Soccer betting

Several Tehran papers have reported that some Iranian soccer players are retiring from the national team, fueling speculation the departure was related to green bands the players wore in support of the countrys opposition movement.

The flurry of conflicting reports on the fate of the players hails back to the incident last week, when several members on the Iranian team wore green tape on their wrists in a World Cup qualifier against South Korea in Seoul.

Some newspapers said the players are retiring voluntarily, reportedly because of their age, but at least one suggested they were forced out.

It was not possible to confirm the reports independently and calls to Iranian soccer officials were not immediately answered.

The speculation focused on two players who both wore green in Seoul: Ali Karimi, 31, and Mehdi Mahdavikia, 32. However, both had earlier announced plans to quit soon because of their age.

The Seoul incident was a gesture of solidarity with opposition leader Mir Hossain Mousavi whose supporters accuse the government of rigging Irans June 12 election in favor of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Green was adopted as the color of Mousavis campaign and has been widely displayed in opposition street protests in Irans postelection turmoil.

At least seven Iranian players wore the bands in the first half against South Korea, although most were forced to take them off before the second.

Mahdavikia is one of Irans biggest sports heroes for a goal he scored to eliminate the United States during the first round of the World Cup in 1998. Karimi is also a soccer star who has played for Germanys Bayern Munich.

Iran was later eliminated from World Cup qualifying because of a draw between Saudi Arabia and North Korea.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has criticized former club Real Madrid over signing Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.

Madrid has signed Kaka and is in the process of hiring Ronaldo for a combined ?223 million ($314 million).

Del Bosque said Tuesday: It appears Madrid has some money and wants to offer its fans something. They want attention with those signings … great clubs arent just made by big signings.

Madrid won two Champions League and two Spanish league titles under Del Bosque, who guided Madrid from 1999-2003. He was fired by recently returned president Florentino Perez.

Del Bosque has won all 13 games as Spain coach since replacing Luis Aragones after last years European Championship triumph.

England defender Glen Johnson has agreed to join Liverpool from Portsmouth.

The two clubs reached an agreement over the 24-year-old right backs move on Monday after a switch fell through last season.

Liverpool has reportedly paid 17.5 million pounds ($28.6 million) to Portsmouth, which still owed seven million pounds from the deal that saw Peter Crouch leave Anfield in the last offseason.

Johnson, who left Chelsea in 2006, has become an England regular under Fabio Capello.

The transfer was clinched on Christian Purslows first day as Liverpools managing director, a position he is occupying while the search for a new chief executive continues.

CEO Rick Parry will leave this week following 11 years at Anfield after becoming a casualty of the power struggle between the clubs American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.

Setanta has failed to make a payment to the Scottish Premier League to screen live matches in Britain, casting further doubt on the future of the troubled broadcaster.

Mondays announcement that Setanta didnt make a $5 million payment as scheduled could have severe implications for smaller Scottish clubs.

Setanta is battling against a collapse after a potential rescue package fell through last week. As a result, the company failed to meet a payment deadline with the English Premier League.

Both leagues are now looking to resell the packages Setanta held.

Setanta executives spent the weekend trying to save the broadcaster, which has channels in Britain, Ireland, North America and Australia.

Deloitte has been lined up to act as administrator should the broadcaster, which employs 430 people, declare bankruptcy.

Setanta also holds the rights to other major sporting events, including the FA Cup, some England football internationals, US PGA golf and Premiership rugby from 2010.

The English Premier League will have few problems reselling the two packages of live rights, with Sky and ESPN the front-runners.

Real Madrids world record transfer signing Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka could debut for the Spanish side on July 20 in a friendly match against Shamrock Rovers in Dublin, the Spanish club said Monday on its Web site.

Shamrock Rovers said the match, to be played at in the 3,500 seater Tallaght Stadium, is sold out.

Shamrock Rovers F.C. members and season ticket holders purchased over 3,000 tickets in the 48 hour window over the weekend, the Irish club said.

Madrid are to spend July 13-22 preparing for the new season at the Carton House training ground in Ireland said director general Jorge Valdano.

We are delighted with the trip to Ireland we have prepared so as to begin this very important phase in our preseason training, Valdano said.

We know Shamrock Rovers is a very important team in Ireland and playing against them is going to suit us very well in our preparation, Valdano said.

Madrid have agreed to pay Manchester United a record 80 million pounds ($131 million) for Ronaldo and Kaka was signed from AC Milan for a reported fee of around ?65 million ($92 million).

Personal terms with Ronaldo are still to be agreed.

