According to MSNBC: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva presents a soccer jersey signed by the Brazilian national team to President Obama during the G-8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, on July 9. During the exchange, Lula teased Obama about the U.S. soccer team's recent narrow loss to Brazil in the Confederations Cup.

So much for diplomacy. Headline in tomorrow's papers: "U.S. Imposes Strict Sanctions on All Brazilian Imports".

According to Goal.com:

Barcelona and Valencia have reached a deal that will see David Villa move to Camp Nou and are expected to make an announcement soon, Goal.com has learned.

A source close to Camp Nou has revealed exclusively to this website that the Spanish international striker has had his wish granted and he will join the European champions this summer.

Negotiations have been ongoing between Barça and Valencia and the Catalan club's president Joan Laporta even revealed that a bid had been made during a television interview on Wednesday evening.

Now Goal.com has been told that a deal has been struck and that Villa will be a Barcelona player, although no details of the fee or any of the Blaugrana's squad going in the other direction was divulged.

Laporta suggested that a offer of over €40million had been made and that, allied with los Che's new chief Vicente Soriano's promise to let the player go this year, has meant the treble winners have their man.

The arrival of Villa could speed up the departure of Samuel Eto'o, with both Manchester United and Manchester City linked with the Cameroonian striker, who was Barca's top league scorer last term.

Real Madrid opted not to pursue Villa after being told that he was not for sale and instead forked out a fee of up to €41million to sign Karim Benzema from Olympique Lyonnais.

Steve Michaels, Goal.com

The USMNT deserved its 2-0 victory today over Honduras. Two great goals by Santino Quaranta and Brian Ching-- as well as some beautiful plays from Benny Feilhaber, Charlie Davies and Steve Cherundolo-- demonstrated solid teamwork and creativity. Feilhaber in particular had a few nice touches that set the wheels of the offense in motion. Also a shout out to Freddy Adu for some fancy footwork and unselfish play.

All in all, I'm happy with the win. Only blemish was the first half when the team looked rusty and uncoordinated. No control in the midfield and sporadic drives down the side. Feilhaber's substitution changed the tempo of the game, as did the entry of Davies (where did this guy come from?!), and all of a sudden plays seemed to come together.

For me, the Gold Cup is a display of the next generation. Can these kids win big games? Will they provide a glimpse of how U.S. soccer is evolving? So far they seem rusty. But those few peeks of brilliance, most notably the Quaranta goal, give hope.

Here are the highlights (en espanol):

Wow, this is huge. AC Milan announced today that U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu signed a three-year deal to mend the team's aging defense. On one level I think this is a huge win for U.S. soccer's standing on the world stage, especially if Gooch gets playing time. But history has shown that for some reason our guys achieve limited success, with the exception of our goalies, when given the chance to prove themselves across the pond. Jozy Altidore can't find time with Villarreal, and neither has Freddy Adu shown his potential with Benfica. Clint Dempsey has fared well at Fulham, but he's not a star.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy. I hope Gooch will prove doubters wrong about the caliber of our players on European club teams. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Check out the video clip of Ronaldo's big introduction at the Bernabeu earlier today. Apparently the shorts were a bit snug. You figure he would've used some baby powder before the biggest day of his career. Courtesy of Marca.com. Enjoy.

The USMNT blog on Thursday posted excerpts from coach Bob Bradley's conference call with reporters. During the call he talked about two names that are getting considerable attention among the USMNT faithful: Jose Francisco Torres and Jermaine Jones. Both are players that could add new depth to the US midfield, given their natural talent and experience abroad.

Torres grew up in Texas and was recruited by Mexican club Pachuca. Last October he announced he wanted to represent the red, white and blue at the international level, and has since seen some time during World Cup qualifiers. He didn't play during the Confederations Cup, much to the ire of fans critical of Bradley's roster choices during the tournament.

Jermaine Jones is the son of an American serviceman and a German mother. Most recently he played a key role in midfield for German Bundesliga squad Schalke, which made it into the Champions League elimination round during the 07-08 season. During yesterday's conference call, U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said Jones could be eligible to play as early as August 2. Jermaine declared his desire to play for the U.S. after FIFA changed its eligibility rules for international players. If a player has dual citizenship, he/she can switch nations as long as the player didn't appear in official games. So, playing in a friendly is OK for switching.

