Whitecaps v Portland Preview

check out the new podcast from Full-Time: Vancouver's Soccer Show previewing the Whitecaps match against Portland on April 29th, 2010. iTunes users can down the action here. While those who prefer a different way can access it here.

The podcast features as always Tyler Green and Mike Martignago. Hosts of Full-Time and the latest addition to the podcasts will be Marc Weber from the Vancouver Province newspaper.

Sounders FC Announce Two International Friendlies

It's not Chelsea or Barcalona, but Seattle has announced two friendlies this season.

Here's the release:

RENTON, Wash. - The Seattle Sounders FC announced today they will host Argentina's Boca Juniors, on May 26 and Scotland's Celtic on July 18 on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

"We promised our fans a diverse flavor of international soccer and are thrilled to bring Boca and Celtic to the Pacific Northwest," said Sounders FC Owner and General Manager Adrian Hanauer. "These two storied clubs have secured their place as elite franchises during the last century."

The two friendlies are part of the 18-match season-ticket holder package. A third match will be announced soon. Tickets will go on sale for Boca Juniors on Monday, May 3 at 10 a.m. Tickets will go on sale for Celtic on Tuesday, June 1 at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at www.soundersfc.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, the Qwest Field Box Office, or by calling

800-745-3000.

Boca Juniors is Argentina's most popular club, as well as the most successful on the international front, with three world club championships and six Copa Libertadores (South America titles). Boca, founded in 1905 and named for the Buenos Aires neighborhood of La Boca, wears a distinctive all blue strip with a yellow panel across the chest. Among its famous players is Diego Maradona, the co-player of the 20th century who retired there in 1997. Boca is the first Argentine club to play in Seattle and the first South American club to visit since 1983.

Celtic is making its fourth trip to Seattle and its third to Qwest Field. Winners of a record 34 Scottish cups and 42 league championships, the "Bhoys" from Glasgow boast a huge worldwide fan base. They are instantly recognizable for their green-and-white hooped jerseys. Celtic was the first British club to win a European championship in 1967. It met the NASL Sounders in 1981, and returned to face Manchester United in 2003 and Chelsea in 2004.

TORONTO FC CAPTAIN NAMED MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Toronto FC announced Monday captain Dwayne De Rosario was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for Week 5 of the 2010 MLS season. De Rosario supplied a goal and an assist in Toronto FC’s 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday, April 25 at BMO Field.

The midfielder capitalized on a Sounders defensive error to gain possession inside the area and score the game-winning goal for the home side. In the 58th minute, Toronto forward Chad Barrett attempted to play a ball through the Sounders defense to De Rosario running to the top of the penalty box. The ball took a deflection, and as Seattle midfielder Osvaldo Alonso tried to clear it, De Rosario stripped him of the ball and blasted a shot past Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

Leading 1-0 in the 76th minute, De Rosario sprinted up the right side of the field to receive a through ball from Dan Gargan. Upon reaching the top of the 18-yard box, De Rosario slips the ball square to O’Brien White, who with one touch placed a shot around Keller for Toronto’s second goal.

Sunday’s one goal, one assist effort was the fourth consecutive game that De Rosario notched a goal or assist.

This is De Rosario’s fifth career Player of the Week award: 2003 – Week 26; 2005 – Week 26; 2006 – Week 6; 2007 – Week 5. Below is this year’s Player of the Month recipients.



2010 MLS Player of the Week Winners

Week 1: Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake)

Week 2: Kenny Mansally (New England Revolution)

Week 3: Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union)

Week 4: Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Week 5: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC)

Sounders FC News and Notes

Sounders FC at FC Dallas - April 22 at 5:00p.m. PT at Pizza Hut Park; Frisco, Texas

Coming off a dramatic home victory, Seattle Sounders FC embarks on its first back-to-back, two-match road trip this week. Sounders FC begins with a nationally-televised midweek game at FC Dallas on Thursday night. First kick is 5 p.m. PT at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. On Sunday, Seattle visits BMO Field and Toronto FC at 11 a.m. PT.

Sounders FC will be aiming for consecutive wins for the first time in 2010 after edging the Kansas City Wizards, 1-0, last Saturday. Seattle (2-1-1, 7 points) remains tied for second in the Western Conference.

FC Dallas (0-1-2, 2 points) is in the basement of the West and one of two clubs still searching for its initial win. After drawing its first two at home, Dallas lost at New York, 2-1, last Saturday.

Toronto FC (1-3-0, 3 points) returns to BMO Field, where the Reds have claimed their only points. They lost at Colorado, 3-1, on Sunday.

Thursday's game will be televised by ESPN2, and in Spanish on both TV and radio, on ESPN Deportes. Locally, the match will be streamed live with Arlo White on MyNorthwest.com.

