Is Henry in Madrid’s Future?
Since winning election as Real Madrid president in 2000, Florentino Perez has made like New York Yankee boss George Steinbrenner and brought an embarrassment of riches in high-profile players to Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Among his acquisitions: David Beckham, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo.
His next target, according to Spanish sports dailies AS and Marca: France and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry.
Henry, 26, has been nominated with Zidane and Ronaldo for FIFA’s world player of the year award.
Perez acknowledged that he has contacted a potential impact player, but he refused to say whom.
Arsenal Chairman Peter Hill-Wood said this week that Henry was not available -- no matter the price, the London Evening Standard reported.
AS, though, reported that Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger, a former candidate to coach Real Madrid, could join Henry in Madrid should Carlos Queiroz falter.
Marca’s front-page headline, “Made in England,” hinted that Real Madrid’s next signing would be from the Premier League.
The paper also reported that Liverpool’s Michael Owen, who sustained a thigh injury in a UEFA Cup match against Steaua Bucharest this week, and Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy were possible targets, saying that Owen seemed to be the more “accessible” of the two because he does not want to play with a “mid-table team” such as Liverpool.
Under-20 Tournament
Argentina and Brazil, favorites in the FIFA World Youth Championship, both won opening matches in the 24-team tournament in the United Arab Emerites for under-20 teams, a competition that was postponed in March because of the threat of war in Iraq.
Defending champion Argentina came from behind to beat Spain, 2-1, in a Group B match, and Brazil shut out Canada, 2-0, in Group C.
Other scores from Friday: Mali beat Uzbekistan, 3-2, in Group B; Australia and the Czech Republic played to a 1-1 draw in Group C; and Burkina Faso defeated Panama, 1-0, in Group A.
The United States, led by Coach Thomas Rongen, opens Group F play today against Paraguay in Abu Dhabi. The other Group F match involves Germany and South Korea. Other matches today: England vs. Egypt and Japan vs. Colombia in Group D; the Ivory Coast vs. Ireland and Mexico vs. Saudi Arabia in Group E.
Gascoigne a Goner
Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne quit the Wolverhampton Wanderers club after playing five games with its reserve team. Gascoigne, 36, most recently played for China club Gansu Tianma and last played in the English Premier League for Everton in March 2002.
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Times wire services contributed to this report.
