Their Protest Had 149 Own Goals
In what must be regarded as one of the most bizarre soccer games in history, AS Adema, the champion of Madagascar, defeated rival Stade Olympique l’Emyrne, 149-0, on Thursday in a Madagascan league match in the port city of Toamasina.
Every one of the 149 goals was an own goal, scored by SOE players into their own net in protest of a refereeing decision.
According to Radio Madagascar, SOE Coach Ratsimandresy Ratsarazaka became embroiled in a furious argument with the unidentified referee, after which his players repeatedly kicked the ball into their own net while Adema players stood around and watched.
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Road Warriors
The Galaxy will play the first two months of the 2003 Major League Soccer season on the road before its new stadium opens in June, general manager Doug Hamilton said.
After playing in the Rose Bowl since 1996, the Galaxy will be moving to a stadium currently under construction in Carson.
The MLS season is expected to begin in April. The decision not to play any home games until the new stadium is completed was made because “we want to play as many games as we can in that facility,” Hamilton said.
Despite the potential difficulties of playing so many road games to start the season, Coach Sigi Schmid said the decision could ultimately prove beneficial.
“It’s a reality of the situation that we have to deal with that, but it’s also something that we’re excited about because we know it means at the end of the day we’re going to get to play a lot of games in an environment that’s going to be very fan-friendly and great for our team and the organization,” he said.
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Reyna Out Six Months
Claudio Reyna, the Sunderland and U.S. national team midfielder who helped the United States reach the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, will be sidelined for six months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Los Angeles-based orthopedic surgeon Bert Mandelbaum, one of the U.S. team doctors, traveled to England to examine Reyna after he was injured Monday while playing for Sunderland in an English Premier League game against Bolton Wanderers.
Mandelbaum said Reyna, 29, who joined Sunderland from Rangers in Scotland for a U.S.-record $6.8 million last December, will undergo surgery in Los Angeles later this month.
“It’s a big blow to lose good players, but that’s life,” Sunderland Coach Howard Wilkinson said on the team’s Web site. “Claudio’s problem is someone else’s opportunity. His credentials are there for all to see, but for the immediate and mid-term future he will not be available, and that’s a blow.”
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Chivas Sale Near
Mexican businessman Jorge Vergara has moved a step closer to buying one of Mexico’s most popular teams, Chivas of Guadalajara.
The 196 owners of the team held a vote Wednesday night, with 143 in favor of selling their shares to Vergara. Three voted against the move, 11 abstained and 39 were not present.
Vergara has promised to provide the team with facilities that he said “will be better than Manchester United’s.”
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Euro 2008
The chances of Greece and Turkey being selected as joint-host of the 2008 European Championship took a sharp downturn after two days of clashes between Greek and Turkish fans in Istanbul.
On Friday, two people were hospitalized and several others injured during fighting and stone-throwing between fans of visiting Panathinaikos and the Istanbul club Fenerbahce, who had played to a 1-1 tie in a UEFA Cup match Thursday.
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Italian Tragedy
Franco Carraro, president of the Italian soccer federation, ordered one minute of silence before all matches played this weekend in memory of the 25 children and other victims of Thursday’s earthquake in San Giuliano di Puglia.
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Women’s Gold Cup
Canada and Costa Rica rolled to easy victories at Victoria, British Columbia, each clinching a berth in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup.
Canada defeated Jamaica, 9-0, after Costa Rica knocked off Haiti, 5-0. The Group B co-leaders will meet Sunday.
Today, in Seattle, the United States and Mexico can clinch their places in the semifinals by defeating Panama and Trinidad and Tobago, respectively, in the final Group A games.
The Americans need only a tie to secure first place in their group, while the Panamanians must win in order to stay in the tournament.
“Logically, it will be very difficult,” said Panama Coach Roberto Sala. “They are the champions of the world.”
The U.S. women’s team has played 283 international games in its 17-year history but has never played Panama, which was thumped, 5-1, by Mexico after earlier edging Trinidad and Tobago, 4-2.
The Americans’ defense has not yet been tested, but its offense has failed to properly ignite in back-to-back 3-0 victories over Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago. In the latter game, the islanders’ packed defense frustrated the U.S. as much as its own forwards’ miscues.
“There were a minimum of seven players behind the ball at all times,” said U.S. Coach April Heinrichs. “It was one of the best bunker systems we’ve played against.”
Mia Hamm, who was injured in that game and left at halftime, has recovered from a deep shin bruise and is available today.
Mexico Coach Leonardo Cuellar said he does not expect Trinidad and Tobago to adopt the same negative tactic against his team.
“I don’t expect that,” he said. “For us, Trinidad is going to be even more dangerous because they gained a lot of confidence after their performance against the U.S.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
