Soccer Capsules: McBride calling it a career at end of season
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Brian McBride, whose scoring touch and tenacity earned him fans on both sides of the Atlantic, is calling it a career.
The 38-year-old McBride said Friday he will retire at the end of the season, his third with his hometown Chicago Fire.
"It was time for me," McBride said. "It was something that I felt I wanted to do, not so much that that I can't keep playing. It was time for a new segment of life and a different career."
McBride has 78 goals and 51 assists in 11 years with Chicago and Columbus, where he still shares the Crew record for goals scored. He ranks third on the U.S. national team's all-time scoring list, and was so beloved at Fulham that the English Premier League team named a stadium bar after him.
McBride had three goals in three World Cup appearances for the United States, and was the first American to score in more than one tournament (1998 and 2002). His 30 goals in a U.S. uniform trail only Landon Donovan (45) and Eric Wynalda (34). McBride retired from international play after the 2006 World Cup, though he returned as one of the United States' three older players at the 2008 Olympics.
"Soccer has given me the chance to travel to so many amazing places and experience so many emotions," he said. "I know it has helped to form so much of who I am."
McBride, an All-American at St. Louis, was the No. 1 pick in Major League Soccer's first draft. He scored 62 goals and had 45 assists in eight years with the Crew, and his ability to create goals seemingly out of nothing caught the eye of English scouts. He was loaned out twice by MLS, first to Preston North End in 2000 and then to Everton two years later, scoring five goals in 17 games.
He left Columbus for good in January 2004, transferring to Fulham, and endeared himself to fans immediately by scoring in his first appearance for the Cottagers. He had 40 goals in 4½ years at Fulham, and led the team in scoring in 2006-07. He was named captain in August 2007, a rare honor for an American, and his return from injury is credited with sparking a remarkable late-season rally that saved Fulham from relegation.
McBride missed most of the 2007-08 season with a ruptured quadriceps and dislocated kneecap. After "Captain Courageous" returned, the Cottagers won four of their last five games to keep their spot in the Premier League. Though Fulham wasn't able to lure him back for another season, it renamed the bar at Craven Cottage "McBride's" as a tribute to his contributions.
Since joining the Fire in July 2008, the Arlington Heights, Ill., native has scored 16 goals and led Chicago to back-to-back appearances in the Eastern Conference finals.
Asked what he will do next, he said managing a team was not "my focus."
"I won't say never because I have such a passion for the game and I think I have a few things in my head that can help people," he said.
League News
France humbled, Spain wins in Euro 2012 qualifying
LONDON (AP) — While World Cup holder Spain was among the traditional powers to open qualifying for the 2012 European Championship with victories Friday, France was further humiliated by a 1-0 home loss to Belarus.
Sergei Kislyak scored in the 86th minute to hand France one of its most embarrassing defeats, following a disastrous World Cup campaign.
David Villa matched Spain's all-time scoring record with his 44th international goal to help the defending European champion beat Liechtenstein 4-0 and take an early lead in the five-team Group I.
The Netherlands beat San Marino 5-0 to win its first competitive match since losing the World Cup final to Spain in July, while Germany won 1-0 at Belgium, Italy beat Estonia 2-1 and England routed Bulgaria 4-0.
The French players needed a good performance at Stade de France to win over fans following the debacle at the World Cup, when they refused to train and were knocked out in the first round.
But the team was jeered from the field in coach Laurent Blanc's first home match.
Vyacheslav Hleb set up the crucial goal when he weaved to the right of the penalty area and pulled the ball back for Kislyak, who beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris with a powerful shot into the top right corner.
The result means that Bosnia-Herzegovina became the early Group D leader with a 3-0 win at Luxembourg. Romania and Albania drew 1-1 in the other match.
Portugal conceded in the 89th to draw 4-4 with visiting Cyprus in Group H, but Spain's first qualifier was much more straightforward.
Fernando Torres put Spain ahead before Villa matched Raul Gonzalez's record tally of 44 international goals in the 26th with a rising 20-yard shot that went straight over the goalie's head.
