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Soccer Capsules: Red Bulls midfielder Jorge Rojas has knee surgery
Comments 0 | Recommend 0SECAUCUS, N.J. — New York Red Bulls midfielder Jorge Rojas has undergone surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
The Major League Soccer team announced the surgery on Wednesday, noting that Rojas would need three to four months to rehabilitate. The MLS regular season concluded recently and the Red Bulls missed the playoffs.
Rojas' surgery was performed by Dr. Riley Williams at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The Venezuelan international was hurt in a game against New England on Sept. 18.
Rojas started 19 of 21 games this season, recording two goals and two assists.
International
Maradona heading to Spain for friendly
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina coach Diego Maradona is heading to Spain to prepare for a friendly against the European champion, and to meet with many of his Europe-based players.
Maradona has called up several new players for the match on Nov. 14, including Inter Milan midfielder Esteban Cambiasso and defender Cristian Ansaldi of Russian club Rubin Kazan.
Maradona celebrated a year on the job on Wednesday. He has been under constant pressure in that span to deliver better results, and has faced tough criticism for many of his coaching moves.
Argentina has won nine of 13 matches with Maradona on the bench. However, all four losses came in critical South American World Cup qualifying games. They included a 6-1 loss at Bolivia and a 3-1 loss to Brazil at home in Argentina.
Argentina claimed the final automatic qualifying berth from South America last month, after beating Peru 2-1 on a late goal and edging Uruguay 1-0.
Following the Uruguay game, Maradona spoke on national television using crude, vulgar language in a tirade against critics who have suggested he is unqualified to be the national team coach.
FIFA, the governing body of world football, has said it is investigating Maradona's behavior and could ban him for five games and hit him with a stiff fine.
Last week the Argentine Football Association defended Maradona's conduct and blamed the media for his outburst, saying reporters had created the problems by confronting him with tough questions the day before the match.
Ashley's company name to adorn Newcastle's stadium
NEWCASTLE, England — Newcastle renamed its ground the "Sportsdirect.com (at) St. James' Park Stadium" until the end of the season on Wednesday.
Newcastle said last week it was looking to sell the naming rights to St. James' Park from next season but has decided to first use the famous ground to showcase the company owned by club owner Mike Ashley.
Newcastle has not discussed how much it would charge for the right to rename its home of 117 years, but chief executive Derek Llambias said the extra income would help the club invest in new players.
"If it brings in a good chunk of money to the club that goes straight to the team, it's a revenue we should look at," Llambias told the BBC.
Newcastle risked angering fans already riled by May's relegation from the Premier League when it announced the renaming plans on the same day it said the English businessman had taken the club off the market after failing to find a buyer.
Ashley wanted a reduced price of 80 million pounds ($131 million) for a club he bought for 134 million pounds two years ago while it was still in the Premier League
The value of the club was hit severely when it was relegated to the League Championship but Chris Hughton has led the team to the top of the standings with minimal investment in the squad, and now has a contract as manager through to the end of next season.
Portsmouth CEO charged with tax evasion
LONDON — Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie was charged Wednesday with tax evasion in another setback for the Premier League club.
Storrie is accused of arranging for Senegal midfielder Amdy Faye's signing-on fee to be paid via an agent to avoid paying tax and national insurance.
The fee paid to agent Willie McKay when Faye joined Portsmouth from Auxerre in 2003 is believed to have been 250,000 pounds ($412,900). Faye was transferred to Newcastle in January 2005 and now plays for Stoke.
Storrie, who has been on bail since being arrested in November 2007, has said he will defend himself in the "strongest possible terms."
The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office said that between July 2003 and August 2005, Storrie "cheated the public revenue ... with intent to defraud" by concealing the true nature of the payment to McKay.
Storrie will appear in court on Nov. 16.
The inquiry into Storrie's finances was part of Operation Apprentice, a wide-scale investigation by City of London Police and HM Revenue and Customs into corruption in football.
Storrie's charge comes after months of turmoil at Portsmouth during which he has prevented the club from going into financial administration.
Pompey is currently subject to a transfer ban for the second time this year after failing to make payments to rival clubs.
Verbeek selects full squad for Asia Cup qualifier
SYDNEY — Everton pair Tim Cahill and Lucas Neill were included in Pim Verbeek's near full-strength Australia squad Wednesday for next week's Asian Cup qualifier at Oman.
Palermo midfielder Mark Bresciano returned to the 23-man squad for the Nov. 14 match at Muscat after missing the recent drawn friendly against Netherlands and the 1-0 win over Oman at Melbourne due to a knee strain.
Bruce Djite, Brad Jones and Mile Sterjovski return for the first time since helping Australia qualify for the 2010 World Cup, while Celtic striker Scott McDonald was left out and Blackburn midfielder Vince Grella was not considered due to injury.
Former Glasgow Rangers and Newcastle United defender Craig Moore was among the three domestic A-League players named to the squad.
