U.S., Mexico and World Cup Capsules: Santos, Toluca draw in Mexican final
TORREON, Mexico — Matias Vuoso scored a late equalizer for Santos in a 2-2 draw at home against Toluca in the first leg of the Mexican Clausura final on Thursday.
Darwin Quintero gave Santos the lead in the 14th minute, but Toluca equalized with a Diego Novaretti goal nine minutes later and took the lead when Sinha found the net in the 68th. Vuoso leveled the scores with five minutes left to play.
Toluca's Manuel De La Torre was sent off in stoppage time for an rough challenge on Fernando Arce.
The return leg will be played in Toluca on Sunday.
Toluca is playing for its 10th Mexican title, which would put the club level with America in second place on the all-time list behind Chivas. Santos has won the title three times.
U.S. Soccer
Onyewu feels free — and liberated
PRINCETON, N.J. — Oguchi Onyewu feels free. Make that liberated. Well, both.
He signed a three-year contract with AC Milan last summer, then appeared in just one competitive game before blowing out a knee while off with the U.S. national team.
"Obviously this season has been lost with me," he said.
Rehab wasn’t enough. He wanted to make a grand gesture.
So on Monday, four days past his 28th birthday, the American defender extended his contract for one season — at absolutely no cost to the team. Essentially, he is paying Milan back for the year he didn’t play.
Milan called the decision "exemplary" and said he "deserves sincere congratulations."
"It was just a sign of good faith," he said Thursday. "The club was able to stick by me" and he wanted to "show my dedication back to them."
In the world of sports that sticks out, but then again, so does the 6-foot-4 Onyewu, who stands on the U.S. back line as if he were a skyscraper.
Landon Donovan didn’t want Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena to think his national teammate was setting a trend that would ripple back to the shores of Major League Soccer.
"You can tell Bruce," Donovan said, "that I’m not playing for free anytime soon."
Onyewu is the biggest uncertainty among the regular U.S. starters. He hasn’t played in a game since Oct. 14, when he tore his left patellar tendon. He maintains he’s match fit — denying the appearance that he favored one leg Thursday. While the rest of the team jogged around the field at the end of training, he ran wind sprints up the center.
But he’ll have to prove his form starting Tuesday night, when the U.S. plays the Czech Republic in a World Cup warmup at East Hartford, Conn.
"From Day One, people were like, ‘Oh, Onyewu’s going to miss the World Cup.’ And I’d read it, and then turn the page to the funny section," he said. "I always say that I know who I am and I know what I’m capable of and nobody from the outside can tell me what I’m capable of doing besides me."
Sometime he sounds a bit like Reggie Jackson, and he has a swagger about him, a big-man presence that gives teammates confidence and has been missing in his absence.
"I’m sure you read blogs and you read magazine articles or newspapers articles, and a lot of people are saying that I won’t come back like I was," he said. "I’m going to go out and agree with them. I won’t come back as I was. I’m going to come back stronger."
His injury came following a corner kick, when he was backpedaling and fell to the ground during a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica at Washington’s RFK Stadium. He felt as if his left kneecap had migrated to his quadriceps.
"I actually thought that one of the Costa Rican players kicked me in my hamstring," he said. "I could have sworn until I saw the video that somebody kicked me. And when I landed, you know, I was looking for the referee, because I thought I got fouled."
He worked during the early part of his rehabilitation with Charlie Davies, the American forward who that same week was nearly killed in a car crash, sustaining injuries that Davies couldn’t overcome in time for the World Cup.
"We kind of motivated each other to get back to where we are today," Onyewu said. "There was a lot of, you know, soul searching and what have you because it’s not easy to watch your teams play when you watch on TV."
AC Milan executive Adriano Galliani demanded compensation from the U.S. Soccer Federation, which raised eyebrows given that the club is owned by Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi. But Onyewu said nothing ever became of that.
Teammates are counting on a healthy Onyewu to help stop Wayne Rooney, Steve Gerrard, Frank Lampard and other English stars in the Americans’ World Cup opener on June 12.
"He’s a physical presence. He’s a dominant figure," midfielder Maurice Edu said. "He’s also a leader on the field."
Teammates look up to him, and not just because he towers over them.
