BERLIN -- Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe will have to quit smoking on the
sidelines at the World Cup or risk getting in trouble from FIFA.
TV broadcasts showed Lavolpe smoking during Mexico's opening 3-1 win over
Iran on Sunday.
FIFA communications director Markus Siegler said Monday he would review the
video of Sunday's match and, if it was obvious the Mexican coach was smoking,
would send Lavolpe a notice reminding him of FIFA's anti-smoking guidelines.
"We'll send something in writing to the Mexican (contingent)," Siegler said.
"The players and coaches have to be role models."
"I have not received that (FIFA) recommendation," Mexico coordinator
Guillermo Cantu said later Monday.
He said that Mexican soccer officials have talked to Lavolpe in the past
about his smoking habit, "not only because of this, we've told him regardless of
the profesional thing that it's best for him to quit smoking, but that's his
decision."
A RARE COMEBACK: When Australia rallied to beat Japan 3-1 on Monday in
Kaiserslautern, it marked the first time in this year's World Cup that a team
conceded the match's first goal and then won. In the opening match, Germany went
up 1-0, only to have Paulo Wanchope tie the game for Costa Rica. However, the
Germans went on to win 4-2. Similarly, Iran tied Mexico at 1-1, but lost 3-1.
The United States fell behind early against the Czech Republic in
Gelsenkirchen when Jan Koller headed the ball into the net in the fifth minute
and was not able to recover. In fact, the Americans have never come from behind
to win a World Cup game. Against Switzerland in the 1994 World Cup, the U.S. did
manage a 1-1 tie after falling behind.
INJURED IRANIAN: Ali Daei, Iran's captain and top international scorer, will
likely miss his team's match Saturday against Portugal because of a back injury.
"He suffered a hit in the back during yesterday's game and probably won't be
fit to play," coach Branko Ivankovic said Monday.
The loss of Daei, 37, is seen as another blow to Iran's dwindling chances of
making it out of Group D. Daei has 145 caps and is the top international male
scorer in the world with 109 goals with the national team.
Team doctor Sasa Jankovic said the three players from Germany's Bundesliga --
Bayern Munich playmaker Ali Karimi, forward Mehdi Mahdavikia of Hamburger SV,
and Vahid Hashemian of Hannover 96 -- will be ready for the Portugal match.
On Sunday, the three, who were all sidelined with injuries in the past
several months, faded in the second half. Mexico capitalized on a bad defensive
mistake by defender Rahman Rezaei to seal the win.
"The players are still stunned by how Rizaei fumbled that ball," Jankovic
said.
The Iranians had also counted on having a "domestic" atmosphere at the
stadium, believing the stands would be full of their own supporters. There are
some 200,000 Iranians in Germany, but on Sunday evening Iran's horizontal
red-white-green flags were greatly outnumbered in the stands by the same, but
vertical, colors of the Mexican flag.
