Thousands of citizens in Belgrade paid their last respects on Thursday to the Frenchman Bruce Taton who died from injuries sustained in an attack by Partizan ultras two weeks earlier. A group of 15 radical fans of the Belgrade team attacked some ten Toulouse supporters and beat them with metal and wooden sticks. Taton's injuries were the worst and doctors could not save his life in spite of emergency surgery.
The Serb police arrested ten suspects and indicted them for murder in the first degree, and the Public Attorney Slobodan Radovanovic said he would ask the Constitutional Court to ban the three worst ultra organizations. That would mean that the radical fans of Partizan, Red Star and Rad, all of Belgrade, would be struck from the register of organizations and forbidden to travel or go to matches in as a group.
Former Arsenal and Germany keeper Jens Lehmann got himself suspended
by Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel because of a trip to the Munich
Oktoberfest after a 0-2 defeat to Köln.
The ex-Gunner was unlucky to be photographed with a jar of beer
in hand and the club was eager to punish him in order to appease
the fans.
"He should have known better. No-one at the club even knew
he had gone to Munich. We had to learn that from the press,"
said Babbel.
"In our situation, I expect more stability from a player active
in soccer for so long. One does not go to the Oktoberfest after
losing a game. That's sending a wrong signal to teammates."
Lehmann (40) claimed he hardly drank any alcohol and that he traveled
on behalf of a humanitarian organization which was holding an event
at this year's Oktoberfest.
"But I had only half a jar of Radler, beer with lemon, and
drank mineral water for the rest of the evening. I don't understand
why I'm being singled out."
The spectacular start to the season of Real Madrid headed by new
signing Cristiano Ronaldo has shocked many and now a witchdoctor
has been hired to stop them.
A Spaniard, who described himself as a combination of a spiritualist
and a healer, sent a letter to the El Mundo Deportivo daily
threatening to cast a spell on Cristiano Ronaldo.
He explained an unnamed party had placed an order with him to cause
Ronaldo to be injured. One can only speculate which of Real's and
Ronaldo's many haters may be behind the scheme.
"I cannot promise Ronaldo will be severely injured, but he
will spend a lot of time outside of the field of play. In fact,
he will be out more often than not," claims the witchdoctor,
who also reminded readers of Real's past experiences with jinxes.
"Six years ago spells were cast on Beckham
and Ronaldo Luiz Nazario, and three years later Casillas, Sergio
Ramos and Cannavaro. On both occasions, the club sank into a deep
crisis."
The Real Madrid's spokesman issued a brief comment:
"This is a kind of joke, we are surrounded by them on a daily
basis."
Curiously, just days after the witchdoctor's ominous letter was
published, Cristiano Ronaldo was ruled out of the Sevilla game due
to an ankle injury sustained in the Champions League - and Real Madrid lost 2-1.
On the first day of October Belgium got their new coach, 61-year-old
Dick Advocaat,
lately of Zenit St. Petersburg. Amazingly, the Dutch coach of Glasgow
Rangers fame is already contemplating his departure!
"My task is clear - help Belgium qualify for Euro 2012. If
we fail, I expect to be fired," said the Dutchman.
Advocaat was hired after Frank Vercauteren quit following a 2-1
defeat to Armenia and the loss of all chances of reaching the World Cup in South Africa from Group 5.
Belgium are waiting for their first qualification for a major tournament
since the 2002 World Cup and currently occupy a lowly 68th position
in FIFA's world ranking.
Inter's master strategist Jose Mourinho has restarted his habit
of diminishing his opponents when the highly respected Czech coach
Zdenek Zeman made some comments regarding the Portuguese.
Zeman, who coached Lazio, Roma, Napoli and Parma among others, expressed
some less than flattering opinions of Mourinho's work.
"Inter's fans are not going to see much good soccer. He coaches
this club because he is a good leader and manipulator, but his soccer
skills are average. He shines only when it comes to arguing with
the media. I believe Inter will retain their championship title
just because they have the best players."
The Portuguese coach reacted swiftly in his own inimitable style:
"Who? Zeman? I don't know him, really."
Spanish Sport daily was not telling the truth when it ran
the news that Ronaldinho was considering early retirement.
So says the Brazilian star, who vehemently denied any veracity to
the story.
"Soccer has always been my source of joy. The thought of retiring
has never occurred to me," said the likeable Brazilian with
prominent teeth, before writing on his Internet page that he planned to see out his contract at Milan, due to expire in mid-2011.
His brother and agent Roberto de Assis also came forward to reject
the claims in the press.
"He is not thinking of quitting at all. His greatest motive
right now is to return to the Brazilian national team."
