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    After a several-hour delay (which prompted a rather hilarious torrent of #MLSScheduleisLateBecause tweets), Major League Soccer unveiled its full 2011 schedule on Thursday. Below are some of the big dates around which we can all plan our years.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Saturday, March 19: Toronto FC @ Vancouver Whitecaps: Wherein Vancouverites get to celebrate their entry into MLS by gloating to traveling Reds supporters about the beautifully non-descript spring weather... and, most likely, an on-field victory.
    Saturday, March 26: Portland Timbers @ Toronto FC: Wherein TFC supporters use the 40-50 Timbers Army members who've made the cross-continental journey to BMO Field as proof that support for Portland's MLS entry isn't really that
    .Saturday, April 2: Sporting Kansas City @ Vancouver Whitecaps: Wherein the Southsiders get the opportunity to express their deep, heartfelt appreciation for Teal Bunbury.
    Saturday, June 4: Sporting Kansas City @ Toronto FC: Wherein the Toronto crowd gets to follow up on the warm, Canadian hospitality shown to Teal Bunbury two months earlier.
    Saturday, June 11: Vancouver Whitecaps @ Seattle Sounders: Wherein, if we're lucky, the potential exchange of fisticuffs is defused by shared commiseration over the fate of Keith Olbermann on MSNBC.
    Wednesday, June 29: Vancouver Whitecaps @ Toronto FC: Wherein supporters on one side consistently refer to their team's superior placement in the standings, while the other side either digs up obscure statistical metrics to corroborate their team's actual superiority... or just gets drunk and yells "wanker" a lot.
    Saturday, August 20: Vancouver Whitecaps @ Portland Timbers: Wherein the Southsiders and Timbers Army pretend to like each other by exchanging bitter rejoinders about how "those pricks in Seattle" got to MLS before they did.
    Saturday, September 10: Toronto FC @ Columbus Crew: Wherein Duane Rollins gets hit with a Taser.
    Full Toronto FC 2011 MLS schedule
    Full Vancouver Whitecaps 2011 MLS schedule
    Guest
    Nearly every national side worth its salt played either yesterday or Tuesday, on the first of FIFA's designated international match days of 2011.
    It was an abbreviated window, as most of the big European leagues are in the homestretch of a long season, but there was still a ton of great (and a lot of not-so-great) soccer on display midweek.
    The best of the bunch were likely the European versus South American matchups, with world class talent in abundance.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Argentina 2-1 Portugal
    This one was played on a crappy pitch in Geneva for some reason, but the conditions didn't damper yet another meeting of the two best players on the planet. Just like on the club level, Lionel Messi came out ahead of his duel with Cristian Ronaldo.
    Messi bossed the centre of the park as he usually does, and made a breath-taking run through a few defenders before sending an inch-perfect chip to an on-rushing Angel di Maria, who made no mistake and slotting it home.
    The Portuguese would not be outdone, and it was none other than Ronaldo who levelled things up, capitalizing on a defensive error.
    Messi would put the game on ice with a late-game penalty, however, giving him yet another personal victory over Ronaldo in a season that has seen the two superstars utterly dominate the footballing world.
    <lj-embed> <OBJECT width="470" height="353"><PARAM name="movie" value="http://video.rutube.ru/f98b072bf81b07c8d22479c8a5063df3"></PARAM><PARAM name="wmode" value="window"></PARAM><PARAM name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></PARAM><EMBED src="http://video.rutube.ru/f98b072bf81b07c8d22479c8a5063df3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" width="470" height="353" allowFullScreen="true" ></EMBED></OBJECT></lj-embed>

