Soccer Capsules: Messi's "ridiculous" form
Comments 0BARCELONA, Spain — Thierry Henry summed up Lionel Messi's recent form with one simple word: ridiculous.
Messi scored two goals and set up another as Barcelona rolled over Stuttgart 4-0 on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.
The Argentina forward has notched 31 goals in all competitions to continue the playing form that carried him to the FIFA Player of the Year award in 2009. His masterful performance makes Barcelona favorites to retain Europe's top trophy.
"It is kind of ridiculous what he's doing. He's amazing," Barcelona striker Henry said. "I don't know if you can say he's playing better — he's playing. He's maintaining what he was doing, he's playing at a level where nobody from Barcelona wants him to stop."
Wayne Rooney's recent play for Manchester United — the England striker has scored 32 goals — threatened to dislodge Messi from the perch as the world's best player. But the 22-year-old Messi just seems to be getting better and better.
"I think there is no doubting Messi is the best player in the world," Stuttgart coach Christian Gross said. "His ability is incredible when you consider his age. I think it's fair to compare him to (Diego) Maradona."
"The flea" — Messi's nickname — has carried Barcelona of late.
He had scored the club's last seven goals, including a hat-trick Sunday against Valencia, before Pedro Rodriguez netted in the 22nd minute Wednesday at the Camp Nou.
That win at Valencia kept the defending Spanish champions level for the league lead with Real Madrid, who are out of the Champions League and in danger of seeing Messi guide their arch rival into the final at Madrid's own Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said Messi's status as a game-changer was growing and he could already be considered among the greats, especially in high pressure situations.
"Last year we won six titles. He was very decisive in those," Guardiola said. "Every great has a tendency to influence his team, like (Michael) Jordan with the (Chicago) Bulls. He's the best. We wouldn't trade him for anybody."
Messi scored in Barcelona's Champions League final win over Manchester United last season and scored the extra-time goal that secured the Club World Cup over Argentina's Estudiantes.
Messi looked close to scoring a second straight hat-trick against Stuttgart but was thwarted by some late stops by goalkeeper Jens Lehman.
Gross played two defensive midfielders in a bid to hold Messi back, but that meant little in the 13th minute when Messi burst toward the area, suddenly firing a rising shot past three Stuttgart players and into the top corner of the goal beyond the outstretched Lehman.
On the hour mark, Messi spun quickly to send a low shot that rolled under Lehmann's hand.
"We started the game well but we couldn't stop Messi in the decisive moments," Gross said.
Barcelona, Man Utd head Champs League last-8 draw
GENEVA — Champions League titleholder Barcelona and last year's runner-up Manchester United carry the tag of favorites into the quarterfinals draw on Friday.
No surprise there, as the Spanish and English champions have star strikers Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney playing at the peak of their goal-scoring form.
Less likely was that six nations would be represented in the last eight of a competition dominated by Europe's two powerhouse leagues in recent seasons. Spain and England had six teams in the quarterfinals a year ago and supplied all four semifinalists for the past two editions.
CSKA Moscow is the first Russian team at this stage since 1996, while Bordeaux and Lyon are the first French quarterfinalists for four years.
Inter Milan, seeking its first European title since 1965, is the only Italian representative, and four-time winner Bayern Munich flies the flag for Germany.
Arsenal joins Man United in a two-strong challenge from England — the Premier League's smallest showing since 2006.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said he had no preferred opponent in Friday's draw, which is unrestricted by seeding or nationality.
"They're all strong teams, the draw is extremely strong. We'll have to do things very well to reach the semifinals," Guardiola said after his team's easy 4-0 win on Wednesday over Germany's Stuttgart, to advance 5-1 on aggregate.
World player of the year Messi continued his inspired recent run in scoring twice. The Argentina international has 31 goals in all competitions this season.
Rooney has gone one better with 32, including a pair in United's 4-0 demolition of 2007 champion AC Milan last week.
Barcelona forward Thierry Henry knows Rooney well from his long spell playing in England, but would have no problem going to Old Trafford.
"The only team I don't want to play is Arsenal," said Henry, who led his former team to the 2006 final where it lost 2-1 to Barcelona.
Bayern captain Mark van Bommel especially wants to avoid the Nou Camp after a humiliating first-leg defeat there in last season's quarterfinals.
