CORRECTED-Soccer-Spurs hat-trick hero Lucas reminds Pochettino of his qualities

By Ken Ferris

LONDON, April 13 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur's Lucas Moura has not played a major part in their season so far but the Brazilian's stunning hat-trick in a 4-0 victory over Huddersfield Town on Saturday showed he is ready to step up in the absence of the injured Harry Kane.

Forward Lucas struck his first treble since moving to Europe and joining Paris St Germain in 2013 as Spurs cemented their position in the Premier League top four with a thumping win over the already-relegated visitors at their new stadium.

He fired their second goal in the first half with a low drive, after Victor Wanyama had opened the scoring, and found the net again with two deadly strikes in six minutes near the end of a match Spurs always looked like winning comfortably.

The 26-year-old Lucas was understandably all smiles at the end and even brought his one-year-old son Miguel on to the pitch after the final whistle to the delight of the home fans.

"It was very emotional for him," manager Mauricio Pochettino, who made seven changes to his team, told reporters. "It's his first hat-trick in Europe. It's a nice moment for him to share this with his son and his family.

"When you have 25 players they need to have the opportunity to play. I'm happy for Lucas. His hat-trick is going to help his confidence. We have a very tough period ahead. We need all the players and with confidence it's going to be better."

Lucas, who started out playing for Sao Paulo and has 35 caps for Brazil, joined Spurs from PSG in the 2018 January transfer window for a reported fee of 25 million pounds ($32.70 million) with Pochettino hoping his electric pace would unlock defences.

After scoring twice in a 3-0 win at Manchester United in August he seemed set to light up the English top flight this season but although the Brazilian has made 27 appearances in the Premier League this term many have been off the bench.

On Saturday, he provided a finishing masterclass that impressed Pochettino as Lucas staked a claim for a more regular starting spot, especially with Spurs talisman Kane sidelined for several weeks with an ankle injury.

"I have no words to explain this moment," Lucas said. "I'm happy first for my team. We did very well today with a good performance and, of course, to score my first hat-trick here in the new stadium with my family and son here... I am so happy."

A place in the starting lineup against Manchester City in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg, which Spurs lead 1-0, would ensure he keeps a smile on his face.

"Now we have a good battle in Manchester; we need from now to recover for this game and prepare very well," he added. "It will be so hard there but if we play like we did today we can go there and get a good result and we can qualify."

($1 = 0.7645 pounds) (Reporting by Ken Ferris; Editing by Clare Fallon)

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Soccer Study: Analyzing Brad Smith’s Sounders contract and MLS loans

Editor's note: This story is one in an occasional series by Seattle Times reporter Jayda Evans pulling the curtain back for a look at what she's learning in her first year on the Sounders beat. By chronicling her access, exploration and explanation, we hope you might learn something in the process, too.

The Sounders' dip into soccer's loan game has been hardest on Thor.

The French bulldog was left home in Bournemouth, England, a coastal resort city 107 miles southwest of London, when defender Brad Smith signed last August to play for the Sounders.

"It's a shame," said Smith, who left his native Australia for England at 14. "His breed wouldn't allow him to fly into Seattle. He could only fly into L.A. and then it would be a drive, which is like 20 hours, and I didn't want to put him through that."

Smith's matter-of-fact nature about leaving the 2-year-old pup with friends — and his  home empty — comes from an odd security in uncertainty. His Sounders contract is a short-term loan, where AFC Bournemouth still maintains Smith's rights, but the Sounders are paying about half of Smith's $1.14 million salary ($564,364.67) to have him play in Seattle.

The deal is yet another in Major League Soccer's continued attempt to be regarded among the world's best. League commissioner Don Garber first announced in 2013 his goal to reach elite status by 2022 and continues to trumpet the dream like a morning affirmation.

In 2016, a former New York Red Bulls coach, Jesse Marsch, who is  currently an assistant for RB Leipzig in Germany, told Sports Illustrated it's "not impossible, (it's) improbable." That's a fair assessment, especially considering the U.S. men's national team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

MLS being on par with some of the world's best, such as the Premier League (England), Bundesliga (Germany), Serie A (Italy), La Liga (Spain) and Ligue 1 (France), in three more years seems a tad lofty.