"He’s been a guy who’s played is just about all the big games for the national team in the past six, seven, eight years," midfielder Michael Bradley said.
Onyewu still is angry about the 2006 World Cup, when the U.S. failed to advance from the first round. With the score tied in first-half injury time, German referee Markus Merk awarded Ghana a penalty kick when Onyewu jostled with 5-foot-8 Razak Pimpong for a header at the edge of the penalty area.
"There was an injustice," Onyewu said. "I still to this day don’t know where the foul came from."
Now he has a chance to make up for it. He’s worked since last October to get ready for the World Cup. The three upcoming exhibition games are a chance to prove he’s back.
"I’m sure," he said, "there’s going to be a little nerves for me, you know, the first minute or two. But after that, you know, you’re going to see the same Gooch that you saw seven months ago."
NOTES: D Carlos Bocanegra (abdominal strain) and D Chad Marshall (slight hamstring strain) joined full training for the first time this week. F Eddie Johnson (hamstring strain) participated in full training except for the fitness run. D Jay DeMerit (abdominal strain) participated in part of training. The team is off Friday.
-- Ronald Blum
Bocanegra, Marshall resume full training with U.S.
PRINCETON, N.J. — Defenders Carlos Bocanegra and Chad Marshall have joined full training with the U.S. national team for the first time this week.
Bocanegra, the U.S. captain, had been bothered by an abdominal strain. Marshall had a slight hamstring strain sustained Saturday while playing for Columbus against Chivas USA .
Eddie Johnson is recovering from a hamstring strain that occurred while playing in Greece for Aris on May 12. He participated in full training Thursday except for the fitness run.
Jay DeMerit, hampered by an abdominal strain, participated in part of training.
The U.S. is off Friday, then has two final days of practice at Princeton before traveling to Connecticut for Tuesday's exhibition against the Czech Republic.
Without Donovan, Galaxy beats FC Dallas 1-0
FRISCO — Mike Magee scored in the 17th minute and the Los Angeles Galaxy, playing without stars Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle, beat FC Dallas 1-0 Thursday night to remain unbeaten.
Los Angeles (8-0-2) is two victories shy of the MLS record for most games without a loss to start a season, shared by the 1996 Galaxy and the 2000 Columbus Crew. The Galaxy have now outscored their opposition 16-2. Dallas had its 12-game home unbeaten streak (8-0-4) snapped.
Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts recorded his league-best seventh shutout of the season, making three saves, including an impressive sliding stop on FCD striker Jeff Cunningham in the 58th minute and a diving grab of David Ferreira's desperation shot from the right flank two minutes into stoppage time.
With Buddle, who leads the MLS with nine goals this year, and Donovan, who tops the league with nine assists, both training with the United States
World Cup squad, the Galaxy moved Magee up to forward from his usual midfielder position and gave rookie Tristan Bowen his first MLS start.
The move paid off early as Magee's first goal of the season put Los Angeles up 1-0 on a play set up by Bowen, who earned his first career assist. Bowen, who had only made two appearances for a total of 42 minutes this year, moved in on a partial breakaway before feeding a pass across the top of the penalty area to the charging Magee, who drilled it into the open side of the net.
Even with its top two threats missing, the Galaxy controlled the play for most of the first half, although Dallas had the territorial advantage in the second.
Dallas was missing midfielder Heath Pearce due to national team duty.
FC Dallas midfielder Bruno Guarda was suspended for the game after he kicked a ball into the crowd and made an offensive gesture toward fans in Philadelphia. Guarda was suspended by his team and fined $750 by Major League Soccer.
FC Dallas midfielder Guarda suspended
NEW YORK — FC Dallas midfielder Bruno Guarda was suspended for one game Thursday after he kicked a ball into the crowd and made an offensive gesture toward fans in Philadelphia.
Guarda was suspended by his team and fined $750 by Major League Soccer. FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman opted to hold Guarda out of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
"There were things that happened in Philadelphia and he reacted poorly to it," Hyndman said. "That’s not what we want our team, FC Dallas, to portray, and it’s not what the MLS wants its players to portray. I think the message is that we don’t want our players to cross that line."
Guarda, a reserve midfielder who has only appeared in one game this season, didn’t play against the Union on Saturday, but at halftime he got into it with fans. Referees did not see the kick or the gesture, but the MLS disciplinary committee reviewed video.
