Italians Return to Prominence
Italian soccer, viewed in recent years as declining in the face of challenges from Spain’s La Liga and England’s Premier League, has proven otherwise in the latest round of European Champions League play.
On Tuesday, two more Serie A clubs, Inter Milan and AS Roma, qualified for the second round of the tournament, meaning that for the first time, four Italian teams will be among the final 16.
Inter Milan used two goals in two minutes by Argentine striker Hernan Crespo to defeat Ajax Amsterdam, 2-1, in front of 50,272 in the Netherlands. At the Olympic Stadium in Rome, meanwhile, AS Roma held on to tie AEK Athens, 1-1, and secure its place.
Earlier, AC Milan and Juventus had clinched their berths in the second round.
Tuesday’s most dramatic game, however, was played in Basel, Switzerland, where FC Basel jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Liverpool after 30 minutes on goals by the Argentine duo of Julio Hernan Rossi and Christian Gimenez and another by Timothee Atouba.
The English team fought back to tie the game, with Danny Murphy, Vladimir Smicer and Michael Owen scoring in the second half, but Liverpool could not get the winner it needed and was eliminated from the Champions League as FC Basel became the first Swiss team to reach the final 16.
In other games, it was Auxerre 1, Borussia Dortmund 0; Arsenal 0, PSV Eindhoven 0; Valencia 3, Spartak Moscow 0; Genk 1, Real Madrid 1; and Rosenborg Trondheim 1, Olympique Lyon 1.
The final three spots in the second round will be determined by today’s games.
Brazil Adds Four
Brazil’s interim coach, Mario Zagallo, Tuesday added four Brazilian-based players to his roster for the world champions’ game Nov. 20 against South Korea in Seoul.
Zagallo called up goalkeeper Julio Cesar and left back Athirson, both from Flamengo, along with defender Anderson Polga from Gremio and midfielder Kleberson from Atletico Paranaense.
Zagallo earlier had named 19 European-based players for the game, but Serginho and Luizao have since dropped out and Ronaldinho and Juan are doubtful because of injuries.
Irish Squabble
An independent inquiry into the World Cup row between Ireland’s former coach, Mick McCarthy, and his top player, midfielder Roy Keane, that led to Keane’s being banished from the tournament, condemned the Irish soccer federation (FAI) for mishandling the matter.
The report stated that there was no culture of discipline within the FAI and said basic management techniques were totally absent.
In accepting the inquiry’s findings, Brendan Menton, the FAI’s general secretary, resigned.
Dossena Quits
Albania’s coach, former Italian national team player Giuseppe Dossena, resigned, with the Albanian soccer federation saying he had done so after only four months in charge because widespread fan and media criticism had left him in “a bad spiritual mood.”
