Surprise Start to Clausura Championship
Toluca, which won the Mexican league’s Apertura championship only three weeks ago, was upset, 3-0, by Necaxa as the league launched its Clausura championship over the weekend.
Necaxa was in control throughout, with Uruguayan forward Miguel Larrosa scoring in the 21st minute, veteran Luis Alves, better known as Zague, adding a second goal in the 76th minute, and Miguel Acosta providing the third five minutes from the end.
Paraguayan striker Jose Cardoza, who set a league record with 36 goals in 25 games while leading Toluca to the Apertura title, was shut out.
The result was one of several surprises during the opening two days of the new season.
Former champion Club America was defeated, 2-1, on the road by Pachuca; and UNAM lost, 3-1, at home to Colibries, a club that was known as Atletico Celaya until a month ago but which moved from Celaya to Cuernavaca and changed its name during the three-week break between the league’s two annual championships.
Colibries got goals from Argentina’s Rodolfo Flores and Brazil’s Claudinho in the first 15 minutes; Uruguay’s Rodrigo Lemos cut UNAM’s deficit in half, but Mauricio Gallaga all but wrapped up the win for Colibries with six minutes left.
Club America’s defeat came after veteran German Villa had given it a 1-0 lead. Venezuelan midfielder Juan Arango scored for Pachuca on either side of halftime to stun the country’s wealthiest club.
Starting out the new season on a happier note was Morelia, the runner-up to Toluca in the Apertura championship. Morelia came from behind to edge Veracruz, 2-1, with Ismael Iniguez scoring the late game-winner.
Also off to a bright start for new owner Jorge Vergara was Guadalajara. Chivas defeated Puebla, 2-1, behind goals from Omar Bravo and Jair Garcia.
McBride’s Debut
Columbus Crew and U.S. national team striker Brian McBride got off to a smart start in England by scoring a goal less than 10 minutes into his Premier League debut with Everton. McBride beat his U.S. teammate, Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Kasey Keller, but the Spurs got a hat trick from Robbie Keane and won, 4-3, Sunday.
“He’s not played for a couple of months, at least, but he showed he is a willing workhorse and he scored a real good goal,” Everton Coach David Moyes said of McBride, who is on loan to Everton for three months. “You can’t get enough of those type of players.
“I thought he did well for us. He never shirked any challenges, and he took his goal well and did great to give us the full 90 minutes.”
MLS Signs Six
Major League Soccer, preparing for Friday’s draft, Monday signed six more college players to contracts, including Indiana forward Pat Noonan, the runner-up the past two seasons for the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, awarded to the collegiate player of the year.
MLS also signed St. Louis University midfielder Jason Cole, Connecticut and Jamaica national team defender Shavar Thomas, and two Stanford players, forward Roger Levesque and defender Todd Dunivant. All are seniors. Also, Portland forward Nate Jaqua, a junior, gave up his final year of eligibility to join MLS.
Quick Passes
A 61st-minute goal by Riviere Williams earned Barbados a 1-0 victory over Jamaica on Sunday in a friendly international in Bridgetown, Barbados.... Leeds United has agreed to sell England striker Robbie Fowler to Manchester City for $11.23 million.... Torino signed free-agent Austrian national team goalkeeper Alex Manninger to a six-month contract.... Real Madrid Coach Vicente del Bosque was voted the world’s top club coach in a worldwide poll conducted by the International Federation of Football Historians and Statisticians. Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger finished second. Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson and Bayer Leverkusen’s Klaus Toppmoeller tied for third.
