Defending champion CSKA Moscow lost a UEFA Cup match for the first time in 11 games on Thursday to visiting Marseille 2-1.
AS Roma, Stuttgart, Hertha Berlin and Palermo also won during the first rotation of the UEFA Cup's group stage, while 2004 Champions League runner-up Monaco lost at Viking 1-0.
Sabri Lamouchi put Marseille in the lead with a header in the 23rd minute, connecting on a high pass to beat goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. Fifteen minutes later, Mamadou Niang met Bostjan Cesar's cross from the right and scored from 13m.
CSKA substitute Vagner Love stretched his leg to meet Alexander Salugin's cross in the goal box to make it 2-1 in the 80th.
Marseille goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, who returned after a six-month ban for spitting at a referee, left the goal to intercept Sergei Samodin's attempt one-on-one in the 65th, and had another stunning save in the next minute, leaping to his right to stop Yevgeny Aldonin's drive from inside the box.
The last time Marseille and CSKA Moscow played, the French team won 6-0 and went on to win the 1993 Champions League title.
CSKA had not lost a UEFA Cup match since it dropped into the round of 32 in Europe's second-tier club competition from the Champions League last season. It won both its first round matches in the UEFA Cup this season.
CSKA became the first Russian club to win a European title when it beat Sporting Lisbon 3-1 in the UEFA Cup final in May.
The Russian team is the only previous winner of the 40 teams still alive in the competition.
The top three teams from each of the eight five-team groups advance to the knockout round of 32. Each club plays four times, twice at home and twice away, with the schedule decided randomly.
Roma also won on the road, needing an 84th-minute strike from substitute Leandro Cufre for a 2-1 win over Norwegian side Tromso. Samuel Kuffour opened the scoring for Roma in the 35th minute, heading a corner past Tromso goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld.
Ole Martin Aarst tied it six minutes later, beating 'keeper Donebier Marangon with a shot from five meters after Roma failed to clear the ball from a free kick. Roma's Simone Perrotta was red-carded in the 89th, after a tough tackle on Tromso's Stephan Ademolu.
Palermo also won on the road, beating Israel's Maccabi Petach-Tikva 2-1 in Group B.
Palermo, which was in Italy's third division five years ago, got its winning goal from Christian Terlizzi in the 77th.
Franco Brienza also scored for Palermo, while Omer Golan got one back for the host.
Toni Nhleko scored in the 18th minute for Viking, netting a rebound from a difficult angle to upset Monaco.
Hertha Berlin topped Halmstads BK 1-0, with Andreas Neuendorf scoring the only goal. Stuttgart received goals from Jon Dahl Tomasson and Danijel Ljuboja in a 2-0 win over Rennes.
Steaua Bucharest, the 1986 European champion, beat French club Lens 4-0 off goals from Victoras Iacob, Dorin Goian and two from Nicolae Dica. Lens striker Aruna Dindane was sent off in the 79th for two yellow cards.
"It is a great, beautiful victory because Lens is an important name in Europe," said Steaua Bucharest coach Oleg Protasov. "I thank the boys who played their hearts out. This was the first step, but we need to continue to fight to qualify."
Hamburg won 1-0 over CSKA Sofia through Rafael Van der Vaart's left-foot volley from 25m.
CSKA Sofia eliminated Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, the 1988 champion, in the first round.
Bolton drew 1-1 at Turkey's Besiktas with Jared Borgetti scoring the equalizer for the English team. Middlesbrough beat Swiss side Grasshoppers 1-0 with a goal from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Also, it was: Shakhtar Donetsk 1, PAOK Thessaloniki 0; Zenit St. Petersburg 2, Guimaraes 1; Basel 0, Strasbourg 2; Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1, AZ Alkmaar 2; and Dinamo Bucharest 0, Heerenveen 0.
Midfielder Aitor Antonana scored twice to help third-division Alcoyano eliminate Mallorca 4-1 in the Copa del Rey's third round.
Jose Parrado also netted and Sergio Mesa added a penalty at Alcoyano's El Collao Muncipal stadium to inflict more problems on Mallorca, which languishes at the foot of the first division.
Japan's Yoshito Okubo scored the consolation goal for Mallorca, which won Spain's knockout competition three seasons ago.
Mallorca was one of four topflight teams upset by lower-league opposition. The others were Racing Santander, Malaga and Real Sociedad. Alaves was also eliminated by second-division Eibar on Wednesday.
Six first-division teams advanced -- Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo, Getafe, Cadiz and Zaragoza.
Also through to the next round were second-division Xerez and Lleida, together with third-division Hospitalet.
Santander went out 1-0 at third-division Burgos, from a goal by defender Raul Aguilar in the 80th minute.
