Born to Moroccan parents, Mohammed Abdellaoue currently plays for Norwegian club Valerenga. The 23-year-old was born in Norway and has already made his debut for Norway earlier this year. And will be in the squad for their match against Ukraine on Wednesday. There were a number of English clubs at the Norwegian Cup final to watch [. Click to continue reading...

The ladies of the US national team are on a hot streak in the final run-up to the Olympics, defeating Norway 4-0 and Sweden 1-0 over the weekend in two of their final four warm-up matches for Beijing. Lindsay Tarpley opened the scoring against Norway after only four minutes, but the US had to wait until the second half to put the seal on their victory. Click to continue reading...

One of the traditional powerhouses of women's football, Norway are no strangers to the medal podium, having won gold in Sydney 2000 and bronze in Atlanta 96. Lately, though, they've faltered. Click to continue reading...

I'm still kinda catching up on everything after my bout with a four-day headache (yeah, I know!), so a couple of these items are a couple days old... #1 - Another casualty of delay was my Luis Robles feature, but that is now up over at Soccer365. In case you aren't aware, the American keeper has been suddenly thrust into the starting role at Kaiserslautern, a club that seems on the way back to Click to continue reading...

Sean should be back in the tubes of an interweb later on tonight, but for now I'll hit ya with some quick jabs of my own... #1 - FC Barcelona is all set to unveil a bid for an MLS club in Miami. Get all of the details (well... all they will tell before Wednesday's press conference) here. #2 - Ladies and gentleman, I give you the overreach of the century (which need I remind is less than a Click to continue reading...

Uefa World Cup 2010 Qualification: Norway are meeting  The Netherlands October 14th. Watch the LIVESTREAM and Highlights here   Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today  Don`t forget to sign up 11×2.com - the next big football site Click to continue reading...

Dear Chris Iwelumo, Feel better soon, it could've been worse (even though it was out of your hands). Love, The Offside Click to continue reading...

(Summary is not available.) Click to continue reading...

Norway did you miss that! You know it is a bad miss when the culprit looks on in shock as the ball misses the target. This is exactly what Scotland striker Chris Iwelumo is doing in this photograph. He had a gilt-edged chance to score the winning goal against Norway on his international debut. But [. Click to continue reading...

This is going to go down as one of the worst sitter misses in recent history. You could even argue it was harder to miss the target than hit it. But while all of Scotland is up in arms, you'll also notice the flag never went up with Chris Iwelumo clearly offside (albeit slightly). [...] Click to continue reading...

In times of financial crisis like these, who do you feel most sorry for? Roman Abramovich and Chelsea FC, undoubtedly. If anyone needs money, it's clearly them. First forcing Adrian Mutu into a McDonald's drive-thru window once his playing days are over to do penance for his sins, now going after little Norwegian club Lyn [. Click to continue reading...

Attempting to keep the Scots of the pish Scottish police have launched a major operation to stop Scotland supporters getting plastered on their way to the the World Cup qualifier against Norway at Hampden on Saturday. Frankly, they would be better off throwing their resources into a major operation to win the World Cup for Scotland [. Click to continue reading...

I'm sleepy, so let's not dillydally... #1 - The weekend Americans Abroad goal roundup won't take long this time around, but at least somebody broke the drought. For the second straight Danish Cup match, Randers FC attacker Lee Nguyen lit the lamp. Check out his opportunistic marker here. A pair of homies in Norway's second fight picked up assists: Nybergsund's Joe Lapira and Haugesund's Cameron Click to continue reading...

With The Office set to return in a couple of hours, I will try to contain my giddy excitement long enough to drop a few noteworthy blurbs... #1 - The Americans Abroad 2009-2010 European berth chase officially begins on November 9th after Troy Perkins backstopped Vålerenga to a 2-1 win over Odd Grenland on Thursday night. Click to continue reading...

According to ex-Galaxy coach and internationally known Ruud Gullit, Major League Soccer is about as good as those minor leagues in Europe.

He's say the standard is "higher than people think". So that's good.

'I'd liken it more to the leagues in Holland, Belgium and Norway.

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It seems one of the things that may have prompted MLS to consider major changes to the schedule might have been the words of ex-LA Galaxy boss, Ruud Gullit. In this interview with Britain's Daily Mail he give MLS some constructive criticism that many readers here likely agree with.

Here is an excerpt:

Courtesy of our friends at Tribal Football:

Former LA Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit says there's a lot that needs to change in MLS.

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Mamadou Niang is confident that Marseille can beat Liverpool in their UEFA Champions League opener on Tuesday.

The French club defeated the Reds at Anfield 12 months ago but were then hammered 4-0 at home in a decisive final group game.

Liverpool have started the Premier League season strongly and will hope to pick up three points at the Stade Velodrome, but Niang has warned that Marseille are also in fine form. Click to continue reading...

In what has to be considered one of the more-complicated MLS trades in recent memory, Toronto FC has acquired defender Hunter Freeman from the New York Red Bulls until the end of the next season in exchange for third- and fourth-round draft picks in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft, a move club officials announced on Friday. Click to continue reading...

That's Lindsay, of course, who along with Heather O'Reilly is part of the U.S. women's national team 'tweeners - not a veteran perhaps contemplating retirement in the near future - but not exactly a fresh face. After all, both won gold medals in 2004 already, so they've got a set going now.

