Soccer Capsules: Pumas defeats Puebla 4-1
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Juan Carlos Cacho and Paraguayan Dante Lopez scored two goals each as the UNAM Pumas defeated Puebla 4-1 on Sunday in the fifth round of the Mexican Apertura.
Also Sunday, America won for the first time in three matches with an 1-0 victory over Queretaro and Morelia defeated Necaxa 1-0.
Cacho, who last scored in the third round of last season, found the net in the 70th and 79th minutes. Lopez scored in the 26th and 89th minutes for the Pumas, who leaped to nine points in Group 3.
"I am very happy with the goals, I never lost my confidence and it was just a matter of time to break the bad streak," said Cacho, who scored twice in a match for the first time since August 2008.
Lopez scored twice last year against Queretaro.
Orlando Rincon got the lone goal for Puebla in the 65th.
In Morelia, Rafael Marquez came off the bench to score the winner off a cross from Chilean midfielder Hugo Droguett. Marquez, who came into the match in the 70th as a substitute for Luis Noriega, got his goal after just five minutes on the field.
In the round's final match, Argentine midfielder Daniel Montenegro scored in the 46th minute to give America its second win of the season to lead Group 2 in eight points.
In Saturdays matches it was: Jaguares 2, Cruz Azul 3; Pachuca 2, Monterrey 2; Tigres 1, Santos 0; Atlas 0, Toluca 1; Atlante 2, Chivas 1.
Puebla coach resigns after loss
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Puebla coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola has resigned after Puebla's 4-1 loss to Pumas, saying he is upset with the loss and the turmoil surrounding the ownership of the club.
Francisco Bernat, club president, was arrested on Thursday on charges of fraud involving 30 million pesos ($2.3 million). He was released on Saturday after agreeing to sell his 51 percent of the club shares to Ricardo Henaine. Henaine held just over 40 percent and brought the fraud charges.
Sanchez Sola, who calls himself a "close friend" of Bernat, said Sunday he could not work for Henaine. Henaine and Bernat have been battling for control of the club for several years.
U.S. Soccer
Bradley says he's interested in Aston Villa job
LONDON (AP) — United States soccer coach Bob Bradley says he is interested in taking over as manager of Aston Villa in the English Premier League.
The 52-year-old Bradley, who has a contract to coach the U.S. national team until the end of the year, says his representatives have held talks with Aston Villa, which has been without a manager since Martin O'Neill's surprise departure on Aug. 9.
"I think Aston Villa is a massive club with great history and a great following, and those type of opportunities would of course be of interest," Bradley told BBC Radio.
Aston Villa is owned by American Randy Lerner, who also owns the NFL's Cleveland Browns.
Kevin MacDonald has taken temporary charge of Villa since O'Neill left, reportedly because of disagreements with Lerner over transfer policy.
Bradley, who guided the U.S. to the last 16 in the World Cup this summer, is one of a number of coaches to have been linked to the vacancy at Villa Park and said he had ambitions of coaching in Europe.
"I've always been excited about being a manager in Europe, but at the same time I'm proud of the work we've done with the U.S. team over the last four years," Bradley said. "It is important to consider that as a challenge as well. So we'll see what happens.
"There have been discussions with some of my representatives to at least find out the situation, but Aston Villa seem to have taken a good stance where they have been patient. I would certainly be honored to have that conversation (with Lerner)."
League News
Fulham holds Man United, Newcastle thrashes Villa
LONDON (AP) — Brede Hangeland headed a late equalizer soon after scoring an own goal to secure Fulham a 2-2 draw against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, and Andy Carroll scored a hat trick in Newcastle's 6-0 hammering of Aston Villa.
Hangeland appeared to have gifted United all three points by deflecting an 84th-minute corner from Ryan Giggs into his own net, but he made amends by powering a header past goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in the 89th.
"I looked at the clock after my own goal and thought I had five minutes to score at the right end, and fortunately I managed to do it," the Norway defender said. "I don't think there was much I could do about the own goal but I'm glad I could make up for it."
United substitute Nani could have put the game beyond Fulham two minutes after Hangeland's own goal, but the Portugal winger had a penalty saved by David Stockdale after Damien Duff was penalised for handball.
"When you have the lead and you have the opportunity to seal the game with a penalty, you think you're home and dry but I've got to give credit to Fulham," United manager Alex Ferguson said. His side has not won at Fulham in three seasons.
In-form midfielder Paul Scholes gave United the lead in the 11th with a trademark shot from outside the box but Simon Davies equalized for Fulham 12 minutes after half time.
England striker Wayne Rooney missed the match because of illness.
United failed to keep pace with expected title rival Chelsea, which is top after beating Wigan 6-0 away on Saturday to follow on from its thrashing of West Brom by the same score on the opening weekend.
Chelsea is the only side with two wins from its opening two games, and is two points clear of six teams.
Earlier, Newcastle became the third team — after Chelsea and Arsenal — to record a 6-0 win this weekend by taking advantage of some woeful defending by Villa.
The match could have taken a different path had Aston Villa striker John Carew converted an early penalty but he smashed his spot kick over the bar and Newcastle dominated after that.
Joey Barton and midfield teammate Kevin Nolan put Newcastle 2-0 in front before home-town striker Carroll opened his account in the 34th.
Carroll added two more goals after the break to complete his hat trick, before Nolan scored his second deep into stoppage time.
"It's a great feeling, especially in front of the home fans. I'm just over the moon with all three of them," the 21-year-old Carroll said.
Villa — without a permanent manager after Martin O'Neill left days before the start of the season — missed the dynamism of midfielder James Milner, who was sold to Manchester City on Wednesday, and failed to build on their opening-day 3-0 home win over West Ham.
"We started the season well last week so it's disappointing to get well beaten by a decent Newcastle side," interim manager Kevin MacDonald said. "The missed penalty changes things to certain extent."
On Saturday, Theo Walcott scored a hat trick as Arsenal routed promoted Blackpool 6-0 to go second in the table on goal difference, and there were also wins for Bolton at West Ham, Birmingham at home to Blackburn, Tottenham at Stoke and West Brom at home to Sunderland. Everton drew 1-1 at home to Wolverhampton.
On Monday, Manchester City hosts Liverpool.
Leader Fluminense draws Vasco 2-2 in Deco's return
SAO PAULO (AP) — League leader Fluminense was held to a 2-2 draw by rival Vasco da Gama in Deco's return to Brazilian football on Sunday.
The result in front of 80,000 fans at Maracana stadium cut Fluminense's lead to two points after second-place Corinthians remained unbeaten against Sao Paulo in more than three years with a 3-0 win.
Also Sunday, young striker Neymar scored one goal and set up another in his first match since rejecting a multimillion euro offer from Chelsea, helping Santos beat Vanderlei Luxemburgo's Atletico Mineiro 2-0, and Chile playmaker Jorge Valdivia made his return to Palmeiras in a 0-0 draw with Guarani.
Defender Gum opened the scoring for Fluminense with a seventh-minute header, but Vasco — which had won two in a row — rallied with goals by striker Eder Luis in the 38th and defender Fagner in the 58th.
Left back Julio Cesar took advantage of a sequence of mistakes by Vasco defenders to score from close range in the 60th, extending Fluminense's unbeaten streak to 12 matches.
Deco came off the bench in the 75th and had a chance to score what could've been the winner in the 87th, but his shot from in front of the goal went over the crossbar.
The Brazil-born playmaker left Chelsea to sign a two-year contract with the Rio de Janeiro club to fulfill a longtime dream to return after 13 years in Europe. He had played only two matches with Corinthians before moving to Benfica and eventually FC Porto in Portugal. He then excelled with Barcelona and ultimately Chelsea.
A member of the Portuguese national team until retiring from the squad after the 2010 World Cup, Deco was Fluminense's top signing as it tries to win its first Brazilian championship since 1984. Led by three-time Brazilian champion Muricy Ramalho, Fluminense has 33 points from 15 rounds.
Four-time champion Corinthians moved closer with a pair of first-half goals by midfielder Elias at Pacaembu stadium. Brazil midfielder Jucilei added the third in the second half to keep Sao Paulo winless from three matches and near the relegation zone with only 17 points.
Sao Paulo hasn't beaten Corinthians in 10 matches, since 2007.
At Vila Belmiro stadium, Neymar scored on a penalty kick in the 58th and sent a perfect through ball for Danilo's goal in the 79th to help Santos beat Atletico Mineiro 2-0 just three days after rejecting a €35 million offer from Chelsea and extending his contract with the Brazilian club until 2015.
The 18-year-old striker on Thursday decided to stay with Santos instead of moving to the Premier League even though his agent said Chelsea was willing to cover his buyout clause, which under the new contract was increased in €10 million to €45 million.
Neymar is one of the most talked-about players in Brazilian football in recent years. He made his debut in the Brazilian national team earlier this month, scoring a goal in Brazil's 2-0 win over the United States in a friendly in New Jersey.
Luxemburgo's Atletico Mineiro dropped to the relegation zone with its 10th loss in 15 matches.
Chile star Valdivia, in his first match since rejoining Palmeiras after playing nearly two years in the United Arab Emirates, came off the bench at halftime but was not able to help Luiz Felipe Scolari's team win its third in a row.
The four-time national champion, which played a man down from the 75th after a sending off, is only 12th in the standings, 13 points off the lead.
Four days after winning the Copa Libertadores, Internacional's second-stringers were held to a 1-1 draw with last-place Atletico Goianiense in Porto Alegre, while defending champion Flamengo fell 1-0 to Atletico Paranaense in Curitiba to drop to 10th on the table.
On Saturday, Botafogo reached third place with 24 points by beating fifth-place Avai 1-0 in front of about 35,000 fans at Engenhao stadium in Rio. It was the fourth consecutive victory for the team led by former South Africa coach Joel Santana.
In Fortaleza, fourth-place Ceara scored a late goal in a 2-1 victory against struggling two-time national champion Gremio, which also is in the relegation zone. The bottom four clubs are demoted.
Prudente, which had three points deducted from its total for illegally using a player without proper documentation, rebounded by beating second-to-last-place Goias 2-1 in Goiania. Goias missed a penalty in the 89th.
-- Tales Azzoni
Bordeaux beats PSG 2-1 in French league
PARIS (AP) — Michael Ciani scored in injury time Sunday to give Bordeaux a 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain for its first victory this season in the French league.
The Bordeaux defender outjumped Zoumana Camara to head in a corner from France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
"You never win such a match if you're not hungry," Bordeaux goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso told Canal Plus television. "It's hunger that made the difference tonight.
"That makes us happy. Until now, everybody was sad and disappointed. It was tough."
Caen was held 0-0 at Montpellier but retained second place with seven points. In another scoreless clash, Lille dropped points for the third straight match at Sochaux.
Midfielder Alou Diarra put Bordeaux ahead in the 67th minute, heading the ball under the crossbar from a corner by Jaroslav Plasil. PSG forward Guillaume Hoarau leveled in the 76th with a low shot off a pass from Ludovic Giuly.
"We gave plenty of presents tonight, both in attack and in defense," Hoarau said. "We conceded two goals on set-pieces. That means we were not ready. There's a lot of work to do in that area."
PSG had plenty of chances before the opening goal but lacked a finishing touch.
Hoarau was denied by Carrasso in the 11th, before PSG playmaker Stephane Sessegnon volleyed wide from eight meters in the 24th.
PSG forward Mevlut Erding beat the offside trap in the 35th to be clean through on goal, but missed an opportunity to shoot after dribbling past Carrasso.
Toulouse defeated Arles-Avignon 2-1 on Saturday to lead the standings with nine points from three matches, and defending champion Marseille beat Lorient 2-0 for its first win this season after two straight losses.
