I love taking suggestions on Midweek Muscles. While I love and appreciate a variety of players, I also enjoy the opportunity to be introduced to new ones. This week’s featured player comes from my good friend, Danielle Llanes. The player comes from Italy and is blue-eyed hottie Claudio Marchisio.

Now, as stated, I’m not very familiar with this gorgeous 26-year-old Italian midfielder. I asked my friend, Dee, who is my go-to on the Italy squad. Here’s what I got. Claudio plays club football for Juventus in Serie A and featured in the 2012 Euro squad for the Italians. And … okay, honestly, I stopped paying attention after that because I was drawn in by the pictures. So I’ll just let them do the talking for me. Enjoy!

Pretty sure the scruffy pictures of Claudio are my favorite.

Oh, and you know those oh-so-famous Dolce & Gabbana underwear shots? He was in some of those. Be mindful, you have been warned.

Whew!

Thanks again to Danielle and Dee for their info and suggestions this week! If you have an idea for our Midweek Muscles posts, be sure to let us know on twitter at @AerysSoccer! And don’t forget our other weekly posts; Getting to Know You Tuesday and Throwback Thursday!

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.

Another weekend, another full slate of matches to look forward to! Serie A and the Bundesliga are back in action, Premier League continues with Manchester United looking for one of their many strikers to put the ball in the net, and a huge MLS clash awaits Sunday night between Eastern Conference leaders Sporting KC and New York Red Bulls. Today’s DKA focuses on many of the top match previews, and as always at this time of year, more transfer news within EPL.

Serie A

Serie A kicks off a new season today, and Juventus are the clear favorites to repeat as champions. But will they be the same without Alessandro Del Piero? And what other clubs are condenters? Soccer by Ives offers a comprehensive preview of the season ahead.

English Premier League

Manchester United will look to get back to their winning ways against a Dempsey-less Fulham today, but don’t expect it to be “a walkover” for United, writes ESPN’s Mark Payne.

Liverpool meets Manchester City on Sunday and all eyes are on new signing Fabio Borini as Liverpool faces another tough test after their defeat at West Brom last week.

Chelsea signed two new players on Friday, Wigan striker Victor Moses and Marseille full back Cesar Azpilicueta.

Is Scott Sinclair’s switch from Swansea to Manchester City the right move for the young striker? SI’s Georgina Turner looks at his growth from bit player at Chelsea to everyday starter at Swansea and how this move could help him take the next step in his game.

 Major League Soccer

In a match nobody will be telling their grandkids about, Salt Lake and Philly finished with a scoreless draw last night as Real continued to struggle on the road, even with their new 4-1-4-1 formation.

Ignore the first five months. The time is now for F.C. Dallas, who now has hope of grabbing a postseason spot, thanks in large part to the return of  2010 MVP David Ferreira.

Ryan Meara’s season is over, after the rookie Red Bulls goalkeeper had arthroscopic surgery on his left hip yesterday.

The Vancouver Whitecaps’ digital media department has taken the rivalry of the Cascadia Cup clash with Portland to new heights in this video dubbed “Battle of the Hearts.” A must-watch for any MLS fan.

The top two teams in the Eastern Conference meet tomorrow night, with Sporting KC looking to hold their narrow lead atop the standings and extend their three game winning streak. The Red Bulls, who will be without captain and new dad Thierry Henry, look to extend their 2-game streak and return to the top of the conference.

Follow @AerysSoccer on Twitter for more of today’s top news and reactions to the weekend’s matches!

Controversy! Scandal! Accusations! We just love digging up some saucy headlines for you and today’s have their fair share. From Fernando Torres’s controversial game-winning goal against Reading to Juventus coach Antonio Conte’s suspension, and an accusation of San Jose playing dirty, we’ve got a wide range of hot topics today.

Serie A

Juventus coach Antonio Conte tried to appeal his 10-month ban by the Italian Football Federation for match-fixing, but yesterday the ban was upheld by an Italian soccer court:

Conte’s implication in the scandal involved match-fixing charges in two Serie B matches that took place in the 2010-11 season.

“It was decided to acquit Conte for his role in the Novara-Siena game, but the 10-month disqualification stands as a disciplinary commission sanction concerning Albinoleffe-Siena,” the statement said.

