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Soccer Capsules: Messi wins Golden Ball award
Comments 0 | Recommend 0PARIS — Argentina's Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball awarded to the European Footballer of the Year with the biggest margin ever on Tuesday following an exceptional season with Barcelona.
Messi became the sixth Barcelona player to take the award and the first since Brazilian Ronaldinho in 2005. He beat last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo into second place while Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez finished third in the poll results released by France Football.
Hailed by Argentina great Diego Maradona as his successor, Messi won an unprecedented treble in Spain last season with Barcelona as the Catalan side swept the Champions League, the Spanish title and the Copa del Rey.
Messi, who tallied 473 of a possible 480 points, largely dominated the voting and won with a record-margin of 240 points. Real Madrid winger Ronaldo had 233 and Xavi had 170.
"Honestly, I knew that I was among the favorites because Barcelona had a fruitful year in 2009," Messi was quoted as saying by the magazine. "But I didn't expect to win with such a margin. The Golden Ball is very important to me. All the players who won it were great players, and some great players never won it."
The 22-year-old Messi, the first Argentine to win the prestigious trophy, was the top scorer in last year's Champions League with nine goals, including his superb header in the 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the final.
Barcelona had three players in the Top 5 with Andres Iniesta taking fourth ahead of former Barca player Samuel Eto'o.
In an outstanding season, Messi netted 38 goals in 51 games in all competitions, often leaving defenders in his wake with a combination of speed, exceptional dribbling abilities and his effective left-footed strike.
Messi, who leads Argentina to next year's World Cup in South Africa, recently signed a new contract with Barcelona through 2016 and has a buyout clause of 250 million euros ($368 million) included.
Messi had a good start to this season — already scoring nine goals — and put on a great display to help his club defeat archrival Real Madrid 1-0 last Sunday.
"It won't be easy to confirm after a year like the one we just went through," Messi said. "I hope the next one will reach the same standards. But to win the Golden Ball two years in a row is not an easy thing."
After starting club football in 1995 at Argentina's Newell's Old Boys, Messi, who suffered from a growth hormone deficiency when he was a child, joined Barcelona's Under-14 team in 2000 after the Spanish club offered to pay for his treatment.
The diminutive forward — 1.69 meters and 67 kilograms (5-feet-7; 148 pounds) — was part of the Argentina team at the World Cup 2006 before claiming the Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008.
France Football's award was decided by an annual poll of football journalists from a shortlist of 30 players.
The 24-year-old Ronaldo won the Premier League title with Manchester United in 2009 before signing with Real Madrid for 93 million euros.
Named best player at the 2008 European championship, where Spain won its first major title in 44 years, midfielder Xavi was also a key element in Barcelona's treble in 2009, playing 35 Spanish league games and 14 of the 15 European matches of his club.
World Cup
You, too? Ireland asks if it can go to Cup as well
JOHANNESBURG — Ireland has asked FIFA to be allowed into the World Cup as an extra team after Thierry Henry's handball helped France eliminate the Irish in a playoff.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter says that the Irish have written to soccer's world governing body asking to be let into the 2010 tournament in South Africa because of Henry's handball.
Henry handled the ball before setting up William Gallas for the tying goal Nov. 18 that put France into the World Cup at the expense of Ireland.
FIFA has already rejected a call by the Irish for a replay.
Blatter told a conference in Johannesburg that the Irish asked: "Can we be team No. 33 at the World Cup?"
FIFA will discuss the request at a meeting of its executive committee Wednesday.
Jordaan proud of South Africa's safety record
JOHANNESBURG — The head of organizers for next year's World Cup defended South Africa's safety record and stressed soccer can't be held responsible for the country's high crime rate.
"Any team you mention who has been to South Africa, they will tell you they were safe," Danny Jordaan said Monday. "We have had 141 major sports events and we have not failed any of them in terms of safety."
He said the country had recruited more than 140,000 extra police, with 100,000 more in reserve, for next year's World Cup, backed up by more vehicles and water canons.
Official government figures list up 50 murders a day.
"Societal crime isn't my responsibility and no event in the world can accept such responsibility," Jordaan said. "It happens in socially deprived areas. Security for the event is my responsibility and we have not failed anyone since the start in 1994 — 15 years without a major incident. I think South Africa's safety record is second to none."
FIFA president Sepp Blatter told the Soccerex business conference that South Africa still had logistical problems in areas such as transportation and accommodation. About 450,000 fans are expected from overseas for the tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 11.
