World Cup seals Spain's sports superpower status

MADRID: When Iker Casillas became the first Spanish player to lift the World Cup trophy in South Africa's Soccer City, it underlined Spain's recent emergence as a sports powerhouse.

Since 2000, Spain has won basketball's world and European championships and four Davis Cup tennis titles; Rafael Nadal has captured eight Grand Slam victories; three Spanish riders have triumphed at the Tour de France; Fernando Alonso has secured two Formula One titles, and Pau Gasol has helped the Los Angeles Lakers win back-to-back NBA titles.

FIFA sets tighter ethics rules for World Cup bids

ZURICH (AP)—FIFA has imposed tighter transparency rules on World Cup bidders when they seek meetings with voters who will choose the 2018 and 2022 hosts.

World soccer’s governing body said Thursday that the nine bid teams must explain in writing why they need access to the 24 Executive Committee members or voters’ national associations.


FIFA told bidders in a statement that they are forbidden from trying to influence voters by “offering benefits for specific behavior.”

Thierry Henry retires from French national team

NEW YORK: Thierry Henry said Thursday he is retiring from the French national team.

The 32-year-old forward announced his decision during an interview at the offices of The Associated Press before a news conference to discuss his signing with Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls.

Spain, Germany in transfer tussle for oracle octopus

In this combo image, Spain's Andres Iniesta (left) shows a mock version of Paul the oracle octopus as the Spanish national football team celebrate their World Cup victory on a stage in Madrid on July, 2010. Picture on the right shows the octopus holding on to a copy of the World Cup Trophy in his aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany. (Reuters/EPA)

By STEPHEN BROWN | REUTERS

BERLIN: Madrid zoo made a transfer bid for Paul the oracle octopus on Thursday, telling his aquarium in Germany it would outbid all others and give him a warm welcome in gratitude for predicting Spain's soccer World Cup win.

But Paul's keepers at Sea Life in Germany said the tentacled tipster was not on the transfer list.

Paul, credited variously with psychic powers or incredible insight into soccer, even for a species considered the cleverest of all invertebrates, became a celebrity for managing a perfect eight-for-eight record tipping winners in South Africa.

Iniesta says Spain will start from scratch

BARCELONA, Spain —Andres Iniesta said Tuesday that Spain is determined to win more titles after its World Cup success and that the team begins “from zero” next season.

The Barcelona midfielder’s extra-time goal against the Netherlands clinched a 1-0 win for Spain in Sunday’s final.

Iniesta was speaking as he arrived in Barcelona after celebrating with his teammates and thousands of fans in Madrid, where the Spain team met King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

Iniesta said winning the World Cup would not affect the team in the future.

“We want to keep going in this way in terms of titles. This title won’t affect the performance of any player,” he said.

Messi says WCup loss left him with 'bad feeling'

PANAMA CITY: Lionel Messi says Argentina's 4-0 defeat to Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals left him with a "bad feeling" that lingers almost two weeks later.

Messi is playing an exhibition game in the Panama capital on Wednesday, which will feature Messi and a few Argentine players against a team led by former German international Kevin Kuranyi. Messi arrived after spending a holiday on the beach in Brazil.

Messi was reluctant to be drawn on the national team's immediate future, saying it was up to Diego Maradona to decide if he wants to continue as coach.

Dutch celebrate 2nd place in World Cup

MIKE CORDER | AP - The boat with the players of the Dutch National Football Team is cheered to by thousands of fans dressed in orange along the canals of Amsterdam. Thousands of fans came to Amsterdam to celebrate the 2nd place finish of the Dutch team at the World Cup. Spain beat Netherlands in the final 1-0. (EPA)

AMSTERDAM (AP)—Hundreds of thousands of fans lined Amsterdam’s web of canals to cheer the World Cup runner-up Netherlands as the team cruised the waterways, swigging beer and blowing vuvuzelas, in an open-top boat on Tuesday.

Argentina to offer Maradona new 4-year deal

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)—The Argentine Football Association said it will offer Maradona a new four-year contract that would keep him in charge of the national team through the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Ernesto Cherquis Bialo, a spokesman for the association, told reporters Wednesday that AFA President Julio Grondona would meet next week with Maradona to discuss the offer.

This is the strongest indication that Maradona is likely to continue as the coach. It comes two weeks after Argentina was knocked out of the World Cup in a humiliating 4-0 quarterfinals loss to Germany. Maradona has said little since then, keeping to himself in his home in suburban Buenos Aires.

Cherquis Bialo said the association did not have another coach in mind should Maradona turn down the deal. He also suggested Argentina’s performance in the World Cup had been respectable, despite anything less than a third title being seen as a failure by many Argentines.

David Beckham rules out England management role

David Beckham has said he will never manage England, but has indicated his desire to play for his country at the 2012 European Championships.

Beckham, 35, was an unofficial member of manager Fabio Capello's staff at the World Cup in South Africa after injury ruled him out of the tournament.

"At the moment I have no interest in being a coach or becoming a manager," the midfielder told BBC Sport.

Beckham also said the players were to blame for England's poor World Cup.

England were beaten 4-1 by Germany in the last 16 and were disappointing throughout the tournament.

And although Capello came under huge criticism following England's exit, Beckham insisted the manager was not responsible for the early exit.

Manchester City complete £24m David Silva transfer

Manchester City have completed the £24m transfer of Spain international winger David Silva from Valencia.

