ENGLAND
City sign defender Mangala
Manchester City have completed the signing of France defender Eliaquim Mangala from Porto for a fee reported to be about £32 million (US$54 million). The 23-year-old is City’s sixth signing of the off-season, and will provide competition for Vincent Kompany and Martin Demichelis at centerback. City manager Manuel Pellegrini said Mangala “is already a fine player, but in my opinion he has all of the mental, physical, technical and tactical attributes to become one of Europe’s very best defenders.” City, who had been linked with the Frenchman since January, did not disclose the length of Mangala’s contract or the transfer fee.
SPAIN
Vermaelen injured: Barca
Barcelona said Thomas Vermaelen has a lingering muscle injury from the World Cup finals that will keep him from training with his new teammates. Vermaelen still has a right-leg muscle injury from playing for Belgium at the World Cup and the club said the speed of his recovery would determine when he practices with the rest of the squad. Vermaelen was unveiled by Barcelona on Sunday after the club paid Arsenal a reported 19 million euros (US$25.4 million) for the 28-year-old. At his presentation, Vermaelen said that he wanted to “put behind” him the injuries that had plagued him last season at Arsenal and “start from zero.”
ARGENTINA
Maradona slaps journalist
Former great Diego Maradona slapped a reporter on the face after attending an event with his family last weekend. Maradona also called the journalist an idiot during the confrontation outside a theater in Buenos Aires. It was not clear why Maradona was upset, though local media said the discussion appeared to be related to his former wife. Video images showed the former player leaving his car and telling the reporter not to mess with him, just before slapping him with his right hand. The journalist did not immediately react. Maradona’s son and his ex-wife were with him inside the vehicle.
ITALY
Tavecchio elected president
Scandal-hit Carlo Tavecchio was elected president of the Italian soccer federation on Monday, winning 63.63 percent of the vote, despite a furor sparked by a racist comment during his campaign. “I will be president of everyone, especially those who expressed their dissent,” an emotional Tavecchio told a press conference following his election. Tavecchio, 71, sparked outrage three weeks ago when he referred to African players as “banana eaters” during a speech saying Italy should enforce stringent requirements for non-EU players. Moved to tears after his election, Tavecchio admitted he was “little at ease with words,” but promised to “better my rough ways” after a difficult race for the post of president.
ENGLAND
Canaries probe racist abuse
Norwich City confirmed on Monday they would investigate reports of racial abuse by a handful of their supporters during Sunday’s Championship defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Carrow Road club received numerous complaints from fans following an incident in the visiting end as the Canaries lost 1-0 in their first competitive match after last season’s relegation from the Premier League. Norwich have passed the information on to police and said that any fan found to be guilty would face a lifetime ban from attending matches at Carrow Road.
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