Moving On: USMNT Midfielder Christian Pulisic Signs A Four-Year Deal With AC Milan (Italy)

 

    I have long said that Christian Pulisic is the greatest American male soccer player that we have ever produced. The USMNT captain and midfielder is still only 24 years old even though it feels like he has been around for much longer than that. Today, his long rumored transfer from Chelsea (England) to AC Milan (Italy) was finally confirmed as he signed a four-year contract with the Serie A giants. If you think that going from one of the top clubs in the Premier League to AC Milan is a lateral move, then you have not been paying attention to Chelsea lately. They finished in 12th place (out of 20 clubs) last season and after a revolving door of managers, Pulisic was barely getting any playing time so it was time to find a new home and a fresh start. 

    Christian, his parents and whoever smartly advised them were way ahead of the curve when he was growing up in Hershey, PA as they made the fantastic decision to move him (along with his father) to Germany when he was a teenager and where he could train full-time with the Borussia Dortmund academy team rather than dominate stateside and eventually what, go to college and star in MLS? After four seasons in the Bundesliga where he scored 13 goals, he earned a four-year deal with Chelsea where he ended up scoring 20 goals. It would be silly to label him a bust there as he was part of a Champions League title club in 2021 but based on injuries and signings of other talented guys that play similar positions to him, he found himself mostly on the bench last season when it all fell apart for the Blues. 

        The other teams that showed the most interest in Pulisic this time around were reportedly Juventus (Italy), Lyon (France) and Galatasaray (Turkey). He rightly rejected a move to Lyon which would have been a backwards move for his career and needless to say, Turkey is not where its at either at this point. You won't find many more powerhouse historical soccer clubs than AC Milan who have won the Champions League seven times (the 2nd most behind Real Madrid) and an amazing 19 Serie A titles with the most recent coming in 2022. Furthermore, they lost to their chief rival Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinals this past spring so they are not far very away from gaining additional sacred hardware. Not for nothing, I would also say that getting away from the rough and tumble style in England should also sneaky help the more technically sound Pulisic who is listed at 5-foot-10 but only 150 pounds. 

    Adapting to a new country, city, language, club, teammates and league no doubt will pose some serious challenges for Christian at least in the beginning but thankfully he has some friendly faces on his new team so he should not feel alone by any means. English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek-his former Chelsea teammate-also recently signed with The Rossoneri. Additionally, USMNT defender Sergino Dest (on loan from Barcelona) is still there along with another former Chelsea teammate and French striker Olivier Giroud who played a key role in his recruitment. USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter notwithstanding, the team is unquestionably making incredible strides globally like never before. There are American players in all the top soccer leagues around the world. Still, we are not and we will never be known as a true soccer factory like Brazil, England, Spain, etc. That means that our homegrown prodigies like Pulisic are so precious and therefore we want to see him succeed at the highest level, especially as he enters what should be his prime. If he gets his club career back on track, it would be hard to quantify how much that will influence future American kids from getting into soccer and sticking with it rather than choosing other sports over it.

Dos A Cero Forever and Ever: The USMNT Beats Mexico For The Third Time In A Row Since June

 

    Remember when the USMNT (4-2-1) was on the brink of utter disaster just a few short months ago? That hardly seems to matter now as they beat their archrival Mexico (4-2-1) 2-0 tonight at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. Canada (3-4-0) held off Costa Rica (1-3-3) this evening in Edmonton leaving the Canadians one point behind both the United States and Mexico. Panama (3-2-2) is the only other country that is in the same neighborhood as those top three teams. Any victory against Mexico is a huge one but this carried extra meaning since it vaulted the U.S. to the top of their eight country CONCACAF group. It was also the first loss of this round (the 3rd) of qualifying for the Mexicans and it meant that the Americans have now beaten them in three staright matches dating back to this past June-something that neither country has done in this epic series since 1937. 

    It was scoreless at halftime and it remained 0-0 for much of the second half before the U.S. got a jolt of energy from its best player (who was a substitute) followed by an insurance goal by another one of their main stars. Of course, this was all made possible by goalkeeper Zack Steffen (4 saves) who earned the shutout with some solid play including a diving stop on a partial breakaway by Hirving Lozano-Mexico's best goal scorer-in the 18th minute. Forward Christian Pulisic did not start because he's only played two games for his club team-Chelsea-since returning from a serious ankle injury. In five minutes of action though, he made an immediate impact as he connected on a diving header with fellow forward Timothy Weah providing a picture perfect cross from the right side into the box. 

