Soccer Sports News & Betting

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has left his clubs U.S. tour early because of a family illness.

Mancini departed Baltimore on Friday for Italy, the team said. The managers father lives in Italy.

Manchester City completes its preseason U.S. tour on Saturday against Inter Milan before returning to England, where it plays Valencia on Aug. 7. Manchester City opens its Premier League season Aug. 14 against Tottenham.

Brian Kidd and David Platt will oversee Manchester City on Saturday.

“Clearly its a difficult time for the boss with him having to go back for family reasons,” Kidd said on the teams website. “Its all happened very suddenly.”

SION, Switzerland — Swiss club Sion passed on the chance to sign Freddy Adu on Friday after the former United States international spent the week there in training.

Sion said on its website that Adu had undeniable qualities but did not fit in with its plans.

Adu posted on his Twitter account that he hoped to have good news “in the next couple days.”

“I know Im going to be praying,” Adu wrote. “Until then I will be incognito.”

Adu was signed to Portuguese champion Benfica but was loaned out last season to Belenenses and Greek club Aris Thessaloniki.

The 21-year-old forward was not selected to play for the U.S. at the World Cup finals in South Africa, and has failed in Europe to fulfill the potential he showed when joining D.C. United at age 14.

Sion had the option to sign Adu because a one-year transfer ban imposed by FIFA and upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last month will not take effect until January.

Former European champions Liverpool and Juventus began their attempts to reach the second-tier Europa League with 2-0 victories.

Roy Hodgson guided Liverpool over Rabotnicki in his first competitive game since becoming manager four weeks ago. David Ngog scored twice as Liverpool won despite the absence of star players including Fernando Torres and Joe Cole.

Brazilian striker Amauri scored both goals for Juventus to give the Italian team a victory over Irelands Shamrock Rovers in the first leg of its third qualifying round match.

The winners of the home-and-home, total-goals series advance to playoffs for places in the tournament.

Former European champion Red Star Belgrade faces a struggle after losing 2-1 to visiting Slovan Bratislava.

Playing without 10 World Cup players, Liverpool started a lineup that included Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Alberto Aquilani, Lucas Leiva and Ngog. New signings Milan Jovanovic and David Amoo made their first appearances.

Ngog raced through to reach Lucas free kick and flicked the ball past goalkeeper Martin Bogatinov in the 17th minute, then made it 2-0 in the 59th with a volley.

Juventus, a two-time European champion, took the lead in the third minute when Amauri exchanged passes with Diego and shot past the goalkeeper. Diego then shot wide before Amauri scored in the 75th with a powerful header.

Former Real Salt Lake forward Yura Movsisyan scored in the sixth minute and added a tying goal in the 81st as Denmarks Randers lost 3-2 to visiting Lausanne-Sport of Switzerland. The 23-year-old is eligible to play for Armenia or Azerbaijan, and would be eligible for the U.S. national team if he becomes an American citizen.

Also Thursday, AZ Alkmaar beat Gothenburg 2-0, Galatasaray tied 2-2 with visiting OFK Belgrade, Sporting Lisbon won 1-0 at Nordsjaelland, Olympiakos beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv 2-1 and Stuttgart won 3-2 at Norways Molde.

U.S. coach Bob Bradley plans to announce his roster early next week for an Aug. 10 exhibition against Brazil at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Bradleys contract runs through the end of the year, and the U.S. Soccer Federation has not said whether it will offer a new deal to Bradley, who coached the Americans to a second-round finish in this years World Cup.

Team spokesman Michael Kammarman said a Monday or Tuesday roster announcement was likely.

New coach Mano Menezes selected just four players from Brazils World Cup team for his 24-man roster. Bradley is expected to pick mostly veterans for the match.

Manchester United turned the Major League Soccer All-Star game into its own showcase of talent.

Federico Macheda had two early goals, Mexican star Javier Hernandez scored in his debut for the Red Devils, and Manchester United routed the MLS All-Stars 5-2 on Wednesday night in the final exhibition game of its North American tour.

