IN BRIEF (Page 23)
Soccer
De Rossi gives Roma Super Cup win against Inter
MILAN: AS Roma lifted Italy's Super Cup on Sunday after Daniele De Rossi's penalty 12 minutes from time gave it a 1-0 win against league champion Inter Milan.
Inter missed several good chances in the curtain raiser to the Italian campaign and Roma, who beat Inter in last season's Cup final, triumphed after Nicolas Burdisso felled Francesco Totti in the area.
De Rossi's spotkick just evaded the fingertips of Julio Cesar to nestle in the corner and spark wild celebrations from the visiting Roma fans, whose side finished a distant second to Inter in Serie A last term.
"This evening the players that have gone on the field have played with personality and deserved to win this Super Cup," Roma coach Luciano Spalletti told reporters.
Klose, Schweinsteiger to miss Wembley trip
BERLIN: Germany coach Joachim Loew will be without most of his first choice team for Wednesday's friendly against England at Wembley after Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger became the latest casualties on Sunday.
Klose, the top scorer at the 2006 World Cup, had to be substituted at halftime in Bayern Munich's 4-0 win against Werder Bremen on Saturday after taking a heavy blow to his knee early in the game.
Bayern team mate Schweinsteiger complained of back pain after the match and the club announced on Sunday that neither player would be joining up with the squad.
Sami Khedira, the VfB Stuttgart player who had been hoping to make his full international debut against England, was also ruled out after suffering a foot injury in Saturday's 3-1 defeat by Hertha Berlin.
Hargreaves and Gerrard unlikely to be fit for England
LONDON: Owen Hargreaves and Steven Gerrard are both unlikely to play for England against Germany in a friendly at Wembley on Wednesday.
Hargreaves made his debut for Manchester United in the 1-0 defeat at Manchester City on Sunday but manager Alex Ferguson said the former Bayern Munich midfielder was not fit enough to turn out for his country despite his inclusion in the squad.
"His knees are a bit sore now," Ferguson said on United's Web site (www.manutd.com). "He'll probably report for the game but I don't think he'll be anywhere near fit enough to play for England. He'll need a few days to recover and hopefully we can get him fit for the Tottenham game."
Gerrard, who played for Liverpool in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday despite a broken toe, said he did not expect to play against Germany.
"I looked fit today because I had a painkilling injection to play," Gerrard told Sky Sports. "I need to rest to be ready for the England qualifiers."
tennis
Henin's sore shoulder threatens US Open bid
TORONTO: Justine Henin's gritty 7-6, 7-5 victory against Jelena Jankovic at the Toronto Cup on Sunday proved that the world No 1 is well prepared for her US Open title bid.
But the Toronto tournament also revealed a fragile shoulder could prevent the Belgian from walking away with the year's final grand slam.
Bothered by a sore right shoulder that flared up during her semifinal defeat of China's Yan Zi, Henin told Tennis Canada officials after Saturday's match that there was only 50/50 chance she would play in the final.
Henin's warning was so serious that tournament organizers hastily arranged an exhibition between Jankovic and Russian Nadia Petrova.
Cycling
Kloeden vows to stay with Astana despite future concerns
PARIS: German Andreas Kloeden said on Sunday he had no intention of leaving Astana despite speculation about the team's future.
"I signed a two-year contract until the end of 2008. Even if the future of the team appears uncertain at present, I would like to wait for the development of the coming days before thinking of a change," Kloeden told his Web site (www.andreas-kloeden.com).
"So far I have always kept my word."
Astana manager Marc Biver was summoned by cycling authorities earlier this month to explain three of his riders' positive doping tests this year.
Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for blood doping during the Tour de France, prompting the whole Astana team to leave the race.
(China Daily 08/21/2007 page23)