"Just not against Barcelona," said Van Bommel, remembering how the tie was effectively ended by four first-half goals, including two from Messi.
Confidence is growing at Bayern after two leading contenders were knocked out this week.
"With Chelsea and Real Madrid, two top clubs have been eliminated and that makes it more possible for us," forward Mario Gomez wrote in a column for Kicker magazine.
Chelsea had reached three straight semifinals but was beaten in Milan and London by an Inter team masterminded by former coach Jose Mourinho, who made his first return to Stamford Bridge.
Real's 2-1 aggregate loss to Lyon was its sixth straight failure at the last-16 stage, and was especially painful after a €250 million ($344 million) offseason spending spree on players designed to take the club to the May 22 final in its own Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Real great Emilio Butragueno, as ambassador for the final, will help perform the draw at the Nyon headquarters of tournament organizer UEFA.
The quarterfinals first-leg matches are scheduled for March 30-31 and the return matches for April 6-7.
The semifinals bracket also will be drawn, with matches on April 20-21 and 27-28.
-- Graham Dunbar
League News
Champions League blow could spur Chelsea in league
LONDON — Knocked out of the Champions League and told the team is too old, Chelsea has the chance to answer its critics by returning to the top of the Premier League.
With leader Manchester United facing a tricky home game against Liverpool on Sunday, Chelsea aims to hit back from Tuesday's European loss at home to Inter Milan by winning at Blackburn. Then it plays its game in hand at last-place Portsmouth next Wednesday and that should be enough to send Carlo Ancelotti's team to the top of the standings.
Third-place Arsenal should also stay in contention by beating lowly West Ham at home on Saturday. But Man United and Arsenal could become distracted by their attempts to win the Champions League and, although Chelsea is still alive in the FA Cup, the league remains the Blues' main priority.
"We are disappointed but we have to come back stronger," said striker Didier Drogba, who has scored 27 goals this season, 21 in the league.
"The league is going to be a big battle, we have one game more to play (than our title rivals) and we have to go to (last-place) Portsmouth. So, we have to go there and do everything we can to be top of the league again."
Chelsea has not won the league title since 2006 under Jose Mourinho and he returned to Stamford Bridge in charge of Inter on Tuesday to send his former team out of the Champions League with a 1-0 victory and 3-1 overall triumph.
The losses prompted suggestions in the media and from former Chelsea players that the current squad needed new, younger players rather than established stars in their late 20s and early 30s. Yet for most of the season, Ancelotti's men have been the bookmakers' favorites to recapture the Premier League title and now are neck and neck with Man United with Arsenal a close third.
Ancelotti has the option of making sweeping changes to his regular lineup or relying on them to bounce back and strengthen their title chances with a winning streak starting with back-to-back wins over Blackburn and Portsmouth, teams they should beat easily.
Man United cruised into the last eight of the Champions League with an impressive 4-0 victory over AC Milan with Wayne Rooney adding two more goals, taking his total for the season to 32 in all competitions.
But Liverpool won 4-1 on its last league visit to Old Trafford last season having also won their meeting at Anfield earlier, and also beat United 2-0 this term.
Man United and Liverpool have had a strong title rivalry for decades and the teams are level on 18 league titles. Since Liverpool's last in 1990, however, United has won the Premier League 11 times and is 15 points ahead of Rafa Benitez's fifth-place team.
Arsenal should be too strong at home for West Ham even thought Arsene Wenger's team needed an injury-time winner from the erratic Nicklas Bendtner to beat relegation-haunted Hull 2-1 on Sunday.
Like Chelsea, Arsenal has two points to make up on Man United and can't afford to drop points at home to its London rival, which is only three points above the relegation zone.
The race for fourth place, which means a place in next season's Champions League, remains closely contested with Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa all going strong.
Currently fourth with 52 points from 29 games, Tottenham goes to Stoke on Saturday and is one point ahead of Liverpool, which has played one more match. Manchester City is handily placed with 50 from 28 but has a difficult game at Fulham on Sunday. Then comes Villa which has 49 from 28 and should beat neighbor Wolves at home on Saturday.
At the foot of the standings, Portsmouth is all but doomed to relegation having lost nine of its 19 points for going into financial administration.
