ITALY
Essien signs for AC Milan
Ghana international midfielder Michael Essien said he was “happy to have joined the Milan family” as he was unveiled by the Serie A club on Tuesday following his transfer from Chelsea. “I have my best friend Sulley Muntari here and I’ve known him a long time,” said the 31-year-old Essien, who arrived as a free agent and signed a one-and-a-half-year deal at the San Siro. Essien could feature for AC Milan in their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie against Atletico Madrid next month, with both Riccardo Montolivo and Muntari banned for the first leg. He will hope to make a big enough impression to seal a place in the Ghana squad for the World Cup in Brazil in June and July. “The coach will decide when I play,” Essien said. “If it’s good for the team, it’s good for me. In this way I hope to go to the World Cup in Brazil. I would like to play in the World Cup with my national team. It’s going to be hard, but in football anything can happen. We’ll see what happens.”
ITALY
Sassuolo fire Di Francesco
US Sassuolo described coach Eusebio di Francesco as an indelible part of their history on Tuesday, just as they fired him for poor results. Di Francesco was unceremoniously dismissed less than a year after providing the club with their finest hour by leading them into Serie A for the first time and only two weeks after a stunning 4-3 win over AC Milan. “Sassuolo would like to thank Mr Di Francesco for the significant work he has undertaken in the last 19 months and for the success which has made him an indelible part of the green-and-white’s history,” the club said in announcing the decision. Sassuolo, the smallest town ever to be represented in Serie A with a population of about 41,000, are in the relegation zone with 17 points from 21 games. The 44-year-old became the 11th coaching victim of the Serie A season.
ENGLAND
De Jong set to join Magpies
Newcastle United looked set to complete the loan signing of Netherlands international striker Luuk de Jong from Bundesliga outfit Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday. The 23-year-old — who has scored one goal in his seven international appearances — was due to undergo a medical and temporarily end a disappointing spell in the Bundesliga. “The striker is currently on his way to Newcastle for medical checks,” Moenchengladbach confirmed on their Twitter account. De Jong, who was born in Switzerland to Dutch parents, is the younger brother of Ajax captain Siem de Jong.
ENGLAND
No fine for Vlad Chiriches
Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood said he will not fine Romanian defender Vlad Chiriches after a video surfaced which reportedly showed him drunk in Bucharest over the weekend. In the video Chiriches can be seen stumbling over into a pile of snow before friends try to help him stay on his feet, yet Sherwood confirmed he will not fine the centerback. Instead, he called on the 24-year-old, who joined Spurs from Steaua Bucharest in August last year, to erase the negative headlines by delivering a strong performance yesterday’s Premier League clash against Manchester City at White Hart Lane. “I did see that, yes,” Sherwood said on Tuesday. “I’ve fallen over in the snow before and all. He’s had a weekend off and he’s got to play well on Wednesday. No [he will not face a fine], he wasn’t breaking any rules. For his own sake you wish he didn’t [do it]. He was unsteady on his legs by the looks of it — it must have been windy over there.”
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
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two