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Juventus claimed their 28th Italian league title on Friday without kicking a ball after rivals AC Milan were held to a 3-3 draw at home by Palermo.
   The result leaves Juve, who have two games remaining, four points clear of last year’s title winners Milan who have just one more match to play.
   Milan, who fielded a reserve side ahead of their Champions League final against Liverpool in Istanbul on Wednesday, led 3-1 at the break thanks to two goals from Brazilian Serginho and a Jon Dahl Tomasson strike.
   Carlo Ancelotti’s side were all set to force Juventus to win their penultimate match at Livorno on Sunday to secure the title but Palermo struck twice inside the final 13 minutes.
   A twice-taken penalty from Italy international Luca Toni got Palermo back in the match before Simone Barone fired in at the near post for a 79th minute equaliser.
   Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, who finished as a runner-up twice when in charge at Juventus, defended his decision to field a second string side.
   ‘I think it was a logical thing to do when we have a European Cup final to play on Wednesday,’ he said.
   Milan remain 10 points clear of third-placed Inter and their runners-up spot means they will go straight into the group stage of the Champions League next season.
   Tomasson blamed Milan’s involvement in Europe until the final stage for the title loss.
   ‘The difference between us and Juve this season was that we played more games,’ said the Denmark striker.
   Juve were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Liverpool and beat Milan in the decisive head-to-head Serie A game at San Siro four days after their opponent’s beat PSV Eindhoven in the semi-finals.
   Juve coach Fabio Capello has now won titles with four different clubs—AC Milan, AS Roma and Juventus in Italy and Real Madrid in Spain.
   The title is Juve’s third in the past four seasons and sixth in the last 11 campaigns—all five previous triumphs coming under the guidance of former coach Marcello Lippi.
   There was also a personal milestone for Juventus defender Ciro Ferrara who equalled the record eight Serie A titles won by former Juve players Giovanni Ferrari and Giuseppe Furino.
   Ferrara, who will retire from playing to join Juve’s coaching staff at the end of the season, won two titles with Napoli before moving to the Turin club.
   There was an air of anti-climax surrounding the title win with few signs of celebration reported in Turin.
   Juve have imposed a press ban on all players and staff and did not immediately issue any comment after winning the title.
   The club have refused to talk to the media since May 1, saying they wanted to ‘avoid any arguments’ and ‘focus all attention on the games to be played’.
   Juve said they suspected that attempts were being made to ‘damage the club’ during the title run-in.

Greg Chappell will get roughly Rs 1 crore per annum as India's cricket coach under the terms of his two-year contract.
   The world's richest cricket body, Board of Control for Cricket in India, will pay the former Australian an annual remuneration of $175,000 (approx Rs 78 lakh) besides allowances and travel expenses.
   For each day he spends in India, Chappell is expected to get Rs 2000.
   To be based at Bangalore, where the National Cricket Academy is located, Chappell will have a 60-day break each year, it was decided at a meeting attended by BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra, secretary SK Nair, former president Jagmohan Dalmiya and vice president Rajiv Shukla.
   However, his media commitments and opportunities remained to be sorted out.
   The issue of his column writing and handling the media will be thrashed out in a second meeting with the BCCI before he takes up his job on June 15.

Following the huge success of the Twenty20 Cup domestic matches in Lahore last month, Pakistan Cricket Board is considering to play international ties in the format against India and England when they visit here next season.
   England is scheduled to tour Pakistan from October 22 while India is proposed to play from January 2, 2006.
   Both the teams will play three Tests and five One-Day Internationals each in Pakistan.
   ‘After the interest the Twenty20 Cup evoked last month, we are not averse
   to playing Twenty20 matches against England and India on the coming tours,’ PCB Director Board Operations Abbas Zaidi said.
   ‘The position now is that if either England or India or both want to play one-off Twenty20 matches on the coming tours, we might agree to it,’ he was quoted as saying by The News.
   The first Twenty20 Cup final in Lahore drew a crowd of around 40,000 – a record for any domestic match held in Pakistan.
   ‘There is no doubt that the interest the inaugural tournament generated surprised us and the sponsors,’ Zaidi added.
   English and Wales Cricket Board had offered to play a Twenty20 match against Pakistan on their tour but the PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan had declined the offer then saying it was still not recognised or promoted by ICC.
   The PCB, however, changed its mind in the backdrop of growing popularity of this version.
   Zaidi also said that if India and England agreed to play Twenty20 matches they would not be big extravaganzas.

Zimbabwe are now set to play Bangladesh at the beginning of the 2005-06 season. The series, to include two Tests and three one-day internationals, falls outside of the ICC Future Tours programme.
   The matches may either be squeezed in before the ODI triangular series with New Zealand and India, and the Test series with the New Zealanders, or may be played as soon as the two countries leave.
   Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) is anxious to play the Bangladeshis again and prove that their Test and ODI series defeat in Bangladesh earlier this year was a result of the
   problems Zimbabwe cricket
   was facing, after 15 white players had left the team in protest of a ‘racial’ selection policy, last year.
   Sources in ZC said that the managing director Ozias Bvute and the Bangladesh Cricket Board have already agreed terms for an all-expenses.