    France 1-0 Brazil
    The rebuilding French side were looking to make a statement, and there's no bigger one than scoring a victory over the best nation to ever play the game.
    A back-and-forth match saw plenty of chances for both sides, but it was a second-half strike by Real Madrid's Karim Benzema that secured the win for France, which looks to be shaking off the stench of a very poor past couple of years.
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    Denmark 1-2 England
    The English national team overcame a poor start to claim a 2-1 win over Denmark in Copenhagen. Goals by Darren Bent and Ashley Young sealed a comeback victory for England, nullifying an eighth-minute strike by the hosts.
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    Greece 1-0 Canada
    My colleague squizz did a great job capturing the essence of the match, but I just wanted to post up the highlights for anyone who has yet to see them.
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    Some other results from notable friendlies involving European countries this week:
    Republic of Ireland 3-0 Wales
    Germany 1-1 Italy
    Netherlands 3-1 Austria
    Croatia 4-2 Czech Republic
    Northern Ireland 0-3 Scotland
    Poland 1-0 Norway
    Spain 1-0 Colombia
    Unfortunately, I couldn't find highlights of San Marino's 1 - 0 loss to Liechtenstein. Just picture the France - Brazil game in slow motion and with 1/100th attendance/excitement/skill.
    Guest
    Today, we're joined by Brian Quarstad from IMS Soccer News to talk about the crucial weekend ahead for the NASL. We'll discuss what clubs still concern us, what we've been hearing ahead of the USSF meeting and if this whole scenario could have been avoided.
    Given that it was a national team game day, Duane Rollins promptly went missing but Rudi Schuller stepped in to talk about what we thought the individual positives and negatives were, the new goaltender, who we think will fit into Stephen Hart's plans going forward and what the goals were for today.
    Our contest to win one of the new Umbro kits kicks off on this show as well, so you'll want to have a listen.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]If you want to find out how to win, you can find all the details for the contest here
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    Guest
    The Vancouver Whitecaps have signed the two young midfielders as they continue to bolster their line-up with players from their D2 squad. They have now made it 16 players under contract. 2 Goalkeepers, 5 Defenders, 7 Midfielders, and 2 strikers. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Khalfan is a speedy winger with hair like The Predator, Speed to Burn, and a Million Dollar Smile. He had 2 goals and 2 assists last year in USSF D2 with The 'Caps, and always managed to link up well with the forwards. Marc Weber threw the idea out there Sunday night on Fulltime Radio (Vancouver's The Team 1040 AM) that the 22 year old Tanzanian has the potential to be transferred at some point. Most people who watched Nizar last year loved to watch him play. He's smart he's fast and he makes good runs off the ball.
    Gershon Koffie is one mean son of a gun, and despite his size he is tougher then a piece of old rawhide. He plays much bigger then he really is and that has always been my concern. When a guy plays on the edge like Gershon does, opposing players do one of two things; They either get scared off of playing their game, or they push back and step up the aggression. Every tackle is a strong tackle, and he's a fantastic ball winner. If you haven't seen Gershon play yet you are in for a treat. He is only 19 years old and theres a good chance that he will lead the team in cautions for the length of his tenure with the club.
    17 players are left on the clubs "in camp roster" according to the clubs website. Four of those players aren't even in Arizona.
    Here's who is left:
    Mouloud Akloul
    Joe Anderson
    Santiago Bedoya
    Michael Boxall
    Jeb Brovsky
    Davide Chiumiento
    Bilal Duckett
    Bedri Gashi
    Ridge Mobulu
    Alexandre Morfaw
    Ryan O'Leary
    Kyle Porter
    Cornelius Stewart
    Brian Sylvestre
    Long Tan
    Russell Teibert
    Blake Wagner


