If you saw this one I want to hear from you.
So maybe we all thought this was going to turn into a EPL campaign sealing win especially after Cristiano Ronaldo hit for the Red Devils from the penalty spot 23 minutes in.
Not so.
Minutes later Nemanja Vidic was beaten by Liverpool’s Fernando Torres to tie things at one.
A penalty kick from Steven Gerrard put the Reds in the lead 2-1 which they took into halftime.

DEFINING MOMENT
Just after Alex Ferguson had brought three players on at once off the bench in Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Dimitar Berbatov in the 72nd minute, Vidic brings down Steven Gerrard and is rightly sent off as the last man.
Off the ensuing free kick Aurelio with a magical moment beats a motionless Edwin van der Sar in goal for United to make it 3-1.
Aurelio puts it over the wall and under the bar.

UNITED OFF
United was off on this day and had many mouth watering moves that were just a final touch , pass or idea away. Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronald being the main suppliers. Carlos Tevez technically was off just that little bit .

WHAT A WEEK..
Liverpool crushes Real Madrid during the week scoring 4 goals and hit for another 4 goals against United. Talk about a confidence building week! Eight goals against Real Madrid and Manchester United. Who would have thought that.
Gerrard has had an amazing week……..

THE RACE
Clearly now Liverpool is back in it only four points off the pace of United who lead the EPL. This was the first loss for United in 16 EPL matches and broke an 11 game winning streak.

SALT IN THE WOUND
That came in the 90th minute when for the second time this week Andrea Dossena came off the bench to score.
After taking a direct ball in behind the United defense he lobbed van der Sar beautifully to put the capper on a stunned Manchester United fan base…….

This is a weekend of great games . Of course quickly I will point you in the direction of Manchester United against Liverpool tomorrow.
Most are saying if Liverpool can’t produce a win it is lights out in the Premier League for them despite the hammering that they put on Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Manchester United also come off Champions League success having knocked out Inter Milan. Alex Ferguson’s squad have a 7 point lead over Liverpool and are unbeaten in their last 16 Premier League games including 11 wins in a row. Ferguson has no recent injury problems to contend with off the Inter Milan match.

Now you also have to keep an eye on the Mexican League as there are two beauties this weekend.
First a Mexico City Derby that includes two teams with large reputations who are struggling.
Cruz Azul and Club America will lock horns with both squads only producing 1 win in their last five league games.
Former Dynamo target Luis Landin leads Cruz Azul with 5 goals while Salvador Cabanas is the top hitman for America who continue to struggle despite new coach Cucho Ramirez talking over who left the U20 Mexican national team who promptly did not qualify for the FIFA U20 World Cup in Egypt, a big blow for Mexican soccer.

The Guadalajara Derby between Chivas and Atlas not only has history but a great storyline with coaches.
Lets not forget this is the 2nd stint for Ricardo LaVolpe at Atlas. During his first stint, current Chivas coach Efrain Flores was the youth director at Atlas and he was instrumental in developing stars Pavel Pardo, Rafael Marquez and Andres Guardado who all were at the club then. Of course Guardado at that time was only 11 or 12 years old. How do I know this?
It is because Atlas used to bring their youth teams to Houston to compete and homestay with a youth club that I was involved with called the Hurricanes Soccer Club. Eventually some of my youth player’s went and plugged in to the youth system in Guadalajara for additional experience .
Guaradado’s mother even rode the Atlas bus from Guadalajara to Houston because she wanted to be near her son.
So these two managers who formerly worked together at Atlas will lock horns in what will undoubtably be an emotional affair.

For those who want to hit the road and catch the next Dynamo opponent the Columbus Crew. Just get on 290 and head to Austin, TX to see them take on the Austin Aztex of USL 1 Saturday night. The Crew have been training in Austin under new head coach Robert Warzycha and will head in to Houston for the home opener at Robertson Stadium in 8 days so get your Orange on!!!! IF you do make that trip to Austin to get a look at the Crew make sure you stop in to the State Capital if you never have before. Lunch at the Oasis on Lake Travis and you are living large…………What does your soccer weekend entail?

