No Top 25 this week--holding mode

The Soccer Source Top 25 was not going to change much this week, so instead of going through the labor-intensive process of putting a whole list together, we offer the following highlights from the world of top club soccer:

Congratulations to FC Barcelona, Manchester United and Inter Milan, all of whom clinched their domestic league titles over the weekend. They are joined by FC Porto, Dynamo Kiev, AZ Alkmaar and Olympiakos, who had previously clinched their countries' leagues.

Olympique Lyonnais will not repeat as French champs. This despite an impressive 3-1 victory at Olympique Marseille yesterday. Put that one down in the "too little, too late" column. It will be the first time since 2001 that l'OL are not crowned French champions. The end of an era.

Lyon's victory is nevertheless significant, as it puts Girondins Bordeaux in the driver's seat for Ligue Un glory. With a three point lead and two matchdays remaining, a victory Saturday against 11th-placed Monaco will in all likelihood give les Girondins their first French league title in a decade. But if Bordeaux blow it at home this weekend, and Marseille win at Nancy (which they should. Nancy sit 13th and have nothing left to play for, not even the threat of relegation) it sets up an intriguing final match day. Lyon play their last game at Caen, who are struggling against relegation (two points clear of the drop zone at time of this writing) while Marseille host seventh-placed Rennes. Bordeaux have the edge in goal difference--for now (plus 28 to Marseille's plus 27). So to paraphrase Harvey Keitel's character in Pulp Fiction: let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Perhaps even more interesting than the French race is the German one, where VfL Wolfsburg can all but taste their first-ever Bundesliga title. The "Wolves" will in all likelihood need just one point from their clash with UEFA Cup finalist Werder Bremen this weekend. Perhaps by then Werder will be UEFA Cup champs, which might lead to a bit of a (literal and figurative) hangover when the clubs meet Saturday. The other two clubs with a shot at the Bundesliga "Schale" (it means bowl and is used to refer to the Bundesliga silverware, which is literally a big plate. Don't know why they don't call it "Teller", the German word for plate. Maybe one of our German readers can explain) Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart, face each other in Munich this weekend. With Wolfsburg's goal difference seven better than Bayern's (and 14 better than Stuttgart's) that game will not only need a winner, but also a loss by Wolfsburg for it to have an impact on who takes the aforementioned silverware.

Finally, in Scotland, Glasgow Rangers are in the driver's seat for their first title since 2005. To accomplish this feat, Walter Smith's men just need to win at Dundee United Sunday. With a two point lead over their friendly rivals from Parkhead, a draw might suffice as well--assuming, that is, that Celtic don't win their final match against Hearts. With the better goal difference (barely), Gordon Strachan's club would leapfrog their rivals in that scenario.

As for the Top 25, we'll be back next week when these matters (with one possible exception; the French title) are settled.

Soccer Source Saturday Summary: Barca Falls

You knew it would happen eventually. There were hints of this in last week's 2-2 draw with Real Betis. Signs, perhaps, that Barcelona were mortal after all. That an unbeaten streak stretching back to August might not last forever. Today, it ended. Barca were beaten by cross-town rival Espanyol Barcelona 2-1 on a brace by Ivan de la Pena. It was Barca's first loss in a domestic game since opening day Aug. 31. That's 22 Liga games and seven Copa del Rey matches. An impressive run. But now it's over.

Still, that it ended in such auspicious circumstances is a bit surprising. The Periquitos are struggling at the lower regions of the Liga table and remain anchored in a relegation slot despite today's victory. And the game was held at Camp Nou, Barca's fortress. But Espanyol had played Barca tough in the team's three previous meetings this season (two in the Copa del Rey). While this tends to happen in derbies, Barca also usually finds a way to win. But not today. Were Pep Guardiola's men perhaps "looking ahead" to Tuesday's Champions League tie with Olympique Lyon? Possible. But the Catalonian side may now have a fight on their hands in La Liga as well. Second-placed Real Madrid have been surging (nine straight victories) and today beat up on Real Betis by 6-1 (the same Real Betis that Barcelona fought so hard to draw a week ago). The difference between the two clubs is now seven points.

