ESPN's latest listings for MatchDay 2 (Eastern Time Zone):

Tuesday 9/26/06 -       2:30 PM ESPN2:  Benfica v Manchester United
                                  5:00 PM Classic:   Real Madrid v Dynamo Kiev

Wednesday 9/27/06 -   2:30 PM ESPN2:  Levski Sofia v Chelsea
                                   5:00 PM Classic:  Werder Bremen v Barcelona

Friday 9/29/06 -           2:00 PM ESPN2:  UCL Highlights Show

-  Bill

I mentioned on episode 2 that Rui Costa was one of the only players on Benfica whose name I recognized. Well, it turns out he missed the Portuguese side's first Champions League match against FC Copenhaven due to a thigh injury, and will also miss Tuesday's home clash with Manchester United.

Speaking of thigh injuries, the same ailment will keep Roma's Brazilian winger Mancini and AC Milan defender and captain Paolo Maldini out of action this week. Lastly on the injury front, Real Madrid suffered a harsh blow over the weekend (in domestic play) when their young Brazilian defender Cicinho went down with an ACL tear. He is expected to be out for 6 months.

Finally, Inter Milan's Patrick Vieira, Hamburg's Sascha Kirschstein (their keeper), and Valencia's Joaquin Sanchez will not see playing time on Matchday 2 because of suspension.

--Scott

In this episode, Scott and Bill review Matchday 1. What was Benitez thinking in benching the majority of his first-team players, especially captain Steven Gerrard? Real Madrid get steamrolled by surging Lyon. And a thriller at the Theater of Dreams between Manchester United and Celtic.

We also preview Matchday 2, including Man U looking to get some revenge from Benfica, and a marquis matchup between high-flying Valencia and AS Roma.

Any questions, comments, or suggestions for the show? E-mail them to scpodcast@gmail.com.

I saw a story today that Sven-Goran Eriksson is in the running to succeed Bruce Arena as US national team head coach.

Yeesh. I think it would be a huge mistake for the US to hire Eriksson. Though it's far from definite according to the report, largely due to the US's ability or desire to meet his asking price. His flameout in England, and the antics that dominated his tenure, are enough to make him a poor choice. Although, since there is about 1000 times more intensive coverage of soccer in England than the US, those same antics could go on if he's the US coach and we'd probably never hear of it, but that's besides the point...

As I've told Bill numerous times, the US needs a coach with two main attributes: 1) foreign coaching experience at a high level, so they know what it takes to succeed at the World Cup; and 2) an understanding (or at the least, working knowledge) of the US soccer system/environment.

Arena had #2, but not #1. Erikkson has #1, but not #2.

The person that first comes to mind who has a good combination of the two is Jurgen Klinsmann, who has also been linked with the position. He lives in California after all, and for my money would be a vastly superior choice to Eriksson.

--Scott

ESPN2 is starting a UEFA Champions League Highlights Show, premiering today (right now, actually!) from 2-3 pm eastern time. Not sure the schedule in the future, but my understanding is that it will be broadcast every Friday of a week with Champions League matches. Glad to see ESPN increasing their Euro soccer coverage. Now let's just hope they stay with it...

Here's the web site for the movie itself (which I could not find through Google for some reason):

http://onceinalifetime-movie.com/

And it will be broadcast NEXT WEEK on ESPN2: Wed. Sept. 20 at 9:00 pm eastern.

Thanks to listener ScottyJ for the detail!

...referenced in Episode 1 is:

Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos.

It might still be playing in some theaters, and is supposedly going to be shown on ESPN in October.

Welcome to Soccer Champions, a podcast covering the UEFA Champions League and other European soccer competitions from across the pond!

In this premiere episode, meet your hosts, Scott and Bill, and find out how 2 American guys came to follow Euro soccer.

Also, we review all 8 Champions League groups, and preview Matchday 1 encounters.

Please e-mail us with questions, comments, or suggestions at scpodcast@gmail.com.