Meanwhile the Dynamo came from behind twice against Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center yesterday to draw 2-2 .

Scoring summary: Attiba Harris- 43rd Chivas USA
Chris Wondoloski- 46th Houston Dynamo
Shavar Thomas – 63rd Chivas USA
Brad Davis- 76th Houston Dynamo

More thoughts in my Houston Chronicle column today on the state of player development and the void that the reserve league will leave for those players that graduate from Academy programs and are at the back of MLS rosters.

Congratulations to : TURQUOISE GRILL who won a restaurant award from Channel 2 recently for delicious Turkish cuisine near Kirby and 59
MEZZANINE LOUNGE is a great place to hang out and watch soccer at Sheperd and 59
Don’t forget to check out the Soccer update with Glenn Davis presented by ZUKOWSKI, BRESENHAN and SINEX just prior to the start of Dynamo All Access with
Glenn Davis.
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Support these sponsors who support our game !!!!

It is clearly the second most important FIFA event.
It is called the FIFA U20 WORLD CUP and it will take place in Egypt from September 24th to October 16th.
This event will be brimming with scouts from the top clubs in the World who are looking to discover the next Lionel Messi or Kaka.
Yet their is a big story here in Concacaf.
The United States will be going having qualified with a 2-0 win against El Salvador this week in front of 467 fans. The U.S. got goals from Brek Shea (FC Dallas, College Station) and Tony Taylor and finished the game with 9 men .
The U.S. produced three shutouts in the their first three matches and coach Thomas Rongen and his staff deserve credit for getting the mission accomplished with a group that is not considered one of the more talented u20 groups in recent times.
The real story in this region of the world is that Mexico did not qualify for this important and prestigious event. Some are claiming heads will role at the top of the Mexican Federations. Some will claim the issue was a coaching change but irregardless one has to think the Mexican Football Federation these days are making alot of poor decisions.
Now back to the U.S. and a Dynamo connection.
Dynamo draft choice DANNY CRUZ came off the bench against El Salvador in the 69th minute after starting the first two matches.
“I thought we played well as a team, and I have to give alot of credit to Kyle Davies who just did so well in the back tonite, as did Gabe Agbossoumonde.
We came out, worked hard and got 2 goals. Everyone put their best into it and now we are going to Egypt,” said Cruz.
So the U.S. advance and shockingly Mexico doesn’t….What are your thoughts?

DYNAMO ALL ACCESS WITH GLENN DAVIS GOES ON LOCATION THIS MONDAY

Come join me and DYNAMO players STUART HOLDEN and CRAIG WAIBEL at NIKO NIKOS GREEK AND AMERICAN CAFE this Monday night from 7-9pm as we do live radio on 790thesportsanimal…. Now if you don’t get out to Niko Nikos the show airs on 790thesportsanimal and can be streamed live on the internet at MLSNET.com or 790thesportsanimal.com This will be a great blow-out as we prepare for the DYNAMO opener against the Columbus Crew this coming Saturday at Robertson Stadium.
Go to HoustonDynamo.com to get your tickets for the opener and jump on the great season ticket packages that are available which by the way I will say confidently is the best professional sporting value in town! Get your Orange on!!!!

THE DYNAMO IN ACTION TONITE
The Dynamo take on Chivas USA today in a final tune-up match before heading into their opener in 8 days against Columbus at Robertson Stadium.
The Crew are playing in Austin this Saturday….are you going to check out the first Dynamo opponent?

JOSE MOURINHO strikes fan?

Allegedly a fan is claiming that Jose Mourinho hit him after the recent Manchester United/ Inter match at Old Trafford and investigations in to the incident continue.
Inter officials claim no such thing ocurred.

