Golden Boot Is Won by Nedved
Czech Republic midfielder Pavel Nedved, who led Juventus to the championship of Italy’s Serie A as well as to a spot in the final of the Champions League, has won the Golden Boot as Europe’s top player.
Nedved edged Thierry Henry of France and Paolo Maldini of Italy for the award.
FIFA world player of the year, Zinedine Zidane of France, finished fifth in voting conducted by a panel of 52 European journalists for France Football magazine. Henry also finished second to Zidane in the FIFA world player voting.
“I didn’t even dream of this,” Nedved told Canal Plus, a French television station. “I am very happy to win such an extraordinary prize.”
Nedved, 31, was key in Juventus’ defeat of powerhouse Real Madrid in the semifinals of the Champions League. But he sat out the final against AC Milan because of suspension, and his team lost on penalty kicks.
Nedved, a talented playmaker, also was the captain of the Czech team that won its Euro 2004 qualifying group ahead of the Netherlands.
Nedved is the second Czech winner after Josef Masopust in 1962 and the sixth Juventus winner, joining Michel Platini, Paolo Rossi, Roberto Baggio, Zidane and Omar Sivori.
Blatter Responds
FIFA President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter said Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has no recourse in civil court if he plans to sue over an eight-month ban for missing a drug test.
Blatter said the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, is the only body that would hear the case, according to the statutes of FIFA.
Blatter also denied comments attributed to him in Britain’s News of the World tabloid that said Ferdinand and Manchester United would face “unprecedented repercussions” if they challenge the ban in court.
Blatter said the paper “has wrongly attributed these quotations to me.”
UNCAF Tournament
Alvaro Savorio scored two goals, including one with two minutes left, to lift Sparissa of Costa Rica to a 3-2 victory over Comunicaciones of Guatemala to win the Union Centroamericana de Futbol (UNCAF) title at the Coliseum on Sunday.
For making the final of the four-team tournament, Sparissa and Comunicaciones both qualified for the 2004 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
In the third-place game, Alajuelense of Costa Rica grabbed the other Champions Cup berth with a 2-0 victory over Municipal of Guatemala.
FIFA Lawsuit
FIFA officials said soccer’s world governing body has won a lawsuit against insurer AXA over the French company’s decision two years ago to stop its coverage for the World Cup because of fears of terrorist attacks.
FIFA said a district court in Cologne, Germany, ruled that AXA acted negligently and unlawfully when it withdrew cancellation coverage for the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.
FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said the organization was still preparing its claim against AXA and declined to reveal the amount it would seek.
U.S.-Netherlands
The United States will play the Netherlands in a friendly game at Amsterdam on Feb. 18.
It will be the second game of the new year for the U.S., which opens its 2004 season with a friendly against Denmark on Jan. 18 at the Home Depot Center.
In its two meetings against the U.S., the Dutch posted two 2-0 victories.
Mexico’s First Game
Mexico also is scheduled to play Feb. 18, and its opponent will be Chile.
It will be Mexico’s first game of 2004, and it will be played in Los Angeles, according to Mexican news agency Notimex, although it was unclear whether it would be at the Coliseum or the Home Depot Center.
Chile Coach Juvenal Olmos said he would rather play the game at Mexico City because its high altitude compares favorably with La Paz, Bolivia, the site of Chile’s next World Cup qualifying match in March.
Marquez’s Priorities
Mexico defender Rafael Marquez, who plays for FC Barcelona in Spain, said his priority over the next calendar year will be his club team.
Translation: Don’t plan on calling him in to play friendlies in preparation for World Cup qualifying.
“It does interest me to be called for the team, but I’d prefer that it would be for important games,” Marquez told Notimex.
Mexico will begin its qualifying schedule in mid-June against either the Dominican Republic or the Bahamas.
Quick Passes
Tele Santana, a former Brazil coach who led his country at the 1982 and ’86 World Cups, had part of his left leg amputated. Santana has been battling diabetes and was hospitalized because of blood circulation problems.... Alfredo Pacheco scored the clinching goal to lead FAS to a 3-1 penalty-kicks victory over Aguila to win its 14th domestic title in El Salvador.... Brazilians Pedro Santana and Luciano Emilio scored goals to lead Real Espana to a 2-0 victory over Olimpia to clinch its eighth domestic title in Honduras.... Bayern Munich Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said he believes that troubled midfielder Sebastian Deisler will rejoin the team when the Bundesliga resumes its schedule in late January.... German team Hertha Berlin has lured Hans Meyer out of retirement and hired him as coach as it attempts to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga.
Real Madrid defender Roberto Carlos of Brazil told SkySports that he plans to sign a four-year extension to stay with the Spanish club.... Arsenal is prepared to offer England defender Sol Campbell a new contract that would keep him with the club until 2009, according to Coach Arsene Wenger.... Defender Zhang Shuai of Beijing Guo’an was suspended by his team for three months after testing positive for a banned drug in China’s first soccer doping case, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Times wire services contributed to this report.
