Johnston ends career with title flourish

Around the World

United States

United States

Maurice Johnston's playing career came to a triumphant conclusion on Sunday as he helped Kansas City Wizards win their first Major League Soccer title.

The 37-year-old former Watford, Everton and Scotland striker, who also controversially played for both Rangers and Celtic, has been part of MLS since its first season in 1996. He had a last game to remember in Washington DC, where he played a part in Miklos Molnar's 11th-minute winner which earned the Wizards a 1-0 win over Chicago Fire in the MLS Cup, the end-of-season championship play-off.

Johnston's clever dummy gave Molnar, a former Danish international, the time and space to bury a cross from Chris Klein for the crucial goal. Hristo Stoichkov, the Bulgarian legend, came closest for the Fire when he hit a post.

"This ranks up there amongst the best," an emotional Johnston said. "When you've won something outside your own country, it's been tremendous for me. For five years, we've had our backs against the wall, but this year the team has been unbelievable. I'm so proud of them." His team-mates included another former Evertonian: Predrag Radosavljevic.

Yugoslavia

Yugoslav football was in a state of predictable turmoil last week even before a riot by fans throwing fireworks and plastic chairs forced the Belgrade derby between Red Star and Partizan to be abandoned after just three minutes of play on Saturday.

The country's new political authorities stopped a self-styled "crisis committee" from taking over the Yugoslav Football Association on Friday. However, protesters left when police arrived with a representative from the new government.

Branko Bulatovic, the FA's secretary-general, said it had been aware people might take advantage of the transitional political period to stage a "coup" - but he added: "I don't know quite how they imagined a takeover of the Yugoslav FA. We are not a grocery store one can just walk into."

Brazil

Antonio Lopes, a former police detective who is now the coach of the First Division club Atletico Paranaense, has been appointed to a new post of technical co-ordinator of the Brazilian national team.