International roundup

Germany calls up Woerns, Rehmer for Faroes clash

BERLIN (Reuters) -- Defenders Christian Woerns and Marko Rehmer return to the Germany squad for next week's friendly international against Bosnia and a Euro 2004 qualifier against the Faroe Islands.

Borussia Dortmund's Woerns and Hertha Berlin's Rehmer, both fit again after lengthy injury layoffs, were on the 22-man list unveiled Friday by coach Rudi Voeller for the game in Sarajevo on October 11 and the group five fixture in Hanover five days later.

Woerns has recovered from the knee injury that ruled him out of the World Cup while Rehmer, who was at the World Cup but played only one game because of a sore ankle, has also resumed playing at club level.

Voeller had to leave out defenders Frank Baumann, Jens Nowotny and Christian Ziege as well as midfielder Joerg Boehme. All are sidelined with injuries.

The former Germany striker selected 15 players who were in his World Cup squad.

Werder Bremen midfielder Tim Borowski, who made his international debut by coming on as a late substitute in a 2-2 draw with Bulgaria in a friendly last August in Sofia, won another call-up.

The 22-year-old was outstanding in Werder's club record 8-0 thrashing of Metalurg Donetsk of Ukraine in the second leg of their UEFA Cup first round tie on Thursday, scoring twice.

The three-time world and European champion, which lost 2-0 to Brazil in the World Cup final, started its Euro 2004 qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win in Lithuania last month.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich), Jens Lehmann (Borussia Dortmund). Defenders: Arne Friedrich, Marko Rehmer (both Hertha Berlin), Ingo Hertzsch (Hamburg SV), Sebastian Kehl, Christoph Metzelder, Christian Woerns (all Borussia Dortmund), Carsten Ramelow (Bayer Leverkusen). Midfielders: Michael Ballack, Jens Jeremies (both Bayern Munich), Tim Borowski, Fabian Ernst (both Werder Bremen), Torsten Frings (Borussia Dortmund), Dietmar Hamann (Liverpool), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen). Strikers: Gerald Asamoah (Schalke 04), Paul Freier (VfL Bochum), Carsten Jancker (Udinese), Miroslav Klose (Kaiserslautern), Oliver Neuville (Bayer Leverkusen), Alexander Zickler (Bayern Munich).

German set to coach Iraq

BERLIN (Reuters) -- German Bernd Stange is set to coach Iraq's national soccer team, it was reported in the German media Friday.

The top-selling Bild tabloid said Stange, 54, was in Baghdad and would sign a four-year contract Saturday.

"I received the offer in June and I went to Baghdad then," Stange, who coached East Germany from 1983 to 1988, told the German daily.

"I hesitated for a long time but after consultations with (world soccer's ruling body) FIFA and the (German) foreign ministry, I must now make a decision," he added.

Stange, who also coached several top East German clubs before German unification in 1990, hinted he would accept the job.

"I've been out of work for over a year now and you don't receive many offers at my age," he said. "With Iraq I would have a chance of taking part in the 2006 World Cup in Germany."

Court upholds Maradona's prison sentence

BUENOS AIRES (AP) -- Argentina's highest court has confirmed a two-year prison sentence on Diego Maradona for firing a shot at a group of reporters, but the former Argentina star will not have to go to prison.

According to the ruling issued by the Supreme Court of Justice Thursday, the 42-year old Maradona will only be jailed if he is sentenced for a new crime in the next 10 years.

The court rejected an appeal presented by the former player, who had been sentenced by the Buenos Aires province Supreme Court for assaulting a group of journalists nine years ago.

On New Year's Day 1994, a group of journalists was waiting for Maradona at his country residence in the western Buenos Aires suburb of Moreno. The reporters' presence angered Maradona, who armed himself with an air-gun and began to fire at them. Four journalists suffered minor injuries.

A lawyer for the reporters, Marcelo Bermolen, told local media that he will now seek financial compensation from Maradona. He said that if a payment is ordered by the court, the money would be donated to charity.

Bermolen called the court's ruling "a great day for freedom of the press in this country."

Swiss add keeper Borer to squad for Euro double-header

BERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) -- Switzerland coach Koebi Kuhn has added goalkeeper Fabrice Borer to his squad for European Championship qualifier trips to Albania and Ireland.

Kuhn has named an unchanged squad following last month's 4-1 win over Georgia in Basel for the fixtures in Tirana on October 12 and Dublin four days later.

Grasshoppers goalkeeper Borer, 30, is the only new face in Kuhn's 20-man squad for the group 10 double-header.

Midfielder Sebastien Fournier is the only absentee with the knee injury which kept him out of the win over Georgia still troubling him.

Switzerland squad: Goalkeepers: Jrg Stiel (Borussia Mnchengladbach), Pascal Zuberbuehler (FC Basel), Fabrice Borer (Grasshoppers) Defenders: Bernt Haas (FC Basel), Stphane Henchoz (Liverpool), Stephan Keller (FC Zrich), Ludovic Magnin (Werder Bremen), Remo Meyer (1860 Munich), Patrick Mueller (Olympique Lyonnais), Murat Yakin (FC Basel), Bruno Berner (Freiburg) Midfield: Ricardo Cabanas (Grasshoppers), Fabio Celestini (Marseille), Johann Vogel (PSV Eindhoven), Raphal Wicky (Hamburg SV), Hakan Yakin (FC Basel), Mario Cantaluppi (FC Basel) Strikers: Stephane Chapuisat (Young Boys), Alexander Frei (Servette), Leonard Thurre (Servette)

Tudor, Boksic back in Croatia for Bulgaria game

ZAGREB (Reuters) -- Middlesbrough striker Alen Boksic will be back in the Croatia squad for next week's Euro 2004 qualifier against Bulgaria, which new coach Otto Baric hopes to win and improve a poor record of two draws in his opening games.

