Vahid Shamsaei scored twice to give retiring skipper Mohammad Reza Heidarain the perfect send-off as Iran beat Thailand 4-0 at Nimibutr Stadium to win the 2008 AFC Futsal Championship.
Majid Latifi and Heidarian grabbed the other goals as Hossein Shams’ side claimed their ninth title in 10 years in a game in which they always held the upper hand over their plucky opponents, AFC reported.
Iran had the first clear chance when Javad Asghari Moqaddam found himself clean through on goal but keeper Somkid Chuenta saved well with his legs.

File photo shows Mohammad Reza Heidarian (c) lifting the Asian Futsal Championship trophy in Japan.

Panomkorn Saisorn was then inches away from connecting with a cross before Iran took the lead as Latifi picked up the ball from a corner and drilled a low shot past Somkid.
Thailand had a good chance to get back on level terms seconds later but Eakapong Suratsawang fired well wide when handily placed before Somkid pulled of a tremendous double stop to deny Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh.
But Iran increased their lead through the prolific Shamsaei as he broke down the left before dispatching a low finish into the bottom corner.
Shamsaei netted Iran’s third just over two minutes into the second period when he bamboozled a Thai defender to create space for himself before firing between Somkid’s legs.
Mohammad Keshavarz cleared Anucha Munjarern’s shot off the line as Thailand looked to spark a fightback before Eakapong drew a huge cheer from the partisan crowd when, on for keeper Somkid, he produced a fine last-ditch tackle to halt Moqaddam, who was clean through on goal after a Thailand attack had broken down.
Mostafa Nazari had to be alert to beat away Prasert Innui’s powerful effort at his near post before Heidarian fittingly netted the final goal of the game after he was the beneficiary of Shamsaei’s good work to slide the ball into an unguarded net and seal yet another triumph for unquestionably the best futsal team in Asia.

Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho expects to be in employment by the end of the month, with Italy his most likely destination.
The former Chelsea manager has been sitting on an offer from Internazionale for several weeks now and may also be considered for a position at AC Milan, Guardian wrote.
“In one more week or two all the leagues will be over,“ Mourinho said. “In one week or two the clubs will clarify their futures.
In one week or two I will have a club and in one month or so I will be working. I don’t know where, but I’m sure that I am going to work.“
Mourinho had been keen to return to former employees Barcelona, discussing the position with club directors before president Joan Laporta elected to promote Pep Guardiola from within.
There was also interest from Real Madrid when the Spanish champions were pondering replacing Bernd Schuster.
While an initial approach from Manchester City was immediately rejected by Mourinho’s advisors, a second agent working on the club’s behalf has made another attempt to secure the Portuguese’s signature.
Paris Saint-Germain have also gone public with an ambitious plan to bring Mourinho to France regardless of their troubles as they just avoided relegation from Le Championnat. Mourinho is understood to be reluctant to work in either country at this point in his career.

Maria Sharapova

An injury for Maria Sharapova ahead of the French Open overshadowed semifinals day at the Italian Open.
According to BBC, Sharapova pulled out before her match against defending champion Jelena Jankovic with a left calf problem.
She said: “I think it was the smart decision. The most important thing is to be ready for the French Open.“
In the final, Jankovic will face Alize Cornet after the French qualifier fought back to stun sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze 3-6 6-4 6-3.
“Nobody can stop me, I believe in me,“ said Cornet who recovered from being a set and 0-3 down against the Russian.
“I just beat a second top-10 player in one tournament. I’ll try for my third one tomorrow.“
Serbian fourth seed Jankovic will be expected to retain her title against Cornet, and claimed she was disappointed when Sharapova pulled out. “I wanted to play. I was ready for another challenge, another tough match,“ she said.
“But I’m happy to be in the final and have a big opportunity to win to defend my title.“
Sharapova was feeling the effects of her tough match against Patty Schnyder which ended late on Friday night, in which she rallied to win 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-2.
She said of her injury, “It’s a strain. I need maybe two or three days off before I can test it out again, that’s the diagnosis.
“When I stepped on my foot today I knew there was no chance I’d be able to go on court, but I hope in two days I’ll be back to normal.“

Nwankwo Kanu

Nwankwo Kanu’s goal was good enough to give Portsmouth a 1-0 win in the FA Cup final against Cardiff City at Wembley in London on Saturday.
According to AFP, Kanu, who scored Pompey’s semifinal winner against West Brom, struck eight minutes before half-time following a miss that threatened to go down in Wembley.
The Nigerian’s goal meant the south coast club won the FA Cup for only the second time in their history following their last appearance in a major Wembley final back in 1939.
It also gave Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp his first piece of significant silverware as either player or manager and meant Portsmouth, who finished eighth in the Premier League, would be playing European football for the first time in their history next season. Portsmouth’s win saw Redknapp become the first English manager to win the FA Cup since Everton’s Joe Royle in 1995--the last time the competition was won by a team outside the ’big four’ of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
“It’s fantastic for everybody, the team, the fans and especially my family,“ said Redknapp.
“It’s been a difficult year (he was also the subject of a dawn raid by police over bung allegations.) It’s a dream come true. We are a very close family and this is a fantastic present to give them.“
For his Cardiff counterpart Dave Jones there was sorrow but also great pride. “We gave everything and every player whether he was Welsh, Irish or English did as much for the cause.“