A five-wicket haul by SK Rassel helped Bangladesh A team beat United Arab Emirates Cricket Board XI by 64 runs in the second match of the four-match series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
   Chasing 236 runs for victory the UAE Board XI managed to score only 171 runs losing all the wickets in 43.2 overs.
   Middle-order batsman Khuram Khan played a battling 58-run innings while Mohammad Touqir contributed 22. Bangladesh fielders also gifted 41 extras to the UAE total, the second highest score of the innings.
   Rassel, started the rot by eliminating the two UAE openers, Ali Asghar and Mohammad Taskeen, for 8 and 1 runs respectively.
   He gave away only 26 runs for his five wickets in a tight 10-over spell with two maiden overs. Saqib Al Hasan gave an able support to Rassel picking up 2 for 30.
   Earlier batting first, Bangladesh piled up 235 runs losing nine wickets in the stipulated 50 overs with opener Shamsur Rahman topscoring with a magnificent 78 runs. He struck six fours and one six in his 122-ball innings.
   Shamsur and Roqibul Hasan (38) added a valuable 84 runs in the third-wicket stand to lay foundation of the innings.
   Captain Nafees Ahmed hit a hurricane 40 runs off just 22 balls including five boundaries to amass a respectable total in the day-night match.
   Javid Ismail captured highest three wickets for 41 runs for the hosts.
   Khuram Khan and Ahmed Nadeem also took two wickets each for 40 and 44 runs.
   Rassel of Bangladesh 'A' was adjudged the man of the match later.
   In the first match on Wednesday, Bangladesh beat UAE Cricket Board XI by eight wickets.
   The third match between the sides will be held today at the same venue.

International Cricket Council (ICC) is considering radical changes to one-day cricket format which, if agreed to during its two-day meeting that started in Melbourne on Thursday, are likely to be implemented as early as this year.
   ICC Cricket Committee, headed by Sunil Gavaskar, recommended the rules to make the shorter version of the game ‘rather challenging and interesting’.
   According to the reports in the Australian media, Gavaskar has said the proposed changes were regarding rotating the 15-over fielding restrictions and a ‘double-play’ – when two batsmen may be dismissed from a single ball – which were already being experimented in South African domestic cricket.
   ‘I think it has become a little predictable, the one-day game. We’ve looked at a double-play situation, where if a batsman’s been given out lbw and the ball ricochets off to gully and the fielder picks it up and throws it at the non-striker’s end, so you have two dismissals off one ball. Same if the ball’s gone up in the air (and is caught),’ Gavaskar was quoted as saying in ‘The Melbourne Age’.
   The committee, comprising representatives of all full member countries, also proposed that fielding restrictions – now placed in the first 15 overs of a match – should be rotated according to the batting team’s wishes.
   ‘What we have suggested is that the batting side will choose the 15 overs it wants. That makes it all the more challenging for the fielding side,’ he added.
   The changes, if passed by the member countries, could be implemented as early as September, an ICC spokesman said.
   Gavaskar, however, said, Twenty20 cricket would not be introduced at an international level for a few years, since after England and South Africa only Australia is planning to stage it at domestic level.
   ‘I think it won’t be added to the international calendar in a hurry because only three out of 10 teams have got it,’ he said and added ‘but if it is successful, then I think other countries will be encouraged to try it out.’
   Gavaskar also praised the recent improvement in sportsmanship in the Australian team. ‘The fact that they realised they would not be remembered as a winning team as fondly as the West Indies were remembered may well have made them look at this.
   ‘It hasn’t stopped them winning, but it’s made them more likeable. I think there’s been a big change in the Australian approach to the game as far as verbal intimidation of players is concerned. I think there’s been a great improvement,’ he said.

