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Madrid loses 3-2 to Real Union in Copa del Rey.
Third-division Real Union upset Real Madrid 3-2 in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, continuing the Spanish league champion’s poor record in the knockout competition it hasn’t won since 1993.

Juan Dominguez scored twice and Inaki Goikoetxea netted the winner for Real Union, while Gonzalo Higuain and Javier Saviola replied in the fourth round first-leg match for Madrid, which will need a victory to progress from the return leg at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Nov. 12.

Madrid was the fourth topflight team to suffer an upset in this week’s Copa del Rey games.

On Wednesday, Villarreal was humiliated 5-0 at third-division Polideportivo Ejido, Racing Santander went down 2-1 at second-division Murcia, while Sevilla lost 1-0 at third-division Ponferradina.

There was a scare in the 14th minute when Madrid’s Spain midfielder Ruben De La Red fell as he walked away from the Real Union penalty area. De La Red was carried off on a stretcher after being treated for two minutes.

Madrid medical chief Carlos Diez said De La Red suffered a sudden fainting fit brought on by exertion and was not in danger.

The 23-year-old Spain international was taken to hospital and will spend the night there as a precaution. Diez said De La Red has undergone tests which have produced normal results and he was expected to be released on Friday.

De La Red will undergo further tests in the Spanish capital to find out why he fainted, Diez added.

Madrid coach Bernd Schuster fielded an understrength team at Real Union’s Gal Stadium, with goalkeeper Iker Casillas, captain Raul Gonzalez, striker Ruud van Nistelrooy among those rested.

Real Union, which won the competition in 1924, stunned the league champions in the second minute when Dominguez forced his way past Madrid right back Michel Salgado and sidefooted his shot past goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.

Madrid took eight minutes to equalize, Higuain capitalizing on a defense-splitting pass from captain Jose Maria “Guti” Gutierrez to sidefoot home.

The minnows regained the lead in the 21st after Madrid defender Christoph Metzelder lost possession. Joseba Aguirre crossed from the right and Dominguez ran in to power a header past Dudek.

Saviola, who had wasted a clear chance moments earlier, made amends by equalizing in the 53rd minute with a curling, rising shot after Real Union failed to deal with a corner.

However, Real Union again responded and Goikoetxea turned home Felix Quero’s cross from the right in the 63rd for his team’s winning goal.

First-division clubs have entered the competition at this stage, with rules stating that those who are drawn against lower-league opponents must play the first leg away from home.

Barcelona won 1-0 at third-division Benidorm on Tuesday, while holders Valencia beat Portugalete 4-1 on Wednesday.

Malaga hosts buoyant Barcelona in Spanish league. Malaga faces the daunting prospect of a visit on Saturday from a buoyant Barcelona, which will be seeking its seventh straight Spanish league victory and 11th in all competitions.

With Pep Guardiola at the helm, Barcelona has made its best start to a season under a new coach since the 1970-71 season when the Catalan team was under Vic Buckingham of England.

Barcelona has scored 35 goals this season, including 6-1 wins over Sporting Gijon and Atletico Madrid and 5-0 victories over FC Basel and Almeria.

Guardiola, who replaced the fired Frank Rijkaard in July, is trying to keep a lid on the euphoria enveloping him and his players.

“This is an unreal situation and what is important is for us to maintain the values we work at every day,” the 37-year-old former Barcelona midfielder said. “There are a lot of better coaches than me.”

Guardiola is benefiting from his decision to retain striker Samuel Eto’o after initially declaring the Cameroon international surplus to requirements.

Eto’o has scored nine goals to top the league scoring chart alongside Valencia’s David Villa, with three coming in the opening 23 minutes against Almeria last weekend for the fastest hat trick in Spanish league history.

Barcelona will be without left back Eric Abidal after the France defender limped out of training Thursday with a right knee injury.

However, Malaga will be quietly confident of springing a surprise after winning its past four matches, including last week when it ended Sevilla’s unbeaten record this season to rise to sixth place.

The promoted side’s recent form is all the more impressive as it gained just one point from its opening four matches.

After eight rounds, Barcelona is second with 19 points, above defending champions Real Madrid on goal difference and one point behind leader Valencia. Villarreal is fourth with 18, one more than Sevilla.

On Saturday, Valencia hosts Racing Santander and Villarreal visits Athletic Bilbao. On Sunday, Madrid travels to Almeria, with Sevilla playing at Valladolid.

