Monday Kickoff: USMNT & MLS news looms, Beckham wants loan, and more | Soccer By Ives

The new year is still more than a week away, but we will learn quite a bitabout the new year for American soccer after a pair of announcements later today.

The U.S. Mens national team will unveil its roster for next months training camp in Carson, California, a roster of close to 30 players made up mainly of MLS players and Scandinavian-based players. Meanwhile, Major League Soccer will release the schedule of home openers for all 18 teams playing in 2011.

The U.S. camp roster will tell us which MLS players impressed head coach Bob Bradley enough to merit a lengthy look during a three-week training camp that will culminate in the teams Jan. 22nd friendly against Chile. I projected the squad two weeks ago and I cant say I see it being much different. One thing to note is that the upcoming roster may not be as large as the 30-man roster called into camp a year ago.

In MLS, the league will unveil home openers for all teams and its a safe bet the long-rumored Seattle Sounders-Vancouver Whitecaps season opener in Vancouver (NOT Seattle-Portland in Portland) will be the marquee opener of the bunch. It will be interesting to see who Portland faces in its home opener and when that home opener takes place.

Here are some other notes to get your Monday going:

Beckham wants another loan move

Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham has spent the past two winters on loan to AC Milan and is now saying he would like another winter loan to help him stay fit and in the picture for the English national team.

Beckham wont be going back to Milan, and would only return to the Premier League to play for Manchester United, which will limit his options for a short loan.

Beckhams desire for a loan is a bit surprising considering his loan with Milan last spring ended in him suffering a torn Achilles that forced him to miss the 2010 World Cup and most of the MLS season. The Galaxy arent exactly in position to deny Beckhams desire for a loan move given the fact Beckham is entering the final year of his MLS contract.

A Beckham loan for the remainder of the European season would also free up considerable salary cap space for the Galaxy, but the club is reportedly still wary of letting the 35-year-old Beckham go on loan again.

Wolverhampton reportedly eyes Findley

U.S. national team striker Robbie Findley is out of contract and seeking European club options and one English club has been identified as a possible destination.

The Daily Mail is reporting thatWolverhampton is eyeing a bid for Findley. The report doesnt offer much in the way of details so its tough to tell the validity of it, but it would certainly be a surprising move for a striker who has struggled badly for the better part of the last year.

The Portland Timbers will be watching the situation closely after having acquired Findleys rights in last months MLS Expansion Draft.

Who are you hoping gets called in for the USMNT camp? Who would you like your team to play its MLS home opener against? Think Beckham should go on loan again, or think hes crazy for still wanting to play for England?

Share your thoughts below.

European Weekend Rewind: Dortmund streak snapped, AC Milan slips and more | Soccer By Ives

By IAN HOLLIDAY

The weather was the big story in Europe this weekend, with snow postponing matches in England, France, and Italy. The Premier League was the hardest hit, losing all but two of its weekend matches to the weather.

In the matches that actually were played, late goals were the story of the weekend. Napoli got a stoppage-time winner from Edinson Cavani to defeat Lecce, while an own-goal from Udineses Christian Zapata in the 89th minute gave Lazio a 3-2 victory. Both clubs climbed three points closer to Serie A leaders AC Milan, which fell to AS Roma on another second-half goal.

German leaders Borussia Dortmund also fell victim to a last-second winner, allowing an 87th minute goal from Eintracht Frankfurts Theofanis Gekas to end its 15-match unbeaten streak. American Ricardo Clark earned a rare start for Frankfurt and went the distance in the historic match.

In Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid continued their winning ways, though they did so in decidedly different styles. Barca poured it on again, demolishing local rivals Espanyol 5-1. Madrid struggled against Sevilla, but earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory on Angel Di Marias 76th minute strike.

The marquee matchup in France was Marseille v. Lyon, a battle of UEFA Champions League round of 16 participants. Ultimately, neither club was able to make any headway in the tight Ligue 1 table, as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Here is a rundown of all the weekend scores from Europes top leagues:

ENGLAND

The fact that all but two of the weekend matches including Chelsea v. Man United were postponed could actually prove beneficial to Manchester City. Assuming the Citizens Monday afternoon match against Everton isnt canceled, the club will have a chance to take sole possession of first place in the Premier League with a victory. Of course, Citys derby rivals United would have two games in hand with which to make up just one point, but obtaining the poll position could prove a psychological boost for a club that wants desparately to belong at the top of English soccer.

