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Sakib al Hasan and Naeem Islam shared six wickets between them as Bangladesh Cricket Board XI recorded a convincing 63-run victory over the visiting Maharashtra Cricket Association team in the first Twenty20 match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.
   Sent in to bat first after losing the toss, the hosts put together a modest 150 for eight 20 overs banking on an unbeaten 40 off 34 balls from Mahmudullah Riyad before Sakib and Naeem mesmerised the tourists with the ball.
   The young Maharashtra side were all out for 87 runs in 17.1 overs to succumb quicker than expected against the BCB XI, which is effectively the Twenty20 World Cup-bound Bangladesh squad.
   Sakib, who took up the bat for the first time in more than two months to score only 16 off 12 balls hitting a four and a six, was at his usual best with ball and that did the damage to Maharashtra.
   He struck only with his third ball after Shahadat Hossain had earned the first breakthrough for the BCB XI as Maharashtra were reduced to 32 for two in five overs when bad light stopped the game briefly.
   Sakib took two quick wickets to complete his figure of 3-17 after the play resumed and off-spinner Naeem soon joined him in the demolition act for a 3-20 return. Top scorer Mahmudullah chipped in with a wicket and became man of the match.
   Naeem had earlier scored 19 off 10 balls and along with Riyad (4o not out), Junaed Siddique (22 off 13 balls) and Roqibul Hassan (21 off 28 balls) he catapulted the BCB XI to a respectable total.
   ‘I was a bit expensive in the first match I played against the Bangladesh A team after returning from injury when I conceded 34 runs for my three wickets, but that happened because I wanted to be tricky,’ star performer Sakib later told reporters.
   ‘Now I am feeling very much okay. We have two more games in this series and another five warm-up matches in England. Hopefully these matches will help me to get completely ready before the World Cup,’ he said.
   Maharashtra skipper Harshad Khadiwale was excited to have got a chance to play against a full national side, albeit in a different name, and said it would help his young team-mates learn many things.
   ‘This is our second overseas tour after Sri Lanka. We are a young side and these are tremendous experience for us,’ said Khadiwale.
   The two teams will play the second Twenty20 match today from 9:30am at the same venue. Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar will broadcast the match live.

Barcelona blew away the cobwebs of the Frank Rijkaard era to lift their first title in two years, triumphing with a swagger and some eye-catching football that left their fans and neutrals purring.
   Real Madrid were dreaming of a third successive league title but Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola defied his inexperience using the attacking talents of Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o to perfection as they gunned down their rivals and helped win a 19th league title.
   Barca led for most of the season and their attacking style drew comparisons with Johan Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’, in which Guardiola played a part.
   The inexperienced Guardiola, a former Barcelona midfielder promoted from youth team coach, replaced Rijkaard at the young age of 37 and was pitted against Real’s far more experienced coach Bernd Schuster.
   Real had failed in their bid to lure Valencia’s David Villa and Manchester United’s Ronaldo and had an early setback when Brazilian Robinho jumped ship to Manchester City on September 1.
   Barcelona signed Dani Alves for 30 million euros from Sevilla and his capture, along with Gerard Pique’s from Manchester United, proved pivotal to their title success.
   Both rivals began by losing their opening matches, with promoted Numancia defeating Barca 1-0 while Real lost 2-1 at bogey side Deportivo La Coruna.
   Guardiola was left waiting for his first win as Barca drew 1-1 with Racing Santander and one point from a possible six represented their worst start since the 1973/74 campaign.
   Real defeated Numancia 4-3 to get an early edge in the title race but from there on in it would be Barca who set the pace winning nine games in a row.
   A rejuvenated Eto’o scored four goals in the first half during a 6-0 thrashing of Valladolid in early November.
   With 12 games gone Real trailed Barca by three points and hit a rocky patch at the end of November losing 3-1 against derby rivals Getafe followed by a 4-3 home loss against Sevilla.
   In contrast Barca cruised past Sevilla (3-0) and Valencia (4-0) to open up a nine-point gap ahead of ‘El Clasico’ at Camp Nou in mid-December.
   Schuster, complaining about referees and injuries, tempted fate by saying Real had no chance of beating Barcelona. Real lost, and Schuster was sacked.
   Juande Ramos, a free agent after being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur, was handed a six-month contract at Real and had a baptism of fire with his first league match against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
   Eto’o and Messi fired a goal apiece in the final seven minutes to seal a 2-0 win as Barca opened up a 12-point gap at the top in mid-December.
   At the halfway stage Barca set a new record of 50 points, beating the previous best of 47 points set by Real last season.
   Ramos, however, got Real back on track and the champions went on an 18-game unbeaten league run.
   Barca had a nightmare February, losing at home to derby rivals Espanyol (1-2) and then away at Atletico Madrid (4-3) to let Real back into a title race that had looked over.
   Real came off their cloud when key Portuguese defender Pepe was suspended for ten games as punishment for violent conduct in the 3-2 derby win against Getafe.
   Just four points adrift of Barca going into the second ‘Clasico’ at the beginning of May, Real blew their chance to close the gap – but could do little to counter a Barca 6-2 masterclass.
   ‘We gave a footballing lesson in one of our best displays of the season,’ said midfielder Xavi. ‘It is justice because of what we have been doing since the beginning of the season.’
   It was sweet revenge for last season when Barca had to perform the guard of honour at the Bernabeu to salute Real as champions before crashing to a 4-1 defeat.
   A demoralised Real waved the white flag with a 3-0 defeat at Valencia but Barca missed the chance to celebrate the title in front of their own fans conceding two late goals in a 3-3 draw with Villarreal.
   Barca needed just a point to secure the title this weekend.
   In the end, Real did them a favour by losing at Villarreal on Saturday to hand them the championship.