    Much like Pulisic, midfielder Weston McKennie is already proving to be a big-game performer for the USMNT not to mention his powerhouse club (Juventus). Unfortuately, in the 68th minute he picked up a yellow card for the second match in a row so he will miss the next U.S. World Cup qualifier-on Tuesday (5, Paramount+) at Jamaica (1-3-3). He made up for that by corraling a loose ball and dribbling through or around multiple Mexican defenders before finishing a low shot into the corner of the net. That made it 2-0 in favor of the U.S. in the 85th minute and stunned Mexico never had any time to recover. The only other negative for the Americans was that defender Miles Robinson picked up a red card in the 89th minute on a shaky at best call. He will sit out as well on Tuesday meaning that head coach Gregg Berhalter needs to make at least two changes to his starting lineup from tonight. 

    Finally, Tuesday night represents a golden opportunity for the U.S. to try and separate itself a bit at the top of the table. Sure from the outside it appears to have all the makings of the usual CONCACAF trap game that affects every country in this wacky region from time to time: they are facing an underdog opponent on a shoddy field and in a terrible stadium that has next to nothing to lose at this point. You'll remember that the previous time that the USMNT and Jamaica met on October 7, the Americans walked away with a 2-0 victory in Austin, TX. It will take another strong team effort to get the desired result of three more points. It is also their final World Cup 2022 qualifier in 2021 and the next one after that won't be for over two months (vs. El Salvador on January 27) so what better way to go into the holidays than with a win?

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Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) Became The First American To Appear In A Champions League Final

 

    The USMNT still has a ways to go but today was a special moment as its brightest star-Christian Pulisic-became the first American to ever appear in a Champions League Final as Chelsea blanked its Premier League rival Manchester City 1-0 to win its second Champions League title in club history. The 22-year-old from Hershey, PA subbed in for striker Timo Werner in the 66th minute and just missed scoring the insurance goal that would have put Chelsea up 2-0 on the favored Manchester City who won the Premier League this season. In 24 minutes of action off the bench, Pulisic had 19 touches of the ball and made 16 passes while recording one shot. He capped off an up-and-down season personally in the best possible way, as a legitimate contributor to the top club team in the world. 

    In 10 Champions League games this season (which included four starts), Pulisic had two goals and two assists. In 27 Premier League appearances in 2020-21 (18 starts), he had four goals and two assists. He also played in six FA Cup matches (three starts) and two USMNT friendlies where he added a goal in two starts. It's been a very busy stretch for Pulisic who battled a hamstring injury and saw his former manager at Chelsea-Frank Lampard-get fired and be replaced by his old Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel. It's easy to get caught up in the frustrating aspects but the bottom line is that there he was smiling from ear-to-ear and lifting the Champions League trophy this afternoon in Porto with his Chelsea teammates so that had to make all the hard times well worth it. 

    For the record, he wasn't the only American there either as Manchester City's backup goalkeeper for most of the season was Zack Steffen-another native of Pennsylvania. He was understandably stuck behind City's star Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson but the 26-year-old still managed to get in the occasional starts in the League Cup, the FA Cup, some USMNT friendlies, the Premier League and the Champions League in this past campaign. This is a guy who was in MLS just a few years ago so I'd say that his future also looks very bright considering how far he's come in his career. More than anything with the next World Cup coming up in 2022, seeing Pulisic and Steffen as key parts of two of the best club teams in the world, as a fan of the USMNT you have to be psyched about the future with so many talented players scattered all around the world.

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Weston McKennie Leaves Schalke For Juventus Where Cristiano Ronaldo Will Be A Teammate

 

    If you've been paying attention lately, this end result wasn't a surprise by any means since European soccer rumors are covered almost as extensively as U.S. presidential elections stateside but it is still enormous news for the U.S. men's soccer national team that one of their top talents-midfielder Weston McKennie-has been loaned from FC Schalke (Germany) to Juventus (Italy) until June 30, 2021. If things go well for the 22-year-old Texan at one of the world's top clubs, he could in line for 18.5 million Euros paid over three years. He will be the first American to ever play for Juve. Wow!

