The Korea Herald

Maradona appears to have a new girlfriend

Feb 28, 2013

Diego Maradona appears to have a new girlfriend. His ex-partner just gave birth to a baby he fathered. And the same ex-partner is also involved in a legal dispute with the Argentine football great‘s ex-wife.In the last few days local media have been awash with news and photos about a new woman in Maradona’s life, who has been identified as 22-year-old Rocio Geraldine Oliva.　Maradona, 52, has declined to confirm the relationship _ but he also hasn‘t denied it. A photo of Maradona holding a poster
FC Seoul dominates, other S. Korean teams falter in Champions League

Feb 28, 2013

Defending South Korean football champion FC Seoul enjoyed a dominant victory, while three other South Korean teams were each held to a draw at the top Asian club football competition this week.The 2013 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League kicked off with four K League Classic clubs in group stage action.FC Seoul, the 2012 K League Classic champ, trounced Jiangsu Sainty of China 5-1 in their Group E clash in Seoul on Tuesday, but three other K League Classic sides, Jeonbuk Hyundai
Footballer Lee Chun-soo seeks respect from younger teammates

Feb 27, 2013

Lee Chun-soo, a controversial footballer recently granted approval to return to the top South Korean professional league, said Wednesday he’d like to earn respect from his teammates.Lee, 31, has joined Incheon United in the K League Classic. He had previously been on the league’s banned list following his abrupt departure from another team in the league, Chunnam Dragons, in 2009. He needed Chunnam’s permission to play in South Korea again, and the team gave him the go-ahead last week and traded
Ronaldo leads Madrid past Barca to make Copa final

Feb 27, 2013

BARCELONA (AP) ― Cristiano Ronaldo got the better of Lionel Messi on Tuesday, scoring twice to lead Real Madrid to a 3-1 win at Barcelona and a spot in the Copa del Rey final.After the first leg of their semifinal ended 1-1, Madrid neutralized Barcelona’s passing game and counterattacked to perfection at the Camp Nou to hand its archrival its first home loss in any competition since last April.It was also a second straight cup setback for the Catalan club, which is running away with the Spanish
FIFA extends bans to 58 in fixing cases

Feb 26, 2013

ZURICH (AP) ― FIFA has given worldwide bans to 58 soccer players and officials found guilty in Chinese match-fixing cases.FIFA says it expelled 33 people from the game for life and 25 others will serve five-year bans for involvement in “domestic match-fixing and bribery.”All those banned were previously sanctioned by the Chinese soccer association. Life bans were imposed on referee Lu Jun, who officiated two 2002 World Cup matches, and four former Chinese national team players: Shen Si, Qi Hong,
Fresh beginnings

Feb 26, 2013

New-look K League Classic starts this weekend
Swansea beats Bradford to win first major trophy

Feb 25, 2013

After accumulating titles with Europe's biggest clubs as a player, Michael Laudrup reached unexpected heights in his first year as Swansea manager on Sunday by guiding the Welsh club to its first major trophy in its centenary season.In the heaviest victory League Cup final victory, Swansea overwhelmed Bradford 5-0 in front of 82,597 fans at Wembley Stadium to end the northern English club's hopes of becoming the first fourth-tier side to win a major title in Europe.Beating Bradford provided a re
Singapore police question Tan over match-fixing

Feb 24, 2013

SINGAPORE (AP) ― The Singapore Police Force has confirmed it is questioning the man who allegedly masterminded the rigging of hundreds of soccer games.“Dan Tan Seet Eng, a Singaporean who has been named in reports so far, is currently assisting Singapore authorities in their investigations,” the police said in a statement issued late Thursday. “We have been offering assistance and sharing available information with affected countries and will continue to do so.”The announcement came after Italia
Giggs helps United go 15 clear in 999th game

Feb 24, 2013

Ryan Giggs marked his 999th professional match with a goal Saturday to help Manchester United go provisionally 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League.A late goal from the Welsh midfielder followed a fine strike by defender Rafael da Silva in a 2-0 victory over bottom-place Queens Park Rangers.“He's delivered again,” United manager Alex Ferguson said of the 39-year-old Giggs. “He's an amazing man.”Even if second-place Manchester City beats Chelsea on Sunday, Giggs seems headed for a 13t
Tottenham, Chelsea advance in Europa League

Feb 22, 2013

Late goals by Tottenham’s Mousa Dembele and Chelsea’s Eden Hazard advanced the English clubs to the Europa League’s third round on Thursday night, while Newcastle also reached the final 16 and Liverpool and defending champion Atletico Madrid were eliminated.Playing in an empty stadium because of previous fan violence, Fenerbahce defeated BATE Borisov 1-0 on Cristian’s penalty kick in first-half stoppage time following a 0-0 tie in the first leg. A lit flare was parachuted into the stadium and la
Lee Chun-soo returns to K League

Feb 22, 2013

Former FIFA World Cup star Lee Chun-soo will return to the top division football league in South Korea this season after officials on Friday decided to grant the much-maligned footballer a second chance.Lee, 31, will join Incheon United in the first-division K League Classic, officials said. He had been on the league’s banned list after his abrupt departure from another K League Classic team, Chunnam Dragons, during the 2009 season. Those on the list need permission from their previous team to p
Hyundai Oilbank CEO named new head of pro soccer league

Feb 21, 2013

Kwon Oh-gap, the chief executive of the local oil refiner Hyundai Oilbank, was named Thursday as the new commissioner of the K League.Kwon, 62, will serve as the pro soccer chief for three years.He succeeds Chung Mong-gyu, who stepped down last month with one year left in his term and later became the new chairman of the Korea Football Association, the sport’s national governing body.Kwon had been serving as the commissioner of the Korea National League, which governs semi-pro football, since 20
Milan stuns Barcelona 2-0

Feb 21, 2013

MILAN (AP) ― With its first win over Barcelona in more than eight years, AC Milan put itself in prime position to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals.Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari scored second-half goals, leading AC Milan to a 2-0 upset Wednesday night in the first leg of the second round.At Istanbul, American midfielder Jermaine Jones scored on a right-footed shot off Jefferson Farfan’s cross on a 45th-minute counterattack to give Germany’s Schalke a 1-1 tie against Galatas
Bayern clips Arsenal 3-1

Feb 20, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― Arsenal’s sorry season keeps getting worse.Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller scored early in the first half, leading Bayern Munich over the Gunners 3-1 Tuesday night in the first leg of their Champions League second-round matchup.Goals by Kroos in the seventh minute and Mueller in the 21st built a 2-0 lead. After Lukas Podolski scored for the Arsenal in the 55th, Mario Mandzukic got Bayern’s final goal in the 77th.The second leg of the total-goals series is in Germany on March 13.“Let’
Chelsea, City, Wigan bag 4-goal wins

Feb 18, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― The FA Cup produced goals rather than shocks, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Wigan scoring four times each Sunday to knock out lower-league opponents.Held to a 2-2 tie by third-tier Brentford three weeks ago, Chelsea got second-half goals from Juan Mata, Oscar, Frank Lampard and John Terry to win its fourth-round replay 4-0. Lampard’s goal was his 199th for the Blues, three behind the club record set by Bobby Tambling from 1959-70.Chelsea will play at Middlesbrough on Feb. 27 to