Manchester United Bows Out
Manchester United, already struggling to keep up with Arsenal in the English Premier League, suffered another blow Tuesday when it was eliminated from the European Champions League.
Francisco Costinha scored a goal in the 90th minute for visiting FC Porto of Portugal in a 1-1 tie at Old Trafford. The late goal meant Porto, the defending UEFA Cup champion, clinched the two-leg series on aggregate, 3-2, and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Manchester United had advanced to the final eight the last seven seasons.
“You get shocked in life and I suppose you couldn’t see that one coming,” Coach Alex Ferguson said.
Seconds from advancing, United let the series slip away when goalkeeper Tim Howard blocked a dipping shot by Porto’s Benni McCarthy but could not control the ball. Costinha pounced on it and scored into an empty net.
Manchester United was not the only powerful European team to fall Tuesday. Italy’s Juventus also had its Champions League season end after a 1-0 home loss to Deportivo La Coruna, which won on aggregate, 2-0.
Uruguayan forward Walter Pandiani scored for Deportivo in the 12th minute to eliminate last season’s runner-up.
In other matches, Chelsea tied Stuttgart, 0-0, and advanced on aggregate, 1-0, and Lyon beat Real Sociedad, 1-0, for the second time in a row.
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U.S-Mexico Matchup
With the gap closing in their talent pools, the U.S. and Mexico women’s national teams are fast developing a rivalry worthy of their male counterparts.
The teams will add the latest chapter May 9, having agreed to play a friendly at Albuquerque.
The U.S. and Mexico recently qualified for the Athens Olympics as the top two teams in CONCACAF after a tournament in Costa Rica. The teams played twice in the tournament, with the U.S. winning, 2-0 and 3-2. Mexico had built a 2-0 lead in the second game before the U.S. rallied.
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Galaxy News
The Galaxy will play Mexican league club Tecos in the Soccer World Super Clasico on April 20 in Nashville.
The charity event matches clubs from each professional league in North America.
The Galaxy will be without five players this week, all of whom are on national team duty. Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, forward Jovan Kirovski and defenders Danny Califf and Chris Albright are with the U.S. team that will play Haiti in Miami on Saturday. Forward Alejandro Moreno is in Venezuela where his native country will play host to Honduras tonight in Maracaibo.
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Cabanas to Sit Out
Salvador Cabanas, who leads the Mexican league with 10 goals for first-place Jaguares Chiapas, will sit out Saturday’s game against Monterrey after being suspended by the league’s disciplinary commission.
Cabanas was punished for receiving his second yellow card after removing his shirt to celebrate his third goal in a 3-3 tie against UAG last weekend.
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Quick Passes
Luis Fernando Tena, who guided Cruz Azul to its last Mexican league championship in 1997, has replaced Enrique Meza as coach. Meza was fired Monday after his team earned only five points in its first nine games.... Josh Wolff scored two goals to lead the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer to a 4-3 victory over Portuguese club Marinhense in an exhibition at Praia da Vieria, Portugal.... The English Football Assn. rejected Arsenal’s request to play an FA Cup semifinal game against Manchester United in Cardiff, Wales. Instead, the April 3 match will be played at Villa Park in Birmingham, as originally scheduled.... Karl-Heinz Wildmoser, president of German club 1860 Munich, was arrested on suspicion of taking bribes from the construction company building the city’s new stadium, which will play host to the opening match of the 2006 World Cup. Wildmoser and his son are suspected of receiving $3.46 million.
-- Compiled by Jim Barrero
