Van Nistelrooy: Ruud van Nistelrooy looks to have played his last match for Hamburg after he was ruled out for several weeks yesterday with a left calf injury. The 34-year-old hitman suffered the injury in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Hanover and with just four league matches remaining the odds on him being fit to play again are not good.
Hoffenheim: Hoffenheim confirmed yesterday they are close to hiring St Pauli coach Holger Stanislawski for next season. “We are working on the final details, a coach like Holger Stanislawski would suit us perfectly,” said Hoffenheim director Ernst Tanner. Stanislawski announced last week he is quitting St Pauli at the end of the season having spent his entire career as player and coach of the Hamburg-based club.
In France: French champions Marseille fought back from behind to win 2-1 at Montpellier yesterday and close to within a single point of league leaders Lille. Lyon's title hopes took a blow, however, as they were thwarted by Paris SG, who beat them 1-0 to close to within a point of their third-placed opponents and rivals for the final Champions League place.
Japan: Japan are struggling to form a solid squad for the Copa America amid reluctance among European clubs to release Japanese players for the South American championship in July, press reports said yesterday. The Japan FA may have to pull out of the event after all if it cannot call up at least 15 expatriate players for Japan’s 22-strong Copa America squad, the Sports Nippon daily said.
Scholes: Alex Ferguson said Paul Scholes suffered another of his “red-mist moments” after the veteran midfielder was dismissed in Manchester United’s FA Cup exit against Manchester City. “We’ve seen over his career Paul has had unbelievable moments – he’s one of the greatest players this club has ever had,” Ferguson said. “But he has his red-mist moments – he caught the boy on the thigh.”
Vidic: Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has promised to spend the rest of his career with the Premier League club. The 29-year-old has attracted interest from the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Milan but the Serbia defender rubbished those rumours. “I hope to spend the rest of my career here at United,” Vidic said.
Boxing: Victor Ortiz dethroned previously unbeaten WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto in an action-packed 12-round fight that saw both men on the canvas. Ortiz emerged with a convincing unanimous decision, improving to 29-2-2 with 22 wins inside the distance as he captured the WBC belt.
Athletics: American sprinter Carmelita Jeter won the 100m at the Mt SAC relays in 10.99sec, becoming the first woman this season to run under 11 seconds. Jeter, who earned world championships bronze in 2007 and 2009, comfortably defeated compatriot Consuella Moore (11.31sec) in a race run in a negligible wind of -0.1m/sec.
Basket, NBA: Dirk Nowitzki shrugged off his early scoring troubles to deliver when Dallas needed him most as the Mavericks held off Portland 89-81 in their NBA Western Conference play-off opener. The Mavericks’ German star scored 18 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter. That included 12 straight points in a key burst in the waning minutes.
Rugby League: Melbourne Storm showed they are still the team to beat after they downed Penrith Panthers 25-10 in the Australian Rugby League. The Storm were stripped of two premierships and were forced to offload some of their best players after being found guilty of major salary cap breaches last year.
Golf: Italian teen sensation Matteo Manassero won the Malaysian Open by one shot to give himself an early birthday present. Manassero, who turns 18 tomorrow, shot a fourth round four-under-par 68 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club to seal his second European Tour title with a four-round total of 272. The win propels him into the top 35 in the rankings.