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.

D.C. United using funny tactics to sell tickets.

Happy Friday all! We’ve got a great lineup for you today. A mix of headlines ranging from deadly serious to hysterically funny. Sepp Blatter is talking about goal-line technology, Lee Nguyen has had a roller coaster couple of days, and find out who the newest MLS player on Twitter is. All this and much more, here’s your Daily Kick Around!

FIFA

FIFA president Sepp Blatter would literally die if goal-line technology did not exist for the 2014 World Cup. Seriously, he did. And for once, I actually agree with him. As long as it can be a part of the game without being a distraction, I would welcome goal-line technology with open arms. Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal in the last World Cup was embarrassing for all fans of the sport, and particularly enraging for English fans. I hope it doesn’t happen again.

Major League Soccer

It has been a wild couple of days for Lee Nguyen. Well, really the last couple of weeks have been very up and down for him. First, his Twitter gaff that landed him in hot water with the LGBT community. Then yesterday, Nguyen was cut by the Vancouver Whitecaps. But today, he finally made headlines in a positive light, as the NE Revolution picked him up through the MLS waiver draft. This is a great pickup for the Revs, and it will be interesting to see what Nguyen adds to the team this season.

Another MLS player who has been on a roller coaster ride the last few months, George John, has returned to FC Dallas after a short stint in Europe with West Ham. He did well in reserves matches with West Ham, but never broke into the first team roster. Disappointing for John, but I’m sure FCD fans are excited to have him back.

Aside from his return to MLS, John has also joined the Twitter ranks. You can follow him there: @GdoubleJohn.

Now that we have the serious headlines out of the way, it’s time for a little Friday fun!

Teams in leagues all over the world deploy clever tactics to sell tickets to matches. D.C. United uses the same giveaways and promotions as others, but also decided to take a humor route with this funny punchline for their game against New York Red Bulls. “Nobody likes New York. Nobody.”

One of my favorite people to follow on Twitter, Beau Dure, has come up with a cool concept for MLS teams. They are fan pages, a place for people to go to get a bit of history on their favorite MLS squad, plus stay up to date on what’s happening with the team this season. It’s in development, but I love the concept. Check out the team page for Chicago Fire here, and the NE Revs here.

And finally, something we will be linking every Friday now that it’s back: This Week In Soccer US Tweets. Enjoy!

Today’s soccer news is full of exciting Champions League and Serie A results as well as another Premier League player charged with discrimination and of course, a late-breaking report involving our regular news-making striker, Carlos Tevez.  Read on for further details!

Champions League

Zenit St. Petersburg 3 – 2 Benefica

AC Milan 4 – 0 Arsenal

Serie A

 Atalanta 1 – 0 Genoa

Parma 0 – 0 Juventus

Cesena v Catania (postponed)

English Premier League

This just in: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini denies he treated Tevez ”like a dog” .  Prior to returning to England, the whining Argentinian made the claims earlier this week.

Perhaps the above story can explain that despite reports Carlos Tevez is back with his Manchester City team, he was mysteriously absent and did not participate in today’s practice.

Looks like we have another English Premier League racial slur to report. The FA have charged West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison over an alleged homophobic remark he made on Twitter.

David Bentley, currently on loan to West Ham from Tottenham, is hoping to finalize a move to Major League Soccer soon.