Sounders FC was unbeaten (1-0-1) against both FC Dallas and Toronto FC in 2009, and the victories in each series were momentous. Seattle came from behind to seal Sigi Schmid's record-breaking 125th victory in the regular season finale at home against FCD on October 24. Toronto marked the first Sounders FC road fixture on April 4, with the visitors prevailing, 2-0.

Seattle plays two in a row at home on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field beginning May 1 at 7:30 p.m. against the Columbus Crew.


Broadcast Information:
National TV: ESPN2, Deportes
Talent: JP Dellacamera, John Harkes
Streamed Live: www.mynorthwest.com
Talent: Arlo White
Pregame Talent: Alan Hinton, Pete Fewing and Matt Johnson

Rogers Sportsnet announces Nutrilite Canadian Championship broadcast schedule

The Canadian Soccer Association and Rogers Sportsnet have announced the broadcast schedule for the 2010 Nutrilite Canadian Championship. All six matches featuring Impact Montréal, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet over six consecutive Wednesday nights from 28 April to 2 June.

Now in its third year, the Nutrilite Canadian Championship is Canada's professional club championship. The champion of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship advances to the confederation championship, the 24-team CONCACAF Champions League which will also be in its third season this coming 2010-11 season. The confederation champion then moves on to the FIFA Club World Cup.

"The Nutrilite Canadian Championship is the premier soccer championship in Canada featuring Impact Montréal, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC," said Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli. "We are thrilled that Rogers Sportsnet will be the destination for fans across the country to view all six matches of the 2010 Nutrilite Canadian Championship."

"It's with great pleasure to continue our partnership with the Canadian Soccer Association and the commitment to promoting the sport of soccer in Canada," said Dave Akande, Vice-President of Content, Rogers Sportsnet. "Our viewers were treated to a great tournament last year and we expect nothing less featuring the country's top professional soccer clubs."

Rogers Sportsnet will broadcast all six matches, with five of the six shown live on Sportsnet East and Sportsnet West. The opening match is 28 April featuring the two previous winners: 2009 champion Toronto FC hosts 2008 champion Impact Montréal at BMO Field in Toronto, ON. The championship then visits Vancouver, BC for the 5 May match featuring Whitecaps FC and Impact (22.00 ET / 19.00 PT) before moving back east to Montréal, QC for the 12 May match featuring Impact and Toronto FC (20.00 ET / 17.00).

On 19 May, the Whitecaps FC-Toronto FC match from Vancouver will be broadcast (23.00 ET / 20.00 PT). The championship then returns to Montréal for the 26 May match between the Impact and Whitecaps FC (20.00 ET / 17.00 PT). The final match is 2 June featuring Toronto FC-Whitecaps FC in Toronto (20.00 ET / 17.00 PT).

CanadaSoccer.com will once again be the official home of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. After six weeks, the team with the most points will win the Voyageurs Cup as Canada's national champion. In all, each team is playing four games - two at home and two on the road. Just last year, the three professional clubs played in front of an average capacity of 92% at Stade Saputo (Montréal), BMO Field (Toronto) and Swangard Stadium (Vancouver).

2010 NUTRILITE CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Impact Montréal
Toronto FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC

PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS
2009 - Toronto FC
2008 - Impact Montréal

2010 BROADCAST TIMES ON ROGERS SPORTSNET
28.04.2010 - 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT - BMO Field - Toronto FC - Impact Montréal

05.05.2010 - 22.30 ET / 19.30 PT - Swangard Stadium - Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Impact Montréal

12.05.2010 - 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT - Stade Saputo - Impact Montréal - Toronto FC

19.05.2010 - 23.00 ET / 20.00 PT - Swangard Stadium - Vancouver Whitecaps FC Toronto FC

26.05.2010 - 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT - Stade Saputo - Impact Montréal - Vancouver Whitecaps FC

02.06.2010 - 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT - BMO Field - Toronto FC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC

The Curious Case of Asmir Begovic Continues

Courtesy of Sky Sports...

It has been revealed cash-strapped Portsmouth owe Tottenham £1million for the sale of Asmir Begovic even though he has never played for the club.

Portsmouth have released their debt report to creditors, spelling out the entirety of the club's debts to be £119million.

Among the debts is the staggering revelation that Portsmouth owe money to Spurs over former goalkeeper Begovic.

During the final days of the January transfer window it is thought that, when Portsmouth sold Younes Kaboul to Tottenham in January, the club negotiated a double deal which included Begovic.

Begovic snubbed a move to White Hart Lane, preferring a transfer to Stoke, but the £1million sell-on clause included in the deal remained despite the fact the Serbian has no connection with the North London outfit.

The report also revealed the club owe in the region of £9million to agents, including just over £2million to Pini Zahavi, and a further £2million to a company called 'PECO AG'.

A total of £38million is owed to assorted owners, including Sacha Gaydamak and Sulaiman al Fahim.

They also owe another £17.3million in transfer fees to clubs including Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

Players are also owed £3.04million in image rights and £1.86million in unpaid wages to illustrate the club's dire financial problems.