FRANCE
Toothless Marseille held
Olympique de Marseille’s title hopes suffered another setback on Friday when they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by AC Ajaccio. It was the second successive goalless draw for Elie Baup’s team following last weekend’s stalemate with title rivals Lyon. Third-placed Marseille moved to 51 points, six behind league leaders Paris Saint-Germain who go to AS Saint-Etienne today and two behind Olympique Lyonnais who were at SC Bastia yesterday.
CROATIA
Dinamo chief in hot water
Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb’s chief Zdravko Mamic was detained on Friday after making slurs against an ethnic Serb minister, police said. Mamic was detained for questioning by Zagreb police after insulting Education Minister Zeljko Jovanovic, who he labelled “Croatophobe” in an interview to a local radio station. Jovanovic “hates everything Croatian,” Mamic told the Soundset radio, adding the minister was an “insult to the Croatian brain.” “When he looks at you, blood squirts from his eyes ... Looking at his smile, one can only see eye-teeth ready for slaughter,” Mamic said.
GREECE
Rehhagel faces tough task
He pulled off one of soccer’s greatest upsets. Now Otto Rehhagel has been handed a task equally challenging: to make Germany popular again in crisis-hit Greece. Germany’s embassy in Athens said on Friday that the 74-year-old would visit Greece this month as a goodwill ambassador. The German led Greece to a stunning victory in the 2004 European Championships, building a team that went on to qualify for two other European tournaments and the 2010 World Cup. Germany is the lead creditor in Greece’s financial bailout program, but its reputation has been hit by successive austerity measures that have caused an increase in poverty and unemployment.
SPAIN
Depor boost survival hopes
Bottom club RC Deportivo de La Coruna boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation by beating 10-man RC Celta de Vigo 3-1 in the Galician derby on Friday, a first victory in 10 La Liga outings. Forward Riki fired the home team ahead in the ninth minute at the Riazor when he controlled a Juan Carlos Valeron pass with his thigh and volleyed brilliantly past goalkeeper Javi Varas. Celta were reduced to 10 men in the 29th minute when striker Iago Aspas was shown a straight red card for butting Depor defender Carlos Marchena in the face. Silvio made it 2-0 in the 64th minute with a stunning long-range volley and substitute Diogo Salomao added a third goal 14 minutes later, moments after replacing Riki. Park Chu-young pulled a goal back for Celta 10 minutes from time, but it did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the home supporters.
GERMANY
Wolfsburg held at home
Ivica Olic scored for VfL Wolfsburg to salvage a 1-1 draw at home with promoted side Fortuna Duesseldorf in the Bundesliga on Friday. Olic struck with a low shot past Fabian Giefer in the 51st minute, cancelling out Mathis Bolly’s 38th-minute strike for the visitors. Wolfsburg remained 12th ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games, while Duesseldorf climbed two places to 13th. “I think the draw was fair. With a bit of luck we could have won, with a little bad luck we could have lost,” said Duesseldorf midfielder Adam Bodzek.
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
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is 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