barcelona beats santos 4-0 - lamaquinadeportiva.com

Lionel Messi scored twice and Barcelona beat Brazil’s Santos 4-0 on Sunday to win its second Club World Cup in three years.Messi, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas scored in the first half as the European champions won its 13th trophy under coach Pep Guardiola, solidifying its stature as the best club team in the world.“The reason for our success is the effort of the players,” Guardiola said. “We have very high-quality players and were able to display quality football. I am honored to work with these great players.”The Champions League winners looked unstoppable in the first half and got on the scoresheet in the 17th minute when Messi latched on to a through ball from Xavi, controlled it with his right foot, switched to his left and calmly chipped over Santos goalkeeper Rafael Cabral.Xavi doubled the lead just seven minutes later when he took a pass from Dani Alves and beat Cabral with a right-foot shot from 16 yards.Fabregas put the game beyond reach in the final minute of the first half, picking up a rebound off a diving header by Thiago and beating Cabral from close range.“It wasn’t easy at all,” Fabregas said. “Santos made it difficult at the beginning but we were fortunate to score quickly and then another one a few minutes later. If you say it was easy it’s because we played a very serious game and were very professional and disciplined and that made it look easy.”The South American champions looked more lively after the break. Neymar had a good chance in the 57th as he broke free and found himself in the open with only Victor Valdes to beat, but was denied by the Barcelona goalkeeper.Messi, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, completed the scoring in the 82nd when he took a pass from Alves, maneuvered around Cabral and calmly slotted home.“I’m excited about winning this title because we wanted to become the best in the world,” Messi said. “I’m happy about my goals but, more than that, I am happy with the performance of the team.”Messi has 29 goals this season and 55 in 2011. Barcelona is 20-1-6 this season and has outscored opponents 86-16.The match was billed as a showdown between Messi and Santos’ 19-year-old rising star Neymar but it was the Barce-lona player who dominated.“Barcelona deserved to win,” Neymar said. “They are the best team in the world and we learned an important lesson tonight. We showed our potential and hopefully we will be able to come back and win this tournament.”Barcelona won the Club World Cup in 2009, with Messi scoring the winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Argentine Club Estudiantes.The last time a team from South America won was 2006 when Internacional beat Barcelona.“It’s a very good day for this football club,” Fabregas said. “It was very difficult to get here because you have to win the Champions League and you have to win the semifinal game and then the final against teams that maybe we are not used to playing because they come from other countries and different parts of the world . I think we have to be very proud of what we achieved today.”Borges gave Santos its first scoring chance in the 27th minute, when he took a pass from Ganso and fired a shot that Valdes smothered. Gerard Pique was given a yellow card in the 38th after knocking Neymar to the ground.Barcelona was playing without striker David Villa, who broke his left shin bone in his team’s 4-0 win over Qatari side Al-Sadd in the semifinals on Thursday.Al-Sadd beat Kashiwa Reysol of Japan 5-3 in a penalty shootout to take third place.

Chicago, IL DECEMBER 2011www.chicagosoccer.net www.chicagosoccer.netDECEMBER 2011 Chicago, IL

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Barcelona beats Santos 4-0to win Club World Cup

Real Madrid says defender Sergio Ramos picked up a left thigh strain during the 6-2 win against Sevilla.Ramos played the whole of Saturday’s match but complained of discomfort in the area and was submitted for tests Sunday.The injury is not thought to be serious, though Madrid has not revealed how long the player is likely to be sidelined.Madrid hosts third-tier Ponferradina in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday but the Christmas break means the next league match is three weeks away.Ramos tweeted that he hopes to be back “as soon as possible.’’

AC Milan striker Antonio Cassano could return to training at the end of the month accord-ing to club owner Silvio Berlusconi.The Italy striker is recovering from undergoing minor heart surgery at the beginning of November and is expected to miss most of the rest of the season’s matches.Milan has been linked with Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez and Catania forward Maxi Lopez but Berlusconi says “the doctors haven’t ruled out the possibility Cassano could return to training at the end of the month.’’Cassano was hospitalized after falling ill on the team plane following Milan’s 3-2 victory at Roma on Oct. 29.Before the illness Cassano and Giuseppe Rossi - who is recovering from knee surgery - were Italy’s first-choice strikers.

