If absence makes the heart grow fonder...

...then all 10 of my readers really really love me right about now. Nothing like a month spent traveling in Argentina and working long hours to put a stop to the ole blog. Sorry bout that, but now we're back. And after a month off, we've got a lot to talk about:

1. If there's a more soccer-mad country than Argentina, I haven't seen it. That place loves the futbol. Heck, they even kill over it. Nuff said. Fortunately yours truly managed to catch a River Plate game down in Mendoza. Aside from the nagging feeling that a riot could start at any time and leave you trampled to the seat-less cement bleachers, it's a helluva way to spend a Sunday afternoon. When the week before saw all visiting fans banned from games...and a game called off beacause angry fans wouldn't let the teams leave their hotels...well, you know you're not exactly attending a figure skating exhibition. Fortunately we lived to tell about it. Oh, and River won 1-0. Goal by Belluschi (remember that name - trust me).

2. Real Madrid crashed to a 2-1 loss at Sevilla over the weekend, confirming two theories: 1 - Sevilla is for real. Like top-5 in Europe for real. 2 - Real is on the right track, despite the scoreline. Capello has them playing well, Guti is healthy again, and Raul & Ronaldo are back scoring loads of goals. The funny thing is that, other than a handful of good Van Nistelrooy outings, Real's success this year has NOT been the result of any of the new players. Cannavaro, Emerson, Reyes, and even Diarra have all been disappointing. While one could've predicted the struggles of the first three (Cannavaro & Emerson, as defensive players, will always look better in a defense-oriented league like Serie A, where they won't be exposed at the back; Reyes has never really lived up to the hype), Diarra looked to be a solid signing, but he's been no better than mediocre. Look for la Liga to come down to Real, Sevilla, and Barca, who are doing one heck of a job overcoming all their injury struggles. What a deep, deep squad.

3. Just weeks after a try-out with Man Utd, Freddy Adu is off to, uh, Salt Lake. The Next Great American Hope never really delivered at DC United, but to be fair that has more to do with the coaching than with any lack of talent. He's young as heck and making a huge jump going from a high school freshman to an MLS professional. To make matters worse, Peter Nowak played him as a right wing-back in a 3-4-1-2. Not exactly where you'd expect a young, raw, small, lightning-fast striker to succeed. Here's hoping it goes better for Adu in Utah. I, for one, think it will.

4. Say what you want about Italy or Spain, but it really doesn't get any better than the Premiership. The fans, the stadia, the players, the coaches... - you just can't beat it. Watching Chelsea-ManU or Chelsea-Arsenal, it's just amazing what a great league that is. The pace of play is electric, the quality is superb, the fans never sit down or stop buzzing, the stadiums are these old-school, close-to-the-action cathedrals, and the coaches are as good as it gets. You tell me what's better in club soccer than a Saturday afternoon watching the Premiership's best go at it.

5. Count me among the legions of American fans that were shocked and disappointed at the US Federation's failure to land Jurgen Klinsmann. After months of talks, it all fell through and we were left with...(drum roll please)...Bob Bradley! Um, right. Look, I know that Bradley is an American, who knows and understands American players, who has had MLS success...but please, he didn't lead a team to the World Cup semis last summer. Nuff said. Bradley is a perfectly decent coach, but somehow I don't see how he's going to take the US team to the next level. And that's the goal, isn't it?

6. Whatever this World Club Cup Championship or whatever it's called...I don't get it. Seems like one more pointless tournament to me, one more way FIFA can make money. And hey, the only downside is that it's more unnecessary fixture in an already-overpacked world soccer schedule. But who cares about exhausting the players? I mean, sign me up for watching a jet-lagged Ronaldinho suit up in his 90th game this year to battle it out against some random Latin American team in some cavernous Japanese stadium. Blah blah blah.

7. Speaking of Ronaldinho, before his trek to the Land of the Rising Sun, he was just starting to get back to his pre-World Cup best. His goal against Villareal was...well, if you haven't seen it, find a way to watch it. It's a dandy. Best of the year so far. And he came up clutch the next week against Werder Bremen in a must-win Champions League affair. Somewhere in South Africa, Carlos Alberto Parreira is slamming his head against a brick wall...

8. Not to jinx them or anything, but this looks like the year for Inter Milan. I know, I know - they won the title last year. But hey, I don't think winning a title in a courtroom is quite the same as winning one on the pitch. This year it's all setting up nicely for them. No one plays a prettier game than Roma (more on them later), but Inter's the one building a nice, solid Serie A lead as we head into the Christmas break. Mancini has settled in on a regular line-up, Crespo and Ibrahimovic have been deadly up front, and all of a sudden, everything Nerazzurri seems to be coming up golden. Need any more proof? Well, AC Milan is stuck in a relegation battle. I rest my case.

9. Ahh yes, Roma. This might not be the ideal time to sing their praises, since they're coming off a 0-3 thrashing in the Rome derby at the hands of arch-rivals Lazio. Whatever, I can't resist. There is nothing more impressive than what clubs like Roma, Sevilla, Lyon, and Arsenal have been doing for the last decade - and that is churning out young talent year after year. And even when they lose that talent, they just bring in another wave of top-notch players. Take a look at their line-up: Mexes, Chivu, Ferrari, De Rossi, Taddei, Mancini...the list goes on. I will never understand why a struggling big club doesn't start throwing boatloads of money at Roma's scouts...and the scouts for Lyon, Sevilla, and Arsenal, too. These clubs clearly have a knack for spotting great youngsters, so why not spend some money on the scouts who can spot them rather than waiting a few years until you've got to spend millions & millions more to get the same player? Look at Arsene Wenger in north London - deprived of the services of Henry and Gallas, Wenger trotted out a line-up featuring the likes of Djourou, Fabregas, Eboue, Senderos, Hleb, Adebayor and watched as they shut down Chelski for 85 minutes, almost stealing a victory in the process. Bottom line: you can't put a price on an eye for talent.

10. Champions League draw this Friday. Should be a dandy. Almost all the big guns made it through to the next round with a pretty good split between 1st and 2nd place finishers (who get drawn against each other), so just sit back, relax, and watch as these heavyweights line up to face one another when the tourney resumes in the New Year. Just imagine what it could be like to watch Lyon-Barca, Chelsea-Real, ManU-Inter, Arsenal-Roma (you know I'd love to see that), Bayern-PSV...the list goes on and on.

11. And just because I was gone, I'll include a little bonus note. Set your TiVOs, set your VCRs (gosh, that is SO 1994), play hookie from class, leave work early...do what you got to do, but whatever you do - plant your ass in front of a TV for tonight's Boca-Estudiantes showdown for the Argentine title. When I left Buenos Aires last month, Boca had a 4-point lead with two to play and the bubbly was all set to go. Now it looks like a little too much time was spent planning celebrations instead of working on the ole game-plan. So tonight, to decide the title of a championship that has been almost ruined by violence and hooligans, Boca has to play Diego Simeone's Estudiantes (captained by Juan Veron - remember him?) for the Apertura title. Don't miss it. (Damn, it's good to be back...)