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Real, Bayern Win Titles
Mancini Confident Despite Defeat
Nadal Crowned
In Barcelona
Flamini Will Join Milan

Real, Bayern Win Titles
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Real MadridÕs Dutch Arjen Robben (up) reacts after scoring a goal.
Bayern Munich wrapped up their 21st German football title on Sunday with a goalless draw at VfL Wolfsburg, completing a start-to-finish domination of the Bundesliga.
The result gave Bayern 67 points an unassailable 10-point lead over Werder Bremen with three matches left of the season.
The final whistle triggered joyful celebrations on the pitch by Bayern players.
Bayern led the Bundesliga from the start and have now sealed a seventh league and cup double, and a third in four seasons after 2005 and 2006 under Felix Magath, now in charge at Wolfsburg.
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Bayern Munich players celebrate after the Wolfsburg match.
For outgoing coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, it was a fifth league title and a third domestic double with Bayern--to go with two league titles with Borussia Dortmund and Champions League victories with both clubs.
“It was a special season because the expectations were huge and there had been great disappointment from last year,“ Hitzfeld told Premiere TV. “The pressure was high. We invested heavily in new players and you never know how it is going to go.
“It gives me great satisfaction that I can hand over to Juergen Klinsmann a super team which can again compete at the top next season.“
Club president Franz Beckenbauer said: “The team deserved it, it led from the start. It was a very good season.“
It was perhaps fitting that Bayern were able to seal the title in Wolfsburg, led by former coach Magath, and where five years ago they also clinched the last title with Hitzfeld. But there was little sparkle in the performance from a reshuffled Bayern side minus the injured goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, defender Lucio, midfielders Franck Ribery and Ze Roberto and striker Miroslav Klose.
Bayern, routed 4-0 by Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, were unable to raise their game against a workmanlike Wolfsburg, fighting for a UEFA Cup place.
Elsewhere in Europe and in Spain, Real Madrid fought their way back after a sending off and going a goal down to snatch a dramatic 2-1 victory at Osasuna and win their 31st Spanish league title on Sunday.
With Villarreal beating Getafe 2-0 in an earlier match, Real had to win the game to retain the championship but suffered a major setback when defender Fabio Cannavaro was dismissed at the start of the second half.
Real looked to be in even more trouble when Osasuna midfielder Patxi Punal struck home from the penalty spot after centre-back Gabriel Heinze had handled in the area with eight minutes to go.
But Dutch winger Arjen Robben equalized in the 87th, heading in after Gonzalo Higuain whipped a free kick into the area and the Argentine struck the winner when he lashed past Ricardo a minute from the final whistle. With three matches left to play, Real have an unassailable 10-point lead over Villarreal at the top of the table. It is the first time they have won back-to-back league titles since they won five in a row between 1986 and 1990.
“This team demonstrated that it has guts, determination . . . everything,“ Real president Ramon Calderon told Canal Plus television.
“This team can never be written off and they won the title in heroic fashion. Winning the title two years in a row is a huge achievement.“

Mancini Confident Despite Defeat
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Roberto Mancini
Inter Milan Coach Roberto Mancini insisted he was still confident of landing the Serie A crown despite Sunday’s 2-1 defeat against AC Milan in the city derby.
A victory for Inter or a defeat for AS Roma at Sampdoria would have seen Mancini’s men crowned champions already, but his team lost and Roma came away from Genoa with a stunning 3-0 victory.
But Inter still have two more matches to play to try to earn the three points they need to wrap up the Scudetto and the coach believes that will happen on Sunday at home to Siena.
“The title, we’ll win that on Sunday, I’ve no doubts about that,“ he told AFP.
“I’ve always thought that the game where we wrapped up the title would be the one against Siena, above all because I was sure that Roma would not drop points in Genoa.
“The lads have done really well up until now and I don’t think this defeat will affect their calm.
“At the worst, if we don’t manage it against Siena, we’ll do it against Parma, it doesn’t change much.
“But we’re sure that on Sunday we’ll play a great match. In the meantime we’ll also concentrate on the cup semifinal because we also want to win that.“

Nadal Crowned
In Barcelona
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Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal did not let a little slip-up stop his dominant run at the Open Sabadell Atlantico.
Nadal claimed his fourth consecutive title at the $1.39 million claycourt tournament with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Spanish compatriot David Ferrer on Sunday.
Nadal, who pocketed $210,000 with the win, claimed his 20th consecutive match despite finally dropping a set. Unable to close out the win in the middle set, the 21-year-old had a string of 26 consecutive sets won, a streak dating back to 2006.
“I’m very happy with this win,“ Nadal told Ticker. “It was a tough match, but I was mentally strong during the whole game and kept fighting. As David started playing better in the second set, I tried to stay calm and focus on my game.“
Overall, Nadal is 21-1 all-time at Barcelona, with his only loss coming against countryman Alex Corretja in the second round in his debut appearance in 2003.
Nadal’s run at this claycourt tournament was the most dominant since Mats Wilander in the early 1980s. Prior to last year, the Swede was the only player to win three straight titles here, and missed a fourth by losing to Thierry Tulasne in the final in 1985.

