Mourinho Out at Chelsea

Jose Mourinho, the self-proclaimed "Special One," has left Chelsea, apparently by mutual consent. Speculation about his departure had been rampant for months, but the move is still a bit of a shock, even when taking into account Chelsea's recent run of poor results. Despite the talk of "mutual consent" and Mourinho's huge payoff, TWG thinks Mourinho was simply fed up with all the outside meddling in the day-to-day affairs of his squad and decided enough was enough, he was leaving on his own terms before he was forced out. Regardless of what you thought about Mourinho, he knew how to get results and his coaching record speaks for itself. He'll have no shortage of offers for his services (Lions FC, losers of its past two games, may be in the market for a new manager). What effects will this have on Chelsea and its high-priced squad? Their first match without Mourinho is against Manchester United on Sunday, and the management team of Avram Grant and Steve Clarke have their work cut out for them....

Weekend Action

Interesting match between the US and Brazil. The US took an early lead only for Brazil to equalize on an unfortunate own goal from Oguchi Onyewu. Brazil's counterattack leading up to the goal was pure class, especially the final pass from Ronaldinho to Kaka. Tim Howard made a good save, but the rebound bounced off Onyewu and into the goal. It was a tough match for the 'Gooch, as he was also beaten by Lucio for Brazil's second goal. Clint Dempsey scored the second goal for the US after nice build-up play and a great pass from Steve Cherundolo, before Ronaldinho and Elano finished off the scoring for Brazil. The US can take many positives from the match, but the most positive thing for them would be to get back to their winning ways from the first part of 2007, before the streak of 5 straight losses began.

Virginia Tech won their annual tournament with big victories over Clemson and St. John's. The win over Clemson was also their first ACC match, and they now sit in first place in the league. While it is early, it's always important to get off to a positive start. Next up for the Hokies is a friday night match at Tulsa, which will be televised live by Fox Soccer Channel. Kickoff is 8pm.

Lions FC opened up the CVSA season with a dominating 5-2 victory over the Fan Rats. There were strong performances all over the field for the Lions, with the returning players not missing a beat and the several new recruits fitting in nicely. Things won't get any easier for the squad though, as a matchup with archrivals X-Rams looms next Sunday. Kickoff is set for 9am at Bryan Park.