Galaxy's New Target: Maciej Zurawski

Ruud Gullit has set his sights on a pretty big one. Big in the sense that, just like Juan Pablo Angel, my first instinct was - this guy could really wreak havoc in the MLS.

Take Jerzy Podbrozny, Lubos Kubik, and Piotr Nowak and times it by two and you have Zurawski. Maybe that's a little excessive - but when this guy is on form, he can play. He has fallen out of favor under Gordon Strachan at Celtic, but no one can deny 31 goals in 64 caps for the Old Firm giants. Add that to his international success (16 goals, 67 caps) with the Polish national team and the fact that he started all three games for his country at the 2006 World Cup and you've got yourself a 31 year-old striker in dire need of a David Beckham cross and regular playing time. Even before Celtic, this guy has done nothing but score goals...he honed his skills at Wisla Krakow, averaging almost a goal a game.

"The offer from Galaxy is very serious," he told the Scottish Daily Mail."They are really determined to sign Maciej and treat him as a big star."I am flying to Los Angeles this weekend to make things official."

This is a reasonable rumor - not one that would take a lot to actually go through. It's just a shame it's not the Chicago Fire making the move. It's been a while since they've had that Polish on-field presence.

Brian Carroll to Columbus, Kei Kamara to San Jose, Preston Burpo to San Jose

A flurry of trades as the Expansion Draft overhaul gets picked apart. It was pretty much a given that defensive midfielder Brian Carroll was going to move on after being picked by San Jose and having a somewhat sketchy year in D.C.

Columbus gets Carroll for - in my opinion - a rather low price, forward Kei Kamara. Apart from speed, Kamara has shown very little - kinda like Calen Carr in Chicago. The Crew now have a formidable defensive pairing in Carroll and Danny O'Rourke to provide defensive support for Schelotto and Eddie Gaven, who seems to be finding his passion again.

San Jose also picked up GK Preston 'the Rock' Burpo from Chivas USA for a 2008 MLS Superdraft Pick. Burpo's not a bad choice as he performed decently for Chivas before Guzan progressed. I think you'll find he operates as the back-up though.

The Red Bulls find a home, Feilhaber to Derby County?

Here at Center Holds It.

Danny Szetela to AS ROMA!

Milling around Ives Galarcep's neck of the blogosphere woods, you are always guaranteed to get a little piece of juicy news. This morning was no different.Found this article, Italy in Szetela's Future for North Jersey Herald News. It basically stipulates that the U-20 World Cup star and Clifton, NJ native has reached a pre-contractual agreement with Serie A powers AS Roma after his MLS contract with the Columbus Crew runs out on December 31st, 2007. The Serie A - great - but is Roma going to guarantee him any playing time whatsoever? He will most likely be loaned out to a Siena, Ascoli, Parma or Palermo (all who were in to snap him up in the first place).

Szetela joins fellow NY/NJ native, Gabe Ferrari in the Serie A - Ferrari plies his trade for Sampdoria. Furthermore, he joins both Sal Zizzo and Freddy Adu in 'going European' as Zizzo is at Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga now and Adu went to Benfica of the Portuguese SuperLiga.
The IMG product also had interest from other world leagues - Everton, Galatasaray, Rangers, and FC Sion all had submitted transfer inquiries to the MLS front office. When it all boils down - you really can't frown upon this move and his reinvigorated performances with US U-20s made it happen. It's just a shame that Columbus couldn't have reaped the benefits in his 4-year stay in Columbus. The deal should be finalized in the next week or two and, as always, things can go awry.

Who's next from that U-20 squad to go? Chris Seitz? Tony Beltran? Ofori Sarkodie? etc.

Welcome to Man Yoo Mr. Tevez. Alan Smith to Newcastle.

Just in time for the Community Shield clash vs. Chelsea.

Glad that was actually resolved quickly. The price? $4 million. Wonder how much MSI got.