Sunderland 1, Bolton 0

Blackburn 1, West Ham United 1

Arsenal v. Stoke City (postponed)

Birmingham City v. Newcastle United (postponed)

Wigan Athletic v. Aston Villa (postponed)

Liverpool v. Fulham (postponed)

West Bromwich Albion v. Wolverhampton Wanderers (postponed)

Blackpool v. Tottenham (postponed)

Chelsea v. Manchester United (postponed)

Monday: Manchester City v. Everton

SPAIN

With Barca and Real Madrid once again lapping the field in La Liga, the more interesting battle in the second half of the season may prove to be the race for the leagues final two Champions League spots. Villarreal has opened up a five-point lead in third place, thanks in large part to in-form New Jersey-born striker Giuseppe Rossi, who added another goal to his team-leading nine on Saturday. The clubs in the race for fourth place all look flawed. Right now, Valencia leads the pack with 28 points, but behind it on goal differential is Espanyol. Atletico Madrid and Getafe follow with 26, and Athletic Bilbao is only three points off the pace with 25. All of those clubs won on the weekend, except Espanyol, which looked awful against Barcelona. Then again, who doesnt?

Almeria 2, Getafe 3

Osasuna 0, Real Zaragoza 0

Malaga 0, Atletico Madrid 3

Real Madrid 1, Sevilla 0

Deportivo La Coruna 1, Sporting Gijon 1

Levante 1, Athletic Bilbao 2

Villarreal 3, Mallorca 1

Espanyol 1, Barcelona 5

Real Sociedad 1, Valencia 2

Monday: Racing Santander v. Hercules

ITALY

Inter Milan defeated Congolese club TP Mazembe to take home the FIFA Club World Cup on Saturday, but that has done little to stop the calls for Rafa Benitezs head. With just 23 points from its 15 matches, Inter is a disappointing seventh in Serie A at the moment. And while the club now has two games in hand over the teams ahead of it, wins are anything but assured in Serie A this season. Just ask Juventus, which looked like it was going to continue to press AC Milan at the top of the table until it allowed a stoppage-time equalizer to Chievos Sergio Pellissier.

Lazio 3, Udinese 2

Bari 1, Palermo 1

Catania 1, Brescia 0

Chievo 1, Juventus 1

Napoli 1, Lecce 0

Parma 0, Bologna 0

Cesena 1, Cagliari 0

AC Milan 0, AS Roma 1

Sampdoria v. Genoa (postponed)

GERMANY

Dortmunds impressive streak had to end sometime. And even with the loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, the club still holds a 10-point advantage in the Bundesliga and a 14-1-1 record in its last 16 matches, leaving the club just one point shy of the Bundesliga pre-winter-break points record of 44. A club that isnt likely to set any records this season is Bayern Munich, which nevertheless earned an impressive win on Sunday, jumping out to a 5-1 lead over Stuttgart before eventually winning 5-3. Mario Gomez had a hat-trick in the victory, which saw Bayern climb to fifth in the league table.

Bayer Leverkusen 2, SC Freiburg 2

VfB Stuttgart 3, Bayern Munich 5

Eintracht Frankfurt 1, Borussia Dortmund 0

Nurnberg 3, Hannover 96 1

Schalke 04 3, FC Cologne 0

VfL Wolfsburg 2, Hoffenheim 2

Werder Bremen 1, Kaiserslautern 2

St. Pauli 2, Mainz 05 4

Borussia Moenchengladbach 1, Hamburg 2

FRANCE

Lyons 1-1 draw at Marseille extended its unbeaten streak to 12 matches, but the result actually dropped the club a place in the close confines at the top of the Ligue 1 table. Three points would have sent the visitors to the top of the table with 32, but the draw left them all the way down in fourth on 30. Ahead of Lyon are Lille, Paris St. Germain, and Stade Rennes, all on 31 points. Lille has a game in hand after its Sunday match at home to Nancy was postponed.

Sochaux 1, Bordeaux 1

Marseille 1, Lyon 1

Montpellier 1, AJ Auxerre 1

Nice 1, Brest 1

St. Etienne 2, Arles 0

Stade Rennes 1, Valenciennes 0

Toulouse 3, Lorient 0

Paris St. Germain 2, AS Monaco 2

Lille v. AS Nancy Lorraine (postponed)

Lens v. Caen (postponed)

What did you think of this weeks results? Disappointed so many matches were canceled? Or did the lack of Premier League games allow you to catch up on some other leagues? Share your thoughts below:

Must-See Goal: Edinson Cavani | Soccer By Ives

MLS announces home 2011 home openers | Soccer By Ives

The defending U.S. Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders will take on Supporters Shield holders Los Angeles Galaxy in the opening match of the 2011 MLS season on March 15th.

Major League Soccer announced the home openers for all 18 teams, including the home debuts of the Vancouver Whitecaps (vs. Toronto FC on March 19th) and Portland Timbers (April 14th vs. Chicago).

The New York Red Bulls will open play at Red Bull Arena on March 19th against the Seattle Sounders. Sporting KC will open its new stadium on June 9th against the Chicago Fire.

