Sat, Nov 13, 2004 - Page 19 News List

Atletico defeats Gimnastic Tarragona

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL Atletico Madrid's eventual goal infuriated Tarragona coach Luis Cesar Sampedro, who received a red card for protesting that the referee's call

AP , MADRID, SPAINAP, MESSINA, SICILYAP, STOCKHOLM, SWEDENAP, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL AND ROME

In Group 3, Charlie Miller's first-half goal gave Norway's Brann a 1-0 win over Sweden's Halmstad at home while Brazilian forward Afonso Alves and fellow striker Niclas Skoog scored two late goals to give newly crowned Swedish champions Malmo FF a 2-0 home win over OB Odense of Denmark.

The Royal League, so named because Sweden, Denmark and Norway are constitutional monarchies, consists of the top four teams from the three Scandinavian countries and is an attempt to shorten the long winter breaks clubs in those countries must endure, and make them more competitive in international play.

The 12 teams meet in three groups while the national leagues are off for winter break, playing six group games between Thursday and Feb. 24. The winner and runner-up of each group advance to a second group stage, played through May 12. From there, the two winners will play for the Nordic club championship on May 26.

Helstad put Rosenborg -- the only Scandinavian side in the European Champions League -- ahead 3-2 in the 61st minute, nine minutes after replacing Frode Johnsen.

Elias Storm and Patrick Amoah scored for the Swedes within one minute of each other to give Djurgarden the lead in the 71st before Helstad's equalizer from close range deadlocked the match.

Striker Harald Martin Brattbakk struck for Rosenborg in the 14th and 18th minutes before Tobias Hysen pulled one back for Djurgarden in the 39th.

Espen Johnsen's own-goal made it 2-2 just before halftime before a rain-drenched crowd of 7,925 at Lerkendal Stadium.

Djurgarden, winner of the Swedish League title in 2002 and 2003, only finished fourth this year in the spring-fall Nordic season but gained the last spot from Sweden in the inaugural Royal League.

Police dropped their investigation into the abduction of the mother of Santos striker Robinho at the family's request.

Robinho, who reportedly is close to a transfer to Spain's Real Madrid, asked police to stop investigating the kidnapping of his mother, Marina Lima de Souza, so the family could negotiate with her captors.

The abductors have yet to make contact with the family, police said.

They added they would honor the request and will not interfere with negotiations.

Souza, 43, was abducted last Saturday during a family gathering in the coastal town of Praia Grande, 75km from Sao Paulo.

Ronaldo plans wedding

Real Madrid striker and three-time FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldo and his girlfriend, model Daniella Cicarelli, traveled to Rome Thursday to shop for wedding clothes at Valentino's. According to media reports, the couple plan to marry in January in Paris.

The 24-year-old model and the Brazilian player were at Valentino's for two hours, after attending a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica, the Italian news agency ANSA reported citing Ronaldo's entourage.

The couple flew back to Madrid in the evening.

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