As Alex Ferguson continues to siphon off the leftovers, Man U keeps looking more and more dangerous. Alan Smith follows Guiseppe Rossi out the door as the former Leeds striker heads to St. James Park on a five-year deal.

Man City, Eriksson, and Shinawatra are NOT messing around: Elano, Corluka, and Garrido in now.

$16 million bought Brazilian Copa America standout Elano who will fill the hole and more left behind by convicted felon Joey Barton. This guy in the Premiership scares me - look for him to be all over the place. He's also a physical Brazilian, not something you see every day. He will adapt and perform well...

$16 million (merely reported, not confirmed) has allowed the welcoming of highly rated Croatian defender Vedran Corluka from Dinamo Zagreb. A work permit struggle awaits, but the 21-year old is confident it will go through.

$15 million secured the services of Viktor Krum look-a-like (yes, that was a Harry Potter reference) Valeri Bojinov. His speed and youth up front should help keep the veterans Rolando Bianchi, Bernardo Corradi, Giorgios Samaras, and Emile Mpenza firing on all cylinders with competitive bliss. I'd be surprised if Darius Vassell wasn't immediately shown the door.

$3 million confirmed Real Sociedad's Javi Garrido's transfer as the Swede and his Thai sugar daddy show they are committing to Man City's future and as they key in on the improvement of the defense, that Citeh's future is richer with Micah Richards firmly entrenched there.

$9 million was all that was needed to shore up the veteran presence at the City of Manchester Stadium. Bulgarian Martin Petrov from Atletico Madrid is the guy Eriksson chose to be the glue of this whole new roster the Swede seems to be bringing in.

Geovanni and Gelson Fernandes have also arrived. Geovanni on a free transfer, a firm grab if he's got a history with Barcelona (albeit a shaky one). Gelson is a face for the future coming in from Sion in Switzerland (a possible destination for US starlet Danny Szetela). Won't see him feature that much this year.

Total rounded up with Gelson and Geovanni's transfer fees included:

$60 million in about a week.

Best thing is: more faces are expected.

A Couple Morning Tidbits: Spector scores, West Ham scores a partnership, Beckham on-air, Man City keeps bringing in recruits

We saw Jonathan Spector's potential this summer and now he's bringing that well-reinforced confidence back to West Ham United. The fullback unleashed a long range shot that found net in a 2-1 friendly win over Norwich City.

Speaking of West Ham United - anyone catch this partnership between the Hammers and the whole of the United Soccer Leagues? Read up on it. One of the highlights is taking 20 or so handpicked Super-Y and Super-20 Leaguers and taking them to West Ham Academy to be trained, assessed, criticized, and then shipped back home better soccer players.

David Beckham's possible MLS debut against Toronto FC - as first seen on the blogosphere at MLSUnderground - will be aired by ESPN2 on Sunday, August 5th, at 7:30pm. Hopefully he plays and hopefully this starts a trend of kicking re-run poker shows off-the-air or at least ESPN Ocho.

Manchester City have raided former Fulham skipper Chris Coleman's new club, Real Sociedad for defender Javi Garrido for a rumoured $4 million or so. At the other end of the pitch, Bulgarian forward and former Fiorentina favorite Valeri Bojinov could be on his way to Manchester as well. Fiorentina made the crappy move of sending the still young striker to Juventus on loan last season and, despite their Serie B status, Bojinov didn't play too much. The deal could be worth as much as $11.5 million. Former Thai Prime Minister and bad boy on the run Shinawatra seems to be giving Manchester City the financial flexibility they always needed.

American, dare I say traitor?, Guiseppe Rossi to Villareal

The 20-year old Rossi will be taking place of the departed Diego Forlan who went to Atletico Madrid to replace Fernando Torres who went to Liverpool. It's a game of transfer musical chairs. Rossi, well-known for his US-Italy - which team to do I want to play - tug of war, was born in the NY metro area and is one of the many youth prospects found and nurtured by Manchester United, but eventually - due to the attraction of bringing in big name players, already established - he was cast aside. Rossi could find life tough in La Liga, but then again, if you can score in Serie A as he did with Parma on loan last season, you can score anywhere.

