The Korea Herald

Ba scores twice in debut

LONDON (AP) ― Demba Ba scored twice in his debut as Chelsea got off to a perfect start in its FA Cup defense with a 5-1 rout of Southampton in the third round, while Robin van Persie scored an injury-time tying goal for Manchester United to tie 2-2 at West Ham and earn a replay.A day after completing his move from Newcastle, Ba took just 35 minutes Saturday to score at Southampton to tie the score 1-1 after Jay Rodriguez scored.After two more Chelsea goals from Victor Moses and Branislav Ivanovi

Jan. 6, 2013

Weary Premier League clubs begin FA Cup campaigns

LONDON (AP) ― All 20 English Premier League clubs enter the FA Cup this weekend after a grueling festive schedule, giving many exhausted players a chance to take a breather.Chelsea begins its cup defense at Southampton on Saturday, with Rafa Benitez’s side reeling from a four-game winning run being ended by Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday to remain fourth in the Premier League.Striker Fernando Torres, who has started all 20 league matches this season, could make way for Demba Ba if the Senegal

Jan. 4, 2013

AC Milan friendly suspended after racist chants

BUSTO ARSIZIO, Italy (AP) ― A friendly match between AC Milan and lower division club Pro Patria was abandoned Thursday after Milan’s players walked off the pitch because of racist chants, the latest incident of racial abuse blighting the sport in Europe.After repeated chants directed his way, Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng picked up the ball and kicked it at a section of the crowd in the 26th minute of the first half.Boateng then took off his shirt and walked off with his Milan teammates

Jan. 4, 2013

Jong Tae-se to join Suwon

North Korean soccer player Jong Tae-se will join a first-division South Korean club next week, an official here said Thursday.Jong, 28, will leave 1. FC Koln in the second-division German competition to play for Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K League, and will be introduced as the team’s newest member next week, a Suwon official said.“We’ve finalized talks with Koln over the transfer fee for Jong Tae-se,” the official said. “He will arrive in South Korea as early as next Monday for medical test

Jan. 3, 2013

Soccer league adopts new names, logo

South Korea’s top professional soccer league on Thursday unveiled the new names for its two divisions for the upcoming season, along with a new logo based on the colors of the country’s flag.Starting this year, the first division will be called the K League Classic, officials said. Previously, the competition had the hyphenated name, the K-League.The second-tier circuit, which will be introduced for the first time this year, will be simply called the K League.The new logo is red and blue, the co

Jan. 3, 2013

S. Korea's top football competition adopts new names, logo

South Korea’s top professional football league on Thursday unveiled the new names for its two divisions for the upcoming season, along with a new logo based on the colors of the country‘s flag.Starting this year, the first division will be called the K League Classic, officials said. Previously, the competition had the hyphenated name, the K-League.The second-tier circuit, which will be introduced for the first time this year, will be simply called the K League.The new logo is colored in red and

Jan. 3, 2013

N. Korean footballer Jong Tae-se to join S. Korean league: official

North Korean football player Jong Tae-se will join a first-division South Korean club next week, an official here said Thursday.Jong, 28, will leave 1. FC Koln in the second division German competition to play for Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K-League, and will be introduced as the team's newest member next week, a Suwon official said."We've finalized talks with Koln over the transfer fee for Jong Tae-se," the official said. "He will arrive in South Korea as early as next Monday for medical te

Jan. 3, 2013

Transfer window opens

LONDON (AP) ― Expect plenty of speculation about Cristiano Ronaldo, David Villa, Wesley Sneijder, Frank Lampard and Theo Walcott, among others, to be flying around for the next month.Yes, the “silly season” has arrived.European soccer’s January transfer window opens, giving clubs a month to strengthen their squads for the second half of the season.Top teams operating strategic transfer plans, such as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United, rarely make major deals during this period. Likely

Jan. 2, 2013

United, City begin 2013 with wins

LONDON (AP) ― First-place Manchester United and second-place Manchester City began the new year with emphatic victories Tuesday in the Premier League.United cruised to a 4-0 win at Wigan for its second straight shutout. City treated its home fans to a 3-0 decision over Stoke.Javier Hernandez and Robin van Persie scored two goals each for United, which leads the league by seven points. Van Persie has a league-high 16 goals.City ended Stoke’s 10-match unbeaten run behind goals from Pablo Zabaleta,

Jan. 2, 2013

Footballer Ji Dong-won moves from England to Germany on loan

South Korean footballer Ji Dong-won, once confined to the bench in the English Premier League, has joined a first-division German club on loan, officials said Wednesday.Ji's new team, FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga, and his English side, Sunderland, both announced early Wednesday, Korean time, that Ji is moving to Germany on a loan deal. The transaction ended months of speculation on the future of the 21-year-old, who had not played a game for Sunderland in the ongoing season.According to FC Augs

