Clint Dempsey Checks in from London

We caught up with Clint Dempsey of Fulham today and recorded a podcast with the Fulham midfielder from his house in London. Clint talked about his club's next game with Everton this weekend, scoring a goal earlier in the week, and the progress that the U.S. team has made in World Cup qualifying so far. Listen to the full podcast here.

Howard's End and Fulham's Good Run

Tim Howard kept his first clean sheet of the season as Everton earned a 1-0 victory over Bolton in the Premier League last night. The shutout ended a run of 17 consecutive games in which Everton had conceded a goal, a streak that Howard admitted had him a bit nervous. He spoke to Everton's website about getting his first clean sheet of the season; read the full interview here.



Up next for Everton: A date with Clint Dempsey and Fulham. The two sides will meet at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking of Fulham, their recent revival continued with a 2-0 victory over Wigan yesterday. Dempsey came off the bench in the second half of the win, as Fulham jumped up to 14th in the table.

Wednesday Results

In Germany Steve Cherundolo and Hannover were beaten 3-0 by Hertha Berlin. In France, Rennes tied 0-0 with Valenciennes, with Carlos Bocanegra playing the full game at left back for the his club.


Jozy Altidore and Villarreal lost 5-0 Club Polideportivo Ejido in the Copa del Rey. That one didn't go down too well. Villarreal will look to set things right on Saturday when they take on Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.

In Sweden, Charlie Davies came on as a second half sub in Hammarby's 2-1 victory over Halmstads.


In the Championship earlier this week, Jay DeMerit and Frankie Simek are making their way back from injuries. DeMerit went 90 minutes in Watford's 2-0 loss to Preston on Tuesday. Simek completed his long road to recovery by coming on as a second half sub in a 1-0 loss to Plymouth.

Full Schedule Wednesday

There's a full slate of midweek games around the world today, but first let's catch up on a result from yesterday.

Maurice Edu played the full 90 minutes of Rangers' 2-0 win over Hamilton in the Scottish CIS Cup. The win puts Rangers into the quaterfinals of the competition, and they'll turn the focus back to the SPL this weekend as the Glasgow club takes on Inverness.

Now to Wednesday's action:

In England, Everton will look to build on their good result from this weekend when Tim Howard's team hosts Bolton at Goodison Park. Get the fact lowdown on the fixture from Everton's website.

Fulham host Wigan at Craven Cottage tonight, and Clint Dempsey will look to build on his goal from the weekend. In Roy Hodgson's preview, the Fulham manager tells the club's website how important it was to get a result on the road at Portsmouth. Follow the game with live text updates at Eurosport or at Soccernet.

In Ligue 1, Rennes travels to Valenciennes while Monaco hosts Nancy. Earlier this week Carlos Bocanegra of Rennes spoke to soccernet.com about adjusting to life in Ligue 1. You can read the full interview here.

Over in the Bundesliga, Steve Cherundolo and Hannover take on Hertha Berlin.

In Spain it's time for the Copa del Rey, and Villarreal is in action against lower league outfit Club Polideportivo Ejido in the 4th round.

Finally, Hammarby play host to Halmstad over in the Swedish Allsvenskanliga.

Tough Tuesday for Gladbach

In midweek action Michael Bradley and 'Gladbach fall to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg. The result leaves 'Gladbach second to bottom in the Bundesliga table ahead of a big game with fellow strugglers Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend.

Catching up on Highlights

Carlos Bocanegra: Rennes 2, Le Mans 2



Oguchi Onyewu: Genk 0, Standard Liege 0



Marcus Hahnemann: Reading 2, Doncaster 1

Edu Settling In

Maurice Edu spoke to Rangers' website about settling in with his new club. Edu could feature in tomorrow's Scottish League Cup match against Hamilton, as Rangers continue their defense of the title they won last year.

There's action around Europe tomorrow night, with Michael Bradley and 'Gladbach taking on Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Heath Pearce and Hansa Rostock face SpVgg in the 2nd Bundesliga, while Danny Szetela and Brescia host Salernitana in Serie B.

There are games in England as well, with Reading visiting to Burnley and Watford traveling to Preston.

This awesome image courtesy or rangers.co.uk

Video from Dempsey's Goal

Here's video of Clint Dempsey's tying goal this weekend:

Portsmouth 1 - 1 Fulham

We're searching for a more complete highlights package, so stay tuned...

Highlights from Mexico

Michael Orozco and San Luis defeated Monterrey, 2-0.



Jose Torres and Pachuca tied Morelia, 1-1.



Check out the full standings of the 2008 Apertura here. With the win, San Luis extended their lead in Group 3 to five points, while Pachuca remain in third place in Group 1.

Dempsey Scores Late to Snatch Point

Clint Dempsey grabbed his first goal of the season, coming off the bench to notch the equalizer in a 1-1 game against Portsmouth. Dempsey entered the game in the second half and, in the 87th minute, knocked in a cross at the near post to rescue a valuable away point for Fulham.

We'll be back tomorrow with highlights and more news stories from the weekend!

Saturday Results

Tim Howard and Everton fight for a 1-1 draw against Manchester United.

Michael Bradley and 'Gladbach get back on track with a 1-0 win over Karlsruhe.

Steve Cherundolo and Hannover draw, 1-1, with Werder Bremen.

DaMarcus Beasley and Rangers cruise to a 3-1 victory over Hamilton.

On Friday, Heath Pearce came on as a second half sub in Hansa Rostock's 0-0 draw with FSV Frankfurt.

Early Morning at Fadó

The Global Blog is up early this morning at Fadó Chicago to watch Tim Howard and Everton take on Manchester United. Fadó is the U.S. Soccer Bar Program October Bar of the Month and we've ventured here to catch this intriguing match up, as Tim takes on his former club.

