The Korea Herald

End of the road

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― David Beckham says the MLS Cup next month will be his final game with the Los Angeles Galaxy.Beckham and the Galaxy announced the superstar English midfielder’s decision Monday, a day after the defending MLS champions advanced to their second straight league final. Los Angeles faces Houston for the MLS title on Dec. 1.The 37-year-old Beckham isn’t retiring, however.“I’ve had an incredibly special time playing for the L.A. Galaxy,” Beckham said in a statement. “However, I wante

Nov. 20, 2012

Sunderland beats 10-man Fulham

LONDON (AP) ― Struggling Sunderland capitalized on the early sending-off of Brede Hangeland to beat Fulham 3-1 on Sunday, earning only its second win of the season and easing its worries at the bottom of the Premier League.Steven Fletcher, Carlos Cuellar and Stephane Sessegnon all scored in the second half for the visitors while Fulham was down to 10 men, with Hangeland given a straight red card for a reckless 30th-minute tackle.Substitute Mladen Petric equalized in the 62nd minute for the mid-t

Nov. 19, 2012

Messi nets 2 as Barcelona beats Zaragoza 3-1

BARCELONA (AP) ― Lionel Messi netted his eighth brace of the season and created a third goal to steer Barcelona to a 3-1 win over a feisty Real Zaragoza on Saturday as the Spanish league leaders kept alive their club-record start.Unbeaten Barcelona’s 11th victory in 12 rounds maintained its eight-point lead over Real Madrid after the defending champions thrashed Athletic Bilbao 5-1 ahead of their critical Champions League trip to Manchester City.Messi started the scoring at Camp Nou Stadium in t

Nov. 18, 2012

S. Korea beats Iraq for Asian U19 crown

BAGHDAD (AP) ― South Korea came from a goal down to beat Iraq in a penalty shootout and claim its 12th under-19 Asian title on Saturday.Iraq was looking for its first title since the war-torn country won the 2007 Asian Cup. It led in the United Arab Emirates until injury time when South Korea equalized for 1-1, then after extra time the Koreans won the shootout 4-1.Despite the loss, Iraqis were just happy to see their team in the final. It was the latest sign that football in the country was imp

Nov. 18, 2012

Ibrahimovic shoots down England

LONDON (AP) ― Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic highlighted the opening game at Friends Arena outside Stockholm with four goals, including a spectacular bicycle kick in a 4-2 victory over England.Ibrahimovic’s one-man show overshadowed two high-profile matches between fierce European rivals, with the Netherlands and Germany drawing 0-0, and France coming from behind to beat Italy 2-1.The prolific Lionel Messi was kept scoreless as Argentina was held 0-0 in Saudi Arabia while Portugal, missing the inju

Nov. 15, 2012

Mixed results

The South Korean men’s soccer team has ended its 2012 season on a three-game winless skid, following the 2-1 loss to Australia in a friendly Wednesday, as head coach Choi Kang-hee’s latest experiment produced mixed results.The team drew Uzbekistan 2-2 in Tashkent in September in its World Cup qualifier, and then dropped to Iran 1-0 in Tehran the following month.The Australian match was the last international contest for South Korea in 2012. The next World Cup qualifying match, at home against Qa

Nov. 15, 2012

Korea defeated by Australia 1-2 in friendly

Korea defeated by Australia 1-2 in friendly HWASEONG (AP) -- Australia came from behind to defeat South Korea 2-1 in a friendly at Hwaseong Stadium on Wednesday.Robert Cornthwaite, who plays his club football in South Korea, scored the winning goal with three minutes remaining.With both teams free from the present round of matches in Asian World Cup qualifying, both coaches took the opportunity to experiment although it was a veteran who opened the scoring.After just 11 minutes, Lee Dong-guk vol

Nov. 14, 2012

Messi moves back to top of player poll

LONDON (AP) ― Lionel Messi has returned to the top of the AP Global 10 soccer rankings by breaking Pele’s 54-year-old goal-scoring record, while Bayern Munich’s stunning form propelled the German side to the top of the team list.In the Associated Press’ weekly rankings, Messi finished far ahead of his closest rival, Mexican striker Javier Hernandez, who was in goal-scoring form for Manchester United over the past week. Messi is just 10 goals away from breaking the all-time calendar-year record s

Nov. 14, 2012

Eclipsing greatness

BARCELONA (AP) ― Lionel Messi surpassed Pele’s milestone of goals in a calendar year, scoring for the 75th and 76th time in 2012 to lead Barcelona to a 4-2 victory at Mallorca in the Spanish league Sunday. Messi is within nine goals of Gerd Mueller’s career record.Xavi Hernandez unlocked Mallorca’s defense with a free kick in the 28th minute before Messi struck in the 44th. Cristian Tello added a third goal a minute later at Iberostar stadium.After Mallorca netted twice early in the second half

Nov. 12, 2012

Messi passes Pele’s goals in 1 year as Barca wins

Lionel Messi surpassed Pele’s milestone of goals in a calendar year by scoring for the 75th and 76th time in 2012 to move within nine of Gerd Mueller’s all-time record as Barcelona won 4-2 at Mallorca in the Spanish league on Sunday.Xavi Hernandez unlocked Mallorca’s defense with a free kick in the 28th minute before Messi struck in the 44th. Cristian Tello added a third goal a minute later at Iberostar stadium.After Mallorca netted twice early in the second half to breathe life into the match,

