■ARGENTINA
Maradona, a ladies’ man
Diego Maradona believes a passionate love of his team can help Argentina lift the World Cup — but he’ll always be a ladies’ man. After Argentina demolished South Korea 4-1 to move closer to the last 16 on Thursday, Maradona turned wide-eyed and left no doubt as to his thoughts on the matter. “I prefer women. I am dating Veronica, she is 31 years old, she is blonde, she is beautiful,” he said, causing an outburst of laughter at the post-match press conference. Maradona, who makes a point of kissing and hugging his players and coaches, is bidding to emulate Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer by winning the World Cup as both a player and a coach. The 49-year-old heaped praise on his side and said he makes sure all 23 of his “tough guys” are physically and mentally ready before each game, taking time to listen to their problems. “I am grateful to the players for the job they do, but that is it,” said the former midfield magician. “We have a great team here and we are all very frank and open. Whatever happens in the family, or if someone’s coming late to a training session, we talk about it openly. I believe talking about things is better than punishing someone or giving out a fine, players respond much better.”
■ENGLAND
Beckham takes tea with Tutu
David Beckham on Thursday told Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu he would have loved to play in the World Cup, but was in South Africa to support England and the tournament. “These things happen in life,” Beckham, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, said over a cup of tea while visiting the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre, where Tutu signed three backpacks for the player’s children. “Although I would have loved to have played, I’m here to support my team and South Africa’s World Cup.” “I could hug you for doing that,” Tutu told him, in a statement released by his centre after the surprise visit. “You can’t put a monetary value on the goodwill you’ve shown here today. The world is a better place for people like you,” added the former archbishop of Cape Town.
■SWITZERLAND
Senderos out for two games
Defender Philippe Senderos has been ruled out of Switzerland’s next two World Cup matches after injuring his ankle during the game against Spain, the team’s spokesman Marco von Ah said on Thursday. Senderos limped out of the game in the 36th minute before the Swiss completed the biggest upset of the tournament with a 1-0 win over the European champions. “We know that Philippe will miss the next two games, but he will stay with the team,” von Ah said. “He had an X-ray in Johannesburg today [Thursday] and it showed that there are no broken bones, just a painful distortion of his ankle,” he added. Von Ah said the centerback had been downcast, fearing the worst. “He is feeling much better. He was really down last night, but the pictures from the X-ray proved to be encouraging,” von Ah said.
■IVORY COAST
Drogba set to face Brazil
Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba is poised to face Brazil in tomorrow’s World Cup clash despite having broken his arm, coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said on Thursday. “It wouldn’t be surprising if Drogba plays from the start against Brazil. He came on for 25 minutes against Portugal and it went well,” Eriksson said. Drogba underwent surgery on June 5 after fracturing his arm in a friendly against Japan.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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