TV: Fox Soccer Channel (US)
SBN OPPONENT BLOG: Sounder at Heart
SCORECENTRE: Sky Sports
WEATHER: Seattle, Washington

It's not Manchester United, but I'll be around today watching some UEFA Champions League football, so I figured I'd throw up a live thread. Feel free to drop by and leave comments if you're watching either one of the two matches. I'll be watching Arsenal v Barcelona first, and then AS Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk on DVR afterward.

If you need an account,click here and you'll be good to go.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Wojciech Szczesny, Laurent Koscielny, Johan Djourou, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Eboue, Jack Wilshere, Alex Song, Samir Nasri, Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas

Barcelona (4-3-3): Victor Valdes, Eric Abidal, Gerard Pique, Maxwell, Dani Alves, Sergio Busquests, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Lionel Messi, Pedro

AS Roma (4-3-1-2): Doni, Nicolas Burdisso, Philippe Mexes, John Arne Riise, Marco Cassetti, Daniele De Rossi, Jeremy Menez, Simone Perrotta, Rodrigo Taddei, Francesco Totti, Mirko Vucinic

Shaktar Donetsk (4-2-3-1): Andriy Pyatov, Dmytro Chigrynskiy, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Razvan Dinca Rat, Darijo Srna, Henrik Mkhitaryan, Tomas Hubschman, Willian, Douglas Costa, Luiz Adriano, Jadson

FIFA 11 Game Simulation | Arsenal vs Barcelona (via EAsportsfootball)

Today is a day of International friendlies. A number of Manchester United players may or may not be playing today. Many see today as a nuisance to football clubs, but there's nothing that can be done about that today. We might as well enjoy some international football. Access to the matches are probably a bit dependent on where you are in the world, but for American viewers, here's a list of games that are likely accessible to most (all times are GMT):

* 19:15 - Denmark vs England (ESPN3.com)

* 19:30 - Netherlands vs Austria (ESPN3.com)

* 19:45 - France vs Brazil (ESPN2/ESPN3.com/ESPN deportes)

* 19:45 - Germany vs Italy (ESPN3.com)

* 19:45 - Northern Ireland vs Scotland (ESPN3.com)

* 19:55 - Argentina vs Portugal (GOLTV)

* 20:30 - Spain vs Columbia (ESPN3.com)

* 1:00 (tommorrow GMT, 8PM EST) - Mexico vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (Telefutura)

Will you be watching any International matches today? If so, which ones? Feel free to share any thoughts or opinions below. I'll try to watch Denmark vs England and France vs Brazil. 

Today we look at Jesper Olsen as our player of the day. Olsen played for United in the mid 1980s after joining the club from Ajax. The Dane was a key part of United's 1985 FA Cup victory but never quite lived up to his talent while at United. He was forced to retire due to injury but is now helping to manage an A-League team in Australia. He had a recent health scare as well so it is nice to be able to bring you Jesper Olsen as the Player of the Day on this open thread knowing that he is now in good health once again. There are several great articles on the web about Olsen including this one that I found interesting. He wasn't an all time great and never really made a mark in England but he was one of the first foreign imports to grace the Old Trafford turf and make a mark for United.

Question. If you have the ability to play for United but could only play one match in the first team, and you had to pick the match before the season started, which match would you pick?

Gary Pallister cost 2.9 million pounds from Middlesbrough in 1989 and went on to make 317 appearances for United. Most of those games he played alongside Steve Bruce to form the Dolly and Daisy partnership. At the time his transfer fee was the highest between two English clubs and he turned out to be well worth the money. Pally won 4 league titles, 3 FA Cups, a League Cup, and a Cup Winners Cup.

He was unlucky that he left the club just before the team won the treble. His departure expedited in part by the arrival of Jip Jaap Stam the big Dutch man. I never understood it but despite being one of the top defenders in the country he only won 22 England caps. But Gary Pallister was a United player and legend through and through.

Pally is today's player of the day.

In his honor what is you favorite nickname for an athlete in any sport?