Former national captain Habibul Bashar has made up his mind to sever his ties with Indian Cricket League and served a notice on them after the Bangladesh Cricket Board had offered an amnesty to players linked with the rebel Twenty20 Competition.
   Bashar conveyed his decision through a letter to the BCB president on Sunday, though the middle-order batsman refused to discuss the subject. The BCB later confirmed that Bashar expressed his desire to return to the national fold.
   ‘Since the ICC has refused to sanction the ICL and the BCB also offered an amnesty I want to return to the national fold,’ Jalal Yunus, the chairman of the media committee, quoted Bashar as saying in the letter.
   ‘The BCB welcomed the decision of Bashar and hoped that the other 13 cricketers will also follow him,’ added Jalal. When contacted, Bashar said he will discuss the subject of the letter with media today.
   The former captain, however, said it was completely his personal decision and the other 13 cricketers had no relation with it. His letter came two days after the 35-year-old cricketer had a successful discussion with BCB’s former cricket operation chief Gazi Ashraf Hossain.
   The discussion, held at a city hotel following an award ceremony, was the first ever meeting between a BCB official and an ICL cricketer since 14 leading players joined the unofficial league in September.
   The BCB on May 9 had offered an amnesty to the ICL’s Bangladeshi players asking them to sever the ties with the rebel body by June 15 to get their 10-year ban withdrawn.
   The Board, however, said they will not be eligible for selection in the national team until December 31 even if they terminate their ICL contracts. The BCB also said they will not provide any legal assistance to the ICC players in this connection.

Pakistan has put forward two options as it strives to retrieve what benefits it still can from the 2011 World Cup. In a meeting with Sri Lanka board counterparts, Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan board chairman, suggested a swap for World Cups or for the subcontinent boards to jointly ask the ICC to allow Pakistan to present alternate solutions.
   The first option – swapping the 2011 World Cup, which is to be jointly hosted now by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, for the 2015 edition to be held in Australia and New Zealand – was put forth by former ICC president Ehsan Mani, who is advising the PCB on the World Cup.
   The ICC had stripped Pakistan of its rights to co-host the 2011 World Cup following the terrorist attack in Lahore when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus. The PCB responded by serving a legal notice to the ICC for its decision to move the World Cup headquarters from Lahore to Mumbai.
   DS de Silva, the SLC chairman, said he would stand by any decision made at the ICC meeting in Dubai though he would discuss the PCB’s options with the rest of the interim committee members and get back to the PCB accordingly.
   The SLC will also wait for feedback from India and Bangladesh, with whom Butt will also meet on this diplomatic tour before taking a final decision on the World Cup options.
   Butt put forward the same argument that forms the basis of the PCB’s legal notice to the ICC; that the uncertain security situation in the entire subcontinent, following the terror attacks in Mumbai and Lahore, poor political relations between India and Pakistan and the slow pace of preparations for the World Cup indicated the subcontinent was not prepared to host the tournament in another two years.
   It is believed that this is option is unlikely to win backing among the co-hosts.
   In the event of that option failing, Pakistan wants the Asian bloc to ask the ICC to provide them with an opportunity to provide alternate solutions on their internal security problems.
   This may, as some in the PCB have already suggested, mean shifting Pakistan’s matches to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The ICC has not ruled out the option, saying only that Pakistan had yet to make such a proposal.
   Butt also argued that Pakistan should be allowed to retain the right to have the central secretariat of the World Cup because it was on this premise that the PCB agreed to host a lesser number of matches than it did in the 1996 World Cup.

