Boston Herald - Boston Herald

Tahiti scores but loses to Nigeria at Confed Cup

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:28:12 -0400

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil — The roar of "Tahiti" from 20,000 fans was as inspiring as it was unsettling for a group of footballers who struggle to attract 100 fans to their matches usually.

Never before had they played in front of such a big crowd. Never before had they even made it to an international football tournament watched by millions around the world.

But this was the tiny island paradise of Tahiti, more accustomed to the isolation of the Pacific Ocean, taking on Nigeria at the Confederations Cup.

After Euro, Balotelli confirms worth in Brazil

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:00:49 -0400

RIO DE JANEIRO — If last year's European Championship was the moment Mario Balotelli revealed himself to a global audience, this year's Confederations Cup is shaping up as confirmation that he is a force to be reckoned with on the international stage.

And if Italy appeared hesitant at times to heap too much pressure on Balotelli in Poland and Ukraine, that's no longer an issue.

When Balotelli scored the winning goal in Sunday's 2-1 win over Mexico, it didn't come as a surprise. He was a force to be reckoned with throughout the game at the Maracana Stadium.

Brazil already has Spain on its mind at Confed Cup

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:41:00 -0400

FORTALEZA, Brazil — Only one game into the Confederations Cup, Brazil is already talking about a possible matchup with Spain.

A day after the Spaniards enjoyed an easy victory over Uruguay in its opener, the Brazilian players couldn't avoid talking about the World Cup champions.

Brazil and Spain first need to make sure they advance to the second round of the Confederations Cup, but Real Madrid left back Marcelo said it would be a "great match" if the teams end up playing each other in the World Cup warm-up competition.

Italy celebrates Brazilian style: at the beach

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:57:28 -0400

RIO DE JANEIRO — Italy players celebrated their Confederations Cup win over Mexico with a relaxing morning at the beach in Rio

Nearly the entire Azzurri squad spent the morning after its 2-1 win relaxing on the sand, swimming amid large waves and playing beach volleyball — despite intermittent rain,

Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon led the way with his wife and two children, crossing the street from the team hotel in the Barra neighborhood to one of Rio's vast beaches.

Schalke signs German youth international Clemens

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:38:56 -0400

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany — Schalke has signed German youth international Christian Clemens from second division Cologne.

The Bundesliga club says the 21-year-old Clemens, a midfielder, has signed a four-year deal through June 2017.

Schalke general manager Horst Heldt says Clemens is a player with "enormous potential" and "we're delighted that we could secure another German talent on a long-term basis."

Schalke extended 19-year-old German international Julian Draxler's contract last month.

Teams to be seeded in WCup playoffs in Europe

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:35:12 -0400

ZURICH — FIFA says a seeding system will be in place for the World Cup playoffs in the European zone, ensuring the four highest-ranked qualifiers will be kept apart in the draw on Oct. 21.

World soccer's governing body was criticized four years ago when it announced after the qualifiers were known that there would be seedings for the playoffs.

Bale applies to trademark goal celebration

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:55:59 -0400

LONDON — Tottenham forward Gareth Bale is attempting to cash in on his new-found fame by filing an application to trademark his goal celebration, a heart-shaped hand gesture he dedicates to his long-time girlfriend.

The Intellectual Property Office says it has received Bale's application for his "Eleven of Hearts" logo, which he intends to use on clothing, footwear, headgear and jewellery.

The logo has the No. 11 — his shirt number at Spurs — inside two hands made into the shape of a heart.

Players, father convicted in linesman's death

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:25:48 -0400

Six youth players and the father of one of them were convicted of manslaughter Monday for kicking a volunteer linesman to death after a game, a brutal attack that shocked this soccer-loving nation.

Judges in Lelystad sentenced the 50-year-old father, identified only as El-Hasan D, to six years in prison. Five teenage players drew two-year sentences in youth detention for their roles in the December attack and another was sentenced to a year. A seventh player, age 15, was sentenced to 30 days detention for assault.

Hearts set to go into administration

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:13:47 -0400

EDINBURGH, Scotland — Scottish club Hearts is set to go into administration after falling into financial trouble.

Hearts says in a brief statement that a "notice of intention to appoint an administrator" was served at a court in Edinburgh on Monday.

The club, which has debts of 25 million pounds ($39 million) and has been threatened with legal action over an unpaid tax bill, announced last week that it was "experiencing a shortfall in funding" and will listen to offers for the team's best players.

Galaxy acquire midfielder Mastroeni from Rapids

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:03:47 -0400

CARSON, Calif. — The Los Angeles Galaxy have acquired six-time MLS All-Star midfielder Pablo Mastroeni in a trade with the Colorado Rapids.

Under the deal announced Monday, the Galaxy also received the rights to midfielder Baggio Husidic. The Rapids received an international roster slot through the end of the 2014 MLS season and Los Angeles' second-round pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.

Mastroeni will be eligible to make his Galaxy debut when Los Angeles hosts the Portland Timbers on Wednesday night.

