Soccer Watch

It was a busy week for the 32 teams still alive in the European UEFA Cup tournament. Since last week's column, they've played both legs of their home-and-away series (last Thursday, this Wednesday), on top of their regular league schedule on the weekends. For the most part, the favorites came through – 12 of the final 16 are from Spain, France, Britain, or Italy. More specifically, it seems apparent that the balance of power in Europe has settled in Spain. All four Spanish teams in the competition – Valencia, Mallorca, Villarreal, and Barcelona – made it into the round of 16 comfortably, and with all four of their Champs League contenders still alive as well, La Liga remains perfect in Europe for the season. Researchers are scurrying to see when that's happened before, if ever.

Next week it's the heavyweights: European Champions League, the second leg of the round of 16, on Tue.-Wed., March 9-10. One particular highlight: Manchester United hosts Porto at Old Trafford needing a win after last week's 2-1 loss in Portugal; it's live on ESPN 2, 1:30pm Tuesday.

A new pro soccer team, the Austin Posse, scored a coup last week in signing midfielder Chad Deering, a U.S. World Cup veteran and 2001 MLS all-star, who also played in the German first division. The Posse's first season gets under way this month; more details as they become available.

At press time, the U.S. Women had crushed Costa Rica, 4-0, to earn a spot in the Summer Olympics. Check "Soccer Watch Online" for details, plus all the UEFA Cup scores and more.