Ronaldo Is in Line for Major Awards

Brazilian striker Ronaldo was poised Monday to sweep all of international soccer’s top honors for 2002 after winning France Football magazine’s Golden Ball as European Footballer of the Year.

The Real Madrid forward last week was named player of the year by the English magazine World Soccer and is favored to be selected as FIFA World Player of the Year ahead of France midfielder Zinedine Zidane and Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.

Ronaldo, 26, who also won in 1997, became only the eighth player to win the prestigious award twice in its 47-year history. He finished ahead of Real Madrid and Brazil teammate Roberto Carlos, Kahn (Bayern Munich), Zidane (Real Madrid) and Michael Ballack (Bayern Munich) as players from the two clubs dominated voting by 52 of Europe’s leading soccer journalists.

World Cup 2006

The organizing committee for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, meeting in Madrid, announced that the tournament’s qualifying draw will take place in Frankfurt, Germany, on Dec. 5, 2003, and that qualifying play will begin on Feb. 28, 2004.

The latter date might be changed, depending on whether South America is successful in persuading the committee to allow it to begin its qualifying process in August 2003. That decision will be made in March.

The committee also gave formal approval to the 12 German cities staging the 2006 tournament and said the final draw for the 32 qualified teams, including host Germany, will be held in Leipzig, Germany, in December 2005.

Germany Wins

Germany closed out an eventful year in which it finished as an unexpected runner-up to Brazil in the World Cup by defeating an all-star team of foreign players from the Bundesliga, 4-2, Monday night in front of 36,200 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Second-half substitute Benjamin Lauth, a 21-year-old forward from TSV 1860 Munich, scored in the 68th and 90th minutes to lead a win for Coach Rudi Voeller’s squad in the charity game that raised $3.5 million in aid for victims of last summer’s floods.

Jens Jeremies and Miroslav Klose also scored for Germany. Brazilian midfielder Marcelinho and Czech striker Jan Koller scored for the Bundesliga team.

Arena Agrees

U.S. Soccer will announce today that Coach Bruce Arena, who led the U.S. to the quarterfinals of Korea/Japan ‘02, has agreed to a new contract that will run through the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Luciano Ban

The penalty for Brazilian-born winger Luciano Siqueria, who in September was handed a seven-month ban by the Italian league’s disciplinary committee after admitting that he had played under a false identity and age for the last six years, was significantly reduced Monday.

The Italian Olympic Committee’s chamber of conciliation and arbitration in sport ruled that Luciano, 27, who plays for Chievo Verona in Serie A, can return Jan. 26 after he agreed to pay a fine of $100,000, which will be donated to relief efforts in the earthquake-damaged town of San Giuliano di Puglia.

Quick Passes

Major League Soccer has reached an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen that will keep U.S. midfielder/forward Landon Donovan on loan with the San Jose Earthquakes for two more years.... Columbus Crew and former Poland national team midfielder Robert Warzycha, 39, announced his retirement. Warzycha will become an assistant coach for the Crew