Some habits die hard. Barely six days after Jose Mourinho incited a rage for his comments about referees, his team stirred controversy again.
Less than a week after being upbraided by the authorities for outspokenness, Daniele De Rossi of Roma earned himself a red card for insulting a match official.
And Pavel Nedved, the shy and now retiring Czech, further cemented a legend that has just over two months left to run, by setting up the winner in the Turin derby.
Nedved, the 36-year-old Juventus midfielder who announced 12 days ago that this would be his final season, came on as substitute with a quarter of the match left to play against Torino on Saturday, and with a precise free-kick, picked out the leap of Giorgio Chiellini. The central defender's header was powerful enough to seal a late 1-0 win to keep Juventus in second place in the Serie A table, seven points behind Inter.
The league leaders had earlier bounced back to form, winning 2-0 away at Genoa.
Inter, having conceded six goals in two outings in the previous week, took an early lead through Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who chased a long ball from Dejan Stankovic clear of Genoa's back three and scored his first goal for a month. There was hardly a minute and a half on the clock.
Mourinho then drew superfluous attention to himself by marching across the pitch after he had emerged late from the half-time interval. The Inter coach did have some concerns to see to at the break. Both his central defenders, Marco Materazzi and Nicola Burdisso, had withdrawn with injuries, a pressing problem ahead of Wednesday's Champions League trip to Manchester United.
Mario Balotelli, in a run of good goalscoring form and subject to some controversies of his own following his comments and gestures towards Roma players at San Siro six days earlier, scored Inter's second just after the hour.
Like the penalty Balotelli earned against Roma, it was disputed, slow-motion replays suggesting the ball had not crossed the Genoa goal-line.
ihawkey@thenational.ae
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Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
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