We all know the dream for many professional soccer players in the United States is to play in Europe.

How could it not be? The wealthiest and most popular leagues in the world are in England, Spain, Germany and Italy.

Why then would you not think that many MLS players have their eye on Europe and that shot at the holy grail?

Some have hit it big, signing with clubs in the English Premier League. Who can forget when MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard signed with Manchester United in 2003? Howard was named the EPL’s top goalkeeper in his first season. Now at Everton, Howard is among the top keepers in the league.

Yet for every player that lands in the EPL or high-profile clubs elsewhere there are others who take the plunge in lesser leagues….to read more check out Glenn Davis’s article at chron.com

David Beckham and his Galaxy teammates arrived in Hawaii on Monday. Beckham and the Dynamo’s Brian Ching pose in front of the Pan-Pacific trophy in Tuesdays news conference (seen above). Tournament play officially begins tomorrow Feb. 20th with,
• 10 p.m. Galaxy vs Gamba Osaka.
• 12:30am Houston Dynamo vs Sydney FC (790am The Sports Animal broadcast)

A mind blowing elimination in the F.A. Cup to Barnsley has added huge pressure to today’s Liverpool vs. Inter Milan Champions League match (Espn2 at 1:30 CST). To make matters worse the loss came at Anfield the famous home of the “Reds”.
Manager Rafa Benitez is under heavy pressure with a club that he guided to the Champions League Final last year.
Steven Gerrard is the leading scorer in the Champions league for Liverpool with 4 goals which is a statement about the team. Gerrard is everything to Liverpool and is over-burdened as a player.
Conversely, Inter Milan’s leading goal scorer is striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic whose duties don’t include controlling midfield. My point here is Gerrard is over-worked and expected to do too much for this squad.

Don’t forget tonite the Dynamo Power Hours with Glenn Davis airs from 7-9pm on 790 The Sports Animal. Call in number is 713-212-5790 and the show streams live on the internet at MLSNET.com and 790TheSportsAnimal.com

Paul Dalglish is now a member of Kilmarnock in Scotland joining his 14th club according to GOLTV.
Dalglish missed the majority of the 2007 MLS season with injury and was a non-factor unlike the year before when he joined the squad and gave the team a boost with his mobility and some timely goals helping the Dynamo win their first cup.
This past year Dalglish rarely looked motivated and became an afterthought and few have even mentioned his departure.
The City of Houston has offered 15.5 million dollars over five city blocks that could house a Dynamo stadium. Mayor White has made it real clear that taxpayer dollars will not fund this venture and Anschutz Entertainment Group has stated it will carry the bulk of the construction costs if the the City and AEG can come together.
This is taking longer than one might hope and I stress that a deal is not in place. This is positive movement towards resolution. The issue is on the agenda of city council this Wednesday. The land is East of Minute Maid Park .

Catch the best in soccer talk with Glenn Davis this Tuesday night from 7-9pm on 790 The Sports Animal. Interviews, Dynamo talk and cutting edge opinion and commentary.
Call in number is 713-212-5790.
The show streams live on the internet at MLSNet.com

The Houston Dynamo and Brian Ching arrived in Hawaii for the Pan
Pacific Cup. Ching and his teammates were received with a traditional lei greeting as they arrived for the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship to be held at Aloha Stadium starting Feb. 20. Ching will be playing in his first professional match in Oahu, his home island, this coming Wednesday when the Dynamo face Sydney FC at 8:30 pm local (TV: ESPN Classic).

Now it gets good. You know what I am talking about…….the Champions League. Make sure you check out the games on ESPN2 and ESPNDeportes this Tuesday and Wednesday.
For me the best soccer in the world is played in this league and I am always particularly intrigued by the different playing styles that crash head on. So here are some initial thoughts off the top of my head:

Liverpool vs Inter:
Welcome to Anfield the home of famed Liverpool. Lets not forget that Liverpool come off being knocked out by Barnsley a their famed home stadium this past weekend. How do they react with pressure on the squad and the manager Rafa Benitez. A win over Inter and Benitez will stave off the media pressure for a moment.
Then again this could be the best thing for them. Expect them to be at their scratching and clawing best and as always will have to look for an edge from Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
For Roberto Mancini and Inter Milan all eyes will be on Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Can he produce an away goal?

Arsenal vs. AC Milan

Similiar conditions for Arsenal who were thrashed by Manchester United 4-0 in the FA Cup. The perfect game to right the ship at the Emirates. AC Milan are now competing in the “Serie A” for a place in Europe and have moved up the table. Return from injury could come in the form of Kaka and Pato two amazingly talented Brazilians. Yet a huge issue remains in goal. Number one Zeljko Kalac has a dislocated finger. Dida who lost the starting job to Kalac has an injured back. Do they get fit or does Carlo Ancelotti have to use number three goalkeeper Valerio Fiori? Fiori has not played since the 2003-2004 season. First leg goalkeeping away from home is an issue?

Roma vs. Real Madrid

Another juicy encounter with both teams coming off losses in their domestic league play. Roma was beaten by Juventus and Real Madrid after taking a 1-0 lead lost at Betis 2-1.
Roma have lost their last three at the Olympic Stadium in Rome to Real Madrid.

Celtic vs. Barcelona

Celtic Park will be simmering with the arrival of Barcelona in Glasgow.
Barcelona may get back Samuel Ett’o from injury he incurred in African Nations Cup against Egypt. Celtic will fight to the death in front of their home fans and will make it uncomfortable for Barcelona who pulled off a six point swing in La Liga play with a 2-1 win over Zaragoza. Time for Ronaldinho to shine.

Lyon vs. Manchester United

Lyon may not make many excited but the game has United manager Alex Ferguson concerned enough to get a scouting report from former Rangers manager Walter Smith.
After United’s thrashing of Arsenal in the FA Cup I see them postion themselves for the return leg at Old Trafford fine in this one.

