Juventus Stuns Real Madrid, 3-1
There will not be a 10th European title added to the legacy of Real Madrid, one of the world’s most star-studded teams.
At least not this year.
The Spanish club, with its seemingly invincible all-star lineup, was eliminated from the European Champions League race after a stunning, 3-1 semifinal loss to Juventus on Wednesday at Turin, Italy.
Juventus, which advanced 4-3 on aggregate, moves on to the May 28 one-game final against AC Milan at Manchester, England. It will be the second time two teams from the same country have played for the championship. Real Madrid defeated Valencia, 3-0, in all-Spanish final in 2000.
Alessandro Del Piero scored one goal and assisted on another as Juventus built a 3-0 lead through the first 88 minutes. David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedved scored the other goals for Juventus, which led, 2-0, at halftime.
The result was bittersweet for Nedved after the Czech international was whistled for a foul and second yellow card in the 82nd minute. The midfielder will have to sit out the final.
Real’s Zinedine Zidane, two-time FIFA world player of the year, scored in the 89th minute to give his team hope in a frantic five minutes of extra time. A 3-2 Real loss would have been enough for it to advance on away goals because it won the first leg, 2-1, at Madrid.
Earlier, with Real losing, 2-0, Luis Figo, the 2001 FIFA player of the year, was stopped on a penalty kick by goalie Gianluigi Buffon in the 68th minute. Ronaldo, a three-time FIFA player of the year who came on as substitute in the 52nd minute, had drawn the foul for the penalty.
Real’s best chance in extra time came when Spanish midfielder Raul’s header sailed wide in the 94th minute.
World Cup Talk
Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, the president of world soccer’s governing body, acknowledged what every soccer fan in America already knows: The U.S. is the front-runner to play host to the Women’s World Cup this fall.
“They have shown us how [well] they can organize a Women’s World Cup because of the importance of women’s football and the perception by the public of women’s football in the country,” Blatter said in Madrid at a sports industry conference.
FIFA moved the tournament out of China because of the SARS virus epidemic.
Blatter said a decision on the host country would be made “as soon as possible,” probably by the end of the month.
Meanwhile, Blatter reiterated he is against increasing the field from 32 to 36 for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Recently, FIFA’s executive committee tentatively backed a South American proposal to make such a change.
Jack Warner, a FIFA vice president and head of the North and Central American and Caribbean region, agreed and said it isn’t likely FIFA will approve the plan.
Friedel Staying
With Manchester United and Arsenal possibly in the market for new goalkeepers next season, Blackburn chief executive John Williams said his club has no interest in listening to offers for American Brad Friedel.
“We haven’t had any inquiries from anyone for him and we wouldn’t welcome any either because we don’t want to sell him,” Williams said of the U.S. national team and former UCLA goalkeeper who had an English Premier League-high 15 shutouts and was named the All-Premier goalkeeper this season.
Quick Passes
U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller will sit out next month’s FIFA Confederations Cup in France because he will undergo surgery today to remove bone chips from his elbows.... The U.S. under-23 team beat Mexico, 3-1, Wednesday at Zapopan, Mexico, even though the Americans played the last 32 minutes one man short. Kelly Gray, Alecko Eskandarian and David Testo scored for the U.S.... Colombia’s America and Mexico’s Cruz Azul advanced Tuesday to the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores -- Latin America’s premier club tournament -- after penalty-kick victories. America goalkeeper Robinson Zapata scored the winning goal in the Colombian team’s 6-5 shootout win against Racing Club of Argentina after the teams were scoreless through regulation. In another scoreless game, Cruz Azul defeated Colombia’s Deportivo Cali, 3-2, on penalty kicks, led by goalie Oscar Perez, who stopped one and made several brilliant saves in regulation.... Graham Taylor, former England national team coach, has quit as manager of Aston Villa after another rough season that almost led to the club’s relegation from the Premier League. Aston Villa finished 16th, only three points above the relegation zone.... Jaime Pacheco, the coach who guided Boavista to the semifinals of the UEFA Cup, is leaving the Portuguese club after his contract was not renewed.
Times wires services contributed to this report.