Malaga lost 4-3 on penalties to third-division Baza after a 1-1 draw. Sergio Porras opened the scoring for the minnow in the sixth minute, while Uruguayan Richard Morales equalized in the 17th.
Sociedad went out 2-0 in a shootout at third-division Zamora after a 1-1 draw. Igor San Miguel netted in the 37th for the home team, which played most of the game with 10 men, and Oscar de Paula replied in the 59th.
Atletico Madrid squeezed a 1-0 win at third-division Las Palmas, courtesy of Serbia-Montenegro striker Mateja Kezman's 86th-minute goal.
Bilbao edged third-division Real Union 1-0 on Javi Gonzalez's 56th-minute strike, while a Jesus Perera hat trick brought Celta a 3-1 win over fourth-division Tenisca.
In a Madrid derby, Jaime Gavilan and Gica Craioveanu scored before halftime to earn Getafe a 2-1 victory over third-division Rayo Vallecano.
Cadiz downed second-division Albacete 3-1 after extra time. Ivan Ania, Oli Alvarez and Nenad Mirosavljevic scored for Cadiz, while Antonio Pacheco netted for Albacete.
Zaragoza edged third-division Alicante 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Alvaro Garcia scored for Alicante in the 106th with Juan Jose Camacho leveling four minutes later.
According to competition rules, first-division teams play their games away from home in the early rounds.
The nine first-division teams which began the season in European competition receive byes until the last 16, including holder Real Betis, which lost 4-0 to Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Ryan Giggs will have surgery after fracturing his cheekbone in Tuesday's 0-0 Champions League draw against Lille at Old Trafford.
The Welsh winger, who was making his 100th appearance in European play, suffered the injury in a collision with Lille defender Stathis Tavlaridis.
A club official said Thursday it was unclear how many games he might miss.
United is already without several injured players including Roy Keane, Gabriel Heinze and Gary Neville.
Microsoft and Wembley
US software giant Microsoft Corp announced a seven-figure sponsorship deal Thursday with the owners of the new Wembley Stadium.
The five-year deal makes Microsoft the stadium's first "founding partner," a title the stadium is reserving for only its largest sponsors and which comes loaded with perks.
Wembley, which is home of England's national soccer team, will be wired with the latest information technology from Microsoft as it enters the final stages of its ?757 million (US$1.3 billion) rebuild.
In return, Microsoft's logo will be seen by millions passing through the stadium's turnstiles when it reopens in May 2006, as the deal allows the company to place 100 branded "plaques" around the stadium. Microsoft will also get a box on the halfway line and exclusive use of the 90,000-seat venue for one day each year.
The new stadium, crowned by a 130m arch, is already a landmark on the north London skyline. If the stadium is finished in time, it will host next year's FA Cup Final and the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final, as well as live events including a concert by Bon Jovi.
"Wembley Stadium plays a unique role in British life -- it's a national icon that has inspired generation after generation of young people with the dream of playing and performing at Wembley," said Nick Barley, Microsoft UK's business and marketing officer. "By becoming Wembley Stadium's first founding partner, we are helping to ensure that dream continues."
Barley said that Microsoft was drawn by the challenge of producing the huge technology infrastructure needed by a venue of Wembley's size as well as the branding opportunity.
"Microsoft is one of the world's leading companies and is notoriously selective over which organizations it chooses to partner," said Michael Cunnah, chief executive of Wembley National Stadium Ltd, adding that the partnership would help "resurrect the stadium as the world's leading sports and entertainment venue."
Media reports put the value of the deal at ?5 million. Microsoft and Wembley National Stadium Ltd confirmed it was worth seven figures, but declined to be more specific.
Brewer Carlsberg UK Ltd also said it is in negotiations about a deal. Wembley declined to comment on reports that it is also holding talks with sports clothing firm Umbro PLC.
Henry on wright
The great disappointment of Thierry Henry's career is that he never played with Ian Wright, whose Arsenal scoring record he eclipsed by one goal this week.
Henry surpassed Wright's mark in Arsenal's 2-0 win Tuesday over Sparta Prague, scoring twice to take the record to 186 goals.
"My only regret of my career is that we never played with each other," Henry told Arsenal's TV network.
"Maybe at times we would have been upset with each other on the pitch, but that's the way it is."
Henry, 28, said Wright called to congratulate him after the match.
Henry said he also wished he could have joined fellow Frenchman and former Arsenal player Nicolas Anelka on the pitch.
"I would have liked to have played with Ian Wright and Nicolas Anelka to see what we could have done together," Henry said. "I could have played on the wing or behind those two. It's a shame I never played with both of them."
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS