Hey footy fans and welcome to Thursday! As international breaks start, countries are preparing for the first of their World Cup qualifying matches. We’ve got news on the USMNT front, plus some headlines from MLS, EPL and … is Nicklas Bendtner too fat to play in Serie A? It’s your Thursday Daily Kick Around!

Serie A

It’s interesting to hear how some players adjust when moving to different leagues. They talk about learning languages and getting around local towns. But rarely do you hear about weight concerns! Apparently that’s what ex-Arsenal not-so-darling Nicklas Bendtner is dealing with at his new club, Juventus. He missed summer pre-season to look for a new club and apparently forgot he needed to stay in shape. Now Juventus coaches are pointing out his waist line is a little out of sorts. That’s the breaks.

Dimitar Berbatov may be getting settled in at Fulham after his trek around Europe, but not everyone is letting go the fact he teased so many clubs. Fiorentina are demanding Berba pay back the club for the plane tickets used by the player and agent Emil Dantchevto take them to Florence for a medical. Only … Berba didn’t go to the medical. Instead he landed in England to meet up with Fulham manager Martin Jol. Whoopsies.

Major League Soccer

It was a crazy night in MLS last night. The Colorado Rapids suddenly showed up and stomped on the Timbers, handing Portland a 3-0 loss. The New England Revolution found their form as well, breaking the Columbus Crew’s winning streak and nabbing three points of their own with a 2-0 win.

The 2012 season might not be over, but that doesn’t mean current league powerhouse San Jose Earthquakes are planning for the future. They currently have out-of-contract EPL left back Jordan Stewart  training with them for a 10-day stint. It seems Stewart might be a replacement for 36-year-old captain Ramiro Corrales.

U.S. Men’s National Team

Who’s excited about the USMNT games against Jamaica coming up? I can’t wait! While the team is now in Jamaica for the first match set for Friday, Columbus is getting prepped for the teams arrival this weekend for the second match. If you’re in the area, hit up Crew Stadium Sunday for an open and free practice session!

If you don’t know much about USMNT call-up Terrence Boyd, you need to check out this ESPN article. Deciding to play for the US wasn’t one of Boyd’s easiest decisions and getting the necessary paperwork to do it proved to be quite the challenge for him. It’s a great read and you should check it out!

English Premier League

Zenit St. Petersburg are still busy attempting to pull players in. And apparently Manchester United’s Nani isn’t immune to getting some calls. It seems the Portuguese winger isn’t too happy with how things are going in the beginning of the session and the Russian club’s general manager confirmed today they are in negotiations with Nani for a move.

Man, it seems like all we talk about anymore is transfers, am I right? Yeah, I know. “What do you expect, it’s the transfer window!” This is true, but still. All the headlines! If you missed any of the transfers today – and trust me, there were quite a few – we’ve got the headlines, PLUS the Champion’s League group draws. It’s your Daily Kick Around!

Transfers, Transfers and more Transfers

I could separate these out by league, but goodness, why don’t I just get to it. First up, the sudden and quick move of Marco Pappa. Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire announced today the Guatemalan midfielder was headed to SC Heerenveen – effective immediately! It was originally reported he wouldn’t make the move until the end of the Fire’s season.

And yes, my Liverpool friends, what you feared was going to happen has indeed happened. LFC announced this afternoon Andy Carroll will be making a season-long loan move to West Ham. The club aren’t saying if West Ham can buy the striker after the season, but the general feel is if they wanted him, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers would be willing to part with him.

Welp, Dimitar Berbatov is finally done jetting around Europe. After a rather whirl-wind week, Fulham have made a bid and United accepted. The Bulgarian striker will head to Fulham on a 5 million pound deal. With this transfer sealed, one has to wonder if Clint Dempsey is FINALLY close to being able to pack his bags up and head out to a new club.

The transfer that I was the most shocked about today came from Real Madrid. I admit, I haven’t been following the transfer news out of the league too closely, but the one that I was waiting on was Kaka. Not Esteban Granero! Imagine my surprise when I read the Spanish midfielder had signed for Queens Park Rangers! Interesting, indeed!