Australia has a share of the group B lead in Asian Cup qualifying with four points, but needs to complete the home-and-away wins over Oman after an upset loss at home to Kuwait. The top two teams in the group advance to the 2011 Asian Cup at Qatar.
Real Madrid: Ronaldo’s ankle injury not improving
MADRID — Real Madrid says Cristiano Ronaldo’s ankle injury has not improved.
The Portugal forward, who has been sidelined by a right ankle injury for nearly one month, had a medical review Wednesday that showed no progress.
The Spanish club says that Ronaldo cannot train with the team and will continue treatment.
Madrid had been hopeful that the 24-year-old winger would be available for Saturday’s derby against Atletico Madrid. Madrid trails Spanish leader Barcelona by one point after nine games.
Ronaldo has scored nine goals in seven games since his move from Manchester United, with Madrid winning each game he’s played.
Swden hires Rosenborg's Erik Hamren as new coach
STOCKHOLM — Rosenborg coach Erik Hamren is taking over Sweden's national team.
The Swedish Football Association said Wednesday it had reached a deal with the Norwegian league champion, which had been reluctant to let Hamren go.
Under the agreement, the 52-year-old Swede will continue to lead Rosenborg until August 2010 when he will switch full-time to coaching Sweden. Until then, he will only be released for internationals.
Last week the Swedish FA said it had ruled out Hamren after negotiations with Rosenborg broke down. But it said Wednesday that negotiations had resumed "after a few days."
Hamren replaces Lars Lagerback, who resigned last month after Sweden failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Hamren's contract stretches through 2013.
New injury setback for Everton midfielder Arteta
LIVERPOOL, England — Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta has experienced a setback in his recovery from a serious knee injury.
Arteta snapped a cruciate ligament during a match against Newcastle in February and was expected to step up his rehabilitation in the next month, but the Spaniard has had to undergo a procedure to remove an infection from his right knee.
Manager David Moyes said Wednesday that "it is a setback for him. However, we can't say how long it has put him back."
3 Zurich supporters arrested in Marseille
MARSEILLE, France — Three FC Zurich supporters have been arrested following their team's 6-1 loss in a Champions League match.
Two were arrested at the train station after clashes with Marseille supporters and police forces, and a third was taken into custody for lighting flares in the stadium, local newspaper La Provence reported Wednesday.
Marseille beat Zurich 6-1 Tuesday and has six points from four games in Group C of the Champions League, but is one point behind AC Milan and Real Madrid. Zurich is last with three points.
League Previews
Celtic counting on Fortune for goals vs. Hamburg
LONDON — Celtic is counting on returning French striker Marc-Antoine Fortune in its hunt for the unlikely victory it needs to retain any realistic hope of qualifying from the group stage of the Europa League.
The former European champions, who reached the knockout stages of the elite Champions League two of the past three years, visit Group C co-leader Hamburg on Thursday having managed just one point from three games.
Hamburg won 1-0 at Celtic two weeks ago, but that was with the Scottish side's star striker on the sidelines.
With Fortune back from eight weeks out with a knee injury, manager Tony Mowbray is hoping Celtic can add to its paltry total of two tournament goals in one of Thursday's 24 games.
"We will give them respect, but we know we have to score a goal over there," Mowbray said. "We'll set the team up to stay in the game but we'll also be pushing the longer the game goes on and hopefully we get the rewards out of it."
But while Fortune, who scored two goals in two league matches before succumbing to injury, is back and hoping to show why Celtic signed him in July, Mowbray has problems in goal.
Artur Boruc is out for three weeks following a minor knee injury, so Celtic had to ask UEFA for permission to replace the Poland international in its tournament squad with American keeper Dominic Cervi.
Cervi was on the bench when Celtic beat Kilmarnock on Saturday. Lukasz Zaluska is set to continue in goal.
Celtic is three points behind third-place Rapid Vienna, which hosts Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Hapoel and Hamburg have six points each.
Also Thursday, AS Roma seeks to improve upon its lackluster Group E form when it hosts Fulham.
Marco Andreolli scored a last-minute volley two weeks ago to earn Roma, which is also struggling in Serie A at 14th in the standings, a 1-1 draw at the west London club.
But victory is just as important to Fulham, which is a point ahead of Roma but has just one home game left to the Italian team's two.
"They scored a great goal at the end," Fulham midfielder Zoltan Gera said. "I'm sure that we can make up for it when we make the trip to Rome. It's a massive game for us, and one that we really need to win.
"A European night in Rome shows how far this club has come. We made a lot of people sit up and take notice of us last season, so it's nice to be doing that on the European stage as well — a win on Thursday would certainly do that."
FC Basel, which is on six points and leads second-place Fulham by one, hosts CSKA Sofia in the other Group E match.
Another struggling Italian side, Lazio, is at Villarreal in Group G.