It has 14 points to make up on next-to-last Hull and the teams meet at Fratton Park on Saturday. Burnley is level on 24 points with Hull and goes to Wigan, which is four points above the relegation zone.
Everton vs. Bolton and Sunderland vs. Birmingham are Saturday's other games.
After Wednesday's 3-0 victory over Scunthorpe, Newcastle is closing in on promotion back to the Premier League.
That win put the team four points ahead of second-place West Bromwich Albion but more importantly 12 ahead of third-place Nottingham Forest with the top two finishers gaining automatic promotion.
Newcastle goes to Bristol City on Saturday, West Brom hosts Preston, and Forest welcomes last-place Peterborough.
-- Robert Millward
Henry's return boosts Barcelona's league bid
BARCELONA, Spain — Thierry Henry's timely return to form is helping Barcelona into the home stretch of its Spanish league duel with bitter rival Real Madrid.
Madrid and Barcelona share 65 points atop the league standings, with Madrid ahead only on goal difference after 26 games.
Although Lionel Messi's goals have carried Barcelona recently, Henry started Wednesday's 4-0 Champions League win over Stuttgart and was decisive in last weekend's league victory over Valencia.
With Madrid determined to win its first league trophy since 2008 after being knocked out of the Champions League, Barcelona needs Messi's supporting cast to step up, starting with Saturday's match at Zaragoza.
"The most important thing is I feel good," Henry said. "It's not about relaunching my season. I'm 33, and I think I've already shown people enough that I know what I can do. The most important thing is to help my team, not to worry if I score 20 or six goals — that won't change my career."
Coach Pep Guardiola started Henry as the lone striker in place of struggling Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and not on the left flank which has been his home since his transfer from Arsenal over two seasons ago.
"I still expect more from (Henry), but I have to say I'm very happy with him," Guardiola said. "This season we won't accomplish anything without the best Henry or the best Ibra."
Guardiola said that relegating Ibrahimovic to the substitutes bench was partly to shake the Swedish striker out of his funk.
"My goal is to get the best out of him," Guardiola said. "Without him in the best shape we won't win anything this season — he knows we need him."
Madrid, meanwhile, plays Sporting Gijon on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu, where it has been unbeaten in league play this season.
While the top-two continue their fight, now distant challengers Valencia, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and several surprise teams are focusing on ending the season in the Champions League qualifying places.
Valencia is third with 47 points, Sevilla has 44, Mallorca 43 and Deportivo La Coruna 42.
Valencia lost 3-0 to Barcelona last weekend while Sevilla was eliminated from the Champions League following a 2-1 home defeat to CSKA Moscow.
Although Sevilla will play in the Copa del Rey final, under-fire Sevilla coach Manolo Jimenez needs a victory at Espanyol on Saturday as the Andalucian club looks to finish the season strongly after fans called for Jimenez's firing at the close of Tuesday's defeat.
"Important games are coming up and we have to be at our absolute best," said goalkeeper Andres Palop, whose error gave the Russians the winning goal. "It's been a tough moment but you have to pick yourself up."
Espanyol is playing with its topflight fate in mind for a second straight season, as it lies five points above the relegation zone.
Valencia is without injured midfielder David Albelda for Sunday's match against an improved Almeria.
Deportivo welcomes second-last Valladolid to El Riazor stadium on Saturday, while Atletico's aspirations of getting into the top-four will likely need a victory at Mallorca on Sunday as it trails Sevilla by 10 points.
"I won't lie — the Champions League looks difficult, but in football you never know," said Atletico striker Sergio Aguero, who is suspended for the match at the Ono Estadi. "At the least we'll be trying to qualify for the Europa League."
In other weekend matches, it's: Athletic Bilbao vs. Getafe; Osasuna vs. Racing Santander; Xerez vs. Tenerife; and Malaga vs. Villarreal.
-- Paul Logothetis
Mourinho needs to get Inter going in Serie A
ROME — Jose Mourinho has proved his tactical skill in Europe with two victories over Chelsea. Now he needs to get Inter Milan going again in Serie A, where the club's lead over city rival AC Milan has dwindled to just one point with 10 games remaining.
Mourinho was widely lauded for using a three-forward lineup in Tuesday's 1-0 win over his former club. Having won the opening leg 2-1, Inter could have played for a scoreless draw in London and advanced but Mourinho said that was never an option.
