Soccer shows it’s a sport for old and young
LONDON — Roy Hodgson is back in soccer’s Premier League at the age of 75.
Crystal Palace turned to the former England coach to keep the team in the lucrative top division, announcing his return to the club on Tuesday as the replacement for the fired Patrick Vieira.
Hodgson’s deal only runs until the end of the season. He was in charge of Palace from 2017-21 then said he was retiring from coaching, only to return for a brief spell at Watford at the end of last season.
On the other hand ... or feet
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Wave have signed 15-year-old Melanie Barcenas, the youngest player ever to reach a deal with a National Women’s Soccer League team. The San Diego native is the first local youth player to sign with the league and the first signed by the Wave through the NWSL’S under-18 entry rules. At 15 years and 138 days, Barcenas is younger than Chloe Ricketts, who was 15 years and 283 days old when she signed with the Washington Spirit earlier this month.
Hasebe not ready to call it quits
FRANKFURT, Germany — Former Japan soccer captain Makoto Hasebe is not done yet. The veteran defender has extended his contract at Eintracht Frankfurt by another season, meaning he plans to keep playing until he’s 40. Frankfurt said Tuesday that the 39year-old Hasebe has a new playing contract with the club that expires in June 2024, giving him a chance to become the oldest player to represent the club in the Bundesliga. He has an overall contract with the club until 2027 and is expected to take on a coaching role whenever he finally decides to quit as a player.
Haaland to miss Euro qualifiers
OSLO, Norway — Erling Haaland has left Norway’s training camp with a groin injury and will miss the team’s upcoming European Championship qualifying games, the national soccer federation said Tuesday.
Mbappé named French captain
World Cup top scorer Kylian Mbappé was named as France’s new captain on Tuesday, succeeding goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Mystics hire assistant coach
WASHINGTON — The WNBA’S Washington Mystics hired Ashlee Mcgee as an assistant coach. The team announced the move Tuesday. Mcgee was most recently a video/ player development associate for the Minnesota Timberwolves (2021-23). She been a video coordinator for USA Basketball since 2022.
Spa racing season ticket time
Season tickets for the Saratoga Race Course 2023 summer meet will be on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Tickets for the entire 40-day meet may be purchased online at NYRA.COM. Weekly reserved tickets will go on sale the week of April 10 and singleday reserved seats will be available the week of May 8. For more information visit Nyra.com/saratoga.