Wed, Sep 17, 2008 page19

• Soccer Shorts

  • AGENCIES
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  ■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.
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