A lot of people get excited for the international breaks. Usually I do, but this time, I want to shove a fork into my eyeballs. It’s an exciting time of the year because the 2014 World Cup qualifying matches have officially begun. Supporters branch out from clubs to their nation’s team, wearing patriotic colors and teaching the ways of the game to new fans who’ve decided to pay attention to the world’s biggest sport.

For me, it’s been the least bit exciting. I am one of the few girls that writes for Aerys that doesn’t support the USMNT. I was born in Alcorcón, a city south of Madrid in Spain. My mom is a Spanish citizen and my dad is a US Air Force Veteran but I grew up supporting the Spanish National Team at a young age while my dad ignored the beauty of football.

And with the recent success of Spanish football, millions of other people have adopted them as their team too. It has its pros and cons, I suppose. Spain has built a dynasty these past 6 years with a 2008 and 2012 Euro victory and securing their first World Cup title in 2010. They missed the mark in the 2012 Summer Olympics but are one of the favorites in the 2014 World Cup.  So needless to say, the international breaks are very important. But there’s times where this thing called the FIFA Virus will decide to show itself and make one club’s future, very rocky and unstable.

The latest culprit? Real Madrid.

Today Spain faced France, a nation rising fast with their growing talent. The match ended in a 1-1 draw with Sergio Ramos scoring a goal and France’s Olivier Giroud to tie it up just before the final whistle.

Of all the matches played in during this international break, 3 (almost 4) players were quickly injured, preventing some sort of club play.

Marcelo is out at least till the end of the year with a broken right foot after a training injury with Brazil.

Portugal lost Fabio Coentrão is out for a little bit with a groin injury during their loss against Russia.

Then today, Alvaro Arbeloa was sent off with an injury during Spain’s match against France (which will sideline the player for 3 weeks) while Karim Benzema also suffered a minor leg injury later in the match and will be out for Madrid’s match against Celta Vigo.

So as of right now, Real Madrid are sitting with NO natural full-backs. If it was only Marcelo being injured, at least we’d have Coentrão, but with him injured (and not knowing for how long he’ll be out) and slight injuries to both Sami Khedira and Gonzalo Higuaín, this is not looking good for the Madridistas.

With the next three months of Champions League action, missing Marcelo could put Real in a bit of a bind, especially the match next week against Borussia Dortmund. In the end, it all comes down to how serious Coentrão’s injury is. Without him, Jose Mourinho will have a difficult tie filling in the cracks on the backline, most likely with Raphael Varane and Raul Albiol.

It’s a tricky time for Real Madrid and it’s up to the rest of the team and coaching staff to stay strong and focused on the matches ahead. Only time will tell how fragile this club will be without key players. At least we still have Ronaldo, right?

I think I speak for every football fan out there when I say that no one likes penalties.

Today was no different as Spain moved to the finals after out scoring Portugal in the dreaded penalty kicks.

Honesty, Portugal was the better team throughout the match. Plain and simple. And as a La Roja supporter since I was born, I know that we didn’t deserve to win the way we did.

The first half was all Portugal as they beat Spain at their own game, with 44% possession and brilliant opportunities. Pepe and Bruno Alves were astounding on the Portuguese backline with continuity and fluidity. Rui Patricio was even better in the net this match.

The only question that lingers is why did Paulo Bento leave Cristiano Ronaldo last in the line to take penalties? Had he been first, things could have turned out differently.

To those who said that the Portuguese wouldn’t make it out of the group stage, re-evaluate your thinking. Portugal is definitely an underdog, but they show more passion and play exciting football and there’s no doubt that this is the beginning of an era for them.

As for Spain, they were showing some tiredness in the first half. They found their stride in the PKs, especially Sergio Ramos, who had a very Pirlo-esque penalty, making him the Man of the Match.

A lot of controversy was surrounding La Roja these past few weeks with the deductions made by coach Vicente del Bosque.

Who will be the striker? Will there even be a striker? What about Fernando Llorente? The Athletic Bilbao striker is by far the best that the Spanish National Team has, yet he has seen ZERO minutes so far in the tournament.

Something tells me this was all part of VDB’s master plan, keep the Lion tamed until we reach the final, then let him loose to wreak havoc. Well, I hope that’s the reason because Spain really need to change their play if they are forced to face Germany.

La Roja have always been great at football, thanks to this generation, however we lack exciting football. We need change.

