4-7-11

It's another day of European games with the Quaterfinals fo the UEFA Europa Cup taking place. Benfica vs. PSV, Dynamo Kiev vs. Braga, FC Porto vs. Spartak Moscow, Villareal vs. Twente Enschede.

A Sunderland fan is suing his club after being knocked out by a stray Djibril Cissé shot while watching a training session.

Making of the Lampard legend: As English football's marathon man prepared to run through the double 500 barrier


Winter soccer just won't work in MLS.


Goal of the Week Nominee!



What would happen if you took the best abilities from the best players of the Premier League season so far and constructed the ultimate footballer?


Chelsea 0 – Manchester United 1 (Champions League quarter final first leg, April 6, 2011)



Newcastle United's Joey Barton has said England will "never win" the World Cup, and dismissed Gareth Barry's role in the midfield as evidence of a lack of talent.

"France killed us at Wembley," Barton said. "We English will play the next 50 World Cups and we'll never win one. The people in charge at the FA played football maybe 50 or 60 years ago and still think that we can win a World Cup in the same way we did in 1966.



Barcelona 5 – Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Champions League quarter-final first leg, April 6, 2011)



Wayne Rooney has lost his appeal against a two-match ban handed down by the Football Association, meaning he will not be available to face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.


Celtic 3 – Hibs 1 (SPL, April 6, 2011)



Who was the "Greatest Player" you never heard of? Guess the player? He made his debut aged fifteen. He holds the Argentine record for goals scored in one season, forty-seven in thirty-four games. He is the joint highest scorer in Argentinian football history with 293 goals, yet he never represented his country. Alfredo Di Stefano who watched him growing up described him as circus artist, a compliment on his incredible ability to jump. It was echoed by legendary Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano who wrote “he had secret springs hidden in his body” and when he jumped “his head always rose above the hands of the goalkeeper”. In 1938 the Argentinian FA offered him a considerable sum of money to play for the national team in the World Cup – but he said no. Why? He was Paraguayan. This is the story of Arsenio Erico.


Standard Liege 4 – Gent 2 (Agg. 4-3) (Beker van Belgie, April 6, 2011)



The history of football is littered with many stories from the history of the game, some have been forgotten and some are remembered by only a handful people. One tale that falls into both of these categories is the story of Crook Town and their most famous son: Jack Greenwell.


Cercle Brugge 3 – Westerlo 3* (Agg. 3-3) (Beker van Belgie, April 6, 2011



Goalkeepers are supposed to be different. Estranged, aloof and regularly inhabiting the more extreme regions of the personality spectrum, the men who spend their time intercepting spherical projectiles with all parts of their anatomy and are often viewed as football’s great outsiders.


Santos 3 – Colo Colo 2 (Copa Libertadores, April 6, 2011)



Still, the fact remains that Najar, an 18-year-old attacking midfielder for D.C. United and the 2010 M.L.S. Rookie of the Year, is not even a U.S. citizen. He couldn’t suit up for America even if he moved to Carson, Calif., camped outside Bob Bradley’s office and starting serenading him with a heartfelt rendition of “This Land is Your Land.” Najar’s choice, announced Tuesday via news conference, allows him to join Los Catrachos immediately, and presumably he will play for Honduras in this summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup.


Vancouver Whitecaps 1 – New England Revolution 1 (MLS, April 6, 2011)



The hosts had Gershon Koffie sent off in the 44th minute for a stray elbow, but they still went on to take the lead on the hour when Eric Hassli scored from the penalty spot only for the goalscorer to receive his second red for removing his short during his goal celebration. New England defender AJ Soares was then dismissed for a clattering challenge on Atiba Harris late in the game, and the match had a thrilling conclusion when, in stoppage time, Revs’ Serbian sub Ilija Stolica headed in a 93rd minute equaliser to preserve New England’s unbeaten start to the season for another week.


Cruz Azul 1 – Monterrey 1 (Agg. 2-3) (CONCACAF semi-final second leg, April 6, 2011)



It was supposed to be the strongest U.S. Under-20 national team in history, but instead it was just another underachieving American youth team left with unfulfilled expectations and a suddenly empty summer where a dream World Cup run was once considered a possibility. Highlights below.


UMNT U20 1 - Guatemala 2 (U20 CONCACAF Championship, April 6th, 2011)