    Guest
    Let me know if this sounds familiar: Canada, playing a friendly in hostile territory, against a top-10 ranked nation, concedes a goal after a young defender gets lost in the moment and turns the ball over.
    It happened on Wednesday morning, when 20-year-old Adam Straith's botched clearance fell to the feet of Greek striker Ioannis Fetfatzidis, who potted the game's decisive goal.
    But it also happened nearly a year ago, when Andre Hainault's deer-in-the-headlights brain freeze in Buenos Aires on the edge of Canada's penalty area meant a loss of possession and a superfluous tally for the Argentinians, in their never-in-doubt 5-0 thrashing of Les Rouges.
    The more things change, the more they stay the same, some would say. But rather than bemoaning the lost opportunity against the Greeks, it's worth considering how much has changed since that game against Argentina last spring.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    On the player-development end, three players won their first caps for the nats: 'keeper Milan Borjan (I'll get to him in a minute), defender David Edgar (finally!) and striker Tosaint Ricketts. Pedro Pacheco, an unknown at this time last year, got his second appearance for Canada, while several players who weren't figuring for Canada at this time last year made solid contributions.
    But first... no one will dispute that Canada's backline looked disorganized against Greece. Whether that is a product of Stephen Hart's tactics is a debatable point. But what's indisputable is that it was far from a first-choice lineup. Jaime Peters and Dejan Jakovic turned in decent performances at their normal positions (right-back and centre-back, respectively). But they were joined by an out-of-form, last-minute callup in Adrian Cann, and a starting-out-of-position 20-year-old, the aforementioned Adam Straith.
    No Kevin McKenna, Nik Ledgerwood or Marcel de Jong, all pulled from the lineup late due to injury. Mike Klukowski is still dealing with personal issues that precluded him from the game, while erstwhile captain and all-time caps leader Paul Stalteri was there, but didn't see the pitch.
    The patchwork backline didn't have a regular, stabilizing force behind them either. Canada's regular No. 1 keeper, Lars Hirschfeld, sat out with an injury. In his place, we saw the first on-field appearance for Borjan, a complete unknown to his teammates mere months ago. While he made some quality saves, the ability of the 'keeper to communicate with, and organize, his defenders is critical to any team's success. Borjan probably just met most of his teammates for the first time earlier this week.
    There's obviously some work to be done, but all things considered... a one-goal loss, on an unpredictable scuffed clearance, away, against a team that was just in the World Cup? This is hardly tossing-your-Voyageurs-scarf-in-the-dust-bin material, folks. If anything, if you're caffeinated and delusional like I am at present, it's actually somewhat encouraging.
    In the midfield, the most pleasant surprise for many was probably the interplay between Dwayne DeRosario and his teammates. Many had figured DeRo was done with the national team after his fallout with former coach Dale Mitchell, and the controversy surrounding his contract situation with Toronto FC.
    But aside from a few slips (thanks to the austerity-measure-induced crappy pitch in Larissa), DeRo was one of Canada's best players on the day... and a trademark curling free kick nearly grabbed us an equalizer deep into the second half. Even his most vocal critics (Lord Bob, I'm looking at you) couldn't help but acknowledge his solid performance. Many considered him done-and-dusted with the CanMNT in 2010, but his willingness to buy into the team dynamic against Greece showed he may still have plenty to contribute to Canada.
    But the man of the match, for most, was Josh Simpson. His movement with and without the ball, his bullheadedness and his distribution... if you want to talk about someone peaking at the right time, it's him. He hasn't been a key figure of Canadian tournaments in the past (he wasn't a key figure against Argentina last spring), but will definitely be a linchpin of this year's Gold Cup, and the 2014 qualifying campaign.
    Yet the one devastating shortfall for the Canadian team was, again, a lack of finishing. Aside from DeRo's free kick, brilliantly turned aside by the Greek keeper, Canada's other clear-cut scoring chance came from Rob Friend, who had a free header off a corner kick, but turned the ball wide. Based on the live chat and reaction on Twitter, fans' patience for Friend's lack of finish for Canada is wearing very thin.
    Who else have we got out there? Olivier Occean played the first half, but didn't have the chance to contribute much. Simeon Jackson played most of the game, but out on the wing (where Hart favours him) rather than in a pure striker's role. Tosaint Ricketts came on late in the game, but didn't really have the opportunity to show what he could do.
    Plenty of folks in Scallywags, where the CSN viewing party took place, were calling for Ali Gerba. (I was calling for Gavin McCallum, for what it's worth... no unexpected
    for Canada on this day though, unfortunately.) Putting aside Gerba's club troubles, he's bagged 15 goals in 29 appearances for Canada, and has yet to feature in Hart's 4-3-2-1 (or whatever you wanna call it) setup. Presuming the schedules work out OK, it's tough to imagine that he won't be there for Canada's next friendly against Belarus on March 29.So yeah, it's a shame that we lost today. A win -- or even a draw -- against Greece would have been massive not just for morale, but for our FIFA ranking. Then again, even the most ardent optimists probably didn't realistically expect much from Canada's less-than-full-strength roster, up against a squad full of fellows who played in the World Cup just last summer. A 1-0 loss is disheartening, but ultimately, based on the Greeks' performance in the second half, perhaps somewhat flattering.
    But as Hart has stressed, the performance and development of the players (and the team) is more important than the end result. Sure, Straith's botched clearance was ugly. But as I said, he's 20 years old. He performed admirably for Canada last year, and one bad mistake isn't going to cost him his place on the squad. If anything, it's good that he's gotten an error such as this out of his system now, rather than in some critical game in San Pedro Sula two years from now.
    He can learn from it, bury it in the past, and move on.
    As should we all, about this game.
    We, as Canadian supporters, can't sit around and fret about what may have been. Rather, we can see this game for what it was: another bump on the road to the games that really matter, the Gold Cup and World Cup qualifying. Sure, a result would have been nice. But if this game has helped the team identify its deficiencies (of which there were several), and develop greater camaraderie amongst themselves, then the outcome is, indeed, favourable -- regardless of the final scoreline.
    Guest

