Recently in Soccer Teams - National Category

Slowly some of those long standing absences are working their way back into the Arsenal squad and not a moment too soon. The latest update has Kieran Gibbs ready and available for next week's Arsenal Champions League first leg against AC Milan if Wenger so desires. Thomas Vermaelen stuck at left back might finally get some relief and relocate to his more familiar centre back role with Laurent Koscielny.

Bakary Sagna also came back last week and it was good to see his strong, active self introduced against Bolton although against Blackburn last weekend it was Francis Coquelin doing the honours on the right channel. Carl Jenkinson should also be available next week and Abou Diaby (remember him?) is expected back by the end of the month. Andre Dos Santos is slated for a mid March comeback.

Jack Wilshere's rehab seems to be going smoothly and the midfielder is hoping he can get to see a good part of the remainder of the season. He will be a refreshing addition to the midfield with Aaron Ramsey looking burned out. Which brings us to the always vexatious question of whether like Theo Walcott before, now Wilshere, and possibly Alex Oxlade Chamberlain in the future, of injuries through overexposure stymieing their full potential.

Wenger talked about putting the brakes on the Ox's appearances capping it at 25 appearances. But with his performance against Blackburn, the teenage phenom appears to be fast tracked to the national team which could potentially overload his participation by an extra 20 games. There is another reason for bringing him on slowly and Arseblog talks a lot about potential nipped in the bud by swollen head syndrome. Think David Bentley.

With a name like Bentley, it was always going to be downhill, from the cusp of regular national appearances, to Blackburn and White Hart wasteland (that was a waste of £15 million good ones), and now on loan to West Ham and cheese with Sam Allardyce. Bentley like Tim Treadwell thought he was indestructible after one Bergkampesque goal inducing Treadwellian like delusions.

There is a reason to bring Ox on slowly, through a mentoring process, and to shut down the media hype that has them comparing him to Rooney, to Bergkamp, and to the man on the silver mountain. It is the David Bentley parable.

On the downside, Emmanuel Frimpong, whose Wolves loan has been an injury disaster is lost for the rest of the season with a torn ACL that will keep him out most likely till September. Nicklas Bendtner is out till the end of February with a repetitive facepalm injury (snark) after missing his twelfth goal opportunity for Stoke.

C'mon 'Arry break out in a smile now!

Harry Redknapp's been found to be as clean as a whistle. The three week trial which took place at Southwark crown courts came to an end as both Redknapp and his former Pompey boss, Milan Mandaric were cleared of tax evasion charges with the prosecution building their case around the Peter Crouch sale which involved two transfer amounts totaling £189,000. Redknapp and Mandaric were charged with not disclosing bonuses related to the sale which would have been subject to taxation.

The conclusion was that the money given by Mandaric was not job related and the first amount given was "seed money" to help his former manager capitalize from profitable investments. The second amount transferred to Redknapp's Monaco account reflected Mandaric's embarrassment at his friend losing money on his bad advice in the stock market.

Redknapp might rue that this case ever came to trial but at least in his case, he's been proven innocent and can now go forward with his ambitions to be England manager without a cloud over his head. In fact, it might happen sooner than later depending on whether the FA can arrest the growing rift between them and Fabio Capello over John Terry, whose racial abuse case should have gone to trial.

Fabio Capello showing what he thinks of the FA's decision to nix Terry's captaincy

The FA and Fabio Capello are increasingly at odds with each other over John Terry's captaincy. The Italian was vocal in his support of the Chelsea defender using the cover of the deferred legal case as a presumption of innocence till proven guilty. The FA increasingly under pressure for botching the whole racial abuse case from the get go sought a more moral imperative. Terry's continuation as a captain would prove divisive and distracting to the team.

The FA rode over Capello's objections and axed Terry. The England manager unsurprisingly did not take it well. He went on Italian TV and vented his frustration. Very unwisely, one might add.

"I told (the chairman) that I don't think someone can be punished until it becomes official," Capello told RAI. "The court will decide. It's going to be civil justice, not sports justice, to decide if John Terry committed that crime that he is accused of. And I thought it fair that John Terry keeps the captain's armband."

A public denouncement which did not go down well with the FA. They are in short very incensed.

"It is being taken very seriously by the FA because it may be that Fabio Capello has breached his contract," former FA executive director David Davies told the BBC on Monday. "You have to ask what his motive is. You have to suspect he wants to prevent John Terry retiring as a player before Euro 2012, but there are wider issues. You could have what some of the media are calling a morality circus while England are trying to win the second major tournament in football."

Today, Gordon Taylor, the CEO of the Professional Footballers' Association, called Capello's stance "bizarre and disappointing". Taylor also said that Capello should have held his counsel because the new captain would know he was not his manager's choice, creating a situation not conducive to locker room unity.

This is not the first ill conceived move made by Capello. His Capello index set up prior to the World Cup gave his own England players some very unflattering ratings which set off a firestorm of criticism and caused it to be yanked off forcing Capello onto the defensive. The current situation is far worse because he finds himself increasingly isolated and viewed with suspicion by many in the FA hierarchy. There is a familiar feel to these run of events just before one of the world's most prestigious competitions bringing back a reminder of why Capello's continuation was secured amongst uniform public disapproval.

It's quite telling that some of the more outspoken footballers have not come to his defense. But that would mean implicitly supporting a John Terry captaincy which one suspects is the last thing anyone wants.

A corollary to that would be if Terry would like to continue in the national team, which is possibly the reason why Capello made him captain heading off a potential retirement. Terry has not indicated he feels any differently, but a voluntary retirement would mean the FA and Capello get to save face. Otherwise, indications are Capello might have to re-consider his future as manager. The biggest thing in his favour is Harry Redknapp, the prohibitive favourite to take over as England manager could be a convicted felon by the time his court case gets over. Tomorrow, David Bernstein and Capello are set for a very important meeting to repair this breech.

Co-hosts Gabon looked like it was going to be headed to their best showing in any ACN when Eric Mouloungui shot them into the lead in the 55th minute. But Mali had other ideas as Cheick Diabate equalized in the 84th minute. At the end of extra time, with the two teams deadlocked, the fate of the match was decided on PK shootout.

The Panthers were found wanting when St Etienne's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, missed his PK as Mali proved flawless in finding the back of the net with Barca's Seydou Keita scoring the winning spot kick.

The semi-finals line up: Ivory Coast, the overwhelming favourites face off against Mali, while Ghana are pitted against the overachieving Zambians. The smart money is on an Ivory Coast vs Ghana final, which would be a repeat of the 1992 ACN final with the Taranga Lions emerging victorious after a marathon PK shootout 11-10, over the Black Stars. But this is football, upsets are part of the sport's fabric.

Captain John Mensah puts Ghana ahead through his third international goal. Saber Khelifa equalized after beating Samuel Inkoom to a lofted ball. The match headed to extra time and in the 110th minute, Abedi Pele's son, Andre Ayew scored the winner after Tunisia's goalie, Aymen Mathlouthi coughed up Inkoom's cross right into his path. The 2-1 win puts Ghana in the semi-finals pitting them against the surprising Zambians.

Ghana last won the Africa Cup of Nations in1982. Andrew Ayew's father, the legendary Abedi Pele was part of that victorious team.

Joey Barton's reaction to the FA's handling of the John Terry racial abuse case

A series of Tweets from Joey Barton on the John Terry racial abuse saga has England's Attorney General breathing hard down his neck. Barton's tweets summed up:

"This John Terry saga, has turned into one of the most hideously managed spectacles I have ever known. WTF is going on...... We all know what was said. Its there on TV for all to see. Do I think hes a racist? No. I think hes said something really stupid in the heat of battle/argument. This should of been dealt with instantly (Like Suarez or more games) and put to bed. The longer it goes on, the worse it is for the game. Racism needs to be stamped out. We all agree on that. This is now affecting England as well as those involved."

" Once the issue went out of the FA's control, it was always going to get messy. They should have dealt with it instantly. Now its a farce.."

After Barton got wind of the AG's investigation of his tweets, he said he welcomed being a martyr for free speech.

" What is the point of living, if you cannot express your opinion. Not having an opinion is not living, its surviving. "

We dismiss Barton because he really is a tiresome individual who devotes his energies to 140 word soundbytes as if they matter rather than focusing on QPR's chances of remaining promoted. But on this he is absolutely right. And it his team mate who's in the eye of the storm waiting another five months for closure. There are definitely double standards being applied here.

