■ITALY
‘Big mouth’ strikes again
Inter coach Jose Mourinho was branded a “bigmouth” by the chief executive of rival Serie A side Catania yesterday after an exchange of insults between the pair. Mourinho, known for his inflammatory comments while coach of Chelsea, began the spat on Saturday when he said his side had deserved to beat Catania 5-1, despite only winning the match 2-1. Catania chief executive Pietro Lo Monaco hit back by saying Mourinho had insulted the whole of the Sicilian city, adding that he risked “having his teeth smashed.” Lo Monaco apologized for the comment, saying it was a Sicilian turn of phrase and he did not advocate violence. Mourinho joked in reply that he had heard of the Monaco Grand Prix but not the Catania official, whom he accused of using his name for free publicity. Yesterday, Lo Monaco issued a statement on Catania’s Web site denouncing the Portuguese coach. “Inter, and I say this with true conviction, have the strongest setup in Europe. It’s a shame they have been shown to have the biggest bigmouth coach of the continent,” the statement said.
■ENGLAND
Clarke teams up with Zola
Steve Clarke joined West Ham as first team coach after agreeing on a compensation package with English Premier League rivals Chelsea on Monday. Clarke’s resignation was initially rejected on Friday, but he can now link up with new Hammers manager Gianfranco Zola after signing a three-year deal. He became Jose Mourinho’s assistant manager at Chelsea in 2004, and continued in the role under Avram Grant and successor Luiz Felipe Scolari. “Steve is rightly regarded as one of the top coaches in Europe and his experience and knowledge will be a huge asset to us,” West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury said.
■SCOTLAND
Nakamura seeks retun home
Japan and Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura says he wants to return to his his old J-League home, Yokohama Marinos, and possibly as early as January, Japanese media reported yesterday. “I’m thinking first about Marinos. I have no other team in mind,” the lynchpin of Japan’s World Cup qualifying campaign, told Japanese reporters in Glasgow on Monday. “Since Marinos raised me, it’s quite natural for me to play there.” Nakamura was earlier quoted by British media as saying he may return to Japan during the January transfer window, as he is tired of traveling long distances for international matches. His contract expires next summer. Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell told British media at the weekend: “Celtic would be more than happy for Shunsuke to stay here for as long as he wants and certainly we want him to remain here until the end of the season. But his agent has intimated Shunsuke would like to return to Japan at some point.”
■ENGLAND
City cool on Ronaldo rumors
Manchester City have decided against following up an interest in former Brazil striker Ronaldo, the club said yesterday following claims by the player that he was set to move to England. The 31-year-old is without a club and has been attempting to regain fitness following knee surgery in February by training with Brazilian club Flamengo. He was quoted this week as saying that he had received an offer from City that he planned to accept and that he was looking forward to linking up with compatriot Robinho in Manchester. But a City spokesperson said the club would not be pursuing their interest in the former Barcelona and AC Milan forward.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care