Denesh Ramdin did his best to defy England but West Indies were still facing the follow-on at tea on the fourth day of the second and final Test at the Riverside here on Sunday.
   West Indies were 303 for eight in reply to England’s first innings 569 for six declared, a deficit of 266, with wicket-keeper Ramdin 52 not out.
   They still needed to score 67 more runs to make England bat again.
   Ramdin, together with Sulieman Benn, who made a Test-best 35, shared an eighth-wicket partnership of 70 which only ended when the 6ft 7in spinner was run-out by Kevin Pietersen’s direct hit from mid-on.
   Fidel Edwards had peppered James Anderson when the Lancashire quick batted as a nightwatchman in England’s innings.
   Anderson tried to return the favour, and sledge Edwards into the bargain, but found himself being guided down to the third man boundary and clubbed to the mid-wicket rope by his rival fast bowler.
   Edwards, hit on the grille of his helmet by pace bowler Stuart Broad off the last ball before tea, was eight not out.
   West Indies were 188 for five at lunch after Broad had taken the wickets of star batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul and century-maker Ramnaresh Sarwan.
   Anderson then struck for the first time on Sunday when Brendan Nash became his fourth victim of the innings after a bottom edge trickled onto the stumps.
   It was not long before 205 for six became 216 for seven when Graham Onions, who took seven wickets on debut during England’s 10-wicket win in the series opener at Lord’s, took a first Test wicket on his Durham home ground when Jerome Taylor was lbw.
   The smiling Benn was far from overawed and lofted off-spinner Graeme Swann down the ground for four.
   And when Tim Bresnan, a seamer, dropped short he was hoicked in front of square for four by Benn.
   Ramdin’s on-driven six off Swann brought up a fifty partnership with Benn where 42 of the runs had come in boundaries.
   Benn then pulled Bresnan for six to go to his highest Test score, surpassing the 28 he made against Sri Lanka in Guyana in 2008 before he was run out after Pietersen, who had pulled out of a catch, ran out the ambling batsman.
   Ramdin though completed a 73-ball fifty by striking Swann for four.
   Sarwan made exactly 100 before he gloved a well-directed Broad bouncer to Bresnan, running round from gully, shortly before lunch.
   Chanderpaul had displayed typical patience while batting for more than two hours after being dismissed for a golden duck and four by Swann at Lord’s.

Yuvraj Singh grabbed a hat-trick to bowl Kings XI Punjab to a vital one-run victory over Deccan Chargers in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.
   The left-arm spinner finished with 3-13 off four overs as Punjab restricted Deccan to 133-8 in a thrilling last-over finish after posting 134-7 to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
   Deccan needed 11 to win off the last over, but left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan conceded only nine to build on man-of-the-match Yuvraj’s effort. Pathan also claimed two wickets, including that of Rohit Sharma.
   Sharma sustained Deccan’s hopes with a quickfire 42 before being bowled. He smashed three sixes and as many fours in his 26-ball knock.
   There was no hint of collapse after Deccan reached 73-2 chasing a modest target, but Yuvraj dismissed Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds and Venugopal Rao off successive balls.
   Yuvraj removed South African Gibbs (26) with the last ball of his second over, with Piyush Chawla taking a superb diving catch at point.
   He had Australian Symonds (25) stumped with the first ball of his next over and then bowled Indian Venugopal Rao to complete his second hat-trick of the tournament, having earlier achieved the feat against Bangalore.
   Delhi currently lead the eight-team competition with 16 points from 11 matches, followed by Chennai (15/12)), Deccan (14/13), Punjab (14/13), Rajasthan (13/12), Bangalore (12/12), Mumbai (11/13) and Kolkata (3/12).
   The top four sides advance to the semi-finals.
   India paceman Rudra Pratap Singh earlier played a key role in restricting Punjab, finishing with 3-26 off four overs to become the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 19 in 13 matches.
   Singh also got the prize wicket of Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara (56) just when the batsman looked like boosting the innings in the closing overs.

The second one-day match of the Grameenphone Academy Cup between GP-BCB National Cricket Academy and Sri Lanka Cricket Development Squad scheduled on Sunday at the Sylhet District Stadium was abandoned due to rain.
   The third one dayer will be held at the same venue on Tuesday. The hosts lead the five-match one-day series 1-0.

Jahangirnagar University set up the final clash with Bangladesh Biman with a massive 105-run win over Dhaka University in the rain-interrupted semi-final of the Public University & Services Cricket Tournament at the BKSP on Sunday.
   The final match will be held today at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium.
   Chasing 233 runs for a win, Dhaka University resumed the day at 9 for two and were finally all out for 127 runs in 35.2 overs.
   Only three batsmen – one down Asadul Habib (60), Suman Kumar (24) and Abul Bashar (10) – reached double figures.

Deccan Chargers climbed one place to third in the Indian Premier League table after a thrilling six-wicket win over struggling Kolkata Knight Riders at Wanderers on Saturday.
   Kolkata made 160-5 after they lost the toss and were sent in to bat and Deccan reached 166-4 off the last ball of their 20 overs, handing bottom team Kolkata their 10th loss of the tournament.
   Deccan captain Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs combined in a 68-run opening partnership as the Chargers took another step closer to the semi-finals.
   Gilchrist thumped Mashrafee bin Murtaza for successive sixes in the second over and eventually got a top edge to deep square leg trying to sweep Brad Hodge.
   But his 43 off 31 deliveries got Deccan off to a speedy start in their run chase.
   Gibbs was the next to go, contributing 28 off 34, and Tirumalsetti Suman followed with 31 from 24.
   Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds added a cameo 18 off 13 balls, and Rohit Sharma, who hit an unbeaten 32 from 13 balls and smashed Murtaza for six off the last ball to win the game, guided them home.
   ‘Rohit played some great innings last year and to see him stand up like this was amazing,’ Gilchrist said. ‘We’re back here tomorrow and hopefully we’ll be fresh for that match.’
   Earlier, Kolkata opening batsman Sourav Ganguly had shared 55 runs with Brad Hodge for the second wicket.
   Ganguly made 33 off 41 balls before being removed by Ishant Sharma in the 15th over and Hodge was dismissed three overs later after contributing 48 from 41 deliveries.
   Following their departures, David Hussey smashed 43 runs off only 17 balls with two fours and four sixes.
   Ryan Harris led the Deccan attack, bagging the scalps of McCullum and Hodge for a 2-20 return.