"But if there are problems only in logistics, they can be solved," Blatter said. "We trust them to do it. It is a huge country, but when you can identify problems you can solve them."
-- Robert Millward
Blatter says FIFA to discuss extra refs for WCup
JOHANNESBURG — Soccer's governing body will consider having extra officials on the field to help referees at next year's World Cup.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter says Thierry Henry's hand ball against Ireland, which led to the goal that put France in next year's tournament, showed referees need assistance.
"There is a lack of discipline and respect in the game by the players because they are cheating," Blatter said Monday, two days before an emergency meeting of the FIFA executive committee in Cape Town before the World Cup draw.
"We have only one man on the field of play who shall intervene in this matter. He has two assistants for the time being, perhaps more in the future. He has to make an immediate decision. He has only two eyes. So match control is now is on the agenda. How shall we avoid such situations as we have seen in this very specific match?"
Irish soccer authorities, denied a request for a replay, asked FIFA that it be allowed to go to the World Cup as a 33rd team. They also urged FIFA to introduce extra officials and goal-line video replay technology for international games.
As an experiment in the Europa League, UEFA uses five officials, one at each end of the field, to help the referee settle disputes in the penalty area, including whether the ball has crossed the line.
Blatter opposes video replay to determine calls. Any changes must be approved by the International Football Association Board, the sport's rules-making body.
"With technology, you have to stop a match. You have a look at cameras," Blatter said. "We have to maintain the human face of football and not go into technology."
Blatter said the World Cup playoffs led to several disputes that will be discussed at the executive committee meeting. There is concern about the two-leg format, in which the team playing the second leg at home appears to have an advantage. Blatter thinks one game at a neutral ground is sufficient.
He also said Costa Rica complained to FIFA that a goal in Uruguay's playoff win was offside.
-- Robert Millward
Drogba wants to avoid Brazil, England in WCup draw
LONDON — Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba hopes Friday's World Cup draw is kinder to his team than four years ago and allows it to avoid the major powers in the group stage in South Africa.
Drogba's side had to face Argentina and the Netherlands in the group stage at the 2006 tournament in Germany and only collected points against Serbia before being eliminated.
Ivory Coast is Africa's leading contender to win its first World Cup title when the competition is staged on the continent for the first time, but Drogba's side is only among the third-seeded teams.
"I hope we will be in a better group than in 2006 when we tried to fight but had no chance to go through," Drogba told The Associated Press on Monday. "Hopefully we will be more lucky this time. We want to avoid all the big teams like Brazil, Germany and England."
Drogba will be hoping to go to South Africa as a Premier League winner again. He scored twice Sunday as Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-0 to win a fifth straight league match and lead the standings by five points over defending champion Manchester United.
"The lead is not enough, but at the same time it's a good gap," said Drogba, who also won the title in 2005 and '06 under Jose Mourinho. "When you are top of the league, it is good — the others have to chase us. They have to produce and do more than us to win games.
"It is true that Manchester are still there. We were in their position last year, behind and chasing. It is very difficult and now they have to come and catch us."
Chelsea, though, will have to cope without Drogba in January when he travels with Ivory Coast to Angola for the African Cup of Nations.
"I've no doubt that they will be able to do the job without me," he said. "At Chelsea, my first two seasons were really good, the team bond was really strong and now this one is a little bit like it was during those years when we were champions under Mourinho."
Drogba attended Monday's launch of a campaign by Nike to use the buildup to the World Cup to raise money for research into HIV/AIDS.
"I have been to many hospitals in Africa and I have seen people dying from HIV," Drogba said. "When you think about it and how easy it is to get some medicine to treat this disease, you want people to listen to you and join you."
-- Rob Harris
Brazilian minister says delays threaten 2014 WCup
SAO PAULO — Brazil's sports minister says bureaucracy could keep key infrastructure work from being completed in time for the 2014 World Cup.
Orlando Silva says bureaucratic delays in the construction sector could undermine the nation's ability to successfully host football's biggest showcase in five years.
Silva called for streamlined bid processes and faster approval decisions if Brazil wants to avoid the risk of not completing the necessary infrastructure in time for the competition.
Silva told the private Agencia Estado news service Monday he is especially worried about the nation's airports.
League Previews/Roundups
Ferguson to recall youngsters for League Cup
LONDON — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is set to recall a half dozen of his young players to face Tottenham in this week's League Cup quarterfinals, just a week after they slumped to an embarrassing loss in Europe.
