Madrid To Buy Back Former Player

Real Madrid have confirmed that they will buy back former player and Spanish U21 international midfielder Javi Garcia for 4 million euros from Osasuna. The player was sold to Osasuna a year ago after it was decided by the Madrid coaching staff that he was excess requirements for the squad, but he has since been quite impressive for his new club, playing in 26 matches this season. Madrid did have a buy back clause in his contract with Osasuna and seem willing to pay it in order to get the talented youngster back. Osasuna will make a tidy profit of 1.5 million euros as they only had to pay 2.5 million euros to secure his services this season, however they will miss the talented player in their midfield next season.

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Newcastle Looks At Signing The New 'Drogba'

Newcastle United are monitoring a player that many consider to be the heir apparent to Didier Drogba. Bafetimbi Gomis of St Etienne in France is a 22 year old striker that has impressed in the league over the last few seasons. He has scored 14 goals so far this season, and has gotten himself on the radar of many larger clubs in Europe. Newcastle, who will be investing in a new crop of players for next season, look to be the favourites to sign the young striker, and are prepared to offer upwards of 18 million euros for his services.

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Jardel Admits To Drug Use

Former European golden boot winner and Portugal striker Mario Jardel has admitted to using recreational drugs over the last few seasons in a recent interview. Jardel, who at one point was one of the most dangerous strikers in the world, has had a hard time in recent years settling down at any of the clubs he has played for, appearing for 8 different teams in the last 5 seasons. He says that he is now clean and wishes to try and kick start his career somewhere new. The two time golden boot winner could be a very useful addition in the MLS as it is the perfect place for players looking to start over. Toronto FC has been saying that they were looking for a world class forward, and Jardel who is out of contract could fit that description depending on what type of shape he is in at the moment.

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Buffon Takes Credit For Zidane Red Card

In a recent interview, Italy and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has claimed that it was he who is to thank for the red card which sent Zinedine Zidane off and ultimately helped Italy win the World Cup in 2006. Buffon claims that he was the only person on the field that saw the head-butting incident, and informed the linesman who in turn saw it on the video screens. Zidane's red card in extra time caused the momentum of the match to swing into Italy's favour, and the Azzurri won the match in penalties.

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Cuban Players Look To Start New Life In America

According to an article on mls-rumors.net there has been an update on a few of the 7 Cuban players that recently defected to the United States. According to the article, three of the players, Yenier Bermudez, Jose Manuel Miranda and Yordany Alvarez have recently had a trial with the LA Galaxy, and are now going to possibly try out for Chivas USA. There whereabouts of the other 4 players are unknown at this point, but it was widely believed that they would be playing in the USL-1 most likely with Miami FC, but no word on any signings has happened as of yet.

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Chelsea Leave It To Late To Equalize

Chelsea scored a goal late in added time to come away from Anfield with a 1-1 scoreline yesterday. Liverpool dominated much of the possession play throughout the game, with Chelsea only having a few select opportunities to attact the Liverpool goal. Dirk Kyut scored for Liverpool after some bad defending by Chelsea, tucking the ball under goalkeeper Cech. The rest of the match looked like it was going to be all Liverpool until late in added time when Kalou of Chelsea whipped a ball into the area for Nicolas Anelka, only for it to cannon off Liverpool defender John Arne Riise and into the back of the net. The teams are now tied 1-1 on aggregate going into the return leg at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea holding the coveted away goal.

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Hleb To Be Charged With Violent Conduct

Arsenal forward Alexander Hleb has been charged by the British FA with violent conduct coming from an incident in Arsenal's match against Reading this past weekend. According to bbc.co.uk the incident was not seen by the referee, but upon looking back afterwards at the video, it has become clear that the player should have been awarded a read card for his offense had the referee seen it. Hleb who has been linked to several big Italian clubs in the last few months, has until 1800 BST on 23 April to respond to the charge.

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Romario "I'm Better Than Pele"

So a day after Pele spoke out about Diego Maradona, former Brazilian great Romario has come into the frey by stating that he considers himself to be a better player than Pele. Romario, a veteran of the 1994 Brazilian National Team which won the world cup in the USA, stated that though he never was actually able to see Pele play, he considers himself to be the greatest forward in terms of play within the oppositions penalty area, and therefore claims to be the greater footballer.

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Pele Hits Out At Maradona... Again

Pele has decided to take another stab against his constant rival Diego Maradona by claiming in a recent interview that Maradona was not a complete player and was a cheat. Pele states that Maradona could not use his right foot or head the ball well, which in the mind of the Brazilian legend makes Maradona incomplete and therefore unable to claim that he is the best player of all time. Pele also questioned the validity of Maradona's Olympic medal because he tested positive for drugs later in life, though it was not for performance enhancing drugs, but for cocaine. The rivalry between the two legends has been raging for years, with its height coming when FIFA named them both as the best players of all time.

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Montreal Come From Behind For Win

The Montreal Impact came back from a 1-0 deficit at half time to beat Miami FC 2-1. The winner was put in by forward Dwight Barnett in the 83rd minute. Barnett who had only subbed into the game in the 79th minute, took advantage of some sloppy play from Miami keeper Josh Saunders and lobbed a ball over top of the keeper and into the empty net to secure Montreal's first win of the USL-1 season, and his first goal for his new club.

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Newcastle Continue With Winning Ways

Newcastle have seemingly turned around their form, winning again this weekend against Sunderland by a score of 2-0. Michael Owen was once again the man of the match for Newcastle as he scored both their goals, and has propelled his team away from the threat of relegation with several big games in the last few weeks. After starting out very slowly under new manager Kevin Keegan, Newcastle have found the confidence that had left them for much of the season, and the team looks to rebuild in the offseason, and come back with some strength next year.

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Toronto Take 3 Points From Real

Toronto FC came away with their second win of the season defeating Real Salt Lake by a score of 1-0. Toronto lined up with a 5 man midfield consisting of Robinson and Edu playing a more defensive role, and the 3 new signings, Robert, Guevaro, and Rickets as the more attacking midfielders. The change paid off as Toronto dominated play in the first half, and had several good chances to score. They would take the lead through a free kick from Laurent Robert taken just outside the area. The second half saw Real take a more active approach to the match and made several good attempts to equalize the score. It would be Toronto's day however, and they would earn their second win of the season in their home opener in front of over 20 000 fans.

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Drogba May Miss Champions League Semi-Final

Chelsea star striker Didier Drogba may miss the teams up-coming Champions League semi final match against Liverpool thanks to a knee injury he picked up. Chelsea are still reeling from their shock draw against Wigan this week which essentially put them out of the race for the Premiership title, barring a complete meltdown by Manchester United. Should Drogba not be ready for the match, Chelsea will have to play without their main hitman, which could cause the club to end the season without any silverware as Liverpool is playing strong attacking soccer at the moment.

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Toronto FC Win in LA

Toronto FC came away with their first win of the season yesterday beating David Beckham and the LA Galaxy 3-2 in California. Toronto were outplayed by the Galaxy in the first half, and if it was not for some goalkeeping heroics by Greg Sutton, they could have been down 2-0 or 3-0. He stopped Landon Donovan on several good opportunities. Toronto took the lead when new signing Amado Guevaro sent a ball over the top that forward Danny Dichio volleyed into the net, but LA was quick to equalize. Less than a minute later, Donovan stepped around Marco Velez and fired home from outside the area. The second half brought with it more goals. First Toronto took the lead again after a blistering free kick from recent signing Laurent Robert could not be handled by LA keep Steve Cronin, and Jarrod Smith headed home the rebound. LA equalized from the penalty spot by Donovan again. Late in the match, with the score seemingly going to end a draw, Robert played another long ball to Jeff Cunningham, who sidestepped Greg Vanney of LA before firing home the goal that gave Toronto it's first win of the season.

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Greece Cracks the FIFA Top 10

For the first time ever, Greece has cracked the FIFA rankings top 10 after defeating Portugal in a friendly last month. Reaching their highest ever position in the rankings, Greece are now 8th in the world behind Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic and France. This should surely give the defending European Champions confedence ahead of the upcoming Euro 2008 where they look to defend their Championship against Spain, Russia and Sweden in group D.

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Montreal Unveil Two New Players

The Montreal Impact presented two new signings to the press Tuesday, as the team also revealed their 24 man roster for the upcoming USL-1 season. The two signings consisted of Brazilian forward Severino Jefferson and French defender Cédric Joqueviel. Jefferson impressed the Impact coaching staff on a trial in Portugal during the teams preseaon preperation, scoring the game winning goal in a match versus second division club FC Vizela. Joqueviel has been promoted for the Impact feeder team, the Trois-River Attack of the CSL. Both players will look to make an impact this season as Montreal will look to win their third USL title.

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Madrid Thinking About Drogba

According to Goal.com, Real Madrid man Predrag Mijatovic is looking a Didier Drogba as a possible solution to the questions over the striker position starting next season. Drogba has made it no secret that he would like to try things at a new club, and has been involved in various bust up's with teammates over the last several weeks. Madrid are currently in a tough position with Ruud Van Nistelrooy constantly getting injured, not to mention getting on in years, Saviola set to leave this summer most likely, and Soldado having yet to demonstrate the skills which brought him to Madrid.

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Guevaro Looks Set To Join TFC

According to various reports coming out of Honduras and online at thescore.ca and sportsnet.ca, Toronto FC of the MLS looks set to sign former MLS MVP Amado Guevaro. The talented midfeilder has been playing in the Honduran league after being let go by the Kansas City Wizards FC, and has been one of the top targets for Toronto, who have started their season with two losses and are looking to build around Guevaro and recent signing, former French National Team midfeilder Laurent Robert. TFC is also linked to signing several other players in the upcoming weeks.

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British FA to Investigate Bribe Claim

The British FA is investigating a claim that a former soccer player in "Britain" accepted a bribe somewhere in the range of 50 000 british pounds in order to throw a match. The accusations state that the player got himself red carded, and may have convinced several teemmates to get booked as well. Should these accusations be proven, then an already charged year in British soccer is continuing down the road to massive contraversy.

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LA Galaxy Get First Win Of The Season

The LA Galaxy got their first win of the season last night in a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. The Galaxy bounced back from the 4-0 loss in their first match of the season, and showed some of the offensive spark that many people were expecting in the preseason. David Beckham scored, as well as Landon Donovan, and so two of the three main attackers got into the action. LA exposed the San Jose defence's weaknesses, as the expansion club looks to put together a competitive team this season, it may end up being a long season similar to that of Toronto FC last year.

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