Box-18 Update

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has said he would not be interested in becoming the next Real Madrid manager, claiming he will see out his current contract to 2011.

Wenger has long been targeted by Madrid and is now being linked again in the wake of the Spanish side’s exit from the Champions League at the hands of Lyon. Current coach Manuel Pellegrini is under pressure, but Wenger has revealed he has no plans to leave his position at the Emirates.

“I am always going to the end of my contract and I am going to 2011,” he said. “There is no way.”

Wenger joked that Real ought to “leave me alone” when the subject of him potentially being chased by the club was broached, and said that he preferred to focus on his next task when asked to give the details of Florentino Perez’s approach to him last summer. Continue Reading »

DIDIER DROGBA says he is still a big kid despite turning 32 yesterday.

The striker has hit 25 goals this term as Chelsea chase three trophies.

Drogba faces West Ham tomorrow and said: “If you put in your head that you are old it will be difficult.

“I still feel like a kid so sometimes the manager has to pull me back.”

CRISTIANO RONALDO’S Real Madrid dream has turned into a nightmare.

The Portuguese winker, 25, moved to Spain last summer expecting a glorious career at the Bernabeu to follow six golden years at Manchester United.

But just nine months later, Madrid is a city in mourning after their megabucks club crashed out of the Champions League with its players bickering and blaming one another.

Ronaldo’s £80million world-record move from Old Trafford was meant to be the jewel in the crown as president Florentino Perez splashed £232m on some of the world’s best players.

Real signed Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Raul Albiol, Alvaro Arbeloa and Ezequiel Garay plus Ronaldo – yet their 2-1 aggregate defeat by Lyon proved great individuals do not make a team.

Brazil ace Kaka was subbed midway through the second half in Wednesday’s second leg and was booed by the Bernabeu faithful as he trudged off.

Kaka’s wife Carolina later branded Real boss Manuel Pellegrini “a coward” and “incompetent” on Twitter. Continue Reading »

LIVERPOOL crashed to a second shocking defeat in four days last night.

But boss Rafa Benitez insisted it was a huge improvement on Monday’s loss at Wigan.

And he is sure his side can turn things round in next Thursday’s second leg to make the Europa League’s last eight.

Benitez said: “You must look at the positives. The attitude of the players here was fantastic.

“After Wigan, we were talking about our fans, saying we couldn’t let them down again.

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AC Milan coach Leonardo has already forgotten his team’s 4-0 humiliation at Manchester United in the Champions League and is focused on challenging for the Serie A title.

The Rossoneri failed to overturn a 3-2 defeat at home with a heavy loss in England on Wednesday. Ahead of Sunday’s home game against Chievo, Leonardo said: “I had imagined a different game at Old Trafford.

“We had structural problems but we also have to recognise the strength of our rivals.

“I nevertheless believe that one should not judge Milan based on the game at Old Trafford. We are still second in Serie A, four points behind Inter. Let’s focus on our strengths and not be conditioned by the negative result at Manchester United.

“This Milan side does not need to be transformed, it just needs to be intelligent and make sure this setback does not have a negative effect on our aims this season.”

Inter Milan are still alive in Europe and will take on Chelsea in London next week after winning the first leg at the San Siro.
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WAYNE ROONEY showed again just who is the head boy at Old Trafford these days as United cruised into the last eight of the Champions League.

The red-hot hitman’s seventh successive headed goal set United on the way to a comfortable victory and ruined the return of David Beckham.

A second for Rooney immediately after the restart, this time with his right foot, brought up the 30 in an astonishing season and he must have every chance of eclipsing Cristiano Ronaldo’s 42-goal haul in 2007-08.

Park Ji Sung had already bagged the third when Beckham, left on the bench, made his entrance to a standing ovation from the fans who still hold him in such high regard.

But even the miraculous powers of Becks could not rescue Milan – although he almost knocked Edwin van der Sar over with a stinging 25-yard volley which the keeper punched out. Continue Reading »

Arsenal produced a dominant attacking performance this evening at the Emirates Stadium to defeat Porto 5-0 and march onto the quarter finals of the Champions League.