Former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga will head a high-profile cricket committee to pick the national team’s new coach, it was announced here on Saturday.
   Sri Lanka Cricket Interim Committee said a nine-member panel would hold discussions early next week with former Australian Test player Tom Moody, tipped to take over as the country’s next coach.
   Moody emerged as a strong contender for the job after India on Friday hired former Australian Test skipper Greg Chappell till the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.
   ‘It was always going to be a race between Moody and Chappell but after India named Chappell, we are likely to go with Moody,’ Jayantha Dharmadasa, chairman of the Interim Committee, said Friday.
   The committee to select the new coach includes seven former Sri Lankan captains – Ranatunga, Roshan Mahanama, Ranjan Madugalle, Duleep Mendis, Bandula Warnapura, Michael Tissera and Anura Tennekoon.
   Former Test batsman Sidat Wettimuny and paceman Graeme Labrooy are other members of the panel.

India’s new cricket coach Greg Chappell on Friday gave a ‘commitment to excellence’ and demanded the same from the players in their desire to succeed and move forward.
   Chappell, who was appointed by the cricket board’s six-member committee in New Delhi on Friday, termed his new job as ‘exciting and challenging’ and said he would bring in his own philosophies and plans to take the Indian team further up the ladder.
   ‘It is going to be exciting. There are going to be lot of challenges, a number of priority issues... My job will be to maintain and improve the quality of the team,’ the 57-year old former Australian captain told a press conference.
   ‘I give my commitment to excellence to Indian cricket on and off the field... It will be a full time commitment, 24 hours, seven days a week,’ he said.
   Chappell, a world-class batsman of the 1970s and 80s with 7,110 runs from 87 Tests, said talent would not bring success to the Indian team.
   ‘I have my own plans but if the 16 or 18 players don’t find playing for India enough to get them motivated, then it will be hard on me and them as well,’ he said.
   ‘There are certain things that are non-negotiable. Commitment, preparation, discipline from players and myself, and then the talent.’
   Assessing the past and recent performances of Sourav Ganguly’s men, Chappell said the team that reached a World Cup final must have it in them to be the champion side but sometimes mere desire was not enough.
   ‘I suppose it is the will, determination and discipline and the talent,’ he listed as characteristics of a world beating team.
   ‘The preparation has to be spot on. We can’t have players working harder for the sake of working harder. We need people who work harder and smarter.
   ‘It has to be a combination of both, we have to get the correct balance and it is going to be a man management process.
   ‘I can’t guarantee that I will always get it right, but will get it right more often than not.
   ‘Playing has its own challenge and idiosyncrasies. Coach cannot have a direct impact... But what is needed is consistent effort and commitment.’
   Chappell has his own theories on the concept of coaching. He is vocal about the need for cricketers to go back to the days of unstructured learning to make themselves better.
   Chappell said he would certainly share his thoughts with the Indian team.
   ‘There are a number of issues that I will talk with the players in due course. My knowledge and philosophies, some will be different.
   ‘But we have to remember that we are not talking rocket science. Cricket is a simple game and it has to be kept that way.
   ‘Players will have a big involvement in my plans and preparations. I will bring my ideas to the table, and hopefully the players will buy them.’
   Chappell said he had no problems in working with former Indian players at various levels to help the team.
   ‘I am certainly open to invite experienced, qualified and knowledgeable people, not only from India but outside as well, as when we travel and talk to the local people,’ he said.
   He said he had spoken to his predecessor John Wright in the past when the New Zealander was coach of the Indian team but he saw no compulsion to adopt his methods in his new assignment.
   ‘I can best do what I do. I am aware of John Wright’s temperament and personality that suited the Indian job.
   ‘But what I do differently does not necessarily mean a criticism of Wright. In fact, I envy his success.
   ‘I come with open eyes and will go with open eyes.’
   Chappell, who has been given a two-year contract till the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, stressed on the importance of good rapport with the selectors for the team to be successful.
   ‘Obviously it is important to have a say in selection. How it happens will depend on the relationship with the selectors,’ he said.
   Chappell also hinted at having a specialist bowling coach for the team.
   ‘I will have to rely on others to carry out my job, otherwise after two years I will be finished and worn out.’
   Asked what motivated him to apply for the post second time, Chappell said, ‘Second time lucky is better than third time lucky.’
   ‘Over the last few years, India has been the driving force of world cricket off the field. And it can be the driving force on the field as well.
   ‘So, to be the national coach and be part of Indian cricket in the next few years and take it forward is a great opportunity.’
   Chappell said the constant travel involved with being coach of India would not be a problem for him.
   ‘I have to be seriously mad, or you can say I still love the game as I did in my playing days.
   ‘I am lucky. My children have grown up and my wife is as excited and supportive of me taking up this job. She sees this as an opportunity to come to India.’
   Chappell said he had admired all Indian players over the years.
   ‘India has produced a number of great artists of the game. I saw Tiger Pataudi play in Australia.
   ‘He played with one eye, and that day he had a hamstring problem, so he was one leg as well. One eye, one leg, he single handedly took on the Australian team.
   ‘There was Sunny (Gavaskar), Vishy (GR Viswanath), Kapil Dev, (Bishen Singh) Bedi and BS Chandrasekhar.
   ‘The current team has half a dozen or more artists. I am lucky enough to know them individually, and it would be a great honour to share their dressing room.’