Speaking of these new rules, another player in Mexico declared his desire to play for Team USA. Edgar Castillo, a left back at Tigres, was born in Las Cruces, NM and up until recently wanted to represent Mexico. Then he got wind of the FIFA changes and pledged his allegiance to the USMNT. More on Castillo in this NY Times article.

Part of me feels critical. Just because of some rule change, players who left for other opportunities abroad are now begging for playing time with the USMNT. But most of me applauds these developments. Our second half dismantling by Brazil last week reveled a lack of depth in our roster, so more talent and greater competition for playing time will make our team stronger.

Courtesy of Goal.com.

I don't know why I like this. For what it's worth:

Top 10 Funny Footballing Nicknames

10) Arjen Robben – The Man Of Glass
Widely regarded as one of the world's most talented and skilful players, Robben’s feats for Holland, PSV, Chelsea and Real Madrid have sometimes been overshadowed by his regular spells on the sidelines. The winger’s injury proneness has seen his earn the nickname ‘The Man of Glass’ due to his ability to break rather easily.

9) Nicolas Anelka – The Incredible Sulk
Anelka has been around for so long, it is almost impossible to think that he is still only 30. During his 12 or so years starring for various European teams such as Arsenal, Real Madrid and Chelsea, you can probably count on one hand the number of times the Frenchman has smiled. His uneasy relationships with coaches and team-mates has seen him tagged ‘Le Incredible Sulk’.

8) Davie Dodds – The Elephant Man
Dodds was a star striker for the Dundee United team who won the Scottish League in 1983, and a year later were desperately close to making the European Cup Final as they lost 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-final to Roma. Despite these heroics, Dodds is best remembered for his uncanny resemblance to ‘The Elephant Man’

7) Peter Beardsley – Quasimodo
Another forward whose looks did not match up to his impressive football skills. Beardsley had a fine career for Newcastle, Liverpool, Everton, and of course England, who he won 59 caps for. The Geordie was often teased in the press about his appearance, and his generally hunchbacked exterior earned him the nickname ‘Quasimodo’ after the fictional character in the novel and film Notre Dame de Paris.

6) Pele – The Jinx
Also known as ‘The King’, in recent years Pele has become as famous for his legendary playing career as for his truly disastrous football predictions. For a few examples, read our Top 10 Wrong Pele Predictions from last week. All these incorrect forecasts have led to Pele light-heartedly being portrayed as a curse – 'The Jinx'.

5) Naohiro Takahara – The Sushi Bomber
Arguably the funniest nickname on the Asian continent, Takahara has been one of Japan’s best players this decade, scoring 23 goals in 57 games for his country, and also playing for German sides Hamburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. While in Germany, the forward was dubbed ‘The Sushi Bomber’.

4) Antonio Cassano – Peter Pan
Arguably the most gifted player of his generation in Italy, the 27-year-old has won just 15 caps for his country and seems destined for an unfulfilled career. Cassano’s wild, and sometimes insane, personality is often explained as the reason why the fantasista has never really had the chance on the biggest stage. His childish character means he really is the real-life Peter Pan - the boy who never grew up.

3) Yaar Duran – The Bucket
Turkey may have made the semi-finals of both World Cup 2002 and Euro 2008, but 25 years ago they were considered as one of the whipping boys of Europe. Often on the receiving end of heavy scorelines, national goalkeeper Yasar Duran was labelled ‘The Bucket’ following Turkey’s biggest ever defeat in November 1984 – an 8-0 thrashing at the hands of England in Istanbul.

2) Tony Adams – The Donkey
Adams is undoubtedly one of Arsenal’s greatest ever defenders after winning trophies galore with the Gunners during a one-club 19-year career. The centre back did have his critics, though, and after scoring an own goal against Manchester United before being torn apart by Holland’s Marco Van Basten at Euro 88, Adams was nicknamed by sections of the British press as ‘The Donkey’ due to his sometimes inelegant style.

1) Adriano Galliani – Uncle Fester
It could only be the Milan transfer guru at No.1. Galliani is undoubtedly one of the most colourful characters in world football, and certainly the one who talks the most. In Italy he is known as ‘Zio Fester’ (Uncle Fester) due to his hilarious resemblance to the member of the Addams Family. Fester had a peculiar ability to conduct electricity, and based on the picture below it seems Galliani can also.


Carlo Garganese, Goal.com
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