Victory over 17th-place Santander will ensure that Valencia continues its best ever start to a season.

Valencia midfielder Ruben Baraja has dismissed suggestions that his undefeated team’s success is due to none of its rivals up to now regarded as top-notch sides.

“I think that our progress has been really good and no one can take that away from us. We’ll have the chance to play against the big teams and we’ll see then how the team shapes up,” Baraja said.

Madrid aims to extend its undefeated league streak to eight games when it meets ninth-place Almeria.

Defender Sergio Ramos is hopeful of regaining his place after apologizing for his recent criticism of Madrid coach Bernd Schuster’s tactics.

Schuster omitted the Spanish international from Sunday’s 3-2 win over Bilbao, but Madrid sports director Predrag Mijatovic said the affair was now concluded.

“He knows he made a mistake and everything is now sorted out. Sergio is a very important player and we have to try to avoid this happening again,” Mijatovic said.

The champions will welcome back Ruud van Nistelrooy from suspension. In his absence, the Dutchman has been replaced as the team’s top scorer this season by Gonzalo Higuain, who collected two goals against Bilbao.

Almeria striker Alvaro Negredo, who scored 13 league goals last season after leaving Madrid and another five this campaign, will miss the chance to face his former team due to suspension.

The division’s only other unbeaten team, Villarreal, will aim to bounce back against 19th-place Bilbao following Wednesday’s humiliating 5-0 Copa del Rey defeat against third-division Polideportivo El Ejido.

Villarreal owner Fernando Roig said he felt “ashamed” of his team, while coach Manuel Pellegrini will also be concerned that his has now conceded 12 goals in its past three matches.

Sevilla has also hit a rough patch, having followed up its loss against Malaga with a surprise 1-0 defeat against third-division Ponferradina in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.

Former Spain coach Jose Antonio Camacho will be anxious to avoid a fourth winless match following his appointment when last-place Osasuna plays at one of his former clubs, Espanyol.

Other games this weekend are: Atletico vs. Mallorca; Recreativo Huelva vs. Getafe; Gijon vs. Numancia; and Real Betis vs. Deportivo La Coruna.

Lato is new Poland football federation president. Grzegorz Lato was elected Thursday as the president of the national football federation for Poland, which will co-host the 2012 European Championship with Ukraine.

He received the required minimum of 57 votes from 113 delegates to succeed Michal Listkiewicz, who quit amid pressure from an ongoing corruption investigation that has brought match-fixing charges against coaches, federation and club officials, referees and players.

The 58-year-old Lato had previously worked as deputy to Listkiewicz, who served as president since 1999.

“I will not rest until the image of the federation is straightened out and I am not only counting on myself,” Lato said. “I think we all want Polish football to be clean and transparent and we all want Euro 2012 to be a joint success.”

The federation’s dispute with the Polish government over corruption allegations almost resulted in the nation losing its Euro 2012 co-hosting rights and being suspended from World Cup qualifying matches earlier this month.

The government had said the federation was not doing enough to fight corruption in Polish football. Under a motion from Sports Minister Miroslaw Drzewiecki, a court ordered a special administrator to take over control of the federation.

That brought an angry response from FIFA and UEFA, which said the move violated the independence of football from government interference and threatened to suspend Poland’s team. The administrator was soon recalled.

FIFA had a delegate monitoring the election and said it will comment Friday on Lato’s appointment after studying the report.

Lato said analysing the federation’s finances and demonstrating more transparency in running the organization, adjusting its laws to FIFA and UEFA standards, and securing more European Union funds to train young players were among his priorities.

In 2005, prosecutors in the western city of Wroclaw launched an investigation into corruption in Poland’s football. More than 160 people have been charged with fixing matches in the top Polish leagues.

Last week, prosecutors filed 11 counts of corruption charges against former Poland coach Janusz Wojcik.

Lato said his first move will be to meet Drzewiecki to “talk over and clarify the situation.”

“Things cannot calm down without that,” Lato said.

Lato played 100 matches for Poland and was its top scorer in the 1970s. He scored in Poland’s 1-0 win over Brazil in the third-place match at the 1974 World Cup. His team won Olympic gold in 1972 and silver in 1976.

He was also a senator for the former communist Democratic Left Alliance party between 2001-05.

Beckham to join AC Milan on 3-month loan. David Beckham will join AC Milan in January on a three-month loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy to maintain his fitness and prolong his career with the English national team.

The former England captain’s stint in Serie A will begin Jan. 7, and he will rejoin his Galaxy teammates in March.