With one point from two matches, its desperation time for Iraq at the Confederations Cup when they face New Zealand in their final group match.

And to get ready for the must-win game, the players are looking back to their Asian Cup win in 2007.

We can rekindle the memories of the Asian competition, Iraq goalkeeper Mohammed Kassid said Friday. I am fully confident we will play better and achieve the result we are looking for.

Iraq opened with a 0-0 draw against South Africa in Group A, and then lost to Spain 1-0. Because the host South Africans managed to beat New Zealand, Iraq needs to win Saturday at Ellis Park to have any chance of reaching the next round along with European champion Spain.

This is a very good situation for us. There isnt much pressure, said Iraq coach Bora Milutinovic, who has coached five different countries at World Cup tournaments. Our goal is to go to the next round.

South Africa leads Iraq by three points, but faces a Spanish team in Bloemfontein looking to break the record for consecutive victories with its 15th in a row and to equal Brazils 35-match unbeaten run. If Spain wins again and Iraq defeats eliminated New Zealand, the semifinal spot will come down to goal difference.

Milutinovic, however, wouldnt be dragged into predictions of how many goals his team will need to score, instead preferring to stay neutral.

We need only to win the game. the Serbian coach said.

Oceania champion New Zealand has not yet scored a goal in this years Confederations Cup, but coach Ricki Herbert is hoping to earn a point before heading home.

Lets hope we can secure the first point, if not three points, Herbert said.

Milutinovic said his team, which has also not scored a goal at the tournament in South Africa, was prepared for the match against the All Whites.

What we need to know, we know. What out players need to know, they know, Milutinovic said. Theyre going to do a great job.

Valencia president Manuel Llorente added the latest twist to David Villas transfer saga on Friday by declaring the Spain striker was not for sale.

After weighing up the advantages and disadvantage, weve taken a decision: Villa is the best striker in Europe and we want him to continue with us, Llorente said.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea are among the teams reported to be vying for Villa.

The 27-year-old Villa, who has scored two goals in two games for Spain at the Confederations Cup in South Africa, has spoken only once over any proposed transfer since arriving at the tournament.

On Wednesday, Villa said that he had already made a decision over his future. A day later, Madrid president Florentino Perez said that it was only a matter of time before the Spaniard joined the team.

Llorente said talks with Madrid would continue with little faith.

Valencia has reported debts of up to ?600 million ($840 million) a few years after being one of the worlds top-20 richest clubs.

Valencia is a strong club and needs these types of players, Llorente said. Fans should know we want a team that can compete at the highest level.

Despite the off-field distractions, Villa found the net in Spains 1-0 win over Iraq to move to second on Spains scoring list.

Imagine the day hes happy, hell score 1,000 goals, Spain goalkeeper Pep Reina said from Bloemfontein, South Africa, where the team was preparing for Saturdays match against South Africa.

I think hes 100 percent focused on the national team even while his future is in the air. But he knows he has his teammates support, and I remind him of this every day.

Arsenal signed Ajax captain Thomas Vermaelen on Friday to help bolster the London clubs defense.

The 23-year-old Belgium international and left-footed center back was signed to a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee. He was Arsenals first signing of the summer transfer window.

Im just so happy to be joining Arsenal, Vermaelen said. This is a great club with a world class manager, high quality players and a fantastic stadium. Everything is set up for Arsenal to be very successful for years to come and I joined this club because I know Arsenal will be challenging for trophies.

He won three trophies during his eight years at Ajax, including the Dutch League championship in 2004, making 143 appearances and scoring 10 goals.

I have had a good taste of the Champions League during my time with Ajax and this is something I am looking forward to experiencing again with Arsenal, Vermaelen said. I just want to assure the Arsenal fans that I will give everything for this club and I hope we can enjoy winning some trophies together next season.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has made it one of his priorities during the transfer window to strengthen the teams defense, which was heavily criticized last season.

Arsenal finished fourth in the Premier League last season, spending several weeks in fifth place behind Aston Villa. The Gunners havent won a trophy since the FA Cup in 2005, and Wenger has been under increasing pressure from fans to buy more experienced players and put less emphasis on his philosophy of developing young talent.

The teams defense especially came under fire last season because of its vulnerability to set pieces. A falling out in the middle of the season between regular center backs William Gallas and Kolo Toure also led to criticism, and Wenger did not play the pair together for several weeks.

Toure had requested a transfer in January, but later withdrew it.

Vermaelens signing will lead to questions about the future of Toure and Gallas, who was stripped of the captaincy after criticizing his teammates in an AP interview.

