Mexico City: Footballing great Pele has said he fancied Brazil to win the World Cup. “For me, Brazil is the best team but it’s not easy to win the World Cup,” he told a press conference on Monday. “Italy and England are very good and are the two European teams that have the greatest chance.

“France could also do something. Because they didn’t finish the last World Cup as it was expecting it could arrive with the best intentions. There are some players of great talent like Zinedine Zidane and David Trezeguet.”

Hotel to cash in on samba stars

Zurich: Do you fancy spending a night in the same hotel room that Ronaldinho, star of Brazil’s World Cup squad, has just slept in?

If so, make your bid in an eBay online auction launched by a luxury hotel in central Switzerland where the Brazilian team will set up training camp next Monday. The highest bid so far for Ronaldinho’s double room is 502 Swiss francs ($415).

Lahm injured

Mannheim: Germany defender Philipp Lahm was taken to hospital on Tuesday after injuring his left elbow in a fall during a practice match against amateur side Luckenwalde. “We don’t know how serious it is yet but hope that he will be able to fly with us to our training camp in Sardinia,” Juergen Klinsmann said. Lahm was racing towards the Luckenwalde goal when he tripped over a defender and landed hard on his left arm. Germany won the match 7-0.

Refs to spot streakers

Berlin: World Cup organisers will employ pitch-side referees to spot streakers before they disrupt games. Referees and German football association (DFB) members will be seated in areas near the pitch and assigned to keep an eye on the crowd around them, Germany’s organising committee said. Nine of the 12 World Cup venues have also introduced physical barriers to deter streakers.

Goleo maker insolvent

Berlin: The German manufacturer of World Cup mascot ‘Goleo’ has declared itself insolvent. German media reports said sluggish demand for the cuddly toy lion was partly responsible for the firm’s problems.

The firm cited its inability to make payments as its reason for filing for insolvency, a spokesman for the district court in Coburg said.