Anyway, I had a recent interview with Tarp, who is one of the nicest and most articulate players around, even if she does at times pull off the politician's trick of dodging some questions by giving thoughtful answers to ones that weren't asked. Click to continue reading...

I know I'm running a bit late for a Monday, but it's been a busy few days. Now that I'm done making excuses, let's get to business... #1 - With a dramatically reduced Americans Abroad schedule, the weekend goal roundup shant take long. Cameron Weaver bagged his team-high eighth of the season in the 90th minute to earn surging Haugesund a 2-1 win over Hødd The lone assist of the weekend also Click to continue reading...

Follow the first match in Uefa World cup qualifying: Saturday 06.09.2008 at 19.00 ! Livestream and Highlights from the match at footiedb.com Do not forget to sign up on the next big football site 11×2.com:  Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today LIVESTREAM  Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today Click to continue reading...

Fast, but now a shade less than furious... #1 - Let's begin with weekend American goalscorers, shall we? Let's all say it together, now: Charlie Davies can't stop scoring! Sadly, his ninth of the season (media player link) came in a 5-1 loss to Helsingborgs. Nevertheless, CD currently sits third in the Allsvenskan goal chart, one goal and slot behind Helsingborgs star Henrik Larsson. Click to continue reading...

There is not as much news linking us with new players as we would have either hoped or expected today. Javier Saviola - loan deal may be fading but we think this could still happen We reported last night that sources in Norway claim that Newcastle are interested in Rosenborg midfielder Per Ciljan Skjelbred. Click to continue reading...

There is not as much news linking us with new players as we would have either hoped for, or expected today. Javier Saviola - loan deal may be fading but we think this could still happen We reported last night that sources in Norway claim that Newcastle are interested in Rosenborg midfielder Per Ciljan Skjelbred. Click to continue reading...

It's just another manic Monday... #1 - My weekend roundup of Americans Abroad is up here. #2 - This weekend's American goalscorers, for those in a rush at the moment: Joe Lapira of Norwegian second flighters Nybergsund hot his seventh of the season and first since June 8th to key a rally for a 2-2 draw In the same league, Alta defender Jay Needham opened his account from an early corner kick Click to continue reading...

International friendly match: Norway are meeting Ireland Wednesday August 20th. Watch the highlights and LIVESTREAM here. Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today Click to continue reading...

We've got some more quick updates and prognostications about tomorrow's USWNT match with Japan - first, from Japanese coach Norio Sasaki, who is full of confidence after Japan's run through Group G. It may prove to be a sad irony of the Olympics, however, that Japan's stellar play, particularly against Norway, may be the [. Click to continue reading...

Qualifying Teams : Group A : China Sweden Canada Group B : Brazil Germany Group C : USA Norway Japan USA 2-1 Canada ( Aug 15- Shanghai) ( Angela Hucles, Natasha Kai/ Christine Sinclair) Brazil 2-1 Norway ( Aug 15- Tianjin) ( Marta, Daniela/ Siri Nordby penalty) Sweden 0-2 Germany ( Aug 15- Shenyang) ( Kerstin Gerefrekes, Simone Laudehr) China 0-2 Japan ( Aug 15- Qinhuangdao) ( Homare Sawa, Yuki Nagasato) Click to continue reading...

The US Women had to dig deep for their win over Canada this morning.

I tuned in at around 6:30AM expecting to see the Stars and Stripes battling it out against the Big Red but instead was treated to about an hour of Brazil vs. Norway. Brazil ended up getting the best of Norway by 2-0 to advance. Click to continue reading...

Not the best outcome for Norway but it was an interesting game nonetheless. In this shot Japan's Kozue Folstad faces Lene Mykjaaland and Gunhild Folstad on August 12 in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Images courtesy of Newscom. Technorati Tags: Kozue Folstad,Lene Mykjaaland,Gunhild Folstad,beijing olympics 2008 Share This Click to continue reading...

It sounds like Lindsey Dolich likes the USWNT's chances - but is NOT taking Canada lightly (nor are we). There were major doubts that Swede Pia Sundhage would pull the strings for a team left reeling after the loss of superlative striker Abby Wambach. But, somehow, Sundhage delicately guided a vulnerable U. Click to continue reading...

Andrea Canales has put up her previews and predictions on ESPNsoccernet. And here's Marta talking about the Brazil-Norway match-up tomorrow. European women's soccer is showcased in the Sweden-Germany quarterfinal, and here's a nice piece about Pia from the FIFA site. Finally, here's a link to the bracket for the second stage of the women' [. Click to continue reading...

Steve Finnan has decided to come out of International retirement to try and help the Republic of Ireland reach the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Trapattoni persuaded the player to come out of retirement and will line up against Norway on Wednesday and could play a key role in the ... Click to continue reading...

Senegalese striker Mame Biram Diouf is being targeted by Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. Scouts have been impressed by Diouf's performances where he has scored 15 times in 34 games for his current club FC Molde in Norway. However, it is not only Arsenal who's attention the 20-year old has attracted, and The Gunners will face stiff competition [. Click to continue reading...

The quarterfinal pairings are set for the women's tournament.

Here's how I think it will all shake out.

Scott French told me before Japan pulled off their upset of Norway that the U.S. women were doomed to not even medal, because one half of the draw was so tough.

Instead, the U. Click to continue reading...