Manchester United score at the beginning of each half to walk out 2-0 winners over Inter Milan to advance in the Champions League 2-0 on aggregate.
Center back Nemanja Vidic got United off on the right foot with a 4th minute header off a corner after losing Patrick Viera. And then it was another piece of brilliance in the air to start off the second half when Wayne Rooney picked out Cristiano Ronaldo who was sharp as a whip timing his run into the Inter Milan box to head home goal number 2.
Remember this play was Cristiano Ronaldo in the box as a striker pounding a header home off a cross from Rooney.
How adaptable is Cristiano Ronaldo…….?

Inter Milan threatened in the final minutes of the first half with Zlatan Ibrahimovic getting in on the right side and pulling his shot wide. If he had scored here this game could have changed . Maicon also had a good effort five minutes later during this period.
Ibrahimovic hit woodwork with a header while Adriano a second half sub in the 60th minute smacked a ball of the post.
Was this that easy for United….no as they were not the sharpest in the first half despite dominating the possession.

Barcelona brought pride back to La Liga crushing Lyon 5-2 as Thierry Henry , Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o ran wild.

Arsenal had to use pk’s to get past Roma in Rome ………While Porto drew at home with Atletico Madrid to advance.

Did these champions league matches stand out to you and what do you take away from these games/

BECKHAM COMMITTED

I like hearing David Beckham in an interview with Espn talk about his commitment to MLS but in truth it is hard to accept that with the loan arrangement that has been carved out. Now I have interviewed the man three times and I must say he is always generous and humble but committed to MLS?
Beckham is supposedly headed back to MLS and will return to the Galaxy in July. His return with the Galaxy would be at Giants Stadium on Thursday July 16th and be a dream return for MLS in a large market. Houston will also get their first look at Becks on October 18th at Robertson Stadium.
That is if he truly comes back and that is what he is saying.
As for his buying into an MLS franchise …can you say LA Galaxy?

MEXICO WINS

Mexico defeated Bolivia 5-1 last night at Dicks Sporting Goods Park before 18,296 fans. Matias Vuoso and Leandro Agusto got the games first two goals for Mexico before an ejection took Bolivia down to ten men.
I guess you call this a confidence builder headed into Mexico’s March 28 World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica but these days Bolivian football lies in despair.
MLS has gotten the best of Bolivian football over the years with Jaime Moreno and Marco Etcheverry who both play or played for DC United.

MLS CUP 2009 in not the most surprising of moves has gone to the Seattle Sounders. Great move from MLS to tag the cup to a city that will be in a full year of romance with the return of professional soccer. Lets face facts. The Sounders are setting the bar high and by doing that are really drawing attention to MLS clubs that are struggling with atmosphere at games and attendance.

This could be a real beauty and then again sometimes games don’t live up to the moment especially with all the media hype this one is getting.
Something tells me this one will.
This might be a night where the play of center- backs could be decisive especially in the case of Inter Milan who will be without normal starters in that position Marco Materrazzi and Nicolas Burdisso. Colombian Ivan Cordoba should get a start for Inter in this area of the field. Manchester United still might see Rio Ferdinand get a run despite his rolling an ankle in this past weekends match against Fulham.
I just can’t see United being derailed in this one despite the dangerous first leg scoreline of 0-0. Yet even if United give up the first goal which I don’t see happening they are clearly capable of scoring two goals. Inter won’t be able to lock it down without their normal central pairing.

Alex Ferguson rested a number of players against Fulham this past weekend in their 4-0 win and this will bode well for his squad who will get huge home support.
Inter will try to fend off an attacking United while hoping to get some “magic” play from Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Brazilian Adriano. Can Jose Mourinho tactics produce something amazing today for Inter Milan who is not being pegged by many to win.
Mourinho or Ibrahimovic will go down in the annals of instant lore if they produce what would be a huge upset……….Catch it today at 2:30 central time on Espn 2. And for my friends , I am only taking calls at halftime…………

Interesting notes: Sully Muntari of Inter Milan forgot his passport and did not join the team till later on Monday night. Muntari was in Houston this past summer and participated in
the Free Kick Masters event at Reliant Stadium. Ivan Cordoba compared the similarities of Genoa with Manchester United in comments recently. Now I do believe Mr. Cordoba was talking about tactics? Surely it could not have been around the quality of players.

