Pakistanis (256/9) beat Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI (213)
   by 43 runs
   Salman Butt enhanced his claims for a recall to the Pakistan Test side with an unbeaten century in his team’s first official tour match in Australia on Tuesday.
   Butt blasted 115 not out off 135 balls to steer the tourists to a 43-run victory over the Australian Chairman’s XI in a limited-overs match at Lilac Hill in Perth.
   The 20-year-old opener played his only test for Pakistan a year ago but scored his maiden one-day international hundred against India last week and is pressing for a spot in next week’s first test against Australia.
   Butt struck 11 boundaries and a six but got little support from his team mates. His opening partner Imran Farhat was the second highest scorer with 25 while Abdul Razzaq made 24 in the team’s total of 256 for nine.
   The home side’s reply got off to a terrible start when Australian test opener Justin Langer was dismissed for one just a week after making a double-century against New Zealand.
   Chris Rogers (61) and Luke Ronchi (51) helped restore the innings with half-centuries but the tourists wrapped up the innings for 213 in the 46th over to register a comfortable win.

Australia are under threat of losing their top one-day ranking to New Zealand and with it the right to host the lucrative series against the rest of the world next year.
   Australia, cricket’s undisputed world champions, are set to host Rest of the World XI in a Test and one-day series next September.
   But to do that, Australia must stay at the top of the International Cricket Council’s rankings until next April.
   The Test side will have no trouble doing that but in the one-day arena, New Zealand can push past Australia with a series of good results in their next 10 one-dayers.
   If New Zealand can win the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series, which they lead 1-0 ahead of Wednesday’s second game at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Black Caps will be in second place on the ICC ladder.
   They then head home for three matches against second-ranked Sri Lanka and five games against Australia – the last for either team before the end of the ranking period. With the rankings weighted to award more points for victories over top-ranked sides, New Zealand, who are hard to beat at home, could jump past Australia and lead the table.
   Similarly, Australia have to make sure they don’t slip up in next month’s home triangular series against Pakistan and the West Indies.
   Australian captain Ricky Ponting said his team wasn’t thinking about the Rest of World matches but admitted the series was a “big deal”.
   He backed his team to keep ahead of their rivals and stay on top of the one-day ratings.
   “It is a big deal, it’s a pretty special thing for the players to be involved in whether you’re in the World XI or in the team that’s hosting it, which hopefully is us,” Ponting said on Tuesday.
   “Missing out will happen if we don’t play well but we don’t look too far ahead.
   “It’s a fair way away yet, we’ve got a big summer ahead of us and then a tour of New Zealand ... but if we play the brand of cricket we know we can play, that side of things will look after itself.
   “We know it’s pretty crucial that we have to keep winning games to be a part of that but you’ve got to focus on the smaller things to give yourself a chance of winning games.”
   For New Zealand the prospect of supplanting Australia is tantalising.
   “If we play well it’s a real prospect,” New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said.
   “I think every one had pencilled in Australia for that game.
   “But I think with the teams we’re playing – Sri Lanka and Australia, the one and two teams in the world, it’s give you a great opportunity if you play well – it would be magical.
   “There’s no reason not to talk about it, to dream about it, but putting it into practice is another thing.”
   Fleming said Australia should be feeling edgy about where the three-match Chappell-Hadlee series was headed.
   “They should be (edgy) – if you lose the first game of a three-match series there’s only one result you can have tomorrow to stay in the competition,” he said.
   “So it’s the first time for a while they’ve been under pressure ... but I’m sure they’ll respond in kind.”
   Ponting said pressure was welcome in the Australian camp as the players responded well in those situations.
   “We know this is a game we have to win but one of the strengths of this team is that when we have been in tough situations – games we know we have to win – we’ve generally played our best cricket,” he said.
   “We were very disappointed coming off the field the other night as it was the game we should never have lost.
   “We know the areas we let ourselves down in and we think we can rectify those.”
   Australia: Ricky Ponting (C), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath.
   New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (C), Nathan Astle, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Hamish Marshall, Chris Cairns, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, Ian Butler and Chris Harris.