Australian fast bowler Brett Lee has said he is feeling the positive effects of his four-month lay-off to nurse his ankle injury. Making a delayed entry into the IPL, Lee helped Kings XI Punjab beat tournament leaders Delhi Daredevils in Bloemfontein with a penetrative and miserly 3 for 15 in four overs on Friday.
   ‘I lost about seven kilos in India (during the Tests in 2008) and then I got injured, which in hindsight was probably the best thing that could have happened to me,’ Lee said. ‘I got a chance to go to the gym and get fit again and put a bit more size on. The whole thing is starting to pay off.’
   Lee picked up the injury during the Boxing Day Test against South Africa, missed the remainder of the summer and the return tour of South Africa. He joined the team in the UAE for the limited-overs series against Pakistan but made his comeback only in the Twenty20 international, after the five ODIs.
   He took 1 for 24 in his first match for Punjab, 1 for 25 in the following game but his best performance was against Delhi, which earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. His spell also included a wicket maiden.
   ‘It’s [the rhythm] starting to get there and I was pretty happy with the way I bowled tonight. I’m just trying to get through each game and the ankle is feeling really good which is exciting. My whole aim was to try and get through these four overs and try and bowl a bit of pace. I was pretty happy with the effort.’
   His Punjab coach, Tom Moody, was also delighted as it helped the team bounce back with a much-needed win to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

Panchagarh DSA finished third in the EXIM Bank 20th National Women’s Handball Championship beating Jessore DSA by 22-5 goals in a third-place play-off at the Faridpur Stadium on Sunday.
   The winners led the first half 12-2.
   Bangladesh Ansar & VDP team will play hosts Faridpur DSA in the final today at 4:00pm at the same venue.
   The state minister for youth and sports, Ahad Ali Sarker, will be the chief guest in the final.
   Earlier in the semi-finals, Ansar & VDP outclassed Jessore DSA by 25-5 goals while hosts Faridpur DSA beat Panchagarh DSA by 31-16 goals.

GM Ziaur Rahman maintained joint lead with GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly, GM Sandipan Chanda of India and GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam and GM Elshan Moradiabadi of Iran in the 8th Asian Continental Chess Championship on Sunday.
   He secured four points after the 5th round matches held at Subic Freeport, Olongapo City, Philippines.
   In the day’s other matches, Zia (Rating-2523) drew with GM Dao Thien Hai (Rating-2546) of Vietnam. Zia played with white pieces against Slav-Defense of Dao and drew at 31st moves.
   GM Enamul Hossain Razib and GM Niaz Murshed earned three points each and FM Abu Sufian Shakil earned two points after 5th round matches.
   Niaz beat GM Villamayor Buenaventure of Philippines and Razib beat IM Akshayraj Kore of India. Shakil drew with Vidit Santosh Gujrathi of India.
   In the Women’s section, WFM Samima Akter Liza earned two points after end of the 5th round matches. But, Liza lost against Nguyen Thi Mai Hung of Vietnam.

Barcelona were crowned Spanish champions for the 19th time on Saturday as holders Real Madrid gifted the title to their bitter rivals after a 3-2 defeat at Villarreal.
   Real knew anything other than a win would see Barcelona lift the title but Juande Ramos’s side crashed to a third straight loss to hand the title to Barcelona.
   It was Barcelona’s second trophy inside four days, following their Kings Cup win over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, as they notched a league and cup double for the first time since 1998.
   The Catalan giants can become the first Spanish side to win the treble if they can overcome Manchester United in the Champions League final in Rome on May 27.
   ‘Our arch rivals are champions and we have to congratulate them,’ said Real defender Sergio Ramos.
   ‘It has been difficult preparing for these past few matches as we knew it would be difficult to do anything as they had such an advantage.’
   Villarreal move level on points with Valencia following the Real win – courtesy of a late goal from Joan Capdevila – to keep up their Champions League charge.
   Veteran French winger Robert Pires scored the 17th-minute opener with a rare header after Ariel Ibagaza had put in an enticing cross.
   Real boss Ramos, who has admitted he is unlikely to be in charge next season, was visibly disappointed with the first-half showing and Gonzalo Higuain replaced Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
   Higuain had an immediate impact setting up Rafael van der Vaart, a huge disappointment following a 13-million-euro switch from SV Hamburg, for the equaliser a minute after the break.
   Villarreal responded and Cani put the hosts back in front in the 63rd minute before Higuain equalised late on, although it looked suspiciously offside.
   Capdevila was the hero scoring in the final minute after Real keeper Iker Casillas had dropped the ball.
   Earlier, third-placed Sevilla spurned a chance to secure a Champions League place following a 0-0 draw at Osasuna.
   Sevilla needed a win to make sure of a place in Europe’s premier competition but fired blanks to leave coach Manolo Jimenez disappointed.
   ‘We wanted a victory and are not happy to come away with a point,’ said Jimenez. ‘However, over a long season you have good games and bad ones. This was not a good one.’
   Sevilla move five points ahead of fourth-placed Valencia, who face Atletico Madrid, a point behind, on Sunday.
   Osasuna continue to hover above the drop zone sitting fourth from bottom, three points clear of the final relegation spot.
   Their next game is a testing trip to Camp Nou to face newly-crowned champions Barcelona.
   ‘Our European Cup final is at Camp Nou next weekend,’ said Osasuna coach Jose Antonio Camacho.
   Elsewhere Saturday, Getafe rued a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Deportivo La Coruna at the Riazor Stadium.
   Roberto Soldado put Getafe ahead in the first minute of the second half and the visitors looked set to move six points clear of the relegation places.
   However, Riki levelled in the 85th minute as Depor salvaged a point.
   La Coruna move two points off the top four although a UEFA Cup place looks the more realistic target.

