The Chelsea striker told France Soir that “everybody stuck together” when the players decided to boycott a training session. - Reuters Photo

PARIS: Nicolas Anelka said on Thursday all his teammates decided to go on strike at the World Cup after he was sent home from South Africa for verbally abusing France coach Raymond Domenech and refusing to apologize.

The Chelsea striker told France Soir that “everybody stuck together” when the players decided to boycott a training session shortly before their World Cup ended in the group stage.

Anelka, who recently signed a one-year contract extension with Chelsea that ties him with the English club until 2012, added that a clash would have happened even if he hadn’t insulted Domenech.

“If there were some players who wanted to train (when the squad went on strike), they should speak now,” Anelka said.

 “If I had not started it, it would have been somebody else. The situation was explosive.”

Anelka was sent home after aiming an expletive-laced tirade at Domenech during halftime of the 2-0 defeat to Mexico. The players’ strike that followed was a protest against Anelka’s exclusion from the squad.

Former France defender Lilian Thuram has called for some players, such as former captain Patrice Evra, never to play for the national team again because of their decision to strike.

France midfielder Jeremy Toulalan said last week, however, that all the players decided to strike and that any punishment should be collective, prompting Anelka to praise the Lyon player’s courage.

“Jeremy has a strong character,” Anelka said. “You need some courage and a big mental strength to bear something like this.”

Anelka also lashed out at former France defender Bixente Lizarazu, who won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship with Les Bleus. Lizarazu, now a TV pundit, had criticized France’s poor level of play in South Africa.

“Lizarazu, who’s he?” Anelka said. “Because when he speaks, it sounds like he is a living legend.

“The only way he’s found to reinvent himself is to torpedo others. He’s just a former player lacking in recognition, frustrated by the success of his mates (Zinedine) Zidane and (Christophe) Dugarry. Did he forget the 2002 World Cup?”

Lizarazu was part of the France team that was knocked out, as defending champion, in the first round of the World Cup that year without scoring a single goal.

“I hadn’t been called up but I didn’t make a single comment,” Anelka said. “I wouldn’t have allowed myself to make such criticism. He should stop speaking about respect because we all remember when he slapped his captain at Bayern Munich during a training session.” – AP

Uruguayan national football team players (L-R) Diego Forlan, Diego Perez, Diego Lugano and Sebastian Abreu joke during a welcoming ceremony on July 13, 2010 in Montevideo. -Photo by AFP

MONTEVIDEO: Uruguay’s World Cup team received a hero’s welcome home on Tuesday as tens of thousands of cheering flag-waving fans lined the streets of Montevideo.

Soccer-mad Uruguayans waited for hours in cold winter temperatures to see the bus transporting the players pass by, and President Jose Mujica offered a tribute in front of fans gathered in the centre of the capital.

“We are moved, but mostly thankful, very thankful. These boys deserve recognition, but this has surpassed all that could be imagined,” Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez told the crowd.

Uruguay’s run to fourth place in the tournament was one of the surprises of the World Cup, giving the small South American nation its best showing in four decades.

Patricia Rodriguez, 24, wrapped in a Uruguay flag and with her face painted, was undeterred by the chilly conditions.

“I cannot feel my feet because of the cold, but the only thing that matters today is showing the players we are proud of them and to say thanks,” she said. -Reuters

British soccer player David Beckham (C), and his son Brooklyn, sit on Centre Court for the semi-final match between Britain's Andy Murray and Spain's Rafael Nadal at the 2010 Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 2, 2010. -Photo by Reuters

LONDON: David Beckham admits England’s players must take the blame for the team’s woeful performance at the World Cup.

Former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder Beckham had a close-up view of England’s lacklustre efforts in South Africa as a member of Fabio Capello’s backroom staff.

After limping through their group with one win from three matches against the United States, Algeria and Slovenia, England slumped to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat against old rivals Germany in the second round.

Capello’s tactics were widely criticised as England crashed out, but Beckham, who was unable to play in the tournament due to an Achilles injury, watched all four of England’s matches from the bench and he believes it is the team’s underachieving stars who were the problem.

“He (Capello) did everything that he could have done,” Beckham told a Yahoo webchat on Wednesday.

“He prepared us right. He worked the players to the right amount and he set everything up for the players, but obviously the players know it was disappointing.

“We didn’t perform and as players you know that — you know when you don’t perform, you know when you don’t play well.

“The manager can do so much and then it’s down to the players. The players go on to the pitch and they know if they don’t perform they don’t win games.

“The players are honest about that but it’s not about individuals, it’s not about how individuals play — it’s about how we played as a team. It’s a cliche but you win as a team and you lose as a team.”

After the pain of missing out on a fourth World Cup appearance, LA Galaxy star Beckham admits he would love to make amends by representing Great Britain at the Olympic Games in London in 2012 — by which time he will be 37.

Beckham was an ambassador for the British bid to stage the Games, which will be held near his birthplace in London’s East End, and he is already dreaming of playing in the event.

“If I’m still playing and I’m still considered to make a difference to the team I’d love to, but if not then I’m definitely going to be there anyway,” Beckham said.

