Michael Bradley Signs for Borussia Monchengladbach

On Sunday, Michael Bradley signed for Bundesliga outfit, Borussia Monchengladach. 'Gladbach, the former club of Kasey Keller, were promoted to the top flight of German football after a victorious promotion campaign last year where they finished first in the 2.Bundesliga.

Bradley's signing in Germany puts an end to his productive career at Heerenveen. After joining the Eredivise side in early 2006, he broke into the side during the 2006-07 season. Last year, he finished with an impressive 20 goals for Heereveen, in all competitions, as his club again qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Borussia Monchengladbach's website reports the signing here.

First Old Firm Derby of the Season

On Sunday, the first Old Firm derby of the year resulted in a Rangers win. Walter Smith's side prevailed, 4-2, over their bitter rivals at Celtic Park. Rangers now sit top of the table, having won three games and drawn one. Mo Edu was an unused substitute in the game, though you can see him practicing in his Rangers uniform here.

Results from England

In the Premier League, it proved to be a tough weekend for Everton and Tim Howard who went down, 3-0, to Portsmouth. The defeat marks the second in a row for Everton. They'll have to wait a few weeks before they have a shot at getting back to winning ways - they next face Stoke on Sept. 14.



Aston Villa tied Liverpool, 0-0, and goalkeeper Brad Guzan appeared on the subs bench for the first time in his Aston Villa career.



In the Championship, Reading resumed their winning ways, beating Crystal Palace, 4-2. Marcus Hahnemann made two saves in the victory while Bobby Convey was an unused sub.

Jay Demerit's Watford grabbed a late victory over Ipswich Town. The 2-1 win sends the Hornets up to 8th in the table. DeMerit started and played the full game on the Watford backline.

Cardiff City and Sheffield Utd finished tied at zero. Eddie Johnson made his second appearance for the Bluebirds, coming on as a late sub in the draw.

UEFA Cup Draw Complete

The UEFA Cup Draw took place in Monaco on Thursday and the 1st round matches are set.

Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes will Dutch side FC Twente. Rennes came back from a one goal deficit to beat Norwegian side Stœbek, 3-2, on aggregate after the French side earned a 2-0 win in the second leg.

Michael Bradley and Heerenveen will host Portuguese side Setúbal, while Brad Guzan and Aston Villa face Bulgarian outfit Litex.

The pick of the round has to be Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege taking on Tim Howard and Everton. Liege went out of the Champions League in cruel fashion earlier this week, and they certain haven't been given any favors with their tough draw against a trick Everton team.

The First Round of the UEFA Cup is a two-legged playoff, with the aggregate score from both games determining the winner. If tied, away goals count double. The first leg of the games will be played on Sept. 18, with the crucial second legs being played on Oct. 2.

UEFA Cup Draw Complete

The UEFA Cup Draw took place in Monaco on Thursday and the 1st round matches are set.

Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes will Dutch side FC Twente. Rennes came back from a one goal deficit to beat Norwegian side Stœbek, 3-2, on aggregate after the French side earned a 2-0 win in the second leg.

Michael Bradley and Heerenveen will host Portuguese side Setúbal, while Brad Guzan and Aston Villa face Bulgarian outfit Litex.

The pick of the round has to be Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege taking on Tim Howard and Everton. Liege went out of the Champions League in cruel fashion earlier this week, and they certain haven't been given any favors with their tough draw against a trick Everton team.

The First Round of the UEFA Cup is a two-legged playoff, with the aggregate score from both games determining the winner. If tied, away goals count double. The first leg of the games will be played on Sept. 18, with the crucial second legs being played on Oct. 2.

Standard Liege Falls to Liverpool in CL Qualifying

Standard Liege and Oguchi Onyewu fell to Liverpool, 1-0, last night, going out of the Champions League and into the UEFA Cup.

The Belgian Champions put up quite a fight, but after nearly 120 minutes of scoreless football (210 if you count the 0-0 first leg), Liege's resistance finally cracked and a goal from Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt in the 118th minute proved to be the difference in the tie.

Highlights below:

1st Half:


2nd Half, Part 1:


2nd Half, Part 2:

Johnson Completes Debut

Eddie Johnson made his club debut, starting up front and playing 90 minutes for Cardiff City in his sides 2-1 victory over MK Dons in the Carling Cup.

Up next for the Bluebirds is a trip to Bramall Lane on Saturday to face Sheffield Utd. in league play.

Fulham vs. Arsenal: Longer Highlights

As you may have heard, Fulham beat Arsenal this weekend in a rather big upset. Check out extended highlights of the game here:

EJ Set for Debut

Eddie Johnson is in line for his Cardiff City debut tonight in the Carling Cup, as the Welsh club host Milton Keynes Dons in the second round of the knockout tournament. Eddie also spoke to Wales online in an extensive interview that is definitely worth a read.