Schalke vs Porto

Germans have the edge at home.

Fenerbache vs Sevilla

Spaniards will not find it easy in Turkey.

Olympiakos vs Chelsea

Blues on the road in Athens which is not the easiest place to play.
Best hope for a piece of hardware for Chelsea.

Have your say on the Champions League and don’t forget tomorrow night to join me on the radio at 7pm on 790TheSports Animal for more Champions League talk.

It has been an interesting weekend in the world of soccer.

* In Germany, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich are battling it out for the top spot in the Bundesliga but today “team Hollywood” staved off the challenge by crushing Hannover 3-0 behind Italian Luca Toni’s hat trick to remain on the top of the mountain.
U.S. defender Steve Cherundolo played for Hannover who were even at halftime in front of their home fans. On this day Toni was unstoppable.

* FA Cup matches in England showed some surprising results. Manchester United crushed a disheveled Arsenal aided by an ejection from Emmanuel Ebou in the 49th who proved to be an emotional liability. Does this make you look at the EPL title run differently now?
A psychological counter-punch from the “Red Devils” in the big picture.
What has happened to Liverpool? Am I seeing the truth or did the “Reds” get knocked out of the F.A. Cup at Anfield? Yes they did to Barnsley! Pressure now on manager Rafa Benitez whose rotation policy as always with his squad will come into question. Nightmare!

* On to Spain with another two horse race. Real Madrid comes out buzzing scores first against the home side Betis only to lose 2-1. Manager Bernd Schuster says his team “stopped” playing. Mark Gonzalez gets the game winner in the 90th minute.
Meanwhile Barcelona get gifted a penalty kick against Zaragoza which Ronaldinho puts away with class and you have a six point swing. More playing time for Giovani Dos Santos the talented young player from Mexico.

*In Italy, Honduran David Suazo hits twice for Inter Milan in a 2-0 win over Livorno. He continues to carry the flag of Honduran soccer while Amado Guevara is back in Honduras playing club soccer.

* The word is around that the Dynamo, Chivas, Pachuca and DC United have all been grouped together in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Love the match-up against Chivas and Pachuca not to mention United. This is the year an MLS team will get a win in Mexico. Now that is credibility.

*Join me Tuesday night from 7-9pm for the Dynamo Power Hours for the best in soccer talk on 790 The Sports Animal. Lets talk about these topics and more. Call in number 713-212-5790. Let me know what guests you would like me to get on the show.

Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy in Hawaii and great Champions League games on tap this week!

Don’t forget to check out the podcast from last Monday night’s radio show that included interviews with Tom Soehn of DC United and Dominic Kinnear of the Houston Dynamo.
Go to www.790thesportsanimal.com, click podcasts, click Glenn Davis to listen.
A couple of interesting notes today:

*Chelsea get a boost today with the remarkable return of captain John Terry who was out with a fractured foot. Terry will return against Huddersfield in the 5th round of the F.A. Cup.
On another Chelsea note….did you see manager Avram Grant decked out in the black suit and shirt this past weekend looking like your local undertaker. Terry needs to get Avram in some traditional English threads, maybe mix a blue tie in.

*He’s back!!!! Former Mexico manager Manuel LaPuente returns to head up Tigres after the firing of Argentine America Gallego. Now there is a twist, an Argentine manager being replaced by a Mexican manager. I am sure that I will receive an email from Hugo Sanchez’s agent ……It’s great to be wanted if you are LaPuente who was last seen in our parts coaching Club America.

* The time might just be right for the Dynamo to acquire their first foreign player from the Americas or Europe. The Americas would make more sense for alot of reasons but mainly for value. Their is a definite need for strikers with the loss of Nate Jacqua and Joseoph Ngwenya, value lies south of the border and options in MLS are limited. Not to mention additional cap money from the sale of Ramiro Corrales to San Jose. The squad will be stressed without the addition of help up front and could find it hard in international competition. Do you want to put the stress of playing Brian Ching game in and game out in all these competitions in the first months of the MLS season?
IMHO the squad will give too much away playing DeRosario up front who in MLS has solidified his midfield role as his calling card.
Brian Mullan is the best in MLS at controlling the wide area of the field so moving him forward would take something away from the midfield play not to mention Brian Ching’s lifeline of delivery. Yes you can move both of these players into attacking roles but no doubt you will lose something in midfield. Different in the case of each player.

*My understanding is that the Pan Pacific Cup will be played on artificial surface.
Scares me to think of Brian Ching on the fake stuff. Last year Dominic Kinnear didn’t risk him on the artificial surface in Salt Lake City.
How about LA, do they really want to even take the risk of putting David Beckham on artificial surface after last year? Wow!

*Willis Forko who played for RSL has been waived. Forko a left sided defender played at both South Carolina and UConn in college. He also played locally for the Hurricanes Soccer Club along with his brother Sam who also spent time in MLS with the Metrostars.

*Dynamo Power Hour’s with Glenn Davis will be getting a new name in the future and this weeks show will be on Tuesday from 7-9pm and I welcome your input at 713-212-5790. I appreciate all the great calls each and every week.
Who would you like on the show? Let me know….

Ronaldo was carried off in tears against Livorno after injuring his knee.
The World Cup winner and former three time world player of the year winner has had knee trouble since the late 9o’s with Inter Milan. The curtain may be closing on Ronaldo’s amazing career .
He broke on to the scene as a teen-ager at PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands and from their made the move to Europe.
I remember Ronaldo in the Serie A running with a ball at his feet with opponents literally trying to foul just bouncing off of him.
Where does Ronaldo’s future lie? And what is your best moment from the Brazilian great?