Source

It is confirmed: Benfica answers Adu's European come-and-get-me call

The 18-year old showed his true colors at U-20 World Cup and now, about $2 million later, Benfica - a storied Portuguese superpower, legendary for being Portugal's soccer savior Eusebio's stomping ground - has won the signature of Freddy Adu. Confirmation here.

The task will be a tough one - Benfica has won the signatures of some highly rated players this summer. Angel di Maria, also a U-20 standout from Argentina, was courted heavily by Arsenal to add to their already youth-laden line-up, but found an $8 million move to Benfica much more appealing. Belletti, the versatile Brazilian who has long been a part of the core that was Barcelona's success, will join on loan after a tumultuous and frustrating year at Barcelona has brought in several new players, weeding Belletti out. Adu has his competition and large shoes to fill as slightly older Simao Sabrosa was considered Benfica's attacking heart and soul, but just transferred out. A $27 million offer from Atletico Madrid (who also recently just captured former Arsenal and Real Madrid attacking mid Jose Antonio Reyes) was too enticing to turn down.

Apparently, Adu has trained with them (as seen above, courtesy of Yanks Abroad), has received the graces of a Salt Lake community (who will be happy to have the money open up for a rebuilding acquisition) as well as a former D.C. community who want the kid to succeed (for the most part). If he plays with the grace and tenacity that he had in the recent U-20 World Cup, this kid could be something special. After 98 appearances in the MLS and the continued pressure of being the USA's first "soccer wonderkid", Adu will test his mettle abroad where the scrutiny is more intense and everything is under the microscope.

My verdict? Good move - and given two years, we're going to see a consistent, refined, and even haughtier Freddy Adu. One who can perform against teams other than those in CONCACAF (i.e. Mr. Donovan).

For those Benfica supporters/Portuguese SuperLiga fans that are looking for information on Freddy. Check here...

What are your thoughts?

Be back with more later. Day job calls.

Transfer Central: Nery Castillo courted by Sven, but won by Shakhtar Donetsk

The Ukrainian powerhouse has shelled out upwards of $20 million for the Mexican playmaker who has been "hiding" in the Greek Premiership for some time now. The deal is reported to be for four-years and should be confirmed on Monday. It looks like Castillo prefers to wallow in what some would call 'obscurity' - the club, itself, however, has made some decent strides in the past couple years and possess such talent as Brazilian midfielder/forward Fernandinho, Copa America stud Elano and forward Brandao, wing midfielder Darijo Srna, Czech defensive stalwart and former Newcastle target Tomas Hubschmann, and promising Ukrainian goalkeeper Bohdan Shust. Their profile skyrocketed after securing prolific Italian forward Cristiano Luccarelli from Livorno in Serie A. Luccarelli has been at the top of the Serie A scoring charts for some time now.


It looks like Manchester City's hope to bring the 23-year old to England has failed, despite now having the cash to drop too.

Blackburn signs Roque Santa Cruz from Bayern; what does this mean for Eddie Johnson?

The big Paraguayan had a tumultuous time at Bayern Munich - suffering through a massive case of the ups and downs. He is, however, only 25-years old and with a great track record which, if compared to Eddie Johnson (who has been rumoured to have ongoing contractual discussions) - Roque Santa Cruz is a much better, high-profile choice. What does that mean? Eddie Johnson will probably not head to Blackburn, has already turned down Derby, and how many other teams are willing to chase him in the Premiership? And is the Premiership even the right spot for him?


