Men's Soccer Capsules: Peru defeats Mexico 1-0 on late goal

MENDOZA, Argentina (AP) — Paolo Guerrero scored in the 83rd minute to give Peru a well-earned 1-0 victory over Mexico on Friday in the Copa America.

After a lifeless first half, Peru had a half-dozen clear scoring chances in the second half — hitting the post twice — before Guerrero broke through against outstanding Mexico goalkeeper Luis Michel.

Chile and Peru each have 4 points to lead Group C after two matches. Uruguay, which drew 1-1 against Chile earlier on Friday, has 2 and Mexico has 0 points.

In the final group matches, Chile faces Peru and Uruguay plays Mexico. Mexico and Costa Rica are playing mostly under-23 players in the tournament, as guest entries from the CONCACAF region.

The top two teams in each of the three groups advance to the quarterfinal. In addition, the best two third-place teams advance.

Peru was frustrated by a series of missed opportunities before Guerrero finally broke through, taking a through-ball and calmly driving it into the open side of the net.

Guerrero had missed a wide-open header in the 50th, the best early chance for either team in the match. His diving header flashed wide.

In the 59th, Juan Vargas hit the far post. Minutes later, Guerrero drove the ball over the crossbar. With the match still scoreless, Vargas hit the post again. As well as the woodwork, Mexico relied upon Michel to keep the game goalless, with the keeper making several diving saves.

Mexico came close to opening the scoring in the 79th minute when Giovani Dos Santos forced keeper Raul Fernandez to make a diving save.

The match was played in a nearly empty stadium, which had been full for the earlier game between neighboring Chile and Uruguay.

Five Mexican players cleared of doping

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Five Mexican players who tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol were cleared by their country’s soccer federation Friday. The five — defenders Francisco Rodriguez and Edgar Duenas, goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and midfielders Christian Bermudez and Antonio Naelson — blamed the results on contaminated meat.

They tested positive in May during training camp in Mexico before the Gold Cup. The players did not appear in the U.S. tournament. The Mexican federation said it would notify FIFA of its decision.

The federation attributed the positive tests to "contaminated food" and said there would be no punishment. The statement said the players "took all necessary measures to avoid ingesting or consuming banned substances."

Mexico President Felipe Calderon has acknowledged that contamination is a problem in the country. Tour de France champion Alberto Contador also blamed contaminated meat for his positive test for clenbuterol last July.

Chile draws 1-1 with Uruguay

MENDOZA, Argentina (AP) — Alexis Sanchez equalized in the 65th minute to give Chile a 1-1 draw against Uruguay on Friday in the Copa America.

Alvaro Pereira had given Uruguay a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute in the Group C match.

Chile improved to 4 points from two matches and Uruguay, which reached the World Cup semifinals a year ago, has 2 points.

Chile's last group game will be against Peru while Uruguay will face Mexico, which is fielding an Olympic-style under-23 team as it is playing as a guest in the 12-team South American championship.

Both teams could have used a victory to guarantee passage to the second round, where they should be among the favorites.

"Each of these teams showed they have possibilities in this tournament," Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said.

Uruguay had a couple of chances in an even first half; the best being Diego Forlan's header which was stopped on the line by a Chile defender. Chile had a few close long shots, including one from Mauricio Isla which hit a post late in the half.

Uruguay took the lead when Luis Suarez dribbled away from defenders on the left side, then send a perfect pass in front of the net to Pereira, who took his time and slotted the ball past keeper Claudio Bravo.

Suarez almost made it 2-0 in the 63rd, forcing Bravo to bat away a low shot.

However Chile was the better side from then on, and equalized when Alexis Sanchez — who is the most sought-after player among Europe's big clubs during the current offseason — took a centering pass and slotted home from 12 meters (yards), beating Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera.

Chile's Luis Jimenez almost scored the winner with a header in the 77th, forcing Muslera into a diving save. Isla pressed Muslera into another key save five minutes later with Chile dominating but unable to find the winner.

-- Diego Graglia

Messi under ‘terrible pressure’ in Copa America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Lionel Messi is probably under the greatest pressure of his career, having been blamed for Argentina’s poor performances in its first two games at the Copa America.