Also on Saturday, it was: Lyon 1, Brest 0; Nice 1, Nancy 1; Rennes 0, Saint-Etienne 0; Lens 2, Monaco 2 and Auxerre 1, Valenciennes 1.
-- Trung Latieule
Spurs, Sampdoria look to overturn 1st-leg deficits
LONDON (AP) — Tottenham and Sampdoria have first-leg deficits to overturn in the Champions League playoffs as they look to advance to the tournament's group stages for the first time.
Spurs' hopes of progression were severely dented when they conceded three goals to Young Boys inside 30 minutes of the opening leg in Switzerland, but Sebastien Bassong and Roman Pavlyuchenko replied for the English side as the match finished 3-2.
Italy's Sampdoria, which lost the 1992 European Cup final to Barcelona, but hasn't played in the revamped Champions League, was beaten 3-1 by Werder Bremen in the first leg.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp called his side's first-leg result a "great defeat" and is grateful to still have a chance of going through at the expense of Young Boys, which eliminated Fenerbahce in the previous round.
"It will be a difficult game at White Hart Lane but it will be a great atmosphere, a big European night and it is a game we have to win now," Redknapp said. "We have to be up for it and see if we can get the result."
Spurs, looking to join fellow English sides Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal in the group stages, have problems in attack with Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane and Pavlyuchenko all struggling with injury. The London side hasn't competed in Europe's premier knockout competition since the 1961-62 European Cup.
Four-time European champion Ajax is level at 1-1 with Dynamo Kiev heading into the second leg in Amsterdam on Wednesday but coach Martin Jol is confident his side will progress.
"Things have to get a bit crazy for us not to go through. If we keep a cool head, we have what it takes," Jol said.
"We're playing in a full ArenA, which we'll call 'Amsterdam's Hell.'"
In Wednesday's other second legs, Russia's Zenit St. Petersburg travels to French side Auxerre with a 1-0 cushion, Rosenborg of Norway visits FC Copenhagen with a 2-1 lead and Slovakia's MSK Zilina is heavy favorite after winning 2-0 at Sparta Prague in the first leg.
Stefano Lucchini will be suspended for Sampdoria against Bremen in Genoa on Tuesday after he was sent off in the first leg for picking up two yellow cards.
Spanish side Sevilla, which won back-to-back UEFA Cups in 2006 and 2007, is behind 1-0 in its two-legged series with Braga of Portugal, while Belgian team Anderlecht and Partizan Belgrade are level at 2-2 after the first match in Croatia, Basle of Switzerland is 1-0 ahead after its home leg against Moldovia's FC Sheriff Tiraspol and Hapoel Tel-Aviv has a 3-2 advantage from the first match at Red Bull Salzburg.
The 10 teams who qualify from the playoffs earn a minimum €7 million ($9.24 million) in prize money for reaching the group stage.
-- Steve Douglas
Glory goes top in A-League, beat Jets
SYDNEY (AP) — Perth Glory moved into first place in Australia's A-League after three rounds with a 1-0 victory over the Newcastle Jets thanks to Branko Jelic's goal on halftime.
Perth, which has seven points from two wins and a draw, had a chance to increase the lead in the 47th minute, but a header by former Liverpool and England star Robbie Fowler bounced off the crossbar.
"It was pretty nerve-racking," Glory coach Dave Mitchell said. "We didn't particularly play as well as we'd like, but we created enough chances to win the game."
The Wellington Phoenix beat the Central Coast Mariners 2-0 on goals by Leo Bertos and Paul Ifill, stretching their unbeaten home streak to 21 matches. The Phoenix haven't conceded a goal to the Mariners in seven matches.
Adelaide United winger Iain Ramsay scored twice in the 3-2 win over new club Melbourne Heart. Ramsay, who transferred to Adelaide from Sydney, scored the winner in the 88th minute.
Dutch winger Rutger Worm scored the Heart's first goal and created their second. Worm's incisive left-flank run went through Adelaide's defense before his cross found Eli Babalj unmarked in the box.
"We are working so hard as a group and to get the three points, especially at the beginning of the season ... you need confidence and you only get confidence by winning games," Adelaide United coach Rini Coolen said.
Melbourne Heart coach John van 't Schip, a former Dutch international, criticized his side's defense.
"There were parts of the game that we were playing quite well, but the story is we gave away two easy goals ... and it's difficult to recuperate," he said.
In other matches, the Brisbane Roar beat defending champions Sydney 1-0 through Matt McKay's 53rd-minute goal, and North Queensland and the Melbourne Victory drew 2-2.
Kevin Muscat scored two Victory goals, both penalties, while Chris Payne leveled for North Queensland in the 82nd minute, also from the spot. The Fury had two men sent off during the match by first-year referee Chris Boyle, who also booked two players for diving.
Gold Coast United had a third-round bye.
Mainz, Leverkusen win in Bundesliga
BERLIN (AP) — Michael Ballack made a successful if low-key Bundesliga comeback at Bayer Leverkusen with a 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
In the early game, Mainz beat Stuttgart 2-0 to begin its Bundesliga campaign with a victory against a team it had never defeated in the championship in nine previous attempts.
Ballack signed for Leverkusen, one of his former clubs, after failing to earn a new contract from Chelsea. He started the match but his performance was unremarkable in his first game since injuring an ankle in May to be ruled out of the World Cup.
Germany coach Joachim Loew watched the match. Ballack wants to return to the Germany team and reclaim the post of captain.
Leverkusen underlined its ambitions by winning on the road against its neighbor and bitter rival after goals from Tranquillo Barnetta in the 20th minute and Renato Augusto in the 23rd.
Ballack's last Bundesliga game was four years ago, a 3-3 draw against Dortmund while he was still with Bayern Munich.
Newly signed players scored both goals for Mainz — Sami Allagui in the 26th and Morten Rasmussen in the 47th.
Stuttgart's Germany striker, Cacau, missed a penalty in the 19th.
Six other clubs won their opening-round matches, including defending champion Bayern Munich.
Perfect PSV beats AZ Alkmaar 3-1 in Dutch league
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Marcus Berg scored twice Sunday to help PSV Einhoven beat AZ Alkmaar 3-1 and stay perfect after three rounds to top the Dutch league.
Berg scored in the 43rd minute after being set up by Ola Toivonen, and again nine minutes later from Jeremain Lens' assist.
PSV midfielder Ibrahim Afellay scored off a rebound in the 90th to wrap up the points.
PSV leads the standings with nine points, two more than Ajax, which beat Roda JC 3-0 on Saturday.
Also Sunday, Feyenoord drew 1-1 at Heracles Almelo after a late equalizer from Georginio Wijnaldum. Mark Looms scored for Heracles in the 15th.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored twice, including a 22nd-minute penalty, to give FC Utrecht a 3-0 win over Willem II. Dries Mertens hit the other in the 28th. Dmitri Boelykin struck in each half to leadin ADO The Hague's 3-2 victory over VVV-Venlo.
On Saturday, defending champion FC Twente secured its first win of the season by beating Vitesse Arnhem 3-0. SC Heerenveen also notched its first victory with a 3-1 win over NAC Breda.
FC Groningen downed De Graafschap 2-1 and newcomer Excelsior Rotterdam beat NEC Nijmegen 4-1.
Porto joins Nacional atop Portugal league
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Radamel Falcao scored a goal in each half as FC Porto beat Beira Mar 3-0 on Sunday to join Nacional atop the Portuguese league standings after two rounds.
Falcao opened in the 26th minute at the Dragon stadium before Fernando Belluschi doubled the advantage just before halftime. The Colombia striker completed his double in the 81st.
Porto and Nacional share six points, while Braga leads a group of four teams with four points.
Sporting Lisbon regained some needed confidence following its midweek Europa League defeat with a 1-0 win over Maritimo.
Matias scored in the 89th minute of an ill-tempered affair that featured nine yellow cards.
Also, Naval beat Portimonense 1-0 and Leiria and Pacos Ferreira played to a scoreless draw.
