David Beckham, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Landon Donovan, Brian Ching, Josmer Altidore, Maurice Edu... Those are just some very recognizable names in the MLS. But the United States football or soccer (it doesn't really matter to me) has much more than that if you're really interested in enjoying some local action while Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus and the rest of the European clubs are on their break.

Some people might not know but there is, besides the MLS, something called USL (United Soccer Leagues)  which is actually much older and in my opinion better organized than the MLS.

First of all you have a First Division and a Second Division. That by itself is already an advantage over the Major Soccer League. But the USL goes beyond that and offers a PDL (Premier Development League) where 67 amateur teams must have at least 3 players under 18 years old and a maximum of 8 players over 23 in their 26-man rosters. The USL also has a very strong Women's League.

I don't expect any football fan in the USA to abandon their European favourite teams and start cheering for the Atlanta Silverbacks, or Montreal Impact or even the soon-to-become-an-mls-team Seattle Sounders. But while we wait for the kick off in Europe I'd suggest you to at least try to find out if your city has a USL team (no matter in what category) and go there to watch them play.

Remember, the more we support football (or soccer) in the united States, and the more we tell our local radio and TV stations that we want some coverage, the more the sport will improve here.

Last night LDU - Liga Deportiva Universitaria - from Quito, Ecuador, defeated the Brazilian side of Fluminense in the penalty shootout to win the 2008 Copa Libertadores title and secure the South American spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.

An impressive achievement for sure but now the question is simple: Can this humble team cause one of the greatest upsets in the history of football and beat the super-powered Manchester United?

I honestly doubt it.

In the last 10 years the title of "Best Club of The Planet" only ended in the hands of a South American team 4 times and it was only with Boca Juniors, twice, and two other Brazilian clubs, São Paulo and Internacional.

LDU has some really talented players (Guerron, Bolaños, Vera, Manso and Bieler) but without the financial resources of the big teams from Europe or even from Brazil or Argentina it will be very hard to keep these players on the squad until December.

Guerron, the most talented on the list, is the first one to leave. He has already signed with Spanish side of Getafe. That transfer by itself is a huge loss for Liga.

La Liga de Quito and Pachuca are, in my opinion, at the same level and both teams might face each other in a possible semifinal to decide who will be the one to play a possible final against Manchester United.

This is football. Everything is possible even when it's 99% improbable.

Here is how the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup table looks like so far:

MATCH 1	MATCH 2	SEMIFINAL 1	FINAL
Asian Champions (TBD Nov. 12th) X Waitakere-NZL (Oceania Champions)	MATCH 1 Winners X Host Team (2008 J-League Champions)	MATCH 2 Winners X Manchester United-ENG	SEMIFINAL 1 Winner X SEMIFINAL 2 Winner
	MATCH 3	SEMIFINAL 2
	African Champions (TBD Nov. 16th) X Pachuca-MEX (CONCACAF Champions)	MATCH 3 Winners X Liga Dep. Universitaria-ECU

90' (+2): It's over SPAIN WON!!! THE NEW EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS!!! There won't be enough sangria in the streets of Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, etc... tonight!!!! CELEBRATION!!!!
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90' (+2): The ref did the right thing. he didn't even wait the 3 minutes. The match is over. Spain is in the FINAL!!!
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.:. Spain vs Russia .:.

 

Spain has a great chance to advance to the Euro 2008 finals. The team is very motivated and with talents like Fernando Torres, Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Iker Casillas, Iniesta, Xavi and the inspired David Villa (and Cesc Fabregas on the bench (?)) one could only think that they are really the favourites to play Germany for the title on Sunday BUT some other facts should be taken in consideration before the fans of La Roja start celebrating.

Russia has a fast, disciplined and well trained team. Guus Hiddink is a very intelligent coach and he might use a strategy to surprise Spain just like he did with the Netherlands.

Another point that will make a difference today is the weather. It's been raining in Viena for quite some time and the wet pitch might give Russia a physical advantage.

So all I can really say is that there are no real favourites in this match. Russia has a not-so-well-known roster but that doesn't mean that they don't have the necessary quality to win and Spain, we all know very well. The team has quality, has talent and has already beat Russia once in this competition. But can they really perform under pressure?

We shall see ...

90' (+1): GGGGOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL GERMANY!!!! DEUSCHLAND!!!!! Lahm
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Germany vs. Turkey

Tomorrow Germany and Turkey will play the first Euro 2008 Semi-Final. Both teams got to this point with merit but in totally different scenarios.