Here is the rundown of home openers:

2011 MLS Home Openers

Tuesday, March 15

Seattle Soundersvs. LA Galaxy, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday, March 19

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Toronto FC, time TBD

D.C. United vs. Columbus Crew,7:30 p.m.

New York Red Bulls vs. Seattle Sounders FC, 7:30 p.m.

FC Dallas vs. Chicago Fire, 8:30 p.m.

Houston Dynamo vs. Philadelphia Union, 8:30pm

Colorado Rapids vs. Portland Timbers, 9 p.m.

Chivas USA vs. Sporting Kansas City, 10:30 p.m.

San Jose Earthquakes vs. Real Salt Lake, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 20

LA Galaxy vs. New England Revolution, 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 26

Chicago Fire vs. Sporting Kansas City, 4 p.m.

Columbus Crew vs. New York Red Bulls, 4 p.m.

Philadelphia Union vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 4 p.m.

Toronto FC vs. Portland Timbers, time TBD

New England Revolution vs. D.C. United, time TBD

Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy, 9 p.m.

Thursday, April 14

Portland Timbers vs. Chicago Fire, 11 p.m.

Thursday, June 9

Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire, time TBD

What do you think of these matches? Which opener are you most looking forward to?

Share your thoughts below.

SBI Reader Roll Call (2010 Edition) | Soccer By Ives

It is that time again. Time for all you SBI readers to take part in our annual SBI Reader Roll Call, a reader survey we use to help identify our demographics for advertisers and to see what areas of the sport we should be trying to cover more.

Thanks to you, the SBI readers, our third year in business has been another success, with more than 16 million pageviews and readers checking in from all over the world and in every corner of the United States. Were excited to try and take things to an even higher level in 2011.

Now is your chance to let us know who you are, where you are from, and who you support. Here is a sample of what we would like you to submit your roll call information in the comments section:

Name (full name not necessary)male/femaleagecity/state/country(if not USA)you currently live inclubs/national teams you watch (limit to five total)when you started reading SBI

Also, please include your email address under the email section of the comment. Rest assured that email addresses placed there cannot be seen by the public and WILL NOT be given out to third parties for marketing purposes (As all the readers who submitted their emails in previous roll calls can attest). We are collecting an email list in order to eventually send out correspondences relating to SBI. If you still dont feel comfortable submitting your email on the website, you can send your roll call submission tosoccerbyives@gmail.com.

Tuesday Kickoff: Holden on EPL Best XI, Findley linked to Forest move and more | Soccer By Ives

Stuart Holden has enjoyed a strong season for Bolton, perhaps stronger than we realized.

Holden has been named to the Guardians English Premier League Team of the Season at the halfway point after garnered the highest average rating among all EPL players. The Guardians website has reader-generated player rankings for all Premier League matches and Holden scored the highest average of the season.

Here is the Premier League Best XI at the mid-way point according to the Guardians website:

Richard Kingson (Blackpool); Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Leighton Baines (Everton); Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Luka Modric (Tottenham), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham); Johan Elmander (Bolton), Andy Carroll (Newcastle).

Holden finished the mid-way point of the season with an average of 7.4, with Bolton teammate Johan Elmander posting the second-highest average at 7.2.

Here are some other stories to get you through the day:

Findley linked to deal with Nottingham Forest

U.S. national team striker Robbie Findley had been linked to a trial with Premier League side Wolverhampton, but a new report has Findley signing with League Championship side Nottingham Forest.

Sky Sports is reporting that Findley has left Wolverhampton and is on the verge of a deal to sign with Nottingham Forest, a club managed by Billy Davies, the same manager who brought Americans Eddie Lewis and Benny Feilhaber to Derby County.

Findley is currently out of contract and is therefore free to sign with any team. There are questions about his ability to secure a UK work permit, but he played in 10 of the U.S. national teams 14 matches in 2010, and the four matches he missed were due to suspension, injury and club commitments. Given those figures, Findley shouldnt have trouble securing a work permit.

Balotelli honored as best young player in Europe

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has been honored as Best Young Player in Europe by Italian-based Tuttosport.

Balotelli edged out Arsenals Jack Wilshire for the award, which honors the best European player under the age of 21.

Its tough to agree with that choice. Who would we have voted for? Belgian Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku are two standouts who come to mind, along with French midfielder Yann MVila.

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What do you think of these developments? Impressed with Holdens rating? Surprised by all the interest in Findley?

Share your thoughts below.

Bradley calls 24 players to January USMNT camp | Soccer By Ives

U.S. mens national team head coach Bob Bradley has called in 24 players for the teams upcoming January camp in California and the squad is a young one.

Juan Agudelo, Teal Bunbury, Tim Ream, Eric Alexander, Zach Loyd and Sean Johnson are six of the young players called in to the January national team camp. All six enjoyed strong rookie campaigns in MLS in 2010.