In Germany, the Juergen Klinsmann watch is back in effect after Bayern Munich dropped their second straight game. The Bavarian club today lost at home to Cologne, a team from the middle of the Bundesliga table. They did so at home, by 2-1, and drop to fourth in the standings with the loss--perhaps more if fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen win tomorrow's game with Hamburg. Bayern are floundering at possibly the worst time. They visit Sporting Lisbon, who today defeated archrival Benfica in the Lisbon derby. A few weeks ago we thought this one was Bayern's to lose. Now? Who knows.

Sometimes we hate to be right. Not often, because we usually like to gloat and say things like "I don't want to say I told you so...ah, who am I kidding? I love saying it. Told ya so! There. That felt great." That and we frankly aren't right all that often either. But we told you earlier in the week that the tides might have turned in Aston Villa's season. And today, Martin O'Neill's side lost at home to Chelsea in a battle for third place in the Premiership. The Birmingham club still have a six point lead over Arsenal and fifth place, but those six points can go pretty quickly, especially to the club that signed that Arshavin fellow (even though they weren't able to get beyond a scoreless draw with Sunderland today). We hate being right here (well "hate" is a pretty strong word but you catch our drift) because Aston Villa is exactly what the Premiership needs right now: a "non big four" club with a smaller (by comparison at least) budget, a proud history, passionate fan base and iconic head coach (or manager as they're called over there). And owners who aren't Yanks. Oh wait, Villa's are. Forget it then. We may still see Villa in the Champions League next year. But don't count on it. And you can pretty much write off any title aspirations they might have been harboring.

Elsewhere in the Premiership, Blackburn made things interesting but ultimately lost to Man. United, who now lead the league by eight points pending tomorrow's game between Liverpool and Manchester City. Nothing new there, really. Red Devils keep finding ways to win. Their fans' biggest concern right now might be complacency ahead of Tuesday's clash with Inter Milan.

Speaking of Inter, the nerrazurri booked a late victory of their own today, beating Bologna 2-1 in a Serie A encounter. Second-place Juventus managed to match them. Inter's lead remains nine points.

In France, Olympique Lyon won their warm-up match for Tuesday's battle with Barca, which will take place at the Stade Gerland. L'OL beat Nancy 2-0 to expand their Ligue Un lead to six points thanks to second-place Paris Saint Germain dropping points at Grenoble. Yes, they play soccer in Grenoble, apparently.

Photo taken from Diarios de Football without permission.

The Saturday Summary: Bayern's back

Not that Juergen Klinsmann's club ever really left. These are the defending German champions, after all. But the way Bayern started the season you could be forgiven for writing them off as also-rans: Seven games into the Bundesliga campaign, the club's tally was a whopping nine points. That might not seem that bad for fans of Sunderland or West Bromwich Albion, but for the likes of Bayern Munich it was very disappointing indeed. At one point Klinsmann's job was in serious jeopardy. But then, after a miserable 3-3 home draw against lowly VfL Bochum a strange thing happened. Bayern started winning games. Seven of their last eight, to be precise, with a nine game unbeaten run that stretches to a Sept. 27 loss to Hannover (and that's just in the Bundesliga. They're unbeaten in their Champions League group and have qualified for the Round of 16). It culminated in a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Hoffenheim, the improbable newly-promoted table-toppers, last night, on a late goal by Luca Toni.

With the victory, the Bavarian side pull even with Hoffenheim at the top of the Bundesliga table (though Hoffenheim still has the edge on goal difference). The teams were evenly matched on the pitch as well so expect them to stay in close contact as the season wears on. Ralf Rangnick's men face sixth-placed Schalke Sunday and have some tough matches when Bundesliga returns from winter break (including third-placed Bayer Leverkusen on Feb. 13). Bayern have road dates at fifth-placed Hamburg (Jan. 31) and fourth-placed Hertha Berlin (Feb. 14) as well as a tough Champions League schedule to deal with. It may not be a two team fight, either. The top four clubs in Germany are all within four points of one another, so the Bundesliga campaign could go down to the wire.