“He will have to go back to Galaxy by the time the MLS starts, and training before that,” Milan sporting director Umberto Gandini said Thursday. “David is committed to the LA Galaxy and the MLS. Only David knows his future, but for sure he has a commitment to go back to the MLS and fulfill that.”

Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said an agreement was reached Thursday with Beckham’s lawyers, although a contract is still to be written.

The 33-year-old midfielder is eager to play in Europe during the MLS offseason to remain fit and available for selection for England, which plays an exhibition at Germany on Nov. 19 before World Cup 2010 qualifying resumes in March.

Galaxy coach Bruce Arena declined to say what the Galaxy will get in return from lending Beckham to AC Milan, and that the loan was never sought for longer than three months.

“The terms of the agreement will remain confidential,” Arena said on a conference call with reporters. “In my view, this on the part of David was a purely technical rationale. He wants to continue to play for England. He wants to be in a good environment … and what better environment can you be in than AC Milan?”

The Galaxy coach added that he wasn’t overly concerned that Beckham would get injured.

“When players don’t go 100 percent, they get hurt. David is a very experienced player, and knows when to go for challenges and when not to,” Arena said.

Beckham is one appearance away from matching the record 108 for an outfield player - held by 1966 World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore. Goalkeeper Peter Shilton holds the overall England record of 125.

“Milan has made a good acquisition,” said England manager Fabio Capello, who also coached Beckham at Real Madrid. “In Madrid, I dropped him from the team because he signed with Los Angeles. But he continued to come and train and I put him back on the team.”

Beckham will likely undergo medical tests Dec. 20 and be introduced a day later, when the club will unveil his jersey number. He is set to travel with Milan to Dubai for a midwinter training camp, which includes an exhibition.

Beckham’s first competitive game for Milan could come in the capital against AS Roma on Jan. 11.

He will become the first English player to play for the club since 1987, when Ray Wilkins and Mark Hateley left the club.

Beckham will join a stellar midfield at the San Siro, including Italy’s World Cup champions Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, plus Massimo Ambrosini, Mathieu Flamini and Clarence Seedorf.

During the last MLS offseason, Beckham trained with Arsenal to keep fit, but did not play for the English Premier League club.

Beckham starred for Manchester United and Real Madrid before joining the Galaxy in January 2007 in a five-year deal.

After resigning the England captaincy following the 2006 World Cup, Beckham was briefly dropped.

Ballack meets with Germany coach Loew over dispute. Germany captain Michael Ballack met with coach Joachim Loew on Thursday in an attempt to settle a dispute stemming from Ballack’s criticism of the coach’s selection criteria.

The German football federation said the two met in Frankfurt but would not disclose any details until Friday. Ballack said last week he planned to apologize to Loew for publicly criticizing the coach for barely playing veteran midfielder Torsten Frings in the last two World Cup qualifiers.

Ballack played in both those games but is out of action with Chelsea after having surgery to remove thickened nerves from both feet.

Frings has made 78 appearances for Germany but played only seven minutes in the 2-1 win over Russia on Oct. 11 in Group 4 and didn’t come off the bench in the 1-0 win over Wales four days later. Frings later said he was considering retirement.

The 32-year-old Ballack and Frings used to play together in Germany’s under-19 team and are good friends. However, Loew is looking at younger players ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Frings will be 32 next month.

Boca Juniors soccer president Pompilio dies at 55. Pedro Pompilio, the president of Argentine Boca Juniors soccer club, died Thursday of a heart attack, the Argentine Football Association said. He was 55.

Pompilio, who took over as president of Argentina’s most popular club in December, had played an important role in the team’s administration since the 1980s. He was vice president of the club from 1995 to 2007.

The club has suspended all activities for mourning, including the first division’s scheduled training session, according to local press reports.

Vice president Jorge Amor Ameal will take over Pompilio’s duties.

Paddy Powers World Cup Soccer Betting

Paddy Power has eased Argentinas odds on winning the 2010 World Cup from 5/1 to a best priced 6/1 following news of Diego Maradonas expected appointment as coach of the national team.

Confirmation from the Argentinian FA that they expect to ratify Maradonas appointment next Tuesday has the bookies doubting it will make the World Cup 2010 front-runners a stronger team. The move makes Argentinas arch rivals Brazil clear favourites at 5/1 to claim a sixth World Cup with Fabio Capellos England at 7/1.

