Mertesacker: Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker will miss both next Tuesday’s Champions League match against Tottenham Hotspur and this weekend’s Bundesliga clash with Bayern Munich with a broken eye socket. The 25-year-old defender suffered the facial injury in the first-half of Germany’s 6-1 win over Azerbaijan in a Euro 2012 qualifier on Tuesday and now faces an indefinite period out.
Bayern Munich: German champions Bayern Munich are now among the top five best-supported teams in Europe, according to a continent-wide survey by a Germany-based market research company. The survey, conducted by Cologne-based Sport+Markt, shows Bundesliga winners Bayern are now the fifth-best supported European club behind Spain’s Barcelona and Real Madrid and English sides Manchester United and Chelsea.
Parker: Captain Scott Parker has signed a new contract with West Ham, committing his future to the club until 2014. The 29-year-old midfielder, who was named by co-owner David Sullivan earlier this year as the only Hammers player not for sale, also has an option for a further 12 months.
Pepe: Portuguese international Pepe, who has not played for Real Madrid since December due to injury, said yesterday he is keen to return to action for the Spanish giants. “I feel fine and am eager to step onto the pitch and help the team. I can’t wait to play at the Bernabeu again,” he said.
Real Madrid: Real Madrid yesterday announced net profit for the 2009-2010 season jumped 11.5 per cent from the previous year on what it said were the highest revenues “of any sports institution in the world.” The big-spending Spanish club reported annual profits of €24 million up from 21.5 million a year earlier. It said gross revenues for the season were €442.3 million, up 8.6 per cent from the previous year, “an amount that is the highest of any sports institution in the world.”
Div. II/III KO: Żejtun vs Gudja 2-0; Gżira vs Sta Lucija 0-0.
Judo: Japan’s Takamasa Anai defeated Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Henk Grol of the Netherlands to win the men’s 100-kilogram title at the world judo championships yesterday. The Japanese, who had to be satisfied with bronze in the 2009 worlds, defeated 2007 bronze medallist Oreydi Despaigne of Cuba in the semi-finals before beating Grol by scoring a yuko. In the third-place play-offs, Despaigne defeated Utkir Kurbanov of Ukraine, while France’s Thierry Fabre scored a waza-ari twice to beat Tuvshinbayar Naidan of Mongolia.
Cricket: Kevin Pietersen’s bid to play domestic cricket for Durban-based side KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins has received the green light from Cricket South Africa. The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that the 30-year-old right-hander, dropped for the current limited-overs series against Pakistan due to poor form, had asked for permission to join the franchise for two four-day matches next month. CSA’s Michael Owen-Smith announced “the move has been approved”.
Commonwealths: Athletics Australia has blamed John Steffensen for the rift that has developed between the governing body and the Commonwealth 400 metres champion, who has said he will not defend his title in Delhi because of the fractious relationship. Steffensen has reportedly pulled out of October’s games as a protest against Athletics Australia, which he describes as an “egotistical and outdated body”. He has not spoken to AA in the past six months after it refused to guarantee him a spot in Delhi if he missed the Games selection trials in Perth in April.
Basketball: A game high 33 points from Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant yesterday helped USA overcome Russia 89-79 in the quarter-finals of the world baskestball championships. After thumping Angola on Monday, USA found the going tough early against the physical Russians before stepping up a gear after the interval to set up a semi-final against either Lithuania or Argentina tomorrow. Hosts Turkey and Serbia will play in the other semi-final.