messi scores 3 goals as barcelona beats malaga · manchester united’s antonio valencia gave his...

Name: Caylin RufusPlace of Birth: Chicago, ILNationality: African AmericanBirthdate: September 15thSchool: Sandburg Favorite Subject: MathFavorite Soccer Memory: Scoring two goals in the last game of the season.Hobbies: Painting, Soccer, BasketballFavorite Food: PizzaFavorite Movie: We Bought a ZooFavorite Color: PurpleFavorite Artist: Justin BieberFavorite Song: It’s Like SummerPerson you admire the most: My mom and dad. My dad because he pushes me to be my best. My mom because she can always make me laugh to the point that there are tears coming out of my eyes.What would you do to make your parents proud: I would like to do my best in school and work as hard as possible with improving in sports.Favorite Soccer Player? Why? Hope Solo is my favorite soccer player because she is the best goal keeper I have ever seen. She has played every position on the field and I hope that I could follow in her footsteps.Plans for the future: I would probably become a professional basketball or soccer player. I only hope I can work hard and stay healthy to achieve these goals.

Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia gave his best impression of Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday, scoring one goal and setting up another to give his side a 2-1 win at Arsenal that keeps the pressure on Premier League leader Manchester City.Rekindling memories of Ronaldo’s seven stellar years with United, Ecuador winger Valencia headed United into the lead in first-half injury time and darted into the area with nine minutes left to present Danny Welbeck with the chance to smash a win-

ner past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.Robin van Persie’s 71st-minute equalizer -- his 19th league goal of the season -- counted for little.The result kept the defending champions within three points of City and further threatened the Gunners’ chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.“We created an amazing amount of chances and to only score two is a bit disappointing,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “We should have rammed home our advantage in the first half.“We were really adventurous, positive and had a great belief in ourselves.”Arsenal is five points behind fourth-place Chelsea and 18 behind City.Home fans jeered manager Arsene Wenger’s decision to substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with the score at 1-1, and many left after watching the young winger’s replacement -- Andrey Arshavin -- decide not to challenge Valencia as he broke forward to set up the winning goal.“I can understand that fans are upset about the substitution, especially when it doesn’t work,” said

Wenger, adding that Oxlade-Chamberlain was tired and carrying a calf problem. “People pay their tickets and are free to express their emotions and we have to deal with that.“That doesn’t mean they are right always.”Wenger also left fan favorite Thierry Henry out of the squad, and the on-loan New York Red Bulls striker watched from the stands while Ryan Giggs showed the difference a veteran can make to big games.The 38-year-old former Wales international showed a glimpse of his old pace by twisting and turning up the inside right channel to win a free kick on the edge of the area.That chance amounted to nothing but his next significant contribution was to float in the left-wing cross that Valencia headed in at the far post.United enjoyed plenty of possession with Michael Carrick probing patiently from deep and Giggs, in his 48th game against Arsenal, showing mobility and vision to consistently put the ball into dangerous areas.Wayne Rooney was too deep to be a real goal threat, and Nani wasted United’s best first-half chance when he rolled the ball across goal with both Rooney and Welbeck unmarked and screaming for a pass.Van Persie made United pay for its missed chances, atoning for an uncharacteristic earlier miss with a first-time finish across goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard and in at the far post.That roused the home fans but Valencia showed quick feet to cut into the area, exchange passes with substitute Park Ji-sung and lay the ball off to Welbeck. The striker, who had few opportunities to impress until then, thrashed the ball into the net.Van Persie was largely isolated by Wenger’s decision to play a five-man midfield and the only time winger Theo Walcott looked truly menacing was when United right back Phil Jones collapsed with what looked like a serious injury and left his opponent unopposed.When he next got the ball in a promising area, Walcott leaned back and smashed Oxlade-Chamberlain’s 25th-minute cross high over the bar and into the crowd. But United’s victory came at a cost, with Jones carried off the field in the 17th with what ap-peared to be an ankle injury, Nani limping off in the second half and Rooney hobbling at the end following a heavy challenge from Alex Song.

