Soccer Players

Zach Feldman was watching a soccer game with his El Camino Real High teammates late in the season when he approached Reseda Coach Julio Castillo in the stands. "You see this?" asked Feldman, showing Castillo his City Section championship ring from 1999. "In a few weeks, I'm going to have another one." Unimpressed, Castillo put down his cell phone and showed off the ring he won for coaching the Regents to the City title in 1998. That was then. Castillo is impressed now.

A few hours before a wary Landon Donovan ran onto the practice field at the Home Depot Center on Thursday, a funeral took place in Bergamo, Italy. And those two events may have more in common than you think. Piermario Morosini, a 25-year-old midfielder for Livorno in Italy's Serie B, collapsed and died of cardiac arrest in the first half of his team's match last weekend. He was laid to rest Thursday, with thousands of fans packing the streets of his hometown as his coffin, draped in numerous jerseys passed.

Worried that European children are starting to match their American cousins pound for overweight pound, the European Union has turned to some big-name soccer players for help. The EU has published a cookbook called "Eat for Goals!" that is intended to encourage youngsters to chow down on the supposedly healthier food enjoyed by their favorite players.

Let's start with the nickname. "La pulga," Spanish for "the flea," hardly connotes greatness. Then there are the endless comparisons, which suggest that simply being Lionel Messi isn't enough. Instead he's the "Pele of his generation" or, in the words of his coach, Pep Guardiola, "the Michael Jordan of football. " For all the considerable accomplishments Messi has achieved on the soccer field, the one thing he has not been able to earn, it seems, is unqualified respect. After all no one called Wayne Gretzky the Gordie Howe of his generation.

Andres Escobar could have been here this weekend instead of in his violent hometown of Medellin, Colombia. The popular soccer player, who was murdered early Saturday, was asked to be a color commentator for Carcol radio, Colombia's premier network, after his team failed to advance to the second round of the World Cup. Escobar would have been in Carcol's cramped quarters at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas, where thousands of commentators are covering the World Cup.

Agustin Gurza's April 25 column characterizes the two Santa Ana soccer players as fallen stars. He admits they entered the country illegally but wonders why they can't just be left to make a contribution to society. Due to their illegal status, the L.A. Galaxy won't sign them and they have returned "home" to Tustin and Santa Ana College. Many of us would have different questions than Gurza. The big question is, now that these lawbreakers have been exposed, why haven't they been deported to their own country and their real home, Mexico?

It wasn't all that long ago when you could scour the professional soccer fields of Europe in vain looking for an American player. Those days are gone, but simply because there are now scores of U.S. players plying their trade at various levels all across the continent does not mean that all are thriving. In fact, the opposite is true. You need fewer than 10 fingers to count the Americans who are regarded as key figures on their respective European teams ? Tim Howard at Everton, Clint Dempsey at Fulham, Steve Cherundolo at Hannover 96, Maurice Edu at Rangers, Michael Bradley at Borussia Monchengladbach, Brad Friedel at Aston Villa, Stuart Holden at Bolton Wanderers, Michael Parkhurst at FC Nordsjaelland and Carlos Bocanegra at Saint-Etienne.

Female soccer players are prone to anterior cruciate ligament injuries of the knee, but a study has found that a specific 15-minute warm-up significantly reduced the risk of ACL injuries. The study, presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in San Francisco, focused on a group of 4,564 female Swedish players ages 12 to 17. Of those players, 2,479 were randomly assigned to do a 15-minute warm-up and 2,085 were part of a control group.

Angry at Colombia's elimination from the World Cup soccer tournament, gunmen Saturday shot and killed Andres Escobar, the player who accidentally scored a goal against his own side in a match with the United States and helped seal the team's fate, police said. Escobar, 27, was shot to death outside a restaurant in Medellin barely 48 hours after returning home from Los Angeles, where Colombia fell 2-1 to the United States on June 22. The unidentified gunmen confronted Escobar around 3 a.m.