His teammates, however, are coming to his defense and coach Sergio Batisa is expected to change his lineup for Monday’s decisive match against Costa Rica, bringing in Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria and taking out Carlos Tevez, Ezequiel Lavezzi and either Ever Banega or Esteban Cambiasso.

Messi’s father, Jorge, said Friday his son was under "terrible pressure" and was upset when he and his teammates were booed off the field following Wednesday’s 0-0 draw against Colombia.

"Leo is really down about this," his father told Radio 10. "He can’t understand how this happened. It’s the first time they’ve whistled at him."

Twice voted the world’s best player, Messi has done very little in two games and his team has scored only one goal.

The Barcelona star was expected to help Argentina win its first major title in 18 years. Instead, the Gauchos must defeat what amounts to a second-string Costa Rica team Monday. A loss and Argentina will almost surely fail to make the knockout stage, unthinkable for the host country, which views itself among soccer’s top half-dozen powers.

Costa Rica and Mexico are using mostly under-23 Olympic-style squads in this tournament because they are not part of the South American confederation and are playing as guests teams to boost the field to 12. Their full-strength teams played in the Gold Cup last month in the United States.

"Barcelona is another story," his father added. "It’s a team that’s been together for four years. The (Argentine) national team cannot match that. Playing in the Copa America at home in your own country is terrible pressure."

Messi walked through a light training session Friday, nursing a sore right ankle. He will play Monday, but he will have different teammates.

"I’m think of changing the system," Batista said in a Friday column for the newspaper Clarin. "Messi is going to be the playmaker and play very close to his forwards."

Barcelona and Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano said it unfair to blame only Messi, who is a bit of a stranger in Argentina. He left his native country for Spain when he was 12, has never played for a popular Argentine club and has a reserved personality that leaves some Argentines cold.

"It’s not Messi’s fault we are not playing well," Mascherano said. "We’re not playing well as a team."

"If after the game they (fans) insult you, they have a right to do it," he added. "We are aware of the situation, and it depends on us to turn it around. Beginning Monday we start another Copa America."

-- Vicente L. Panetta

U.S. Soccer

Keller returns to Portland for showdown vs Timbers

TUKWILA, Wash. (AP) — Kasey Keller knew exactly when all the good will from spending his college career in Portland was gone.

When Keller attended a Portland Trail Blazers game last January he was able to get courtside tickets. As the video board at the Rose Garden panned the arena showing those in attendance, the camera stopped on Keller.

In the past, his picture might have elicited cheers or at least a polite ovation for the former University of Portland star and U.S. national team goalkeeper.

This time, with Keller playing for the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers just months from joining Major League Soccer, the reaction was a little more unfriendly: a tidal wave of boos.

"That was pretty cool. I got a good laugh out of it," Keller said. "... That just shows you the state of the rivalry and the state of the game here in the Northwest and hopefully that just continues to grow and grow and grow."

Keller and the Sounders will enter the hornet’s nest of JELD-WEN Field on Sunday afternoon when they face the rival Timbers in the first MLS match between the two sides played in Portland. And for Keller, it’s likely the last time he’ll play professionally in the city where he first made his mark as a college star playing for Clive Charles at Portland before becoming the first American goalkeeper to play successfully in Europe.

Just don’t expect any fawning by the Timbers’ Army, even if Portland coach John Spencer called the 41-year-old Keller "an American goalkeeping legend" on Friday.

"Although I do hope he has a stinker this weekend," Spencer joked.

While there is a healthy respect between the two organizations running the Timbers and Sounders, there’s still plenty of acrimony. Seattle became the darling of the MLS during its successful first two seasons, becoming the benchmark by which all future MLS expansion franchises would be judged.

But as Seattle got the attention, Portland made sure everyone remembered it was the first city to gain the moniker "Soccer City USA" with a strategically placed billboard just a couple of miles south of the Sounders home field. It was just the start for the Timbers, who have sold out every game at their renovated stadium in downtown Portland and seem to have matched the fervor Seattle created in its debut season.

