CROATIA
Dinamo Zagreb boss arrested
Dinamo Zagreb chief Zdravko Mamic and a top soccer official were among four arrested on Wednesday on allegations of embezzling millions of euros from the club through player transfers, state-run media reported. Mamic, considered the most powerful man in soccer in the country, was taken in by police as part of a probe into transfers of Dinamo Zagreb players made through an agency led by his son Mario, who was also detained, according to HRT television. It was not possible to immediately confirm the information with anti-corruption prosecutors, but both Dinamo Zagreb and the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) said in separate statements that police were searching their premises, without elaborating. Media also reported on searches of Mamic’s house in Zagreb and said HNS executive president Damir Vrbanovic was among the detained. According to HRT reports, the suspicious transfers cost the club about 80 million kunas (US$11.2 million). They took place between 2004 and this year. Mamic is already under investigation by Croatia’s anti-graft USKOK bureau — along with his brother Zoran, Dinamo Zagreb’s coach, Vrbanovic and a tax inspector — suspected of giving and receiving bribes, tax evasion and other offenses.
TURKEY
Galatasaray fire Hamzaoglu
Istanbul club Galatasaray on Wednesday announced that coach Hamza Hamzaoglu was leaving the Turkish Super Lig side by mutual agreement, after a lackluster start to the season. “Mr Hamzaoglu’s contract was terminated by mutual agreem ent. We thank him for his services and wish him success in the future,” the club said in a statement. Galatasaray are lagging in third place in the Turkish top flight behind perennial capital rivals Besiktas and Fenerbahce, while the club have also made a slow start to their Champions League campaign in Group C. The results have come despite having a star-studded side, including German international Lukas Podolski, who was signed over the summer, as well as Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder.
GERMANY
Dortmund’s tree for Schalke
The towering Christmas tree in Dortmund’s city center has become a good-natured battleground between rival soccer fans after a Schalke 04 flag was spotted flying from the 45m giant. Just 35km separates Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park stadium from Schalke’s Veltins Arena in the Ruhr Valley and there is an intense rivalry between the neighboring clubs. Borussia won the Ruhr derby 3-2 two weeks ago, but Schalke fans had the last laugh by flying their team’s blue and white flag from the huge Christmas tree in the center of Dortmund last weekend. Anyone supporting Gelsenkirchen-based Schalke in Dortmund can expect trouble and the scaffolding company responsible for ensuring the 40 tonne tree stands safely has been told to pay a tongue-in-cheek fine to charity.
GERMANY
Herrmann in fitness race
Germany winger Patrick Herrmann has kept alive his slim chances of playing in next June’s European Championships after revealing on Wednesday he has decided against a knee operation. The 24-year-old has been receiving treatment for the last two months after tearing the cruciate ligament in his left knee in September. However, after consulting with doctors, the Borussia Moenchengladbach forward has opted against an operation which would rule him out for nine months — plus Euro 2016.
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
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
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