ITALY
Prandelli hints at departure
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli hinted on Friday he may not look to stay at the helm after today’s Euro 2012 final against holders Spain, saying he had found the job grueling against a backdrop of match-fixing allegations in his homeland. “These past two months have been difficult — aside from my excellent rapport with the team and the Federation. [But] these two months have weighed heavily on me and there is not the serenity which I was looking for,” Prandelli told a news conference as he contemplated life beyond the final. “Shall I be on my way? I have already told you about the quality of life [and its importance to me] and I shall be reflecting on things more calmly. I do not want to say anything more for the moment — we shall return to this subject in three days [after the final],” said Prandelli, who took the post after the 2010 World Cup finals.
INTER
Lucio departs ‘amicably’
Brazilian defender Lucio has left Inter by mutual consent with two years left on his contract, the Serie A club said on Friday. Inter said in a statement that the split with the 34-year-old had been “amicable and mutually agreed.” The Brazilian had been under contract until June 30, 2014, and played in 136 games, scoring five goals during his three years in northern Italy. During his time with Inter he won a Serie A title, two Italian Cup titles, the Italian SuperCup, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.
BRAZIL
Marta leads Olympic bid
Five-time world player of the year Marta will spearhead Brazil’s bid for their first women’s soccer title at the London Olympics this summer.The 26-year-old was among the 18-woman team named on Friday by Brazil coach Jorge Barcellos. “Team training is going well and the way this team have gelled you could say we have the medal in our hands. It depends on us,” Barcellos said. The group will spend a week training in Brazil before traveling to Switzerland where they will compete in the Swiss Cup from July 14 to July 17 and play a friendly against Ireland as part of preparations for the London Games. Brazil have been drawn in Group E for the Olympics and open their campaign against Cameroon on July 25 in Cardiff. Their group also includes Britain and New Zealand. Brazil have lost the last two Olympic finals against the US.
BRAZIL
Ceara to return from PSG
Brazilian full-back Marcos Ceara, who was a free agent after leaving Paris Saint-Germain earlier this week, is to return home to sign for Cruzeiro, the Belo Horizonte-based club announced on Friday. Ceara, 32, had been at the Parc des Princes since the summer of 2007, when he was signed from Internacional in his homeland. He went on to play 140 league games, but rarely featured last season after Carlo Ancelotti took over as coach of PSG, who finished second in Ligue 1 behind Montpellier.
WEST BROM
Club glad to secure Foster
West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Clarke was delighted after getting goalkeeper Ben Foster to make his loan move from Midlands rivals Birmingham into a permanent switch. Former Manchester United keeper Foster, 29, has signed an initial three-year deal with a further two-year option. “I think the supporters will be delighted we’ve been able to keep him on board and make him our player,” said Clarke, who succeeded England manager Roy Hodgson at the Hawthorns.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
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