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Soccer Saturday: Your Running Commentary

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The game of the year in European soccer, between Barcelona and Real Madrid, headlines today's packed schedule of soccer action, but it is hardly the only marquee match-up on the slate, with London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal set to collide this morning in a match with plenty of implications.

Arsenal and Chelsea are both fighting for the precious spots in the English Premier League's top four and both need a win today to ensure their places. The Gunners are fighting Tottenham for third place while Chelsea are in dire need of a win today to try and climb back into the Top Four picture again.

The match everyone is waiting for takes place this afternoon, with Barcelona taking on Real Madrid in a match that will go a long way in determining the Spanish Premier League champion. Real Madrid currently holds a four-point lead on Barcelona in the La Liga standings, but a Barca victory today would reduce that lead to a single point with four weeks remaining in the season. Barcelona is undefeated at the Camp Nou this season, having won all but one of their league matches played there this season.

If you will be watching today' soccer action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Today's TV Schedule is after the jump):

TODAY'S SOCCER ON TV

7:30 a.m. – Fox Soccer Plus - St. Johnstone vs. Dundee United

7:45 a.m. - ESPN2/ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes - Arsenal vs. Chelsea

9:30 a.m. - GOLTV - Werder Bremen vs. Bayern Munich

10 a.m. - Fox Soccer Channel - Newcastle vs. Stoke City

10 a.m. - Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer2Go - Aston Villa vs. Sunderland

10 a.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Blackburn vs. Norwich City

10 a.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Fulham vs. Wigan Athletic

10 a.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Bolton vs. Swansea City

10 a.m. – FoxSoccer2Go - Bristol City vs. Barnsley

10 a.m. - FoxSoccer2Go – Heart of Midlothian vs. Rangers

12 p.m. - Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer2Go/ESPN3.com - Chievo vs. Udinese

12 p.m. - ESPN3.com - Benfica vs. Maritimo Funchal

12 p.m. - DirecTV - Sporting Gijon vs. Rayo Vallecano

12:20 p.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Middlesbrough vs. Southampton

12:30 p.m. - Fox Soccer Channel - Queens Park Rangers vs. Tottenham

1 p.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Brest vs. Stade Rennes

1 p.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Caen vs. St. Etienne

1 p.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Dijon vs. Lille

1 p.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Evian Thonon Gaillard vs. Toulouse

1 p.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Montpellier vs. Valenciennes

1 p.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Nice vs. Auxerre

2 p.m. - GOLTV/ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes - Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

2:45 p.m. - Fox Soccer Channel/ESPN3.com - Napoli vs. Novara

3 p.m. - FoxSoccer2Go - Bordeaux vs. Marseille

3:30 p.m. - NBC Sports Network - Toronto FC vs. Chicago Fire

4:30 p.m. – DirecTV - Sevilla vs. Levante

6 p.m. - Azteca America - Cruz Azul vs. Estudiantes Tecos

6 p.m. - Telefutura - Queretaro vs. Toluca

6 p.m. - Univision Deportes - San Luis vs. Tijuana

7:30 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick - Columbus Crew vs. Houston Dynamo

8 p.m. - Telemundo - Chivas de Guadalajara vs. Atlante

8 p.m. - Univision Deportes - Santos Laguna vs. Tigres UANL

9 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick – Colorado Rapids vs. Los Angeles Galaxy

10 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick - Vancouver Whitecaps vs. FC Dallas

10 p.m. - Univision Deportes - Monterrey vs. Pachuca

10:30 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick - Portland Timbers vs. Sporting Kansas City

10:30 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick - San Jose Earthquakes vs. Real Salt Lake

10:30 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick - Chivas USA vs. Philadelphia Union

Comments

  1. I’m a big fan of both Boyd and Wooten but this is ridiculous. Wondo leads MLS with 8 goals in 7 games. Boyd and Wooten should both get chances with the national team (over Agudelo and Buddle certainly), but Boyd didn’t look like he was quite ready for the international level in his debut against Italy. These guys should not be handed the reins for important games, instead they should be worked in late in games or when the US has already advanced to the next stage of qualifying.

