LA Galaxy player David Beckham practices with his team in Montclair, New Jersey August 13, 2010. The Galaxy are in town to play the New York Red Bulls in New Jersey August 14. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

CARSON, California – David Beckham hopes to make his return to action in LA Galaxy’s match against Columbus Crew on Sept. 11, the midfielder said on Thursday.

Beckham has been sidelined since March when he suffered an Achilles tendon injury, while playing on loan for AC Milan, that cost him a place in the England squad at the World Cup in South Africa.

“The doctors’ original date was Oct. 1 but I always kind of said I want to be ready before then,” he told the team’s website (www.lagalaxy.com).

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hopefully will play in part of the game here against Columbus. I’ll be on the bench, and hopefully I’ll get on the field for 15-20 minutes. That’s what I’m looking at.”

Beckham took part in his first full training session with the club on Aug. 11 and said he has had ups and downs.

“At the moment, you have good days and you have bad days. You wake up with a lot more pain in your body when you’re in preseason. I have to do it because I need to get as close to match fitness as possible,” he said.

“It’s a bit difficult because when you don’t play in games; that’s where you get the real fitness from. But I’m doing what I can in the gym and what I can on the field, just trying to get strength back in my leg.

“It kind of kicks you up the backside when you realise you can’t do certain things. Working out was something I’ve done for the last 25 years, and to not being able to do it was tough for me.”

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder said he was still tentative in some areas of movement.

“When you do go through a trauma like this, an injury like this, there’s always going to be that thing in the back of your mind saying, ‘The last time I did that motion was when it actually snapped’. Cutting and turning and pushing off is still difficult for me, but that’s going to come in time,” he said.

The 35-year-old Beckham said he had never considered retirement and added that he had been grumpy at home.

“It’s probably better asking my wife that more than me. Being around the house, not being able to train, not being able to play, I think it’s been worse for her than me. It’s been a long road,” he said.

Head of the FIFA Inspection Group Harold Mayne-Nicholls (C), General Manager of bid committee Miguel Angel Lopez and Portuguese Soccer Federation General Secretary Angelo Brou shake hands at the end of a meeting with journalists about the World Cup 2018-22 bid event in Lisbon September 2, 2010. (REUTERS/Jose Manuel Ribeiro)

LISBON – FIFA ended a four-day visit to inspect Spain and Portugal’s 2018 or 2022 World Cup bid by praising the countries’ capacity to co-ordinate effectively in hosting a joint event.

“We are certain the coordination required at state level is absolutely assured if the World Cup comes to the Iberian Peninsula,” FIFA’s inspection team leader Harold Mayne-Nicholls told a news conference on Thursday.

The delegates started their tour in Madrid, visiting infrastructure facilities and Real Madrid’s training complex where they met coach Jose Mourinho, and the Bernabeu stadium, the proposed final venue.

They traveled by high-speed train to Barcelona to visit the Nou Camp stadium, before moving on to Portugal where they met government officials and went to Porto’s Dragao Stadium and Benfica’s Luz Stadium in Lisbon.

“(All these) stadiums form, without a doubt, the ideal setting for millions of soccer fans,” Mayne-Nicholls added.

The vote for who will host the 2018 and 2022 tournaments will be on Dec. 2 in Zurich.

Spain, who hosted the World Cup in 1982, and Portugal, who staged the European Championship six years ago, are competing against England, Russia, the United States, and Belgium/Netherlands.

France's national soccer team pose for an official photo ahead of their opening Euro 2012 qualifiers at Clairefontaine near Paris, August 31, 2010. Top, from L : Gael Clichy, Yann M'Vila, Anthony Reveillere, Loic Remy, Florent Malouda and Louis Saha. Front row from L : Jeremy Menez, Karim Benzema, coach Laurent Blanc, Adil Rami and Philippe Mexes. (REUTERS/Charles Platiau)

CLAIREFONTAINE, France – New France coach Laurent Blanc has passed the words of the French national anthem on to his players so they can sing La Marseillaise before their Euro 2012 qualifier against Belarus.

Many French fans felt the players tarnished the country’s reputation when they refused to train during this year’s World Cup in support of striker Nicolas Anelka who was sent home for insulting former coach Raymond Domenech.

Few French players usually sing the national anthem before their games and Blanc wants that to change.

“It’s a quite sensitive issue here and I’ve personally prompted the players to sing La Marseillaise tomorrow,” Blanc told reporters on Thursday.

“They perfectly know what I think. I’ve passed the lyrics on to them so I think they’ll be able to sing tomorrow,” he added. “Everybody is free to do what he wants but when you know La Marseillaise, you sing it.”