Random note: MK Dons count American Jemal Johnson among their ranks. The forward was born in NJ before moving to England at a young age with his family.

Check back here later to find out of EJ actually does make his first appearance for Cardiff tonight.

Results around Europe

In Germany, Hannover played their first game at home this season, drawing with Energie Cottbus, 0-0. Steve Cherundolo came on as 2nd half sub for Hannover - with the game played on Friday it made for a short turnaround for last Wednesday's win over Guatemala. With one point from two games, Hannover are off to a bit of a slow start in the Bundesliga, and they'll look to kickstart their campaign against Stuttgart next Sunday.

In Ligue 1, Rennes came from a goal down to beat Lille, 2-1, thanks to two injury time goals. Carlos Bocanegra started in defense for Rennes, who got goals from Bruno Cheyrou and Moussa Sow in the win. On Thursday, Rennes take on Stabaek in the UEFA Cup as the French side will try to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg. You can follow the game live on Thursday from 1:30 p.m. CT on UEFA.com. Also in France, Freddy Adu made his debut with Monaco, coming off the bench late in their 1-1 draw with Caen.


Standard Liege continued their strong start to the season in Belgium, beating KVC Westerlo, 3-0. Oguchi Onyewu came on as a 2nd half sub for Liege. Up next for the Belgian side - a massive Champions League qualifying match with Liverpool. After a 0-0 tie in the first leg, the matchup is delicately balanced - you can follow along with the game on Wednesday at UEFA.com.

More Results from England...

Tim Howard and Everton traveled to newly promoted West Brom and game away with three hard earned points, winning 2-1. Everton's attack was completely thwarted in the first half, but the Toffees rebounded after the break to score two goals en route to the victory. Howard made 3 saves for Everton in the win. On Saturday, Everton will play host to Portsmouth at Goodison Park in an early-season battle of two teams who will figure to be challenging for Europe come the end of the season.



In the Championship, Reading and Watford both lost. Reading were outscored by Charlton, 4-2. Both Marcus Hahnemann and Bobby Convey started for the Royals. Watford and Jay DeMerit were also losers on the day, going down 3-2 to Notthinham Forest.

Charlton - Reading:


Nottingham Forest - Watford:

Big Win for the Cottagers

Fulham pulled off the shock of the weekend in the Premier League, beating London rivals Arsenal by the score of 1-0. A first half goal from Brede Hangeland (his first for the club) was enough to put Fulham out in front and some competent team defending made sure the Gunners were never really able to stamp their authority on the game. Clint Dempsey came on as a second half sub for Fulham, who next face Leicester City on Wednesday in the Carling Cup.

Johnson Loaned to Cardiff City

Fulham striker Eddie Johnson has been loaned to Cardiff City for the duration of the 2008-09 season. The Welsh club compete in the English League Championship, where they're currently in 10th place, and also advanced all the way to last years FA Cup Final. According to the Cardiff City website, Johnson should be available for tomorrow's Carling Cup game against Milton Keynes Dons.

Permission Granted

Mo Edu has been granted a work permit and, as a result, has completed his move to Rangers. That's great for Mo, who now joins DaMarcus Beasley on the Scottish giants who will be looking to recapture the SPL title this year. We're sure, however, that Mo is most excited about joining the roster of Americans who are part of the U.S. Soccer Global Blog! Wooo! Mo was unavailable for comment.

Rennes Lose, 1-0, to Grenoble

Rennes' tough start to the season continued on Sunday, as the Red and Blacks fell, 1-0, to newly promoted Grenoble. Carlos Bocanegra went the full 90 minutes in the defeat, though he won't have much time to think about it - he's already on a plane over to North America to meet up with the U.S. team preparing to play Guatemala on Wednesday.

Saturday Wrap

Lots of leagues around Europe are underway, and that means lots of Americans were in action on Saturday

Rangers beat Hearts, 2-0, giving the Glasgow club six points from the season's first two games. DaMarcus Beasley made his first league appearance of the season, coming on as a second half sub in the victory. Maurice Edu was also in attendance at Ibrox.




In Belgium, Champions Standard Liege commenced the season where they left off last term, beating Dender, 3-1, to grab three points. Oguchi Onyewu was in his usual blackline position for Liege, going 90 minutes in the win.

Over in Germany the first day of Bundesliga action was not kind to Hannover96. Steve Cherundolo's side was beaten, 3-0, by Schalke 04 to start the season.

Reading made it four points from two games in the Championship, beating Plymouth, 2-0, on Saturday to go 2nd in the table. Marcus Hahnemann and Bobby Convey were both in the starting lineup for the victorious Royals, as they were on Tuesday when Reading beat Dag & Red in the Carling Cup.

Premier League Underway

The 2008-09 edition of the Premier League got underway on Saturday, with seven games taking place across England.

