SUWON, South Korea, 17 July 2005 — Argentina’s Boca Juniors battled to a 2-2 draw with English club Tottenham Hotspur at the Peace Cup preseason tournament yesterday.
Newly signed striker Daniel Bilos snatched a 72nd-minute equalizer for Boca after two first-half goals had put Spurs in control in South Korea. Marcelo Delgado gave Boca an early lead in Suwon before the English Premier League side struck back through Jermain Defoe in the 27th minute and Mido five minutes later.
South African club Mamelodi Sundowns beat Spain’s Real Sociedad 1-0 in Taejon in the day’s other game.
Today, France’s Olympique Lyon face K-League side Seongnam Ilhwa while Dutch club PSV Eindhoven take on Once Caldas of Colombia. The top team from each of the two groups go through to the final on July 24. The winners will receive $2 million.
Phillips Asks to Talk to Chelsea
In Manchester, England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips has asked Manchester City for permission to talk to Chelsea over a proposed move to the Premier League champions.
“Shaun has asked for permission to talk to Chelsea,” City spokesman Paul Tyrrell said on the club’s website yesterday.
“Shaun has expressed his desire for Manchester City to reach an agreement with Chelsea over his transfer.”
The move comes a day after City turned down a 20 million pounds ($35.18 million) offer from Chelsea for the 23-year-old, the stepson of former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright. He was a late withdrawal on Saturday from the City squad which played against Macclesfield in a pre-season friendly.
Wright-Phillips, who has been capped four times by England, has played over 150 league games for City since making his debut in the 1999-2000 season. The right-sided player, who started his career as a junior at Nottingham Forest, was City’s joint leading scorer last season with 11 goals and has also attracted interest from Arsenal.
Sevilla Sign Italian Midfielder Maresca
In Madrid, Sevilla have signed Italian midfielder Enzo Maresca on a four-year deal from Juventus, the Primera Liga club said yesterday.
Juventus said Sevilla had paid 2.5 million euros ($3.02 million) for the 25-year-old, who played on loan at Fiorentina last season and is the third new recruit to join the Spanish club in the close season.
The Andalucians, who have appointed Juande Ramos to replace Joaquin Caparros as coach, have also signed Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano from Porto and former Valencia reserve keeper Andres Palop.