Not much got settled on a washed out Saturday night in Seattle in May when the Sounders and Timbers played to a 1-1 tie before 36,000 rain-drenched fans, other than the supporters groups from both teams successfully getting in and out of the stadium without problems developing between the two sides. There were also some words tossed back and forth between Spencer and Seattle coach Sigi Schmid. Both said this week that the verbal jabs were not meant to be personal in any way.

Now comes the return meeting.

"I have a lot of respect for John (Spencer) as a coach. I know we said a lot of things back and forth but I think he is a really good coach," Schmid said. "I thought he was a really good player and I’ve always liked him and I enjoy the banter as well."

Keller has returned to play in Portland twice since coming back to the U.S. and joining the Sounders, but both of those matches were in U.S. Open Cup play. Seattle beat the then-USL Timbers 2-1 in 2009 and knocked off the Timbers on penalty kicks a year ago after the two sides played to a 1-1 draw in regulation.

But that was before the Timbers joined MLS and Keller says the atmosphere for those Open Cup matches won’t compare with what he’ll experience on Sunday.

"I’m excited to see the improvements to the stadium. What it’s going to feel like, it’s going to feel like it did for Costa Rica when we played there with the national team where it was a great, loud, raucous crowd," Keller said in reference to the 1997 World Cup qualifier played in Portland. "Unfortunately they’ll be rooting against me instead of with me."

Seattle enters the rivalry showdown on a roll, having gone seven straight matches without a loss. Their 32 points is the third-highest total in the league, behind only Los Angeles and FC Dallas.

Meanwhile, the Timbers are slogging through the struggles most expansion franchises face. Portland is just 0-5-1 over its last six matches since beating Columbus on May 21.

"These kind of games, form goes out the window. It doesn’t matter that we’ve been on the run we’re on and they’ve been struggling. It doesn’t mean a thing," Keller said. "This is a game where both teams are going to have to roll up their sleeves and a game where somebody is going to have to capitalize on somebody’s mistake or who does something special to change things. These are tough games for players."

-- Tim Booth

U.S. to play Mexico on Aug. 10 at Philadelphia

CHICAGO (AP) — The United States will play Mexico in a soccer exhibition at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Aug. 10, the first game for the teams since El Tri overcame a two-goal deficit against the Americans to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup final 4-2 last month.

The game is on a FIFA fixture date, meaning clubs are required to release players. However, with the German Bundesliga opening Aug. 5 and the English Premier League eight days later, some teams may discourage players from returning to the U.S.

The U.S. Soccer Federation announced the match Friday. Preparing for the start of 2014 World Cup qualifying in June, the Americans play Costa Rica on Sept. 2 at Carson, Calif., then meet Belgium on Sept. 6 at Brussels.

AC Milan youth teams to play in Tulsa soccer event

Man City renames its ground the Etihad Stadium

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City has renamed its City of Manchester Stadium the Etihad Stadium in a 10-year sponsorship deal with the Abu Dhabi-based airline.

City announced the deal Friday without saying how much it was worth but British media widely reported that the Premier League club would earn more than 100 million pounds ($159 million).

The agreement could help City meet UEFA’s financial fair-play regulations, which demand that clubs do not spend beyond their means. City announced a 121 million pound ($193 million) loss in its most recent annual report following lavish spending on player transfer fees and salaries.

Failure to comply with the rules could lead to a ban from UEFA’s European competitions such as the Champions League, in which City is scheduled to play next season after finishing third in the Premier League.

"In addition to delivering significant revenue at a key stage in the club’s evolution, the agreement creates exciting opportunities," City chief executive Garry Cook said.

City’s will become the sixth branded stadium in the English Premier League, with the area around the ground called the Etihad Campus.

Arsenal’s 15-year agreement with Emirates was valued at about 100 million pounds ($159 million) in 2004, and included an eight-year shirt sponsorship. Etihad already has its name on City’s shirts.

Arsenal, Bolton, Stoke, Wigan and Premier League newcomer Swansea are the other topflight English clubs to have sold naming rights to their grounds, although Tottenham and Liverpool are among those considering the maneuver as they contemplate building new stadiums.

