The Korea Herald

Messi’s 4 goals pace Barcelona

MADRID (AP) ― Lionel Messi’s sublime chip capped a four-goal performance as the three-time Ballon d’Or winner moved past the 40-goal mark for a third straight season in mesmerizing fashion to lead Barcelona’s 5-1 thrashing of Valencia on Sunday.Barcelona had to come from behind to stay within 10 points of Real Madrid, easily answering the Spanish leader’s 4-0 rout of Racing Santander one night earlier with a pure display of the football that has crowned it the world’s best team.The undoubted sta

Feb. 20, 2012

Korean soccer gears up for Olympic, WC qualifying matches

This week will be a vitally important period for Korean soccer as the U23 team is set to play Oman on Wednesday in the Asian qualifier for the London 2012 Olympics. The senior national team will then play a friendly against Uzbekistan on Saturday before facing Kuwait in the 2014 World Cup qualifier on Feb 29.Manager Hong Myung-bo’s U23 side is looking to reach its seventh straight Olympics, and make its ninth overall appearance at the quadrennial competition.The Korea U23 team’s chances are high

Feb. 20, 2012

Korean soccer gears up for Olympic, WC qualifying matches

Rampant Celtic go 17 points clear at top of SPL

Ki Sung-Yueng (center) with his celtic teammates (AP-Yonhap News)Celtic ended a week they started four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League with a colossal 17-point advantage after a 5-0 win away to Hibernian on Sunday.Second-placed Rangers' 10 point penalty for going into administ

Feb. 20, 2012

Rampant Celtic go 17 points clear at top of SPL

Arsenal crash out of Cup, Chelsea held

LONDON (AP) ― Arsenal lost to Sunderland 2-0 in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday, leaving the English Premier League club facing a seventh straight season without a trophy.Arsenal is 17 points behind league leader Manchester City and lost the first leg of its Champions League knockout match 4-0 at AC Milan this week.The Gunners failed to properly clear Sebastian Larsson’s 40th-minute free kick and Richardson scored on a volley. Larsson then struck the post with 12 minutes left, with the

Feb. 19, 2012

Ex-China deputy football chief jailed for graft

BEIJING (AP) _ The former deputy head of China's football association was sentenced Saturday to 10{ years in prison as part of a crackdown on corruption and match-fixing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.Yang Yimin, convicted of taking 1.25 million yuan ($200,000) in bribes, was one of 39 pe

Feb. 19, 2012

Manchester United, City on top in Europe’s second tier

PARIS (AFP) ― Manchester United and Manchester City shrugged off the disappointment of being dumped out of the Champions League to inch confidently closer to the Europa League last 16 on Thursday.United defeated Ajax in Amsterdam 2-0 with Ashley Young and Javier Hernandez finding the target in the first leg of their last-32 tie.City, meanwhile, came back from a goal down to beat defending champions Porto 2-1 with substitute Sergio Aguero grabbing the winner in the 84th minute.At the Amsterdam Ar

Feb. 17, 2012

Milan flattens Arsenal 4-0

The most highly anticipated matchup of the Champions League’s second round was hardly even a contest.AC Milan outclassed Arsenal in a 4-0 victory in the first leg Wednesday night, getting two goals from Robinho as the seven-time winner moved toward its first quarterfinal appearance since 2007.Kevin-Prince Boateng put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute with a volley that went in off the crossbar.Robinho beat goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with a header off Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s cross in the 38th, th

Feb. 16, 2012

Barca, Lyon off to winning starts

Messi and Sanchez give Spanish giants big first-leg leadHowever much Bayer Leverkusen frustrated Barcelona, stifling Lionel Messi proved impossible for 90 minutes.Messi helped Barcelona shake off its domestic troubles, getting his 38th goal and 20th assist of the season in a 3-1 victory at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night that moved the defending champions toward the quarterfinals.“When you play against the German teams, you don’t have the control or possession a lot and they are physically str

Feb. 15, 2012

Zambia team returns home after Cup win

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) ― With an escort of jet fighters screaming above and tens of thousands of screaming fans on the ground, Zambia’s victorious soccer team flew home Monday to a hero’s welcome.The Copper Bullets, or Chipolopolo as the national team is called, descended from the plane to meet ecstatic fans and show off the African Cup of Nations trophy that has eluded the southern African nation for more than 30 years.“Go Zambia, go!” the crowd roared.The players were driven off on the backs of a

Feb. 14, 2012

Suarez-Evra spat takes center stage

LONDON (AP) ― Luis Suarez’s refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United’s 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.Wayne Rooney scored twice for the second straight match to guide United to victory at Old Trafford. But all the focus was on the pre-match handshake that never happened, inflaming tensions between England’s two most successful clubs.Starting his first match since serving an eight-gam

