Friday, May 31, 2002
England's Beckham says he's ready to take on Sweden
World Cup notebook
By DAVID MORDKOFF
Associated Press Writer
David Beckham is convinced his broken foot has healed enough for him to tackle the Swedes at the World Cup.
England's star midfielder fired in trademark long range shots at training camp Thursday and told coach Sven-Goran Eriksson he was ready to play in the team's opener on Sunday.
“Yes, I have said that to the manager. It has been good to train and I feel a lot better than I was in the first four or five days,” the England captain said at his first news conference since he arrived at the World Cup.
Beckham broke a bone in his left foot playing for Manchester United during a Champion's League quarterfinal April 10 and hasn't played since.
Beckham also said he had been overwhelmed not only by his welcome by the Japanese people, but also the good luck messages from home.
“There have been a lot of well-wishers from my friends, up to the Queen, which has been nice,” he said. “But it's been hard at times. I wanted to be fit so badly and it's just in the last week that it's all come together.”
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GOAL OF THE CENTURY: Diego Maradona's famous second goal in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal against England has been voted FIFA's “Goal of the Century.”
Maradona, receiving the ball in his own half of the field, dribbled past almost the entire English team before beating goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Four minutes earlier, he had scored the infamous “Hand of God” goal.
The goal was chosen by soccer fans in a poll on FIFA's official Web site.
Maradona's unforgettable strike received 28,246 votes. A goal by England's Michael Owen, who scored in similar fashion four years ago in France against Argentina, was second with 19,388.
Brazil's Pele took third with 17,466 votes for one of his two goals in the 1958 World Cup final against Sweden in Stockholm. Pele, 17 at the time, flipped the ball over a defender inside the penalty area, ran around the Swede and then volleyed the ball into the net.
Rounding out the top 10 were Maradona against Belgium in 1986; Gheorghe Hagi of Romania against Colombia in 1994; Saeed Owairan of Saudi Arabia against Belgium in 1994; Roberto Baggio of Italy against Czechoslovakia in 1990; Carlos Alberto of Brazil against Italy in 1970; Lothar Matthaeus of Germany against Yugoslavia in 1990; and Enzo Scifo of Belgium against Uruguay in 1990.
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LUCKY INMATES: South Korea will allow prison inmates to watch World Cup matches on television.
The Justice Ministry ordered the nation's 44 correctional facilities to allow their 61,000 inmates to stay up late to watch live broadcasts of the opening and championship matches, and games involving South Korea.
“By letting the inmates watch the games live, we can give them a sense that they are members of this society, not alienate them,” the ministry said in a statement.
During the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, inmates were only allowed to watch daytime reruns of the games. Inmates will not have trouble watching the matches as there are about 8,000 television sets at the facilities.
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CHILAVERT CONFIDENT: Backup goalkeeper Ricardo Tavarelli probably will start for Paraguay in its World Cup opener Sunday against South Africa. Tavarelli will be filling in for flashy Jose Luis Chilavert, who is serving a suspension.
The 31-year-old Tavarelli plays for Olimpia de Asuncion and has played 20 times to the national team. He will be under pressure, because a victory over South Africa is key with favorite Spain and Slovenia looming in Group B.
“I feel relaxed that Tavarelli is going to be the starter,” Chilavert said. “He has all of my support and the support of his teammates.
“Some say the fact that Tavarelli has played in my shadow for many years has affected his play and puts him under pressure,” Chilavert said. “I don't think so. Each time Tavarelli has been called on to play in goal he has been in great form.”
Chilavert was suspended by FIFA for four games for spitting on Brazil's Roberto Carlos in a qualifying match last August. The suspension was eventually reduced to three games, the last of which is Sunday's match against South Africa.
By far the best-known player on Paraguay's team, Chilavert emphasizes that his team features more than just his flamboyant goalkeeping.
“Paraguay is a great team, much more than just Chilavert,” he said. “My teammates are high-quality players and I'm sure they'll get up for the South African game without me.”
In addition to Chilavert, others serving suspensions going into the World Cup are Joahan Rodriguez (Mexico, 1 game); Jesus Arellano (Mexico, 2 games); Ifeanyi Udeze (Nigeria, 1 game); Pape Sarr (Senegal, 1 game).
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MOBILE PHONE OVERLOAD: Alarmed at the prospect of fans and journalists overloading networks at World Cup matches, Japan's biggest mobile phone company plans to restrict usage and boost capacity near tournament stadiums.
NTT DoCoMo, which has more than 30 million subscribers in Japan, said on its Web site it may limit access near stadiums before and after matches and during halftime to deal with “massive communications traffic.”
The company also said it will increase the capacity of base stations near stadiums by about 150 percent and send engineers to match venues to deal with communications problems.
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England's Beckham says he's ready to take on Sweden
