Mad Brit Diary

Soccer players must brave risky world when off the pitch.

(Saturday, April 3, 2004) -- Soccer players are meant to get injured on the field, not off the pitch. They sign contracts not to ski, rollerblade, bungee jump or skydive. Some coaches would have their players refrain from sex.

Soon players won't be allowed to play with their toddlers in light of what happen to tough defender Mark Fish recently. The South African World Cup star, is lucky to be alive after a freak accident that left him needing 39 stitches. Fish, who plays with Charlton Athletic in the English Premier League, fell onto a glass vase while playing with his five-year-old son at home. Fish, 30, fell backwards through a table and impaling himself on the glass which slashed his back and arm up to the elbow. He lost nearly three pints of blood and could have easily died.

But freak and weird injuries happen all the time to soccer studs. Goalkeepers are always getting in trouble. American goalie Kasey Keller knocked out his front teeth in 1998 while pulling his golf clubs out of the trunk of his car. Former England keeper David Beasant slashed an ankle ligament after dropping a bottle of salad dressing on his foot.

Chic Brodie, who played for London club Brentford, saw his career end in 1970 when he collided with a terrier that ran onto the pitch. Brodie shattered his kneecap while the dog got the ball. Manchester United keeper Alex Stepney screamed so hard at his teammates in a game against Birmingham City that he dislocated his jaw and had to leave the game.

And what about those field players? Rio Ferdinand injured himself watching television when he strained a tendon while resting his foot on a coffee table. Danish ace Alan Nielson was put on the injured list after his daughter poked him in the eye and Norwegian defender Svein Grondalen missed a major game after colliding with a moose while jogging.

Brazilian forward Ramalho spent three days in bed after swallowing a suppository he used to treat a dental infection. Thierry Henry required treatment after hitting himself in the face with the corner flag while celebrating a goal for Arsenal. Another Arsenal player, Steve Morrow broke his collarbone after falling off a teammate while celebrating over the 1993 League Cup final. Croatian forward Milan Rapaic missed the start of his club's season after sticking a boarding pass into his eye at an airport.

Barnsley's Darren Barnard was sidelined five months with a torn knee ligament after he slipped in a puddle of his puppy's urine on the kitchen floor. Aston Villa defender Alan Wright strained his knee stretching to reach the accelerator in his new Ferrari. Former England star David Batty injured his Achilles tendon when he was run over by his toddler on a tricycle. And lastly, shed a tear for Indonesian player Mistar who was killed when pigs stampeded his team's training pitch in 1995.

A new commercial for featuring Pele and 14-year-old striker Freddy Adu for the soft drink Sierra Mist, will premiere on American TV today.

The Los Angeles Galaxy will play the 24th-ranked national team of Iran at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on April 28. In other Major League Soccer news, there was a number of late signings this week before world governing body FIFA's Wednesday trading deadline.

The Metrostars added Trinidad & Tobago star Cornell Glen, 22, and Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Flores, 20, while the Colorado Rapids signed Haitian striker Jean Philippe Peguero. Sadly, the Kansas City Wizards waived Jamaican star forward Wolde Harris, 30.

Conor Casey, the 52nd player to get a shot with the national team under Bruce Arena's reign, had a stunning debut in the Americans' 1-0 win at Poland this week. The 22-year-old, who has notched 12 goals this season for Karlsruhe in Germany's second division, helped set up DaMarcus Beasley's game-winner. Could this kid be America's new target man, the one to fill the shoes of Brain McBride?

In other news, the U.S. men will play rival Mexico in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl April 28 and 2002 World Cup finalists Poland at Soldier Field in Chicago July 11.

After the 1-1 tie at Arsenal last weekend, Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson has conceded the English Premier League title to Arsenal. "We're 12 points behind Arsenal and they'll go on and win the league, I'm sure of that," said Ferguson. "They are playing with great determination and they should win it now with just eight games to go."

Today, however, United shocked Arsenal 1-0 in the FA Cup semifinals at Villa Park in Birmingham, ending the Gunners pursuit of the "triple" at Villa Park. Arsenal leads Chelsea by four points in the EPL, but has a game in hand with eight matches remaining to seven for Chelsea. The Gunners are also in the European Champions League quarterfinals, but Jose Reyes went down with a knee injury and Freddie Lundberg broke his hand against United and the strikers probably miss Tuesday night's Champions League home game against Chelsea.

Meantime, American sports mogul Malcolm Glazer said this week he has "no current intention" of making an offer to take over Manchester United. The owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been linked with a takeover since he increased his stake to 16.69 percent.

French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez -- on loan at Marseille in France -- had his contract with Manchester United terminated, as of June 30.

David Beckham's Mohican haircut, once copied by United States striker Clint Mathis, has been voted the most memorable hairdo in sport, in a poll compiled by Brylcreem. Other soccer stars did well. Bobby Charlton's combover came in second, Ronaldo's tuft came in sixth, David Seaman's ponytail came in seventh and Freddie Ljungberg's red hair came in eighth. Carlos Valderrama came in 17th.

Even Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson couldn't lead England to a victory in Sweden. The Swedes defeated England 1-0 in Gothenburg this week. The English have now failed to down Sweden in 11 tries since 1968.

Reigning Olympic champion Cameroon will not be going to the Summer Games in Greece after being eliminated by unfancied Mali in African qualifying. Joining Mali in Athens from the African continent will be Tunisia, Ghana and Morocco.

Mike Blondin writes: "J.K. Bartke of Los Angeles laments the fact that L.A. was left of the summer tour of European teams. He bemoans the fact that "a third-rate Seattle market" is included, yet L.A. is left holding the bag.

"Mr. Bartke may forget that Seahawks Stadium was filled for last summer's Manchester United vs. U v. Celtic match, the same stadium that is home to Seattle's National Football League team. And what was the name of the L.A.'s NFL team?"

J. Alan Miller writes : "Just finished watching the Fulham\Manchester City game and was again blown away by City's Sean Wright-Phillips. He is so amazingly quick. Every time he touches the ball you feel like something amazing could happen. Being from Chicago and supporting the Fire, my mind quickly drifts to our own young, quick, exciting (and diminutive) winger -- DaMarcus Beasley. . . I assume that Wright-Phillips is on another level (as he plays in the Premiership as opposed to MLKS), but Beasley certainly has a modicum of talent and speed."

Tim Swortzel writes: "Could you please correct J.K. Bartke of Los Angeles? Third-rate Seattle market? The 67,000-plus sold out very quickly. We'd probably actually be a home field for the U.S. national team. We have a top 10 soccer pub in the country in the George & Dragon Pub. We also have a good following for the Seattle Sounders (A-league)."

Ted Kamp says: "What was the point of your Alan Rothenberg column. The guy is a bona fide genius. He ran a fabulous soccer tournament (World Cup USA '94) with world-class publicity for the U.S. and turned a magnificent profit. He is a major force in putting MLS on the map as well. So, if you had done all that, what would your sales commissions and bonuses be? Bet enough to start the Mad Brit Bank."

Chris Mestrezat writes: "I have to give Umbro credit for the new England away kit. The jersey is fantastic and really gives a uniquely English look to the team. Sadly, I can't say the same for Nike's new USA kit. Not only are they ugly, but for the third uniform cycle in a row, they look like the jerseys for every other country sponsored by Nike. What makes it more frustrating is the fact that Nike's club kits manage to have some variation to them, yet it's hard to have any national pride when your team is wearing the same shirt as the opponent. I keep looking at teams like Paris St. Germain, for example, and wonder why Nike couldn't take the time to make a USA kit that looked something like their away kit. And, please bring back the red away kit!"

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