Brian Lara has said that he was upset about not being part of the selection panel that picked the 14-member squad for the VB Series.
   Lara hinted that the new coach, Bennett King, had a lot of say in selection matters and the team was suffering because of his lack of experience with the West Indian setup.
   This was under a new policy where his position as captain was not confirmed until the squad had been selected.
   The team returned home after being forced out of the VB Series, where they won only one game, but Lara insisted that there were several gains on the tour.
   ‘You would think that someone who is in charge of the team and had won the ICC Champions Trophy would have had something to do with the selection,’ Lara told the Caribbean Media Corporation, the West Indian news agency, on arrival at the Grantley Adams Airport.
   ‘Unfortunately, this was not the case.
   ‘If you have a new selection policy and there is a coach who has a lot of say in the process and does not have the experience of knowing West Indies cricket, then there will be areas in which you will fall down.
   ‘I’m sure that the selectors are astute enough to know what’s happening in West Indies cricket,’ Lara continued.
   ‘The right players that are needed, and we will hopefully see some improvement the next time we take the field.’
   Lara, though, touched upon the silver linings from the tournament. ‘We looked more like a unit,’ he told The Barbados Nation.
   ‘We looked more aggressive and more like we knew what we were doing in the middle but it happened pretty late.
   ‘We didn’t get out of the blocks until midway through the tournament and left ourselves with virtual finals every time
   we went out to the middle after that.’
   West Indies, who appeared rusty for a major part of the tournament, were away from international cricket for more than three months after their Champions Trophy triumph, where they recorded an incredible victory in the finals in September.
   Lara also emphasised the need for significant contributions from senior players and singled out Chris Gayle for his batting slump.
   ‘It’s a team game and everyone has to contribute,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately, one of our best batters, Chris Gayle, was unable to fire but these things happen. Hopefully, in the next series, he’ll get things going.’

West Indies great Michael Holding has branded Twenty20 cricket 'rubbish' as its international future is debated. Holding refused to watch last month's Twenty20 match between Australia A and Pakistan in Adelaide.
   He told The Voice, 'It saddens me to hear people say that it is a real contest between bat and ball. How can simple slogging be good cricket? 'It might have a place in domestic cricket but should never be introduced as an international competition.'
   However, Holding has told his television employers he does not want to commentate on the shortened game. 'What is the point of telling youngsters to watch the game but not to copy the players' techniques?' he continued.
   'There is nothing good about Twenty20 cricket. People who disagree don't know what they are talking about.'

Adam Gilchrist threw his support behind deposed colleague Matthew Hayden following his team's 18-run win over Pakistan in the first Tri-series final in Melbourne on Friday.
   Hayden was dumped in favour of Michael Clarke just before the match following a run of poor form. Speaking after the game, Gilchrist said Hayden had been 'extremely disappointed' to be dropped, but he was confident his regular opening partner would return.
   'As Matty said today, if you don't get runs you're going to be under pressure no matter who you are in the team,' he said. 'So he's aware of that and he's going to set about trying to change that around and force his way back into the team.'

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and world number one Lindsay Davenport cruised into the semi-finals of the Pan Pacific Open here Friday as Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva suffered an upset defeat.
   Second seed Sharapova overwhelmed Elena Likhovtseva with some trademark thumping groundstrokes to win an all-Russian quarter-final 6-3, 6-3.
   Top seed Davenport, seeking a third straight and fifth overall victory here, trounced Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2.
   But Japanese hope Shinobu Asagoe scored the result of the day by beating French and US Open runner-up Dementieva 6-3, 6-4 to set up a semi-final meeting with Sharapova, a beaten semi-finalist in last week’s Australian Open.
   Sharapova, 17, said she expected to have to work harder than ever to stay in the world’s top five this season after last year’s breakthrough campaign.
   ‘I expected that after winning Wimbledon, I expected everyone to know that I was a top player and that a lot of people wanted to beat me, because they knew I was in the top,’ said Sharapova.
   ‘You just have to be mentally ready for that, just try to play your game as you always play. I know they are hungry, but I love these kind of challenges that people really, really want to beat you, and I love beating them.’
   Sharapova lost to Likhovtseva in two sets at Toronto in August 2003 in their only previous encounter.
   Sharapova jumped ahead 5-2 in the first and 4-2 in the second set when she lapsed into making errors to lose her serve at love in the following game.
   But each time Sharapova broke back in the following game and never gave Likhovtseva another break opportunity.
   While Likhovtseva converted both of her two break chances, Sharapova cashed in five times out of 10 break points.
   ‘I started off well, I was putting pressure on her serves and I think she (Likhovtseva) could tell that I was trying to put a little bit more on a second serve,’ said Sharapova.
   ‘She was trying to do something on her first serve, but had a low percentage, so I was taking control on her serve. I served well, so it’s good to hold and I felt I could break,’ she added.
   Next challenger Asagoe has a 1-1 win-loss record against Sharapova. ‘Since I defeated her before, our positions are completely different now. She is now a real top player. But if I can play like I did today, I may have a chance. Anything can happen on this fast surface,’ said the Japanese player.
   Dementieva blamed her defeat on a strained finger ligament on her right hand.
   ‘It was very painful and I could hardly hold the racket. I wanted to play, I didn’t want to pull out because I love this tournament,’ she said.
   ‘I will rest today and try my best in tomorrow’s (doubles) match.’

