Box-18 Update

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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Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin kept Arsenal’s championship dreams alive as Arsenal saw off relegation-threatened Burnley.

England forward Walcott fired in on the hour mark and Arshavin struck at the death to seal all three points for the Gunners.

But there will be some concerns following the victory for the home supporters after captain Cesc Fabregas withdrew with what appeared to be a hamstring problem.

The midfielder had volleyed the Gunners in front after 34 minutes, before being taken off as a precaution.

Samir Nasri made space for himself on the edge of the Burnley box before chipping a delightful ball over the Clarets’ defence.

It had the perfect weight for Fabregas to get ahead of Graham Alexander and volley through Brian Jensen’s legs for his 17th goal of the season.

Nicklas Bendtner then fired wide when sliding into the six-yard box as the Gunners looked for a second.
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PAUL SCHOLES was the hero as he smashed his 100th Premier League goal to send Manchester United back to the top of the table.

The veteran midfielder struck 17 minutes from time to settle a tense encounter with Mick McCarthy’s relegation-threatened Wolves.

The Red Devils laboured badly at times without injured striker Wayne Rooney, who boss Alex Ferguson rates as “a big doubt” for Wednesday’s Champions League return with AC Milan.

But it was Scholes — currently in negotiations with the club over a one-year contract extension — who saved the day for the defending champions, hitting a right-foot shot into the bottom corner in the 73rd minute.

Having angered the Premier League with his team selection at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture last December, there was never a chance of McCarthy leaving key players out this time.
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MANCHESTER UNITED have signed a £5million five-year sponsorship deal with a Nigeria mobile phone company.

But the £1m-a-year Globacom contract is a drop in the ocean compared to the club’s huge debts and interest payments.

Pan-African telephone company Globacom has signed a five-year sponsorship deal with English Premier League champions Manchester United which will involve young players from Nigeria, Ghana and Benin going to train at the Manchester United football Academy.

“At Globacom, we have consistently played a leading role in identifying opportunities and providing platforms for positive transformation of youths through football,” Globacom Group Executive Director, Paddy Adenuga, told the Nigerian newspaper Thisday.

“This new partnership with the world’s most famous football club will no doubt give impetus to the quest by kids in Nigeria, Ghana and Benin Republic to become world stars.”
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Liverpool have signed Argentina international Maxi Rodriguez on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid.

The 29-year-old winger has penned a three-and-a-half-year deal with Rafael Benitez’s side after spending four years in the Spanish capital.

After passing a medical and agreeing terms Maxi put pen to paper on the deal, which is subject to international clearance.

Reds boss Benitez told his club’s website: “We were looking for players with character and a good mentality. He has played for Argentina and Atletico Madrid and is a player with personality.

“He can play in three positions – on the right, left or as a second striker – and is someone with a very positive mentality, which is what we are looking for.

“He is comfortable on the ball, can pass and keep possession. He is good at getting into the box and scoring goals and a good finisher. Every year he gets five to 15 goals from the right side of midfield.
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Holders Barcelona were knocked out of the King’s Cup on Wednesday when they won a thrilling last-16 second-leg clash at Sevilla 1-0 but were eliminated on the away goals rule after the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate.

The Andalusians beat Barca 2-1 at the Nou Camp in the first leg and goalkeeper and captain Andres Palop was the hero in the return, producing a string of superb saves to deny Pep Guardiola and his players a repeat of their 2009 triumph.

Barca can no longer match last year’s feat of winning an unprecedented six titles and it was the first time they have been eliminated from a competition since April 2008 when they lost to Manchester United in the Champions League semis.

Sevilla, the 2007 winners, will play La Liga rivals Deportivo Coruna in the quarter-finals after the Galicians came from two down at home to draw 2-2 with Valencia for a 4-3 aggregate victory.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola did not hide his pain after the aura of invincibility surrounding him and his team was finally cracked.
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Liverpool’s disastrous season plunged to new depths as they suffered a humiliating FA Cup exit at Anfield to Reading.

The Reds lost Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to injuries and were stunned by the Championship side, who forced extra-time before substitute Shane Long headed the winner in this third round replay.

Gerrard had seen a shot deflected home by Reading defender Ryan Bertrand to give Liverpool the lead in the final seconds of the first-half.

They held that lead until injury-time, when Gylfi Sigurdsson equalised from the spot. However, Liverpool were a shambles in extra-time and Long’s winner was no more than Reading deserved.

Liverpool were boosted ahead of the tie by confirmation that the deal to sign Argentina winger Maxi Rodriguez had been completed.

The 29 year-old has signed on a free transfer, having negotiated his way out of a problem over his pay-off from Atletico Madrid which had held up the deal at the weekend.
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Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart could be out for the rest of the month after suffering a calf injury during Monday night’s home win over Real Mallorca.

The Dutchman was replaced just 21 minutes into the contest at the Bernabeu after sustaining the problem in his left leg and, following tests this morning, Madrid have confirmed he is likely to be out for between “two to three weeks”.

Having already been knocked out of the Copa del Rey before Christmas, Madrid only have three more games in January, facing Athletic Bilbao and Deportivo La Coruna away, as well as hosting Malaga.
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