Chicago, IL JANUARY 2012www.chicagosoccer.net www.chicagosoccer.netJANUARY 2012 Chicago, IL

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Player of the WeekCaylin Rufus

Valencia stars as Manchester United wins at Arsenal

Lionel Messi scored a rare header in his hat trick on Sunday to lead Bar-celona to a 4-1 win at Malaga, keeping the pressure on Spanish leader Real Madrid ahead of its game against in-form Athletic Bilbao.Messi sparked the rout in the 33rd minute and then added two more after Alexis Sanchez had doubled the lead at the start of the second half. The Argentina forward now has a league-high 22 goals this season, one more than Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo.Madrid will be trying to shake off its midweek loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, with its fierce rivals trailing by two points in the standings at the season’s midway point.“There is a long way to go, all the second half of the season, and we will keep pushing all the way,” Messi said.Barcelona will look to protect its 2-1 advantage over Madrid at Camp Nou on Wednesday, and coach Pep Guardiola looked to have the second leg in mind. Xavi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas and Carles Puyol were left on the bench, with Thiago Alcantara, Adriano and Javier Mascherano tak-ing their place.Like Espanyol and Real Betis the past two weeks, Malaga came out with the plan to show attacking intent.After Alexis and Messi had probed the home team’s defense, Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes had to make three saves in a row from Francisco “Isco” Alarcon. The 19-year-old forward first forced Valdes to parry his long-range strike and then saw the Spain international make reflex saves to stop a header and a shot after a rebound from the resulting corner.Barcelona has struggled away this season, with just one win in its previous four outings. But once Messi found the net for just the second time away from home this season, the hosts had little trouble making Malaga look like the team it was before a ?60 million ($77.5 million) overhaul in the offseason.Andres Iniesta passed to Adriano out wide and he squared for Messi to guide a graceful header past diving goalkeeper Willy Caballero. It was Messi’s first headed goal in the league this season and just his 10th ever for Barcelona out of 216 goals.“(Messi’s) greatest virtue is his consistency,” Guardiola said. “He has been playing at such a high level for a long time. These goals will help him in the games to come.”Barcelona made short work of Malaga after halftime, with Alexis pouncing on the rebound following a shot by Thiago and firing inside the top of the goal in the 48th.As special as his first goal was, the second was pure Messi. The three-time Ballon D’Or winner put the result beyond doubt three minutes later when he recovered the ball in Malaga territory, skirted through a swarm of reeling defenders and slotted a left-footed strike into the left corner.He then hit the crossbar from a free kick in the 75th but was not to be denied seven minutes later when he charged down the left flank, rode a defender’s tackle and beat Caballero with a light touch of his left foot to send the ball bouncing into the far side of the net.Malaga substitute striker Jose Rondon scored the hosts’ late consolation goal.Elsewhere, third-place Valencia slipped to a 1-1 draw at Osasuna after being reduced to 10 men and conceding a stop-page-time equalizer to Manuel “Lolo” Ortiz.Mallorca edged out Rayo Vallecano 1-0, and last-place Zaragoza drew 0-0 at Levante.On Saturday, it was: Real Sociedad 0, Atletico Madrid 4; Racing Santander 1, Getafe 2; Espanyol 3, Granada 0 and Real Betis 1, Sevilla 1.


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Messi scores 3 goals as Barcelona beats Malaga

The Mexican national team has called in 20 domestically based players for its friendly against Venezuela on Jan. 25. Carlos Salcido is the headline name in the group, but the intrigue will certainly be brought by the players that have returned from suspensionFour players on the list, Marco Fabian, Nestor Calderón, Javier Cortes and Israel Jimenez, were indefinitely dropped from the team after their involvement with a prostitution scandal during last year’s Copa America. Jesús Corona also returns to the squad after having been dropped prior to the prior to the 2011 Gold Cup for violent conduct. Also of note, calls to have Monterrey goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco selected were ignored while Oribe Peraltam, who was called up, is the leading Mexican scorer in the league since the beginning of 2011.