Fowler arrives in Bangkok to join Thai team

BANGKOK (AP) — Former Liverpool fan favorite Robbie Fowler arrived in Bangkok Friday to sign a contract to play with Thai Premier League side Muangthong United after announcing last month that he would not renew his contract with Perth Glory in Australia.

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool’s principal owner has acknowledged that the English Premier League club may have to leave Anfield for a new stadium.

John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group has been considering stadium options since buying the club in October.

Responding to a fan urging him to keep Liverpool at its home of 119 years, Henry said on Twitter that a move may be inevitable.

Henry wrote: "Anfield would certainly be our first choice. But realities may dictate otherwise. So many obstacles."

Situated in a working-class neighborhood, Anfield is hemmed in by terraced residential housing, making any expansion extremely difficult and costly. The alternative is to build a new ground in nearby Stanley Park, which separates Anfield from Everton’s Goodison Park stadium.

Anfield has a maximum capacity of 45,000 meaning that Manchester United and Arsenal raise far more revenue from tickets and other match-day revenue from their bigger stadiums. That in turn gives them greater financial muscle to attract top players on high salaries.

At 76,000, United’s Old Trafford is the largest stadium in the Premier League. Arsenal moved to its 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium in 2006.

United and Arsenal have won 16 English championships between them since Liverpool’s last title in 1990.

Blackburn Rovers plans club, academy in Pune

Coach Bielsa to take over Athletic Bilbao

BILBAO, Spain (AP) — Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa will take over the helm of Athletic Bilbao after new club president Josu Urrutia won club elections on Thursday.

Urrutia announced during the campaign that he would replace coach Joaquin Caparros with Bielsa.

"We expect (Bielsa) to arrive on Sunday," Urrutia said, adding that he had not spoken to the new coach about changes to the squad.

"Bielsa hasn’t asked for any players, but he said that the coach always wants more," Urrutia said. "We don’t have a lot of time, so we will have to hurry to make decisions."

Bilbao will play in the Europa League this season after Caparros led the team to a sixth-place finish in the Spanish league. After the vote, the Spanish manager said "Thanks to all the fans of Athletic for the four years we have spent together."

Bielsa guided Chile to the round of 16 in the 2010 World Cup. His only prior experience in Europe was coaching Espanyol for six games in the 1998-99 season.

Urrutia, a former Bilbao player, beat standing president Fernando Garcia Macua in a record turnout for the Basque club.

Bilbao’s squad is made made up entirely of homegrown Basque players.

Racing Santander files for bankruptcy protection

SANTANDER, Spain (AP) — Spanish football club Racing Santander has filed for protection from creditors under Spanish bankruptcy law. Team president Francisco Pernia said on Friday that the club owes more than €33 million ($47 million).

Pernia said "To avoid greater harm, like being relegated, we have filed for bankruptcy protection."

Last season, Indian tycoon Ahsan Ali Syed purchased the troubled club and met its immediate debt payments. But his support was not enough to keep the club from bankruptcy.

Pernia said the team "cannot stop searching for a large shareholder because, as we have said for four years, Racing needs a solvent businessman behind it."

Santander is the seventh Spanish topflight team currently under bankruptcy protection.

Fenerbahce president questioned over match-fixing

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United has given defender Chris Smalling a new five-year contract, tying him to the Premier League champions until the end of the 2015-16 season.

The 21-year-old Smalling was expected to be a peripheral figure in his debut season at United, but played 34 times as the Red Devils reached the Champions League final and regained the Premier League title.

United manager Alex Ferguson says Smalling "is an extremely talented young defender, he’s quick, strong and reads the game well."

Smalling’s emergence meant United was able to sell long-serving defenders John O’Shea and Wes Brown to Sunderland this week.

Vaughan becomes Sunderland's ninth offseason signing

Chelsea midfielder Essien sustains knee injury

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has sustained another knee injury in preseason training with the Premier League club. Chelsea says the 28-year-old Essien "will undergo tests over the next few days to determine the extent of that injury."

Essien was out for six months last year because of an injury to the same knee, ruling him out of Ghana’s World Cup campaign.

He previously suffered an anterior cruciate injury in September 2008 that ruled him out until the following March.

Hao of China to leave Schalke