The selection of soccer matches to watch is about to start growing as more leagues begin to kick off in Europe.
The German and French leagues begin play this week, while Manchester United and Chelsea play the first game of the year among EPL teams in the Community Shield.
There is also plenty of MLS action, as well as the much-anticipated DC United-Real Madrid friendly.
Here is a rundown of this weekend's soccer action on TV:
FRIDAY
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7:30pm- ESPN, ESPN Deportes- Toronto FC vs. Real Madrid
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11pm- FSC- Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Charleston Battery
SATURDAY
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3:30am- FSC- North Queensland Fury FC vs. Sydney FC
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9:30am- GolTV- Cologne vs. Borussia Dortmund
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10am- FSC- Atletico Madrid vs. Liverpool
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12:30pm- Setanta Sports- West Bromwich Albion vs. Newcastle United
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3pm- Setanta Sports- Grenoble vs. Olympique Marseille
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5:30pm- GolTV- Santos FC vs. Avai FC
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5:30pm- GolTV- Santa Fe vs. Medellin
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6pm- FSC, FSE- New England Revolution vs. Los Angeles Galaxy
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8pm- Telemundo- Atlante vs. Pachuca
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8pm- FSC, FSE- San Jose Earthquakes vs. Columbus Crew
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9pm- DirectKick-Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle Sounders FC
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9:30pm- GolTV- Boyaca Chico vs. Deportivo Pereira
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9:30pm- GolTV- Cucuta Deportivo vs. Millonarios Bogota
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10pm- Telemundo- Atlas vs. Santos
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10:15pm- Setanta Sports- Montpelier vs. PSG
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11pm- FSC, Telefutura- Chivas de Guadalajara vs. Barcelona
SUNDAY
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9:30am- GolTV- VFL Bochum vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach
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10am- FSC, FSE, Setanta Sports- Manchester United vs. Chelsea
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11am- Setanta Sports- Lille vs. Lorient
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1pm- Telemundo- Toluca vs. Pumas UNAM
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1pm- FSE- Morelia vs. San Luis
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2:45pm- ESPN Deportes- Twente vs. PSV Eindhoven
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3pm- GolTV- Flamengo RJ vs. Corinthians SP
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3pm- FSC, Telefutura- DC United vs. Real Madrid
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3pm- Setanta Sports- Bordeaux vs. Lens
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6pm- FSC- Boston vs. Los Angeles
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Which matches are you most looking forward to watching?
Share your thoughts below.
Gol tv has some awful commentating
Jermaine Jones is hurt. He can’t play right now. Jones could play if he was healthy I believe.
Ok, if Bobby Zamora and Jlloyd Samuel can play for T&T this Wednesday, why do Jermaine Jones and Edgar Castillo have to wait until October? F*ck you Sunil Gulati
Understood: I am going to respectfully disagree with the logic of your argument.
The owners: Some may not be making money now but they didn’t buy these teams due to a sense of community altruism or pure love of the game. They see future present value. A league stoppage for any length of time would compound current losses (or drive teams making moderate profits –Galaxy, etc. — back into the red).
The players: Most are making a pittance, relatively few guaranteed contracts, yet they operate in a market where at least there is a possibility of taking their skills and earning somewhere else be that USL or a 2d division in a foreign country. [I don’t know labor laws but I think that would be legal in this country if the owners locked them out.] Many will likely just stay fit and join the rest of us in the regular workforce where earning more than the annual salary of an MLS Development contract is no a challenge even in this economy.
Bottom line…the players have the leverage here. Time, not to mention public sympathy, is on their side.
Anyway…I doubt Ives wants to go very far down this road over the summer but I’m just hoping for some in depth coverage come November/December. Thanks.
Yeah, I’m pretty mad right now. When I look on my DirecTV guide – it’s showing a friendly between Barcelona and Chivas during the Galaxy game slot. Not showing the Galaxy game until sometime in the middle of the night!
did anyone see the bobby zamora just received his trinidad & tobaog passport and will be playing against el salvador?
If MLS can afford to blow *HUGE* dollars on Beckham, then it can certainly afford to give raises to the guys making 12.9 a year. Don’t buy into the lies of billionaires …
How awful was the camera work / production in the toronto – real madrid game? amateur hour on espn.
Posted by: brian | August 07, 2009 at 09:41 PM
i turned the game off after 30 minutes….rage quit.
i’m looking at my directv guide and what i see in the time slot that should be designated for the galaxy is ‘Italian League Classics’
what gives?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U73ZJHHtrBw
Up for a laugh???
Brian, you bet your bottom dollar Bradley will be playing. BMG could care less that he has a game on Wednesday. They don’t have to officially release a player until 48 hours before the FIFA window. He will be playing.
LA GALAXY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WAY Off Topic:
But I just saw Everton’s new away kit; (I don’t know if it’s been mentioned on here before, so sorry for upsetting anyone if this is already news.) But I think it’s metrosexually amazing! lol
http://www.epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/new-everton-away-jersey.jpg
I wonder if Timmy’s away jersey will correspond in any way with the color scheme???
Mike – nothing in this game, from what I could see, I just mean as a general thing for his career.
