An update on Charlie Adam’s injury, recap of Tuesday’s CL matches, Vieira taking another jab at United, and much more lead today’s top stories. Links for all stories below will open in a new window.

Liverpool’s Charlie Adam Could Be Out For the Rest Of The Season With a Knee Injury (LiverpoolFC.tv)

A Recap Of Tuesday’s Champions League Matches (Real & Chelsea Win) (ESPNSoccernet.com)

Man City executive Patrick Vieira Says Man Utd Gets Preferential Treatment From Referees (Guardian.co.uk)

A Preview of Toronto FC Facing Santos Laguna In The CONCACAF Champions League (MLSSoccer.com)

Steve McClaren Says He Is Not Interested In Becoming English FA’s Technical Director (SkySports.com)

The Latest Update On CONCACAF Olympics Qualifying Which Will Play Semifinals This Upcoming Weekend (ESPN.com)

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The quarterfinal round of the CONCACAF Champions League has been released with four Mexican sides, three MLS clubs, and one El Salvadoran team. The schedule/draw is below and will begin in early March 2012.

2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals Draw/Schedule

First Leg - March 6-8, 2012 

Seattle Sounders (USA) vs. Santos (MEX)

Isidro Metapan (SLV) vs. Pumas (MEX)

Toronto FC (CAN) vs. LA Galaxy (USA)

Morelia (MEX) vs. Monterrey (MEX)

Second Leg - March 13-15, 2012

Santos (MEX) vs. Seattle Sounders (USA)

Pumas (MEX) vs. Isidro Metapan (SLV)

LA Galaxy (USA) vs. Toronto FC (CAN)

Monterrey (MEX) vs. Morelia (MEX)

Quarterfinals						Semifinals						Finals
	Morelia
	Monterrey
	Isidro Metapan
	UNAM
	Toronto FC
	Los Angeles Galaxy
	Seattle Sounders FC
	Santos Laguna

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Major League Soccer side Toronto FC have a 2-1 lead heading into the second leg of the preliminary round against Real Esteli. The match will take place at the Estadio Independencia in Esteli, Nicaragua on Tuesday, August 2, 2011. Kickoff is scheduled for 22:00 EST (USA Eastern), 19:00 PST (USA Pacific), and 20:00 local time in Esteli.

Real Esteli v Toronto FC TV Listings

It will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel (USA) and on Rogers Sportsnet One (Canada).

Real Esteli v Toronto FC Preview

Toronto player Ryan Johnson

“I know exactly what to expect.”

“It’s going to be a hostile atmosphere. The field is going to be terrible. The heat, the humidity is going to be tough.”

“We would rather be going into that game in a 2-0, 3-0 type of situation, but we’re not.”

“It’s 2-1. We’ve got to make sure we don’t get scored on, that’s the No. 1 thing defensively. We’re a better team. We should take that kind of confidence and say, ‘Hey, we’re just going to be able to beat them and not worry about the results and the atmosphere and those things.’”

“Their ‘keeper made some good saves just off my headers themselves.”

“Hats off to him. Those are chances that we should be creating — and we are. And it’s great and sometimes those chances are going to fall.”

“If we don’t get the job done, I’ll be beyond disappointed.”

“I’ll be pretty angry. We definitely need to rally together, make sure we’re as tough as possible to beat them and take care of business.”

Toronto player Terry Dunfield

“These away trips are important.”

“We’re away now for a week and we go into Nicaragua under difficult circumstances so that will build relationships on and off the field, and we can see what players’ strengths are and their weaknesses.”

“To me, the biggest thing for developing that bond is results.”

“Nothing brings a team together better than positive results and seeing the system work. The only players that can do that are us.”

“I remember at the beginning of the season in Vancouver, [the Champions League] is something we set out to progress in and do well in.”

“It’s exciting times going into these unknown places and playing in some very difficult environments. Hopefully this will put me in good stead as well for international [competition] for Canada, going into these counties.”

Real Esteli v Toronto FC Prediction

1-1 Draw

Real Esteli v Toronto FC Betting Odds

Valerenga win – 13/10

Draw – 9/4

Liverpool win – 8/5

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The CONCACAF Champions League is down to the final match as Real Salt Lake hosts Monterrey in the second leg. The match will take place at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. Kickoff is scheduled for 22:00 EST (USA Eastern), 21:00 CST (USA Central), 20:00 MST (USA Mountain), and 19:00 PST (USA Pacific.

Real Salt Lake v Monterrey TV Listings

It will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel (USA), GolTV (Canada), Telefutura (USA), ESPN (Latin America), ESPN (Carribean), and on ESPN (South America).

Real Salt Lake v Monterrey Preview

RSL manager Jason Kreis

“Guys have been loose and relaxed and feeling confident for many, many weeks,” Salt Lake manager Jason Kreis said. “So it’s no surprise to me.”

“I think his work rate is difficult to duplicate,” Kreis said of his captain, “and it’s difficult for you to get all players to work as hard as Kyle Beckerman. You see the level of intensity can sometimes drop because you lose the ground that that person can cover. But we do feel like we’ve got options that are capable of it.”

