July 31, 2007
BARRY HATTON

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Freddy Adu, the American phenom who is one of the highest-profile stars of Major League Soccer, has agreed to play for Benfica and trained with the Portuguese club Tuesday.

MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis told the Associated Press that Adu's agent Richard Motzkin had confirmed the deal.

The 18-year-old attacking midfielder arrived in the Portuguese capital Monday to negotiate terms. There were no immediate plans to introduce the player to the media.
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7/29/2007
Julian Linden

JAKARTA, July 29 (Reuters) – Iraq completed one of sport's great fairytales by beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final on Sunday to provide a rare moment for celebration in their war-torn homeland.

The Saudis had been bidding to become the first four-times winners of the tournament but Iraq, riding a wave of global sentiment, upset the hot-favourites for a rare slice of sporting glory.

Iraqi captain Younis Mahmoud scored the winner in the 71st minute when he climbed above the defence at the far post and headed a perfectly-weighted corner from Hawar Mulla Mohammed into the Saudi net.
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7/28/2007
BBC Sports

A bumper crowd of more than 57,000 watched Barcelona turn on the style to beat Hearts 3-1 at Murrayfield.

Ronaldinho tucked away a penalty after Gianluca Zambrotta tumbled but Hearts hit back when Juho Makela poked home a loose ball from close range.

A sweet, flowing move ended with Ronaldinho rising to head past stranded goalkeeper Craig Gordon from six yards.
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July 28, 2007

PELAMBANG, Indonesia (AFP) – South Korea battled a man short and embroiled in their third straight penalty shootout to beat Japan in a marathon play-off for third place at the Asian Cup here Saturday.

The hard-working Koreans were involved in their third consecutive scoreless game at the tournament but survived when goalkeeper Lee Woon-Jae saved Naotake Hanyu's spot-kick to take the game 6-5 on penalties.
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7/28/2007
Julian Linden

JAKARTA (Reuters) – A tournament which has already thrown up so many surprises could take one last twist when Iraq play Saudi Arabia in Sunday's Asian Cup final.

Saudi Arabia are chasing an unprecedented fourth title and strongly favoured to win but face opponents who have defied incredible odds to reach their first final and inspired a nation ravaged by war.

Few people gave Iraq any chance of making it past the group stage after they drew their opening match against co-hosts Thailand but they made it through with a combination of hard work, skill and an ounce of luck.
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7/27/2007
By Peter Rutherford

JAKARTA (Reuters) -Games between South Korea and Japan are traditionally fierce, passionate affairs, but Saturday's clash for third place at the Asian Cup is unlikely to set pulses racing. The two regional soccer powerhouses have been relegated to the role of bit-part players after stunning semi-final defeats, while their conquerors, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, prepare to share the limelight in Sunday's final.
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Friday July 27, 2007
Guardian Unlimited, John Duerden

Saudi Arabia will be favourites for Sunday's final, but most neutrals want to see Iraq secure an unlikely triumph, says John Duerden

"No, we can't have alphabetical seating in the Abbey; you would have Iraq and Iran next to each other," warned sly civil servant Bernard Woolley when asked about arrangements for a state funeral in Yes, Prime Minister. The Asian Football Confederation could have used Woolley's charms as they attempted to come to grips with the problems of staging a major tournament in four countries – Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
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Friday July 27, 2007
Guardian Unlimited, Ewan Murray at Tannadice

Dundee United 0 – 1 Barcelona (Henry 90)

Thierry Henry scored on his debut for Barcelona last night when he forced home the rebound from his own 90th-minute penalty. In doing so the France international, signed from Arsenal for £16m, laid a few ghosts to rest, the Catalan giants having failed to beat Dundee United in four previous attempts.

"We have seen he is an intelligent player and we have seen some good passes," said the Barcelona coach, Frank Rijkaard. "We have to take into account he has not played for a long time and it was his decision to go and play. He played well."
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Martin Parry
July 25, 2007

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Iraq stunned South Korea 4-3 on penalties Wednesday and Saudi Arabia upset defending champions Japan 3-2 to set up an Asian Cup final few expected to see.

It is Iraq's first-ever major final and sparked wild celebrations in Baghdad, while the Saudis atoned for the last tournament in China in 2004 when they failed to make the decider for the first time in 20 years.

They meet in Jakarta on Sunday while Japan and South Korea face an unwanted trip to Pelambang in Indonesia on Saturday to play-off for third place.
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7/25/2007
Kaveh Mahjoob, gola.com

The scoreboard posted the winner of Iran – Korea match after 120 minutes and 9 penalties. South Korea won 4 – 2 on penalty kicks.

For the fourth consecutive Asian Cup, the two proud Asian football nations met and once again a hard fought and a close match was the outcome. This time though, the result of this match was determined long before the two teams walked on the wet green field in Malaysia.
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