Sporting briefs

Bosnia: Bosnia named Safet Susic as their new national coach yesterday following the resignation of Miroslav Blazevic. The 54-year-old Susic started his coaching career in 1994 with French club Cannes and managed teams in Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Preston: Preston sacked Alan Irvine as their manager yesterday. Irvine leaves the north-west club just over six months after steering them into the play-offs. Preston are 16th in the table - eight points away from both the play-offs and the relegation zone.

Brown: Former Scotland manager Craig Brown agreed to become Scottish Premier League club Motherwell's manager on an interim basis yesterday. Brown, 69, takes over at Fir Park following Jim Gannon's sacking on Monday.

Recoba: Former Uruguay forward Alvaro Recoba, 33, has returned to his first club Danubio after more than a decade in Europe, mainly with Inter. "I'm back in my home and I hope it's all for the good," Recoba told reporters after signing a three-year deal.

Kameni: Espanyol keeper Carlos Kameni has been hit with an unusual punishment after arriving back late from his Christmas break - standing a round of drinks for his team-mates. The Cameroon international missed Monday's training session due to a problem with a flight connection.

Barca: Barcelona will take the six trophies they won in 2009 on a three-month tour of Catalonia and southern France to give fans a chance to share in their triumph. The Spanish league, King's Cup and Super Cup, Champions League and Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies will be taken in a bus to 110 towns and villages in the region and the city of Perpignan in France.

Ronaldo: Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo is targeting a dream Champions League final - victory over Barcelona at the Bernabeu. "It would be a spectacle to be able to play the final at the Santiago Bernabeu," the Portugal international said. "As much for the players as for the fans. I hope to meet Barcelona in this final and beat them."

Alpine skiing: Slovenia's Andrej Jerman won the Bormio downhill yesterday to claim only the second World Cup win of his career. The 31-year-old completed the course in two minutes 0.32 seconds, more than half a second ahead of Switzerland's Didier Defago. Austria's Mario Scheiber was disqualified after finishing second because of a violation of the rules governing equipment.

Hockey: Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will face off on the opening day of field hockey's World Cup next year, according to the schedule announced by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) yesterday. India and Pakistan have been drawn together in pool B alongside Australia, Spain, England and South Africa in the 12-nation tournament to be played in New Delhi from February 28 to March 13.

Sports awards: Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has been voted sportsman of the year by Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport for smashing his 100 and 200 metres world records at the World Championships in August. Italy's Olympic swimming champion Federica Pellegrini won the top sportswoman prize after she too smashed records to take gold in the 200 and 400m freestyle at this year's Rome World Championships.

Rugby union: Heineken Cup champions Leinster have appointed New Zealand's Josef Schmit as their new head coach from next season, the Irish province said. Schmidt, assistant coach at French side Clermont Auvergne, will take over from Michael Cheika, who had previously announced that he would not renew his contract after five years in charge.

Basket, NBA: The Phoenix Suns cruised to a 118-103 victory over Pacific Division rivals the LA Lakers yesterday, the home side seizing control early and stretching their advantage through each of the four quarters. Amare Stoudemire had a team-high 26 points and Steve Nash recorded 16 points and 13 assists to give the Suns (20-12) their first win over the Western Conference-leading Lakers this season.