Cameroon’s soccer federation has suspended national team captain Samuel Eto’o for 15 matches as punishment for his part in a players’ strike last month.After playing in a tournament in Morocco, Eto’o and his teammates refused to travel for an ex-hibition at Algeria on Nov. 15, saying the federation had not fulfilled promises to pay appearance bonuses. The match was then canceled.Along with Eto’o, vice-captain Enoh Eyong was banned for two matches, while Benoit Assou-Ekotto was fined $1,986 in a judgment released by the federation on Friday.The three players were given 10 days to appeal.


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Real Madrid defender Ramos injures left thigh

Cassano could return to training at end of month

Cameroon suspends Samuel Eto’o for 15 games

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A court has convicted 15 Croatian players and team officials for their part in a major match-fixing scandal.Thirteen were sentenced to between six and 10 months in prison for fixing national league games for betting purposes. Two more received suspended sentences.All were ordered to return some ?200,000 ($264,000) in profits from the fraud.The Croatian authorities were informed by German police in 2009 about possible match-fixing, prompting an investigation under the code name “Offside.’’Tuesday’s verdicts came just days after two senior Croat football officials were arrested on suspicion they took payments in return for guaranteeing that national league matches would be refereed fairly.

Glasgow Rangers have opened talks with Maurice Edu’s agent in hope of extending the American midfielder’s stay with the defending Scottish Premier League champion.The 25-year-old has 18 months remaining on the five-year contract he signed in August 2008, and Rangers manager Ally McCoist wants to deter potential interest in his player.McCoist says “he’s one of these guys who doesn’t always catch the eye but if you ask his teammates about him, they’ll say he always gives performances that are helpful to the side.’’McCoist said Monday the club is speaking to Edu’s representative, Lyle Yorks.Edu has scored eight goals in 77 appearances for Rangers.

As his next transfer approaches, Manchester City rebel Carlos Tevez shows no sign of return-ing to England. The striker remains in Argentina -- where he has been for over a month -- as City attempt to offload him in the January transfer window. Back in his homeland, Tevez has said he has no intention of returning to City and he has regularly been pictured playing golf.

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15 Croats convicted for match-fixing

Rangers opens talks over extending Edu’s stay

Tevez no intention of returning to England


Sunderland players Nicklas Bendtner and Lee Cattermole have been ar-rested by police on suspicion of damaging cars near the stadium of Premier League rival Newcastle.Denmark striker Bendtner, who is on-loan from Arsenal, and Cattermole were arrested Thursday by Northumbria Police on suspicion of criminal damage on the evening of Dec. 6. They were released on bail.The incident took place about 800 meters from St. James’ Park in Newcastle.With Sunderland’s Stadium of Light only 22 kilometers (14 miles) from St. James’ Park, the rivalry between the northeast England club is fierce.The secretary general of the Danish football federation, Jim Stjerne Hansen, called the incident “unfortunate’’ but declined to comment further.While midfielder Cattermole is renowned for his aggression in a career lit-tered with red cards on the field, Bendtner - who has played 45 games for Denmark and scored 17 times - has begun earn-ing himself a bad reputation off it.Bendtner was widely reported to have asked staff and other diners in a Copenhagen pizzeria to give him free food after his credit card was declined last week. When the ploy failed, he bragged of his wealth.Last month, the Danish football federation admitted there had been an incident at the Denmark team’s hotel after a 2-0 win over Sweden. According to unconfirmed media reports, a guest asked Daniel Agger to keep the noise down in the hotel corridor. Bendtner went to the guest’s room, kicked him and ran away.The 23-year-old Bendtner has been criticized in Denmark over his drinking but in October he told Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet that he had changed with his move out of London.“Have there been too many nights out? Maybe there have been a little too many,’’ Bendtner said. “I have had my shares of nights out and they belong to the youth. I actually don’t enjoy the nights out anymore.’’Both players are in contention to start Sunderland’s Premier League match at Tottenham on Sunday. Cattermole is avail-able after a one-match suspension for a fifth red card of the season and Bendtner has returned to training after a groin injury.