Jan. 2, 2013

Lampard: Chelsea have transformed EPL race

LONDON (AFP) ― Frank Lampard says Chelsea’s dramatic upturn in form has transformed the Premier League title race.Lampard struck twice in the 2-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park that moved the Blues back up to third place and ensured they face bottom club Queens Park Rangers at Stamford Bridge looking for a seventh win in eight games.Four successive league wins have moved Rafael Benitez’s side to within eleven points of leaders Manchester United with a game in hand.And after having dropped

Jan. 1, 2013

Sunderland’s Ji could go on loan: O’Neill

LONDON (AFP) ― South Korean forward Ji Dong-won could be allowed to leave Sunderland on loan during the January transfer window after failing to establish himself at the Premier League club.Ji famously came off the bench to score the goal which condemned Manchester City to a 1-0 defeat in January 2012, but 12 months later he faces a bleak future at Sunderland.The 21-year-old has endured a difficult time since moving to the Stadium of Light from Chunnam Dragons in June 2011 and Black Cats boss Ma

Jan. 1, 2013

Beckham in no rush to join club

LONDON (AP) ― Nearly a month after leaving the Los Angeles Galaxy, David Beckham is considering “a number of serious proposals” but is in no rush to find a new team.He has been linked to clubs in France, Australia and Asia in what would be the final chapter of the illustrious career of the 37-year-old midfielder and former England captain.A “host of clubs” have made offers, Beckham’s management company said in a statement to the Associated Press on Thursday, but it remains “early days in the pro

Dec. 28, 2012

Fired national soccer coach seeks back pay

Former head coach of South Korea’s national football team Cho Kwang-rae said Friday he has taken legal steps against the sport’s national governing body to receive unpaid wages from his earlier contract.“Through my legal representative, I sent the Korea Football Association a certification of contents demanding that it pay me my outstanding wage,” Cho said. “I didn’t want to resort to legal measures but I didn’t want to leave a bad precedent for other football coaches in this country.”Cho was fi

Dec. 28, 2012

Fired national soccer coach seeks back pay

Olympic bronze-medal contest voted best soccer match of 2012

South Korea’s 2-0 victory over Japan to claim the men’s soccer bronze medal at the London Olympics this past summer was voted the country’s best soccer match of the year, an online poll showed Thursday.The Korea Football Association said in an online survey conducted Dec. 14 to 26, the bronze-medal contest received 540 of 999 votes.By beating its regional sporting rival, South Korea captured its first Olympic football medal.Also at the London Olympics, South Korea stunned the host-country Britai

Dec. 27, 2012

Never satisfied

SEONGNAM (Yonhap News) ― Not content with his solid showing in 2012, South Korean footballer Koo Ja-cheol said Thursday he has set his sights on even bigger goals for next year.The 23-year-old midfielder had a very good year. He served as the captain for the country’s Olympic team that won the bronze medal at the London Olympics. Earlier in the year, he helped his first-division German club, Augsburg, climb out of the league cellar in the second half of the 2011-2012 season.“My goal is to keep t

Dec. 27, 2012

Olympic bronze medal contest voted best S. Korean football match of 2012

South Korea‘s 2-0 victory over Japan to claim the men’s football bronze medal at the London Olympics this past summer was voted the country‘s best football match of the year, an online poll showed Thursday.The Korea Football Association (KFA) said in an online survey conducted on its Web site from Dec. 14 to 26, the bronze medal contest received 540 of 999 votes.By beating its regional sporting rival, South Korea captured its first Olympic football medal.Also at the London Olympics, South Korea

Dec. 27, 2012

Olympic bronze medal contest voted best S. Korean football match of 2012

‘City can still overhaul United’

SUNDERLAND (AFP) ― Gareth Barry is confident Manchester City will be able to chase down Manchester United at the top of the table as the champions prepare to face Sunderland on Wednesday.Roberto Mancini’s team have responded to their 3-2 defeat in the Manchester derby earlier this month with consecutive victories.That loss to their bitter rivals increased United’s lead to six points but second placed City managed to reduce the deficit to four over the weekend.Barry scored in stoppage-time to sec

Dec. 25, 2012

Swansea frustrates United in draw

LONDON (AP) ― Premier League leader Manchester United dropped points in the title race with a 1-1 tie at Swansea on Sunday, and third-place Chelsea routed Aston Villa 8-0 with an attacking master class.Patrice Evra put visiting United ahead in the 16th minute when he headed Robin Van Persie’s corner kick past goalkeeper Michel Vorm.Michu tied the score in the 29th when Evra was caught out by Jonathan De Guzman’s run and goalkeeper David De Gea could only parry De Guzman’s angled shot, leaving Mi

Dec. 24, 2012

Messi ends year with 91 goals

BARCELONA (AP) ― Lionel Messi polished off his record year with his 91st and final goal of 2012 in Barcelona’s 3-1 win at Valladolid on Saturday night, while Jose Mourinho’s decision to bench goalkeeper Iker Casillas backfired as Real Madrid lost 3-2 at Malaga and fell 16 points off the pace in the Spanish league.Messi fed Jordi Alba, who crossed to Xavi Hernandez for the first goal in the 43rd minute, and Messi dribbling between a defender’s legs before scoring in the 59th, his 35th goal of the

Dec. 23, 2012