Tomorrow Germany play Italy at 2:45pm ET. The winner will face Spain in the final on Sunday.

Until then, may the best team win!

Stay tuned to Aerys Soccer for all your continuing Euro coverage!

Photos courtesy of UEFA.com.

We have a huge matchup in the first semifinal match of the Euros plus some interesting drama stemming from it. Also, it looks like Arsenal locked in a new signing, all in today’s DKA!

Euro 2012

Today is a battle between the Iberian Peninsula as Spain face Portugal in a semifinal match (actually the game is on right now!). Spain are favorites behind Germany to win the trophy, however you shouldn’t underestimate Portugal, who have had a good run so far in the tournament. Last time the two countries played each other, Portugal ravished Spain with a 4-nil victory. Needless to say, today should be an exciting match! The match is underway at the moment (kick off was at 2:45 p.m. ET) on ESPN.

On the topic of Spain, it looks like UEFA has rejected a request by La Roja to have a moment of silence for Real Betis player Miki Roque, who passed away Monday at age 23 after losing a battle with cancer, before the semifinal clash with Portugal. But here’s where it gets interesting, UEFA are denying that they rejected it! UEFA released a statement via their website:

Further to media reports of the alleged refusal to allow a minute of silence in memory of Spanish football player Miki Roque ahead of tonight’s UEFA Euro 2012 semifinal between Spain and Portugal, UEFA would like to underline that it has not received any such request from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

You’d think that out of respect, they’d allow it anyway. That’s UEFA for you.

English Premier League

Olivier Giroud has chosen Arsenal over Chelsea! Giroud completed a £13 million transfer from Montpellier to Emirates yesterday, preferring the set-up at Arsenal. When asked why he chose the Gunners, his answer was simple: He loves the club.

”Why did I choose Arsenal rather than Chelsea?’ Because it is a club I love and I thought it would be easier for my adaptation. Arsenal is a great club, the facilities are wonderful, but I feel it is a club that takes big care before signing a player, notably considering human values. ’There are French players. There is also Arsène Wenger who let me understand he really wanted me.”

Summer officially started this week, with Wednesday being the longest day of the year. So it’s understandable that this week was action-packed with some pretty awesome games. Of course, there were more than just Euro quarterfinals going on! Let’s take a look.

MLS

Up in Vancouver, the Red Bulls were down 1-0 Wednesday when Heath Pearce scored in the 86th minute. It was a nice little header from the defender and his first MLS goal ever! Montreal visited Chivas USA during Wednesday MLS action, but lost 2-1 to the Goats. But the real story, and I don’t believe this is simply bias, is about four hours south of Vancouver on Interstate 5.

The Seattle Sounders played Sporting Kansas City at home and went down 1-0 early on. It didn’t take long for Patrick Ianni to score off a free kick from teammate and DP, Mauro Rosales. Seriously, have you seen this goal yet? It is also worth a mention that Steve Zakunai, after 14 months of being out, was on the 18, but did not play.

MLS has also partnered with Gatorade and “the soccer community” in a new movement to keep young female athletes playing the beautiful game. Click here to watch a great promotional video.

With Peter Nowak being sacked at Philadelphia Union, MLS was in need of a new coach for the MLS All Stars game coming up. Yesterday they announced Ben Olsen, former player and coach for DC United would fill Nowak’s shoes. Good luck, Ben! The All Star game is set for July 25 against EPL’s Chelsea.

Euro 2012

Czech Republic fell to Portugal with a single goal from Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal will face the winner of Spain and France. It was a hell of a goal as well, especially since Ronaldo hit the post about three times before he finally was able to slot one home!

U.S. Men’s National Team

Oh boy, get ready USMNT fans! It’s finally been confirmed the boys in red, white and blue will be heading to Mexico City for an international friendly with rivals Mexico in August.. The US haven’t played in Mexico in more than 30 years and considering how crazy things get when they play on American soil, you can guarantee this game will be equally intense.

Serie A

Some disappointing news out of Juventus. The Italian club has canceled it’s North American tour slated for this summer, including a friendly with MLS team DC United. Juventus cited scheduling issues as the cause for the cancellation and DC United have promised they are in the works to bring another big European team over to replace them.

Keep up with Aerys Soccer for all your soccer news!

Cristiano Ronaldo post-match with the words "Junior, dad loves you. Congratulations!" written on his shirt in celebration of CR jr's birthday today.