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Bendtner, Cattermole arrestedon suspicion of damaging cars

With more than 100 billionaires and counting, it was only a matter of time before China’s financial muscle started making dents on world soccer, following in the designer-clad footsteps of moguls from the Middle East and Russia.This, after all, is a sport happy to be a play thing for those with money to burn, with players who don’t give two hoots who signs their paycheck - just so long as it has lots of zeros on it.But becoming wealthy enough to buy the twilight years of a fading star like Nicolas Anelka, who is moving from Chelsea in the English Premier League to Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League, is not the same thing as spending wisely on Chinese stars of tomorrow. Anelka will deliver to Shanghai that thing craved by many rich owners in sports - attention. Yet such glamor buys, alone, aren’t going to help China unearth an Anelka of its own in decades to come or stop it from being, on a per capita basis, arguably the most underachieving soc-cer nation on the planet. The next World Cup in 2014 will take place without China, which again failed to qualify. Anelka is making Chinese soccer noticed outside China. But, if being talked about is all that comes of this, then China won’t be much closer to becoming a respected soccer nation or fielding a homegrown 11 of top-notch players in the foreseeable future.“This is just the beginning. Every transfer window from now on you will expect to see more 30-plus world stars, or previ-ous world stars, starting to take big salary payments for a couple of years in China,’’ said Rowan Simons, a Beijing-based expert on soccer in China and author of “Bamboo Goalposts,’’ which recounts his efforts to help grass roots soccer take hold there. “It’s egos, isn’t it? Egos of very rich men. And soccer is a very obvious - you see this all over the world - place to splash cash. It’s toys for very rich boys,’’ Simons said in a phone interview. It’s “massive games going on with huge amounts of money that are linked into politics and the egos of oligarchs while having absolutely zero effect on the health of the game of football in China.’’Forget the $300,000 Anelka will reportedly pocket each week. Don’t dwell on the $10 million that another club, Guang-zhou Evergrande, splurged in July to sign Dario Conca from Fluminense, smashing China’s transfer record and making the Argentine reportedly the third-highest paid player in the world. Such sums are like a garage of expensive sports cars - nice to look at but not, ultimately, terribly useful in getting you from A to B when faced with challenging, steep and bumpy terrain.No, the most eye-grabbing figure from China these days is 7,000. That, says the China Daily, is the number of players aged under 18 that the Chinese Football Association had on its books at the end of last year. Just 7,000, from among 1.3 billion people. In the early 1990s, the total used to be 650,000, the newspaper says. Furthermore, it notes that Japan, with a population one-tenth that of China’s, now has 70 times more registered youth players.Anelka hasn’t played for France since he was sent home from the 2010 World Cup, in disgrace for telling coach Raymond Domenech in no uncertain terms what he could do with his tactics. At Chelsea, new manager Andre Villas-Boas didn’t appear to have much further use for the 32-year-old striker. But Anelka will be the biggest name Chinese soccer has ever seen - which, in itself, is a measure of how far behind the sport is there. His renown should lure the curious to Shanghai’s Hongkou Stadium, where Shenhua plays with one-third or two-thirds of the 30,000-odd seats often empty.Which is all very nice for Anelka and for Zhu Jun, the 45-year-old businessman who bought Shenhua in 2007 having made his fortune in computing and online gaming. But where are the hordes of soccer-mad youngsters that China will need if it is to become something more than merely the next Klondike for soon-to-be retirees from overseas?Well, when I was based in China a decade ago and, most recently, traveled there for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, they either seemed to prefer basketball, to watch broadcasts of the English Premier League and other foreign leagues, or were too focused on cramming for exams to play soccer. Corruption and match-fixing so rampant that bribed referees even had their own nickname - “black whistles’’ - also turned fans away.“It’s kind of one of those love affairs where the partner kept on cheating on you and cheating on you and you kept on forgiving them and they kept on cheating on you,’’ Terry Rhoads, a former Nike executive who runs Zou Marketing, a Shanghai-based sports consultancy focused on the China market, said in a phone interview. “It got to the point where the Chinese soccer fan ... is very jaded. They have just been abused in the relationship for 15 years.’’Anelka’s move is another signal that Chinese soccer is bouncing back, having hit bottom. Rhoads likened money com-ing from Chinese tycoons as “the beginnings of an arms race’’ and said he’s advising clients “that Chinese soccer now is a buy.’’ The government coaxed Wang Jianlin, a real estate tycoon who turned his back on Chinese soccer a decade ago, to help out this July with a $77 million, 3-year-investment, some of it to sponsor youth leagues and to send young play-ers overseas. One of Wang’s goals, a yardstick by which he says he will measure whether his company’s money has been well spent, is to get more teenagers playing.

