FanHouse Soccer 1

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.

In perhaps the worst kept secret of the season, Carlo Ancelotti signed on to coach English powerhouse Chelsea on Monday. Ancelotti replaces Dutchman Guus Hiddink, who ended his brief stint in West London after leading the Blues to the FA Cup over the weekend.

Ancelotti becomes the latest coach tasked to win Chelsea -- and specifically owner Roman Abramovich -- the holy grail of European soccer, the Champions League. The Italian is no stranger to winning the trophy with the big ears, winning it twice as a player at AC Milan and twice as a coach of the Rossoneri, as recently as 2007.

Florentino Perez -- the man who brought the so-called Galactico era of Zidane, Figo and Beckham to Real Madrid -- could return to his old role as club president as soon as Monday. Perez's only other candidate resigned on Friday, with the final deadline to declare a candidacy Sunday.

Already two of the world's biggest names -- Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka -- are being strongly linked for mega-money moves to the Bernabeu this summer. On Friday, Perez was coy about the long-rumored move for Ronaldo, but he didn't exactly quash the whispers either.

The biggest game of the 2009 world soccer calendar kicks off Wednesday night at Rome's Stadio Olimpico when Manchester United and FC Barcelona meet for the UEFA Champions League final. It's a true soccer lover's dream, pitting the champions of the Premier League and La Liga for club soccer's premier trophy.

Will it be Cristiano Ronaldo leading the Red Devils to their second consecutive Champions League crown? Or will it be Lionel Messi heading the Catalan giants to their second trophy in four years?

The game kicks off at 2:45 PM ET, and we'll be live-blogging shortly beforehand.