NY Coed Soccer

NY Coed Headlines

The Fall Thursday League entered its fourth week last night and here are the headlines...

• Goals from JP Gomez and Chris Lindsay ensure the Blue Devils retain their 100% record after defeating The Westies…
• Summer's Golden Boot winner Terence Green scores his first goals of the season against Zoolanders as Left-Wingers United win 4-1…
• Einar Benediktsson grabs four as Day of the Dead prove too strong for the Blue Balls...
• Goals from Jason Racine and DJ Betancourt are not enough for Formerly G-Unit as Olympique Manhattan's Doug Breckner strikes a late equaliser for the OMs, after Sarah Fielding had given them a first-half lead...

For full information on the scores, scorers and standings, click here.

UEFA CUP REVIEW

Action and goals from a selection of last night's UEFA Cup fixtures:

:  Rangers 2-0 Molde (agg. 2-0)

:  Newcastle 2-1 Levadia Tallin (agg. 3-1)

:  Celta Vigo 3-0 Standard Liege (agg. 4-0)

:  Espanyol 3-1 Artmedia (agg. 5-3)

:  CSKA Sofia 2-2 Besiktas (agg. 2-2; Besiktas through on away goals)

:  Osasuna 0-0 Trabzonspor (agg. 2-2; Osasuna through on away goals)

:  Kayserispor 1-1 AZ Alkmaar (agg. 3-4)

:  Sevilla 4-0 Atromitos (agg. 6-1)

For a full list of scores and scorers :  UEFA Cup Scores

And remember this classic UEFA Cup Final :  Liverpool 5-4 Alaves

Read All About It - Daily Digest!

BRAZIL TO HOST 2014 WORLD CUP?
FIFA president Sepp Blatter wants Brazil to prove it is capable of hosting the 2014 World Cup before it is awarded the right to stage the showpiece. Brazil is considered the favorite to host the World Cup under FIFA's informal policy of continental rotation. With South Africa hosting the event in 2010, South America is in line for 2014, although the site won't be decided for two years.

"I can't guarantee that Brazil will be the host," Blatter told the official government news service Agencia Brasil on Thursday. "But the ball is on Brazil's court now."

Blatter made his comments after meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia, the nation's capital.

"The tournament should happen in South America and Brazil is likely to be the host," Blatter said. "It's up to the country to overcome the barriers needed to organize the competition."

Blatter said the Brazilian government assured it will fully support the event, giving soccer's governing body the necessary conditions to host the competition.

"President Lula reiterated Brazil's interest in hosting the 2014 World Cup," Brazil Sports Minister Orlando Silva said. "Brazil will do whatever it needs to make sure the World Cup takes place in Brazil."

Blatter said there's a necessity to build 10 or 12 stadiums, adding that "maybe one or two could be reformed."

In April, Blatter said Brazil did not have any stadiums in adequate condition to host matches at soccer's showcase. Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brazilian Soccer Confederation, said that can easily change in time for the tournament, adding that Brazil's private sector would be more than capable of helping the country build new stadiums and properly prepare for the World Cup.

"We already have several international and national companies interested," Teixeira said.

Blatter said members from FIFA will come to Brazil in the coming months to evaluate Brazil's condition for hosting the tournament. He said FIFA will take a close look at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, which could show whether Brazil is capable of organizing an event like the World Cup. Brazil must officially bid for the tournament by the end of the year. It should present its final project for the competition by April 2007.

RAUL DROPPED BY SPAIN
Raul was today dropped by Spain for the first time in ten years. The Real Madrid striker was left out of the Spain squad for next week's Euro 2008 qualifier against Sweden and a friendly with Argentina.
Since making his debut against the Czech Republic in October 1996, Raul has been an ever-present in his county's squad, except when absent through injury. He has scored 44 goals in 102 appearances for Spain and was captain for the side's last match, a shock 3-2 defeat in Northern Ireland.

Critics, however, insist he has been out of form for several seasons and his omission is long overdue. Manager Luis Aragones certainly didn't think the player needed an explanation, revealing: "I didn't call Raul to let him know he wasn't selected. He is not an exceptional case. The simple fact is that the players I've called up our most suited to our needs."

SILVESTRE OUT FOR SIX WEEKS
Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre will be out for six weeks with a broken metatarsal.
The 29-year-old France international picked up the foot injury in the Premiership defeat to Arsenal earlier this month. "His injury was a little bit more serious than we thought at the beginning," said United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz.

ALL QUIET ON THE SIDELINES
Officials of a Pennsylvania youth soccer league have a message for parents: Shhh! This weekend parents are being asked to be quiet when they watch their kids play. Central Pennsylvania Youth Soccer League president Sharon Bolognese says the games should be about the kids. So, she's asking parents and coaches to forget about the yelling, cheering and dissing the refs.

Bolognese says they've had 80 reports of parents behaving badly during the opening weekend alone. She notes that refs have been shoved, yelled at, forced off the road after games, and even threatened with lawsuits...