Hosts Germany produced a spectacular comeback to reach the final of the 1,850,000 euro (2,367,500 dollar) ATP world team tournament defeating Spain 2-1 here on Friday.
   Germany, who last won the competition back in 1998, top the blue group and will face favourites Argentina in Saturday’s final.
   Germany’s top player Tommy Haas was favourite against Spain’s Tommy Robredo in the opening singles match but the Spaniard overwhelmed the former World No. 2 with some aggressive shots to surge into a 4-2 lead.
   Robredo should have clinched the set but made a string of unforced errors to allow Haas to break back at 4-4 and the first set went to a tie-break at 6-6.
   Robredo had Haas producing cross court dives, reminiscent of his compatriot Boris Becker, but it was not enough as the German ace lost 7-4 in the tie-break to concede the first set.
   ‘I have to admit he deserved to win he managed to keep firing the ball at my feet,’ confessed Haas. ‘I go into the French Open now and feel my game has picked up over the past few weeks despite this defeat.’
   The second set was much tighter until Haas was forced to hold his serve to stay in the match trailing 5-4. Robredo broke the German to put Spain 1-0 in front.
   ‘I played well against (Vincent) Spadea but today I was even better,’ said Robredo.
   Florian Mayer, 21, was making his debut in the competition and he had the pressure of knowing defeat against Ferrer would see Germany exit the tournament.
   Mayer lost the first set 6-3 but then won the second set 7-3 on a tie-break with Ferrer left rueing two missed matchpoints at 5-4.
   The momentum was with the erratic Meyer and he broke Ferrer’s serve to lead 3-2 in the decisive set.
   Ferrer took a short break with an apparent thigh problem troubling him but Mayer did not lose concentration and won 6-3 to set up a decisive doubles match.
   ‘I am overjoyed and it makes up for all the disappointments of the past few months,’ crowed Mayer
   After his singles defeat Haas had a chance to make amends alongside partner Alexander Waske and Spain’s duo of Robredo and Santiago Ventura were swatted aside 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 as Germany marched into the final.
   The 2002 champions Argentina will be the favourites but Germany can draw heart from the last time the two nations met in the final here back in 1989 when Boris Becker inspired the German team to victory.
   In the other blue group match on Friday Sweden defeated the United States 2-1 to notch their first point in the competition.
   The United States, without top players such as Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi, finished rock bottom of the group after three straight losses.

Kevin Pietersen, discarded for the first Test against Bangladesh, sent out a reminder of his improving form by hitting an unbeaten half-century for Hampshire in the County Championship Division One match with Glamorgan.
   While Glamorgan paceman Simon Jones confirmed his fitness for England’s fixture next week, it was Pietersen who caught the eye, hitting 57 as Hampshire finished a rain-hit first day 197 for three from 61 overs.
   Hants captain Shane Warne won the toss and chose to bat at the Rose Bowl but his side’s progress was hampered by the conditions as Jones finished the day with figures of one for 49, his only victim being the opening batsman Michael Brown.
   At Trent Bridge, Geraint Jones’ wicket keeping understudy Niall O’Brien provided the most substantial of three Kent half-centuries to retain a foothold for the visitors against leaders Nottinghamshire.
   After Dave Fulton and Matthew Walker had begun to make Stephen Fleming’s decision to bowl first look faulty on a blustery first day at Trent Bridge and then Ryan Sidebottom pegged Kent back, it was O’Brien’s 64 which ensured his team at least shared the honours on 301 all out by stumps.
   On a pitch with a little in it for a pace-oriented home attack prepared to bend its back, Fulton put on an 81-run opening stand with Robert Key - and Walker then kept the likes of Sidebottom at bay long enough to prosper temporarily.
   In Division Two, Andrew Flintoff was able to add only five overs to his small amount of bowling this season as rain washed out most of the first day’s play in Lancashire’s Championship match with Somerset at Taunton.
   But the England all-rounder showed enough in those 30 deliveries to suggest he will be ready to cause Bangladesh plenty of problems in next week’s first Test.
   Flintoff bowled three maidens and conceded just six runs, getting plenty of life out of the pitch as Somerset reached 79 for two after losing the toss. Mike Burns was unbeaten on 45.
   Only 25.3 overs were bowled before heavy and continuous rain left umpires Mark Benson and Trevor Jesty with no alternative but to abandon play.
   Worcestershire will look to build a lead on day two against Essex after the home side were skittled out for only 220 at Chelmsford.
   Captain Ronnie Irani smashed 85 before being caught and bowled by Gareth Batty but none of his team-mates managed a half-century as the Worcestershire bowler took three wickets for 26, while Matt Mason proved dangerous with four for 48.
   The visitors squeezed in six overs before the close, on 17 without loss.
   Durham must start well in the morning if they are to avoid the follow-on as they finished the day 65 for three in reply to Yorkshire’s 254.
   Richard Dawson (86) was the only Yorkshire batsman to reach 50 with opener Matthew Wood out for a duck, caught by Michael Lewis off Liam Plunkett.
   But Tim Bresnan helped make amends with the ball as he dismissed Mike Hussey (26) and Jonathan Lewis (23), who was caught lbw to finish the day with figures of two for 15.
   Paul Collingwood was the third to go, dismissed for seven by Deon Kruis.
   In the National Cricket League, Surrey enjoyed a comfortable five-wicket victory over Scotland in Edinburgh, while Warwickshire beat Derbyushire by 52 runs.