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  2. It’s just normal backlash against something that popular opinion considers attractive. Compare to the whole hipster thing; once something becomes popular, some people make it a point to hate that thing.

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  3. Not exactly right. Accidental handling even if it results in an advantage to the player is not an infraction.

    The Laws of the game say a direct free kick is to be awarded to the opposing team if a player “handles the ball deliberately “. There is no mention of accidental and advantage (other than the usual advantage rule after any foul). If the handling is accidental, it is not a handball period.

    The US Soccer advice to referees says the following:12.9 DELIBERATE HANDLING The offense known as “handling the ball” involves deliberate contact with the ball by a player’s hand or arm (including fingertips, upper arm, or outer shoulder). “Deliberate contact” means that the player could have avoided the touch but chose not to, that the player’s arms were not in a normal playing position at the time, or that the player deliberately continued an initially accidental contact for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage. Moving hands or arms instinctively to protect the body when suddenly faced with a fast approaching ball does not constitute deliberate contact unless there is subsequent action to direct the ball once contact is made. Likewise, placing hands or arms to protect the body at a free kick or similar restart is not likely to produce an infringement unless there is subsequent action to direct or control the ball. The fact that a player may benefit from the ball contacting the hand does not transform the otherwise accidental event into an infringement. A player infringes the Law regarding handling the ball even if direct contact is avoided by holding something in the hand (clothing, shinguard, etc.).
    NOTE: In most cases in the Laws of the Game, the words “touch,” “play,” and “make contact with” mean the same thing. This is not true in the case of deliberate handling, where the touch, play, or contact by the offending player must be planned and deliberate.
    12.10 RULE OF THUMB FOR “HANDLING” The rule of thumb for referees is that it is handling if the player plays the ball, but not handling if the ball plays the player. The referee should punish only deliberate handling of the ball, meaning only those actions when the player (and not the goalkeeper within the ‘keeper’s own penalty area) strikes or propels the ball with the hand or arm (shoulder to tip of fingers).

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  4. And the thing is, there are several Spanish forwards who are skilled enough to fit in, as they do on the national team. Sure, you would have to poach from a Liga rival, but so it goes.

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  5. I don’t understand the Barca hate some exhibit. Sure some silly fans go overboard, but the team is amazing to watch, one of the most brilliant teams of the past 25 years at least, and I think it is great is that this Madrid team can push them. Sure Busquets is a clown, but even he is a skilled one, and he is hardly the only offender on the field in this game. Besides, Xavi and Iniesta are unlike almost any other duo ever. Whenever I watch Xavi own the ball, Im mesmerized. Messi and Ronaldo deserve all the plaudits they get, but Xavi, I think deserves as much as both of them. I mean I’m a fan of Barca but its impossible to win everything every year and they have been doing a crapton of winning the last few years. Its ok, they will win again.

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  6. Aron Winter needs to be shown the door. He has absolutely no clue what he is doing.

    Start organizing you team to get some points dumby rather than continuing to live in a fantasy land where you play 3-4-3 without the players and pretend that you’re barca.

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  7. Are you Yo? I stated that I wasnt going to come back and read his reply, but ooh coinscidence you came and defended him. And he stoped posting.

    I am done with this argument you can call me whatever you want if it makes you feel better.

    The argument was about him wanting Barcelona to get a penalty call in today´s game and saying that he is a Madrid supporter. By the way there wasnt even a play that was even close to being a penalty. Why would he want it to be called a penalty in favour of Barcelona? That is incoherent.

    Have a nice day and have fun. Read you later.

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  8. Pep has played without a striker for too long. Now that his wingers have fizzled out, defenses need only put 8 in the center to keep Messi out of the 18. Pep has no choice but to put Messi wide against Chelsea, or face the same results.

