Bad week in the office for Canadians

Under-23 Men's Olympic and Women's World Cup soccer teams suffer defeats

It was a bad week in the office for the Canadian national teams. The men's U-23 side in the absence of star midfielder Iain Hume suffered three consecutive defeats in CONCACAF's Olympic qualifying campaign in Guadalajara, Mexico.
After being eliminated from Athens 2004 by the United States, the Canadian Men's Olympic (U-23) Team lost 2-1 to Panama last weekend in their final Group A match.
Panama's Jose Luis Garces beat Canadian goalkeeper Andrew Olivieri to score the first goal of the match in the 13th minute. Kelowna, BC native, Rob Friend tied the match in the 20th minute.
Panama's Victor Miranda scored the game winner in the 75th minute, leaving Canada with no wins at the tournament.
On the other side of the world, Canada's Women's World Cup Team was defeated 2-0 by the United States last week, at the Four Nations Women's Tournament in Shenzhen, China PR. Canada placed last in the tournament after losing all three games.
This was Canada‚s first match against the United States since the third place match at the 2003 Women's World Cup in Carson, California on October 11, 2003 to whom Canada lost 3-1.
"Our team didn't win the tournament, but we certainly won tons of experience. These three hard fought games against the highest standard of competition will serve as the best possible preparation for the upcoming Olympic Qualifying Tournament."
The United States won the Four Nations Women's Tournament with a 2-0-1 record over host China (1-0-2), Sweden (1-1-1), and Canada (0-3-0). Canada will begin their Olympic Qualifying on Thursday, February 26th against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Costa Rica.
USA and Canada as always are expected to walk through their regional qualifying campaign due to lack of competition.

Matters of law

FIFA president Sepp Blatter is to try to force through new rules this month to limit the number of substitutes in international exhibition matches to five players.
The attempt to change the laws of the game will be made at a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in London and if the bid is successful, it will have huge significance for England head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson who has changed his entire team during unofficial matches.
In fact, it was Eriksson's decision to make 11 substitutions against Australia last year which first drew Blatter's attention to the issue.
FIFA's submission to the IFAB, which will be heard on February 27 and 28, says: "The practice of making large numbers of substitutions in friendly matches devalues the game and creates a farcical situation. The number of substitutes used in friendly matches must be controlled."
Eriksson is understood to have contacted Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni and France boss Jacques Santini among other international coaches to gauge their feelings on the issue and he could instruct the English Football Association to try to block the rule change.
Each (British) home nation has a voting place on the IFAB with FIFA also having four votes. Any rule change needs at least six of the eight votes to become law. The FA themselves want to see the experimental 10-yard rule - where free-kicks are advanced 10 yards in cases of dissent or failing to retreat - become law.
Their submission to the IFAB meeting says: "Where it has been applied in experiments in amateur, semi-professional and professional football matches, it has significantly improved the quality of sportsmanship and assisted referees controlling games.
"The risk of instant punishment of the offending team, as a result of an individual player's misconduct, has proved to be a helpful deterrent to unfair tactics and fair play has become much more prevalent."
If the original offence is within 10 yards of the penalty area, then the free-kick is advanced to the edge of the box. Experiments have shown it proved to be a disadvantage when the free-kick was moved actually into the penalty area.
Other matters on the agenda include proposals that competitive matches be allowed on artificial turf, that the maximum half-time break is extended from 15 to 20 minutes, and that players who remove their shirts in goal celebrations are automatically booked.

Roma thrash Juventus, Milan maintains lead

Roma got back on track in a big way with a 4-0 rout of Juventus last Sunday in Serie A. The win gave the Giallorossi sole possession of second place and kept them five points back of league-leading AC Milan.
Roma took a 1-0 lead into the half on Oliver Dacourt's goal in the 12th minute, his first with Roma since joining the club a year ago. Francesco Totti knocked in a penalty kick in the 53rd minute, Antionio Cassano scored twice after Juventus' Paolo Montero was given a red card.
Juventus was playing without star Alessandro Del Piero, who sat out the game with an injury.
AC Milan was able to squeak by Perugia, 2-1. The match remained scoreless until the 74th minute when substitute Rui Costa drilled a free kick past Gianluigi Buffon. Four minutes later, Andrea Pirlo connected on a penalty kick to give the Rossoneri a two-goal lead.
Things got dicey for the league leaders when Giuseppe Pancaro was red carded for a rough challenge inside the box. Salvatore Fresi netted the subsequent penalty kick for Perugia, but that was as close as it could get.
Christian Vieri scored twice, but Inter Milan could only manage a 2-2 tie with Sampdoria after Cristiano Doni tied the score on a penalty shot in the 85th minute.
Lazio blanked Parma, 3-0, giving it 36 points this season, tying them with Inter. Inter has the edge for fourth place, and the final UEFA Champions League spot on goal differential.
In other action, Bologna topped Udinese, 3-1; Empoli defeated Siena, 1-0; Modena overcame hapless Ancona 2-1; Lecce won, 3-2, over Chievo Verona; and Reggina played to a 0-0 tie with Brescia.

Doping bans reduced for Kallon and Blasi

Inter Milan striker Mohammed Kallon and Parma midfielder Manuele Blasi have had doping bans reduced after appeal. The pair had been suspended after testing positive for performance-enhancing steroids this season.
The Italian Soccer Federation's appeal commission said in a statement that Kallon's eight-month ban had been reduced to six months and Blasi's cut from six to five months. Both suspensions began in October.
Kallon tested positive for metabolites of the steroid nandrolone after Inter's game with Udinese in September while Blasi failed a test for norandrosterone after Parma's game with Perugia on September 14.
The other Serie A player to have tested positive this season, Perugia's Al Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, is available to play again after his three-month ban ended.

Cash infusion for Parma

Serie A club Parma has agreed a sponsorship deal with local bank Cariarma until the end of the current season. The debt-ridden club will carry the bank's logo on its shirts for the first time on Sunday after former sponsors, and owners, Parmalat were declared insolvent at the end of last year. The food company had been Parma's sponsors since 1987.

Fiorentina coach given his marching orders

Fiorentina sacked coach Alberto Cavasin this week and replaced him with former Torino boss Emiliano Mondonico. The twice Italian champions are 14th in Serie B and lost 2-1 to Triestina last weekend.
Cavasin helped Fiorentina, reformed after the original Florence club went bankrupt in 2002, to the Serie C2 title last season. Fiorentina were then elevated to Serie B as part of the expansion of the division taken after a series of legal rows during the close season.
Despite impressive support and hefty financial backing Fiorentina have been unable to mount a challenge for promotion back to the top flight.

Publication Date: 2004-02-15
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3650