Flamini Will Join Milan
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Mathieu Flamini
Arsenal’s French midfielder Mathieu Flamini was due to arrive in Milan on Sunday night to sign a deal with AC Milan, club vice-president, Adriano Galliani said on Sunday.
He was speaking after Milan beat city rivals Inter to move into fourth spot in Serie A and consequently a Champions League qualification position.
Club president Silvio Berlusconi confirmed the news about Flamini but also said that the reigning European champions were no longer interested in signing Brazil star Ronaldinho.
Asked about Flamini on Italia 1 TV, Galliani said: “He’s coming here tonight and will sign a four-year deal.“
The 24-year-old joined the Gunners from Marseille in 2004 and after being no more than a bit-part player for his first three seasons, he’s become a fixture in the first 11 this season.
Meanwhile, Berlusconi did an about turn on Ronaldinho, whom Milan had previously claimed would join them if he left Barcelona.
The Catalans’ asking price of at least 40 million euros is more than double the Italians are willing to pay, though, and now Berlusconi has lost interest.
“I always doubted whether or not Ronaldinho would be useful to us,“ he said. “Now I’m certain we don’t need him.“

New Rules
China’s capital is tightening security around the highly symbolic Tiananmen Square ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games. New rules issued by the city government ban dangerous articles that affect social order and public safety.

SportsCol2
Esteqlal, Sepasi Draw
In the 31st round of IPL, Esteqlal drew against Sepasi of Shiraz 1-1 at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on Monday. Farhad Majidi scored for the Blues while Mohammadi scored Sepasi’s goal from a penalty kick.

Results of other games:
Saba Battery 3 Ð Naft 1
Zob-e Ahan 0 Ð Pas 0
Shirin Faraz 0 Ð Pegah 2
Malavan 0 Ð Paykan 1
Mes 1 Ð Abu Moslem 1

Al Gharafa Downs QSC
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Al Gharafa are one win away from a domestic double after the league champions came from a goal down to defeat Qatar Sports Club (QSC) in the semifinals of the 2008 Emir’s Cup.
According to AFC, QSC took a 14th minute lead through Uruguay-born Qatar international Sebastien Soria, who headed home a cross from Ali Karimi to score against his former employers before Al Gharafa leveled on the half-hour mark courtesy of Brazilian striker Araujo’s back-heel.
With extra-time looming Hamid Shami put Al Gharafa 2-1 up with an 82nd minute header from Younis Mahmoud’s cross before Iraq international sealed the win in the third minute into second-half stoppage-time.
Al Gharafa will now turn their attention to Wednesday’s AFC Champions League Group D clash with Arbil before the Emir’s Cup final on May 16, when they will meet Umm Salal, surprise conquerors of cup holders and fellow ACL qualifiers Al Sadd.

Bonus for Paddlers
Iranian paddler duo, Mohsen Shadi and Homa Hosseini, who have qualified for Olympics, will be awarded a cash prize of 50 million rials by Iran’s Boating Federation.
According to MNA, Mohsen Shadi, as a third-placed paddler in the Olympics qualifications, will be presented 30 million rials and Homa Hosseini, who came in fourth, will receive 20 million rials.
The two paddlers have secured Olympic berths in the Men’s and Women’s Heavyweight Single Sculls at the Shanghai Water Sports Center last week.

Kim Becomes Youngest PGA Winner
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Anthony Kim became the youngest PGA Tour winner in more than six years when he clinched an emphatic five-stroke victory at the $6.4 million Wachovia Championship in Charlton, North Carolina on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Kim, who started the final round with a four-shot lead, was never headed, picking up four birdies on the front nine en route to a three-under-par 69 in pleasant conditions at Quail Hollow, Reuters reported.
“This has been a dream of mine for a long time and I’m living it,“ he told reporters after finishing at 16-under 272.
Fellow American Ben Curtis shot the day’s best score, a 65, to finish second on 11 under.
Kim recorded a tournament record low score and the largest margin of victory in the event’s brief six-year history, collecting $1.15 million and vaulting to sixth on this year’s PGA Tour money list.
Milito Out for 6 Months
Barcelona’s Argentina center back Gabriel Milito will be out of action for around six months after surgery on a knee injury, the Primera Liga club said on Monday.
Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure will also undergo an operation for a slipped disc that he has been carrying for some time, after the end of the campaign.
Milito injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the Champions League semifinal second leg defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford last week.
“ He will undergo arthroscopic surgery to resolve the problem next week, after which time it will be clearer how long he will be out of action. It will be around six months,“ a statement from their medical services said on the club’s website.
The 27-year-old tore the same ligament in 2001 and that injury was controversially cited as the reason for a failed move to Real Madrid in 2003.