Silva, 24, had a medical on Wednesday before signing a four-year contract at City, where he hopes to earn Champions League qualification next season.

Spain World Cup fiesta goes wild, boosts unity

MADRID (AP)—Spain erupted with its biggest fiesta in memory when its football team returned to a jubilant nation after winning the World Cup, giving elated Spaniards a break from months of economic gloom and political squabbling.

Hundreds of thousands of people—if not more—jammed Madrid’s historic avenues Monday as an open air bus ferried the national team down stately avenues to cheers from Spaniards decked out in a sea of red and yellow, the colors of the Spanish flag.

The celebration in Madrid, where national unity is at its strongest, was expected. But there were striking examples of support from unlikely places: The well-off Catalonia region, which has long sought greater autonomy, and the separatist Basque region, where anything pro-Spain is often shunned.

South Africa 2010 Top goal celebrations Will Spain continue to reign?

Ten things we’d like to see at World Cup 2014

By Ryan Bailey

South Africa 2010 has been a huge success: a colorful, noisy and vibrant celebration of the Beautiful Game that reflects the proud heritage of its host nation. Sycophantic reflections aside, it's now time to look forward to the next World Cup, to be held in Brazil in 2014. Based on what we have seen over the past month, here's 10 things we would like to see at the next meeting of the greatest talents in international football ...

Pitch invader tried to put hat on World Cup trophy before final

Notorious and prolific pitch invader Jimmy Jump did it again, this time coming oh-so-close to getting his hands on the World Cup trophy just before the final. A team of security men wrestled him to the ground just before he could get one his signature red caps on the trophy in what might be his biggest invasion yet.
A well known Barcelona fan, Jimmy Jump has managed to evade security teams at each of the last two European Championship, he ran through the starting lane at the 2004 Spanish Grand Prix, he scared the bejesus out of Roger Federer during the 2009 French Open men's singles final, and he even took the stage during the 2010 Eurovision song contest, going so far as to gleefully participate in one performer's choreography. 

Ten things we learned from the 2010 FIFA World Cup,

By Simon Hill
Fox Sports football commentator Simon Hill has emerged from his month in South Africa with 10 lessons learned from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Read what Simon says and offer your thoughts on lessons learned at this World Cup, following the discussion at the bottom of the page.

64 Die in Bomb Attacks in Uganda during World Cup

KAMPALA – In simultaneous bombings bearing the hallmarks of international terrorists, two explosions ripped through crowds watching the World Cup final in two places in Uganda's capital late Sunday, killing 64 people, police said. Americans were among the casualties.

The deadliest attack occurred at a rugby club as people watched the game between Spain and the Netherlands on a large-screen TV outdoors. The second blast took place at an Ethiopian restaurant, where at least three Americans were wounded.

No Quadruple for Sneijder, Only Frustration

JOHANNESBURG  — A perfect season for Wesley Sneijder turned sour, minutes from its happy conclusion.  Instead of a perfect sweep of Italian league, cup, Champions League and World Cup titles, the biggest game of the year escaped him.

“I won three titles (this season) and now I lost tonight the fourth title,” Sneijder said after Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the World Cup final on a goal four minutes away from a penalty shootout.  And after excelling with five goals and countless passes in the first six games of the tournament, he was a dud in the final. He made a great deep pass to Arjen Robben that needed a sterling save from Iker Casillas, and made a good defensive block.

One Dead, Two Injured in Indonesia World Cup Clash

AMBON - One Indonesian was killed and two wounded in World Cup-related violence as rival sets of fans clashed Saturday, police said Saturday. Violence broke out between two groups of villagers on Maluku island and several houses were set on fire.

It was not immediately clear which teams the rival factions were supporting or how the villager died but Maluku police chief Totoy Indra was quoted by local radio as saying: “The clash was triggered by a celebration of a winning World Cup team in the area.” Indra said the wounded were being treated in hospital. He said the situation had returned to normal but the police were braced for further clashes.

After World Cup, South Africa Ponders Olympic Bid

DURBAN - As South Africa comes down from its World Cup high, the country is already looking for its next sports fix, raising the prospect of an Olympics bid. South Africa poured 38 billion rands (five billion dollars, four billion euros) into preparations for the first World Cup in Africa and largely overcame fears about crime and poor transportation, hosting a tournament that has been widely applauded as free of major glitches.

Forlan wins Golden Ball

Uruguay striker Diego Forlan has been awarded the Golden Ball for the best player of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Forlan was the heartbeat of the Uruguay side which surpassed expectations in reaching the semi-finals of the tournament. The Atletico Madrid ace scored five goals en route to Uruguay finishing fourth following their 3-2 defeat by Germany in Saturday's play-off.

The former Manchester United man netted in that game and was also on target in the matches against the hosts, Ghana and the Netherlands.
He was up against nine other contenders for the Golden Ball, which was voted for by the international media in South Africa.

Mandela attends World Cup closing ceremony

Nelson Mandela has enjoyed a thunderous greeting from thousands of fans at the World Cup closing ceremony.The former South African president flashed his famous smile as he was driven across the pitch in a golf cart with his wife, Grace Machel.

Earlier, his grandson said Fifa had put Mr Mandela under "extreme pressure" to attend the game in Johannesburg. Mandla Mandela said the engagement would be "strenuous" for the 91-year-old, who is increasingly frail.