Many Czech fans were hoping for Juventus’ Pavel Nedved’s return to the national team for the EURO 2008. Today’s nomination by coach Karel Bruckner left him out because Nedved decided not to play. He would have been a good replacement for the injured captain Tomas Rosicky.
Despite the fact that only 13,000 Scottish fans have tickets for tonight’s UEFA Cup finals, close to 100,000 of them arrived in Manchester City. Many fans were trying to get the tickets on the street where the going rate was close to 3000 dollars. Manchester City set up three fan zones where fans can watch the game on giant screens.
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi denied rumors about him moving to Chelsea. “I am a Barcelona player and this is what matters the most,” Messi told the Spanish radio La Red. He signed a contract which will keep him in Barcelona till 2014.
LA Galaxy lost to Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 in a friendly game on Tuesday. Alan Gordon’s header in the 43rd minute from David Beckham’s pass tied the match. Beckham had an another great opportunity with a 30 yard free kick but the shot missed the post by a few inches. Galaxy was without their leading scorer Landon Donovan who stayed home with a calf injury.
Tottenham’s former coach Martin Jol became the new coach of the Bundesliga team Hamburger SV. Their present coach Huub Stevens is leaving to be closer to his ailing wife in Holland. Martin Jol is a former professional soccer player who spent some time playing in England, but finished his playing days in native Holland.
Today’s EUFA Cup finals may be a little nostalgic for Zenit’s coach Dick Advocaat. He was the Rangers coach from 1998 to 2001 and won the Scottish Football Writer’s manager of the year award. He said”It is important that I don’t become emotional.”
alan gordon Barcelona Chelsea czech david beckham dick advocaat england hamburger sv Holland huub stevens Juventus karel bruckner LA Galaxy la red landon donovan lionel messi Manchester City martin jol pavel nedved radio rangers scottish spanish Tomas Rosicky tottenham tuesday vancouver whitecaps zenit