Kent and Surrey have denied Pakistani spinner Saqlain Mushtaq’s claim that they have offered him a contract.
   Saqlain, recovering from a serious knee injury, wants a return to county cricket and is using facilities at The Oval as part of his rehabilitation.
   ‘Kent and Surrey have made me offers but I’ve not accepted them yet as I’m not 100% fit,’ Saqlain said.
   Both counties categorically denied the claims when contacted by BBC Sport on Saturday.
   There is an overseas vacancy at Kent, but director of cricket Graham Ford said: ‘I am not aware of any offer, and I should know.
   ‘Saqlain’s agent did contact us last week but that was the end of it.’
   However, Ford admitted he was a fan of the off-spinner and said Kent were still looking to sign a second overseas player alongside South African Andrew Hall.
   ‘Saqlain is a wonderful player and a wonderful talent, and we are still looking to boost our squad,’ he added.
   ‘He would certainly come into the reckoning, but there are a number of issues that need to be considered first, not least the club budget.’
   A spokesman for Surrey said they were allowing Saqlain, a former player at the club, to train at The Oval as nothing more than a goodwill gesture.
   ‘Surrey have made no offer,’ the spokesman revealed.
   ‘We already have two spinners at the club and are not looking to sign another. In any case, I don’t think Saqlain is fit enough and he is training at The Oval purely as part of his rehabilitation.
   Surrey, who have Saqlain’s countryman Azhar Mahmood on their books, are expecting the imminent arrival of second overseas signing, the India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
   Saqlain was forced out of cricket last June when he developed ulcers in both knees and cartilage damage due to overuse, leading to micro fracture technique surgery.
   The 28-year-old, who has 208 wickets in 49 Tests, has not given up on an international recall.
   ‘Although the recovery process has been slow I’ve now started playing Sunday League matches - but my doctor has advised me to take it slowly and easily,’ he said.
   ‘I’m still not 100% match fit and in my last examination the doctor told me I should keep two to three months in mind before I can be back to my normal self.
   ‘So basically I’m taking it day by day and targeting a return to international cricket when England tours Pakistan from October onwards.’

John McEnroe and Pete Sampras probably wished they had never set foot on it; Kim Clijsters would rather the season disappear.
   Their mutual problem? Claycourt tennis which poses another supreme examination again here over the next two weeks when the French Open takes place.
   Unlike grass, hardcourt or indoor surfaces, clay is slow, unforgiving and has been the graveyard of many a reputation down the years, putting the body under enormous strain in the process.
   It’s where guile, stamina and fitness take precedence over the big serve or the dying art of serve-and-volley.
   Just ask Sampras. The American won a record 14 Grand Slams in his career but the closest he got to a Roland Garros final was making the semis in 1996.
   McEnroe collected seven Grand Slams and could have cracked the French Open in 1984 when he let a two-sets lead over Ivan Lendl in the final slip away.
   Sampras’s last appearance here was 2002 when he was knocked out in the first round.
   ‘It’s very difficult, a pretty empty feeling,’ said Sampras after a defeat against Italy’s Andrea Gaudenzi, his Parisian swansong.
   Andy Roddick has never got beyond the third round here and in 2004, he lost in the second round to France’s Olivier Mutis.
   ‘It sucks. It’s extremely disappointing,’ admitted Roddick.
   Despite being no respecter of reputations, Roland Garros opens its arms to those prepared to battle through the time and pain barrier.
   Last year, France’s Fabrice Santoro and compatriot Arnaud Clement set a world record for the longest tennis match ever played - a whopping six hours and 33 minutes for Santoro to clinch a 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 3-6, 16-14 win.
   It surpassed the previous mark, a Davis Cup tie between American John McEnroe and Swede Mats Wilander in 1982, which lasted six hours and 22 minutes.
   Elsewhere, the strains are beginning to tell.
   Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal, who has blitzed his way to five clay court titles in 2005, had to skip the Hamburg Masters because of a blistered hand caused by his five-set marathon win over Guillermo Coria in the Rome Masters.
   Even world number one Roger Federer is not immune.
   He has suffered from tendinitis in both feet and missed the Rome Masters. The Swiss star plays with his feet strapped.
   It’s the same injury which has sidelined Morocco’s Younes El-Aynaoui and leading sports doctors insist it’s a problem related to the sapping demands of the tour.
   Former world number one Clijsters has said she will not risk long term damage to her injured knee by rushing to take part in the French Open.
   The 21-year-old Belgian damaged her right knee in Berlin two weeks ago and her chances of playing at Roland Garros, where she was runner-up in 2001 and 2003, are still slim with her knee heavily bandaged.
   ‘We will gradually intensify training,’ said Clijsters. ‘As soon as I experience some pain in my knee I quit. Should I be able to make it, I’ll start the tournament, but without taking any unneccesary risks.’
   Clijsters had only been back on the tour for two months after the best part of a year on the sidelines with a career-threatening wrist injury.

Top seed Venus Williams beat Czech Nicole Vaidisova 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday to win the inaugural Istanbul Cup, a valuable warm-up for the American ahead of next week’s French Open.
   Williams, 11th seed at Roland Garros, dispatched the 16-year-old Czech with ease on the clay court to claim her first WTA Tour title of the year.
   ‘It’s good to play against such a strong player before Roland Garros,’ Williams said. ‘I’m very excited about winning the title. It is my first time here.’
   Second seed Vaidisova had advanced to the final after defeating the third seed, Israel’s Anna Smashnova.