Saturday Summary, Feb. 9, 2008: The (Relative) Calm Before The Storm

Today's games can be viewed as the "opening act" for tomorrow's top-of-the-table crackers in England and Germany. Those games (the Manchester derby, Chelsea-Liverpool and Bayern-Werder) will be discussed at length later, but there was plenty to hold our attention until then:

Today's top game in the German Bundesliga featured third-placed Leverkusen against fourth-placed Hamburg SV. The visitors from Hamburg struck first, on a goal by Rafael van der Vaart (yes he's still there) but the home side knotted things up after 60 minutes. The tie doesn't help either team in their campaign for Champions League spots. The two sides are equal on points, with fifth-placed Schalke (they too play tomorrow, in the Revierderby with Dortmund) and Karlsruhe (it's pronounced Karls-rooh) two points in arrears.

Okay so Michael Bradley didn't have a very good game for the U.S. national team at midweek, but he picked right up where he left off with his club team, Heerenveen. The Dutch Eredivisie side were down a goal at halftime of their clash with table-toppers PSV Eindhoven, but Bradley scored the equalizer on 52 minutes. Thanks to the point Heerenveen move back into second place (for the time being. Third placed Ajax play tomorrow).

Poor Barcelona. No sooner does it look as though they were poised to close the gap with their arch rivals and take first place from Real Madrid that they drop crucial points today. Granted the game at Sevilla was not an easy undertaking and Barca are fortunate to come away with the point as they trailed until Xavi's goal in the 76th minute. But Real can pad their lead to eight points if they beat Valladolid at the Bernabeu tomorrow.

Finally, in the Premiership, the top two sides in action (fourth-placed Everton and fifth-placed Aston Villa) both won, which only increases the pressure on Liverpool, who now sit sixth but with two games in hand. After Should Liverpool lose tomorrow's game at Stamford Bridge they will have nearly two weeks to ponder their predicament, as they have FA Cup duty next week and a visit from Inter Milan for the CL Round of 16 the following Tuesday.

Shock And Awe In German Cup

German Bundesliga teams were back in action for the first time in more than a month today, with a quartet of games in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 on the docket. Half were upsets, with a third turning on three goals scored in the waning minutes. Table toppers Bayern Munich were the only favorites spared the ignominy of defeat. The Bavarian side saw off third-division minnows Wuppertaler SV Borussia, though not without a challenge; at halftime the teams were tied 2-2 before Bayern won 5-2 on three second half goals

The biggest game of the day was undoubtedly the Borussia Dortmund versus Werder Bremen match-up, which die Borussia took by a 2-1 score. Dortmund is traditionally very strong at home, but have had a rough season and currently sit 10th, so the result was still surprising. Werder are second in the Bundesliga and that only on goal difference. Of course I now feel perfectly vindicated dropping them from the Top 25 this week!

The largest upset was probably second division club 1899 Hoffenheim's 2-1 victory over Bundesliga side Hansa Rostock. I had never heard of Hoffenheim and didn't even know they were in the second Bundesliga (indeed they are newly-promoted, having spent the five previous years in the Regionalliga Sued, which is the third division). But they're actually eighth in the second Bundesliga. Rostock are themselves newly-promoted but are at grave risk of being sent right back down; the former East German side sit 15th, just two points clear of the relegation spots.

As for shock value, the match-up between second division sides Alemannia Aachen, or Aix-la-Chapelle as they're known on the other side of the Rhine, and 1860 Munich (Franz Beckenbauer's original team) was undoubtedly the biggest. Aachen led 2-0 with 81 minutes played, but the Sechziger (60ers, as 1860 are known to their fans) scored thrice in a six minute span to take it. Two Yanks saw action for '60: Craig Berhalter and Josh Wolff, but neither got on the scoresheet (in fact Wolff was subbed out in the 54th minute with his team still down 2-0).

