■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.
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
Algeria on Sunday became the third country after Egypt and Nigeria to qualify for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by edging Burkina Faso 1-0 in Rabat through a Riyad Mahrez penalty. Defending champions Ivory Coast failed to join the trio after drawing 1-1 with Cameroon in a lively showdown in Marrakesh. Elsewhere, Mozambique ended a 39-match wait for a first victory by beating Gabon 3-2, while Sudan got back into contention for a last-16 slot by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Casablanca. Captain Mahrez converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half and Algeria then held on
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