Spain
Luis Suarez was delighted to score his first league goal for Barcelona, in his eighth Primera Liga match, but claimed a 5-0 victory over Cordoba on Saturday was more significant. “It was more important for the team to get the three points,” he said after their final match before the winter break. “Now we need to get some rest and start thinking about our next matches. I know I am a striker and I have to score goals, but I was sure that with my teammates’ help I’d eventually get one. I wasn’t obsessed with it because I knew I was helping the team to get good results. Of course, it’s always important to get goals in the league, but I wasn’t panicking.” Suarez had scored twice for Barcelona in the Uefa Champions League.
Portugal
World player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo returned to his home town of Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira on Sunday to attend the unveiling of a statue sculpted in his honour. The Real Madrid star travelled to the Portuguese island from Marrakech, where on Saturday he helped his club lift the Club World Cup, their fourth trophy of 2014. “This is a very special moment, to have a statue of me,” an emotional Ronaldo said at the ceremony, where he was joined by members of his family and thousands of fans. “Ronaldo has never forgotten his origins,” said his mother, Dolores Aveiro. The 3.4-metre statue forms part of Ronaldo’s personal museum on the island housing his haul of trophies, including his two Ballon d’Or titles.
Turkey
Former Brazil defender Roberto Carlos quit his first coaching job, leaving Sivasspor of the Turkish top flight yesterday after a succession of poor results left them 17th and in the relegation zone. The club in central Turkey finished a creditable fifth last season, Roberto Carlos’s first since his final season as a player, at Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala. He is the ninth manager to quit or be sacked from a Turkish Super Lig side this year, meaning that half of the sides in the 18-team league have switched managers.
Australia
The diminutive striker Nathan Burns pushed his claims for Socceroos selection in next month’s Asian Cup with two goals to guide Wellington Phoenix to a 2-0 A-League win over Sydney FC yesterday. The Phoenix leapfrogged Sydney into fourth spot on the standings, with Burns continuing to impress as the leading A-League marksman with 10 goals. Burns, 26, played regularly for Australia’s age-group teams, but he has made only seven appearances with the senior side and has not scored.
England
Hartlepool will not sign convicted rapist Ched Evans, the League Two club said yesterday. Ronnie Moore, the club’s manager, said after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Oxford that it was a “possibility” the former Sheffield United striker could join Hartlepool. But in a statement released on Sunday, the club said they “do not intend signing Ched Evans and, for the avoidance of doubt, will not be doing so, irrespective of his obvious ability as a football player”.
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