Herrera’s Time as Honduras Coach Is Up
Three days after it finished a poor fourth in the six-team Copa de Naciones tournament in Panama, Honduras on Wednesday fired Jose de la Paz Herrera as its national team coach.
Herrera, who in his first stint as coach more than two decades ago led Honduras to the 1982 World Cup in Spain, had been in charge for less than a year this time around and had been expected to easily qualify the Central American team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States in July.
Instead, Honduras was beaten by Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala, all of whom qualified, was tied by Panama and managed to defeat only Nicaragua.
Rafael Callejas, the Honduran soccer federation president, said the decision had been taken “after much discussion, analysis [and] debate” and said a special commission would be established to find a new coach.
Champions League
Barcelona’s European Champions League-record winning streak of 11 games came to an end Wednesday, but the team’s 0-0 tie in front of 71,740 at Inter Milan left the Spanish club on the verge of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Ajax Amsterdam and Arsenal also played to a 0-0 tie in front of 51,500 at the Amsterdam Arena, leaving both teams still in the hunt for a place in the final eight.
Elsewhere, 40,508 watched Newcastle United score an impressive 3-1 home victory over Bayer Leverkusen, last season’s losing finalists, with Alan Shearer scoring a first-half hat trick, including two goals in the first 11 minutes.
Also, AS Roma disappointed a crowd of 45,000 at Valencia, where Italian international Francesco Totti scored twice in the first half and Emerson added the third as Roma romped to a surprise 3-0 victory.
Rapid Roberts
Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids signed Liberia international striker Zizi Roberts to a multiyear contract, terms of which were not disclosed.
The 23-year-old forward has been playing for his national team since age 17 and, at 6 feet 2 and 194 pounds, he will give the Rapids an aerial threat on attack.
“Zizi is a strong forward who brings speed and presence to our front line,” Colorado Coach Tim Hankinson said in a statement released by the club.
Roberts has played for clubs in Liberia, Italy, Switzerland and Greece, where he was with Olympiakos last season.
WUSA Update
The Atlanta Beat signed Mexico’s national team captain, forward Maribel Dominguez, 24, who last season played for the Kansas City Mystics in the W-League. Dominguez is the first Mexican-born player to join WUSA.
The San Diego Spirit, meanwhile, has acquired 19-year-old Brazil national team midfielder Daniela as a discovery player, and the New York Power added Australian internationals Cheryl Salisbury and Joanne Peters to its roster.
Ecuador Strike Ends
Referees in Ecuador, who went on strike last week and thereby forced postponement of the start of the league season, have reached agreement with the Ecuadorean soccer federation.
The referees had demanded a 40% raise from the $200 a game they receive but settled for a 15% increase and a commitment by the federation to pay the taxes on that income. The season will begin Friday.
Quick Passes
The under-20 national teams of the U.S. and Colombia played to a 0-0 tie at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ... Former German international midfielder Stefan Effenberg, 34, faces a fine for yelling obscenities at police during a traffic stop in Wolfsburg, Germany.... Costa Rica and Manchester City forward Paulo Wanchope, 26, has been sidelined for the rest of the English Premier League season with a dislocated shoulder.
