Injured Player Seeks Healthy Cut in Pay
When was the last time you heard of a professional athlete refusing to take a paycheck?
That’s what 32-year-old Frenchman Alain Boghossian of the Spanish soccer club Espanyol has done. The oft-injured midfielder told his Primera Liga team, which has lost 11 of 18 games and is on its third coach of the season, not to pay him until he is fit. His contract extends through 2004.
“I could write a book about my injury problems, but my enthusiasm is intact,” Bloomberg News reported Boghossian as saying. “The club is going through tough times. By giving up on my pay, I hope they’ll let me recover in my own time.”
U.S. Update
The U.S. Under-20 men’s national team lost, 3-1, to Mexico on Thursday night in front of 5,236 at Harris Stadium in Homestead, Fla.
The U.S. team played nearly the entire second half with only 10 players after the 48th-minute ejection of U.S. defender Heath Pearce.
Around the World
Three referees have been suspended, as the usual tumult surrounds the start of the second half of Serie A in Italy. AC Milan holds a three-point lead over Lazio and Inter and plays at Udinese on Sunday, where a stingy defense has surrendered only four goals and visiting clubs haven’t won all season.... Reggina has paid $3.4 million for full rights to Japanese standout Shunsuke Nakamura, who joined the Southern Italian club in the off-season.... There’s speculation that a defeat against Celta de Vigo on Sunday will sack Barcelona Coach Louis van Gaal, whose team rests at the bottom of the 10-team Spanish La Liga. “I’m not sure whether I’ll still be coach next Monday,” the Dutch-born Van Gaal said.... Germany’s Bundesliga returns after a six-week lull, with No. 2 Borussia Dortmund looking at a six-point deficit as it goes into today’s match with Hertha Berlin. A Dortmund victory puts pressure on No. 1 Bayern Munich, which plays winless Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday. “The first match back is always important because it sets the tone,” Bayern midfielder Michael Ballack said.... Goals from Czech midfielder Tomas Galasek and Egyptian Ahmed Hossam gave Dutch giant Ajax a 2-1 win Friday in Cairo over Egypt’s top team, Al-Ahly.
Times wire services contributed to this report.