Major League Soccer

Another little jaw-dropping tid bit of information today was from MLS’ Chivas USA. Early this afternoon, the club released a statement confirming general manager Jose Domene. This announcement comes about 24 hours after Jorge Vergara and Angélica Fuentes acquired complete ownership of Chivas USA.

Also raising some eyebrows in the American league this week was former D.C. United player Bryan Namoff, who is suing the club, former coach Thomas Soehn and others for not properly treating him after he suffered a concussion that would go on to end his career.

Champion’s League

Well I can’t believe I’m typing this, but it’s already time to start talking about the Champion’s League!! The group draw was today and offered up some surprises. Check out the group lists and more here! 

Photo courtesy of sportinglife.com.

Good Thursday morning to you all! I don’t know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but for me it’s beautiful, spring soccer weather! Today we’ve got the news from the CONCACAF Champion’s League games last night, the MLS power rankings, where Jose Mourinho might be next season and tragic news about Eric Abidal. Here’s your Thursday Daily Kick Around!

CONCACAF Champion’s League

Well, well, if things aren’t a bit interesting already in the CCL! Seattle squared off with Santos Laguna and let’s just say Santos apparently were there to prove a point, along with USMNT forward Herculez Gomez. The Mexican side squashed the Sounders 6-1.  “If this was a boxing match, they would have knocked us out,”  Sounders Head Coach Sigi Schmid said. And he would have been right.

And they weren’t the only shocker last night. LA Galaxy hosted Toronto FC and let’s just say, the boys from LA showed again they are a team that can be beat. It looks like the back line is still the biggest trouble for the Galaxy. You can check out the highlights from the match here.

MLS Kick Off also has a ton of links concerning both games for all the information you could ever want!

Major League Soccer

The Montreal Impact might have lost their season opener to Vancouver this weekend, but clearly they aren’t thinking negatively. They are still building their team, and today they announced they would sign Italian Veteran Bernardo Carradi to their roster.

Now that we have First Kick out of the way, it’s time for that nice little thing called the power rankings. Real Salt Lake have taken the top after their impressive showing against LA and the Montreal Impact find themselves still at the bottom. But it’s only the beginning folks!

English Premier League

For once, it’s not a player’s miscue that is causing a ruckus, but none other than Premier League chairman Dave Richards. He took aim at FIFA, stating the governing body of world soccer stole the game from England.

“Then, 50 years later, some guy came along and said you’re liars and they actually stole it. It was called FIFA. Fifty years later, another gang came along called UEFA and stole a bit more.”

He  had to offer up an embarrassing apology for his words. But you have to kind of feel for him too; apparently while at the event where he had made his comments, he accidentally stepped in a pool and fell, hurting himself badly. Talk about adding injury to insult.

Okay, this saddens me a bit. According to Sir Alex Ferguson, Dimitar Berbatov is on his way out of Manchester United. And who could really blame him? Over the past two seasons, we haven’t really seen a lot of Berba in the line up. This does make me a bit sad because he was a top notch player and a great goal scorer for the Red Devils.

U.S. Men’s National Team

After making his debut for Leeds United a few weeks back and suffering a concussion, US international Robbie Rogers was back on the pitch for Leeds United Tuesday in a friendly match with Carlisle United. Rogers not only played 90 minutes, but he also scored a goal.

UEFA Champion’s League

Now that Real Madrid and Chelsea (which is a wonder in itself) are through to the next round of the Champion’s League, RM boss Jose Mourinho said he would “love” to face off with his old EPL club in CL final. What do you guys think? Can Chelsea, or Real for that matter, get to the final?

La Liga

Speaking of “The Special One,” rumors have been running rampant that Jose will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and possibly return to England to take up another English team. However, he was quoted in the Daily Mail last week stating he would extend his contract with the Spanish club. Sounds like good news for Real fans!

Finally, our thoughts and prayers are with Barcelona’s Eric Abidal as it was announced today he would need a liver transplant. Last year, the French international underwent surgery after a tumor was discovered on his liver. We’re hoping for all of the best for Eric and that he is on a road to recovery.