Torres made it 3-0 early in the second half and substitute David Silva struck in the 62nd.
Villa, playing in his 66th international, almost scored again he hit the bar with a close-range shot in injury time. Raul needed 56 more games than Villa to score his 44 goals.
Spain is already two points clear of Scotland and Lithuania, who drew 0-0 in the other Group I match.
The Netherlands already seems to be in a strong position in Group E after Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat trick between goals by Dirk Kuyt and recalled veteran Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Despite the dominant score, Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk was not happy about his team's sluggish start.
"We created too few chances in the first half," he said.
Sweden midfielder Pontus Wernbloom scored two second-half goals for a 2-0 win over Hungary and Moldova beat Finland 2-0.
Another veteran striker, Miroslav Klose, scored his 53rd international goal to give Germany a 1-0 win at Belgium. Bastian Schweinsteiger robbed Belgian defender Daniel Van Buyten of the ball and fed Thomas Mueller, who set up Klose for an easy finish.
But Turkey leads Group A from Germany on goal difference after winning its first competitive game under coach Guus Hiddink 3-0.
Hiddink's old team, Russia, won 2-0 at Andorra in Group B, which also featured a 1-0 win for Ireland at Armenia and Slovakia's 1-0 win over Macedonia.
Italy rallied from a goal down to enjoy its first win of the year after Antonio Cassano scored one goal and set up another.
Estonia took the lead in the 31st but Cassano found the target with a header in the 60th and passed with his heel inside the box three minutes later for Leonardo Bonucci to give Italy its first win of the year.
"He's the most talented player we have and he's always decisive," midfielder Daniele De Rossi said of Cassano, who was excluded by former coach Marcello Lippi.
Also in Group C, Serbia beat Faeroe Islands 3-0 and Northern Ireland won 1-0 at Slovenia.
Jermain Defoe scored a hat trick and Adam Johnson hit his first international goal to give England a morale-boosting win in Group G.
Montenegro's 1-0 win over Wales could help England in its attempt to win the group but England's first competitive match since its humiliating exit from the World Cup was marred somewhat by an injury to central defender Michael Dawson.
Dawson, himself only playing because of injuries to Rio Ferdinand and John Terry, was carried from the field and will miss Tuesday's match at Switzerland.
Former European champion Greece scored a late goal through Nikos Spyropoulos to salvage a 1-1 draw with Georgia in Group F.
-- Stuart Condie
World Cup
Qatar pulls out the stops in bid to win 2022 WCup
The sidewalks and parks in Doha are empty in June, as residents head to the air-conditioned malls for relief from temperatures that soar to 48 degrees (118 F). Professional footballers from the region flee to the cooler climes of Europe to train.
And anyone looking to cool off with a cold beer in Qatar's capital has to make do with a handful of pubs hidden in five-star hotels, since drinking alcohol anywhere else is prohibited in the conservative Muslim country.
Still, Qatar has brushed aside questions about its climate and social constraints to launch an ambitious campaign to host the 2022 World Cup that is also being sought by the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan.
In some ways, Qatar is the wild card in the competition to win over FIFA's 24-man executive committee. It's the smallest nation bidding and the only one that has not hosted either an Olympics or World Cup. At the same time, the Persian Gulf nation of just 1.3 million has the financial muscle to guarantee a successful tournament — it has the world's second-highest per capita income thanks to its vast oil and gas reserves.
"I believe we have a very strong bid and a very unique bid," Hassan al-Thawadi, the CEO of the Qatar bid committee, told The Associated Press.
"It's a historic bid in terms of coming for the first time to the Middle East, a region that is very hospitable, rich and diverse in terms of its culture and has an unprecedented passion for the game," he said. "Bringing it to the Middle East will truly allow football and FIFA to reach its true potential as a culture event."
Qatar has taken an aggressive approach to promoting the bid. It struck a deal to sponsor the Confederation of African Football congress in January, negotiating an agreement that gave it exclusive access to the top officials in African football. It also plans to fly Brazil and Argentina into Doha for an exhibition match just two weeks before the winning bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups are announced in December.
