from the fact that I am female, but I like to see a man, particularly an athlete, in pink.  Trust me, they get a lot worse than this.

Number 9:  Cameroon from 2004

This was actually a one-piece kit, yep you heard me, a one-piece jumpsuit of sorts.  It’s only redeeming quality was the fact that those shirts are so tight, you can see every ripple of their eight packs like those Superman costumes with fake muscles.

Cameroon’s one-piece kit from 2004

Number 8: Aston Villa Goalkeeper Kit 1993-94

The 1990′s seem to dominate the rest of the countdown.  Could it be that any fashion decade would feel under pressure when following the forgettable fashion of the 80′s?

Aston Villa’s poor goalkeeper had to don this dud for the 1993-94 season

Number 7: Arsenal Away Kit 1991

This is the team I follow, and I am familiar with this kit, but there are a dozen or more from Arsenal’s 1990′s that could have made the cut here.  This one is certainly a stand out.

Poor Lee Dixon sports the Arsenal Away Kit of 1991

Number 6: VFL Bochum Away Kit 1997

How did this colorful outfit pass the approval of the Club’s Board?  Still the 90′s.  Still bad bad bad.

VFL Bochum Away 1997

Number 5: Notts County Away 1994-95

The real beauty in this kit is not so much the plaid, which is awful on its own, but the addition of those horrendous gold stripes on the edge of the shorts (as well as the socks).  Yikes!

Notts County Away Away Kit plaid disaster of 1994-95

Number 4: Birmingham Home Kit 1992

For whatever reason, The Bleacher Report has the wrong photo, but I have it here for your enjoyment.  I mean what is going on there with that design and those colors?

Birmingham City 1992

Number 3: Norwich City Home Kit 1992

1992 was not a good year in the way of football kits.  This lovely number was dubbed the “bird-poo” kit which is aptly named considering Norwich is referred to as the Canaries.  Shocking.

Norwich City’s infamous “bird-poo” kit of 1992

Number 2:  Hull City Home Kit 1992-93

Like the Norwich kit in the number 3 position, this is another example of an over-eager designer too keen on using the nickname of the club as a theme for the kit.  You won’t be surprised to learn that Hull City is also known as ”the Tigers”.  Need I say more?  (Honestly, I would have moved back in the rankings, but these are not my findings so I will keep it here at number 2)

The 1992 Hull City Tigers need to change their stripes

And what you’ve all been waiting for….

Drum roll please…….

Keep scrolling……………..

Number 1: Mexico World Cup 1994

I think you’ll agree that seeing this spicy little treat was worth waiting for.  Jorge Campos had to wear this abomination as goalkeeper for Mexico during the 1994 World Cup.  Although Brazil were the Cup winners, don’t you agree that Mexico wins the award for the worst football kit of all times?

Jorge Campos was Mexico’s goalkeeper in this memorable ensemble in the 1994 World Cup

There you have it — the worst football kits of all time according to The Bleacher Report.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Share your own worst kits so we can compare.

It’s late and we know you’re probably watching the Sounders vs Chelsea in the World Football Challenge, so we’ll keep this one short and sweet today!

To kick off, we’ve got some news about Liverpool’s interest in poaching Clint Dempsey from Fulham. If you missed today’s MLS matches, we’ve got the highlights, including the Fire getting overheated in New York, and something that’s never happened to the Union at home! And finally, who doesn’t love off-day video footage of the U.S. Women’s National Team goofing around?

English Premier League

The buzz around Clint Dempsey’s next whereabouts continue, with ESPN reporting that Liverpool is interested in the Fulham striker’s services. The club is tight lipped with any more info than that and will not comment on any of the rumors swirling around about a loan of Andy Carroll:

“Clint is a player we’ve enquired about, it is as simple as that,” Rodgers said. “Ian Ayre, our managing director, has spoken with the club to see what the position is. That is where we’re at.

“He’s a very talented player but we don’t like to talk about other clubs’ players.”

The waiting game continues…

 MLS

The Fire couldn’t stand the heat today, as they fell 1-0 to the Red Bulls in an afternoon game in New York, where temperatures were well into the 90s. Thierry Henry provided the winner in the 70th minute.

Philadelphia Union dropped their first home international friendly to Aston Villa tonight at PPL Park. Villa will head to Chicago this weekend and Portland next Tuesday on their pre-season tour.

The Dynamo continued their torrid run with their unbeaten streak running to nine games now. Led by a brace from Calen Carr, they bested Sporting KC, 2-1, tonight at home.