Aldo de Nigris of Monterrey was not called up as he is currently injured.

Goalkeepers:Jesús Corona (Cruz Azul)Alfredo Talavera (Toluca)

Defenders: Hugo Ayala (Tigres), Israel Jiménez (UANL),Hiram Mier (Monterrey),Edgar Dueñas (Toluca),Carlos Salcido (UANL),Jesús Zavala (Monterrey),Efraín Velarde (UNAM),Jorge Torres Nilo (UANL),Nestor Araujo (Cruz Azul)

Midfielders: Marco Fabián (Chivas),Javier Aquino (Cruz Azul),Israel Castro (Cruz AZul) , Javier Cortés (UNAM), Edgar Andrade (Chiapas), Jesús Molina (América), Nestor Calderón (Toluca)

Forwards: Oribe Peralta (Santos), Rafael Márquez Lugo (Morelia)

Klinsmann let slip that the USA may face Mexico in an August friendly, but the USSF quickly pointed out that discus-sions are still ongoing. The United States could face the Mexican national team in Azteca on Aug. 12, though the two federations are still in discussions over the potential match. Following a scrimmage against the U.S. U23 side, which the full national team won 4-0, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsman fielded a question about the upcoming calendar year and accidentally included a potential friendly against El Tri in his answer. However, USSF spokesman Neil Buethe quickly pointed out that details for that match, still several months away, are far from finalized. “[Klinsmann] may have – for lack of a better word – slipped a little bit in terms of what he mentioned there,” Buethe told Goal.com. “It’s probably fair enough to say there have been discussions in the past about a game against Mexico but we have no contract signed and there’s no confirmation of that game happening.” Klinsmann’s first game in charge of the USA came against Mexico on Aug. 10, 2011. A late Robbie Rogers goal sal-

vaged a 1-1 draw in Philadelphia. The United States has never beaten El Tri on Mexican soil, and Azteca, with its capacity of 104,000, has come to epitomize that home dominance. Buethe indicated that the USSF is in the middle of a process of whittling down a list of 10-15 possible opponents for Aug. 12, which is the Saturday before FIFA’s official inter-national date of Aug. 15 and one day following the Olympics final for men’s soccer. Even if the proposed Mexico friendly doesn’t pan out, the USA will still use the slot for a friendly. “We’ll definitely play a game on the 12th,” Buethe said. “The question is just who we are playing and where we’re playing.”

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Mexico names roster for Venezuela friendly

USSF in preliminary discussions overAugust friendly with Mexico in Azteca

The Mexico legend is of the opinion that the 2011 FIFA Ballon d’Or runner-up needs the affection and support of the home fans in order to showcase his talents.Former Real Madrid player Hugo Sanchez has voiced his opinion that attacker Cristiano Ronaldo needs to be pampered and spoiled in order to perform at his best level. The Portugal international has been criticized by the club’s faithful for his unimpres-sive outings against Barcelona, but the 53-year-old has stressed that the forward needs support. “Cristiano Ronaldo has to be cuddled and pampered. You have to be careful with him and spoil him,” said Sanchez in an interview with RNE. “We all know his character, so we can’t act surprised now all of a sudden. He’s always needed support, and gets that affection from his coach. “If he can start scoring goals again then the fans will soon share the coach’s feelings again.” Real Madrid is set to face Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quar-terfinals.

Clint Dempsey continued his stellar season with a hat trick against Newcastle on Saturday. Clint Dempsy and Fulham were a goal down heading into halftime of Sat-urday’s match against Newcastle, but in the second half the American and his teammates turned it around in a big way. Fulham scored five, with Dempsey grabbing three of them, and came away with massive 5-2 win.

Danny Murphy pulled the team level in the 52nd minute from the penalty spot, but it was the combination of Dempsey, Bobby Zamora and Andrew Johnson that would turn the match on its head. Johnson set the table for Dempsey’s first, making a nice run out of midfield before laying off Zamora. Zamora’s shot forced a rebound that Dempsey pushed home with his thigh. Six minutes later the three were at it again as Johnson touched a ball down for Zamora, who slotted Dempsey in on goal where the midfielder put it calmly into the net. Zamora made it 4-1 in the 68th with an assist from Johnson, who was pulled down in the penalty area and set the for-ward up with a chance from the spot.

