FIFA Team Includes U.S. Players
United States women’s national team forward Abby Wambach and midfielder Shannon Boxx on Thursday were named to the FIFA Women’s World Stars team that will play women’s world champion Germany at the Stade de France in Paris on May 20 as part of FIFA’s centenary celebrations.
“Being selected to play in a game like this is humbling,” Wambach, 23, told U.S. Soccer. “Being able to have this experience of playing with these great players instead of against them is going to be a lot of fun.”
Said Boxx, 26, of Redondo Beach: “To be recognized as one of the best players in the world is a great honor, and I’m also looking forward to spending a week in Paris with my fiance.”
The World Stars team will be coached by Sweden’s Marika Domanski-Lyfors and France’s Elisabeth Loisel and features players from a dozen countries.
The game will be followed by a match involving 1998 World Cup winner France and 2002 World Cup winner Brazil.
MLS Update
Dema Kovalenko of D.C. United was fined $500 by Major League Soccer’s disciplinary committee for striking the San Jose Earthquakes’ Brian Mullan in the face during the league’s nationally televised season-opening match at RFK Stadium on Saturday.
The fine comes in addition to the automatic $250 fine and one-match ban that Kovalenko received after being red-carded for the incident. He will sit out D.C. United’s game against the Galaxy on Saturday at the Home Depot Center, possibly opening the way for Freddy Adu to start.
Elsewhere, the New England Revolution traded forward/midfielder Chris Brown to the Earthquakes for future considerations. Brown, 27, played alongside Alexi Lalas, San Jose’s president and general manager, when both were with the Kansas City Wizards.
UEFA Cup
Spain, which already has Deportivo La Coruna in the final four of the European Champions League, moved a significant step closer Thursday to having a team in the final four of the UEFA Cup when Valencia defeated Bordeaux, 2-1, in the first leg of the quarterfinals in France.
Second-half goals by Ruben Baraja and Francisco Perez Rufete earned Valencia the come-from-behind win after Albert Riera had given Bordeaux the early lead.
In other quarterfinal first-leg matches, Olympique Marseille edged Inter Milan, 1-0, in Marseille on a goal by Didier Drogba, and Newcastle United held PSV Eindhoven to a 1-1 tie in the Netherlands, where Jermaine Jenas scored the tying goal after Mateja Kezman had given the Dutch team the lead.
Also, Celtic managed only a 1-1 tie in Glasgow against visiting Villarreal. Jose Moreno Josico scored for the Spaniards in the ninth minute, but Swedish striker Henrik Larsson tied it with his 34th goal of the season to extend the Scottish champions’ unbeaten streak at home to 77 games.
The second leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinals will be played Wednesday.
Coelho in Limbo
Leaders of the Korea Football Assn., meeting in Seoul, failed to reach a decision on the future of Humberto Coelho.
The Portuguese coach of South Korea’s national team has been under fire since a lackluster 0-0 tie with the Maldives in World Cup 2006 qualifying play. The meeting will continue April 19.
Quick Passes
Panama held favored Honduras to a 0-0 tie Wednesday night in a friendly international in La Ceiba, Honduras. Honduras has played eight games under Coach Bora Milutinovic and still is seeking its first victory.... Colombia striker Juan Pablo Angel, who has scored 21 goals for Aston Villa this season, will be sidelined for three weeks because of a knee injury.... Australian international Kevin Muscat of Millwall will sit out the F.A. Cup final against Manchester United on May 22 after damaging knee ligaments in a semifinal victory over Sunderland.... Germany midfielder Sebastian Deisler, 24, was declared fit to take part in the European Championship in Portugal from June 12-July 4 after being treated for five months for depression.
-- Compiled by Grahame L. Jones