Nov. 12, 2012

Messi passes Pele’s goals in 1 year as Barca wins

Ulsan crowned Asian club champion

ULSAN (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai Tigers were crowned the Asian football club champions Saturday after beating Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia 3-0.The new champions rejoiced after the victory at home in Ulsan, about 410 kilometers south of Seoul. It was the Korean club’s first AFC Champions League triumph in its third try.The victory also qualified Ulsan for the FIFA Club World Cup next month in Japan, where champions of six continental football confederations plus the league winner of t

Nov. 11, 2012

Hernandez rallies United to comeback win

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United scored three unanswered goals for a 3-2 win at Aston Villa, and Arsenal squandered a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw against Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday.Javier Hernandez scored twice and Ron Vlaar’s own goal completed the turnaround that put United four points clear of Chelsea in the standings. Chelsea hosts Liverpool on Sunday.“We did put pressure on ourselves today but we came through it,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “The lesson is we nee

Nov. 11, 2012

Hernandez rallies United to comeback win

S. Korea's Ulsan crowned Asian club football champion

South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai Tigers were crowned the Asian football club champion Saturday after beating Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia 3-0.The new champion rejoiced after the victory at home in Ulsan, about 410 kilometers south of Seoul. It was the Korean club's first AFC Champions League triumph in its third try.The victory also qualified Ulsan for the FIFA Club World Cup next month in Japan, where champions of six continental football confederations plus the league winner of the host nation will coll

Nov. 11, 2012

Liverpool, Atletico Madrid lose in Europa League

LONDON (AP) ― Liverpool lost 1-0 at wealthy Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League on Thursday to leave Group A up for grabs, while reigning champion Atletico Madrid missed a chance to qualify with two games to spare.Lacina Traore grabbed a 45th-minute winner for Anzhi, which climbed above Liverpool to the top of the group after four games. Young Boys’ 3-2 surprise victory at Udinese means all four teams can still reach the knockout stage.Atletico’s perfect start to Group B, as well

Nov. 9, 2012

Ulsan sets sights on first AFC club title

South Korean soccer club Ulsan Hyundai Tigers will chase their first Asian club championship this weekend against a Saudi Arabian rival.The K-League’s Ulsan will host Al Ahli in the final of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Munsu Stadium, some 410 kilometers south of Seoul.Ulsan clinched the berth in the final by eliminating Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan in the semifinals. Ulsan is the fourth consecutive K-League club to reach the AFC final.Al Ahli squeezed pa

Nov. 8, 2012

Green party

ROME (AP) ― Barcelona lost for the first time since August, and Manchester United and Chelsea needed late goals to win in a wild night of Champions League action Wednesday.Barcelona had been unbeaten in 12 matches since the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid before falling 2-1 at Celtic, which is two points behind the Spanish power with two matches remaining.“It is not the first time we have lost a game like this and it won’t be the last,” Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova said.United came back f

Nov. 8, 2012

S. Korean men's football team, player shortlisted for Asian honors

The South Korean men's national football team and one of its star players have been shortlisted for annual Asian honors, officials here said Wednesday.The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the national team was nominated for the National Team of the Year in the men's category by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Forward Lee Keun-ho is a candidate for the AFC Asian Player of the Year honors, the KFA added.The team award, which was first presented in 2000, recognizes nations' performance

Nov. 7, 2012

Man City, Real Madrid earn draws

GENEVA (AP) ― Manchester City dodged elimination from the Champions League on Tuesday, overcoming an early two-goal deficit for a 2-2 tie at home against Ajax.The most compelling group delivered more drama as Real Madrid also rallied for a 2-2 tie at home to leader Borussia Dortmund on Mesut Oezil’s 89th-minute goal.Zlatan Ibrahimovic led Paris Saint-Germain, creating all the goals in a 4-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb. Group leader FC Porto drew 0-0 at Dynamo Kiev.Arsenal wasted a two-goal lead i

Nov. 7, 2012

Hamburg boss eager to keep Son

BERLIN (AFP) ― Hamburg coach Thorsten Fink has said he is eager to keep South Korea star Son Heung-min at the Bundesliga club while both Premier League giants Liverpool and Arsenal are reported to have shown interest.The 20-year-old Son, who has made 12 international appearances, has been in impressive form this season and is the club’s top scorer with five goals in 10 games.With Son’s contract set to expire in June 2014, Fink says he wants to keep his star forward to help build a title-winning

Nov. 7, 2012

West Brom trips Southampton

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) ― Peter Odemwingie scored twice to give West Bromwich Albion a 2-0 win over last-place Southampton in the Premier League on Monday night, lifting his team into fifth place and increasing pressure on Saints manager Nigel Adkins.Southampton has lost five straight road games and allowed 28 goals in 10 league matches.Odemwingie scored in the 36th minute with a left-footed shot that took a deflection off Maya Yoshida and past goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, then headed in Shane L

Nov. 6, 2012