“It’s the east end of London — it’s on my manor. To be part of getting the Olympics to the east end of London… it’s one of the best experiences that I’ve ever experienced.” -AFP

Iniesta said winning the World Cup would not affect the team in the future. - AP Photo

BARCELONA: Andres Iniesta said on Tuesday that Spain is determined to win more titles after its World Cup success and that the team begins “from zero” next season.

The Barcelona midfielder’s extra-time goal against the Netherlands clinched a 1-0 win for Spain in Sunday’s final.

Iniesta was speaking as he arrived in Barcelona after celebrating with his teammates and thousands of fans in Madrid, where the Spain squad met King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

Iniesta said winning the World Cup would not affect the team in the future.

“We want to keep going in this way in terms of titles. This title won’t affect the performance of any player,” he said.

Spain plays Mexico in a friendly on Aug. 11 and begins its campaign to qualify for the 2012 European Championship against Liechtenstein on September 3.

On his now-famous winning goal from a Cesc Fabregas pass, Iniesta said: “It was all very quick. At first I felt very isolated and thought I must be offside.

“It was phenomenal how Cesc saw me, he passed to me very fast and when I got the ball I knew it had to go in, because going to penalties would have been terrible.”

Iniesta said he would like to play alongside Fabregas at club level next season.

The Catalan team wants to sign the Arsenal captain and has already had one bid rejected.

During Monday’s celebrations in Madrid, Barcelona players Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique forced a shirt over Fabregas’s head as a joke.

“Everybody has come out and spoken of the desire we have for him to be with us next season. We would be delighted. Not just because he is a teammate and a friend, but because it would be great for the club,” Iniesta said.

“His arrival would give us a huge jump in quality and he would play his part to help us stay up there competing in the big competitions. We would love him to be here.”

Iniesta acknowledged there are similarities between the Spanish team and Barcelona, which was the most represented team in the World Cup winning squad.

However, he underscored the importance of non-Barcelona players in the team, such as Fernando Llorente of Athletic Bilbao, who came on as a substitute during the 1-0 win against Portugal.

“The day of the Portugal game, Llorente’s coming on was key to winning,” Iniesta said. – AP

Webb said that he and his linesmen did a tough job as well as they could in what were demanding conditions. - AFP Photo

LONDON: English referee Howard Webb says he is satisfied with his handling of the World Cup final, despite criticism from Netherlands players after their 1-0 defeat by Spain.

Dutch players criticized Webb’s performance in Sunday’s showcase at Soccer City in Johannesburg, complaining about a series of decisions during an ill-tempered game that was decided by Andres Iniesta’s extra-time winner.

But in a statement released by the Premier League on Tuesday, Webb said that he and his linesmen did a tough job as well as they could in what were demanding conditions, calling it “an extremely challenging match” and one of the hardest matches he will ever have handle.

“We don’t feel that we had much choice except to manage the game in the way we did,” Webb said. “We came away feeling satisfied that we had done a tough job in difficult circumstances to the best of our abilities.

“From early on in the match we had to make decisions that were clear yellow cards. We tried to apply some common sense officiating given the magnitude of the occasion for both sides  advising players early on for some of their tackling, sending players away when they were surrounding the officials, and speaking to their senior colleagues to try and calm them down.”

Webb booked 13 different players and sent off John Heitinga after showing the Netherlands defender a second yellow card in extra time. However, Dutch players were furious at his earlier failure to send off Spain defender Carles Puyol after he appeared to impede goal-bound Arjen Robben in the 82nd minute.

Though defending his display, Webb acknowledged how difficult the final had been for him and his fellow officials.

“It was an extremely challenging match to handle, but it would have been so for any referee,” he said. “It is one of the toughest games we will ever be involved in and we feel that we worked hard to keep the focus on the football as much as possible.” – AP

Thousands of fans decked out in orange cheer on the defeated Dutch football team as it embarked on a seven-kilometre boat parade down the canals of Amsterdam, on July 13, 2010. -Photo by AFP

AMSTERDAM: Thousands of fans turned the canals of Amsterdam into a sea of orange Tuesday, honking vuvuzelas and throwing confetti at the Dutch football team after its nailbiting World Cup defeat to Spain.

The team, casual in shorts and T-shirts, floated along the seven-kilometre (over four-mile) route on a river boat decorated with orange flowers, sipping beer and making toasts in the direction of the adoring crowds who waved flags, danced and chanted “Holland, Holland” to pumping music.

Supporters, numbering more than 500,000 according to police, lined the city streets and canals vying to get a glimpse of their heroes, many jumping in the water despite having been warned of health hazards.

Dozens of small vessels crowded that of the players on the first stretch of the parade on the Ij River, and had to be steered away by police in rubber boats.

“I have never seen a Dutch team fight to the end like this. The players deserve this parade even if they didn’t win,” 40-year-old Denny de Jonge, two chains of orange flowers draped around her neck, told AFP as she waited for a glimpse of the floating procession.

The Dutch team lost 0-1 to Spain in extra time in Johannesburg on Sunday, playing a style of football described by former Dutch superstar Johan Cruyff, a losing finalist at the 1974 World Cup, as “ugly, vulgar, hard.”