“We have a good idea of who handles the penalty kicks well and who handles that type of pressure well,” Kreis said. “To be frank, our list is much larger than five and it comes down to who you think is in the moment, who looks fresh out there and who is ready for those extremely high pressure situations.”

RSL player Nat Borchers

“It gives us a lot of confidence actually to know everybody’s got our backs in this competition, everyone wants to see us do well,” RSL defender Nat Borchers said. “It’s a great feeling. We understand who we’re playing for, that we’re not only representing Real Salt Lake and the city of Salt Lake and state of Utah, but we’re also representing the league and, on some level, American soccer.”

“It’s going to be a different game here,” Borchers said. “We don’t sit back. They’re going to have to deal with our altitude, our energy and our fans.”

“I think Suazo is a very dangerous striker,” Borchers said. “He likes to tip-toe that line, not unlike a Jeff Cunningham and he’s pretty lethal in front of goal…We need to do a better job of getting pressure to the ball in this home leg. I think too often we were passive in our pressure [in the first leg].”

“I don’t think it gets much bigger than this,” Borchers added. “We’re up for it, we’re ready and we understand what’s on the line.”

Monterrey manager Victor Manuel Vucetich

“It was a real good game by us,” he said. “We did enough to win the game. We gave the effort. We made the game. We also made a few errors. But nonetheless, it makes me feel good to know how Salt Lake plays.”

Real Salt Lake v Monterrey Prediction

Real Salt Lake wins 2-1 (4-3 on aggregate)

Real Salt Lake v Monterrey Betting Odds

RSL win – 21/20

Draw – 23/10

Monterrey win – 21/20

Real Salt Lake v Monterrey Live Online

The match can be seen at Free Live Sports TV.

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The CONCACAF Champions League final begins with the first leg as Mexican side Monterrey hosts Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake. The match will take place at the Estadio Tecnologico in Monterrey, Mexico on Wednesday, April 20, 2011. Kickoff is scheduled for 22:00 EST (USA Eastern), 21:00 CST (USA Central), 20:00 MST (USA Mountain), and 19:00 PST (USA Pacific).

Monterrey v Real Salt Lake TV Listings

It will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel (USA), Telefutura (USA), ESPN (Latin America/South America/Carribean), and on GolTV (Canada).

Monterrey v Real Salt Lake Preview

RSL manager Jason Kreis

“To be clear, we’re not going into this match saying, ‘Guys, it’s OK if we lose.’”

“We’re always an aggressive group. We’re always a confident group, and we’ll approach this match the way we have the others, we’re here to win.”

“I’m attempting to ease some of the anxiety and pressure in the match.” .

“It would be massively huge.”

“If there’s one thing that stands out to me about this team, it’s how many firsts we’ve accomplished so far. And so I would absolutely love to be the first MLS team to win in Mexico.”

RSL player Kyle Beckerman

“We are all searching for the answer.”

“These teams know how important these tournaments are, and they are used to this type of tournament. I think they feel a big part of pride over losing to an American team.

“I think we are going to have to keep at it and keep believing that we can get one over on these guys. It’s tough and the atmosphere is great – they really support their home team – it makes it tough, but we just have to give it a go.”

“We were so close down there (5-4 loss at Cruzl Azul in group stage, RSL led by 3-1 in match).”

“We want revenge from that game, even though it’s not Cruz Azul. We want the chance to do better than we did last time.”

“I think everyone would be devastated back home if we came out and got crushed.”

“We have to put on a good performance, but for us we’re thinking of winning. We want to be the first to win, and we want to put our name on that – being the first [MLS] team to win in Mexico.”

RSL player Nick Rimando

“We have seen it first time at Cruz Azul, but I don’t think we are afraid to come in here.”

“We were the underdogs before, and we know what it is like to come into an environment and not expect to win or pull a result out and I think we have the guys who can do that. There is nothing that says we can’t go in there and get a result.”

RSL co-owner Dave Checketts

“We’ve never played a game in our history other than perhaps the MLS Cup that’s as big.”

“This would mean perhaps more than anything that has ever happened to the club to advance.

“This is an opportunity to stamp Real Salt Lake’s presence on the entire world of soccer,” Checketts added. “And I don’t think anyone could have imagined that five years ago, three years ago, two years ago. It’s an incredible opportunity.”

Monterrey manager Victor Manuel Vucetich

“Today we are focused on the final and our objective is to win the cup.”

“I am happy with the team and committed to the team. They will be two touch games. The MLS has worked hard, it has grown.”

“The team of Salt Lake knows how to move the ball, tactically they work well,” Vucetich said. “They have players like (Alvaro) Saborio that plays forward on the Costa Rican national team and has played in Europe. (Fabian) Espindola plays well on the wings, Javi Morales is another good player.”

Monterrey v Real Salt Lake Prediction

1-1 Draw

Monterrey v Real Salt Lake Betting Odds

Monterrey win – 4/6

Draw – 12/5

RSL win – 7/2

Monterrey v Real Salt Lake Live Online

The match can be seen at Free Live Sports TV.

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Below is the schedule and draw for the quarterfinals (and rest of the tournament) for the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. The winner of this competition will go to the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup in December.

