YOUR AD HERE 773.217 · 2 Chicago, IL OCTOBER 2011 OCTOBER 2011 Chicago, IL The United States got Jurgen Klinsmann a victory in his fourth try as American coach. Clint Dempsey scored

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Chicago, IL OCTOBER 2011 OCTOBER 2011 Chicago, IL

The United States got Jurgen Klinsmann a victory in his fourth try as American coach.Clint Dempsey scored in the 36th minute and goalkeeper Tim Howard made several key saves in a 1-0 exhibition victory over Honduras on Saturday night.“It’s huge for all of us. You don’t ever want to go a long period of time without winning,’’ Howard said. “We performed well, I think, and we’re trying to set a foundation, but ultimately you have to win. That was the focus coming in.’’Since Klinsmann replaced Bob Bradley on July 29 after the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Americans had tied Mexico, and lost to Costa Rica and Belgium.When Klinsmann took over as coach of Germany’s national team seven years ago, Die Mannschaft beat Austria in his debut.

“This team is hungry for success,’’ Klinsmann said. “They want to do well and get the results right.’’Eight days after acquiring a U.S. passport, Danny Williams started in his national team debut. The 22-year-old midfielder, the son of a U.S. serviceman and a German mother, joined Hoffenheim from Freiburg at the end of August and only made his first start for Hoffenheim against Bayern Munich last weekend.“It was great - I had goose bumps,’’ Williams said. “When I heard the national anthem played I said, ‘Wow! This is the first time playing for the U.S. national team.’’’He is among four German-Americans in the U.S. program. Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones made his debut last October, and Nuremberg defender Timmy Chandler debuted in March. Hoffenheim midfielder Fabian Johnson, sidelined by a neck injury, was been ap-proved by FIFA last month for a switch from Germany to the U.S.On a rainy night in south Florida, a frog could be seen on the field. The game was the first of a pair for the U.S. during the international fixture period. The Americans host Ecuador

on Tuesday night in Harrison, N.J.The U.S. used a 4-1-3-2 formation and Howard made up for a few defensive lapses.“I think it took us a little bit to get into a higher pace,’’ Klinsmann said. “The first 20 minutes were a bit too static. And then we took over, created a lot more chances.’’Dempsey put the U.S. ahead with his 23rd international goal. Brek Shea’s centering pass got past several players and touched Michael Orozco Fiscal before Dempsey gained control at the top of the penalty area, He moved the ball from his right foot to his left and shot high past goalkeeper Donis Escobar .“I didn’t know if the ball was going to come through, I got a little lucky,’’ Dempsey said. “I took my time. I was going to take it with my right foot but saw it was going to be blocked, so I pulled it back to my left and couldn’t have hit it any sweeter.’’Dempsey also appeared to score on a header in the 84th minute, but Dempsey was called for a foul.

US wins 1st under Klinsmann, 1-0 over Honduras

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Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola says thinking about leaving his job every day keeps him motivated.“Not a day goes by without thinking ‘I’m off,’’’ said Guardiola in a promotional interview released Friday. “I think that wherever you go to coach, you always have to be mindful that tomorrow you might leave.’’Guardiola has won two Champions Leagues and three Spanish titles in 3 1/2 years in charge at the Catalan club.He told film director Fernando Trueba he had wanted to become a coach since he was 25.The passing style and high-pressure tactics of Guardiola’s team - supplemented by the game-changing ability of Argentine forward Lionel Messi - have led to Barcelona being regarded as one of the best sides ever.

Despite the success, rumors in Spanish media have suggested Guardiola might step down at the end of the season.Although he did not suggest he was about to resign, Guardiola said staying fresh was a key concern.“I work better thinking that I’ve got the freedom to decide my future,’’ he said. “Long-term contracts that tie you to a place you might not like make me anxious. I’m incapable of planning anything for more time than half a year or a year. I find it impossible.’’Guardiola also won the Champions League and six Spanish titles as a player with Barcelona and he acknowledged miss-ing the surge of adrenaline that came with playing.“I’m envious about not being in the players’ position,’’ he said. “I still often feel like a footballer.’’

