Ronaldinho factbox

* Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on March 21, 1980. Full name Ronaldo de Assis Moreira.

He went from hero to zero at the Nou Camp

MADRID: Two seasons ago Ronaldinho was the undisputed king of world football, enjoying a hero-like status at Barcelona having steered the club to back-to-back league titles and victory in the Champions League.

Del Bosque appointed as Spain coach

MADRID: Former Real Madrid boss Vicente del Bosque was on Tuesday named as the new coach of the Spanish national team to replace Luis Aragones, who masterminded the successful Euro 2008 campaign last month.

IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Evans in yellow as Piepoli wins

HAUTACAM, France: Title favorite Cadel Evans of Australia finally took possession of the Tour de France yellow jersey here Monday after a thrilling end to the 10th stage.

Ronaldinho's future to be decided within the week

MADRID: Barcelona has given clubs interested in Brazil forward Ronaldinho 72 hours to decide upon the player's future following a meeting at the Nou Camp on Monday, the Primera Liga club said.

Hamilton sets Home Run Derby record

NEW YORK: Josh Hamilton dreamed it. Now he's done it.

IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Ricco rocks, but Kirchen keeps jersey

BAGNERES-DE-BIGORRE, France: Italian Riccardo Ricco recovered from a heavy crash on the race's eighth stage to win the Tour de France ninth stage in spectacular fashion on Sunday.

Slumping Rays lose AL East lead with loss to Indians

NEW YORK: The reeling Tampa Bay Rays lost their seventh successive game and their lead in the American League (AL) East division with a 5-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.

Bolt hammers out double Beijing gold warning

ATHENS: Jamaica's Usain Bolt, the 100m world record holder, on Sunday ran the sixth fastest 200m of all time at the Grand Prix meeting here to increase the pressure on his Beijing Olympics sprint rivals.

Iran set to play in US ahead of Olympics

TEHERAN: Iran's basketball team has departed for a tournament in the United States, an official said on Monday, for a rare sporting encounter between the arch foes.