Vallecano: Rayo Vallecano have cemented their reputation as a club of the people by offering financial help to an 85-year-old woman evicted from her home near Rayo’s stadium in the Madrid suburbs. The woman, named by coach Paco Jemez only as “Carmen”, was evicted from her apartment of 50 years after her son defaulted on a loan while using the property as collateral. “We are not going to sit on our hands, we are going to help this lady,” Jemez told reporters.
Derby scrapped: Croatia’s biggest football derby was scrapped yesterday as visiting Hajduk Split refused to play against champions and league leaders Dinamo Zagreb after their fans were banned from entering Maksimir Stadium. Croatian media said around 50 of the 1,000 Hajduk fans who made the trip from the Adriatic coast were blacklisted as troublemakers and barred from entering the stadium.
Alex out: Alex will not be available for Milan in tonight’s derby against Inter after suffering a thigh injury during training on Friday. Milan said Alex was diagnosed with a lesion to the right thigh. That means the former PSG defender will not only skip the derby but he will probably be sidelined for another two weeks. Milan are al-ready without the suspended Daniele Bonera today.
McGowan: Australian defender Ryan McGowan headed home a dramatic 95th-minute goal to break the hearts of Jiangsu Sainty as Shandong Luneng snatched the Chinese FA Cup 5-4 on aggregate despite a 2-1 away defeat yesterday. McGowan ripped off his shirt in celebration as Jiangsu players looked on forlornly as a first FA Cup title slipped away. The victory meant a record extending fifth FA Cup title for Shandong and their first since 2006.
Ventura: Torino coach Giam-piero Ventura is going into today’s home match against Sassuolo with trepidation because of the early kick-off time. The game in Turin will begin at 12:30 – a start time that has not agreed with the Maroons. They already had a few games getting under way at the same time and have taken just one point. “We have always struggled at that time so we had to make some alterations because something is not working,” Ventura said.