Caught in Possession

As renowned motivational speaker/infamous charlatan (depending on your perspective) Zig Ziglar might say, tomorrow is today when it comes to the soccer on offer this week.

While most MLS clubs are counting down the days until First Kick 2009, one proud bunch of Yanks are about to dive back into CONCACAF Champions League, as the fledgling tourney resumes with Houston Dynamo and Montreal Impact representing gringo interests...have you SEEN how many tickets have sold up in Montreal? Stade Olympique might just be Canada's answer to RFK Stadium: old, decrepit, falling apart in places, former home to a certain dodgy baseball team...but irrepessibly charming nonetheless. And you can bet that it will be a challenging venue for Mexican visitors Santos Laguna.

DC United's meaningless scrimmage against UMd on Sunday will nonetheless be about as compelling and interesting as meaningless scrimmages can get. I plan to be there -- how about you?

And I haven't even mentioned the feast of Eurofooty on the telly! Highlighted by...

Arsenal vs Roma...will Mirko "The Snake" Vucinic produce more magic of this sort?

Inter Milan vs Manchester Utd...It's Zlatan vs CR, but for real this time. I'd put my money on The Special One, though.

Lyon vs Barcelona...My Barca boys, undefeated since August, had a tremendous hiccup against crosstown rivals Espanyol over the weekend, and now they have to visit France's top side. I'll be watching that one with keen interest...and jittery nerves. Let's be havin' ya, Leo.