BERLIN, Germany,
Sep 24--Iran’s national football team has the potential to reach the second round of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, said legendary German football hero and head of the Frankfurt-based World Cup Organizing Committee, Franz Beckenbauer, on Friday.
“With a little bit of luck and a good (World Cup) group drawing in Leipzig on December 9, Iran can successfully overcome the first group phase,“ Beckenbauer said in an exclusive interview with IRNA ahead of his official October 2 visit to Iran where he will update Iranian football officials on his country’s World Cup preparations.
Beckenbauer singled out Iranian Bundesliga legionaries--Ali Karimi, Vahid Hashemian, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Ferydoon Zandi-- for their “important role“ in the national team’s triumphant World Cup qualifying campaign.
“These four players will form the backbone of Iran’s World Cup squad,“ he added.
The former coach of the German national football squad pointed out, “Iran’s offensive and good technical football style enjoys great reputation among German fans.“
Pointing to the purpose of his upcoming Iran trip, Beckenbauer said, “I am really keen on personally meeting our World Cup guests from Iran. I want to congratulate Iran on its successful World Cup qualification and I want to know the individual wishes of the Iranian football federation in order to be able to address them.“ Beckenbauer is scheduled to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and other leading political, economic and cultural sports personalities as well as sports journalists at Tehran’s Azadi Hotel on October 2.
“I anticipate good and informative talks with Iranian officials,“ he said.
The former Bayern Munich captain reiterated he is still “overwhelmed“ by the ecstatic Iranian football fans’ welcome during last year’s October 9 friendly between Germany and Iran which ended in a 2-0 victory for the German side.
“I have never experienced such an enthusiasm. Even our young German team was greatly impressed by the Iranians’ fantastic hospitality and support which is unrivaled as long as I can remember,“ said Beckenbauer, who covered the historic match as a sports analyst for the German ZDF television network.
Proceeds of the Germany-Iran friendly match were donated to the survivors of the devastating December 26, 2003 Bam earthquake.

SPLIT, Croatia,
Sept. 24--Ivan Ljubicic clinched a five-set thriller to beat Mikhail Youzhny 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 as Croatia and Russia ended the first day of their Davis Cup semifinal level at 1-1.
Earlier, Nikolay Davydenko reveled in his role as Russian number one in the absence of the injured Marat Safin to give his country a 1-0 lead before Ljubicic came to the rescue of a Croatian team bidding to reach their first Davis Cup final, AFP reported.
Russia, the champions in 2002, had been counting on Youzhny to hammer home the advantage but the player, who steered his team to their famous win over France three years ago, cracked in the final set.
“It was an excellent match,“ said Ljubicic. “I knew that it was going to be difficult and I was a little nervous after losing the first set but I was calm after that and in control.“
Davydenko had beaten Mario Ancic 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the opening rubber.
Backed by a fiercely patriotic crowd, Ancic staged a dramatic comeback midway through the rubber when Davydenko, the world number seven, serving for a straight sets victory, was broken.
That allowed Ancic to go on and win the third set.
But the Russian kept his composure as he broke Ancic in the fifth game of the fourth set and this time held on to complete his impressive win.
“I was surprised to have played so well at the start,“ said Davydenko. “I think this was my best indoor match of the season so far.“
Ancic was gracious in defeat.
“Davydenko played brilliantly. I think that only Roger Federer could have stopped him. In the first two sets, I had no answer.
“When he served for the match in the third set, I saw his hand tremble and I took full advantage but after that it was a shame. It was a real battle in the fourth set and either of us could have won it.“