DAVIS PREDICITION: Manchester United 2-0

Other Champions League matches today with home teams listed first:

Porto vs. Atletico Madrid- 2-2 aggregate but Atletico go through with Sergio Aguero starring……

Roma vs. Arsenal- Arsenal and Arsene Wenger find a way to go through buoyed by a road goal and a 1-0 aggregate lead.

Barcelona vs Lyon- Lyon lost any chance of advancing by not producing a second goal in a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Pressure on Barca….

Weigh in with your thoughts on the Champions League and more.

RED BULLS GO SPANISH

The New York Red Bulls have signed defensive midfielder Alberto Celades who is 33 years of age. Celades has quite the dossier having played at both Real Madrid and Barcelona. He is a product of the Barca youth system and has also played at Celta Vigo, Bordeaux and the last three years at Real Zaragoza where his playing time has declined. Celades also appeared in the 98 World Cup for Spain. Celades has apparently impressed Red Bulls manager Juan Carlos Osorio during their pre-season in Argentina.
The question is can a 33 year old defensive midfielder last during a grueling MLS season? These can be risky signings depending on what was shelled out for the Spaniard.

DYNAMO NOTE:

How timely could the signing of Andrew Hainault for the Dynamo be after a knee injury to Eddie Robinson? Hainault revealed to me on Dynamo All Access this past Monday that the Dynamo training environment under Dominic Kinnear is the best he has been under. It is going to be tough to keep this kid off the field and his take charge personality despite his youthful years could be an asset. Your thoughts on what you have seen from Hainault so far?

Ok I know you true football fans are all over these results today.
Out of these four matches I did get to watch Liverpool with a comprehensive thrashing of the “Galacticos” whose star truly fades on the international stage.
Here are some thoughts:

RAFA BENITEZ TACTICS- Many of the pundits believed that Liverpool would defend deep and look to counter attack. By the way Juande Ramos side played that is what they must have believed also. Were they surprised? Liverpool came off the opening whistle with an all out attack spear-headed by Steven Gerrard who was fantastic on this
night doing it all in an extended attacking role. Benitez wins the battle of the tactics as Real Madrid were tame and did not live up to the moment.

STEVEN GERRARD and FERNANDO TORRES- The two stars led the way in the Champions league win with a hunger and desire. The two were consistently looking for each other.

TIGHT BACK FOUR- The Liverpool back four were solid and tight conceding little space. Their block of six defending included the ethic of Javier Mascherano and Xavi Alonso as a shield. Conversely Real Madrid offered little in the attack. Raul was over-matched and did not get good wide play enabling him to be shadowed by Jamie Carragher and company.
Arjen Robben was a ghost in the first half leading me to believe he may have been injured. He was taken off at halftime.

VERDICT: Liverpool could win this tournament if they keep up this level of confidence buoyed by two of the world’s great players in Gerrard and Torres.
My feeling is that the English teams will once again dominate. This loss is an embarrassment to Real Madrid and this will only fuel their desire to buy high profile players and bring them to Spain. They will be desperate for big signings and those clubs with those players will know it. Was Real Madrid this bad in this game? They lose 5-0 on aggregate.

BAYERN MUNICH crushed SPORTING 7-1 and 12-1 overall on aggregate. Big blow for Portuguese football. Lukas Podolski hits twice today for Jurgen Klinsmann.

VILLAREAL pulled off the comeback victory in Greece against Panathinakos 2-1 after a 1-1 first leg to gain some respect for Spanish Football.