Newcastle pulled one back in the 85th, but Dempsey rounded out his hat trick in the 89th from another assist from Zamora with another calm finish.

The hat trick is Dempsey’s second in three matches and hist first in league play. It is also the first hat trick scored by an American in the English Premier League. The three goals take Dempsey to 15 in all competition for the season, with nine of those coming in the league. The total for the season puts Dempsey over his previous all-competition best of 13 in a season.

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Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldoneeds to be spoiled and pampered

Clint Dempsey scores hat trick in second half asFulham hangs five on Newcastle

Complex medical terms are now part of Steve Zakuani’s vocabulary.He rattles off terms like compartment syndrome, plantar flexion and dorsiflexion with ease, all too familiar with what the words mean after nine months of grueling rehabilita-tion to recover from a broken right leg.The Seattle Sounders’ young forward isn’t completely back. He may never be the same dynamic winger he was before getting hauled down in a tackle by Colorado’s Brian Mullan last April that resulted in a broken tibia and fibula and robbed Zakuani of most of his third Major League Soccer season.But when the Sounders opened training camp on Friday, using the indoor facility at the Seattle Seahawks’ headquarters due to snow that paralyzed the Seattle area, there was Zakuani on the field as a full participant. He even scored the final goal during a short scrimmage.He still has a subtle limp and he can feel the stabilizing metal hardware in his right leg. But just being on the field Friday was another sign of progress for the 23-year-old.“Obviously I’m happy to be playing again, playing to some degree and just to be out there again. ... I’m happy because it means I’m definitely in the home stretch, the last run. But the frustrating part is realizing just how far behind I am, not just in the group, but just myself from before I was injured,’’ Zakuani said. “It was OK to go through that, but I still think in realistic terms. Since I got that taste today I’m frustrated it’s not the full thing.’’The full thing, as Zakuani puts it, might not come for quite a while. At the end of last season, Zakuani revealed he suf-fered compartment syndrome - a condition in which swelling cuts off blood flow to certain areas of the body - as a com-plication following the surgery that stabilized the injury. He lost feeling in parts of his lower right leg, feeling that has yet to return nearly a year after the injury.Zakuani believes he would have returned by the end of last season had it not been for those complications. Instead, they’ve potentially changed the type of player Zakuani was and can be.“I’ve told people it’s not the fracture. That part of my leg is fine,’’ Zakuani said. “If I didn’t have the compartment syn-drome I would have been back the end of last season, which has added to the frustration - how it’s going to affect my speed, and my turning and explosiveness that are key parts of my game.’’Last year was supposed to be the season Zakuani became a star. He already had two goals and two assists through the first six games. It was just three minutes into the match against Colorado when Mullan barged into Zakuani near the sideline. Mullan was suspended 10 games for the tackle.Zakuani has no timeline for when he’ll be back. It’s partly his decision not to set any dates for his return, partly a determi-nation by doctors based on his recovery.Seattle coach Sigi Schmid estimated Zakuani was about 65 to 70 percent on the first day of training. Zakuani still refuses to watch highlights of himself from before the injury, not wanting to see the player he was and strives to be again, but knowing how difficult the road is to reach that level again.“I still have the picture in my head of how I played before. So I try to do something that came so naturally before and right now I’m not able to do it because my mobility isn’t there 100 percent, the strength in my legs isn’t there 100 per-cent. Those things are natural (and) that’s going to be frustrating,’’ Zakuani said. “There are going to be more bad days than good days in terms of my performance just because I’m trying to get back to that consistent base.’’Practicing without restrictions on Friday was a surprise to Zakuani, who only got the word from Schmid right before camp started. It’ll be a staggered process, with downtime for recovery following stressful days like the first practice.But for the first day, Schmid was pleased to see Zakuani back out there in a competitive atmosphere.“I think right now he’s got a good feel for how far he’s come and how far he is away. I think he was a little frustrated at the end because he was hoping he might be closer. But I was pretty happy with where he’s at,’’ Schmid said. “He knows what he needs to do now.’’