Ever wonder what music pumps your favorite players up before a game? AS Roma’s digital business division has extended its relationship with Apple by launching iTunes playlists curated by the club’s players:

Pablo Osvaldo is the first to let the world know his music tastes, as Roma update the music page on a weekly basis. Osvaldo’s musical tastes include everything from Leonard Cohen up to Metallica. Music has always been a huge part of the beautiful game - with terrace chants and anthems ever popular. Furthermore, in recent years the image of footballers equipped with headphones as part of their pre-match ritual has become standard.

English Premier League 

Chelsea didn’t have an easy time of it today against Reading, but managed to pull out a 4-2 win after trailing at the half, thanks to late heroics from – you guessed it, Fernando Torres. But should Torres’s 81st minute game-winner have counted? Reading head coach Brian McDermott was livid after the play, in which he thought Torres was clearly offside.

Chelsea now sits atop the EPL table with six points but are they good enough to challenge the Manchester duo?

Manchester United may have added a key veteran up top in Robin van Persie, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t relying on the team’s home-grown youth going forward. Young striker Danny Welbeck, a lifelong Red Devils fan, just signed new contract to keep him with the club through 2016, and Sir Alex Ferguson has high hopes for his future with the club:

“He has become an important player at international level as well, as the maturity of his performances at the European Championships showed.

“This year is another important one for him. He has a bright future ahead of him.”

Good news for Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, who suffered a knee injury last weekend against Southampton. ESPN is reporting that Aguero could be back within a month, after an initial fear that the injury could be much worse and sideline him for a greater part of the season.

La Liga

The first clash of the La Liga titans will be upon us this weekend, and ESPN’s Graham Hunter reflects on the recent history, the magic and the importance of the Clasico, matches he described as “the most explosive, most technically brilliant, most consistently entertaining and most rewarding anywhere in the world.”

Major League Soccer

San Jose has impressed this season with late comebacks and a rise to the top of the MLS standings, but are they playing dirty to get there? Quakes coach Frank Yallop embraces their physical style of play, but was “mystified” by the red card on Steven Lenhart in last Saturday’s match against Montreal.

“Does [Lenhart] get into people’s heads? Sure,” Yallop said. “Is he a nightmare to play against? Yes. But he’s not elbowed, punched or head butted anybody. And he got that all Saturday night, and he got red-carded as well.”

There’s no question with Lenhart and Alan Gordon as a pair of target men to use up top, San Jose plays a physical brand of soccer. To Yallop, however, there’s an important difference between being hard-nosed and crossing the line into dirty.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Now as you sit waiting the long, dreadful wait for the Men’s Olympic final between Mexico and Brazil Saturday or the epic clash for gold against the USWNT and Japan tomorrow, today is filled with more transfer rumors and new signings. So sit back, relax and enjoy today’s DKA!

La Liga

Fernando Llorente reportedly told his club, Athletic Bilbao, that he wants to leave to play Champions League football. So far Serie A club Juventus wants to make a  €20 million offer for the man known as El Rey Léon (The Lion King.) Llorente still has 12 months left on his contract and refuses to sign an extension according to Basque TV station ETB. Llorente is a World Cup winner but only scored 30 goals last season which happened to be his poorest season in terms of fitness having lost both the Europa and Copa del Rey finals and failing to play with Spain in the Euro final this year.

Looks like Llorente’s teammate Javi Martinez also wants out of Bilbao – he’s looking to move to Bayern Munich. According to the 23-year-old’s agent, Bayern are still interested in signing the midfielder but admits the transfer fee is holding them back.

Joselu, the promising striker built from Real Madrid Castilla, has signed a contract until the summer of 2016 with Bundesliga’s Hoffenheim. The 22 year-old scored 26 goals last season helping the club get promoted to the Segunda Division.

English Premier League

Welcome to Emirates Santi!! That’s right Gooners, Arsenal signed Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla from Málaga for  £15 million!! Cazorla helped his former club reach the 4th spot in the La Liga standings and will be making his Arsenal debut on Sunday in a friendly against Cologne. Santi will join the newest Gunner signings, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.

Serie A

Villarreal’s Cristian Zapata will be spending the 2012-2013 campaign at San Siro. The former Udinese defender had a medical finished on Tuesday in Milan and will sign his one-year loan with AC Milan later today.  After the one-year loan the deal will become permanent at the end of the season.

