Top twenty by KF team

Freddy Adu

Age: 22 Club: Benfica Season Stats: none Position: Midfielder Last Game: Adu was not involved in Benfica's 1-1 Champions League Qualifying draw on Aug. 3 Next Game: Aug. 28, at Nacional Comment: Adu is listed as a Benfica player right now and has been invovled in training with the team, but could soon be on the move again.

Jozy Altidore

Age: 21 Club: AZ Season Stats: 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 game. Position: Forward Last Game: Scored in his debut for AZ in a 3-1 win after coming on as a sub. Next Game: Aug. 13, at FC Twente Comments: Came on as a sub in AZ's first match of the season and scored in his debut for the club

DaMarcus Beasley

Age: 29 Club: Puebla Season Stats: 0 goals, 0 assists, 4 games Position: Midfielder Last Game: Played 90 minutes and earned a penalty in Puebla's 2-1 loss to Jaguares Next Game: Aug. 14, at Tijuana Comments: Beasley is off to a strong start in Mexico and seems to have found a place to get regular minutes.

Alejandro Bedoya

Age: 24 Club: Orebro Season Stats: 4 goals, 2 assists, 15 games Position: Midfielder Last Game: Played the full 90 minutes in Orebro's 4-0 win over Hacken. Next Game: Aug. 14, at Djurgarden Comments: Bedoya will move to Rangers in January, but is in the middle of a fine season at Orebro at the moment.

Carlos Bocanegra

Age: 32 Club: Saint-Etienne Season Stats: 0 goal, 0 assists, 1 game. Position: Defender Last Game: Started and played 90 in Saint-Etienne's win over Bordeaux. Next Game: Aug. 13, vs. Nancy Comments: Bocanegra scored in a preseason friendly over the weekend.

Michael Bradley

Age: 23 Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach Season Stats: none Position: Midfielder Last Game: Was not a part of Mönchengladbach's win over Bayern Munich to open the season. Next Game: Aug. 13, Stuttgart Comments: Bradley is drawing interest from several clubs during the summer window and the latest rumor has him linked with Bologna, but he is clearly not in favor with his current club.

Edgar Castillo

Age: 24 Club: Club America Season Stats: 0 goals, 0 assists, 3 games Position: Defender Last Game: Played 90 minutes in America's 2-0 friendly loss loss to Barcelona. Next Game: Aug. 13 vs. Tigres Comments: Castillo continues to get regular minutes for Club America, but still is not a regular fixture in the starting lineup.

Timothy Chandler

Age: 21 Club: FC Nuremberg Season Stats: 0 goals, 1 assist, 1 game Position: Defender Last Game: Chandler started and played the full 90 minutes in Nürnberg's 1-0 win at Hertha Berlin on Aug. 6. Next Game: Aug. 13, vs. Hannover 96. Comments: Chandler had a breakout season last term and will look to continue his form in the 2011-12 season.

Steve Cherundolo

Age: 32 Club: Hannover 96 Season Stats: 0 goals, 0 assists, 1 game. Position: Defender Last Game: Did not play in Hannover's 2-1 win vs. Hoffenheim Next Game: Aug. 13 at Nurnberg Comments: Cherundolo and his Hannover side will be in Europa League action this season after a stellar finish in the Bundesliga last term.

Joe Corona

Age: 21 Club: Club Tijuana Season Stats: 2 goals, 0 assists, 3 games Position: Midfielder Last Game: Corona started and played 88 minutes in Tijuana's 3-1 win over Santos Laguna. Next Game: Aug. 14, vs. Puebla. Comment: Corona is an emerging star in the Mexican Primera for a club that just came up to the top flight.

Clint Dempsey

Age: 28 Club: Fulham Season Stats: 0 goals, 0 assists, 1 game Position: Midfielder Last Game: Dempsey played 81 minutes in Fulham's 1-0 win against RNK Split to advance in the Europa League Next Game: Aug. 13, vs. Aston Villa Comments: Dempsey continues to star for Fulham and will be looking to help Fulham back to the Europa League final this season.

Mikkel Diskerud

Age: 20 Club: Stabæk Season Stats: 3 goals, 0 assists, 20 games Position: Midfielder Last Game: Diskerud started and played the full 90 minutes is his team's 2-1 win over Fredrikstad. He scored the winning goal. Next Game: Aug. 13, at Strømsgodset Comments: Diskerud continues to be a regular starter for his club and is a consistently solid performer at the club level.

Maurice Edu

Age: 25 Club: Rangers Season Stats: 0 goals, 1 assist, 4 games Position: Midfielder Last Game: Edu went the full match and picked up an assist as Rangers were eliminated from the Champions League after a 1-1 draw at Malmo Next Game: Aug 13, at Inverness Comments: Edu continues to be a major contributor for one of Scotland's top two teams.