Inter Milan won a fourth straight Serie A title on Saturday despite not playing when nearest challengers AC Milan lost 2-1 at Udinese.
   Second-placed Milan trail Inter, who host Siena on Sunday, by seven points but the Rossonero have only two matches left to play.
   Milan’s defeat meant that Inter boss Jose Mourinho has won the scudetto in his first season in Italian football after joining in June last year.
   It is Mourinho’s fifth title in seven years in three different countries having claimed the Portuguese crown with Porto in 2003 and 2004 and the English Premier League trophy in 2005 and 2006 with Chelsea.
   Milan went into the game in Udine knowing that they had to get a result to stop their bitter city rivals claiming the title, but they put in one of their worst performances of the season in what could be one of coach Carlo Ancleotti’s final matches in charge with rumours growing that he will join Chelsea next season.
   The coach was magnanimous in defeat but was clearly unhappy with his players.
   ‘Did Inter deserve the title? I think they’ve been the most consistent team and hence they deserved to win,’ he said.
   ‘Tonight I wasn’t expecting us to play as we did. We never turned up.’
   The first half was a drab affair with few notable scoring chances until Udinese opened their account from the penalty spot.
   Antonio Floro Flores burst into the Milan box behind the backline to latch on to Geatano D’Agostino’s through ball, but veteran defender Paolo Maldini leaned on him just enough to knock him off balance as he tried to take the ball around goalkeeper Dida.
   Maldini, who will play only two more games for Milan this season before retiring, was perhaps lucky to escape with only a booking.
   However, the visitors were punished when D’Agostino fired the ball into the net from the spot-kick, high to Dida’s right.
   That was the only clear chance of the first half although Andrea Pirlo did clip a free-kick just wide for the visitors, with Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic seemingly having it well covered.
   Ancelotti reacted quickly by throwing on striker Filippo Inzaghi for defensive midfielder Mathieu Flamini at the break, but four minutes later Udinese had doubled their advantage.
   Milan’s defence went to sleep at a corner and Christian Zapata was left alone at the back post to fire home a dropping ball from barely two yards out.
   Ancelotti threw on Ronaldinho and Andrei Shevchenko but it wasn’t until injury time that Milan came alive.
   Inzaghi hit the outside of the post before Massimo Ambrosini headed home a consolation but things could have been worse as Fabio Quagliarella crashed a shot against the upright for the hosts with virtually the last kick of the match.
   In Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, Christian Panucci scored an injury time winner as AS Roma beat Catania 4-3 to close in on a Europa League place next season.
   The hosts had looked likely to be frustrated by their mid-table opponents, who had battled back from a 3-1 half-time deficit to level at 3-3 with 17 minutes to play after Japanese striker Takayuki Morimoto’s equaliser.
   But Roma kept pushing and Panucci headed home a David Pizarro cross from close range to snatch the three points.
   The game exploded into life on 13 minutes with a spell of three goals in four minutes.
   Simone Perrotta gave Roma the lead before Giacomo Tedesco equalised, only for Mirko Vucinic to put the hosts straight back in front.
   Just past the half hour mark Perrotta scored his second with a wickedly deflected strike.
   But Giuseppe Mascara pulled a goal back for the Sicilians two minutes into the second half and when Morimoto beat the offside trap and fired past Brazilian goalkeeper Artur, Catania looked likely to steal a point.
   With the match in injury time, Panucci struck to put sixth-placed Roma five points clear of the competition in the race for the last European qualification position.