MOURINHO: CHELSEA BETTER BECAUSE OF ME
"There are managers who, at first sight, earn little but in reality earn too much because they don't produce," Jose Mourinho said yesterday. "Call me vain, but I produce because there are titles and, in conjunction with them, merchandising in an incomparably superior proportion to what existed before I came here..."

Full report:  You're So Vain

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE REVIEW

The highlights from all of last night's Champions League encounters - including Peter Crouch's wonder strike, Inter's implosion, Drogba's hat-trick and Barca's late equaliser...

:  Inter 0-2 Bayern Munich

:  Werder Breman 1-1 Barcelona

:  Levski Sofia 1-3 Chelsea

:  Spartak Moscow 1-1 Sporting Lisbon

:  Valencia 2-1 Roma

:  Shakhtar Donetsk 2-2 Olympiakos

:  Bordeaux 0-1 PSV Eindhoven

:  Liverpool 3-2 Galatasaray

In honour of Crouch's spectacular effort, here's a small compilation of similar type goals :  Overhead Kicks

Wenger Has Job For Life

Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has promised Arsene Wenger a job for life as he celebrates his 10th anniversary as manager of the Gunners.

Dein said: "We want him for the rest of his career. If he wanted to give up the tracksuit he'd be invaluable in the boardroom in a technical role."

Wenger, 57, insists he has no thoughts of retiring, saying: "We have a young team and want to continue developing. Reaching the Champions League final last season gave us belief."

During his time with Arsenal, Wenger has won the Premiership three times and lifted the FA Cup on four occasions - including two Doubles. He has also seen the club move to their new 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium.

Wenger added: "I listened to Tony Blair on the television and when he said that '10 years ago we started' I thought for a moment he was talking about me! He talked about how the world had changed in that time and our world has changed here too. The stadium is a concrete sign that we are going in the right direction."

Former Manchester United skipper Roy Keane, who enjoyed numerous battles with Wenger's side over the years, paid tribute to the Frenchman. Keane said: "He has done a brilliant job at Arsenal. I watched them last week against United and they were outstanding. I read something about him the other day and a thing he said about football: he said some people live off football and some people live for football. He clearly lives for the game, I will give him that, and all credit to him. I wish him well."

Meanwhile, Cesc Fabregas, who was only nine years old when Wenger took charge of Arsenal, calls the manager "the most important influential person in my short career, he believed in his scouts, took me here, he made me train with the first team when I was 16...":  Fabregas

FIFA President Calls For An End To Penalties

Sepp Blatter, president of football's governing body Fifa, believes that World Cup finals should not be decided by penalties, describing such a solution as "a tragedy".

In a move that is sure to please England's footballers, who are notoriously inaccurate from the spot, Blatter said a replay or gradually deducting players in extra time would be a better solution in the event of a draw.

"We have four years or so, so I think we have time," said Blatter, who added that high-level discussions would start soon. "Maybe to replay the match if it's the final – you can't do that through the tournament because of lack of time. Maybe to take players away and play golden goal. Football is a team sport but from the penalty spot it's an individual match..."

Hammers Fans In Night Of Violence

At least 20 West Ham fans were arrested and another six injured after "a huge battle" with Palermo supporters in Sicily last night. The violence started around midnight and continued for more than an hour as rival groups threw bottles and chairs at each other in Palermo's Teatro Massimo. Palermo police spokesman Virgilio Alberelli said 500 people were involved in the brawl, and when officers tried to break it up they also came under missile attack. One eyewitness told Guardian Unlimited: "West Ham fans behaved like animals, roaming the streets, bottles in hand searching for anyone to fight":  Violence

Read All About It - Daily Digest!

IRELAND TO HOST MAJOR EURO FINAL
The new Lansdowne Road stadium in Dublin will host either a Champions League or Uefa Cup final. The announcement was made by Uefa on Thursday following a meeting with the Football Association of Ireland. The project to transform Lansdowne Road into a 50,000 all-seater stadium is expected to be completed by 2009.

"Ireland showed last week with the Ryder Cup that it is capable of hosting the world's major sporting events," said FAI chief executive John Delaney. "Bringing a Champions League or Uefa Cup final to Lansdowne Road will have a similar impact in terms of promoting the country around the world. The Government is investing 191m euro in the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road and the arrival of one of the biggest football matches in the world represents an excellent dividend.

"Uefa have been kept informed of all aspects of the Lansdowne Road development and they are very excited at the prospect of playing one of their show-piece finals there. This decision is also a strong vote of confidence by Uefa in the FAI because as the host association we will have a key role in the organisation of the event."

ETO'O OUT FOR AT LEAST THREE MONTHS
Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o will miss his side's Champions League games against Chelsea in October after sustaining a serious knee injury. The 25-year-old Cameroon international was carried off during Barca's 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen on Wednesday and could be sidelined for three months. Eto'o is definitely ruled out of Barca's trip to Stamford Bridge on 18 October and the return on 31 October. He also misses Barca's trip to rivals Real Madrid in La Liga on 22 October.