South Africa has named two new caps and recalled spinner Nicky Boje in their 13-man squad to play England in the first Test in Port Elizabeth which starts on December 17.
   Opening batsman and wicketkeeper AB de Villiers and fast bowler Dale Steyn earned the call-up after excelling for the Easterns Titans in domestic cricket.
   Thami Tsolekile, who kept wicket with mixed fortunes in the recent tour of India, was also named in the squad on Tuesday.
   Former vice-captain and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher was not selected despite also showing good form in domestic cricket but will play for the A team against England in Potchefstroom on Saturday.
   Left-arm spinner Boje was recalled after he withdrew from the India tour because of fears he could be detained by police probing match-fixing allegations. He also had surgery recently to remove a growth in his neck.
   United Cricket Board of South Africa media manager Gerald de Kock said, “Nicky will have to pass a fitness test before the match.”
   Justin Ontong, who played in the second test defeat against India in Calcutta, has been omitted while De Kock said batsman Herschelle Gibbs and strike bowler Andre Nel were not considered due to injury.
   England play five Tests and seven one-day internationals over the next three months against South Africa.
   Meanwhile, England captain Michael Vaughan said on Monday that he expected an evenly matched series against South Africa but suggested his bowlers could hold the key.
   His team flew into Johannesburg from Zimbabwe on Monday for five Tests and seven one-day internationals.
   “This is the exciting part of the winter, with...two evenly matched teams. I don’t see us as favourites or underdogs, but if we played to the high standards we set in the summer then I fancy our chances of winning,” Vaughan said.
   “South Africa have batting in depth and Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith always pose a huge threat.
   “But we have matchwinners too and we are certainly happy with our attack.”
   England coach Duncan Fletcher was also quietly confident.
   “There is still room for improvement, but I am very confident of what we can do,” Fletcher said. “The South African team has a lot of potential, but maybe their confidence is not as high as it could be. We must ensure we take advantage of that.”
   Vaughan said he had watched the November-December Test series between India and South Africa on television and had been impressed by the South African team despite their 1-0 defeat.
   “I thought their performance was of a decent standard in India, because we all know what a tough tour that is.
   “Our players are maturing and improving, but it is a big, big challenge to come over here and win.”
   The England team will be in Johannesburg until Friday, when they travel to Potchefstroom, 140km west of South Africa’s biggest city, for a three-day match against South Africa A starting on Saturday.
   Fletcher said the team would be “very close to, if not the Test side”.
   England’s first on-field action is a festival one-dayer against the Nicky Oppenheimer XI on Wednesday.

The Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League resumes today after a two-day break with the reigning champions Abahani taking on Sadharan Bima at 1:15pm at the Moulana Bhasani Stadium.
   The two-day break in the top hockey competition of the country was given to ensure the availability of foreign umpires but till writing this report on Tuesday night no overseas umpire arrived in Dhaka.
   Zulfiqar Haider of Pakistan and SS Sakhi from India were expected to arrive by Tuesday to give the BHF officials and the league committee some relief. But to the dismay of the federation officials the two umpires did not confirm their arrivals keeping them in tension.
   However, the league committee relied on the consent of the clubs given at the emergency meeting that if the foreign umpires were not available then they would be playing the matches under the local umpires.
   Alamgir Kabir, the secretary of the league committee, was upbeat about the arrival of the umpires today. “Zulfiqar is expected to land at 10:00pm on Tuesday and I hope Sakhi will reach Dhaka on Wednesday morning. If they are not available we will engage the local umpires as Abahani and Bima do not have any objections to play under them. Mariners have a big match on Thursday and I hope it will be conducted by the two foreign umpires.”

Leonine Chess Club maintained the solo lead in the Dutch-Bangla 1st Division Chess League with 49 points at end of the 13th round on Tuesday. Leonine beat Mohakhali Pradeep Sangha by 3.5-.5 points to be the table-toppers.
   GM Dao Thein Hai beat Almasur Rahman, GM Iuldashev Saidali beat Kazi Taherul Islam, GM Niaz Murshed beat Farhadur Rahman Sabab and Md Monjur Alam drew with Md Ibrahim. Muktijoddah Sangsad Krira Chakra are in the 2nd position with 44.5 points and Bangladesh Biman are in 3rd place with 41.5 points. In the 13th round, Muktijoddah beat Narayanganj City Chess Club by 3.5-.5 points.
   GM Ni Hua defeated Mohammed Shameem, GM Igors Rausis beat Md Enayet Hossain, IM Vakhidov Tahir beat Mainuddin Ahmed and FM Abu Sufian Shakil drew with Prasenjit Dutta.
   Biman outplayed Rajshahi Daba Unnayan Sangstha by 4-0 points GM Ziaur Rahman beat Probir Chandra Saha, FM Rezaul Haque defeated Arman Siddique Mithu, Imran Ali Elin beat Kawsar Ali Iti and IWM Rani Hamid routed Sk Abdul Muttalib.
   In the other matches, Destiny 2000 Limited trounced Friends Chess Power, Bangladesh Ansar beat Star Vision Chess Team, Titas Club beat BM Uttaradhikari Sangsad, Dhaka University Chess Team triumphed Anushilan Daba KC and Farashganj Sporting Club beat Sonali Bank Sports & Recreation Club.