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Zakuani making progress inreturn from broken leg

Zambian football has only horrific memories of Libreville, the city where it lost a generation of players when their plane plunged into the ocean, killing everyone on board.In that 1993 crash, Zambia lost probably its best-ever team in its worst sporting disaster, as 18 players and seven officials died when their mili-tary aircraft went down soon after taking off from Libreville.Nearly 20 years later, the country’s 2012 squad is hoping to honor the memory of that team by returning to Libreville on Feb. 12 to play in the African Cup of Nations final, and turn the city into a place of joy.Zambia is based in neighboring Equatorial Guinea, Gabon’s co-host, for the first part of the African championship and will only reach Libreville at the semifinal stage at the earliest. It’s an inspiring target for the current players.“Gabon is where our national team perished in 1993,’’ Zambia captain Chris Katongo said. “If we can do that (reach the end of the tournament) and play the final in Gabon it would be fantastic. The most important thing is to work hard.“It (the memory of 1993) touches our hearts, but we have to work. This is the African Cup.’’In 1993, Zambia’s team was heading to Senegal for a World Cup qualifier when the accident happened. It took away an entire national team, save for one player.Only Kalusha Bwalya, the country’s biggest star, was spared as he was due to meet up with the rest of the squad in West Africa after traveling separately from his club side in Europe. His teammates never arrived.With Bwalya at the heart, Zambia quickly rebuilt and reached the final of the African Cup a year later on a wave of emotion. But it lost to Nigeria and has never been to a title game at the continental championship since.“It is my dream to win the Cup of Nations in Libreville because a great part of Zambian foot-ball history was written there,’’ midfielder Isaac Chansa told the African football confedera-tion website. “Imagine if we could lift the trophy, it would be a fantastic way to honor the memories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the land they loved.’’Goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene, a schoolboy two decades ago when news filtered through in Zambia of the plane crash, has only vague memories of the tragedy that left an entire country in mourning. But Bwalya, the country’s greatest player and now its football federation president, provides a living reminder of that lost team for the players of today.“Most of us were in primary school when the crash happened,’’ Mweene said, “but Kalusha remembers it vividly and has encouraged us to keep those who perished in our minds whenever we fight for our country.’’Before Zambia traveled to its base in Bata in Equatorial Guinea, they were sent a message by the country’s president, Michael Sata.The president wished his team luck and said the memories from the 1993 crash made this tournament a very emo-tional one.“That, however, should not put you under any pres-sure. It should inspire you to conquer,’’ Sata said.

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Zambia hopes to honor 1993 team killed in crash

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Thousands of fans forced their way into the Bata Stadium complex for Saturday’s opening match of the African Cup of Nations, prompting police to use tear gas.Police tried to check fans’ tickets one-by-one at the main gate to the complex ahead of Equatorial Guinea’s match against Libya. But several times the crush proved too much and the gates were opened to allow scores of supporters through without being checked.On at least one occasion, tear gas was used on the crowd.The gate opens onto a road leading to the stadium proper. In theory, fans will still need a ticket to get inside.As the crush threatened a po-tential disaster, Israeli security advisers ordered the gates to be opened. “It’s ok, it’s ok,’’ the Is-raelis shouted as the local police looked increasingly nervous and tried vainly to reclose the gate.Earlier, it appeared security forces had the situation in hand.Police had set up roadblocks within a few kilometers in all directions from the stadium approach, while all vehicles en-tering the stadium complex had to pass through a giant metal detector. Rifle-toting guards wearing all-over body armor were frisking fans.Inside the complex, a police canine patrol was at the ready, along with armored vehicles with heavy-calibre gun turrets.But as the pressure of numbers grew as kickoff approached, that tactic was soon exposed, caus-ing fans to line up for several hundred meters along the road approaching the stadium.