Regardless, the Rovers have paid $7 million for the striker and the only reason he's leaving Munich is because of the strong acquisitions new coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has made. Where's the playing time when you got Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose, and Lukas Podolski all ahead of you? Can't even move him to the flank because Frank Ribery is there. More importantly, Hitzfeld is looking to shed any remnants of last year's "disaster" of a season (in Bayern Munich standards). This is a steal for Blackburn and to have him up top with Benni McCarthy (who was rumored at some point to be on his way out) with Jason Roberts in support - is a damn good thing (with two young'uns Maceo Rigters and Matt Derbyshire vying for a role as well). The Paraguayan scored 31 times in a 155 appearances with Bayern and also has 49 caps for the national team, tallying 14 times.

Landon Donovan to the English Premiership?

When has Landon Donovan only spoken to Skysports News. Regardless, the LA Galaxy midfielder says that as he ages he realizes how much he "yearns to play at the highest level". Not only is the English Premiership the highest level, but there are also no language barriers (which apparently threw Donovan for a loop in Germany).

For all those Donovan to San Jose hopefuls, this could introduce more suitors. Or will the failed time at Bayer Leverkusen be enough to ward potential suitors off?

"The older I get and the more I play, the more I'm yearning for that highest level I can play at and I think the Premiership would be the best place the play," he told Sky Sports News.

"If I were to go obviously the language isn't an issue. There are a lot of Americans there. It would be the easiest place the settle, Germany was difficult.

"At the moment I'm happy here, at least for the next few years with Dave (Beckham) here. I want to be a part of this too. Not many people get to be a part of this, so I want to live it."

Source is here...what are you thoughts?

Transfer Round-Up: Sven at Citeh goes on a shopping spree, Simao moves to Spain, and MSI screws everything up

Pending work permit issues, Bulgarian Martin Petrov will be making his way to Sven Goran Eriksson's new stomping ground, Manchester City. With the Thai takeover complete, the transfer budget has been given gentle nudge upwards and Eriksson, former English national team boss, was able to spring for the Atletico Madrid playmaker. His cost? A heavy $9 million and change. The first question is, will Martin outplay the "other" Petrov, Stilian, who spent his first year in the Premiership with Aston Villa. Secondly, and probably most importantly, will Eriksson stop here??? That answer is a firm no - he is expecting several more new faces and has been rumoured to target restless Juventus stars Giorgio Chiellini (who had recently a wonderful Euro U-21 appearance with Italy) and midfielder Manuele Blasi. Let's not forget the search for a big target man up top - Nikola Zigic apparently is on top of that shortlist as the 6'7" Serbian striker had a decent year with Racing Santander last year in La Liga. Add him up front with Corradi or Bianchi and you have yourself one hell of a scary strikeforce.

In an effort to counter the loss of Fernando Torres, Martin Petrov, etc. Atletico Madrid is launching a rather bold bid for former Liverpool target Simao Sabrosa. A $26.5 million bid just might be enough to pry the extremely talented young'un away from Benfica. The contract offered is reported to be a 5-year stay and a formal acceptance is the last thing needed to make the deal official. Both Liverpool and Valencia tried and failed to sign the winger early on and could this be a move that has links to possible Freddy Adu transfer??? Who knows...

Charlton fullback and England international Luke Young has agreed a transfer that will take him to Middlesbrough. His main concern was staying in Premiership football. The deal is official and it will be nice to see him fit in with an already decent back four led by the two central defenders Ronald Huth and former Real Madrid player Jonathan Woodgate. The deal was an easy $5 million.

A divorce is in process between MSI and Corinthians. Apparently the Brazilian club has severed all ties with the London-based agency. Let's be honest - when Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano signed for West Ham United we all knew something rather dodgy was going on. It was confirmed that way and now MSI and Kia Joorabchian (Tevez's agent) are looking to do the same with Carlos Tevez going to Manchester United after one painful year with West Ham. If any player was that tied up in legal headaches and remarkably terrible business practices, why would a club want to work their way into the middle of it? Even if Tevez and Rooney would be insane up front.

