Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/715731
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 17 AUGUST 2016 20 Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Ex-FIFA president Joao Havelange dies in Brazil aged 100 FORMER Fifa president Joao Havelange has died at the age of 100 The Brazilian was predecessor to Sepp Blatter at world football's governing body, serving from 1974 to 1998. He resigned as Fifa's honorary president in April 2013 following an investigation into bribery alle- gations and was admitted to hos- pital the following year with a lung infection. He was an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member from 1963 until 2011, resigning because of ill health. Havelange represented Brazil in swimming at the 1936 Olympics - the year he qualified as a lawyer - before his election to the IOC. As Fifa president he led the World Cup's expansion from 16 to 32 teams, with six competitions held under his tenure. Born on May 8, 1916, Havelange turned 100 this year. He had been in and out of hospi- tals in recent years due to respira- tory problems. Joao Havelange Schweinsteiger and Podolski to be rewarded with Germany farewell BASTIAN Schweinsteiger and Lu- kas Podolski will be honoured with farewell matches after announcing their retirement from international duty, according to a statement by the German Football Association. Schweinsteiger revealed his inten- tion to end his international career after winning his 120th cap in Ger- many's Euro 2016 semi-final defeat by France in July, and will have a final opportunity to say goodbye to supporters against Finland in Moe- nchengladbach on Aug. 31. Podolski announced that he no longer wanted to be considered for international selection in a post on his official Instagram account on Monday (poldi_official), although due to a ankle injury, the date of his farewell match has not yet been confirmed. "I know it means a lot for them to play for Germany one more time," German manager Joachim Loew told the federation's official web- site. (www.dfb.de) "This proves how much the team meant and still means to them." Both players were part of Ger- many's 2014 World Cup-winning squad. Podolski is Germany's third most-capped player with 129 ap- pearances; Schweinsteiger has made 120. Schweinsteiger and Podolski celebrate their World Cup victory BARCELONA coach Luis Enrique has confirmed that more new faces will arrive at the Nou Camp this transfer window while some squad members will be sold.The Spanish cham- pions have recruited An- dre Gomes, Samuel Um- titi, Lucas Digne and Denis Suarez since the end of last season while Marc Bartra, Thomas Vermaelen, Adri- ano Correia and Sandro Ramirez have departed. "I believe that players will come and some players will leave," Luis Enrique said in Tuesday's news conference. Sports daily Marca re- ported that Manchester City had reached an agree- ment with Barca to buy goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who made 32 league ap- pearances for the Catalans last season and that Valen- cia goalkeeper Diego Alves would replace Bravo at the Nou Camp. Bravo, the Chile captain, faces stiff competition from Germany interna- tional Marc-Andre ter Ste- gen to be the club's first- choice keeper while Jordi Masip is also contending for more playing time. "All the players want to be starters," Luis Enrique said. "But no one has come to me to tell me that be- cause they don't have to." When asked how he was managing the goalkeep- ing situation, Luis Enrique said: "I've just told them (Stegen and Bravo) not to knock themselves with the goal posts or the net, the rest is up to them... "I just want three goal- keepers in my first team." Barca, who won La Liga and the King's Cup last season, are still looking to reinforce their formida- ble front line led by Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. However, Luis Enrique said: "There are many ru- mours circulating and I'm not going to get into it. Our focus right now is on Wednesday's final." Barca host Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday holding a 2-0 advantage from the open- ing leg. Luis Enrique expects more Barcelona signings