World Soccer News

World soccer news: For week of December 20th

Soccer Crusaders: Crosses on shirts upset Moslems

Soccer is known for knocking down many barriers, except for those fortified in religious fanatism. One Baris Kaska, a Turkish lawyer from Izmir, filed a complaint against UEFA with the local court asking for the annullment of Inter Milan's 3-0 Champions League win over Fenerbahce on account that the "Italians wore a red cross on a white surface." For Kaska, a clear symbol of the Crusades.
"The cross reminded me of the bloody days of the past. In my opinion, the design of the shirt openly suggests the superiority of one religion," claims Kaska.

Naturally, the complaint has no chances of prospering since UEFA approved the design of Inter's reserve kit, inaugurated on the occasion of the Milan club's forthcoming centenary. Indeed, Inter had the sensitivity to ask Fenerbahce whether they would object to their using the crossed shirt at San Siro, and the Turks said no problem.

Barcelona, who sell tons of shirts in Islamic countries, have forestalled a possible customers' boycott by redisigning their coat of arms in the batches intended for Moslem markets. Instead of the city's patron saint St George's cross in the upper left corner, Barça's coat of arms on sale in Islamic states cointains an ordinary vertical red line on the white surface.
"They don't tolerate crosses, be it Barça's or another club's," said a Spaniard living in Saudi Arabia to the La Vanguardia daily.
"Barcelona's merchandise sells well, but it would not be the same if there was a red cross drawn within a white square."

John Terry six weeks out of action

Chelsea's captain and England international John Terry will spent at least six weeks on the sidelines after sustaining an injury during the London derby against Arsenal. The team doctors confirmed Terry broke three bones in his left foot.
The international defender tried to continue playing even after Eboué's rough tackle, but the pain was too strong, forcing him to abandon the pitch. Eboué apologized to Terry for the tackle before getting injured himself.
This has been yet another blow to the Blues, already without Ricardo Carvalho since the early stages of the season.
The brave skipper could return to action against Birmingham in late January and should certainly be ready for Fabio Capello's England debut against Switzerland at Wembley on February 6th.


Kaká's double triumph

The journalists who determine the winner of the Golden Ball in France Football's poll have a similar taste to that of the coaches and skippers of national teams taking part in FIFA's contest for the world's best player.
As a consequence, the same player has won the Golden Ball and the FIFA's award in the same season for the tenth time in 17 years. This year's double winner is Milan's Kaká, the fifth Brazilian to have unified the two most prestigious individual prizes in soccer.

That was not the end to Kaká's astonishing run of trophies: by winning FIFA's World Club Cup, the 25-year-old attacking midfielder has become only the second player to have won the set of soccer's most distinguished trophies. Just like Marco van Basten in 1989, Kaká has collected the Champions' League, the Supercup, the World Clup Cup and the Golden Ball. Van Basten could not win FIFA's player of the year award simply because it was not given before 1991.

Here are the ten double-winners since 1991, when FIFA started to award the prize for the top player of the year.

Golden Ball plus FIFA award

1992. Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1993. Roberto Baggio (Italy)
1995. George Weah (Liberia)
1997. Ronaldo (Brazil)
1998. Zinedine Zidane (France)
1999. Rivaldo (Brazil)
2002. Ronaldo (Brazil)
2005. Ronaldinho (Brazil)
2006. Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
2007. Kaka (Brazil)

Inzaghi like Cruyff and Rijkaard!

Filippo Pippo Inzaghi has become the third European player to have scored a goal in all three finals of club cup competitions in the same cycle.
Before Pippo, only two Dutchmen achieved that distinction.
The first was Ajax' Johan Cruyff, who scored twice against Inter in the Champions' Cup, twice against Rangers in the Supercup and once against Independiente in the Intercontinental Cup in 1972 and early 1973.
Eighteen years later, Milan's Frank Rijkaard repeated the feat in the games against Benfica, Sampdoria and Olimpia of Asunción.


Milan's third hat-trick
AC Milan has joined for the third time the select group of the elite European clubs who won the three most important international trophies in one competitive cycle.
Before winning the World Club Cup by beating Boca Juniors 4-2, Milan collected the Champions' League at the expense of Liverpool (2-1) and the European Supercup against Sevilla (3-1).
The world's most successful club picked up their first two hat-tricks in 1989 and 1990 under the guidance of Arrigo Sacchi.
This elite group includes Ajax (twice), Porto, Juventus and Real Madrid.

Hat-trick of titles

1972. Ajax
1987. Porto
1989. Milan
1990. Milan
1995. Ajax
1996. Juventus
2002. Real Madrid
2007. Milan

Wanchope says goodbye in January

Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rica's top soccer export, will bid a final farewell on January 13th against Sweden in San José.
The gigantic striker, who announced his retirement last month, will play his final game at the national Ricardo Saprissa stadium, where he debuted for the national team back in 1996.
The former Derby County, West Ham and Manchester City player scored 45 goals in 73 appearances for Costa Rica and was the country's top scorer until Rolando Fonseca recently overtook him.

