Coaching

AS Roma manager José Mourinho stole a move straight out of the pages of a spy novel when he wore a wire on the touchline during his team's 1-1 draw at Monza in Serie A on Wednesday, which he said was to protect himself from the match officials.

Mourinho, who is no stranger to clashes with referees, tore into Daniele Chiffi after the game, describing the 38-year-old official as "the worst I've ever encountered."

LONDON - Frank Lampard has returned to Chelsea as caretaker manager until the end of the season following the sacking of Graham Potter, the Premier League club confirmed on Thursday.

The club's record goalscorer and fans' favorite previously spent 19 months as manager at Stamford Bridge before being dismissed in January 2021.

Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic were among 24 players named in the United States squad for a training camp in Orlando ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League final four, U.S. Soccer said on Wednesday.

The U.S. are bidding to retain the title and qualify for this year's Gold Cup.

It will be the full squad's first meet-up since last year's World Cup.

"We come out of the World Cup knowing we're capable of more, and we're excited to keep moving forward in this group," said interim manager Anthony Hudson, who replaced former coach Gregg Berhalter in January.

MANCHESTER, England - Pep Guardiola has won nine major trophies at Manchester City but the Spaniard said his managerial era at the Premier League club will be defined by whether he delivers their first Champions League title.

Guardiola has won four Premier League titles, one FA Cup and four League Cups at City but European success has eluded the manager who won the trophy twice as Barcelona manager, with the English club's best finish being runners-up in 2021.

PARIS - France women's national soccer team coach Corinne Diacre has been sacked on the recommendation of the Executive Committee, the French soccer federation (FFF) said on Thursday.

Former France captain Wendie Renard said last month she would not play at this year's World Cup and French multimedia outlet RMC Sport reported that Renard said she would not represent the national side as long as Diacre is in charge.

Newly appointed China head coach Aleksandar Janković is aiming to guide the Asian country to qualification for the 2026 World Cup, the Serbian said, adding that the team has room for improvement.

Despite major government ambitions for the team, China have qualified for the World Cup only once in 2002 when they lost all three of their group matches and failed to score a goal.

It took all of 24 matches but Cremonese finally won a Serie A game on Tuesday, and the most remarkable thing is that they recorded it over Roma after also shocking José Mourinho's team in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals at the beginning of the month.

No club in Europe's big five leagues had remained winless this long, but Cremonese — based in the Lombardy region of northern Italy — actually moved into 19th-place with all three points (12 overall) while dropping hapless Sampdoria (11 points) to dead last.