Barthez Returns in Fine Form
In the same week that Manchester United Coach Alex Ferguson sang the praises of American goalkeeper Tim Howard to the rafters, Fabien Barthez, the man Howard replaced at Old Trafford, showed that his career is far from over.
Barthez was in superb form Saturday on his return to his former club, Olympique Marseille. The 1998 World Cup winner made two excellent saves in the penalty shootout and then scored the winning goal himself as Marseille edged Strasbourg, 4-3 on penalty kicks, after they had tied, 1-1, in regulation in the French Cup.
“I’ve been waiting weeks to play,” said Barthez, who lost his starting spot at Manchester United last summer when Ferguson signed Howard from the New York/New Jersey MetroStars.
“I felt a little under pressure and it was almost like starting all over again. People were expecting a lot of me and I didn’t want to disappoint anyone.”
Barthez, who played for Marseille for three years in the early 1990s, was loaned Friday by Manchester United to Marseille for the rest of the season.
Howard’s Beginning
Earlier in the week, Ferguson said Howard, the only player to appear in every game for Manchester United this season, was easily the pick of the players he had signed last summer.
“Tim Howard has been the star of the show this season,” the 62-year-old Scot said on MUTV, the club’s own television station. “He is quick, alert, agile, courageous and has speed. It’s all there for us to see.
“If you look at the other players we brought in during the summer, [Brazil’s] Kleberson had played in a World Cup final; Eric Djemba-Djemba was a Cameroon international; Cristiano Ronaldo had been playing in Portugal’s top league with Sporting Lisbon, and David Bellion had been in the Premiership with Sunderland.
“Tim didn’t have any of that experience, so there was bound to be a question mark over him. But [assistant coach] Tony Coton was insistent and said, ‘Once you see him there will be no questions.’
“That was a big statement, but he was right.”
It’s Celtic This Year
The annual two-team race for the Scottish Premier League title all but ended Saturday when Celtic routed defending champion Rangers, 3-0, on goals by Stilian Petrov, Stanislav Varga and Alan Thompson.
The victory was Celtic’s 18th in a row in league play, a club record that bettered the mark set in the 1967-68 season. It also left Celtic 11 points ahead of its Glasgow adversary.
“Celtic can only lose it now, to give the answer simply,” Ranger Coach Alex McLeish said of the title race.
One or the other of the teams has won the league championship in each of the last 18 years.
Nakata Moves On
Hidetoshi Nakata, the captain of Japan’s national team, has been loaned by financially troubled Parma to Italian Serie A rival Bologna for six months.
Nakata, who cost Parma $26 million when it bought him from AS Roma in July 2001, never settled with the club and has often complained about his defensive midfield role.
“The way I play and the way I am being asked to play are different,” he said on his Web site. “I apologize to the Parma fans because I didn’t manage to show them what I’m able to do, but I always had to play out of position.”
Interliga on the Way
The eight-team Interliga tournament that will determine which two Mexican clubs advance to the Copa Libertadores in South America later this year gets underway today in Stockton and at the Home Depot Center in Carson.
The event begins with the UNL Tigres playing Atlas and Toluca playing Morelia, both at Stagg Stadium in Stockton. It continues with the Chivas of Guadalajara playing Santos at 5 p.m. and Club American playing Atlante at 7:30 p.m., both at the Home Depot Center.
San Jose, Houston and Dallas are also venues for the tournament, which concludes Jan. 14 in Carson.
Chelsea’s Camera Call
Chelsea Coach Claudio Ranieri on Saturday called for the use of replay cameras at all English Premier League stadiums to help resolve disputed goals.
The Italian made the remarks after his multimillion-dollar team twice had to come from behind to tie Watford, 2-2, in the Football Assn. Cup.
Watford’s first goal came when Heidar Helguson’s header struck the crossbar and bounced down onto -- but not over -- the goal line. Referee Alan Wiley awarded the first-division club the goal.
“It wasn’t a goal, but sometime it can happen,” Ranieri said. “I make mistakes, as do players, referees and linesmen. But sooner or later all stadia, especially in the Premier League, must have a camera to say whether it’s a goal or not. And not just because this happened today.”
Quick Passes
The Spanish season resumed Saturday after its Christmas break as league leader and defending champion Real Madrid edged Murcia, 1-0, on a goal by Raul in front of 75,000 at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeau stadium.... Roberto Mancini, the 39-year-old coach of fifth-place Lazio in Italy’s Serie A, is the leading candidate to become coach of Tottenham Hotspur, which is battling to stay out of the relegation zone in the English Premier League. The Italian club, however, has said it will not release Mancini from his contract before the end of the season.... SC Heerenveen Coach Foppe de Haan, 60, the longest-serving coach in Dutch soccer, will retire at the end of the season. De Haan has been with the club since 1985 and has been coach since 1992.
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Times wires services contributed to this report.
