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In the latest soccer news, Real Salt Lake silenced the Spartans of The University of Tampa 4-0. Real Salt Lake fielded their subs and trialists for the first 60 minutes of the game. Alex Nimo started the scoring in the 7th minute with a strike from 14 yards out. The Spartans did a good job to limit Real's chances as they only trailed 1-0 at half time. Spartan's forward, #14 Pascal Milien, threatenedthe RSL defense with his silky moves and speed. 

 

In the second half, the Spartans ran out of steam as RSL began scoring by Luis Miguel Escalada in the 59th minute, Will Johnson in the 80th, Yura Movsisyan in the 84th minute.  Javier Morales entered at the 46th minute but left with a right quadriceps injury in the 78th minute. New trialist Carlos Salazar, a left midfielder from Colombia who joined the RSL camp earlier in the day played 30 minutes in his debut.

 

 2009 First Round Draft pick, Jean Alexandre, played as the defensive midfielder, a position that is new to him since he played the play maker role collegiality. His new position presents new problems as the speed of play is that much faster and his opponents will boast a greater athleticism than in college. After the game, Soccer Addict News  spoke with Alexandre and asked him about his transition from college to the MLS. He said that "the speed of play is main factor and that he is learning a new defensive midfield role which is different from college."

 

Alexandre demonstrated his hard and swift tackling but struggled when high pressure was applied failing to settle the ball on his first touch. In certain occasion, the Spartans were over matched in sized when the imposing combo of Alexadre and Olave tackled with authority. RSL will face BK Hacken (SWE) on Friday 27th 7 p.m. at Pepin Stadium. Here is RSL Lineups and upcoming matches.

 

Real Salt Lake Line-up (4-4-2):GK-Kyle Reynish (Steve Clark 46); DF-Brennan Tennelle (Andy Williams 60), DF-David Horst, DF-Nat Borchers (Jamison Olave 46), DF-Tony Beltran (Chris Wingert 60); MF-Clint Mathis (Raphael Cox 46) (Ian Joy 60), MF-Jean Alexandre (Kyle Beckerman 60), MF-Alex Nimo (Javier Morales 46) (Raphael Cox 78), MF-Raphael Cox (Carlos Salazar 30) (Will Johnson 60); FW-Luis Miguel Escalada (Yura Movsisyan 60), FW-Leonel Saint Preux (Robbie Findley 46)

 

 

Real Salt Lake 2009 Preseason Schedule (subject to change)

Feb. 2-14: Preseason Trip #1 to Oxnard/Ventura, Calif.
       Sun., Feb. 8 - Real Salt Lake 0 : 0 Ventura County Fusion - Buena H.S.; Ventura, Calif.
       Fri., Feb. 13 - Real Salt Lake 8 : 0 Shandong Luneng Taishan (China) - Oxnard College; Oxnard, Calif.

Feb. 18-28: Preseason Trip #2 to Tampa, Fla.
       Sat., Feb. 21 - Real Salt Lake 2 : 0 Univ. of South Florida - USF Soccer & Track Stadium; Tampa, Fla.
       Tues., Feb. 24 - Real Salt Lake 4 : 0 Univ. of Tampa - Pepin Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
       Fri., Feb. 27 - RSL v. BK Hacken (SWE) - Tom Fitzgerald Memorial Soccer Festival - Pepin Stadium @ Univ. of Tampa - 7:00 p.m. ET

 

What do you think of RSL's performance? WIll they make the playoffs this season? Are you concerned about Morales injury? What are your thoughts? We want to know.

 

Included are blogs that discuss Latest Soccer News: Real Salt Lake silences the University of Tampa Spartans 4-0.

 

 

 

In the latest soccer news, Clint Dempsey  ignited Fulham's late-game comeback with a header in the 77th minute from a Davies' corner kick. The American international midfielder has tallied five goals for the season despite playing a bench role for the first three months. Clint Dempsey never shies away from pressure as he has been clutch scoring twice against Chelsea in a 2-2 draw and once in a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth.

 

After his first goal, Dempsey received a pass on a break-away and sent a low strike at goal which was acrobatically saved by the Swansea keeper, Dorus De Vries. Bobby Zamora started his own scoring streak with the game-winner four minutes later. Fulham will advance to the sixth round to face Super Club Manchester United.

