Duster, Dacia’s first SUV, will be officially launched in Romania on March 18 in the presence of former Formula 1 pilot Alain Prost, who drove the race version of the SUV in the Andros Trophy ice racing in France. Automobile Dacia officials said the new model will be delivered to Romanian dealers’ showrooms on April 15. However, registrations for the Duster started on March 2, the same day when the car was officially launched internationally, in Geneva. President Traian Basescu will be the first Duster SUV buyer in early April.

Duster, presented by the World Records Academy as the cheapest SUV in the world, will be available in Romania at prices ranging from EUR 10,500 to EUR 15,600, VAT included. Dacia has been receiving orders for Duster since March 2, with the first deliveries set to start in April. Dacia is currently manufacturing approximately 100 Dusters per day but the production capacity will grow if the demand increases. Dacia’s first SUV is the...

Real Madrid claimed the La Liga summit at the weekend yet coach Manuel Pellegrini knows the appetite of the club’s faithful will only start to be satisfied when a five-year Champions League monkey is off their backs.

The Chilean guided Real to a 3-2 comeback win over Sevilla in the league to put them ahead of Barcelona for the first time in weeks but that may be quickly forgotten if they do not overturn a 1-0 deficit at home to Olympique Lyon in the Champions League last-16 on Wednesday.

“We recognise the Champions League holds a special importance for this club,” forward Cristiano Ronaldo told a news conference on Monday. “They have won it nine times and want to win it a 10th time. The final is being played here at the Bernabeu, but we have to take it game by game. Obviously, it would be a big disappointment if we didn’t progress, but I am sure we will.” Club president Florentino Perez is not known for his patience with coaches,...

Pandurii Targu Jiu finished its home-side game against Universitatea Craiova in a 0-0 draw on Sunday. This was Universitatea Craiova’s first point since it was taken over by head coach Mark Wotte (Netherlands). In the 29th minute referee Radu Petrescu sent off Universitatea midfielder Stefan Barboianu after the latter received his second yellow card for playing the ball with his hand.

Universitatea Craiova owner Adrian Mititelu congratulated his players on Monday evening for the result, saying that the club won a morale-boosting point.

“Considering that the team played one man down for about 70 minutes, considering that we had a consistent refereeing, I think this point is almost as good as a victory and I congratulate players for how they fought on the pitch,” Mititelu said.

On Monday, FC Brasov finished its home-side game against FC Vaslui in a draw, score 1-1 (0-1 at half time). It was the final game of leg 20. Delgado opened the score...

The Football Association is looking into a security breach after a tape emerged purporting to carry discussions between England coaches and players. The recording, allegedly made at the England hotel as the squad prepared for last week’s friendly with Egypt, has been offered to media outlets, BBC reports.

And it is unclear whether it was obtained through a bugging device or by the intercepting of phone calls.

It is the latest distraction in the build-up to this summer’s World Cup.

The recording, believed to be several hours long, is alleged to contain conversations between coaching staff and players at the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire ahead of the 3-1 victory over Egypt at Wembley last Wednesday.

The FA’s solicitors have written to news outlets to state the recording was obtained illicitly and that any publication of its contents would be a breach of Press Complaints Commission rules.

The incident comes in the wake of...

Adrian Mutu to be tried as repeat offender, risks two-year suspension!

Anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Tori suggests Mutu will be tried with aggravating circumstances in the ‘Sibutramine file.’ Mutu risks a long-term suspension. The alarm launched by ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’ daily last Thursday is now confirmed by the anti-doping prosecutor himself, ‘Gazeta sporturilor’ daily reports. According to calcionews24.com website, Ettore Tori, a prosecutor who has already heard the player at CONI headquarters in Rome, has warned Fiorentina’s striker: “We will seriously analyze the file and all the documents, including documents from his first doping case back when he was playing for Chelsea. Theoretically the player tested positive for the second time and that’s an aggravating circumstance.” The prosecutor also drew the conclusions: “If the hypothesis is confirmed, Mutu will risk a two-year suspension. One for...