CHELSEA fans stoked? The blues got by JUVENTUS in Turin dramatically. Juventus got a dream start in the 19th minute through Vicenzo Iaquinta to tie the aggregate.
Michael Essien of Chelsea tied the game and put Chelsea back up on aggregate. Alessandro Del Piero via a penalty put Juventus up 2-1 and tied the aggregate.
But Didier Drogba produced the stunning 83rd minute goal to put Chelsea through.

Your thoughts on these results?

Check out the podcast of last night’s Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis by going to 790thesportsanimal.com, click podcasts, click Glenn Davis.
Last night’s guests included Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear, Dynamo CEO Chris Canetti and Austin Aztex and Stoke City owner Phil Rawlins as well as Jamey Rootes of Lonestar Sports and Entertainment on the Gold Cup.

MEXICO U20’s ELIMINATED at CONCACAF U20 WORLD CUP qualifying
What a horror and what a disaster. Hard to believe there will be no Mexican youth national team in Egypt come this fall. After a loss to Canada last night Mexico can’t advance and fails to qualify out of Concacaf for the third time in the last five years. Do you detect a trend here in Mexican football? The squad was playing less than a month after Juan Carlos Chavez took over for Chucho Ramirez as coach.
The U.S. with a win or a draw tonite against bottom feeders El Salvador will punch their ticket to Egypt. Dynamo draft choice Daniel Cruz is expected to start for the third straight game for U.S. coach Thomas Rongen.
Keep an eye on Cruz as I can see him getting some minutes off the bench this year for the Dynamo.

Soccer in the United States is always looking to cross-promote itself with athletes and celebrities. Recently in LA, Lakers star Kobe Bryant took penalty kicks with LA Sol Brazilian star Marta as promotion for the upcoming WPS season.
Now to be fair Bryant has changed his image from a self centered athlete who had off field problems to seemingly a more gracious and thoughtful man. He seemed genuinely excited to be at the recent Olympics which was a far cry from past NBA players who seemed not to know much about the Olympic spirit nor about mixing with the athletes.
Bryant spent time as a youngster in Italy where his father Joe was playing professional basketball and was influenced by soccer.
Bryant looked comfortable taking penalties against Marta and showed some good technique ….How impactful is this type of promotion? It sure can’t hurt?

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE THE GREATEST?
There is no doubt that this is the greatest league on the planet bar none. The quality of play is better than the World Cup Finals.
So today here is the lineup with home teams listed first:

Bayern Munich vs. Sporting Lisbon- Bayern won 1st leg 5-0 in Portugal and Klinsmann is urging no letdown from his side.

Juventus vs. Chelsea- Chelsea lead 1-0 as Juventus manager Claudio Rainieri urges fan support. Day of Del Piero ?

Panathinaikos vs. Villarreal- 1-1 after first leg. Road goal could be huge…

Liverpool vs. Real Madrid- Raul claims publicly that Real Madrid will respond with a win at Liverpool. The “Kop” says now way.

Have your say on today’s Champions League matches……

*Tomorrow is the most anticipated match of this knock-out stage with Manchester United and Inter Milan locking horns at Old Trafford after a 0-0 draw in Milan.
Rio Ferdinand now is being listed as a potential to play after rolling his ankle this past weekend against Fulham in a 4-0 win.

THE EMPEROR RETIRES
Claudio Suarez has retired from MLS and Chivas USA. Suarez helped to turn around the club and played in 3 World Cups for Mexico.
Suarez finishes a legendary career. What are your best moments through Suarez’s career for Mexico , the MFL and MLS?

Don’t forget to check out the podcast of Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis at 790 The Sports Animal and thanks for your support!

Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis airs tonite from 7-9pm on 790 The Sports Animal.
Guests include: Dynamo Manager Dominic Kinnear
Dynamo CEO Chris Canetti on a number of issues including economy and sport plus the Omar Bravo story.
Austin Aztex owner Phil Rawlins who just happens to own a piece of Stoke City in the EPL.