Top seed Nikolay Davydenko lived up to his billing to win the £222,000 St Polten Grand Prix final.
   The Russian was made to work for the title, battling his way to a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 over Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
   The 24-year-old winner has enjoyed a good clay-court run this season, reaching the semi-finals on the same surface in both Barcelona and Hamburg.
   Despite losing, it was the best result of Melzer’s season to date. He had previously reached two semi-finals.

Anabel Medina Garrigues picked up her third career title when she defeated Marta Domachowska of Poland in the final of the Strasbourg International.
   Spaniard Medina Garrigues, who beat top seed Natalie Dechy in the semi-finals, beat 19-year-old Domachowska 6-4, 6-3.
   Medina Garrigues, ranked 42 in the world, has won all her titles on clay.
   The 22-year-old, who is in Maria Sharapova’s quarter of the draw at next week’s French Open, begins her Roland Garros campaign against a qualifier.

Juventus won their 28th Serie A title on Friday but most of Italy could be forgiven for not noticing.
   The Turin side’s triumph came without them kicking a ball as AC Milan’s 3-3 draw at home to Palermo left Juve four points clear with just one match remaining for their rivals.
   There were few signs of street celebrations in Turin or elsewhere and a press ban meant not a single Juve player or official spoke to the media.
   Milan needed to win Friday’s game to force Juve to take three points from their penultimate match at Livorno on Sunday.
   Their draw means Fabio Capello’s team will celebrate their title in Tuscany now although few fans will be able to squeeze into Livorno’s 18,000 capacity Armando Picchi stadium.
   The anti-climax was partly the result of Juve, nicknamed ‘The Old Lady’, having the title virtually in the bag after last week’s results left them five points clear with two games left.
   Also, the fact Juve were not playing and that football rarely takes place on a Friday in Italy added to the low-key atmosphere for the Turin team’s third title in four seasons.
   Italy’s Sky television broadcast the Milan match live but given the press ban there was no link up with the Juve camp for reaction to their success.
   The club have refused to talk to the media since May 1 saying they wanted to ‘avoid any arguments’ and ‘focus all attention on the games to be played’.
   Juve had said they suspected that attempts were being made to ‘damage the club’ during the run-in.
   Such press bans are not unusual in Italy and several other Serie A clubs have imposed silence on their staff in the final weeks of the campaign.
   In Turin, media reports said television crews waiting to film joyful supporters pouring into the city’s squares were left disappointed.
   Some fans came out of bars and restaurants in club colours but the news agency ANSA described the mood as ‘low key’.

Fabio Capello has worked his managerial magic once again to turn Juventus from a team of also-rans into Italian champions in just 12 months.
   Under Marcello Lippi Juve finished third in Serie A last season, 13 points behind title winners AC Milan.
   But in just under a year, Capello has transformed the Old Lady’s fortunes, guiding the club to a 28th Scudetto with two games to spare.
   Lippi, who left Juve to take over as coach of the Italian national team, paid tribute to the man who replaced him in the Turin hotseat.
   ‘Capello is a great coach, even though everyone at the club deserves praise,’ he said.
   ‘What’s the secret behind his success? I would say the performances of Emerson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alessandro Del Piero.
   ‘Emerson brought extra quality to the side, Ibrahimovic settled in quickly and Del Piero has been a model professional.’
   Having previously won five Italian league titles and one in Spain with Real Madrid, it’s no wonder Juve came knocking on Capello’s door last May when he was coach at Roma.
   Capello had famously said Juve was the one club he would never join, but the challenge proved too strong a pull for him and he went back on his word and headed towards the Alps.
   It didn’t take a genius to work out what was the first area of the team that needed strengthening.
   The great Juve teams of the past had been built on a formidable defence, but last season they leaked 42 goals, more than double the amount conceded by second-placed Roma.
   Capello bought Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro from Inter Milan and partnered him with former France international Lilian Thuram at the heart of Juve’s defence.
   Thuram had a nightmare at right-back last season and his diminishing lack of pace was cruelly exposed week after week, so Capello switched him to the centre.
   Cannavaro and Thuram knew each other well having played together at Parma and their almost telepathic understanding gave Juve a solid platform on which to build.
   Capello went back to his old club Roma and poached Brazilian midfielder Emerson and French full-back Jonathan Zebina.
   Emerson gave the back four an extra layer of protection, while Zebina’s pace and strength made him the perfect replacement for Thuram on the right-hand side of the defence.
   For the final piece of the jigsaw, Capello signed giant Swedish striker Ibrahimovic from Ajax to give a cutting edge to a toothless attack.
   Many foreign players need time to adjust to life in Italy, but Ibrahimovic adapted very quickly and his 16 goals have been invaluable.
   Perhaps Capello’s toughest task was dealing with Del Piero, the captain and a symbol of the club but no longer the player who mesmerised defences like he did five years ago.
   Capello dropped Del Piero and in doing so angered large sections of the Juve fans who were unhappy at seeing their idol humiliated.
   Del Piero sulked initially, but Capello massaged his ego and told him that he was still very much part of his plans and the out-of-sorts striker responded with 13 league goals and many assists.