Ahead of its game against Romania, a game scheduled on Friday in Piatra Neamt and counting for the EURO qualifiers, Albania’s sports press published several statements made by Albanian players that want to take advantage of the bad period Romania is going through in order to deliver the big surprise.

“There is a good atmosphere within the team and I am convinced that we will give everything on the pitch and we will be able to deliver the big surprise at Piatra Neamt,” Andi Lila (SK Tirana) stated for ‘Albania Sport,’ being quoted by Mediafax. “We have to focus only on our issues, not on those of our opponents. We know that Chivu, one of the world’s biggest players, will not play, but one player does not make a whole team. We want to play as best we can against Romania and we hope we will return with a positive result,” striker Hamdi Salihi (Rapid Vienna) stated. Meanwhile, Romania head coach Razvan Lucescu’s problems continue. He was forced to urgently summon Rapid’s Marius...

NEW YORK - Rafa Nadal made a smooth start to his bid to capture the one grand slam that has eluded him when he wore down Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili 7-6 7-6 6-3 in the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday.

Dressed menacingly in an all black outfit, Nadal had to dig deep to see off the stubborn Gabashvili after three hours of intense shotmaking from both men at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Neither player dropped serve in the opening two sets but Nadal’s superior big-match experience came through when it mattered and he won both tiebreakers before Gabashvili finally cracked in the third set. “I prefer to play one hour and 10 minutes,” Nadal said. “Everybody wants to win easier. “(When) you play against (lower-ranked) players they don’t have much to lose, so they play aggressive. I had a difficult match, but I think I did play well.” Nadal’s straight sets win capped another dramatic day when most of the results went according to the script but not before some brutal...

All but two of FC Vaslui’s players boycotted the team’s morning training session on Wednesday, under the pretext that club owner Adrian Porumboiu gave them several days of holiday. Porumboiu is displeased with head coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro’s performance, the team being 14th in the standings with only 5 points in 6 games, but hesitates sacking him. FC Vaslui finished last season on a prestigious 3rd place. “Let it be clear, contrary to all rumours I have not given up coaching the team. I am not giving up and I want to be allowed to do my job,” Caro stated for Mediafax.

On the other hand, Unirea Urziceni, the team that won the title two years ago and 8 points in the Champions League groups’ stage, is rudderless. Club owner Dumitru Bucsaru signed on Tuesday what is basically the team’s death certificate, allowing all players to leave the team free of contract. Invoking financial difficulties, Bucsaru would have liked to pull the team out of League I, but in that case he...

NEW YORK - Roger Federer served notice he was still a powerhouse at the U.S. Open and punctuated his performance with another sensational shot for the ages in a first-round rout over Argentine Brian Dabul on Monday.

Federer, whose run of five successive U.S. titles was snapped last year in a five-set final against Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, closed the opening day’s action with a 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory on Arthur Ashe center court.

The Swiss maestro turned master showman when he reprised the between-the-legs winner he hit last year in the semi-finals against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic with an equally spectacular between-the-legs winner that left Dabul stunned on the other side of the net late in the second set. “I’ve only hit a few in my life and two on center court in night session play here in New York,” the second-seeded Federer said in an on-court interview. “It’s amazing to share this moment with you guys. Thanks for the ovation and I love it.” Federer blasted 18...

ANKARA – Leandro Barbosa’s potential game-tying lay-up caught the rim but didn’t go down as the USA survived to beat Brazil 70-68 in a memorable game at Abdi Ipekci Arena on Monday, fiba.com informs.

Marcelo Huertas was fouled in the final seconds, but his first free-throw was short. He missed the second one intentionally and chased the ball down before passing to Barbosa under the basket who shot it high off the backboard and saw his effort hit the rim only to stay out. The USA did enough to maintain a perfect record (3-0) as they barely passed their first real test at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

In Kayseri, Serbia improved to 2-1 by crushing Jordan 112-69 as team captain Milos Teodosic returned to the line-up and made his presence felt right away, helping his team take a 33-20 first quarter lead to never look back.

Back in Istanbul, Slovenia used a strong second half and some balanced scoring to overcome an early eight-point deficit and see off...

Hagi and Popescu to play again in charity game

The ‘Teodora Georgescu’ foundation is organising on Wednesday evening on Dinamo stadium a charity game between a team made up of Romanian football legends (including Hagi, Gica Popescu, Andone and Adrian Ilie) and a team made up of artists. The funds collected will be donated to the Bucharest-based ‘Marie Curie’ Pediatric Hospital. “When we’re talking about children we should all show sensitivity. Especially when talking about children with problems. We are here to bring into the limelight three important state sectors: health, culture and education. Society, Romania’s future, means investing in children,” Gheorghe Hagi stated before the game. Among others, the artists’ team will include Serban Huidu, Mihai Gainusa, Emil Gradinescu, Robert Turcescu and Virgil Iantu. The team’s goalkeeper will be former Romanian international Florin Prunea.

League I: Victoria Branesti 1 – Astra Ploiesti 1

Victoria...

Romania defeated Spain (world runner-up) on Monday, score 11-10, in its second Group A game at the European Water Polo Championship in Zagreb, Croatia. It was a resounding success against one of the strongest teams in the world. Romania defeat Turkey in its first group game, score 12-6.

Spain had defeated Romania at the World Cup in Oradea, score 14-8.

Things were different on Monday when Romania won a fairly balanced game. By defeating Spain (2-1, 3-2, 3-5, 3-2) Romania chalked up its second win at the European Championships in Croatia. This was Spain’s second defeat in the tournament after previously losing to Italy, score 6-7.

“We lost the last two games against Spain but today (Monday – editor’s note) things were different. We were far more focused and we were also lucky. We won both of our group games but we still have a lot of work to do,” Ladislav Balanov, Romania’s assistant coach, stated for the tournament’s official website.

Romania...

Steaua Bucharest drew against FC Timisoara at home on Sunday evening but the result was enough to put Steaua at the top of the League I standings for the first time in well over two years. Ilie Dumitrescu’s players did well in the first half, having numerous opportunities, but opened the score 8 minutes after the start of the second half. Bogdan Stancu executed a free kick, his shot shook the post and Pacuraru pounced on the rebound from outside the box, his long-range effort finding the net. After scoring Steaua’s players showed signs of fatigue, with Timisoara starting to have important opportunities. Cosmin Contra equalised in the 80th minute. The fullback took advantage of Steaua goalkeeper Tatarusanu’s erroneous placement on the goal line and scored from a free kick. “It was a veritable game. Both teams had very difficult games in the European Cups. We came back into the game towards the end, it’s a pity we didn’t play like that from the start,” FC Timisoara head coach Vladimir...

Turkey stayed undefeated on Day 2 of the 2010 FIBA World Championship by beating Russia 65-56. In front of a 10,000 strong crowd packed in Ankara Arena – including Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – Bogdan Tanjevic’s side suffocated Russia defensively and got a huge boost from Hedo Turkoglu, who broke out of a shooting slump to hit key baskets down the stretch to stay atop Group C. In Kayseri, Germany caused quite a surprise as they outlasted Serbia 82-81 in a thrilling encounter that went into double overtime. Serb Aleksandar Radic hit two three-pointers in the closing seconds of regulation to force the first extra session and Kosta Perovic’s free-throw with just over a minute left in the first additional period was enough to force the second one. Germany’s Jan Jagla made an unbelievable off balance three-pointer and Dirk Bauermann’s men held on to win by the slimmest of...

Tour of Spain leader Mark Cavendish, battling with bouts of sickness, suffered a surprise defeat in Sunday’s sprint finish in Marbella when he was beaten by Yauheni Hutarovich of Belarus. Widely rated the best sprinter in the world, Cavendish retained the race leader’s red jersey but was unable to stop the FDJ rider claiming the stage by half a wheel. American Tyler Farrar was third. Hutarovich’s victory came on a day of intense heat, with temperatures peaking in the mid-thirties Celsius as the riders made their way over the exposed high sierras of Ronda in southern Andalusia. The Tour of Spain ends on September 19 in...