Lazio is one place and three points behind city rival Roma in Serie A, but could clinch a place in the next round with a win in Spain. Lazio beat Villarreal 2-1 two weeks ago to sit three points behind leader Salzburg, despite having a player sent off in the 68th.
Salzburg is among the three teams in the 48-club tournament with maximum points ahead of its trip to Levski Sofia.
The others, Sporting Lisbon and trophy holder Shakhtar Donetsk, play Ventspils and Toulouse respectively.
Everton hosts Benfica seeking revenge for a 5-0 loss at Portugal in the last round of matches.
The English club is slowly emerging from an injury crisis that has hampered its start to the season and is attempting to finish fifth for a third straight Premier League season, with Leighton Baines, Joseph Yobo and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov returning last weekend.
Everton has not won any of its last six matches but can take the Group I lead with victory.
"It's playing on our minds a little bit that we need a win and the perfect time to get that is on Thursday at Goodison," Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell said. "The defeat over in Portugal was difficult to take. In the first 45 minutes we were as good if not better than Benfica.
"Now they've got to come to our ground and we have to show Benfica what a good side we are. We owe Benfica one and we owe it to ourselves."
Elsewhere Thursday, Ajax is at Dinamo Zagreb, Slavia Prague hosts Valencia, Galatasaray travels to Dinamo Bucharest and PSV Eindhoven is at FC Copenhagen.
-- Stuart Condie
Pohang, Ittihad target record title in Tokyo
SEOUL, South Korea — If Pohang Steelers didn't already have enough at stake with a record third Asian title on the line against Al Ittihad at Tokyo on Saturday, the South Korean media has tried to give them a little extra motivation.
Al Ittihad, the team from Jeddah has a history of defeating K-League teams in the Asian Champions League competition, so much so that it has been dubbed 'K-League Killer' by the Seoul media.
In 2004, Al Ittihad eliminated Jeonbuk Motors in the semifinal. That earned a final with Seongnam Chunma. The first leg ended in a 3-1 home loss but, in the most famous turnaround in Asian soccer history, Al Ittihad won 5-0 in the second leg. The Saudi club then thrashed Busan I'Park on their way to the 2005 title.
Pohang and Al Ittihad have a lot in common ahead of the ACL final at National Stadium in the Japanese capital.
Both teams have two continental club titles and are vying for an unprecedented third.
Both teams have South American coaches, foreign strikers and have scored 15 goals in the five games in the knockout stage, but Al Ittihad will start as favorite.
Coach Gabriel Calderon has led Al Ittihad to the final without losing a game. It has improved along the way.
A 5-1 aggregate win over Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan was followed by an 8-3 home-and-away triumph over Japan's Nagoya Grampus. Al Ittihad has stayed in Japan since the second leg win 10 days ago.
"Before every match the chance to win is 50-50 for each team so I cannot say who will win," Calderon said. "But we always play for a win and we will do so again in the final."
The Al Ittihad strike force is North African. Hicham Aboucherouane from Morocco teams up with Tunisia's Anime Chermiti. The ex-Hertha Berlin striker is aiming to become the first player to play at the Club World Cup with two different teams after appearing with Etoile in 2007.
Pohang Steelers haven't won the continental championship since back-to-back successes in 1997 and '98. This time, they have Brazilian star Denilson and Stevica Ristic of Macedonia in the lineup and both are in fine form.
A 6-0 thrashing of Australia's Newcastle Jets in the second round was followed by a thrilling 5-4 aggregate win over Luiz Felipe Scolari's Bunyokdor in the quarterfinal. A regulation 4-1 semifinal defeat of Umm Salal provided the final spot.
"Al Ittihad are not easy opponents but from their point are view, Pohang are not easy opponents either," said Pohang manager Sergio Farias.
Farias maintained that his players were not tired despite playing 48 matches in the past eight months.
"The final is going to be great. Al Ittihad scored a lot of goals in the semifinal but our team also scored good goals."
As well as the action on the pitch, much attention will be focused on the success of the match off it.
Since the continental club championship started in the Champions League format in 2003, the final has been a home-and-away contest. This year, the showpiece is a one-off match at a neutral venue.
With no Japanese team in the final, there are concerns of a small attendance given the fact that Asian fans rarely travel overseas in vast numbers to support their club teams.
Pohang has announced that 400-500 fans will travel east, with even fewer expected to make the 12,000 mile round-trip from Saudi Arabia.
"I hope we haven't been so arrogant in deciding to do this," said AFC boss Mohammed bin Hammam when the decision was made last year. "You have to appreciate the difference in football between now and the past. We are looking to revolutionize football in every area in Asia. We all have the same concerns but let us give it a try for two years and see how it's going to work."
The AFC is doing all it can to attract fans and has been promoting it with the Saudi Arabian population and the sizable Korean community in the Japanese capital.
"We are working with the local organizing committee to fill the stadium," an AFC spokesperson told The Associated Press. "We expect an attendance of 20,000 to 25,000."
-- John Duerden
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