The Revolution won’t want to return to Canada anytime soon, after falling to the Impact 2-1 today and remaining winless in the Great White North. Watch highlights of Sanna Nyassi’s go-ahead volley in the  67th minute.

U.S. Women’s National Team

We’re just one week before the kickoff of the London 2012 women’s football tournament and defending gold medalists USWNT hard at training in England. But it can’t be work all the time. The ladies took a break one day for a round of golf. U.S. Soccer captured all the hijinks on their YouTube channel.

Women’s Professional Soccer

A new women’s professional soccer league is coming in 2013 (so we hear…), but after the initial hype, the media coverage is bound to be pretty low. Equalizer Soccer’s Jeff Kassouf writes that the next incarnation of a pro league will have to do a better job of producing its own media — digitally — and looks to MLS as an example:

In 2009 MLS completely changed its digital strategy. The league dropped MLB Advanced Media as its platform and MLSnet.com became MLSsoccer.com, a change not only in name but in tone. (Read more in at nysportsjournalism.com.)

MLSsoccer.com suddenly became the online landing spot for news, video and written content covering not only the premier U.S. league but soccer abroad as well. Most interestingly, the site began to break news on its own league and feature content critical of players and managers. It was discussion, it was engaging and it’s drawing more eyeballs than ever.

Ciaran Clark plays hero not villain as he opens up the scoring for Villa

Tottenham Hotspurs had so much riding on this match today, but so did Aston Villa.  A single point from the final 1 – 1 score will give each a lift, but Tottenham needed more.

Coming into the match, Villa were only three points clear of the drop so any points gained today would help distance them further from relegation.  The West Midlands team had only won one of their last 14 league matches and have been winless against Tottenham since 2008.

In addition to today’s well-earned point, the Claret and Blue also got a little help from their local West Midland rivals, West Brom.  Albion also earned a draw today when they met up with Bolton, leaving Villa virtually safe from relegation. Even without next week’s results, the Villans have such a superior goal differential, they will most likely remain in the top flight for another season.

As for the Spurs, they are not fighting to remain in the premiership.  Their goal all season has been to qualify for Champions League for the first time in their club’s history. They have shown good form this season and spent most of it in third place.  They would have preferred a win today, but manager Harry Redknapp seemed content with the single point.

Spurs were down one nil at the interval and then early in the second half went down a man as Danny Rose was given a red card.  But Spurs held on and Emmanuel Adebayor made no mistake from the spot after Sandro was brought down by Richard Dunne. All tied up at the hour mark, the 10-man team began to look for a win.  But Villa continued with their impressive defending and clung on to the well-deserved draw.

The North London side is now tied with Arsenal while Newcastle is a point behind after losing to Manchester City earlier in the day. It will all come down to next week, the final week of the season.  Newcastle will play Everton away, Arsenal travel to West Brom and Tottenham host Fulham.

For additional information about Champions League qualifications and the teams fighting for those positions, yesterday’s Arsenal v Norwich City match report can explain the significance of at least the EPL’s third and fourth place positions for this season.

Arsenal defender Laurent Kosielny is in agony over his team's draw with Norwich today

Arsene Wenger was hoping to celebrate his 900th match as manager for Arsenal with a win over Norwich today at Emirates Stadium.  But the North London team failed to get the results they were seeking, gaining only a single point with a draw in a game they were expected and desperately needed to win.

With title hopes lost long ago, Arsenal’s primary objective has been to qualify for Champions League.  After today, the Gunners have 67 points and remain in third place.  Tottenham and Newcastle United trail the Gunners by only two points and will play some deciding  matches tomorrow.  The results from Tottenham at Aston Villa and Newcastle United against Manchester City may very well decide which team gets a Champions League berth.

Normally the league’s top four teams advance, but this season, third place is the coveted position being sought by Arsenal, Newcastle and Tottenham.  The three teams are focusing on the spot  because of Chelsea’s stellar performance in Champions League this year.

Chelsea is currently too far back in the league to finish in the top four, but they may be able to sidestep their way to next season’s CL.  On May 19th, they play Bayern Munich in the Finals of Europe’s elite tournament.  Should the Blues win, they  automatically qualify for next year’s CL , leaving only the EPL’s top three teams to advance.

The significance of Arsenal’s loss today – ok it was a draw, but they needed three points to solidify third place – is immense, devastating and just plain frustrating.  This was a team that were being discounted as finished in January.  Fans were asking for Wenger’s resignation and a general feeling of despair amongst the players was apparent despite the phenomenal performance by Robin van Persie.

