BRAZIL
First Cup captain dies
Hilderaldo Luiz Bellini, the first Brazilian to lift the World Cup as captain of the triumphant 1958 side, has died in Sao Paulo aged 83, media reported on Thursday. He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for many years. Bellini led a side including players such as Garrincha, Mario Zagallo and a 17-year-old Pele. The team beat hosts Sweden 5-2 in the final to win the first of a record five World Cup titles. Bellini was part of the squad that lifted the trophy in Chile four years later although he never played in that tournament. He got the last of his 51 caps at the 1966 World Cup in England. Bellini is perhaps best remembered for the iconic way he hoisted the Jules Rimet trophy high above his head with two hands — and successive captains have repeated the gesture. A statue built outside Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium, which will host the World Cup final on July 13, shows him holding aloft the trophy with his right hand.
HONDURAS
Police hunt gunmen
Police say they are looking for three men who opened fire at a soccer game in a village near the capital city, Tegucigalpa, killing five people. Police said in a statement on Thursday that the masked gunmen got out of their car, fired at the players and sped away. Five people were killed and three players were wounded in the attack on Wednesday night. Authorities did not give a motive for the killings in the village of Santa Rosa, about 6.4km south of Tegucigalpa. They said the dead were young men between the ages of 18 and 24. They were students or worked in the capital.
ENGLAND
Everton-Thai deal extended
Premier League side Everton signed a three-year extension to their shirt sponsorship with Thai beer brand Chang on Thursday in a deal the club said could be the most lucrative in their 136-year history. The partnership, which started in 2004, is already the longest-running shirt sponsorship in the league and potentially worth more than £16 million (US$26.60 million), Everton said. The sponsorship also involves projects to improve and develop the game in Thailand, with Everton Academy coaches training youngsters in the country. However, the deal pales in comparison to those enjoyed by some other Premier League rivals. Arsenal signed a shirt and stadium sponsorship deal with Emirates airline in 2012 worth £150 million over five years. Everton chief executive Robert Elstone said the extension was nonetheless an important deal for a club challenging for a place in Europe next season.
FIFA
Executive committee probed
Members of international soccer’s governing body’s executive committee are being interviewed in the investigation into the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively. “We can confirm that the chairman of the investigatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee [Michael Garcia] is currently in Zurich and is also interviewing some of the FIFA Executive Members as part of his on-going work,” the association said in a statement. The hosting rights for the two tournaments were both awarded in December 2010. Thirteen members of the executive committee who made the decision, including president Sepp Blatter, remain, while nine have left. Russia defeated bids from England, Belgium-Netherlands and Spain-Portugal, while Qatar won the race ahead of Japan, South Korea, Australia and the US.
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