It takes a while for Cristiano Ronaldo to find his ‘groove’ in international play, but today the Portuguese captain scored twice for his country, finalizing their spot in the quarterfinals.

In Portugal’s first two matches in competition, the Real Madrid forward struggled to shine on the pitch. His first goal came in the 28th minute, equalizing the match at 1-1, moving above Luis Figo in the all-time goals scored for Portugal.

The Netherlands started out with a strong attacking line with Huntelaar and Arsenal savior Robin van Persie up front and midfielders Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder. It just wasn’t enough for the the Dutch, who faced Spain in the World Cup final two years ago.

Rafael van der Vaart gave the Netherlands the lead and their only goal in the 11′ with a magnificent strike from distance.

For Portugal, the point is that they found a barrage of opportunities and capitalized on them by putting pressure on the Dutch.

In the second half, Nani set up a very confident Ronaldo who fired into the back of the net in the 74th.

With Germany’s win against Denmark, Portugal finish second in Group B and will face the Czech Republic in the first quarterfinal match on Thursday in Warsaw.

Stay tuned to Aerys Soccer for all your Euro 2012 news!

Group B, also known as the “Group of Death”, included Germany, Denmark, Portugal, and Netherlands.  Germany and Netherlands were the favorites, not only to advance to the QFs, but also to win the the whole thing.

Since Germany had won their first two matches (1-0 v Portugal and 2-1 Netherlands), they just needed a draw to move on to the QFs and still win the group. But of course, Germany wasn’t going to settle for a draw, they were going for the win.

The Germans started off like they usually do; lots of chances for them to score, but none they could take advantage of at first.  The German supporters wouldn’t have to wait long though as Germany scored first thanks to Lukas Podolski in the 19th minute. Germany was now 1-o.

Their happiness wouldn’t last for long though. Denmark equalized just five minutes later. Michael Krohn-Delhi scored what would be Denmark’s only goal of the game. Both teams kept getting chances to score, but neither would score until the 2nd half. The game was at 1-1 at HT.

Germany kept putting pressure on Denmark when the 2nd half started. They had so many shots but weren’t able to finish them. They had to wait until 10 minutes before the game ended to see another goal.  Lars Bender scored the winning goal for Germany in the 80th minute. After this, it was game over for Denmark, who had a great run in the tournament.

With the German and Portugal wins today, both of these teams would move on to the QFs. Germany will play Greece and Portugal will face Czech Republic. Denmark made things very difficult for the Germans today, but it wasn’t enough. The “Group of Death” had a very exciting last day with the favorites, Netherlands, getting knocked out of the competition with 0 points and Denmark, who was called the “weakest team” by many ended in 3rd place with 3 points.

After eight games in four days, the first round of group matches have finally concluded. There was some drama, most notably in the first game, but it was generally a sluggish start, with all teams trying to adjust to conditions and determined not to lose.

The results of group A was of no shock to me, although Russia’s emphatic 4-1 win result against the Czechs was more impressive than I had anticipated. Greece capitalized on a sloppy and failed clearance attempt from Poland with the game ending 1-1. It looks like it will be Russia and one other to-be-determined team who will advance to the quarter finals, but it’s hard to imagine that the ‘other’ will be in the tournament for any longer than the quarter final game.
The Group of Death surprisingly was the only group that boasted two winning results. The Dutch were left dumb-founded after a 1-0 defeat to Denmark. The Netherlands looked increasingly desperate and predictable as the match wore on, with the team never looking truly in unison, and they were kept out of their rhythm by the hard working Danes. Although the Oranje did have a couple of threatening shots, including Robben’s strike that hit the side post, they have some serious issues to fix before they take on Germany Wednesday. Their backline was slow, easily exposed and way worse than what I thought. It will be severely tested by Germany’s youthful and skilful front line.

Germany downed Portugal 1-0, with both teams playing rather conservatively throughout the entire game. In the first half, the only real chance came from Pepe’s shot which hit the cross-bar and kept the match at 0-0. In the second half Germany finally found the back of the net through a late Mario Gomez header. Even though Portugal would go on to have a couple more opportunities to score, they never converted and the Germans took the 3 points. Ronaldo got off to a slow start even though Boateng gave him more space than NASA.