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  9. “You can reply whatever you want. I wont come back and read it anyways lol.”

    You came back I see.

    And who said I haven’t read his posts? Do you think you’re the only person that reads the posts?

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  10. Wooten with a great strike. Dude can finish. i wonder if h will get his own headline by Ives considering its his first Bundesliga goal and he is on the rise.

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  11. Was this seriously an argument?

    Haha, people like this are nuts. I root for Madrid when they are playing outside of the league. Nothing wrong with pulling for some domestic solidarity.

    But really? Condescendingly telling someone that they aren’t a fan of a team they say they are a fan of? How arrogant can you be?

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  12. Obvious troll is obvious.

    Your club was the benefit of a warring dictator interfering with the league, teams and players.

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  13. Probably not the best message board to troll on-most people here aren’t bandwagon fans of teams they have no connection to. Glad to see you are ‘part of the Madrid fan base’. So much to be proud of.

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  14. You mean the fighters of Franco?
    Both sides are tarnished…
    And in a league as jokey as the Scottish league in terms of parity.

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  15. Barcemoda fans are cocky and they suck, I´m so glad to be part of Madrid and Madrid fan base, the greatest team ever…

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  16. Yet you wanted the ref to give Barcelona a penalty in today´s game?

    You can reply whatever you want. I wont come back and read it anyways lol.

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  17. Why wouldn’t I call for a penalty against Chelsea?

    I want to beat Barca in the CL final. It would cap the season. Screw Chelsea.

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  18. Yes its the Barcelona fans that are the ones that make the rest of us hate Barcelona. They think that the ref should hand them penalties every game.

    Barcelona is a great team, but I hate Barcelona fans when they say that a Barcelona loss is bad for football. Give me a break.

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  19. LOl keep it going you are making a believer out of me. It shows that you are a Barcelona fan, because you get mad and defend Barcelona at all costs. I can say that I lived in mars. Its the internet.

    YOu may say that you are a Madrid fan but your posts say another thing. You are always saying something bad about Real Madrid and making excuses for Barcelona. Or did you forget that you were calling for a penalty versus Chelsea?

    NO Real Madrid fan would call for a penalty, when there wasnt even one to call in favour of Barcelona. By the way you did the same thing today, you wanted a penalty called in favour of Barcelona.

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  20. What’s with the Barca hate?
    I’m DEFINITELY not a fan (I hate how people bandwagoning on the ManU, RM, Barca, Bayern, ACM trains has killed the chances smaller teams have at winning), but they play their same style anyplace anywhere. Yes they dabble in the dark arts more than they should, but it isn’t their fault that most teams try only to bunker/foul them out of the game.

    Its their snobbish fans that are annoying, not the team itself.

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  21. You are shockingly ignorant.

    And think what you want, you clearly lack the mental capacity to reason. I like Madrid. I lived in Madrid. I am a Madridista.

    You, however, are a fool. You’re right and everyone else is wrong. Every expert, every player, every manager. You know best.

    There’s a reason we have to play counter attacking football against Barcelona. If we didn’t keep 10 men behind the ball we’d get crushed. In fact, the last time we played against Barcelona the way we run over other teams, we lost 5 to 0.

    And when did La Liga teams suck? Our mid table team creamed Man United over two legs. We make up 75% of the European competition semifinals.

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  22. You are not a Madrid fna. I am not blind and I know how to read. Your team lost and created 1 or 2 chances at goal.

    Dont be a coward and admit that you are a barcelona fan. I have read your posts.

    Hahaha average 20 shots on goal versus other La Liga teams that suck. They didnt create a lot of chances versus European giant like Milan and Real Madrid.

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  23. You have problems. Real problems.

    I’m a Madrid fan, and I have no problem saying that Barcelona are the most aggressive team in the world.

    I mean seriously? They average something like 20 shots a game and 10 on goal.

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