The injection of Thierry Henry in late January sparked feelings of hope and confidence into a team riddled with injuries and poor defense.  After his departure, it was uncertain how the team would perform, but the squad seemed to gel.  Arsenal started winning, and not always at the hands, or should I say foot, of RVP.

The red and white North London team came back from the middle of the table and overtook their arch rivals, Tottenham, who seemed quite comfortable in third place for much of the season.  The Gunners have been on fire for most of the latter part of the season, that is, until the last few weeks.

Arsenal are missing Mikel Arteta’s play-making abilities in the middle and to be fair, van Persie has not been scoring a goal a game as he usually does.  It isn’t fair to be dependant on their Captain to consistently bail out the team, but the players couldn’t have done it without him this season and it shows.

Ironically, van Persie did score today.  He smashed in his 30th goal of the season, equaling Henry’s record with the club.  It looked to be the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute as his run met Alex Song’s clever pass.  The Dutchman side-footed a volley across goalkeeper John Ruddy but the 3-2 lead didn’t last long.

Five minutes later, Norwich’s Steve Morison leveled the game.  And in the final minutes, the Gunner’s couldn’t get past Ruddy.  He made a fine close-range block, denying van Persie who was looking to tap in the ball at the far post.

During today’s match, there were questionable pushes and possible penalty kicks that should  have been awarded on both sides, but the result remains the same.  Now we cross our fingers for tomorrow’s matches, of which the one involving Spurs seems most threatening.

The Spurs have never finished above Arsenal in the league and have never qualified for Champions League.  It will be a rough day for Gunners and Gooners alike if the Spurs win tomorrow and take third place.

As “a Gunner til I die”, I never give up hope so we shall see.

Wayne Rooney buries a penalty kick to give United an early lead.

After a shocking defeat to Wigan, Manchester United needed to take all three points in today’s match against Aston Villa in order to maintain their lead over City in the league table.

United’s lead of eight points was whittled down to two coming into Sunday, so picking up the maximum points was crucial.

Just seven minutes into the match, Ashley Young made sure the Red Devils got an early lead, taking a bit of a dive in the box. But he fooled the referee, who called for the penalty. Wayne Rooney stepped up to the spot and finished calmly.

Despite dominating the run of play for the rest of the first half, United weren’t able to find the back of the net again until the 43rd minute.

Ashley Young slotted a pass from the left wing across the box through three Villa defenders, and found Danny Welbeck waiting on the far post to knock it home.

Going into the halftime break, United were cruising with a 2-0 lead.

Villa looked dangerous a handful of times in the second half, mainly on the fast break. But they just couldn’t seem to break the United defense, and when they managed to get a shot off, David de Gea was there to keep the clean sheet.

In the 73rd minute, Rooney sealed the deal for the Red Devils, notching his second goal of the game, and giving United a 3-0 lead. The cherry on top was added in stoppage time when Evans played a great ball through Villa’s defense to Nani, who easily finished with only the keeper to beat. At the final whistle, it was a 4-0 victory for United.

The Red Devils now sit five points clear of Manchester City in the league table.

Stay with Aerys Soccer for all your EPL coverage!

Photo courtesy of Sporting Life

Italian and New York soccer legend Giorgio Chinaglia passed away today at the age of 65.

It’s been a busy weekend in the soccer world, and it’s not over yet. Today’s news runs the gamut from shocking to hilarious, sad to inspiring.

We’ve got an MLS roundup for you of all the action in this fourth week of the season, including several stunners in the Western Conference. A couple MLS teams revealed new alternate kits this week – one an homage to the past and the other a nod to the future. In more somber news, today we heard about the passing of an international soccer legend, Giorgio Chinaglia, at the age of 65.  And we learned about an illness that one U.S. Women’s National Team member has battled and kept secret for the last 10 years.

Giorgio Chinaglia

Sad news broke today for both Italian and American soccer fans with the passing of Giorgio Chinaglia, a legend with the Italian club Lazio and the North American Soccer League’s New York Cosmos, from “complications due to a heart attack.” Chinaglia was the NASL’s leading scorer with 242 goals, and remained involved with the club after its 2010 reincarnation. Here’s a terrific video montage of his career. R.I.P, Giorgio.

English Premier League

Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov is about to begin treatment for leukemia, but isn’t letting that discourage him. Petrov is taking inspiration from Fabrice Muamba, and has received incredible support from teammates and around the league.

