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FIFA: Update - Aug 8th
Juventus Completes Season as #1
August 8, 2002 The FIFA club regular season is complete and
tomorrow will bring the announcement of the at large bids that will
fill out the 16 team World Club Championships. Last year's winner,
Zeemacht, was liquidated along with the rest of the Dutch Honor
Division so 2002 will see a new champion. Here's the recap for each
country's league and cup
tournaments.
Italy
Juventus got off to a roaring
start in Italy and were in control all the way as they set a new
FIFA record by allowing just 6 goals on the year. Their victory in
Italy's Serie A, along with their appearance in the finals of the
UEFA Cup, carried Juve to the world's number one ranking for the
year. Juventus finished second in Serie A last season. The race for
second was heated right up until the end but Caporetto grabbed the
coveted second berth in the world championships. La Forza qualified
for the championships through their Cup Winners' Cup berth but they
had a successful season a year after Zidane led them to the title
with a third place finish and a successful run to the Italian Cup
title. Zidane's replacement, Gaizka Mendieta, scored the winning
goal in overtime in La Forza's 3-2 victory over Ordine Nuovo, who
finished fourth in the league. Hernan Crespo of Juventus led the way
with 13 goals in the league while Ronaldo scored 12 in Serie A and
another 4 in the Italnian Cup. Gianluigi Buffon was named Player of
the Year after allowing just 6 goals in 14 games. Mendieta had a
very solid season with 3 goals in Serie A and 4 goals in the Spanish
Cup, as well as a rash of goals in the UEFa and Cup Winners' Cups.
Andrei Shevchenko tallied 10 times for AS Firenze.
Standings
Team W L T P GF GA
Juventus 9 2 3 30 22 6
Caporetto 8 2 4 28 21 9
La Forza 6 2 6 24 19 17
Ordine Nuovo 5 4 5 20 20 19
AC Elba 4 3 7 19 13 17
Galleano 4 10 0 12 17 25
AS Firenza 3 9 2 11 16 24
Viterbese 3 10 1 10 12 23
Leading Scorers
Crespo Juve 13
Ronaldo Nuovo 12
Shevchenko Firen 10
Salas Capor 8
Batistuta Forza 8
Chiesa Galle 8
Italian Cup
1st Round
Firenze 3, Elba 2; Caporetto 2,
Galleano 1; Ordine Nuovo 3, Viterbese 2; La Forza 1, Juventus
0.
Semifinals
La Forza 4, Caporetto 0; Ordine Nuovo 3, AS
Firenze 2.
Final
La Forza 3, Ordine Nuovo
2.
England
If ever a team has snatched defeat
from the jaws of victory it was Wimbledon. If ever a team has stolen
a title away at the wire, it was Berwick. Entering the final week of
the season, Wimbledon needed only a draw against IRA, the worst team
in the league, to win the title. After beating Wimbledon in a one
game playoff last year, IRA got them again this year and beat the
title hopefuls. Berwick took advantage with a win in their finale
before beating Wimbledon 3-0 in a playoff. Roy Keane was the driving
force for Berwick with three goals on the year and was named Player
of the Year. Boudewijn Zenden of Reading and Sylvain Wiltord of
Wimbledon were co-leaders with 10 goals as they caught Ole-Gunnar
Solskjaer of Bulldogs late in the season. Birmingham finished
comfortably in third. Reading garnered their first trophy with a 3-2
victory in FA Cup final over Bulldogs in the FIFA match of the year.
David Beckham scored on a 45 yard rocket and Bulldogs tied it in
injury time before Zenden won it in the second overtime period.
Wimbledon keeper David Seaman had a stellar campaign, allowing just
six goals and Steven Gerrard of Liverpool showed flashes of the
brilliance that made him the top pick last year.
Standings
Team W L T P GF GA
Berwick 9 4 1 28 25 12
Wimbledon 8 2 4 28 21 7
Birmingham 6 2 6 24 15 11
Bulldogs 4 4 6 18 13 13
Reading 4 5 5 17 11 8
AC Green 5 8 1 16 17 23
Liverpool 3 8 3 12 6 19
IRA 2 8 4 10 9 24
Leading Scorers
Zenden Readi 10
Wiltord Wimbl 10
Solskjaer Bulld 9
Vassel Green 9
Cole Berwi 8
FA Cup
1st Round
Birmingham 1, AC Green 0; Reading 1,
IRA 0; Berwick Rangers 3, Wimbledon 1; Bulldogs 1, Liverpool
0.
Semifinals
Reading 2, Birmingham 0; Bulldogs 3, Berwick
Rangers 1.
Final
Reading 3, Bulldogs
2.
Spain
Badalona led the Spanish Primera Liga
wire to wire with the most potent offense in the world in 2002.
