Sporting briefs

De Biasi: Gianni De Biasi is the new coach of the Albanian national team. The 55-year-old Italian yesterday signed a two-year contract and replaces Josip Kuze after their disappointing Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

Yepes: Milan’s Colombian centre-back Mario Yepes will have an operation on the ankle he injured in the 2-2 draw at Bologna on Sunday. Milan said the 35-year-old had suffered ligament damage in his ankle and will be out for about 10 weeks.

Brown: Phil Brown has been sacked as manager of Preston North End. Brown, formerly in charge of Hull when they were a Premier League club, joined Preston in January but failed to keep them in the Championship. The north-west side were aiming for a quick return to the Championship but, although they are 10th, five points shy of the play-offs, they have won just one of their last 11 league matches.

2012 base: The Czech Republic will set up their Euro 2012 camp in the southwestern Polish city of Wroclaw, where they will play all three Group A games. Wroclaw lies about 350 kilometres southwest of the capital Warsaw, but only 80 kilometres from the Czech border and about 250 kilometres from Prague. The Czech Republic kick off the tournament against Russia on June 8. They face Greece on June 12 and hosts Poland on June 16.

Faint scare: Tuesday night’s Serie A clash between Genoa and Inter was suspended for four minutes in the first half after a player fainted. Teenager Alberto Marchiori fainted on the bench and the referee stopped the match while he was attended to and revived before being taken away on a stretcher. Marchiori, 18, fainted nine minutes before the break but reports said it was little more than a drop in tension that caused him to black out.

Serie B: Padova vs Torino 1-0.