Hyndman said Guarda’s behavior was atypical, and the 24-year-old Brazilian was remorseful.
"The one question I did ask was, ‘If you had to do it all over again, would you do it differently?’ And his response was, ‘Yes,"’ Hyndman said. "And I think that speaks volumes for him, because he’s a good human being, a good person. This is very out of character for him."
Pires turns down MLS offer from Philadelphia
PARIS — Former Arsenal and France midfielder Robert Pires says he has turned down an offer from the Philadelphia Union of the MLS.
The 36-year-old Pires said on the website of French newspaper L'Equipe that he would like to play in the United States but did not think Philadelphia was the right city for him and his family.
Pires, whose contract with Villarreal was not renewed after starting only 13 games for the Spanish club this season, said he "doesn't want to be fussy but if I have to go far away with my family, I prefer to do it in a beautiful town."
Pires won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European championship with France, as well as two English league titles with Arsenal.
Copa Libertadores
Internacional, Universidad de Chile into semis
SANTIAGO, Chile — Brazil's Internacional and Universidad de Chile have reached the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores despite quarterfinal losses on Thursday, joining Sao Paulo and Chivas of Mexico in the final four.
Internacional lost 2-1 at defending champion Estudiantes, but advanced on away goals after winning the first leg 1-0. Universidad de Chile also advanced on away goals despite losing 2-1 at home in the return against Flamengo, thanks to a 3-2 win in the first match in Brazil.
Internacional will face Sao Paulo in the semifinals to avoid two clubs from the same country appearing in the final, leaving Chivas to face Universidad in the other match. The semis will take place after the World Cup has finished.
Players were involved in violent clashes in the closing moments as Brazil's Internacional knocked out Estudiantes.
Leandro Gonzalez and Enzo Perez scored in the first half of Estudiantes' 2-1 win, but Giuliano's goal in the 89th-minute gave Internacional the overall victory on away goals.
Estudiantes defender Leandro Desabato and Sao Paulo's Argentine goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri were among the players to clash at the final whistle, with Desabato appearing to head-butt Abbondanzieri.
In the other quarterfinal, Vagner Love gave Flamengo the lead with a header from Adriano's overhead kick just after half time as the Brazilian club looked to overturn the surprise 3-2 defeat suffered against Universidad in the Maracana stadium last week.
Flamengo needed to win by two clear goals, but was pegged back level when Walter Montillo lifted a precise chip over goalkeeper Bruno from the edge of the area in the 74th minute.
Former Inter Milan striker Adriano gave Flamengo hope with a 78th-minute goal after Leo Moura backheeled the ball into his path, but the Brazilian club was unable to find the extra goal needed to progress.
The Copa Libertadores is the top club competition in Latin America, equivalent to Europe's Champions' League. The winner gets to play in the Club World Cup against the champions from the other continental confederations.
This year, the Copa Libertadores will take a break after the quarterfinals to make way for the World Cup. The semifinals will begin in July, with the final running into August.
Sao Paulo has won the tournament three times in the past, while Internacional won the title for the first time in 2006. Universidad de Chile has never reached the final, reaching the semis in 1970 and 1996.
Mexican clubs compete by invitation in the Copa Libertadores — organized by South American governing body CONMEBOL — because they belong to CONCACAF, the federation that covers North America.
No Mexican club has won the Copa Libertadores since the teams joined the tournament in 1998.
World Cup
SAfrica promises the planet a safe World Cup
JOHANNESBURG — Saddled with high crime, fear of terrorism and skeptics around the globe, South Africa promises it's ready to keep the peace through an exciting World Cup.
The country's security forces are backing up the pledge with an impressive show of hardware and muscle, and an even flashier display of rhetoric. But whether it'll be enough to calm tourists' fears and maintain order is a major question as the opening game approaches on June 11.
"Ours is a daunting task," police minister Nathi Mthethwa said recently. "But if we work together we shall succeed. Failure is not even part of our vocabulary."
Maybe, but the concern is real. And the capture in Iraq of Saudi citizen Abdullah Azam Saleh al-Qahtani, who told The Associated Press he was plotting an attack against the Dutch and Danish teams at the monthlong tournament, emphasized that South Africa's security forces will be severely tested.