    Le Canada s'incline 1-0 contre la Grèce

    By Guest, in Le12eJoueur,

    Le Canada a perdu son premier match de l'année 2011 en s'inclinant 1-0 contre la Grèce à Larissa.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    Un mauvais dégagement de Adam Straith aura permis à Giannis Fetfazdis de marquer l'unique but du match sur une reprise de volée. Le gardien Milan Borjan n'y pouvait rien.

    La meilleure chance canadienne est survenu tard dans le match sur un corner. L'attaquant Rob Friend a redirigé le ballon de la tête seulement pour le voir passer à quelques centimètres du but.

    Quelques minutes avant, le gardien grec réalisait un bel arrêt sur un coup franc de Dwayne de Rosario.

    Les faits saillants (via Sportsnet)


    Défaite de 1-0 contre une équipe au 10e rang mondial. On peut presque voir ça comme une victoire morale...
    Guest

    Live Chat/Blog: Greece vs. Canada

    By Guest, in Euro File,

    Join us Wednesday morning for a live chat during Canada's international friendly in Greece.
    Myself and a few of the other Canadian Soccer News guys will be hosting the chat, which will kick off at approximately 9:45am ET. The match is scheduled for 10am ET, and will be broadcast live on Rogers Sportsnet ONE.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <iframe src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=7c264f5ed0/height=550/width=470" scrolling="no" height="550px" width="470px" frameBorder ="0" allowTransparency="true" ><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=7c264f5ed0" >Greece vs. Canada</a></iframe>
    In the meantime, have a look at highlights from Canada's last international friendly, a match in Kyiv against Ukraine:


    Guest

    Win the new national team kit

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    As the Men's National team puts on their new kits for the first time today when they take on Greece, Umbro Canada wants to give one supporter the chance to win a jersey before it lands in stores mid-2011.
    Here's how you can win:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Listen to the next two It's Called Football shows (Feb. 9 & 11) and we'll dish out some CMNT trivia. Write it down. Scrawl the answer on your wall. Do what you have to remember it.
    Then follow @callitfootball on Twitter Monday (Feb 14) for the final question at 3pm EST. The first person to respond (we'll tell you how), with all three correct answers, will get their hands on the first Men's National team kit released to the public.
    Allez les Rouges
    Guest
    Tuesday was a great day for the Vancouver Whitecaps at Phoenix's Reach 11 Sports Complex. The 'Caps had a strong defensive showing against the Crew. Expect to hear that a lot this season if you are a new follower of the club. The boys in blue and white managed to hold the MLS' number two all time scorer Jeff Cunningham off the score sheet. Atiba Harris showed that he can in fact hit the broad side of a barn, and 1st Overall wunderkind Omar Salgado netted the game winner. Jay DeMerit and John Thorrington even got into the game.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Interestingly, Vancouver took the field in a deviation from their standard 4-4-2 alignment that they normally employ. We saw it happen on several occasions last year, notably while Johnny Steele or Davide Chiumiento were in the starting lineup. However it was not the norm. I would not expect to see Teitur to use a 4-2-3-1 on a regular basis but i kind of like it. I would like to think that Chumiento was playing more of a withdrawn striker role, where his creativity and playmaking abilities would be fully utilized.
    Vancouver Whitecaps FC Starting Line-Up
    Jay Nolly
    Jonathan Leathers Greg Janicki Michael Boxall Alain Rochat
    Terry Dunfield Gershon Koffie
    Shea Salinas Davide Chiumiento Nizar Khalfan
    Long Tan


