International Roundup

Final countdown begins over new Ireland manager

DUBLIN (Reuters) -- Irish soccer authorities will begin interviewing candidates for the vacant post of Ireland manager next week, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Former Northern Ireland coach Bryan Hamilton -- engaged by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to make contact with and assess a range of applicants over the last month -- delivered his shortlist to the FAI on Tuesday.

An FAI spokesman told Reuters the body was on track to appoint a new manager to replace Mick McCarthy -- who quit the post in November -- by the end of the month.

"There's a friendly against Scotland on February 12 and we hope to have a guy in place by then," he said.

The spokesman declined to comment on the shortlisted names, but in a statement Hamilton described the quality of the field as "very impressive."

There has been much speculation in the Irish media about who might win the race to be next Ireland coach, with sports pundits in recent days favouring Ireland Under-21 coach Brian Kerr.

Irish-based bookmaker Paddy Power on Wednesday put Kerr at 7-4 favourite, with former Middlesborough boss Bryan Robson and ex-Ipswich Town manager George Burley both at odds of 7-2.

Other names in the frame include former Ireland striker John Aldridge at 4-1, ex-Sunderland manager Peter Reid at 6-1, and former Blackburn and Celtic manager Kenny Dalglish at 8-1.

Former Ireland defender Kevin Moran, and ex-South Africa and Japan coach Philippe Troussier have also been mentioned.

Whoever eventually takes up the baton faces a tough task.

Back-to-back Euro 2004 qualifying defeats by Russia and Switzerland late last year have left Ireland with an uphill struggle to get to the finals in Portugal.

The new coach will also face the critical problem of persuading Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane back to the international fold after he was expelled from last year's World Cup following a bitter flare-up with McCarthy.

The country's former skipper vowed never to play for his national team again while McCarthy was at the helm, but said this week he would make a decision shortly after talking to Alex Ferguson and the new Ireland manager.

The Irish Times said on Wednesday FAI advisor Hamilton had made it clear to the selection committee that bringing the volatile Keane back on board would be one of the main priorities for the new manager.

Ireland faces Euro qualifiers against Georgia and Albania in March and April respectively.

Portugal grounds shut after crowd violence

LISBON (Reuters) -- Benfica and Vitoria Guimaraes have been banned from using their grounds for one game because of weekend crowd violence, the Portuguese Professional Football League said on Wednesday.

Benfica, one of Portugal's traditional powerhouses, and Vitoria were punished because of "highly censurable conduct on the part of both clubs" during the 1-1 draw at Vitoria on Saturday, a statement said.

Vitoria defender Marcinho Soreano was burned when Benfica supporters threw fireworks near him while he warmed up. Benfica were losing 1-0 at the time.

Play resumed after a five-minute stoppage and Benfica went on to draw 1-1 at a stadium loaned to Vitoria while their own ground is being rebuilt for next year's European championships.

A police officer and an assistant trainer for Vitoria were also hurt in the incident. Spectators were also reported to have torn up seats and thrown them onto the pitch.

The bans come as authorities investigate alleged financial malpractices at some clubs.

Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis Arnaut, who oversees the sports secretariate, called for a "code of ethics" for the league.

In an interview with A Bola sports newspaper, Arnaut also said club executives were "in the first line of responsibility" for violence.

Benfica are in second place in the premier league, 11 points behind leader Porto. Vitoria are fourth, a further three points behind.

Kosowski to stay with Wisla

WARSAW (Reuters) -- Poland midfielder Kamil Kosowski, who last week said there was "nothing" to keep him from leaving Wisla Krakow, will remain with the club until his contract expires in late 2004, the first division team said on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old, regarded as one of the brightest stars in Polish football, had long sought a move to Spanish first division side Osasuna, but Wisla rejected a reported 2.3 million euro ($2.43 million) offer.

"The negotiations simply lasted too long. I wanted to leave, but differences between the clubs were too big," said Kosowski.

He added that Wisla coach Henryk Kaspercak had helped convince him to stay with the club that topped the league going into the mid-season break and who face Lazio in the fourth round of the UEFA Cup next month.

Wisla spokesman Jaroslaw Krzoska confirmed that a transfer had been called off for now. "After meeting Kamil today, I can confirm that he will stay at Wisla until the end of his contract at the end of 2004."

Popescu put forward to clean up Romanian game

BUCHAREST (Reuters) -- Romania captain Gheorghe Popescu should be appointed as the country's soccer federation (FRF) vice-president to stamp out corruption, a member of the Romanian Olympic Committee (ROC) proposed on Wednesday.

"Using Romania's veteran footballers like Gheorghe Popescu seems to be the best solution," Adrian Porumboiu, vice-president of the ROC's Ethics Commission told Reuters on Wednesday.

Popescu, 36, has earned 114 caps in 18 years and won the Cup Winners' Cup with Barcelona and the UEFA Cup with Galatasaray. He also played for PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham Hotspur and Lecce.

Popescu, who is currently a free agent, said by telephone from Istanbul that he would be "honoured" to play a role in leading Romanian soccer's governing body.

"I'm glad that honest people from my homeland believe that I'm able to lead local soccer. It would be a great challenge."

In the past decade, corruption, violence and refereeing scandals have marred Romanian soccer and the national team's world ranking has slipped to 45th behind countries like Costa Rica, Iran, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Bolivia.

"Only the footballers who made Romania's recent history successful can clean soccer of illegalities," said Porumboiu.

Mircea Sandu, FRF president for the past 12 years, was not immediately available for comment.

But he issued a ruling in 2001 barring any former player from holding a leading job at the FRF unless they have worked their way up the organisation for at least four years.

"What many people lack is experience," Sandu told Reuters last year.

Gyori coach Tamasi resigns over Vargas appointment

BUDAPEST (Reuters) -- Zsolt Tamasi, manager of Hungarian first division team Gyori ETO has resigned, the club announced on Wednesday.

Tamasi told the Hungarian news agency MTI he could not work with the club's new technical director, the former Ferencvaros player and coach Zoltan Varga who was appointed last week. Varga had been sacked as manager 16 months ago when Tamasi took charge.

Varga has recommended former Gyori striker Aurel Csertoi to replace Tamasi, but the board is expected to decide in a few days time.

Gyori ETO are fifth with 27 points after 17 games in the Hungarian league championship.

Tennes takes over Kallithea

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Babis Tennes has returned to Kallithea after a 10-year absence and will take over as coach of the soccer team, the first division club said Wednesday.

Tennes replaces Vangelis Vlachos, who was fired Monday after two months at the club's helm. Kallithea moved to the first division this season.

Greek media reports said club chairman Nikos Salevris fired Vlachos after he insisted the team should be reinforced with new players.

Tennes last coached Kallithea in 1993 and helped promote the suburban Athens squad from the third to second division.

Tennes is expected to sign a contract through June 2004.

Kallithea (3-5-6) is currently 14th in the 16-team standings with 14 points.

Gamboa in talks with Grasshoppers

ZURICH, Switzerland (Reuters) -- Argentine international defender Fernando Gamboa is in talks with Grasshoppers Zurich over a move to the Swiss Nationalliga leaders, sporting boss Mathias Walther said on Wednesday.

"We are talking with Gamboa along with other players but nothing is signed yet," Walther told Swiss daily Tages Anzeiger.

Gamboa, 32, has been capped seven times by Argentina but has been freed to leave Chacarita in his homeland.

He had one previous spell in European football with Oviedo, and also played for River Plate, Boca Juniors and Newell's Old Boys in Argentina as well as Chilean side Colo Colo.

 

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Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.