Galaxy Gets Serna From Revolution
Hoping to add the scoring punch it has lacked for much of the Major League Soccer season, the Galaxy acquired forward Diego Serna from the New England Revolution on Friday for two conditional draft picks.
Serna, who had been playing in his native Colombia with Independiente Medellin, passed a physical in Boston on Thursday and was en route to Los Angeles. He will be available for tonight’s game against the Columbus Crew at Home Depot Center.
“He’s a bulldog,” said Doug Hamilton, Galaxy vice president and general manager, who is familiar with Serna from their days with the now-defunct Miami Fusion. “He’s not coming here to be a savior, but he’s going to add to the mix nicely.”
At Miami, Serna, 29, was a three-time Major League Soccer scoring champion and finished as the Fusion’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points. He had 54 goals and 40 assists in 113 games over five seasons.
Serna’s pairing with Galaxy and reigning league most valuable player Carlos Ruiz figures to improve the team’s goal production -- 19 in 17 games -- which ranks ahead of only the Dallas Burn’s.
Palencia in Limbo
Victor Garces, a vice president for Mexican league team Cruz Azul, said there was no chance the club would re-sign forward Juan Francisco Palencia this season.
Palencia, who left Cruz Azul last year for Spain, returned to Mexico this week in search of a job.
“We don’t have the time or the space for any more hirings,” Garces told Notimex. “Palencia is a great, high-quality player who could fit in on any team without a problem, but, at least for this season, there is no place for him at Cruz Azul.”
Under-17 on TV
All three of the United States’ group games in the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in Finland starting next week will be televised, delayed, by Spanish cable channel Galavision.
Many fans will be getting their first glimpses of 14-year-old sensation Freddy Adu.
The U.S. opens Thursday against South Korea (1 p.m.), takes on Sierra Leone on Aug. 17 (7:55 a.m.) and concludes group play against Spain on Aug. 20 (1 p.m.). If the U.S. advances, any subsequent games also will be televised.
Real Madrid Wins
Ronaldo scored two goals, one after a long pass by David Beckham, to lead Real Madrid to a 4-2 victory over host Hong Kong. Real Madrid concludes its Asian tour Sunday at Bangkok against Thailand.
Quick Passes
BskyB, a British television station owned by Rupert Murdoch, was awarded a three-year contract worth $1.65 billion to televise English Premier League games starting in 2004-05.... Colombian forward Jairo Castillo, who plays for America de Cali, was suspended from CONMEBOL competitions for a year for attacking a referee during a Copa Libertadores semifinal in June.... Barcelona, with Mexican national team defender Rafael Marquez, has agreed to play Club America at Mexico City on Oct. 1 to help the Mexican team celebrate its 87th anniversary.
Times wire services contributed to this report.