    By all accounts Omar Salgado had a fantastic game, even in the limited minutes he played. Long Tan had several chances but didn't manage to bag a goal. According to Odeen Domingo of Soccer by Ives, Shea Salinas would have been the man of the match. The speedy Salinas even managed to draw a penalty shot after being taken down in the box. Davide Chiumiento had his "weak" (again according to Domingo) penalty kick saved by Ray Burse.
    Atiba Harris scored in the 62' off a great pass from Terry Dunfield, and then 15 minutes later Harris sent a cross in from the left side that Omar Salgado nodded it home in the 77'.
    Substitutions:
    Nizar Khalfan subbed by Kyle Porter 45'
    Davide Chiumiento subbed by Atiba Harris 45'
    Jonathan Leathers subbed by Wes Knight 59'
    Long Tan subbed by Omar Salgado 59'
    Michael Boxall subbed by Bilal Duckett 63'
    Shea Salinas subbed by Philippe Davies 70'
    Greg Janicki subbed by Jay DeMerit 76'
    Gershon Koffie subbed by John Thorrington 76'
    Scoring Summary:
    62' - VAN - Atiba Harris (Terry Dunfield)
    76' - CLB - Eddie Gaven (penalty)
    77' - VAN - Omar Salgado (Atiba Harris)
    Did Not Play:
    Ryan O'Leary
    Santiago Bedoya
    Joe Anderson
    Blake Wagner
    Cornelius Stewart
    Joe Cannon
    Jeb Brovsky
    Bryan Sylvestre
    Guest

    Sober Second Thoughts: uncivil war

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    To use a cliché, on Friday Carolina Morace opened a can of worms. Yesterday the Canadian women’s national team threw the worms all over the floor.
    The decision to boycott the Cyprus tournament (but not, it should be noted, the pre-tournament camp in Italy) unless Morace’s demands are met is certainly audacious. The thing about audacity is that it is either a brilliant strategy or one that betrays overconfidence. It’s up to each individual to determine what they think of the move.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] However, what needs to happen is now is there needs to be an debate about what’s fair and reasonable. The women are claiming that they should be paid an appearance fee equal to what the men receive. It’s unknown how much that is, or even if such a thing exists as the CSA has not released details.
    The women have made the unfortunate decision to refuse to talk to media that they view as “unfriendly.” As far as I can tell they are defining unfriendly is anyone that prints or airs an opposing position to their stance. They are going to run out of journalists to talk to if they remain consistent with that policy. Regardless of what you think of the CSA they deserve the opportunity to be heard.
    I invited Kara Lang to write a response to my articles. That invitation remains open and does not have a due date.
    To bring this back to the topic at hand the women do deserve to be treated equally. If they do not receive appearance fees and the men do the CSA should fix that. There is no debate on that point. If the suggestion that the CSA took money from its China budget in the middle of the trip (causing the team to have to change hotels), that’s also wrong. In speaking to a high ranking CSA official yesterday I was told that they share some of the women’s frustrations with the efficiency of the professional staff. They are willing to work with Morace to resolve issues like that.
    They need to talk to her first to do that. Apparently she has ignored several outreaches to her to set-up a meeting. Let’s hope that’s incorrect.
    The CSA makes for a much more believable villain than a group of hard working Canadian women. However, the CSA isn’t the group making accusations today. If the women are prepared to ask pointed questions (and they have every right to do so, of course) then they should also be willing to answer some too.
    Guest
    Without a doubt, this has been a momentous week in Canadian soccer and Canadian soccer media. In a bygone era, the Canadian Soccer Association’s recent historic vote to remove all its provincial association reps from the board by 2015 would have garnered at least several columns in newspapers across the country. So far, the only nationwide media outlet to offer relevant commentary is CBC online, by way of Jason de Vos’ balanced op-eds and Kara Lang’s recent statement in support of CSA reform (respect must also be paid to local outlets: BC’s The Province and the Winnipeg Free Press).