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina was booted from his team’s match against Newcastle United today, over a controversial call that he headbutted an opposing player. Reina could miss the club’s FA Cup semifinal vs Everton if the three game suspension stands. Newcastle won the match 2-0.

Major League Soccer

There were quite a few stunners in the Western Conference yesterday. On a rainy night in L.A., MLS Champions L.A. Galaxy couldn’t get anything going at home against the New England Revolution, who put up two goals inside the first 15 minutes, then added the dagger in the 65th minute to win 3-1.  Meanwhile, in Portland, the Timbers came back from halftime deficit to lead 2-1 by the 60th minute, only to let it slip away to Real Salt Lake for a 3-2 loss. You can see all the goals here. And finally, the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Sounders in Seattle 1-0 behind a Chris Wondolowski converted penalty kick.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, it wasn’t so crazy. DC United and the New York Red Bulls rolled at home with United defeating Dallas 4-1 and New York cruising past  Montreal 5-2 behind a Thierry Henry hat trick. The Philadelphia Union are still winless after a scoreless tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps, and the Chicago Fire, who are undefeated (that’s not an April Fool’s joke) put their record on the line tonight against the Rapids.

FC Dallas revealed a new alternate jersey called the “Century Kit,” and it’s the first sleeveless jersey in MLS. The rationale behind a basketball jersey look on the soccer pitch?

“We wanted to be bold,” said FC Dallas president and CEO Doug Quinn. “This new jersey is exactly that and will help our players stay cool during the summer. It’s the best of both worlds.”

But Dallas isn’t the only one making a bold statement with their alternate kits in MLS, as the Portland TImbers are honoring the club’s history with a retro-style, environmentally-conscious new jersey:

 The Portland Timbers and adidas… unveiled the team’s official third uniform design for the 2012 season. The retro-inspired jersey is produced from 100 percent recycled materials and was designed and manufactured in Portland.

U.S. Women’s National Team

The U.S.A faced Japan today for the third time in the last nine months in the opening match of the Women’s Kirin Challenge Cup. The U.S. hoped to avenge losses to Japan in the World Cup Final and Algarve Cup, but managed only a 1-1 draw, struggling to maintain possession throughout much of the match. In case you weren’t up early enough to watch, we’ve got a full recap. You can also view highlights and post-game quotes from Pia Sundhage and the players, courtesy of ussoccer.com.

During halftime of the match, ESPN aired a piece about U.S. midfielder Shannon Boxx that shocked many with the news that in 2002 Boxx was diagoned with Sjögren’s Syndrome, and in 2007, lupus. Not wanting coaches or teammates to use this against her, Boxx kept her diagnois a secret for the better part of the last 10 years. Despite her illness, Boxx has hardly slowed down, maintaining her position as a stalwart, dependable presence in the U.S. central midfield through three World Cups and is heading into her second Olympics this year.

World Soccer

The news has been pretty heavy today, so here’s something a little more lighthearted. Poor FC Magdeburg. The German association football team hadn’t scored in five matches, so their fans wanted to make sure they knew where the goal actually was.

…just to make sure their players still knew where the ball should be kicked, Magdeburg fans brought oversized arrows to a game last weekend.

The also unfurled a banner behind the opposing team’s goal that translated roughly as, “Don’t worry, guys, we’ll show you where the goal is!”

Follow @AerysSoccer on Twitter for more reactions to all the weekend’s soccer news!

Forget about March Madness, we’ve got Messi Madness.  The man who seems to be able to score hat tricks at will has now surpassed Barcelona’s all-time goal scoring record with a whopping 234 career goals.  Also in today’s news we give you an update on Muamba’s condition, today’s schedule for some exciting table-shaking EPL matches, and much more.  Happy Hump Day soccer fans.  Here’s your daily dose of football news:

La Liga

The big news today is the accomplishment of Lionel Messi.  The 24-year old Argentinian scored a hat trick in yesterday’s match giving him a total of 234 goals in his career with Barcelona and 54 in all competitions this season.  The Spanish champions’ won 5-3 over Granada but the real accomplishment goes to Messi.  And with weeks left in the season to score more goals, will anyone ever be able to surpass his record?

English Premier League

Fabrice Muamba continues to rest comfortably and remains in the hospital after suffering a heart attack on Saturday during the FA Cup tie at Tottenham.  We will keep you updated on his progress here on Aerys Soccer.

While the Aston Villa v Bolton match was postponed due to their respect for their Bolton teammate Fabrice Muamba, the Blackburn v Sunderland went on as scheduled.  Blackburn stay adrift of relegation by pulling out a 2-0 win thanks to goals by Junior Hoilett and Yakubu.

