Mexican Teams Start Dubiously
The Copa Libertadores, South America’s equivalent of the European Champions League, has gotten off to a less-than-spectacular start for the two Mexican teams that qualified for the 32-team tournament.
Coach Hugo Sanchez’s UNAM team gave up a last-minute goal and lost, 3-2, to Gremio in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on Tuesday night, and Coach Mario Carrillo’s Cruz Azul was beaten, 1-0, by Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Wednesday night.
In the latter game, Cruz Azul, which reached the Copa Libertadores final in 2001, fell behind early on a 13th-minute headed goal by Corinthians’ recently acquired forward Liedson, then gradually took control of the match in the second half but could not find the tying goal.
The Mexican club’s performance caused Corinthians’ fans to heckle Coach Eugenio Machado Souto, better known as Geninho, with calls of “idiot” and to demand the return of Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led the club to the Brazilian Cup last season but left in January to take charge of Brazil’s national team.
Gremio, which won the Copa Libertadores in 1995, was more fortunate against UNAM, whose defense let it down. The Pumas had grabbed a 1-0 lead on a 23rd-minute header by Joaquin Beltran, but Gremio came back with a goal by Luis Mario on the half hour and, three minutes later, Beltran accidentally deflected a free kick by Anderson Lima into his own net.
The Pumas fought back to tie when Leandro Augusto scored in the 76th minute, but Gremio’s captain, Roger, who played on the 1995 Copa-winning team, grabbed the winner on a last-minute free kick.
Both Mexican teams face Bolivian opposition in their next tournament games, with UNAM at home in Mexico City against Bolivar on Tuesday and Cruz Azul hosting The Strongest on Feb. 18.
Chile Settlement
Chile’s World Cup striker Marcelo Salas has helped hammer out a settlement between the country’s national team players and the Chilean soccer federation in a pay dispute that dates back more than two years.
The players have accepted a payment schedule that will give them their bonuses and prize money from competitions dating back to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Swiss Savior
Michael Zen-Ruffinen, the former general secretary of FIFA fired in July by the organization’s president, Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, for his allegations of mismanagement and corruption within soccer’s world governing body, has rescued a beleaguered Swiss club.
Daniel Bianchi, the president of second-division FC Sion, said Thursday that Zen-Ruffinen had donated $36,930 to the club to let it pay its players their December salaries.
Zen-Ruffinen is believed to be negotiating the purchase of the club, which is seeking additional investment in order to continue operation.
Pauleta Payback
Portugal national team striker Pedro Pauleta, the leading goal scorer in the French league last season and its player of the year, said Thursday he would remain with Bordeaux until June 2004 but then intends to move to another club.
“I’m going to stay for a year and a half and then I shall move on,” Pauleta told Reuters. “Nothing will change my mind.”
Pauleta, 29, who scored a hat trick for Portugal against Poland in the 2002 World Cup, has been unhappy with his treatment by Bordeaux’s management, which failed to raise his salary even after Manchester City had tried to buy him in December.
“I just carried on, playing and scoring goals,” Pauleta said. “From now on, I shall refuse any move, even to Real Madrid or Manchester United.”
If Pauleta honors his contract, he can leave on a free transfer when it expires, thus costing Bordeaux the potentially huge cash windfall it could have received by selling him earlier.
