CHINA
Beckham lands China job
China has named former England captain David Beckham as its first global soccer ambassador to revive the game’s image after it has been hit by a match-fixing scandal and an exodus of international stalwarts from the premier league. In his new role, Beckham, who joined Paris Saint-Germain in January, is expected to help bring the Chinese Super League to the world stage and promote the game in the world’s most populous country. “I am honored to have been asked to play such an important role at this special time in Chinese football history,” Beckham said in a statement released by IMG. “I’m excited by the prospect of promoting the world’s greatest game to Chinese sports fans, as I’ve seen first-hand the growing interest in football there.” One of the most recognizable players across the globe, 37-year-old Beckham served as a special ambassador for last year’s London Olympics. Chinese officials expect his popularity and influence to restore the game’s credibility in the country. The new season kicks off on Friday.
SWITZERLAND
Goalscorer ordered off
Basel defender Aleksandar Dragovic scored twice, only to be sent off for a provocative goal celebration in their 2-1 win at Servette on Sunday. After heading the winning goal, Dragovic ran along the touchline making an aggressive gesture with his arm, before celebrating with the Basel bench. The Austrian, given a second yellow card after the referee interpreted his behavior as a provocation to the home supporters, was sent off amid chaotic scenes, with his teammates having to restrain him. “I had a bet with our assistant coach: If I scored with my head, I would have to run around the field,” he told reporters. “The gesture was aimed at him, not the Servette fans.” Servette had Omar Kossoko dismissed for throwing the ball down in disgust at a decision and getting a second yellow card. Last year, Dragovic had to apologize for playing a schoolboy prank on a Swiss minister during the medal ceremony at the end of the cup final. He gently slapped the balding politician on the back of the head as he was handing out medals to other Basel players.
SOUTH KOREA
Park left out of squad
Spain-based striker Park Chu-young has been left out of South Korea’s 23-man squad for this month’s World Cup qualifier against Qatar, the country’s soccer association said yesterday. RC Celta de Vigo took Park on loan from Arsenal for the season, but the 27-year-old has failed to score since November last year. South Korea, second behind Uzbekistan in Group A, host Qatar on March 26 in the final stage of Asian qualifiers for Brazil 2014. “We build our squad based on our opponents on a game-by-game basis,” head coach Choi Kang-hee was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. “I think we have plenty of winning combinations in midfield and upfront.”
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
‘Butcher’ appointed coach
Andoni Goikoetxea, renowned in his playing days as “the Butcher from Bilbao,” has been appointed coach of the Equatorial Guinea national team, the west African country’s soccer association announced on Sunday. Goikoetxea, an uncompromising Basque central defender and Spain international, earned his nickname for a particularly crunching challenge on Diego Maradona which shattered the Argentine’s ankle ligaments in a league game between Barcelona and Goikoetxea’s Athletic Bilbao in 1983.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was