The FA dropped the ball in the first place by failing to investigate John Terry when they should have done the same as they did with Suarez which allowed Terry to escape similar punitive measures. When Fabio Capello announced Terry as England's captain, they kicked the can down by deferring the case till after the Euro 2012 on the convenient presumption of innocent until proven guilty. This is legalese which did not sit well in the locker room if Rio Ferdinand's furious reaction is anything to go by. The FA did some retroactive damage control by nixing Terry's captaincy but it is now in a collision course with the England manager who is unhappy with all the second guessing. More salient is Terry's form. At this point does he really deserve a spot in the English side with his dastardly displays?

Zambia cruised past Sudan, 3-0 to the semi-finals of the ACN, the first time since 1996. Sudan made things difficult for themselves after Ali Saif Eldin was sent off for his second violation when he brought down Rainford Kalaba in the 63rd minute. By that time the Chipolopolos (The Copper Miners) were already a goal up from Sunzu Stoppila.

Christopher Katonga's initial PK effort was parried by Akram but he followed up successfully with the rebound. Substitute James Chamanga sealed the victory adding a third.

Zambia's manager, Herve Renard on his team's win:

"Our target was to reach the semi final for the first time since 1996. We learnt a lot in 2010 where we were not efficient. I think we were better this time."

The Chipolopolos await the winner of the Ghana vs Tunisia match. The Ivory Coast will take on either Gabon or Mali in the other quarterfinal.

Didier Drogba could not be denied as he made up for a missed penalty by pouring in a brace. Ivory Coast added another through Yaya Toure as they send Equatorial Guinea, the co-hosts, out of the ACN. The Taranga Lions are through to the semi-finals.

Drogba will be missing today's huge showdown with Man Utd, and in his absence, Chelsea is hoping that misfiring Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge, take up the goalscoring slack.

Anton, or is that your name? Now, touch my skin. Worship it.

One should ask the FA why they did such a thorough job investigating Luis Suarez's racial abuse of Patrice Evra and then drop the ball on John Terry doing the same against Anton Ferdinand? Suarez gets an eight match ban, while Terry gets rewarded with a deferment of his trial till after the 2012 Euro is over and retains his captaincy of the Three Lions to boot. Is there any honour in being England's captain any more?

Terry's claim to captaincy has been questioned before as recently as 2010 World Cup when his locker room trysts with Wayne Bridge's girlfriend were exposed. But unsurprisingly there was a tittering quality to that dissension and an implicit quality of approval. Yes, Terry was a dog but he was a alpha dog, and capable of whipping the rest of his team mates into shape. In the end he was most notable for leading a player revolt against Fabio Capello as England sank without a trace in an embarrassing display of ineptitude. The problem with an alpha dog is that he knows no master.

This is altogether far more serious. Innocent until proven guilty does not cut it when you have national team mates who may wonder if they could be the next in line to trigger racial epithets. Especially if your partner is potentially Rio Ferdinand, whose conflict of interest in this sordid episode is immeasurable because it was his brother Anton, allegedly targeted by Terry. Not exactly the sort of affirmation needed to further togetherness in a team that needs anything and everything to compensate for the lack of quality.

Terry is a good club captain because he possesses qualities that allow hunkering down. It came as no surprise when Terry, despised as a villain almost everywhere else, was most enthusiastically embraced by the Stamford Bridge faithful. However on a national level, these polarizing qualities have created a huge bit of baggage.

One would hope that such considerations play a part because Terry as far as anyone can tell believes he is sacrosanct. There appears to be a growing sentiment that feels he needs to step down.

The more basic question might be does Terry deserve to be selected in the first place? Whether he is captain or not, he carries the same burden. Be bold, Fabio Capello, send Terry to early international retirement. There is far more at stake than simple nationalism. He is a blot to the game. Period.

Meanwhile, Ultras groups in Cairo will convene to protest the lack of security that left Al Ahly supporters at the mercy of the Al Masry hordes that descended on the pitch and drove them to stampede. Many fans met their traumatized soccer brethren at Ramses station in downtown Cairo.

