Swiss Soccer Coach Focuses On Business, Not Pleasure
A celibacy order has been imposed on Switzerland’s World Cup players for the soccer tournament this summer in the United States.
“I want my players to concentrate totally on football with all their strength,” said the Swiss national coach, Englishman Roy Hodgson. “This is not a pleasure trip. I will not tolerate any wives or girlfriends in the squad’s hotel. Neither will I tolerate any surreptitious visits to the women’s hotel.”
Hodgson has ordered his players to stay celibate from June 7, when they leave Geneva, until the World Cup ends July 17.
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Add celibacy: Said midfielder Martin Rueda, soon to be a father for the second time: “If the coach finds that sex could affect our performance, we have to accept that.”
Said midfielder Ciri Sforza, who has a live-in girlfriend: “I had to laugh when I first heard of the ruling. In my opinion, when all is well in your private life, this is reflected in your performance on the field.”
Said Nicole Arm, Sforza’s girlfriend: “A sex ban? It’s a joke, a kindergarten game.”
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Trivia time: Which Cy Young Award winner had the fewest victories in his winning season?
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An honest man: Frank Bruno has lost three world heavyweight title fights. He says he will quit if he loses his non-title fight tonight against Jesse Ferguson.
“If Ferguson beats me, there will be nowhere for me to go,” said Bruno, who has lost world title shots to Tim Witherspoon, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.
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So long: Montreal pitcher Jeff Fassero told Chicago Sun-Times baseball writer Dave van Dyck that losing Dennis Martinez to the Cleveland Indians is good riddance.
“We’re going to miss his pitching, but we won’t miss his attitude in the clubhouse,” Fassero said. “He was a me-me-me, I-I-I type of player. We don’t need that at all.”
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Pretty target: Lynne Austin, who has filed for divorce from the Phillies’ Darren Daulton, still enjoys the sign in center field of Jack Russell Stadium--where the Phillies train--in which she is seen advertising for Hooters, a national restaurant chain.
“Even though we’re separated, I’m still a Phillies fan,” she said. “Besides, it makes a great target for him to hit at.”
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Bad career move: Defending Portugal soccer champion FC Porto had to practice in a Lisbon parking lot after its stadium was seized and put up for auction for failure to pay back taxes.
Tax director Francisco Rodrigues Porto ordered the stadium doors chained shut, citing FC Porto’s debt of $1.2 million in back taxes. Hours later, Rodrigues Porto was fired for alleged incompetence.
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Trivia answer: Mark Davis of the San Diego Padres, who won four games in 1989.
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Quotebook: Washington State coach Kelvin Sampson, on his team’s reaction to an NCAA bid: “We’ve got to be one of the huggingest teams around. They just started jumping up, high-fiving, hugging.”
