Soccer Capsules: Coach says alleged affair hurt '98 US soccer team
NEW YORK — Breaking more than a decade of silence, former U.S. soccer coach Steve Sampson said Tuesday he dropped John Harkes from the national team roster two months before the 1998 World Cup because the American captain was having an affair with the wife of teammate Eric Wynalda.
Harkes has long denied having an affair with Amy Wynalda.
Wynalda brought up the situation Monday night during a discussion on "Fox Football Fone-In" about a scandal in England over an alleged relationship between current English captain John Terry and the former partner of Wayne Bridge, his teammate on the national squad.
Sampson told The Associated Press on Tuesday he was glad the story was coming out now because "maybe people will have a little better of an understanding of what happened in the final months leading up to the World Cup."
After advancing to the second round of the 1994 World Cup at home, the U.S. finished last in the 32-nation field at the 1998 tournament in France, getting shut out by Germany, then losing 2-1 to Iran and 1-0 to Yugoslavia.
"It wasn’t about losing 2-0 to Germany or losing to Iran," Sampson said. "There was more to it than that that impacted I believe the outcome of this team."
Wynalda said he spoke out during the program he co-hosts on Fox Soccer Channel because he was asked about Terry, who has been front-page news since Saturday in British newspapers.
"There’s a lot of similarities between what happened to us in ’98 and what’s happening now to England," Wynalda told the AP. "It’s an unfortunate time for England, because I know how that can affect a team firsthand. Obviously, we all know how we did in the World Cup in ’98."
Sampson was replaced by Bruce Arena after the tournament.
Harkes was a member of the 1990 and 1994 U.S. World Cup teams and became the regular captain before he was dropped by Sampson in a surprise move on April 14, 1998. He made 90 international appearances from 1987-90.
"I am not going to rehash the things that have happened in the past," Harkes said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "1998 was devastating to me and my family. It was hard enough not to play in the World Cup, but it was even difficult to go through that time period, the most difficult time period of my life."
Sampson said Tuesday that Roy Wegerle, another U.S. player, came to him and assistant coach Clive Charles between the Feb. 25 game at Belgium and the March 14 match against Paraguay in San Diego and said he had personal knowledge of the affair. Charles died in 2003 and Wegerle, now retired, did not return a phone call Tuesday
In 1998, Sampson said Harkes, then 31, was dropped because the midfielder refused to play a more defensive role. Sampson also cited "leadership issues" but didn’t elaborate.
Sampson, much criticized by players during the World Cup and fired after the U.S. was eliminated, defended his decision to hide the truth. He said he discussed his decision at the time with then-U.S. Soccer Federation president Alan Rothenberg, secretary general Hank Steinbrecher and current president Sunil Gulati, a longtime member of the leadership.
"I felt that these are the kinds of issues that need to stay in the locker room and within the team and not (be) exposed to the public," Sampson said. "The private issues for me were the most serious issues. I think I could have lived with everything else and kept John on the team if it had not been for the private issues. It’s one thing to have an affair outside the team. It’s another to have one inside. ... There are just certain lines that one cannot cross."
Rothenberg said Tuesday he had no memory of any discussion of the matter, Gulati declined comment and Steinbrecher did not return a telephone message.
Wynalda, however, insists an affair did take place.
"I’m calling it an inappropriate relationship. It was a major contributor to why I’m no longer married," said Wynalda, a father of three who separated from his wife in 2003 and then divorced.
Wynalda said that when Sampson informed him in the spring of 1998 that he was dropping Harkes, Wynalda tried to persuade the coach to change his mind. Sampson didn’t recall such a conversation, but said that doesn’t mean it didn’t take place.
"At that time, I felt that he was still a player that could help our cause and he was still one of the best 22 players in our country," Wynalda said.
Wynalda and Harkes played together just once after that, when called in by Arena for a January 2000 exhibition at Chile.
"At that point, it was still manageable," Wynalda said.
Harkes, the U.S. college player of the year in 1987 at Virginia, was one of the first Americans to make the move overseas, playing for Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, West Ham and Nottingham Forest in England during the 1990s. He also was among the early players in Major League Soccer, playing with D.C. United, New England and Columbus before his retirement in 2002.
Like Harkes, Wynalda was among the early U.S. players in Europe, playing for Saarbruecken and Bochum in Germany before appearing for San Jose, Miami, New England and Chicago in MLS. Wynalda was an analyst for ESPN’s soccer coverage in 2006 and 2007, and joined Fox last year. He was appointed last month as a part-time assistant coach of the U.S. under-20 team.
Harkes also worked for ESPN’s 2006 World Cup coverage and replaced Wynalda as a lead analyst for ESPN two years ago.
Now working for different networks, both are preparing for this year’s World Cup. Wynalda also is writing a book.
"I’ve suffered quite a bit through this whole process. My healing is over, so I’m OK to talk about it," Wynalda said.