But perhaps the biggest boost to Baric's rejuvenated side is the return of central defender Igor Tudor of Juventus.

The tall but agile Tudor underwent ankle surgery in May, shortly before the World Cup in Japan but is now back in full training.

The 32-year old Boksic sat out the first qualifier against Estonia in September with a strained thigh. Boksic is expected to team up with up-and-coming striker Ivica Olic, the domestic league's top scorer last season.

Key Bayern Munich defender Robert Kovac, who also missed out, is now fit.

The only player sidelined with injury is Hertha Berlin's Josip Simunic, expected to be out of action for another month after surgery on his ankle.

Baric took over in July and vowed to revamp the squad after its early exit from the World Cup, but managed only two home draws, against Estonia and Wales.

A defeat in Sofia would hit Croatia's chances of qualifying from its group, which also includes Bulgaria, Belgium, Estonia and Andorra.

"Objectively, Bulgaria are the favorites," Baric told reporters. "They have been playing together for a while and have the advantage of the home turf. However, I am optimistic and believe in my team," he added.

"We aim to return home with three points," he said.

Turkey squad for Euro 2004 qualifiers

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -- Turkey on Friday named the following 21-man squad for its Euro 2004 group seven qualifiers away to Macedonia on October 12 and at home to Liechtenstein on October 16:

Goalkeepers: Rustu Recber (Fenerbahce), Omer Catkic (Gaziantepspor), Zafer Ozgultekin (Ankaragucu) Defenders: Bulent Korkmaz (Galatasaray), Emre Asik (Galatasaray), Hakan Unsal (Galatasaray), Fatih Akyel (Fenerbahce), Umit Ozat (Fenerbahce), Alpay Ozalan (Aston Villa) Midfielders: Ergun Penbe (Galatasaray), Cihan Haspolatli (Galatasaray), Umit Davala (Galatasaray), Tayfur Havutcu (Besiktas), Tugay Kerimoglu (Blackburn Rovers), Okan Buruk (Inter Milan), Emre Belozoglu (Inter Milan), Yildiray Basturk (Bayer Leverkusen) Forwards: Hasan Sas (Galatasaray), Serhat Akin (Fenerbahce), Arif Erdem (Galatasaray), Nihat Kahveci (Real Sociedad).

Nigeria, Senegal plan match for ferry victims

LAGOS (Reuters) -- Nigeria and Senegal will play a charity soccer match next week in aid of Senegal's ferry disaster victims, an official said Friday.

Nigerian FA spokesman Samuel Kaalu said the game would be played on October 12 in the Senegalese capital Dakar.

"This is our way of sharing in the grief the disaster has caused the good people of Senegal," he said.

The Joola capsized last week in stormy seas, killing nearly 1,000 people on board. Rescuers recovered only 64 survivors from the ferry in one of Africa's worst sea disasters.

Kaalu said Nigeria had invited 25 players, all with domestic clubs, for the game. Senegal defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the semi-finals of the African Nations Cup in February.

Czech coach calls up newcomer Simak

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- Czech national coach Karel Bruckner called up newcomer Jan Simak for upcoming Euro 2004 qualifiers against Moldova and Belarus, despite the Bayer Leverkusen striker's erratic form in recent matches.

Simak, who joined Leverkusen from Hannover at the start of the season and was expected to be one the Bundesliga runnerup's biggest offensive threats, hasn't delivered so far, scoring just two goals in eight league matches.

"I'm still confident he's strong enough to handle this situation and be an asset for us in the qualifiers," Bruckner said.

In the Oct. 12 match against Moldova, the Czechs will have to do without striker Milan Baros, who has scored four goals for Liverpool in his last four games, and Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved, both suspended for one match after being red-carded in last year's World Cup playoffs against Belgium.

Also missing are Liverpool striker Vladimir Smicer, who's injured, and West Ham defender Tomas Repka, who retired from the national team after the Czechs failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

The Czechs are in Group 3 with the Netherlands, Austria, Belarus and Moldova. After the Moldova match, they face Belarus on Oct. 16.

Squad Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Rennes), Antonin Kinsky (Slovan Liberec), Radek Cerny (Slavia Prague) Defenders: Rene Bolf (Ostrava), Zdenek Grygera (Sparta Prague), Tomas Hubschmann (Sparta Prague), Marek Jankulovski (Udinese), Martin Jiranek (Reggina), Petr Johana (Slovan Liberec), Tomas Ujfalusi (Hamburger SV) Midfielders: Tomas Galasek (Ajax Amsterdam), Jan Simak (Leverkusen), Pavel Nedved (Juventus), Karel Poborsky (Sparta), Jiri Jarosik (Sparta Prague), Karel Poborsky (Sparta Prague), Tomas Rosicky (Dortmund) Forwards: Milan Baros (Liverpool), Jiri Stajner (Hannover), Vratislav Lokvenc (Kaiserslautern), Stepan Vachousek (Slavia Prague), Jan Koller (Dortmund)

 

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.