Teams to be seeded in WCup playoffs in Europe

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:37:56 -0400

ZURICH — A seeding system will be in place for the World Cup playoffs in the European zone, ensuring the four highest-ranked qualifiers will be kept apart in the draw on Oct. 21.

FIFA was criticized four years ago when it announced just before the last round of European qualifiers in October that there would be seedings for the playoffs. This time, world football's governing body has made its decision with four matches remaining in qualifying.

Players, father convicted in death of linesman

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:43:23 -0400

AMSTERDAM — A Dutch court convicted six young soccer players and the father of one of the athletes of manslaughter Monday for kicking to death a volunteer linesman after a youth match last December in a brutal attack that shocked this soccer-loving nation.

Judges in Lelystad sentenced the 50-year-old father, identified only as El-Hasan D, to six years in prison. Five teenage players were given two-year sentences in youth detention for their roles in the attack and another was sentenced to a year. A seventh teen was sentenced to 30 days of detention for assault.

Kinnear makes Newcastle return

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:50:42 -0400

NEWCASTLE, England — Joe Kinnear has returned to Premier League side Newcastle as director of football but says he won't interfere with team selections by manager Alan Pardew.

The 66-year-old Irishman left Newcastle in 2009 after a heart attack but has now come back to help recruit new players and work alongside Pardew.

"Alan's aware of the situation and I'm hoping to meet him sometime tomorrow to go through the team itself and where it's glaringly clear we need to improve," Kinnear said.

Ethiopia, Egypt, Ivory Coast advance in Africa

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:50:41 -0400

JOHANNESBURG — Ethiopia, looking to qualify for its first World Cup, joined the Ivory Coast and Egypt in becoming the first teams to qualify for the final round of playoffs in African qualifying.

Egypt, under former U.S. coach Bob Bradley, took the playoff place in Group G with a 1-0 win in Mozambique.

Bernard Parker's own-goal in the 70th minute gave Ethiopia its 2-1 comeback victory over South Africa, ending any chance of the 2010 World Cup host playing in Brazil in 2014.

Tahiti debuts at major soccer tournament

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:50:40 -0400

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil — Coming from a tiny island in the South Pacific to the huge country of Brazil, a group of men from Tahiti is preparing to play some of the best soccer teams in the world.

Tahiti's national team will make its debut at a major FIFA tournament on Monday when it plays African champion Nigeria at the Confederations Cup.

Tahiti, one of the world's most remote islands with a population of only 178,000, will be playing against a nation of 170 million in front of a global television audience of millions.

Figueroa joins Hull after release by Wigan

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:50:39 -0400

HULL, England — Honduras defender Maynor Figueroa has joined Premier League newcomer Hull on a free transfer following his release by Wigan.

Figueroa has agreed a two-year deal and is reunited with Hull manager Steve Bruce, who also signed the left back in 2008 when in charge of Wigan.

The 30-year-old Figueroa set his sights on a move to the KC Stadium as soon as Hull secured promotion back to the Premier League with a draw against Cardiff on the final day of last season.

Stakes high as Asian qualifying reaches last games

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:43:17 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea — Five nations around the vast Asian confederation are bracing for the joy or heartbreak that is coming their way on Tuesday in the last games of continental World Cup qualification.

Only Japan has booked a berth for Brazil 2014, and the national teams from South Korea, Iran, Uzbekistan, Australia and Oman all are hoping to secure one of the three remaining automatic spots. Two will miss out on direct entry, and then go into calculations for the Asian playoff for an intercontinental qualifier.

Skipper says Socceroos not doing the samba yet

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:42:00 -0400

SYDNEY — Skipper Lucas Neill says his Australian squad's full focus is on beating Iraq in their last Asian qualifier to guarantee direct entry to next year's World Cup, so the Socceroos aren't practicing the samba yet.

Australia can secure the second automatic qualifying spot in Group B with a win over Iraq in Sydney on Tuesday night, and Neill says the mood is "very calm" after the Socceroos revived their campaign with an away draw against first-place Japan and last week's 4-0 win over Jordan.

Breakers feel Blue after home loss

Rich Thompson — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

SOMERVILLE — Home turf and a supportive audience weren’t enough for the Breakers against Sky Blue FC last night at Dilboy Stadium.

The NWSL leaders handed the Breakers their first home loss, a 3-2 setback before a crowd of 2,687.

“They are leading the league and there is a reason they are leading the league,” said coach Lisa Cole after the Breakers (3-4-3) saw their winless skid hit four matches. “I felt like we created chances but we didn’t finish them, and our finishing has to improve.”

Spain cruises to 2-1 win over Uruguay

Associated Press — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:12:58 -0400

RECIFE, Brazil — Andres Iniesta repeated several times that Spain deserved its 2-1 victory over Uruguay in their Confederations Cup opener.

The Spain midfielder had only one problem with Sunday's result. The game wasn't as close as the score looked, and Spain should have scored at least one more goal.

"I think it was clear Spain was the undeniable winner, a deserved victory," Iniesta said. "It left a very good taste in our mouth. But we probably deserved another goal."