MLS Cup champion Colorado is well represented, with four Rapids players getting called up. MLS Cup finalists FC Dallas has four current players as well as former player Dax McCarty.

Here is the roster:

GOALKEEPERS: Dominic Cervi (Celtic), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Matt Pickens (Colorado Rapids), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS: A.J. DeLaGarza (Los Angeles Galaxy), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Ugo Ihemelu (FC Dallas), Zach Loyd (FC Dallas), Ryan Miller (Halmstads BK), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls), Anthony Wallace (Colorado Rapids), Marvell Wynne (Colorado Rapids)

MIDFIELDERS: Eric Alexander (FC Dallas), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Sam Cronin (San Jose Earthquakes), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabaek), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids), Dax McCarty (D.C. United), Brek Shea (FC Dallas)

FORWARDS: Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Justin Braun (Chivas USA), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

The U.S. national team will be in camp in Carson, California from Jan. 4th to January 22nd, with the camp concluding with the teams friendly against Chile at Home Depot Center.

What do you think of the roster? Who are you most excited to see in camp? Anybody missing that you think should have been called in?

Share your thoughts below.

Evening Ticker: Onstad retires to be coach, Najar inks new deal and more | Soccer By Ives

Goalkeeper Pat Onstad has enjoyed a long championship-winning career, but the 41-year-old Canadian net-minder has stopped his last shot.

Onstad retired on Tuesday, and immediately took a position as an assistant coach with D.C. United, joining the coaching staff of new head coach Ben Olsen.

Onstads retirement doesnt come as a complete surprise, but now leaves Houston with a pair of iyoung goalkeepers in Tally Hall and Tyler Deric.

Onstad will now have the task of working with standout young D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid and newly-acquired Steve Cronin.

Here are some other stories from Tuesday to help close out the day:

Najar signs new deal with D.C.

D.C. United took a major step toward solidifying its future by signing MLS Rookie of the Year Andy Najar to a new contract, the club announced on Tuesday.

The club did not release details of the new contract, but Najar is sure to have received a considerable pay raise from the almost $59,000 he earned in guaranteed compensation in 2010 in exchange for lengthening his contract by a minimum of two years.

Inter to fire Benitez

The Rafa Benitez era at Inter Milan is over and the reigning European champions are set to turn to a familiar face to take his place.

According to multiple reports, Inter Milan will fire Benitez on Wednesday and will replace him with former AC Milan manager Leonardo.

Benitez is set to pocket a seven-figure payout for being removed from a job he held just half a season since taking over for Jose Mourinho.

Stoke eyeing Buddle

Edson Buddles future remains a mystery as Stoke City has been added to the teams reportedly interested in his services.

Buddle had been on trial with Birmingham City, but the Daily Mail has named Stoke City as an interested suitor, along with Everton and Wolverhampton.

Whether the fresh reports are legitimate, or pure wild speculation is unclear, but all three clubs mentioned are in need of reinforcements in the attack.

It remains unclear how Buddle would be eligible for a UK work permit, but the reported interested from multiple English clubs suggests they believe he can secure one.

What do you think of these developments? Who do you see Houston turning to in goal? Glad to hear Najar will be staying in MLS a while longer? Where do you see Benitez winding up next?

Share your thoughts below.

MLS Ticker: Ferreira signs new deal, Philly inks first Homegrown Player | Soccer By Ives

Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIPhotos.com

FC Dallas fell short in its quest for an improbable MLS Cup title, but the club took a major step toward making more runs at a championship by signing MLS MVP David Ferreira to a new contract.

Dallas announced the signing of Ferreiras new multi-year deal on Wednesday, securing the services of the Colombian playmaker, who helped guide Dallas to the 2010 MLS Cup Final. Terms of the new contract were not released.

Ferreira garnered MLS MVP honors after posting eight goals and 13 assists.

In other MLS news, the Philadelphia Union has signed 15-year-old midfielder Zach Pfeffer as its first Homegrown Player. He is the fourth-youngest player to ever sign an MLS contract.

What do you think of the news?

Davies won’t play today, Sochaux suggests loan | Soccer By Ives

American striker Charlie Davies is still working his way back from injuries suffered in a deadly car crash 14 months ago, and despite having been in uniform for Sochauxs recent match against Bordeaux, his future with the French club remains uncertain.

Davies will not be in uniform for the clubs match today against AS Monaco, and Davies has been advised by his club to seek out loan opportunities. Sochaux manager Francis Gillot doesnt believe Davies will be able to return to a high enough level to play for Sochaux this year. The story also points out that Davies dressed for the Bordeaux match as a gesture for the work he had put in, but that Gillot had no intention of using Davies in the match.

The report by France Football also cites Sochaux president Alexandre Lacombe as stating that Major League Soccer is not an option for Davies, who would rather stay with Sochaux than go out on loan.