How’s it going, footy fans? Today, we’ve got headlines about a move for the Union’s Sebastien Le Toux heading for Bolton, Jose Mourinho apologizing for Real Madrid’s loss and USMNT international DaMarcus Beasley getting hustled in Mexico. Here’s your Thursday Daily Kick Around!

English Premier League

Bolton could be on their way to pick up another MLS player, this time from the Philadelphia Union. Striker Sebastein Le Toux has been rumored to be transferring to the EPL team, but manager Owen Coyle stresses he’s only on trial for now.

Berba is staying in Manchester. . . for now. After speculation that United striker Dimitar Berbatov could return to former Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, the German club stated they were not making a bid to United for the player.

La Liga

It was another circus yesterday as Barcelona and Real Madrid faced off against one another during a Copa del Rey match. You can get the details from our own  Tamara Reinhart here. So, Real Madrid lost but instead of pointing fingers, their boss, Jose Mourinho, said he takes full responsibility for his side’s fall. He also alluded that Pepe – who stomped on Lionel Messi’s hand during the match – could be facing punishment for the action.

Speaking of Real Madrid, fan-favorite Kaka denies speculation that he could be moving from the Spanish giants to Paris Saint-Germain. Italian papers were claiming the Brazilian could reunite with his former manager Carlo Ancelotti who is now boss of PSG. However, Kaka took to Twitter yesterday, denouncing the claims.

Serie A

AC Milan was dealt a blow in the news that Kevin-Prince Boateng could see the sideline for at least a month due to an injury he picked up. Boateng apparently picked up the injury during the match between Inter this past Sunday.

Italy Under-21 coach Ciro Ferrara is taking a stand. He is lamenting the fact he believes Italian clubs rely too much on foreign players rather than looking into the talent they have in Italy and putting a little faith in the youngsters.

Major League Soccer

Fear not, Chicago Fire fans! Your team has a new sponsor for the year and a new logo for their jerseys. The team announced this week it would sign a multi-year contract with the well-known company Quaker Oats and the famous Quaker logo would be appearing on the front of the clubs jerseys.

World Soccer

Here is something that is not only shocking but disturbing as well. If you follow U.S. International DaMarcus Beasley on Twitter – who is currently playing for Mexican club Puebla FC – you have seen his chronicling of life in Mexico, including getting hassled by the police. Yes, you read right. Beasley has been tweeting recently about incidents where he has been pulled over by police and officers have demanded money to let him go. Check out his tweets for a sobering recap of the incidents.

Blackburn Rovers shock Manchester United at Old Trafford, defeating the Red Devils 3-2.

Blackburn Rovers crashed Sir Alex Ferguson’s 70th birthday celebration in shocking fashion. The Rovers took down EPL giants Manchester United at Old Trafford 3-2, spoiling Fergie’s birthday and keeping United from grabbing the top of the table from Manchester City.

United fans were expecting the New Years Eve Day match against struggling Blackburn to be a cake-walk. No such luck for the Red Devils.

Not long after kick-off, the Rovers were sticking it to United, showing they meant business. Their hard work paid off in the 15th minute, when Dimitar Berbatov pulled Christopher Samba down in the box, and the ref awarded a penalty. Ayegbeni Yakubu converted with ease, giving the Rovers a 1-0 lead.

It would stay that way until halftime, and heading into the locker rooms, United had a lot of work to do in the second half to give Sir Alex a nice birthday present of three points.

Not long after the second 45 began, Yakubu struck again. His second goal beat United keeper David De Gea from deep in the box. The Rovers were up a shocking two goals to nil at Old Trafford in the 51st minute.

But you can never write off Manchester United, and the Red Devils didn’t waste any time pulling one back. Berbatov scored from inside the 18 to cut the deficit in half just a minute later. The score was 2-1, still in favor of Blackburn, but United was very much back in the game in the 52nd minute.

Ten minutes later, Berbatov struck again, redeeming himself from the silly foul that lead to the penalty earlier in the match. In the 61st minute, it was all level at 2 at Old Trafford.

The game-winner came in the 80th minute, from Blackburn’s Grant Hanley. De Gea made a very poor attempt to clear the Rovers corner kick, and Hanley was there to clean up the defensive gaff, putting the ball in the back of the net and sealing the victory for Blackburn.

