U.S. Soccer has opened the voting for its Best of 2010 US Soccer awards. Among the categories is best soccer blog. You can vote for the Philly Soccer Page here. (Registration is not required to nominate PSP.) Voting ends Friday, November 19.

Sebastien Le Toux, Danny Mwanga and Shea Salinas are all up for MLS Goal of the Year. You can cast your vote here. Voting ends at 11:59 pm ET on Thursday, November 11.

Union

The Union website has a video collection of the top ten goals of the season. I’m sure it’s awesome but my work computer won’t run Silverlight.

A week and a half ago, The Brotherly Game had an exclusive: Cristian Arrieta was at odds with Peter Nowak and wanted out of the Union. The report said that, from Nowak’s point of view, the feeling was mutual. TBG is now reporting that Arrieta denies that he wants to leave, although he does so with qualification: “I liked my time here. I liked Peter. If they don’t want me back, I understand because that’s soccer, you know?” What’s the real deal? Who knows. But I’ll tell you what I think about Arrieta’s future at the Union: “Sheanon Williams.”

Local

Penn’s Kerry Scalora has been named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year for women’s soccer. Four of her teammates were also recognized. Penn face Penn State next Friday in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship.

The Penn men’s team face Harvard at Rhodes field on Saturday at 5pm. If Princeton loses against Yale and Penn wins, Penn will gain a share of the Ivy League title. Penn lost 2–1 to Princeton last weekend.

MLS

Thierry Henry says the Energy Drinks need rest and time together to gel as a team to succeed, not another designated player. Me and 18,500 of my friends will let him know what we think the Energy Drinks need the next time they play in Philly. If he bothers to show up.

FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman has been named Coach of the Year.

Jürgen Klinsmann has been unveiled to the Toronto media. He outlined his vision and role as a consultant.

The owner of the San Jose Earthquakes says the team should have a new stadium no later than 2013.

NASL

The NASL bid to represent Second Division soccer in the US includes the following eight teams: Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, FC Edmonton, FC Tampa Bay, Montreal Impact, Miami FC Blues, NSC Minnesota Stars and the Puerto Rico Islanders. More info (and questions about the bid) here.

US

For a long time, it seemed that the US bid to host the 2022 World Cup was pretty much a sure thing. Now, Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Qatar bid to host the 2022 World Cup is gaining momentum with one source saying “they are starting to look like favorites.” Qatar is being currently being investigated by FIFA for allegations of collusion. The report says “that it is widely expected that Qatar will escape any sanction when the FIFA Ethics Committee reveals the findings of its investigation on Nov. 17.”

The roster for the US team in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup includes a number of new faces. Here’s a roundup of info about them with more on Teal Bunbury, Mikkel Diskerud, Tim Ream and Juan Agudelo. MLSSoccer.com thinks the roster selection is spot on.

Ahead of the upcoming friendly with South Africa, US Soccer is donating R135,000, or a little under $20,000, toward a new field for Irene Middle School. Irene is the town where the US had its base camp during the World Cup.

The Glasgow Rangers website reports that Maurice Edu’s “injury is not serious.” Edu will undergo a precautionary scan of his knee and miss Saturday’s match against Aberdeen.

Grant Wahl’s pick for the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year is the 2010 US Soccer retirement class, which includes legends such as Brian McBride and Brandi Chastain.

Elsewhere

FIFA head Sepp Blatter has called for an emergency meeting of the FIFA Executive Commtitee scheduled for two days after the Ethics committee announces its findings of the recent separate allegations of bribery and collusion. The agenda of the meeting is not yet known.

Serie A players have agreed to go on strike if the dispute over players’ rights is not resolved by November 30.

Allen Iverson recently signed with Turkish club Besiktas, the basketball arm of the professional athletic club most of the world knows for its soccer team. When Iverson appeared at a recent match for the soccer team, the crowd of 30k+ loudly cheered him and chanted his name. Bully for him!

Footy on the Telly™

Friday, November 12
2:30pm: Preston North End v Hull 2:30 p.m. Fox Soccer Plus
Saturday, November 13
7:30pm: Aston Villa v Manchester United (ESPN2)
10am: Manchester City v Birmingham (FSC)
10am: Tottenham v Blackburn (FSP)
12pm: Fiorentina v Cesena (FSP)
12:30pm: Stoke v Liverpool (FSC)
2pm: Atletico Madrid v Osasuna (GolTV)
2pm: Reading v Norwich (FSP)
2:30pm: Juventus v Roma (FSC)
4pm: West Ham v Blackpool (FSP)
4:30pm: Corinthians v Cruzeiro (GolTV)
5pm: Newcastle v Fulham (FSC)
6pm: Wigan v West Brom (FSP)
6:30pm Santa Fe v Huila (GolTV)
9:30pm: Colorado Rapids v San Jose Earthquakes (FSC)
Sunday, November 14
6:30pm: Lazio v Napoli (FSP)
9am: Everton v Arsenal (FSP)
9am: Palermo v Catania (FSC)
11am: Chelsea v Sunderland (FSC)
11am: Zaragoza v Sevilla (GolTV)
11am: Millwall v Sheffield United (FSP)
1pm: Gijon v Real Madrid (GolTV)
2:30pm: Inter Milan v AC Milan (FSC)
3pm: Lyon v Nice (FSP)
3pm: Nacional v Penarol (GolTV)
5pm: Lazio v Napoli (FSP)
5pm: Fluminense v Goias (GolTV Premiere)
9pm: Los Angeles Galaxy v FC Dallas (ESPN2)

Cover photo by Daniel Gajdamowicz