The Netherlands and Spain took giant strides towards the final of the men’s Champions Trophy field hockey after hosts Pakistan stumbled on Tuesday.
   The Dutch, seeking a hat-trick of titles to make amends for the loss to Australia in the Olympic final in Athens, beat Pakistan 4-1 for their third consecutive win in the tournament.
   Spain, who finished fourth at Athens, overcame a fighting New Zealand 3-1 to maintain their unbeaten run in the round-robin league of the six-nation event.
   Both Spain and the Netherlands have nine points each, but Spain lead the table with a superior goal difference of 12-3 against the Dutchmen’s 14-7.
   Pakistan, who have six points, must beat arch-rivals India and Spain in their remaining games to stay in contention for Sunday’s final.
   In the day’s last match, India won their first game in three outings when they came from behind to defeat Germany’s second-string 3-1 and keep their bronze medal hopes alive.
   Dutch captain Jeroen Delmee celebrated his 300th match by scoring his team’s fourth goal a minute before the final whistle to silence about 15,000 boisterous Pakistani fans at the National Hockey Stadium.
   The teams were locked 1-1 at the interval after Pakistan’s penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas equalised Ronald Brouwer’s 15th-minute goal.
   The Dutch took a 3-1 lead against the run of play when Taeke Taekema converted a penalty corner in the 40th minute and Karel Klaver deflected in a pass from the right five minutes before the end.
   Pakistan paid for poor finishing, their best chance coming late in the second half when Shakeel Abbasi beat Dutch goalkeeper Guus Vogels but shot wide off the empty goal.
   When the Dutch earned their fourth penalty corner towards the end, Taekema let Delmee take the hit and the captain did not disappoint with a stinging shot to the right of the Pakistan ‘keeper.
   “I think the scoreline was a bit flattering,” said Delmee.
   “We were lucky that Pakistan missed a few chances in the second half. I think we will have to play a lot better if we are to win this tournament.”
   Pakistan’s Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans, who returns home after the tournament to take charge of his national team from Australian Terry Walsh, was not unduly disppointed.
   “If you look at the board, it looks terrible, but this was one of the best matches Pakistan have played in a long time,” he said.
   “We attacked more than the rivals and kept them under pressure. It was just unfortunate we could not get more goals.”
   Earlier, Pau Quemada scored two penalty corners and Santiago Freixa netted a superb reverse flick after a solo run down the centre to bring Spain victory against the Kiwis after both sides were locked goalless at half-time.
   Darren Smith scored a consolation goal for the Kiwis to level at 1-1 but it was not enough to prevent his side plunging to their third defeat in the tournament.
   Spain, however, lost the services of young striker Eduard Arbos for the rest of the tournament when he dislocated his left shoulder after a fall during the match.
   Spain’s Dutch coach Maurits Hendriks was a relieved man after the win.
   “There are no easy matches in the Champions Trophy and New Zealand showed that today,” Hendriks said. “But we will take the nine points any day and are confident of doing well in the two tough matches to come against the Dutch and Pakistan.”
   New Zealand coach Kevin Towns said several missed chances cost his team dearly.
   “Our plans worked quite well but we were not able to convert the opportunities that came our way,” he said.
   “We are determined not to finish last and will play towards that against India and Germany.”