It also hired the likes of Dutch great Ronald de Boer and Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola to promote the bid, as well as consultant Mike Lee, who was instrumental in helping London secure the 2012 Summer Olympics and Rio the rights for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
"They have the money and they will spend generously on this," said Abdul-Khaleq Abdulla, a political science professor at Emirates University in Abu Dhabi. "There is no limit to how much they could pay. Money talks in these events. It has been proven time and again. If you are serious, you have to raise your investment profile."
Al-Thawadi said Qatar is developing "second-generation cooling technology" that will keep stadiums, training facilities and fan areas at about 27 degrees (81 F), far cooler than the 41 (106 F) that Qatar averages in June, July and August. Qatar also plans to allow alcohol consumption in fan zones and bathing suits to be worn at hotel pools.
Al-Thawadi, a football fan educated in England, acknowledges he was inundated with questions concerning Qatar's weather when he visited South Africa for the recent World Cup. But he says once he explains the proposed system that continuously pumps cool air into the venues, most people come away convinced Qatar can keep the heat at bay during matches.
"I will tell people who have heat concerns come to the Qatar, visit the country and see what it has to offer," al-Thawadi said. "Meet the people and meet expats who come from cold countries and make Qatar their home and are here over the summer and haven't left. The concerns shouldn't be much of a concern at all."
To bolster its case, Qatar has unveiled a $4 billion plan to build nine stadiums and renovate three others — all with the new cooling system.
A prototype stadium for five-a-side football is scheduled to be on display when FIFA's inspection team visits on Sept. 13 and the technology "will be tweaked" over time to ensure it also can be used at training sites for the 32 competing teams and fan zones, al-Thawadi said.
Qatar also plans $42.9 billion in infrastructure upgrades that will include a new international airport and an air-conditioned public transport system. Everything for a World Cup bid could be ready as early as 2017.
The stadia have futuristic design blueprints, including one designed in the shape of a dhow — a traditional Arab sailing vessel — and another with an asymmetrical seashell motif.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter also gave Qatar's bid a boost earlier this year when he said the Arab world deserves to stage a World Cup. He was instrumental in delivering the World Cup to South Africa, the first on the African continent.
Blatter said the government's successful hosting of the 2006 Asian Games showed it was capable of organizing big international events.
Still, the bid has its doubters.
Critics question whether Qatar's largely untested cooling system will work and many Westerners remain unconvinced that Qatar will relax its conservative ways and allow fans to let loose with dancing and drinking in the streets — which has become the norm at World Cups.
"It would not be in the best interest of FIFA to allow Qatar to host the World Cup in 2022," said Austrian strategist Erwin Roth, who has spent almost three decades promoting international sporting events, including the failed bid by Salzburg to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
"A lot of problems would arise," he said. "What do you do with the fans when the games are over? You will have all fans in this tiny, little city in 40-plus centigrade temperatures. Where do you put them? You would have to build zones where they party and women would be allowed."
Simon Chadwick, a sports marketing expert at Coventry University in England, said Qatar's bid has been helped by the success of South Africa, which showed that a developing country with a history of problems could host a successful World Cup.
"There are concerns about the culture of Qatar," Chadwick said. "You are going to watch football. Are you going to be able to drink heavily, eat pizza and hang around in the streets singing songs? People perceive that because Qatar is a Muslim country that they won't be able to do that."
And even if Qatar can overcome these concerns, its bid could be hampered by relations with Israel and competition with China.
Since it has no diplomatic relations with Israel, Qatar could face a quandary should Israel qualify, or if it officials or fans want to attend. Qatar, which ended low-level contacts with Israel last year, has said repeatedly that any team that qualifies would be welcome. FIFA would require Qatar to allow any Israeli delegate to attend its congress and opening ceremony.
Another issue is China's possible bid in 2026. A China bid could weigh on FIFA committee members, who would have to debate whether to vote in favor of an Asian host like Qatar in 2022 or wait until 2026. One continent cannot host consecutive World Cups.
