Sporting briefs

Cassano: Sampdoria playmaker Antonio Cassano hinted he could leave the Serie A high-fliers after being upset by criticism from fans during yesterday's 0-0 home draw with his former club Bari. "It's already been three or four games where I've been whistled. The same happened at Roma and I left, it happened at Madrid and I left. Sampdoria are second in the league. I repeat second!" the ex- Roma and Real Madrid forward told reporters.

Bayern: Car manufacturer Audi is set to buy a 9.5 per cent stake in Bayern Munich in a deal worth €80 million. According to a report on German magazine Stern's online website, the deal has been approved by both boards and the contract will be signed in the next few days.

Caceres: Former Argentina defender Fernando Caceres, 40, was shot in the head yesterday and is a coma. Caceres, who helped Argentina win the 1993 Copa America and played at the 1994 World Cup, was at the wheel of his BMW car when he was shot in a possible attempted robbery, police sources said.

Fowler: A brace from Robbie Fowler secured a second successive win in the A-League for North Queensland Fury as they beat Gold Coast United 2-0 at Skilled Park in the weekend. Former Liverpool striker Fowler opened the scoring in the 63rd minute. The hosts were then awarded a penalty and Fowler stepped up to score from the spot.

Podolski: Cologne striker Lukas Podolski admitted the fans had every right to jeer following Saturday's 1-0 defeat at home to Hannover. The Germany striker has called for crisis talks after Cologne slumped to 15th in the table, just one place above the bottom three. "We have all got to question ourselves, me included," he said. "I can understand the fans' disappointment. We were weak and deserved to lose. We showed absolutely nothing."

Gonzalez: Marseille could be without Lucho Gonzalez for four weeks after the Argentine midfielder twisted his ankle in Saturday's Ligue 1 game against Toulouse. Gonzalez was replaced by Charles Kabore after 64 minutes as Marseille were held to a 1-1 home draw against Toulouse. Marseille entertain Zurich in the Champions League tomorrow.

In Brazil: Goalkeeper Bruno saved two penalties and Adriano scored to help Flamengo to a 1-0 win over Santos in the Brazilian championship. Flamengo climbed to third on 54 points from 33 matches, four points behind title holders Sao Paulo. Young Santos midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso's nerves may have got the best of him as he twice failed from the penalty spot in front of a crowd of 80,000 at the Maracana.