It’s always hard as a football supporter and even more as a journalist to announce such tragedy in a sport that you grew up loving. Today was that day in which the MLS community was warned about the sudden death of an up and coming MLS star, Kirk Urso.

MLS

Sad news coming from the Columbus Crew as we learned that 22-year-old rookie midfielder Kirk Urso has passed away.  Urso was the 10th overall selection in January’s MLS Supplemental Draft and started the Crew’s first 5matches this season after an injury to starter Danny O’Rourke. Word hasn’t broken as to what caused his death but the whole MLS community is feeling grief in support of their fallen teammate. MLS commissioner Don Garber releases a statement in regards to Urso’s untimely death:

 ”We are deeply saddened by the death of Columbus Crew player Kirk Urso. Major League Soccer mourns his death and sends our condolences to his family. MLS will hold a moment of silence for Kirk at today’s two league matches.”

Those two league matches will be Portland-Dallas and Seattle-LA.

You can read our own Columbus Crew supporter and Aerys Soccer Editor, Trista Lutgring’s update on the unfortunate tragedy.

La Liga

Well looks like Nuri Sahin could be exiting the Santiago Bernabeu after Real Madrid manager, Jose Mourinho, gave his blessing for the Arsenal target to leave. Sahin joined the Spanish giants last summer after raising a Bundesliga title with Borussia Dortmund but hasn’t played many minutes with the Madridistas. Arsenal are looking to sign the midfielder on a season-long loan.

Serie A

Juventus officially signed Paul Pogba from Manchester United on a free-transfer. The nineteen-year-old signed a four-year contract with the club after serving 3 years with the Red Devils.

Men’s Olympic Soccer

It’s ‘farewell Olympics’ for Team GB as the Olympic hosts were knocked out of competition when losing 4-5 on penalties against South Korea due to Daniel Sturridge’s missed shot. At least the Brits have the other gold medals they won today to overshadow this upset.

Japan 3-0 Egypt

Mexico 4-2 Senegal

Brazil 3-2 Honduras

Ahhhhhhh transfersssssssssssssss!!!

You know what’s coming. The window’s still open, the clubs are still wining and dining and the agents are still dealing. Transfer season wouldn’t be what it is without it. So without further ado, here is your Daily Kick Around!

Major League Soccer

New England Revolution Captain Shalrie Joseph was probably as stunned as the rest of us when the Revs announced earlier this week they would trade the long time Revs man to Chivas USA. A gut-wrenching tweet from Sharlie stated he thought he would retire as a Rev … I gotta tell you, Sharlie, I thought you would too.

Soccer By Ives reported this afternoon the Houston Dynamo would bring back central midfield Ricardo Clark. Clark – who was among Bob Bradley’s USMNT squad – has been abroad in Europe without too much luck.

English Premier League

Welp, it looks like Robin Van Persie is heading for Italia … maybe. We might have all thought Arsenal was continuing to drag out the process of letting their star striker go, but a FIFA agent is claiming the deal with Juventus is done. It’s rather bizarre, considering last week all the reports claimed Juventus dropped off the radar and another English team would get the Dutchman. It seems as if the mystery has yet to be solved!

Europa League

Liverpool fans can breathe a sigh of relief tonight thanks to Stewart Downing as the Reds defeated Gomel in their third round qualifying match today. Downing scored the lone goal of the match.

Hey footy fans! It’s been a crazy Friday and if you’re like us, you’re catching up on the headlines for calling it a night or going out to party. Luckily for you, we’ve got all your big headlines of the day right here! It’s your Friday late night Daily Kick Around!

MLS

If you follow MLS, then you probably know that Brek Shea hasn’t had such a good season. That’s an understatement. Last year, people were saying that Shea was the next big thing in American soccer. What has happened since? Maybe there was too many high expectations for him. The fact that he’s missed 76 training sessions this year doesn’t help. One thing that might help is a change of scenery. Looking on twitter, it seems there is a lot of  fans who would like to see Shea go to LA Galaxy, including myself.

New York Red Bulls will be missing key players on Saturday against Philadelphia Union.  Heath Pearce, Rafa Marquez, and Ryan Meara will all miss tomorrow’s games due to injuries.

