■ENGLAND
Venables slams Berbatov
Tottenham’s abysmal start to the season is largely due to the selfishness of striker Dimitar Berbatov, former manager Terry Venables said. Venables said that the Bulgarian star had been a “poisonous presence” at White Hart Lane as he tried to clinch a transfer deal to Manchester United. Speculation over Berbatov’s future dominated Spurs’ early matches as manager Juande Ramos wrestled with whether or not to select the striker, who eventually signed for Alex Ferguson’s outfit for £30 million (US$53 million). Spurs lie bottom of the table and Ramos is under intense pressure. But Venables believes the club’s problems stem from Berbatov. “Berbatov kept telling us he had ‘a dream.’ Well, good for you Dimi. You had a dream with a few extra noughts added to your bank balance,” he told the Sun newspaper. “But did Spurs have a dream too? You got your way but your poisonous presence at the start of the season — the brooding and the reluctance to play — has cost the club that believed in you.” Venables also said that Spurs were wrong to sell striker Robbie Keane to Liverpool before they had a replacement. “They thought they were going to get Andrei Arshavin,” Venables said. “This was a massive managerial blunder by Spurs, especially when they had allowed Keane to leave. But letting Berbatov and Keane go without having Arshavin in the bag was a boardroom blunder.”
■ENGLAND
Sven eyed foreigners
Former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson considered selecting four foreign-born players for his England squad in the wake of the failed Euro 2004 campaign David Davies, the former executive director of the Football Association said. In a Daily Mail serialization of his book FA Confidential, Davies claimed that Eriksson drew up a shortlist of Premier League imports who were uncapped by their countries and could legally be brought into the England side due to FIFA’s residence rules. The four names he suggested were Chelsea’s Italian goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, Brazilian midfielder Edu, then of Arsenal, and French pair Steed Malbranque and Louis Saha, who played for Fulham and Manchester United respectively. None of the four ever went on to play for England, with Edu and Saha subsequently capped by their own nations.
■SOUTH AFRICA
‘Bafana Bafana’ win at last
World Cup hosts South Africa arrested a run of five matches without a win when they beat Malawi 3-0 in a friendly international at Germiston in Johannesburg on Tuesday. An experimental Bafana Bafana side, made up of home-based players, provided relief for beleaguered coach Joel Santana as Bernard Parker opened the scoring with a header in the 32nd minute and added a second 10 minutes from time. Substitute Daine Klate scored the third just before the end.
■SCOTLAND
Scots to play Argentina
Scotland will take on Argentina in a friendly at Hampden Park on Nov. 19, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) said on Tuesday. The announcement came after Argentina agreed to lower their fee for the game in Glasgow to a level which allows the SFA to put the match on and charge fans the same for tickets as they will pay for the Oct. 11 World Cup qualifier against Austria. Negotiations on a potential friendly between the two countries in July collapsed after fans canvassed by the SFA indicated they would be unwilling to pay higher ticket prices in order to bring Lionel Messi and co to Hampden.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
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