Qatar is still struggling to convince the world that its winning bid to host the 2022 World Cup was not corrupt, the leader of the country’s organizing committee said Wednesday.Since becoming the first Middle Eastern country to win the right to host the World Cup last December, Qatar has had to deny a series of allegations of bribery.A whistleblower claimed that two FIFA executive committee members were paid $1.5 million to vote for Qatar, although she later went public to retract the allegations.“Perception (of corruption) will always be a sense of frustration until we overcome how people view us,’’ Hassan al Thawadi, the secretary general of Qatar’s organizing committee, told the Leaders in Football conference.Shaking off the perception of corruption has not been helped by former Asian confederation president Mohamed bin Hammam since he was banned for life for trying to bribe voters during his attempt to unseat FIFA President Sepp Blatter in June.“Mohamed bin Hammam is his own man,’’ Al Thawadi told the delegates. “He and Qatar 2022 are completely independent and separate. The appeal is his decision and his steps. We have to ride it out as patiently as having to ride out the whistleblower allegations and others.’’Al Thawadi insisted that the bid was conducted to the “highest ethical and moral standards.’’“What we did not know or expect was the avalanche of accusations and allegations that we would face in the immediate aftermath of what was a historic day for sport in our country and for the wider region,’’ he said. “Baseless accusations were made against our bid. We were presumed guilty before innocent without a shred of evidence being provided.’’

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Guardiola says he thinks about leaving Barcelona

Qatar struggling to shake off WCup bribery claims


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The president of Brazil met with a top FIFA executive Monday in an effort to improve relations over the organization of the 2014 World Cup.

Brazil President Dilma Rousseff and FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke met privately in Belgium. Rouseff is in Belgium for Tuesday’s European Union summit. Government spokes-

woman Lais Garcia said it was the first meeting between the two and both sides agree they need to communicate better.The World Cup organizing country and soccer’s governing body often spar for months over potential conflicts, ranging from sponsorship demands to taxes and other financial

issues.“We never compromise on the protection of our commercial partners,’’ Valcke said.

At the same time, Brazil’s legislators want to make sure that a World Cup bill currently going through congress does not compromise the rights of Brazilians.

“The FIFA World Cup is a partnership and as such we do respect Brazilian law, while the host country respects the commitment made,’’ Valcke said.New laws could expose FIFA to income losses and liabilities while limiting the scope of sponsors to promote their brand at one of the most sought events in sports.One of the harshest critics of FIFA’s plans in Brazil, Demostenes Torres of the opposition Democrats Party, has warned that the bill would make the government “subservient to FIFA.’’Rousseff became president in January, four years after Brazil won the right to the tournament. The transition has meant some changes in the relationship with FIFA.After Rousseff and Valcke broke the ice, there will be follow up meetings in Brazil this week. The bill is expected to be voted on later this year.Valcke and Rousseff’s officials also made it clear that at no point was there any talk of the World Cup being taken away from the five-time winners. Three weeks ago, complaints of World Cup delays worsened when a judge stopped building work to renovate and expand Brazil’s largest airport for the World Cup.A federal judge issued an injunction to halt construction at the Sao Paulo international airport because the expansion proj-ect was allegedly initiated without a bidding process.FIFA and government officials have been saying that improving Brazil’s outdated airport infrastructure is one of the main challenges the country faces in preparing for the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.The World Cup will be played in 12 cities across Brazil and there has been criticism of slow work on new or renovated stadiums.

David Beckham’s income from personal sponsorship deals rose 30 percent last year, signal-ing the enduring strength of the Los Angeles Galaxy player’s brand appeal.According to figures released by Britain’s Companies House, revenue for the company that handle Beckham’s endorsements was $23.9 million in 2010. In 2009, Footwork Productions received $18.3 million from companies including sportswear manufacturer Adidas. The accounts also showed that the 36-year-old former England captain received $18.6 from the company compared with $14.6 million the previous year. A separate company, Brand Beck-ham, receives a share of the merchandising revenue he generates for the Galaxy along with joint endorsements with his wife, Victoria, including their range of fragrances.A third revenue stream in 2010 was Beckham’s guaranteed $6.5 million annual salary from the Galaxy. His five-year Major League Soccer contract expires in November.Several European clubs has expressed an interest in signing the former Manchester United and Real Madrid player, including French side Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League clubs Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers.

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Brazil, FIFA seek better relations over World Cup

Beckham’s endorsement income up by 30 percent

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First lady Michelle Obama hosted the U.S. women’s national soccer team at the White House on Thursday to promote physical activity and healthier eating for children.Nearly 50 kids poured onto the South Lawn for some running, kicking and other drills.Mrs. Obama called the women’s team, which lost to Japan in the World Cup final in July, “some of the best soccer players in the entire world.’’She said she and her husband, President Barack Obama, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, were glued to the TV during the championship.“We are proud of their accomplishment this summer,’’ she told the athletes and the children from Prince William Courage Soccer Club in Woodbridge, Va., and Soccer Sisters United in Philadelphia. “They’ve made us so incredibly proud.’’She reminded the children, ages eight to 14, that being fit helps with their overall well-being and being able to focus in school.In her words, “You don’t have to become a superstar athlete to enjoy sports and to move.’’The family dog, Bo, was greeted with pats and hugs from the children and athletes as he made a brief appearance at the end of the clinic.

Veteran coach Joaquin Caparros has taken charge of Mallorca following the stormy departure of Michael Laudrup.The Spanish coach was officially presented on Tuesday after signing a contract to coach the Mediter-ranean club for the rest of this season. The 55-year-old Caparros said his coaching philosophy is based on hard work.“To achieve our goals we have to focus on the day to day,’’ Caparros said. “With energy, collective effort and unity, nobody in this league should be able to beat us. Each game, the goal is to earn three points, regardless of the adversary.’’Caparros acknowledged the institutional crisis that has shaken Mallorca since Laudrup resigned last week over differences with club vice president Lorenzo Serra Ferrer and the financially troubled club’s transfer policy.“We have seven points and need peace in the club,’’ Caparros said. “Peace and unity are important ... what is clear is that we have to think and act as a team, and that includes executives, players, fans, media, to make Mallorca great.’’The Danish coach’s exit provoked a public rift among members of Mallorca’s executive board that culminated on Monday with the family of tennis star Rafael Nadal announcing it was leaving the board.The Nadal family holds a 10 percent stake in the club, and for the time being has not indicated whether it will seek to sell its share. Miguel Angel Nadal, an uncle of Rafael Nadal and a former Spain international, took over as caretaker coach following Laudrup’s departure and led the 10th-place Mallorca to a 2-2 draw at Osasuna last weekend in the Spanish league. Serra Ferrer said that the for-mer Barcelona defender will meet with Caparros on Wednesday to determine his new role with the club. Mallorca is one of several of Spain’s topflight clubs that is in bankruptcy protection and must have a court-appointed board of administrators agree to all signings. There had been serious doubts from within the club that the administrators would agree to bringing in Caparros, but in the end Serra Ferrer got the deal done. Caparros coached Athletic Bilbao for four seasons, leading the Basques to the Copa del Rey final in 2009, before a brief stint with Swiss side Neuchatel Xamax that ended with his firing after five weeks earlier this season. He has also man-aged Deportivo La Coruna, Sevilla and Villarreal, among other clubs. Caparros will have extra time because of international fixtures to prepare Mallorca for its upcoming game against fifth-place Valencia on Oct. 15 at Iberostar stadium.