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Is China the new Klondike of soccer?


Police in Chile say 217 people have been detained for rioting as thousands of Universidad de Chile fans spent Wednesday night celebrating the club’s Copa Sudamericana victory.Police in Santiago say 151 public transport buses were attacked by fans and 18 drivers were injured. Anti-riot squads used water cannons and tear gas to control the disorder and try to disperse fans. The Copa Sudamericana is South America’s second most important club competition after the Copa Libertadores. Universidad beat Liga de Quito 4-0 in the two-legged final. The title is the first international trophy won by Universidad, the second most popular club in Chile, after Colo Colo.

FIFA has cleared executive committee member Worawi Makudi of suspicion that he profited from soc-cer development projects in Thailand.Makudi was suspected of breaching conflict-of-interest ethics rules after the Football Association of Thailand used $860,000 of FIFA funding to build fields and offices on land his family was believed to own.FIFA says that Makudi had provided documents that showed he donated the land in question to the association.FIFA says “no proceedings have been opened against Mr. Makudi and the matter is now closed.’’

Makudi got a second four-year term as Thailand soccer association president this year. He’s been a member of the FIFA executive committee for 14 years.

Valencia says it will restart work on its new sta-dium after securing a loan from Spanish bank Bankia.Construction on the new stadium first be-

gan in 2007, but the club’s financial problems forced work to be stopped two years later.The club said that the stadium will be finished in two years’ time.The loan deal includes Bankia taking ownership of Valencia’s current home ground, Mestalla stadium.Financial difficulties have forced Valencia to sell a number of players in recent season, includ-ing Spanish internationals David Villa, David Silva and Juan Mata.The club did not specify the amount of the loan.Valencia is currently third in the Spanish league and is set to join the Europa League.

Bundesliga side Werder Bremen says it has banned a member of the far-right extremist National Democratic Party (NPD) from the club.Werder said in a statement Friday that it rejected an appeal from Jens Puehse against his ban follow-ing an earlier ruling by the club president.Werder fan Puehse became a member of the club in January. He was informed he was being thrown out in May because of his political activity.Werder president Klaus-Dieter Fischer said, “With this decision the club is making a clear statement against right-wing extremism.’’The NPD has experienced a backlash in the last month after a small group of neo-Nazis were accused of killing at least nine people across the country over several years.

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Rioting Universidad fans attack buses in Santiago

FIFA closes Makudi land deal investigation

Valencia to renew work on new stadium

German football chief criticizes Qatar decision

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Former France international and World Cup winner David Trezeguet is on the verge of signing for River Plate to play in the second division of Argentine football.The 34-year-old former Juventus forward, who was born in France to Argentine parents, underwent medical tests in Buenos Aires on Friday. He expects to finalize the deal on Monday.River was relegated to the second division for the first time in its 110-year history last season.Although Trezeguet is well past his prime, the signing still represents a publicity coup for River, which has won more domestic championships than any other club in Argentina. River has won 33 first-division titles, 10 more than archrival Boca Juniors.River must finish in the top two at the end of the 38-game sea-son in the Primera B Nacional to automatically return to the top flight. The club is currently second after 18 matches, two points behind leader Instituto de Cordoba.“I think that in this difficult time for River, to be able to give an important hand at this moment could be good and very interesting for the club,’’ Trezeguet said in an interview published on River’s official website, accompanied by pic-tures of the striker touring the Bombonera stadium with club president Daniel Passarella.“I want to form part of the history of this club and I think everything is in place to do it,’’ Trezeguet added. “There’s just one objective and that’s getting promoted to the first division.’’

The striker has also played for Monaco in France and scored the winning ‘golden goal’ in the European Championship final against Italy in 2000, two years after helping Les Bleus win the World Cup as the host nation.He spent his childhood in Argentina and came through the ranks at Platense.

After leaving Spanish club Hercules in the sum-

mer, Trezeguet has been playing in the United Arab

Emirates with Baniyas.

