YOKOHAMA, Japan – Finalists Brazil and Germany feature six players from
the German club Bayer Leverkusen. Five of them play for Germany (including
Michael Ballack, who is suspended).
Footnote: Leverkusen lost the European Champions Cup final to Real
Madrid, which includes Brazil's Roberto Carlos, and was denied the
German Bundesliga title on the final day of the season.
S. Korean hero refuses to return to Italian club
SEOUL, South Korea – Ahn Jung-hwan says he will not return to Perugia,
the Italian team that threatened to fire the South Korean forward for
scoring the overtime goal that eliminated Italy.
Ahn's agent, ePlayers, said Ahn "will no longer discuss his transfer to
Perugia, which attacked his character instead of congratulating him for
his goal in the World Cup."
Briefly ...
Turkish coach Senol Gunes on Brazil: "The final against Germany will be
relatively easy for them." ... Antonio Oliveira is to be replaced as
Portugal coach, the Portuguese Soccer Federation has announced. Portugal
lost to the United States and was a first-round World Cup casualty. ...
German striker Miroslav Klose bruised his ribs in the semifinal win
against South Korea but will play in the title game, team officials said.