"Police are the thugs" and "Down, down with the military rule" were among the chants repeated by the heartbroken young fans as they congregated by the platforms.

A fan who saw the violence unfold on the pitch Twittered the chilling details.

"Police opened the way for hordes of Masry fans to reach us... when Ahly fans tried to run away they found exits which are normally open at the end of the match were locked. The fans found themselves stuck in a corridor "6 x 10 metres in size" crushing many. "

Many of them voiced their suspicions that this was an orchestrated event.

"The police deliberately absented themselves from this match to increase the violence," says Mahmoud Hani, 21, who lost friends in the clashes. "It is clear that the fight was arranged and the security forces participated in this, to take the spotlight away from the revolution. The state needs people to be focused on something else."

Pro-democracy activists have seized this moment to demand that the newly elected Parliament which will hold an emergency meeting today withdraw support from the Kamal El-Ganzouri led government backed by the military. Their demands also include the ruling military council speed up holding Presidential elections to ensure a transition to civilian rule much before June.

Meanwhile, the draconian emergency laws implemented by the Interior Minister to tamp down ostensibly on "thuggery" are being challenged by the human rights committee of the Parliament who see this as a political tool to put away opponents behind bars. The laws seem to be narrowly focused on punitive measures and not protecting civil rights and economic justice.

The Egyptian Revolution celebrated its one year anniversary a week ago, as hundreds of thousands descended on Tahrir Square with renewed calls for the military to step down. They replaced their chants of " Mubarak must go" with " Down with military rule". The Al Ahly and Zamalek Ultras in a historical moment reached across their bitter divide and were instrumental in leading the charge in the 18 day standoff that brought the Mubarak regime. Ironically, just six months before Alla Mubarak manipulated the bloody Algeria Egypt World Cup playoff imbroglio that ended tragically in Khartoum to test the waters for a continuation of the Mubaraks in power.

The revolutionaries have also reached across borders in solidarity with the Syrian struggle for independence from the Basher Al Assad regime that has cracked down on activists with heavy handed brutality killing thousands. They are also forcing a rethink in Egyptian Israeli relations, always delicate with Egypt the only Arab country recognizing Israel, by voicing their support for a Palestinian state.

Sudan's chances in Group B resting on slim hopes were realized yesterday as they beat Burkina Faso through Mutahdir's brace and an underwhelming Angola lost to Cote D'Ivoire, 0-2. Former Arsenal full back Emmanuel Eboue gave the Ivoirians the lead and the second goal was a comedy of errors.

Sudan squeak through on goal difference to the second round even as both teams tied on points.

Novak Djokovic beat Rafal Nadal in a herculean Australian Open finals that lasted 6 hours. The same day Arsenal had to summon every fibre to overcome a two goal deficit to overcome Aston Villa and prevent a FA Cup exit.

And then there is the US Women's team that blanked Canada, 4-0, en route to winning the CONCACAF qualifiers to the London Olympics. In five matches the US poured in 38 unanswered goals. It was Armageddon. Yesterday's match saw Abby Wambach collect her 130th and 131st goal to go past Kristine Lilly and become second to Mia Hamm on the all time goalscorer list. And in Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux you see the next generation who could overtake Wambach, eventually. And we haven't gotten to the midfield that score a ton of goals. The US is also blessed by one of the best defenses and goalkeeping talent.

The depth in this women's team is stunning. The danger of course is to become so caught up in this game of inflated expectations as demonstrated in last year's World Cup finals. But one doesn't see it in the players. Each one of them shows up to play and play hard.

The evidence suggests that Gary Speed could have accidentally ended his life. Which of course makes it even more tragic. The Football Association of Wales announced his memorial match will be played against Costa Rica on Feb 29th. Speed began his international career playing that Central American country.

Fabio Cannavaro will begin his Indian journey this February

This Monday, the six franchises of the new IPL styled soccer league put down bids for the marquee players. Fabio Cannavaro, the 38 year old former Ballon D'Or defender drew the highest bid of $830,000 and was sold to Siliguri. Roberto Pires, the former Arsenal winger most recently seen at the Emirates in yesterday's FA Cup fixture against Villa went for $800,000 to Howrah.