"I re-watched the first leg seven times and I knew there was no way to sit back against Chelsea," Mourinho said. "The best defense was to attack constantly."
Inter did go on the attack and created chances for each of its strikers — Samuel Eto'o, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev — before Eto'o sealed Inter's place in the Champions League quarterfinals with a 78th-minute goal.
"The team was perfect. They played great throughout the match," Mourinho said.
It was a far cry from Inter's performance just four days earlier, when the four-time defending Serie A champion squandered a 1-0 lead to lose 3-1 at Catania.
Inter travels to another Sicilian team, Palermo, on Saturday and an improved performance is expected.
"Let's try and take advantage of this favorable form, one step at a time," club president Massimo Moratti said. Mourinho left 19-year-old forward Mario Balotelli off Inter's squad for the Chelsea game, and the forward could return against Palermo.
Inter leads the league with 59 points, Milan has 58, AS Roma is third with 53 and Palermo fourth with 46.
Milan hosts Napoli on Sunday and is without David Beckham and likely Alessandro Nesta for the rest of the season after both players had surgery Monday.
Milan has found itself rooting for Inter in Europe so Italy can maintain four teams in the Champions League, but it also doesn't mind having its rival still occupied by such an important competition.
"It was a great game," Nesta said of Inter's win over Chelsea as he left the hospital Wednesday. "Now let's hope Inter becomes distracted by the Champions League."
Milan was eliminated from Europe after a devastating 4-0 loss to Manchester United last week. It was Milan's worst loss in continental play since a 4-0 defeat by Deportivo La Coruna in the 2004 quarterfinals.
"Hopefully we can bounce back and win the Serie A title like we did in 2004," Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said.
Fifth-place Juventus visits Sampdoria in its attempt to get back into the Champions League places. Juventus took a 3-1 first-leg lead into its return game at Fulham in the Europa League's last 16 Thursday.
Roma allowed Cristiano Lucarelli a hat trick in a 3-3 draw at Livorno last weekend and now faces always dangerous Udinese.
Also this weekend, it's: Atalanta vs. Livorno; Bari vs. Parma; Cagliari vs. Lazio; Chievo Verona vs. Catania; and Siena vs. Bologna.
-- Andrew Dampf
Bayern travels to Frankfurt to shake off Schalke
FRANKFURT — Bayern Munich hopes to shake off Schalke and extend its lead in the Bundesliga when it travels to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Bayern has 56 points going into the 27th round and tail of the season, with Schalke two behind and Bayer Leverkusen three adrift.
While Bayern's trip to mid-table Eintracht is relatively routine, Schalke and Leverkusen have tough away matches against clubs which need to cement their places to qualify for the Europa League next season.
Schalke travels to fifth-place Hamburger SV on Sunday and Leverkusen is at Dortmund, in fourth place, the previous day,
"We have to win in Frankfurt and hope that the other two lose some points in their more difficult games," Bayern's chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Thursday's edition of Kicker magazine.
"Then we have to have a more stable stage, without losing important points," Rummenigge said.
Schalke's coach Felix Magath, who won the title with Wolfsburg last season, has downplayed his new team's chances of capturing its first championship in 52 years.
Magath said the strength of Schalke's challenge would be clearer once the next three rounds were over. After Hamburg, Schalke plays Leverkusen and then hosts Bayern in what could be the decisive match of the season.
Although Schalke has based its success on a strong defense, which is the stingiest in the league with 20 goals conceded, it also features one of the Bundesliga's top scorers in Kevin Kuranyi, who has notched 14 goals.
Magath tried to offload Kuranyi during the winter break to get some badly needed cash for Schalke but now says the striker could stay. With Schalke likely to qualify for the Champions League and in the German Cup semifinals (against Bayern), the club will have extra money to retain the striker.
Kuranyi has indicated he would like to stay in Schalke. He has consistently scored more than 10 goals a season since his arrival from Stuttgart in 2005.
"My heart beats for Schalke," Kuranyi said.
Magath thinks his team has a good chance in Hamburg.
"They are under pressure, they have to win. Then we can rely on our strength in defense," Magath said.
His midfielder Joel Matip was also confident. "If we are solid in the back, we can win in Hamburg," he said.
Leverkusen had an impressive 4-2 win over Hamburg last weekend to bounce back from its first loss of the season and Saturday's match in Dortmund could be a spirited affair.