Photo taken from tsv1860.de without permission.

Preston Zimmerman Gets Contract Upgrade From Hamburg

Nineteen year-old Pasco, Wash., native Preston Zimmerman has been signed as a so-called Lizensspieler by his team Hamburg SV, according to a statement by the Bundesliga club. I'm not entirely sure what this means. The literal translation is "licensed player" so perhaps this means he's now a member of the first team, or is eligible for first team action? I sent an email to HSV's flack. Maybe he'll get back to me with some more info. Or maybe somebody can explain it?

Zimmerman has been at Hamburg since the start of the year and has played in 32 goals for the reserve team, scoring nine goals. He played for the U.S. Under-17 national team and was a last-minute addition to the U-20 roster at last summer world championships in Canada, though it doesn't look like he played at all. He's also been called into next month's camp for the U.S. Olympic team.

Photo taken without permission from Hamburg's Web site.

Kamani Hill Cast Out By Wolfsburg

VfL Wolfsburg head coach Felix Magath is preparing to rid his team of Berkeley, Calif., native Kamani Hill and Portuguese defender Alex. As a first step, Magath has cleared the pair from practice requirements and allowed them to "do as they pleased," including finding a new club, according to German news wire newsclick.de. Magath cited lack of progress as the reason for his decision. The article adds that the pair's poor performance in a reserve game last week also played a role. Hill was yanked from the game shortly after half time.

The 21 year-old forward joined Wolfsburg in October 2006, first on trial, then signing a two-and-a-half year contract. He hasn't played much for the first team--nine Bundesliga appearances as a sub, all of them last year. He's been capped by the U.S. men's national team twice (substitute appearances in friendly games, I think) and also played for the U-20 national team at the 2005 World Cup in South Korea. He has not played in MLS. Yet.

Soccer Saturday Summary: Reading Rips Reds And Other Upsets

Several upsets went down in today's European league action, with Reading's impressive 3-1 victory over Liverpool the most interesting from an Anglo-American viewpoint. Royals American left winger Bobby Convey proved his worth--and hopefully secured a spot in the starting lineup--with a brilliant assist on Reading's third goal that sealed the deal. Liverpool did not play well at all, but you have to hand it to Steve Coppell's team for a gritty effort that earned them their first-ever victory over the Reds. It was also Liverpool's first Premiership loss of the season and does not exactly inspire confidence ahead of their decisive Champions League game at Marseille next week. Is Liverpool's season on the brink? The past couple of years the Reds have had better European campaigns than Premiership ones. Maybe an early ouster from Europe is what Rafa Benitez' team needs to get centered and make a sincere run at Premiership glory? Then again, maybe it won't be Benitez' team anymore if that happens. Maybe it won't be his team even if it doesn't. I can't see the Spaniard having much wiggle room at this point. Figure Tom Hicks and gang to have itchy trigger fingers right about now...

The team of another American player also notched an impressive upset today, as Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 bested Werder Bremen by a 4-3 score. With Bayern Munich only managing a scoreless draw at home to hapless MSV Duisburg, Bremen could have moved into first place with a win. Alas, they didn't get any points, as Mike Hanke scored a hat-trick, including a 77th minute strike that proved the difference. Third-placed Hamburg also played a disappointing scoreless game at home (to Energie Cottbus). Hannover move into fifth placed with the win, which if I'm not mistaken is the highest they've been in the Bundesliga in a generation or more (I could be wrong on this).

The third-biggest upset of the day was probably in France, where perennial champs Olympique Lyon went down at Caen, a newly-promoted side that are nevertheless seventh in Ligue Un. Despite the loss, Lyon still has a four point lead over second-laced AS Nancy, who only managed a scoreless draw at Valenciennes. I say "only" but looking at the L1 table I just realized Valenciennes are currently fifth.