Badalona tallied 46 goals led by Spain's Player of the Year, Pedro
Munitis' 21 tallies. Diego Tristan added 11 markers and the champs
won 12 games in 14 tries to give them the most points (36) in the
world and a #2 ranking. Badalona also captured the Spanish Cup to
win the prestigious double. Real Donostia was runner-up all the way
with a distant second finish in La Liga and a loss to Badalona, 1-0,
in the Cup final. The addition of Zinedine Zidane energized Olympic
Barcelona's sagging offense as they scored 41 goals and finished
third in the league. Fernando Morientes was the high scorer in the
world with 24 tallies in the league. Luis Figo scored 11 times in a
breakout season with Salamanca but his biggest goal of the year was
a spectacular long-distance strike to open the scoring in the UEFA
Cup final as Salamanca won the tournament and booked its spot in the
world championships. With Barca's likely inclusion as an at large
team and Basque ETA's automatic qualification as runner-up last
year, Spain may place five teams in the world championships. Madrid
finished fifth in the league and almost qualified for the world
championships but were beaten by La Forza in the cup Winners' Cup
final. After finishing as the bride's maid in La Liga, the Spanish
Cup, and the World Club Cup last season, Basque ETA slid to 7th in
Spain and went out in the first round of the Spanish Cup this
season.
Standings
Team W L T P GF GA
Badalona 12 2 0 36 46 22
Real Donostia 9 4 1 28 26 19
Barca 8 5 1 25 41 28
Salamanca 6 6 2 20 32 30
Madrid 6 6 2 20 26 23
Fisterra 4 9 1 13 25 36
Basque ETA 3 9 2 11 20 46
Atletico Real 2 9 3 9 23 35
Leading Scorers
Morientes Barca 24
Munitis Badal 21
Mostovoi Salam 16
Ezquerro Fiste 13
McCarthy Madri 12
Spanish Cup
1st Round
Salamanca 6, Basque ETA 5;
Badalona 4, Madrid 1; Real Donostia 6, Atletico Real 2; Olympic
Barcelona 5, Fisterra 4.
Semifinals
Badalona 7, Salamanca
4; Real Donostia 7, Olympic Barcelona 4.
Final
Badalona 1,
Real Donostia 0.
Germany
It was a turnaround
season in Germany as last year's champ, Leipzig, slid all the way
down to last. Meanwhile, Berlin United had a smashing season with a
double. They took the Bundesliga crown with just one loss and beat
Stuttgart 3-1 in the final of the German Cup. While Berlin ran away
from the league, Ruhr was victorious in a ferocious fight for
second, just edging out last year's runner-up and German Cup winner
Bremen. After a slow start which included embarassing flops in the
UEFA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup, Bremen mase a tremendous second half
surge that fell just short and leaves them on the bubble for an at
large bid. Dusseldorf rebounded from a last place finish last year
to finish fourth but they were eliminated on the last day by a draw
with Ruhr. Goalkeeper Olvier Kahn was named Player of the Year as
his play behind a soft defense kept Bremen in the race all season.
Roque Santa Cruz of Berlin had a strong claim to the award as well
with his league leading 14 tallies and 5 goals in the German Cup,
the most in the tournament. Ailton of Blitzkreig finished second
with 11 goals Giovane Elber of Stuttgart made it a South American
trio at the top with 10 goals. Mehmet Scholl aided Santa Cruz with
10 goals for Berlin to give them easily the top scoring offense with
33 goals of the year.
Standings
Team W L T P GF GA
Berlin Utd 9 1 4 31 33 15
Ruhr Fire 6 2 6 24 16 12
Bremen Brewers 7 5 2 23 21 20
Dusseldorf 5 3 6 21 16 16
Stuttgart 356 4 5 5 17 23 23
Baden 3 5 6 15 14 16
Blitzkreig 2 8 4 10 18 25
Leipzig 1 8 5 8 9 23
Leading Scorers
Santa Cruz BerlU 14
Ailton Blitz 11
Elber Stutt 10
Scholl BerlU 10
Petrov Bremn 8
Pizarro Ruhr 8
German Cup
1st Round
Berlin United 5, Ruhr Fire 1;
Leipzig 1, Bremen Brewers 1; Stuttgart 356 4, Dusseldorf 0;
Blitzkreig 2, Baden 1.
Semifinals
Stuttgart 356 5,
Blitzkreig 1; Berlin United 4, Leipzig 0.
Finals
Berlin
United 3, Stuttgart 356 1.
France
Paris won the
double in France with an undefeated campaign. Paris went 7-0-3
during the league season to finish as the first unbeaten team in
FIFA history. After clinching the crown early, Paris completed their
French Cup run with a 2-1 victory over Brodeaux in the final.
Bordeaux also finished runner up in the league with juse one defeat.
Paris had the best 1-2 punch in the league with Stephane Marlet (11
goals) and Sonny Anderson (10) leading the league in scoring.
