The Korea Herald

S. Korea overwhelmed by Croatia in football friendly

Feb 7, 2013

South Korea dropped to Croatia 4-0 in a football friendly held Wednesday in London, with the helpless defense unable to contain the crafty Europeans.At Craven Cottage, home of the English Premier League club Fulham, Croatia scored two goals in each half of the resounding win.Croatia came into the match ranked 10th in the world, 24 spots higher than South Korea on the lastest FIFA table. South Korea is now winless in its past four international contests, dating back to September.South Korea had a
Balotelli tops soccer rankings

Feb 6, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― Back in Italy after a turbulent period in England, Mario Balotelli has been voted player of the week in the Associated Press global soccer rankings for scoring twice in his first game for AC Milan.Balotelli was the clear winner with 181 points from AP’s panel of 22 global soccer journalists, 64 points ahead of another player who moved in the January transfer window, Frenchman Moussa Sissoko, who scored twice on his debut for Newcastle against Chelsea.Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich
Tackling match-fixing raises pressure

Feb 6, 2013

SINGAPORE (AP) ― Revelations that a Singapore-based crime syndicate has been involved in fixing soccer matches around the world has put extra pressure on authorities in the Southeast Asian city-state to take action against the alleged ringleader.The Singaporean businessman known as Dan Tan has been placed on Italy’s wanted list and has been implicated in various investigations into soccer corruption, including Monday’s revelations in The Hague by the European police agency Europol. He has avoide
Korea soccer team faces Croatia test

Feb 5, 2013

In a stern test ahead of FIFA World Cup qualification matches, the South Korean men’s national soccer team will take on Croatia in London this week.South Korea set up its training camp in Marlow, west of central London, last week in preparation for the match scheduled for 2:05 p.m. Wednesday local time, or 11:05 p.m. Wednesday in Korea, at Craven Cottage, home of the English Premier League club, Fulham.Croatia was ranked 10th in the most recent FIFA world rankings released on Jan. 13, 24 spots a
FIFA panel to consider changing offside rule

Feb 5, 2013

ZURICH (AP) ― FIFA’s rules-making panel will consider changing how offside is interpreted at its annual meeting next month.The governing body said Monday the panel will also examine closing a loophole regarding uncontested dropped balls after a controversial goal scored by Shakhtar Donetsk against Nordsjaelland in the Champions League in November.A progress report on introducing goal-line technology before the 2014 World Cup will be submitted when the rules body meets March 1-2 in Edinburgh, Sco
Wages soar as club losses hit record

Feb 5, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― UEFA says losses across European soccer clubs are ballooning as player salaries soar, despite the economic crisis engulfing the continent.A report shows losses by top division clubs tripled over five years to a record $2.3 billion, and the cost of paying players leapt 40 percent to $11.2 billion.But in the 2011 financial year, UEFA found the total debt of the 654 clubs’ accounts analyzed dropped by around 10 percent to $10.5 billion. However, 62 percent of clubs breached at least o
Man City drops two more points in pursuit of United

Feb 4, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― Liverpool did Manchester United a big favor in the Premier League on Sunday, holding Manchester City to a 2-2 draw to leave the defending champions nine points behind their neighbors in the title race.Sergio Aguero’s 79th-minute goal gave City one point that will be of little comfort to manager Roberto Mancini, whose team has dropped four points in six days and is struggling to keep pace with United.“Seven or nine points doesn’t change (anything),” Mancini said. “I think we can rec
Messi gives Barcelona 1-1 draw at Valencia

Feb 4, 2013

Lionel Messi extended his record streak by scoring in his 12th consecutive Spanish league game to give leader Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Valencia on Sunday, while Atletico Madrid remained perfect at home through 20 games in all competitions.Midfielder Ever Banega struck first for Valencia in the 33rd, only for Messi to level for the visitors from the penalty spot six minutes later.Former Valencia star David Villa had Barcelona's best chance late but failed to finish on the break before goalkeeper V
Feeling the pain

Feb 3, 2013

Chelsea falls to Newcastle 3-2
Beckham joins Paris-Saint Germain

Feb 1, 2013

PARIS (AP) ― David Beckham pledged to donate his salary to a children’s charity Thursday after signing a five-month contract with Paris-Saint Germain, the latest stop on his globe-trotting career.The 37-year-old former England captain joined PSG after turning down several other offers and pledging to effectively play for free. No financial details were given as to how much Beckham’s salary would be or the name of the charity. The decision was taken early Thursday morning.“It’s something we (deci
Beckham set for Paris Saint-Germain move: reports

Jan 31, 2013

Former England captain David Beckham was set to join French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Thursday, both the BBC and Sky Sports News reported.The 37-year-old midfielder has been without a club since ending a five-and-half-year spell in the United States last month after winning a second MLS Cup with the Los Angeles Galaxy.Beckham was reportedly in line to be unveiled by PSG later Thursday and the club announced a 5:00 pm local (1600 GMT) news conference at their Parc des Princes ground with
Barca, Real draw in Copa semis

Jan 31, 2013

MADRID (AP) ― Raphael Varane scored in the 81st minute, giving Real Madrid a 1-1 tie against Barcelona on Wednesday night in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal.With Barcelona enjoying the majority of the possession, Cesc Fabregas put the defending champion ahead in the 50th minute off a pass from Lionel Messi, who intercepted a clearance. Messi’s streak of scoring in 16 straight starts ended.Varane’s goal was his first since Dec. 20, 2011.“It’s like a dream come true, incredible to sc
City ties at last-place QPR

Jan 30, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester City missed a chance to put pressure on Premier League leader Manchester United, tying 0-0 Tuesday night at last-place Queens Park Rangers.Manchester United (18-3-2) can open a seven-point lead over City (15-2-7) with a win over Southampton on Wednesday.“We are disappointed for this result,” City manager Roberto Mancini said. “We had our chances to win, and we dominated the game, but QPR defended very well, got players behind the ball. We lost two points, for sure.”QPR (
Ferguson charged by FA

Jan 30, 2013

LONDON (AFP) ― The Football Association on Tuesday charged Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson after he criticized the performance of an assistant referee in a game at Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month.“The FA has today charged Sir Alex Ferguson in relation to post-match media comments made following Manchester United’s game at Tottenham Hotspur on Jan. 20” said an FA statement.“It is alleged the Manchester United manager breached FA Rule E3 in that he implied that the match official was
South Korea defender Yun Suk-young joins QPR

Jan 30, 2013

Queens Park Rangers has signed South Korea defender Yun Suk-young from K-League side Chunnam Dragons.The 22-year-old Yun has signed a 3.5-year deal with the Premier League's bottom club.The left back, who won a bronze medal at the London Olympics, has been granted a British work permit and will be eligible to play when he obtains a visa.(AP)