Argentina Again Calls on Gonzalez
Luis Oscar Gonzalez, the River Plate and Argentina national team midfielder who scored two game-winning goals in his first three international appearances -- against the United States on Saturday and against Honduras on Jan. 31 -- has been added to Argentina’s roster for its match against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
Gonzalez, who turned 22 last month, is the only Argentina-based player selected for the game by Coach Marcelo Bielsa, whose other 22 choices all play for European clubs.
Bielsa also praised the play of Gonzalez’s River Plate teammate, Andres D’Alessandro, 21, during the three-game trip that included a 1-0 victory over Mexico in Los Angeles.
“D’Alessandro was our leader on the tour,” he told Reuters. “He created the chances in Honduras and [in Miami]. He wasn’t as effective against Mexico, but footballistically he performed at the highest level.”
Larsson Breaks Jaw
Former Sweden international striker Henrik Larsson, the leading goal scorer in the Scottish league, broke his jaw in two places Sunday while playing for defending champion Glasgow Celtic against Livingston. The injury occurred as Larsson and Livingston’s Marvin Andrews were battling to reach the ball.
“It’s a major blow to us because Henrik is a world-class player,” said Celtic Coach Martin O’Neill, who said he hoped Larsson could return before the end of the season.
England’s Teen
Everton striker Wayne Rooney could become the youngest player to play for England after he was named to the roster for Wednesday’s match against Australia in London.
Rooney will be 17 years and 111 days old on Wednesday and if he steps onto the field he will easily surpass the record held by James Prinsep, who was 17 years and 253 days old when he played for England against Scotland in 1879.
“He’s only 17, but Pele was 17 when he won the World Cup in 1958 in Sweden, and he scored twice in the final,” England Coach Sven Goran Eriksson told Reuters.
“Maybe it was stupid of me to compare him to Pele, though. That’s not good for anyone. To be a Pele is extremely difficult. [But] everyone I talk to says he’s a special talent, so why not look at him?”
Takahara Stops Kahn
Japan striker Naohiro Takahara scored a goal in the final seconds of injury time Sunday to give Hamburg SV a 1-1 tie with German league leader Bayern Munich and end Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn’s Bundesliga-record shutout streak at 802 minutes.
Kahn, the 2002 World Cup’s most valuable player, held the old record of 736 minutes, which he broke earlier in the match. The goal, off a cross by Iranian international Mehdi Mahdavikia was Takahara’s first since the former J-League player of the year joined Hamburg from Jubilo Iwata in December.
Quick Passes
Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes romped to a 4-0 victory over Shanghai Shenhua of the Chinese league Sunday in San Francisco. Arturo Alvarez, McKinley Tennyson, Jamil Walker and Craig Waibel scored.... The Kansas City Wizards, meanwhile, opened their preseason by holding the Moroka Swallows of the South African Premier League to a 0-0 tie in Mafeking, South Africa, Sunday in the first game of a three-game tour.... U.S. national team striker Brian McBride scored his fourth goal in five games for Everton in a 2-1 English Premier League loss to Charlton Athletic. McBride is on loan to Everton from the Columbus Crew until the start of the MLS season.... U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel posted another Premier League shutout as Blackburn Rovers beat Southampton, 1-0.... The San Diego Spirit of the Women’s United Soccer Assn. (WUSA) signed Canadian national team striker Christine Latham, 21.