Sir Alex Ferguson has warned Barcelona that Manchester United are ‘bouncing’ into the Champions League final after wrapping up the Premier League title.
   A goalless draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday was enough for Ferguson’s side to secure the league for a record equalling 18th time.
   Having sealed a third successive title, as well as the League Cup and Club World Cup this season, Ferguson has now set his sights on bringing the curtain down on a hugely successful campaign with a second consecutive European Cup triumph when United face Barca in Rome on May 27.
   Before then United face relegation-threatened Hull in their final league game of the season next weekend, but Ferguson admitted his players were already looking forward to facing the Spanish league leaders.
   ‘Now we’ve won the league we’re bouncing into the final in Rome,’ said Ferguson as he savoured his 11th English title since taking charge of United in 1986.
   ‘It’s a game everyone at this club is looking forward to and rightly so. But we will enjoy this moment for now.
   ‘This is a terrific achievement and I have to praise the character and spirit of my players. They have been terrific.’
   Several players who featured against Arsenal are likely to be rested for United’s final league game ahead of the showpiece European final.
   Edwin van der Sar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez are set to sit out the match at Hull.
   Ferguson, who sent his brother Martin to scout Barca against Mallorca on Sunday, is 68 in December and there have been suggestions that he is ready to call time on his managerial career. But the Scot insisted that was not the case and he is already determined to steer United to a record 19th title, one more than bitter rivals Liverpool.
   ‘I am not contemplating it (retirement),’ Ferguson said. ‘I am definitely not contemplating it. I am going to carry on and my health will tell me when to quit.’
   Ferguson admitted Liverpool had been formidable opponents who had put his side under severe pressure after winning 4-1 at Old Trafford in March.
   ‘They have done well,’ Ferguson said. ‘They had a period when they won 4-1 here. That was a travesty of a result, because it was never a 4-1 result.
   ‘But they gained great impetus from that and we didn’t recover, we lost the next game (at Fulham).
   ‘That gave Liverpool the scent and, credit to them, they took it and they battled away.’ Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger paid tribute to Ferguson and his side on winning the title before promising United that the Gunners will provide his champions with a sterner test next season.
   United were forced to endure some nervous moments against Wenger’s side before getting their hands on the title.
   ‘What he (Ferguson) has done is exceptional and I congratulate him,’ said Wenger.
   ‘It’s fantastic what they have done this season. They have won the League Cup, made the semi-finals of the FA Cup and have the Champions League final to look forward to. Their overall achievement is remarkable.’
   Although there is one game of the season remaining, Arsenal will finish outside the top three for the third time in four seasons.
   But Wenger still insists Arsenal’s youthful squad is heading in the right direction.
   ‘We have been remarkably consistent after November and I don’t think we’ve got the credit we deserved,’ added the Frenchman. ‘But we’ll be back challenging next season.’

Cristiano Ronaldo insists Manchester United have no time to rest on their laurels after landing a third successive Premier League title because they must focus on winning the Champions League final.
   Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were crowned kings of English football again thanks to Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford. But even drawing level with Liverpool on a record-equalling 18 English league titles isn’t enough to satisfy Ronaldo’s appetite for success. The Portugal winger was delighted to keep United top of the tree but he is even more desperate to retain the Champions League against Barcelona in Rome on May 27.
   ‘We have to enjoy this moment. It is very special. Then in the next few days we have to concentrate on the Champions League because everyone wants to win that one,’ Ronaldo said.
   ‘It’s a fantastic achievement, the feeling is always brilliant, especially to win it at home with the supporters and family here.
   ‘This is family club, everyone is friendly. That is why everyone loves the club and I love them.’
   Ronaldo has repeatedly been linked with a move to Real Madrid over the last 18 months and, although he insists he is happy to stay at Old Trafford, he cast a slight cloud over United’s celebrations when he refused to rule out a transfer in the 2future. ‘The atmosphere here is unbelievable. In the future you never know (if he will leave) but I am really happy here,’ Ronaldo added.
   Once the Champions League final is over, United will turn their attention to becoming the first English top-flight team to win four successive titles. Beating bitter rivals Liverpool to first place was sweet for Merseyside-born Wayne Rooney and the United striker would love to repeat the feat next term.
   ‘It’s an amazing feeling. To win it three years on the run is unbelievable, especially because it was a great race with Liverpool,’ Rooney said. ‘Thankfully we got the job done, Hopefully we can continue to do it. I’ve enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to more next season.’
   It was Gary Neville, United’s club captain, who lifted the Premier League trophy, even though he didn’t play against Arsenal.
   Neville believes United’s superior strength in depth allowed them to hold off a fierce challenge from Liverpool. ‘It’s been an incredible effort all year. It’s a fantastic achievement because Liverpool pushed us hard this season,’ Neville said.
   ‘They finished in championship-winning form and we know we’ve got our work cut out to try and get past them next season. It’s the quality and depth of the squad that is so important. We never had a consistent team all season, it was 20 players who all contributed. Federico Macheda won’t even get a medal and he could have won the league by himself.’

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson says he is convinced striker Carlos Tevez will stay at Old Trafford despite the player’s repeated expressions of discontent.
   The Argentinian’s future has been in doubt all season and remains so despite the club clinching a third straight Premier League title on Saturday.
   His two-year loan deal runs out this summer and no deal is in sight with Tevez also saying he is unhappy at not commanding a regular spot in the starting lineup.
   That unrest was again evident against Arsenal when he appeared to wave goodbye to the Old Trafford crowd when he was substituted.
   Ferguson though insists that Tevez still has a future in Manchester.
   ‘The demands originally put to us were unrealistic,’ he told The Sunday Times.
   ‘Like other clubs, we have to be aware of the consequences of the credit crunch. It’s no time to be careless about money.
   ‘As far as Tevez is concerned, everybody would be best served by a willingness to compromise.’
   Ferguson also said he believed Cristiano Ronaldo would stay at the club despite the interest shown in him by Real Madrid.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta paid tribute to coach Pep Guardiola after guiding the club to a league and cup double and said it would be the greatest season in the club’s history if they could beat Manchester United in the Champions League final on May 27.
   Real Madrid’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Villarreal on Saturday night saw Barcelona crowned champions for the 19th time and they now have the chance to become the first Spanish side to ever win the treble.
   ‘Footbally speaking this is one of the best seasons in the history of Barcelona when you consider the way we played and the titles won,’ Laporta told Barca TV. ‘It could be the best season ever if we win the Champions League too.
   ‘It is the fifth double in the history of the club and it is a fabulous achievement for the fans to celebrate.’
   It is Barcelona’s first league and Kings Cup double since way back in 1998 – a fantastic achievement for Guardiola in his maiden season.
   ‘Pep (Guardiola) has surpassed all expectations,’ admitted Laporta. ‘When you make a decision (on the coach) you hope it goes well and it did practically from the beginning of the season.’
   All that is left for Barcelona in the league is chasing more records and they are hunting Real’s all-time goals record of 107 set back in the 1990 season.
   ‘I am sure the players will continue beating records like the 107 goal tally,’ added Laporta Barcelona have scored 103 goals and have three games left to try and beat Real’s landmark.