Fulham's league campaign started off with a bit of a stumble. The Cottagers suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of newly promoted Hull. Clint Dempsey was a second half sub for Fulham, but a late goal from Hull's Caleb Folan proved to be the difference between the two sides.



Everton and Tim Howard also opened the season with a defeat, going down 3-2 to visiting Blackburn Rovers in a thrilling five goal game.



Both Everton and Fulham will be sending their Americans to the States this week. Howard, Dempsey and Eddie Johnson will all meet up with the rest of the guys in Florida on Sunday as the U.S. heads towards Wednesday's World Cup Qualifying Showdown with Guatemala.

Feilhaber to AGF Aarhus

Benny Feilhaber has signed with AGF Aarhus of the Danish Superliga, joining fellow American Jeremiah White as part of the team which finished 10th in Denmark's top league (just above the relegation zone) last season.

The 2008-09 campaign is already underway in Denmark, and Aarhus currently sits in ninth place with one win out of four. Hopefully they can grab all three points this weekend when they play host to Brøndby on Sunday...

European Qualfying Results

The European Cup competitions are already underway, with qualifying rounds for both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup being contested this week. The rounds are played over two legs, home and away, over the course of two weeks.

This week, Standard Liege battled Liverpool to a 0-0 draw in Belgium. Oguchi Onyewu was suspended for the game (with cards carrying over from last season's European competition), but Liege gave last season's semifinalists quite a scare. Only goalkeeping heroics from Pepe Reina preserved the draw for Liverpool, as the Spanish goalkeeper made numerous good saves to repel the Liege attack. The 2nd leg of the tie is set for Aug. 27 at Anfield.

In UEFA Cup qualifying Dan Califf and FC Midtjylland defated Manchester City, 1-0, today at the City of Manchester Stadium. A first half goal from Danny Olsen was enough for FCM's defense, which held Man City scoreless on its own ground. On Aug. 28 the tie will conclude in Denmark, with the winner progressing into the First Round proper of the UEFA Cup.



Also in the UEFA Cup, Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes were pegged back, 2-1, against Stabaek in Norway. Despite the loss, a late goal from the French side makes the one goal deficit much more palatable - with the away goals rule in effect, Rennes only need a 1-0 win at home to progress in the Cup.

Standard Liege Wins 2008 Belgian Super Cup

The curtain raiser in Belgian soccer is the Belgian Super Cup, which pits the winner of the Belgian Jupiler League (Standard Liege) against the holder of the cup (Anderlecht).

This past Saturday, the Super Cup was contested at Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liege, with the hosts winning convincingly, 3-1, behind two goals from Oguchi Onyewu. Gooch opened the scoring in the 12th minute and padded the lead with an 18th minute tally as his club won the Super Cup going away.

Next up for the Belgian Champions - a qualifier for the UEFA Champions League in which they will take on last year's CL semifinalists Liverpool in a home and away tie. Gooch has a bit of experience against Rafael Benitez's men, having faced them while playing for Newcastle United in 2007. Of course he also came up against a few of their players in the U.S.' friendly against Spain this past June.

The first leg against Liverpool comes this Wednesday, and it can be followed live on UEFA.com. Standard Liege opens up the Belgian League season against Dender two days later on Friday Aug. 15.

English Football Championship Underway

The English Football Championship (the second tier of English soccer behind the Premier League) got underway this weekend, with all 24 teams in action.

Marcus Hahnemann and Bobby Convey of Reading both played a full 90 minutes in the Royals' 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest. Hahnemann made nine saves en route to his first clean sheet of the seaon, while Convey played the game at wide midfield for Reading. Next up comes a match with League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge (Dag & Red) in the Carling Cup.

Also in the Championship, Jay DeMerit and Watford drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. DeMerit played 90 minutes at outside back for Watford, who next face Bristol Rovers in the Carling Cup.

Carlos Bocanegra's Debut with Rennes

Carlos suited up for his new club, Stade Rennais FC, for the first time this weekend, as his club played host to Marseille in a battle of last season's respective 6th and 3rd place finishers. Wearing his customary number 3 shirt, Los played a part in a memorable season opener - a thrilling 4-4 draw that saw Rennes take the lead early before coming back from behind twice to secure a late point.

Oh, and if you check the club's official website. You can see Carlos on the front celebrating the draw. Click here...

Up next for Rennes is a trip to Norway to face Staebek in the 1st leg of the 2nd Qualifying Round of the UEFA Cup. The tie is a home and away series, with the first match taking place this Thursday, Aug. 14th.

Over the weekend Rennes will travel to face newly promoted Grenoble, who opened their Ligue 1 campaign with an away victory over Sochaux.

2008-09 Season Underway

Well, it seems like just yesterday that we were concluding the last season, but here we go again. There have been some big roster moves for our guys abroad - lots of new teams, lots of new leagues and we'll try to keep you up to speed with all the goings on across the pond. Here goes...