But then there's Smith, a 24-year-old left back who began training professionally at age 14 with Liverpool of  the English Premier League. That league is ranked among the best in the world, with a market value of $9.71 billion, according to transfermarkt.us.

Within the past 13 months, MLS signed Premier League stars Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Los Angeles Galaxy) and Wayne Rooney (D.C. United). They tore up the league, with Ibrahimovic finishing as the third player in MLS history to score 20 or more goals and register 10 assists in a season while Rooney, a five-time Premier League champion, helped a flatlining club spark a playoff run.

But those players are in their 30s. And Seattle's last English Premier League player, Tyrone Mears, was 31 when he signed. Smith coming here as a rising player with talent good enough for the best and seeing value in MLS says a lot.

It also strikes immediate concern because his loan expires June 30. It's natural to immediately count up the games and wonder about strategy with that deadline — and Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer is quick to point out the team's depth with Nouhou, a talented 21-year-old who made his professional debut in 2015 in Cameroon.

"I'd like to know where I'm going to be and I'm enjoying my time here, so it's difficult," said Smith, whose fiancee and newborn are in Seattle with him. "I felt I was going to go out on loan this year regardless of where I was. I needed to go out and get some games and get some minutes (because) in training, you can only do so much tactical and physical. At the end of the day, you improve by playing games. That's where I had a hold. I improved a lot at Bournemouth, technically and stuff, but I wasn't getting the minutes I needed. Coming out here to get the minutes, I definitely think I'm improving and getting confidence with this team, which is really good."

Part of the reason Smith felt comfortable coming to MLS is the league's four-year contract to broadcast matches on Britain's Sky Sports in 2015. He'd watch on TV and was impressed with the Sounders' crowds. The Sounders averaged about 40,000 fans per game in 2018, which can compete with the English Premier League's mid- to lower-tier teams. Bournemouth has the EPL's smallest stadium at about 11,500 seats, compared with CenturyLink Field's typical reduced capacity of about 41,000 for soccer.

When asked about the mental aspect of having a looming date of when you could be recalled by Bournemouth, Smith turned the topic to one I'm trying to avoid in taking over the Sounders beat — basketball.

"I love basketball," he said. "So, vice versa, we don't have the whole trading thing in England. That's a bit different for anyone who's from Europe. That's what's hard. Especially for the people who've been traded. You find out you've been traded and that's it. I think it's quite strange, and it happens in all of the sports in the U.S. It would be hard because if you've settled somewhere and then the next day you get traded, what if you bought a house? It's not like that in England. You're on loan and you're going back."

Suddenly, loans appear more civilized.

And MLS needs them, along with transfers, to reach an elite status on the global scale. With Smith, the Sounders bought into the global market, but their aim is to have a player like expected first-team signee Danny Leyva, a 15-year-old midfielder groomed in their academy system, be of value to loan out internationally, where the Sounders would be paid. There's no immediate plan to loan out Leyva, but it's an option for Sounders general manager Garth Lagerwey.

"If with Danny Leyva we determine there's no spot for him, it doesn't make any sense for him not to play," Lagerwey said. "Then you're going to loan him out to say, 'Hey, you're not going to develop with us, but you can develop over there.'"

Last winter's start to MLS transfer window was the hottest ever for the league as a record amount of its players were sent out to leagues across the globe, the biggest signing being New York midfielder Tyler Adams' reported $3 million sale to RB Leipzig.

"It's a reflection that the league is getting younger and we're becoming more of a participant in the global marketplace — becoming a league of choice," Lagerwey said. "Younger players are seeing this as a gateway to their development."

And Thor will just have to wait.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @JaydaEvans. Jayda Evans covers the Sounders. She offers observations, critiques, and occasional offbeat tales. Evans also has written a book on the Storm and women's hoops titled, "Game On!"

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Soccer stars to attend Warwick sports facility's grand opening

Daniel Axelrod Times Herald-Record @dan_axelrod

WARWICK – Christian Fuchs said he felt "love at first sight" late last year in Warwick.

The English Premier League defender wasn't gazing at his wife, Raluca Gold-Fuchs. He was touring The Yard sports complex at the former Mid-Orange Correctional Facility, just before he and Raluca bought it out of bankruptcy for $4 million in November.

