Bayern Munich Faces Early Elimination
Filippo Inzaghi underlined his claim to being the world’s top striker by scoring two goals as AC Milan defeated Bayern Munich, 2-1, in front of 60,000 at the Olympic Stadium in Munich Tuesday, a result that left the German club staring at possible first-round elimination from the Champions League.
Elsewhere, Manchester United remained unbeaten and untied after routing Olympiakos, 4-0, in Manchester, where Ryan Giggs scored twice and Juan Sebastian Veron and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer each got one goal.
Barcelona is the only other Champions League team with a 3-0 record after it defeated Lokomotiv Moscow, 3-1, in Russia on two goals by Javier Saviola and one by Patrick Kluivert.
FIFA Referee Test
In an experiment designed to see if six game officials are any better than four, FIFA announced that it will employ additional assistant referees behind each goal line during some of its international tournaments next year.
The statement from world soccer’s governing body did not specify which tournaments would be selected, but among those scheduled for 2003 are the Women’s World Cup in China, the FIFA Confederations Cup in France and the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates.
Iran Wins Again
Defending champion Iran, which demolished Afghanistan, 10-0, in its opening game at the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, moved closer to qualification for the quarterfinals by defeating Lebanon, 2-0, on goals by Ali Daei and Abdou Tafei.
Quirarte Named Coach
Atlas of Guadalajara, which on Monday fired Enrique Meza as coach, named former Mexico World Cup player Fernando Quirarte as his successor.
Sergio Montano, the president of Atlas, also said that defender Alberto Macias and midfielder Sigifredo Mercado “have been playing badly,” no longer will train with the rest of the team and will be traded as soon as possible.
A Klose Call
Mired in last place in the German Bundesliga and strapped for cash after losing close to $10 million in the last financial year, Kaiserslautern announced that it was selling the transfer rights to Germany World Cup striker Miroslav Klose, 24, to an unnamed group of investors for approximately $5 million.
Klose’s five World Cup goals have made him the target of several European clubs.
