Football

Lady Luck smiles brightly on Confederations Cup hosts

Johannesburg- Lady Luck smiled brightly on the hosts of the 2009 Confederations Cup on Saturday as they were drawn into Group A with Iraq, New Zealand and Spain.

Gazza in new suicide scare

Paul `Gazza’ GascoigneLondon, Nov. 22: Fallen England soccer idol Paul `Gazza’ Gascoigne has reportedly attempted to commit suicide again, days after his girlfriend Sally Mulholland rejected his proposal for marriage.

According to The Sun, Sally had to fly thousands of miles to be by his side after she was informed that he had suffered mysterious wrist injuries.

Sally, 44, who arrived here Portugal, is trying to persuade Gazza, 41, to admit himself to hospital.

It is believed he had suffered cuts to his wrists during a drunken bout of depression.

Karlsruhe in free-fall after 0-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund

Karlsruhe, Germany  - Karlsruhe SC was defeated at home by Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Friday night, continuing their dramatic downward spiral in the German Bundesliga.

Karlsruhe have now lost seven of their last eight matches and remain third from bottom in the league, while Dortmund climbed to fourth place.

KSC manager Edmund Becker acknowledged his team was in a "difficult situation" only 14 matches into the football season. Dortmund manager Juergen Klopp said his side's win was "deserved."

Mohamed Zidan scored the match's only goal in the 20th minute on a cross from former Karlsruhe player Tamas Hajnal.

Messi a doubt for Barcelona after training injury

Madrid  - Argentina striker Lionel Messi was injured in training Friday, but it was unclear whether it would affect his participation in Barcelona's game against Getafe on Sunday.

"Messi finished the training session with pain in the quadriceps muscle in his right leg," Barcelona's club doctors said in a statement.

"After carrying out different tests, a muscular injury has been discounted. In spite of this, the participation of the player in forthcoming matches depends on the clinical evolution of this problem, in order to avoid a situation of risk."

It was not immediately clear if Messi, 21, would be fit for either Sunday's home game against Getafe, or for Wednesday's Champions League clash away to Sporting Lisbon.

Altintop close to return for Bayern

Munich  - Turkey midfielder Hamit Altintop resumed training with Bayern Munich Friday after a three-month injury lay-off and could make a comeback before the Bundesliga's winter break.

Real Madrid's Cannavaro out for at least a week

Bomb blast at Spanish train stationMadrid - Fabio Cannavaro will be out of action for at least a week after pulling a muscle in his right thigh in Wednesday's Greece-Italy friendly.

Cannavaro, 35, will miss Real Madrid's home game against Recreativo Huelva on Saturday, as well as Tuesday's Champions League clash away to BATE Borisov.

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