 

Clint Dempseyspoke with Fulham's Official Web site and stated his ambition to play Man U stating “It’s important to go as far as you can in the Cup. Since I’ve been here we haven’t done well in either Cup competition so to advance and go as far as we’ve gone this season is great. We’re looking forward to the next game."  He mentioned that Fulham could have scored more stating “We created a lot of chances for ourselves and we showed we can come back from being down. You just have to keep working hard when things are not going right for you. All you can do is give your best and that’s what we did on Tuesday night. I thought we put in another good performance and to be fair we could have had a few more."

 

Part-rapper, part-baller, Clint Dempsey spoke about the tradition involved and the challenge facing Manchester United stating “The FA Cup has so much tradition and it’s great to be a part of it and it’s something we have a chance to win. We’re not going to win the league so we’ve got to think that we can get something out of it. Portsmouth did it last season and won so why can't we do it. We’re thinking along those lines but we know we have to take it one game at a time. We have our work cut out playing United."

 

“It’ll definitely be a tough game but we’ll give them a good game and the last time we played them at home we won. We have to go there being positive and try and get forward and score goals. We’re trying to do everything we can to stay in the top ten and push on from there" said Dempsey.

 

It is not certain that Fulham will win the series but they opine that they will offer a good challenge. I have been advocating that Dempsey is more affective for the team playing withdrawn forward or centrally where he flourishes. This is another example how he performs when is a more focal point of the offense. Big games are his specialty such as Chelsea and Portsmouth, and the goal against Liverpool to save them from relegation in the 2006/07 season. Dempsey will strive to give his best as they take on the Premiership Royalty. 

 

This Soccer video features highlights of Fulham's comeback.

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What do you think of his clutch performance? Can you see Dempsey exceeding ten goals this season? Will Dempsey move to a bigger club or will he stay until his contract? What are your favorite Dempsey goals? Can Fulham defeat Manchester United in the FA Cup sixth round? What do you think? Let us know?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the latest soccer news: In this segment of Joelstradamus - UEFA Champions League predictions Wednesday February 25th, Soccer Addict News and Joelstradamus will attempt to prognosticate the interesting  Wednesday matches. After correctly predicting three out of the four of the games yesterday, I completely botched the Inter Milan and Manchester United pick. What was I thinking predicting a 2-0 result to Inter Milan? I guess, with the Man U defense plagued by injuries and suspensions, that a glimmer of hope would shine through for Ibrahimovic and Adriano. Although Inter can still take the series, it is highly unlikely now that Vidic will be back in the central defense, and Man U will be in Old Trafford.  

 

This attempt to predict Wednesday's matches will be much more difficult as the pressure amounts to compensate for the Inter/Man U prediction. LOL!!! Without further Adu, I present to you Joelstradamus - UEFA Champions League predictions Wednesday February 25th. Enjoy!!!!

 

1. Juventus at Chelsea (2:30pm, ESPN2): Chelsea enters this match with a lot of uncertainty recently losing their coach, tightening their future budget, and receiving a 3-0 beat-down to Man U.  The Blues are struggling this season and have only beat top teams in the Premiership such as Aston Villa twice and tied Man United 1-1. Their inability to defeat the top five sides in the Premiership causes great concern as they face Juventus. Besides the Manchester United thrashing, Chelsea's defense is playing really well only conceding 15 goals all season netting a +30 goal differntial. However, the disparity of goal differential were scored against lower-tier teams. When facing top teams, Chelsea has failed to score except when facing Aston Villa.

 

On the other hand, Juventus has defeated some top clubs such as AC Milan, AS Roma, Real Madrid home/away, Fiorentina, and Zenit St. Petersburg.Although Juventus and Chelsea's play has been mediocre at best, Juventus has performed well against other top-tier teams. The Italian super club has conceded 21 goals, this season, 2 goals in the last five games, and 4 goals in the last five away games. Their offense has produced 41 goals this season,  4 goals in the last five games, and 5 goals in the last five games.

 

With both teams numbers mirroring each other  in the last five games, Juventushas proven their worth against tough competition. Even though Anelka and Drogbawill be paired together and should provide a face lift to the saggy and stale Chelsea offense,  Juventus will demonstrate their experience and resurgence in the UEFA Champions League. Wednesday's game at Stamford Bridge will result in a 1-1 tie. In the home leg, Juventuswill advance with a 2-1 victory.  Look for Amauri and Del Piero to play well in this series.