Michael Blazevic of San Pedro, Jorge Sanchez of University, Art Torres of Banning, Mark Jimenez of Venice, Luis Orellana of Belmont and Henri Rivas of Locke will travel to France later this month to play in a soccer tournament in conjunction with World Cup '98. John Ortega of Van Nuys Birmingham, Greg Avila of Granada Hills Kennedy and Abdullah Safdari of Chatsworth also are on the team.

Reporting from Glendale, Ariz. — "I look completely normal, right?" a completely normal-looking Taylor Twellman says. It's something he asks often, and the response is always the same: nodding heads, words of affirmation, smiles. In reality, though, Twellman is far from normal. Three and a half years ago, the then-New England Revolution forward and former Major League Soccer most valuable player was accidentally punched in the jaw by Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin while scoring on a header.

Female soccer players are prone to anterior cruciate ligament injuries of the knee, but a study has found that a specific 15-minute warm-up significantly reduced the risk of ACL injuries. The study, presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in San Francisco, focused on a group of 4,564 female Swedish players ages 12 to 17. Of those players, 2,479 were randomly assigned to do a 15-minute warm-up and 2,085 were part of a control group.

"NBA Reader: LeBron James" John Hareas LeBron James is an amazing basketball player. He played basketball in high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary. He entered the NBA in 2003 and quickly established himself as a player to watch. He was drafted to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was ready to prove himself to everyone. You can get in on the action by reading this book. Reviewed by Edrik, 10 R. D. White Elementary Glendale "Pelé: A Biography" James Haskins He scored over 1000 goals!

A 17-year-old El Camino Real High School soccer goalie was targeted for personal reasons by a man and woman who lured him out of his Winnetka home last week, then fatally shot him, authorities said. At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, police announced the arrests of Elizabeth Ibarra, 19, of the San Fernando Valley and Jason Shumann, 24, of Calabasas. Both suspects are on probation and have extensive criminal records, police said. Francisco Javier Rodriguez Jr. had just gotten home from a soccer game Jan. 11 when a mysterious redhead knocked on his front door and persuaded him to come outside.

A cream-colored Spanish villa on a street near Hancock Park lined with cottonwood trees houses the medical office where a steady stream of pro and amateur athletes comes looking to chill out. And by chill, we mean standing nearly naked for a few minutes in a 6-foot-tall metal chamber as blasts of nitrogen chill the air inside to nearly minus-300 degrees Fahrenheit. Such bone-chilling conditions might sound harmful, but the whole-body cryotherapy treatment utilizes extreme cold in small doses to speed muscle recovery and reduce inflammation after workouts or surgery.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. UCLA kicker Kip Smith did not suit up for practice Wednesday, resting what is being called a "sore hip flexor. " Joe Roberts , his backup, was sidelined because of a quad injury. That left punter Jeff Locke kicking field goals, and brought a mystery guest to Spaulding Field — Tyler Gonzalez . Coach Rick Neuheisel said, "Jeff Locke looked good today and we're looking at other avenues. " That would be Gonzalez, a senior who is the team manager for the UCLA soccer team.

Esaul Mendoza, a flashy forward, led Orange County high school soccer players in scoring, often with the help of teammate Irving Islas, a sturdy midfielder. Goalkeeper Hilario Arriaga, with his guile and agility, kept opponents from scoring. The trio of seniors formed the nucleus of an Estancia High team that won the Southern Section Division IV boys' soccer championship last spring, and caught the attention of college recruiters.

Members of the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team will be the grand marshals of this year's Strawberry Festival parade, scheduled for May 24 at 10 a.m. The 39th annual festival from May 23 through 26 will feature carnival games and rides, talent contests, food booths and the cutting of the world's largest strawberry shortcake. Actor Billy Barty will return for his 12th year as master of ceremonies of the "Tiny Tot King and Queen" contest scheduled to kick off the festival May 23.

She strums happily on a guitar and belts out Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Simon & Garfunkel hits. Pia Sundhage, the coach of the U.S. women's soccer team, is 51, so she is entitled to reach back in time, musically speaking. She ranks as one of the greatest women's soccer players of all time and was voted sixth on a FIFA list of the 20th century's top female stars. She won a European championship as a player, an Olympic gold medal as the U.S. coach, and she is famous enough to have been featured on a Swedish postage stamp.