Soccer Capsules: Sounders buck trend of MLS expansion flops
TUKWILA, Wash. — Peter Vagenas was a 20-year-old "kid" sitting in the seats at the Rose Bowl when the expansion Chicago Fire won the 1998 MLS Cup.
"They definitely were not an expansion team," Vagenas said.
And neither is his current team, the Seattle Sounders FC.
Both Chicago and Seattle hold the rare distinction of being the only two MLS expansion teams to qualify for the playoffs in their first seasons. The fact that it’s taken 11 years for another expansion team to make the MLS postseason is the surprising part.
But Seattle is in, no matter what the Sounders do in their regular season finale on Saturday night against FC Dallas. They still have a chance of finishing as the top seed in the Western Conference depending on how the final week shakes out.
The time, effort and money the franchise invested in making sure Seattle didn’t look like an expansion team has paid off with a postseason berth and the lingering possibility of Seattle playing for the MLS Cup on its home field next month.
"Now we’re at the point we know anything can happen," Vagenas said. "We never thought of ourselves as an expansion team. We’re certainly not treated as an expansion team by our fans. We’re certainly not treated as an expansion team by our ownership group."
Making sure Seattle was not created from the start as "just another franchise" can be largely credited for its success in year one. The owners — Joe Roth, Adrian Hanauer, Paul Allen’s Vulcan corporation and Drew Carey — opened their pocket books and showed a willingness to bring in the right players for the right price.
They persuaded Freddie Ljungberg to come from Europe and be the controller of the midfield for $1.3 million per season. They brought home goalkeeper Kasey Keller, the most capped keeper in U.S. national team history, after more than a decade touring the top leagues in Europe.
They hired MLS Cup-winning coach Sigi Schmid as the ring leader, then made deft moves in free agency and in the expansion draft.
As important was the infrastructure that greeted these players. They have their own training facility with grass and turf fields. Vagenas said one of the little things that doesn’t seem like much, but has resonated with players, is that the team has lunch available every day for the players after training.
"Small things like that you don’t get with too many other franchises across this league," Vagenas said.
The result? An 11-win team with 44 points headed into the season finale that will sell out every home game this season and set the example for how an MLS franchise should make its debut.
"I think we checked all the boxes," Schmid said. "You have to make sure you get some quality players from the expansion draft which we did ... you have to do well with your foreign signings which I think we have done. ... I think you also have to get somebody from the draft and we did that. Then we signed some good free agents. We were able to check off all the boxes. I think some of the other expansion teams haven’t necessarily done that."
Seattle’s successful first season is even more impressive when compared with the first-year performances of the four most recent expansion franchises.
The return of San Jose in 2008 was the most successful with the Earthquakes earning 33 points. Toronto’s debut in 2007 was hugely popular, but TFC still managed just 25 points.
Both Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA struggled in their first seasons. RSL finished with just 20 points and Chivas had just 18.
"If you look in the past the new franchises are just getting beaten all the time and not doing much good the first couple of seasons and we changed that," Ljungberg said. "I think all the players and managing staff should be proud."
Onyewu out 6 months, jeopardizing World Cup
CHICAGO — American defender Oguchi Onyewu will be sidelined for six months following surgery to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee, a layoff that could jeopardize his appearance in next year’s World Cup.
After Onyewu was injured in last week’s World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica, the U.S. Soccer Federation originally projected his recovery at three to four months. The federation issued a new estimate of six months on Thursday, a day after national team physician Dr. Bert Mandelbaum operated on Onyewu for one hour in Los Angeles.
That gives Onyewu little time to regain his form ahead of the World Cup, which opens June 11 in South Africa.
The 27-year-old Onyewu signed with AC Milan last summer but he appeared in just one of the club’s 10 competitive matches this season before getting hurt. AC Milan chief executive officer Adriano Galliani said last week the club hopes to receive compensation from the U.S. federation because of the injury.
Watford’s Jay DeMerit, another U.S. central defender, is sidelined following a cornea replacement operation last weekend. Forward Charlie Davies is likely to miss the World Cup after sustaining serious injuries, including several broken bones, in a car crash last week.
Late Wednesday
Dynamo shock defeat puts Metapan through
MEXICO CITY — A surprise defeat for Houston Dynamo at the hands of group minnows Metapan on Wednesday cost the American club a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals, handing the berth to Panama's Arabe Unido.
El Salvador's Metapan had lost all five of its previous group games, but Emerson Umana's deflected freekick gave the hosts a shock 3-2 win over a stunned Houston, which would have reached the quarters with a win.