"Even the smallest, most insignificant target will work for terrorists because the world's attention is on South Africa," terrorism expert Anneli Botha at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria said. "And al-Qaida know they have to stay relevant."
The country's top police officer, national commissioner Bheki Cele, said preparations had been given the "thumbs up" by international security agencies.
The security force includes 44,000 officers from the national South African Police Service (SAPS) who will be dedicated solely to the World Cup. An extra 10,000 personnel from metropolitan forces will boost the total force to 54,000.
"We won't be ready today and we won't be ready tomorrow, because we were ready yesterday," Cele said at a police show of force, where some of the $90 million worth of new security equipment was paraded. The hardware included water cannons, helicopters, speed boats, jet skis, new high-performance police cars and heavy-duty emergency rescue vehicles.
"I can't begin to explain to you how detailed our plans are," South African police spokesman Colonel Vishnu Naidoo said in an interview. "We have quite simply made provisions for any eventuality."
Countrywide police operations will be controlled from a single room, the National Joint Operation Center in Pretoria, just north of Johannesburg.
Naidoo, one of few officials authorized to speak on World Cup security plans, said officers would be "clearly visible" at air and sea ports, rail and bus stations, on roads between major cities and popular tourist destinations, and at the 10 World Cup stadiums, as well as team hotels and training camps.
Naidoo said match venues will be protected by concentric security perimeters that will get progressively tighter. There will be a traffic-free zone between 200 and 500 meters from each stadium and venues will be "locked down" at least 24 hours before match kickoff, according to Naidoo, with only essential staff allowed access.
Vehicles coming in will be heavily screened by explosives and forensic experts.
Security perimeters, with their heightened police presence, will extend out about 800 meters in inner-city venues such as Johannesburg's Ellis Park. They will go further for venues such as Rustenburg's Royal Bafokeng Stadium, in the less built-up North West province.
The tournament's local organizing committee is responsible for security inside stadiums with help from police, with the aim to create a festive and family mood for all spectators, though everyone will be closely watched.
Local organizing committee security manager Mlungisi Ncame said fans will be taken through a baggage search, a visual ticket check and then an electronic scanner where their ticket will be verified and their identity checked against the ticket.
Ncame said individual fans could be tracked as all venue seats are linked electronically to the stadium's main control room, the Venue Operational Center.
"What we want to do is know who is sitting at any particular seat," Ncame said.
The South African Air Force will protect a 25-kilometer (15-mile) space directly over stadiums. Unauthorized aircraft would be issued warnings before being "forced down" by air force fighter jets, according to SAPS' Naidoo, who didn't say what "forced down" entailed.
South Africa won't be alone, either, with international police body Interpol set to test its Major Events Support Team at the World Cup, the first time it has been mobilized.
Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble has said his organization will make the largest deployment of officers in its history and would be providing "key operational support on the ground."
Foreign experts are expected to help secure high-profile teams from the United States, England, Germany and France and provide specific knowledge as to the threats those nations may face.
South African police have said the U.S.-England match is a high threat game, but the AP has learned it's not the only game being closely watched. A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to speak publicly on such matters, said eight of the 64 World Cup games had been rated as a high threat.
That makes for a big job for security, and it gets bigger when you consider that — along with stadiums, hotels and team training centers — police have 61 public viewing areas, including the 10 official host city fan fests, to watch over. That doesn't include countless local bars and restaurants where fans are likely to gather.
And to top it all off, 43 heads of state could visit, possibly including U.S. President Barack Obama.
Botha, the security expert, said she was concerned that a key counterterrorism tactic of setting up a public tip-off line had been missed by South Africa. "It's impossible for police to be everywhere," Botha said, pointing out that ordinary citizens are a crucial source of information — as proved by the recent failed car bombing in New York City's Times Square.
"Building a sense of community responsibility should have been done here years ago," Botha said. "This is my concern."
Naidoo said police will be up to it. They'll be strategically positioned on roads across South Africa and there will be constant patrols of the nation's highways and transport links. South Africa expects many fans to use new rail and bus systems to travel to matches, and Naidoo said emphasis would be placed on these.
Police patrols will be in cars, pickup trucks, on motorcycles and even on horseback. Mounted police are often used at football games in Europe for ease of passage through crowds. There also will be a special VIP security squad.