Dortmund and Hamburg have Werder Bremen, which hosts Bochum, breathing down their necks and also hoping for a slot in the Europa League. Dortmund has 45 points, Hamburg 43 and Bremen 42.
U.S. national team midfielder Ricardo Clark could make his debut for Eintracht against Bayern. Clark joined the Frankfurt club in January but then tore a muscle in his right calf.
"It's a good opportunity for him to present himself," Eintracht coach Michael Skibbe said of Saturday's match. Eintracht is missing several players because of suspensions and injuries.
Cologne kicks off the 27th round Friday at home against Borussia Moenchengladbach. On Saturday, it's Nuremberg vs. Hoffenheim, Stuttgart vs. Hannover and Freiburg vs. Mainz. Wolfsburg plays Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
-- Nesha Starcevic
Bordeaux hopes European run can boost league form
PARIS — Having joined Lyon in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, French leader Bordeaux hopes to carry its fine European form over into the domestic league when it plays Lille on Sunday.
Bordeaux's once comfortable lead has dwindled since the winter break so that it now edges Montpellier only on goal difference. The chasing pack is also right behind the front two.
Bordeaux's 2-1 win against Olympiakos on Wednesday sent it through to the last eight of the Champions League for the first time since 1988, and it was the club's first win since beating Olympiakos 1-0 on Feb. 23.
Crucially for coach Laurent Blanc, France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff had his best game for several months, scoring Bordeaux's opening goal with a brilliant free kick and rattling the crossbar with another effort.
"What was most encouraging was the return to form of key players," Blanc said after the Olympiakos game. "Some players got back to a level they haven't shown for a long time. That is encouraging ahead of the important match against Lille."
During Bordeaux's alarming slump it took only two points from its last three league games, and Montpellier caught up after being 10 points behind at the winter break.
But Bordeaux captain Alou Diarra says beating Olympiakos "should give us a lot of hope" that the bad spell is over.
"I hope its the start of a long winning streak," he added.
With two French clubs in the European Cup quarters for the first time since Monaco and Lyon in 2004, they are not hiding their pride.
"I think it is a strong sign, we are showing today that we can rival the best teams in Europe. There is a lot to feel ambitious about at the moment," Bordeaux defender Matthieu Chalme said. "Clubs are feeling less of a complex compared to other teams and that's the way we should continue."
Bordeaux has 53 points from 27 games, while Montpellier has the same total but has played a game more. Montpellier hosts Valenciennes on Sunday.
Auxerre is in third place with 52 points, while fourth-place Lille and fifth-place Lyon have 51 — all from 28 games.
Marseille, which is only three points behind Bordeaux in sixth place, hosts Lyon on Sunday.
Earlier this season, the clubs drew 5-5 in a thrilling game.
Spirits have been high in the Lyon camp after it knocked Real Madrid out of the Champions League, but that mood has been blighted after an astonishing outburst from former captain Sidney Govou.
Speaking in Wednesday's edition of sports daily L'Equipe, Govou said he will leave at the end of the season after falling out with coach Claude Puel and club officials.
Govou, who has played for Lyon since 2000, is still angry at how the club treated him when he was stripped of his captaincy following a drunken incident in October, adding that his relationship with Puel is all but nonexistent.
"I don't know what could entice me to stay," Govou said. "I don't have any rapport (with Puel), it's as simple as that."
Lyon midfielder Kim Kallstrom was surprised by the timing of Govou's tirade.
"I don't know why he is saying that now, you should ask him," Kallstrom told L'Equipe's Web site. "He has to stand by it. It's between him and those he has mentioned."
Puel must decide whether to pick Govou, one of the most influential players in the team, or drop him on Sunday.
In Saturday's games, it is: Auxerre vs. Le Mans; Boulogne vs. Lorient; Grenoble vs. Monaco; Nice vs. Paris Saint-Germain; Rennes vs. Toulouse; Saint-Etienne vs. Nancy; and Lens vs. Sochaux.
Nice's home game against PSG will be played behind closed doors, which was already decided before the death of a 38-year-old PSG fan who suffered fatal head injuries during street clashes between rival PSG fans at a Feb. 28 league match against Marseille.