Darron Gibson and Tom Cleverley added goals for the Red Devils, tuning up for the start of the Premier League season next month.

Houston Dynamo star Brian Ching had a goal and an assist for the All-Stars, who were hoping for a validating victory against one of the worlds pre-eminent soccer powers. But Macheda scored twice in the first 13 minutes, quickly dashing the MLS teams hopes.

The Red Devils, who played without several top players, circled the field and applauded the fans after the game.

The sellout crowd was announced at 70,728, the largest for an MLS All-Star game since the first one in 1996 drew 78,416 to Giants Stadium. The attendance figure was the largest for a soccer game at Reliant Stadium.

Substitute midfielder Giuliano scored a second-half goal to give Internacional a 1-0 win fellow-Brazilian side Sao Paulo in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores semifinals Wednesday.

Giuliano sent the ball off the inside of the post following build up play by Andres DAlessandro and Alecsandro in the 68th minute, three minutes after taking the field.

The return leg will be played in Sao Paulos Morumbi stadium next Thursday.

Mexicos Guadalajara was held to a 1-1 draw at home against Universidad de Chile on Tuesday in the other semifinal first leg.

The Copa Libertadores is the top club competition in Latin America. The tournament took a break after the quarterfinals to make way for the World Cup, restarting at the semifinal stage.

Toronto FC built on early momentum and beat Club Deportivo Motagua of Honduras 1-0 on Tuesday night in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions League qualifier.

Dwayne De Rosario earned an assist on Chad Barretts first-half goal and created several chances of his own.

Toronto earned an invitation to the tournament with its successful defense of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship in May. The CONCACAF Champions League - comprised of North American, Central American and Caribbean teams - takes part in three stages, and sends its champion to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup.

A win or a draw in the second leg next week would put Toronto into the tournaments group stage.

Toronto was eliminated from the preliminary round of last years tournament after failing to score a goal in two games against the Puerto Rico Islanders.

After a flourish of early movement Tuesday, forward OBrian White was nearly the first to score in the 19th minute, but was thwarted with a last-second deflection from Motagua defender Ivan Guerrero.

The visitors had four World Cup players in their starting lineup - a group headlined by former Toronto midfielder Amado Guevara - but were sluggish early. They were still on their heels after Whites attempt when De Rosario took over.

Torontos captain hit Barrett on the run, sending the forward in alone on goal in the 20th minute.

Toronto is set to fly to Honduras from Kansas City following its MLS game against the Wizards on July 31. It will face Motagua in Tegucigalpa on Aug. 2.

Rodrigo Ruiz scored in the 83rd minute to give Mexicos Santos Laguna a 1-0 win over San Juan Jabloteh of Trinidad in the first leg of qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday.

Striker Oribe Peralta made a powerful run into the area and sent a low cross past a diving San Juan goalkeeper Cleon John for Ruiz to tap in from close range and secure the win.

An under-strength Santos enjoyed early opportunities at the Marvin Lee Stadium with attempts from Jose Rodolfo Reyes in the 3rd minute and centre-back Juan Pablo Santiago in the 12th minute both sailing over the crossbar. Santos squandered another chance in the 38th minute when Peralta hit the post.

Jabloteh nearly took the lead in the 58th when Marvin Olivers deflected shot from the top of the box had Santos goalkeeper Miguel Becerra scrambling to his left before making the save.

The teams meet again in Mexico on Aug. 4 for the second leg of qualifying. The winner will advance to the CONCACAF Champions League group stage.

The Kansas City Wizards say they sold 700 season tickets after their exhibition win over Manchester United.

The Wizards beat the English power 2-1 Sunday on goals by Davy Arnaud and Kei Kamara before 52,342 at Arrowhead Stadium, the largest crowd to watch a soccer match in Kansas City.

Team spokesman Rob Thomson said Monday the new tickets were sold as the team opened the first 2,011 season tickets for next year to sales following the victory over the Red Devils.

Kansas City is scheduled to move next June to a $200 million, 18,500-seat stadium under construction at Village West.