Germany came from a unexpected second place in Group B behind Croatia but the team used its force, discipline and tradition to beat Portugal - one of the favourites - in the quarterfinals.

Turkey struggled to finish in second place in Group A scoring last-minute goals and having passion as the main ingredient for the success. The "never give up" motto was also essential to give the team a goal in the stoppage time of extra time to allow Turkey to beat Croatia in the penalty shootout and secure a spot in the semis.

With that being said, both teams should have equal possibilities to moving to the final but everything changes if we analise each team's roster at this point.

From the 23 players on the squad Turkish coach Fatih Terim can only count on 14. He has 4 players suspended and 4 players who are injured. Important names included in this absence list are: Nihat and Emre (injured) and Arda Turan and Tuncay (suspended).

On the other hand, Germany has no injuries or suspension problems. All 23 players are available for the head coach Joachim Löw. And after the victory over Portugal the motivation level is high.

The responsibility now lies on Germany's back. They have all the favourable conditions to get to another Eurocup Final.

As for Turkey, they have ahead them another "mission impossible" but we've all seen this movie before during this tournament and we know that so far the Turks are playing award-winning roles.

Coach Fatih Terim's mission just gets tougher and tougher

Captain Michael Ballack knows that the Final is just one step away 

Penalties: Here comes Cesc Fabregas. If he scores Spain goes through to the semis... He runs and.... GGGGOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!! Spain is in the semifinals of the Euro 2008!!!!
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Hello Everyone,

  VS  

Spain and Italy will step into the pitch in less than an hour and now I really don't know what to expect about this match. I could only predict or comment something after the first ten minutes and even after that things could drastically change.

It's a mach of high expectations. Spain has the potential (like always). Youth, talent, speed, determination... Let's just hope they have the balance.

Italy has tradition, balance, and luck. Oh yeah, and they are the World Champions! (a small detail right?)

An Apology

I haven't been watching the matches live since Wednesday (with the exception of Germany vs. Portugal on Thursday). The reason some of you already know. I just got a new acquisition to my "team". My son Lucas was born on Wednesday, the day that Brazil and Argentina played each other in my hometown, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. I'm already training him for World Cup 2022.

Anyway, I just wanted to pinpoint a few things about the three quarterfinals matches so far: (after watching all the highlights)

Germany 3 x 2 Portugal

I would be very stupid if I simply said that Cristiano Ronaldo let his team down. It's not true. Every chance, every goal scored by Portugal in this competition had this young guy's touch.

But was he the same as the Cristiano Ronaldo we know from Manchester United? Absolutely NOT! His club teammates play for him, they do all the hard work in order to let Cristiano Ronaldo shine. That doesn't happen in the National Team. There, the best player of the year has to work a little harder for the team. And sometimes he can't do it all. He's still Cristiano Ronaldo but not a Garrincha, Pelé or Maradona yet. Will he ever be? Who knows?

Germany played like the three-time World Champion and three-time European Champion that they are. Discipline, confidence and efficiency were the secrets of the German victory. (and a great performance by Schweiney)

Turkey 1 (1) x 1 (3) Croatia (penalties shootout)

What a match!!! It's hard to find words to describe how incredible this match was. I bet that a lot of cardiac attacks happened in both countries with all the tension and late goals and the penalty shootout.

And what can I say about Semih Senturk? Is this kid blessed or what? He comes in from the bench twice just to score the goals that the team needs to qualify. That's why he's called the Liferguard among his Fenerbahce teammates and fans. He does save the team.

As for the Croatians I believe they went as far as they could. They could've qualified if they had transformed the chances they had or the mistakes of the Turkish goalkeeper into goals. They didn't and paid a high price for not doing their job. This if football.

Netherlands 1 x 3 Russia

Russia played exactly like Zenit FC in the UEFA Cup semifinals against Bayern Munich. Keeping the ball possession and putting pressure on the opponent's defense. Great job by the Russians and well deserved.

The great Netherlands was once again the most pleasant team to watch in the group stage but then... underachiever's syndrome.

The problem is that this team was not expecting to be attacked. They were prepared for a timid and defensive Russia. And they were shocked, surprised and groggy by the Russian Roulette's impetuosity.

90' (+3): The referee blows the whistle. Pizza, Spaghetti, Lasagna and Ravioli to be eaten in every Cantina around the world tonight!!! Italy who had a terrible start in the competition managed to advance. France and Romania go back home earlier!
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