Eto'o has torn and displaced the meniscus of his right knee and is set for further tests to determine the length of his absence. Barca's club doctor Ricard Pruna told his club's website: "This type of injury occurs with a sudden change in the direction of the knee."

ITALIAN PRESS SAVAGE INTER
Italian media pilloried Inter Milan for their lack of self-control on Thursday after the Italian champions had two men sent off in a 2-0 Champions League defeat by rivals Bayern Munich. Zlatan Ibrahimovic's pair of yellow cards and Fabio Grosso's straight red for elbowing Willy Sagnol in the face during Wednesday's match were the latest evidence, they said, of the team's tendency to self-destruct. Midfielder Patrick Vieira had already picked up red cards in Inter's Champions League opener against Sporting Lisbon and last week's Serie A match against AS Roma.

"Inter, Are You Crazy?" asked the front page of Thursday's La Gazzetta dello Sport, which described how Ibrahimovic and Grosso's dismissals cards had "short-circuited" the team.

"Inter put themselves in trouble," ran the headline in Corriere dello Sport, while La Stampa settled for "Inter also lose face".

The result left the team that Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho described earlier this month as "the best in the world" bottom of Champions League Group B with zero points from two matches. With home and away fixtures against Spartak Moscow, a home match with Sporting Lisbon and a trip to Germany to play Bayern still to come, the team face a battle to qualify for the knockout phase of the competition.
Ibrahimovic's strike partner, Hernan Crespo, said he was confident the team could still go through.

"We've still got time to sort things out. If we can take nine points from the next three games, then we can go to Bayern with a lot of confidence," the Argentine was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Of course, if we manage to finish a match with 11 men it will make life easier for ourselves too."

Inter coach Roberto Mancini also tried to put a positive spin on the result, reminding his players that back-to-back wins in their next two matches against Spartak could lift them up to second place.
History, however, suggests that a good run in the competition is unlikely. Only four teams have managed to qualify from their group after losing their first two matches -- Dynamo Kiev in 1999-2000, Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002-03 season, and Werder Bremen last season -- and none of them went further than the last 16.

THE FIRE WIN U.S. OPEN FINAL
The Chicago Fire won their fourth U.S. Open Cup last night by defeating LA Galaxy 3-1. Full report:  Chicago Fire

Gay Rights Want Scholes Apology

Gay rights campaigners have urged Paul Scholes to apologise after the Manchester United midfielder allegedly made a homophobic remark during the Champions League victory over Benfica.

The 31-year-old former England international is alleged to have made the comment after receiving a yellow card from referee Frank De Bleeckere in the 10th minute of Tuesday night's clash at the Stadium of Light.

UEFA are waiting for reports from the match delegate and the referee before they decide whether to address the complaints, although they are unlikely to take action if the incident is not reported. They expect the report on Thursday.

Peter Tatchell, of gay human rights group OutRage!, said: "We urge Paul to apologise and to express his opposition to homophobia.

"No player, referee or fan should have to endure abuse about their race or sexuality.

"There should be big fines and match suspensions for players, managers and supporters who wilfully use anti-gay insults.

"Stewards should be ordered to identify fans who shout homophobic abuse and the Football Association should secure the agreement of the police to arrest and charge them."

Tatchell also urged the FA to tackle the problem in the game.

The FA set up the 'Football For All' scheme four years ago to make the sport as accessible as possible, encompassing a number of problem areas, including homophobia.

"The Football Association works very closely with a number of group to stamp out inappropriate behaviour in the sport," an FA spokesperson said.

Here's some Paul Scholes goals:  Scholes' Screamers

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE REVIEW

From last night's games:

:  Benfica 0-1 Man Utd

:  Arsenal 2-0 Porto

:  Celtic 1-0 FC Copenhagen

:  CSKA Moscow 1-0 Hamburg SV

:  Real Madrid 5-1 Dinamo Kiev

:  Lille 0-0 AC Milan

:  AEK Athens 1-1 Anderlecht Anderlect goal

:  AEK Athens 1-1 Anderlecht Athens equaliser

:  Steaua Bucharest 0-3 Lyon

TONIGHT'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ON U.S. TELEVISION (all times ET)
ESPN 2 @ 2.30pm - Levski Sofia vs. Chelsea: Live
ESPN Deportes @ 2.30pm - Werder Bremen vs. Barcelona: Live
Setanta @ 2.30pm - Liverpool vs. Galatasaray: Live

ESPN Deportes @ 4.45pm - Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich
ESPN Classic @ 5pm - Werder Bremen vs. Barcelona

ESPN Deportes @ 7pm - Levski Sofia vs. Chelsea
Setanta @ 7pm - Valencia vs. Roma

And just in case you haven't had your fill of televised soccer...
U.S. Open Cup Final on Fox Soccer Channel Live at 8pm:
Chicago vs. LA Galaxy