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News
Surprise: Henry to Red Bulls
Not a surprise at all of course, but today being the first day MLS teams can act on the designated player rule, they’ve announced the acquisition of monsieur Henry this morning and stated that he’ll play in the friendly against Spurs on July 22nd. No need for too much rest since he didn’t see the field in the World Cup (I don’t remember him coming on, am I wrong here?) and he tended to ride the pine for Barca last season.
Still, Red Bulls are getting a quality striker with a few good years left in him, a fantastic touch and a mind for goal. I just like this guy, even though his ridiculously unsubtle handball during qualifying kept the much more worthy Irish out of the World Cup.
Easy with the promises there buddy, there are a lot of hungry young players who will be looking to make a name for themselves by beating the hell out of you:
“This marks an exciting new chapter in my career and life. It is an honor to play for the New York Red Bulls. I am fully aware of the team’s history and my sole goal during my time here is to help win the club its first championship. Knowing Red Bull’s significant commitment to soccer locally and internationally, I am confident that my teammates and I will succeed.”
News
Golden Ball, Boot, Glove
Anyone who watched Diego Forlan play throughout this tournament has to be happy that he’s taking home the Golden Ball for overall best player. He was a major reason why Uruguay went so deep in the Cup, and is really just a pleasure to watch.
You could count his poor plays on only one hand, and that’s every game combined. His team just needed to send a ball anywhere near him, and even though he was always marked, and would be very quickly double-teamed, he would hold the ball long enough for his side to move into attack. And he almost always made the right decision when running forward with the ball, whether to shoot or distribute to the most dangerous and well-placed runner. I’m watching more Atletico Madrid this season.
News
Quarterfinalists News Roundup: Elano, van Persie, Forlan

As we eagerly await the resumption of play with tomorrow’s two quarterfinal matches (Brazil vs. Holland in the early game, Uruguay vs Ghana in the late game), here are a few links with the some news on each side:
Brazil’s Elano will miss tomorrow’s game due to an ankle injury–and may be done for the tournament;
Robin van Persie’s petulance causes yet more rumblings of strife within the Dutch camp;
Off the Post blog posts a handful of clips from Diego Forlan’s WC video diary;
and from GhanaWeb.com, “Top Five Records Ghana Will Set If They Beat Uruguay.”