    It's been a meteoric rise for McKennie who started with his local MLS club's (FC Dallas) youth program before making the prudent move to head to Schalke and the Bundesliga in 2016. He spent part of his childhood growing up in Germany so there wasn't a huge culture shock for him once he returned. In fact, he made his first team debut the next year. Over the past three seasons, he's become a fixture for Schalke playing in multiple positions and therefore in the same time frame he got his first USMNT call-up under his belt (memorably scoring vs. Portugal in his U.S. debut) and since then he's become enough of a star that he was a captain for them as a 20-year-old.

    Christian Pulisic rightfully gets most of the headlines which makes sense with his insane career trajectory but with McKennie at Juventus now along with Tyler Adams at Red Bull Leipzig and Giovanni Reyna at Borussia Dortmund just to name a few, the US men's national team shouldn't miss any more World Cups in the near future-assuming that those are still a thing despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides their ages and limitless potential, my favorite part about all of these guys is that they are not afraid to go to Europe where they can train and compete against the best players from around the globe. They are not the coddled players from previous USMNT generations that mostly preferred to stick around here where they could dominate without putting in much effort.

    Moreover, they are not scared to make the leap to even bigger (ie. more pressure-packed) clubs. With five goals in 91 career appearances for Schalke (including a Champions League game-winner) and six goals in 19 appearances for the Red, White and Blue, McKennie realized that Schalke will never be more than a mid-tier club in the Bundesliga at best. Their glory days have long passed and they'll never be better than the juggernaut Bayern Munich or Dortmund who is also becoming a budding powerhouse in their own right. Juventus on the other hand is a lock to win Serie-A every year (9 in a row and counting!) not to mention the fact that they are always a contender for the Champions League crown as well. Oh and one of the greatest players in soccer history-Cristiano Ronaldo-plays there along with another absurd attacking talent in Argentine Paulo Dybala. You can't expect McKennie to have an immediate impact with Juve, remember that even Pulisic had some bumpy moments in his first Chelsea campaign, but you can't find a much better environment in every possible way (players, coaching, fans, worldwide attention) to maximize his abilities.

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Real Madrid Vs. AC Milan This August At Yankee Stadium

I am a pretty big fan of European soccer clubs doing summer tours in the United States, it gives newer soccer fans a taste of what the top teams around the world look like; even more so when they play in historic, non-traditional venues like Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium.

This August 8, Real Madrid will face AC Milan. That's right, Real Madrid head coach and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will be in the Big Apple as the Spanish giant travels across the U.S to play one of Italy's top teams.

Real Madrid is slated to play at the Los Angeles Galaxy on August 2, against Juventus in Las Vegas, NV (which could be brutal given the desert heat) on August 5 and they wrap things up in Philadelphia, PA with an exhibition against Celtic on August 11. This will be the third straight summer that Real Madrid has used a preseason tour of the U.S. prepare for its grueling La Liga regular season.

AC Milan will play Chelsea on July 28 in Miami and they have another match in Pittsburgh, PA on August 4 against an opponent to be determined.

If you're wondering, there has never been a soccer game at Yankee Stadium (which opened in 2009). Chelsea faces Paris Saint-Germain on July 22 in what will be the first soccer game there, a prelude to Real Madrid vs. AC Milan. Over the last few years, there have been college football games-(Notre Dame vs. Army) and the Pinstripe Bowl-in the Bronx but this should bring a much more diverse and lively crowd since they'll be drawing from the biggest city in the U.S. that is chock full of every nationality you can think of.

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England's Frank Lampard Will Miss Euro 2012 With A Thigh Injury

Euro 2012 begins a week from tomorrow but England has already received some terrible news: midfielder Frank Lampard has been ruled out of the tournament with a thigh injury (tear) that he suffered yesterday in training.

It's a tough blow for him personally since he'd regained his starting spot at Chelsea during their run to the Champions League title. England will also miss his leadership and experience in the middle of the field.

At 33, you have to wonder how many big European and international competitions that Lampard will have left in his cleats. Let's hope that he doesn't go out like this though. Liverpool's Jordan Henderson has been called in to replace Lampard but since I've never even heard of him, I'm going to assume that Lampard is a better player even at this stage.

The injuries are starting to pile up for the Three Lions as Gareth Barry is also out and Scott Parker is banged up so his status is uncertain.

England's new manager Roy Hodgson had this to say about Chelsea's captain: “It’s a huge blow for the team, especially coming after the loss of another senior player in Gareth Barry. The fact that the doctor cannot guarantee Frank could take part in any of the group matches means we have to replace him in the central midfield area.