Manchester United have been given the go-ahead to further expand their Old Trafford stadium and increase the capacity to 76,000.
   The club was granted planning permission by the local council on Thursday who agreed to the club’s proposals to fill in the north-west and north east corners of the ground.
   That will allow room for an extra 7,900 seats which could earn the team another five million pounds (9.4 million dollars) per season.
   Work on the ground will commence before the end of the current campaign with the new seats set to be installed prior to the 2006-07 season.
   ‘It’s great news,’ said United spokesman Phil Townsend.
   ‘We believe this will be of huge benefit to the club, the fans and the Trafford Borough Council.’

Harbhajan Singh, the Indian offspinner, has taken credit for triggering Matthew Hayden’s batting slump while maintaining that the cricketing world has missed Hayden’s attacking batting this season.
   Hayden, who was dropped for the first final of the VB Series, has averaged 14.28 in his last seven one-dayers and only 10.5 in the VB Series.
   ‘I am disappointed because I love watching him against other teams,’ Harbhajan told The Sydney Morning Herald.
   ‘We had very good plans against him, about where to place our fielders and how to bowl to him and we were successful, but I do miss watching him bat now.’
   Hayden, who was expected to dominate the series like he had in 2001 with a staggering average of 109.8, managed just 244 runs at an average of 30.5 in the four Tests.
   Harbhajan dismissed him three times in the series, including luring him into the sweep-trap in the first Test at Bangalore.
   ‘He is a stroke-player, and we tried to take away his boundary shots. I bowled to him a lot of the time. We all learned our lesson from his last tour here. But now I am disappointed because he is one of the best batsmen I have ever bowled to, and you love watching someone like that in good form - when it’s not against you.’
   Harbhajan also felt that other teams had taken India’s cue and learnt to tackle Hayden effectively.
   ‘Maybe those teams watched us and have their own plans against him now,’ Harbhajan continued.
   ‘Now maybe everyone knows where to bowl to him. But at the end of the day, he is a great player and I hope he comes out of this stronger. I would like to watch him score over 350 again in a Test - just not against us.’