The father of Brazilian star Kaka on Saturday refuted claims from Real Madrid that they have signed an agreement with his 26-year-old son.
   Spanish newspaper Marca claimed earlier that Real presidential candidate Florentino Perez had reached an agreement with the former world player of the year to bring him to the Bernabeu, should he be re-elected.
   Marca claimed a deal had been reached for
   a 63-million euro transfer with Kaka picking up
   eight million euros a season net.
   But in a statement published on Milan’s website, Bosco Leite, who also acts as his son’s agent, rubbished the newspaper’s claims.
   ‘There is no agreement with Real Madrid and it’s not true to say that the player has already signed a deal with the Spanish club,’ he said.
   ‘Kaka is more focussed than ever on the final games of the season and he is still very attached to Milan.
   ‘All information regarding the player is only credible and official if it comes from his legal representatives or from Milan. Any other information is baseless.’
   It is not the first time a presidential candidate at Madrid has used the signing of Kaka as an electoral promise as Ramon Calderon, who was elected in 2006, made the same claim.
   Kaka’s contract at Milan runs until 2013 and he reportedly earns nine million euros net a season.
   Perez was president at Real from 2000 to 2006, when the club earned the nickname ‘Los Galacticos’, winning the league title twice and Champions League with such stars as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo and David Beckham.
   Reports from Spain in midweek said if he is re-elected, Perez would spend at least 200 million euros on new talent.

When things went stale at Barcelona under Frank Rijkaard, it was Catalan born-and-bred Pep Guardiola who was entrusted with the task of resurrecting the club and ending Real Madrid’s dominance.
   Guardiola has come up trumps in his maiden season, surpassing all expectations as Barcelona ended two seasons without a trophy with a Spanish league and Kings Cup double which could become an historic treble with the Champions League final still to come.
   Many felt Guardiola was a risk as he had no top-flight managerial experience but people inside Camp Nou raved about his work with the youth team and he was handed the high-profile, top job in the summer.
   The 38-year-old already had a huge reputation at Barcelona after captaining the club during Johan Cruyff’s golden period and as a player he won six league titles and the 1992 European Cup.
   Guardiola made a smart move early on in getting rid of the underperforming Ronaldinho and Deco, who joined AC Milan and Chelsea respectively.
   He then bought well with Dani Alves and Seydou Keita arriving from Sevilla for a combined 44 million euros and Gerard Pique captured from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee.
   However, it was a difficult start in La Liga for Guardiola who collected just one point from the first six – the club’s worst start since 1974.
   He refused to panic and results came, wrapped up in a thrilling brand of football.
   ‘Winning is always the target but an attractive, attacking game pleases the public,’ said Guardiola.
   With the trio of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta wreaking havoc, Barca tore teams to shreds and the work-rate and will-to-win was in stark contrast to the lacklustre displays under Rijkaard for the previous two seasons.
   Barcelona often employed the tactic of killing teams off in the first half by setting a frenetic pace and Atletico Madrid, one of the best sides in the league, found that out early in the season when they were 4-1 down after just 17 minutes, eventually losing 6-1.
   At the halfway stage of 19 games, Barcelona had set a new record of 50 points beating Real’s record of 47 points set last season.
   Barcelona beat Real 2-0 in the first ‘Clasico’ in mid-December and it looked like the title would be wrapped up early with Madrid 12 points adrift.
   But Real stormed back with an 18-game unbeaten run under new coach Juande Ramos and Guardiola suddenly felt the heat with defeats to Espanyol and Atletico Madrid but, when it mattered most, his team delivered.
   With Real four points behind going into the second ‘Clasico’ at the Santiago Bernabeu, Barcelona were under some pressure but they responded with their best display of the season to win 6-2.
   ‘It is not easy to win at the Bernabeu and winning by this margin against a team of Real’s calibre is incredible,’ said Guardiola at the time.
   ‘It is a memorable night. It is one of the happiest days of my footballing life. I am so happy because we have made a lot of people happy.’
   Guardiola had completed a league double over Real and then watched
   his side edge past Chelsea in the Champions
   League semi-finals with Andres Iniesta’s dramatic stoppage time goal in London.
   The Barca coach had been cool for most of the season but showed his fiery side in Europe, being sent to the stands for complaining after Lionel Messi was booked for diving in the last 16, first leg match with Bayern Munich.
   Guardiola usually kept his emotions in check when his team were winning, which was a lot of the time, but was racing down the touchline after Barca’s late win over Chelsea.
   The former Brescia player now has the chance to join the illustrious club of men to win the Champions League as a player and manager if he can guide Barca past Manchester United on May 27.
   No Spanish side has ever won the treble and having already won a league and Kings Cup double Manchester United are all that stand between Guardiola making history in his debut season.

