ROME — Former Chelsea and Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is poised to join Napoli, the Serie A club's President Aurelio De Laurentiis said Friday. “I've given myself a birthday gift, I've signed Benitez,” De Laurentiis said in an interview with Mediaset television in London. “I'll make it official in the next few days as Benitez needs to end things with Chelsea. He'll have a two-year contract, no longer. We need to get to know each other first, then we'll see.” Spaniard Benitez will replace Walter Mazzari, who left the club after its 2-1 loss at AS Roma in its last game of the season Sunday. Mazzari took it to second place in Serie A and re-established it as a force in Italian soccer. It also won the Italian Cup last season. Local media reports said there was a meeting in Rome Thursday between representatives of Napoli and Benitez during which an agreement was reached on a two-year contract worth 3.5 million euros ($4.5 million) per season. Hoffenheim beats Kaiserslautern Roberto Firmino scored two goals and set up another as Hoffenheim beat Kaiserslautern 3-1 in the first leg of the Bundesliga playoff Thursday. The winner of the two-leg showdown will play in the Bundesliga next season. Mohamadou Idrissou's goal in the 58th minute gives Kaiserslautern hope for the second leg at home Monday. Firmino struck in the 11th and 29th minutes, and provided the pass for substitute Sven Schipplock's goal in the 67th. Hoffenheim finished the season in 16th place in the Bundesliga, while Kaiserslautern was third in the second division. Monaco announce Moutinho, Rodriguez signings AS Monaco Friday announced that they had reached agreement with Porto to sign both Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez for next season, with the Portuguese champion revealing that it will receive a joint fee of $90.6m for the players. Monaco, which will be back in Ligue 1 next season after winning the second-tier title, said that 26-year-old Portuguese international midfielder Moutinho and 21-year-old Colombian international forward Rodriguez have both agreed five-year deals with the principality club. 4 cleared of assault Four footballers in England, including the son of Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, have been cleared of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in July 2011. Brighton players Anton Rodgers, 20, Lewis Dunk, 21, George Barker, 21, and Bournemouth player Steve Cook, 22, were cleared of the charges Friday. The woman has admitted to lying to police. City edges Chelsea Manchester City overcame a three-goal deficit to beat rival Chelsea 4-3 Thursday in the opener of a two-game US tour. Edin Dzeko's second goal of the game tied it in the 85th minute for Man City and Micah Richards scored the stoppage-time winner by redirecting a header into the net. “They've had a tough couple of weeks, losing the manager, losing the FA Cup final,” Man City assistant manager Brian Kidd said. “You can't say enough about them. They are a very talented squad, no doubt about it.” Kidd is temporarily in charge after Roberto Mancini was fired one season after winning the English League title. Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini is the anticipated replacement. — Agencies