Juventus's 28th Italian title was won in the manner to which their supporters have become accustomed with little fuss and impressive application.
   It was a success based on a tightly organised and disciplined defence, a hardworking midfield with a touch of creativity and a top class strike force.
   Above all it has been a title secured by a coach made to measure for Juventus - Fabio Capello.
   His decision, at the end of last season, to walk out on Roma and take over from Marcello Lippi at the Delle Alpi stadium caught Italian football by surprise but it has worked out perfectly for the coach and Juventus.
   Capello left behind financial problems in the boardroom and personality problems in the dressing room at Roma to enjoy again the benefits that flow from a well-organised and professional set-up like that he had fashioned at AC Milan and Real Madrid.
   In return he gave Juventus the steel and experience of a man who has now won titles at four clubs.
   The first impact Capello had on Juventus was to sort out a defence that had become uncharacteristically a weak point in Lippi's final season.
   He did that by signing Italy international Fabio Cannavaro from Inter Milan on the eve of the season and bringing French full-back Jonathan Zebina with him from Roma.
   Cannavaro, who had endured his worst season at Inter, quickly returned to being the quality organiser of the backline that he had been during his years at Parma.
   Zebina, treated badly by Roma supporters, rediscovered his confidence at right-back and his arrival also allowed compatriot Lilian Thuram to move across to the middle to partner Cannavaro.
   The changes re-created the foundations of the successful Parma side of a few years ago with Gianluigi Buffon guarded by two top quality central defenders.
   Another player to move to Turin from Rome with Capello was Brazilian Emerson who injected some craft into what had been a fairly workmanlike midfield.
   Emerson's impact in the centre allowed Czech Pavel Nedved to focus on his penetrating bursts down the left and with Mauro Camoranesi having a good season on the right flank, Juve had a balance that had been missing from Lippi's last team.
   In attack Capello finally got the man he had wanted for two years at Roma - Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic bought from Ajax in a 16 million euro ($20.24 million) deal.
   With 16 goals Ibrahimovic has been central to Juve's success in what was another injury-hampered campaign for French forward David Trezeguet.
   The title race was between Juventus and Milan virtually from the outset with Inter's remarkable run of draws and Roma's crisis leaving no other challenger.
   At the start of February Juve looked to have half a hand on the 'scudetto' when they opened an eight-point lead over Milan.
   But then a 1-0 defeat at home to Sampdoria was followed by a loss at Palermo and after a win over Udinese a goalless draw at Messina allowed Milan to get back on level terms within the space of four games.
   It was a period when Juventus were without the injured Nedved and had their minds on their Champions League ambitions.
   Perhaps the game which showed the spirit that was so essential to Juve's title triumph was one that produced a modest result - a draw at lowly Fiorentina.
   In a hostile stadium Juve came back three times to draw 3-3 with Ibrahimovic scoring twice. More than just a point earned, it was a demonstration of the team's character.
   Then came another wobble as Juve were knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool and then beaten at home by old rivals Inter.
   A slump was avoided with a 1-0 win at Lazio, thanks to a late Nedved goal, before the turning point of the entire campaign - a 1-0 win over Milan on May 8.
   The teams had gone into the game at San Siro level on points but a Trezeguet header from a spectacular overhead cross from Alessandro Del Piero gave them victory and a three point lead.
   When Milan stumbled in a 2-2 draw at Lecce and Juve comfortably beat Parma at home the title race was all but over and Milan's 3-3 draw with Palermo at San Siro on Friday ensured another triumph for the Turin club.

Milan Baros is planning to use Michael Owen's example to become Liverpool's hero in the Champions League final on Wednesday.
   Baros is vying with Djibril Cisse for a place in attack against AC Milan after being demoted to a substitute's role in the League Cup final defeat by Chelsea in February.
   'Maybe I can follow Michael Owen,' said Baros. 'He was on the bench for the League Cup Final in 2001 but in the FA Cup final a few months later scored the winning goals (in the 2-1 win over Arsenal). That would be nice.
   'The fact I didn't play in the last final makes this one of the biggest games of my life. You may only get one chance to play in the Champions League final. It's a dream for everyone to win this trophy.'
   Czech striker Baros has not scored in his last 10 Liverpool appearances and admits his future at the club is unclear after the return to fitness of Cisse and the arrival of Fernando Morientes from Real Madrid.
   'I'm still committed to Liverpool and I still have a contract here,' he said. 'We can sort out what's happening with me after the final, but all I want to focus on for now is the Champions League and we'll be discussing my position later.'
   Baros believes he can make an impact in the final after coming out on top against Milan's Dutch defender Jaap Stam in recent meetings, including scoring in a 3-2 win over the Netherlands at Euro 2004 in the group stage.
   'I played against AC Milan in a pre-season tournament in Madrid, which was one of the most important games for me. We won 2-1 and I scored,' he said.
   'As for Stam, I've played a lot of games against him. The Czech Republic and Holland seem to face each other every six months. I have a lot of good memories of playing against them, particularly from Euro 2004.
   'Maybe I have a little advantage over him psychologically because I've done well against him in the past, but everyone knows he's a great defender,' added Baros.
   'No game is ever the same so you can't say what I've done before will make a difference but it will give me confidence.'