French players were accused of behaving like rude and egocentric children after their training boycott, Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot saying some were acting like “gang leaders”.

Blanc now asks them to do simple things like collecting their empty water bottles at the end of each training session, something they rarely did under Domenech.

“There is plenty of work to do,” Blanc said. “Actually, when you’re a coach, you can try to ask your players to behave on the pitch in a way which can inspire them for their day-to-day living.”

France host Belarus at the Stade de France in their opening Euro 2012 qualifying Group D match on Friday.

An additional referee is seen during the Europa League soccer match between Anderlecht and Dinamo Zagreb at Maksimir stadium in Zagreb September 17, 2009. (REUTERS/Nikola Solic)

NYON, Switzerland – Europe’s leading coaches are in favor of the experiment with two extra linesmen behind the goals and prefer it to the use of goal-line technology, UEFA said on Thursday.

However, they are less enthusiastic about changing the away goals rule used in European club competition, even though some feel it encourages teams to play defensively at home rather than attack when they are away.

The new refereeing system, which features one extra linesman behind each goal, was first tried in the Europa League last season and has been extended to the Champions League and the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

UEFA president Michel Platini is one of the most vociferous supporters of the experiment which is being carried out in other competitions worldwide over the next two years before FIFA decides whether to implement it on a permanent basis.

“They’re very positive about this experiment,” UEFA’s technical director Andy Roxburgh told reporters after a two-day meeting of some of Europe’s leading coaches at UEFA headquarters including Pep Guardiola, Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Claude Puel and Felix Magath.

“They’re very much aware of the problems of going down the technology route and, like Platini, they would like to keep it human if possible, so this experiment with the additional referees allows us to do that.”

“The additional refs sometimes do not always look very active but they are very active because they are in constant touch with the referee,” added Roxburgh.

“This role is new so it’s something which has to be nurtured and developed and it will evolve.

“There’s also the deterrent effect, if there’s eyes behind the line there might not be so much pulling in the penalty box or simulation.”

The five referees failed one test last week when officials at the Tottenham v Young Boys Champions League qualifier missed an obvious handball by Jermain Defoe before he scored a Spurs goal.

“There’s no 100 percent guarantee but this is an attempt to make it better, to minimize mistakes,” said the former Scotland manager.

Roxburgh said coaches had shown little enthusiasm for changing the away goals rule.

“We raised the question that, after 40 years, is it something that should be reviewed because some teams seem to think now that a 0-0 at home is a good result because they didn’t lose an away goal, so has the balanced changed a bit?”

“But they think that after 40 years, it’s well established, part of the game and we should leave it.”

“However, they were questioning whether we should have the away goals rule in extra-time,” he added.

Wei Di, the new head of Chinese Football Association (CFA), speaks at his first news conference in Beijing February 2, 2010. (REUTERS/Jason Lee)

BEIJING – Iran’s demand for a neutral referee for their friendly against China this week is disrespectful but local match officials only have themselves to blame, according to China’s soccer chief Wei Di.

Three top Chinese referees were arrested for their involvement in a major match-fixing scandal earlier this year and Wei said he thought that was behind Iran’s request for a non-Chinese to officiate the match in Zhengzhou on Friday.

“It is not too odd in principle, but objectively it shows their lack of respect for Chinese referees,” Wei told a training camp for referees in Hebei on Wednesday in speech reported by the Xinhua news agency.

Wei was brought in to clean up Chinese soccer after his predecessor Nan Yong and a strong of other top Chinese Football Association (CFA) officials were arrested for corruption.

One of the referees arrested in March was 2002 World Cup official Lu Jun, who had been known as the “golden whistle” in contrast to the corrupt “black whistles” who had long been suspected of fixing matches over the last decade.

Wei conceded that many guilty referees had fixed matches at the behest of CFA officials and so earned the nickname “official whistles” but said that must now stop if they were to gain credibility with fans and players.

“The CFA must start within itself to eliminate the ‘official whistle’,” he said. “And the referees must resist the pressure of ‘official whistle’. A referee must immediately report to the CFA as soon as any CFA official makes such request.”

Wei, who has declined Iran’s request, then called on domestic referees to deliberately make calls against Chinese players in matches against other countries.

“In international games, the Chinese referees should be more strict to China, which could improve the team’s mentality in a negative situations,” he said.

BEIJING – Shenyang Dongjin defender Feng Shaoshun will not lose the sight in his left eye which was cut by glass after opposing fans stoned the team bus, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) said on Wednesday.

“The wound would not cause blindness, but would affect his sight, according to his doctor,” the CFA said on its website (www.fa.org.cn).