Australia’s leading cricketers will demand through their players’ union that they want to stick with a percentage of the game’s revenue, rather than a flat rate.
   Captain Ricky Ponting answered with a blunt “no” here on Tuesday when asked at a media conference whether he would accept going back to a flat fee structure.
   Currently Australia’s elite cricketers receive 25 percent of Cricket Australia’s (CA) total revenue from gate takings, television rights and other promotional activities.
   CA reportedly wants to end a financial agreement under which the players receive a cut of revenues estimated at 28 million dollars (21.5 million USD) in the current season.
   Ponting said the issue was a distraction as Australia’s one-day team prepares for Wednesday’s must-win limited-overs match against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
   The Aussie skipper said he was happy to leave the negotiations with the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA).
   “We have (ACA president) Tim May and the cricketers’ association in place to deal with those things,” he said.
   “He hears the players’ voice and I’m sure he’ll do his best to make sure it doesn’t go back that way (to a flat rate).
   “Having spoken to him already he’s pretty keen for us to have the 25 percent.”
   May on Tuesday described the revenue-share arrangement as crucial to the relationship between administrators and players at a time when the Australian team was enjoying the most successful and profitable era in its history.
   “It is a vital pillar in our relationship with Cricket Australia,” he said. “We haven’t received a proposal from Cricket Australia in regards to the player payment pool, and it’s inappropriate to comment about any proposal we haven’t received,” May said.
   However, he made it clear the players were not about to give up their hard-won status and go back to the days which spawned the World Series Cricket player revolution in 1977.
   “The players are a partner in this game,” May said. “Cricket Australia may have other ideas. We’ll have to wait until we receive a proposal, and before then it is inappropriate for me to say anything else.”
   The current four-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) between CA and the ACA is due to expire on June 30, 2005, and preliminary negotiations have already begun to thrash out the new deal.
   “We and the ACA are putting together a timetable for a set of meetings,” CA’s Public Affairs General Manager Peter Young said Tuesday.
   “We’ve discussed what the appropriate process for holding the discussions should be, and who’s going to be involved in them, and as we move through that we’ll start talking about specific details. “We won’t be detailing our discussions through the media. We’ll be holding our discussions face-to-face with Tim May and his team.”
   Young said: “Australia’s got the No.1 cricket team in the world and it’s appropriate that they should be paid accordingly.
   “The detail of how that works through the next MOU is something that will be sorted out over the next six months.”
   I’m retired from ODIs ‘at this stage’
   Australia’s greatest leg-spinner Shane Warne has refused to say his one-day cricket career is definitely over, maintaining his retirement is effective only “at this stage”.
   Despite announcing his retirement from the abbreviated form of the game at last year’s World Cup in South Africa and symbolically giving away his numbered one-day shirt to team-mate Michael Clarke this week, Warne has admitted to missing the one-day game.
   Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker said, after handing over his No.23 one-day uniform to Clarke, that he hoped his retirement would add three years to his Test career.
   But Warne on Tuesday left the door open for a return to limited-overs cricket when he offered an unconvincing response to media questions about his retirement.
   “I have retired—at this stage,” 35-year-old Warne said. “At this stage, I’m retired.”
   Asked if anything—including the possibility of New Zealand stealing Australia’s No.1 world ranking in the one-day format—would sway him to change his mind, Warne said: “I don’t know. At this stage, I’m retired.”

Skipper Ricky Ponting has warned his Australian batsmen to see off the threat from New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori in Wednesday’s second Chappell-Hadlee Trophy one-day cricket international here.
   Vettori had a big impact in the Kiwis’ four-wicket victory over the world champions in the opening game in Melbourne on Sunday.
   Australia were set for a score of around 300 but lost 4-10 at the top of the batting order, with Vettori claiming three quick wickets and cutting off the run flow of the world champions.
   The Australians were restricted to 246 for nine and New Zealand won the match with two balls to spare.
   Ponting expects the left-arm Kiwi spinner to relish the slow and turning Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) pitch for the pivotal game of the best-of-three Chappell-Hadlee series.
   “He’s a quality bowler in both forms of the game and he certainly bowled beautifully the other night—he’s bowled well right through this tour so far,” Ponting said on Tuesday.
   “He varies his pace well and he turns the ball just enough - that SCG wicket will suit him so it’s up to us to make sure we don’t give him our wickets.
   “If we can get through his 10 overs without being too aggressive and without giving him too many wickets we should score freely off the other guys.”
   It is the same attitude Australia has taken when confronted with prolific Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, and a mark of respect for the experienced Kiwi tweaker.
   Ponting also expects veteran Kiwi all-rounder Chris Harris to play in Sydney after missing the opening game last weekend.
   Harris plays a limited amount of cricket these days and is usually reserved for pitches which suit his slow, crafty bowling variations.
   “Harris may come in on that wicket,” Ponting said. “He’s a great fielder and a handy lower-order batsman as well but I’m not sure where he’ll fit into their side. I think the side they had the other night was pretty well balanced.”
   Ponting indicated the weather may play a part in Australia’s selection, with spinner Brad Hogg likely to miss out if forecast rain eventuates.
   “Bowling spin with a wet ball is very difficult so if it does rain Hoggy may miss out,” Ponting said.