European leagues' top scorers

Kruno Lovrek, the leading scorer in the Croatian 1st Division, is the highest scoring player in all of Europe with 14 hits, a goal above a group of six players with 13 goals each. This group includes Celtic's Scott McDonald and Ajax' Jan-Klas Huntelaar alongside two other players from the Croatian League – Nikola Kalinic and Radomir Djalovic.
Only two strikers from the top leagues are present among the European top scorers: the French boy wonder Karim Benzema of Lyon and Juventus' David Trezeguet, both with 12 goals.
The Spanish number one is Sevilla's Brazilian Luis Fabiano with 10 goals, while both in the Premier League and Bundesliga the leading scorers are still within single digits.
Bayern's Klose and Toni, Hamburg's Van der Vaart and Werder's Diego have finished the first part of the season with nine goals on their account, like Arsenal's Adebayor, Manchester United's Ronaldo and Everton's Aiyegbeni.


1. Kruno Lovrek (Zagreb) – 14 goals
2.-7. Nikola Kalinić (Hajduk) – 13
Radomir Đalović (Rijeka) - 13
Jan-Klas Huntelaar (Ajax) - 13
Gheorghe Bucur (Politechnica T.) – 13
Scott McDonald (Celtic) - 13
Hakan Yakin (Young Boys) - 13
8-17. Karim Benzema (Lyon) - 12
David Trezeguet (Juventus) - 12
Oleksandr Hladki (Šahtar) – 12
Peter Graulund (Arhus) – 12
Juraj Halenar (Artmedia) – 12
Sanel Jahić (Željezničar) - 12
David Bunderla (Primorje) – 12
Dario Zahora (Domžale) – 12
Marek Zienczuk (Wisla) - 12
Pawel Brozek (Wisla) - 12

Argentina bought 1978 World Cup, says a mafioso

The former Columbian mafioso Fernando Rodríguez Mondragón has revealed new details of the scandal that allegedly took place at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina and that cost the Brazilians the title.
According to the ex-narco dealer, it was the then Argentinian vice-admiral, Carlos A. Lacoste, who masterminded the bribing of the Peruvian FA so that Argentina would beat Peru by at least four goals and qualify for the finals ahead of Brazil.
"My uncle and dad were called by the players' agent Carlos Quieto asking them to mediate between the Argentinian and the Peruvian FA's, since he was the Peruvian FA's president's friend," said Mondragón to terra.es digital newspaper.
"Two days before the key game, at the meeting in Lima, the Argentinian bought the favours of four players for 50,000 USD each, and their government gave Peru some grain free of charge," continued the infamous Guillermo Rodríguez Mondragón's son, promising to reveal all the names, amounts and other details of the scandal in his forthcoming book.
Lacoste was the chairman of the World Cup organizing committee, short lived president of Argentina and long-time FIFA vice-president.
Argentina won that World Cup by beating Peru 6-0 in the crucial semifinal group game and the Netherlands 3-1 in the finals.
All players involved have always rejected claims of foul play.

Copyright Ozren Podnar/Soccerphile

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AC Milan crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions

Italian giants AC Milan have won the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup following a comprehensive 4-2 drubbing of Boca Juniors at Yokohama International Stadium.

Veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi scored twice in front of more than 68,000 fans, but Brazilian midfielder Kaka was the star of the show, setting up two goals and scoring one himself on his way to receiving the Player Of The Tournament award.

It took Milan just twenty-one minutes to open the scoring when Kaka surged into the box. His first shot was blocked, but he drove the rebound across the face of goal for veteran Inzaghi to produce a typical poacher's finish.

Boca Juniors were level less than sixty seconds later, when Claudio Morel Rodriguez curled over a cross from the left-wing that was expertly nodded home by Rodrigo Palacio.

Despite the scores being locked at 1-1 at half-time Milan were always in control, and they retook the lead five minutes after the interval when defender Alessandro Nesta profited from a fortuitous bounce to lash home a volley from close range.

Kaka then scored the goal that his stellar display deserved, before teeing up Pippo Inzaghi for his second of the match. Boca scored a late consolation through a Massimo Ambrosini own goal, but it did little to dampen the celebrations as Milan became the first European team to lift the revamped FIFA Club World Cup trophy.

The victory avenged a penalty shoot-out defeat to Boca Juniors at the 2003 Toyota Cup in Tokyo, with Kaka telling reporters that winning the Club World Cup with Milan was a "dream come true."

Milan will now look to defend their UEFA Champions League title when that competition resumes next February.

Copyright© Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com

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Boca Juniors book their place in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup

Argentine giants Boca Juniors booked their place in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, but they failed to turn on the style in their 1-0 win over Tunisian side Etoile du Sahel.

Midfielder Neri Cardozo scored the only goal before a crowd of 37,255 fans at the National Stadium in Tokyo, while midfielder Fabian Vargas was sent off for a second bookable offence with twenty-five minutes remaining.

Etoile started the match with significantly more attacking intent than in their 1-0 win over Mexican side Pachuca, with ex-Liverpool defender Gabriel Paletta looking shaky at the back for Boca.

Tunisian starlet Amine Chermiti was causing problems with his penetrating runs, but gradually Boca began to play their way into the match, and they opened the scoring after thirty-seven minutes when striker Rodrigo Palacio cut inside a defender and slid the ball to Neri Cardozo, who beat Etoile keeper Aymen Balbouli with an unstoppable left foot drive.

The second half was a tense affair and Boca's cause wasn't helped when midfielder Fabian Vargas received his marching orders from Danish referee Claus Bo Larsen. Etoile saw a golden opportunity to equalise in stoppage time go to waste when substitute Gilson Silva headed wide at the far post.

Boca will now meet the winner of tomorrow's semi-final between reigning European champions AC Milan and current Asian champions Urawa Reds, with a crowd of around 70,000 expected to descend upon Yokohama International Stadium to witness that clash.

Copyright© Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile

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