Landon Donovan took off his shirt and soaked in the South Florida sun as he walked off the field yesterday in Miami Shores, chuckling at the dozen or so college girls photographing his every move.

Don't expect Donovan and the United States men's soccer team to get such a friendly reception at their next stop: The national team's first match in Cuba in 61 years.

And don't expect the U.S. team to focus on anything but soccer, either.

"We're not going there to be political," Donovan said. "I'm not going there to make any political statements. I'm going there to play and try to win. That [political] part of it is real, but the reason we're there is to play soccer. And that's what we have to remember."

The U.S. team held the first of four practices in this north Miami suburb as it prepared to play Cuba in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in Havana Saturday. The Americans are coming off a 1-0 win against Guatemala and are heavily favored against a Cuban squad that lost to Trinidad and Tobago, 3-1, in a qualifier Aug. 20.

The U.S. national team has traveled to Cuba only once, losing, 5-2, in 1947, although the under-20 team played in Havana in 1991 during the Pan American Games.

Borussia Moenchengladbach in Germany signed United States midfielder Michael Bradley from Dutch club SC Heerenveen to a four-year contract. The deal was completed when Bradley passed his medical exam. He had a brief news conference before flying to join the U.S. team in Cuba.

• Jorvan Viera is returning to coach Iraq a year after leading the country to an improbable Asian title. Viera, of Brazil, will sign a one-year contract in Baghdad tomorrow. Viera stepped down after Iraq unexpectedly won the Asian Cup by defeating Saudi Arabia, 1-0 -- a feat that gave him instant hero status in Iraq, which has not played a home game in nearly two decades because of wars and internal strife. Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the national squad has been training mostly in neighboring Jordan, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. Iraq previously reached the World Cup in Mexico in 1986.

• Manchester City agreed to a takeover by a United Arab Emirates business group, ending former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's brief ownership of the Premier League club. The Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment will look at the club's accounts and contracts before completion of a deal believed to be worth $360 million.

Brazil's Rufus became the sixth horse to test positive for doping during the Beijing Olympics. Rufus, ridden by Rodrigo Pessoa, tested positive Aug. 23 for nonivamide, a substance prohibited for its pain-relieving properties, equestrian's governing body said. Pessoa was fifth in the individual jumping final.

Nick Zito-trained Anak Nakal, a 12-1 morning-line pick, won the $1 million Grade II Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park in Bensalem. Anak Nakal, ridden by Joe Bravo, paid $34.60, $15 and $8.60. Acai, coupled in the wagering as part of the mutuel field at 20-1, was second and paid $10.40 and $6.20. Morning-line favorite Smooth Air (7-2) was third at $4.60.

• Art Official won the $392,850 Cane Pace, beating Badlands Nitro by a half-length at Freehold Raceway in New Jersey. The Cane is the first leg of the pacing Triple Crown for 3-year-olds. The series continues with the Little Brown Jug at the Delaware, Ohio, fairgrounds Sept. 18 and concludes with the Messenger Stakes at Yonkers Raceway Oct. 25.

Former European swimming champion Anna-Karin Kammerling, 28, of Sweden has retired. Kammerling won bronze in the women's 400-meter freestyle relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and set the world record seven times in the 50 butterfly. At the Beijing Olympics, she failed to reach any finals in individual events and was part of the Swedish team that was disqualified in the 400 freestyle relay.

Chris Raber hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and Tim Alberts added a solo home run in the eighth as Washington defeated the Midwest Sliders, 14-5, in Frontier League action at Consol Energy Park.