That meant Arabe Unido clung onto second spot in Group A despite losing 2-0 to Mexico's Pachuca, which topped the group and also progresses to the last eight.
In the night's other group game, Trinidad's W Connection defeated Honduras' Real Espana 3-2 in Group D, with two goals in the first 10 minutes from Jose Carlos Diaz. Jose Luis Seabra scored the winner in the 65th.
That result eliminated Real Espana from quarterfinal contention.
W Connection moved into second place in the group, but Guatemala's Communicaciones can take that spot if it beats already qualified Pumas UNAM of Mexico in the final group game Thursday. A draw in that game will put W Connection and Communicaciones level on points, with the Trinidadians progressing on a better head-to-head record.
Another quarterfinal spot will be decided on Thursday in Group B.
Marathon of Honduras will take second place if it beats San Juan Jabloteh of Trinidad. If Marathon draws or loses, MLS team D.C. United will take second place and qualify for the quarterfinals.
Mexico's Toluca and Cruz Azul, plus Columbus Crew of the U.S. have already booked their quarterfinal berths.
Mexico Soccer
Mexico plans eight friendlies before World Cup
MEXICO CITY — Mexico will play eight exhibitions in the run-up to next year's World Cup in South Africa, including three games in the United States.
Nestor de la Torre, the director of national teams, said Thursday that Mexico-based players would begin training in Mexico City on April 12. Europe-based players will be worked into the team as their seasons end.
Mexico's opponents will be set after the World Cup draw on Dec. 4 in South Africa. The tournament begins on June 11.
De la Torre also said the team would gather for 12 days in the southern German city of Herzogenaurach before heading to South Africa. Argentina used the city as its training base for the 2006 World Cup.
World Cup
Australian World Cup bid needs rivals' good will
SYDNEY — A push to bring the World Cup to Australia would have to rely on the good grace of rival sports which dominate TV ratings and crowd numbers in the domestic market.
Backers of Australia's bids for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup conceded Thursday that they'd need the Australian Football League, the National Rugby League and Super 14 rugby union teams to vacate their main venues in the middle of their seasons to have any chance of providing the facilities to host the world's biggest single sports event.
While soccer is the global game, it is currently ranked third of four football choices in Australia.
"We've met with all the sporting codes and they're all in broad agreement about the importance of the FIFA World Cup for Australia and the legacy it would deliver in terms of sporting infrastructure," Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley said. "There's a precedent in relation to the Sydney Olympics and the Rugby World Cup."
The AFL's Australian Rules is a domestic game, similar to Irish Gaelic football, and is the most popular sport in five of Australia's eight main states and territories.
Rugby league has its strongest presence in New South Wales and Queensland states, plus northern England. Rugby union is slipping in popularity in Australia, but is the more international of the rugby codes and has just had its condensed Sevens format included in the Olympics. Its Super 14 competition involves provincial teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
In 2000, the AFL and NRL ended their seasons early so as not to impede on Sydney's buildup to hosting the Olympics, which was staged in September, and again for the Rugby World Cup in 2003.
Buckley said it would take some work to convince rival sports to split their seasons in half to accommodate a June/July World Cup, but says the lure of improved stadiums could yield cooperation.
FIFA regulations stipulate a lockout for rival sports during the World Cup and for a four-week buildup.
The Australian government has supported the FFA's bids for the World Cup, and is expecting final projected costs from organizers next week. The FFA must lodge thorough World Cup plans next May with FIFA, which will vote on the 2018 and 2022 in December of next year.
Elsewhere
Defiant Maradona offers no apology for tirade
BUENOS AIRES — Diego Maradona won’t apologize for a profanity-filled tirade on live TV that prompted a FIFA investigation and could result in a five-game suspension and nearly $20,000 fine for the Argentina coach.
Maradona was defiant in a television interview on state-run Canal 7. FIFA opened a disciplinary investigation last week following a 1-0 victory at Uruguay that sent the struggling Argentine team to next year’s World Cup.
Maradona said he planned to coach the team in South Africa and had no plans to resign. He said his remarks had been had been "building up" and were aimed at critics and journalists who he suggested were "anti-Argentine."
"It was getting it off my chest, and I don’t regret it," Maradona said in the interview Wednesday night. "I gave my mother a kiss on the forehead and told her: ‘If I was wrong I ask your forgiveness, but nobody else."’
Maradona said after the game his use of profanities did not merit an apology, and he reiterated that Wednesday.
"I apologize to the ladies, but not to those who talk about football on television," Maradona said. "What I said was also late — outside family viewing hours."