Now, the couple is improving the newly renamed Hudson Sports Complex, hatching ambitious plans, and prepping for a June 1 grand opening with a charity scrimmage featuring international soccer stars, following a late January soft opening.

They want to make the site a local mecca for youth sports, including soccer, lacrosse, baseball, football and other sports, while offering free and paid multi-sport camps and clinics.

Plus, they want to host adult soccer games, teach elite American junior soccer players using Fuch's English Premier League-based curriculum, and lure international pros looking to train.

"These are top-notch folks," said Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton. "They're super smart, and they've got the resources to create an incredible facility and bring an international spotlight to the Town of Warwick."

So far, the couple has invested $300,000 into remodeling and expanding the site, adding lights for night play, and working on a domed 32-yard-by-74-yard outdoor soccer field. Eventually, they plan to turn an overgrown baseball area into a grass soccer field to accompany two existing outdoor and two indoor synthetic turf fields.

"It's unlimited how much more we want to spend," Gold-Fuchs said. "I don't think investing in the property will stop for a very long time."

Christian Fuchs, 33, and Raluca Gold-Fuchs, 41, have already made the Warwick sports complex home for Christian's Fox Soccer Academy, which also operates in England, Manhattan, and Westchester and Dutchess counties. It's named after the former Austrian National Team captain – "Fuchs" translates to Fox in English – and the Leicester City Football Club's fox mascot.

Fuchs has played in the English city of Leicester, where he helped the team win an improbable Premier League Championship in May 2016, since a free transfer from the Schalke Football Club in 2015.

As for teaching youth soccer, Fuchs said he was inspired, five years ago, after being disappointed with his then-6-year-old son's American soccer training in Manhattan.

"Our experience of having American kids come to the U.K. is that they're great athletes, very physical, but their big issues are with tactical awareness, positioning, decision-making, how to react and how quickly to make decisions," Fuchs said.

He's already spending his spare time, two or three days a month, in New York, traveling to Warwick to better the sports complex and teach soccer. With a Manhattan home nearby, Fuchs sees Warwick as a convenient, bucolic base from which to spread his love of soccer.

"The first time I saw (the Warwick site) live, I literally fell in love with it," Fuchs said. "It's simply an area where I want to spend every day at a training facility, with the lake, the fields and the feeling you have when you enter the facility."

daxelrod@th-record.com

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Liga MX transfer news: The latest rumors and chisme in Mexican soccer

© Hector Vivas River could turn to Barovero

Marcelo Barovero could make his return to River Plate this summer, according to TNT Sports Latin America .

With the chances goalkeeper Franco Armani will leave after the Copa America increasingly high with suitors in Europe and Colombia, Los Millonarios would move to bring Barovero in again. The Argentine goalkeeper currently plays with Monterrey but is on loan from Necaxa.

Kuri sets price for Veracruz

Veracruz owner Fidel Kuri wants $50 million for the club, according to MedioTiempo .

The Tiburones Rojos are set to be relegated but could pay a 120 million peso (around $6.25 million) fee to keep their spot in the first division.

The Mexican federation and other club owners don't want that to happen if Kuri still owns the club, but he's willing to sell. A group of businessmen from Monterrey are interested in buying but have been put off not only by the asking price but by the debt the club currently has on the books.

PSV, Ajax to battle for Alvarez

Both Ajax and PSV have spoken with people close Club America and Mexico defender Edson Alvarez, according to De Telegraaf   

PSV is hoping to move quickly, but Ajax could more easily pay Las Aguilas' asking price of €10 million (£9m/$11m).

Able to play center back, defensive midfielder or even right back, the versatile 21-year-old also has been the target of interest from Celtic and Ajax but PSV has a long history of signing Mexican players. The report indicates there also is interest from Serie A with Inter, Atalanta and Fiorentina keeping Alvarez on the radar.

Earlier this year,  Eindhoven Dagblad reported PSV was high on the defender but had lost interest in signing Monterrey attacker Rodolfo Pizarro. The report noted, however, that the interest that previously existed for Rodolfo Pizarro has died out since the former Chivas playmaker made his move north to Monterrey.

Herrera heading to Atletico

Hector Herrera has reached an agreement to join Atletico Madrid and is set to sign a five-year deal with the club, according to Marca .

