■GERMANY
‘The Kaiser’ to be honored
Soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer is to be honored with a belated testimonial match by his former team Bayern Munich, 33 years after his departure. The 64-year-old Beckenbauer left Bayern in 1977 for the New York Cosmos, but no farewell match was held to mark his departure. This oversight will be rectified in August next year when Bayern play Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena, when Beckenbauer will be named honorary captain of the German club. “His departure in 1977 didn’t occur as it should have ... He is without a doubt the personality that has most marked the club,” Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said at the club’s annual general meeting on Friday. Beckenbauer played 427 first division matches and scored 60 goals for Bayern between 1964 and 1977. He won four Bundesliga titles, four German Cups and three European titles with the club. He played in the US league from 1977 to 1980, before joining Hamburg in 1982. Beckenbauer also won the World Cup with Germany in 1974 and the European championship in 1976.
■NETHERLANDS
PSV rally to go top
PSV Eindhoven came from behind to beat Sparta Rotterdam 3-2 and go top of the Dutch league on Friday. They have 39 points, one more than Twente Enschede who travel to Willem II Tilburg this weekend. Ajax Amsterdam, third with 32 points, are at Vitesse Arnhem today, while ADO Den Haag host fourth-placed Feyenoord. Serbian Danko Lazovic put PSV ahead with a close-range header after 13 minutes, but Rydell Poepon equalized for Sparta before the break, netting a fine pass from Darko Bodul. Poepon scored his second early in the second half to put Sparta ahead, but Jonathan Reis and Balazs Dzsudzsak both scored within four minutes to turn the tide in favor of PSV.
■GERMANY
Cologne earn valuable point
Cologne earned a valuable point in the fight against relegation with a scoreless draw against VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga on Friday. The guests from Cologne had the better chances, but could not take advantage of their strong defense that has not allowed a goal in their last five matches on the road. Milivoje Novakovic had a golden opportunity to give Cologne the victory, but he shot just wide with six minutes left. Cologne improved to 13th place with 13 points from 14 matches, a point above the relegation zone. Bochum were unable to build upon their win at Hamburg last week, though they jumped one spot to 16th place.
■ARGENTINA
Independiente go fourth
Leonel Galeano and Dario Gandin scored as Independiente defeated lowly Huracan 2-0 on Friday to move up to fourth in the Apertura league standings. The victory improved Independiente to 29 points, six behind leaders Banfield, while Huracan are next to last. In Friday’s other game, Rosario Central were held to a 1-1 draw by Atletico Tucuman. Rosario improved to 27 points and Tucuman have 16 points.
■ITALY
Oddo out for 40 to 60 days
AC Milan fullback Massimo Oddo is expected to miss up to two months after injuring his left thigh in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Marseille in the Champions League. “The player will be subjected to further checks next week, but the initial prognosis with a view to a return to playing is of between 40 and 60 days,” a statement on the club’s Web site said.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two