Di Canio: Lazio's Paolo di Canio has defended making a raised arm salute at the end of last weekend's 2-1 defeat at Livorno. The incident happened as the controversial 37-year-old walked off after the final whistle. "I saluted my people with what for me is a sign of belonging to a group that holds true values, values of civility against the standardisation that this society imposes upon us," the striker said. The game was played in a poisonous atmosphere. The home supporters chanted anti-fascist songs while the visitors held up a swastika.
Argentina: Diego Maradona should one day become Argentina's coach, according to the man in charge of his country's World Cup team. "Diego Maradona should be the coach of Argentina. I'm convinced he has to decide what he wants to do but it's a situation that has to come about," said Pekerman, who refers to Maradona as his "greatest idol". Maradona almost joined the coaching staff last month. He pulled out at the last minute, days before Argentina's friendly against England in Geneva without publicising his reasons.
Larsson: Sweden striker Henrik Larsson is unsure whether he will remain at Barcelona after the end of this season. "Henrik is a very sentimental sort of person and although he is very happy at Barcelona he will go back to Sweden if he feels he has nothing to offer here," his agent said. He added that the 34-year-old had been given a verbal offer of a contract extension with the Spanish champions until 2007.
World Cup: The last tranche of World Cup tickets to go on sale to the public are already more than four times over-subscribed, FIFA's organising committee said yesterday. There are 250,000 tickets on offer in the third and final major sales period, that closes on January 15.
Mutu: Arges Pitesti have rejected Juventus striker Adrian Mutu's offer to buy a majority stake in the Romanian first division side, a club spokesman said yesterday. Last week, the 26-year-old Mutu said he wanted to invest 1.5 million euros to buy 51 per cent of the club, with whom he started his career before going on to play for Dinamo Bucharest, Inter, Verona, Parma and Chelsea. Pitesti owe more than one million euros to the state and local tax authorities tried, without success, to sell some of the club's assets last month.