Contra summoned to national team

Romania’s Cosmin Contra (34), a veteran player that had announced his retirement after the Sunday’s game against Steaua Bucharest, was summoned at the national football team for its Euro 2012 preliminary games against Albania and Belarus. Contra will replace fullback Cristian Sapunaru who is injured. Contra has 72 caps and has scored 7 goals for the national team. Lucescu has also summoned Mihai Roman (Rapid) who will replace midfielder Cristian Tanase (Steaua) who is injured. Romania will play against Albania on September 3 at 9 PM in Piatra Neamt and against Belarus on September 7 at 8.30 PM in Minsk.

Women’s handball: Oltchim wins Sika Cup

Oltchim Ramnicu Valcea won the Sika Cup tournament in Bad Urach, Germany, after defeating Russia’s Zvezda Zvenigorod in the final, score 23-19 (11-11 at half time). Romania’s goals were scored by Neague (6), Ozel (5), Puscasu-Curea (4), Stanca (3), Maier-Farcau (2),...

At the end of last week Steaua Bucharest spectacularly qualified for the Europa League groups’ stage by winning its away game against Switzerland’s Grasshopper Zurich (0-1 after 90 minutes, 4-3 after penalty kicks). Steaua won the first leg too, score 1-0. Steaua goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu parried two penalty kicks, many observers comparing him with Steaua legend Helmuth Dukadam, the goalkeeper that parried all penalty kicks in the Champions Cup final that Steaua won against FC Sevilla in 1986. Moreover, Razvan Lucescu, head coach of the national football team, announced after the game that he will include Tatarusanu in the team’s extended lineup.

The day after its win Steaua found out its group opponents following the draws that took place in Monte Carlo. Gigi Becali’s team will be part of Group K where it will face three formidable teams – Liverpool, Napoli and FC Utrecht.

Steaua head coach Ilie Dumitrescu expressed his satisfaction with the result of the...

Dinamo Bucharest is increasingly surprising with each passing leg. After spectacularly winning its away game against Targu Mures last leg, this Saturday Dinamo surprisingly lost at home against newly-promoted Universitatea Cluj, score 3-4. U Cluj, a team that uses a large group of former Dinamo players, defeated Dinamo after a 30-year break, three of its goals being scored by former Dinamo players – Claudiu Niculescu (double) and Valentin Lemnaru. At the end of the game Niculescu applauded with tears in his eyes the Dinamo fans that kept chanting his name for minutes on end. Dinamo head coach Ioan Andone took full responsibility for the failure but harshly criticised the team’s defence. “The head coach is always guilty for this kind of games. I am guilty for not making the players understand that you have to focus a lot at home after scoring six goals in an away game. The errors were childish. I don’t know what other solution to come up with in the defence,” Andone said. In another...

Kayak-canoe: 6 Gold medals for Romanian students in Poznan

Romania has won 6 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal at the World University Sprint Championships in Poznan, Poland last week end. In the first 1,000-metre finals that took place on Saturday, C2 and C4 teams won Gold, while K4 team won Silver. World and European champions Silviu Dumitrescu and Victor Mihalachi won the C2 race in 3 minutes, 38 seconds and 74 thousands of a second. Florin Simion, Nicolae Bogdan, Florin Comanici and Gabriel Gheoaca won the C4 race in 3 minutes, 19 seconds and 239 thousands of a second.

Tennis: Tecau wins in New Haven

Romanian tennis player Horia Tecau and Sweden’s Robert Lindstedt have won the doubles event at the New Haven tournament in Connecticut, a tournament with total prizes worth USD 663,750, after defeating India’s Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi in the final, score 6-4, 7-5. Tecau will receive USD 18,250 and 250...

MONACO - Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder and Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan can strengthen their cases to be World Player of the Year with more stellar performances in Friday’s European Super Cup.

Sneijder was inspirational in Inter’s Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup treble last term before helping the Netherlands to the final of the World Cup, where Uruguay’s Forlan was named Player of the Tournament.

The winner of the new combined FIFA Golden Ball award for 2010 will be announced in January and both players are in the running despite their modesty.

“At the moment I’m not thinking about what I can win, just the match with Atletico,” Sneijder told Inter’s TV channel. “Personal awards are great but you can’t win them without having a solid team at your back.”

Ominously for Inter and then La Liga, Forlan is fired up for the new season despite his exertions in leading Uruguay to the semi-finals in South Africa. “After my holiday I...

BERNE - Peter Crouch struck a hat-trick to help Tottenham Hotspur complete a great comeback against Young Boys and reach the Champions League for the first time while Luis Suarez led Ajax Amsterdam back to the elite in a 2-1 win over Dynamo Kiev.

Tottenham’s 4-0 win at White Hart Lane on Wednesday took them through 6-3 on aggregate — a prospect that had looked highly unlikely when they trailed 3-0 after less than half an hour of last week’s first match, which they eventually lost 3-2. They were given a helping hand in a play-off second leg played in pouring rain when Jermain Defoe clearly used his arm to control the ball before firing a second goal that effectively put the game out of the Swiss team’s reach.

Uruguay World Cup striker Suarez got the first goal as four-times European champions Ajax overcame Dynamo 3-2 on aggregate to reach the group stage for the first time since 2005-06 — the last occasion their Ukrainian opponents failed to qualify. Slovakian...

The draws for the 2010/2011 Champions League season took place on Thursday evening, after the closing of this edition. Romanian title holders CFR Cluj was in bowl 4, alongside Twente, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Rubin Kazan, Auxerre, Partizan Belgrade, Zilina and Bursaspor. The draws took place within the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and included teams from 18 countries. Six of the teams reached the CL group stage for the first time....

Piturca signs for Universitatea Craiova

Former Steaua head coach Victor Piturca signed on Thursday a three-year contract with Universitatea Craiova and led the team’s first training session that very evening, club owner Adrian Mititelu announced, Mediafax informs. Adrian Mititelu pointed out that Victor Piturca’s staff will consist of Florin Marin, Ovidiu Costesin and Gabriel Boldici. Silvian Cristescu will be the club’s new president. Piturca will coach Universitatea Craiova on Saturday during its leg 4 game against Sportul Studentesc. Piturca coached Steaua in the first three legs of this season but left the club because of disagreements with club owner Gigi Becali.

Mirel Radoi scores for Al Hilal

Former Steaua skipper Mirel Radoi has scored again for Al Hilal. The Romanian player opened the score in the 56th minute with a 20-meter shot in a game that his team went on to win, score 5-1. The result keeps Al Hilal on top of the standings after...

BERNE - Sevilla, who reached the last 16 of the Champions League last season, were handed a shock playoff defeat by unfashionable Braga on Tuesday while Werder Bremen pulled off a spectacular escape act to oust Sampdoria.

Substitute Lima, 27, a Brazilian journeyman forward, came on to score a second-half hat-trick to give Braga a 4-3 win in Spain and send the Portuguese outfit into the group stage for the first time 5-3 on aggregate.

Werder, leading 3-1 from the first leg, went 3-0 down at Sampdoria before substitute Markus Rosenberg scored in the third minute of stoppage time to set up extra-time.

Claudio Pizarro then netted as the Bundesliga team lost 3-2 on the night but qualified 5-4 on aggregate to leave Spain and Italy with only three teams in Europe’s top club competition.

There was further drama as Partizan Belgrade knocked out Anderlecht 3-2 on penalties after drawing 2-2 in Belgium where the visitors let slip a two-goal lead in the last...

Unirea Urziceni, Steaua Bucharest, FC Timisoara and FC Vaslui, the Romanian teams still present in European Cups, will play the return legs of their Europa League playoffs this evening.

Ahead of its game in Bucharest, Hajduk Split head coach Stanko Poklepovic stated on Tuesday during a press conference that his team has to put aside the euphoria occasioned by its 4-1 victory in the first leg and to withstand the offensive force of Unirea Urziceni, a team that finished last season on second place, ‘Slobodna Dalmacija’ daily informs, quoted by Mediafax.

Grasshoppers and Steaua will play in Zurich at 8.30 PM. Steaua won the first leg, 1-0. Grasshoppers lost two crucial players ahead of the decisive game on Thursday, namely striker Rennella and goalkeeper Konig. Vincenzo Rennella (22) suffered a muscle injury, while goalkeeper Swen Konig (25) suffered a concussion in the groin area.

Manchester City will play against FC Timisoara in Manchester on Thursday at...