Tragedy hits home for Nyassi, Mansally

FOXBOROUGH - Revolution midfielder Sainey Nyassi expects strict security when his country, The Gambia, meets Senegal in a World Cup qualifier in Banjul Sunday.

At least nine people suffocated two days ago before the Liberia-Gambia match, because of overcrowding at the Samuel K. Doe Sports Complex in Monrovia. The Revolution's Kenny Mansally was on Gambia's bench and D.C. United forward Francis Doe performed as a second-half substitute for Liberia.

"Kenny called me after the match," Nyassi said yesterday. "The players were all right. But the stadium was overloaded. Africans like soccer and any time the national team is playing, the game is going to have an overcrowded stadium.

"There are going to be 30,000 or 40,000 at the game Friday. But, after what happened in Monrovia, they will control it. They will make sure. It is very important.

"But it is always crazy and you can't control people, they will try to make their way in. They have to take care of that."

The tension surrounding the Gambia-Senegal match is expected be intense. Violence has erupted at previous games involving the countries, which share borders.

"Kenny went to the game in Dakar [as a spectator in '03]," Nyassi said. "I had a ticket but I didn't go. Senegal is our rival and something always happens when we play. They were throwing bottles and stones at us. That's why I didn't want to go."

Senegal opened qualifying with a 1-0 victory over Algeria. The top two teams in the four-team group advance to the 2009 African Nations Cup in Angola and to a playoff for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Spectators with counterfeit tickets led to the overcrowding situation in Monrovia.

Alone striker

Revolution striker Taylor Twellman trained apart from the team yesterday, jogging around the Gillette Stadium practice field, but is not expected to return for the Revolution-FC Dallas game Friday. "The signs are good," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said of Twellman's recovery from a right ankle sprain. Nicol and assistant Paul Mariner scouted the Guatemala-Panama and Honduras-Venezuela games in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., during the weekend. "It's always worthwhile to see games and players," Nicol said. "It's good to have in the database." . . . Argentine Daniel Emmanuel Luduena scored the first goal of the return leg match Sunday as Santos Laguna defeated Cruz Azul, 3-2, on aggregate in the Mexican Apertura playoff final. Santos won the away game, 2-1, Luduena's 16th-minute goal increased the advantage, and the goalkeeping of Oswaldo Sanchez preserved the lead. The Revolution will play host to Santos in the opener of the SuperLiga July 13.

Friendly crowd

Brazil's national team is expected to win every game, no matter the circumstances, stakes, or venue.

The Brazilians trained at Gillette Stadium's practice fields yesterday in preparation for an exhibition against Venezuela Friday night.

Nobody seemed certain why the Selecao played in Seattle Saturday (a 3-2 win over Canada), the difficulties of travel and running on a thick field taking a toll. But the lure of the Boston area is apparent by the growing interest in the game.

A crowd of 47,052 attended the Brazil-Canada match. About 50,000 tickets have been sold for Friday's game, the numbers expected to approach the crowd of 67,584 that watched Brazil defeat Mexico, 3-1, last September.

"Brazil has to win every time," said Julio Cesar, a goalkeeper for Italy's Serie A champion Inter. "It's the end of the season and we have two friendlies in the US and two weeks to prepare for World Cup qualifiers.

"We only have a couple days to rest, then we have to work. The young players on the team have an opportunity here and they have to take advantage of it. All of them play with big teams in Europe."

Only 11 players worked out, the rest remaining at a Cambridge hotel. Julio Cesar was the only starter from Saturday's game to attend training.

The Brazilians will be missing Kaka and Ronaldinho, who combined with Robinho in a spectacular offensive performance against Mexico last year.

"Even without Kaka and a couple others, the team is strong," Milan striker Alexandre Pato said. "Everyone is playing well and we are getting ready for Paraguay."

Brazil will meet Paraguay June 15 in Asuncion and Argentina June 18 in qualifiers.

Forward Adriano (Flamengo) and Anderson (Manchester United) were among the Brazilians playing in four-on-four scrimmages yesterday. Adriano, who left Inter early in the season, appears to be at nearly full strength and could return to Serie A next season.

Diego (Werder Bremen), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), and Robinho (Real Madrid) scored for Brazil against Canada. But the Brazilians struggled to adapt to a newly installed grass field and could have similar problems Friday. Sod was laid over most of the Gillette field yesterday.

"We have players who are exhausted after a European season and have only had 10 days since they stopped playing," Brazil coach Dunga said after the Canada match. "Then, we had an exhausting trip to get here. The field was heavy, also. And, as usual, an adversary very motivated to meet Brazil. The normal difficulties."

Cannavaro to miss Euro '08

Italy suffered a huge loss a week before its first game at the European Championship. The World Cup champion will be without captain and world-class defender Fabio Cannavaro, who tore ligaments in his right ankle when he collided with Giorgio Chiellini during the team's first training session in Austria. Alessandro Gamberini will replace Cannavaro . . . Jose Mourinho's coaching hiatus came to an end when he agreed to lead Italian champ Inter Milan. Mourinho, 44, signed a three-year contract, according to Inter's website. Mourinho replaces Roberto Mancini, who led Inter to three straight Serie A titles but failed to win the UEFA Champions League. Mourinho led Porto to UEFA Cup (2003) and Champions League (2004) titles. He then led Chelsea to two Premier League titles in three years before stepping down Sept. 20 . . . Sven-Goran Eriksson is out at Manchester City and could be in at Mexico City. Eriksson, who said his departure from Manchester City was by mutual consent, traveled to Mexico, where he is the top candidate to take over the national team . . . Jonathan Spector will miss the Beijing Games. The US and West Ham defender needs surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip and will be out 3-6 months.