Let's Catch Up on Highlights:

Dec. 6 - Caen vs. Rennes:


Villarreal vs. Getafe:


Fulham vs. Manchester City:


Dec. 7 - Everton vs. Aston Villa:

Long Break for Gladbach

Borussia Mönchengladbach fell 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund today, in a tough away loss that concluded the first half of the season. Michael Bradley started the game before being subbed out about midway through the second half. Gladbach will go into the long winter break on the bottom of the table, and they don't play again until January 31st when they meet VFB Stuttgart. The good news: just two point separate 14th from 18th place in the Bundesliga...

Pachuca Ready for World Club Cup

Pachuca and Jose Torres have traveled halfway around the world to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup, which kicked off in Japan last night. The Mexican side qualified for the tournament thanks to their CONCACAF Champions Cup victory and tonight they take on the African champions, Egyption side Al Ahly. You can see the game live, starting at 11:30 p.m. ET on FSC.

In the other quaterfinal match, Adelaide United takes on Asian champions Gamba Osaka for the right to meet Manchester United in the semfinals. The winner of Pachuca/Al Ahly will face LDU Quito in the other half of the draw.

Spector Nears Return

Jonathan Spector has been out of action for awhile but he's now making a welcome return to the West Ham squad. Yesterday he went the full 90 minutes in a reserve match against an MLS Select side during a 3-2 victory for the Hammers. Spector even scored in the victory, heading home from a Matthew Ethrington corner.

Howard Ready for Manchester City

Tim Howard and Everton were on the tough end of a 3-2 loss to Aston Villa this past weekend, but him and his teammates are eager to move on and take the positives from what was an excellent fight back by the Toffees. This week Everton faces Manchester City, here's Sky Sports with a preview of the game, which also features an interview with Howard:


As the video mentions, Howard was accepting the award for Everton Player of the Month for November. He also talked about Everton's ability to break into the top four in the Premier League, a feat that they achieved when they finished in fourth place in 2005:

"It [the top four dropping points] gives us hope, inspiration and motivation to keep plugging away and keep getting results. We said all along we want to be in the thick of it - sixth, seventh or eighth - so we can push on."

Next up for Everton is a visit to Manchester City on Saturday. You can see the game live on FSC starting at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Official U.S. Soccer Bar Welcomes Roman Abramovich

Nevada Smiths, the December U.S. Soccer Bar of the Month, got a special guest for their Saturday morning screening of the Chelsea-Bolton match when Blues owner Roman Abramovich dropped in to catch the action.

In the city for a shopping excursion, the Chelsea boss heard that Nevada Smith’s was the bar affiliated with the New York based Chelsea supporters group, New York Blues. In fact, Nevada Smith’s is affiliated with over 25 supporters groups, and has spent the past 10 years developing a “bar for the fans.” All supporters groups are welcome at Nevada Smiths.


Abramovich isn't the only celeb who has come through the 'round ball' bar. Sir Alex Ferguson, Sting, and former Man-U striker Dwight Yorke are just some of the luminaries who have joined the fans to get their football fix.


Nevada Smiths is one of the bars nominated for the 2008 Best U.S. Soccer Bar award. The winner for that and all of the Best of U.S. Soccer awards will be announced next week.

Parkhurst Moves to Denmark

MNT Defender Michael Parkhurst has signed a contract with FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark, and he'll join up with the team in January 2009 when his current deal with the Revolution expires at the end of this year.

FC Nordsjaelland is currently 8th out of 12 teams in the Danish top flight. The league is on a winter break until March, when play resumes for the second half of the season.

Picture from FC Nordsjaelland's official website.

Highlights from Liege's Loss this Weekend

That about sums it up:

Tough Loss for Timmy and Co.

Tim Howard and Everton lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Aston Villa on Sunday. Highlights of the game:

Championship Midweek Update

• Eddie Johnson came on as a sub in Cardiff City's 2-2 Draw with Burnley.
• Marcus Hahenmann made six saves in Reading's 1-0 win over Blackpool. Bobby Convey also entered the game as a second half sub.