Call in number is 713-212-5790 and the show streams live at 790thesportsanimal and MLSNET.com

Thanks to sponsors: Turquoise Grill (near Kirby and 59), Mark West Pinot Noir (best selling Pinot Noir in Texas), Mezzanine Lounge (Sheperd and 59 ) and Houston Football
Association.

See the prior blogs for an update on the German Bundesliga by Salman Mitha and my thought on the Dynamo in Austin this past weekend.

*REAL MADRID LOSE POINTS
Real Madrid drew in the “Madrid Derby” with Atletico Madrid 1-1 and by virtue of Barcelona defeating Athletic Bilbao they are now 6 pts off the pace in Spain’s La Liga.

*The Dynamo are back to work today at Carl Lewis track and field complex at UH. I will get reaction to the Atlante game and more from Dynamo players for tonite’s Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis. Be sure to tune in from 7-9pm on 790 The Sports Animal and fanaticos you need to bring it!!! Call in number is 713-212-5790
We will preview the Champions League this week plus much, much more!

If you went to Austin to catch the Dynamo and the Aztex what did you take from that game?
Plus, I recieved this awesome picture from a loyal Dynamo fan from his trip to Cancun to watch the men in orange take on Atlante. Click here

The rollercoaster ride at the top of the Bundesliga table continued this weekend and looks to be the trend for the rest of the season. Only the leader (at the moment) didn’t change, but Hertha Berlin was not too impressive in their win at Cottbus. Andriy Voronin scored a hat trick in the 3-1 win, but a few bounces for the hosts, and the pack behind Berlin would be closer. And what a horse race it’s shaping up to be! Hamburg was the loser of the week after falling at last-place Borussia Monchengladbach 4-1. With 42 points, they are only 4 points off the pace, but they now sit in FIFTH place!! Hoffenheim (+18), Bayern (+18), and Wolfsburg (+18) also have 42 points, but because of Hamburg’s goal differential (0), they fall to back of the pack. Wolfsburg, the league’s hottest team in the second half so far with 5 consecutive wins and 16 points, still only sit in fourth because they ‘only’ have scored 46 goals. But they are the team to watch along with Berlin in the coming weeks.

That leaves us with the two teams that started this wild ride at the top – Hoffenheim and Bayern. Hoffenheim are showing the signs of a mature team after losing their top scorer Ibisevic for the season (his 18 goals still lead the league!) and free-kick specialist Salihovic for four weeks – both suffered torn knee ligaments. And then were mired in the middle of a doping controversy when two players showed up 10 minutes late for a post-match test. The players have been cleared but the club may face a fine. Now they have to find a way now to start winning. They are winless in their past five, the last three draws. The most inconsistent team is FC Bayern. It’s been up and down with a 5-0 win at Lisbon in the Champions League, losing three matches in the past five league matches, getting kicked out of the German Cup tournament, and now finally winning a big one at home 5-1 vs. Hannover on Saturday to put them back in the title race. But for how long will they remain in the race? If the trend continues, they should come out listless on Tuesday vs. Lisbon (they need to lose 6-0 to get knocked out of the Champions League) and lose at Bochum on Saturday. My opinion – if not for their biggest CL win ever, Juergen Klinsmann would have been fired after loses to Berlin and Cologne, the loss to Leverkusen in the Cup to ruin a domestic double chance and then not beating a 10-man Bremen side last Sunday. For now, Klinsmann can smile again and hope the wins continue. They did win the last 11 in the league in the first half. One down, 11 more to go till the end of the season.

Donovan Update: FCB will have to win the Bundesliga and CL without Landon Donovan, as the club made it official with statements from Bayern management. The transfer fee would have been too much for the club to take on at this time. After scoring four goals in training and winning the fan’s vote in January for player of the month, LD only played at the end of matches in all competitions. The clearest sign came when Luca Toni was injured last week, Klinsmann opted to only go with Miroslav Klose upfront and kept both LD and Lukas Podolski on the bench till the second half in the goalless draw last Sunday at Bremen.