The only thing I will say about Group C is this: Balotelli, what are you doing? You have a breakaway in Spain’s box but you are running like you would if you were chasing your 4-year-old son in the yard! Spaint tied 1-1 with current Euro cup holders Spain, whilst Croatia beat the unlucky Irish 3-1.

Group D is wide open and surprisingly the hosts are sitting at the top of the pack with a brilliant performance against Sweden. Sheva led the Ukraine with a 2-1 victory in their opening game. I must say that this was the best game hands down so far! It was fast tempo, high energy, aggressive and well-matched. It went back and forth but in front of a passionate home crowd, the Ukraine just looked possessed out of the gate and just wanted it more. The result is a testament to their hard work. My radar is on them to see if they can duplicate another result like that.

If you would have told me two years ago that the English could even consider a draw with the French a good result, I would thought you were crazy (or French). But that’s exactly what happened when the English got a point out of a very tough French team, who are on a 21 game unbeaten run. Considering all of the mayhem going on with the England squad, the 1-1 tie is a good result for them. The Three Lions got on the board first with a Gerrard free kick that found Lescott’s face head. France controlled most of the game and Nasiri’s netted a 25 yarder not long after England’s opener, but France couldn’t find the back of the net after that. Strangely, for periods in the game it seemed as though both teams were happy with a tie and that’s all they were playing for. Some of England’s players looked lethargic but overall the team played well defensively and Oxlade-Chamberlin and Welbeck looked promising. More to come from both teams.

The newest writer to Aerys Soccer Kendall Schoendienst will break down the groups for this year’s Euros and give you her thoughts on who to watch out for. Group B has the trademark “Group of Death” label and is sure to be a stunner! Read on to see a breakdown of the most star-studded group of the Euros this year!

GROUP B: Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark

So we go from the group of life to the group of death all in one day. As a German supporter, I absolutely cringed when we drew three other teams that are ranked in FIFA’s top 10. All four squads are motivated and capable of winning the group. Here’s a rundown of the group!

Germany, one of the favorites to win the tournament, will rely heavily on a versatile midfield to get out of the group. Coach Joachim Low has incredible talent to choose from. Schweinsteiger is the heart beat of the team and controls the tempo. Muller and Poldolski explode on the wing, Ozil is innovative in the middle and Gotze has been called the German Messi. Low has two mountainous targets up top in Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez. The Achilles heel of Die Mannschaft you ask? The backline. Per Mertesacker is coming off an injury, Hummels and Badstuber have been questionable, and the candidate to fill the right full-back position is still up in the air.

Germany’s orange neighbors are another contender to win the title this year. The Netherlands are poised and hungry for victory after losing the 2010 World Cup to Spain. In Van Persie and Robben, the Dutch have two of the best players in Europe. Van Persie led the Premiership this year in goals and Robben can terrorize defenses with pace and skill. To compliment the two star players, Kuyt and Van Bommel are work horses, Wesley Sneijder could be a match winner. Questions have been raised about the strength of the backline, but with the Oranje attacking prowess the back four may not get exposed.

Portugal’s attack is frightening and will trouble even the best defensive line. Opposition will have to fight off a two-headed monster in Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. Nani will torture whoever is put in his path and will sail balls into the box for Ronaldo. It is no secret that Ronaldo’s reputation at club level has yet to transition over to international level, but something tells me this is his year. He is overdue a spectacular showcase for his country. Ronaldo will draw multiple players on him and expose holes in the defense, but this is not Real Madrid and the rest of the squad is average.

Denmark is labeled as the dark horse of the group, but they are ranked No. 9 in the world by FIFA, which is one spot higher than the Portuguese. Let’s not forget the Danish also beat Portugal in qualifiers, so they are certainly capable of beating them or anyone else in the group. All eyes will be on Ajax’s Christian Eriksen who had an outstanding season and the creative force of the team. Coming into the tournament the team was plagued with injuries and fitness is an obvious concern. If Denmark can get past the few negatives that stand in their and get of the group, it will be the biggest upset of the tournament no matter at whose expense it is.

Predictions: 1. Germany 2. Netherlands 3. Portugal 4. Denmark

Champions League play over two days saw both FC Porto and Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Champions League action.

