Foe Died of Heart Attack
Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe, who collapsed during the Confederations Cup semifinals at Lyon, France, on June 26, died from a heart attack that was caused by an enlarged left ventricle, an autopsy showed. He was 28.
“The death is from natural causes,” Lyon public prosecutor Xavier Richaud said Monday. “No stimulant substances were found. The death was of cardiac origin.”
Richaud said the condition may have been congenital, but he was not sure if doctors knew of it before Foe’s death.
A state funeral for Foe was held Monday at Yaounde, Cameroon.
Also, FIFA announced that all 64 doping tests conducted at the Confederations Cup came back clean. Two players from each team of the eight-nation tournament were tested after each match.
Bora Stays Put
Bora Milutinovic has coached World Cup soccer teams the world over -- the United States, China, Mexico, Costa Rica and Nigeria.
Imagine the elation, then, in his homeland when it was reported just over two weeks ago that he would be returning to take over the reins of Serbia and Montenegro.
Now imagine the disappointment felt in the former Yugoslavia when Serbia and Montenegro soccer federation chief Dragan Stojkovic told reporters that Milutinovic was not coming home after all.
“We talked on the phone this morning,” Stojkovic said, recalling his conversation with Milutinovic. “Milutinovic’s answer was a definite ‘No.’ He said he was turning down the offer because of private and personal reasons.”
Milutinovic was expected to replace Dejan Savicevic, who resigned after Serbia and Montenegro was upset by Azerbaijan, 2-1, last month, a humiliating defeat that virtually eliminated the team from the European championships.
A chagrined Stojkovic was reminded of his recent comment that Milutinovic’s takeover was a “done deal.”
“Something must have happened in the meantime to change his mind,” Stojkovic said.
He added that Milutinovic rejected reports that his decision was based on financial reasons.
Stojkovic said he expects a coach to be installed by the end of the week.
Lee to Spain
Real Sociedad, which finished a surprising second in the Spanish league last month, pulled another shocker when it announced the signing of South Korean forward Lee Chun-soo from Ulsan Hyundai.
Lee, who turns 22 on Wednesday and was recently selected the Asian soccer federation’s best young player, will be the first South Korean to play in the Spanish league.
While Real Sociedad announced on its Web site that Lee would be in Spain for his physical next week, Ulsan Hyundai acknowledged that it had agreed to transfer Lee, a member of the South Korean team that advanced to the World Cup semifinals last year, for three years, with Real Sociedad holding an option for a fourth year.
Quick Passes
Steve Ralston has replaced Josh Wolff, who injured a knee playing for the Kansas City Wizards on Friday, on the U.S. roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.... X-rays of DaMarcus Beasley’s right arm were negative after he was hurt in the United States’ 2-0 exhibition victory over Paraguay on Sunday....Spain, ranked No. 3 in FIFA’s latest world rankings, and Mexico, tied for 11th with Italy, will meet in a friendly Aug. 20 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. Mexico is 1-2-4 under Coach Ricardo Lavolpe, who took over after last summer’s World Cup....Yaroslav Khoma was hit with a seven-month ban by the Ukrainian soccer federation after testing positive for excessive levels of testosterone. The Karpaty Lviv midfielder’s testosterone level was five times above normal, but he plans to appeal, saying he may have been given the substance by a doctor to treat a back injury.
Times wire services contributed to this report.
