ITALY
Sampdoria win the derby
A first-half goal by Maxi Lopez gave UC Sampdoria a 1-0 win over Genoa in their derby on Monday as they avenged their 3-0 drubbing by their old rivals earlier in the season. The former River Plate, Barcelona and AC Milan forward fired the winner midway through the first half after playing a one-two with Eder as Sampdoria continued to pull clear of the relegation zone. The fixture was moved to Monday evening after both Genoa and Sampdoria fans threatened to boycott the match in protest at the original Sunday midday kickoff time. The boycott was called last week by the hardcore “ultra” fans of both clubs. Sampdoria are 13th with 25 points, having won four and drawn four of 10 games since former Serbia coach Sinisa Mihajlovic took charge of the side in November last year. Genoa, who have also enjoyed a revival under Gian Piero Gasperini, are two points and two places above their rivals.
ITALY
Lotito getting death threats
SS Lazio president Claudio Lotito has received more than 50 death threats since the club sold midfielder Hernanes to Inter at the end of last month’s transfer window, he said on Monday. “Yesterday, I received between 50 to 70 to 80 telephone calls from pseudo-fans, in which they asked me to leave Lazio and made death threats against me,” Lotito told reporters. “I live under escort. The supporters are part of the club, but now they have overstepped the mark.” Lotito was also reported to have received death threats in September last year after the club failed to sign Turkish forward Burak Yilmaz from Galatasaray.
SPAIN
Villarreal close on Bilbao
Villarreal sparked to life in the second half to beat CA Osasuna 3-1 on Monday, gaining ground on Athletic Bilbao in the chase for La Liga’s final UEFA Champions League place. Villarreal missed midfielders Bruno Soriano and Cani, and were held in check until just after the restart, when Jeremy Perbet redirected the ball into the net. The hosts went on to produce another impressive performance at El Madrigal and Manuel Trigueros doubled the lead from long range in the 55th minute. Perbet capped a slick team move with his second goal in the 70th minute as Villarreal moved to within three points of Bilbao in fourth. Oriol Riera scored a skillful goal in the 87th minute to give Osasuna some consolation and the visitors came close twice more before the final whistle.
ENGLAND
Newcastle’s Kinnear quits
Joe Kinnear has stepped down from his position as Newcastle United director of football, the Premier League club announced late on Monday. The 67-year-old was appointed on a three-year contract in June last year and given responsibility for the club’s transfer activity, but he made only two loan signings — Loic Remy and Luuk de Jong — during his tenure. Newcastle’s fans were also angered by the club’s decision to sell star midfielder Yohan Cabaye to Paris Saint-Germain last week without bringing in a replacement. Kinnear previously spent five months as manager of the northeast club, before stepping down due to illness in 2009, and was an unpopular figure with a large body of Newcastle supporters. Newcastle lost 3-0 at home to derby rivals Sunderland on Saturday and are currently in eighth place in the Premier League table, having finished 16th last season.
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