Sri Lanka have abandoned plans to take spinner Muttiah Muralitharan on the first leg of their New Zealand tour.
   Muralitharan was to have travelled with the team as part of his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery but will instead need to prove his fitness before joining them.
   Sri Lanka are scheduled to play a five-match one-day series starting on December 26 in New Zealand, followed by two Test in January.
   The selectors would like him to bowl under match conditions first and Muralitharan will aim to play in a Sri Lanka cricket-organised practice match on December 27.
   The off spinner resumed bowling last week after being given the all-clear from his Melbourne-based surgeon David Young, who was surprised at the speed of his recovery.
   Young had operated on Muralitharan in August, draining a painful cyst that had built up around nerve joints in his right shoulder.
   Muralitharan is bowling 24 balls every other day in the practice nets and will gradually increase his workload.

SIR Alex Ferguson has revealed he is dreading being drawn against Real Madrid or Barcelona in knockout stage of the Champions League.
   Manchester United take on Fenerbahce today with their progress in the competition already assured and with the chance to top Group D if they win in Turkey.
   But should they do so, Fergie is sure they would face one of the Spanish giants in the last 16 - a prospect which has left the Old Trafford manager with a dilemma.
   He would rather avoid an encounter with David Beckham, who he sold to Real, or Barcelona and Ronaldinho, a player he missed out on signing.
   “I’d love to top the group, don’t get me wrong,” said Fergie. “But I really don’t know whether finishing first or second is best.
   “I was looking at all the possibilities and, if we win the group, we could end being drawn with Real Madrid or Barcelona because both are likely to be second in their groups.” he told the Daily Mirror on Monday.
   “I think Real Madrid will beat Roma in Rome and finish second in their group. And I’m pretty sure Barcelona will end as runners-up in theirs.
   “But if we come second in the group, we can get the likes of AC Milan, Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Juventus or Olympiakos - all tough opponents, no question.
   “That’s what you get when you have the really best teams in the tournament. It’s a really fantastic competition now in that respect.
   “We finished first in our group last season and then got knocked out by Porto in the first knockout game.”
   With United already through, Sir Alex flew to Istanbul on Tuesday morning without many of his first-team, who are being rested.
   Wayne Rooney, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Alan Smith,as well as the injured Dutch marksman Ruud van Nistelrooy who has ruled himself out on Monday from the match against Fenerbahce.
   The 28-year-old has not recovered from the calf injury that forced him to miss the 3-0 Premiership victory over Southampton on Saturday.
   “Ruud has this injury at the bottom of his calf and it is proving troublesome,” said Sir Alex.
   “We felt we had to leave him out against Southampton and Fenerbahce to try and get him back 100 per cent.”
   With United already safely through to the next round Ferguson looks set to play a side similar to the one that saw off bitter rivals Arsenal in last week’s League Cup victory.

There will not be too many more big European nights at Anfield. Liverpool’s plans to move to a new 60,000-seat stadium by 2007 mean time is running out for the rickety old ground.
   But that will not stop fans, players and manager alike from counting on Anfield’s unique magic to help them through a complicated Champions League appointment with Greek table-toppers Olympiakos on Wednesday evening.
   Victory – either by 1-0 or two clear goals – will be enough for four-times European Cup
   champions Liverpool to squeeze into the last 16 of the competition.
   That task is not quite as straightforward as it might appear, especially given that the opposition can call upon the services of Rivaldo.
   But central defender Sami Hyypia believes that the Reds are capable of reproducing the kind of performance that saw them beat Roma 2-0 in their final group game in 2001.
   “The atmosphere at Anfield that night was incredible and we need to lift the supporters like that again,” Hyypia said.
   His words were backed up Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, who said, “If you had told me at the start of the season that we would have to beat Olympiakos at home in the final match then I would have taken it.
   “Even if it comes down to us having to score two or more goals, we can do it. Nothing is impossible in football.
   “We have seen Real Madrid win by four or five goals when they have to, and the atmosphere at Anfield is the same,” the Spaniard added.
   Liverpool, who were last crowned kings of Europe back in 1984, will be bolstered by the return of Czech striker Milan Baros to lead the attack.
   “It is very simple: Milan brings us goals and we have to score against Olympiakos,” said Hyypia.
   With Djibril Cisse and
   Luis Garcia both sidelined by injuries, Baros has been badly missed, although Benitez has used the striker shortage to reshuffle his midfield impressively.
   By deploying Steven Gerrard in a role just behind youngster Neil Mellor, scorer of Liverpool’s late winner in their 2-1 victory against English champions Arsenal, and/or Harry Kewell in recent games, the Spaniard has found a way of blending the England midfielder into a formation that also includes Xabi Alonso and the revitalised Dietmar Hamann.

