Lazio Starting Talks With Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch, whose billion-dollar bid to buy Manchester United three years ago was thwarted by the British government, is about to launch a far more modest effort to purchase the Italian Serie A team Lazio.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, top Murdoch lieutenants will meet with Lazio officials in Rome today to begin negotiations.
Sergio Cragnotti, Lazio’s president, put the 102-year-old club up for sale last month after its parent company, international food giant Cirio, defaulted on more than $1 billion in bonds.
Cragnotti is said to be asking about $150 million for the debt-ridden team, which moved into first place in Italy on Sunday.
Earlier, Al Saadi Kadafi, the son of Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, had expressed interest in buying the club, but has since rejected the idea.
Italian Violence
Only two weeks after a fan attacked Messina goalkeeper Emanuele Manitta and knocked him unconscious, another Italian player, Napoli defender Francesco Baldini, was ambushed in his car by Napoli fans after a 0-0 tie with Palermo in Naples.
In the Friday night incident, fans smashed the vehicle’s windows with iron bars and also attacked Baldini, who suffered cuts and bruises but was not seriously hurt.
The fans allegedly had been angered by the Serie B club’s poor play.
The latest incident has caused Sergio Campagna, president of the Italian players’ association, to demand a meeting with Italian soccer federation officials in an effort to stop fan violence.
In an unrelated incident Sunday, an unidentified 30-year-old man suffered severe head injuries when he fell from the stands before Bologna’s home game against Modena.
Argentine Title
Goals by Federico Insua, Andres Silvera and Lucas Pusineri earned Independiente a 3-0 victory at San Lorenzo on Sunday and clinched the Argentine league title for the team, its first championship in eight years.
Brazil Playoffs
Fluminense and Santos moved a step closer to winning the Brazilian league championship Sunday when they each scored shutout victories in the first games of the two-game semifinal playoff series.
A goal by Romario in the 77th minute was enough for Fluminense to beat Corinthians, 1-0, at Maracana Stadium on a scorching day in Rio de Janeiro.
Santos, seeking its first title in 18 years, dismantled Gremio, 3-0, with Alberto scoring twice and Robinho adding a third.
The second semifinal matches will be played Wednesday.
Benfica’s Pick
Jose Antonio Camacho, who coached Spain into the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup before resigning, has been confirmed as coach of Benfica in Portugal.
“It is a great honor to serve an institution like Benfica, a mythical name in world football,” Camacho said. “It is also a great professional challenge.”
Benfica, a former European champion, has not won a Portuguese league championship since 1993.
Zamalek Poised
Four-time African champion Zamalek of Egypt is poised to win the African Champions League for a fifth time after earning a 0-0 tie on the road against Raja Casablanca of Morocco on Saturday in the first match of the two-match final.
Concentrating almost entirely on defense, the Cairo club managed to keep a crowd of 75,000 out of the game and goes into the second match in Egypt on Dec. 13 with a good chance of adding to the titles it won in 1984, 1986, 1993 and 1996.
Briegel Ponders
Hans-Peter Briegel, who played 72 games for Germany and was a member of its 1980 European Championship-winning side, is considering an offer to coach Albania’s national team.
