■ ENGLAND
Capello recalls ditched stars
Fabio Capello has been forced to recall a host of players he had previously ignored after injuries damaged the England coach’s preparations for the start of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. With Chelsea duo John Terry and Frank Lampard and Fulham striker Bobby Zamora all sidelined due to injury, Capello has recalled Matthew Upson, Michael Carrick, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe for the Wembley clash with Bulgaria on Friday and the trip to Switzerland on Sept. 7. Upson had been discarded by Capello for England’s post-World Cup friendly against Hungary after a disappointing showing from the West Ham defender in South Africa. Manchester United midfielder Carrick and Tottenham strikers Crouch and Defoe were also left out of that friendly, as was Manchester City winger Wright-Phillips. Capello also recalled goalkeepers Ben Foster of Birmingham and Scott Carson of West Brom after ignoring both for the World Cup.
■ JAPAN
Okada explains mix-up
Outgoing coach Takeshi Okada, who guided the Blue Samurai to the knockout stage at this summer’s World Cup, says he has been declining unlikely offers to become a farmer. The mix-up is all because of a mistranslation in his interview with a major British soccer magazine, the 54-year-old told a weekend talk show, Japanese media reported yesterday. Okada recalled he had told the magazine before the World Cup in South Africa that he would leave his job to lead a life typified by a Japanese idiom seikou-udoku, meaning “till the land when it shines and read books when it rains.” “That was mistaken to mean ‘I want to be engaged in farming,’” Okada said. The lifestyle has been idealized by intellectual recluses, but the idiom itself has been expanded to mean a life free from worldly affairs. The magazine quoted Okada as saying he would retire to become a “farmer.” As a result, he has received agricultural job offers from a banana plant in Okinawa and the mayor of a town on Hokkaido, Okada said.
■ JAPAN
Zaccheroni takes reins
Former Juventus and AC Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni has been appointed to lead Japan’s national team. The Japan Football Association made the announcement yesterday, making Zaccheroni the first Italian and the sixth foreigner to coach Japan. The 57-year-old Zaccheroni takes over from Takeshi Okada, who stepped down after taking Japan to the round of 16 at the World Cup in South Africa. Japan play Paraguay and Guatemala at home on Saturday and Sept. 7 respectively. Zaccheroni’s first competitive tournament will be the Asian Cup in Qatar in January.
■ BRAZIL
Hot-shot goalie scores again
Rogerio Ceni, the world’s highest scoring goalkeeper, took his tally to 90 on Sunday as he helped Sao Paulo hold championship leaders Fluminense to a 2-2 draw at the Maracana. Ceni equalized with a free kick after midfielder Deco had put Fluminense ahead with his first goal for the club in his third match since joining them from Chelsea. Sao Paulo striker Fernandao made it 2-1 with a header before half-time but Leandro Euzebio headed Flu’s equalizer on the hour. Flu striker Washington could have scored a winner with a penalty for handball by Richarlyson but Ceni produced a brilliant diving save. “The important thing today was to add a point in this delicate moment we’re going through. What least matters now is the individual,” Ceni said.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans