Del Piero: Alessandro Del Piero has stated that his ''deep love'' for Juventus is the motivation behind him signing a new deal. Del Piero, 36, is nearing the end of his contract but instead of sealing a lucrative move elsewhere, the Juve legend has opted to stay in Turin and help the club get back into the fight for trophies. “The motivation of my career has been my deep love for calcio, Juventus and the fans. Money is not my main concern as I have already gained a lot in life.”
Brisbane: Brisbane Roar clawed their way back against Central Coast Mariners to become the first team into this season’s Australian A-League grand final after a tense 2-2 draw in the major semi-final in Brisbane yesterday. The Roar extended their unbeaten run to 27 games when they stormed back from 0-2 down to claim a determined draw and win 4-2 on aggregate over the two legs.
Sporting Lisbon: Sporting Lisbon sacked coach Paulo Sergio yesterday after a series of poor results and replaced him with Jose Couceiro till the end of the season. Sporting are currently third in the title race, 23 points adrift of leaders Porto and 15 behind bitter city rivals Benfica.
Borghi: Argentine Claudio Borghi was this week unveiled as the successor to his compatriot, Marcelo Bielsa, as the coach of the Chilean national team. Borghi was symbolically handed the Chile shirt by ANFP president Sergio Jadue and his brief is to oversee a successful Copa America in his homeland later this year.
Lavicka: Czech Vitezslav Lavicka was re-appointed coach of Australian A-League champions Sydney FC through to the 2011/12 season. Lavicka will be in charge of Sydney FC for the third straight season, club vice-chairman Scott Barlow said.
Cricket: Former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and paceman Mohammad Aamer have lodged appeals against their bans for corruption at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, lawyers said yesterday. Opening batsman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Aamer were all banned on charges of corruption relating to last year’s Lord’s Test against England.
Golf: Japan’s Chie Arimura held a one-stroke lead yesterday over Australian Karrie Webb after the third round of the $1.4-million HSBC Women’s Champions golf tournament in Singapore. It was a two-way battle right from the start between the 23-year-old Japanese playing in her first tournament of the year and the veteran Webb, the two of them playing in the final group alongside Yoo Sun-Young of South Korea. Ranked 19th in the world, Arimura carded a one-under par 71 for an 11-under total of 205 with 18 holes left to play at the Tanah Merah Country Club’s Garden Course.
Athletics: Russia’s Vera Sokolova set a new world best in the 20-kilometre walk at the national championships in Sochi clocking 1hr 25 min 8sec. Sokolova beat the previous mark of 1hr 25:41, which was set by another Russian Olimpiada Ivanova at the world championships in Helsinki in August 2005. Ivanova had held the previous incarnation’s world record in the 20,000 metres walk which she set in Brisbane, Australia, in September 2001.
Tennis: Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro defeated fifth-seeded South African Kevin Anderson in straight sets on Friday to reach his third straight ATP semi-final on Friday. Argentina’s del Potro dispatched Anderson 6-4, 6-4 to book a clash with second-seeded American Mardy Fish in the semi-finals of the $442,500 ATP Delray Beach International Championships. Fish, the 2009 winner, eased past Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla 6-1, 6-4.