Roundup voetbalnieuws #1
Dutch side interested in Chinese star Qu Bo
BEIJING, Jan 2 (AFP) - Dutch first-division outfit Heerenveen has shown interest in Chinese star Qu Bo, who impressed Tottenham Hotspur manager Glenn Hoddle in a trial this season but was denied a work permit. The China-based Sports Weekly said Heerenveen was keen on Qu but so far had taken no action. Club officials watched him play in a friendly between China and a Catalan select team at Barcelona's Nou Camp last week, the paper said.
Magpies to tear up pitch
NEWCASTLE, Jan 2 (AFP) - Newcastle are to replace their pitch in a bid to give the likes of Kieron Dyer, Craig Bellamy and Alan Shearer a better platform to display their talents. The St James Park surface has been reduced to a quagmire by recent wet weather and bulldozers moved in on Thursday to start laying a new turf. "It's going to be an expensive job, but it's money well spent," Newcastle boss Bobby Robson said. "We've got good players here and we've got to give them a good pitch."
Robson blamed the poor state of the pitch on the chilly winter weather in the north east of England. "My lawn up here isn't as good as my lawn in Ipswich, and it's the same reason. My wife tells me that because she cuts them both."
Newcastle are not the only Premiership club to encounter problems with their pitch. Manchester United have already returfed Old Trafford this season and have done so repeatedly in recent seasons as extensions to the stadium have played havoc with the grass.
Fußball-Weltmeister von 1958 Joel in Brasilien gestorben
Rio de Janeiro (dpa) - Der brasilianische Fußballweltmeister von
1958 Joel ist im Alter von 71 Jahren gestorben. Wie Medien unter
Berufung auf Familienangehörige berichteten, erlag Joel am Mittwoch
(Ortszeit) in Rio de Janeiro "den Folgen einer Magen- und
Darmkrankheit".
Joel, der mit bürgerlichem Namen Joel Antonio Martins hieß, war
rechter Außenstürmer und bei der WM 1958 Stammspieler in den beiden
ersten Begegnungen der "Selecao", bis er dem legendären
Dribbelkünstler Garrincha weichen musste. Zwischen 1957 und 1961
bestritt Joel insgesamt 14 Länderspiele, bei denen er vier Tore
schoss.
Five African nations set to bid for 2010 World Cup
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 1 (AFP) - Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia look set to challenge for the right to host the 2010 World Cup. The contest is confined to African countries under a new rotation system introduced by world football governing body FIFA to give each continent an opportunity to host the biggest global single-sport event.
Arsenal on title course after beating Chelsea
LONDON, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Arsenal entered the New Year ideally placed to retain their premier league crown after severely denting the challenge of another title pretender with a 3-2 victory over Chelsea on Wednesday. Last season's double winners have 46 points, eight more than their London rivals, with second-placed Manchester United reinstalled as their main threat. United are five points behind on 41 after Paul Scholes added an injury-time goal to England captain David Beckham's 81st-minute equaliser to give them a 2-1 home win over lowly Sunderland.
Newcastle United, with a game in hand on the top three, are fourth on 38 after beating Liverpool 1-0 at St James' Park. Everton are fifth on 36 after a 2-2 home draw with Manchester City, with Southampton up to a surprise sixth on 35 following their 1-0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool, who have now taken a miserable four points from the last 30, are seventh on 34 and in disarray - they led the table by four points just seven weeks ago.
Oud-internationals verliezen van HFC
HAARLEM (ANP) - De oud-internationals hebben woensdag in Haarlem de traditionele nieuwjaarswedstrijd bij Koninklijke HFC met 5-2 verloren. In de 70e editie van het duel won HFC voor de 21e keer. De oud-internationals wonnen 36 keer en dertien maal eindigde het gelijk.
Hosé op amateurbasis naar Sparta
ROTTERDAM (ANP) - Brutil Hosé komt tot het einde van dit seizoen op
amateurbasis uit voor Sparta. De 23-jarige oud-aanvaller van Ajax
trainde al een tijdje mee bij de Rotterdamse eerstedivisieploeg.
Tot oktober 2002 stond Hosé nog bij Ajax onder contract, maar hij
speelde al lang niet meer in Amsterdam.
Gers sign Scotland striker Thompson
GLASGOW, Dec 31 (AFP) - Rangers have signed Dundee United's Scotland striker Steven Thompson, a day after Billy Dodds moved in the opposite direction. Thompson, who has established himself as a first choice for Scotland under Berti Vogts, has been a free agent since the summer and Rangers are understood to have paid no more than 200,000 pounds (322,000 dollars) to his former club.