Eventually, the crush of ticket-waving fans threatened to force the gates open again until the police were ordered to give up the struggle.Almost immediately, a secondary gate some 300 meters away was also forced open, prompting police to scurry over.Riot police with shields and

armored vehicles arrived shortly after, but the pressure had been re-

leased by that time and there seemed to be no further problems.

The Equatorial Guinea team bus ar-rived at the stadium around half an hour

later, accompanied by a police convoy of cars and motor-cycles with sirens wailing.

Two years after he was shot in the head at close range in a Mexico City bar, for-mer Paraguay and Club America striker Salvador Cabanas made a comeback on Friday with Paraguayan third-division club 12 de Octobre.Cabanas started the friendly and played for 15 minutes before going to the

bench.“My dream has been realized,’’ Cabanas said at the match in his native town of Itaugua, located about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the capital Asuncion.“Last night I almost could not sleep,’’ he added.Club president Luis Salinas said he is seeking approval from Cabanas’ doctors and has contacted Mexico club Ameri-ca about a transfer.“We talked with the officials at America by telephone,’’ Salinas said. “Apparently there will be no transfer fee, but we have to do the paperwork.’’Cabanas, who was playing with America at the time, mi-raculously survived the shoot-ing on Jan. 25, 2010, in a bar in an upscale neighborhood in the Mexican capital. A bullet fragment is still lodged in his skull, which doctors decided was too risky to remove.He was shot, apparently in an argument about football. His

alleged assailant, Jose Jorge Balderas, was arrested a year after the shooting and is reported to have ties to Mexico’s drug trade.As part of his therapy, the 31-year-old has trained with the national team, but few expected him to return to the pitch - certainly not at his previous level. Before the shooting he was a favorite to lead Paraguay in the 2010 World Cup.“He’s OK from the neurological point of view, although the bullet is still in his skull,’’ Dr. Luis Greinner told The Asso-ciated Press. “The report from the clinic in Argentina where he was examined shows the bullet has not moved.’’Cabanas, who has limited vision in his left eye, did not do much while he was on the field. Part of this was because he was well marked by the other team, and because the tem-perature was 40 C (100F). But he seemed sure of himself and moved reasonably well on the field, but acknowledged he needs to be in better shape.The club begins play in April in the third division.“Salvador lacks conditioning,’’ 12 de Octobre coach Ro-lando Chilavert said. “But we are happy to have him back because it is a miracle.’’

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Fans force entry to stadium complex Cabanas returns despitebullet in his skull

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Mourinho won’t punish Pepe for Messi hand stamp

Cyprus FA postpones match over betting concerns

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho will not punish Pepe for stomping on the hand of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, saying that the defender’s apology was sufficient.The Portuguese manager said Saturday “the player has spoken and that is enough’’ after including Pepe in his squad for Sunday’s home game against Athletic Bilbao.Real Madrid lost 2-1 Wednesday to Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal. Mourinho said after the game if Pepe had stepped on Messi’s hand inten-tionally it would be “punishable.’’The following day Pepe issued a statement on Madrid’s website saying the stomp was “unintentional.’’

The Cyprus Football Association on Saturday took the highly unusual move of indefinitely postponing a first division match after judging there was “unreasonably excessive’’ betting on its outcome.

The FA said in a statement on its website that it made the decision regarding Saturday’s match between Enosis Neon Paralimni and Ermis Aradippou to “protect the sport and the teams.’’Enosis is 11th in the 14-team standings, while Ermis is last.It called on betting companies to invalidate all bets they’ve received on the match and urged them to sign information-sharing agreements with it regarding betting on Cypriot teams.The FA said it considers the postponement a one-off and that it would ask to meet with the finance minister and legislators to find ways of helping it prevent possible match-fixing.“We repeat our determination to eliminate the problem of potentially fixed

matches in our championship, while at the same time we issue an appeal to the state for help,’’ it said. “The FA cannot on its own eliminate the problem that has plagued world football in recent years.’’Although there have been suspicions of match-fixing in the past, nothing has ever been proven.Police are investigating a domestic cup tie between Olympiakos Nicosia and Doxa Katokopia on Dec. 7 amid suspicions of match-fixing.