Last month, Portuguese newspaper   O Jogo   reported Herrera had been convinced of Diego Simeone's vision and was ready to join Los Colchoneros.  The Mexico midfielder is set to spurn Inter after the Italian club's long courtship, along with Roma and Milan opting instead to play in La Liga. Herrera's Porto contract expires this summer, allowing him to move on a free. 

Cardona shoots down River links 

Pachuca attacker Edwin Cardona took to Instagram to shoot down a link to River Plate.

A graphic appeared online that claimed to feature a quote from the former Boca Juniors No. 10 in which he said he was open to the possibility of stepping in for his injured countryman Juan Fernando Quintero with Los Millonarios. Cardona noted that he never spoke to anyone about potentially going to River and that he's presently focused on Pachuca.

Napoli holding off United for Lozano 

Napoli is working to sign Hirving Lozano as Manchester United steps up its interest in the player, according to  Gazzetta dello Sport .

In the winter, Il Mattino  reported that Lozano's agent Mina Riaola and the Serie A side had an agreement but Napoli wasn't yet willing to meet PSV's $40 million asking price. Now, Manchester United is stepping its interest and working with Rialoa, spurring Napoli to attempt to lock things down before another club swoops in to sign him.

The 23-year-old PSV player has stood out since moving abroad from Pachuca and garnered attention from a number of top clubs.

America may part ways with Menez

Club America is considering parting ways with midfielder Jeremy Menez this offseason, according to  Esto .

The Frenchman still has six months remaining on his contract with Las Aguilas but his recovery from an ACL injury was followed up with another injury, and America is considering setting the player loose early to free up an international place. 

Bundesliga club interested in Santos defender

Werder Bremen is keeping a close eye on Santos Laguna right back Jose Abella, according to Televisa .

The Bundesliga side is interested in the defender, who could command a transfer fee of 3 million euros, though it's also looking at other options in the Americas. 

La Maquina looking at Fernandez

Cruz Azul is looking to get ahead of others in the race to sign Brian Fernandez, according to  Record .

Necaxa is open to selling the Argentine in the summer but already are bumping up the starting point for offers from $10 million to $12 million. The 24-year-old has eight goals so far this season, putting him second in Liga MX.

FMF pursuing LA Galaxy's Alvarez

Efrain Alvarez is in line for a Mexico call-up, perhaps as soon as this summer's Gold Cup, according to ESPN .

However, the United States remains an option for the 16-year-old, who made his MLS debut and had an assist for the LA Galaxy in 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire.

Chivas ready to play hardball for Macias

Chivas are in no rush to sell forward Jose Juan Macias to Leon, according to  Record .

Currently on loan with Leon, Macias has four goals in five matches. However, Chivas have put a price of $15 million on the 19-year-old to join Leon full-time after the season.

The high clause was inserted in part because of Grupo Pachuca, which owns Leon and Pachuca, driving a hard bargain and demanding $8 million for goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota in the 2018 Clausura.

Cruz Azul considering move for Milan midfielder

Cruz Azul is looking to bring in AC Milan midfielder Jose Mauri in the summer, according to  Sport Mediaset .

The 22-year-old has played in only four Serie A matches this season and is set to leave the club on a free after the season concludes.

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Saints notebook: Carroll College football adds transfer safety Cyle Watts, school holds Halo Awards

HELENA â€" The Carroll College football team added transfer safety Cyle Watts to its 2019 recruiting class.

Watts broke the news on Twitter Sunday afternoon saying, “Thank you to all the schools that recruited me, and even a bigger thank you to my family for standing by my side through the ups and downs. With that being said, I will be continuing my education and football career at Carroll College.”

Watts spent last season at Reedley College in Reedley, California, where he played in nine games and recorded 10 total tackles. Prior to Reedley, Watts was at NAIA Warner University in Lake Wales, Florida, but said he didn’t like the culture so he decided to transfer.

“I just think Carroll is the best program for me,” Watts said. “It just felt like family”

Watts, who graduated from Alonso High School in Tampa, Florida, joins defensive backs Brian FauntLeRoy and Matt Kvech in an already deep secondary.

