The Korea Herald

Chelsea, Madrid storm into quarters

Mar 19, 2014

LONDON (AP) ― Chelsea ended England’s one-year absence from the Champions League quarterfinals, beating Gala-tasaray 2-0 Tuesday night on first-half goals by Samuel Eto’o and Gary Cahill to complete a 3-1 aggregate win.“It was everything we wanted it to be. We knew it was going to be a tough game and they hardly threatened,” Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard said. “It was a very controlled, very professional performance from all of us.”In the night’s other match, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in
Korea fails to get high seed for Asian Cup

Mar 18, 2014

As a result of its dramatic fall in the FIFA rankings and an unfavorable rule change, South Korea has failed to receive one of the top four seeds at an upcoming continental tournament, said the event’s organizers.The Asian Football Confederation announced on its website the seeds for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which will kick off on Jan. 9 in Australia. The AFC said 16 countries will be divided into four groups of four, and their seeds were based on the latest FIFA rankings announced last week.Sout
Kim Shin-wook stretches scoring streak as Brazil World Cup nears

Mar 17, 2014

There are several South Korean footballers plying their trade in Europe and Asia, but the hottest player for the country today is based in the domestic league.Kim Shin-wook, a striker for Ulsan Hyundai in the top-flight K League Classic, scored in his fourth straight game on Sunday, helping his club to a 3-0 win over Gyeongnam FC at home and further improving his chances of making the South Korean team for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil this summer.Kim has netted a goal in each of Ulsan’s first tw
Liverpool, Arsenal tighten EPL race

Mar 17, 2014

LONDON (AP) ― The Premier League title race is shaping up to be a tight four-way fight after Liverpool and Arsenal both earned away wins at their main traditional rivals on Sunday.Liverpool convincingly beat Manchester United 3-0 while Arsenal won 1-0 at Tottenham, taking full advantage of leader Chelsea’s loss at Aston Villa a day earlier to tighten the gap.In Spain, Messi appeared to be back to his best as he netted a hat trick to set another scoring record for Barcelona in a 7-0 win over Osas
Practice held at stadium hosting World Cup opener

Mar 16, 2014

SAO PAULO (AP) ― The stadium set to host the opening World Cup match in less than three months opened for a brief practice session on Saturday, with construction workers taking a break to watch players step on the field for the first time.Although the Itaquerao stadium isn’t expected to be ready before mid-April, Brazilian club Corinthians trained in a closed session open only to journalists.The Itaquerao was one of the six stadiums expected to be finished by the end of 2013, but a crane collaps
Russia set to play 3 tune-up matches

Mar 14, 2014

Russia, grouped with South Korea in this year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, will play three tune-up matches in the days leading up to the big tournament and train at home before leaving for South America, a football official from Moscow said on Friday.In a phone interview with Yonhap, the official with the Football Union of Russia said the country will host Slovakia on May 26 at a yet-to-be-determined venue, travel to Norway for another match there on May 31 and return to Moscow to play Morocco on
Suwon to host Eindhoven in exhibition match

Mar 14, 2014

South Korean club Suwon Bluewings announced Friday they will host the Dutch club PSV Eindhoven in an exhibition match this spring.The K League Classic club match against PSV Eindhoven, featuring South Korean icon Park Ji-sung, will take place at 8 p.m. on May 22 at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, about 45 kilometers south of Seoul.Park, 33, grew up in Suwon and has a street and a youth football training center named after him. The versatile midfielder is regarded as one of S
Barca, PSG reach quarters

Mar 13, 2014

BARCELONA (AP) ― Barcelona eased into the Champions League quarterfinals for the seventh straight year, shaking off a slump that has dropped it to third place in the La Liga standings.Lionel Messi and Dani Alves scored second-half goals in a 2-1 win over Manchester City on Wednesday night that completed a 4-1 aggregate victory.“We had some pretty big setbacks, especially in the way we were playing ― but today we got back to playing the way we know, the Barca people love,” Messi said. “Even thoug
Four Korean clubs remain undefeated in AFC

Mar 13, 2014

With two matches apiece in the books, four South Korean clubs at the top Asian competition remained undefeated this week.Ulsan Hyundai of the K League Classic picked up its second win in the group stage on Wednesday at this year’s AFC Champions League, beating Kawasaki Frontale at home 2-0. Ulsan leads Group H with six points.Also on Wednesday, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors played Melbourne Victory to a 2-2 tie in Group G action on the road, and it now sits at four points. Guangzhou Evergrande, the 201
Bayern into Champions quarters

Mar 12, 2014

Atletico beats Milan 4-1 to reach quarterfinals
Pele says Neymar can handle WC pressure

Mar 11, 2014

PARIS (AP) ― Pele is counting on Neymar to lead Brazil to a World Cup title and erase the painful memory of the last time the country hosted the tournament.Considered by many to be soccer’s greatest player, Pele was only 9 years old when Brazil lost to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup final. Pele then led Brazil to the title eight years later, when he was 17 and again in 1962 and 1970.With Brazil holding the tournament this year, the pressure is on the 22-year-old Neymar, who scored a hat trick las
Schedule finalized for national team

Mar 10, 2014

The South Korean men’s national soccer team has finalized its schedule in its buildup to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil this summer, officials said on Monday.The Korea Football Association said the team is scheduled to land in Brazil on June 12, five days before it is to face Russia to open Group H action. South Korea will set up training camp in Foz do Iguacu and will play Russia in Cuiaba, about 1,100 kilometers north of the camp.The other teams in Group H are Algeria and Belgium. South Korea fa
City ousted from FA Cup

Mar 10, 2014

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester City suffered an unceremonious exit from the FA Cup on Sunday, three days before it tries to overturn a 2-0 deficit at Barcelona in the Champions League.Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, had little trouble guiding his rampant Real Madrid to another win that left it alone at the top of the table in Spain.Juventus won to continue its march to the Italian title. Borussia Dortmund eked out a victory as it remained in a distant second place behind German leader Bayern Munich, and
New season off to rousing start

Mar 10, 2014

The 2014 K League Classic season got off to a rousing start as a record number of fans enjoyed a weekend of action-packed soccer.All 12 clubs got into action over the past two days and the defending champs Pohang Steelers opened with a 1-0 loss to the 2013 runner-ups Ulsan Hyundai at home on Saturday.It was a rematch of a thrilling season finale from last year.Ulsan held a two-point lead over Pohang before that game and only needed a draw to secure its first championship. Pohang then scored only
Barca stumbles again

Mar 9, 2014

LONDON (AP) ― Bayern Munich has virtually wrapped up the German league title, the French championship is Paris Saint-Germain’s to lose and there’s seemingly no stopping Chelsea’s march to the English Premier League trophy.As for Spain, however, who knows where the title will end up after Barcelona lost on Saturday for the third time in six games.Barcelona’s title defense took a blow when it stumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Valladolid, missing the chance to move to the top of the Spanish standings.Lio