Michelle Obama hosts USWNT at White House

Mallorca presents Joaquin Caparros as new coach

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Kasey Keller burst through the door first, dumping a bottle of champagne over the head of coach Sigi Schmid.James Riley and Fredy Montero followed seconds later to douse Schmid - appro-priately one bottle of bubbly for each of the three U.S. Open Cup titles the Seattle Sounders FC now owns.Montero collected a loose ball off a cor-ner kick scramble and slid it past Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson in the 78th minute, Osvaldo Alonso scored on a break-away in the final seconds, and the Seattle Sounders FC won the U.S. Open Cup for the third straight year with a 2-0 win over the Fire on Tuesday night. Playing before a record crowd of 35,615 - the largest ever for any game in the competition - Montero was in the perfect position to clean up after Johnson made a diving save on Jeff Parke’s header off a corner kick.Alonso then started the wild celebration when he dribbled around John-son and scored in the final seconds of stoppage time.Moments later, the entire Sounders squad was on stage in the middle of the bedlam with confetti floating in the air and fireworks crackling. Up there was injured midfielder Steve Zakuani, who suffered a gruesome broken ankle early in the season, yet was one of the first to be handed the trophy. Keller held off from flipping into the goal netting as he did last year when Seattle beat Columbus to win its second title, but team co-owner Drew Carey did manage a headfirst slide on the confetti covered turf. Despite still being a three-year old franchise, the Sounders have learned how to celebrate momentous victories, especially in the Open Cup. “To win three in a row is something very special, very unique,’’ Schmid said. “It hasn’t been done in a long time. Like we said, every time we enter a competition we want to win it.’’Seattle is the first club in more than 40 years to win three straight titles in the oldest competition in American soccer.New York Greek-American, from 1967-69, was the last club to win three straight in the tournament. It’s a tournament the Sounders found success in before becoming a MLS franchise, then took with seriousness after joining the top level of American soccer. The victory will likely mean another berth in the CONCACAF Champions League as well for Seattle. The Sounders have advanced to the quarterfinal round in this year’s CCL. While Seattle dominated the competition in recent seasons, Chicago wasn’t unfamiliar with Open Cup success. The Fire owned four Open Cup titles before Tuesday night, the last coming in 2006. Interim Fire coach Frank Klopas scored the winning goal when Chicago beat Columbus for the title in 1998. He was stuck watching the celebration on Tuesday night as Chicago fell to 4-2 all-time in Open Cup finals. “We came into game knowing it would be a battle,’’ Johnson said. “We fought hard for the first 45 and kept it close. Second half they got a bit of fortune on their side.’’Montero goal was his second in a cup final, going along with one he scored in 2009 when Seattle claimed its first title with a 2-1 win over D.C. United in Washington. Montero also scored the only goal in Seattle’s semifinal victory over Dal-las in late August. This time, he found himself alone in front of an open net after Johnson made an excellent diving save of Parke’s header. “We kept trying and trying again until that first goal arrived,’’ Montero said through an interpreter.It was close to being even more of a rout for the Sounders as both Montero and Mike Fucito had shots bounce off posts and stay out of the net. Chicago’s best chance in the first half came in the 39th minute when Marco Pappa’s left-footed shot from distance deflected off a Sounders defender and changed direction. Already sliding to his right, Keller made a quick move back to his left and clutched the redirected shot. “We didn’t have opportunities like them,’’ Chicago’s Pavel Pardo said. “That’s difficult to win when you don’t have the ball and difficult when you don’t have the opportunity to score.’’ Tuesday’s victory adds another notch in a monumental few weeks for the Sounders, where they advanced in the CCL, clinched a MLS playoff spot for the third straight season and claimed the Cascadia Cup in their regional rivalry with MLS newcomers Vancouver and Portland.But Keller was quick to point out that Seattle doesn’t want the Open Cup to be the only highlight of this season, with the MLS playoffs less than a month away.“We’re not done yet. We still have one more very, very important competition left,’’ Keller said.

Seattle wins 3rd straight Open Cup beating Chicago

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Goal-line technology is unlikely to be introduced in football matches until 2013, a member of the sport’s rule-making body said Wednesday.The English Premier League had hoped to have high-tech aids for referees in place by August 2012, but tests with about nine systems are only now about to start in stadiums across Europe on non-matchdays. The International Football Asso-ciation Board, which met on Tuesday, will not be able to approve any of the systems for use in professional matches until July. “I think that’ll be too late for season ‘12-13,’’ IFAB member and English Football Association general secretary Alex Horne said. “I think it’ll be ‘13-14 because there’s then a big capital decision-making process for any league or any competition who want to apply it.“Do you have one technology for a competition, do you have multiple technologies for multiple competitions? There are big, big decisions for competitions to take.’’Nine systems were previously tested at FIFA headquarters before the last annual IFAB meeting in March but some manu-facturers were unhappy that they were not in stadium conditions and the accuracy of the results was not deemed to be acceptable. The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology will oversee the new wave of tests.“There’s a phase of testing that will run up until March that will establish in basic principles whether technology can actually achieve reasonable accuracy - 90 percent, 99 percent, maybe 100 percent,’’ Horne said at the Leaders in Football conference. “It’s happening live in stadia all around Europe. They can simulate light, they can simulate dark, they can simulate balls rolling across the line, balls being fired in from all different angles.“Once they’ve established that, there’ll be a second phase of testing against similar conditions, I believe ... if we can be clearly convinced that the technology all works under those conditions then that’s good enough.’’Hawk-Eye, the Sony-owned company whose ball-tracking technology is used in tennis and cricket, is seen as a front-run-ner. But Horne said he hopes there will be competing systems that leagues and competitions can eventually chose from.“Eight or nine are testing at the moment,’’ he said. “If they’re all successful, they’re all valid. There’s not going to be one technology for all of world football. “Multiple technologies, if they meet the criteria, will be available then to go into the market and people will buy. IFAB will license them as successful products and other products could join in later if they can reach the standards. It’ll be a market competition.’’The IFAB panel is composed of four FIFA officials and the four British associations, with six votes required to pass a motion. FIFA President Sepp Blatter reversed his opposition to tests after England was denied a goal in its second-round loss to Germany at last year’s World Cup. Blatter has said the technology could be in place at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, though that plan will likely be opposed by UEFA President Michel Pla-tini. The former France great said he favors employing additional assistant referees beside each goal.

