Matchday Archives

Manchester City and Chelsea face off today in the Premier League's bi-annual battle for the title of "Wealthiest team in Britain." City has lost 8 straight to Chelsea and Mark Hughes's boys will be hoping that they'll be able to cash in a victory against Didier Drogba and the Blues.

It's a huge day on the table for all of us soccer fans out here with several tremendous matches to pick from.

The big-time London 'derby' (that one was for all you Brits out there...) of Arsenal-Chelsea (10 a.m. CDT, FSC) opens things up this Sunday but that's just a teaser of the day's main course, Barcelona v. Real Madrid (12 p.m CDT, GolTV, ESPNDeportes, ESPN360.com).

Despite the fact that we're still pretty early in the season, both matches are tremendously important in their respective title races and should be immensely entertaining. Personally, I'm really looking forward to the Barca-Real Madrid matchup. It's the first time Ronaldo and the rest of the so-called "New Galacticos" line up against Messi and Co. and it should be one for the ages at the Bernabeu.

There are other games going on today as well, most notably Everton-Liverpool (7:30 a.m. CDT, Setanta) and Inter Milan-Fiorentina (8 a.m. CDT, FSC).

Click here for a full schedule of the day's games. Enjoy the action.

With the MLS offseason now in full swing it's time for me to start to take a deeper look at the European game. That's a task that I plan on really kicking off this weekend and there really isn't a better time to do so -- as there is a full slate of fantastic matches on the table for all of us to enjoy.

Some games that I'll most likely be following today include:

Portsmouth v. Manchester United - 9 CDT - ESPN2 (we'll see if I get up in time for this one, the current prognosis is doubtful)

Aston Villa v. Tottenham - 11:30 CDT - FSC

Borussia Moenchengladbach (Michael Bradley's team) v. Schalke 04 - 11:30 CDT - GolTV

Check out the day's full soccer on TV schedule here.

I'll post any thoughts I have on these (and other games) throughout the day so feel free to follow along. If you have any questions of you're own ask away. I'll be sure to provide an entertaining (if not completely informative -- never did say European soccer was my forte...) answer.

Enjoy the day and the soccer action.

The Fire's season might already be over, but there is still business left to take care of in MLS. The L.A. Galaxy and Real Salt Lake will finish that 'business' tonight, when they meet in the MLS Cup Final (7:30 p.m. on ESPN) for the 2009 league title.

I'll be sharing my thoughts about the game (which will be played at Seattle's Qwest Field) throughout the day/evening so stay tuned for that and feel free to post any observations of your own in the comments section below. Enjoy the game.

A trip to the MLS Cup is on the line as the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake are almost set to face off in tonight's Eastern Conference Final at Toyota Park. Who will advance remains to be seen, but I'll be here to take you through the whole day with Fire Confidential's second All Day Blog. Here we go...

Pregame - 9:38 a.m.

I'll start the day off by getting everyone up to speed on last night's Western Conference Final between the Galaxy and the Dynamo. After 90 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Galaxy was able to breakthrough in the extra time period and ended up defeating Houston 2-0 to advance to next Sunday's MLS Cup.

The win means that -- after 3 difficult years (both on and off the field...) -- David Beckham finally made it to the championship match. I'm guessing that MLS would have liked to see an earlier return on their big-time investment in Beckham, but better late than never right?

Oh, and just one final note, the Fire was 0-2 against the Galaxy this year...

It all comes down to this for the Fire. They need to defeat the Revs tonight at Toyota Park to have any hope of advancing to the Eastern Conference Final against Real Salt Lake. Will they do it? We'll find that out later, but I'll be here to walk you through the whole process with Fire Confidential's first all-day blog. Here we go...

We're finally here. 

After 7 months of grueling regular season action, the Fire is just two hours away from kicking off Game 1 (1 p.m. on FSC) of their two game Eastern Conference Semifinal against New England.  Today's game should be a hard-fought, physical battle (as it always is between the two long time rivals...) and it should go a long way towards determining who will advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

I'll be following the game and sharing my thoughts/observations in the comments thread below so be sure to keep it here while you're tuned in. 