FC Barcelona, the last major European soccer team without advertising on its shirts, is about to sell out. And the message sewn into its uniforms will be uncommon.
   Under a proposed five-year contract worth a reported 150 million euros (US$190 million), Barcelona's red-and-blue striped jerseys are expected to carry 'Beijing' or 'Beijing 2008' across the front next season.
   There will be no Olympic rings, but the Chinese capital - host of the 2008 Games - figures the message will get through.
   While European clubs have long relied on such advertising revenue, Barcelona, with their 106-year tradition, were the lone holdout.
   The deal, which would boost the club's yearly revenue by about 15 per cent, is expected to go before the board of directors for approval on Tuesday.
   'It had to happen,' said Stefan Szymanski, a sports economist at Tanaka Business School in London. 'Barcelona have certainly not maximised their sources of revenue, which is true for European soccer clubs in general. They have not done as well as American teams.'
   Barcelona fans realise they must match the spending power of European rivals Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea, but the move into the commercial world still comes as a jolt to a club steeped in a unique tradition. During the 36-year dictatorship of Spain's Francisco Franco, the club grew as a symbol of Catalan cultural and political nationalism, and as a bitter rival of Franco's team - Real Madrid.
   A few days ago, about 1 million fans turned out for a victory parade after Barcelona won their 17th Spanish league title. The club's motto says it all - 'Som mes que un club' (We're more than a club).

Generous Liverpool bosses have chartered a private plane to fly every member of staff to Istanbul for Wednesday's Champions League final.
   Club executives are splashing out tens of thousands of pounds to hire a jumbo jet and fly 233 workers to Turkey as a reward for Liverpool reaching the final.
   Every full-time staff member, ranging from stewards to canteen cooks, is being given a ticket to the match - which are currently selling on the internet for hundreds of pounds.
   One excited steward said, 'This is a lovely gesture and means an awful lot to all the staff. I couldn't believe it when I found out we could go to the final. Everyone's so excited. It must have cost the club a fortune.
   'It just goes to show that Liverpool is a friendly club where everyone is like a big family.'
   The entire Reds workforce will jet off early on Wednesday morning from Speke Airport, and five coaches are being hired to transport them to and from the stadium, where they will watch the team take on AC Milan.
   They will then fly back to Liverpool early the following day.
   A Liverpool FC spokeswoman refused to say whose idea it was to reward the staff, but chief executive Rick Parry is thought to be behind the generous jaunt.

Chelsea and England star Frank Lampard issued an appeal Friday to the thieves who robbed his London home to return his specially-made football boots.
   Thieves made off on Wednesday with Lampard's Aston Martin DB9 and his fiancee's Mercedes sports utility vehicle, as well as a television and computer and other items, most of which were found shortly afterwards.
   But the midfielder's Adidas-made Predator Pulse II X-TRX boots have not been retrieved.
   The objects of his affection include two pairs of red boots and two pairs of silver and grey boots, each with 'FL' embroidered on the tongue, 'Lampard' on the collar and '8' on the heel tab.
   Using the front door, burglars broke into Lampard's Chelsea house while he and pregnant wife Elen Rives were sleeping early Wednesday morning.
   The couple had only been in the house, one of a row of mansions once occupied by the likes of Madonna, Hugh Grant and Liz Hurley, for a short while, but his management said media attention had helped burglars to pinpoint its location.
   'Frank has only been in the house for a matter of days but unfortunately photographs of the house have been published in various newspapers, which has not helped with maintaining his privacy and security,' the management company said.
   'Neither Frank nor his fiancee Elen, who were asleep in the house at the time, were harmed in any way and neither was his house ransacked nor damaged.'
   A 25-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in connection with the burglary but was later released on bail.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spoke Friday of his fears that 'financially doped' London rivals Chelsea could, thanks to the backing of Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, dominate English football for the next 10 years.
   Wenger's team face Manchester United in Saturday's FA Cup final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. But the two clubs' grip on the Premiership title was broken by Chelsea this season, Jose Mourinho's men finishing 12 points clear of Arsenal and 18 ahead of United.
   In their Portuguese coach's first season in charge Chelsea also won the League Cup while it is Liverpool, not Arsenal or United, who will face AC Milan in next week's Champions League final.
   Asked if Chelsea could dominate this decade, as Liverpool did in the 1970s and United did in the 1990s, Wenger said, 'I feel yes, because they are a financially doped club.
   'They have enhancement of performances through financial resources which are unlimited. For me, it's a kind of doping because it's not in any way linked to their resources,' the Frenchman added.
   'It puts pressure on the market that is not very healthy. They can go to Steven Gerrard or Rio Ferdinand and say "how much do you earn, we'll give you twice as much".
   'Chelsea now look to be the third force, if not the first one at the moment, and that will make it more interesting.
   'For a time, I had expected that to be Liverpool because when you look at English history, they have won 18 titles and cannot stay forever behind. They will also certainly come back some day.'

Real Madrid have bid 70 million euros (88m dollars) for Juventus' Swedish center-forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Swedish media reported on Saturday.
   'Zlatan is the best in the world right now. That's why Real Madrid want him,' Ibrahimovic's agent Mino Raiola told local Swedish daily Goeteborgs-Posten, adding that the Spanish giants had bid 70 million euros for the player a few days ago.
   Juventus, who claimed their 28th Italian league title on Friday, have already refused the bid, according to Raiola.
   'They don't want to sell,' he told the paper. Ibrahimovic, who joined Juventus from Ajax last summer, is one of the team's star players, having scored 16 goals in his first season in Serie A.