Brad Friedel

Age: 40 Club: Tottenham Season Stats: none Position: Goalkeeper Last Game: Next Game: Aug. 13, vs. Everton. Comments: Friedel is expected to be a regular for Tottenham as the club looks to get back into the Champions League.

Josh Gatt

Age: 19 Club: Molde Season Stats: 4 goals, 1 assist, 19 games Position: Midfielder Last Game: Gatt started and played the full 90 in 3-1 loss to Rosenborg. Next Game: Aug. 14 at Fredrikstad Comment: Gatt was back in Molde's lineup at right back, and scored his third goal of the season against Valerenga on July 30.

Herculez Gomez

Age: 29 Club: Estudiantes Tecos Season Stats: 1 goal, 0 assists, 3 games Position: Forward Last Game: Gomez started and played the full 90 minutes in Tecos' 1-0 home loss to Tigres. Next Game: Aug. 13, at Atlas. Comment: Gomez continues to be one of the USA's shining stars in Mexico.

Clarence Goodson

Age: 29 Club: Brondby Season Stats: 0 goals, 0 assists, 4 games Position: Defender Last Game: Goodson played 90 minutes and picked up a yellow card in Brondby's 2-1 loss to Odense. Next Game: Aug. 14, vs. SønderjyskE Comments: Goodson is now with arguably the biggest club in Scandinavia and has seemingly found a comfortable spot in the starting group.

Stuart Holden

Age: 25 Club: Bolton Wanderers Season Stats: none Position: Midfielder Last Game: Next Game: Aug. 13, at QPR. Comments: Holden is still recovering from the injury that ended his 2010-11 season early.

Tim Howard

Age: 32 Club: Everton Season Stats: none Position: Goalkeeper Last Game: Next Game: Aug. 13, at Tottenham Comments: Howard is set for another season in goal for Everton, where he is a fan favorite and regarded as one of the top keepers in the EPL.

Jermaine Jones

Age: 29 Club: Schalke 04 Season Stats: 0 goals, 0 assists, 2 games. Position: Midfielder Last Game: Played the full 90 minutes in Schalke's 3-0 loss at Stuttgart Next Game: Aug. 13 vs. Cologne Comments: Jones, who fell out of favor at Schalke last season and was loaned to Blackburn, is back in Germany for the time being.

Sacha Kljestan

Age: 25 Club: Anderlecht Season Stats: 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 game Position: Midfielder Last Game: Kljestan played the full match and scored a goal on a penalty kick in Anderlecht's 3-1 win vs. KV Mechelen Next Game: Aug. 14, at KSC Lokeren Comment: Kljestan showed improvement with the USA over the summer and will be looking to continue his good form throughout the season for his club team.

Eric Lichaj

Age: 22 Club: Aston Villa Season Stats: none Position: Defender Last Game: Next Game: Aug. 13, at Fulham Comments: Lichaj is unlikely to be a regular starter for Villa, but could see increased minutes with the first team over last year, or could once again be loaned out to find regular starts.

Oguchi Onyewu

Age: 29 Club: Sporting CP Season Stats: none Position: Defender Last Game: Next Game: Aug. 14, vs. Olhanense Comments: Onyewu has shown well in the preseason for his new club and looks close to being back to his pre-injury best.

Jose Torres

Age: 23 Club: Pachuca Season Stats: 0 goals, 0 assists, 3 games Position: Midfielder Last Game: Did not dress as Pachuca lost 2-1 to Queretaro. Next Game: Aug. 13, vs. Toluca Comments: Torres is still a regular for Pachuca and shows the potential to be a star in Mexico's top flight in the near future.

Zak Whitbread

Age: 27 Club: Norwich City Season Stats: none Position: Defender Last Game: Next Game: Aug. 13, at Wigan Comments: Whitbread helped his club reach the top flight and now faces a tough season in one of the best leagues in the world.

Daniel Williams

Age: 22 Club: SC Freiburg Season Stats: none Position: Defender Last Game: Williams was not part of Freiburg's 2-2 draw at FC Augsburg Next Game: Aug. 13, vs. Mainz Comments: Williams is another German-born defender/defensive midfielder who is starting to make a name for himself in the Bundesliga and should become a solid contributor this season.

Americans Abroad 2011-12

Check in on the top U.S. players in leagues around the world with running coverage of Americans abroad.