Hernan Crespo, the former Chelsea striker touted as the player who would draw the highest bid was accepted by Barasat after receiving no bids. Jay Jay Okocha, familiar to the Premiership while at Bolton also received no bids was snapped up by Haldia, while Robbie Fowler of Liverpool and Cardiff was taken by Durgapur.

There were a number of coaches on the auction block, chief amongst them Peter Reid, the former City and Sunderland manager who was sacked by his most recent club Plymouth Argyle in League 2 after helping pay the club's heating bill and salaries of some of the staff from his own pocket. Samson Siasia, the former coach of the Super Eagles, the Nigerian national team as well as Marco Etcheverry, the Bolivian midfielder and long time staple of DC United, were part of the group.

The most eye popping figure. Barasat franchise which was listed at a base price of approximately $162,000 was bought by Uro Infra Reality India Ltd for $50 million. That is an indication of the bustling Indian economy.

Each franchise will have one icon players, one icon coach, two overseas players, and one overseas player of Asian origin. The rest of the squad will comprise of six Indians from the U21 squads, and six 'catchment' (local) players and nine to 14 top Indian players. The auction for the top Indian players begins on Thursday.

What about monikers like the Haldia Oilers, Howrah Breezers, or the Durgapur Steelers? To jazz up the names and to bolster the franchise's identity with the place.

For more details >>

Carli Lloyd scores a hat trick, Heather O' Reilly chips in with another as USA easily beat Mexico, 4-0, to secure a semi-final spot against Costa Rica in the Olympics qualifiers. This result reversed their shocking loss to Mexico in the World Cup qualifiers which forced them into a playoff match. The US poured 31 unanswered goals in three thoroughly dominating performances in this tournament.

Canada plays Mexico to decide the two berths to the 2012 Olympics from the CONCACAF region. The two matches will be played Friday.

The US dedicated the match to injured defender Ali Krieger, out with two torn knee ligaments, who will most likely miss the Olympics, should the US qualify.

Match report >>

Terrible defending by Senegal let them down. Bouna Condoul, the former NY Red Bulls goalie should have done better in the opening goal being caught out of position. Then the Zambians were able to beat the offside trap to score their second. The high powered attack led by Demba Ba, Moussa Sow, and Mamadou Niang could do little.

The second half saw Senegal close the gap as Dame N'Doye scored from close range. But it was not enough as the Chipolopolos (The Copper Bullets) pulled off a famous victory over the Taranga Lions, one of the tournament favourites.

Here are the highlights of the USA vs Dominican Republic CONCACAF Olympics match played in Vancouver, BC. Abby Wambach and Co., made mincemeat of 88th seeded Dominican Republic. Amy Rodriguez scored five, Heather O' Reilly poured in another three as the US Women scored a record 14 goals to nil.

The only sour note struck was the knee injury to Ali Krieger after she was tackled which saw her stretchered off just before half time. Pia Sundhage was preparing for the worst.

"It's probably a serious injury," U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said. "By tomorrow we'll know exactly what it is."

The USA play Guatemala next before preparing for the big showdown with Mexico on January 24th. Two teams qualify from the CONCACAF region for the 2012 London Olympics soccer tournament to be held in late summer.

Indians will see Roberto Pires in action next month

Instant cricket, the 20/20 version has found a home in India's Premier league, one of the world's most lucrative sporting brands, till corruption eroded its worth. The success of the IPL is inspiring a new soccer league in India which will see the likes of Roberto Pires, Fabio Cannavaro, Juan Pablo Sorin, and others participating in a soccer competition styled on the IPL format.

30 players and six coaches from overseas will be auctioned off in Kolkata for the month and half long tournament that begins Feb 25th and ends April 8th. There will be six teams and each team will get an "icon" player with a $600,000 salary cap counting towards a maximum of $2.5 million spending money the first year. The league initially will be confined to West Bengal, home of the most soccer crazy fans in India, but the Celebrity Management Group, the brain trust behind this project envisions an expansion to other states in due course. Accordingly, CMG has signed onto a 30 year contract with the Indian Football Association.

To encourage local talent there will be a cap of four foreign players and the rest of them will be picked up from the U21 Indian teams. This component cannot be overstated because India is one of the most dismal nations, if not the most dismal, when it comes to playing soccer with a FIFA ranking of 162. Any exposure to the sort of quality that players like Pires, Cannavaro, or Sorin provide will be good for the development of the sport.

