■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.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care