Berlin: Hatem Trabelsi, Tunisia’s best-known player, has announced his retirement from international soccer after the North Africans were ousted from the World Cup. Trabelsi wants to focus on his club career and spend more time with family, the Tunisian soccer federation said Saturday.
He is expected to move from Ajax Amsterdam to a new club this summer. Trabelsi has been a mainstay of the Tunisian team since his debut in 1998. He played in three World Cups and helped Tunisia win the African Cup of Nations in 2004.
Duisburg: Italy midfielder Simone Perrotta would rather have faced Brazil in the second round than Monday’s opponents Australia, he said on Saturday.
“Personally, I would have preferred to play Brazil,” said Perrotta, “it would have been a fascinating game with all those stars on the pitch,” added the Roma midfielder. The Italians are wary of Australia since Hiddink eliminated them at the World Cup four years ago in charge of South Korea.
“They are a similar side to the US, that is true,” said Perrotta, “But I think they are stronger in terms of technique. Up front they have a very strong player in Mark Viduka and then there is Harry Kewell who spins off him and is also very dangerous,” he said.
Stuttgart: English and jubilant German fans, celebrating after their team reached the quarter finals beating Sweden, clashed in Stuttgart on Saturday before riot police moved in to separate them in the city centre.
Both groups traded punches before dozens of nervous-looking riot police moved into the area, pushing the German fans away and keeping the English supporters in one corner. A few hundred fans were involved.
Seoul: A South Korean fan died of suspected heart attack on Saturday while watching the country play a crucial match against Switzerland at a massive, pre-dawn street rally in Seoul, police said. The 25-year-old college student, identified only by his surname, Kim, collapsed abruptly while watching Korea’s last game on large outdoor screens in downtown Seoul, said an officer at the Namdaemun Police Station. Kim was taken immediately to hospital, but died.
Rome: While most Italians will be glued to the first knock-out match of their World Cup campaign on Monday, officials counting votes in a national referendum have been told to keep their eyes off the TV and on the ballots. Ballots close at 3 pm (1300 GMT) on Monday in a referendum on constitutional reforms that has held far less fascination for Italians than their team’s progress in Germany, and the interior ministry is worried the match could delay the vote’s result.
Hanover: Switzerland’s Pascal Zuberbuehler was delighted to prove his critics wrong on Friday, after becoming the only unbeaten goalkeeper in the World Cup’s opening group stage. Zuberbuehler, 32, kept a third successive clean sheet during Switzerland’s 2-0 win over South Korea to help send his team into the second round as surprise Group G winners ahead of France. “I don’t need to answer the critics,” Zuberbuehler said after the game. “I have given my reply on the pitch.”
Bad Durkheim: Coach Marcos Paqueta believes Saudi Arabia’s players need to start playing abroad if they are ever to make an impact at the World Cup. Friday’s 0-1 defeat by Spain sealed a third first-round exit in the last four tournaments, the only exception being in 1994 when they reached the second round. Every member of the squad plays in Saudi Arabia, however, and Brazilian Paqueta says that is the problem. “The players are highly regarded in Saudi Arabia and in Asia but they lack the experience against major opponents. International experience is invaluable”.
Neu-Isenburg: Referees are playing their part in creating a free-flowing World Cup by following strict instructions from Fifa on foul play. Russian referee Valentin Ivanov said a glut of red cards in the tournament did not signify out of control players but reflected officials clamping down hard on transgressors.
“Fifa wishes to see football, not fighting, on the field. That is why referees receive clear instructions, not because we hate players, but because we try and protect players and the game.”
Baden Baden: Sven-Goran Eriksson is finally getting angry. Well, sort of. The normally mild-mannered Swedish coach of the England soccer team, who rarely gets out of his seat in the dugout at games, has shocked players with his more aggressive style of management in Germany. “The aggression has been a little bit surprising,” England defender John Terry said. “I am not talking about shouting and screaming. He is never going to knock tables over and scream in your face. He is not that kind of manager but he has certainly been raising his voice a lot more.”
Berlin: Veteran Australian defender Craig Moore has a pretty good poker face but he lost it on Friday when asked whether Italy may try to use their experience to suck the Socceroos into retaliation or other incidents. “Yeah, but the referees I think have been extremely good. I’m sure that will be the case again,” he replied.
Berlin: Australia’s normally attack-minded midfielder Tim Cahill has found himself playing a new role when manager Guus Hiddink throws on one striker after another in search of a late comeback. Against Croatia, Hiddink sent on John Aloisi and Josh Kennedy to join Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell. In such situations, Cahill has been asked to play defensive midfielder. “It’s amazing, because there are five in front of me and I’m looking around thinking, ‘I’m supposed to be up there, said Cahill’”
Berlin: The head of Football Federation Australia said the team’s success at the World Cup is helping drum up applicants for the coaching job that Guus Hiddink is vacating after the tournament. “The further we go, quite reputable well-known coaches are approaching us,” said John ’Neill, the federation’s chief executive. ’Neill wants a high-profile coach to succeed Hiddink, who is leaving for Russia.
