Baggio Expected to Retire
The “Divine Ponytail” has finally decided to hang it up. No, not Julie Foudy, Roberto Baggio.
World and European player of the year in 1993 and Italy’s standout player at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Baggio is 36, and 16 seasons in Serie A with such leading clubs as Inter Milan, Juventus and AC Milan, as well as with Bologna, Fiorentina and, for the last four seasons, Brescia, have taken their toll.
“The idea of retiring is uppermost in my mind at the moment and I think that that is what will definitely happen,” Baggio told the Brescia television station Teletutto.
Baggio, however, has one more ambition. He has scored 196 goals in Serie A and wants to attain the 200 mark before he steps aside.
“I am determined to reach that amount before I quit,” he said, “and I would also like to help Brescia to safety in Serie A for the fourth successive season.”
Baggio played in three World Cups and scored 27 goals in 55 games for Italy, but it is his infamous penalty-kick miss against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup final at the Rose Bowl that will be most remembered.
Honduras Heads East
Honduras, one of the United States’ key rivals for a place in the 2006 World Cup, will begin preparing for 2004 qualifying play by undertaking a four-game tour of Asia.
Coach Bora Milutinovic has named a 29-player roster for a training camp in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, beginning Jan. 5. The Catrachos then will fly to Taiwan for two matches against the host nation Jan. 16 and 18 before moving on to Hong Kong to play in the Carlsberg Cup.
In the latter tournament, Sweden and Norway will play in the opening game Jan. 22, with Honduras playing Hong Kong in the second half of the doubleheader. The tournament ends Jan. 25.
Referees Wanted
David Elleray, once one of England’s leading referees but now retired, told the Times of London that more needs to be done to turn former professional players into match officials and that young referees should be moved up the ladder quicker.
“The time it takes to reach the top discourages both the young and the former player,” he said.
“In the future, the best officials must move through the system slowly enough to gain the necessary experience and confidence but not so slowly that they lose heart or feel that they will have only a few years at the top should they get there.
“England needs to treat referees like players. If Wayne Rooney was old enough at 17 to play for Everton and England, then why shouldn’t a 20-year-old run the line on a Premiership match?”
Champions Cup
CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh of Trinidad on Sunday earned the eighth and final berth in the 2004 CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals by defeating W Connection, also of Trinidad, 4-2 on penalty kicks, at Port of Spain, Trinidad.
The teams had each won one match of the two-game series by 2-1 scores, causing penalty kicks to be used to decide which team advanced.
Also in the last eight are the San Jose Earthquakes and Chicago Fire of the U.S.; Monterrey and Pachuca of Mexico; Saprissa and Alajuelense of Costa Rica, and Comunicaciones of Guatemala.
Quick Passes
A 35th-minute goal by Robert Pires earned unbeaten Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Southampton on Monday and moved it to within one point of English Premier League leader Manchester United.... England’s Daily Telegraph reported that Bayern Munich Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is the English Football Assn.’s first choice to take over as England coach should the F.A. not reach agreement with Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson on an extension of his contract through 2008.
Times wires services contributed to this report.