The sound of leather on willow is not one you’d expect to hear in Italy, but contrary to popular belief, the country where football reigns supreme does have a cricket team.
   And perhaps even more surprisingly, the national side is competing in an eight-nation tournament in Malaysia this month which, if they win, will take them a step closer to the 2007 World Cup, one-day cricket’s biggest prize.
   Excitement hasn’t exactly reached fever pitch in Italy, but coach Joe Scuderi believes cricket here is slowly gaining ground.
   ‘The fact that there are Italians playing cricket is just not something people are aware of,’ he told AFP.
   ‘It’s very difficult trying to promote the sport in a country that has no tradition of
   cricket and is dominated by football.
   ‘Rugby has had similar problems in Italy, but the sport has made good progress since joining the Six Nations tournament and that’s something we can take encouragement from. We are improving all the time and that has been reflected by the quality of our recent performances.’
   The Italy team includes two South Africans, two Sri Lankans, a Pakistani and an Englishman, all of whom are Italian nationals, while five of the squad are home-grown.
   Scuderi, who was born in Australia of Italian parents and played first-class cricket in England with Lancashire, admitted the lack of
   investment in cricket has severely restricted its growth in popularity.
   ‘The International Cricket Council (ICC) do give grants to emerging countries, but money is obviously a problem,’ added the former Italy international, who still plays as an amateur in the Lancashire league.
   ‘The facilities aren’t particularly good here. There are no turf pitches, only artificial ones. It’s simpler and much cheaper. You don’t have to worry about maintenance and you don’t have to buy rollers, which don’t come cheap!’
   With only 700 registered players and only 400,000 euros of funding from the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) each year, Italy have had to spread their net far and wide to attract players.
   ‘Culturally it’s difficult attracting people to cricket in Italy, but we do have two reservoirs of resources – the local Asian community and Italians living abroad,’ said Simone Gambino, president of the Italian cricket federation.
   ‘There are five million people from the sub-continent living here and for many of them cricket is the number one sport. There are also many Italians living abroad who have been introduced to the game, through schools and universities or through friends.
   ‘But local interest is improving all the time and we have five Italians playing for the under-19 side, which is promising.’
   It is believed cricket was first played in Italy by Admiral Nelson’s sailors in Naples in 1793.
   Towards the end of the 19th century, several cricket/football clubs were founded in northern Italy, but cricket never took off.
   After World War II, cricket enjoyed a brief revival when Englishman Frank Pogson married into the powerful Doria Pamphili family.
   Under his instructions, a cement cricket pitch was laid in the grounds of their villa in Rome and the staff of the Australian and British embassies played there.
   The winner of the World Cup Qualifying Series in February will claim the final spot for July’s 12-team ICC Trophy in Ireland.
   The top five countries from the ICC Trophy qualify for the World Cup in the Caribbean in two years.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has indicated that Haroon Rasheed could be retained in the management team for the upcoming series against India, contrary to earlier reports that he would be replaced.
   ‘We have taken no decision on changing him (Haroon) as yet. The factual position is that we are looking to appoint a manager for the Indian tour keeping in mind the sensitivities involved in it,’ Shaharyar was quoted as saying by ‘The News’ on Friday.
   ‘Take my own example. In 1999 when we went to India the board had appointed Mian Munir as the manager. But then they appointed me as manager because of my diplomatic background while Munir went as assistant manager,’ he added.
   ‘So there is every likelihood that we might appoint a main manager who will look after the diplomatic and political issues on the tour while we will also have an assistant manager to take care of other matters,’ Shaharyar said.
   Rasheed, a former Test cricketer, had a two-year tenure as the Pakistan team manager which began in April 2003 but the PCB last month had decided to replace him with someone who could ‘handle the diplomatic front’ also due to sensitivitites attached with the Indian tour.

Soccer diehards could be in for a shock next year if the English Football Association goes ahead with plans to play the FA Cup final – first played in 1872 – on a Wednesday.
   The afternoon showpiece traditionally brings the English football season to a close on the third Saturday in May.
   But senior FA officials believe the switch to a Wednesday would give England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson the four-week break he wants before the World Cup Finals in Germany.
   The Wednesday Cup final would also be the inaugural game at the new 757 million pound Wembley stadium.
   But Wembley officials are confident of being able to sell all 90,000 seats, whatever the day.
   The FA has also been assured that television revenue will not be affected but fans, UEFA and police are believed to be against plans to move the final.
   The new Wembley stadium will only receive its health and safety certification a few weeks before the final.
   The FA see the Wednesday before the end of the Premiership season on 13 May as the best date – although UEFA’s Champions League dates could complicate matters.
   But the English FA are keen to give their senior players a break before the World Cup.

Second-placed AC Milan host Lazio on Sunday looking to make further ground on leaders Juventus and keep alive their dream of retaining the Serie A title.
   On Wednesday Milan bounced back from two consecutive 1-0 defeats – against Livorno and Bologna with an impressive 4-1 demolition of Messina. A resounding victory in Sicily coupled with Juve’s surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Sampdoria took the reigning champions to within five
   points of Fabio Capello’s
   pacesetters with 16 games left to play.
   And with Juve facing a potentially testing time away to Palermo on Saturday, Milan could really crank up the pressure on their championship rivals if results go their way this weekend.
   Milan captain Paolo Maldini insisted his team were still very much in contention for the coveted Scudetto.
   ‘We knew we didn’t play well against Bologna last Sunday, but we also knew that our challenge for the championship wasn’t over,’ said the 36-year-old defender, who last month celebrated 20 years with his hometown club.
   ‘When you have a dip in form you will lose ground, but against Messina we showed our winning mentality. We are relaxed as there are 50 points to play for.’
   Milan’s Brazilian midfielder Marcos Cafu echoed his skipper’s sentiments.
   ‘After Sunday’s defeat, everyone was saying we were out of the title race, but we know we’re very much in it,’ said the 34-year-old Brazilian.
   ‘We have never given up and the season is long. Everyone has criticised us, but we are staying calm. We have realised our mistakes and are trying hard to put things right.’
   Lazio are sixth from bottom and can ill afford another defeat if they are to avoid being dragged into a relegation
   battle.
   Juventus coach Capello is confident of securing a victory in Palermo where the Turin club have not played a league match since the 1972/73 season.
   ‘Palermo are always tough opponents, but I have faith in my players and expect a positive reaction from them after losing in midweek,’ he said.
   Third-placed Inter Milan visit struggling Parma, while Udinese, in fourth spot, play away to relegation-threatended Brescia.
   Fiorentina play away to fifth-placed Sampdoria on Saturday in desperate need of three points to end a dismal run that has seen them sucked towards the drop zone.
   The Florence club’s owner, millionaire businessman Diego Della Valle, has spent 55 million euros (72 million dollars) on new players since last summer, but his expensively-assembled team has taken just one point from the last 18.

Europe’s top clubs are divided over UEFA’s decision that clubs playing in European competitions must have at least eight homegrown players in their 25-man squads from the start of the 2008-09 season.
   Thomas Kurth, general manager of the G14 group of Europe’s top clubs, said the clubs were split on the ruling, but added, ‘What the clubs are agreed on is that any rule that UEFA implement must be guaranteed in line with EU law.
   ‘It must have 100 per cent legal certainty. If the clubs accommodated the new rule and it was later seen in say, the European Court of Justice that it was not valid, it would be the clubs who would have to carry the burden of the consequences and not UEFA.’
   UEFA announced on Thursday that clubs taking part in their competitions, would, from the start of the 2006-07 season have to have four homegrown players in their squads, with the quota increasing to eight by 2008-09.
   UEFA defines homegrown players as those who, aged between 15 and 21, were developed at the club or by other clubs from the same national association or by an academy in the national association for a minimum of three years.
   The nationality of a homegrown player will be irrelevant in a bid to circumvent any opposition by the European Union on the grounds of freedom of trade.
   Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday the proposal should be considered carefully before being condemned and challenged in the courts.
   Ferguson told a news conference, ‘Without jumping in, which a lot of people are doing at the moment, I think we have to asses what UEFA are saying and if they are doing it for the good of the game then I think we have to listen and pay attention to it.’
   United have an impressive track record of producing players from their youth structure in recent years with six of the players that played at Arsenal on Tuesday night starting their careers at Old Trafford.
   ‘We have always placed great store in that and pride ourselves on the number of players who have come through,’ Ferguson said.
   In contrast to Ferguson’s considered approach, Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein rushed to condemn the plan.
   ‘It’s misguided and it will almost certainly now be challenged. Few Premier League squads would meet UEFA’s current proposals and we think the quality of our league would suffer,’ he told BBC Radio Five Live.
   Kurth said that Arsenal were currently the only club in the G14 who would not meet UEFA’s proposed standards.
   ‘As far as some of the clubs are concerned, this is not a huge issue,’ he said.
   ‘For example, Real Madrid have 10 homegrown players in their current squad of 25, Bayern Munich have 18, PSV Eindhoven have 19. Arsenal have three.’
   While the English Premier League is against the proposal, so is the Italian, although Franco Carraro, president of the Italian FA and a member of the UEFA executive committee, said: ‘It is a prudent and balanced step from UEFA’.
   A spokeswoman for the Italian football league said, ‘We haven’t taken a position on the issue yet but we will be discussing the matter on Monday.’
   The proposals will be discussed at UEFA’S annual congress in Tallinn in April when it is expected to be adopted by a large majority of the European body’s 52 national associations.

