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 He's been replaced by Liverpool's Martin Kelly.

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Your Next England Manager Doomed To Fail: Roy Hodgson

From afar, you have to appreciate the utter ineptitude of the England national soccer team. Despite loads of talent, they fall short in every major competition and bungle every coaching hire.

Since Fabio Capello left in February, Tottenham's Harry Redknapp was the frontrunner so obviously England went in another direction by naming West Brom's Roy Hodgson as its new manager.

The 64-year-old Hodgson received a four-year deal with his home country and he'll manage West Brom in their final two English Premier League games before leaving the club and turning all his attention to England and Euro 2012. The Three Lions are in a tough Group D with Ukraine, France and Sweden. To prepare, they'll have friendlies with Norway and Belgium before Euro 2012 begins in June.

My general rule of thumb for national team coaches is that you're best served to hire a native, that is if you're from a country with at least a decent soccer history (Jurgen Klinsmann being a special exception for the U.S. men). In that way, England did nothing wrong by hiring Hodgson who also used to coach Liverpool. The part that worries me as a bandwagon England fan (from studying abroad there) is that his previous national team coaching experience came with Switzerland, Finland and United Arab Emirates. Not exactly three powerhouses that have ever done anything globally.

I want to see him succeed but like cheering for the Chicago Cubs, you know that eventually England will find a way to screw it up no matter what the circumstances. God speed Roy!

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Only In England: Fabio Capello Resigns A Mere Four Months Before Euro 2012

It's times like these that I wish I was still studying abroad in London for a semester.

The England national team is a constant source of drama and gossip but today it was bombarded with some wild news as head coach Fabio Capello resigned.

Apparently, he was upset with England taking John Terry's captaincy. Really Fabio? Please tell me there was more to it than this. Whatever the case may be, England is left without a manager only four months before Euro 2012 starts. Gee, do you think they'll do well in that?

The good news for English fans is that it sounds like Tottenham's Harry Redknapp is the frontrunner to get the position; not to sound xenophobic but why did they overthink it so much the last two times (Capello, Sven-Goran Eriksson) by not hiring an Englishman?

One of my main beliefs for national teams is that if you're a power, you should hire one of your own. Be that a former star player or a coach in your domestic league. So while it makes perfect sense for a place like the United States to reach out to somebody above its weight class (Jurgen Klinsmann), countries like England, Brazil, Spain, Italy, etc. should keep it simple and get somebody that understands the culture, speaks the language fluently and most importantly, can relate to the players.

Capello left England with a 28-8-6 record with the Three Lions. That looks great until you quickly remember that he didn't win any trophies and those numbers are padded from playing the dredge of Europe and losing to most worthy opposition.

As always, covering English soccer has to be one of the greatest writing jobs in the soccer world. You could devote a blog just to their national team and all the stuff that happens with them off the field.

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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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The Euro 2012 Draw Is Complete, This Is Going To Be A Great Tournament

I spent a decent amount of time this afternoon watching Fox Soccer Channel, in anticipation of the Euro 2012 draw. It was tedious but in the end, holy crap. This is going to be an excellent tournament starting next June 8 in Poland with the hosts facing Greece at 1:00 ET and Russia facing the Czech Republic at 3:45 ET.

The Polish got a gift as Group A appears on first blush to be the easiest of the four. Along with Greece, they have Russia and the Czech Republic. None of those teams are great by any means, they all could win it.

Group B is the Group of Death, which is a staple in every major soccer tournament. Poor Denmark is stuck with Portugal, Germany and Netherlands. Good luck with that Danes. That means in group play alone, we will be treated to Portugal vs. Germany and Portugal vs. Netherlands. You won't find many juicier international matches than those.

The defending World Cup and European champions Spain lead Group C and it looks like the Spanish have a relatively easy road to the knockout stage. Ireland, Italy and Croatia make up the rest of that group. You could make a case for any of those three coming in second so that should be an interesting race to watch.

Group D features another one of the great opening round matches pitting France vs. England. Ukraine and Sweden make up the rest of that group which clearly is wide open and could be topped by any of those four teams.

Is it too early to be pumped for next summer? Between Champions League play in the spring, the London Olympics in the summer and Euro 2012, it promises to be an unbelievable time to be a soccer fan. Nothing is better than a big-time international soccer tournament. I can only hope that I get to Vegas before then or at least earn enough scratch to get on Bodog and throw some money down. Haha gambling makes everything more exciting damn it!

Must see games:
Saturday, June 9-Germany vs. Portugal, 3:45 ET
Sunday, June 10-Spain vs. Italy, 1:00 ET
Monday, June 11-France vs. England, 1:00 ET
Wednesday, June 13-Netherlands vs. Germany, 3:45 ET
Thursday, June 14-Spain vs. Ireland, 3:45 ET
Sunday, June 17-Portugal vs. Netherlands, 3:45 ET
Monday, June 18-Spain vs. Croatia, 3:45 ET
Monday, June 18-Italy vs. Ireland, 3:45 ET

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Wayne Rooney To Miss All Three Games In Euro 2012 Group Stage

England has qualified for Euro 2012 but they'll be without their best player for the group stage (3 matches) since striker Wayne Rooney was suspended for a sloppy challenge (red card) he committed against Montenegro last week.