The first day of play saw Group G’s FC Shakhtar Donetsk travel to Porto’s Estádio do Dragão. Shakhtar actually saw the back of the net first  in the 12′ by Luiz Adriano. Porto answered back in the 28′ with a resounding 35m strike by Hulk. Cards started coming out shortly before Porto’s goal – one for Porto (their only during the game) in the 34′ for Álvaro Pereira, while Shakhtar saw three yellows in rapid succession – 27′ for Adriano, 31′ for Dmytro Chygrynskiy, and 34′ for captain Darijo Srna. Then six short minutes later, Yaroslav Rakitskiy got a straight red for a tackle on João Moutinho. Shakhtar made one substitution in the 42′, and halftime saw the teams tied with no other substitutions made to start the second half.

Kléber found the back of the net with a great pass from James Rodríguez in the 51′ to give Porto a 2-1 lead with 10 men on the field. Substitutions from both sides throughout the second half tried to give either team an edge yet failed to produce any more goals. In the 80′, Chygrynskiy got another yellow, which gave him an automatic red card. It left Shakhtar with 9 men – oddly, both central defenders receiving red cards tonight – which meant Porto was up two men, but could not find the back of the net.

They still got a win and 3 points to tie the top of Group G after the first round.  Shakhtar has no points, but an away goal to their credit.

Benfica welcomed Manchester United to the Estádio da Luz Wednesday in Group C Action. More than 63,000 fans came to see the Encarnados play the Reds. From the first whistle, both teams played a very evenly paced game. Manchester United kept possession totals high throughout the game, but this was very evident in the first half. Both teams battled back and forth trying to establish rhythm. In the 24′, Nicólas Gaitán chipped a pass from the outside of his boot into Óscar Cardozo’s chest and made a great shot that scooted past Manchester United’s Lindegaard into the back of the goal to put the Eagles up 1-0. Play continued back and forth, with Benfica consistantly challenging MUFC’s defense. Wayne Rooney saw yellow in the 27′ while Pablo Aimar was booked in the 39′ for a challenge on Rooney. Then in the 42′, Ryan Giggs made a great left footed shot that was just outside the hands of Benfica goalkeeper Artur Moraes to even the score at 1-1.

Halftime saw no substitutions, and play continued. Manchester United seemed the more dominant team for the first few minutes, then Benfica came roaring back. Maxi Pereira received a yellow in the 61′ for a fairly silly challenge on Park Ji-Sung. A couple minutes later, Giggs yet again threaded through Benfica’s defense to see his kick go wide, and in the 65′ Carrick gets a yellow card for a challenge on Gaitán.

Benfica continued pushing; in the 69′, Gaitán received his own yellow card for a foul on captain Patrice Evra. Luis Nani and Javier Hernández, otherwise known as Chicharito, were substituted in the same minute to a rather loud cheer from the seats. Play continued with Benfica substituted Nemanja Matić for Aimar in the 75′ and Phil Jones came in the 79′ for Fabio. Both teams made excellent shots, and almost as an afterthought and a last gasp, Bruno César came in for Gaitán in the 90′+1. He indeed tried with a shot on goal, but missed, and as the final whistle sounded in Lisbon, both teams scored one point with their draw to put them tied in 2nd place for now in Group C and Manchester United also gained an away goal. MUFC and Benfica are both favored to advance out of their group. As a reminder MUFC was in the finals of the Champions League last year, falling to FC Barcelona.

Stay tuned to Aerys Soccer and @myrla_cat for continued coverage of Portugal in the Champions and Europa League action!

(statistics courtesy of uefa.com and planetbenfica.co.uk)

Portugal’s ruling football body, the FPF, has suspended Ricardo Carvalho for one year following his walkoff on August 31 before the latest round of Euro 2012 qualifiers.

He caused a large amount of controversy in his sudden “retirement”, both for the team and reverberating through the club as well. Real Madrid’s players and Jose Mourinho all deny it is having any complications with the club. Paulo Bento and Carvalho have both had words in the media back and forth, but Carvalho eventually admitted he would come back to the team if asked. Bento has said as long as he is head coach, Carvalho will not play.

There was an investigation as to whether Carvalho would be allowed to play for any matches, including those for Real Madrid. According to Article 74^1, ”The Control and Disciplinary Body may extend sanctions imposed by a member association for serious offences to UEFA competitions at the request of the member association in question.” Bento had stated he would not push for a ban, in somewhat of an olive branch move.

Today’s ban means Carvalho is ineligible for Euro 2012 activities, including any awards he may have been eligible for, and any other National Team activities that may occur. However, it does not not affect Carvalho’s standing with Real Madrid, and he will be eligible to play.