Get excited people. 

The MLS playoffs continue tonight with Columbus traveling to Sandy, Utah to take on Real Salt Lake in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series (6 p.m. Direct Kick).  If Real Salt Lake is to have any chance against the regular season champion Crew they need a result tonight -- as they typically struggle mightily on the road.

There is also a full slate of European action on the table for today.  Some of the better remaining matches include Manchester United-Blackburn (12:30 on FSC), AC Milan-Parma (2:45 on FSC) and St. Etienne-Lyon (3 on Setanta USA). 

Feel free to share your thoughts on any of the days matches in the comments section below.  Enjoy your Saturday.

With two playoff spots remaining and six teams in the hunt, things could get a little dicey in MLS this weekend.

Colorado (40 points) is the only team that controls its own destiny and if they get a win at Real Salt Lake tonight (9 p.m. on FSC) they will clinch the 3rd or 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. However, when you consider that Colorado hasn't won in their previous six games and they'll be on the road (where they have posted a 2-7-5 record). Should the Rapids lose or tie in Salt Lake City, they could still get in, but they'll need some breaks to go their way in the weekend's other matches.

Hey everyone, I'm settled in at a very rainy Toyota Park and the Fire and Chivas are almost set to kick off their all-important match.  The Fire will be looking for a win or a tie to clinch the Eastern Conference's second seed in the upcoming playoffs but Chivas will be gunning for a win to take the lead in the tightly-packed Western Conference. 

As of right now it looks like the match will be starting a few minutes late, as the Chivas team bus hit traffic and only just arrived at the stadium.  It looks like weather will play a significant factor in this one as well, as the rain is really coming down here at Toyota Park. 

Finally, for those of you wondering Denis Hamlett just told a group of reporters (myself included) that the Fire is indeed going for all three points and not just the tie. 

I'll be posting some thoughts/observations throughout the match so feel free to follow along and post a few comments of your own throughout the evening.  Enjoy the game.

Hey everyone, we're 20 minutes from game time and it should be a good one at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Mass.  I'll be sharing all of my thoughts/observations in the comments section of this post -- and I encourage you to do the same. 

Also, if you're interested in meeting a Fire player/getting a look at FIFA 10 (which comes out on Tuesday) the Fire is hosting a FIFA 10 tournament at the Best Buy Hancock center in downtown Chicago on Monday.  Cuauhtemoc Blanco (who's on the cover of the video game) will be there and signing autographs as well. I'll likely do a full post on this tomorrow afternoon to serve as further reminder but until then this will have to suffice. 

Enjoy the game. 

With the South American qualifiers about to finish up and the CONCACAF qualifiers about to start, it's about time for me to get a World Cup Qualifier thread started. 

I'll be sharing some thoughts/observations on the qualifiers throughout the evening, and I encourage you to do the same.  I'll also be posting the winner of the U.S.-Costa Rica first goal contest on this thread, so stay tuned for that.  Enjoy the matches.

With a schedule jam packed with MLS and World Cup Qualifying action, today is a big day in the soccer universe. 

Some of the international matches sparking my interest include Denmark v. Sweden (1 p.m., FSE), Hungary v. Portugal (2:45 p.m., Setanta Sports), Mexico vs. El Salvador (5 p.m., Telemundo), Costa Rica v. Trinidad & Tobago (9 p.m., GolTV), and of course U.S.A. v. Honduras (9 p.m., somewhere on the internet...).  As far as MLS matches go, I'll be sneaking a peek at the Columbus v. New England game (6:30, FSC). 

None of these matches catch your eye?  Well, you can click here for a full schedule of today's soccer on TV.

As always, you should feel free to post your thoughts on any of today's matches in the comments section below.  I'll be checking in throughout the day, so feel free to pose any question that pops into your head as well.  Enjoy your Saturday. 