 

2. Liverpool at Real Madrid (2:30pm, Setanta USA and ESPN Deportes, 5pm, ESPN Classic): Since Juande Ramos has taken over for Real Madrid, the Royalty have not disappointed and are closing ground on La Liga leaders, Barcelona. Liverpool could be considered a UEFA Champions League team that raises its level at the most crucial moments. Under Rafa Benitez, Liverpool has performed well in the Champions League.

 

Although Liverpool has struggled in recent weeks, Steven Gerrard could be the main reason for the struggles as he has been out for 3 weeks with a hamstring injuries. Real Madrid has conceded 28 goals all season, 7 goals in the last five games, and 11 goals in the last five home games. Liverpool has conceded 18 goalsall season, 2 goals in the last five games, and 2 goals in the last five away games. Real Madrid's unstable and propensity to lapse in concentration could lead to their demise. In addition, Steven Gerrard's arrival should be the difference maker as he has performed well on the big stage. Liverpool fans have created his own song in a rendition of Que sera sera! Liverpool should score against Madrid drawing 1-1 away. Real Madrid will crumble away losing 2-1 in Liverpool. I almost jumped on the Real Madrid bandwagon, but after looking at the numbers the coaching and discipline will prevail in this series.

 

3. Bayern Munich at Sporting Lisbon (9pm, ESPN Deportes, 11pm, Setanta USA): Sporting Lisbon has not played the same level of competition that Bayern Munich has. However, BayernMunich ranks in the top two of all 16 UEFA teams in goals allowed this season with 30 which does not bode well specially when Sporting Lisbon has only conceded 14 goals seasons all season and 6 in the last three games. Sporting Lisbon is not exactly a goal factory either as they have only produced 26 goals all season. 

 

Bayern Munich's has conceded 30 goalsall season, 9 goals in the last five games, and 3 goals in the last five away games. At the beginning of the season, Bayern was successful defeating Lyon, Fiorentina, Steaua Bucuresti home/away but have struggled producing impotent offensive chance. Their strugglesshould dissipate as Luca Toni returns, and Philip Lahm announced that I can promise that we will be more concentrated and focused and will go back to Munich with a good result. We have the chance to put ourselves among the best eight teams in Europe. Whoever is not up for it has done something wrong.''

 

Although I see Sporting Lisbon as being the favorite due to their solid defense, the Toni inclusion and their set piece supremacy will prevail in the end. I am picking the shocker.  Bayern will win 3-2 away against Sporting Lisbon. Sporting Lisbon will draw 1-1 in the away leg, but Bayern Munich will advance. Their experience and height up front will be the deciding factor.

 

4. Panathinaikos at Villarreal (5:45pm, Setanta USA): Panathinaikos currently trail Olympiakos by 11 points this season in the Greek Premiere League. Their notable performance consist of defeats against Sparta Prague, Werder Bremen, and Inter Milan. They have only conceded 14 goals all season and produced 41goals. Villareal started the season strong but has drifted down the Spanish table. Their notable performances produced two draws against Manchester Unitedand vicories against Celtic and Aab Aalborg. Their success against top five teams in the Liga are non existent defeating only inferior talent.

 

Villareal's goal diffential  of +6 is horrible this season partly because of their 32 goals allowed this season which is the highest of all remaining teams.  Their recent performances provide a positive outlook only conceding 2 goals in the last five games and 6 goals in the last five home games yielding a +5 goal differential. With Panathinaikos performing well away in UEFA action defeating Inter 1-0, Sparta Prague 2-1, and Werder Bremen 3-0, this positive trend could indicate that the Greek side could steal points from Villareal. Their win-loss records are almost mirror images as Panathinaikos plays well both home and away. Look for Panathinaikosto stun Villareal 2-1 away and draw 1-1 in Greece.

 

 

Who are your favorites to win? Will you favorite team advance? Who is your Cinderella of the tourney?  Will Donovan play or make an impact for Bayern Munich? What are your thoughts? Let us know.

 

Included are blogs that discuss Latest Soccer News: Joelstradamus - UEFA Champions League predictions Wednesday February 25th.

