AC Milan faces Roma in final

Already guaranteed of finishing 2010 at the top of the Serie A standings, injury-ravaged AC Milan faces a tough challenge at home against Roma on Saturday.
Milan leads the league with 36 points, six more than Juventus, Napoli and Lazio.
However, Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso and defender Gianluca Zambrotta joined Thiago Silva, Filippo Inzaghi, Alexandre Pato and Mathieu Flamini on the injury list.
Milan coach Massimo Allegri is confident, though, that other players will use the opportunity to make their mark.

 Ghana midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng has scored two goals in the last two games since breaking into the team, while Sierra Leone midfielder Rodney Strasser has also played a role despite only being 20 years old.

“Boateng has had time to fit into the team and is doing well, like the rest of them,” Allegri said. “Strasser has been a pleasant surprise and showed character. His development will be far quicker than other players of his age because he is part of good squad.”
Roma coach Claudio Ranieri has injury problems of his own. He is likely to have to turn to third-choice goalkeeper Doni because of injuries to Julio Sergio and Bogdan Lobont.
Striker Mirko Vucinic is expected to miss the game, while Marco Borriello, who is on loan from Milan, will have to wear a protective mask after injuring his face against Bari.
“The victory would allow us to close the gap and make the championship interesting,” Ranieri said. “It is an important match for us because after our poor start we are starting to improve and we are in a confident mood.
“A win would tell everyone that Roma can close the gap.”
Juventus will play at Chievo Verona without suspended midfield anchor Felipe Melo. Even so, the Turin club is confident it can extend its unbeaten run of 12 games.
“For sure, we are having an excellent season and reaching second place, level with Lazio and Napoli, is an important step forward,” defender Giorgio Chiellini said. “For the moment, Milan is way out in front, but we are happy with what we are doing.”
Napoli, meanwhile, is at home to Lecce and will be in a confident mood after reaching the knockout rounds of the Europa League.
Edinson Cavani scored in injury time for Napoli to beat Steaua Bucharest 1-0, the ninth goal in Serie A for the Uruguay striker.
“We proved that with heart you can achieve anything,” Cavani said. “Going through to the knockout rounds was a very important objective.”
Lazio hosts Udinese having slipped to fourth place. Also this weekend, it is: Cesena vs. Cagliari; Bari vs. Palermo; Catania vs. Brescia; Parma vs. Bologna and Sampdoria vs. Genoa.

Exclusive: Bertrand Marchand is no longer national coach of Tunisia!

 The federal office and Bertrand Marchand agreed to an amicable separation a few minutes ago. The now ex-coach has confirmed this information by telephone, and federal office will meet from 18:00 at the headquarters of the Tunisian Football Federation.

Men’s final US Open warmup moving to NCarolina

The men’s tennis warmup before the U.S. Open is moving from New Haven, Connecticut, to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, starting in August.
The U.S. Tennis Association and ATP tour announced Monday that the 48-draw event will be played in a new tennis facility on Wake Forest University’s campus. It’ll be held Aug. 21-27 and serve as the final warmup before year’s final Grand Slam tournament.

It replaces the event that has been held in New Haven for many years and has been known as the Pilot Pen.
The Winston-Salem tournament will be held in a new facility that will include a 3,500-seat center court and two show courts with seating of at least 1,500 fans each.

Lopez promoted to River Plate coach

Juan Jose Lopez, who served as River Plate’s interim coach after Angel Cappa resigned last month, was named the club’s new coach Tuesday.
Lopez said in a radio interview that he had been given the job and told of his promotion by club president Daniel Passarella.

Lopez, the club’s director of youth clubs, filled in for Cappa and managed to pull River out of relegation danger. He won four of six games in charge as River finished the Apertura season with 31 points. He was a surprise choice with many reports suggesting Estudiantes coach Alejandro Sabella would get the job. Estudiantes won the season title on Sunday.
Lopez is the third coach named to the job in 14 months, following Cappa and Leonardo Astrada.
“I’m the coach of River,” Lopez told radio La Red. “Passarella told me the club directors approved me to stay on the job.”
In addition to Sabella, Passarella also approached Marcelo Bielsa about taking over one of Argentina’s most popular clubs. Bielsa, who stepped down last month as Chile’s national coach, turned down the approach.

Spain ends year No. 1 in soccer’s world rankings

Spain has ended the year it won its first World Cup top of the FIFA rankings.
The Netherlands, which lost to Spain in July’s final, is second while Germany has moved ahead of Brazil into third since last month.

