Zico Sets Roster for U.S. Tour

Japan’s coach, former Brazilian World Cup standout Zico, Monday selected his strongest possible roster, including seven European-based players, for a two-game tour of the United States next week.

Japan will play Uruguay in San Diego on March 26 and the U.S. in Seattle on March 29, and Zico said both matches present challenges.

“The U.S. proved by reaching the World Cup quarterfinals that it is a force to be reckoned with,” he told Reuters in Tokyo. “Uruguay also did well at the World Cup, so both games will be a very good test.”

With that in mind, Zico called up European-based goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Portsmouth); midfielders Hidetoshi Nakata (Parma), Shunsuke Nakamura (Reggina), Junichi Inamoto (Fulham) and Shinji Ono (Feyenoord), as well as forwards Naohiro Takahara (Hamburg) and Takayuki Suzuki (Genk).

Meanwhile, the Japan Football Assn. (JFA), which earlier canceled the tour and then changed its mind amid fears for the safety of Japanese players brought on by the looming U.S.-led war against Iraq, said Monday that it would honor the commitment unless matters deteriorate.

“Even if war breaks out, the tour goes ahead,” Takeo Hirata, the JFA’s general secretary, told reporters in Tokyo. “But if the situation with Iraq takes a turn for the worse and leads to terrorist activities in the U.S., that would change things.”

UEFA and War

European soccer’s governing body said Monday that European Champions League and UEFA Cup games scheduled for this week and Portugal 2004 European Championship qualifying games set for next week will not be canceled as a result of the imminent war in Iraq.

But spokesman Mike Lee said on the organization’s Web site that UEFA would monitor the situation closely and react as necessary.

“We always keep a very close eye on the international security situation and evaluate the possible risks to safety and security at our matches,” Lee said. “At this stage, we hope that all games will go ahead as scheduled, but we will not hesitate to intervene if circumstances require it.”

Beckham Rumors

Reports that England’s midfielder David Beckham might be leaving Manchester United for Inter Milan were downplayed by Massimo Moratti, president of the Italian club, which last year sold Ronaldo to Real Madrid after protracted wrangling between the clubs.

“All I can say is that he’s a great player -- not just because he’s English and I like English players, but because he’s very skillful and often decisive for his club,” Moratti told the Italian sports weekly Controcampo.

“There’s no deal going on. We couldn’t afford such an expensive operation.”

Last week, the newspaper Il Messagero reported that Beckham’s wife, former Spice Girl Victoria, had met Moratti and had also instructed real estate agents to find a house in Milan. Moratti denied the report.

Quick Passes

American goalkeeper Jonny Walker delivered a shutout to help Chilean champion Colo Colo secure a 0-0 tie with Universidad de Chile in front of 55,000 in Santiago, Chile, and remain unbeaten after six games.... While the San Jose Earthquakes were giving up four first-half goals en route to a 4-2 CONCACAF Champions Cup loss to CSD Municipal in Guatemala on Sunday, Ariel Graziani, the striker the Earthquakes released to get under Major League Soccer’s salary cap, was scoring a hat trick to help Barcelona of Ecuador to a 6-2 rout of Tecnico Universitario in the Ecuadorean league.... Peter Vermes, who played 67 games for the U.S., among them those at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and the Italia ’90 World Cup, and who led the Kansas City Wizards to the MLS title in 2000, has announced his retirement at 36.