We're just an hour and a half from kickoff at the Home Depot Center and the Fire and the Galaxy should be just about ready to go.  Consider this post your running thread for any comments/thoughts you want to share on tonight's match.  I'll be checking in throughout the 90 minutes in the comments section.  Enjoy the game.

We're only an hour away from kickoff here at Toyota Park so it's a little past time I get the Matchday post up.  As always, I'll be checking in from the press box with the lineups/other observations as soon as they become available.  Otherwise, feel free to share your thoughts on the match in the comments section below.  Enjoy the game.

Today's another busy day in the world of soccer as there are several very high quality matches going on, even as I type this entry.

Some of the more marquee matchups include Manchester United v. Manchester City (7:30 a.m. on Setanta Sports), Chelsea v. Tottenham (10 a.m. on FSC) and of course Fire v. Crew (2 p.m. on My50/Telefutura).  Click here for a look at all of today's matches on TV.

I'll be checking in from Toyota Park later on in the day with some updates on the Fire-Crew match, but until then feel free to comment on any match you may be watching.

There are a full slate of good soccer matches on the plate for today as the European leagues start to round out of the beginning of the year and MLS continues to inch towards the close of the 2009 season.

Some matches that I might be checking out include Barcelona v. Atletico Madrid (3 p.m. GolTV) and Seattle v. Chivas USA (2 p.m. FSC).

Click here for a list of all of today's games on TV and feel free to share your thoughts on any of them below.  I'll be more than happy to have a conversation with you about any thought/question you may have via the comment section.

Now, I know some of you may take a break from soccer on this first Sunday of the NFL season, but if you still have the urge to watch some of the 'beautiful game' then today isn't a bad day to watch.

Some of today's better games include Fulham-Everton (10 a.m. on FSC), Genoa-Napoli (1:30 p.m. on FSC), New England-Chivas USA (2 p.m. on Telefutura), and of course Columbus-Houston (4 p.m. on Direct Kick). 

You can click here for a list of all of the day's soccer action on TV and feel free to post any comments/questions you may have on the day's matches below.

Today's a pretty big day in the world of soccer, as the European leagues return to action after the International break and MLS continues it's stretch run with a full slate of games. 

A few matches that I'll be watching (other than the Fire-RSL game of course...) will be Tottenham-Manchester United (11:30 a.m. on FSC), Arsenal-Manchester City (9 a.m. on Setanta) and Real Madrid-Espanyol (1 p.m. on ESPN Deportes/ESPN360... I still have yet to catch a Madrid match this season...).

You can click here for a list of all of today's games on TV and feel free to share your thoughts on any of them below-- I'll be more than happy to have a conversation about any team/match/player/whatever with you via the comment section.

Hey everyone, thought I'd let you know that I'll be doing a running diary tonight for the U.S.-Trinidad & Tobago match. Tonight's diary should be a little different than past running commentary posts in that I'll keep it a little lighter and (hopefully) provide you guys with some entertainment along with match analysis. I hope some of you will be following along with me as we go and (if you do) feel free to share any thoughts/ask any questions you may have in the comments section.

6:34: Oh, crap. Well it looks like this diary is starting a tad late.Definitely thought the game started at 7:00 p.m. (where did I read that...?). No matter though, I'll just post extra often to make up for it.

Despite the fact that nearly all of the top European leagues have the weekend off, today is still a big day in the world of soccer, as important World Cup Qualifiers are taking place across the globe.  There are also three MLS matches scheduled for today, with the most high-profile game between Toronto and Colorado. 

If you will be following along with any of the day's action, don't hesitate to share a comment or two here.  I'll be updating some scores on this thread throughout the day, so if you want a little knowledge on the games but aren't able to watch, don't worry, I'm here for you...

There's a full slate of soccer action going on today, with the European leagues in full swing and MLS in the home stretch.  Some big matches today (apart from the Fire-DC tilt...) include Manchester United-Arsenal (which kicked an hour ago...), AC Milan-Inter Milan (1:45 on FSC), and Chivas USA-Galaxy (10 on ESPN2).