Arsenal have no intention of buying Cologne striker Lukas Podolski in the January transfer window, Arsene Wenger said on Friday ahead of their Premier League game against Man-chester City on Sunday.British press reported the former Bayern Munich player was heading for London in the January transfer window to bolster Arsenal’s attack, which is

set to be further deprived after Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh depart for the African Cup of Nations in January.But when asked whether Arse-nal planned to buy Podolski in January, Wenger replied: “no”.However, the Frenchman did not completely rule out the possibility of buying a striker in next month’s transfer win-dow. “I don’t know yet. That was an honest answer,” he said.Arsenal face City on Sunday (16.10GMT), with Wenger hoping his rejuvenated team will erase the memories of their last trip to Manchester, when they lost 8-2 to Man-chester United in August.“It is a big test...football is about the form and perfor-mance of the day - that makes the difference. You ask me, can we beat them, I say yes. If we play at our best we can beat them, so let’s be at our best on Sunday,” Wenger said.City, who have 38 points to United’s 36, have been the

pace setting team this season and have lost only once in the league, 2-1 at Chelsea on Monday.Contrastingly, Wenger endured his worst start to the season but his team have managed to turn their form around, rising from 15th in the league to fifth in space of nine weeks.Arsenal now have 29 points in the league, still nine behind City, but a repeat of last season’s 3-0 away victory over Ro-berto Mancini’s men would put them right back in the mix.Wenger, who has no fresh injury concerns, is also hoping Arsenal can replicate the spirited performance of their 5-3 victory against Chelsea in late October which boosted con-fidence after a torrid run of results.“The turning point in our season was the test at Chelsea because we had not won away before that game,” Wenger said.“[The City game] is the second big test away from home for us. It’s a massive test and we know that we want to be at our best. We are ready for it physically and mentally. We are prepared and will give absolutely everything to win the game.”

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Trezeguet set to join Argentina’s River Plate Wenger shoots down Podolski linkahead of City test

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Fletcher to take break because of bowel diseaseAfter months of putting his health at risk while playing with a chronic bowel disease, Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has been forced take an extended break from football to rest and recuperate.The 27-year-old Scotland captain, who did not play between March and September with what United previously called a “virus,’’ has been suffering from ulcerative colitis - an inflammatory bowel condition.Fletcher was on the bench last Wednesday when the Premier League champions lost at FC Basel in the Champions League and last played on Nov. 22 against Ben-fica, scoring in the 2-2 draw.“Whilst he was able to maintain remission of symptoms for a considerable pe-riod this has proved more difficult recently,’’ United said Tuesday on its website. “Darren’s continued desire to play and his loyalty to both his club and country has

probably compromised the chances of optimizing his own health and fitness.’’United said Tuesday that Fletcher has ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. Symptoms can include diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood loss, weight loss and fatigue. There’s no known cure for the disease.“He has ... accepted medical advice to take an extended break from the demands of training and playing in order to afford the best chance possible of achieving full remission once again,’’ United said. “We request that his privacy is respected and hope that the removal of the additional stress associated with speculation regarding his health will also aid his recov-ery.’’Fletcher has played 10 times for United this season and made five appearances for Scotland.“I am obviously absolutely devastated for Darren because I know how hard he has worked to get back to playing regu-larly for his club and country,’’ Scotland coach Craig Levein said. “He is one of the most inspirational players I have had the pleasure of working with and on behalf of his Scotland teammates and my backroom staff I sincerely hope this time off, allied to the support of his family, will enable him to make a full recovery.“He is a central part of our plans for the World Cup 2014 qualifiers but at this stage his health is paramount.’’While Fletcher has never appeared at a major tournament for Scotland, he has won four league titles, the Champions League, an FA Cup and two League Cups since making his debut for United in 2003.Fletcher signed a new four-year deal with United in March, keeping him at the club until 2015.Fletcher’s absence further limits United’s midfield options entering the second half of the season. Brazil international Anderson has been ruled out until February because of a knee injury and Tom Cleverley is not expected to be back before Christmas because of an ankle problem.United manager Alex Ferguson will instead be relying on Michael Carrick, Phil Jones and 38-year-old Ryan Giggs to take the central midfield slots.United will also be without captain Nemanja Vidic for the rest of the season after rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss at Basel.“We are going to miss 2 big players in Fletcher + Vidic, I hope they both come back fitter + stronger than ever,’’ United defender Rio Ferdinand said on Twitter. “Believe.’’Other athletes, including five-time Olympic champion rower Steve Redgrave, have maintained top level sporting careers while suffering from the same condition as Fletcher.The Englishman’s colitis flared up in 1992 ahead of his third Olympics in Barcelona after picking up salmonella poison-ing at a training camp in South Africa.