Mido kandidaat voor Afrikaans voetballer van het jaar
JOHANNESBURG (RTR) - Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam is in de race voor de
titel van Afrikaans voetballer van het jaar. De Egyptische
aanvaller van Ajax behoort met de twee Senegalezen El Hadji Diouf
(Liverpool) en Pape Bouba Diop (Lens) tot de drie kanshebbers voor
de ereprijs. De winnaar wordt op 31 maart bekendgemaakt bij de
jaarlijkse bijeenkomst van de Afrikaanse Confederatie CAF.
Keegan swoop for Fowler set to top January sales
LONDON, Dec 31 (AFP) - Kevin Keegan is reportedly set to become the biggest spender in English football's January sales by launching an audacious bid to sign Leeds striker Robbie Fowler. Tuesday's Guardian said Keegan was prepared to bid seven million pounds (11.3 million dollars) to bring the former Liverpool striker to Maine Road as a partner for Nicolas Anelka.
Trainer Van der Lem geopereerd
RIYAD (ANP) - Voetbaltrainer Gerard van der Lem is geopereerd in
het ziekenhuis van Koeweit Stad. De bondscoach van Saudi-Arabië
heeft een pacemaker gekregen. De 50-jarige oefenmeester maakt het
goed. Hij moet nog twee dagen in het ziekenhuis blijven, maar mag
daarna waarschijnlijk met zijn vrouw naar Nederland reizen.
Van der Lem raakte afgelopen vrijdag onwel toen hij zijn ploeg
leidde bij het Arabisch kampioenschap in Koeweit. Zijn assistent
Martin Koopman verving hem. ,,Gerard is door zuurstofgebrek onwel
geworden. De pacemaker moet dat probleem in de toekomst
voorkomen'', vertelde hij.
Zonder Van der Lem won Saudi-Arabië de titel door in de finale
Bahrein te verslaan (1-0). Dat leidde tot een volksfeest in het
Arabische land. De trainersstaf, naast Koopman bestaande uit de
Nederlanders Ko Jager en Jan Nederburgh, en de selectie werden met
de privé-jet van de sultan opgehaald.
France's Dugarry good bet to join Birmingham: report
PARIS, Dec 31 (AFP) - Bordeaux's former French international striker Christophe Dugarry is a good bet to join Premiership side Birmingham, the Parisien newspaper reported on Tuesday. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City are also interested in the 30-year-old former World Cup winner, the player's lawyer Philippe Sol said. The mid-season transfer window opens on Wednesday.
"Roonaldo" and Milner threaten to overshadow Owen
LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Michael Owen, once the embodiment of youth and promise in English football, has had his thunder stolen. The Liverpool striker, now 23, is no longer the Next Big Thing. That honour is being disputed by Wayne Rooney and James Milner, two teenagers whose precocious talents have lit up the premier league in the dying weeks of 2002.
Everton's Rooney was first to emerge, becoming the youngest player to score a league goal since Owen in 1997 when he netted the winner against champions Arsenal -- aged 16 years, 359 days -- in October. But as fans marvelled at the skills of "Roonaldo", another tyro appeared almost unnoticed. Milner, who made his first team debut for Leeds United in November, eclipsed Rooney by setting a new record for the youngest goalscorer - he was 16 years, 356 days when his strike against Sunderland on December 26 helped Leeds win 2-1.
Giggs happy to snub Inter and stay at United for good
MANCHESTER, England, Dec 30 (AFP) - Star Welsh winger Ryan Giggs said Monday he wanted to finish his career at Manchester United despite being linked with a multi-million pound move to Italian giants Inter Milan.
Life begins at 40 for grandad Donato
LA CORUNA, Spain, Dec 30 (AFP) - Evergreen Deportivo La Coruna defender Donato, known affectionately as grandad, celebrates his 40th birthday on Monday in a case of rare longevity at football's highest level. Originally from Brazil, but now a naturalized Spaniard, Donato is a phenomenon to play so well at his age though his contract will only be renewed at the end of the season should he play half Coruna's matches which is currently not the case. Donato, capped 12 times by Spain and who joined Atletico Madrid in 1988 before going to Deportivo five years later, has played 10 times this season for coach Javier Irureta. "I know I'm not a typical case and each year it's a bit harder. The coach stopped playing at 33 and it's difficult for him to believe a 40-year-old can play five matches in a row," Donato said.
Batistuta on his way out at Roma
ROME, Dec 30 (AFP) - AS Roma's Argentinian striker Gabriel Batistuta is set to leave the club during the winter break, the Corriere della Sera reported on Monday. It said the 33-year-old in his third season in Rome after nine years at Fiorentina had received a lucrative offer from Turkish side Fenerbahce who are currently top of the first division. Club director Aziz Yildirim has lured Batistuta with a contract reportedly paying three million euros a year until June 2005. He is under contract in Rome until June 30 next year, but his form of late has been so poor that the club have decided to offload him sooner than scheduled.