The 3-2 loss keeps United behind Manchester City in the league table, and helps pull Blackburn out of the bottom spot. Absolutely the most shocking result of the EPL season so far. A Happy New Year for the Rovers indeed!

Stay with Aerys Soccer for all your EPL coverage, and Happy New Year to all of our fantastic readers!

Photo courtesy of Sporting Life

Today’s new seems to be dominated by transfer rumors as the January window gets set to open on Jan. 1.

English Premier League

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been given a one match ban by the FA today after admitting to making a gesture towards Fulham fans.  The Uruguayan has also been fined £20,000 along with his club for failing to control their players.

Coming off a hat trick for Manchester United in his most recent appearance, Dimitar Berbatov is now the subject of a transfer rumor, linking him to his former club, Bayer Leverkusen.  A group representing the striker claims he has been in talks with the Bundesliga club and that it is more than a rumor. Read more about what Manchester United have to say and the details surrounding Berbatov’s current contract.

Serie A

Italy midfielder Daniele de Rossi has been linked with a move to Manchester City for some time now.  City manager Roberto Mancini recently stated he thinks it unlikely Roma will allow a transfer.

Napoli’s Web site reported that Chilean Eduardo Vargas has signed a contract with the Italian club.  The former Universidad winger will add much-needed depth for Napoli as they get set to face Chelsea in the second round of Champions League.

Major League Soccer

NY Red Bulls star Thierry Henry has been practicing with his former club Arsenal.   The north London manager, Arsene Wenger, is considering a short-term signing for the Gunner’s all-time leading goal-scorer.  The signing would give Arsenal additional attacking options as they temporarily lose a few key players to the upcoming African Cup of Nations.

In light of the Christmas weekend, the EPL are playing matches on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

Tuesday’s results:

Wolves 2 – 2 Norwich City

Blackburn 1 – 2 Bolton

Today, there were seven matches played, the  most significant of which were Fulham v. Manchester United, Aston Villa v. Arsenal and Manchester City v. Stoke City.

Fulham v. Manchester United

Manchester United visited Fulham and crushed the Cottagers 5 nil!  A first half goal came from Ashley Young in the 20th minute, and four minutes later, Nani struck one home.  A third goal came from Ryan Giggs just before the half.

The Cottagers came out and fought hard in the second half, temporarily able to stop the bleeding. They were able to keep United from scoring additional goals until the very end of the match.

Wayne Rooney, making his 300th Premier appearance, celebrated with a rocket of a goal from 35 yards out in the 88th minute.  That goal takes him level with Ryan Giggs on United’s list of all-time goal-scorers.

To add insult to injury, Dimitar Berbatov ended the agony in the 90th minute with an exquisite backheel into the goal assisted by Antonio Valencia.

Manchester United proves once again why they are one of the top teams in the league and they plan to stay.

Aston Villa v. Arsenal

Arsenal squeaked out a win against Aston Villa 1 – 2, thanks to a last minute goal from Yossi Benayoun.  With the scored tied until the end, Benayoun headed in a Robin van Persie corner kick in the 87th minute, securing those coveted three points for Arsenal.

The match started out promising for the Gunners.  Van Persie scored in the 17th minute on a penalty kick, but the celebrating ended early for the visitors as Marcus Albrighton equalized soon after.  The Claret and Blue were hoping to salvage a point with a draw, but it was not to be.

Manchester City v. Stoke City

Manchester City delivered another beating, clobbering Stoke 3 – 1 today from Etihad Stadium.

Sergio Aguero was the hero of the match, scoring twice for the league leaders, giving him his 14th and 15th goals of the season. Adam Johnson, who started his first league game in two months, also scored for the Blues.

This win means City have dropped only two points in home league games over the course of 2011.  Pretty impressive stuff!

The remaining results from today are as follows:

Newcastle United 2 – 3 West Brom

QPR 2 – 3  Sunderland

Everton 1 – 0 Swansea

Wigan 0 – 0 Liverpool

Tune in to tomorrow’s exciting match as Tottenham hosts Chelsea.

Stay with Aerys Soccer for all your EPL coverage!