■MEXICO
Players looking for Cup win
Mexico’s players are united in their belief that the team must win next month’s Gold Cup in the US to win back the respect of fans after coach Javier Aguirre named his 23-man squad for the tournament on Sunday. Aguirre’s squad for friendlies in the US against Venezuela on June 24 and Guatemala four days later, as well as the July 3 to July 26 Gold Cup has a strong local feel, with only England-based Carlos Vela and Giovani dos Santos not playing for Mexican clubs. “It’s our obligation, without doubt, to think of winning it [the Gold Cup] to recover the respect and confidence of the people, so they believe again in the national team,” defender Ismael Rodriguez told a news conference.
■SOUTH AFRICA
Brazilians robbed at Cup
Brazil became the second nation at the Confederations Cup to say it has been robbed. Brazil coach Dunga said on Sunday members of the team’s delegation were robbed at the hotel they are staying in. Dunga did not elaborate, but team spokesman Rodrigo Paiva said “a jacket and some money” disappeared from some of the rooms at the Centurion Lake hotel, just outside Pretoria. They think it happened when the team went to a safari on Friday and Paiva said Brazil contacted authorities about the incident. Paiva said two rooms were apparently robbed, including that of fullback Kleber and a team physiotherapist. They don’t think anything was taken from other players and team members. The alleged robbery comes just days after five Egyptian players said their Johannesburg hotel rooms were burgled while they were beating Italy on Thursday at Ellis Park.
■SPAIN
Laporta wants Eto’o to stay
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said on Sunday he hoped Samuel Eto’o would see out the rest of his career at the club despite interest in the Cameroon striker from major European clubs. Eto’o “is the best striker in the world, highly valued in the market. It would be nice if he could finish his career at Barca,” Laporta said. “Eto’o’s contract ends next season and that requires us to sit and talk. The club wants him to continue for many more years, always in line with our wage structure,” he was quoted as saying on the club’s Web site. Eto’o was Barcelona’s top scorer in the league last season with 30 goals and helped them win a unique treble of league, Spanish cup and European Champions League trophies.
■ITALY
Milan open to offers for Pirlo
AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has said the Serie A club is open to offers for Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo. “If there’s an offer, it should be considered,” Berlusconi was quoted as saying by yesterday’s La Gazzetta dello Sport when asked about Pirlo, amid speculation he could join former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea. “We’ll see. I was the first to say that he must stay, but then they showed me the sums [for his salary],” Berlusconi said.
■AUSTRALIA
Anderson to join Gold Coast
Former Brazilian youth international Anderson Alves da Silva has joined A-League side Gold Coast United on a short-term contract to cover for injured compatriot Jefferson, the club said yesterday. Jefferson tore his knee cartilage in training last week and that is likely to keep the midfielder out for three to four months. Anderson, a Brazilian under-17 and under-20 international, who spent four years with Flamengo, is set to join his new teammates in Singapore next week.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946