Mexico’s Veterans Get Break

Mexico, which is rebuilding under new Coach Ricardo Lavolpe and plays its first post-World Cup match on Feb. 4 against Argentina at the Coliseum, will not insist that its veterans appear in such friendly games.

“If any of the experienced players is saturated with training camps or tired of football, I will respect his position and he will not be selected,” Lavolpe told Reuters on Tuesday in Mexico City.

“But that doesn’t apply to the younger players; they have to fight for their places and understand that there are hierarchies.”

The Argentina game is the first in a series for Mexico as it prepares for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July.

Torrado’s Passport

Midfielder Gerardo Torrado, one of the more influential players on Mexico’s national team, has been told he will be awarded a Spanish passport this week, thereby giving him dual citizenship of Mexico and Spain.

Torrado, 23, plays for Sevilla in the Spanish league and the dual citizenship, which is based on his great-grandfather being Spanish, will allow him to play anywhere in Europe without facing the limits imposed on foreign players.

Liverpool in Final

Goals by Senegal’s El Hadji Diouf and England’s Michael Owen gave Liverpool a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United and a place in the League Cup final March 2 at Cardiff, Wales.

Liverpool had lost the first game of the two-match semifinal series, 2-1, at Sheffield, but came back to win the series. Diouf tied the aggregate score with a ninth-minute goal and Owen clinched it with a goal 17 minutes into overtime.

Blackburn Rovers, which won the League Cup last season, behind the play of its most valuable payer, U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel, plays Manchester United today in the second leg of the other semifinal.

Blackburn held Manchester to a 1-1 tie at Manchester in the first game.

Marcos to Arsenal?

Marcos, the starting goalkeeper on Brazil’s 2002 World Cup-winning team, has been given permission by his Brazilian club, the recently relegated Palmeiras, to talk to defending English champion Arsenal about a possible move to the London club.

If a deal is reached, Marcos, 29, would not join Arsenal until the summer because “he wants to take part in the English championship from the outset, not just arrive halfway through,” Palmeiras spokesman Marcio Trevisan told Reuters.

Arsenal has been searching for a backup and eventual replacement for England goalkeeper David Seaman, who turns 40 in September, ever since selling Richard Wright to Everton for $5.4 million in July.

Another Palmeiras player, Paraguayan international Francisco Arce, 31, signed a one-year contract to play for Gamboa Osaka in Japan’s J-League.

Donato Sets Record

If Seaman can still stop goals at age 39, Donato can still score them at age 40.

The Brazilian defender who plays for Deportivo La Coruna set a Spanish record Sunday by becoming the oldest player to score a goal in the first division when he headed home a corner kick in Deportivo’s 2-1 home victory over Athletic Bilbao.

That erased the mark set by Cesar, who was 39 when he scored his last league goal while playing for Elche in 1960.

“I am very happy because it was a long time since I last scored and I had almost forgotten how to celebrate,” Donato told the Spanish sports daily Marca.