CORNER KICKS
1 Mexico, fresh off a perturbing and team-upsetting loss to the United States in the Gold Cup final, today plays defending champion Brazil in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, in the opening round of the 91-year-old Copa America tournament.
Coach Hugo Sanchez might have thought he was getting a break when Brazilian stars Ronaldinho of FC Barcelona and Kaka of European champion AC Milan, both citing wear and tear from the European season, opted out of the event. But Sanchez has woes of his own.
Three of his European-based players -- Ricardo Osorio, Carlos Salcido and Pavel Pardo -- have followed Ronaldinho and Kaka’s lead, and Sanchez also has Mexico’s all-time leading scorer, Jared Borgetti, and one of its most gifted newcomers, Andres Guardado, nursing injuries.
In other words, Brazil, which still has the likes of Real Madrid forward Robinho and features six players from last year’s World Cup squad, should be heavily favored.
2 With starting centerbacks Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra on a brief vacation after the Gold Cup before returning to Europe, U.S. Coach Bob Bradley will probably pair Jay DeMerit and Jimmy Conrad in the middle of the American defense Thursday against Copa America favorite Argentina.
3 Soccer fans across Europe were paying tribute to former West Germany coach Jupp Derwall, who died Tuesday at age 80 after a brief illness. Under Derwall, West Germany won the 1980 European Championship in Italy and finished as runner-up to Italy at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Derwall was West Germany’s coach from 1978-84 and compiled a 45-11-11 record. West Germany’s 23-match unbeaten streak during that time is a German record that still stands.
4 Bayern Munich’s off-season spending spree reached $94 million Tuesday when the Bundesliga club acquired forward Miroslav Klose from Werder Bremen for $13.4 million and reunited him with his German international strike partner Lukas Podolski. The pair helped Germany to third place in last year’s World Cup in which Klose finished as the leading goal scorer.
Bayern’s summer acquisitions also include Italian 2006 World Cup-winning forward Luca Toni, winger Franck Ribery from 2006 World Cup runner-up France and former Brazilian international midfielder Ze Roberto.
5 One of the intriguing subplots to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup that begins in Canada on Saturday is how Freddy Adu, yesterday’s U.S. “star-of-tomorrow” will do compared to Josmer Altidore, today’s U.S. “star-of-tomorrow.”
The U.S. opens against South Korea on Saturday at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, then plays Poland in Montreal on July 3 and Brazil in Ottawa on July 6.
Thomas Rongen, the American team’s coach, had to make a last-minute switch Tuesday, replacing injured forward Johann Smith of Bolton Wanderers in England with forward Preston Zimmerman of Hamburg SV in Germany. Smith suffered a severe right ankle strain Monday in a scrimmage against New Zealand.
