Soccer Capsules: Chivas USA parts ways with coach Preki

CARSON, Calif. — Chivas USA and Preki are parting ways two years after he was chosen Major League Soccer’s coach of the year.

The club said Thursday that Preki will pursue other opportunities. His contract expires at year’s end.

Preki Radosavljevic became Chivas USA’s fourth coach in January 2007, replacing Bob Bradley, whom he had been an assistant to during the 2006 season. Preki had a career record of 49-29-21 and his winning percentage of .561 was the best in club history.

Chivas USA made the playoffs in each of Preki’s three seasons in charge, and he was the longest-serving coach in team history. Preki was a two-time MVP in MLS.

The Red and White lost to the rival Los Angeles Galaxy in the two-game Western Conference playoffs this season.

Two New York Red Bulls players undergo surgery

SECAUCUS, N.J. — The New York Red Bulls say goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul and forward Macoumba Kandji have both had surgery.

The MLS team said Thursday that doctors removed a small cyst and repaired a small tear in the patella tendon in Coundoul’s left knee. The operation was performed Tuesday, and his recovery time is expected to be six to eight weeks.

Coundoul, acquired from the Colorado Rapids in late June, made eight starts, posting a 1.25 goals against average and two shutouts.

Kandji underwent surgery Wednesday to repair the adductor muscle in his right thigh and a hernia. His recovery time is expected to be four to six weeks.

In his first full season with the Red Bulls, Kandji had two goals and four assists in 23 games.

Elsewhere

Goalkeeper Robert Enke’s funeral set for Sunday

FRANKFURT — Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke will be buried in a small ceremony near his home Sunday following a stadium memorial service for the player whose suicide has shaken the country.

The entire national team will attend the service, the German soccer federation said, and will be joined by former coaches Juergen Klinsmann and Rudi Voeller, along with other players. Enke, who played for Hannover, will be buried near Neustadt, outside Hannover, the team said.

The 32-year-old goalie took his own life Tuesday evening when he stepped in front of a train near his Hannover home. His wife, Teresa, went on national television a day later to say her husband had been suffering from depression for six years but did not want it known.

"It was a free decision by Mrs. Enke. I think she wanted to make the public aware of this subject," Hannover club president Martin Kind said. "We must learn how to open ourselves."

Kind spoke after attending a religious service Wednesday evening with Teresa Enke, some Hannover players, Germany coach Joachim Loew, national team captain Michael Ballack, soccer federation president Theo Zwanziger and hundreds of Hannover citizens. Later, about 35,000 people took part in a silent march to city’s stadium.

In a country riveted by soccer, Enke’s death has prompted a debate about whether players receive sufficient psychological support.

"The tragedy of Robert Enke gives us cause to think about certain things that are usual and taken for granted in football," said Hannover general manager Joerg Schmadtke, a former goalkeeper. "We have to discuss the care of these young people."

Teresa Enke said her husband had kept his depression secret from the public because had had been afraid the couple’s adopted 8-month-old daughter would be taken away from then if his illness were known. The couple’s biological daughter died of a heart ailment when she was 2 in 2006.

In a suicide note, Enke apologized to his family and the staff treating him for deliberately misleading them into believing he was better, which was "necessary in order to carry out the suicide plans," said Valentin Markser, the doctor who treated him.

Enke’s ailment was not known to his teammates or coaches.

"Robert played a perfect role, he misled the public perfectly," Schmadtke said. "By doing that he took away the possibility for us to help him."

Enke’s longtime goalkeeping coach, Joerg Sievers, said depression was a taboo subject in soccer.

"Depression is surely seen in some places as a weakness," Sievers said.

The union of professional soccer players urged more psychological support for players. Some Bundesliga clubs already employ full-time psychologists, as does the national team.

Enke had a good chance of being Germany’s starting goalkeeper at next year’s World Cup in South Africa. He is the second Germany player known to have suffered from depression. Bayern Munich midfielder Sebastian Deisler quit soccer in January 2007 after several bouts of depression and five knee operations.

The German soccer federation canceled an exhibition game scheduled for Saturday in Cologne against Chile. After attending the service Sunday, the team will gather in Duesseldorf to prepare for Wednesday’s exhibition against Ivory Coast.

-- Nesha Starcevic

Ferguson banned for criticizing referee’s fitness

WEMBLEY, England — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was banned for four games and fined $32,000 Thursday for criticizing the fitness of a referee after a Premier League game.

Ferguson received the punishment when he appeared before a Football Association disciplinary panel at Wembley Stadium on a misconduct charge.

After his team tied 2-2 with Sunderland on Oct. 3, Ferguson said referee Alan Wiley was not fit enough to handle the game. Although he later apologized, the FA banned Ferguson from the bench for two domestic games and left two more suspended until the end of the 2010-11 season.

Ferguson will need to monitor his conduct or the remaining two-game ban will be enforced.

"The Commission considered his admitted remarks, in the context in which they were made, were not just improper but were grossly improper and wholly inappropriate," said Peter Griffiths, chairman of the disciplinary panel.

Ferguson said in a TV interview after the game he was concerned about Wiley’s fitness.

"He just wasn’t fit enough for a game of that standard," the United manager said. "The fitness of the players, the pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. He took 30 seconds to book a player, I think he’s taking a rest writing down names on his card."

Ferguson apologized for "any personal embarrassment" by criticizing Wiley, but maintained that the fitness levels of referees did not match the demands of the modern game.

German striker Klose quarantined over swine flu

MUNICH — Bayern Munich says striker Miroslav Klose and his family have been quarantined after his twin sons came down with swine flu.

Klose and his wife, Sylwia, are under observation and it is unclear whether he will be able to play in Germany’s international exhibition against Ivory Coast next Wednesday.

Bayern Munich media director Markus Hoerwick said Thursday that "we have to wait and see how the situation develops."

Klose did not join the German national team ahead of the scheduled match against Chile on Saturday. That exhibition was canceled following the suicide death of goalkeeper Robert Enke.

Maradona refuses to talk about possible ban

MADRID — Argentina coach Diego Maradona is refusing to discuss his outburst on live TV last month after a World Cup qualifier.

The Argentine soccer great will attend a hearing at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland on Sunday. During a news conference Thursday, he would not speculate on possible punishment.

Maradona’s expletive-filled remarks on TV followed Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Uruguay, prompting a FIFA investigation. His conduct could result in a five-game suspension and nearly $20,000 fine.

Argentina is a two-time World Cup champion but did not earn a spot in the 2010 tournament until the last qualifying game. Argentina plays Spain in an exhibition game Saturday.

Bomb targets Panathinaikos fan club, no injuries

ATHENS, Greece — Greek police say a small bomb has exploded outside a Panathinaikos fan club in Athens, causing minor damage but no injuries.

A police statement says Thursday morning’s blast damaged the club entrance in the southern suburb of Aghios Dimitrios and broke windows in nearby apartments. The club was empty at the time of the blast.

There has been no claim of responsibility.

Last month, a small bomb made of camping gas canisters exploded outside an Athens fan club of Panathinaikos rival Olympiakos, also causing minor damage but no injuries.

Panathinaikos leads the Greek league with 28 points, two more than defending champion Olympiakos.