■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.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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