Paddy Power, explains: Its been proved many times that you need tacticians more than motivators in international football and it remains to be seen whether Maradona possesses those qualities. Maradona was a player with few rivals and is rightly idolised in Argentina but very few of the greatest players have gone on to be great coaches - ultimately we think it would do more harm than good to what is a strong Argentinian team.

With Maradonas limited coaching experience and turbulent personal life it would be akin to Gazza taking charge of the England team.

World Cup 2010

5/1 Brazil

6/1 Argentina

15/2 Spain

9/1 England

11/1 Italy

11/1 Germany

14/1 Holland

20/1 France

22/1 Portugal

28/1 Russia

33/1 Ivory Coast

40/1 Bar

Two late goals give Tottenham 4-4 draw at Arsenal. Tottenham continued its startling recovery under new manager Harry Redknapp when it scored twice in the last five minutes to salvage a 4-4 draw against Arsenal in the English Premier League on Wednesday.

After conceding what could be the goal of the season, Arsenal rallied to lead 4-2 before Jermaine Jenas scored in the 89th minute and substitute Aaron Lennon equalized in the fourth minute of injury time to earn a point for the last-placed team.

Although Tottenham stayed bottom of the league and is still winless in 18 league games against its biggest rivals, the comeback against its fierce north London rival suggested Spurs should soon be able to clear the relegation zone.

“It showed a lot of character, I felt, to keep going,” Redknapp said. “I just have to make them believe in themselves. There’s ability at the club and they’re a good bunch of lads.”

The Gunners looked likely to win for most of the game, even after former Arsenal winger David Bentley put Tottenham in front at Emirates Stadium through a 40-meter (yard) volley.

Mikael Silvestre, William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor put Arsenal 3-1 ahead and, although Darren Bent got a goal with his first touch in the 67th, Robin van Persie struck for Arsenal just a minute later to seemingly secure victory.

But Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was on his knees in despair after Jenas struck a curling shot from the edge of the area and Lennon scored from a rebound when Luka Modric had hit the post.

Arsenal still moved up a place, but the late goals cost it sole possession of third place and mean it is tied with Manchester United and Hull on 20 points - six points behind leader Liverpool.

“The positive side is that we were really superior to Tottenham,” Wenger said. “The negative side is that we didn’t win and I believe that is down to a lack of maturity.”

Tottenham, though, was again far improved from its listless performances under Juande Ramos, and now has four points from two games under the Spaniard’s replacement.

Spurs looked out of the game when Van Persie scored in the 68th, and an Arsenal crowd which has often been silenced by unexpected setbacks in the past, was in noisy, confident form after Wenger’s recent criticism of them as too quiet.

But chants of “Bentley, what’s the score?” toward their former player stopped when Jenas - who scored the opening goal last season in Tottenham’s 5-1 League Cup semifinal victory over Arsenal - closed the gap.

And it was the Spurs fans who were loudest when Lennon, who had replaced defender Alan Hutton in an attacking substitution, tapped in past goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

Tottenham took a surprise lead in the 13th. Jenas headed an aerial ball to Modric and got it straight back before sending it toward Bentley just outside the center circle.

Bentley, who left Arsenal in 2006 after just a handful of appearances, took one touch of the ball - which had not touched the ground since leaving Jenas the first time - and then hit an ambitious, dipping volley that Almunia could only touch on its way over his head and into the net.

Arsenal responded with a flurry of chances including three each from Van Persie and Theo Walcott and was rewarded in the 37th when the unmarked Silvestre headed in a corner kick past flailing goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.

Arsenal fans, who have not seen their team beaten at home by Tottenham since May 1993, were roused further when Gallas beat Tom Huddlestone in the air to head another goal past Gomes.

“Two set plays; 2-1 down in no time,” Redknapp said. “We’ve got to stop conceding silly goals from set plays. We didn’t pick up people because people who were supposed to mark didn’t quite do their jobs.”

Adebayor then beat Hutton to tap in from inside the six-meter (yard) box in the 64th and, after Bent scored from a rebound following Almunia’s save from Huddlestone, Van Persie collected a lofted pass by Adebayor and calmly placed the ball past Gomes for his 50th Arsenal goal.

Wenger was so assured of victory that he replaced the dangerous Van Persie and Walcott, but Spurs struck the late goals to lift themselves ahead of Saturday’s match against Liverpool.

“We can’t wait to bring Liverpool on now,” Redknapp said. “We’ll be difficult to beat on Saturday. I don’t think they need a lot of motivating after that.”

