■BRAZIL
Adriano to take a break
Brazil and Inter striker Adriano said on Thursday he was taking a break from soccer and would rethink his career. “I’ve lost the happiness of playing,” he told reporters. “I wouldn’t like to go back to Italy, I want to live in peace here in Brazil. I wasn’t unhappy in Italy. I don’t know if I’m going to stay for one, two or thee months without playing. I’m going to rethink my career.” Adriano failed to return to Italy after last week’s World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Peru, in which he was an unused substitute. On Monday, his agent Gilmar Rinaldo said Adriano had stayed in Brazil because of a private matter and confirmed the player had spent time in the Vila Cruzeiro favela, where he was raised.
■SERBIA
Police arrest 95 in Belgrade
Police arrested 95 fans and pressed charges against 25 of them following violence at the Belgrade derby between bitter rivals Partizan and Red Star, the Serbian Interior Ministry said on Thursday. “The hooligans who face legal action have been charged with assault on police officers, violent behavior, causing general danger as well as the possession and sale of narcotics,” it said. Red Star Belgrade fans clashed with riot police before Wednesday’s match and set fire to seats in the north tier of Partizan’s stadium after the final whistle, forcing fire brigades to move in. The fixture has a history of crowd trouble dating back to times when Serbia was still a part of the former Yugoslavia.
■ENGLAND
Police drop Mourinho case
Inter boss Jose Mourinho will not face police action after allegations that he punched a supporter outside Old Trafford, police sources said on Thursday. A Manchester United fan claimed he was hit in the face by the Portuguese manager following last month’s Champions League tie between United and Inter. Mourinho, 46, was said to have clashed with a man close to the Inter team bus shortly before midnight on March 11 after his side’s 2-0 defeat. The supporter alleged common assault, although he was not thought to be seriously injured, and Greater Manchester Police approached the Old Trafford club to view CCTV footage of the area. But the case has been dropped.
■ROMANIA
Piturca gets the sack
Victor Piturca was on Thursday sacked as Romania coach after a disappointing run of results that looks to have derailed the country’s bid to appear at next year’s World Cup. “Piturca has been relieved of his post,” said Dumitru Dragomir, head of the Romanian professional soccer league. “We haven’t decided on his replacement, that will be made later on.” Romania’s most recent defeat, a 2-1 loss to Austria on April 1, dropped them to fifth place in Group 7, with only four points from five matches — effectively ending any hopes they had of qualifying for next year’s showpiece. Group 7 is being led by Serbia on 12 points, with France on 10 points, Lithuania on nine and Austria on seven.
■ENGLAND
Much interest in the Saints
The administrators running ailing English Championship side Southampton said on Thursday that 31 parties had expressed an interest in buying the club. The Saints’ parent company, Southampton Leisure Holdings, went into administration last week with reported debts of £27.5 million (US$40.5 million). The Football League is considering whether to penalize the club 10 points which would result in their almost certain relegation to the third tier of English soccer for the first time in 49 years.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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