FIFA’s disciplinary code says a suspension and fine should apply to any soccer figure who "lowers himself through acts or words, to discriminate or insult a person or group of persons ... in a way that undermines human dignity."
Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona, who hired Maradona and is also a FIFA vice president, dismissed the remarks as a momentary outburst.
Maradona also denied talk he is using drugs again. As a player, he was kicked out of the 1994 World Cup in the United States after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Five years ago, he had a heart attack attributed to a cocaine overdose.
"I’m not going to put up with those who say I’m taking again, because — thank God — I’ve been clean for five years and I’m not going out clubbing at night," he said.
-- Vicente L. Panetta
Grafite under fire after red card
WOLFSBURG, Germany — Wolfsburg's Brazilian striker Grafite is under fire after his red card in the 0-0 draw with Besiktas in the Champions League.
Last season's top scorer in the Bundesliga with 28 goals hasn't found the target in more than five weeks and has looked increasingly frustrated.
"It shouldn't happen to him, he hurt us," Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh said after Wednesday's match.
Veh said he would have another one-on-one talk with Grafite, who scored a hat trick in the opening Champions League 3-1 victory over CSKA Moscow.
Grafite was sent off in the 74th minute after shoving his hand into the face of Ibrahim Kas as the two jostled in front of Besiktas' goal before a corner in what looked like a move out of frustration. He apologized to fans as he was leaving the field.
"He is actually a nice guy, he doesn't mean it maliciously," Veh said. "He's very emotional."
Grafite is also being criticized by teammates, although they have promised to help him overcome the scoring slump.
"It was a stupid foul and it was bad for the team," said forward Edin Dzeko.
Grafite and Dzeko combined for a Bundesliga record 54 goals last season to lead Wolfsburg to its first championship. While Dzeko has regained the championship form, Grafite is a long way from it.
Dzeko said he was angry with Grafite, "not only because of this game but also because we won't have him for at least another game."
Grafite was benched in the Bundesliga, partly because of pale performances and partly because he had criticized his teammates and coach Veh. Grafite complained about not receiving enough good passes and about being substituted frequently.
His teammates appear to have forgiven him.
"A lot was expected from Grafite after last season," said midfielder Sascha Riether. "We have to support him."
"He is going through a difficult stage but we are behind him," said Ashkan Dejagah, another midfielder.
Middlesbrough puts Cooper in charge for Saturday
MIDDLESBROUGH, England — Middlesbrough has put first-team coach Colin Cooper in temporary charge of the team for Saturday's League Championship match at Preston.
With a permanent successor to fired manager Gareth Southgate yet to be appointed, Middlesbrough said Thursday that former Boro defender Cooper would be assisted by fellow coach Steve Agnew and goalkeeping coach Stephen Pears — another former Middlesbrough player.
Gordon Strachan, who has been out of work since quitting as Celtic manager in May, is rated the overwhelming favorite to succeed Southgate by British bookmakers.
The northeast England side fired Southgate on Tuesday despite a 2-0 victory over Derby that put the team back in the race for promotion to the Premier League.
Chairman Steve Gibson said he had started to look about for a new manager after deciding to fire Southgate three weeks ago.
"Our five home games had brought in seven points," Gibson said. "That will not get us promoted. And promotion is the only objective for the season."
Southgate oversaw Middlesbrough's relegation last season with just 28 goals scored in 38 games. After a strong start of three wins and a draw, losses to West Bromwich Albion, Leicester and Watford confirmed the team's worst run of home games without scoring for 77 years.
"When I sat down and considered our start to the season, I felt that the league table was actually more favorable than some of our performances," Gibson said. "Then I looked at the important games against the teams immediately around us, and took those results into account.
"In general, the results and the performances have not been to the level I would have hoped for."
Kroenke silent about intentions for Arsenal
LONDON — American businessman Stan Kroenke kept Arsenal’s shareholders in the dark Thursday about whether he plans a takeover of the Premier League club.
Kroenke has been steadily increasing his stake in Arsenal, with his latest acquisition of shares taking him to 28.9 percent — nearing the 29.9 percent threshold when he would have to launch a buyout.
Arsenal’s largest shareholder stayed silent at the annual general meeting when challenged about his intentions for the club.
"I believe he is very happy as a long-term shareholder in Arsenal," chairman Peter Hill-Wood responded, citing legal problems if Kroenke had answered the question.
The Denver-based businessman also owns the Colorado Rapids, the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche.
"Really, it’s not for me to say what his intentions are," Hill-Wood said. "I don’t think we are looking for a change in custodian. I think you will find the club is in pretty good hands."
-- Rob Harris
Putin thanks Turkish PM for winning Rubin goal
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin thanked his Turkish counterpart after Gokdeniz Karadeniz scored the winning goal in Rubin Kazan's shock win over Barcelona in the Champions League earlier this week.
Putin — meeting in St. Petersburg with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi — took time out from a three-way discussion of business matters on Thursday to thank Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was participating via a video-linkup.
"It was a Turkish player that scored the winning goal — for which we want to express thanks," Putin told Erdogan.
Berlusconi, chuckling, warned Putin not to damage diplomatic ties with Spain.
Putin said that Barcelona is well liked and respected by Russian football fans. "But this is sports, and the Russian team proved stronger this time — thanks in part to the Turkish player," Putin said.
Karadeniz's 73rd-minute goal gave Rubin a 2-1 victory over defending champion Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.
According to state-run Channel One, which showed the jovial exchange, Berlusconi congratulated Putin on Rubin's win and Putin congratulated the Italian premier on AC Milan's 3-2 Champions League victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Former Italy striker Vieri announces retirement
MILAN — Former Italy striker Christian Vieri is retiring from football.
The former Inter Milan forward has been without a club since the end of last season, when he left Atalanta after scoring two goals in nine games.
"I don't want to carry on playing," Vieri said Thursday. "I'm not even tempted to play abroad."
Vieri made his debut in 1991 for Torino and scored one goal in his debut season. He then regularly changed clubs and played for eight teams in eight seasons, including Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Lazio.
After one season with Lazio, in which he won the Cup Winners' Cup, Vieri joined Inter Milan for a then-world record fee of $53 million.
In six seasons with Inter he scored 103 goals in 144 appearances, but was unable to help the team end its wait for the Serie A championship.
Injuries prevented the Bologna-born Vieri from playing on Italy's victorious 2006 World Cup team after scoring nine times at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.
Vieri scored 23 goals in 49 internationals and 194 times in 375 club games for 12 different teams.
Hodgson turns down approaches from Sweden, Norway
LONDON — Fulham manager Roy Hodgson turned down approaches from Sweden and Norway over their vacant coaching positions.
The former Finland and Switzerland coach led Fulham to its highest ever Premier League position last season and is contracted to the west London club until the end of this campaign. But he hasn't ruled out leaving Fulham once the season is over.
"When you sign a contract with a club, you sign it to do the job, and you hope that you're going to be allowed to do the job until the end of it at least," Hodgson said. "And then you'll see what happens."
Sweden is still looking for a new coach after Sven-Goran Eriksson ruled himself out as a candidate to replace Lars Lagerback, who stepped down last week after the team failed to qualify for the World Cup.
Egil Olsen is acting Norway coach after Aage Hareide quit due to a winless 2008.
Sheffield United signs Camara on free transfer
SHEFFIELD, England — Sheffield United signed Senegal striker Henri Camara on a free transfer Thursday to help its push to get promoted to the Premier League.
The 32-year-old forward, who has played in the English topflight for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton, Wigan and West Ham, was available after his contract with Wigan expired in June.
"He is a proven goal scorer and although he will take a bit of time to get fit, he will be able to give us cameo roles from the bench to begin with," Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell said.
Camara is Senegal's leading scorer with 30 goals in 98 games.
Sheffield United was relegated in 2007 and is 13th in the 24-team League Championship, seven points behind leaders West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle after 13 games.
Robinho return from injury delayed by setback
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City forward Robinho faces another two weeks on the sidelines after a setback in his recovery from an ankle injury.
City had hoped the Brazil international would be fit for Tuesday's League Cup match against Scunthorpe.
But after two months without action, it is now likely he won't be fit until the Nov. 7 meeting with Burnley in the Premier League.
And with a two-week international break following that, manager Mark Hughes indicated Thursday that he might not deploy Robinho until the next match against Liverpool on Nov. 21.
Hughes says the stress fracture "hasn't healed as quickly as we anticipated."
Hughes added that "it's important we don't put him at risk" after the latest setback.
Chile wants to keep Bielsa until 2015
SANTIAGO, Chile — Chile wants coach Marcelo Bielsa to stay until at least 2015.
Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the president of the Chilean Football Federation, said the Argentina-born Bielsa would be offered a new contract. Bielsa was also a former Argentina coach who resigned from that post in 2004. He joined Chile in 2007.
Chile finished second in South American World Cup qualifying and will be going to its first World Cup since 1998.