Sampson, who plans to broadcast for Futbol de Primera radio at this year’s World Cup, said he wanted people to know that he and Harkes mended their relationship in 2005 and exchanged a handshake.
"Maybe now people will have a little bit more of an understanding as to why I made such a critical decision back in 1998," Sampson said. "The last thing I wanted to do was drop John Harkes from the team because I really did believe that he was an outstanding leader on the field."
U.S. forward Charlie Davies has elbow surgery
LOS ANGELES — U.S. forward Charlie Davies has undergone elbow surgery as part of his recuperation from injuries sustained in a car crash last October.
"Can’t wait to be able to bend my arm again!" he said on his Twitter account before the operation in Los Angeles.
Davies, who has four goals in 17 international appearances, broke several bones and injured his bladder during the Oct. 13 accident in the Washington, D.C., area. A former Boston College player in his first season with France’s Sochaux, he is expected to miss the World Cup because of his injuries.
Red Bulls holding job fair for 500 part-time jobs
SECAUCUS, N.J. — The New York Red Bulls are opening a new soccer arena and are looking to fill about 500 part-time jobs.
The Major League Soccer team announced on Tuesday that it will be holding a job fair on Feb. 16 at the new Red Bull Arena in Harrison.
The team said the part-time positions need to be filled before the grand opening on March 20. There are openings for kitchen staff, box office workers, security personnel and concessions and retail workers, among others.
The job fair will be held from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Ferguson: no regrets over sale of David Beckham
MANCHESTER, England — David Beckham’s former manager says he does not regret selling the superstar midfielder seven years ago.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson sold the former England captain to Real Madrid. Ferguson says his only concern is how his current team reacts to the media scrutiny that is likely to accompany Beckham when he faces United this month for the first time.
Beckham is on loan at AC Milan from The Los Angeles Galaxy. Milan plays United in a two-legged Champions League match on Feb. 16 and then March 10.
Ferguson said that other players had returned to United but told the club’s official magazine that Beckham’s celebrity meant "we haven’t really seen anybody else return to the club in that situation."
Mexico Soccer
A 2nd player on same Mexican soccer team shot
MEXICO CITY — A teammate of the Paraguayan soccer star who was shot last week in a Mexico City bar was shot during a robbery attempt.
Officials for the Mexican team Club America said Tuesday that Juan Carlos Silva was in good condition and the single gunshot wound to his buttocks was not life threatening. They said the attack on the 21-year-old midfielder took place Monday night in Mexico City in a failed attempt to steal his vehicle.
The violence follows the Jan. 25 shooting of Salvador Cabanas, who was shot in the head and is recovering at a Mexico City hospital. The two attacks appear unrelated.
Cabanas has begun to eat and talk with family members. Doctors have been surprised by his progress from a head wound that is usually fatal.
The attack on Cabanas took place just before dawn in a bar bathroom and appears to have grown out of an argument between the player and the main suspect, Jose Jorge Balderas Garza. He remains at large.
The Mexico City attorney general's office said Cabanas was not yet in condition to answer questions about the shooting.
Armed robbery is not uncommon in Mexico City, although gun-related crime is much more common in other places in Mexico. The country has strict gun laws, which make it illegal to carry a weapon without a permit.
Cabanas has played in Mexico since 2003. He was expected to lead Paraguay at the World Cup in South Africa, which opens June. 11.
-- Stephen Wade
Libertad advances to Copa Libertadores group stage
ASUNCION, Paraguay — Pablo Velazquez's two second-half goals helped send Paraguayan club Libertad into the group stage of the Copa Libertadores with a 3-1 home win against Deportivo Tachira of Venezuela on Tuesday.
Libertad advanced 3-2 on aggregate to be the first through the preliminary first round.
Pedro Boada opened the scoring for Tachira following a corner in the 30th minute to leave Libertad needing three goals to progress.
Rodolfo Gamarra tipped the ball past Tachira goalkeeper Manuel Sanhouse, flicked the ball over Jong Viafara's challenge and volleyed the equalizer from a narrow angle in the 41st minute. Velazquez side-footed in following a scramble in the Tachira box with just over 20 minutes to play, and sealed Libertad's passage with a low shot from 30 yards (meters) in the 81st.
On Wednesday, it's Cruzeiro vs. Real Potosi and Estudiantes Tecos vs. Juan Aurich.
League News
Chelsea misses chance with 1-1 draw at Hull
LONDON — Chelsea missed the chance to go four points clear at the top of the English Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Hull on Tuesday.
Defender Steven Mouyokolo gave Hull a surprise lead in the 30th minute and, although Didier Drogba equalized 12 minutes later with his 20th goal of the season, Chelsea was unable to convert concerted pressure into more goals.