Thomas is a great signing for Arsenal Football Club, and we are all delighted that he is joining us, Wenger said. Thomas is a solid performer with good experience of Champions League and UEFA Cup football and is also a regular with the Belgium national team.

Vermaelen has made 21 appearances for Belgium.

If this was a dress rehearsal for next years World Cup, the United States showed its far from ready.

The U.S. was beaten soundly for the second time in a four-day span at the Confederations Cup, getting outplayed throughout a 3-0 loss to Brazil on Thursday.

Felipe Melo scored off Maicons free kick in the seventh minute and Robinho made it 2-0 in the 20th, completing a counterattack that began when DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan failed to combine on a short corner kick. Maicon added the third goal in the 62nd.

Theyre always going to be the better team, right? U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard said. Its just for us about going out and trying to give a good showing of ourselves because the best team doesnt always win. Today it did. We were overpowered, and sometimes you just come up against Goliath and David doesnt win.

Brazil outshot the Americans 23-9, including 11-2 for shots on goal.

And the United States (0-2) finished a man short for the second straight game. Sacha Kljestan was ejected by Swiss referee Massimo Busacca in the 57th minute for a rough foul on Ramires.

He played the ball off before I got there and I got him in the foot, Kljestan said. I dont know if it was a red or not, but the end state is that I let my team down today.

Combined with an opening 3-1 loss to Italy on Monday and Egypts 1-0 upset of the Azzurri on Thursday, the defeat left the United States with an outside chance, at best, to reach the semifinals. The Americans could advance by beating Egypt by at least three goals, and either Italy scoring three fewer goals than the United States in a loss to Brazil or the victory margins of the U.S. and Brazil totaling seven or more.

Missing injured defenders Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo and Frankie Hejduk, the United States has been shaky in the back. Melos goal marked the third time in four matches the Americans fell behind within the first seven minutes.

We had a very nervous, tentative start to the game, U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. An early goal off a set piece really put us in a difficult situation right from the start.

The United States has never overcome a deficit against Brazil, which improved to 13-1 in head-to-head meetings and has outscored the United States 26-8. The lone American victory was a 1-0 upset at the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Even if you do get a chance to get around them and win a ball, they have players that can make plays to get out of situations, and the next thing you know you are chasing them again, Donovan said. As you saw tonight, theres a reason why they are some of the most expensive players in the world.

Brazil (2-0), the defending Confederations Cup champion and a five-time World Cup winner, opened with a 4-3 victory over Egypt and is virtually assured a berth in the semifinals going into its final first-round match, against Italy on Sunday.

For us its important to win all the time, for Brazil to win all the time, said Brazils Kaka, the 2007 FIFA player of the year. Spain is in a good moment, Italy is the actual World Cup winner, so we have a good challenge here.

Melo beat defender Jonathan Spector for the first goal, taking Maicons 25-yard free kick following a foul by Michael Bradley and heading it past Howard from about 5 yards.

The second goal came on an end-to-end effort after Beasley fumbled Donovans short corner kick, the ball rolling right past him. With Beasley slapping the ground in frustration, Andres Santos cleared to Kaka, who touched the ball to Ramires. He dribbled 50 yards upfield before dishing off to Robinho, who celebrated by faking an interview into a microphone at the advertising board to the right of the goal.

The ball just went under my foot, theres no other way I can say it, Beasley said. I was stunned because thats never happened to me before.

Maicon got the third goal off passes from Kaka and Ramires, with the last pass bouncing off defender Jonathan Bornstein right by the goal.

The closest the Americans came to scoring was when second-half substitutes Benny Feilhaber and Conor Casey hit the crossbar in the final 10 minutes.

It hasnt been great, these two games for us, Howard said. One of the things I always say is that if we can take this into the Gold Cup and World Cup qualifying and learn from some of the lessons and not be so naive in certain instances, it could be a success. But thats only if you apply it, not just if we talk about it.

Fabio Cannavaros grandfather died Thursday and the Italy captain was given the news after he and his teammates lost to Egypt 1-0 in the Confederations Cup.

Cannavaro, who needs to make only two more appearances for Italy to break Paolo Maldinis national team record, left Ellis Park with his head low and tears in his eyes.

He just got a call right now telling him that his grandfather died, Italy team spokesman Diego Antenozio said.

It wasnt clear if the Italy captain would return home or stay for Sundays Group B match against Brazil, which could send the world champions through to the semifinals.

We dont know at this point, Antenozio said.