"We'd like Marcelo Bielsa to head the national team until at least 2015," Mayne-Nichols was widely quoted saying on Thursday in Chilean newspapers.
Bielsa earns a reported $1.8 million, high by Chilean standards. Mayne-Nicholls has said the salary is low by international standards.
Huth banned for 3 matches for punching Upson
LONDON — Stoke defender Robert Huth was banned for three matches on Thursday for punching West Ham defender Matthew Upson in a Premier League match.
The former Germany international admitted to the Football Association's charge of violent conduct.
The 25-year-old Huth escaped punishment during the match and will be on the sidelines starting with Saturday's match at third-place Tottenham.
Huth swung his right arm at Upson while the pair jostled for position in the area in Saturday's 2-1 home win over the Hammers.
"Huth's actions were totally out of character for a fully committed defender who has only received one red card — for two cautions — in nearly eight years of playing in the Premier League," Stoke said on its Web site.
Extra ref almost sends off wrong player
LONDON — One of the additional referees helping the main official at Europa League games almost got the wrong player sent off in Fulham's 1-1 draw with Roma on Thursday.
In an experimental move, extra refs are stationed at either end of the field to give the man with the whistle additional pairs of eyes and help with close and contentious decisions.
When Belgian referee Paul Allaerts awarded Roma a penalty in the 78th minute after John Arne Riise went down under a challenge, he asked the extra official who had made the foul.
Although it was clearly Stephen Kelly who had brought Riise down from behind, the extra official pointed to Brede Hangeland, who was shown the red card. Eventually the Fulham players put the officials right — Kelly went off and Hangeland stayed on.
Tanzanian soccer refs banned over match-fixing
ARUSHA, Tanzania — Tanzania has banned four referees for life for fixing games.
The Tanzanian soccer federation says the four were disciplined Tuesday. The referees have denied any wrongdoing.
The referees allegedly received about $200 each to fix last month’s game in the domestic league between Maji Maji and Mtibwa Sugar. Maji Maji won 1-0 and was fined about $10,000 for its role.
An investigative committee also banned the secretary general of a regional referees for five years.
Real Madrid’s longest-serving fan dies at 99
MADRID — Real Madrid’s longest-serving fan has died. He was 99.
Felix Perez Alvarez, who died Thursday of natural causes, became a supporter of the team in 1923 and remained a paying member for the next 86 years.
During that time, Alvarez watched Madrid win 31 league titles and nine European Cups.
Known as the team’s "No. 1 fan," Alvarez was well-known among fellow supporters. The club honored him several times, most recently with a gold insignia in 1992.
Team officials say Real Madrid will wear a black armband to honor him during its match against Sporting Gijon on Saturday.
Police arrest dozens of hooligans in Amsterdam
AMSTERDAM — Police say they have arrested dozens of football hooligans in Amsterdam after fighting broke out in the city's red light district ahead of a Europa League match between Ajax and Dinamo Zagreb.
Amsterdam Police spokesman Nabil Ou-Aissa says most of the hooligans arrested are Ajax supporters and they were detained for public order offenses. He could not give the exact number of people detained.
About 300 police were in the area Thursday and charged into groups of fans to keep them apart. Ou-Aissa says the situation is not yet under control.
Ajax is in third place in Group A and would move ahead of Dinamo with a win.
Bundesliga clubs withdraw shirt replicas
FRANKFURT — Eintracht Frankfurt and Mainz are withdrawing their replica shirts from sale after tests revealed they contained a softener that causes potential health problems for youngsters.
The softener is in the dye used to print the sponsor's logos on the shirts and is not allowed to be used in children's toys in the European Union because it can later cause fertility problems. The two Bundesliga clubs are offering to exchange the shirts.
A study by a German consumer watchdog agency says replica shirts sold by other Bundesliga clubs are of poor quality but do not contain the harmful softener.
League Previews
Struggling Liverpool needs win over United
LONDON — Even with seven months of the season to go, Liverpool's clash with Manchester United is being billed as make-or-break for the team's Premier League title hopes.
Two league losses in a row — taking the early total to four — have left last season's runners up seven points adrift of three-time defending champion United.
And for once, not even Europe is not providing a salvation for Rafa Benitez's side — Liverpool is in danger of missing out on the lucrative Champions League knockout phase after a second straight loss Tuesday.
Not since 1987 has Liverpool endured a four-match losing sequence and it's being left to stalwart defender Jamie Carragher to rally the battered team, which could again be without the dynamic, but bruised, duo of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres on Sunday.