Three members of West Germany’s 1966 World Cup football team may have broken dop-ing rules with cold treatment medicine, according to a letter seen by German magazine Der Spiegel.The magazine is reporting in its current issue that historians at Berlin’s Humboldt University uncovered a letter from Nov. 29, 1966, in which FIFA medical com-mittee chairman Mihailo Andrejevic informed West German Athletics Federa-tion president Max Danz of slight traces of an ephedrine-based medicine found in three players.Ephedrine, a decongestant, is also a stimulant and was on FIFA’s list of banned substances at the time.“In the end, we only discovered very fine traces of a certain ephedrine-based medicine against colds in three players on the German team,’’ wrote Andrejevic, who did not mention any values.It is unclear if the doping breach was intentional or not. There were no sanctions made at the time.FIFA conducted doping tests at the 1966 World Cup for the first time, but there were no reports of any positive tests.West Germany lost to host England 4-2 in the final.Humboldt’s press office said it wasn’t immediately aware of who had un-covered the letter.

Football not set to get goal-line aids until 2013

Letter reveals doping breach on 1966 Germany team

8


The father and uncle of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney were ar-rested Thursday as part of an investigation into betting irregularities at a Scottish Premier League football match.Rooney’s 48-year-old father, who is also named Wayne, and 54-year-old uncle Richie Rooney were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud along with seven other men. All nine men were released in the afternoon on police bail until January, pending further investi-gations.“Mr. Rooney vigor-ously denies all of these allegations,” Rooney’s lawyer, Anthony Barnfather, said in a statement. “We are co-operating fully with the investigation. No further comment will be made at this time.”The younger Wayne Rooney has not been implicated in the inves-tigation, which focuses on Motherwell’s home match against Hearts at Fir Park on Dec. 14. Motherwell lost 2-1.One of those detained was Motherwell mid-fielder Steve Jennings, who played in the match and was given a straight red card with eight minutes remaining for disputing a penalty decision. Jennings had earlier been given a yellow card.The betting investigation centers on a player receiving a red card in the match.“Detectives have today executed warrants at 10 addresses across Merseyside and Glasgow and arrested nine men as part of an investi-gation into suspicious betting activity,” Merseyside police said in a statement. “The arrests are the culmination of a joint operation with the Gambling Commission.”It has been reported that several bets were placed on there being a red card in the match, including a bet of $765 placed through a new account opened in Liverpool at odds of 10-1.The 26-year-old Jennings joined Motherwell in 2009 from Tranmere, a team based in Liverpool.Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan said the arrests were the result of “extensive enquiries” into suspicious betting patterns. He also said the SFA is working with the police and the Gambling Commission.“I am confident that Scottish football is doing everything it can to take any betting irregularities out of the game,” Regan said. “There is no evidence to suggest that any other match has been involved.”As his father was arrested, Rooney was heading to Montenegro for a European Championship qualifying match on Friday.“I spoke to (Rooney) and I found him relaxed and calm,” England coach Fabio Capello said. “No problems for the game tomorrow against Montenegro.”England captain John Terry said Rooney had his mind on the match, with the team needing at least draw to guarantee a spot at Euro 2012.“Wayne’s focused on the game tomorrow. We all realize the importance of that,” Terry said. “As I’ve said before, it’s important for him to go out and play his football, which he loves doing.”

Former top official Pierluigi Collina is open to the idea of halting play because of offen-sive and not just racist chanting from fans, the UEFA referee’s committee member said on Thursday. Referees in his native Italy have been told by the soccer federation to suspend matches until racist chanting stops and last season Inter Milan’s game at Cagli-ari was held up for three minutes after insults directed at Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o.Last weekend’s north London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal was marred by offensive chants and Collina sees no