In Italy, Fiorentina lost at Palermo, though I'm not sure how much of an upset this is seeing as La Viola have played like crap recently (no wins in their last five games) and Palermo are now seventh, albeit with a game or two more than other teams in that region of the table.

Celtic now stand to give up first place in the SPL, as Gordon Strachan's side managed only a 1-1 draw at home to St. Mirren. This qualifies as a major upset as St. Mirren are 11th in the 12 team SPL, meaning they are only marginally better than the New York Red Bulls, while Celtic have qualified for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League. More importantly, I don't think Celtic had so much as given up a single goal in the SPL this season, until Stephen McGinn (whoever he is) scored in the 74th minute to put St. Mirren up. Luckily for Celtic, Derek Riordan managed an equalizer 11 minutes later. But Rangers, two points in arrear of Celtic, will take over first place if they win the game in hand they now have over their hated rivals.

One more upset to tell you about, in Turkey, where Galatasaray lost their first league match of the season, to defending champions Fenerbahce in an Istanbul derby match. What's that? You didn't think I covered Turkey? Soccer Source is everywhere! I was actually going to include Fenerbahce in the Top 25 this week then decided against it at the last minute--in favor of PSV Eindhoven. I am now regretting this decision, as PSV lost to Roda yesterday and Fenerbahce are looking really good both domestically (where they're third) and in the Champions League where they can advance to the Round of 16 with a victory at CSKA Moscow Dec. 12. Ironically, the team they are competing with (and hold an edge over) for that Round of 16 spot is none other than PSV.

Alpay Given Walking Papers

Former Turkish international defender Özalan Alpay, who has said he is close to signing with an MLS team, will be allowed to leave 2nd Bundesliga side Cologne on a free transfer this winter. Alpay had a falling out with his coach Christoph Daum this season and was relegated to the bench. The club agreed to let him stay until the January transfer window to stay fit, according to a statement by the Bundesliga (who also own the rights to this photo).

The 34 year old defender had previously been suspended by the club. It has not been reported what MLS team he has been negotiating with, although Alpay said it was not the L.A. Galaxy. Transfermarkt.de speculates it's the Chicago Fire, but don't provide a source for this.

Lehmann To Wolfsburg?

Embattled Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann could be on his way to Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg, according to reports in the German press. The team's manager, Felix Magath, has been critical of its starting goalkeeper Simon Jentzsch and went as far as to pull him from this weekend's game at halftime. Management has been mulling a move for Lehmann for some time and this may be the catalyst they need, reports kicker. de. Wolfsburg--which at one point in its history employed a coach by the name of Wolfgang Wolf (you can't make this stuff up)--are currently 13th in the Bundesliga, only five points clear of the relegation zone.

Soccer Source Saturday Summary, Dec. 1, 2007: Gritty Gunners, Royal Raul, Pernicious Porto

The top game in La Liga was undoubtedly the Barcelona derby. Andres Iniesta struck first for Barca, but Coro equalized midway through the second half. Earlier, Real Madrid saw off seventh-placed Racing Santander at the Bernabeu. Top-of-the-table Real got a brace from Raul and didn't seem to have much trouble, winning the game 3-1. There was a third liga game today: Arsenal vanquishers Sevilla lost at UD Almeira. The Andalusian side are now 11th, having lost their last three liga games since knocking off Real Madrid Nov. 3.

Arsenal played a gritty game at Villa Park in today's top Premiership match-up, rebounding nicely from that (meaningless) Champions League loss at midweek. After going a goal down, Arsene Wenger's men outplayed their hosts in a stellar first half and then simply bunkered down in the second. Which is what you do when you get the lead on the road, especially at a place like Villa Park, where the home fans were in full-throated support. It was amazing how loud they were, even on the Fox Soccer Channel feed. The Birmingham side played well but simply couldn't get around the Arsenal bulwark in the second half.

