Best of the Rest
Setubal honours ‘Special One’: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is to get a street in Setubal named after him in honour of his sporting achievements, the town hall of his home city said on Thursday. Mourinho, the 50-year-old self-styled ‘Special One’, is arguably the most successful ever Portuguese coach.
He has won league titles in four different countries with Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, and has led teams to two Champions League trophies.
The Setubal town hall said in a statement it had made the decision because of Mourinho’s “extraordinary role in international sport”.
“He is, in all fairness, one of the coaches in the world with the most prestige and qualification.”
The exact street or avenue has not yet been chosen but the town hall’s general assembly voted unanimously to approve the naming.
Setubal, located just south-east of Lisbon across the Tagus, is a former industrial hub that has become one of Portugal’s most impoverished and unemployment-stricken cities. (RTRS) Corinthians win 2-0: Champions Corinthians beat Colombian side Millonarios 2-0 in a Copa Libertadores match on Wednesday that was overshadowed by a ban on the home team’s fans that left the 38,000-seat Pacaembu stadium empty and eerily quiet.
South American soccer’s governing body Conmebol had banned the Brazilian club’s fans after they let off a flare that killed a 14-year Bolivian supporter during last week’s game against San Jose in Bolivia.
Conmebol ordered Corinthians to play their Libertadores games behind closed doors for the next 60 days or until a full appeal can be heard. Their fans are also banned from away matches. (RTRS) Boca boost flagging confidence: Boca Juniors put their Libertadores Cup campaign back on the rails with a 20 away win over Ecuador’s Barcelona in Guayaquil on Wednesday.
The six times South American champions, who scored two goals in the space of four minutes in the second half, have struggled this year and suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Mexico’s Toluca in their first Group One match two weeks ago.
The four teams have each played two matches in the group with Nacional of Uruguay leading with four points, one more than Boca and Toluca with Barcelona on one.
Argentina forward Juan Manuel Martinez struck in the 59th minute, turning Lucas Viatri’s header into the net to give Boca the lead before centre back Claudio Perez, like Martinez a new Boca signing in January, added the second four minutes later with a header following a Nicolas Colazo free kick.
Ecuador winger Michael Arroyo pulled one back for Barcelona with a penalty two minutes into added time after defender Clemente Rodriguez brought down Juan Carlos Paredes.
It was a bad night for both teams from the Pacific port city of Guayaquil as Emelec went down 2-0 away to Deportes Iquique of Chile in Group Four. (RTRS) Arsenal to honor Dennis: Arsenal revealed on Wednesday that they plan to honour former striker Dennis Bergkamp by erecting a statue of the Dutchman outside the Emirates Stadium.
Bergkamp follows in the footsteps of former team-mates Thierry Henry and Tony Adams and legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman, who have already been commemorated in bronze statues outside the club’s north London home.
Arsenal were forced to confirm plans for the tribute after an image of a cast for the statue appeared online.
“First of all, I am honoured that this is going to happen,” Bergkamp said.
“It makes me very proud. Everyone knows that I love Arsenal and that I had a fantastic time at the club.
“For me and my family it was an important period in our lives. Next to that the people were great, the team was amazing and we had a lot of success over the years.
“I will do everything I can to be there when it will be unveiled. It will definitely be a special moment for me, which I don’t want to miss.”
Bergkamp scored 120 goals for Arsenal and won three league titles and four FA Cups during his 11-year tenure at the club.
“Dennis and everybody at Arsenal are slightly disappointed that some images have been leaked today of the statue in its development, but this will not detract from the excitement we have for the statue’s unveiling in the coming months,” said Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis. (AFP) Argentine fan dies: A supporter of Argentina club Tigres died on Wednesday after being shot in a gun fight between fans of his own team, a medical source said.
Shots were fired during a dispute over ticket and shirts sales before last weekend’s game between Tigre and River Plate.
The 40-year-old man was one of 13 people hospitalised after the fighting, most of them with bullet wounds.
Argentine domestic football has been plagued by bloodshed with the Save Football group claiming 165 fans have died in soccer-related violence since 1979. (AFP)