reason why the idea of holding up matches for racism should not be extended to other incidents of crowd misbehaviour.“I think football must bring people together and not be divisive. If with the message we have to do something drastic, I welcome a drastic measure,” he told Reuters.Collina also told the Leaders in Football conference at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium that UEFA’s experiment with an extra official behind each goalline in the Champions League and Europa League had been a success.“It gave positive feedback in terms of bet-ter (match) control,” he said.“It’s a good deterrent. The number of pulls and pushes in set pieces have decreased, probably because of the presence of the ex-tra referee. We had no controversy because of their presence.”David Elleray, a former top referee and the chairman of the English FA’s referee’s committee, said he believed technology could only ever be used for goalline contro-versies and nowhere else within soccer.Plans to introduce goalline technology in the Premier League for the 2012-13 season have been delayed for at least a year because more tests are needed into the ac-curacy of various systems.One system using a chip inside a ball linked

to a watch on the referee’s wrist was trialled in 2005 but referee Franck De Bleeckere was not impressed.

Rooney’s father, uncle arrested in betting probe

Collina open to halting more games because of chants

9


Chuck Blazer is resigning as the No. 2 official of CONCACAF in December, a half-year after going public with bribery accusations against his then-boss.The 66-year-old American has been secretary general of the Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Football since 1990. He said in May that CONCACAF president Jack Warner and Asian confederation head Mohamed bin Hammam attempted to bribe Caribbean delegates $40,000 each to vote for Bin Hammam in the FIFA presidential election. Warner’s acting successor then tried to fire Blazer, setting off more disciplinary proceedings.

“I’ve been running a governing body long enough. We’ve been through a little bit of a stagnation period,” Blazer said Thursday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I want to do something entrepreneurial. It was the right time. I wanted to give them notice to let them start to look for somebody.”After Blazer made the bribery charges, Bin Hammam withdrew from the election, leaving Sepp Blatter to run unopposed for a fourth term. Warner resigned all his soccer posts in June, and FIFA imposed a lifetime ban on Bin Hammam, who was head of the Asian confederation and is contesting the penalty.In the fallout, acting CONCACAF president Lisle Austin at-tempted to fire Blazer, but the group’s executive committee said Austin lacked the authority. FIFA then suspended Austin, who went to court in the Bahamas and called FIFA a “corrupt cabal of arrogance and cronyism.”

Blazer said he will retain his post on the FIFA executive committee. He was elected to soccer’s most powerful body in 1997, and his current term runs through mid-2013. He said it was too early to determine whether he will run for re-elec-tion to the FIFA post.As for the future, Blazer said he would consider taking a club post. He would not comment on the possibility that he could join one of the groups bidding for Major League Soccer’s 20th team, which MLS would like to place in the New York area as a rival to the Red Bulls.A group that includes Terry Byrne, a friend of Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham, bought the rights to the name of the old North American Soccer League Cosmos team and hired Eric Cantona and Cobi Jones.During two decades with CONCACAF, Blazer moved its headquarters from Guatemala City to New York; started the Gold Cup tournament, which has been played every two years since 1991; and launched the CONCACAF Champions League. Blazer’s successor at CONCACAF will be chosen by CONCACAF’s executive committee, which includes U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, Alfredo Hawit of Honduras, Justino Compean of Mexico, Horace Burrell of Jamaica and Ariel Alvarado of Panama.CONCACAF is to meet Friday in Miami to fill Warner’s spot on the FIFA executive committee.

Mourinho banned 2 games for Super Cup eye-poke

CONCACAF No. 2 official Blazer resigns

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has been suspended for two games and fined $800 for eye-poking a Barcelona counterpart during a brawl, although his ban will not sideline him from any of his club’s league matches.The Spanish federation’s disciplinary committee says Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova will miss one game for his part in the altercation, which happened in the closing moments of Barcelona’s Spanish Super Cup victory over Madrid in August.Vilanova was also fined $800.The bans do not affect domestic league or Copa del Rey matches, only future Super Cup games. The federation fined Madrid $240 and Barcelona $120 for their parts in the brawl.


Nigeria’s national football team says it has fined Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel $5,000 for arriving late to a training camp ahead of a must-win African Cup of Nations qualifier.Nigeria spokesman Colin Udoh said Wednesday that Mikel arrived one day after his team-mates as the team prepares for a final round group match against Guinea, which is three points ahead of Nigeria.Udoh said Mikel called on Tuesday to say he needed to attend to family matters, but that team officials were “unimpressed.’’

Obi’s father was kidnapped in Nigeria in August.Police later freed him and said that the kidnappers had demanded $4 billion from the Chelsea star, at one point saying they considered the price “chicken change’’ for the Premier League team.