The draw left Chelsea on 55 points, three clear of defending champion Manchester United. Both teams have played 24 games, the same as third-place Arsenal, which was another four points back and at Chelsea on Sunday.
Chelsea had already missed a couple of chances when Mouyokolo got his first goal for Hull. The central defender outjumped a cluster of Chelsea defenders including John Terry to head in a 29th-minute corner by Stephen Hunt.
Terry was jeered throughout by Hull fans following last week's newspaper allegations that he had an affair with an England teammate's former partner.
But Chelsea continued to press and Drogba, playing his first Chelsea game in a month following his stint at the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, scored direct from a free kick just outside the area.
Jozy Altidore missed with a headed chance for Hull and teammate Amr Zaki troubled the visiting defense, but Drogba missed at the other end as the home team held on for a valuable point in its fight against relegation.
Hull was still in the relegation zone but was level on 21 points with the three teams immediately above it.
Also on Tuesday, Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wigan were knocked out of the FA Cup after losing fourth-round replays to lower-league sides.
Crystal Palace defender Danny Butterfield scored a hat trick in seven second-half minutes to give the League Championship side a 3-1 win over Wolves, while Wigan was humiliated 2-0 by visiting Notts County of the fourth tier.
-- Stuart Condie
Celtic loses ground with 1-0 loss at Kilmarnock
GLASGOW, Scotland — Celtic lost more ground on Scottish Premier League leader Rangers in a 1-0 loss at struggling Kilmarnock on Tuesday.
Celtic gave a debut to striker Robbie Keane just a day after the Ireland captain joined on loan from English club Tottenham but Kilmarnock secured just its fourth win of the season when Chris Maguire marked his own debut with a 53rd-minute goal.
While Keane missed chances in each half, Maguire scored with a low shot from inside the area following an exchange of passes between Mehdi Taouil and Tim Clancy.
Second-place Celtic stayed 10 points behind Rangers and has played the same amount of games as its fierce city rival.
"We're trying to put a team together that can be successful long term," Celtic manager Tony Mowbray said. "There were flashes tonight but it didn't run for us.
"We've got to play Rangers twice: They're games we've obviously got to win. But it's obviously going to be difficult for us. We've got to start winning very, very quickly."
Also, Falkirk won 1-0 at Aberdeen, while Billy Mehmet scored to give St. Mirren a 1-0 League Cup semifinal win at Hearts and a first appearance in any final for 23 years.
Defending champ Bordeaux reaches League Cup semis
BORDEAUX, France — Yoan Gouffran scored early in the second half as Bordeaux beat Sedan 1-0 to reach the semifinals of the League Cup and stay on course to win the domestic treble.
Gouffran found space in the penalty area to beat goalkeeper Benoit Costil from close range in the 49th minute.
Bordeaux won the French title and the League Cup last season and coach Laurent Blanc's team remains in contention to win both titles again, as well as the French Cup. Bordeaux plays Lorient in the League Cup semifinal.
Bordeaux has a six-point lead over Montpellier in the French league.
Elsewhere
Japan, Venezuela draw in friendly
OITA, Japan — Japan and Venezuela played out a scoreless draw in an international friendly on Tuesday
Japan had the better of the scoring chances and controlled the play throughout the match but was never able to make its superiority pay.
Kashima Antlers captain Mitsuo Ogasawara came close in the 16th minute with a powerful right-foot shot from the top of the area that forced Venezuelan goalkeeper Leonardo Morales to make a spectacular diving save.
Moments later, Venezuela had its best chance when Alejandro Moreno headed Jose Manuel Rey's free kick just wide of the mark.
The friendly against the South Americans marked the start of a four-match series of World Cup tuneups for Japan which has been drawn in Group E against Cameroon, Denmark and the Netherlands at the World Cup finals.
"It was a home game so it was one we wanted to win," said Japan defender Yuji Nakazawa. "But it's the start of the season and we'll have time to improve."
Junichi Inamoto almost put the hosts ahead midway through the second half but his angled shot was deflected over the crossbar by Morales.
Former Barcelona VP will stand for president
BARCELONA, Spain — Former Barcelona vice president Sandro Rosell, who played a key role in the Spanish club's recent revival, has officially entered the race to replace Joan Laporta as president.
Rosell, a former friend of Laporta's who helped lure Ronaldinho to the Spanish club in 2003, announced his well-known intentions on his Twitter page.
Rosell originally resigned in June 2005 after falling out with Laporta, with several players at the time saying the club had fractured at the top.
Rosell previously worked with the local organizing committee for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and then Nike, which led to his working with the Brazilian national football team.
Laporta announced elections will be held on June 13.
Terry may learn England fate by end of this week
LONDON — John Terry could know by the end of the week whether coach Fabio Capello will let him keep his job as England captain.
British newspapers widely reported Tuesday that Terry has spoken with Capello’s assistant, Franco Baldini, and will meet with Capello on Friday.
