Kerr Chosen by Ireland
Two months after Mick McCarthy’s resignation, Ireland finally named a new national team coach Monday, selecting Brian Kerr to lead the Irish to the 2004 European Championship in Portugal and the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The Irish soccer federation confirmed Kerr’s appointment but said no official statement would be issued until today.
Kerr, 49, was the favorite for the job, having coached Ireland to victory in the under-16 and under-18 European championships. He led the under-20 team to third place at the FIFA Youth World Cup in Malaysia in 1999.
His first task will be to decide whether to reinstate Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane to the national team. Keane was sent home before the start of the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan after a furious argument with McCarthy and vowed not to play for Ireland again as long as McCarthy was in charge.
Ireland’s stuttering start in Euro 2004 qualifying prompted McCarthy to step down in November, leaving the Dublin-born Kerr with the job of qualifying for Portugal from a group that includes Albania, Georgia, Russia and Switzerland.
A Tough Draw
Arsenal, the defending English Premier League champion and F.A. Cup holder, was drawn to play Manchester United in the Cup’s round of 16.
The clubs are in first and second place, respectively, in the league race and between them have won the F.A. Cup 18 times in the competition’s 131-year history. Manchester United holds a slight edge, with 10 of those victories.
The match will be played at Old Trafford on Feb. 15 or 16.
USA-Costa Rica
The U.S. under-17 national team will begin preparing for world championship qualifying by playing away games against Costa Rica on Wednesday and Friday.
Coach John Ellinger’s squad then will play El Salvador, Guatemala and Jamaica in a CONCACAF qualifying tournament March 5-9 in Guatemala as it tries to reach the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in Finland this fall.
The other qualifying group features Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba and Mexico and will play March 16-20 in Victoria, Canada.
USA Referees
Two American referees, Kevin Stott and Chris Strickland, were among 45 match officials named by FIFA to officiate at the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates in March.
That tournament, for which the U.S. has qualified, is being threatened by the possible war with Iraq and might be moved. Japan is one of the countries mentioned as a potential standby host.
Mexican Roundup
Former Galaxy striker Luis Hernandez scored his first goal in more than 10 months, on a 48th-minute penalty kick, as Veracruz won its first game of the new Mexican season, 1-0, while handing Colibries its first defeat.
The match was one of four played Saturday.
Meanwhile, defending champion Toluca still is seeking its first victory but did pick up its first point of the season in a 1-1 tie at Morelia.
Paraguayan striker Jose Cardozo put Toluca ahead in the 18th minute, but Argentine midfielder Jorge Almiron salvaged a tie for the Monarchs five minutes from the end.
Previously winless Club America put matters right by thrashing San Luis, 4-0, on the road, scoring all the goals in the final half hour, two by Uruguay’s Marcelo Lipatin and one apiece by Frankie Oviedo of Colombia and Cristian Patino. Each team is 1-1-1.
The Tigers of UANL kept their record perfect at 3-0-0 with a 1-0 victory over UAG as Argentina’s Walter Gaitan scored the goal, his league-leading fourth of the season, in the 57th minute.
On Sunday, Necaxa stayed unbeaten and untied by beating Queretaro, 1-0, on Luis Roberto Alves’ 48th-minute goal, and Chivas of Guadalajara rode goals by Johnny Garcia and Omar Bravo to a 2-0 shutout of Chiapas.
In other matches Sunday:
Coach Hugo Sanchez’s UNAM team lost its second consecutive game, 3-2, at home against Monterrey; Atlas routed Atlante, 4-0; Pachuca and Cruz Azul tied, 0-0, and Santos Laguna and Puebla tied, 1-1.
Twellman Extension
Taylor Twellman, who scored 23 goals and assisted on six others while leading the New England Revolution to the 2002 championship match, signed a contract that will keep him in the league through the 2005 season.