 

 

 

In the latest soccer news, the Houston Dynamo hosted Mexican side Atlante in the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday night at Robertson Stadium. Although one would say that the result is good considering that the Dynamo have not played competitively in several months, the Dynamo could of put the game out of reach in the first half. Coach Dominic Kinnear's squad were aggressive from the beginning pressuring Atlante which caused turnovers and errors. The Dynamo pressure caused Atlante problems as they were unable to build an attack against the Dynamo.

 

The Houston Dynamo offense missed on several opportunities to score, but in the 34th minute, Bobby Boswell scored a smashing header of a corner kick. The headed ball was so precise and fast that keeper "Gato" Ortiz could not react fast enough as the ball raced past him. In the second half, Atlante began to control the tempo as Houston began to tire and show its lack of competitive conditioning. In the 82nd minute, the Dynamo, who squandered all their first half scoring chances and conceded a Pereyra header to even the game at 1-1.

 

 

This soccer video features highlights of Dynamo vs Atlante.

 

 

 

The Houston Dynamo will travel to Cancun, Mexico for the second leg of the aggregate-goal series on March 3. The next match will present several problems for the Dynamo as they travel away and face a strong Atlante team playing at home. Although not impossible, the probability that the Dynamo can win away is slim and should have take care of business at home.

 

What did you think of the game? What did you think of Holden's performance? Are the Dynamo going to be stronger this year? Who is your favorite Dynamo player? Can Houston win in Cancun?  What are your thoughts? Let us know.

 

Included are weblogsthat discuss Latest Soccer News: Houston Dynamo tie 1-1 with Atlante in CONCACAF Champions League.

 

 

 

In the latest soccer news: If you haven't read my recent FulhAmerica piece predicting a 2-0 win against West Brom, well, you probably should come to my site more often. Many of the ancient cultures such as the Egyptians, Aztecs, Mayans, and Vikings had prophets with incredible vision and wisdom that could predict future events. But, the real important mystery is; could these wise prophets predict outcomes to soccer games? That is the real mystery and question that one should ask himself.

 

After several of my prognostications have been favorable or, perhaps, lucky such as Fulham vs West Brom 2-0, Rossi's inclusion in the Azurri, and and recommendation that Carlos Ochoa should be called in for the USA Game although he had not played much for El Tri for five years. I will humbly attempt to pick this round of UEFA Champions League action. Although I do not plan to legally change my name to JoelStradamusany time soon like Chad Johnson did with Ocho Cinco, I will do my best to predict and see how far my prognostications take me. Without Further Adu! The first Edition of JoelStradamus.

 

1. Manchester United at Inter Milan (2:30pm, ESPN2): This match-up features the Special One and the Sire, and does not even mention the wealth of players that will be fielded. Although Jose Mourinhohas not succeeded in Champions league play, there is no denying that Inter is playing at a high level. With central defender Vidicout with a suspension and Jonny Evans and John O' Shea suffering from nagging injuries, Rio Ferdinand's central partner will be less than 100%. Sir Alex Ferguson recently stated that if those two center pairings were not available that I suppose "I could play Dimitar Berbatoveas a sweeper." Ferguson should have real concern as Inter Milan look to take the title from Man United which would build momentum for the semi-finals. Inter Milan Center forward, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, will be one of the major factors for a successful home game. The Inter Milan spine will be the most important component of the game as man marking will be crucial to neutralize the speed of Ronaldo, Rooney, and Tevez.

 

Although Manchester United has only allowed 11 goals all season,  their goals allowed in the last five away games are four,  and the overall previous five matches have a goal differential of four. In the last five home games, Inter has only allowed two goals. With the Man U central defense uncertain, I predict a 2-0 upset victory for Inter Milan. Inter Milan will advance with a draw or a one goal loss. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano will flourish in the first game as Man U will not have their normal defensive symmetry.

 

 

2. Barcelona at Lyon (2:30pm, ESPN Deportes, 5pm, ESPN Classic): Although Barcelona appears to be the clear cut favorite boasting one of the best attacking teams in the tournament, Lyon will not be the easy opponent that many assume for this series. During the last five games at home, Lyon has conceded five goals, but one of those games was a meaningless UEFA group play game against Bayern Munich in which Bayern needed the victory losing 2-3. In the last five games, Lyon has only allowed two goals while scoring nine.