What do I know. What's your two cents?

UCLA's Zizzo off to Hannover 96

Sal(vatore) Zizzo will join Heath Pearce as the second Yank to head to the Bundesliga this transfer window. Pearce recently joined newly promoted Hansa Rostock. The 20-year old Zizzo, who thanks to Johann Smith's untimely injury, terrorized the sidelines along with Robbie Rogers during the US U-20's quarterfinal run in Canada.

The move has been confirmed by Hannover 96's website (with the little German I can comprehend) and both MLSU and Soccer by Ives' have confirmed as well. This is a great move and quite a loss for the MLS (although due to Zizzo's apparent Italian/EU Passport, his intentions all along screamed Europe). The UCLA product will join a team that started the 2006/07 season terribly but rebounded and excelled with a young line-up to finish 11th, led by Steve Cherundolo's grit and influence. The team certainly plans to improve and have picked up some especially potent strikers in Mike Hanke from VfL Wolfsburg and Benjamin Lauth from fellow Yank Abroad Benny Feilhaber's squad Hamburg (HSV). It will be interesting to see whether or not Zizzo can make a first-team impression, but it would hardpressed - considering Hannover's lack of speed and aggression on the wing - that he wouldn't get a look right away.

The contract is three years and I think this is just the beginning for American youth heading abroad. We've got one whole month left in this summer's transfer window and I'd be surprised if we don't have closure on some other rumors.

Paolo Wanchope to join Blanco at the Fire and guess what? Jose Mourinho plans to chill out!

Paolo Wanchope is one of those guys that you could swear has been playing for 25 years (kinda like Abel Xavier). The Tico-legend has instead taken the globe-trekker approach and gone from Costa Rica to England to Spain, at some point to Argentina, etc. He has played most recently for FC Tokyo in Japan but also has had seasons with Derby County, West Ham United, Manchester City in the Championship and Premiership respectively. Within English competition, the 30-year Costa Rican has racked up a respectable 81 goals to match his equally respectable tally of 45 goals in 72 caps for the Costa Rican national team.
The brief details of the deal were first reported by Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune and I am sure he will continue to keep us all updated.

Check out Wanchope's brace against Germany in the 2006 WC (as well as all 4 German goals)

JOSE MOURINHO plans to CALM DOWN

As for Jose Mourinho - his plan for his fourth season at Chelsea is to mellow out and, well, not hog the damn spotlight. Amidst all this talk to Skysports, however, he still managed to get a crack in at Arsenal's Arsene Wenger. Read on...

"I want to be more mellow this year," Mourinho told The Sun. "I am what I am but, at the same time, people use my personality to create something that is not true.

"It is normal if I am emotional or if I react to something that is not fair.

"But people have an image of me that's incorrect and now I want it to be different.

"I won't hug Arsene Wenger because he's not a close friend. But he can say what he wants about us.

"He can complain about a lot of things as he did in the past. I'm not ready to react. I just want to do my work and concentrate on that.

"I look at our opponents because I need to know the way they play but I'm not interested in what they say.

"My relationships with other people will not change. My bottle of wine with Ferguson will still be a bottle of wine, my handshake with Wenger will still be a handshake."

Mourinho also reiterated the fact that he is content with life at Chelsea and is in no hurry to leave the club.

"This is the first time I have started a fourth season with the same club and I feel great," added Mourinho. "I am happy with what we've done.

"I am happy with the relationship I have with my players and with the people who work with me. It's the best place to work so I am happy to be part of the Chelsea future. I didn't want to move.

"I think I did a good job at Chelsea for three years but I want to do more.

"I am loved in Portugal but my life is better in London.

"The way people approach me is different. In London, you have more space. My life is a simple life."

