Japan Reconsiders Its Trip to the U.S.
The apparent impending attack on Iraq by the United States and its allies had soccer repercussions on opposite sides of the globe Monday.
In Japan, the Japanese Football Assn. (JFA) said it is considering canceling Japan’s two-game trip to the U.S., where it is scheduled to play Uruguay in San Jose on March 26 and the U.S. in Seattle on March 29.
“We might have to rethink our plans for the trip to America,” Saburo Kawabuchi, the JFA’s chairman, told the Sankei sports daily. “If there is a war, we have to be able to travel in safety. We will listen to the opinion of Zico [Japan’s Brazilian coach] and also the [Japanese] Foreign Ministry.”
In Turkey, which shares a border with Iraq and is foreseen as a staging area for U.S. combat missions, the Turkish soccer federation said it is considering suspending league matches or playing them well away from the war zone.
“War means starvation and tears, but right now it appears inevitable,” Ata Aksu, the federation’s deputy chairman, told the Anatolian news agency.
“We don’t know to what extent Turkey will enter a war. We have taken the necessary precautions. If our country enters a war, then I think the matches will not be played.”
Nowak Retires
Peter Nowak, the former Poland national team player who captained the Chicago Fire for five seasons and led it to a Major League Soccer championship in 1998 and to U.S. Open Cup titles in 1998 and 2000, announced his retirement.
Nowak, the first player signed by Chicago, decided to end his 23-year career so that he could remain with the Fire in an unspecified role rather than join the New England Revolution and continue playing. Chicago had reluctantly traded him to New England earlier this year to get under the salary cap.
The 38-year-old midfielder has been one of the most influential players in MLS, scoring 26 goals and assisting on 48 others in 114 games and, more important, setting a standard for others.
“He has been a great example to every young player of what it means to be a professional,” Ivan Gazidis, the league’s deputy commissioner, said in a prepared statement. “His contributions to the growth of the league have been immeasurable.”
Athens 2004 Qualifying
Twenty-seven men’s teams and 17 women’s teams will take part in CONCACAF qualifying competition for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, soccer’s governing body for the North and Central American and Caribbean region announced.
The final round of the men’s tournament will take place in Mexico, with the host nation getting a bye into the last eight. Twenty-six other teams will play head-to-head competition over several rounds to determine the other seven finalists.
Only the top two teams will qualify for Athens. The U.S., which finished fourth at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, has a bye into the round of 16, where it will play the winner of the St. Kitts and Nevis versus Dominica first-round series.
The eight-team final round of the women’s tournament also will take place in Mexico, with Canada, Mexico and the U.S., the silver medal winner in Sydney, receiving a bye to that round and the other 14 entrants playing off to determine the remaining five finalists. Again, only two will qualify.
El Salvador Wins
El Salvador has gotten off to a successful start in its bid to win the UNCAF Copa de Naciones and at the same time qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July in the U.S.
Coach Juan Ramon Paredes’ squad came from behind to defeat host Panama, 2-1, Sunday in the tournament’s opening game in Panama City.
Midfielder Neftali Diaz gave the home team the lead in the 34th minute by heading in a cross from forward Juan Dely Valdes, but Salvadorans struck twice in the final half hour to win the game.
First, Josue Galdamez pounced on a free kick by teammate Alfredo Pacheco that had rebounded off Panama’s defensive wall and beat goalkeeper Ricardo James to tie the score in the 70th minute. Seven minutes later, striker Rudy Corrales finished off a quick counterattack by scoring the winner.
The tournament continues today with Nicaragua playing Honduras and El Salvador playing Costa Rica. The latter game will be former U.S. coach Steve Sampson’s first full international in charge of Costa Rica.
Mexican Roundup
Sunday’s Mexican league derby between Guadalajara and Universidad de Guadalajara at the Estadio Jalisco produced a see-saw tussle that saw the Chivas eventually prevail, 3-2, to remain unbeaten with three victories and two ties and leave the Tecos still searching for their first win.
Universidad de Guadalajara twice held the lead on goals by Bolivian forward Jose Alfredo Castillo, but Omar Bravo twice pulled Chivas even before Emilio Mora fired in the winner.
Monterrey, with four victories and one tie, and Pachuca, with one victory and four ties, are the only two other undefeated teams after the fifth round of games.
Monterrey ended Colibries’ unbeaten status with a 1-0 win on Daniel Roman’s goal after a very debatable penalty decision, and Pachuca got an 88th-minute goal to tie UNL, 1-1.
Meanwhile, the league’s two most recent champions, Toluca and Club America, had differing fortunes. Toluca was edged, 1-0, at Veracruz, with Fernando Arce scoring the only goal. Club America shut out Necaxa, 2-0, on late goals by Pavel Pardo and Hugo Castillo.
Quick Passes
Striker Hwang Sun-Hong, a veteran of four World Cups and 103 games for South Korea’s national team, announced his retirement at age 34 and will move into a coaching role at his K-League club, the Chunam Dragons.... Ivan “Bam Bam” Zamorano, the former Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Club America striker, scored twice in his debut for defending champion Colo Colo in a 6-4 Chilean league victory over Audax Italiano.... French striker Thierry Henry’s 104th goal Sunday for English champion Arsenal tied Michel Platini’s record, set with Juventus, for the most goals scored by a French player for a foreign club.
