Galaxy Aims to Reach Cup Title Match
While some may see the U.S. Open Cup as an unneeded distraction that can cause a team to lose focus in the heat of league play, the Galaxy finds great dignity in defending a championship.
It also helps that the Galaxy is two victories from repeating as champion of the country’s oldest soccer tournament, which dates to 1914, and that the team plays the Dallas Burn in a semifinal match tonight at 8 at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium.
“Obviously there’s a lot of pride there because not only is it our first domestic championship, but whenever you have something, you want to keep it,” Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid said. “You don’t want to give it away.
“Plus, Dallas is taking this very seriously too.”
As has been the case in the Open Cup, Matt Reis will replace Kevin Hartman in the goal and Schmid won’t be shy to go to his bench.
All Major League Soccer clubs received byes into the Open Cup’s third round. The Galaxy beat the Minnesota Thunder of the A-League, 4-0, July 17 and the San Jose Earthquakes, 1-0, in overtime, Aug. 7.
The Burn has two overtime victories--2-1 over the A-League’s Atlanta Silverbacks and 1-0 over the Colorado Rapids.
The Open Cup’s other semifinal is Tuesday between the Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards.
Tonight’s match can be seen live on Fox Sports World and Fox Sports World Espanol, and tickets, which cost between $10 and $20, can be purchased by calling 1-877-342-5299.
Ronaldo Gets Real
Real Madrid’s newest acquisition, Brazilian striker Ronaldo, arrived in Spain on Monday and promised to bring “beautiful” football to the top-ranked club in the world.
“I had a very great desire to come to Real Madrid and I hope to respond with goals and some beautiful play so that I can live up to everything that is expected of me,” Ronaldo said at a news conference trumpeting his arrival.
Ronaldo, 25, led Brazil to the World Cup championship this summer and signed a four-year contract with Real Madrid after leaving Italy’s Inter Milan in a $46.3-million deal.
“This is a great day for Real Madrid,” team President Florentino Perez told Reuters. “The mixture of Real Madrid and Ronaldo is perfect because of the universal appeal that both possess.
“I have no doubt that he will help write many more glorious pages in the history of a club that already has a past that is brimming with success.”
Perez said the deal was made possible by Ronaldo taking a pay cut and because Real Madrid agreed to compensate Inter Milan for the financial loss it would suffer because of the broken contract with Ronaldo’s sponsor, Nike.
Perez told television station Telemadrid that the club was covered in case Ronaldo, who has battled knee problems the last three years, is injured again.
“The agreement with Inter includes a clause which allows us to stop paying for the player if he suffers the same injury,” Perez said. “Ronaldo himself has also said that he will renounce his salary if that happens.”
Arrivederci Ahn
Ahn Jung-Hwan’s goal in the World Cup helped co-host South Korea upset Italy. But it also may have ended the midfielder’s stay with Italy’s Serie A league team, Perugia, which announced Monday that it had transferred Ahn’s rights to an Asian business consortium in a $3-million deal.
“Ahn should be grateful to Perugia and [Coach Serse] Cosmi to have grown here and been able to play a big role in the World Cup,” Perugia President Luciano Gaucci was quoted as saying by the news agency ANSA.
After Ahn’s game-winner, Gaucci was quoted as threatening to dismiss Ahn because he had the audacity to score against Italy.
Ahn, who had played sparingly for Perugia the previous two seasons, had not joined the club since the war of words began. A reported deal to send him to England’s Blackburn Rovers fell through last month.
