Cape Town: Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has found at least one player more deserving than himself to win the Lev Yashin goalkeeping award at the World Cup — Uruguay striker Luis Suarez.

The goalie sent a text message to his Ajax teammate that “even now he already is the best ’keeper of the tournament.” Suarez was sent off for a deliberate handball on the line that denied Ghana a winning goal in the dying seconds of Friday’s quarter final.

Sweater luck

Erasmia: Germany coach Joachim Loew will continue to wear his trademark blue sweater at matches and won’t have it cleaned while his team keep winning. He claimed on Monday he was not superstitious but admitted that pressure from other coaching staff and players to keep wearing his familiar sweater.

Bacher point

Johannesburg: Former captain and ex-managing director of the South Africa cricket board Dr Ali Bacher has called for the introduction of video technology in football. “It’s working well for cricket, its been working well for rugby and netball but in soccer they are still debating it, I don’t understand because video technology has proved to assist in terms of minimising wrong decisions,” Bacher said.

Practice miss

Atteridgeville: Central defender Arne Friedrich and midfielder Sami Khedira have missed Germany’s training two days before the World Cup semi-final match against Spain. Friedrich has a right foot problem and Khedira is nursing a left hamstring injury.

Two quit

Asuncion: Coach Gerardo Martino is leaving the Paraguay national team and striker Roque Santa Cruz says this was his last World Cup. Martino and Santa Cruz announced their plans Monday as the team arrived home following a 0-1 loss in the quarter finals to Spain.

Proud Parreira

Johannesburg: Former South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira says he is proud of the team he led at the 2010 World Cup despite their failure to reach the knockout rounds. Nonetheless, Parreira says the national team now has an “identity” and has left a legacy for the future.

Bid probed

Sydney: The Football Federation Australia has denied claims that it misled the Australian government over the use of taxpayers money in its bid to host the 2022 World Cup. The federation stated that it opened its books to government investigators after newspapers reported that two European lobbyists stood to earn more than $9 million in fees and bonuses if Australia's bid succeeds.

Agencies