Milan in 14th title quest

PARIS (AFP): AC Milan could wrap up its 14th and third consecutive Italian league title on Sunday at Torino in a battle of clubs with vastly different fortunes.

A league title for Milan president Silvio Berlusconi would bring him back from disappointment after the general election winner decided on Tuesday his right-wing Forza Italia party would not immediately form part of an alliance government.

Should Milan win and Juventus only draw at Milan's recent conqueror Napoli, Milan would take the 1993/4 championship - a welcome diversion for Berlusconi from political infighting.

Milan would be the first to win three times consecutively since, ironically, Torino's 1945-49 triumphs.

While media tycoon Berlusconi has been basking in success in politics and sport, Gian Mauro Borsano, former Torino president, has been embroiled in accusations of corruption and maladministration.

Many claim it was the legacy of Borsano, president from April 1989 to February 1993, which has brought the club to the brink of bankruptcy.

Claims of his underhand dealings include bribes of gifts and prostitutes, plus many under-the-table payments. The transfer of the world's most expensive footballer, Gianluigi Lentini, from Torino to Milan for about 18 million dollars, also allegedly included a large covert pay-off to avoid the taxman.

Meanwhile 32-year-old Dutch striker Ruud Gullit is set to return to AC Milan after a season at Sampdoria. Gullit, frustrated at being sidelined at Milan and unhappy with a proposed new contract, left angrily for the Genoa club.

Italian sports paper Gazetto dello Sport said a one-year deal worth 1.2 million dollars was on the negotiating table. This weekend, Gullit will be hoping to add to his 15-goal league tally in the derby match with struggling Genoa.

Bundesliga

In Germany, Bayern Munich face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Olympic Stadium in a match which will almost certainly decide the German championship.

Leaders Munich lost 2-0 to Borussia Moenchengladbach in midweek with both goals from Heiko Herrlich, who hit his first just two minutes from time.

But Munich remains four points clear thanks to Frankfurt's 2-1 home reverse against MSV Duisburg on Wednesday.

Eintracht's Ghanaian Anthony Yeboah, back from the African championships, scored an equaliser in his first match back since knee surgery. But an Uwe Weidemann double strike, including a last-minute winner, doused Frankfurt's hopes.

PSG

In France, leader Paris St Germain rest from league action after losing for the first time in nearly eight months at Nantes on Tuesday.

It was a hard blow for PSG, who visit Arsenal on Tuesday for the second leg of the European Cup Winners Cup semi-final.

Coach Artur Jorge's side had been unbeaten in 27 league matches since losing 1-0 to Marseille at the Stade Velodrome on Aug. 15. It was only its third league loss this season.

Marseille, who welcome back Alain Boghossian after suspension, travel to Caen hoping to cut PSG's lead to just three points. But with only five matches left it would take a miracle to deny PSG the title.

Nantes, in fifth spot and, more importantly, in the last position for a UEFA Cup place, visit Martigues. Cannes, Montpellier and Lyon are all just two points behind Nantes and all aiming to qualify for a moneyspinning European campaign. In Spain, all of the top teams play away.

Pacesetters Deportivo, which went two points clear of rival Barcelona when it beat visiting Atletico Madrid 2-1 on Thursday, travels to Santander while Barcelona faces Logrones and Real Madrid take on Athletic Bilbao.