Argentina May Keep the Embattled Bielsa
Argentina Coach Marcelo Bielsa, who built the team that went into the Korea/Japan ’02 World Cup as favorite only to be knocked out in the first round, has been offered the chance to keep his job.
Bielsa, who has been in seclusion at his home in Rosario, Argentina, since the World Cup ended, received potentially good news Wednesday when Julio Grondona, president of the Argentine Football Assn. (AFA) and a FIFA vice president, said he will ask Bielsa to stay in charge.
The coach also has received the backing of such influential players as Gabriel Batistuta, Juan Sebastian Veron and Ariel Ortega.
“Three [World Cup] matches must not be allowed to wipe out everything he did in four years,” Veron told Reuters.
Argentina defeated Nigeria in its opening game but then lost to England and Sweden and was ousted.
Meanwhile, Jose Peckerman, the man most Argentine fans wanted to see take over the national team, has turned down the post and also declined any other position within the federation.
“He decided not to accept the national team job, nor will he continue working with the AFA,” Grondona said, without further explanation. Bielsa and Peckerman have been in a drawn-out battle with the cash-strapped federation over unpaid salaries.
The highly regarded Peckerman was the main assistant to Bielsa at the World Cup after previously leading Argentina’s under-20 national teams to victory at the FIFA World Youth Championships of 1997 and 2001.
U.S. Women to Play Scotland
The U.S. women’s national team will play Scotland on Sept. 8 in Columbus, Ohio, as preparation for the Oct. 27-Nov. 9 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, scheduled, in part, for the Rose Bowl and Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium.
Scotland is led by striker Julie Fleeting, who plays for the San Diego Spirit in the Women’s United Soccer Assn. The 21-year-old has scored 78 goals in 58 games for her national team. The U.S. and Scotland have never played each other.
Denmark 1, USA 0
The United States’ chances of winning the Nordic Cup for the fourth year in a row suffered a setback Wednesday when the U.S. women’s under-21 national team was beaten, 1-0, by Denmark in Karina, Finland, on a 79th-minute goal by Pernille Schmidt.
The U.S. now must defeat Greece on Friday and hope that Finland can beat Denmark that same day in order for the American team to advance to Sunday’s championship game against either Germany or Norway.
The U.S. has won the Nordic Cup four out of the last five years and Wednesday’s loss was its first in the tournament since 1998.
Kadafi Breaks Ankle
Saadi Kadafi, the son of Libya’s president and not coincidentally a member of the country’s national team, broke his ankle in a collision with a goalkeeper while playing for Libya against Cuneo, an Italian amateur side, in Mondovi, Italy, Monday night, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Jancker, Edilson Move On
Two players who were on the field at the World Cup final in Japan found themselves moving to new clubs.
Germany striker Carsten Jancker, 27, has been acquired from Bayern Munich by Udinese of Italy’s Serie A for an undisclosed fee. Jancker has scored eight goals in 29 games for Germany, and 49 in 148 games with Bayern Munich, Cologne and Austria’s Rapid Vienna.
German media said he had signed a four-year contract worth $3 million.
Brazil forward Edilson, 31, has returned to Japan on a six-month loan to Kashiwa Reysol of the J-League from his Brazilian club Cruzeiro.
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Cameroon Keeps Schaefer
Winfried Schaefer, the German coach who led Cameroon to the African Nations Cup title in Mali in February but could not get it past the first round at the World Cup, will remain the country’s national team coach, he said in Berlin.