Argentina and England stay fifth and six. Spain has finished No. 1 for the third straight year.
Egypt leads the African nations and climbs one place to No. 9, while the United States tops the CONCACAF region, rising six places to No. 18.
Australia drops six places to No. 26 but still heads the Asian confederation.
One of the biggest movers over the last year has been Montenegro, which has soared to No. 25 from No. 74.
Russia, which won the right to host the 2018 World Cup earlier this month, stays at No. 13, while 2022 host Qatar drops a place to No. 114.

TP Mazembe makes Club WCup final

 ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—TP Mazembe became the first African team to reach the Club World Cup final Tuesday, upsetting Copa Libertadores champion Internacional of Brazil 2-0.
The side from the Democratic Republic of Congo broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute, with striker Mulota Kabangu controlling a knockdown in the area before placing a right-foot shot into the top corner past flat-footed goalkeeper Renan.
Dioko Kaluyituka sealed the victory in the 85th by beating Renan at his near post with a driven shot from just outside the area.

“This is a day of pride and we have succeeded,” Mazembe coach Lamine N’Diaye said. “I believe our players who I trained and played with every day are of high standard and achieved a great victory. This is good for the Congolese people. All Africans should be proud of this team.”
In Saturday’s final, Mazembe will face the winner of Wednesday’s second semifinal between Inter Milan and Asian champion Seongnam Ilhwa.
Internacional was the better side in the early stages on Tuesday, transfixing the opposition with slick passing and controlling the majority of the possession in the first half.
Mazembe goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba somehow saved Rafael Sobis’s shot from close range after eight minutes before midfielder Tinga headed his side’s best chance over the bar 10 minutes later.
But Internacional failed to make the breakthrough and in the second half, Mazembe began to look dangerous on the counterattack as the Brazilian side pushed forward.
Mazembe came into the tournament without star striker Tresor Mputu, who has been banned for a year for assaulting a referee, but Kabangu made up for his absence with a goal of quality to put his side ahead. A physical player with a blonde mohawk, Kabangu was by far Mazembe’s most dangerous threat, firing three other shots on target including one in the opening minutes that caught Renan by surprise.
Once the frenetic Mazembe celebrations died down, Internacional went back on the attack but shot after shot was denied by the inspirational Kidiaba and Kaluyituka took advantage of the spaces left behind in the Brazilians’ defense to wrap up the win.
Internacional coach Celso Roth, whose team has struggled domestically coming into the match, defended his team’s attacking strategy and praised Kidiaba’s performance.
“We created opportunities but unfortunately we couldn’t turn them into goals. Mazembe had the opportunities and scored,” Roth said. “Football is like this. Mazembe defended very well and I congratulate them. We played much better than them but we have this very bitter defeat.”
Mazembe, dubbed the Chelsea of Africa by the media for its big-spending ways in the impoverished country, has been a dominant force in Congolese football over the past 30 years, winning 10 championships. It demolished Esperance Sportive de Tunis 6-1 to win a second continental championship in two years and beat Pachuca of Mexico 1-0 in the Club World Cup quarterfinals.
Outside Africa, though, the club is little known and was given little chance against Internacional. Mazembe lost both its matches in last year’s tournament and was not expected to overturn a tradition that always has the European and South American champions in the final.
The team seemed to take its underdog status personally, with captain Kazembe Mihayo insisting that Tuesday’s historic victory would not only raise the profile of African football but also force other teams and the media “to give them more respect.”
Mazembe’s victory caps a big year for football on the continent, following South Africa’s successful hosting of the World Cup and the performance at the tournament of Ghana, which knocked the United States out to reach the quarterfinals.
“We are able to think creatively and it’s time to take us seriously and believe in abilities of Africans,” said N’Diaye, a former Senegal international who took over after Diego Garzitto left before the African Champions League semifinals.
“Today was an opportunity for these young players to show they can make a difference.”

Parma beats Fiorentina 2-1 in Italian Cup

PARMA, Italy (AP)—Hernan Crespo came off the bench to score twice in extra time as Parma beat Fiorentina 2-1 on Tuesday to reach the Italian Cup quarterfinals.
Mario Santana put Fiorentina ahead in the 114th minute, but Crespo equalized a minute later and the 35-year-old Argentine striker hit the winner in the 117th.

Both sides had chances to finish the game inside 90 minutes. In the first half, Sebastien Giovinco and Valeri Bojinov hit the post for Parma, while Fiorentina’s Khouma Babacar hit the bar.
After the break, Fiorentina’s Alessio Cerci and Marco Marchionni both went close while Parma’s Giovinco was denied by Fiorentina goalkeeper Vlada Avramov. Parma keeper Nicola Pavarini then made a double save from Adem Llajic and Babacar in the closing stages.