Barcelona defender Carles Puyol says a trouble-some knee injury led him to consider an early retirement.The 33-year-old Spain international hurt his left knee on Jan. 22 and returned to make only a few appearances before the end of last season. He un-derwent surgery in June and has played more regu-larly for Barcelona since returning in September.Puyol was quoted as telling TV station Antenna 3 that he “couldn’t see a solution - I lost my will and I couldn’t play. The thought of giving up football

even crossed my mind.’’

Mexico club Chivaschanges coaches

Puyol contemplatedretirement after injury

Nigeria midfielder Mikel fined for late arrival

Texas owner of Premier League team is now chairman

The Texas businessman who owns Sunderland is taking over as chairman of the English Premier League soccer club.The team says Ellis Short will replace Niall Quinn, who is giving up his work as chairman to spearhead international development of the team.Short says new financial regulations make it “essential for the long-term success of the club that we develop interests on a global scale.’’ Short assumed full control of Sunderland in 2009 after buying a stake the previous year.

-Mexican club Chivas of Guadalajara has demoted coach Jose Luis Real and replaced him with Fernando Quirarte.The change comes after Chivas lost 1-0 to Queretaro over the weekend, extending the club’s winless run to four in Mexico’s Apertura championship.The club said Real would stay with Chivas and take over its youth teams.Quirarte has coached Santos, Atlas and Jaguares, but he is a leg-end at Chivas. He was captain and an outstanding defender with the team that won the 1986-87 league championship. He was also an assistant to Boris Milutinovic on the Mexico national team.

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Marcel Koller namednew Austria coach

Austria chose Marcel Koller of Switzerland as its new coach on Tuesday.The 50-year-old Koller, who played 55 times for the Swiss national

team in the 1980s and ‘90s, replaces Dietmar Constantini, who stepped down last month after Austria failed to qualify for the 2012

European Championship.The Austrian football federation said Koller, who had been with-

out club after leaving Bochum in 2009, has signed a two-year contract.

“He works very accurately and has proven that he is capable of developing a team and young players,’’ the federation’s

president Leo Windtner said.Interim coach Willi Ruttensteiner will remain in charge

for Austria’s final qualifying matches against Kazakh-stan on Friday and Azerbaijan four days later.

Koller will make his debut at a friendly against Ukraine on Nov. 15.

“There are many young players with the talent to become better,’’ said Koller, who has not yet

named his coaching staff. “The team plays with passion. Mostly just some minor things

have been missing.’’In its search for Constantini’s successor,

the federation focused on a coach from abroad.

“Koller has no history here and can fulfill his tasks from a neutral per-

spective,’’ Windtner said. “He can leave his own mark in Austria.’’

Koller played as a defender with Grasshoppers for his whole

career, making more than 400 appearances for the Zurich

club from 1982-96.Koller worked as a

coach with several Swiss clubs before

joining FC Koeln in 2003 and Bochum

two years later.

Agent says Ibrahimovic to play another 5 yearsZlatan Ibrahimovic’s agent says the AC Milan striker is not about to quit the sport and he expects him to play for at least another five years.The 30-year-old Ibrahimovic said Wednesday that he is not enjoying his football as much as previously and claimed he wants to retire while still at his best.“Ibra will play until he is at least 35,’’ Ibrahimovic’s agent Mino Raiola told Thursday’s Gazzetta dello Sport. “He lives for football and knows well that this profession entails a lot of sacrifices. It’s natural that the motivation isn’t the same as three years ago. He was being honest in admitting that he will only play while he feels 100 percent.’’ Raiola said Ibrahimovic’s comments should be taken in the context of Milan’s disappoint-ing 2-0 loss to Juventus at the weekend. “I’m not at all alarmed. Of course he’s a bit down after the defeat in Turin,’’ Raiola said. “In cases like this, the bitterness only lasts a few days. Then you will see that he will return to his usual self. “I know him. In these cases he will multiply his efforts and focus to be a reference point on and off the pitch.’’ Ibra-himovic, who helped fire his team to the Serie A title last season, is in his second year with Milan - having spent three years at their bitter rivals Inter Milan before moving to Barcelona in 2009. The Sweden forward still has three years left on his contract with Milan and Raiola is not ruling out the player seeing out his career with the Serie A giants. “It’s still too early to say,’’ added Raiola. “It will also depend on Milan: both of them need to want to renew the contract.’’

www.lamaquinadeportiva.com Chicago, IL OCTOBER 2011

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