2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League Draw

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Toluca

Monterrey

Cruz Azul

Santos Laguna

Columbus Crew

Real Salt Lake

Saprissa

Olimpia

2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League Schedule

First Leg

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It will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel (English)  in the United States, Telefutura (Spanish) in the United States, ESPN Mas Andina in South America, ESPN Latin North in Central America, ESPN in the Carribean, and on Televicentro on Honduras. You can also find the match at the link on the bottom of this post.

Pachuca v Cruz Azul Preview

Cruz Azul has a 2-1 lead after the first leg with Pachuca hosting the second leg on Wednesday night. Once again, the CONCACAF Champions League trophy will be going to a Mexican team this year.

Cruz Azul has been a dominant team in the entire competition but Pachuca was able to keep the first leg close and now have a good shot to win the title. They won 2-1 on the weekend against UANL and have advanced to the playoffs of the 2010 Mexican Primera Division Clausura. Cruz Azul just missed out on the playoffs on goal difference and had the same amount of points at Pachuca.

This is a tough match to call and could go either way. Cruz Azul have been the best team in the Champions League so far but Pachuca just need a 1-0 win to capture the trophy. The leading scorers for each club in the competition are Ulises Mendivil with 9 goals (Pachuca) and Pablo Zeballos (Cruz Azul) with four goals.

It should be a tight match but Cruz Azul should be able to get a draw and avenge their loss in the final to Atlante last season.

Pachuca v Cruz Azul Prediction

The match will end in a 1-1 draw and Cruz Azul will win 3-2 on aggregate.

Watch Pachuca v Cruz Azul Live Online

You can watch the match live and online for free on Free Live Sports TV.

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It will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel and Telefutura in the United States, ESPN Mas Andina in South America, ESPN Latin North in Latin America, Televicentro in Honduras, and on ESPN in the Carribean. You can also watch the match at the link on the bottom of this post.

Cruz Azul v Pachuca Preview

The CONCACAF Champions League will once again go down to a battle of Mexican Primera Division clubs. Both teams have been very strong in the competition with only one loss between them. Cruz Azul has especially been dominant with a 4-0 aggregate win in the quarterfinals over Arabe Unido and 5-1 aggregate win over Pumas in the semifinals.

Pachuca has not won by those margins but still has been consistent in the Champions League. They advanced to the final with a 3-2 aggregate win over Comunicaciones in the quarterfinals and 2-1 aggregate win over Toluca in the semifinals.

Cruz Azul has looked the best team in the competition and should be able to get a lead after the first leg. They have a balanced attack and top scorers in the Champions League are Pablo Zeballos with four goals, Jaime Lozano with three goals, Christian Riveros with three goals, and Javier Antonio Orozco Penuelas with three goals. Pachua is led by Ulises Mendivil who has six goals in the competition followed by Paul Aguilar with four goals.

A win for Cruz Azul is very likely and Pachuca will be aiming to keep it within one goal for the second leg. It’s a hard match to predict because any result wouldn’t be too surprising but the form Cruz Azul has shown in the CONCACAF Champions League has been unmatched by any other club. A two or three goal home win isn’t out of the question.

Cruz Azul v Pachuca Prediction

Cruz Azul will win the match 3-1.

Watch Cruz Azul v Pachuca Live Online

You can watch the match live and online for free on Free Live Sports TV.

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Columbus Crew 2-2 Toluca – Video Highlights

It was an even match between the two sides the will head back to Mexico tied at 2-2.

Toluca would score two first half goals to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. The goals were from Naelson in the 19th minute and Rios in the 45th minute. Columbus fought back in the second half and had two goals from Lenhart to get a draw out of the match.

The Crew were playing without two of their stars, Schelotto and Hejduk who were suspended due to too many yellow cards. The quarterfinal two legged tie will now head to Mexico next week to determine who will advance to the semifinals. Toluca will be in the driver’s seat as MLS teams have struggled in the Champions League on Mexican soil.

GENERAL GAME STATS

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Kick-off is scheduled for 20:00 EST or 8:00 PM local time in Columbus, Ohio. The match will be shown on television on Fox Soccer Channel & Galavision in the United States, and on ESPN in Mexico & Central America.

Columbus Crew v Toluca Preview

The Crew will be playing their first competitive match in months while Toluca is in the middle of their season. Toluca qualified for the quarterfinals by winning Group B while the Crew were second in Group C.

Columbus will be without several key players as including Chad Marshall, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, and Frankie Hejduk. Marshall is out with a hamstring injury picked up during pre-season while Schelotto and Hejduk are serving one-game suspensions for yellow cards.

Toluca does not have any players out for suspension and have two of their last three league matches. They are also undefeated in their last four matches in the Clausura. A good result is a must for Columbus as MLS teams have struggled in Mexico in the Champions League. No MLS team has won at Mexico in the competition and only a few have earned draws.

Columbus Crew v Toluca Prediction

The match will end in a 1-1 draw.

Watch Columbus Crew v Toluca Online For Free

You can watch the Columbus Crew take on Toluca live and online for free on Free Live Sports TV at the link here.

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