There are some very exciting and well-anticipated matches scheduled this afternoon which could likely juggle things around on the very tight upper half of the EPL table:

Manchester City host Chelsea

Tottenham host Stoke City

Everton host Arsenal

QPR host Liverpool

Chelsea manager Roberto Mancini has announced that Carlos Tevez may not make an appearance in today’s big match against Chelsea.  Mancini would like to see the Argentinian cry baby make three to four substitute appearances before he is ready for a full 90 minutes.

Veteran EPL players Rio Ferdinand of Manchester United and Frank Lampard of Chelsea are on the short list as possible signings for Chinese team Guizhou Renhe.  The Chinese Super League is expected to spend big money this summer to improve their clubs.  Renhe is following in the footsteps of Shanghai Shenhua, who signed Nicolas Anelka this past January.

Rumors claim Roberto Di Matteo conspired against former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas in order to get him sacked and take over his job.  Di Matteo, the interim coach for Chelsea, denies the claims.  The Italian has led the Blues to four wins in four matches.

FA Cup

Understandably, the FA have decided to change the date of the FA Cup final match.  The match was originally scheduled to be played on the 23rd anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster where 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death.  Liverpool will meet either Everton or Sunderland in the final, now scheduled for April 14.

Champions League

UEFA have announced that the 2014 Champions League final will be played at Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. 

Serie A

Juventus advances to the Italian Cup Final after drawing 2-2 with AC Milan yesterday.  An extra time goal by Mirko Vucinic pushed Juventus on as the two-game series ended in a score of 4-3.

The 2012 LA Galaxy Season Ticket Holder booklet

Nothing brightens up a Monday like the delivery of a freshly printed booklet of soccer season tickets. My LA Galaxy 2012 season tickets arrived today, and throughout the Twitterverse, I saw posts about many other MLS teams shipping out their tickets too. The 2012 MLS season is just around the corner! Aside from the excitement of a new season, we’ve got lots of soccer news from around the globe. The USMNT players are dropping like flies, Kristine Lilly is up for a major honor, and lots of headlines out of the EPL. Here’s your Daily Kick Around!

Major League Soccer

The anticipation for the new season of MLS is mounting, as promos are rolling out and tickets are being delivered. We are now less than two weeks away from the first match, and if you somehow aren’t pumped for this season, watch this. I bet you will be after.

Houston Dynamo fans were hit with huge news today as MLS has banned Dynamo fan groups from bringing items such as flags, banners, confetti and drums to away matches. It seems the decision stems from some antics of supporters groups during the 2011 MLS Cup final against L.A. Galaxy.

US Men’s National Team

With four players now scratched from the roster for the USMNT game against Italy this week, a couple of guys were called in to replace them. Jermaine Jones, José Torres, Timmy Chandler and Landon Donovan are out, and Brek Shea and Sacha Kljestan are in. SI’s Grant Wahl is in Genoa ahead of the match, and has a few must-read thoughts on the team here.

USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has suddenly resurrected his Twitter account, and since arriving in Italy a few days ago, has been tweeting like crazy. Today, he send out a link to a podcast he recorded. It’s about 15 minutes long and definitely worth a listen if you’re a dedicated USMNT fan. Interesting insights into how Klinsmann and his coaching staff scout players, and how he keeps guys like Clint Dempsey motivated to achieve at higher levels.

US Women’s National Team

As a young girl playing soccer, I idolized Kristine Lilly. She was — and still is — my hero in women’s soccer. I was even lucky enough to take a soccer clinic with her at the helm when I was in high school. Her incredible 21-year-career is arguably the greatest in US women’s soccer history. Now, number 13 is a finalist for the US Olympic Hall of Fame, the only nominee representing soccer. Check out how to vote her into the US Olympic Hall of Fame here!

English Premier League

During Aston Villa’s EPL draw with Wigan this weekend, top goal-scorer Darren Bent ruptured ankle ligaments, and has been ruled out for up to three months. This is a huge blow not only for Villa, but also the England National Team who will be playing in the Euro 2012 starting in early June. Awful news all around.

Carlos Tevez is set to make his return at Manchester City — well, sort of. The striker is expected to make an appearance in the reserve league on Tuesday. This means he could be making an EPL comeback as early as next week, when City takes on Swansea.

Former Real Madrid midfielder Mahamadou Diarra has been signed by Fulham until the end of the season, with the possibility of extension for another year. Diarra has been a free agent since last summer, and hopes to restart his career in the EPL.