En Route: Change is slow, but immediate improvements can be made

Claudio Reyna and Jurgen Klinsmann’s partnership may have fans excited, but do not expect the results to be visible in the near future

However, the introduction of new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann provides the opportunity to begin laying the groundwork for what both Reyna and the former German international envision as the key component of the future for the national team – a clear playing style.

Over the course of Bob Bradley’s reign as head coach, the former Princeton University man struggled with a style that would benefit the player pool. He, for the most part, failed to develop an identity for the national program.

In the conversation with Reyna, the former captain of the U.S. national team highlighted other nations such as Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands for having a clear idea of how they were going to play. The identity that was established with those full national teams trickled down to the youth level and helped with various aspects of development.

When asked about establishing the identity of the national team during his introduction as the new head coach, Klinsmann emphasized the role of culture in building a playing style and how it should reflect the people.

“There comes a lot of ingredients into the pot for that – it’s the culture here, the diversified culture, and it’s the way people look at soccer, the way people have their own lifestyles,” the new coach said at his first press conference. “Obviously, it’s also based on the player material that you have at the end of the day.”

The player material or the pieces that Klinsmann has to work with are the long-term improvements for the federation and why Reyna has been so close to the new coach in his first few days.

“There’s no immediate answer to all of that, because I think that there’s a lot of people out there that know that even better than I do,” Klinsmann remarked when asked about the future path of developing players. Reyna, albeit only entering his second year in working with the youth structure, will bring Klinsmann up to speed on where the youth program needs improvements.

And there is obvious room for growth, the scouts and technical directors from the Development Academy, U.S. Soccer’s elite youth club league, are moving forward with a plan to publicly publish grades this fall, no club will receive a top mark and only a few will be in discussion of getting there in a few years.

The grading system is the first step in moving beyond a win-only recognition system and towards a scheme that rewards clubs for producing talent for the national team level.

Reyna also wants more of the elite youth clubs to buy into his idea of how the teams can develop young players through the curriculum that was published by U.S. Soccer earlier this year. The hope for the former U.S. international is that now there is a path for other teams to follow based off the playing style of the full national team.

“The kids are the ones who suffer when there is no clear vision or direction,” he said. “You have to build a vision or else it is like driving with no lights on.”

The question now that both Klinsmann and Reyna have turned their focus to turning on those lights, and developing a defined U.S. style of play, is how quickly will anyone follow?

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce criticises 'meaningless' friendlies

The Black Cats boss hits out against a preseason schedule that has seven of his players called up to international duty, with some players away just days before the new season

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has branded the scheduling of this week's international friendlies as meaningless and ridiculous.

Several Premier League players have been called up just days before the season kicks off, while the England friendly against the Netherlands on Wednesday has seen several players back out with niggling injuries.

"We've got seven away in meaningless friendlies, it's a bit ridiculous," the manager of the Wearside team told BBC Newcastle. "I can't understand friendly internationals days before the start. Knowing our luck in games over the last year, plans may be laid to rest. I've never been a fan [of preseason], I always despised it as a player."

So far, the Black Cats have escaped any major pre-season injury setbacks and will be hopeful they can improve on their tenth place finish last year as they start their campaign against Liverpool on Saturday.

"Apart from John O'Shea, who is touch and go for next week, everyone's come through it," Bruce confirmed. "We had some big players needing a preseason, [Michael] Turner, [Titus] Bramble, [Kieran] Richardson and [Lee] Cattermole who all came through it, and David Meyler joined in as well the last week which is excellent after all the problems we had last year."

Top 20 transfers of summer 2011

Our selection of the best deals conducted during the current transfer window continues with three additions to our list this week, as clubs in Europe look to bolster their squads.

Each European transfer window, Goal.com decides on the best acquisitions, in order from 1 to 20, and we encourage you to let us know your thoughts.

We judge based on:

• The player's overall ability (this being the most important factor)
• How the player will fit into his new lineup
• How the player will adapt to his new surroundings, and vice-versa
• The transfer fee payable, if any, and any other financial details known. (Transfer fees unconfirmed by either club or otherwise unknown are given as approximations and are marked in italics.)

For the reason that players arriving on permanent deals tend to be more adaptable and often more important, there is preference given to full transfers over loans. That is not to say that loans, co-ownerships, etc., cannot be included, but players must be extra special to justify a space on such a move.

With all of that explained, here is the first installment of this summer's list - which will be updated every Monday. Expect to see lots of changes from now until the close of the window, with big moves still to happen on the continent.

Jaw-Dropping One-Kick KO

First he saw his life flash before his eyes, then five toes.

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super slow motion skateboarding fail

This collection of skateboarding fails was recorded with a high speed camera, allowing the video to be slowed down so that you can see the very moment the skater wonders whether he crapped his pants from the impact.