Celtic, Rangers ease to comfortable wins
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Glasgow rivals Rangers and Celtic enjoyed comfortable wins on Sunday to maintain their 100 percent starts to the Scottish Premier League season and join Aberdeen on six points at the top of the table.
Scotland striker Kenny Miller scored a second-half hat trick as defending champion Rangers beat Hibernian 3-0 in a fiery match at Easter Road that saw both teams reduced to 10 men in the first half.
Celtic went above Rangers on goal difference after a 4-0 home victory over St Mirren, with Joe Ledley, Shaun Maloney, James Forrest and Ki Sung-yeung on target.
Aberdeen and Celtic have identical records after two matches.
Also Sunday, Inverness routed Dundee United 4-0 and Kilmarnock lost 1-0 at home to Motherwell.
Elsewhere
Blanc questions varying bans over World Cup strike
PARIS (AP) — France coach Laurent Blanc criticized the differing punishments imposed on five players for their involvement in a World Cup mutiny and challenged the French Football Federation on Sunday to provide evidence of their leading role.
Last Tuesday, the federation banned Nicolas Anelka for 18 games, former captain Patrice Evra for five, Franck Ribery for three and Jeremy Toulalan for a single match over their role in boycotting a training session in South Africa. Eric Abidal escaped a ban.
"I'm a bit skeptical about the nature of the sanctions since they are all different," Blanc said on French television. "Those people (disciplinary panel members) must explain to me whether they have any criteria (for the bans). They must be clear and precise."
"What happened in South Africa was serious. But to my knowledge, and I'd be surprised if the people who led the investigation know a bit more than I do, it was a collective act. It was a collective decision."
All 23 France players boycotted a training session in South Africa to protest Anelka's expulsion after he insulted then-coach Raymond Domenech during a 2-0 loss to Mexico. However, only five players were summoned to the disciplinary hearing.
The mutiny was criticized by President Nicolas Sarkozy and underlined an embarrassing first-round exit at the tournament, with the federation withholding the players' World Cup bonuses.
"Only when people bring me evidence that those five players played a much more important role than the others, will I understand why different sanctions were imposed," Blanc said. "But I want to have it explained to me. So far, no one has explained it to me. I'm not bothered by the substance of the decision but by the form.
"It's not that I did not want sanctions — there have already been sanctions. But I did not want to have disciplinary sanctions. I wanted to rely on the best players for the key European Championship qualifiers."
Blanc dropped all 23 World Cup players as a collective punishment for his first game in charge — a 2-1 loss to Norway earlier this month. However, the suspensions come as a blow as he attempts to restore France's competitiveness, first up in a qualifier against Belarus in September.
"Let's not forget that we must erase what happened in South Africa with results," Blanc said. "If we get results, people will forget, even if the scar is deep. But if there's no result, people will forever remember that incident in South Africa."
Ferguson facing sanction over continued TV boycott
LONDON (AP) — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson could be fined by the Premier League after continuing his boycott of the BBC in contravention of a new rule.
Ferguson has refused to speak to Britain's publicly funded broadcaster for six years after it aired an investigation into the business dealings of his son Jason, then working as a football agent. Jason Ferguson has never been guilty of any wrongdoing.
The league tightened its rules this season to insist managers speak to broadcast rights-holders, but Ferguson snubbed the BBC after Sunday's 2-2 draw against Fulham.
"The Premier League is disappointed that the BBC and Manchester United have, as yet, been unable to resolve the issue of Sir Alex Ferguson providing post-match interviews," the league said Sunday in a statement. "We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation and offer any help deemed necessary by either party to try and help remedy the situation.
"However, this is a breach of Premier League rules and the board will consider the appropriate course of action at their next meeting scheduled for late September."
The BBC shows highlights of matches on its popular Match of the Day program, while BBC Radio Five Live airs live commentaries of some games.
"It's a shame — we would like him to speak to us because we respect him and his teams, and always have done," BBC presenter Gary Lineker wrote Sunday in his column in the News of the World newspaper.
