World Soccer News
World Soccer News for the week of 03/15
Brazil reconciles with Pele with 2014 World Cup in view
The most famous Brazilian player of all time, Pelé, will be the mascot of the 2014 World Cup to be held in his country. A great choice of the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF), although Pelé is now 67 years old and will be 73 by the time of the tournament. Hopefully his good health will serve him well.
The signing of the contract between Pelé and the CBF last week means the two have burried the hatchet after a lengthy dispute between The King and the CBF chairman Ricardo Teixeira. Last year Pelé even missed out on the host announcement ceremony in FIFA's headquarters in Zurich. Everything is fine between the two now.
"We are all going to work for Brazil's benefit. Ricardo Teixeira has asked me to take part in the country's international promotion. I am a Brazilian and I'll do my best to help the project succeed," said the all-time top scorer for the national team.
Thierry Henry: "This is Henry you'll going to see"
Numerous observers claimed last summer Barcelona was wrong to sign Thierry Henry from Arsenal for 24 million euros. In the meantime the reality has proven them right and even Henry agrees with it.
The unstoppable forward who fired an amazing 226 goals for the Gunners in all competitions does not exist anymore, said the Frenchman at a recent press conference in Barcelona. He admitted he had not only failed to adapt to a new country and club, but he was also troubled by the separation from his daughter Tea and the wide left position on which Frank Rijkaard is playing him whenever Samuel Eto'o is
healthy.
"I am not happy because the father who has seen his daugher only five times in eight months cannot be happy. Still, the chief cause of my inferior performance is playing on the left side instead of in the centre. For eight years I played in a certain position and now I have to act in a different position within a different scheme. So, enough of comparisons between Henry in Barcelona and Henry in Arsenal."
Last September Henry divorced his wife Claire Merry, with whom he has the three-year-old Tea. "She is the most important thing in the world to me. Every father knows what I'm talking about. If I could see her more often, I guess my form
would improve."
Disappointed Ian Wright slams son Bradley over bar incident
Bradley Wright-Phillips, son of the legendary Arsenal striker Ian, was
caught last week in a shameful incident along with his Southampton mate Nathan Dyer and three friends. The merry boys were filmed looting handbags at a nightclub. Bradley himself did not steal anything but his looking on and sneering at his pals was embarrassment enough for his dad.
"He disgraced himself and his family. I am compelled to condemn what happened. He is guilty because he's there. Now he's going to have to take the consequences," said the ex-England international during his talk show."
The boys must have done if for fun alone, because only three mobile phones, 145 GBP in cash and some cigarettes were reported missing from the barmaids' bags.
Argentinian "tank" Palermo Boca's record scorer
The robust centre-forward Martín Palermo has become the highest scoring player in Boca Junior's history when he scored against the Mexican side Atlas in the Libertadores Cup.
The 34-year-old striker reached the quota of 181 goals in official
games, overtaking Francisco Varallo who scored 180 goals in the thirties.
The record applies to the games in the professional era of Argentinian soccer, initiated in 1931. Taking the amateur era into account, the best scorer is still Roberto Cherro, who netted 221 goals between 1926 and 1938. However, only 106 of Cherro's goals bear the stamp of professionalism.
Palermo won two Libertadores Cups, two Sudamericana Cups, two Recopas and an Intercontinental Cup in 2000, when he downed Real Madrid with two goals.
Top Boca Juniors' scorers
1. Martin Palermo - 181
2. Francisco Varallo - 180
3. Jaime Sarlanga - 128
4. Mario Boyé - 124
5. Delfín Benítez - 115
6. Roberto Cherro - 106
7. Pío Corcuera - 98
8. Sergio Martínez - 86
9. Guillermo Barros Schelotto - 86
10. Alfredo Oscar Graciani – 83
Croatian keeper calls for retaliation against Hamas
Beitar Jerusalem's Croatian goalkeeper, Tvrtko Kale, has caused a major political scandal in the Middle East with inflamatory remarks regarding the Gaza conflict. In an intervew with the Israeli TV Sport5 channel, he suggested the perpetrators of the bombings should be eliminated in a decisive military action.
"I get lots of SMS messages from my friends who ask, how is the constant Hamas shelling of Sderot and Ashkelon being allowed? How can the citizens stand this? And I remember how the Croats solved it when we had these problems: Shoot, kill, destroy, and then you have no more problems," said Kale, formerly a soldier in the Croatian army during the independence war between 1991 and 1995.
When the reporter remarked that such a solution was considered unacceptable in Israel, Kale calmly responded that 50 or 60 years trying to find a peaceful solution was quite enough.
"Something must be wrong with this. It's time to Israel to say it's enough."
Later Kale tried to dilute the effects of his words claiming he did not
refer to the Arab people in general but only "to the terrorists."
"As a matter of fact I have many Arab friends and they understood
what I meant," said Kale.
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