Nearly two-thirds, 65.9 per cent, of all Portuguese have backed Real Madrid midfielder Luis Figo’s decision to return to the national side for upcoming World Cup qualifiers, a poll published Saturday showed.
   Just over 22 per cent, oppose his return with the rest undecided, the Aximage survey carried out for sports daily Record found.
   Young men and supporters of the 32-year-old player’s former club Sporting Lisbon offered the most support for the move, the telephone poll of 600 people found.
   Figo, FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001, announced in August that he was halting his international career after 110 caps.
   At the time he said international commitments on top of his heavy schedule with the Spanish giants were hurting his fitness although he refused to shut the door entirely on a possible return.

Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy says he wants see out his contract at Manchester United but then return to PSV Eindhoven in 2008 to finish his career.
   Van Nistelrooy, who will be playing for United in the English FA Cup final in Cardiff on Saturday, said reports that he was unhappy at Old Trafford were nonsense.
   ‘I love to play for Manchester and I will serve out my contract that runs till 2008,’ said 28-year-old, who joined United from PSV for 19 million pounds in 2001.
    ‘And if they want me I’d like to return to PSV, that would be perfect.’ United play Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, a last chance for silverware for both clubs.
   ‘United should win more than only the FA Cup,’ said Van Nistelrooy.
   ‘We absolutely failed to fulfil expectations and were never really dominant and in that I am also responsible.’

Chelsea and Real Madrid have been put on red alert after Adriano's outburst against his Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini on Friday.
   The star striker was left twiddling his thumbs on the bench for Inter's Coppa Italia semifinal victory over Cagliari in midweek and is infuriated by the snub.
   The Brazilian rapped, 'I was very much ready to play that game and to be on the bench has hurt me very much. I did not wait around for the final whistle, that's true. I still haven't spoken with anyone about it.'
   The relationship between Adriano and Mancini is now said to be at breaking point. The star striker remains a big money target for both Chelsea and Real, which are sure to have been encouraged by this week's events.

Valery Gazzayev, coach of UEFA Cup winners CSKA Moscow, will have a street named in his honour in his native Caucasus region, local media reported on Friday.
   On Wednesday Gazzayev became the first Russian coach to win a major European trophy when his team beat Sporting 3-1 in the UEFA Cup final in their own Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon.
   Media reports quoted the head of Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region as saying he wants one of the streets in the regional capital named after the 50-year-old coach.
   Gazzayev has been given a hero's welcome after CSKA's win. He was born in the Russian region of North Ossetia, which borders South Ossetia.
   The two regions share close ethnic ties.
   Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet the team at his country residence near Moscow on Saturday.

BRTC player banned
Tofazzal Hossain Razu, the manager of Mohakhali Eleven, has been fined Tk 10,000 by the Dhaka Metropolis Football League Committee for threatening the referees during a first division match against Rahmatganj MFS at the Kamalapur stadium on Friday. The MFLC took the decision following a meeting of the disciplinary committee that found the Mohakhali coach guilty of the offence. In another decision, the MFLC also suspended BRTC player Alif Sheikh for one match and severely reprimanded the club’s coach Ali Asghar for their crass behaviour with an assistant referee during their match against Dhanmondi on Thursday.
— New Age

Wins for Usha, Mariners
Usha Krira Chakra and Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club registered victories on Saturday in the Tibet Women Handball League against Narayanganj Handball Academy and Tentulia Handball Parishad respectively. In the first match of the day at the Dhanmondi Women’s Sports Complex, Usha thumped Narayanganj 22-2 with Khaleda scoring highest five goals for the winners. In the following match, Mariners thrashed Tentulia by 27-9 with Dalia and Shahida scoring seven goals each.
— New Age

National youth volleyball begins today
The first phase of the City Bank National Youth Volleyball Championship begins today at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium in Mirpur. Twenty-one district teams, split into three groups, are initially taking part in the five-day preliminary round to be held in Dhaka, Khulna and Dinajpur. Participating teams: Group A - (Dhaka)– Comilla, Tangail, Sherpur, Kishoreganj, Faridpur, Gopalganj and Madaripur DSAs. Group B – (Khulna) – Narail, Satkhira, Jhenidah, Chuadanga, Jessore, Patuakhali, Khulna and Bagerhat DSAs. Group C – (Dinajpur) – holders Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Pabna, Naogaon and
Joypurhat.
— UNB

Inter-base water
polo starts
Inter-base Water Polo and Swimming Competition of the Bangladesh Air Force got under way at the Naval Swimming Pool at Banani, Dhaka on Saturday. Air Officer Commanding of BAF Base Bashar, Air Commodore Abu Esrar inaugurated the six-day meet as the chief guest. In the opening day’s water polo matches, BAF Base Matiur Rahman defeated Base Paharchandrapur by 8-1 while Base Zaharul Haque blanked Base Bashar 9-0.
— New Age

North Baridhara
Beat Gulistan
North Baridhara Club beat Gulistan Club by 2-0 goals in a match of the Metropolis 3rd Division Football League at the Shaheed Bir Shrestha Mohammad Mostafa Stadium in Kamalapur on Saturday. Saiful Islam put North Baridhara Club ahead in the 11th minute while Mesbah doubled the margin in the 35th minute. In another match, Govt. Printing Press beat Kasaituly Samaj Kalyan Parishad by 2-1 goals in the afternoon. Sumon scored first for Kasaituly SKP in the last minute of the first half. Babu restored parity in the 53rd minute while Murad scored the match-winner for Govt. Printing Press in the 62nd minute.
— UNB