Had you been perusing the football news small print recently you might have read that Borussia Dortmund’s home attendance for the German league game against Hannover 96 was 80 500. Whereupon you might have rubbed your eyes, squinted and looked again. No, there was no mistake.

England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson was voted top international rugby player of 2003 by his peers, while New Zealand won the team of the year award despite being ousted in the semifinals of the World Cup. Players from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Ireland, Wales and England voted for the awards.

Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya has described his link-up with McLaren for the 2005 Formula One season as an amazing challenge. ”I am thrilled to be joining Team McLaren Mercedes,” said the Colombian driver, who finished third in this season’s championship.

Andy Roddick has become the world’s number-one tennis player under the guidance of Andre Agassi’s former coach. Now he plans to follow Agassi’s ultra-fitness training regimen to stay on top. Reigning US Open champion Roddick finished atop the year-end ATP rankings, released on Monday.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is suing his club’s biggest shareholders in a row over the ownership of a record-breaking racehorse. Ferguson claims half-ownership of Rock of Gibraltar, which could be worth between £50-million and £100-million.

Pakistani police said on Tuesday they have launched a hunt for an e-mailer whose threatening message to New Zealand cricketers jeopardised their tour to Pakistan. The e-mail threatened violence if the Kiwis played matches during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

England’s changing room and training base will be swept for bugging devices ahead of their Rugby World Cup final against Australia to avoid any possibility of the Wallabies stealing their trade secrets before Saturday’s showpiece occasion at Telstra Stadium.

Sri Lanka dismissed England for their second-lowest total of 88 to win the first one-day international by 10 wickets in Sri Lanka on Tuesday. England slumped to 67-9 before the last-wicket pair of Ashley Giles and James Anderson guided them past their lowest one-day total of 86 against Australia two years ago.

There was a time when the ownership of English football clubs was a parochial matter; boardrooms were occupied by local boys made good, hoping some of the glory rubbed off. Now, on screens in the world’s financial markets as well as in living rooms, the Premiership has become truly global.

Diego Simeone clatters into a rival; the rival retaliates; things turn ugly. It’s a familiar enough sequence of events, except this time David Beckham is nowhere to be seen.