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Abby Wambach has been voted the U.S. Soccer Federation’s female athlete of the year for the fifth time, matching Mia Hamm’s record. Clint Dempsey has been voted top male athlete for the first time since 2007.The USSF also said Friday that Brek Shea and Sydney Leroux were the top young athletes.Wambach won previously in 2003, 2004, 2007 and last year. Hamm won from 1994

to 1998. Wambach scored four goals at the Women’s World Cup, including one in the 122nd minute in the semifinals that forced penalty kicks and enabled the Americans to reach the final, where they lost to Germany.Dempsey scored three goals at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Playing for Fulham, he passed Brian McBride to become the highest-scor-ing American in the Premier League.Online votes counted for half the total, with the rest from media and USSF representatives.

Lille has signed 18-year-old Costa Rican striker John Jairo Ruiz from De-portivo Saprissa on a 4 1/2-year deal.Lille announced the deal on its website without giving any financial details.Ruiz, who scored three times for Costa Rica at the Under-20 World Cup last year, said “I am joining an ideal club and a league which will help me im-prove’’ as a player.

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Owen Coyle is apparently looking to rein-vest the money from Gary Cahill’s im-minent transfer to Chelsea on a winger, and has identified the Mexican as his top targetBolton are set to make a 4 million pounds bid for out-of-favor Tottenham midfielder Giovani dos Santos, according to the Mirror. Owen Coyle has 7m pounds to invest from Gary Cahill’s im-minent transfer to Chelsea and, in addition to American defender Tim Ream, has identified a winger as a top priority as he looks to preserve the club’s top flight status.

Coyle is believed to be a long-time admirer of Dos Santos, who ar-rived at White Hart Lane from Barcelona in 2008 but has failed to break into the starting lineup.

Bolton have also been strongly linked with a move for Blackburn winger Junior Hoilett, but Spurs boss Harry Redknapp’s willing-ness to sell Dos Santos at a fairly reasonable price means the Mexi-can is the likelier target.

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Bolton preparing 4m pounds bid for Tottenham midfielder

Giovani dos Santos

Wambach, Dempsey voted top US football players

Lille signs Costa Rican striker John Jairo Ruiz

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SHOEOF THEWEEK

Libya protest about flag mix-up on CAF

website

The Libya football team said it forced the Confederation of

African Football to correct its website on Saturday with the

new flag adopted by the country since Moammar Gadhafi’s overthrow.

Libya threatened to boycott all media events and stop cooperating with African Cup organizers until the

blunder was fixed, team media officer Fathi Aborze-za told The Associated Press.

Aborzeza said CAF, which oversees the tourna-ment, deleted the old green flag for the new

black, red and green flag just hours before the team’s opening match in the African Cup

against co-host Equatorial Guinea in Bata.Libya lost 1-0 on a dramatic opening

day. Earlier, thousands of home fans forced their way into the stadium in

Bata ahead of the game.CAF told The AP it had “taken

note’’ of Libya’s new flag from the time it was first used but

an error with the website’s old database caused it to

reproduce the old flag.Aborzeza also said a

car displaying the Libya flag and car-

rying the team’s media delegation

to the stadium was attacked

by local fans, who

punched the

driver.

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Ex-South Africa player stabbed to death in clubPolice say a footballer who played five times for South Africa was stabbed to death in a nightclub.Jeffrey Ntuka was killed in the early hours of Saturday.Michael Hughes, a representative of Ntuka’s agent, Stella Africa, told football website Kickoff.com the player was killed in the central South African town of Kroonstad.The 26-year-old defender had been in the squad of local gi-ants Kaizer Chiefs for two years but was without a club this season after his contract with Supersport United expired.

messi scores 3 goals as barcelona beats malaga · manchester united’s antonio valencia gave his...

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