Click here for a full schedule of today's games.

I'll be posting the starting lineups to the Fire-DC game in this thread, so check back for that later on tonight. 

Hey everybody, I'm getting settled in at the Toyota Park press box ahead of tonight's match so it's really way past time that this post went up.

I'll be posting some info in the comments section as we go along here so look for that.  And as always, feel free to share any thoughts you have on the match in the comments section below.

Today is another big day in the world of soccer as the MLS, EPL, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1 continue their seasons while Italy's Serie A kicks off. 

Some of the more intriguing matches (from my point of view at least) are the Manchester United-Wigan game (first EPL match that I'll watch on ESPN...), Hull-Bolton (possible debut of American forward Jozy Altidore for Hull), and L.A.-DC (one of the better MLS matchups of the weekend). 

For a full list of the weekend's soccer on TV, click here.  And feel free to post any thoughts you have on the day's matches in the comments section below. 

The Fire are almost ready to kick it off against the L.A. Galaxy at Toyota Park, but before the match gets going at 8 p.m (you can catch it on ESPN2) I simply had to get the Matchday post up.  I'll be providing updates for you guys from TP throughout the night so look for those later on.  Until then, pray for some nicer weather and comment away to your heart's content...

Today is a big day in the world of soccer as the English Premier League kicks off. The EPL's start date features some intriguing matches including Everton vs. Arsenal (11:30 a.m. on FSC) and Hull City vs. Chelsea (6:40 a.m. on ESPN2). Now, normally I wouldn't include the Chelsea - Hull match in my list of games to watch, but I'm interested to see the Worldwide Leader make its Premier League broadcasting debut.

Not to be forgotten with the start of the Premier League are the German Bundesliga or France's Ligue 1 -- both of which will be entering their second week of matches.

But just because the European leagues are getting underway doesn't mean you should forget about good ol' MLS. If you're interested in getting a look at the Fire's next opponent watch the Galaxy host the Sounders (10 p.m. on Direct Kick) and if you want to see an Eastern Conference battle -- that has some ramifications for the Fire too -- check out D.C. against Toronto (3 p.m. on TeleFutura).

The Fire and Houston are set to kick off in a little more than three hours, so it's time for me to get the Matchday thread going. 

The Fire need a win to keep pace with first place Columbus, who beat San Jose 3-0 yesterday.  I'll be posting some thoughts I have on the play in the comments section (In real time no less...) during the match so look out for that.

Enjoy the game.  It should be a good one...

The Fire are all set to take on Mexican Club Tigres UANL tonight and though I won't be at Toyota Park to provide you with any insight or the starting lineups, I thought I would post a matchday piece anyway. 

So feel free to post any thoughts you have during the Fire match (and the Seattle/Barcelona match, it's at 9:30 on ESPN2) here and hopefully I'll be able to check in from time to time too.

With the Fire and Real Salt Lake set to kick off in a little less than two hours, it's high time I get the Matchday post up, so here it is. 

I'll be posting the starting lineups for each side (along with any other random thoughts/observations) in the comments section later on so get ready for those.  Until then (and after then...) use this post as a running commentary of sorts for any thoughts you may have on the match.

Hey everyone, I'm about to head out to Soldier Field for tonight's action.  I'll be updating this post throughout the night with starting lineups and some commentary so keep your eyes open for that.  Feel free to share any thoughts you have about either of tonight's matches in the comments section below.

Enjoy the games. 

Hey all, well today is another busy day for Chicago soccer fans as the Fire take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Toyota Park (7:30 on My50) in their first match without the injured Brian McBride and Logan Pause and the U.S. National Team take on Panama in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup (7 on FSC/TeleFutura).

I hope that these little 'Matchday' posts can turn into a place where you can discuss any thoughts you have in the lead up to the match, any commentary you have during the match, and any ramblings that you want to post in the game's immediate aftermath.  So, feel free to comment and check back later as I'll post the starting lineups from Toyota Park in the comments section as soon as they are announced.