I do think it's good that he even wants to try - Ferguson and Wenger all mellowed out and some point and despite their ups and downs, neither has ever really seriously thought about leaving the UK. One side note: if David Beckham - Mr. Emotional - and Jose Mourinho - a different kind of Mr. Emotional - were the same person, that person would inevitably be the biggest head case known to man. I have to admit, if you watched some of that hour Beckham program (New Beginnings) on ESPN before the game, Beckham cries a lot, more than normal people...Mourinho, on the other hand, will eventually have a conniption if he doesn't mellow out, so watch the guy this year...and let's see if he keeps to his word.

YANKS ABROAD UPDATE: Freddy Adu to Benfica? With Celtic close behind. Scholes, another Freddie, and Ricardinho too.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that $7.5 million would have to be tabled in order to pry the 18-year old Adu away from the MLS. That's slim pickins' for a club like Benfica or Celtic and Freddy Adu's absence at the Real Salt Lake/Everton friendly fueled transfer talk. According to Lewis' sources - Adu's agent could be wrapping up a deal in just a few days with Benfica the leader in the chase. Another club mentioned is Premiership youth hotbed, Tottenham Hotspur.

Clearly - more should come from this in the coming days. Adu, however, should be in the roster for RSL's friendly match-up with Boca Juniors on Tuesday, July 24th. His departure would certainly be a bittersweet one as many are still waiting for the "real" Freddy Adu to come out. Not only that, but it might push RSL to up the ante for a Jay Jay Okocha or some other winger looking to come to the MLS.

OTHER NEWS:

Manchester United were dealt a rather large blow as trusty veteran center midfielder Paul Scholes has been ruled out of the rest of the Red Devils' Far East tour and a month onward with extensive knee pain. Exploratory surgery will be done keeping him out for the beginning of the Premiership season on August 11th.

Long-time Arsenal Gunner Freddie Ljungberg has moved on. West Ham United were keen suitors and won their man. His departure, however, was pretty much solidified when Thierry Henry left the club as Ljungberg believed that any favorable future for the club left with the French striker. Ljungberg, only 30, is healthy again (and over his injury riddled last season) and is poised to help an ailing Hammer midfield (especially if Tevez leaves).

The courtship of Ricardinho is over. FC Dallas', according to Buzz Carrick's 3rd Degree, has finally signed him on loan formally, all legal/immigration documents in order, and he will be ready to compete in the Superliga schedule rapidly approaching. Roberto Mina has been placed on injury reserve to make room for the youth international. His pace apparently rivals Dominic Oduro, except the Brazilian possesses better skill and decision-making skills. Should be real interesting, especially if Denilson comes into the mix (which we should hear something about soon).

Transfer Round-Up: MLS Chase for Fowler is over, Ajax brings in two old guys, and Edgar Barreto moves to Serie A

Robbie Fowler, the Liverpool loyalist, has ended his hunt for a new club. Apparently, at one time, Fowler had been courted by Steve Nicol and the New England Revolution, and less religiously, the New York Red Bulls. Neither struck his fancy. Then came the A-League - Sydney was taking a look at him. Fowler wanted nothing to do with the distance. Fowler - clearly a homebody - decided finally on Cardiff City, a English Championship squad with a good amount of cash. Perfect for Cardiff, as they just lost their big gun Michael Chopra to newly promoted Sunderland and Roy Keane. Regardless, hopefully Fowler can put together a couple more solid goalscoring years and propel the squad to the Premiership.


Ajax has a thing for aging Spanish veterans and this offseason's transfer window sees not many changes. At first, maybe, as they went and raided freshly relegated Charlton Athletic for winger Dennis Rommedahl. The Danish international previously played for PSV Eindhoven so competition in the Dutch Eredivisie will come as no surprise. The second signing is clearly for the short term as Ajax swooped for 35-year old Ismael Urzaiz of Athletic Bilbao. Urzaiz will join Roger and Gabri as two other aging Spaniards. Is the Eredivisie a retirement league? No - Henk Ten Cate just likes old Spaniards, can't fault him for that.

Edgar Barreto - one of my favorite prospects from Paraguay - has moved on to Reggina of Italian Serie A. He showed his promise against the United States at Copa America, scoring Paraguay's first goal. The midfielder has been playing with NEC Nijmegen in the Dutch Eredivisie and has become transfer bait due to the club's need for cash. Known for his off-the-ball work and hard work ethic, no doubt he'll be a hit at Reggina who desperately need some sort of midfield spark to ensure survival in Serie A. This kid should undoubtedly shine.

Has freshly-promoted Premiership club Derby rekindled its' interest in Eddie Johnson?

The answer could seemingly be yes...

Skysports.com reports nothing but raving positive comments about the Florida native coming from the mouth Derby County Rams manager Billy Davies.

"He is young, has great pace and also a point to prove because he has never played in England before, he scores goals for fun and has started the American season like a house on fire. He is the most valued player in the MLS."

I'd say that's a glowing spot of interest - Davies is keen to match the pace and youth of Johnson up front with the strength and pure determination of newly-acquired Welsh striker Robert Earnshaw.

Derby boss Davies goes on to say this about American players in the Premiership in general, "Very few American players have come to this country and failed. They have a lot to offer, they are fit and they are very good professionals."


You can bet Derby will have their scouts firmly entrenched in the stands come 9:00pm tonight. Would Derby be a right move for EJ? I think so - EJ needs a place to go where he's a big fish in a small pond. Derby is that place - where he can "overperform" against big teams without the pressure of having a player always breathing down your neck for that shot at a starting position (take the Rooney, Saha, Alan Smith, Guiseppe Rossi saga going on right now). What do you think?

Quick Post: Yep, It's True - The Earthquakes are Back, the Hammers are holdin' on, and Heath Bar Pearce moves on

Lew Wolff has done what he intended to do. Quick post due to the fact I have been sick. Here's some reading material:

CNN Sports Take

Other headlines:

Ludovic Giuly (I had a slight hope he'd grace us with his presence in the MLS) has swapped Barcelona for AS Roma. Originally, the plan was for Christian Chivu to go the other way - but Chivu and Roma made that tough. Instead, Giuly was transferred for around $4.5 million. Good buy.

West Ham is making it real tough for Manchester United to get the Carlos Tevez transfer completed. ESPN Soccernet's report.

American left-back Heath Pearce has moved from the Danish league to newly promoted German Bundesliga side Hansa Rostock. Upped my interest in the Bundesliga two-fold.

News Smorgasboard: Tevez Deal Done?, The Babel Tower, USWNT Better Late Than Never...

World Soccer Transfers: Babel, Benayoun, Boulahrouz, Sagna, Dudek, Tevez

Manchester United's fourth signing of the window is most likely its' strongest. Carlos Tevez has passed his medical and will be introduced as a Man Utd player next week (says Soccernet.com). The deal will initially be a loan signing which could further segue into a permanent deal. The pricetag could be upwards of $60 million. Add that to the $50 million or so spent on Anderson and Nani and I'd have to say that the Glazer-owned Red Devils are firmly entrenched in the "I want to repeat" market.

The Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun to Liverpool transfers have been completed. Babel cost a cool $23 million, while Yossi fetched $8 million. Combine that with Fernando Torres' pricetag and you have a got the firm spending of a significant transfer budget handed to Rafa Benitez by new American owners Gillett and Hicks. Hopefully, we don't see an underperforming domestic year...again.


Khalid Boulahrouz, the catalyst of the Portugal-Holland World Cup red and yellow card bonanza, has been loaned out to Sevilla by Chelsea as Mourinho, though having a hand in his selection, could not deal anymore with his lack of discipline in the back and errant tackling. Think....the Facundo Erpen of the EPL. Boulahrouz is known for cleating Cristiano Ronaldo in the inner thigh during WC 2006 in Germany and leaving Ronaldo to operate at less than 100%.

Auxerre's standout defender Bakari Sagna is Arsene Wenger's newest recruit as he looks to build for the future (or so it seems, as none of these players - Eduardo, Sagna - have the qualities to bring the EPL title to Emirates now). The Frenchman has been compared to the likes of Emmanuel Eboue and will look to join Eboue on the starting backline. A figure of around $12 million has been reported.


Jerzy Dudek has left Liverpool and is off to serve as back-up to ironman Iker Casillas at Real Madrid. Casillas, in goal for Madrid since he was 19, has never really wavered in consistency and does not miss many games at all - so essentially, some could say Dudek is effectively retiring. One thing Dudek has done, however, is put in a good six solid seasons at Anfield.

Better late than never...taking some advice. A small analysis of the USWNT World Cup 2007 Roster.

2007 UNITED STATES WOMEN’S WORLD CUP ROSTER

Players	Pos.	Ht.	DOB	Hometown	College	Caps/Goals
Barnhart, Nicole	GK	5-10	10/10/81	Gilbertsville, Pa.	Stanford	3/0
Boxx, Shannon	M	5-8	06/29/77	Redondo Beach, Calif.	Notre Dame	66/14
Chalupny, Lori	M	5-4	01/29/84	St. Louis, Mo.	UNC	40/4
Ellertson, Tina	D	5-9	05/20/82	Vancouver, Wash.	Washington	22/0
Jobson, Marci	M	5-7	12/04/75	St. Charles, Ill.	SMU	14/0
Lilly, Kristine	F	5-4	07/22/71	Wlton, Conn.	UNC	327/123
Lloyd, Carli	M	5-8	07/16/82	Delran, N.J.	Rutgers	32/5
Lopez, Stephanie	D	5-6	04/03/86	Elk Grove, Calif.	Portland	20/0
Markgraf, Kate	D	5-7	08/23/76	Bloomfield Hills, Mich.	Notre Dame	159/0
O'Reilly, Heather	F	5-5	01/02/85	East Brunswick, N.J.	UNC	61/10
Osborne, Leslie	M	5-8	05/27/83	Brookfield, Wisc.	Santa Clara	40/2
Rampone, Chrstie	D	5-6	06/24/75	Point Pleasant, N.J.	Monmouth	164/4
Scurry, Brianna	GK	5-8	09/07/71	Dayton, Minn.	UMass	162/0
Solo, Hope	GK	5-9	07/30/81	Richland, Wash.	Washington	44/0
Tarpley, Lindsay	F	5-6	09/22/83	Kalamazoo, Mich.	UNC	69/15
Wagner, Aly	M	5-5	08/10/80	San Jose, Calif.	Santa Clara	112/21
Wambach, Abby	F	5-11	06/02/80	Rochester, N.Y.	Florida	92/74
Whitehill, Cat	D	5-5	02/10/82	Birmingham, Ala.	UNC	110/11

The USWMNT looks set to kick it off in September with a veteran-laden team, highlighted by none else then the invincible and never-younger Kristine Lilly who still averages a game almost every other game. The big goalscorer here, however, is Abby Wambach who has the scoring efficiency of a Mia Hamm except with the advantage of almost 4 extra inches. The other big-time veteran on this roster is Briana Scurry who has seemingly been in goal since the 1991 World Cup.
Two to watch as they continue their breakout - midfielder Carli Lloyd (a South Jersey product) and defender Stephanie Lopez who holds the esteemed title of youngest girl on the team (with 20 caps nevertheless). Another Jersey product, Heather O'Reilly will hopefully join fellow SEC grad Wambach on the front-line to reek havoc on North Korea, Sweden and Nigeria.
There will be three international friendlies against Japan, New Zealand, and Finland in an effort to put the pieces together and bring back the title to the USA. A full roster breakdown is available at USSoccer.com.

Enjoy that Thursday night game.