"Apart from it being a huge blow to me and the team, I’m especially disappointed for Frank himself. He has been in very good form and was looking forward to the tournament. He made a huge contribution towards us qualifying for the Euros so it is cruel to be forced out through injury just before the tournament.”

England is in Group D which on paper doesn't look too treacherous. They play France, Sweden and host Ukraine. Finishing in the Top-2 in that group shouldn't be that hard since they look like the best team of the four but I'm confident that England will find a way to screw it up. That's what they always do.

UPDATE 6/3: Chelsea defender Gary Cahill broke his jaw yesterday in England's 1-0 friendly win over Belgium. He's been replaced by Liverpool's Martin Kelly.

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10 Goals In His Last 12 English Premier League Matches For Clint Dempsey At Fulham

Clint Dempsey has shown no signs of slowing down his incredible goal-scoring binge at Fulham in the 2011-12 campaign.

This afternoon, he helped his club rally from a bogus 1-0 deficit as they tied Chelsea 1-1 at Craven Cottage.

His header in the 82nd minute was off a corner and it tied the game at 1. Fulham earned two corners in a row and they didn't go to waste as Dempsey was able to free himself from John Terry and place it in the corner of the net away from Peter Cech.

It was Dempsey's 10th goal in his 1ast 12 English Premier League matches. He has a club-record 16 for Fulham this season (22 in all competitions).

The victory meant Chelsea (16-8-9) fell two points behind Tottenham and Newcastle, who are both tied in fourth place with 59 points. Instead, they're currently in sixth place with 57 points. Fulham (11-12-10) was able to move up to ninth place with 43 points.

The Blues benefited from a gift penalty kick in the last minute of the first half as Frank Lampard scored following Danny Murphy's phantom-challenge on Salomon Kalou.

Fulham can reach as high as seventh in the EPL this season and they still get to face the two teams closest to them: Everton-7th with 47 points and Liverpool-8th with 43 points in the upcoming fixtures.

Up next, Fulham hosts Wigan on Saturday, April 21 (10 a.m. EST kickoff).

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Mark Your Calendars: Liverpool vs. AS Roma, July 25 At Fenway Park

After knowing about this for months, Liverpool officially announced today that they will face AS Roma on Wednesday, July 25 at Fenway Park.

As any Boston Red Sox fan knows, the Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner have owned Liverpool since 2010. With this year's 100th anniversary of Fenway, what better time to bring their two cash cows together for one night only.

Liverpool will be in the United States for 12 days this summer and they've already been slated for two exhibition matches. Big time European clubs often take U.S. tours (to improve the brand abroad) and Liverpool last appeared in North America in 2004 (NJ, CT and Toronto).

A group of four Boston executives closed a deal for Roma in August to become the first foreign majority owners of a Serie A club. New Roma president Thomas DiBenedetto is also a limited partner in the Fenway group.

"During its 100-year history, Fenway Park has hosted some of the best in athletic competition, and a match between Liverpool and Roma -- two of the world's most well-known and respected clubs -- is an appropriate way to ... showcase our ballpark to an international audience," Liverpool owner John Henry said.

The match also features the two teams that contested the 1984 European Cup final, which Liverpool won in a penalty shootout.

Liverpool is the fourth Premier League team to announce a preseason tour of the United States, following Chelsea, Tottenham and Aston Villa.

Boston will serve as Liverpool's base throughout the tour, and the team will train at Harvard University.

"Our goal is to create an unforgettable experience for our North American fans while building a lasting legacy for Liverpool here in the States," Liverpool chairman Tom Werner said.

I was lucky enough to get to cover Sporting vs. Celtic at Fenway two summers ago so I'm really hoping that I can get a credential for this one too. That first match was nice but admittedly, there aren't a ton of Portuguese or Scottish people in New England. However, Liverpool is a huge draw anywhere in the world and there are plenty of Italians (and wannabe guidos) in the immediate area-the North End might shut down for a few hours.

It couldn't come at a better time in the summer since by then, only Major League Baseball will be going on and the weather should be perfect. The Champions League, London Olympics (no U.S. men) and Euro 2012 will have all concluded by the time these squads make their way to Boston. Picturing Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reina, Luis Suarez and Co. at Fenway is pretty cool, this is going to be a can't miss event for local soccer fans who want a taste of European soccer and crowds.

UPDATE 3/30: Liverpool will play Tottenham on July 28 in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium. Tottenham plays the LA Galaxy on July 24 and the New York Red Bulls on July 31.

Chelsea and Aston Villa also have U.S. tours. The 2012-13 EPL season starts on August 18.

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Chelsea's Revolving Door Of Mangers Shows No Sign Of Slowing Down

It's not hard to figure out why Chelsea hasn't won any major titles or the English Premier League in years, they have no consistency within the club besides sticking with veteran players that are past their prime (see: John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard).

After a 1-0 loss to West Brom yesterday, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich fired Andre Villas-Boas after only eight months on the job.

Assistant head coach Roberto Di Matteo will be the interim manager for the rest of the season. Chelsea is currently in fifth place in the EPL (one spot away from Champions League play next year) while they're also still alive (albeit down 3-1) in the Champions League and the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Chelsea's statement on the move:
"Andre Villas-Boas has parted company with Chelsea Football Club today. The board would like to record our gratitude for his work and express our disappointment that the relationship has ended so early.

"Unfortunately the results and performances of the team have not been good enough and were showing no signs of improving at a key time in the season.

"The club is still competing in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup, as well as challenging for a top-four spot in the Premier League, and we aim to remain as competitive as possible on all fronts.

"With that in mind we felt our only option was to make a change at this time. With immediate effect Roberto Di Matteo has been appointed first team coach on an interim basis until the end of the season."

Realistically, all the Blues can hope for in regards to a top four finish in the EPL is that they catch Arsenal (49 points), who is only three points ahead of them. Tottenham (53 points) is the only other team somewhat in range but Chelsea (13-7-7) would have to go on some kind of run which is unlikely plus Tottenham (16-5-6) would have to falter which I don't see happening.

If Chelsea drops out of fifth and it could happen since Newcastle (44 points) is lurking only two points behind, the Blues would miss out on the Europa League as well which is shocking for a club as rich and powerful as them.

It just goes to show you what happens when you stick with an older roster for too long and continue to change manager year after year. There's no consistency from the top and no matter how much money Abramovich throws at his problems, Chelsea is a black hole as currently constructed.

Di Matteo's first match in charge will be Tuesday night's FA Cup replay at Birmingham. Then Chelsea hosts Napoli next week in a Champions League second leg but they'll have to overcome a 3-1 deficit at Stamford Bridge.

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John Terry Is Still A Piece Of Trash

In case you forgot, John Terry would like to remind you that he is one of the biggest scumbags in all of professional soccer.

The Chelsea defender and mainstay of England's national team was stripped of his captaincy today with his country due to allegations of racism against Queens Park defender Anton Ferdinand.

I used to love Chelsea and Terry was my favorite player along with Frank Lampard but I have a hard time rooting for them and him while he's still a Blue.

England head coach Fabio Capello will reportedly try a rotation of captains, including Steven Gerrard of Liverpool, Lampard, Manchester City's Gareth Barry, Liverpool's Glen Johnson and Tottenham's Scott Parker.

The source says the Italian tactician will implement a system of rotating captains for England's games leading up to Euro2012. He will start with the current vice-captain, Gerrard, when England plays the Netherlands on Feb. 29.

"An England squad will be selected next week and is sure to include Steven Gerrard, which means he is most likely to be named captain for that game but, of course, there is no guarantee that he will be fit at the end of the month when the game is played," the report says.

Gerrard has played 89 times for England, and served as its captain at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He has been left out of the England squad since Nov. 2010, as he battled injuries for much of the next 13 months.

Capello re-installed Terry as captain in March 2011 -- he had been stripped of the role in Feb. 2010 after his alleged affair with a teammate's made headlines -- to lead England through Euro2012 qualification.

As we said when the first drama with Terry sprung up in 2010, before the World Cup, nobody does soap operas like England. The team is always supremely talented but either through bad management, chemistry or poor performance, they routinely come up short in international competitions. I expect Euro 2012 to be no different with the Three Lions doing down in flames well before the final.

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This has not been the best year of John Terry's life

It was bad enough that Chelsea did not show up against Sunderland last weekend (a pathetic 3-0 defeat) but now comes word that John Terry could be out for months with a back injury.

The star defender did not play last weekend in Chelsea's 3-0 loss to Sunderland in the Premier League because of a nerve problem that he has had since last season.

Terry also will miss Saturday's game against Birmingham and says his absence "could be weeks, it could be months."

He adds that his injury is at a point "where I cannot carry on with it."

The home defeat to Sunderland cut Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premier League to two points.

This is not good at all. Chelsea without Terry in the back is simply not the same team and if he's out for anywhere as long as he thinks, they are in trouble. True, they have enough talent to stay in the top four but I'm going to say they don't win the EPL if he's out for months.

Is this the mug of the next England coach?

Since they are the Chicago Cubs of international soccer (and yes, I coined that), one of the favorite pub games for English national team fans is who will be the next manager.

This revolving door is always spinning since every new face they bring aboard always falls short of unreasonable expectations within the span of a Euro campaign and/or a World Cup.

I give you Carlo Ancelotti, next Three Lions head coach?

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has declared his interest in becoming England boss in the future.

Ancelotti's contract at Stamford Bridge expires in 2012 - just as Fabio Capello is set to step down as England manager - and the 51-year-old would consider taking up the post currently occupied by his fellow Italian.

Asked if he fancied the England job, he said: "Why not? I would like to do it in the future, to have this kind of experience.

"I have never been the coach of a national team. To manage the national team and manage a club is different.

"Maybe [Tottenham manager Harry] Redknapp doesn't like foreign coaches for the national team, but if you ask me about England, I can say 'Why not?'''

Ancelotti, who led the Blues to a Premier League and FA Cup double in his first season in England, was linked with the Italy job earlier this year, but stressed at the time that he had no intention of replacing Marcello Lippi after the World Cip.

"I am not interested in the national team," Ancelotti said in March. "I prefer to remain in London at Chelsea and lead the team to a Champions League final."

If you've paid attention at all, you've probably noticed that I'm a Chelsea fan through and through. However, if you think I support this notion of Ancelotti as England head coach, you're nuts.

In most cases, I don't believe that foreign managers can do the best job of coaching national team players. Cultural differences, not to mention language barriers and playing styles all come into effect when you hire someone that isn't of a certain nationality.

Furthermore, Ancelotti is a figurehead at Chelsea and if he actually had to do some real work with the English national team, I think he'd fall flat on his face like his boy Fabio Capello.

Harry Redknapp can often sound like the stereotypical English crank but in this case, I think he's correct. As long as he's not promoting himself as the English head coach, the Tottenham coach is onto something: no more foreigners!

Benayoun out for six months

Bad news for Chelsea and Israel midfielder Yossi Benayoun, who is now expected to be out six months following surgery on his achille's tendon.

Benayoun suffered a torn calf muscle during the Carling Cup defeat to Newcastle last month. He subsequently joined up with the Israel national side but suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during training, and further tests have revealed the extent of the problem.

A statement on the club's official website read: "Yossi Benayoun will undergo surgery on his Achilles on Monday. The Israeli international returned to the club from international duty last week, and will now be out of action for approximately six months."

Benayoun has yet to start a Premier League game for Chelsea after joining the club from Liverpool in the summer and admitted he was surprised that the club failed to pick up the problem earlier.

"The truth is that this entire situation is very strange," Benayoun said. "I had three MRIs and three ultrasounds and they all said that there was no problem, and it was just a small tear.

"I came to Israel ready to play and they told me it was a big tear. Chelsea were sure it was something small. They have compared all the images and they do not understand how they missed it. They said it is unusual to have such a big tear and not be in terrible pain. Even now I am not in pain but I cannot take one step by myself until I undergo surgery."

As noted, Benayoun's time with the Blues thus far has been a complete disaster so this injury certainly doesn't help his cause to show he was worth Roman's precious oil money.

Neymar breaks my heart, stays with Santos

Shimer said last week before he left that Chelsea was on the verge of signing Neymar. As you can imagine, I was pumped since the Blues need an infusion of young talent as my colleague pointed out and they don't get more tantalizing than the 18-year-old Brazilian.

Uh nevermind. Neymar signed a five-year deal to remain with Santos.

He has followed the advice of Pele and new national team coach Mano Menezes to stay in Brazil, at least for now.

Neymar, who scored on debut for Brazil against United States last month, said: "The final decision always rests with the player. My father always will want what is best for me. I talked to him and decided to stay. Money alone does not bring happiness. I'm happy here and I want to continue being so. It was a complicated decision, very difficult. But God gave us the wisdom and power to make the best decision. Now it's time to only think about Santos and winning more titles.''