Everton also include former United players Louis Saha and Phil Neville in their starting lineup, and how the Toffees could do with a result in this game. Everton have started this campaign slowly and a point against the champions at Ewood Park could be just the kickstart they need.

Meanwhile, the kick the global blog needs is on the table in the form of hot coffee. We've also ordered up some food, which we're awaiting eagerly.

In other games around Europe, Rangers travel to Hamilton in the SPL. Borussia M'gladbach host Karlsruhe, as new manager Hans Meyer looks to make an impact on Michael Bradley's team. In France, Rennes host surprise package Le Mans as Carlos Bocanegra's team looks to continue its five game unbeaten run.

And with that, our food has arrived! We'll check back later!

Highlights from Germany and a Coaching Change

Michael Bradley was in the starting lineup for Borussia M'gladbach this past weekend, as the club traveled to Bochum. In a closely contested match, M'gladbach fought VFL Bochum to a 2-2 draw.


Early this week, the club made news by hiring Hans Meyer as manager. Meyer returns for his second stint at Gladbach - he previously coached the club from 1999 to 2003.

Also in Germany this weekend, Steve Cherundolo and Hannover went down, 5-2, to high-flying TSG Hoffenheim.

Midweek Action

The UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup aren't the only matches on the schedule this week, as many domestic leagues are in action as well.

In England, Cardiff bounced back from this weekend's loss to earn a 2-2 draw at Watford. Eddie Johnson came off the bench in the second half for the visitors, who got two late goals from Jay Bothroyd to grab a point on the road. Jay DeMerit is still sidelined for Watford, who next face a big game with Wolves this coming weekend.

Reading got back on track with a 2-1 victory over Doncaster. Marcus Hahnemann spoke to Reading's website about grinding out the the win, which he said was an important result on the road for the club.

Over in Italy, Danny Szetela and Brescia fell to a 2-0 defeat. Brescia wil travel to Modena on Saturday as they try to improve on their 7th place position.

In Denmark, Danny Califf and FC Midtjylland defeated Jeremiah White and AGF Aarhus, 2-1.

English Highlights of Rennes

As an alternative to yesterday's post...

Davies Scores in Hammarby Win and more Highlights

In Monday night's Stockholm derby, Hammarby defeated Djurgarden, 3-0. Charlie Davies notched a goal for his club in the second half, while Hammarby moved up to fourth place with the win. Catch full highlights of the game by clicking here.

Over the weekend, Jose Torres and Pachuca went down, 3-0, to Toluca. Torres came on as a second half sub in the losing effort.

Fulham Earn a Point

Clint Dempsey and Fulham stopped their run of four defeats by earning a 0-0 tie against Sunderland. The game was not without excitement, as Sunderland were denied a goal on multiple occasions: once by the referee and once by the woodwork. Clint Dempsey came on as a second half sub for the cottagers.



The inconsistent start for Tim Howard and Everton continued this weekend, with the Toffees going down, 3-1, to Arsenal in London. Everton took the lead in the first half but couldn't maintain the advantage in the second period, and Arsenal stormed back to take all three points. It gets no easier for Everton, who are in 16th place in the Premier League: they take on Manchester United next weekend.



In other action, Eddie Johnson and Cardiff won 2-0 at Charlton while Marcus Hahnemann and Reading fell, 2-1, to Preston.

Rennes Still in Seventh

Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes remain in seventh place in Ligue 1, following their 0-0 draw with Auxerre on Sunday. Bocanegra played the full game on the Rennes backline.


Also in France, Freddy Adu came off the bench to make a cameo appearance in Monaco's 2-1 loss to Nice. Monaco, in 15th place in Ligue 1, have endured a tough start to the season, and they'll look to turn things around with a game against Toulouse next Saturday.

Szetela Scores in Win

Danny Szetela and Brescia are up to 8th in Serie B after a 3-2 victory over Triestina on Saturday. Szetela entered the game as a 2nd half sub, and his 88th minute goal turned out to be the winner as Brescia held on for the three points. The goal was Szetela's first for the Italian club. Highlights of the game start at about 42 seconds:
It's a quick turnaround for Brescia, who will be in action midweek against Rimini on Tuesday.

Americans in the UEFA Cup

Two U.S. players learned their fate for European club competition this morning as the draw for the Group Stage of UEFA Cup was announced. Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege, fresh off their qualifying victory against Tim Howard and Everton, were drawn into a Group C headlined by 2006-07 UEFA Cup champions Sevilla. Meantime, goalkeeper Brad Guzan and Aston Villa face an interesting challenge in Group F along with fellow former European Champions Ajax and Hamburg. Group play kicks off Oct. 23.

Group C
Sevilla
VfB Stuttgart
Sampdoria
Partizan Belgrade
Standard Liege

Group F
Hamburg
Ajax
Slavia Prague
Aston Villa
MSK Zilina

Tough Start to the Season for Mochengladbach

Michael Bradley's Borussia Monchengladbach are enduring a tough start to the Bundesliga campaign and, after Sunday's loss, head coach Jos Luhukay was sacked.


Christian Ziege becomes the caretaker manager for 'Gladbach, who have the international break to try to steady the ship.

In other Bundesliga action over the weekend, Steve Cherundolo helped Hannover to a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund.

Rennes Record Win over Lyon

Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes dispatched Lyon, 3-0, with a well-earned victory at the Stade de le Route-de-Lorient. The win, which marked the Ligue-1 Champions' first loss of the season, will be a helpful tonic for Rennes, who were eliminated from the UEFA Cup by Twente on Thursday.

The three points bump Bocanegra and Co. up to 7th in the LIgue 1 table.