    In fact, most of the mainstream coverage of Canadian soccer news comes by way of TV channel websites, not newspapers, and the soccer broadcasting landscape changed significantly this week. CBC Online’s CSA vote coverage comes at a time when the CBC seems to be losing ground to CTVglobemedia with the loss of Major League Soccer rights to TSN. Globe and Mail media analyst Bruce Dowbiggin argued in a recent editorial that the CBC is inching closer to leaving the sports business with its loss of the “mediocre” MLS package to TSN. Dowbiggin writes that the “CBC is left to compete against well-capitalized communications giants that can amortize rights purchases and talent raids against their cellphone or cable TV businesses.”
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    But as Ben Rycroft wrote yesterday, providing a successful, quality soccer product is about more than just paying to show live games on TV. Live soccer content needs to be couched in expert associated content and analysis, which broadcasters offer as an online adjunct. Despite comparatively limited resources, the Score and CBC have done this very well by paying for internationally respected columnists like Paolo Bandini and Sid Lowe in addition to their in-house online analysts. The smart networks know you have to build an intelligent online presence to drive viewers to watch games on TV, and to promote your media brand as a soccer-smart content provider.
    Despite its financial muscle, TSN still has a ways to go in this department (by way of a cheap-but-illustrative example, as thousands of Canadian soccer fans eagerly awaited de Vos’ report on the CSA vote, TSN struggled to spell Atiba Hutchinson’s name right. But the fact is, most Canadian sports broadcasters could do a hell of a lot better when it comes to covering Canadian soccer. The old canard that nobody cares about Canadian game so let's stick to the Premier League was in some part dispelled by “CSAreform” trending on Twitter last weekend, as Benjamin Massey pointed out in his excellent post-vote piece on SBN. Disillusioned with mainstream media’s contempt for soccer (unconsciously echoed by “mediocre” Dowbiggin), Canadian footy fans long ago moved online to forums and blogs to help fill in large narrative gaps in Canada's soccer story.
    Those gaps persist in the Canadian sports news cycle, whether online or in the newspaper. For example, TSN posted up a CP report on Carolina Morace’s decision to leave the Canadian women’s team after the 2010 World Cup without even attempting to put it in a larger context with the CSA governance vote and long-standing funding and budgetary control grievances coming to the surface, something that would require going beyond a wire service story.
    As I’ve written before, while it’s great that sites and forums like Canadian Soccer News are covering the vote and its repercussions, Canada needs more voices to join in on the discussion on where the game goes from here. The Score has a great soccer infrastructure in place but still largely focuses on European club football. The CBC's Jason de Vos is pretty much a hardworking voice in the wilderness. Meanwhile, TSN may find out the hard way that promoting MLS will involve providing intelligent, comprehensive coverage of the game in Canada with added online coverage.
    The sad but familiar silence that met the CSA reform vote is an alarming sign Canada's sports media leaders have a lot of work to do to meet the demands of Canada's largely-online footy faithful.
    Richard Whittall writes on football from his hovel in Toronto, Canada. In addition to A More Splendid Life, he also writes the Canadian Soccer history blog, The Spirit of Forsyth. He is the associate editor of Tom Dunmore's award-winning Pitch Invasion. And his writing has appeared in Toronto Life, the Globe and Mail, and he was a contributor for Brooks Peck's Yahoo! blog Dirty Tackle for the 2010 World Cup. His columns on media and football will appear weekly on Canadian Soccer News. Follow him on Twitter @RWhittall
    Guest