New Brazil coach Mano Menezes will try to add the Beautiful Game to the well-disciplined tactics of his predecessor in the national team.

Menezes was officially introduced as Brazil coach on Monday, calling up a squad for the first time and vowing to try to make Brazil play with flair and style again.

He is replacing Dunga, whose pragmatic team was eliminated by the Netherlands in the World Cup quarterfinals in South Africa.

“There are several ways of winning and I respect all of them,” Menezes said. “I will try to choose the way that gives us the best chance of winning. If that can be done with the beautiful game that everyone likes, it would be the best. We will try to get as close as possible to that.”

Dungas team achieved significant results ahead of the World Cup, but his defensive-minded scheme was not good enough to give Brazil its sixth world title.

“Dungas team was disciplined tactically and that was positive,” Menezes said. “Thats what I want for Brazil, to be well-organized tactically. Because with the talented players that we have, we will always have the capacity to win.”

Menezes chose a young squad for the national teams first match after the World Cup, picking Alexandre Pato, Paulo Henrique Ganso and Neymar for the friendly against the United States on Aug. 10.

Only four players were included from Brazils World Cup squad in South Africa - Daniel Alves, Ramires, Thiago Silva and Robinho. Kaka, Luis Fabiano and goalkeeper Julio Cesar were among those not summoned on Monday.

“Its the beginning of a renovation, with the goal being the 2014 World Cup and the (2012) London Olympics,” Menezes said.

Eleven players were summoned for the first time, and seven young enough to play in the Olympic under-23 tournament, a competition Brazil has never won.

Included in the list were right back Rafael of Manchester United, left back Marcelo of Real Madrid and defensive midfielder Lucas of Liverpool.

Menezes accepted the Brazil job on Saturday, a day after Muricy Ramalho rejected the offer because his club Fluminense did not release him from his contract. Dunga was fired just days after Brazils elimination in South Africa.

“Its always difficult when Brazil loses, especially because we tend to think we are better than everybody else,” Menezes said. “In the last two World Cup we were not, and we need to regain this form again. We still have the technical quality to do it.”

Menezes said one player who was in the World Cup squad did not want to be immediately summoned again, but the coach did not say which one made the refusal. After being questioned by reporters, he only said that it wasnt Kaka.

“We are not excluding any of the players from the previous World Cup,” Menezes said. “We understood that some of the players needed a momentary rest. With time, we will probably have them back in the national team.”

He said, however, that some players will naturally lose their spot because of age. Brazil arrived at the World Cup with the tournaments oldest squad, with an average age of over 29.

Brazilian club Santos was the team with most players: Robinho and young sensations Neymar, Ganso and Andre. There was heavy pressure for Dunga to summon striker Neymar and midfielder Ganso for the World Cup in South Africa but they were left out from the squad. They were among those being summoned for the senior squad for the first time on Monday.

Moments after the announcement was made in Rio de Janeiro, TV images showed the Santos players celebrating as if they had scored a goal, hugging and congratulating each other.

Pato had been with the main national squad before, but also missed out on the World Cup.

“Im happy and thrilled to be returning to the national team,” Pato said.

Menezes will have the difficult task of coaching the national team at the home tournament, which will take place in Brazil for the first time since 1950.

“The World Cup in Brazil will make things harder in a way, but we also will have bigger support,” Menezes said. “We need to be ready to overcome the pressure and to be in position to win the title.”

Brazil will also play the Copa America in 2011 in Argentina.

—

Brazil:

Goalkeepers: Renan (Avai), Jefferson (Botafogo), Victor (Gremio).

Defenders: Rafael (Manchester United), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), David Luiz (Benfica), Henrique (Racing Santander), Rever (Atletico Mineiro), Thiago Silva (AC Milan).

Midfielders: Ederson (Lyon), Carlos Eduardo (Hoffenheim), Hernanes (Sao Paulo), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos), Lucas (Liverpool), Jucilei (Corinthians), Ramires (Benfica), Sandro (Internacional).

Strikers: Robinho (Santos), Neymar (Santos), Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Andre (Santos), Diego Tardelli (Atletico Mineiro.)