FRANKFURT: German coach Joachim Loew will decide next month who between Michael Ballack and Philipp Lahm will captain the team in qualifiers for the 2012 European Championships.Ballack, Germany captain up until the injury that ruled him out of this summer`s World Cup, and Lahm, who took

BERLIN: German footballing giants Bayern Munich are set to achieve a record turnover of 350 million euros, club president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said Tuesday."We`re basing this on a turnover exceeding 300m euros for the first time. With the consolidated takings of the Allianz-Arena

TORONTO: The world`s top two players, Spain`s Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic, slumped to a shock loss in their Toronto Masters first round doubles match to a pair of wildcard Canadians.Nadal and Djokovic took the first set 7-5 against the unheralded duo of Vasek Pospisil and

PARIS: World sprint sensation Usain Bolt on Tuesday ruled himself out of the rest of the 2010 season because of a back problem that affects his striding power.The Jamaican, who won gold in both the 100 and 200 metres at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 worlds, and is world record

Mexico City: Spain set off today on the long trip to face Mexico in what will be their first international since winning the FIFA World Cup™ for the first time.La Roja set off for Mexico City, where they are scheduled to play in the Azteca stadium as part of their hosts` bicentenary

Rome: Argentine pair Diego Milito and Javier Zanetti on Monday signed contract extensions with European champions Inter Milan. Both were integral players in Inter`s historic treble season last time out.Hot-shot Milito, who scored the winning goals in both the UEFA Champions League and

LONDON: Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has warned his best is yet to come as he makes his comeback after groin surgery.The Ivory Coast forward stepped up his recovery with a 30-minute cameo in the 3-1 Community Shield defeat to Manchester United at Wembley.The 32-year-old feels the

DUBLIN: Argentina will be desperate to take out their World Cup anger on the Republic of Ireland in Wednesday`s friendly in Dublin, according to Giovanni Trapattoni.Trapattoni`s Ireland will provide the opposition for Argentina`s first game since their shock 4-0 quarter-final defeat

TORONTO: Roger Federer celebrated his 29th birthday this week but the cagey Swiss said he was not too old to learn a few new tricks as he launched his North American hardcourt campaign with coach Paul Annacone at his side.The 16-time grand slam winner came to the Toronto Masters with his

SYDNEY: Australia`s star midfielder Tim Cahill has pulled out of this week`s friendly with Slovenia due to injury, team officials said on Tuesday.Everton`s Cahill and JEF United defender Mark Milligan did not travel to Slovenia with the rest of the squad and will not be replaced, the

CINCINNATI: Former world number one Ana Ivanovic showed flashes of the form that took her to the pinnacle of tennis as she upset ninth seed Victoria Azarenka 2-6 7-6 6-2 in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters on Monday.Serb Ivanovic, a first-round casualty at San Diego last week,

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan captain Salman Butt indicated Mohammad Yousuf would be called upon during the remainder of their series against England after a heavy second Test defeat here at Edgbaston.England won by nine wickets on the fourth day here on Monday to go an unbeatable 2-0 up in this

BIRMINGHAM: England may have beaten Pakistan by nine wickets to win the second Test with more than a day to spare but home captain Andrew Strauss insisted the result didn`t tell the story of the match.Pakistan were bowled out for 72 -- their lowest total against England -- in the first

MANCHESTER: Manchester City`s new signing Yaya Toure has defended his move to the Premier League club from Barcelona amid claims he is more interested in money than football.The Ivory Coast midfielder moved to City in a 24 million pound (28 million euro) move that will see him become the

PARIS: Bayern Munich will not release France forward Franck Ribery for a disciplinary hearing by the French Football Federation to probe his alleged role in the team`s World Cup revolt, the German champions said on Monday.Ribery is one of five France players summoned by the FFF. The

WATFORD: England manager Fabio Capello admitted Monday that he was struggling to find a way of rebuilding his players confidence after their disappointing early exit at the World Cup finals in South Africa.He also made a public apology to the fans for England`s poor performances which

SAN DIEGO: Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova squndered four match points before outlasting Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 6-3 on Sunday to win the WTA San Diego Open."This just made me stronger. It didn`t kill me," Kuznetsova said. "I didn`t kill myself in the third

AKRON: Tiger Woods struggled to the worst 72-hole performance of his career on Sunday, finishing an astonishing 30 strokes behind winner Hunter Mahan at the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational.Woods claimed he was not injured and hinted his final-round seven-over par 77 and

DAMBULLA: Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s India go into a triangular series in Dambulla on Tuesday keen to extend their impressive run in the one-day game in Sri Lanka.India, who clash with New Zealand in the opening day-night match, have won two bilateral series, a tri-series and the Asia Cup in

BIRMINGHAM: England`s Stuart Broad has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for throwing the ball at Zulqarnain Haider during the ongoing second Test against Pakistan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Monday.Broad petulantly hurled the ball at Test debutant Zulqarnain,