    It's International Friendly Week!

    By Guest, in Euro File,

    This week, sandwiched among all the various club competitions going on, many national teams will be getting together for short camps and a midweek FIFA international matchday.
    Aside from our own Canadian men's national team being in action versus host Greece, there's a number of interesting match-ups involving European sides today and tomorrow.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Later today, the Republic of Ireland hosts neighbours Wales. The match is the opener of the Carling Nations Cup, a four-country tournament played entirely in Dublin's Aviva Stadium that also features Northern Ireland and Scotland (who face each other tomorrow).
    Wednesday features a few big matches, among the best of which has to be Germany facing off against Italy in Dortmund. The two giants have seven World Cups between them, and while it is 'just' a friendly, both sides will be using the game as preparation for their next set of Euro qualifying matches. As both teams are leading their respective qualification groups, it's likely that they'll be looking to keep the momentum going, meaning a win will be firmly in the sights for both managers.
    As well, France will face off against Brazil in Paris. The French are in rebuilding mode following their disastrous World Cup last summer, and look to have a young, hungry squad which will get a very good test from the always-dangerous Brazilians.
    The other marquee match of the day looks to be Argentina versus Portugal. Taking place in neutral Geneva, Switzerland, the Argentinians are actually the 'host' side of a match that could feature the two best players in the world - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - extending their season-long duel into the international arena.
    Here's a list of all FIFA 'A' matches involving European nations this week:
    Tuesday, February 8
    Romania - Ukraine
    Cyprus - Sweden
    Republic of Ireland - Wales
    Wednesday, February 9
    Belgium - Finland
    Germany - Italy
    Netherlands - Austria
    Israel - Serbia
    Turkey - Korea Republic
    Croatia - Czech Republic
    Armenia - Georgia
    Belarus - Kazakhstan
    Greece - Canada
    Albania - Slovenia
    Mexico - Bosnia-Herzegovina
    Andorra - Moldova
    San Marino - Liechtenstein
    FYR Macedonia - Cameroon
    Latvia - Bolivia
    Northern Ireland - Scotland
    Iran - Russia
    Denmark - England
    Luxembourg - Slovakia
    Malta - Switzerland
    Poland - Norway
    France - Brazil
    Argentina - Portugal
    Azerbaijan - Hungary
    Estonia - Bulgaria
    Spain - Colombia
    What matches are you looking forward to?
    Guest
    After holding a historic vote for governance reform and then suddenly finding themselves engulfed in controversy surrounding the future of the womens’ team manager all in the same weekend, the power-brokers at the CSA are likely praying for some quiet time.
    But say what you will about the CSA's modus operandi, to the best of my knowledge it has never unveiled a new national team manager and then had that same manager decide two days later that he can't take the job.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    That is the situation Canada's arch-Concacaf-rival Honduras finds itself in.
    Last Wednesday the Honduran FA announced that Colombian Juan Carlos Osorio would be the national team’s new head coach. (This has been a long search, read here and here for some of the backstory.)
    The following day, Osorio told the press in Colombia – where he is currently coaching the club side Once Caldas – that he would have to revisit with the club's directors his plan of coaching both Once and Honduras at the same time. At issue was whether he could begin managing the Honduran team immediately, or wait until June when his club commitments would be through. If his Colombian bosses said no, the Hondurans would have to wait, although he didn’t expect them to.
    It seems that amid visions of skipping gaily down the road to 2014 World Cup qualification together, the Honduran FA and Osorio neglected to cement the one niggling detail that was his start date.
    The Honduran FA came roaring back (publicly) to Osorio with an ultimatum: either come now or don’t come at all. By Friday, Osorio had officially declined the offer, asking for understanding from the Hondurans because there was no way he could go back on his promise to Once.
    So the Hondurans once again find themselves at the hands of interim management, this time for their February 9 friendly against Ecuador.
    It’s easy to snicker at a rival's public misfortune. And it's fun too. But then the Honduran federation can point recently to its 2010 World Cup berth, the three domestically trained Premier League regulars in its starting eleven, or its Copa Centroamericana victory last month as proof it must be doing something right. And this is the rub.
    Bashing the governing body is as much a pastime as football itself in many countries. But supporters are far more willing to grumble and then shrug off bureaucratic bungling and massive PR gaffes if the national team is enjoying relative success.
    Canada's women have had a fantastic past 12 months. But Canada supporters are long-starved of being able to feel good about themselves. They need far, far more evidence of on-field achievement from both national teams before the gut reaction to any kind of public mishap is not simply to blame the CSA.
    Guest
    Today, we're joined by FC Edmonton GM Mel Kowalchuk to discuss today's news that they have sold local product Matt Lam overseas for a hefty sum. Given that such a young club has already hit its development stride is encouraging and we'll be speaking to Kowalchuk about their academy plans, Lam's future and the D2 in Canada and how it relates to development.
    We'll also get into the big news of the women's national team threatening a boycott, Carolina Morace's fight with the CSA for control of the team, update the fallout from the weekend's CSA reform vote, and set up Wednesday's Canada v Greece game.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
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    Guest
    The Canadian Press is reporting that the Canadian Women's National team is threatening to pull out of international competitions until the Canadian Soccer Association resolves a dispute with head coach Carolina Morace.
    Morace announced last week that she would not return to coach the national team following the completion of this summer's Women's World Cup. She cited operational differences with the CSA as her reasons for the decision.
    Separately, the national team has reportedly also retained legal council over what they describe as unfair compensation over the years.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    All of this is going to come to a head very quickly - the Canadian Women's next international competition is the Cyprus Cup. It begins on Feb. 28.
    Canadian Soccer News will have more on this story as it develops.
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