Spanish giants Real Madrid need a win from their final group B match against Roma here on Wednesday to be certain of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League for the eighth consecutive season.
   The group couldn’t be much tighter with three teams vying for the two places in the knockout stages, while Roma have already been eliminated and cannot even console themselves with a place in the UEFA Cup.
   Dynamo Kiev have 10 points from five matches, two more than Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid, who are separated only by goal difference.
   Roma, who are in the bottom half of Serie A, have taken just one point from a possible 15.
   If Real win at the Olympic stadium they go through, but if they draw and Leverkusen draw against Dynamo, Leverkusen will join Dynamo in the next round because they have a better head-to-head record against Real.
   The game is the second of Roma’s two-match ban on supporters following crowd trouble in their home game against Dynamo Kiev and will be played behind closed doors.
   The punishment was handed out by European football’s governing body UEFA after referee Anders Frisk was struck by a missile thrown by a Roma fan.
   Real find themselves in a precarious position having been surprising held to a 1-1 draw at home to Bayer Leverkusen two weeks ago, whereas a win would have left them needing a point rather than three to be sure of qualifying.
   “The last thing we wanted is to have everything left to play for in the final match,” Real Madrid’s marauding wingback Michel Salgado told www.uefa.com.
   “We know that qualifying is in our hands.
   “We just know that we have to go out with the mentality that we must play our own game.
   “Getting through to the next phase still depends entirely on us and a win against Roma will see us through.”
   Salgado believes playing without spectators will work in their favour.
   “We will be playing in an empty stadium and that takes a lot of the pressure off us,” added the 29-year-old Spain international, whose shuttles down the right wing add to Real’s attacking threat.
   “Roma are out and have nothing to play for and we’ll see how they approach this match.
   “Obviously Roma will be more relaxed, but you never know how a game is going to turn out.”
   Zinedine Zidane is winning his race to be fit and could start Wednesday’s match.
   The French midfielder has been suffering from back pain since the match against Leverkusen and missed Sunday’s draw against Villarreal that left them nine points behind Spanish league leaders Barcelona.
   Nine-time European champions Real fought back from two goals down to win 4-2 when they played Roma in Madrid in September.

A relaxed and lucid Diego Maradona said on Monday he was waiting for doctors’ approval to permanently bolt the Cuban drug rehabilitation clinic he has been “shut inside” for more than two months.
   “I went there to reaffirm what I had done in the clinic here in Buenos Aires, and I’m waiting for the doctors to give me permission to leave so I can get to work,” Maradona said in a televised interview on Argentina’s Telefe channel.
   Maradona returned to Argentina on Sunday night to spend the end-of-year holidays with his family. Since late September he had been in treatment for cocaine addiction in Cuba, where he has spent much of the last four years.
   Maradona’s family forced him to enter a psychiatric clinic outside Buenos Aires after he was rushed to hospital in April with heart and breathing problems, spending 10 days in intensive care while throngs of fans held vigil.
   On Monday evening, the soccer great attended his eldest daughter’s high school graduation in a Buenos Aires suburb. Police blocked roads leading to the school until Maradona’s vehicle had safely cruised away.
   Maradona, who rose from abject poverty to lead Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986, said his daughter’s graduation “is the first in the Maradona family.”
   Sporting a goatee beard and wearing casual shirt and trousers as opposed to his usual jogging suits, Maradona said he wanted to assure people he was doing well.
   He looked in good spirits, laughing at the TV show’s impersonators of famous soccer figures and of Cuban President Fidel Castro, who is Maradona’s personal friend.
   Asked when he might coach Argentina’s national team, Maradona simply shook his head in response.
   “When I was dying, the doors of the AFA (Argentine Football Association) were open for whatever I wanted to do. Now that I’m alive, they don’t even call me on the phone to say ‘Merry Christmas, Happy New Year,’” Maradona said.

