Barthez Is Able to Return to Marseille

Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez finally completed his loan move from Manchester United to Marseille on Friday as the transfer market window for Europe reopened, according to the Marseille Internet site.

Marseille had tried desperately since October to sign Barthez on loan from Manchester United, but FIFA, soccer’s governing body, blocked the move because it fell outside of the transfer window, which ended in August.

Barthez, 32, could mark his homecoming today when Marseille plays host to Strasbourg in a French Cup match. The Marseille site said that Barthez would play.

Barthez played for Marseille from 1992 to ’95 and helped the team win the European Champions League in 1993. He led France to the 1998 World Cup title.

Manchester United has been playing Tim Howard instead of Barthez. With the American in goal, the team has moved into first place in the English Premier League.

*

Ma Liangxing, who was fired as coach of the Chinese women’s team after its lackluster performance in last year’s World Cup, became head coach of a men’s second-division club in Zhuhai, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Assisting him will be Fan Zhiyi, the first Chinese player to compete in England, Xinhua said. Fan, 33, a defender, will both coach and play for the team, called Zhuhai Zhongbang, the agency said.

Fan played several seasons in England’s Division 1 with Crystal Palace and Cardiff City and in the Scottish Premier League with Dundee.

*

One spectator was killed and seven others injured when they were struck by lightning while watching a soccer game in Gege, Swaziland, on New Year’s Eve, local newspapers reported.

A 52-year-old man was killed while he was standing on the side of the pitch watching the match, the Times of Swaziland said. The injured spectators were taken to a hospital but were later discharged.

Winter Sports

Magnus Moan of Norway won a World Cup Nordic combined event for the first time, finishing 1.8 seconds ahead of three-time Olympic champion Samppa Lajunen of Finland at Reit Im Winkl, Germany.

Moan completed the 7.5-kilometer cross-country sprint in 20 minutes 32.1 seconds. American Todd Lodwick was third, 24.2 seconds behind. Moan was eighth after the ski-jump portion of the competition, then took the lead after the second lap of the sprint.

*

Tim Burke and Sarah Granroth won sprint events at Lake Placid, N.Y., and qualified for the U.S. biathlon team that will go to the world championships Feb. 6-15 in Obergof, Germany.

Burke won the men’s 10-kilometer race in 33 minutes 5.7 seconds. Granroth won the women’s 7.5-kilometer race in 24:35.7.

Baseball

David Wells is certain of this much: He doesn’t expect to be talking to George Steinbrenner any time soon.

Wells spurned the New York Yankees earlier in the week, agreeing to a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres.

The deal could be worth up to $7 million if he reaches all his incentives,

“I’m sure now I won’t hear from him ever again,” the 40-year-old left-hander said in his first comments since the deal.

With the exception of a few words of pregame encouragement, Wells hasn’t talked to the Yankee owner since March. Steinbrenner did leave a message on Wells’ cell phone before the deal was completed.

“He’s been good to me in a lot of ways,” Wells said. “And in other ways, he’s been very stubborn. That’s George Steinbrenner.”