In Italy, AC Milan and Juventus played a scoreless draw at San Siro. What's that? A scoreless game in Serie A? How could it be? It wasn't the worst nil-nil match I've seen (some are much worse than others. If you've been watching Serie A the past 40 years you should know given how numerous they've been. Sometimes I seriously think there is more scoring at a Star Trek convention for evangelicals than during your typical Serie A weekend). Both goalies played very well and Juve hit the post in the first half.

Werder Bremen have temporarily taken over first place in the Bundesliga, thanks to their victory over Hamburg SV in the "Nordderby." HSV had looked very good coming in to today, beating up on Stade Rennes in the UEFA Cup at midweek, but it unfortunately didn't carry over. Hamburg is still in third place despite the loss, one point behind Bayern Munich and three behind Werder. Bayern can--and probably will--reclaim the top spot tomorrow when they face 14th placed Arminia Bielefeld.

Finally, in Portugal FC Porto rebounded nicely from their midweek loss at Anfield (the team's first loss all season) to win on the road at Benfica, 1-0 in a game pitting the top two teams in the bwin liga against each other. Freddy Adu got into the game in the 69th minute but was unable to get the Lisbon side level. Porto now have a seven point advantage over Benfica after only 12 games.

Soccer Source Saturday Soccer Summary: Man U Go Down

An early goal by Nicolas Anelka was enough to get Bolton an historic home victory against Manchester United, their first since 1979. It was only United's second loss in the Premiership this season (the other came Aug. 19 in the Manchester derby) and third overall (Coventry in the League Cup was the other). With Arsenal squeezing out a late victory today against a surprisingly stubborn Wigan, it means Sir Alex' squad are two games behind Gunners in the loss column (to get all American on you. It means they're three points behind and Arsenal has a game on hand). The loss is sure to have consequences in my Top 25 as well, where Man. U were third in the most recent ranking.

Elsewhere in the Top 25, #1 Inter Milan is winning against Atalanta Bergamo, 2-1 and #8 Barcelona are scoreless at halftime.

Among completed games, #6 Chelsea beat Derby, though not without some difficulty and without scoring anywhere near the 10 goals I had anticipated. #10 Lyon came through with an impressive win at Rennes, #11 Bayern Munich returned to the win column, polishing off Wolfsburg 2-1, fellow Bundesliga side #12 Werder Bremen, #14 Roma, #18 Olympiakos and #20 Celtic all won their games. #21 Dynamo Zagreb managed only a 1-1 draw at NK Medjimurje, one of the world's most storied franchises. (Yeah right. Name one of their players without looking it up. Or for that matter, tell me where they even play). #24 Rangers had no problem at Falkirk, winning 3-1.

Some late games will follow this afternoon, with the rest taking place tomorrow. Based on all the above victories, the other teams will have plenty of pressure to step up and hold serve. If they do (or even if they don't) you can expect Man U to drop a few spots.

Cologne Strike Back, Suspend Alpay

Former Turkish international fullback Özalan Alpay who has said he wants to leave 2nd Bundesliga side F.C. Cologne for MLS, was suspended indefinitely by his club team for "egotism." This according to a statement by his club via Bundesliga sources. To rip off a line from Apocalypse Now, isn't suspending a professional athlete for being egotistical like handing out speeding tickets at the Indianapolis 500? Whatever. Alpay allegedly criticized Cologne manager Christoph Daum in an interview with Turkish television (by the way if a Turkish speaker can locate that video and transcribe some of it--the part about him saying he has received offers from MLS in particular--U.S. soccer fans would be eternally grateful) though Daum said the interview did not affect the club's decision (yeah right). Cologne's GM Michael Meier said the team had met more difficult decisions than that in the past and that "egotists may not become standard fare" (loosely-translated). Alpay has not been in the lineup for some time, first due to injury and then due to coach's decision, though Daum said he had planned to use the 34 year old centerback in recent games against Osnabrueck and Erzgebirge Aue.

Turkey Centerback Alpay Headed To MLS?

