Sporting briefs...

Finnish Cup: HJK Helsinki collected their ninth Finnish Cup title after beating KPV of Kokkola 1-0 in yesterday's final. KPV, a semi-professional team which finished in the bottom half of the second division, created plenty of scoring chances but could not force a breakthrough. With HJK winning the Finnish Cup, third-placed Haka Valkeakoski will join the Helsinki side in the UEFA Cup. HJK finished second in the league behind Tampere United.

Spencer dies: Alberto Spencer, the top scorer in the Libertadores Cup with 54 goals, died on Friday at the age of 68. Spencer died in the US due to a heart problem. He was one of South America's most famous players even though he never played at the World Cup. In 1964, he became the first Uruguayan player to score against England at Wembley when he was on target in a 2-1 friendly defeat.

Sagnol: Defender Willy Sagnol believes he will take over as Bayern Munich captain when Oliver Kahn retires. Right-back Sagnol, 29, joined the Bundesliga side in 2000 from Monaco. "I will definitely be Bayern's captain when Oliver Kahn quits," Sagnol said. "Being captain in a great foreign club is a source of pride." Sagnol has won 50 caps for France since his debut in a 4-0 rout of Turkey in Istanbul six years ago.

Furious Coleman: Fulham manager Chris Coleman called for a prison sentence for whoever threw a coin that hit Claus Jensen in the 1-0 victory over Everton yesterday. Jensen was struck on the head by a coin shortly after scoring the winner in the Premier League game at Craven Cottage. "I hope the offender is identified. It was a coward who threw the coin," Coleman told the BBC. "Send him to prison or somewhere away from football." Dane Jensen later confirmed he had been struck by the coin, but said no damage had been done.

National academies: India will launch a national coaching system next year with academies in Goa and Kolkata staffed by foreign coaches. The academies were recommended by Briton Bob Houghton, who took over as national coach in June. Houghton has also urged authorities to search for taller players to boost the national side, currently languishing at 143 in the world and 24th out of 45 Asian teams. India won the inaugural Asian Games title in 1951 and were among the top Asian teams until the early 1980s when soccer in countries such as Japan, S. Korea and Saudi Arabia took over due to the introduction of professional training methods.

In Spain: Levante vs R. Sociedad 2-0; R. Mallorca vs A. Madrid 0-0.