 

Barcelona recently lost 1-2 to Espanyol and will have to neutralize Benzema and their solid attack. In the last five games, Barcelona has allowed six goals but has scored twelve against their opponents. In their last five away games, the Spanish super club has a nine goal differential. Something has to give in this series. With Messi, Eto, Henry, Xavi, and Iniesta applying offensive pressure all game, it is unlikely that Lyon will have an opportunity to score or win this series being preocupied with shutting down Barcelona's defense. Lyon will draw at home 1-1. But, Lionel Messi is too much to handle demonstrating his magic at home against Lyon winning 3-1 advancing to the quarter finals. 

 

 

3.  AS Roma at Arsenal (2pm, Setanta USA): Arsenal has been in a recent slump not playing at their best due to the unavailability of Fabregas and Adebayor. However, Arsenal has defeated some good opponents this season with an away win against Chelsea, a home win against Man U, and and a 4-0 beat-down of FC Porto. Since Arsenal's numbers have been skewed with games against Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle netting a goal differential of six. It would better to take a closer look at AS Roma's numbers.

 

AS Roma has struggled on the road recently and have allowed 12 goals in the last five away games with a goal differential of -9. It gets worse as their away goal differential for the season is -5. In the last five games, AS Roma has allowed 7 goals and has a net goal differential of 1. If you are an optimist or a Roma fan, you could say that Roma will beat Arsenal at home. But, that is highly unlikely because in their last five home games they have allowed 5 goals with a +2 goal differential. Although this is a difficult game to predict, the advantage goes to Arsenal because of AS Roma's horrible road woes and the inclusion of Arshevin and Eduardo to the Arsenal offense. Arsenal wins 3-1 at home and advances as they draw in Rome. Beautiful soccer will be rediscovered at Arsenal. Look for Arshevin to have a break-out series.

 

 

4. FC Porto at Atletico Madrid (11pm, Setanta USA): Although FC Porto plays in a less competitive league, FC Porto has won competitive games away from home such as Dynamo Kieve, Fenerbache, and Sporting Lisbon. They have drawn both games with Benefica and defeated Arsenal and Fenerbach at home. FC Porto has only conceded 14 goals all season and four which came against Arsenal away where they took a hooligan-like-beating and were left for dead losing 0-4. In the last five away games, FC Porto has only conceded three goals yielding a +3 goal differential. During the last five games, FC Porto only allowed two goals offering a +5 goal differential.

 

Athletico Madrid has suffered from losing their coach to inconsistent defensive performances all season. After losing their Coach Aguirre, the uncertainty is even greater as they still search for consistency and balance on defense. Athletico has allowed 35 goals all season. In the last five home games, they have only allowed 3 goals with an 8 goal differential but the great goal differential came against their 4-1 victory to Racing Santander. Madrid will continue to suffer from inconsistencies as they draw 2-2 at home and lose 1-2 away next week.

 

Look for Hulk, Gonzalez and Rodriguez  to come up big as FC Porto advances. The game should offer free flowing attacking from Athletico as FC Porto plays compact and looks for the counter attack. Aguero will be a major offensive factor for Athletico Madrid, but, in the end, FC Porto's defense and organization will prevail.

 

 

 

What teams will advance? Who are your favorites? Can Inter make the move to the next level?  Can Inter win the tourney? How will your favorite team fair? What are your thoughts? Let us Know.

 

Included are blogs that discuss Latest Soccer News: Joelstradamus - UEFA Champions League predictions February 24th

 

 

 

In the latest soccer news, Joe Gaetjens, a Hatian immigrant, moved to New York on a scholarship to study accounting. Little did he know that he would score the goal that would defeat the Favored Team of the 1950 World Cup, England 1-0. Christian Dyer of Espn's soccernet writes an excellent article about his life and the match that shocked the world. 

 

Soccer Addict News understand that with a down economy causing people to reduce their Starbuck's consumption,  opting to not Biggie Size your meal, and limiting your weekend road trips. I have included some extra reading from Jeff Carlisle from soccernet regarding the youth soccer system in the USA. This article is part one of a five part series. The other parts to the segment can be seen on a vertical side bar on the side of the story.  Enjoy!!!!!

 

What are you thoughts? Let us know.

 

Included are blog that discuss Latest Soccer News: Extra Reading - The 1950 World Cup Victory against the favorites, England