Recent Highlights from Germany

Michael Bradley and 'Gladbach earned a 2-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld this weekend, here are some highlights from the game:

Good Morning From Mile High

Greetings from Denver, where the U.S. is making its first appearance in the state of Colorado since nearly 50, 000 people watched Clint Mathis score the lone goal in the 1-0 win against Mexico on April 3, 2002 at Invesco Field in a tuneup for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. (How's that for a trip down memory lane? The Clint Mathis part, not the beating Mexico part ...)

By noon today, all 19 players on the mini-camp roster will have arrived as Brian Ching and Ricardo Clark make their way in this morning. The coaching staff will spend the next four days evaluating options for the Guatemala match, next year's January training camp, and beyond. On Sunday, U.S. coach Bob Bradley will announce the group that will train for Wednesday's match at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the first-ever World Cup qualifier held in Colorado. Expect a dose of foreign-based players as well as guys who are on the unfortunate side of results from the MLS Conference Finals.

Meantime, we're up and running, so feel free to send us your thoughts and questions.

Season Done in Sweden

Hammarby concluded their Swedish Allsvenskanliga season with a 5-2 loss to IFK Norrkoping on Sunday. Despite two quick goals from Charlie Davies, Hammarby eventually capitulated and gave up five unanswered goals to mark a disappointing end to a season where they finished 9th in the league.

On the bright side, Davies finished with an impressive 14 goals, tying him with Henrik Larsson of Helsingborg (yes, that Henrik Larsson) for fourth best in the league. While we couldn't find video of Davies' goals from this weekend we did find this really sweet video somebody made of Charlie in FIFA 09. Big props for the soundtrack choice too.

Donovan in Deutschland

Landon Donovan is keeping busy in the offseason by heading over to Germany for a 10-day training period with Bayern Munich. "I know Landon from my time with LA Galaxy," said Bayern head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to the club's website.

Klinsmann calls Southern California home and famously took the job coaching the German national team while still living abroad in the States. Donovan, who will use the visit to keep in shape during the MLS offseason, joins Bayern as they are in the midst of preparing for the traditionally busy buildup to the holiday period. The German giants next face Michael Bradley and Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday Nov. 15.

Picture courtesy of Bayern's official website. You can also read the full article about Donovan's arrival (in German) here.

100 Games and a Record for Howard

Tim Howard's appearance in Everton's 3-1 win over West Ham on Saturday marked his 100th game for the Merseyside club. In addition to achieving the century mark, Howard also wrote his name in the record book with an interesting achievement for his club: he's the first Everton goalkeeper to average less than a goal a game over his first 100 games.

As you can see from this nifty chart (from Everton's official club website) Howard just comes in under the 1 GAA mark and he's even done a few better than Wales and Everton legend Neville Southall. Below is a list of the top Everton keepers over 100 games with appearances followed by (goals conceded).

• Tim Howard - 100 (99)
• Neville Southall - 100 (102)
• George Wood - 100 (108)
• Gordon West - 100 (113)

Of course, Howard would be the first to tell you that he still has a long way to go, especially if he wants to come anywhere close Southall's amazing tally of 750 games for Everton, a club record.
"Neville is a legend and the reason he's a legend is because he did it over a long period of time," Howard told Everton's website. "I've got a long way to go, I know that. But I hope that I can stay consistent, stay here for a long time and do it with this club."

Premier League Highlights

Tim Howard played 90 minutes in Everton's 3-1 victory over West Ham United:


Clint Dempsey came on as a second half sub in Fulham's 2-1 win over Newcastle:

Weekend Results

In England, Tim Howard and Everton earned a 3-1 win over West Ham. Clint Dempsey came on as a second half sub to help Fulham grind out a 2-1 win over Newcastle at Craven Cottage.

Over in Germany, Hannover 96 and Steve Cherundolo fell 2-1 to FC Köln on Friday but it was better news for 'Gladbach this weekend, as Michael Bradley's club earned a 2-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld.

In France, Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes are up to fourth after a 3-0 win over St. Etienne on Sunday. Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege got back to winning ways in Belgium with a 3-1 win over GBA.



We'll be back later with more weekend highlights from around the world...

Weekend Preview

Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes look to continue their climb up the Ligue 1 table when they face St. Etienne this weekend. Storied club St. Etienne are in the midst of a shocking season, and their coach has been given two games to effectively save his job. For Rennes, times are good and they're unbeaten in five consecutive Ligue 1 games. Carlos Bocanegra took time to talk to FIFA.com about the transition at his new club and the U.S.' good start to World Cup qualifying. You can read the full article here.

Borussia Monchengladbach are without seven players ahead of this weekend's game against Arminia Bielefeld. Fortunately Michael Bradley is not one of those injured players and he is fit for 'Gladbach, as they look to stop a two game skid on Saturday.

In England, Everton and Tim Howard travel to London on Saturday to face struggling West Ham. Across the city, Clint Dempsey and Fulham play host to Newcastle on Sunday.

UEFA Cup Roundup

Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Sevilla. Gooch played all 90 minutes for Standard, who next face Germinal Beerschot in the Belgian league on Sunday.



Meanwhile, Aston Villa battled for a 1-0 victory over Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic. Brad Guzan started for Villa, making nine saves in the win. It was Guzan's first appearance in the UEFA Cup for Aston Villa and his first clean sheet for the club. Martin O'Neill praised the team's performance, and Guzan chipped in with some comments of his own to SkySports.com. "We did a great job in terms of commitment and defending as a unit," said Guzan. You can read the whole article here.

Following the win, O'Neill spoke to the BBC about Guzan's potential, you can read that article here.



Aston Villa next take on Middlesbrough on Sunday in the Premier League.

Picture courtesy of avfc.co.uk, Aston Villa's official website.

Enter the Worm

Brad Guzan has been given the start tonight in Aston Villa's UEFA Cup game against Sparta Prague. Guzan makes his second appearance for Villa - his only previous game came in the League cup. At halftime, Villa is leading Sparta Prague 1-0, and you can follow live text updates here.