Anderson was named the league's Player of the Year. Marlet was on a
rampage in the French Cup, scoring 8 goals and Anderson finished
second in the tournament with 3 goals. Top pick Ronaldinho scored a
goal in the French Cup in what will be his only season in the
league.
Standings
Team W L T P GF GA
Paris 7 0 3 24 27 9
Bordeaux 5 1 4 19 11 8
Alsace 3 4 3 12 13 11
Marseille 3 5 2 11 17 24
La Resistance 2 4 4 10 13 11
Brest 2 8 0 6 10 28
Leading Scorers
Marlet Paris 11
Anderson Paris 10
Vahirua Marse 7
Anelka Alsac 7
Cisse Borde 6
French Cup
1st Round
Bordeaux 4, Alsace 3; Paris 5,
Marseille 3.
Semifinals
Bordeaux 1, La Resistance 0; Paris
5, Brest 1.
Final
Paris 2, Bordeaux
1.
Scotland
After Catholic led the race for
most of the year, Inverness climbed to the top when it mattered to
capture their first Scottish championship. Inverness backed into the
title after entering the last week with a two point lead. Against
last place Timbo United, who entered the game with an 0-10-1 record,
Inverness was stunned on a goal by Stephane Adam near the end of
time. However, Inverness held onto the title was Catholic blew a 2-1
lead on a goal by Claudio Caniggia in second half injury time.
Catholic also came up just short in the Scottish Cup as they made
the final but were hammered 4-0 by Blackburn. Claudio Caniggia
scored 16 goals in the league and 7 in the Scottish Cup to take top
marksman honors but it was Henrik Larsson who was named Player of
the Year with 10 goals in Inverness' triumphant season. Newcomer
Tore Andre Flo added 14 goals for Catholic while teammate Michael
Mols notched 9 markers. American captain Claudio Reyna was at the
helm for Catholic, playing as the team's starting attacking
midfielder.
Standings
Team W L T P GF GA
Inverness 7 3 2 23 17 10
Catholic 6 2 4 22 24 18
FC Blackburn 5 4 3 18 27 12
Timbo United 1 10 1 4 5 33
Leading Scorers
Caniggia Black 16
Flo Catho 14
Sutton Black 10
Larsson Inver 10
Mols Catho 9
Scottish Cup
1st Round
Catholic 6, Timbo United 0; FC
Blackburn 5, Inverness 3.
Final
FC Blackburn 4, Catholic
0.
UEFA Cup
Luis Figo scored an amazing goal in
the 3rd minute of the final against Juventus and added an assist to
capture final and tournament MVP honors as Salamanca won the 2002
UEFA Cup. Salamanca's run to the title included a 6-2 first round
victory over English champ Berwick Rangers, a 6-2 victory over
English runner-up Wimbeldon in the quarterfinal, and a 4-0 victory
over Spanish runner-up Real Donostia in the semifinal. Figo scored 7
goals in the tournament but Salamanca was led by Alexander
Mostovoi's 10 goals. Juventus made their run to the final through
Stuttgart, Leipzig, and La Forza. Martin Pahars of Wimbledon and
Gaizka Mendieta of La Forza each tallied eight goals for their
respective clubs.
Cup Winners' Cup
La Forza ripped
through the Cup Winners' Cup to claim the title and a spot in the
world championships. Oliver Bierhoff was MVP of the final as he
scored two goals in a 4-0 dispatching of Madrid. Gabriel Batistuta
and Gaizka Mendieta added a goal apiece for the winners. La Forza
eliminated the San Diego Sun in the first round on a 4-0 aggregate
and then beat La Resistance of France 4-1 in the semifinals.
Mendieta was named tournament MVP after scoring 5 goals. Madrid's
Benedict McCarthy led all scorers with 8 goals and Marco Del Vecchio
scored 6 for Ordine Nuovo.
FIFA Top Ten
Rankings
1. Juventus, Italy
2. Badalona, Spain
3.
Berlin United, Germany
4. Real Donostia, Spain
5. Paris,
France
6. Caporetto, Italy
7. La Forza, Italy
8. Berwick
Rangers, England
9. Wimbledon, England
10. Inverness,
Scotland
Qualifiers for the World Club
Championships
Basque ETA (SPA) - Holder
Juventus (ITA) -
League champ, UEFA Cup runner-up
Caporetto (ITA) - League
runner-up
Berwick Rangers (ENG) _ League champ
Wimbledon -
(ENG) - League runner-up
Badalona (SPA) - League champ
Real
Donostia (SPA) - League runner-up
Berlin United (GER) - League
champ
Ruhr Fire (GER) - League runner-up
Paris (FRA) - League
champ
Inverness (SCO) - League champ
Salamanca (SPA) - UEFA
Cup champ
La Forza (ITA) - Cup Winners' Cup champ |
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