■ITALY
Miccoli has Diego’s earring
Palermo forward Fabrizio Miccoli has revealed he was the mystery buyer of an earring seized from Diego Maradona last year as part payment of his tax arrears in Italy. The piece of jewelry was taken by police while Maradona was in Italy at a weight-loss clinic in September. He owes the Italian inland revenue more than 30 million euros (US$41 million) stemming from unpaid taxes when he played for Napoli and helped them to win the Serie A title in 1987 and 1990. Miccoli paid 25,000 euros for the earring at auction in January. “He knows that I have it,” Miccoli told yesterday’s La Gazzetta dello Sport when asked if he will return it to the Argentina coach. “It’ll be difficult to meet him now, but we’ll see each other soon. I called my son Diego in his honor.”
■AUSTRALIA
Thai trailblazer extends deal
Trailblazing Thai defender Surat Sukha has extended his contract with Melbourne Victory for a year, keeping him at the club until 2012, officials said yesterday. The 27-year-old has made 18 appearances including last month’s Grand Final since joining from Chonburi FC last year, when he became the A-League’s first Southeast Asian player. “He’s the first player from Southeast Asia to play at the highest level in Australia and we couldn’t be more impressed with the way he’s adapted and performed since joining the club,” operations manager Gary Cole said. “He’s fitted in so well, he’s always laughing and smiling and he and his family thoroughly enjoy living in Melbourne.”
■ARGENTINA
Palermo sets goals record
Argentina striker Martin Palermo, hoping to make Diego Maradona’s World Cup squad, set a Boca Juniors record of 220 goals when he scored twice in their 4-0 defeat of Arsenal in the Clausura championship on Monday. Palermo surpassed the 218 goals scored by Roberto Cherro, who had held the record since the late 1930s, when he tapped the ball home after nine minutes following a fine move by Juan Roman Riquelme and added another in the second half from fellow striker Nicolas Gaitan’s pass. The victory under new coach Roberto Pompei ended a run of three consecutive defeats in which Boca, whose previous coach Abel Alves quit on Friday, conceded nine goals. Riquelme also scored as Boca climbed to joint 14th in the standings. Palermo is in his second spell at Boca after his debut with the club in 1997 following a transfer from Estudiantes. He played for Villarreal, Real Betis and Alaves in Spain between 2001-2004. He has scored seven goals in 12 matches for Argentina and Maradona has said he has an 80 percent chance of being in his squad for the finals in South Africa starting on June 11.
■ARGENTINA
‘Monkey’ jibes earn ban
Argentine defender Matias Manrique has been banned for five matches after calling Ecuadorean defender Giovanny Espinoza a “monkey” in a match last month. Manrique, who plays for Nublense, said on Monday he did not plan to appeal the suspension. Espinoza plays for Chilean club Union Espanola. Espinoza testified to a league disciplinary panel that Manrique told him several times to “go eat a banana” and “you’re a monkey” in the March 27 game. In its report, the disciplinary panel said Manrique told them he did not mean the taunts to be racist and said he called Espinoza after the match to apologize.
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
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
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,
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