Rooney won't be available until the quarterfinals of Euro 2012, should his country advance that far without him.

England have three days to appeal the decision, which seems a formality given the severity of the punishment.

A statement from UEFA read: "The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body has today handed down a three-match suspension to England forward Wayne Rooney following his dismissal during the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in Montenegro last Friday, 7 October.

"Today's decision was taken in relation to the red card shown to Rooney for assault after 74 minutes of England's final Group G game, the 2-2 draw with Montenegro in Podgorica. The striker will now be suspended from playing in his country's next three UEFA national competition matches for which he would be eligible.

"An appeal may be lodged against the verdict of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body within three days of the dispatch of the reasoned decision."

The FA say they will look at the full reasons behind the UEFA decision before deciding whether to appeal.

An FA statement said: "Further to UEFA's decision to impose a three-match suspension on Wayne Rooney following his sending off against Montenegro, the FA await the full reasons from the disciplinary committee, and will give full consideration to the decision internally, before deciding on any response to UEFA or making any further public comment.''

England head coach Fabio Capello said that Rooney will not start any of England friendlies in the run-up to Euro 2012 as he tries to find a system that works without the Man U superstar. Still, if the three-match ban stands he may have to reconsider his place in the squad.

The draw for the Euro 2012 finals is on December 2.

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Good news for all soccer fans in the U.S.: ESPN is showing all Euro 2012 & 2016 matches

With another snowstorm bearing down on us, it's not hard to dream of sunny summer days filled with soccer.

What am I talking about? Well the news broke today that the ESPN family of networks has secured the rights to Euro 2012 & Euro 2016 and they're showing every single game.

If you need a moment alone, I understand. I am also excited.

"Euro is a perfect counterbalance to World Cup, so strategically it makes sense for us," Scott Guglielmino, ESPN's senior vice president for programming, said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "The passion involved in national team play at the highest level is something that's incredibly powerful, unlike anything else."

ESPN purchased U.S. broadcast and Internet rights in all languages. The network televised the 2008 Euros and has U.S. English-language rights to its sixth consecutive World Cup in 2014.

Plans include broadcasting Euro matches on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3.com, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio and ESPN Mobile.

"With interest in football growing significantly in America, ESPN will no doubt provide great visibility for UEFA's national team competitions through their promotional and programming capacity," Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director of UEFA Events, said in a statement.

The 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine will have 31 games and runs from June 8 to July 1. The field expands from 16 to 24 teams for the 2016 tournament in France, which will have 51 matches.

ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 -- all owned by The Walt Disney Co. -- averaged a 2.1 rating and 3.26 million viewers for last year's World Cup. The rating was up 31 percent from a 1.6 four years ago.

In 2008, seven Euro matches on ESPN averaged 1.1 million viewers and 17 on ESPN2 averaged 673,000. The 2008 final was the first televised by a U.S. network and received a 2.3 rating and 3.76 million viewers on ABC. The Spanish-language broadcast was seen by 647,000 viewers on ESPN Deportes.

England, a popular team in the U.S., failed to qualify for the 2008 Euros and likely would help increase 2012 ratings if it makes the 16-nation field.

"It's an enormous brand and it would clearly drive some more usage," Guglielmino said.

Last year's World Cup taught ESPN the value of Internet and mobile distribution for soccer, primarily because of games that are during weekday afternoons U.S. time.

"The notion of TV everywhere, really utilizing digital media extensively," Guglielmino said.

ESPN also said it had obtained U.S. rights to numerous Euro qualifiers, including home games of Spain, Germany, France and the Netherlands, as well as games involving England, Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Portugal.

"That's going to help us tell the story earlier on," Guglielmino said.

As part of the deal, ESPN3.com and ESPN Deportes will televise the 2013 UEFA Women's Championship and the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 UEFA under-21 championships.

The only slight kernel of bad news is that ESPN couldn't buy the rights to this summer's COPA America tournament (which the U.S. will compete in).

Guglielmino said ESPN had withdrawn its offer for English-language U.S. rights to this summer's Copa America after Traffic Sports, the company that owns them, sold American Internet rights separately. Univision holds U.S. Spanish-language rights.

"It's really unfortunate," Guglielmino said. "That's one we would have loved to add."

Brush off your high school Spanish skills and prepare to watch it with the wonderfully overstated Univision team of bozo announcers. Copa America will take place from June 5-26. With any luck the snow will have just melted off the ground by then and we can all enjoy some quality soccer.