But the fans were unconcerned about accusations of negative play.

“On Sunday, we were very, very disappointed, but now we are mostly proud: second in the world is not bad when you think about it,” said Nico Bakker, 23, his cheeks painted in the red, white and blue colours of the Dutch flag.

“Thank you our heroes,” read one of the many posters hung from bridges over the canals.

Wearing an orange mane and an orange lion’s tail in honour of the national symbol, 25-year-old Stefan Bons said Tuesday’s parade would “help us process the disappointment”.

“One doesn’t know when the Netherlands will play in another World Cup final, thus we have to enjoy this to the maximum!” he said.

Team captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst and coach Bert van Marwijk were knighted in The Hague earlier in the presence of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende who called the team an “inspiration”.

“The Netherlands is proud of Oranje (Orange, the team’s nickname),” Balkenende, wearing an orange tie, told the players at his official residence where he hosted them for coffee and cakes with orange icing in the garden decorated with orange balloons.

The squad then met their sovereign, Queen Beatrix, before departing by helicopter for their official tribute in Amsterdam.

“Even in second place, the Dutch team are champions in the eyes of their country,” the city said in a statement after deciding to press ahead with the boat parade initially scheduled to take place only if the team won.

After the boat parade, the players were taken to the city centre Museumplein (Museum Square), where they were presented one-by-one on a big stage to tens of thousands of waiting supporters.

Warmly received, the team and its fans then erupted together in a popular Dutch folksong entitled: “Blood, sweat and tears.”

About 1,800 police had been deployed around Amsterdam for Tuesday’s tribute, as well as about 700 security guards and 200 traffic regulators.

“Things were convivial,” a police spokeswoman said.

Houseboats along the parade route were fenced off and guarded to prevent a repeat of 1988 when several were sunk by fans celebrating the Netherlands’ European Cup win. -AFP

MADRID: Keeper Iker Casillas sealed Spain’s first ever World Cup win by kissing his TV reporter girlfriend, who had been accused of distracting him, before millions of viewers during a live on-air interview.

The 29-year-old told Sara Carbonero, a journalist for Spain’s Telecinco channel, he was “super happy” just minutes after Spain’s nailbiting 1-0 extra-time win over the Netherlands.

“I want to thank the people who have always supported me, my parents, my brother,” he said before trailing off and looking away as his eyes welled with tears.

Carbonero, 25, then said the channel would show images of the match but Casillas shook his index finger and suddenly kissed the reporter, first on the mouth and then on her cheek before declaring that the interview was over.

After Spain lost its opening match against Switzerland 1-0 with Casillas at least partly to blame for the goal, British newspapers speculated that his girlfriend’s presence at the tournament may have distracted him.

To back their theory they published a picture of her, microphone in hand, reporting from behind the net just a few feet (meters) from Casillas during the warm-up for the match against Switzerland.

The head of the Madrid press association, Fernando Gonzalez Urbaneja, accused Carbonero of breaching professional ethics saying “she must know that you shouldn’t get emotionally involved in the stories you are covering.”

But Telecinco, part of the network owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, defended Carbonero, saying it is FIFA which decided to place journalists behind the goal posts of their national teams. -AFP

Miriam Gonzalez Durantez

LONDON: The Spanish wife of Britain’s deputy prime minister has hit out at claims Spain captain Iker Casillas was distracted by his TV reporter girlfriend at the World Cup.

Goalkeeper Casillas conceded in the opening game loss to Switzerland while girlfriend Sara Carbonero was working on the touchline.

Carbonero later berated Casillas in an interview which became front-page news in Britain.

But London-based lawyer Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, wife of deputy premier Nick Clegg, was so incensed that she has complained to the Times of London newspaper now the tournament is over, with Casillas keeping five clean sheets.

“Now that Spain has won the World Cup and Iker Casillas demonstrated on Sunday that he is an outstanding goalkeeper regardless of whether his girlfriend, Sara Carbonero, watches him from the touchline or not, it may be time for you to eat a bit of humble pie,” Gonzalez wrote in a letter published in Tuesday’s editions.

“Trying to blame Sara for Spain’s initial lackluster performance while she was simply doing her job was not worthy of a newspaper that should treat women for who they are and not simply for what their male partners do.”

The Times defended its coverage, with editor James Harding adding: “We are not overfond of humble pie but if you, Sara Carbonero or Iker Casillas are ever passing, please do drop by for a slice of tortilla.”

Casillas has returned to Spain to find that his relationship with Carbonero is intriguing the nation — and the world.

Their passionate televised kiss in the aftermath of the World Cup final has become a runaway success on YouTube, with more than a million hits — more than the footage of Andres Iniesta’s World Cup-winning goal.

Casillas suddenly leant forward and kissed Carbonero briefly on the lips before returning to the locker room. A flustered Carbonero smiled coyly before recovering her composure and continuing her report on the Telecinco network.

The kiss has been immortalized by a clothing company, which has emblazoned on a T-shirt the silhouette of the couple kissing.

The clinch has even inspired a poem published online, which includes the line: “The boy celebrates/by kissing, as is normal/his beautiful partner.” -AP