The infamous headbutt that French football legend Zinedine Zidane landed on an Italian during a World Cup final has been transformed into a giant statue and displayed in front of the Pompidou Center in Paris.

The bronze work of art, simply titled "Headbutt", was Wednesday attracting crowds of tourists and locals who jostled to have their photos taken in front of the five-meter (16-foot) statue.

The new track built for Formula One's U.S. Grand Prix has been given the go-ahead for the November 18 race.

Circuit of The Americas officials announced Tuesday that the track located a few miles southeast of downtown Austin, Texas, passed its pre-race inspection by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the sanctioning body for international motorsports.

Serie A champion Juventus lost its perfect record Tuesday after being held to a scoreless draw at fierce foe Fiorentina in a heated atmosphere at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Fiorentina had the better chances and midfielder Adem Ljajic should have put it ahead when through one-on-one with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

The prospect of Formula One racing in New Jersey, with its striking views of the Manhattan skyline, appears to be under threat.

A year after New Jersey officials forged a 10-year agreement to hold the race from 2013, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is quoted as saying they have failed to comply with the contract's terms and conditions.

Premier League champion Manchester City was eliminated from the League Cup at the first hurdle by Aston Villa on Tuesday, and Everton was beaten by second-tier club Leeds.

Villa beat City 4-2 after twice coming from behind to force the game into extra time, when Charles N'Zogbia and Gabriel Agbonlahor scored.

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic will miss the next eight weeks after undergoing surgery on a knee injury, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday.

Vidic was rested for the 2-1 weekend win at Liverpool after complaining of tightness in his right knee but further tests revealed the true extent of the problem, and the Serb has since had a meniscus operation.

British driver Jenson Button has called on McLaren to quickly resolve their mechanical problems if they want to avoid the season ending in failure.

McLaren's challenge has been undermined as they have only managed to get one car home in each of their last three races.

David Ferrer predicted Tuesday that fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal would come back better than ever after injury and could even surpass current world number one Roger Federer in the record books.

Federer, 31, has won 17 Grand Slam titles plus a host of other tennis crowns. His great rival Nadal, five years younger, has 11 Slams to his name but has suffered badly with injury for the past year.

Real Madrid recorded its much-needed second victory of the season without putting on a performance worthy of the Spanish champions on Monday, winning 2-0 at Rayo Vallecano after goals from Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Benzema scored the 13th-minute opener and Ronaldo added a penalty in the 70th after Jordi Amat had handled the ball in the box to keep Madrid eight points behind Spanish league leader Barcelona after five rounds.

The Western Sydney Wanderers say they are still hopeful of signing German World Cup veteran Michael Ballack to an Australian A-League football contract for the coming season.

Wanderers coach Tony Popovic on Tuesday dismissed local media reports that Western Sydney's negotiations with the 36-year-old Ballack had broken down.