“We strongly condemn the hooliganism that brought disgrace on football, troubling and disrupting the sport,” it added.

Feng needed surgery on his cornea, which was damaged when bus windows were shattered by Chengdu Blades fans as second division Shenyang Dongjin left the Chengdu stadium following a 1-1 draw last weekend.

The Chengdu side had apologized, promised to pay Feng’s medical bill, and would accept further punishment, the CFA said.

Chengdu, owned by English club Sheffield United, was relegated from the top flight this year because of their involvement in match fixing.

A fan blows the vuvuzela before the 2010 World Cup Group D soccer match between Germany and Ghana at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg June 23, 2010. (REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado)

BERNE – Vuvuzelas have been kicked out of European competitions after UEFA said that the controversial plastic trumpets drowned out supporters and detracted from the emotion of the game.

The plastic horns became a hallmark of the World Cup in South Africa, producing a monotonous droning sound, often likened to a swarm of bees, which provided a backdrop for every match.

But they will not be allowed in stadiums in UEFA competitions such as the Champions League, Europa League and Euro 2012 qualifiers after UEFA’s ruling on Wednesday.

“European football’s governing body has informed its 53 member associations that it has taken the move for reasons related to Europe’s football culture and tradition, saying that the atmosphere at matches would be changed by the sound of the vuvuzela,” said UEFA in a statement.

“The World Cup was characterized by the vuvuzela’s widespread and permanent use in the stands,” it added.

“In the specific context of South Africa, the vuvuzela adds a touch of local flavour and folklore, but UEFA feels that the instrument’s widespread use would not be appropriate in Europe, where a continuous loud background noise would be emphasized.”

CLEAR CRITICISM

The statement then continued with a clear criticism of the controversial instrument.

“The magic of football consists of the two-way exchange of emotions between the pitch and the stands, where the public can transmit a full range of feelings to the players.”

“However, UEFA is of the view that the vuvuzelas would completely change the atmosphere, drowning supporter emotions and detracting from the experience of the game.”

“To avoid the risk of these negative effects in the stadiums where UEFA competitions are played and to protect the culture and tradition of football in Europe — singing, chanting etc — UEFA has decided with immediate effect that vuvuzelas will not be allowed in the stadiums where UEFA competitions matches are played.”

The ruling appears academic as the vuvuzelas have shown almost no sign of catching on in Europe in the opening weeks of the new season.

The UEFA ruling is the latest development in an apparent backlash against the vuvuzela, although the word itself last month earned a place in the Oxford Dictionary of English.

Several English Premier League clubs banned the horns in July on safety grounds while they have also been barred from a number of rugby grounds in South Africa itself.

Olympic Games 2012 chief Sebastian Coe said he did not want them at the event in London.

They have also been banned from the current world basketball championship in Turkey on health grounds. FIBA, the sport’s governing body, said it was too loud, especially in indoor arenas, and fans who flouted the ruling would be kicked out.

Children watch people play soccer in capital Khartoum April 20, 2010. (REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin)

KHARTOUM – Sudan has avoided being banned from international soccer after the country’s Football Association re-ran its elections without government interference, FIFA said on Tuesday.

Soccer’s world governing body (FIFA) threatened to suspend Sudan, ranked just 121 in the world, after Khartoum barred some candidates from standing in the original FA election held on July 26.

FIFA, which requires governments to refrain from meddling in national soccer federations, said it did not recognize the original vote and gave the African nation until the end of August to re-run the election.

“We can confirm that the elections in Sudan took place on Saturday as foreseen and that FIFA accepts the results of these elections,” FIFA said in a statement sent to Reuters.

Sudan will now play its opening African Nations Cup qualifier against Congo on Sept. 4, the FA said, and will host the continent’s CHAN tournament for Africans playing in local leagues next year.

U.S. national soccer team head coach Bob Bradley attends a training session with the team at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey August 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

CHICAGO – Bob Bradley has agreed to stay on as United States coach for another four years to include the 2014 World Cup, U.S. Soccer said on Monday.

The 52-year-old, who steered the U.S. to the second round at this year’s World Cup finals in South Africa, will retain the job until the end of 2014 after agreeing to a four-year contract extension.

Monday’s announcement puts an end to the widespread rumours linking Bradley with the vacant position at English Premier League club Aston Villa.

Prior to Brazil’s 2-0 win over the U.S. in a friendly earlier this month, Bradley said he would love the challenge of coaching in Europe but also said leading the U.S towards the 2014 World Cup would be a challenge.

Over the last four years, the U.S. have won 38 games and lost 20 out of a total of 66 under Bradley, whose current contract was to expire at the end of December.

Read the rest of this entry »