■SPAIN
Sevilla fires embattled coach
Sevilla have fired coach Antonio Alvarez and appointed Gregorio Manzano in his place, the Spanish club said on their Web site. Alvarez had been under pressure since failing to qualify the side for the group stages of the Champions League last month and Sunday’s 2-0 La Liga defeat by promoted Hercules proved the final straw. Manzano, who led cash-strapped Real Mallorca to fifth in the championship last season before quitting, was to take charge of his first training session yesterday evening. He faces a tough first week with a trip to play Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League on Thursday and a La Liga debut at home to former club and direct rivals for a top four finish Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
■ ARGENTINA
Quilmes shock River Plate
An injury-time equalizer gave bottom team Quilmes a shock 1-1 away draw that wrecked River Plate’s plans of keeping on the heels of the leading pair in the Argentine championship in Buenos Aires on Sunday. Playing at home in a packed Monumental, River managed the solitary score after halftime when striker Mariano Pavone volleyed home Ariel Ortega’s corner. They are three points adrift of leaders Velez Sarsfield, who beat lowly Olimpo 3-0 on Friday, and two behind Estudiantes with 14 points. Quilmes, the only team without a win after eight rounds of the Apertura championship, equalized in the second minute of added time when midfielder Miguel Caneo headed home a free kick at the far post. Estudiantes moved within sight of top place with a 1-0 home win over Boca Juniors on Saturday, stopping striker Martin Palermo’s team in their tracks after they had won their previous two matches. Juan Sebastian Veron’s side can go top if they win their game in hand, the postponed La Plata derby against arch-rivals Gimnasia on Wednesday.
■ NETHERLANDS
Feyenoord slump in race
Dutch giants Feyenoord slumped 10 points off the pace in the Dutch title race when they fell to a shock 3-0 defeat by Nijmegen in Paris on Sunday. Midfielder Lasse Schone gave the home side a 19th-minute lead with his third goal of the season with Rick ten Voorde and Bram Nuytick adding late goals. Second and third-placed Groningen and PSV Eindhoven drew 1-1 on Saturday. PSV, who have won the Dutch league 21 times, were ahead thanks to Swedish striker Ola Toivonen finding the target after 62 minutes. Gonzalo Garcia leveled for Groningen two minutes from time. Ajax, who welcome AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with defending champions Twente and maintain their two-point lead at the top. Theo Janssen scored both Twente goals but Mounir El Hamdaoui and Eyong Enoh made sure of a point for Martin Jol’s team.
■ PORTUGAL
Sporting draw with Nacional
Danielson Ferreira scored a late equalizer to give Sporting a 1-1 draw with Nacional in the Portuguese league in Lisbon on Sunday. Ferreira found the net in the 80th minute. Carlos Saleiro had scored for Nacional in the 64th. Carlos Alexandre de Souza Silva’s 90th-minute penalty gave Leiria a 1-0 win over Rio Ave, and Angelo Pena’s 53rd-minute goal led Portimonense to a 1-0 victory against Beira Mar. On Saturday, FC Porto made it six wins out of six when it beat Olhanense 2-0 to lead the standings with 18 points, seven clear of Academica, Braga and Guimaraes. In Friday’s game, Braga beat Naval 3-1. On Monday, it’s Setubal versus Pacos Ferreira.
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