Mohammad Alirezaei

Iran’s swimmer Mohammad Alirezaei moved up 11 places to stand 15th in the recently released FINA (FŽdŽration Internationale de Natation) rankings.
According to Presstv, the 22-year-old Iranian reached the position after clocking 27.95 seconds in the 50-meter breaststroke, breaking the national record by 0.36 seconds on Friday.
Earlier, Alirezaei was placed 26th in the FINA world swimming rankings with 28.31 seconds.
Australia’s Rickard Brenton ranked first with 27.30 seconds. Alirezaei took the berth for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Croatia after he clocked 1.03.03 minutes in the 100-meter breaststroke on July 10 2008.
The international swimming federation, FINA, was founded on July 19, 1908 after the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Iran’s volleyball team, Paykan, in its third game beat Kazakhstan 3-0 (25-20, 25-9 and 25-19) in the 19th Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Paykan was victorious in its last 2 games to rank first in the Group B. It advanced to the second round which will begin on July 21, according to Mehr News Agency.
Before the match, Paykan beat Al-Nasr of the UAE on Friday. The Iranian side defeated Al-Nasr 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-14) in its second match in the competition, Presstv reported.
Earlier on Thursday, Paykan overcame China’s Hainan 3-1 in its first encounter.
The 19th Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship began on June 17 and will continue until July 24.
Paykan won the 2007 Asian Men’s Volleyball Clubs Championship for the second consecutive year after thrashing Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 3-0 in the final in the Bahraini capital of Manama.

Kaka

AC Milan’s Brazilian star Kaka is set to move to English Premier League side Chelsea on a world-record transfer of £80 million, his advisor claimed on Saturday.
The Italian club signed the international teammate of Ronaldinho Wednesday despite reported financial difficulties, and Kaka’s personal assistant Diogo Kotscho claims all parties involved now want the deal to go through.
“Real Madrid offered Û90 million last summer and Milan did not even think about the bid,“ Kotscho told The Guardian.
“This time is different. This is the first time we feel that a deal will definitely happen.
“Because of Milan’s situation at the moment, the deal is good for all parties involved. “The move would represent a significant increase in Kaka’s salary, on top of the 10 percent transfer fee that goes straight to the player anyway some Û15 million.
“Chelsea is the club to be at right now. They are building a team to win everything.“
Any deal looks certain to break the world record transfer fee of Û80 million set when Real Madrid signed Zinedine Zidane from Juventus in 2001.
If he moved the FIFA World Player of the Year would be reunited with manager Luiz Felipe Scolari who handed him a Brazil debut in 2002 and then included him in the squad that went on to win the World Cup that year.
Kaka, 26, is under contract with Milan until 2012. But he was irritated by the club’s refusal to let him play for Brazil in the Olympics, followed by their agreement to let Ronaldinho go to Beijing.

Bayern Munich boss Jurgen Klinsmann’s new coaching methods will have major implications not only for German football but for the global game, according to club president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, AFP said.
Players returning to Bayern after their post-Euro 2008 vacations will find a radically transformed club, as Klinsmann rings in sweeping changes similar to those he implemented as Germany national team coach between 2004-06.
The new approach will be “not only for the Bundesliga but for the entire football world,“ Rummenigge said.
The 43-year-old Klinsmann stamped his authority at the beginning of the month, banning mobile phones and implementing eight-hour training sessions at the club’s new performance centre.
Replete with buddhist statues, the centre designed by Klinsmann will “release positive energy“ and contain areas for relaxation, rest, study and massage.
“It is my philosophy that each player must want to improve each day,“ Klinsmann said with Zen-like clarity earlier this month.
“I would like to take the players to the next level, if each player becomes better, so too will the team.“
The changes seem to be paying off, with a Bayern Munich second string side thrashing amateur side Lippstadt 7-1 last week, Klinsmann’s first success at the Bayern helm.
“It was interesting to see how the players reacted to the first two weeks of training,“ said Klinsmann, who replaced Ottmar Hitzfeld, now in charge of the Swiss national side, on July 1.
Euro 2008 stars such as Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose, absent for that match after being granted holiday extensions, will be closely monitored in the early sessions as they attempt to reach match fitness.
Bayern four-time champions of European won the league and cup double last season and are hoping to make a big impression in the Champions League, which they last won in 2001.

Francesco Totti

Francesco Totti is not ruling out a return to the Italian national team, the AS Roma captain said.
The 31-year-old, who picked up a World Cup winners’ medal in 2006, retired from the international soccer last year saying his body was no longer up to playing for both club and county.
However, the return to the Azzurri dugout of Marcello Lippi, with whom Totti said he had a “great relationship“, raised hopes that the player may return.
“If I’m well and I don’t have problems, it will be possible to address this issue in six months or a year,“ Totti, who missed the end of the last season with a knee injury, told Saturday’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.
On the domestic front, Totti said Roma, runners-up in Serie A last season, need to make two major signings in the close season if they are to compete with Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus for the title.
He still seems to bear a grudge against Christian Poulsen, Juve’s latest signing, after being banned for three matches for spitting at the Denmark midfielder during a Euro 2004 group game.
Totti said he had been provoked and he was not impressed by Poulsen’s recent offer to shake his hand.
“It’s easy to talk now,“ he said.
“He could have come and told the truth at the hearing the day after. I don’t think he adds anything (to Juve) at the technical level.“

With great reluctance, the Los Angeles Lakers decided at Friday’s deadline they wouldn’t match Golden State’s offer for Ronny Turiaf, meaning the former second-round draft choice will move up the California coast to play for the Warriors, Reuters said.
“There are emotional ties with Ronny that go beyond basketball,“ Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said on a conference call. “I think that makes it difficult. I think organizations that draft players who turn out to be good players, it’s hard for them to let go of those players. And if you know Ronny, you know he’s a special kid.“
The Warriors signed Turiaf, a restricted free agent, to a four-year, $17 million offer sheet last week. By rule, the Lakers had seven days to decide whether to match it. The three-year veteran from Gonzaga averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 78 games with the Western Conference champions last season, making 21 starts.
The Lakers played much of last season without starting center Andrew Bynum, giving Turiaf the opportunity for more playing time than he would have had otherwise. But, Kupchak said, Bynum is expected to be healthy when training camp begins in early October, and Turiaf’s opportunities figured to be diminished significantly.
Kupchak said Bynum has been in New York and underwent physical therapy in 19 of the last 21 days and has been cleared to work out and play.
“He’s basically on his own to begin conditioning and basketball activity, starting today,“ Kupchak said. “It’s a process. Based on what he did last year, I would expect him to come in mid-September basically in great shape. I know that’s his goal. He’s coming back this weekend, we’re going to meet with him Monday. He will go to Atlanta late next week to begin his training for the upcoming season.“
With frontcourt players like Bynum, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Walton, Trevor Ariza and Chris Mihm on the roster, that wouldn’t appear to leave much playing time for Turiaf. Kupchak said he believes that Mihm, who missed most of the last two seasons with ankle problems, will also be fully healthy at the start of training camp.
“We will miss Ronny, we will miss his contributions on and off the court, the emotion and the energy he brought, whether he’s playing or not,“ Kupchak said.