Italy Squad: Italy coach Marcello Lippi named a 23-man squad yesterday for friendlies against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Nov. 12 and the Ivory Coast in Geneva on Nov. 16. Goalkeepers: Abbiati (Juventus), Amelia (Livorno), Peruzzi (Lazio). Defenders: Barzagli (Palermo), Cannavaro (Juventus), Grosso (Palermo), Materazzi (Inter), Nesta (Milan), Oddo (Lazio), Zaccardo (Palermo), Zambrotta (Juventus). Midfielders: Barone (Palermo), Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Diana (Sampdoria), Gattuso, Pirlo (both Milan). Strikers: Del Piero (Juventus), Gilardino (Milan), Iaquinta (Udinese), Toni (Fiorentina), Totti (Roma), Vieri (Milan).
Treviso: Serie A club Treviso have sacked their coach Ezio Rossi after the team stuttered to a 0-0 stalemate with Cagliari yesterday. The draw against their fellow relegation strugglers left Treviso in 18th place in the 20-team division with six points from 11 matches. "I've sacked Rossi," Treviso president Ettore Setten was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA. "The news will be made official tomorrow (today)."
Shearer: Newcastle captain Alan Shearer will undergo hernia surgery today but could be back in action in two weeks, his club said yesterday. The 35-year-old former England captain was travelling to Munich for the operation, manager Graeme Souness told the Premier League club's website. "Alan has the operation on Monday and I'm hoping he'll be fit for a game in two weeks' time," Souness told the BBC. "(The surgeon) must do something different because she gets them back very quickly."
Norwegian Cup: Molde won the Norwegian Cup final yesterday with a 4-2 victory over Lillestrom, boosting the west Norway side before a play-off next week to avoid relegation from the top division. Players from Canada, Senegal, Tunisia and Norway scored in the final, a sign of the increased international presence in Norwegian soccer. Until recently, Norwegian soccer teams were almost exclusively home grown. Malta striker Michael Mifsud is on the books of Lillestrom but missed yesterday's match through injury.
CSKA Moscow champions: CSKA beat Dynamo 2-1 in a heated Moscow derby yesterday to clinch the Russian premier league title with a game to spare. CSKA defender Alexei Berezutsky opened the scoring from close range in the 55th minute and Brazilian playmaker Daniel Carvalho added the second 18 minutes later. Defender Denis Kolodin pulled one back for Dynamo but it was too little too late to prevent the army side from celebrating a deserved victory. The win gave CSKA an insurmountable four-point lead over last year's champions Lokomotiv and their Moscow rivals Spartak.
Klinsmann: Coach Juergen Klinsmann just needs to take Germany to the quarter-finals to make the 2006 World Cup a success for the hosts, German Football Association (DFB) co-president Theo Zwanziger said yesterday. Klinsmann has indicated his willingness to stay on as coach after next year if the hosts have a successful tournament and the DFB is setting the bar relatively low. "I know success is important to Klinsmann and for him the bar will be set higher," Zwanziger told Bild newspaper. "For me, a quarter-final place would be a success if we go out to a good opponent and play with zeal."
In France: Ligue 1 matches played yesterday - Lille vs R. Strasbourg 2-0; Sochaux vs R. Lens 1-1; Troyes vs S. Rennes 2-1; PSG vs Monaco 0-0.