"We have prepared ourselves from the pettiest of criminal acts to the largest of crimes, terrorism included," police minister Mthethwa said. "Our agencies are not sleeping, they are working. We are on the ball."
-- Gerald Imray
World Cup arrives amid global match-fixing probes
GENEVA — The World Cup marks the climax of a season in which match-fixing has spread more widely through football than ever.
Clubs and officials in at least 12 European countries — four of whose national teams will line up in South Africa — are under scrutiny in the continent's biggest football corruption investigation, being led by police in Germany.
Michel Platini, the president of UEFA, even told lawmakers in Brussels last month that the sport is in "mortal danger."
In an unexpected and embarrassing distraction before the June 11 kickoff, FIFA is investigating accusations that danger lies within the football family. Its ethics committee is examining claims by a senior English official that Russia, which did not qualify for the World Cup, could help heavily favored Spain bribe World Cup referees in exchange for support for its own bid to host the 2018 finals. The official, English Football Association chairman David Triesman, resigned his post after his private conversation was revealed in a newspaper sting.
FIFA wants that probe completed before the first ball is kicked, so no taint of high-level corruption lingers on the sport's most-watched event.
To keep outside criminal elements at bay, FIFA has created a spinoff company called Early Warning System aimed at monitoring wagering on games. EWS was not in place for the 2006 tournament in Germany.
FIFA also is setting up a hot line for players and referees to report sinister offers.
Yet underlying FIFA's approach is the reasoning that match-fixing is most likely to happen where players and officials are little scrutinized and poorly paid — such as eastern Europe — and organized crime has access to teams. The reasoning: Only those with little to lose will risk being banished from the game for a payoff that is typically just a few thousand dollars.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes the economics of the World Cup, a tournament which has prize money and attention lavished on well-paid players and officials, is safe from the match-fixers.
"We are really today ... alarmed if something should happen," Blatter has said. "But I think personally, to try to get into the World Cup, I think people will not do it."
Still, corruption previously has cast a shadow on football's showcase event, which will generate around $3.4 billion for FIFA.
A match-fixing and betting scandal in host Germany marred preparations for the 2006 World Cup. Referee Robert Hoyzer was jailed, and members of the Croatian crime syndicate behind that scam have been arrested in a current German probe.
Italy won the World Cup four years ago just as a scandal was unfolding at home that attracted worldwide scorn. Senior federation and club officials were banned from holding office after it was revealed they arranged for referees favorable to certain teams to get key domestic matches.
In the fallout, referee Massimo de Santis was removed from World Cup duty weeks before kickoff.
Blatter said then he feared referees were a tempting target for fixers, and wanted to raise their salaries and professional standards. The 30 referees and 60 assistants on World Cup duty will be closely guarded at their hotel near Pretoria.
The latest UEFA probe has led to lifetime bans for referees from Bosnia and Ukraine for conspiring with criminals to fix matches in betting scams. Both refs were rated highly enough to take charge of World Cup qualifiers.
China, meanwhile, has revisited a bribery and match-fixing scandal that first plagued its national league several years ago. A recent sweep of arrests caught federation head Nan Yong and retired referee Lu Jun, China's "golden whistle" who officiated two matches at the 2002 World Cup.
Four years ago, Blatter was criticized for not addressing potential threats to FIFA's flagship event, perhaps even disregarding the danger so as not to attract unwelcome attention.
Since then, he has spurred the EWS' creation, which uses information gathered from nearly 450 legal gambling operators whose business is worth $20 billion annually.
If EWS raises a red flag, even in the hour before kickoff when most wagers are placed, FIFA can "inform the teams, postpone the match or exchange the referee," the governing body said in an e-mail.
Last December, Blatter announced in Cape Town two days before the World Cup finals draw that FIFA had joined global police agency Interpol to set up a task force to coordinate the fight against illegal gambling in football. Details of the task force are still being worked out.
The initiative does not impress Canadian author Declan Hill, a fierce critic of FIFA, whose book "The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime," sought to explain how organized crime infiltrates football, and how Asian syndicates aimed to fix matches at the last World Cup.
"Bringing in Interpol to do any investigation is like bringing in the United Nations," Hill said. "They get tied up in politics and jurisdictional problems."