A Paris police official said on Thursday the fan, who was not identified, died late Wednesday in a Paris hospital. The official was not authorized to be publicly named because of police rules.
Violence among rival fan groups has long plagued the Paris club.
"The club's survival is at stake," France's sports minister Rama Yade said in a statement after the fan's death.
Preliminary charges for attempted murder were filed against a man suspected of taking part in the assault after being identified through video surveillance cameras.
Auxerre's French Cup quarterfinal against PSG next week will also be behind closed doors, as will PSG's next home game against Boulogne on March 28.
-- Jerome Pugmire
Europa League
Fulham fightback ousts Juventus from Europa League
LONDON — Fulham overturned a three-goal aggregate deficit to beat Juventus 4-1 and reach the quarterfinals of the Europa League on Thursday, and David Villa's hat trick helped Valencia advance after a 4-4 draw at Werder Bremen.
Liverpool beat Lille 3-0 to advance 3-1 overall and Benfica scored a last-minute winner at Marseille to win 2-1 and go through.
Sergio Aguero's two goals in a 2-2 draw with Sporting Lisbon put Atletico Madrid through on away goals, and Hamburg made it 6-5 on aggregate despite losing 4-3 at Anderlecht.
Already leading 3-1 from the first leg, Standard Liege made sure by beating Panathinaikos 1-0.
-- Robert Millward
World Cup
Putin 'the engine' driving Russia's World Cup bid
ZURICH — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is "the engine" driving forward his country's bid to host the football World Cup in 2018, sports minister Vitaly Mutko said Thursday.
Mutko told The Associated Press that Putin could help present Russia's case at FIFA headquarters on Dec. 2 before a vote to decide the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts.
"He is the engine of this bid," said Mutko, speaking after a meeting of FIFA's ruling executive. He is one of 24 committee members who will choose the two winning candidates.
Putin is a proven winner in sports politics. His English-speaking part in Sochi's presentation to International Olympic Committee members three years ago was judged crucial in swinging votes that got the Black Sea resort hosting rights for the 2014 Winter Games.
"He does everything that he can to support our bid," Mutko said through a translator. "The same is applicable to the president of our country."
Putin and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have met FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Moscow in recent months, leading many to consider Russia a favorite in the 2018 contest that is likely to be awarded to Europe.
FIFA insists all candidates have government support to host the four-yearly event that earns billions of dollars for the game's governing body, and invariably costs billions in infrastructure expenses to stage.
Mutko said Russia's bid was a national priority.
"The World Cup is a fundamental factor in the development of the country," he said. "Even if Russia will not win the right to host the World Cup, we will continue to develop sports infrastructure, stadiums and hockey palaces."
He said state funds would not be over-stretched by adding the World Cup to extensive construction projects in Sochi and Kazan, which hosts the 2013 World University Games.
"They are proof to FIFA ... that if Russia takes up certain commitments, it fully fulfills them," Mutko said.
Bid leaders have not put a price on widespread modernization needed in its proposed 14 host cities clustered in five areas of western Russia: northern, southern, central, Volga River and Urals mountain regions.
Details will be published when Russia and its nine rivals present their bid books to FIFA in Zurich on May 14.
Mutko accepted that the three other European bids — England, Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium — were ahead with existing stadiums, transport links and hotels.
But he said Russia offered a greater legacy by developing the sport and opening new markets in the former Soviet republics of Europe and central Asia.
"(The World Cup) should go to new regions, and open new frontiers," said Mutko, adding that Russia wanted to make more friends.
"We want to show to the world the new Russia, open and hospitable in every sense."
Russia, Australia, England, Japan, United States, plus the Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium joint bids have applied to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. Indonesia, Qatar and South Korea are bidding for 2022 only.
-- Graham Dunbar
Elsewhere
Paris fan dies after attack by rival supporters
PARIS — A Paris Saint-Germain soccer fan has died after spending weeks in a coma following an attack by rival supporters, the latest incident of violence associated with the French club.
The 38-year-old fan suffered serious head injuries during street clashes among the club’s fan groups at a Feb. 28 French league match against Marseille.
A Paris police official said Thursday the fan, who was not identified, died late Wednesday night in the Beaujon Hospital. The official was not authorized to be publicly named because of police rules.