"Beating Manchester United could be just the boost we need, we always bounce back because that us what we are about," Carragher said. "We've got a lot of fight and character and will want to show that against United, particularly after what happened against Lyon.
"We're going through a tough patch but we've been through them before and we'll bounce back, there's no doubt about that. It's always a great game against United, and that could be what we need — if we win it will give everyone a massive lift."
Liverpool beat United home-and-away last season but was still beaten to the title by four points.
"I think form goes out of the window in these games," United defender Rio Ferdinand said. "We all know that when there's a big rivalry between two teams, whether it's a derby or a big cup clash, form doesn't come into it.
"It all comes down to who performs best on the day and that's what we're looking to do."
While United has also experienced a sluggish start to the season, Alex Ferguson's side has still managed to eke out victories and lead Chelsea by a point.
The Red Devils are also on course for the Champions League knockout stage, preparing for Sunday's trip to Anfield with a third straight win at CSKA Moscow even after leaving Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung to rest back in Manchester.
Michael Owen made a late cameo from the bench in the 1-0 win in Moscow and the former Liverpool striker will be hoping for a rare United start at the club that turned him into one of the world's top players as a teenager.
There could be a hostile reception awaiting Owen, who needs to improve his scoring form to force his way back into the England team.
"I am human. I would prefer people to sit down and recognize what you did for them and for the team in years gone past," Owen said. "But I am pretty realistic as well and now that I am playing for their archrivals."
Both teams are looking for a record 19th league title, a year after United matched Liverpool's haul of 18.
Second-place Chelsea can put the pressure on United with a victory over Blackburn Saturday after losing at Aston Villa last weekend.
Salomon Kalou's two goals Wednesday helped revive the Blues on Wednesday as they moved to the verge of the Champions League knockout phase by beating Atletico Madrid 4-0.
"It's good to get confidence back by winning, and everyone gave his best today and we have the result in the end," Kalou said. "After the disappointment of last week (against Villa) we had the opportunity to show it was a mistake."
Tottenham, which is two points adrift of Chelsea, is also in action on Saturday, hosting Stoke. Fourth-place Arsenal is at West Ham on Sunday.
Portsmouth travels to Hull on Saturday chasing a second win of the season that could lift Paul Hart's side off the bottom of the table.
Also Saturday, Birmingham hosts Sunderland, Wigan is at Lancashire rival Burnley and Wolverhampton takes on Aston Villa in the Midlands derby.
On Sunday, Manchester City plays Fulham and Bolton hosts Everton.
-- Rob Harris
Barcelona, Madrid look to rebound from defeats
MADRID — Barcelona and Real Madrid will look to forget about midweek Champions League stumbles by returning to winning ways in the Spanish league this weekend.
Russian champion Rubin Kazan stunned Barcelona 2-1 at the Camp Nou, while big-spending Madrid came apart as AC Milan rallied for a 3-2 win at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Barcelona lacked its usual energy and imagination, while Madrid remains disjointed after spending €250 million ($365 million) on a host of stars in the offseason.
Barcelona leads La Liga with 19 points, one more than Madrid after seven games. Sevilla and Deportivo La Coruna are tied in third on 15.
Barcelona takes on Zaragoza on Sunday, while Madrid visits upstart Sporting Gijon on Saturday still trying to find its way without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo.
"We're a team that's still coming together," Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini said after Madrid lost for the second time in three outings. "I have understandable worries, but ... I think the team is performing adequately and we hope to improve."
Barcelona fans are hoping Lionel Messi will return to form after some disappointing displays in the two matches since his return from national duty for Argentina. Barcelona's attack has also been blunted as opponents have focused on disrupting the midfield play of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, which has often been the key to the team's potent offense.
Guardiola said Tuesday's performance, in which Barcelona outshot the Russian champions 24-3, was better than last week's scoreless draw with Valencia.
"We moved the ball around better and we tried everything we could," Guardiola said. "We were ourselves and we'll never renounce that."
The Catalan club also lost the services of Brazil defender Daniel Alves, who joins striker Thierry Henry on the sidelines with a leg muscle injury.
Further down the table, Atletico Madrid coach Abel Resino and counterpart Ernesto Valverde of Villarreal may both be out of a job come Monday if their teams don't win.
Atletico has won only once in 10 games this season while Villarreal is still without a win and bottom of the league.
"This season, the ball doesn't want to go in," Resino said after his team slumped to a 4-0 defeat at Chelsea on Wednesday. "But I'm not frustrated and with every game I'm searching for solutions."