Santos' president Luis Alvaro lauded Neymar for his "courageous decision'' to stay in Brazil and said he hoped the move would spark an end to the relentless talent drain to Europe.

"We've built a different possibility,'' Alvaro said. "We no longer accept the idea that we're an underdeveloped nation always at the mercy of the powerful European clubs.''

This is all well and good and I applaud Neymar for taking the road less traveled (ie. not following the money). However, I'd be shocked if he plays out the length of this contract with Santos. This guy is too good to not be playing in England, Spain, Italy or Germany.

Still crazy after all these years

It's probably a few years too late but Ricardo Carvalho and Jose Mourinho have reportedly been reunited once again: this time at Real Madrid where the former tries to keep his career going and the latter begins his latest coaching stint.

The pair were together at Porto in their native Portugal before Mourinho took over at Chelsea and brought in one of his favorite defenders.

Carvalho has agreed to a two-year deal worth approximately eight million pounds.

A club statement read: "Chelsea Football Club can confirm it has agreed terms with Real Madrid for the transfer of Ricardo Carvalho. The transfer is subject to a medical and the player agreeing personal terms. Chelsea would like to thank Riccy for his six years of service, and we wish him well in his future career."

At the weekend, Jose Mourinho suggested that Carvalho's advancing years meant he was unlikely to link up once again with the defender, who under the new Real coach won the 2004 Champions League with Porto and two Premier League titles with Chelsea.

However, Real saw their bid to sign Inter Milan right-back Maicon collapse and while Benfica's David Luiz and AC Milan's Thiago Silva were alternative targets, they have turned to Carvalho in an effort to improve their defence.

Carvalho, who joined Chelsea from Porto in the summer of 2004 for a fee of £19.85 million, recently claimed he has been given permission to leave Stamford Bridge and that he would go to Madrid "swimming or running", such is his desire to be reunited with Mourinho.

The Portugal international picked up a third Premier League title last season but has seen his first-team chances reduce in recent seasons, with Brazilian defender Alex finding favour under Guus Hiddink and then Carlo Ancelotti.

If Carvalho does complete his move to Real then he will join Joe Cole, Michael Ballack, Deco and Juliano Belletti in leaving Stamford Bridge this summer.

I'm Portuguese, Mourinho is my favorite manager in soccer and I was a big Carvalho fan when he was at Stamford Bridge. However, I'm a realist and I realize that he probably won't have much of a role at Real Madrid and therefore, this will not end well.

Joe Cole will never walk alone, alone

While I'm bummed to see Joe Cole, one of my favorite Chelsea players, leave to go to Liverpool, I'm excited to see what he can bring to Anfield.

After leaving Chelsea three weeks ago as a free transfer, Cole is primed to sign with Liverpool pending a physical.

Of the Big Four, Liverpool is my second favorite (mostly because of Steven Gerrard), slightly ahead of Arsenal (for no real reason). It was probably time for Cole to get a fresh start with a new club anyways. He's a big time player, who is supremely talented but he's also very injury-prone.

Here's hoping his career gets back on track and Liverpool wakes up from last season's debacle.

Blues double trouble

It was a dream finish to a remarkable season for Carlo Ancelotti and Chelsea.

The first year manager led the Blues to the Premier League title last weekend and today they capped off a double with a 1-0 FA Cup win over Portsmouth at new Wembley Stadium.

With the win, Chelsea became the seventh club to pull off that version of the double in a campaign.

Didier Drogba had the only goal of the game, his 37th of the season. It was a laser of a free kick in the 59th minute that bounced off the post and past Portsmouth keeper David James.

Chelsea carried the play in the first half as expected but couldn't put a ball in the net as they hit the post at least three times.

Soon to be relegated Portsmouth's best chance was a no-doubt foul call in the box that led to a penalty kick for Kevin-Prince Boateng. He miss hit it slightly and Blues goalie Peter Cech, still one of the best dove to save it before it was cleared out of play by Alex.

Chelsea also missed a penalty kick as the normally money Frank Lampard put one wide in the 89th minute.

Update: The drama queen is fine

What had initially been feared as another metatarsal fracture for an England international in the closing months prior to the World Cup appears only to be strained ligaments in the foot of John Terry.