"The club’s survival is at stake," France’s sports minister Rama Yade said in a statement. "The worst has happened. Passions transformed into sordid, senseless, murderous rage. Love of the team jersey has become hate for the other, hate for the sport, hate for life."
PSG has long had a far-right element among its fans, many of whom gather in the Kop of Boulogne section of the Parc des Princes stadium and have been in conflict with supporters in the Auteuil section at the other end of the arena.
About two hours before the Marseille game, a large group of supporters from the Kop of Boulogne attacked rivals outside the Auteuil entrance to the stadium.
Preliminary charges for attempted murder were filed against a man suspected of taking part in the assault after being identified through video surveillance cameras.
Yade called for strict punishment of the perpetrators and for club management to prevent more violence.
The club’s next match, against Nice on Saturday, will be played in front of empty stands as a result of the violence, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
PSG said in a statement that it would "learn all the lessons necessary from this drama and will take the necessary decisions to push violence away from the Parc des Princes (stadium) and when the team travels away."
Two PSG fans have died in disturbances outside Parc des Princes in the last four years.
-- Jerome Pugmire
Riera miffed with Reds
MADRID — Spain's Albert Riera is complaining about not getting playing time with Liverpool and says he has received offers from two Russian teams.
Riera criticized coach Rafael Benitez, saying he does not talk to his players and that the coach must have some personal beef with him. Riera, who joined Liverpool in 2008, said he has gone from being a starter to not playing at all since Jan. 26, against Blackburn Rovers.
"When you are dropped like this, it has to be personal," he told Radio Marca on Thursday.
"If I am doing something wrong and you are my boss, and you value me, you come to see me and tell me what I have to do in order to play. That is what hurts most," Riera said.
"He think he is the one who is in charge and everything else falls on deaf ears."
Riera said he had received offers from two Russian clubs, but fears that playing in a less competitive league might hurt his chances of making Spain's side in the World Cup.
"I would like spend my whole career here, but we players are meant to play," he said. "My goal is to go to the World Cup and to do that I need to play."
Hargreaves gets match action for Manchester United
MANCHESTER, England — Owen Hargreaves made his long-awaited comeback from injury on Thursday with 45 minutes of competitive action for Manchester United's reserve team.
The 29-year-old England midfielder, who has been out for 18 months after surgery on both knees to cure persistent tendinitis, played one half for United's second-string team against Burnley.
Hargreaves did not play at full speed or make any strong challenges in the game, and will now hope he does not get any adverse reaction to his first match back as he eyes a return to first-team action.
"This was the first step in what has been an incredibly long ordeal and I am very happy to be back," Hargreaves said. "It was nice to play in a match with a referee and proper opponents on a proper pitch. I have been doing everything on my own so it has been nice having people around again."
Abramovich wins libel action over gambling story
LONDON — Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has won a public apology and libel damages from an Italian publisher over allegations that he is a compulsive gambler.
Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso agreed to pay Abramovich what the Russian businessman's lawyer told Britain's High Court were "substantial damages."
John Kelly said on Thursday that Abramovich will donate the money to charity.
Abramovich took action against the publisher after newspaper La Repubblica ran a story in May entitled: "A black year for Abramovich as he loses a yacht at poker."
UEFA bans match-fixing Ukrainian ref for life
NYON, Switzerland — A Ukrainian soccer referee has been banned for life for helping to fix matches.
The disciplinary panel of European soccer’s governing body on Thursday banned referee Oleh Orekhov from all soccer activities.
UEFA said it used information from ongoing investigations by German police into match-fixing and corruption in the case. It said Orekhov was charged with breaching "principles of loyalty and integrity," but did not specify which matches were involved.
When the scandal broke in November, UEFA identified seven suspicious games played in the Champions League and Europa League between July 16 and Aug. 6.
Fraud and organized-crime officers in Bochum, Germany, have been investigating more than 200 matches played in at least 11 countries.
CONI wants lifetime ban for Flachi over cocaine
ROME — The Italian Olympic Committee’s anti-doping prosecutor has recommended that Brescia midfielder Francesco Flachi receive a lifetime ban after testing positive for cocaine a second time.
Flachi failed a drug test after a Serie B game between Brescia and Modena on Dec. 19.
Flachi has already served a two-year ban following a positive test in January 2007 when he played in Serie A with Sampdoria.
The case will now be heard by CONI’s in-house anti-doping court.
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