FanHouse Soccer 1

Not to be outdone by their eternal rivals Real Madrid, European champion Barcelona appears on the verge of making a major splash by adding Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a transfer from Inter Milan. What makes the move all the more spectacular is that 2008-09 La Liga second-leading goal scorer Samuel Eto'o is rumored to be going back to Milan in the exchange as well as somewhere in the range of $65 million.

As of Friday afternoon reports were varied on the progress of the deal. The Associated Press said the two sides have a deal in principle, while other outlets are reporting the two sides are still talking. The deal, it would seem, hinges on the individuals themselves, which also include former Arsenal winger Aleksandr Hleb going to Italy.

Scanning through some late night television Wednesday night, I settled on ESPNEWS. After a few minutes the bottom line scoreboard flashed Mexico 1, Panama 1 (85th). Intrigued I flipped over to Univision to watch, hopefully, Panama hold on for a draw in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see the choatic scenario that played out at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Instead of Mexico pressing for a late go-ahead goal, it was simply chaos on the field. Players from both teams swarmed around referee Joel Aguilar protesting something. Eventually Panama's Ricardo Phillips was led off the field through a phalanx of officials to protect him from flying objects.

Maybe the most under-reported aspect of the U.S. national team's run to the Confederations Cup final last month was that, given the spotlight, a couple of American players probably earned themselves some nice European paydays. Nowhere was this more evident than starting central defender Oguchi Onyewu, especially after his epic performance in the U.S.'s 2-0 win over-then FIFA No. 1 Spain in the tournament semifinals.

All of the post-Confederations Cup scuttlebutt surrounding Onyewu, who was out of contract at Belgian champ Standard Liege, were moves to lower-tier Premier League clubs and some far-flung Turkish teams. So Tuesday's announcement that the 6-foot-4 Maryland native signed with Italian giants AC Milan on a three-year contract comes as a pleasant surprise for U.S. fans since it's a far cry from a pre-Confederations Cup link to Birmingham City.

For about 85 minutes Thursday it looked like lady luck would shine her fortune upon the underdogs for the second consecutive day at the Confederations Cup semifinals. Host South Africa was giving powerhouse Brazil all it could handle, continuously stymieing the five-time world champions all across the field in Johannesburg.

Yet it all came crashing down in an instant for the determined Bafana Bafana thanks to a moment of brilliance generated off the foot of Brazil sub Dani Alves, who had only entered the match a few minutes earlier. The Barcelona back curled in a perfect free kick in the 87th minute around the South African wall to push Brazil to a 1-0 victory and a date with the United States in Sunday's final.

Wednesday night in chilly Bloemfontein, South Africa, the U.S. national team lodged one of its greatest victories in its history, beating FIFA No. 1 Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup semifinals. The win snapped Spain's 35-match unbeaten run, denying them a chance to set a new record at 36.

This win almost made me pull out the thesaurus for the proper word to describe it. Stunning? Yes. Unbelievable? Pretty close. Deserved? You bet.

ESPN studio host Rece Davis probably said it best. Monday at the Confederations Cup, we found the next (or first if you will) American soccer star.

The problem, Giuseppe Rossi played in the blue of Italy, not the U.S. white Monday in the Confederations Cup Group B opener for both teams. The New Jersey born attacker came on as a second half substitute and promptly scored a pair of cracking goals to give the Azzurri a 3-1 win in Pretoria, South Africa. The U.S. remains winless in seven all-time matches against Italy.

Waking up Thursday morning my inbox was more packed than usual. The words "Ronaldo" and "Real Madrid" featured prominently in subject lines.

Was I still dreaming? Was the other, original Ronaldo making an audacious comeback?

Rubbing the sand out of my eyes, no, it wasn't a dream. Manchester United had agreed for a world-record transfer fee of £80 million ($131M U.S.) for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, thus ending a multi-year flirtation with the Portuguese forward.

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Kaka's mega-money move from AC Milan to Real Madrid, which became official on Monday, was that the transfer fee of around £59 million ($94 million U.S.) is a little less than half of a rumored price tag Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley put on the entire club at £100 million.

Think about that for a second. Real Madrid and it's new club president Florentino Perez paid a lump sum for one player for an amount relatively close for a big club in England, albeit a club that just got relegated. If that doesn't put the insane amount of money shelled out by Madrid in check, what does?

Usually the tune around Liverpool's Anfield home ground is "You'll Never Walk Alone." Pretty soon that might change to "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" (Or it's British equivalent.)

Reports from England's Guardian newspaper recently ran down the debts of all 20 Premier League clubs. Liverpool's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett's holding company loss somewhere in the neighborhood of £42 million ($67 million U.S.) last season, despite the club turning a profit.

The U.S. men's soccer team kicks off its grueling summer schedule Wednesday night in a 2010 World Cup qualifier at Costa Rica. The match at the Saprissa Stadium pits the top two teams in the CONCACAF qualifying table against each other, with the U.S. one point ahead of Costa Rica.

U.S. coach Bob Bradley has called in all his top players and the only absences are outside defenders Frankie Hejduk and Steve Cherundolo, who are out with injuries.

For viewers in the United States the match was originally scheduled for 10 PM ET on ESPN, but has been moved to ESPN2. We'll be here live blogging ahead of the kickoff, so be sure to join us, after the jump.