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American forward Herculez Gomez has signed with Santo Laguna, his fourth club in the Mexican League.Club president Alejandro Irarragorri said Monday that Gomez, who played for the United States in last year’s World Cup, will join the northern Mexican team for the upcom-ing Clausura season.Gomez scored seven goals in the Apertura season for Estudiantes Tecos of Guadalajara. He previously played for Puebla and Pachuca after spending time with the Los Angeles Galaxy, Colorado Rapids and Kansas City Wizards in Major League Soccer.Santos Laguna reached the final of the Mexican Apertura playoff, losing 3-1 to UANL Tigres on Sunday for a 4-1 aggregate defeat in the two-leg series.

A Swedish court has handed Utrecht strik-er Alexander Gerndt a suspended sentence and fined him 80,000 kronor ($11,800) for assaulting his wife on two occasions.The 25-year old Sweden international was convicted of intentionally striking his wife on the thigh with a football during an outdoor game that turned violent last year,

and gripping her by the throat after she destroyed his computer in April.Both assaults left bruises and marks on the victim.The Helsingborg District Court also ordered Gerndt to pay 6,700 kronor in damages.Gerndt had pleaded not guilty. It was not immediately clear whether he would appeal.

Utrecht striker Gerndtconvicted of assault

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has received a warning from the Football Asso-ciation for criticizing the performance of a referee in the team’s Premier League defeat to Stoke.Redknapp was unhappy with Chris Foy’s display in Spurs’ 2-1 loss at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday, saying “from the start of the game I felt like he wasn’t going to give us much.’’After reviewing the comments, the FA decided against charging Redknapp but sent him a written note “warning him as to his future conduct.’’Spurs had defender Younes Kaboul sent off and had two penalty appeals for handball turned down by Foy as their 11-match unbeaten run came to an end.

The U.S. Soccer Federation has decided to approve Women’s Professional Soccer as a first-division league in 2012, even though it plans to operate with only five teams. The federation usually requires a minimum eight teams for a first division. The USSF said Tuesday its approval hinges on certain undisclosed conditions.The governing body adds that once its board receives confirmation from WPS that all five teams have agreed to those terms, U.S. Soccer will make a formal announcement.

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American Herculez Gomez joins Santos Laguna

Redknapp warned by FA forcriticizing referee

U.S. Soccer Federation has decided to approveWomen’s Professional Soccer

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Swiss club Grasshoppers to exclude hooligan fans

Swiss club Grasshoppers has pledged to shut a sec-tion of its home stadium for one game after another

incident in a season marred by hooligans.Fans lit flares during an away match at Lau-

sanne-Sport on Sunday, then ignored a request to stop from club president Roland Leutwiler

broadcast over the stadium loudspeakers.Leutwiler responded Monday by promis-

ing to fulfill his threat to close a popu-lar section of the team’s Letzigrund

stadium for a future match.Leutwiler was quoted by broadcast-

er Radio 24 saying: “We should speak to the fans in a language

they understand.’’In October, fighting between

Grasshoppers and FC Zurich fans forced a city derby

match to be abandoned. Grasshoppers was

awarded a 3-0 victory.Grasshoppers is ninth

in the 10-team Swiss League.

Decision delayed on Suarez-Evra race caseThe English Football Association has been unable to reach a decision on the Luis Suarez-Patrice Evra race case. After hearing two days of evidence from both parties, the three-man FA panel was expected to deliver a verdict Friday but instead issued the following statement on its website.“The Independent Regulatory Commission has confirmed there will be no decision this evening and will continue work-ing through the weekend. There will be no announcement on any decision before Tuesday 20 December 2011 at the earliest.”Evra, who is black, claimed that Suarez directed a racial insult at him during Manchester United’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool in October in the Premier League.Following a monthlong investigation, Suarez was charged by the FA with using “abusive’’ and “insulting’’ language that “included a refer-ence to the ethnic origin (and) color’’ of Evra.The 24-year-old Suarez has vehemently denied the allegations and has been backed by Liverpool throughout the investigation.

