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International roundup Bordeaux wins French league opener
Posted: Friday July 30, 1999 06:28 PM
PARIS (Reuters) -- The French league season began with a flurry of goals as champions Girondins Bordeaux beat Bastia 3-2 and joint title favorite Monaco was held 2-2 by promoted Saint-Etienne on Friday. Bordeaux showed the mettle of champions as they came from 2-1 down in the 81st minute to beat Bastia with two goals in four minutes by Lilian Laslandes and Yohan Micoud. Man-of-the-match Laslandes equalized in the 81st minute when he volleyed home the rebound after his first headed effort hit the bar. Midfielder Micoud was lucky to be awarded a free kick in the 85th minute after a fair challenge by Ousmane Soumah, but he made the most of his chance, curling the ball superbly over the wall and inside the top far corner. The champions went in front in the 34th minute when defender Herve Alicarte headed home a corner from the right. Frederic Nee equalized for Bastia 12 minutes into the second half and the Corsicans went ahead with Dane Dan Petersen's 69th minute penalty. Saint-Etienne equalized twice in an even match at the Stade Louis II, its more physical style troubling Monaco's gifted side. Italian Marco Simone put Monaco in front in the 11th minute after Saint-Etienne had twice come close, Chilean defender Pablo Contreras blocking a shot on the line and Fabien Barthez saving from Stephane Pedron. But playmaker Pedron beat France's World Cup goalkeeper in the 18th minute with a brilliant, curling shot from the edge of the box. Monaco regained the lead just before the half hour when their Argentine playmaker Marcelo Gallardo put David Trezeguet away from the halfway line, and he beat goalkeeper Jerome Alonzo to the ball to push it into an empty net. Saint-Etienne served notice, however, that it is back in the top flight to stay with a brilliant equalizer from Brazilian striker Aloisio. He superbly lobbed Barthez from the left seven minutes into the second half. World Cup hopefuls ready to submit bidsZURICH -- South Africa will be the first of five countries to present their official bids to host the 2006 World Cup finals, according to the schedule released by FIFA on Friday. Morocco, England, Brazil, South Africa and Germany will each have 30 minutes to hand over their bid documentation during official ceremonies which will take place at FIFA headquarters in Zurich on August 9 and 10. South Africa, hoping to bring the World Cup finals to Africa for the first time, will be the first to present their candidature on August 9, followed by Morocco and England. Brazil will hand over their documents on August 10 followed by Germany. "The presentation of the complete bid documentation in FIFA headquarters is always a milestone in the process of selection," said FIFA president Sepp Blatter. "It marks the prelude to the final stage of the award." Once the bids are in a delegation from FIFA will visit the five prospective finalists over the next few months inspecting facilities and existing stadia and also conducting detailed discussions on telecommunications, transport and security matters. The vote to decide the site of the 2006 finals is scheduled for July 2000, four months later that originally scheduled so that all the confederations can discuss the proposals next year. Italy bars undershirt messagesROME -- AS Roma's Francesco Totti did it to enrage Lazio fans. George Weah did it to celebrate his 100th goal for AC Milan. Sinisa Mihajlovic did it in defense of Yugoslavia, and Brazilian Amoroso did it simply to thank God. But from next season, Serie A soccer players will no longer be allowed to broadcast messages to the world via their vests. "From now on, undershirts will be allowed to carry sponsors' logos only," the Italian Football Federation said in a statement after an executive meeting on Thursday. "Any other logo will be punished with a sanction, yet to be decided, which will be imposed directly on the player." Vests have been a feature of Italian soccer ever since former Juventus striker Fabrizio Ravanelli started celebrating his goals by pulling his shirt over his head. Since then the vest has become a sophisticated propaganda tool, used by players to protest against anything from UEFA decisions to French nuclear tests in the South Pacific. When Totti scored in AS Roma's 3-1 win over arch-rivals Lazio last April, he ran over to thousands of gloomy-faced Lazio fans on the terraces and flashed them a blunt message. "I've done you again," read his vest, which within days had spawned hundreds of replica copies in Roman clothes shops. Mihajlovic showed his vest in defense of peace during NATO bombardments of Yugoslavia, while Weah had "99+1-100" scribbled on his vest when he scored his 100th Serie A goal last April. Amoroso, top scorer in the Italian first division last season, kept his vest message simple. "Grazie Dio," it read. Lisbon blocks Leal's transfer to Atletico MadridLISBON -- Benfica's gifted teenage midfielder Hugo Leal cannot join Atletico Madrid because he is still legally bound to the Lisbon club, Portugal's soccer authority ruled on Friday. Leal has already started training with Atletico. He had been expected to take the place of Brazilian midfielder Juninho who has been told by new coach Claudio Rainieri he can leave. The Portuguese Football Federation sent a message to its Spanish counterpart saying Leal's contract with Benfica ran until July 2000 and that it had not been rescinded. As a result, the federation said it could not issue the international certificate the player needs to complete his move. Leal, whose performances for Benfica last season earned him a full international cap, has said he was not psychologically capable of continuing with the Lisbon side for another season. He was reported to have signed an eight-year contract with Atletico, although the terms of the deal have not been made public. Zimbabwe prepares for African Nations Cup qualifierHARARE -- Peter Ndlovu returns for a rare Zimbabwe appearance on Saturday, leading its attack in a vital African Nations' Cup qualifier against Senegal in Harare. The English-based striker has not played for his country since May last year and has competed in less than a quarter of Zimbabwe's matches over the last five years, mainly in dispute over payment and insurance cover. But the Birmingham City player, still regarded as the southern African country's best footballer, is making a timely comeback as Zimbabwe and Senegal battle for top place in a special playoff group to determine the last qualifier for next year's finals. Both countries won their opening group matches against Eritrea, the third side in the playoff. Zimbabwe, seeking to reach the finals for the first time, has a full-strength squad in which there is a recall for American-based forward Vitalis Takawira of Kansas City Wizards, the Major League Soccer (MLS) side. However, a mix-up in travel arrangements for three key South African-based players may cause a last-minute reshuffle of the team by coach Clemens Westerhof.
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