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro, Sept. 24--Juan Carlos Navarro registered 12 free throws and a three-pointer in the final minute of overtime to give Spain a 101-85 win over Croatia in their European Championship quarterfinal on Friday, Reuters said.
The Spaniards now meet Germany in the last four after they defeated Slovenia 76-62 earlier in the day. France and Greece will contest the other semifinal.
Spain trailed Croatia 73-70 with three seconds to go but forced overtime when Navarro scored one of two free throws and Fran Vazquez capitalized on a howler by Marko Tomas, who lost possession to gift the centre an easy lay-up.
The Croats lost their composure in overtime and earned three technical fouls after disputing calls by the officials, allowing Navarro to end their hopes of a podium finish.
As well as reaching the semifinals here, Spain also booked a place at next year’s World Championship in Japan.
Lithuania also earned a ticket to Japan after beating Russia 89-78 in a playoff match.
The top six nations here qualify for the World Championship.
The Croats made a bright start and led Spain 18-11 at the end of the first period thanks to eight points from pivot Mario Kasun.
Spain also trailed 33-25 at halftime but the roles were reversed after the interval as Navarro and Vasquez, who scored 24 of his 26 points after the break, found chinks in Croatia’s defensive armor.
Croatia were ahead 68-65 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation time but Spain came back with big plays from Vasquez, who grabbed four points in the final minute.
Gordan Giricek was Croatia’s top scorer with 17 points.
Croatia now meet Slovenia in a playoff match on Saturday for a berth in the World Championship.
Germany overcame Slovenia thanks to another strong performance from Dirk Nowitzki.
Nowitzki collected 22 points and nine rebounds and had solid support from guards Mithat Demirel and Pascal Roller, who scored 15 points each including three-pointers early in the final period to give Germany an unassailable 66-49 lead.
Roller hit two shots from behind the arc while Nowitzki and Robert Garret added one each in Germany’s 14-2 run in the fourth quarter.
Slovenia coach Ales Pipan congratulated his opposite number Dirk Bauermann and the German side.

Iran’s Fahimah Zaraei (c) shields the ball from Syria’s Hiba Rdwan (l) and Eva Ghazi (3rd r) during the 1st West Asian Soccer Federation Women Championship at Amman Stadium. Friday. Iran won 5-0. (Reuters Photo)

Benfica's Cape-Verdian Nelson Tomar (l), vies with Penafiel's Sergio Lomba during their Portuguese Super League football match at April 25 Stadium in Penafiel, Friday. (AFP Photo)

LISBON, Portugal, Sept. 24--Nuno Gomes hit two goals to guide Portuguese Premier League champions Benfica to a 3-1 win at Penafiel on Friday.
According to Reuters, Benfica’s second successive league victory pushed them up to seventh in the table with seven points from five games. Porto, Braga and Nacional Madeira lead the way on 10 points.
The visitors went ahead when striker Gomes scored following a goalmouth scramble in the fifth minute.
Captain Simao Sabrosa doubled the lead seven minutes later with a shot on the rebound after his 20-metre free kick hit the defensive wall.
Penafiel pulled a goal back with nine minutes left when midfielder Marco Ferreira headed in a cross from Pedro Araujo.
But Gomes, who scored a hat-trick against Uniao Leiria last Sunday, put the result beyond doubt with a powerful shot in the 84th minute.
Benfica’s win will boost their confidence ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League game at Manchester United.

GAINESVILLE, USA, Sept. 24--The International team finished the second day of the Presidents Cup with a 6 1/2 - 5 1/2 lead over the US, even though Tiger Woods finally ended his long wait for a fourball win in the event on Friday, Reuters said.
World number one Woods battled with a sore back as he and his partner Jim Furyk, who had been doubtful for the fourballs with strained rib muscles, claimed a gritty 3 and 2 victory over Australians Stuart Appleby and Mark Hensby.
Leading -3 1/2 - 2 1/2 after Thursday’s foursomes, the International team maintained their one-point advantage over the hosts after each side registered two wins while two of the six matches were halved.
Woods needed treatment on his back throughout the day, but his sublime form enabled him to fire seven birdies in 16 holes at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
It was the 29-year-old American’s first fourball win in seven attempts in the Presidents Cup.
“Today we went out there and gelled as a team and put a lot of pressure on them,“ Woods said.
“It’s just a matter of keeping it pain-free and loose where I can swing the golf club which wasn’t exactly easy today.“
Despite their physical ailments, Woods and Furyk have been scheduled for duty on Saturday morning, pairing up in one of the five morning foursome matches that will be followed by five fourball matches in the afternoon.
The duo will take on world number two Vijay Singh of Fiji and Appleby.
“They are playing tomorrow morning,“ US captain Jack Nicklaus confirmed.
“I don’t need to say anything more than that, they are ready to go.
“They will be fine.“
Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank provided the Americans with another full point with a 2 and 1 triumph over Canadian Mike Weir and South African Trevor Immelman.

