The trials of Eddie Johnson and Freddy Adu sometimes read like a Greek tragedy. Precocious young talents derailed by bad decisions, poor management and middling form. Sophocles would be all over these two. Currently stranded well outside of the US Men’s player pool, the pair are miles away from being in the conversation for a World Cup slot and only a few months to impress Nats Coach Bob Bradley.

So they’ve gone to the cradle of democracy, Greece, and club side Aris Thessaloniki, to find answers. Both came on as subs last weekend and teamed up for a goal in a 2-1 loss to something called Skoda Xanthi.

Both players, of course, were once thought to be the future of the National Team. EJ made a huge splash in qualifying for the ‘06 World Cup, scoring seven goals in six games, before injury and a severe dip in form derailed his playing time in Germany. Since, he’s gone from MLS to Fulham, which loaned him to Cardiff, and now onto Greece. Adu, the former prodigy and Nike marketing darling, joined him a week later, after a troubled loan spell at Beleneseses (which followed a year-long loan at Monaco, where Adu played sparingly) and the pair are hoping to re-start their dwindling chances to make the roster in South Africa.

The odds are against them, but maybe a trip to the Oracle at Delphi can give the players a clearer picture.

Tags: Aris Thessaloniki, Eddie Johnson, Freddy Adu

Soccer in the snow as Everton took on Arsenal at the Emirates stadium (Reuters)

English Premier League scrap all but two matches due to snow - So much for those tough souls playing in the EPL as all but two matches were postponed due to a little cold and snow. Still an important weekend as those two matches included both Manchester United and the Gooners who were looking to catch Chelsea atop the table. Both sides spit the bit when given the chance with draws for each. Arsenal were lucky to get that single point and ManU was awarded a sketchy goal.

The EPL is now defending their postponement decision - Rescheduling will be difficult around Champs League, Euro League, FA Cup, and preparations for that little tournament in South Africa in a few months.

England/Spain battle on the poker table - Soccer Football legends Teddy Sheringham (Manchester United, Tottenham, etc) and Poli Rincon (Real Madrid) faced off this week at PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas. Sheringham has shown some decent results and Rincon is just starting his new hobby. Neither legend was able to do much and both were knocked out on the first day.

“First off, let’s get this straight - we’re talking about ‘football’ here, the non-US version. For our US readers, this is a post about ’soccer’. Now that’s out of the way, here’s the point: two legends of European football are sharing the same table today, and it’s an England v Spain clash.” - PokerStarsBlog.com

Ivory Coast also hates Chelsea, Drogba overworked - Ivory Coast coach Vahid Halilhodzi is unhappy with the current workload of Chelsea beast Didier Drogba ahead of their upcoming appearance in the Africa Nations Cup. In other news, the Ivory Coast GNP is less than a cozy dinner with Roman Abramovich.

Roman Abramovich pays for his friends - Subtle segue for Mr. Abramovich who spent an Ivory Coast fortune on a little New Year’s Eve party with Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, Miranda Kerr, and Gwen Steffani.

Freddy Adu goes Greek - After some speculation, Freddy Adu finally shot down EPL bottom dwellers Hull City to sign with Greek Super League club Aris. As with all things these days, Adu made the announcment via his Twitter account.

“alright guys done deal. Signed a 18month loan deal with Aris FC. Alot of thought and research went into this. Thanks for the support.”

Togo soccer team involved in shooting - The horrible soccer news of the week. The team bus and escorts were attacked by rebels in Angola with 3 dead when everything was done. It made perfect sense when the team decided to return to their country after the incident, the shocking part is that the Confederation of African Football is considering sanctions against the team for leaving the competition. CAF is also making Ghana travel to a dangerous part of the country, dress in their kits, and have the match kicked off even though Togo is already disqualified from the tournament.

Tags: Didier Drogba, Freddy Adu, Roman Abramovich