Deportivo Ready for FC Porto
Deportivo La Coruna of Spain has the upper hand going into today’s European Champions League semifinal second-leg match against FC Porto.
Deportivo earned a 0-0 tie on the road in the first game and will start out on even terms, but with the crowd behind it, against a Porto team that last year won the Portuguese league and cup and the UEFA Cup.
“I expect it to be a very evenly balanced match and just having the right bit of luck could decide who gets through to the final,” said Porto Coach Jose Mourinho, who has been linked with a move to a larger European club, possibly Chelsea, after his successes this season and last.
His adversary today, Deportivo Coach Javier Irureta, said the game probably will be a physically bruising one, considering all that is at stake.
“I expect a fiercely disputed game at the start as we both compete to get possession, and the team that wins that battle should go on to win the game,” he said.
Chelsea plays AS Monaco in the other semifinal on Wednesday, with the French team holding a 3-1 edge after the first leg.
World Cup 2010
The technical reports evaluating the five bids for the 2010 World Cup will be published on FIFA’s Web site at 10 a.m. PDT today, the first time world soccer’s ruling body has released such details before the vote is taken.
Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia are vying to stage the quadrennial world championship, and FIFA’s executive committee will select the winner in Paris on May 15.
Bayern Angry
Bayern Munich, which still has an outside chance of catching Bundesliga leader Werder Bremen, has accused Hamburg SV of purposely harming its chances by being routed, 6-0, by Werder Bremen over the weekend.
“That was disgusting from Hamburg and very damaging for German football and for the Bundesliga,” said Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern’s chairman. “This is not acceptable and has nothing to do with fair play.”
Bernd Hoffman, Hamburg’s chairman, called Rummenigge’s accusation “absolute nonsense.”
MLS Update
New England Revolution defender Rusty Pierce will be sidelined for six to eight weeks after suffering a severely bruised right thigh.
The New York/New Jersey MetroStars will play Boavista of Portugal in a friendly on May 26 in Elizabeth, N.J., as part of the region’s 25th annual Portugal Day Festival.
Galaxy midfielder Arturo Torres will be one of several MLS players attending Cinco de Mayo celebrations at the White House on Wednesday.
Quick Passes
Goalkeeper Rolando Galarza of Aurora in the Bolivian league was taken into custody for 45 minutes after fighting with police during a road game at Real Potosi. Galarza, who was red-carded for punching Potosi forward Martin Menacho, refused to leave the field even when police attempted to drag him off. Club directors eventually secured his release.... Egypt has named 1982 World Cup winner Marco Tardelli as its national team coach and Tardelli’s $40,000-per-month salary will be paid by a group of Egyptian businessmen, rather than the country’s soccer federation.... Cameroon and Real Mallorca forward Samuel Eto’o was named Africa’s player of the year for 2003, after helping the Indomitable Lions reach the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup, where they lost in overtime to host France in the final in Paris.... An unidentified Czech referee and a Synot club official have been arrested by police in Prague after the referee allegedly accepted a bribe to influence the outcome of a league match involving Synot and Sparta Prague, which Synot won, 2-0.... Francisco Fonseca scored three goals in 16 minutes as the Pumas of UNAM trounced Veracruz, 6-1, Sunday in a Mexican league game.
-- Compiled by Grahame L. Jones
