■PORTUGAL
Porto lift the Super Cup
Goals by defender Rolando and Colombian striker Radamel Falcao gave Porto a 2-0 win over champions Benfica in Aveiro on Saturday to lift the Portuguese Super Cup. Argentine midfielder Fernando Belluschi’s fourth-minute corner was deflected by Benfica’s Carlos Martins and flew straight to Rolando, who headed in unchallenged to give cup-winners Porto an early lead. It was Porto again who almost scored a second just before halftime. Benfica goalkeeper Roberto palmed away a cross by forward Hulk and the ball fell to Joao Moutinho, whose first-time shot was cleared off the line by Brazilian defender Luisao. Porto’s well-organized midfield dominated the start of the second half and the northern side doubled their lead on 67 minutes when impressive winger Silvestre Varela beat Luisao on the left flank and crossed for the incoming Falcao to fire in. Benfica rarely threatened and only came close to pulling one back five minutes from the final whistle, with Paraguay international Oscar Cardoso putting Javier Saviola through, but Helton made a fine save to deny the Argentine forward.
■GERMANY
Bayern too good for Schalke
Bayern Munich on Saturday added the Super Cup to their Bundesliga title and German Cup double with a 2-0 win over Schalke 04 in a display that suggested they will again be the overwhelming title favorites. Despite playing without the injured Arjen Robben, the besieged Franck Ribery and a resting Mark Van Bommel, Bayern were still too strong and triumphed with late goals from German World Cup stars Thomas Mueller and Mirsolav Klose. They had to be patient for the breakthrough and it was Mueller, who was handed a lucrative new contract on Friday, who found the target in the 75th minute. Klose added the second six minutes later as Bayern won a third Super Cup, a trophy which hadn’t been contested since 1996.
■GREECE
Fans attack their own coach
AEK president Stavros Adamidis has spoken of “sabotage from within” after coach Dusan Bajevic was attacked by fans following a pre-season friendly defeat on Saturday. Bajevic, 61, fell to the ground after being punched by fans who surrounded the Serbian coach as he attempted to leave the pitch following the 2-1 defeat to second-tier side Kallithea. “What happened is a disgrace for AEK,” Adamidis told NovaSport FM radio. “The administration is determined and we will keep the coach. What happened is unacceptable.” Bajevic, who is in a third spell with the club, has endured a rocky relationship with sections of the fans because of previous spells in charge of rivals Olympiakos. There are fears that this latest episode may lead to his resignation, but Adamidis said the coach would stay on. “I have spoken to him and he is very shocked, but rest assured we will not let him go,” Adamidis said.
■BRAZIL
Menezes calls up new boys
New Brazil coach Mano Menezes has called up 10 new players for tomorrow’s friendly against the US, the team’s first outing since their disappointing World Cup campaign. Included in the squad are players expected to lead the assault on the 2014 World Cup which is being staged in Brazil. Among the new players are Santos midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso and his teammate, Neymar, a striker tipped to be one of Brazil’s future superstars. Manchester United defender Rafael also gets a call, as does Lyon midfielder Ederson, who led the national under-17 team to the world title in 2003.
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
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