Hill warned in 2008 that southeast Asian gangsters would increasingly turn to Europe, with its reputation for fair play, because matches in their own countries were so discredited by corruption scandals.
He is skeptical that all 853 World Cup qualifiers were free of fixing, despite EWS declaring it found nothing suspicious.
"They can't check the Asian market and that's where the fixing is," Hill said.
In Ghana, a powerhouse in age-group football that has reached its second straight World Cup, officials have seen the would-be fixers in action.
"Those people exist anywhere and that's why you have scandals all over," Ghana federation spokesman Randy Abbey said. "We are mindful of that and so we are always on our guard to ensure that we do not let anything untoward happen as far as our team is concerned."
Abbey investigated allegations in 2007 that a Ghana coach introduced national under-23 teams players to three fixers before a match against Iran. Ghana lost 4-2, ensuring the fixers won bets on a winning margin of at least two goals.
"I acted by firing that coach in Iran before we even got to Ghana. We acted promptly," Abbey said.
FIFA said this World Cup will be the first tournament with a corruption hot line.
Whatever steps organizers take to stamp out corruption, FIFA and UEFA can be sure match-fixers will play a cat-and-mouse game to try to stay a step ahead.
In so-called "spot-fixing," pieces of a match can be broken down and gambled on without necessarily affecting the result, allowing a match winner to be in on a fix. A corrupt referee, for instance, can arrange to award a certain number of penalties or yellow cards.
UEFA, at the urging of Platini, found plenty of trouble when it went looking for it. The governing body says it invests "several million euros" each year in its own investigation unit, and a betting fraud detection system that monitors 29,000 matches each season.
Within months of strengthening that unit last year, UEFA and a police fraud team from Bochum, Germany, found evidence of the biggest nest of corruption the sport has seen.
The fix appears to have been in on domestic league matches in World Cup entrants Germany, Greece, Slovenia and Switzerland, plus Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary and Turkey.
UEFA also identified suspicious matches in its Champions League and Europa League competitions involving teams from Albania, Hungary, Latvia and Slovenia in qualifying rounds.
"In Europe you have the bribery, in Asia you have the betting and in Berlin you have the cashing in," said Joerz Ziercke, president of Germany's equivalent of the FBI.
The full scale of the apparent fixes is still unfolding.
-- Graham Dunbar
Valcke: Triesman affair 'sad' and 'regrettable'
JOHANNESBURG — FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke says he doesn't think there is any truth to the comments made by David Triesman alleging a conspiracy to bribe referees at the World Cup in South Africa.
"I can't imagine it is true, but we will see if there is anything true in what Lord Triesman said about a deal between Russia and Spain on match-fixing," Valcke said on Thursday.
Triesman's claim that Russia could help Spain bribe World Cup referees in return for support for its own 2018 World Cup bid was recorded during a private conversation and published in a British newspaper last Sunday. Triesman then resigned as the head of England's Football Association and 2018 bid.
"For sure it is regrettable," Valcke said. "It is sad that the day after the nine countries went to FIFA in Zurich (to present their bids) ... the day after you had the story coming out."
Valcke said he had asked FIFA's Ethics Committee, which is investigating Triesman's comments, to "come with their report very, very quickly" and he was expecting something from the committee as soon as Friday.
But he said England's bid was not certain to fail because of the affair.
"It is quite difficult to see what impact it will have on the bid as the final decision on who will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will come on Dec. 2, so we still have six months to go. In six months a lot of things can happen," Valcke said.
The secretary general defended FIFA's stance on match-fixing, and said it had engaged Interpol to look into Triesman's allegations.
"We have immediately asked the people we are working with at Interpol to see what is behind this story and see if there is anything. We cannot go to the World Cup with the feeling that something could happen during the World Cup."
Valcke said a match-fixing hot line would be operational during the monthlong tournament in South Africa so players, coaches and officials could report illegal approaches. He said FIFA had to protect the World Cup, which he called "the most important asset we have."
Organizers had not had a warning from experts about a terrorist threat to the World Cup, Valcke said, but FIFA would be given a report on an al-Qaida-linked plot to attack the Dutch and Danish teams "very soon."
Valcke also said FIFA would review its much-criticised ticketing policy ahead of the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
Valcke conceded it was "poor" that just 40,000 tickets had been sold in Africa, outside of the host country.
He said FIFA was now looking to provide free buses for fans traveling from neighboring Zimbabwe to help fill some stadiums in the north of the country, which have seen disappointing sales.
There were ticketing problems surrounding venues in Polokwane and Nelspruit in the north, and Port Elizabeth on the south coast, according to Valcke, who also said FIFA had paid for 200 buses to get fans in the areas around Port Elizabeth to World Cup games. "Now they just have to buy the tickets," Valcke said.
Valcke said there were real worries over empty seats at the South Korea-Greece game in Port Elizabeth and Paraguay-New Zealand match in Polokwane in the north of South Africa.
It has been suggested that FIFA is planning to transport people from Zimbabwe and Mozambique to help fill stadiums and avoid unwanted images of empty seats.
Valcke said FIFA probably should have lowered ticket prices for Africans outside South Africa, which are set at the same price as the rest of the world.
"Again, we are learning a lot of things from South Africa," Valcke said.
-- Gerald Imray
Player opinion varies on World Cup target
SEOUL, South Korea — One question has plagued South Korean players since coach Huh Jung-moo stated that his World Cup aim was just to reach the second round.
So what do they think? Opinion varies. Veteran fullback Lee Young-pyo rates the squad a less than 50-50 chance of advancing out of a first-round group containing Argentina, Nigeria and Greece.
Lee Woon-jae, the 36-year-old goalkeeper who helped South Korea reach the semifinals on home soil in 2002, is more bullish. He doesn't think the campaign can be considered successful unless it involves a second-round win.
South Korea has never progressed past the first round of a World Cup outside Korea in six previous attempts overseas.
The team's road to South Africa started in Asia in February 2008 against Turkmenistan and it leaves Asian soil on May 25 from Tokyo's Narita Airport, the day after a World Cup warm-up against Japan.
It is not often that Asia's biggest football rivals meet on the pitch with minds focused on events elsewhere, but that is what will happen on Monday in Saitama.
For the Koreans, it is the second of four final preparation games prior to its June 12 World Cup opener against Greece at Port Elizabeth. The third and fourth take place in a training camp in Austria — selected for its high altitude similarities to many South African host cities — against Belarus on May 30 and European champion Spain on June 3.
While Japan coach Takeshi Okada has repeatedly stated a target of a last four finish, to considerable criticism from a Tokyo press that points out the fact that Japan — which lost 3-1 to South Korea in Tokyo in February — has never won a World Cup game overseas, opposite number Huh just wants to survive the first stage.
"I wish I could lift (the World Cup) but that would be too ambitious. I believe everything should be done step by step. Our initial goal in South Africa is to reach the second round," Huh said last month.
It is the main topic in the Seoul sports media and every player is asked about it.
"We have to be objective," Lee Young-pyo said. "I think we have a 40 percent chance of reaching the second round; the chances of not progressing are higher."
But Lee Woon-jae is settling for that.
"We don't consider ... the top 16 as our goal. That would be a case of things not turning out well. We can do better than reaching the top 16."
The stuttering form of the 36 year-old goalkeeper, however, provides one of the headaches for Huh in the lead up to South Africa. A star of South Korea's campaigns in 2002 and 2006, Lee ended the first half of the domestic season dropped from his K-League club's starting lineup.
The veteran of 129 internationals was also left out by coach Huh in last Sunday's 2-0 win over Ecuador in Seoul in favor of Jung Sung-ryeong, eleven years his junior. If Jung, who has played just 14 times for his country, starts against Japan it is likely he will keep his place for the World Cup.
Back in June last year, when South Korea qualified for the World Cup without losing any of its 14 qualifying games, it wasn't a problem that coach Huh expected to have but given the respective form of the two goalkeepers this season, the switch could actually strengthen the team.
The vulnerability in the center of defense has been a long-standing issue, but with just one penalty kick goal conceded in recent exhibition wins over Japan, Ivory Coast and Ecuador, the focus of concern has switched to attack.
Star striker Park Chu-young is struggling for fitness. The AS Monaco forward just recovered from a February injury in France when he damaged a hamstring in the French Cup final in early May.
Park will be fit in time for South Africa, and could even play some part against Japan, but as a player notoriously slow to return to peak condition after injury, it is not the kind of news that coach Huh needs + especially as partner Lee Dong-guk also has a hamstring problem.
Lee had just recovered from a previous ankle injury and as "The Lion King" missed the 2006 World Cup after a serious ligament problem, there are concerns. The 2009 K-League top scorer has declared that he will be fit by the end of the month but it does leave South Korea's attack looking a little rusty going into the vital Greece opener.
All teams have issues, however, and South Korea has fewer headaches than some rivals. Young striker Lee Sung-ryeol came off the bench to score a fine goal against Ecuador on Sunday to stake his claim and English Premier League star Lee Chung-yong added a second.
"We do have our weaknesses," Huh said. "But in every game, my players are full of passion and have a fighter's spirit. Our determination to win, our desire for success and coherence as a team is second to none in the world. You can easily break a single branch, but when it's a bundle, it's a different story."
-- John Duerden
Loew: We are still strong without Ballack
FRANKFURT, Germany — Germany coach Joachim Loew believes he will be taking a strong squad to the World Cup finals, even without missing injured captain Michael Ballack.
The Chelsea midfielder has been ruled out of the tournament in South Africa with an ankle injury but Loew said Thursday the coaching staff has confidence in the rest of the squad.
In an interview on the national team's official website, Loew declined to say which three players will be dropped from his preliminary squad when the final 23-man selection is announced.
"We have a strong team and we hope that we will play a good World Cup, regardless of how bitter the absence of Michael Ballack is," Loew said from the team's training camp in Sicily. "We can only reaffirm that we have confidence in our squad for South Africa. And we have a plan for the upcoming personnel decisions.
"But we want to speak to the players before we make it public."
Loew's squad will move to the mountains of northern Italy on Friday for the final preparation stage.
Torres, Fabregas in Spain's World Cup squad
MADRID — Coach Vicente del Bosque included Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas in Spain's 23-man World Cup squad, which features most of the players that won the European championship two years ago.
Del Bosque expects Torres and Fabregas to recover from injuries in time for the June 11-July 11 tournament in South Africa. Spain's first Group H game is against Switzerland on June 16.
Spain will count on the core of its Euro 2008 team, with striker David Villa in front of midfielders Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso and David Silva.
Del Bosque decided to bring Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, while forward Pedro Rodriguez's impressive season with the league champion earned him a spot.
Villarreal's Marcos Senna was not included.
President Zuma joins prayers for World Cup
SASOLBURG, South Africa — South Africa President Jacob Zuma attended a mass prayer meeting on Thursday to pray for a successful World Cup.
Zuma traveled to Sasolburg in the central Free State province for a women's prayer meet, where he called on people to welcome visitors with open arms. He also told the thousands present they should dedicate prayers to South Africa.
The president then took part in celebrations on stage, where he kicked a football about and blew on a white vuvuzela, a plastic trumpet popular with South African football fans.
Zuma also asked the host country's citizens to "be good" during the tournament.
"In this time, we need good South Africans," Zuma said. "Let them just for four weeks be good. Just for four weeks."
FIFA official: Bribery claims probably not true
JOHANNESBURG — FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke says he doesn't think there is any truth to the comments made by David Triesman alleging a conspiracy to bribe referees in South Africa.
Valcke said Thursday: "I can't imagine it is true, but we will see if there is anything true in what Lord Triesman said about a deal between Russia and Spain on match-fixing."
Triesman resigned as the head of England's Football Association and 2018 World Cup bid after being tape-recorded by a tabloid newspaper making the allegations.
Valcke called the affair "sad" and "regrettable."
He also said he was expecting an initial FIFA Ethics Committee report into the allegations by Friday.
ESPN to use video conferencing for WCup interviews
NEW YORK — ESPN will use video conferencing to interview coaches and athletes from the most remote World Cup sites.
The network announced Thursday that it will set up Cisco TelePresence systems in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth for the tournament in South Africa starting next month.
That will allow ESPN to produce more reports on off days from the two far-flung cities as part of its expanded World Cup coverage instead of being limited by using expensive satellite trucks.
Eight of the 10 venues for the tournament are clustered loosely around Johannesburg in the country's northeast, while Port Elizabeth and Cape Town are on the southern and southwest coast.