And by cheating, I mean his whole diving/embellishing/whining type thing. To me that is cheating, even if it isn’t seen as that by various parts of the world.
players have zero leverage cause too many teams are losing money…so if they strike…the only people theyd be hurting are themselves and the fans (lost wages and lost games respectively)…theres no way theyre gonna “win” this round…and if you look at the history of pro sports in this country…it took over 60 years for baseball players to get their contractual “rights”…basketball took about 25 years for players to start earning big salaries…football almost 30…so basically when people like you and me start spending more (tickets, merch, and time watching on TV to raise ad rates)on soccer in this country…then the players will have the leverage they need to start making salary demands…that day is a long way off as it stands
as it is now…over half the league would actually benefit financially with no MLS
Ives: This discussion has me pondering a subject I’d love to see you cover in depth after WC qualifying and the MLS Cup are in the rear view mirror. WAAAAAAY off topic but here’s my thesis:
If you accept the assertion that professional soccer (i.e. MLS) is here to stay in the U.S. a player’s strike lasting less than the entire 2010 season, while painful in the short term, is the best thing that could happen to U.S. Soccer. That is assuming a player walkout ultimately results in a negotiated CBA that increases roster sizes, raises salary caps and min salaries to a level commensurate with average 2nd tier Euro leagues while still not allowing for inflation the likes which killed the NASL.
I have to give that a lot more thought but my gut tells me this has to happen for the good of our game in the U.S. I say this despite the fact that I pretty much stopped watching NFL and MLB games after their prolonged strikes and never went back.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing how the new CBA gets resolved as well as your in-depth coverage as things unfold.
PJ
kevin smith- Ronaldo is a cheater? what did the little tart do?
MemRook and Randy: Thanks for your comments. The fact that it is the only MLS game on ESPN this weekend sort of speaks to my frustration. But I totally understand why John Skipper and the ESPN suits televise this horrible match rather than Chivas v Colorado…it’s about the $$$. Also, it WAS indeed cool seeing most of the Galaxy players play without fear against both Chelsea, who I thought were actually outplayed, and Barca. It’s a credit to MLS and that organization (…something about the Galaxy I couldn’t imagine typing just a few months ago.) That said, I long for the day when the focus is on matches like the CCL so we can win it, go to the world club championships, and see how an entire MLS team responds to playing the best in the world in a game that actually matters.
I doubt I’ll be watching DCU v Real Madrid. Again, thanks for your thoughts. I love this site and reading these forums.
PJ
How awful was the camera work / production in the toronto – real madrid game? amateur hour on espn.
RM07, people were booing Ronaldo because he’s easy to hate. I should know, I hate him with a passion. I will cheer against Real Madrid, not because I dislike the team, but because they have him. Same with Portugal. He’s an arrogant cheater. Very skilled, sure, but a prick.
I hate that the only game ESPN on all weekend is the Madrid/Toronto game…god forbid they actually show some soccer, rather than having coed mutual masturbation on ESPN2…
I’m guessing Michael Bradley won’t be playing Sunday for Borussia Moenchengladbach?
TFC score, lol, good for them. Hey, is O’Brian White (I believe that’s his name) the MLS rookie that has been injured for so long? He would probably have gone first if he hadn’t been injured? Same guy? Anyway, he had the assist on a goal for tfc.
Lol Toronto and Real Madrid is a sh*t fest
No mention of the sunday afternoon game between Legia Warsaw and Arka Gydnia!? Whatever…
also, I like the “surprise” factor from these friendlies too, exemplified especially in Gonzalez and De la Garza of LA. They did pretty good, showed some flashes, and surprised me beyond my expectations for mls rookies.
When it comes to MLS, I try to stay positive and take positives away from these things. I don’t expect much honestly, but it’s nice to be surprised by individual performances.
i’ll have to third that the best of the bunch have definitely been the LA games. as i type benzema scores for Madrid and it’s 4-0. I don’t love or hate these exhibitions though. I am looking forward to the DC-Real game, moreso than this one for some reason.
Personally what I look to gain from these “friendlies” is a look at some of the best players against some of MLS’ best talent: Donovan, DeRo, Keller, Montero, etc. and see who excells from MLS and who falls short. So far, Donovan has done well out of that list, with Montero being the worst disappointment for me.
PJ I too enjoyed the Galaxy matches, it seems either they match up better to these teams, or caught them early…
Hey Ives: Been reading you since the Bergen record days but rarely comment so i should start by saying what a great a job you do and you are my first or second internet stop every evening after work. What I’m curious about is what the general SBI Mafia opinion is on these exhibition games against MLS teams has been. Mine may be the minority view but I find them a huge bore and can no longer watch. First half of TFC v. Real was brutal. Nice to see the schoolyard flashes of brilliance but a total mismatch and I can’t wait for the day when our league can say a resounding “No thanks.” to these exhibitions. I understand all the reasons we play them now (money, publicity, etc.) but quite frankly I find these matches a mid-season distraction and they can’t end soon enough. (Caveat…Even I’ll admit I enjoyed the two LA Galaxy exhibitions but they gave their opponents good challenges and those matches have been the exceptions vice the rule.)
Am I alone on this? Go Charleston Battery!
Thanks. PJ
Why are the fans booing Ronaldo?
It’s idiotic.
toronto is getting shat on early. 3-0, 26 minutes in.
Why is DC “much anticipated” and Toronto doesn’t get a mention? You evil American!
Nah, I kid. Good roundup as always.
J
I was kind of hoping Red Bull would stick to the usual corporate habit of firing people on Friday. Oh well …
Goin to the double header in SF. Have 2nd row seats! Can’t wait!