Feb. 12, 2012

Korea goes local for WC qualifier against Kuwait

South Korea has gone decidedly local for a crucial World Cup qualifying match against Kuwait this month, hoping players from the top domestic league can keep the country alive.The team of 26, as announced by the Korea Football Association on Friday, features only three players from overseas ― forward Park Chu-young of Arsenal in England; midfielder Ki Sung-yueng from Scotland’s Celtic FC; and defensive back Lee Jung-soo of Al Sadd in Qatar. All other players are based in the domestic K-League.So

Feb. 10, 2012

Korea goes local for WC qualifier against Kuwait

Ivory Coast into African Cup final against Zambia

Ivory Coast will play Zambia in the final of the African Cup of Nations after Gervinho’s goal on the stroke of halftime ensured the title favorite edged out Mali 1-0 on Wednesday. Ivorians watch their national soccer team play Mali, on an outdoor screen in the Anono neighborhood of Abidjan, Iv

Feb. 9, 2012

Ivory Coast into African Cup final against Zambia

World Cup workers threaten strike

SAO PAULO (AP) ― Workers building and renovating Brazil’s stadiums for the 2014 World Cup are threatening to go on strike if employers don’t agree to their demands for unified salaries and benefits.There have been isolated strikes across the nation, but unions representing the workers in each of the 12 host cities are trying to come together to plead for better conditions.Union leader Claudio da Silva Gomes said Tuesday the workers are ready to go on strike as early as next month if construction

Feb. 8, 2012

Capello may have breached contract

LONDON (AP) ― Just like before the 2010 World Cup, a dispute revolving around John Terry is unsettling England’s preparations for a major tournament.But this time, rather than acting as a unifier, Fabio Capello has been accused of exacerbating tensions ahead of the European Championship.And as a result, the coach may have breached a lucrative contract worth about $9.5 million a year.Capello’s authority appears to have been undermined by his employers when Terry was fired as England captain on Fr

Feb. 7, 2012

Man United rallies from 3 down

LONDON (AP) ― Javier Hernandez completed Manchester United’s comeback from a 3-0 deficit at Chelsea on Sunday with a late header that salvaged a 3-3 draw and leaves the defending champions two points off the Premier League lead.After storming to a 3-0 lead by the 50th minute, Chelsea collapsed at home by conceding two penalties that Wayne Rooney converted and then allowing Hernandez to tie it in the 84th.“It’s two points lost,” Rooney said. “We understand that, but after being 3-0 down ― the (Ma

Feb. 6, 2012

S. Korea draws with Saudi Arabia in soccer qualifier

Kim Bo-kyung saved Korea’s U23 team from a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia, smashing a fierce volley to earn a 1-1 draw in the Asian qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympics on Sunday.Kim, who plays with Cerezo Osaka in Japan, scored the equalizer in the dying minutes of the game to earn a crucial point for the visiting side at Prince Stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, having drawn one and lost two of its previous three matches, went into the match desperate to keep its hopes alive for

Feb. 6, 2012

S. Korea draws with Saudi Arabia in soccer qualifier

Korea draws 1-1 with Saudi Arabia in Olympic qualifier

Kim Bo-kyung scores equalizer in 90 min Kim Bo-kyung saved the Korea U23 team from a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia, smashing a fierce volley to earn a 1-1 draw in the Asian qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympics on Sunday.Kim, who plays with Cerezo Osaka in Japan, scored the equalizer in the dying minutes of the game to earn a crucial point for the visiting side at Prince Stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.Saudi Arabia, having drawn one and lost two of their previous three matches, went into the m

Feb. 6, 2012

Man City beats Fulham 3-0

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester City rediscovered its attacking game in the English Premier League on Saturday, beating Fulham 3-0 to maintain its perfect home record and keep Manchester United at arm’s length in the title race.City’s 12th straight league victory at Etihad Stadium left the leaders three points ahead of United, which visits fourth-place Chelsea on Sunday.The most resounding victory came at Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal rebounded from its miserable recent run in the league by hammering

Feb. 5, 2012

Ruling unfavorable for Korea’s bid for soccer at London Olympic Games

South Korea’s bid for a berth in men’s football at the London Olympics took a twist on Thursday after a ruling on a group stage match between rival states.The Asian Football Confederation, the regional governing body of the sport, announced that Oman has been awarded a 3-0 victory over Qatar, overturning its 1-1 draw in a Group A match in the final Olympic qualification round last November.The AFC said FIFA, the global football association, ruled that Qatar fielded an ineligible player against O

Feb. 2, 2012

Kim In-sung signs deal with CSKA

MOSCOW (AFP) ― Russiam Premier League side CSKA Moscow has signed South Korean midfielder Kim In-sung from Gangneung City football club on a one-year deal, the club’s press service reported.CSKA nabbed the 22-year-old for free as his present club, which plays in the Korean second division, has only semi-professional status. Reports also said that Kim’s contract offers an option of extending for two more years.Kim has already joined CSKA at its training camp in Marbella, Spain, alongside previous

Feb. 2, 2012