With the FA Cup final on Saturday versus Portsmouth, Chelsea's only remaining game this season, the London club decided to take the precautionary route and put a protective boot on Terry's foot. Now it appears as if not only will Terry definitely still be fit for the World Cup, he looks to still be ready to play in this weekend's big match at Wembley Stadium.

In other Chelsea news the rumor mill is already starting to churn at Stamford Bridge.

There will sure to be plenty of summer splashes from many of the big boys, but one club that may be looking to dump players is Liverpool. Losing out on the Champions League and the extra millions of Euros the club had counted on, Liverpool is in dire financial condition at the moment and may need to sell off players to make up for the difference or at least give themselves some breathing room.

Additionally it had been long rumored that had the Merseyside club failed to qualify for the UCL, Spanish forward Fernando Torres would ask for a transfer to a club that was in the competition. Although Manchester City also failed to qualify for the UCL, they have been one talked about destination for Torres talking about making him one of the highest paid forwards of all time while also offering a potential record transfer bid.

However, the latest club to be mentioned in the same breath as Torres is Chelsea. Apparently Carlo Ancelotti will have plenty of money to play around with this summer, and the Blues are talking about a £70 bid for Torres, a move that would be welcomed by both Didier Drogba and Terry.

"I have heard the talk about Torres maybe coming in and I would welcome it, of course,'' Drogba said. "Every time there is a new player coming here it's making the club bigger and giving us a lot of strength. If there is a chance for him to come he will be welcome because any help is welcome!"

Drogba and semi-bozo Nicolas Anelka put up 51 combined goals this season at Chelsea, as Drogba won the golden boot with 29 goals in the English Premier League in 2009-10. But can you imagine a lineup that featured two of the top three forwards in the world. That would be an amazing tandem and something I would love to see even though I am a much bigger Arsenal fan.

Essien likely done, World Cup dreams in doubt

You may have hardly even noticed, but Chelsea and Ghana star Michael Essien has not played for his London club team in five months since he tore his hamstring against APOEL in the Champions League in December, and trust me Chelsea have missed his presence dearly.

Essien has not recovered fully from the knee injury he sustained in the African Nations Cup, supposedly a partially torn MCL and meniscus. But who really knows, the doctors and staff at Chelsea have really kept the details under wraps.

Apparently Essien had some sort of relapse in training, and had to have 4 surgeries in two weeks - remember when people were upset that Tom Brady had to have a couple of surgeries to fix the infections in his surgically repaired knee, that's what it sounds like to me. And with only 4 EPL games left as well as the FA Cup final still left play for the London club, the Ghana star is a serious doubt to return.

"Michael Essien will not be in the squad for the weekend's game against Stoke City at Stamford Bridge,'' said a club spokesman, according to an ESPNsoccernet story. "The Ghanaian's participation in the remainder of the campaign is now in doubt, with only four games to play including the FA Cup Final on May 15.''

I had a discussion with Austin recently about how important Essien is to Chelsea and how big a star he is in the game in general. He argued that Essien is not only the best player on their team, but is a top-5 player in the world.

He may be right, Essien is one of those rare talents that could play any position on the field and be tremendous but at Chelsea he really connects the defense to Frank Lampard and the offense - he is really the engine that makes that team go.

He doesn't score a ton of goals, but when he lines up a shot look out. And when he does score they are usually sensational, take a look at a couple of these majestic strikes.

As one of the real ambassadors of the African game, it would be a true shame if Essien was not there at South Africa to represent his side. He is probably the best African footballer going when he is fully healthy and Ghana is one of the dark horses to make a deep run with him in play. However, without Essien, Ghana will struggle to make it past the group stage.

Terry runs over Chelsea security guard

Yesterday wasn't a banner day for Chelsea captain and English defender John Terry.

After the Blues were knocked out of the Champions League round-of-16 by Inter Milan (losing the second leg 1-0 at Stamford Bridge), Terry managed to run over some poor Chelsea security guard's leg while he was trying to leave the player's parking lot.

The good news for Terry is that Steve Rowley-the security guard-somehow doesn't seem too upset about the whole event and thankfully, his leg wasn't broken like originally feared.

Not being there, it's hard to say who was at fault for the accident. Apparently, Terry was going slow to avoid the paparazzi and Rowley stated that it was an accident.

All I know is that at this moment, I wouldn't want to be around John Terry. Trouble seems to be following him wherever he goes and one can easily picture that transferring to the World Cup this summer as well.