Starke, Taylor recognized at Halo Awards

Jenna Starke and Jonathan Taylor took home the St. Sebastian Award at the second annual Halo Awards Saturday night.

The St. Sebastian Award goes to to the top two student-athletes that exemplify Carroll College the most in athletics, academics and throughout the community.

Starke, a Helena High graduate, is a junior on the volleyball and a servant leader with College Christian Fellowship. She also volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Rocky Mountain Care Center.

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Taylor is planning to graduate this spring and has done mission trips to Brazil to build churches and schools while coaching soccer clinics. He has also coached inner-city youth soccer in Chicago and was a student leader with the College Christian Fellowship.

Other awards handed out included Match Burnham winning Male Player of the Year, Hannah Dean winning Female Player of the Year, Matt Wyman and Anna ApRoberts winning Most Outstanding Scholar Athletes, the women’s basketball team being recognized for most community involvement and Catie Nygren winning the Saints Spirit Award.

Also, former football coach Mike Van Diest was given the Carroll Athletics Servant Leadership Award.

Two track and field freshmen qualify for nationals

Carroll College freshmen Shamrock Campbell and Noah Majerus qualified for nations at the WAR meet in Spokane, Washington, this past weekend.

Campbell, who is just weeks removed from playing point guard during the Carroll men’s basketball NAIA Tournament run, finished with a distance of 14.31 meters in the triple jump.

Majorus also finished second in the 800 run in 1 minute, 53.56 seconds.

The Saints’ next track meet is Saturday in Missoula.

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'He's a great player' - Emery hails Barcelona's Umtiti amid Arsenal transfer talk

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has heaped praise on Samuel Umtiti, labelling him a "great player", amid speculation the north London outfit could move for the Barcelona centre-back

As reported by Goal, Barca are willing to listen to offers for Umtiti this summer as they look to raise funds to sign Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt.

Watch Premier League in August 2019 | Soccer Live Streaming | DAZN CA

Umtiti has spent much of the season recovering from a knee injury and has fallen behind Clement Lenglet in the pecking order to partner Gerard Pique.

Arsenal have been one of the club's linked with the 25-year-old - along with Manchester United - and Emery has not been backward about expressing his admiration for him.

"He's a very good player," he told RMC Sport of the former Lyon man. "France has a lot of very good footballers who are playing abroad.

"The French league is a very attractive market for a lot of teams.

"I've always had French players in my teams. At Valencia, Sevilla, PSG and here at Arsenal.

"I've always been able to count on those players."

Another player who Emery is full of praise for is Mesut Ozil.

The midfielder had been linked with a move away from the Emirates amid disquiet in some quarters about his attitude and impact on the field.

And an act of petualance when the German threw his coat after being substituted in Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Everton, addied to speculation he is not happy at the club.

But his manager said: "He works very hard, plays really well and helps us a lot. I'm happy to have him."

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Soccer: Klopp defends Spurs transfer inactivity under Pochettino

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 First Leg - Liverpool v Bayern Munich - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - February 19, 2019 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp reacts during the match Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine/File Photo

(Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur's stance in the transfer market should be applauded and manager Mauricio Pochettino deserves more credit for not investing in his squad during the last two windows, Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp has said.

Spurs are the first team in the Premier League era not to sign a player in consecutive transfer windows but despite the lack of fresh faces they are on their way to finish in the top four for a fourth consecutive season.

"In England, the country of transfers, if you don't do transfers then that's a really big headline," Klopp told Sky Sports ahead of Sunday's league visit of Spurs.

Pochettino's side were able to keep up with big-spending rivals Liverpool and Manchester City in the title race up until February, but have since dropped to 15 points off the top.

Tottenham's new 62,000-seater stadium could prove to be a financial burden, with early estimates that it would cost around 700 million pounds ($913 million) having jumped towards one billion pounds according to British media reports.

"I'm sure Mauricio Pochettino would have loved to have added but the players, but the first team of Tottenham is difficult to improve," Klopp added.

"From that point of view, if you have the right team together, you don't have to be too busy in the transfer market. But the players you have you can improve as well. Maybe they are better than the boy you wanted to buy.

"I respect their way a lot. At the end we all have to make our own decisions. I don't know why they did it, but most of the time if you don't make transfers it is because of money."

($1 = 0.7667 pounds)

Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge

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