■IRELAND
Trapattoni inks new contract
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni on Friday penned a new two-year contract with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) which will take him through to the end of the Euro 2012 qualifiers. The 70-year-old will attempt to book a trip to next summer’s World Cup finals as the Republic lie second in their qualifying group, having won four and drawn four of their games in the campaign so far. “I am delighted to continue my job with the FAI,” said Trapattoni, who’s contract had been due to expire next year. Trapattoni named a 27-man provisional squad for next month’s decisive qualifiers against his native Italy and Montenegro, adding Steven Reid, Paul McShane and Darren O’Dea to the men who did duty in Cyprus earlier this month.
■ARGENTINA
Maradona drops players
Embattled Argentina coach Diego Maradona juggled his team for next month’s two critical World Cup qualifiers, dropping seven players and giving a first-time call up to Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain. Maradona also recalled midfielder Pablo Aimar to the squad. The biggest shock was the dropping of seven players who were in the squad for losses last month to Brazil and Paraguay. The defeats have left Argentina out of the top four automatic qualifying places from South America for next year’s World Cup. Gone from the squad are Fernando Gago, Javier Zanetti, Jesus Datolo, Maxiliano Rodriguez, Lisandro Lopez, Pablo Carrizo and Nicolas Burdisso. Argentina play at home on Oct. 10 against Peru and they wrap up qualifying a few days later against Uruguay.
■LONDON
Forty matches probed
UEFA is investigating 40 cases of suspected match-fixing involving Champions League and UEFA Cup matches, a senior official at European soccer’s governing body said on Friday. Peter Limacher, UEFA’s head of disciplinary services, said his department was probing early qualifying matches over the last four years involving clubs “mainly from eastern Europe.” Of the 40 matches where UEFA has been alerted to suspicious betting patterns, 15 took place in the last two years, Limacher said. “Right now it’s mainly eastern Europe clubs being investigated. They know they are not going to be involved later in the tournament and they are going out, so decide: ‘Let’s make a profit,’” Limacher said.
■SWEDEN
Keeper cleared to play
IFK Goteborg goalkeeper Kim Christensen has been cleared to play for the Swedish league leaders this weekend, three days after admitting he moved the posts to make the goal slightly smaller during a midweek game. The Swedish Football Association’s disciplinary committee said on Friday that a possible suspension or fine will not be decided until Thursday. “We are investigating [the case] until then,” disciplinary committee chairman Kenneth Tallinger told newspaper Expressen.
■GERMANY
Bochum win on the road
Diego Klimowicz scored in the seventh minute to give VfL Bochum a 1-0 victory at Nuremberg for their first win on the road in the Bundesliga on Friday. It was also the first win for interim coach Frank Heinemann, who stepped in for the fired Marcel Koller less than a week ago. Paul Freier sent a sharp low cross from the right for Klimowicz to knock in at the far post for what was one of Bochum’s few chances in the first half. Nuremberg fell to their third defeat in four home games.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
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