Most papers agree that Terry is considering resigning as captain regardless of Capello’s decision.
The Football Association has said Capello alone will decide whether allegations that the Chelsea defender had an affair with an England teammate’s former partner have made his position as the team’s on-field leader untenable.
Premier League to keep 2 mln pounds from Portsmouth
LONDON — The Premier League will keep more than 2 million pounds ($3.2 million) Portsmouth raised from selling players during the January transfer window and hand it to clubs owed money by the club.
Portsmouth sold defender Younes Kaboul to Tottenham and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to Stoke for a total of about 8 million pounds ($12.8 million).
The south-east club is reported to be about 60 million pounds ($95.9 million) in debt.
Portsmouth is last in the Premier League and has failed on four occasions this season to pay its players on time. It is also subject to a liquidation order from the government's revenue and customs department.
FA charges Derby and Forest over players' brawl
LONDON — The Football Association has charged local rivals Derby and Nottingham Forest with failing to control their players after a mass confrontation on the touchline last week.
The players and officials including coaches Nigel Clough and Billy Davies were involved in Saturday's brawl in the closing stages of Derby's 1-0 win in the second-tier League Championship. The clubs have until Feb. 17 to respond.
Davies has made a formal complaint to the League Managers Association over what he says was a deliberate knee in the leg by Clough. Clough says any contact was accidental.
League clears Benjani's loan move to Sunderland
SUNDERLAND, England — Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari has completed his loan move to Sunderland after the Premier League cleared the transfer.
Sunderland and City had completed the necessary paperwork before Monday's transfer deadline but problems with e-mail, telephone and fax systems at Sunderland's training ground delayed their transmission to the Premier League.
The ruling body agreed to the transfer Tuesday.
Sunderland has already confirmed the signing of Tottenham defender Alan Hutton and Sheffield United defender Matt Kilgallon on loan until the end of the season.
Bordeaux agree new deals for Brazilian pair
BORDEAUX, France — Defending French champion Bordeaux has agreed new deals for Brazilian midfielder Fernando Menegazzo and Brazilian winger Jussie.
Bordeaux said on its Web site that the 28-year-old Menegazzo has signed a new-three year deal until 2014, and the 26-year-old Jussie has signed a four-year deal until 2015.
Menegazzo has scored 17 league goals in 147 games for Bordeaux, while Jussie has 11 goals in 77 league games. Both helped Bordeaux win the French title last season.
New Villarreal coach Garrido begins work
VILLARREAL, Spain — New Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido took charge of his first training session on Tuesday after replacing Ernesto Valverde.
Garrido took over from Valverde on Monday, a day after the club sacked his predecessor following a 2-0 home defeat to Osasuna. Villarreal hasn't fully recovered from a poor start to the season and lies 10th in the Spanish league on 26 points.
Garrido was coaching Villarreal's B-Team, which plays in the second division, after being a key member of the club's youth academy for nine years. His first game in charge comes Sunday at fifth-place Mallorca.
Valverde had joined Villarreal in the summer after guiding Greek club Olympiakos to a league and cup double.
Regional governing body to rebuild in Haiti
NEW YORK — The president of soccer’s governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean has pledged to help Haiti rebuild the offices of its governing body following last month’s earthquake.
CONCACAF president Jack Warner visited Haiti on Monday and proposed moving the headquarters of the Haitian Football Federation to the nation’s FIFA Goal Project office in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Croix-des-Boquets. FIFA has pledged $250,000 to the quake relief effort.
Warner, also a FIFA vice president, said in a statement Tuesday that he will ask the Caribbean Football Union to house Haitian players for six to 12 months until the Haitian federation can restart normal operations.
China soccer boss promises to tackle corruption
BEIJING — The new head of China’s soccer federation has pledged to attack corruption and lift the Asian sporting power’s lowly international ranking.
Wei Di said Tuesday the widely disparaged Chinese Football Association faces numerous "difficult hurdles," starting with restoring its public image.
Wei says the leadership must eliminate cheating and bribery. He also says "we should also look to our problems as a chance to start anew."
A sweeping probe of match fixing and bribery allegations has netted more than a dozen players and officials, including Wei’s predecessor Nan Yong.
Soccer is widely popular in China, even though the men’s national team is ranked No. 97 in the world.
Sunderland fan banned 3 years for racist abuse
SUNDERLAND, England — The Sunderland fan who racially abused the mother of the club’s star striker has been banned from soccer matches for three years.
John Davison verbally abused the mother of Darren Bent as she walked past him on the way to watch the England international play at Wigan Athletic on Nov. 28.
Davison pleaded guilty Tuesday to using threatening words or behavior in a racially aggravated manner. He was also fined $271 and ordered to pay Shirley Bent $80 compensation.
The Premier League player wrote on his Twitter page after the match that he "won’t stand for" such abuse.