Other players tapped for this league include a number of names in the twilight of their careers. Familiar names like Jay Jay Okocha, Hernan Crespo, Robbie Fowler, Fernando Morientes, and Maniche will get an opportunity to make some pretty easy money while entertaining Indian audiences.

Former Arsenal player and legend Pires is pretty excited about coming to India.

"I am proud to be the first Frenchman to go and play there. And eight weeks is nothing."

He maybe the first Frenchman to play there but India has a long history of French colonialism since the 17th century. Does he know the French used to have a colony near Kolkata called Chandernagore, now renamed Chandannagar? It was part of French India till the 1950s.

CMG was also behind bringing Diego Maradona to Kolkata back in 2008 which brought the city to a standstill. The Argentinian great kickstarted a project called Mission 2020 which envisions India qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. The last time India went to a World Cup was in 1954 but they withdrew because FIFA refused to accede to their demands to play barefoot. More recently, Bayern Munich came calling playing an Indian XI as part of Baichung Bhutia's testimonial which ended rather badly for the home side losing 4-0. Which gives an idea of how uphill India's climb is for World Cup qualification.

India maybe in the soccer doldrums but 60 million fans represents a huge market for clubs hoping to get new business. Bayern and Liverpool have ambitions in India which includes setting up soccer academies. Positive developments like this soccer league which actually helps India improve the quality of its soccer can only be welcome.

At this point only World Cup success eludes him. But Leo Messi has done enough to earn himself a place in the pantheon of the greats. He was awarded the trophy by O Fenomeno looking none the worse for wear for someone recently recovering from dengue fever.

Messi beat out Cristiano Ronaldo, the Liga's top scorer last season, and his Barca team mate Xavi. He joins Michel Platini as the only player to have won three consecutive Ballon D'Or awards although the Frenchman won his when only European players were eligible.

The bar is set high. By a fellow countryman. Diego Maradona is still the best. He won Napoli their first scudetto in 1986-87 almost single handedly and then won Argentina its 1986 World Cup. Maradona did not have the luxury of a stellar cast of characters who surround Messi at Barca who improve his game perceptibly. But Messi is just 24 years. There are potentially two more World Cup to go. Plenty of time to emerge as the world's best footballer.

The FiFPro XI were players chosen from just three clubs: Barca, Real Madrid, and Man Utd:

Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester Utd), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Xavi (Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd).

Flying high: A toast to RVP and hoping he continues his stellar form in 2012

Soccerblog readers, thanks for being with us. We ring in a new year full of soccer. The battle for European supremacy this summer will be the signature theme and we hope we can bring it to your doorstep in a manner of speaking. Our goal will be to work our socks of us although we have been somewhat tardy of late. Thanks for being so patient. Here is wishing you and your family a wonderful 2012.

Channel 5 is not engulfed in self congratulatory happiness at the prospect of showing Man Utd matches at the Europa Cup.

The Premiership club might lose out to the RN Caribbean Patrol which documents the travels and travails of HMS Manchester waging war against the drug smugglers in the Caribbean. Pass the dutchie on the lef' han' side, will ya?

How is it that the global game, the people's game followed by billions is ruled by a fraction of a fraction of an elite that plays by its own rules? The plutocracy have no need to be beholden. They enjoy no term limits, need no financial disclosures, and bilk billions of tax free dollars without qualm.

Given the context and the phenomenon that is Occupy which has grown far beyond its epicenter and is a now a construct for anything opposed to hegemony and untrammeled power, FIFA's edifice is as close as it comes to being on top of that list that needs immediate redress. Books and articles by activists such as Andrew Jennings have long highlighted the corruption and the money trail but here in this day and age, we have the momentum of a long simmering sense of outrage that is only now being given expression by the collective.

Occupy FIFA can be reality. Swamp the steps of FIFA in Zurich. Demand Blatter resign. Ask for term limits. Transparent financial records. An open World Cup voting process. New technology that limits errors.

This is our sport not theirs. We pay their salaries. We go to the World Cup, their flagship enterprise. We can and should remind them. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.