-- Michael Casey
Elsewhere
Scientists uncover secret of Roberto Carlos goal
PARIS (AP) — Thirteen years after Roberto Carlos stunned onlookers with his amazing "banana" free kick that seemed to defy the law of physics, scientists finally have figured out just how he did it.
In what many people regard as the best free kick in the history of the game, the Brazil defender struck the ball with the outside of his left foot from 35 yards away, bending it around the outside of France's three-man wall during an exhibition tournament in Lyon in 1997.
The ball looked way off target to the right — a ball boy standing 10 yards from the goal even ducked his head — but at the last moment, it swerved dramatically inside the post and into the net. The bewildered France goalkeeper, Fabien Barthez, had not even moved.
Many people thought the shot was a fluke, but researchers say it can all be explained by science.
"What happened that day was so special," researcher David Quere told The Associated Press. "We are confronted with an unexpected law of physics, but it's possible to see this again."
Quere, a physicist at the ESPCI and Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, and his colleagues have developed an equation to explain the bizarre trajectory of the shot. Using a small pistol to fire bullets into water at the speed of more than 60 mph — approximately the speed of Roberto Carlos' shot — they discovered that the path of a sphere when it spins is actually a spiral.
Quere said the study, which has been published in the New Journal of Physics, confirmed the "Magnus effect" — which is responsible for the curved motion of a spinning ball — but it also revealed what the scientists call the "spinning ball spiral."
The spiral effect appears after about 40 yards with a soccer ball. As the ball slows, the "Magnus effect" becomes increasingly pronounced, which eventually creates a spiral.
"The crucial thing is that while the ball is slowing down, the rotation is the same," Quere said. "Hence the trajectory of the ball is going to be more and more bent, that is what creates the spiral.
"When Michel Platini or David Beckham were kicking free kicks from 20 yards, they were bending the ball in an arc. It's not the same thing with Roberto Carlos' goal. He can have this kind of effect because he kicks from long range.
"Another player could repeat it — on the condition that the ball is kicked hard enough, that the kick is taken from about 40 yards and that the player gives some effect to the ball."
Roberto Carlos claimed at the time he had done it all before, against Roma when he was playing for Inter Milan, although he never quite managed to repeat his 1997 trick.
"It's difficult to say whether it was a lucky goal," Quere said. "There is something close to perfection in this trajectory that let me think that Roberto Carlos has probably always taken these kinds of free kicks from long range, and he should have realized that he could take advantage of it."
Barthez said after conceding the goal that he didn't set his wall correctly, but Quere said the goalkeeper probably just thought Roberto Carlos had flubbed his shot.
"Barthez was a very good keeper, at the peak of his art," Quere said. "But the trajectory was eccentric and he didn't move."
-- Samuel Petrequin
Arsenal's Wenger presides over Homeless World Cup
PARIS (AP) — Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hopes his role as organizing committee president for next year's Homeless World Cup in Paris raises awareness of those he fears are being increasingly excluded from society.
The 2011 event take place in August, with matches to be played at the picturesque Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower. Wenger is being helped by former France players Lilian Thuram and Emmanuel Petit.
"We are here because we are aware that sport can help someone's life take off," Wenger said Friday in Paris. "The goal of this World Cup is to look at people who are left to one side in society and to try and help them through sport."
Wenger said he fears homelessness will increase as people are flocking away from rural areas to cities in search of work.
"We are heading more and more toward big cities of 30-40 million inhabitants in the next 10-20 years," he said. "Sport will have a very important role to play in controlling this phenomenon."
It was Petit, who played under Wenger when Arsenal won the league and cup double in 1998, who first contacted Wenger and Thuram to get them involved.
"I am always proud when my former players take up ventures that are worth the trouble," Wenger said. "I deeply believe that sport can change lives. It gives you a goal, a motivation, a discipline that can easily be lost when you're very young."
Organizers hope that 70 teams and up to 700 players will be involved, an increase on the 67 teams taking part in this year's Homeless World Cup on Rio's Copacabana beach from Sept. 19-26.
Funding for the event, which has the backing of the French Football Federation, will cost around €2 million ($2.58 million) mainly to cover lodgings and transport.