"It's not us that suffer from not hearing from Sir Alex Ferguson. It makes no difference to the program because it's action-led. But it does make a difference to the Manchester United fans. They are the ones missing out."
The 68-year-old Ferguson also refuses to speak to members of the written media after Premier League matches, but he does fulfill his obligations for the UEFA Champions League by attending post-match news conferences.
Yugoslav football legend Bobek dies
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Doctors say Yugoslav football legend Stjepan Bobek has died. He was 86. Belgrade emergency clinic doctors did not immediately specify the cause of Bobek's death early Sunday.
The Croatia-born striker made his name playing for Partizan Belgrade between 1945-58, scoring 403 goals in 468 matches, a club record. In 1947, he scored a record nine goals in a Yugoslav league game.
He also scored 38 goals in 63 matches for the Yugoslavia national team. He won two Olympic silver medals in London in 1948 and Helsinki in 1954.
After ending his playing career, Bobek coached in Poland, Tunisia, Macedonia and Greece, including rivals Panathinaikos and Olympiakos.
He remained in the Serbian capital Belgrade after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Villa: No one can beat Barcelona at its best
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — David Villa says Barcelona is unbeatable when it plays at its best as it did in the Spanish Supercup victory against Sevilla.
The Spain striker made his debut with Barcelona in Saturday's 4-0 win that saw the Catalan club clinch the trophy for a record ninth time.
Villa was quoted in the AS newspaper as saying "if we play at this level I can't see any team beating us."
Villa came on in the 57th minute and created several chances for the Spanish champion. Villa says "it was easy for me to adapt because I'm so used to playing with them."
Villa, who joined from Valencia for €40 million ($50 million), is among eight Barcelona players who helped Spain win the World Cup in South Africa.
Yugoslav soccer legend Bobek dies at 86
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Stjepan Bobek, a record-setting striker for Yugoslavia and Partizan Belgrade, has died. He was 86.
Belgrade emergency clinic doctors did not immediately specify the cause of Bobek's death early Sunday.
The Croatia-born Bobek scored 403 goals in 468 matches between 1945-58 for Partizan Belgrade, a club record. In 1947, he scored a record nine goals in a Yugoslav league game.
He also scored 38 goals in 63 matches for the Yugoslavia national team. He won two Olympic silver medals, in London in 1948 and Helsinki in 1954.
After his playing career ended, Bobek coached in Poland, Tunisia, Macedonia and Greece. He remained in the Serbian capital Belgrade after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Squillaci traveling to Arsenal for medical
SEVILLE, Spain (AP) — Sevilla says defender Sebastien Squillaci will undergo medical tests at Arsenal in London on Monday.
Squillaci was left out of Sevilla's team for last week's 1-0 Champions League loss to FC Braga following a bid by the Premier League club.
The 30-year-old Squillaci was a member of France's 23-man World Cup squad, making one appearance in South Africa.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said last month he wanted to buy a central defender to add to those he has in Thomas Vermaelen, Johan Djourou and new signing Laurent Koscielny.
Gallas joins Tottenham on 1-year deal
LONDON (AP) — William Gallas has completed his move to Tottenham on a one-year deal, two months after leaving Spurs' fierce north London rival Arsenal.
The France international joined Sunday on a free transfer and will provide cover for the injury-prone Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate in central defense.
Gallas won two Premier League titles with Chelsea before spending four years at Arsenal. He left the Gunners when his contract expired at the end of last season.
The 33-year-old Gallas is the only the sixth player to join Spurs after also playing for Arsenal.
Ivory Coast hires Zahoui to coach national team
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Francois Zahoui has succeeded Sven-Goran Eriksson as Ivory Coast coach.
Ivory Coast Football Federation general secretary Hego Ouattara announced that Zahoui agreed a two-year contract on Saturday.
After Eriksson guided the Ivory Coast at the World Cup, Zahoui took charge of the team on a temporary basis for a 1-0 victory over Italy in a friendly earlier this month.
The 49-year-old Zahoui is a former midfielder, who played in France for Toulon and Nancy.
