He Gives Beckham the Boot
David Beckham, England and Manchester United’s midfielder who along with Brazil’s Ronaldo is arguably the world’s most recognized player, reported to practice Monday with a cut above his left eye.
It wasn’t his pop star wife, former Spice Girl, Victoria, who inflicted the wound, but rather his coach, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Beckham suffered the injury, which required only a couple of stitches, when Ferguson, in a fit of temper, kicked a boot across the locker room and caught Beckham on the forehead after United was knocked out of the English F.A. Cup by Arsenal on Saturday.
Neither Manchester United nor Beckham’s management company would comment on the case of the flying boot, but Ferguson admitted to Britain’s Independent Television Network that he was to blame.
“It happens every night in a dressing room,” Ferguson said. “It’s one of those freak acts of nature. It’s over, what a freak, it’ll never happen again.
“It was more than just me upset in there.”
Beckham had no comment.
Arsenal, the Cup holder and defending English Premier League champion, Monday was drawn to play Chelsea in the Cup quarterfinals.
Earthquakes Lose
Major League Soccer’s 2001 champions, the San Jose Earthquakes, were shut out, 2-0, by Norwegian champion Rosenborg Trondheim Monday in their first match at the La Manga Cup in Spain.
The Galaxy, which also is playing in the eight-team tournament, plays its first game today, against another Norwegian team, FC Lyn.
Former Galaxy forward Brian Ching hit the post and the crossbar for San Jose, but the Earthquakes were unable to find a way to beat Rosenborg goalkeeper Espen Johnsen.
“The big difference today was fitness,” said San Jose Coach Frank Yallop. “Rosenborg has been training for a while and we’ve had only 2 1/2 weeks. We created great chances ... and I feel we were a bit unlucky not to score.”
Edu Joins Zico
Japan, which last year named former Brazil World Cup midfielder Zico as its national team coach, Monday introduced his older brother, Edu, as its new technical advisor and chief scout.
Edu coached Iraq to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and also coached the Kashima Antlers in the J-League.
Vieira Slams Fans
In an interview with the French newspaper Le Journal de Dimanche, France’s midfielder, Patrick Vieira, blasted fans in Paris for failing to properly support the national team during last week’s 2-0 loss to the Czech Republic.
“We should play more matches in the provinces, that’s where our real fans are,” Vieira said. “The Stade de France crowd, we have to deal with it, but they’re disappointing.
“People pay for their seats and they can do what they want. But if they have nothing to give us, it’s time for us to go elsewhere. It will be better for us.”
Mexican Roundup
And then there was one.
Six weeks into the Mexican league season, only one of the 20 teams remains unbeaten, even though it has only two victories.
Pachuca scored one of those wins on the road last weekend, edging Colibries, 3-2, on an 86th-minute goal by Victor Muller to improve to 2-0-4 and leaving it as the last club without a loss after previously unbeaten Monterrey and Guadalajara both were defeated.
Coach Daniel Passarella’s league-leading Monterrey team was soundly beaten, 3-1, by defending champion Toluca, which got two goals from Jose Cardozo.
That loss allowed UNL to grab a share of the league lead when it shut out Guadalajara, 1-0, on a 42nd-minute goal by Brazilian Kleber Pereira.
