Football Dispatch

Summer Football
20 July 2007
Argentina's 3-0 semi-final triumph over Chile in the Under-20 World Cup turned into a spectacle, yesterday, as German referee Wolfgang Stark was escorted from Toronto's BMO Field by Ontario Provincial Police officers. Stark was mobbed by Chilean players at the final whistle, many in tears, and others attempting to intimidate the official. At issue was the pair of red-cards shown to Gary Medel and Dagoberto Currimilla. Medel's sending-off was particularly hurtful to Chile. Angel Di Maria's brilliant opener in the 12th-minute had seemed to unsettle the typically sound Chilean defense; and Medel was shown a straight red-card for a frustrated outburst of retaliation just 4-minutes later. Dagoberto was banished from the pitch in the 77th-minute after accumulating two yellow-cards. By that time, Claudio Yacob had already paced Argentina to an insurmountable 2-0 lead. In truth, the match resembled nothing of the exhibition of skill which had been expected. From the outset, both sides appeared more interested in making ill-advised tackles and diving to ground than creating offensive opportunities. Still, Di Maria's goal was a thing to behold. Struck from an impossible angle, it came from nowhere as the preceding minutes had been rather tense and cagey. Maximiliano Moralez rounded-out the scoring in 2nd-half added-time.

Francesco Totti has retired from international football. The 30-year-old Roma forward made the announcement just one day after criticizing the starting-date for the 2007-2008 Serie-A campaign. Totti argued that the 26 August matchday conflicted with the training regimen of the national team. In the end, the World Cup winner will no longer be a part of Roberto Donadoni's Azzurri. In 59-appearances in international competition, Totti scored 9-times. Predictably, he stressed that the decision was made based on "physical reasons." Having scored 26-goals for Roma last season, he was awarded Europe's Golden Boot as the top goal-scorer on the continent.

Arjen Robben's transfer to Real Madrid has hit the skids. In a somewhat surprising move, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has fully backed manager Jose Mourinho's intention to keep the 23-year-old Dutch international at Stamford Bridge. Since the winter, a contractual dispute seemed likely to end Robben's tenure at the London club. Holding-out for upwards of 100,000-pounds per-week, he had rejected Chelsea's best offer of 85,000-pounds per-week. However, in a bizarre change of mind, Robben now appears poised to sign a new 5-year contract worth just 80,000-pounds per-week. In addition to his collapse in salary negotiations, he will also have to compete for a starting place in the 1st-team with the likes of Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Philips, and Florent Malouda.

Manchester United delivered the first big scoreline of their Far-East tour, yesterday. Christiano Ronaldo, Christopher Eagles, Wayne Rooney, and Patrice Evra were on target as United drubbed FC Seol 4-0 in the South Korean capital. Ronaldo, Eagles, and Rooney scored their goals within the opening 20-minutes. Rooney's cradled ball produced the Ronaldo lash which opened the floodgates. Ronaldo, himself, set-up Eagles for the second goal of the encounter. And Ronaldo was the playmaker, again, just 2-minutes later as he created Rooney's strike. Evra completed the scoring just ahead of the hour-mark. United's next match will be against Shenzhen FC on Monday, 23 July.

Alan Curbishley has been busily searching for Yossi Benayoun's replacement after the Israeli captain signed for Liverpool, last week. And it appears as though the West Ham manager has set his sights on Keiron Dyer. The 28-year-old Newcastle midfielder has forced his way back into the England picture after an extended absence through injury. Still, Magpies boss Sam Allardyce is keen to keep him at St. James' Park for at least another season. Curbishley is willing to pay upwards of 4M-pounds for Dyer -- an amount which Allardyce believes substantially undervalues the player.

David Moyes has long been rumored to be at the head of the line for Alan Smith's signature. And although the 26-year-old Manchester United striker claims to fully intend on regaining his place at Old Trafford, his exit appears a matter of time. James Vaughan's shoulder injury may finally force Moyes' hand -- and United's. The Toffees' 19-year-old striker will be sidelined for upwards of 3-months and Moyes has no intention of retaining James Beattie. If United and Smith agree to part before the end of August, Moyes would gladly pay the player's 5.5M-pound value.

Diego Maradona once called him a gypsy; and yesterday, Christian Vieri looked every bit the part. The 34-year-old former Italy international has signed a 1-year contract with Fiorentina -- just months after completing a 1-year stint at Atalanta. The Florence side will be Vieri's 15th-club. He is most recognized, however, for his 6-year spell at Inter Milan where he scored an incredible 103-goals in 144-appearances. In 49-matches for Italy, he tallied 23-times.

Alou Diarra has become the latest player to exit Olympique Lyonnais. The 26-year-old Frenchman's exit comes just weeks after France international left-back Eric Abidal bolted for Real Madrid. Diarra, a defensive midfielder, has moved to Bordeaux for 7.75M-euros. He spent only one season at Lyon following a move from Lens last summer.

Despite having already signed David Nugent and John Utaka, Harry Redknapp remains unsatisfied with his forward corps. Yesterday, the Portsmouth boss had his 5.5M-pound bid for Freddie Kanoute rejected by Sevilla. Kanoute, a 20-goal scorer in La Liga last term, has expressed no desire to exit Sevilla. Still, the club would not rule-out his sale if an offer worth upwards of 8M-pounds was tabled for the 29-year-old Mali international. Kanoute enjoyed previous stints in English football with West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur. He was the primary cog in Sevilla's UEFA and domestic cup doubles this season.

The Major League Soccer All-Stars defeated Celtic 2-0, yesterday. Columbians Juan Pablo Angel and Juan Toja scored 1st-half goals to pace the All-Stars to a 2-goal lead before the half; and the Hoops were unable to create any meaninful opportunities after the break. Angel's tally, in particular, was a the sort of skillfull exhibition which is often sorely lacking in North American football. Running onto a pass from Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne DiRosario, Angel dummied with both feet as Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc charged out of his goal before sliding the ball into the back of the net in the 36th-minute. The match was played in front over more than 18,000-onlookers at Mile High Stadium.

David Beckham is unlikely to start tomorrow's friendly contest between Los Angeles Galaxy and Chelsea. The 32-year-old Galaxy midfielder is recovering from an ankle injury suffered in England's 3-0 win over Estonia in EURO 2008 qualifiying in June. He has not featured in a competitive match since being subbed-off for Jose Antonio Reyes in Real Madrid's final game of the season more than a month ago. "It doesn't look good that I am going to play," stated Beckham, yesterday. "The swelling is still there." He did not, however, rule-out a substitute appearance at Home Depot Centre, tomorrow.