■UKRAINE
Shevchenko rejoins Kiev
Former European Footballer of the Year Andriy Shevchenko has agreed to rejoin Dynamo Kiev from Chelsea. “Shevchenko has signed a two-year contract,” the Ukrainian club said on their Web site on Saturday. Kiev added the 32-year-old Ukraine striker would be presented as their player yesterday. On Friday, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said he could not guarantee Shevchenko first-team soccer. “I spoke with Shevchenko and he would like to play with continuity here. For me it is difficult to give him this possibility and I think he has taken the right decision [to move],” Ancelotti said.
■PORTUGAL
Porto go top of the table
New striker Radamel Falcao’s early goal helped four-time defending champions FC Porto beat Naval 3-1 in the Portuguese league on Saturday. The Colombia striker, signed from Argentina’s River Plate in the summer to replace the departed Lisandro Lopez, notched his third goal in as many games in the eighth minute at Bento Pessoa Stadium. Silvestre Varela made it 2-0 in the 61st minute, before Rolando’s own-goal in the 75th minute cut the lead to one. Ernesto Farias re-established the two-goal cushion two minutes later as Porto moved to the top of the table with seven points from three games. Also on Saturday, Pacos Ferreira drew 0-0 with Guimaraes.
■GREECE
Aris held by rivals Iraklis
Javier Campora scored two goals as Aris drew 2-2 at crosstown rivals Iraklis on Saturday in a match delayed for 45 minutes just a few seconds after kickoff when an Iraklis fan slapped and shouted obscenities at Aris goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis. Private security employees did nothing to prevent the fan from reaching Sifakis and the fan was not arrested. The draw moved both clubs to the top of the Greek league alongside Asteras, with all the teams on four points. Asteras had earlier beaten Kavala 1-0 away from home. Campora put Aris ahead with a low drive in the 21st minute, but four minutes later, Victoras Iacob leveled with a powerful header. Campora put his team ahead again with a header off a cross from Sergio Koke in the 38th minute, but in the 58th minute Denis Epstein converted a penalty. Also on Saturday, Panionios drew 1-1 at home with Ergotelis.
■NETHERLANDS
Alkmaar down Willem II
Hector Moreno and Brett Holman scored for AZ Alkmaar, who beat Willem II 2-1 to move atop the Dutch league on Saturday. Sergio Zijler grabbed the lone goal for Willem 11 in the 23rd minute. AZ lead the standings with 12 points, two more than Feyenoord and FC Twente, who have a game in hand. Also on Saturday, VVV-Venlo maintained their unbeaten run by holding NEC Nijmegen 1-1 for their fifth straight draw. Japan midfielder Keisuke Honda set up Sandro Calabro for the opening goal in the 30th minute, before Ramon Zomer equalized for NEC six minutes after the break. FC Utrecht downed Sparta Rotterdam 2-0 with goals from Jacob Lensky and Gregoor van Dijk.
■ENGLAND
Lennon set for recall
Aaron Lennon looks set to be recalled for England’s World Cup qualifier against Croatia when a victory would secure qualification for South Africa 2010. The speedy winger has impressed national manager Fabio Capello in the early weeks of the season, having helped Tottenham win their first four matches of the Premier League season.
‘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
Olympic bronze medalist Lee Meng-yuan has become the first Taiwanese athlete to top the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) men’s skeet world rankings, while top Taiwanese shooters won golds in each of yesterday’s finals in Taoyuan. Lee’s 6,610 points put him ahead of fellow men’s skeet medalists from the Paris Olympics Americans Vincent Hancock and Conner Prince. Lee on Monday said that he was surprised by the result, although he had expected his ranking to rise after the Games, which was also the first time a Taiwanese athlete had competed in men’s skeet. Despite topping the rankings, Lee said he believed Hancock, who