LONDON, Sept. 24--Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that new transfer rules to come into effect next season mean he can’t guarantee that star French striker Thierry Henry will stay at the club.
But the Gunners boss is convinced he can persuade his captain to sign a new deal, reported AFP.
Wenger has yet to sit down for formal talks with Henry, who has just under two years left on his existing deal and--under new FIFA rules--could theoretically pay off his final year’s salary to move next summer.
Arsenal were already under pressure to agree terms with Henry rather than risk having to sell him in a cut-price deal next summer.
Now the risk is losing him for just four million pounds.
“I cannot say that (Henry will be at Arsenal next season) for certain because, under the new FIFA rules, a player can now move without the permission of any club.
“But I must say we’re still in September. Our desire and motivation to keep Thierry is 100 percent strong. We want him to be part of our future and to be one of the leading personalities of this club in the next four or five years.
“I think he wants to stay. But I know that’s only me saying it.
I’m not pretentious enough to come out for Thierry Henry. I want him to stay and I want to be the leader of the club for the next few years.“
Henry, who--like Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp--was ruled out of Saturday’s game at West Ham through injury, has consistently insisted he will stay at Arsenal.
However, speculation over his future will continue until he puts pen to paper as the Gunners cannot afford to risk losing their prize asset for next to nothing.

Finnish Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen steers his McLaren Mercedes ahead of Portuguese Tiago Monteiro during the second day of free practices for the Brazilian GP next, Friday. (Reuters Photo)

SAO PAULO, Brazil, Sept. 24--McLaren set the pace in Friday’s Brazilian Grand Prix practice with Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya the fastest race driver, Reuters said.
Renault’s Fernando Alonso, who can become Formula One’s youngest champion on Sunday, had lapped quicker than McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen in the first hour-long session although times mean little on a Friday.
However, the 24-year-old Spaniard was only 11th in the afternoon while the Finn was sixth.
Alonso leads Raikkonen by 25 points and need only finish third to secure the title with two races to spare. Renault are six points ahead of McLaren, who have won the last four races, in the constructors’ standings.
Austrian test driver Alexander Wurz showed off McLaren’s speed at the anti-clockwise Interlagos track with the best time in both sessions--his fastest of one minute 11.701 seconds coming in the morning.
Wurz will not race on Sunday, while Montoya’s only hope of repeating his win in Brazil last year will be if there is no chance of Raikkonen winning the drivers’ championship. Otherwise, he will let the Finn past.
Japan’s Takuma Sato, angry and upset after being told this week that Honda-backed BAR will drop him at the end of the season, clocked the second best time of the morning.
Red Bull’s Christian Klien provided the only real incident of the afternoon when he crashed at the Bico de Pato corner. The Austrian walked away unhurt.
While Sunday’s race was shaping up to be another battle between the top two teams, with BAR showing signs of mounting a challenge as well, Ferrari again looked some way off the frontrunners.
Seven times world champion Michael Schumacher was 12th and eighth in the two sessions.
Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello, hoping for a strong performance in his last home race for Ferrari, managed the fifth best time in the afternoon. Barrichello has a terrible record at Interlagos, retiring for nine years in a row before last year’s third place, but was still keeping his hopes up.
“There are chances and I just take them,“ he had said on Thursday.
“With the knowledge that I have in Brazil, with the last two pole positions that I had, with the public behind me, I’m going to give everything because for me it would mean a lot to win my home grand prix with Ferrari.“