Real Madrid Hires Luxemburgo as Coach
Wanderley Luxemburgo was hired as coach of Real Madrid on Thursday, the third coach the soccer team has had this year.
“It is a very great personal satisfaction to coach the world’s best team,” Luxemburgo said at a news conference.
It has been far from the world’s best team this year. Real Madrid is languishing in fifth place in the Spanish league despite a lineup that boasts players such as Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham and it struggled to qualify for the second round of the Champions League.
Luxemburgo replaces Mariano Garcia Remon, who had taken over from Jose Antonio Camacho only three weeks into the season. Garcia Remon will remain with the team in a management position.
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Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was suspended for three matches after being charged with violent conduct for pushing an opponent in the face.
Rooney shoved Bolton’s Tal Ben Haim in United’s 2-0 victory Sunday. The referee didn’t see it, but a video review showed the infraction.
Haim, who was criticized for exaggerating the effect of Rooney’s push by falling on the ground, was charged with improper conduct. The Israeli defender could be suspended, too.
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Hannover 96 and Real Salt Lake City agreed to a cooperation pact as part of Clint Mathis’ return to Major League Soccer, the Bundesliga club announced.
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Romario has denied he was quitting soccer -- a day after Brazilian media reported that he was retiring.
On Tuesday, the 38-year-old striker was quoted by O Globo news agency as saying he “can’t do it anymore.”
“I don’t have the desire,” Romario said.
Baseball
St. Louis is working on a deal with switch-hitting second baseman Roberto Alomar.
Cardinal spokesman Brian Bartow said that “certainly there are talks between the two sides” as the National League champions look to replace Tony Womack, who signed this month with the New York Yankees.
Bartow labeled as premature a report that the Cardinals had signed Alomar, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, to a $500,000, one-year contract.
Skiing
Finland’s Hannu Manninen overcame a two-minute deficit to win his 23rd combined Nordic World Cup event at Oberhof, Germany, beating German Ronny Ackermann by 47.6 seconds in the 15-kilometer ski race.
Manninen finished in 41 minutes 25.3 seconds to win his second race this season. Competitors faced fog and cold winds during the race’s two jumps.
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Miscellany
Vladislav Koutsky made 38 saves to lead the Czech Republic to a 3-1 victory over the United States in the World Junior Hockey Championship at Grand Forks, N.D.
The loss dropped the U.S. into third place in Group A with a 2-2 record. It will face Sweden, a 3-0 winner over Slovakia, in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Jeff Carter scored three goals in the second period to lead Canada to an 8-1 victory over Finland. Canada earned top seeding in Group B and a bye to the semifinals, which begin Sunday.
Russia beat Switzerland, 6-1, in a Group A game at Thief River Falls, Minn.
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Passings
Mickey Caruso, a standout athlete at Glendale High and junior college All-American in baseball and football at Glendale College in the late 1950s, died of heart failure at his home on Dec. 4. He was 67. Caruso also played football at Utah and had a career as a Hollywood stuntman.
Ken Burkhart, a former big league pitcher and umpire, died at age 89 in Knoxville, Tenn.