Villarreal loses 5-0 in Copa del Rey. Jorge Molina’s hat trick helped third-division minnows Polideportivo Ejido inflict a humiliating 5-0 defeat on Villarreal in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.

Molina scored in the 8th, 38th and 54th minutes of the fourth round first-leg match at Ejido’s Santo Domingo Stadium, with Gregory Laget adding late goals to complete Villarreal’s first defeat in all competitions this season.

Two more first-division teams lost against lower-league opposition - Racing Santander went down 2-1 at second-division Murcia, while third-division Ponferradina beat Sevilla 1-0.

Murcia rallied on goals by Jose Luis Capdevila and Adrian Sikora in the 74th and 77th minutes after Santander took an early lead through Ivan Bedia.

Cristian Portilla’s fierce shot in extra time brought Ponferradina victory over the 2007 champion.

One more first-division team failed to win, Espanyol mustering only a 2-2 draw at second-division Celta Vigo.

However, Valencia made a successful start to its Copa del Rey defense by beating Portugalete 4-1.

Fernando Morientes, replacing Valencia’s rested leading scorer David Villa, scored the visitor’s first goal in the 11th minute in the Basque town of Barakaldo.

The Spanish league leader doubled its tally 10 minutes later through Vicente Rodriguez.

Portugalete, the only fourth-tier team remaining in the last 32 of the competition, reduced the deficit in the 47th through Urko Vera’s header.

Five minutes later, Morientes shot Valencia’s third goal from Vicente’s pass, with substitute Nikola Zigic sealing the comfortable win when he fired home in the 84th.

Five other topflight sides - Atletico Madrid, Deportivo La Coruna, Almeria, Valladolid and Real Betis - all avoided upsets in their trips to inferior opposition.

Nine-time champion Atletico won 1-0 at Orihuela, Deportivo downed Elche 2-0, Almeria beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1, Valladolid trounced Hercules 5-1, and Betis won 2-0 at Castellon.

In all-first-division matchups, 23-time champion Athletic Bilbao beat visiting Recreativo Huelva 2-0, Sporting Gijon won 1-0 at Numancia, host Malaga drew 1-1 with Mallorca, and Getafe, beaten finalist for the past two seasons, drew 0-0 with visitor Osasuna.

The second legs are scheduled for Nov. 12.

First-division clubs have entered the competition at this stage, with rules stating that those who are drawn against lower-league opponents must play the first leg away from home.

On Tuesday, Barcelona won 1-0 at third-division Benidorm. Real Madrid begins its bid to win the competition for the first time since 1993 at third-division Real Union on Thursday.

FC Twente beats NAC Breda 1-0 in Dutch league.
Edson Braafheid’s goal in the 11th minute was all FC Twente needed to beat NAC Breda 1-0 and improve to third in the Dutch league on Wednesday.

Also, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored twice in the second half to help Ajax beat 10-man Heracles Almelo 3-1.

Urby Emanuelson set up Luis Suarez for Ajax’s opening goal in the second minute but Jan Wuytens leveled for Heracles in the 28th.

Huntelaar produced in the 77th and 82nd, then Heracles midfielder Ricky van den Bergh was dismissed in the 87th for fouling Suarez.

AZ Alkmaar, after beating Roda JC 2-0 on Tuesday, led with 18 points, one ahead of FC Groningen and Twente. NAC Breda and Ajax were next with 16 each.

Elsewhere, Sparta foiled Feyenoord’s bid to earn only its second win of the season by winning the 50th edition of the Rotterdam derby 2-1.

Leroy Fer opened scoring for Feyenoord in the 40th but Arne Slot equalized two minutes later, beating Feyenoord goalkeeper Henk Timmer from close range. Rydell Poepon got the winner three minutes from the end.

Gonzalo Garcia earned the equalizing goal in the 89th to give 10-man FC Groningen a 2-2 draw at NEC Nijmegen.

Andreas Granqvist was ejected in the 83rd after his second yellow card, then a minute later Youssef El-Akchaoui put NEC up 2-1.

Peter Wisgerhof’s goal in the 48th canceled Berry Powel’s 11th-minute goal for Groningen.

Santi Kolk and Nick Hofs scored in Vitesse Arnhem’s 2-0 defeat of SC Heerenveen for its first win of the season.

On Tuesday, PSV beat ADO The Hague 2-0, while FC Volendam drew 2-2 against Willem II.

On Thursday, it’s De Graafschap vs. FC Utrecht.