When Jose Mourinho arrived at Inter Milan amongst much pomp and fanfare in June last year he was set a definite target – win the Champions League.
   Inter were on a run of three straight titles, in no small part thanks to the match-fixing punishment that sent Juventus down to Serie B, and two of their best players into Inter’s colours.
   Back then, in the summer of 2006, Inter were known as the country’s perennial underachievers and chokers.
   But they romped to the 2007 title more by default as points penalties dealt out to AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio had robbed Inter of any meaningful challengers.
   For a team that had gone 17 years without a title the goodwill afforded Mourinho’s predecessor Roberto Mancini for landing that first scudetto in a generation did not last long and despite guiding the nerazzurri to three Serie A crowns in a row, he was dismissed just days after the end of last season.
   The official explanation given was Inter’s continuing failure in Europe.
   Reading between the lines, it was clear that Mourinho’s brief was success in Europe as well as at home.
   His minimal aim, of course, was to retain the title that Inter have now owned for four years in a row.
   And while he will be given some credit for that, there is also the feeling that he has done nothing more than his predecessor.
   Of course, it has been his first season in Italy and his team had the misfortune of being drawn against holders Manchester United in the second round of the Champions League.
   There is no shame in losing to United – who have since gone on to reach a second straight final – and the English team’s strength was taken into consideration when judging the Italian league novice Mourinho. But next season he will be playing by different rules.
   His honeymoon period will be over and he will be expected to deliver, for president Massimo Moratti is known to not be a patient man when it comes to coaches.
   In the meantime, Mourinho has been everything the English had come to expect of him during just over three years in the Premier League.
   His team started the season in efficient if unspectacular style, never drifting far from the Serie A summit and usually dominating it.
   Mourinho himself has been up to all his old tricks, grating on opposition coaches, winding up the media and doing things ‘his way’.
   Early on he enraged the country’s football writers by sending his assistant coach Giuseppe Baresi to the post-match press conferences, an action that saw him accused of lacking respct.
   In typically Mourinho style he stretched the patience of the media at every possible turn, telling them he preferred their English counterparts while also claiming football and refereeing in England were superior.
   It was all part of the Mourinho siege tactic, provoking animosity from without to foster greater togetherness within.
   He didn’t just challenge the media, he also picked fights with his fellow coaches, most notably Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri, with whom he sustained a running battle in which Ranieri usually appeared to be an unwilling combatant.
   Mourinho used the pair’s history – Ranieri was Mourinho’s predecessor at Chelsea – to stoke up ill-feeling, regularly comparing Ranieri’s record as a coach and a linguist unfavourably to his own prowess.
   When he couldn’t think of anything to throw at Ranieri, he generally bragged about his superiority to Mancini.
   But for him to prove that, he will have to take Inter to the business end in Europe next season.
   However, with a fifth league title in a third different country over seven years, he can justifyably feel proud of himself.
   Titles with Porto in Portugal in 2003 and 2004, with Chelsea in England in 2005 and 2006 and now Inter in Italy in 2009 is a record that would compare favourably to any coach.
   But it is his Champions League victory with Porto in 2004 that he needs to repeat or Mourinho’s spell in Milan could quickly turn sour.

Temperamental but lavishly talented French footballer Eric Cantona – about to play film-star at Cannes – is still worshipped in this part of northwest England 12 years after leaving Manchester United to retire abruptly at 31.
   So strong is his abiding love for Manchester that Cantona has formed an unlikely alliance with gritty British director Ken Loach, putting himself and the city at the heart of Cannes film festival contender ‘Looking for Eric’, which screens there Monday.
   Cantona, who has acted in a handful of films, plays himself, appearing like a vision to help a Manchester postman, also named Eric, a devoted United fan whose life is spinning out of control.
   ‘I like the way it’s so real, like documentary. And I like how you don’t know if you have to laugh or cry,’ Cantona told the Guardian newspaper this month.
   While film critics have been lukewarm about Cantona’s acting career so far, in Manchester at least the mention of his name is still enough to stir emotion in United fans.
   Twelve years after his sudden departure, red, white and blue French Tricolours still fly in the roads leading to United’s imposing Old Trafford stadium.
   In fish and chip shops, Cantona’s photograph hangs alongside yellowing pictures of the club’s legendary players like George Best and Bobby Charlton.
   T-shirts proclaim 1966 as a ‘great year for English football’ – not because it was when England won their first and still their only World Cup, but because it was the year ‘Eric was born’.
   ‘We still sell this T-shirt and we still sell the flags,’ said souvenir seller Craig Ashton.
   Cantona, with his trademark turned-up collar on his jersey and his willingness to defy referees and football’s London-based authorities, was different.
   ‘He brought his arrogance to the game,’ Ashton said.
   Characteristically, Cantona moved to England after falling out with French football authorities.