Petit, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, said his interest has been heightened after witnessing homeless people being humiliated daily near his Paris apartment.
"When you are in the street, stop for five minutes and look at the homeless people and look at how nasty people are to them. It's as if people swerve one meter away from them for fear of being contaminated," Petit said. "We live in a society where people are scared of falling into poverty. There is less and less human rapport."
Wenger says Arsenal donated €700,000 ($900,000) this year to a charity helping homeless people in London between the ages of 15-25.
"I know the problem a little bit," he said. "In every big city that exceeds 5-10 million people, you have a certain amount of young people who are homeless."
Although football has made Wenger, Thuram and Petit very rich, Wenger said they have not forgotten that when they first fell in love with football it was not for financial reasons.
"We are super privileged people in a sport that is possibly the most money-orientated in our society," he said. "But don't forget, neither I or them started to play football because of money. We played football because we love football.
"Sport was a motor in our lives to achieve something. The money came after," Wenger added. "When I started playing there was no money in football, it came a long time afterward. It was a consequence of sport."
-- Jerome Pugmire
France striker Benzema out of Belarus game
PARIS (AP) — Striker Karim Benzema has been ruled out of France's 2012 European Championship qualifier against Belarus after failing to recover from an ankle injury.
The French federation said hours before Friday's game at the Stade de France that the Real Madrid forward had been ruled out after undergoing a fitness test in the morning.
Benzema will stay with his teammates as coach Laurent Blanc hopes to have him back for Tuesday's qualifier in Bosnia.
Blanc is also without Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery and Chelsea forward Nicolas Anelka — who were all suspended by the French Football Federation for their part in France's World Cup fiasco.
Lille's Yohan Cabaye and Real Madrid's Lassana Diarra also pulled out this week with injuries while Lyon playmaker Yoann Gourcuff is suspended.
Injuries add to French woes after 1-0 Belarus loss
PARIS (AP) — France could be without three strikers for its upcoming 2012 European Championship qualifier away to Bosnia after Loic Remy and Louis Saha picked up injuries in Friday's shock 1-0 home defeat by Belarus.
Remy went off late in the first half with a groin strain, and the second-half substitute Saha played little more than 10 minutes before leaving with a calf strain.
With Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema unavailable after taking a knock to an ankle in training, coach Laurent Blanc says he has "to make choices" before the team flies out to face Bosnia.
France is under pressure to win against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which easily won 3-0 away to Luxembourg to top Group D.
Switzerland's Barnetta could miss England match
ST. GALLEN, Switzerland (AP) — Switzerland midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta has flu and could miss the European Championship qualifier against England on Tuesday.
The Switzerland football federation says Barnetta became sick on Friday morning and must sit out the friendly match against Australia in St. Gallen later in the day.
Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has called up Sampdoria midfielder Marco Padalino as cover if Barnetta does not recover in time to face England at St. Jakob Park in Basel.
Switzerland opens its Euro 2012 qualifying program against England, which begins Group G play at home to Bulgaria on Friday.
Essien puts Ghana career on hold
LONDON (AP) — Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac says Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is putting his international career on hold to regain the form he enjoyed before sustaining the injuries that ruled him out of the World Cup.
Essien injured a hamstring while playing for Chelsea last December and ruptured a cruciate ligament the following month while on Ghana duty at the African Cup of Nations.
Rajevac was quoted as telling the BBC in Johannesburg that the 27-year-old Essien "wants to concentrate on his club and I am sure after some time he will come back to the national team. "
Rajevac says that "I want to help him to get into his old form, to start playing regularly and I gave that permission. "
Litex Lovech appoints Penev as coach
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarian champions Litex Lovech have appointed Luboslav Penev as head coach.
The team officially introduced the 44-year-old Penev, a former striker on Bulgaria's national team and Spanish club Valencia, during a ceremony in Lovech.
Penev coached CSKA Sofia until being dismissed in January.
Penev replaces former youth team coach Petko Petkov, who had assumed the interim head coach role for the opening games of the current season.