Two first half goals from Nicklas Bendtner set the tone for the evening, and further strikes from the influential Samir Nasri, a fourth from Emannuel Eboue, and a hat-trick goal from Bendtner left the visitors ruing a defensive display that was amateurish at best.

Arsenal set the the tone for the evening by going at the opposition from the very first whistle. Facing a 2-1 deficit from the first leg, Arsene Wenger’s side craved an early goal, and they were duly rewarded in the ninth minute as Bendtner pounced.

Andrey Arshavin raced onto a Nasri through pass and as his effort rebounded from the body of shot-stopper Helton, the Danish international was on hand for a simple tap-in to give Arsenal the dream start. There was a hint of offside, but the goal stood.
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Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery has claimed there are a few clubs interested in taking him away from Germany in the summer and that he has yet to make up his mind over where he will end up.

Ribery stated that his future would be decided in the next ”two or three” weeks, but the clubs he cited as interested parties have raised eyebrows as it had been thought that he favoured a move to Spanish league leaders Real Madrid.

”I’m not 100% going to Real,” he said. ”Barcelona and Chelsea are also very interested. We will see. It will be decided in two to three weeks.”

Reports have suggested that Madrid are now reluctant to pay much more than Continue Reading »

Wigan may have relaid the pitch, but Liverpool were still left in a real mess as their top- four hopes were blown out of the water.

A first defeat to the Latics has left their dream of a Champions League finish hanging by a thread – and boss Rafa Benitez’s job as well, come the end of the season.

And the worst thing of all for Reds fans was the fact they could not argue against the merits of Hugo Rodallega’s winner, either.

Lack of pride, lack of passion, lack of heart… pretty much a lack of everything really. Most crucially of all, points.

Little wonder that Benitez, come the final whistle, had the look of a man who has just been found guilty and is awaiting the inevitable sentence.

And he did not spare his failing players afterwards, with a withering assessment of their efforts.
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Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti was left frustrated by his side’s failure to extend their lead at the top of Serie A on Sunday.

The Nerazzurri were held to a goalless draw by Genoa at the San Siro, a result which left Jose Mourinho’s side four points clear of second-placed AC Milan with 11 games remaining.

“Had we won, it would have been two more points,” Moratti said. “We will have to wait and see if in the end this will make a difference.

“But against Genoa, the team didn’t start the game with the right character. We improved after the restart but you cannot win a game with just a good performance in one half.”

Moratti believes Inter struggled without the guidance of Mourinho, who watched the game for the stands as he served the second game of a three-match touchline ban.
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Manchester United are hopeful that midfielder Owen Hargreaves will make his return to match action later this week.

The 29-year-old has returned to training in recent weeks having not played a competitive game for United since September 2008, and the club are hopeful he will be ready play for the reserves against Manchester City on Thursday.

“We have four or five days before the reserve game comes up so he needs to do a bit more training and hopefully get him to Thursday and then if he’s okay he’ll play in the game,” assistant manager Mike Phelan told The Manchester Evening News.

“He’s looking forward to playing in the game but five days is a long time in football.

“He’s been out a while but if we can make that progress and he’s keen to make that progress, get him through the first hurdle and then take it from there and if he can progress he will be a valuable member for our run-in to the end of the season.”
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WAYNE ROONEY will be fit for Manchester United’s Euro showdown with AC Milan.

The England striker is suffering from an inflamed kneecap tendon and was rested for Saturday’s 1-0 win at Wolves.

But last night it it emerged the condition is not serious enough to keep him out of Wednesday’s Champions League return against the Italians at Old Trafford.

Rooney, 24, has paid for playing two games in four days on Wembley’s dodgy pitch.

But the inflammation will go within three weeks and should not stop him playing again.
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Arsene Wenger is ready to risk Cesc Fabregas in a bid to keep Arsenal’s Euro dream alive.

The Gunners skipper hobbled off in the 3-1 win against Burnley with a tight hamstring – and is doubtful for tomorrow’s Porto clash.

It is the same injury that kept Fabregas out for three weeks last month.Boss Wenger said: “I’m ready to take the gamble. “But if there is more than a 50 per cent chance of his hamstring going I will not take it.

