The Korea Herald

Bilbao blitzes Man U, City also exits Europa

Mar 16, 2012

BILBAO, Spain (AP) ― Athletic Bilbao blitzed Manchester United 2-1 to lead three Spanish teams into the Europa League quarterfinals, while Manchester City also left England without representation despite a 3-2 victory over Sporting Lisbon on Thursday.Fernando Llorente and Oscar de Marcos scored in each half as Athletic overwhelmed United, which got a late consolation goal from Wayne Rooney, for a 5-3 aggregate victory that should have been much more. The young Basque club, which also mesmerized
FIFA suspends Choi Sung-kuk for worldwide matches

Mar 16, 2012

The world football governing body has suspended South Korea‘s Choi Sung-kuk for matches around the world, South Korean football officials said Friday.Last year, Choi, a former national team forward, was given a life ban from any football-related activity in South Korea for his involvement in a match-rigging scandal in 2010.Choi is “suspended worldwide for the duration of the suspension imposed” by South Korea’s Football Association, FIFA said last week, according to an official of the Korea Prof
Korea, Japan and UAE now focus on Games

Mar 15, 2012

The Korean national U23 soccer team finished its group campaign with a goalless draw with Qatar on Wednesday at Seoul World Cup Stadium.The draw saw Hong Myung-bo’s side, which had already secured a berth at the London Games, finish top of Group A in the Asian qualifying round undefeated, with three wins and three draws in six matches.The final qualifying round saw 12 teams battle it out in three groups, with the top team from each group securing an automatic berth in the 16-team soccer tourname
Madrid, Chelsea reach Champions League quarters

Mar 15, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Real Madrid provided further proof Wednesday that its feebleness in the Champions League appears to be a thing of the past under Jose Mourinho.After failing to reach the quarterfinals for six successive seasons before Mourinho’s arrival, the nine-time champions advanced for the second year in a row by sweeping aside CSKA Moscow.Madrid responded to a 1-1 draw in Russia by winning the second leg 4-1, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice, taking his tally to 42 goals this season.“With
S. Korea, Qatar play to scoreless draw as Olympic football

Mar 15, 2012

South Korea played Qatar to a scoreless draw in the last Olympic football qualification game here Wednesday, extending its unbeaten streak in the qualifying stage with a ticket to London already in hand.South Korea’s Kim Dong-sub (left) attempts a shot during an Asian football qualifier for the 2012
Gomez’s 4 goals lead Bayern into quarters

Mar 14, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Germany striker Mario Gomez scored four goals, leading Bayern Munich into the Champions League quarterfinals Tuesday with a 7-0 rout of FC Basel.A week after Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match, Gomez became the eighth to hit four as Bayern overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to advance 7-1.Arjen Robben also scored twice for Bayern, which was joined in the next round by Marseille despite the French club’s 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan.Inter
Arsenal sinks Newcastle 2-1 with late goal

Mar 13, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Arsenal center back Thomas Vermaelen scored in stoppage time in a 2-1 win over Newcastle on Monday, completing the team’s fourth straight come-from-behind victory in the Premier League to close within a point of third place.Vermaelen scored in the fifth and final minute of added time, tapping the ball in from close range to send the 60,000 crowd into a frenzy as the Gunners are now within touching distance of fierce rival Tottenham in the last automatic Champions League spot.Arsena
Man United surges to EPL lead

Mar 12, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United took over the Premier League lead at the end of a round of games for the first time since Oct. 15, beating West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Sunday on a pair of goals by Wayne Rooney as Manchester City lost 1-0 at Swansea.Rooney deflected in a shot by Javier Hernandez in the 35th minute at Old Trafford, then converted a penalty kick in the 71st after Keith Andrews fouled Ashley Young. Rooney increased his season total to 26 goals, including 20 in the league.At Swansea, Luk
Korea faces Iran in 2014 WC Asian qualifying round

Mar 9, 2012

South Korea has been grouped with Iran in the final Asian qualifying round for the Brazil 2014 World Cup. In a draw held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday, Korea was picked to face the side in Group A along with Uzbekistan, Lebanon and Qatar.Ten teams were divided into two groups of five in the draw. In Group B, Australia is pitted against Japan, Iraq, Oman and Jordan. Asia has 4.5 tickets for the FIFA World Cup. The top-two teams of the two groups will automatically qualify for the 2014 Worl
Manchester clubs upset in Europa

Mar 9, 2012

Manchester United and City were upset in the first legs of their third-round matches in the Europa League on Thursday night, and American forward Jozy Altidore helped set up two goals in AZ Alkmaar’s 2-0 win over Udinese.Wayne Rooney scored twice, but Manchester United lost 3-2 at Old Trafford to Athletic Bilbao. After Rooney put the hosts ahead in the 22nd minute, Bilbao built a 3-1 lead on goals by Fernando Llorente in the 44th, Oscar de Marcos in the 72nd and Iker Muniain in the 90th. Rooney
Reigning K-League champs fall 5-1

Mar 8, 2012

The four K-League representatives at this year’s Asian Football Confederation Champions League had mixed results to their title pursuits this week, perhaps none as shocking as the reigning K-League champion’s loss Wednesday.Two of the four, Pohang Steelers and Ulsan Hyundai FC, notched victories in their opening group matches on Tuesday, while Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma eked out an away draw with a last-minute equalizer on Wednesday.But their feats were overshadowed by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ 5-1 hom
Messi becomes first player to net 5 in Champions League

Mar 8, 2012

BARCELONA (AP) ― For all the astonishing feats in his young career, Lionel Messi had never scored five goals in a professional game. And no one had ever scored five times in a Champions League match.Well, check both of those off.With another mesmerizing performance, Messi helped defending champion Barcelona crush Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 Wednesday night to advance to the quarterfinals with a 10-2 aggregate win.“Without Messi, Barca is the best team,” Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt said. “And with him,
Milan holds off Arsenal comeback

Mar 7, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Milan narrowly avoided becoming the victim of the greatest comeback in Champions League history on Tuesday, reaching the quarterfinals despite a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at Arsenal.The English club was rated a 33-1 shot by bookmakers to advance after losing the first leg 4-0 but closed to within one score of the seven-time champions before halftime on goals by Laurent Koscielny, Tomas Rosicky and Robin van Persie.Both goalkeepers made crucial second-half stops to keep the score 3-0
FIFA moves to abolish February, August exhibitions

Mar 6, 2012

ZURICH (AP) ― FIFA wants to abolish international exhibition games in February and August in a move that will appease European clubs.FIFA has announced a proposed calendar from 2015-18, although no specific dates were listed for such games.The suggested calendar calls for national teams to play two games each March, September, October and November, plus June in odd-numbered years, and for the vast majority for European national teams the matches will be qualifiers for the World Cup and the Europ
Choi seeks more success

Mar 6, 2012

Manager hoping to avoid Iran in final qualifying drawIt’s been less than three months since Choi Kang-hee became the new national soccer team manager. But he is enjoying the most successful part of his 10-year coaching career after saving Korea from being knocked out of the Asian qualifying round for the 2014 World Cup.Choi, however, indicated Monday that he knows his job is only temporary. His appointment in December came amid a series of troubles on the national team. Korea suffered a shocking