Chicago, IL DECEMBER 2011www.chicagosoccer.net

Roma captain Francesco Totti says he will not leave the Serie A club despite admitting it had been a possibility.Before the club’s Christmas party, Totti said he had been thinking of quitting and would do so if he continued to be a target for the fans’ frustrations. But Totti now says “the Roma fans insulted me but I was misunderstood. I’m staying here.’’Totti had a penalty saved by Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in Monday’s 1-1 draw and he was heavily criticized by fans after the game.The 35-year-old Italian has spent his entire career at Roma and made his debut in 1992.Totti helped the Serie A club win the league title in 2001 and to six runner-up finishes. He also won the World Cup with Italy in 2006.

Landon Donovan is returning to Everton on a two-month loan.The Los Angeles Galaxy made the announcement Thursday, giving the Toffees some attacking help as they try to climb the standings after a slow start. Everton is 12th in the English Premier League and has just 15 goals in 14 league matches.“I am delighted that we have managed to get Landon back. He will give us some good experience,’’ Everton manager David Moyes said. “He did well for us when he was over two years ago and hopefully will return with those same qualities. His season has just finished and like last time we need him to hit the ground running because the games come thick and fast at this time of year.’’Donovan will be available to play starting with the Jan. 4 home match against Bolton and will stay through the Feb. 25 Merseyside derby at Liverpool. He scored two goals in 13 matches during a loan to Everton from January to March in 2010. “The opportunity to return to Everton and play for such a well-respected club and a manager that I hold in such high regard was something that was simply too good to pass up,’’ the 29-year-old midfielder and forward said. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Ever-ton in 2010 and I’m hopeful that we can experience similar success this time around.’’Donovan scored 16 goals in 34 games for the Galaxy this year, including the one that won the MLS Cup final against Houston last month. He is to return to the Galaxy on Feb. 26, ahead of the first leg of their

CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Toronto. “This is a great opportunity for Landon,’’ Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. “During the final months of the 2011 season he was limited because of an ongoing injury, and he just started to get his legs back during the playoffs. Therefore, I think that this opportunity with Everton comes at a perfect time as he is rested and ready to go.’’

Donovan returns to Everton on 2-month loan

Four years after his goals helped turn Spain from perennial underachievers into European champions, star striker David Villa could end up watching the 2012 European Championship from home after breaking his left leg on Thursday.Villa will be sidelined for up to five months, dealing Barcelona a major blow in its battle with Real Madrid for the Spanish league title and putting his place at Euro 2012 in serious jeopardy.Villa broke the tibia in his left leg when challenging for the ball during Barcelona’s 4-0 win over Al Sadd in the Club World Cup semifinals, and the Spanish champions said he will be flown back to Barcelona for surgery. The injury means Villa will be unlikely to play again before the last few games of the season, and could weaken Spain’s chances of defending its European title in June. Spain’s all-time leading scorer was tangling with two defenders in the 37th minute when he landed awkwardly. He immediately fell to the ground and called for help, before being carried off the pitch on a stretcher.Spain coach Vicente del Bosque was devastated by news of the injury to the man who was the team’s top scorer with five goals during its 2010 World Cup triumph. While the 30-year-old forward is no longer a certain starter for Barcelona, he remains an integral part of the national lineup and would have been guaranteed a place in the Euro 2012 side in Poland and Ukraine. “The news is very bad,’’ Del Bosque was quoted as saying by Spanish news agency Europa Press. “It’s a great misfortune, for him above all since he is the injured one, and looking ahead to (Euro 2012), of course this is very bad news.“There are six months to go. Let’s see if he can get well. Recovering always has its set processes, but there are some players that get healthy sooner than others.’’After a 4-0 win over Al Sadd, Barcelona will play South American champion Santos in the Club World Cup final with the chance to lift its 13th trophy under Guardiola. Villa scored 23 goals last season, his first with Barcelona. The 30-year-old Villa has seen his playing time diminish this season with the arrival of Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez, but he has still scored nine goals in all competitions. “Missing him in the team is going to be a blow,’’ Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said. “I understand it is going to be a long time. We all love David. His personality is great. We all worry about him.’’The downbeat mood was shared by Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes. “This is very bad news on what was supposed to be a happy day moving on to a historic final,’’ Valdes said, adding that the team would dedicate the title to Villa if they win.The possible loss of Villa would leave Spain coach Vicente del Bosque with out-of-form Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente and Sevilla’s Alvaro Negredo competing for places up front. In-form Valencia scorer Roberto Soldado would be Villa’s likely replacement if he doesn’t recover in time.

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Barcelona striker David Villa breaks left leg

barcelona beats santos 4-0 - lamaquinadeportiva.com

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