United hosts Spurs in one of Tuesday's two matches in what is a rerun of last year's final, which Ferguson's team won in a shootout following a 0-0 draw.
Having started his strongest side on Saturday to help keep the club within five points of Premier League leader Chelsea, Ferguson will give Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda, Rafael da Silva and Gabriel Obertan another chance to prove themselves worthy of a lengthy career with United.
They missed their last opportunity, losing 1-0 to Besiktas to surrender the club's eight-year unbeaten home record in the Champions League.
"It will be the same players that played on Wednesday," Ferguson said. "Their future is well marked out, I think.
"Of course, they will grow from that experience. I was confident of playing them and they had every right to play."
Those four players are all between 18 and 20 years old, with 21-year-old Anderson and 22-year-old Darron Gibson also set to return against Spurs.
Ferguson said the sextet's development compared favorably with that of David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, who helped United to the 1995-96 title in their first seasons as first-team regulars. They were all 20 at the start of that season.
Ferguson said his youngsters just need the experience of games against the likes of Tottenham, which is third in the Premier League and has reached the League Cup final each of the past two seasons.
"We're not talking about ability here; we're talking about experience," Ferguson said. "That's why we have to play them. Games are the one thing we have to give them.
"We can't just give them that old head that helps you deal with situations like on Wednesday in the final third of the field."
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has to decide whether to stick with his strongest side, which beat Wigan 9-1 and then drew 1-1 at Aston Villa in its past two matches, or shuffle the lineup and jeopardize his chances of a shock win.
Luka Modric and Ledley King are still recuperating from injury, so Redknapp may tinker with rather than completely overhaul his team.
Also Tuesday, Villa is at Portsmouth.
The other two semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday, with Chelsea and Arsenal both in action three days after the Blues won the teams' Premier League encounter at the Emirates Stadium 3-0.
Chelsea has eight wins and a draw from its past nine matches and is confident of beating an inconsistent Blackburn side irrespective of which team coach Carlo Ancelotti fields.
"Physically and mentally we are strong and we know how to go through difficult moments when the game is hard," Chelsea striker Didier Drogba said.
Arsenal is at Manchester City, which has lost momentum with seven straight draws in the Premier League.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger will rest the players beaten by Chelsea to give them time to recover for a renewed Premier League challenge against Stoke next weekend.
The League Cup "is a competition that is not one of our priorities, but we go to Manchester City to win a game," Wenger said. "We'll play our young players ... and some of them will play in the Champions League as well because we are already qualified."
-- Stuart Condie
Newell's beats Colon 1-0 to take Apertura lead
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Joaquin Boghossian scored the lone goal to give Newell's Old Boys a 1-0 win at Colon de Santa Fe and top spot on the Argentine Apertura table Monday.
The victory lifted Newell's to 36 points, one ahead of Banfield. The top two both have three games left to play. Colon is third on 31 points, but has played a game more than the leaders.
In other results Monday, Lanus thrashed Arsenal de Sarandi 5-2 in a mid-table clash, while Argentinos Juniors had a 2-1 away victory over struggling Gimnasia La Plata.
Newell's striker Boghossian finished a sweeping move out of defense to score the crucial goal against Colon in the 21st minute.
Hugo Barrientos was sent off for Newell's in the 75th, while Colon's German Rivarola received a red card in the 90th as both sides finished with 10 men.
Meanwhile, goals from Diego Galvan in the 6th minute and Javier Yacuzzi in the 61st gave Arsenal a 2-1 lead after more than an hour played against Lanus.
Sebastian Blanco had equalized for Lanus in the 34th, but the visitors went on the attack in the last half hour with goals from Cristian Menendez, Santiago Biglieri, Santiago Salcedo and Agustin Pelletieri.
The day's final match saw Jose Vizcarra open the scoring for Gimnasia in the 60th minute at home against Argentinos Juniors, before Gabriel Hauche equalized six minutes later. Gonzalo Prosperi sealed three points for Gimnasia with a strike in the 81st minute.
In other results over the weekend it was: Rosario Central 1, Atletico Tucuman 1; Independiente 2, Huracan 0; Chacarita Juniors 2, Godoy Cruz 1; River Plate 1, Estudiantes 1; San Lorenzo 3, Boca Juniors 0; Tigre 0, Velez Sarsfield 3; Banfield 1, Racing Club 2.
Elsewhere
Marquez signs contract extension with Barcelona
BARCELONA, Spain — Rafael Marquez has signed a contract extension with Barcelona, which ties him to the club until 2012.
The Mexico defender joined Barcelona from Monaco in 2003.
Details of the extension were not made public by Barcelona. Marquez, who has been plagued recently by injuries, said he will likely finish his career with the Catalan club.
"I'm 30 years old," Marquez said Monday. "I think I have two or three more years. And with the attitude I have, I think I can keep playing at the top level."
Premier League clubs paid agents $115m in a year
LONDON — The Premier League released the amount its clubs paid agents in one year Monday, with Manchester City accounting for almost one-fifth of the $116 million total as its wealthy Abu Dhabi owner rebuilt the team.
In total, the 20 topflight clubs spent 70.7 million pounds on agents fees for 803 transfers between October 2008 to September 2009.
"For the first time, there will be a game-wide picture of the level of spending on agents," England's Football Association said. "Clubs are bringing greater transparency to the domestic transfer market."
To attract international players like Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez, City paid 12.9 million pounds to agents during his first year of Sheikh Mansour's ownership — more than any other club.
Chelsea paid 9.6 million pounds, followed by Liverpool with 6.7 million and Tottenham with 6.1 million. Manchester United paid just 1.5 million pounds as it won a third straight Premier League title.
Liga de Quito with huge advantage
QUITO, Ecuador — Liga de Quito goes into Wednesday's second-leg of Copa Sudamericana final against Fluminense with a 5-1 advantage and the title within its grasp.
Everything indicates it will come out on top. Last year, the same two clubs met in the Copa Libertadores final and Quito won a penalty shootout at Maracana stadium, the same venue for Wednesday's match.
"We don't expect to get any advantages from our rivals, and we're not going to give them any edges," Quito coach Jorge Fossati said Monday as the team left Quito. "We'll be expecting the best out of Fluminense."
Quito's Edison Mendez scored a hat trick last week in a match played at 2,800 meters (9,000 feet), which seemed to slow the Brazilians.
Quito's main absence on Wednesday will be midfielder Miller Bolanos, who is out after leg surgery.
Fluminense will be hoping a 4-0 victory over the weekend against league rival Vitoria can give the club some momentum. The win lifted Fluminense out of the relegation zone.
The key player is probably striker Fred. He scored his 12th goal in the season in the victory over Vitoria.
Toulouse goalkeeper out for up to 4 months
TOULOUSE, France — Toulouse goalkeeper Yohann Pele will be out for up to four months after seriously injuring his left knee in a French league game.
Pele sustained the injury in a 1-0 win over Boulogne on Saturday and left the field on a stretcher. He is unlikely to undergo an operation, his club said Monday.
Pele joined Toulouse from Le Mans last June to replace Cedric Carrasso, who left for Bordeaux. He already missed several weeks earlier this season with a fractured hand.
Toulouse is ninth in the French league standings after 14 matches, seven points behind leader Bordeaux.
Match will be stopped if racist chanting occurs
ROME — Italian soccer authorities say they will stop Saturday's game between Juventus and Inter Milan for 10 minutes if there is racist chanting.
Italian soccer federation president Giancarlo Abete said Monday the referee and the police can take joint decision if there is abuse.
Last season, Juventus was ordered to play one game in an empty stadium after fans taunted Inter striker Mario Balotelli, whose family is from Ghana.
The club already has been fined this season after fans sung racially offensive songs about the striker in recent weeks.
Chiellini to wear mask after breaking nose
TURIN, Italy — Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini will wear a protective mask during training and games after breaking his nose in the 2-0 loss to Cagliari on Sunday.
Chiellini is undergoing an operation on the injury Monday but the club's Web site reports that he will be free to leave afterward.
The Italy defender clashed with Cagliari striker Nene, but stayed on the field until the final whistle. He is expected to report for training on Wednesday.
Inter Milan fan in serious condition
MILAN — The Inter Milan fan who was taken to hospital in a coma after he fell from the second tier of the San Siro is reported to be in a stable, but serious condition in a hospital in the city.
The 36-year-old man fell after he jumped on to the edge of a safety railing when celebrating Diego Milito's 85th-minute penalty against Fiorentina and a late chance for Samuel Eto'o immediately afterward.
ANSA news agency reports that a 46-year-old man the Inter fan fell on to is expected to leave hospital later on Monday.
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