Less than two months after saying he might slim down and attempt a comeback with a US team he had bought a stake in, former Brazil striker Ronaldo dismissed the idea on Wednesday and blamed social media for inventing news.
“There’s a story going round that I am making a comeback, there’s even a hashtag #RonaldoVoltou,” Ronaldo said on Twitter, citing the Portuguese words for RonaldoReturns. “I know nothing about it.”
“This story about #RonaldoVoltou is just nonsense from the Twitter crowd,” he added.
Corinthians win marred by violence
Corinthians beat Libertadores Cup holders San Lorenzo 1-0 on Wednesday to maintain their 100 per cent record in this year’s competition but the game was marred by scuffles between players at the end of the match.
Elias got the goal that gave the 2012 champions the three points in a match that was played behind closed doors after San Lorenzo were punished for fans who lit fireworks inside their stadium during last year’s final.
However, the home side had the best chances and were aggrieved at what they said were provocations by their Brazilian opposition after the final whistle.
Several Argentines went after their opponents as the players made their way to the tunnel and scuffles ensued before other players and police calmed the situation.
Gutierrez makes emotional return
Newcastle’s Argentina midfielder Jonas Gutierrez said he would remember his return to action on Wednesday after treatment for testicular cancer for the rest of his life.
Gutierrez, 31, had surgery in Argentina in September to have his left testicle removed after a tumour was discovered and since underwent a course of chemotherapy.
“I will remember for the rest of my life the reception. I’m really happy with the reception and the support the fans gave me and the support through the illness,” he told the BBC after being given a warm reception at St James’ Park when he came on in the second half in the 1-0 loss to Man. United.
Disney World backing for Orlando
Walt Disney World said it would sponsor Orlando’s new Major League Soccer team, which plays its inaugural match on Sunday against a fellow expansion club from New York.
The sponsorship by the Walt Disney Co -owned theme park is expected to raise Disney’s profile in Brazil, home of the Orlando team’s star player Kaka, and in Latin America generally where soccer is a national pastime in almost every country.
A record two million Brazilian tourists visited the US in 2013 and listed theme parks third on their list of activities behind shopping and sightseeing.
Valverde revels in Athletic success
Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde is thrilled at his team’s achievement in reaching the Copa del Rey final for the third time in the last seven years.
The Basque outfit won 2-0 at Espanyol on Wednesday night to progress 3-1 on aggregate and set up a meeting with Barcelona in the cup showdown on May 30.
“We knew that Espanyol could complicate our lives as they did in the first leg,” Valverde said.
“My players played at a very high level and we played a perfect game.
“It wasn’t easy to play away from home in a semi-final, but my players did a great job.”
Brann chief quits an hour after election
Norwegian side Brann Bergen’s efforts to bounce back from last season’s relegation were dealt a serious blow when the club’s newly-elected chairman resigned after just over an hour in the job.
Board members elected former manager Kjell Tennfjord to the post of chairman at the club’s annual general meeting on Wednesday.
They declined, however, to follow the election committee’s recommendation for a completely new board, voting instead for a sitting member to be returned for another term, prompting Tennfjord and three other committee members to step down.
“Integrity has always been an important concept for me, loyalty too,” Tennfjord told the AGM.
With most of the new committee stepping down little more than an hour after Tennfjord’s election, an extraordinary general meeting will be held ahead of the club’s first second-tier game away to Fredrikstad on April 6.
Senegal name Cisse as coach
Former international defender Aliou Cisse, who captained Senegal when they reached the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002, was yesterday named as national team coach, the country’s football federation said.
The 38-year-old Cisse replaces Frenchman Alain Giresse, whose contract ran out in January at the end of a disappointing African Nations Cup finals in Equatorial Guinea where the highly fancied Senegal side failed to get past the first round.
Cisse played for Paris SG and Montpellier in Ligue 1 before moving to England where he was at Birmingham and Portsmouth.