Atletico needs to find a solution before it faces Mallorca, which is fifth with 13 points thanks to an attacking style that could exploit Atletico's defensive frailties. Atletico has conceded a league-high 17 goals this season.
Villarreal plays fellow struggler Malaga, which is 19th in the league and only one point above it, without midfielder Robert Pires. Pires was suspended one game for verbally abusing a referee.
Sevilla — a convincing 3-1 winner at Stuttgart — will look to repeat its European form and make it four straight victories when it plays Espanyol on Saturday.
In Sunday's other eighth-round games, it's: Valladolid vs. Deportivo; Getafe vs. Athletic Bilbao; Racing Santander vs. Osasuna; Tenerife vs. Xerez; and Almeria vs. Valencia.
-- Paul Logothetis
Schalke hosts Hamburg in Bundesliga
FRANKFURT — In the next three weeks, Felix Magath will find out if Schalke's hopes of winning the German league title for the first time in 51 years have a realistic chance of succeeding.
Magath has a proven record as a championship winner — he won the Bundesliga twice with Bayern Munich and last season led dark horse Wolfsburg to its first title. He then moved to Schalke, a club long on tradition but short on titles, saddled by debt and disheartened by a poor season and an eighth-place finish that kept it out of lucrative European competition.
Bayer Leverkusen leads the standings on goal difference over Hamburger SV, with both teams on 21 points. Schalke is third with 19 points. If Leverkusen falters at home to Borussia Dortmund on Friday and Schalke can get past Hamburg on Sunday, Magath will be back in familiar territory at the top of the table.
With Schalke hosting Leverkusen in the next round before traveling to Bayern Munich in two weeks, it has the chance to beat its closest rivals in successive weeks to put itself in a commanding position.
But Magath doesn't see his side as a championship contender — yet.
"No matter how others see us, we're not going to change how we see ourselves, even if we beat Hamburg," Magath said. "Hamburg is the favorite but we have the potential to beat every top team at home, even without being a top team ourselves.
"I'd rather think of long-term goals than celebrate short-term successes. There's still a lot to do."
Hamburg is hurting after losing several top players to injuries, including strikers Paolo Guerrero and Mladen Petric.
"We've been able to defend our position despite so many problems," Hamburg captain David Jarolim said. "If we can hold on until the winter break, we can achieve a lot this season.
"We've been playing well and can be confident about the upcoming games."
Leverkusen, coming off a 0-0 draw with Hamburg, will be looking to defend its league lead against an in-form Dortmund side that has won its last two games.
Defending champion Wolfsburg — in fifth with 16 points — visits bottom-place Hertha Berlin on Saturday, while fourth-place Werder Bremen travels to Bochum on Sunday.
Sixth-place Bayern Munich seeks to rebound from a 2-1 Champions League loss at Bordeaux when it hosts Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Also Saturday, it's: Hoffenheim vs. FC Nuremberg; Hannover vs. Stuttgart; Borussia Moenchengladbach vs. FC Cologne; and Mainz vs. Freiburg.
-- Nesha Starcevic
Inter looks to stay top with win over Catania
MILAN — Serie A league leader Inter Milan will be looking to return to winning ways when it takes on Catania on Saturday night in Serie A after a lackluster Champions League performance.
It has been a mixed week for Jose Mourinho's side.
Last Saturday the team ran riot to win 5-0 away to Genoa, but on Tuesday Inter had to twice come from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kiev at the San Siro. Mourinho's side has now gone a year without a victory in European football's premier club competition and lies bottom of its group.
"In Italy we go onto the field and are calmer and more relaxed," Inter defender Davide Santon said. "In Europe we take to the field with all manner of thoughts running through our heads.
"We really have to do better because this is a crucial year for us in the Champions League and I think that it is having some bearing on our performance."
In the last round of matches, Catania recorded its first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Cagliari that lifted the Sicilians out of the relegation zone.
In attack, Catania will be relying on the diminutive pair of Takayuki Morimoto and Giuseppe Mascara to provide its main goal threat.
Japan international Morimoto is the club's top scorer with three goals so far this season, while last term Mascara hit 12 but has only found the net once in Catania's opening eight games.
"Inter is extremely strong and has some world class players," Morimoto said. "But we will do our best to win. Last week's win against Cagliari has put the smile back on our faces after the seven previous games.
"Hopefully we can take confidence from winning those three points and play well in Milan."
Sampdoria will aim to go back to the top and put pressure on Inter by beating Bologna in the first fixture on Saturday after slipping two points behind Mourinho's side in the 1-1 draw with Lazio last time out.