Vancouver Whitecaps have traded Eric Hassli to Toronto FC in exchange for a first round pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft. Vancouver will also have a spot open for a DP and for an international roster spot.

La Liga

Last year, Sergio Canales went on loan to Valencia from Real Madrid. It looks like Valencia has decided to buy Canales for this upcoming season. Joining him will be Fernando Gago, a Real Madrid player who was on loan with Roma last season.

EPL

The Robin Van Persie transfer drama continues.  I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait for all this to be over. Three clubs are after him- Manchester City, Manchester United, and Juventus. I’d rather see him go to Juventus, I don’t think City needs him and I don’t want to see him joining United.

Euo 2012

UEFA has fined Italy’s Antonio Cassano for using what they consider a slur during a press conference during the Euro games this past June.

Robin van Persie says arrivederci to Arsenal

Happy Soccer Saturday! Check out today’s headlines from the sport!

English Premier League

After announcing that he will not resign with Arsenal, Robin van Persie’s next destination has been the subject of much speculation. Per a report from FOX Soccer today, Serie A’s Juventus appears to be in the lead for the Dutch forward, though the two Manchester clubs are also in the running:

Both City and United are set to offer him the chance to remain in England, should he leave the Emirates, but Juve are pushing hard with Italian sources claiming their offer would make him one of the highest players in Europe.

Van Persie has made it clear that silverware is the most important thing to him at this point – although all three clubs would be well in contention next season to challenge for every honor.

ESPN’s James Martin weighs in with three thoughts on the latest episode of the Arsenal soap opera, and what Van Persie’s departure means for the Gunners’ future.

Serie A

With the Michael Bradley move to Roma nearly complete, ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle writes that it’s “a risk well worth taking” for Bradley:

The temptation is to think that Bradley will slide seamlessly into the starting XI, but that was the thinking when he moved to Villa. Rather, it amounts to a difficult, but by no means impossible, assignment for the American midfielder. U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann has stated more than once the importance of players getting steady time with their clubs. But he’s also challenged them to play at the highest possible level, and this move will certainly do that.

U.S. Women’s National Team

If you missed the U.S. win over Canada in the Olympic sendoff match last weekend, Equalizer Soccer has a gorgeous photo essay from all the action, courtesy of photographer Patti Giobetti.

Major League Soccer

After rattling off a 7-game unbeaten streak, Real Salt Lake has now gone winless in their last four. What’s gone wrong, and what does RSL have to do to get back on track against Portland without Fabián Espíndola? Stop making excuses and just finish, writes MLSSoccer.com’s Michael Black.

Breaking News: F.C. Dallas’s Brek Shea has been officially confirmed to be adorable. Check out this video of the goofy midfielder’s pop-n-lock moves during post-production of an MLS Out of Focus interview. 

Will you be watching tonight’s MLS matches? Comment and let us know who you’re rooting for!

Is anyone else feeling like something is missing in their lives? I mean, now that June is over and Euro 2012 gone with it, the days at work are boring all over again. And hello, who misses Michael Ballack and Alexi Lalas bickering while Taylor Twellman sat back and laughed about it?  I definitely do. But it’s okay, we’ve got plenty of headlines for you in today’s Daily Kick Around!

Euro 2012

Welp, it’s time to close out the Euro discuss, and Simon Borg wants to make sure it goes out with a bang. Today, he had twitter and the MLS offices in a heated debate about the final – he believes Spain should have made a good gesture and taken a player off to make the game against Italy 10 v. 10. What do you think?

Major League Soccer

L.A. Galaxy fans are probably feeling great today as Omar Gonzalez trained with the first team again and could make a come back in late July.

Remember that kick ass tifo fans had during the game against Portland and Seattle? You gotta check out the video of how they made it!

English Premier League

Yet another member of the Arsenal organization has assured media and fans that star striker Robin Van Persie isn’t going anywhere during the summer transfer. The rumor has been RVP would be headed to Italian side, Juventus.

U.S. Women’s National Team

I don’t know about you guys, but I love Megan Rapinoe. I’ve always thought she was kick ass and a great soccer player for our women’s national team. Today, she came out to Out Magazine, and its a great interview. You should definitely check it out! Much respect to Pinoe!