Football: Edmundo in new fracas

Edmundo, the Brazilian striker who is nicknamed the "Animal", was involved in a brawl as a South American Supercup quarter-final ended in an ugly brawl.

Flamengo were 3-0 up against Velez Sarsfield of Argentina in injury time on Tuesday night when Edmundo - who had scored one goal and set up another - slapped defender Zandona after being struck by the Argentinian's elbow in a challenge for the ball. Zandona responded with another slap and then punched the Brazilian striker to the ground. Within seconds, the match degenerated into a fight with players and coaching staff from both teams swapping punches and kung-fu kicks.

Dozens of police separated the two sides before the referee, Ernesto Fillipi, ended the match.

"If they want a fight, then they'll get a fight," Washington Rodrigues, the radio commentator turned Flamengo manager, said after the match.

Edmundo's striking partner, Romario, apparently was prepared for the punch-up. "This is the kind of thing we expect from the Argentines," he said.

As well as Edmundo's goal, an own goal by Pellegrino in the first half and a late strike by Romario gave Flamengo their 3-0 win and a 6-2 aggregate victory. The Supercup is contested by former winners of South America's Copa Libertadores for national champions.

In Germany, Uwe Seeler, the former international striker, yesterday took over as chairman of his old club, Hamburg, with the aim of steering it out of its current crisis. A statement issued by Seeler and the club's treasurer, Gerhard Flomm, one of two board members who decided to step down to make way for a group led by Seeler, said the changes were purely in the interests of the club, and that the move by the former player was not inspired by emotion.

Seeler, 58, who played for West Germany against England in the 1966 World Cup final and shares the record of 21 World Cup appearances, will take over on an interim basis pending a 27 November annual meeting.

Hamburg are next to the bottom of the Bundesliga without a win all season, and speculation is rife that coach Benno Mohlmann is about to be sacked, possibly in favour of his deputy and former Hamburg player, Felix Magath.

Seeler is still a hero at the club where he remains the all-time top scorer with 137 goals.

Hamburg, who won the European Cup in 1983 when Magath scored the goal that beat Juventus in the final, have been league champions seven times but have won nothing since lifting the German Cup in 1987.