England international Sol Campbell said on Monday he had agreed to sign a new contract at Premiership champions Arsenal.
   Though he has yet to put pen to paper, the 30-year-old centre-back is already looking forward to spending the next three or four years with the Gunners.
   Campbell revealed, “It’s all agreed. There are just a few things left to sort out. Most of them are already sorted out, it’s just the legal technicalities.
   “Most things are done. There’s just a little bit of organising to do. I’m here now and it’s fine, I’m happy with it.”
   Campbell has agreed to a wage reduction, given that he was awarded a huge signing-on fee spread over his previous contract following his Bosman free move from Tottenham.
   However, he was looking for Arsenal to give him the long-term security that he wanted to ensure he could stay at the club for most, if not all, of the rest of his career.
   “If I’m here for a long time, then I couldn’t really see myself playing for someone else,” he said. “But who knows? If I’m 35 or 36 and I’ve still got the desire, then who can say?”

Sex is off the cards for players with Bolivian champions Bolivar ahead of Wednesday’s first leg of the South American Cup final clash with Boca Juniors of Argentina.
   “Yes,” lamented midfielder Ronald Garcia. “Three days before the game, I abstain, I don’t make love so I can remain powerful when the game comes.”
   Garcia’s wife admitted that after each good touch on the field, her husband would expect an “award.”
   Garcia explained that “before Boca, we have to be strong and get a good advantage.”
   Fellow midfielder Ruben Tufino said that days before the match were spent eating pasta “to conserve my energy up to the end of the match.”
   The first leg between Bolivar and Boca kicks off on Wednesday evening at 8:15 p.m. (0015 GMT Thursday) at the Hernando Siles stadium in La Paz. The second leg of the final takes place a week later in Buenos Aires.

A team managed by Johnson ‘Drax’ Hippolyte with a star striker known as DJ Campbell playing at a ground used in the movie Bend It Like Beckham – welcome to Yeading FC.
   The Ryman Premier Division leaders nicknamed ‘The Ding’ have been given a plum home FA Cup third round tie against Premier League Newcastle United.
   Newcastle have won the FA Cup six times and been runners-up on seven occasions, while Middlesex-based Yeading have reached the third round for the first time in their history.
   Yeading FC, formed 10 years after Newcastle last won the famous old trophy by beating Manchester City 3-1 at Wembley, have lifted the FA Vase and the Bryco Cup.
   But the club, based on the outskirts of London not far from Wembley, is more famous for its Warren ground, which has been used in the film The Mean Machine and Bend It Like Beckham. “I don’t even know where Yeading is,” Newcastle boss Graeme Souness told The Evening Chronicle newspaper after the draw.
   “And while I have contacts in football throughout the world I must admit I have nothing on them.”
   Whether Yeading can hold the match at their 3,500 capacity home ground depends on safety considerations and the Football Association was deciding on Monday where it could be played.
   Yeading’s west London neighbours Brentford and Queens Park Rangers are the two most likely alternative venues. But wherever the game is staged, this is Yeading’s moment in the sun and they are determined to make the most of it.
   “It’s magnificent, just what every player wants,” was the reaction of 23-year-old Campbell, whose two goals against Slough Town earned his side a dream date with the Magpies.
   “To play against a team like that, I don’t think we could have asked for any more,” the former Aston Villa trainee told the FA’s website.
   “Realistically, we haven’t got a chance because of the influence of their big players. But as a player you just want to be a part of games like this.”

European Cup winning manager Raymond Goethals died on Monday aged 83 after a long illness.
   The Belgian won the 1993 European Cup with French side Marseille – the only time a side from France has captured European club football’s premier trophy – and the 1978 Cup Winners Cup with Belgian giants Anderlecht.
   His tactics gained him the nicknames of ‘Raymond the Scientist’ and the ‘Sorcerer’.
   It was with Marseille that he enjoyed his most successful spell with a side packed with talent such as Didier Deschamps, Marcel Desailly and Rudi Voeller.

El Salvador striker Gustavo Marroquín scores all five goals in his side's win against Honduras (5-0) in a friendly played at the Campo de Marte Stadium. The match saw El Salvador score their first goals and record their first win since the side began playing international football in September 1921. That inaugural international, played in Guatemala, saw the Salvadorians on the wrong end of a seven-goal drubbing by Costa Rica.