“You look at the Fabregas numbers and they are amazing – 14 goals and 15 assists. He’s a fantastic player with fantastic attitude and commitment.
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AC Milan dominated but had to settle for a point at the Stadio Olimpico.

In a battle of two teams who still have scudetto aspirations, the Rossoneri had numerous opportunities to break the deadlock but failed to take any of them.

The result left Milan in second place – three points behind Serie A leaders and city rivals Inter, who will take on Genoa with a chance to extend their gap at the summit to six points.

Roma remained third, two points behind Milan.

The visitors went into the game on the back of four straight wins in the league and hoping to keep the momentum going ahead of next week’s Champions League clash at Manchester United.
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Serie A leaders Inter Milan were held to a goalless draw by Genoa at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium.

The Nerazzurri went into the game knowing that a win would see them climb six points clear of second-placed AC Milan after the Rossoneri were held to a 0-0 draw by Roma on Saturday.

However, Inter could not find their way past a resilient Genoa side and despite a strong finish, the hosts had to settle for a point.

Despite the result, Inter hold a four-point cushion over Milan at the top of the standings with opponents Genoa ninth.

Inter coach Jose Mourinho watched the game from the stands as he served his second of a three-match touchline ban.

Mourinho fielded Mario Balotelli, Wesley Sneijder, Goran Pandev in support of former Genoa forward Diego Milito.
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Barcelona twice came from behind to win a point at Almeria in a match blighted by some bizarre refereeing decisions from Carlos Clos Gomez.

Clos Gomez delayed the start of the match for almost a quarter of an hour, harshly sent off Pep Guardiola and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and incorrectly awarded a free-kick to Barcelona which led to their first equaliser.

Domingo Cisma had put Almeria ahead after 12 minutes, with the home side’s second coming 12 minutes into the second period via a Carles Puyol own-goal.

But Lionel Messi’s double gave 10-man Barca a point.

The game started almost 15 minutes late as the referee was unhappy with Almeria’s shirts, which showed a message of support for Chile following the recent earthquake and tsunami.

Almeria claimed they had already received permission to play with the message on their shirts, which read “Fuerza Chile” (“Go Chile”).
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Karim Benzema will not get the opportunity to face his old side when Real Madrid take on Lyon, having failed to recover from his injury.

According to AS, is yet to recover from his hernia, and will miss Wednesday’s game, as well as the league clash against Real Valladolid at the weekend.

Benzema will hope to return to action against Sporting Gijon on March 20.

The former Lyon striker came on in the second half during the first leg, playing 27 minutes.

Real Madrid clawed back from a two goal deficit against Sevilla, to earn all three points at the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid lined up with their strongest possible team, while Alvaro Negredo led the line for Sevilla.

Los Merengues went into the game knowing that Barcelona had dropped point earlier, but they got off to a horrific start. On ten minutes, Diego Capel put a cross in from the left, and in an attempt to clear, Xabi Alonso guided the ball past Iker Casillas into his own net.
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Goals from Frank Lampard and controversial captain John Terry crushed stubborn Stoke and sent Chelsea into the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Lampard had put the holders in front in the 35th minute when he fired a rising 20-yard shot into the net and Terry sealed victory 22 minutes from time with a firm header.

After two successive defeats, Carlo Ancelotti’s side returned to top form to book a place at Wembley.

Terry was booed by Stoke fans every time he touched the ball in the opening half.

The revelations over Terry’s alleged affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of his one-time team-mate Wayne Bridge, have clearly not been forgotten by opposing fans.
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Avram Grant saw his strugglers knock Birmingham out of the FA Cup before roaring: No one can break our spirit!

Pompey know they are almost certainly heading for the Championship with the threat of a nine-point deduction hanging over them.

But Grant’s men put the club’s off-field problems behind them to book a place in the semi-finals with a battling 2-0 win at Fratton Park.

Frederic Piquionne did the damage, scoring both goals inside three second-half minutes.

And Grant was quick to praise his players — who have often gone unpaid this season.

The Pompey boss said: “You can break many things but you cannot break our spirit.
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