After that game Sampdoria coach Luigi Del Neri was furious that his side had not been awarded a penalty after Modibo Diakhite appeared to foul Reto Ziegler.
Worse still Sampdoria is likely be without its leading scorer Giampaolo Pazzini who broke his nose in a collision with Lazio goalkeeper Fernando Muslera toward the end of the match.
This week, relegation threatened Bologna reacted to having taken just six points and won one match from its opening eight games by sacking coach Giuseppe Papadopulo.
His replacement is former Bologna player Franco Colomba, who says his first aim is to get the club out of the drop zone.
"I'm here to save this squad," Colomba said. "We have signed an agreement until June and I want to pay back (president, Francesca) Menarini's trust.
"This is a starting point, not an end in itself, but if we do avoid relegation I would like to think I had earned the club's trust."
In the weekend's other matches it's; Atalanta vs. Parma, Bari vs. Lazio, Cagliari vs. Genoa, Fiorentina vs. Napoli, Palermo vs. Udinese, AS Roma vs. Livorno, Siena vs. Juventus and Chievo Verona vs. AC Milan.
-- Jeremy Inson
Marseille hosts struggling PSG in French League
PARIS — After keeping its slim hopes of Champions League glory alive with a 1-0 win at Zurich, fifth-place Marseille will be looking to replicate that form in the French league when it hosts archrival Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday in the most storied contest in the domestic calendar.
Marseille recovered from three straight losses in all competitions with back-to-back wins at Nancy and Zurich. Wednesday night's victory in Switzerland gave Marseille its first three points in the Champions League.
"We had a very complicated week before the international break with those three defeats," Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said. "A big game is awaiting us."
Derbies between Marseille and PSG are regularly marred by violence off the pitch and special security measures will be in force in and around the Velodrome stadium. The clubs are the only French sides to have lifted European silverware: Marseille won the inaugural Champions League in 1993 and PSG raised the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996.
This season, Marseille trails leader Lyon by only three points, PSG already lags well behind in ninth place after three draws and two losses. The Paris club has 13 points from nine games, four points behind Marseille.
"This match at Marseille is a good opportunity to get back on the right track," PSG striker Peguy Luyindula said. "We had a good start to the season, winning matches and scoring a lot of goals. But sometimes — you don't know why — those good runs end. I still have the feeling we are playing good football."
PSG coach Antoine Kombouare lashed out at his players this week, saying the injuries that have depleted his side were not enough to explain its poor form.
"I don't like this situation," Kombouare said. "I'm expecting more from the likes of Sylvain Armand, Stephane Sessegnon or Ceara and I have told them so. But I'm not disappointed because they are quality players."
At Marseille, PSG will be without injured forwards Ludovic Hoarau and Mevlut Erding, who is recovering from a shoulder injury.
"We miss Hoarau and Erding up front," Kombouare said. "Without blaming anybody, Ludo (Giuly) and Peguy (Luyindula)... have to do more up front — they are paid to make the difference."
PSG hasn't won a game since a 3-0 home victory over Lille on Aug. 30. A loss at Marseille could see it slip to just above the relegation zone.
"We're not even considering losing at Marseille," PSG president Robin Leproux told French daily Le Parisien. "We're going there to win. But if we don't get the result we're hoping for, we don't need to panic. There are a lot of games left."
The three French clubs involved in Champions League action this week —Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux— all won.
League leader Lyon travels to Nice on Saturday after coming from behind to beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield. Lyon defender Cris, who was taken to the hospital after colliding with Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt, has recovered and is expected to play.
Defending champion Bordeaux, which overcame a 1-0 deficit and two missed penalties to beat Bayern Munich 2-1, hosts struggling Le Mans. Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc welcomed playmaker Yoann Gourcuff's return to form in the win over Bayern, which followed losses in the French league at Saint-Etienne and Auxerre.
Gourcuff, who injured his left thigh last month, missed the Saint-Etienne game and came off the bench at Auxerre.
"Gourcuff is the kind of player who make others play better," Blanc said. "He's a technical leader. When you've got him in your squad, it's a guarantee you'll play at a high technical level."
Promoted Montpellier, which has surprised many by charging into second place behind Lyon on goal difference, will be at sixth-place Rennes, another side that has impressed with a series of quality performances.
On Saturday, it's also: Boulogne vs. Monaco; Grenoble vs. Nancy; Saint-Etienne vs. Valenciennes and Sochaux vs. Lorient.
In Sunday's other matches, Lens hosts Toulouse and Lille is away to Auxerre.
-- Samuel Petrequin
