Menotti: Argentinian World Cup winning coach Cesar Menotti was in intensive care yesterday suffering from lung problems. The 72-year-old known fondly as the ‘Thin One’ and a heavy smoker, guided the Argentinians to a thrilling World Cup success at home in 1978, beating the Dutch 3-1 in extra-time.
Brisbane: Brisbane Roar equalised with the last kick of extra-time before winning Australia’s A-League Grand Final in a penalty shoot-out against Central Coast Mariners.The Roar were trailing 2-0 with three minutes left of the extra period but goals from Brazilian Henrique and Erik Paartalu forced the shoot-out. Goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos starred in the penalty shoot-out with saves from Danny McBreen and Pedj Bojic to secure a 4-2 win.
Gullit: Ruud Gullit’s first match in charge of Russian Premier League outfit Terek Grozny ended in a 1-0 defeat at home to champions Zenit St Petersburg yesterday. Serbian striker Danko Lazovic scored the winning goal after 14 minutes.
Four off: Manchester United and Liverpool’s youngsters fought a bitter battle as four players were sent off in a dramatic FA Youth Cup quarter-final at Anfield yesterday. Both sides had two players sent off in a tempestuous tie eventually won 3-2 by United, who recovered from two goals down to set up a semi-final clash with Chelsea.
Sacked: Polish side Polonia Warsaw have sacked their Dutch coach Theo Bos due to poor results. Bos’s assistant Mark van Hintum and Jan de Zeeuw, the general manager, were also fired.
Basket, NBA: Basketball Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen joined in another championship celebration on Saturday as the Chicago Bulls commemorated the 20th anniversary of their first NBA title. Jordan and Pippen and some of their former team-mates and coaches were on hand for a ceremony during half-time of Saturday’s game against Utah. A video set to Tom Petty’s ‘Learning to Fly’ featured highlights of that campaign: Jordan dunking over Patrick Ewing, Pippen harrying opponents and John Paxson draining jump shots.
Badminton: Tine Baun, the Dane who has twice denied Chinese players the All-England Open title, has called for action against the no-shows of three Chinese players this year. Baun has called it “unfair” that Wang Yihuan, the former All-England champion she faced in the last two finals, has not turned up at Britain’s national indoor arena. Although Baun was unable to defend the title because of a heel injury, she obeyed new Premier Series rules which say she must still appear at the venue. Wang, who withdrew with an ankle injury, did not.
Sports Ownership: The company that owns the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the NBA’s Toronto Raptors could soon be up for sale. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which is the majority stake holder of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, said it would “explore the possibility” of selling its 66 per cent stake. A statement issued on Saturday further said that “The Teachers,” as the pension plan is commonly known, “will be making no further public comment on the matter.”
American Football: America’s most popular spectator sport might not start on schedule in six months after the National Football League locked out its players to instigate its first shutdown since 1987. Gridiron fans, who have made a September tradition out of NFL openers, find themselves in limbo along with owners and players and must now look to judges and lawyers and a bitter court fight that could lead to cancelled games. Billionaire owners and millionaire players could not agree on how to divide $9 billion in annual revenues, 16 days of negotiations with a federal mediator proving fruitless when the players union decertified on Friday.