Özalan Alpay, a former Turkish international who currently plays for Second Bundesliga side Cologne, is apparently headed to Major League Soccer. This tidbit comes courtesy of Germany's kicker.de, which cites an interview Alpay did with Turkish television. Other details are elusive, except that Alpay said he will not be going to L.A. Galaxy (who apparently are more preoccupied with signing guys like Clint Mathis anyway) and that lack of playing time at Christoph Daum's club is to blame for his impending departure.

Alpay is a 34 year-old centerback who had surgery this summer and has not played for the first team this season. He was a member of Turkey's 2002 World Cup team that went all the way to the semifinals. He has been a controversial figure since, feuding with managers (Graham Taylor, among others) and fans during a three year stint at Aston Villa. He was also a central figure in the brawl between Turkish and Swiss players after their 2006 World Cup qualifying playoff--a role that got him a six game suspension from FIFA. But a decade earlier, he was given a fair play award at Euro 96.

Here's an interesting note that might be worth keeping an eye on: Alpay's Villa stint (2000-2003) overlapped with a certain Colombian striker now in the services of the New York Red Bulls, the same team that just sent Mathis to L.A. in an apparent salary-clearing move. A Red Bulls spokesman declined to comment, citing the team's policy on players under contract with other clubs.

MLS, Bundesliga To Meet This Weekend, Solidify Summer Plans

Representatives from Major League Soccer will meet with Christian Seifert and other representatives of Germany's Deutsche Fußball-Liga (or DFL, the administrative arm of the Bundesliga) this weekend to solidify plans that call for one or more Bundesliga teams to tour the U.S. and play exhibition games against MLS sides next summer. So says the German soccer Web site kicker.de (it's in German. Trust me on this one. My German is a lot better than my Spanish. Like lightyears better).

Updating an earlier entry on the matter, it looks like DFL have sweetened the pot a bit, because they are now talking about teams (plural) holding entire training camps stateside, while before the talk was of one team playing a few games, tops. It's all part of the nebulous partnership MLS and DFL signed in March.

Seifert is some bigshot at DFL. Hard to say exactly what his title (Vorsitzende der DFL-Geschäftsführung, if you must know) translates as. Something corporate.

Joy At The Millerntor As Ian Scores For St. Pauli

San Diego native Ian Joy scored his first career goal for St. Pauli, as the 2nd Bundesliga club beat Augsburg 2-0 today. A defender, Joy got his start at Tranmere a decade ago as a 16 year old. Along the way he has played at Montrose and Kidderminster in Scotland, Columbus Crew, Chester City and Pauli's crosstown rival Hamburg SV. He's also represented the U.S. at several youth international levels (this information all courtesy of Yanks Abroad).

Germany's kicker.de reports Joy struck a left-footed volley from the side of the penalty box that left Augsburg goalkeeper Sven Neuhaus no chance. This in the 17th minute. St. Pauli doubled up in the second half. Newly-promoted Pauli, who literally play at a fairgrounds (I've been there) and have a rather eclectic following, now sit 1oth in the second Bundesliga. Read more about the "cult" phenomenon of the "Kiez club" at their Wikipedia entry.

Joy wasn't the only American to score in European leagues this weekend.Yesterday we told you about Jonathan Spector's goal for West Ham (though final word on whether Spector will in fact get credit or if it gets credited as an own-goal by Eddie Lewis are still outstanding. I have emails in to the league about that) and Michael Bradley scored for Heerenveen as well.

Soccer Source Saturday Summary: Bayern, Barca Beaten, Battered

The sixth and seventh-ranked teams in Soccer Source's Top 25 both lost today, as #7 Bayern Munich finally fell from the ranks of the unbeaten and #6 Barcelona went down again on the road. The Bavarian side got clobbered at VfB Stuttgart, losing 3-1 in a game that was decided at halftime. Mario Gomez completed a brace at minute 42 to put the defending Bundesliga champs up 3-0. It was an impressive victory for Stuttgart, who have quietly charged up to eighth place in the Bundesliga. Bayern's lead is now a single point, after Werder Bremen shellacked Karlsruhe (it's pronounced Karls-rooh) 4-0. Hamburg and Schalke tied 1-1 in the other top game of the day.

Barca, ranked sixth in the top 25, also played a disappointing game at Getafe and went down 2-0. The Catalan side have not won a Liga game on the road since Sept. 29, and that was to sorry Levante, who are so terrible they're probably even worse than Derby County. It's early still, but Barca does not scare me right now.

There was one other surprise on the day: Olympiakos went down to Asteras Tripoli in the Greek Super League today. (And I thought Tripoli was in Libya?) This is the same Olympiakos whose only previous loss was at the Bernabeu Oct. 24. Will this affect Olympiakos' top 25 ranking (11th last week)? Yeah, I think so.

Bundesliga Team To Take MLS Tour Next Summer?

A German Bundesliga team could embark on a 2008 summer tour of the U.S. that would involve exhibition games against Major League Soccer teams, reports kicker.de, the Web site of Germany's famous soccer publication. (Don't bother clicking on the link if you don't read German). This would be part of the nebulous partnership that MLS and Germany's Deutsche Fußball-Liga (or DFL, the administrative arm of the Bundesliga) signed this March.

Kicker also reports that several Bundesliga teams will be traveling to Asia the week before Christmas to lay the groundwork for further DFL marketing: Borussia Dortmund is heading to Indonesia and Arminia Bielefeld and Energie Cottbus to China (I imagine they'll have their work cut out for them, as neither club is exactly a household name even in Europe). Apparently, the idea behind the December trip is that the DFL will have the continent to themselves--as opposed to the summer months, when everybody and their mother is over there playing exhibition tours. I imagine all eyes in Germany will be on Bayern Munich to see what they do. The Bavarian juggernaut has played games in the U.S. before, including two against the New York franchise now known as the Red Bulls (they lost both games, the first in 2001, the second last summer).

(Late) Soccer Source Saturday Summary: Several Top Teams Disappoint

My apologies for the dearth of posts this weekend. It was one of those rare occasions when I was preoccupied with other stuff; an engagement party yesterday, a friend visiting and several other items surrounding the NYC marathon (no I'm not running in it but thanks for thinking I could).

Anyway, the one unifying theme of yesterday's games was that several top teams turned in disappointing results. Chief among them Real Madrid, last week's #5 team in the Soccer Source Top 25 ranking of the world's best clubs. Real went down 2-0 to Sevilla, who I thought was supposed to be a team in disarray after their manager Juande Ramos jumped ship to Spurs. Maybe Real bought into that? Seville's Seydou Keita put his team up with a stunning strike 19 minutes in and Luis Fabiano doubled up two minutes later to win the game for the Rojiblancos.

#4 Bayern Munich was another other top 10 club that disappointed, playing Eintracht Frankfurt to a scoreless tie at home. At mid-week, #6 Barcelona also tied a vastly inferior opponent, playing Valladolid 1-1. As I write this, #11 Roma just gave up two second-half goals to Empoli at home. The game ended 2-2. And to think I had just started to believe in Roma...PSV Eindhoven, whom I ranked #13 last week, lost their first Eredivisie game of the season to Michael Bradley's Heerenveen. #16 Liverpool also failed to win their game at Blackburn, settling for a scoreless draw yesterday.

Last but not least, I wouldn't exactly rank this as a disappointment, but I felt Arsenal (who are supposed to be the best team in the world, according to last week's poll) were thoroughly outplayed at Emirates yesterday and probably deserved to lose. So the top 25 appears due for a major shake-up. How major? You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out. There are several games still left to play today as well, including #2 Inter at #10 Juventus...

Soccer Quote Of The Day, Nov. 3, 2007

"Jörg Berger is such a good coach, he could have even saved the Titanic."--Jan Aage Fjortoft

I'm pretty sure this one came during the 1998-99 Bundesliga season, when Berger came in to rescue Eintracht Frankfurt from relegation. But I could be wrong.