Luis Figo is likely to join a Premiership club this summer. His departure from the Bernabeu has become increasingly certain in the last few days as Real Madrid continue to prevaricate about whether to renew his contract, which expires at the end of next season. Real's failure to come to a decision has prompted the Portuguese midfielder to ask the Spanish club to release him at the end of this season, a request his club are expected to agree to.
   If Figo does leave the Bernabeu, he will almost certainly look for an English club, with the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and perhaps even Chelsea among the teams expected to compete for his services.
   Figo, who will be 33 next November, insists that if he leaves Real he will not play for another Spanish club, and has long been an admirer of English football. In any case, only Premiership clubs are likely to be able to meet his considerable wage demands.
   'Like any human being, I want to sort out my future as soon as possible,' Figo said. 'Given my age, the logical thing would be for them to allow me to leave at the end of this season, if they are not going to extend my contract.
   'I'm absolutely certain that I'm not going to play for any other club in Spain,' he added. 'England has always been a dream because of the respect they have for the professionals over there and for the prestige associated with playing there. But, of course, I realise dreams don't always come true,' quotes The Independent.
   Figo originally gave Real a December deadline to make it clear whether or not they would offer him a new deal, but his ultimatum has been greeted with silence, and the Real vice-president Emilio Butragueño said this week that the club did not plan to discuss the matter until the end of the season.
   But given that they renewed the deals for fellow galacticos Raul, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane in good time, all the indications are that they have no intention of doing the same for the former Barcelona player.
   Real have also been heavily linked with Real Betis' Spanish international winger Joaquin, who plays in much the same position as Figo.
   There is likely to be some furious behind-the-scenes manoeuvring between now and the summer as Figo tries to push the club into letting him go before his contract expires in order to sign one last lucrative deal with an English Premiership side.
   One story that did the rounds in the Spanish press last week was that Figo was even prepared to threaten a return to Barcelona on a free transfer at the end of his contract if Real did not let him go at the end of the present campaign.
   Given that Barcelona fans' hatred for Figo remains undimmed after his £37m defection to their arch-rivals in the summer of 2000, a return to the Nou Camp would seem to be impossible, but the very fact that the story has been leaked to the press is the first indications that the jostling for position is under way.
   Figo's availability would alert the biggest teams in the Premiership, and although Sir Alex Ferguson and his assistant Carlos Queiroz are long-standing admirers of Figo, it is Chelsea not Manchester United which is the Portuguese midfielder's preferred destination.
   It is debatable whether Jose Mourinho would be interested in adding an ageing galactico to his young squad, but he did tell the Portuguese football magazine A Bola last week that he would sign 'a great player'.
   The two have crossed paths previously, when Mourinho was an assistant to Sir Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal at Barcelona, and it was Figo who helped to persuade a reluctant dressing-room to accept his fellow countryman.
   Figo loves London, and if Chelsea are not interested then Tottenham Hotspur may be a more likely destination.
   Florentino Perez was elected president of Real Madrid on the back of his promise to buy Figo out of his contract at Barcelona and to make him the foundation stone of his galactico super team.
   The player now feels that he is owed a favour in return, and the freedom to move to England at the end of the season is what he has in mind.

Spain’s runaway league leaders Barcelona have not been beaten in their Nou Camp stadium for more than a year and even Sunday’s rivals Atletico Madrid admit they would be happy to settle for a point there.
   ‘Barcelona could be on their way to being champions. If they carry on playing like this, no one is going to catch them,’ said Atletico’s Spanish international striker Fernando Torres.
   ‘Everyone thought they were wobbling but they shut a lot of mouths with their 4-0 win at Sevilla last week.’
   The big worry for Barca coach Frank Rijkaard is that his inspirational Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho has missed training all week.
   The World Player of the Year picked up a leg injury in last weekend’s match.
   French international Ludovic Guily is another who will have a late fitness test after suffering again from his chronic back problems, working out for several days alongside Ronaldinho in the Barca club gym.
   Atletico have their own injury problems though, with Jose Antonio Garcia Calvo and Jesper Gronkjaer both doubtful.
   Barcelona have 51 point from their 21 games and a seven point advantage over bitter rivals Real Madrid, who play host to fourth-placed Espanyol on Saturday.
   Pundits have been quick to point out this week that the visit of the Barcelona-based club means the season has turned full circle for Real.
   It was Espanyol’s 1-0 defeat of the Spanish giants in September that precipitated the resignation of former Spain boss Jose Antonio Camacho.
   Mariano Garcia Remon then took over as the Real coach only, in turn, to be superseded by Wanderley Luxemburgo during the winter break.
   However, Luxemburgo has cured Real’s woes as the team has rattled off five consecutive league wins since his arrival.
   The encounter will see two old friends come face-to-face as foes.
   Espanyol playmaker Ivan De La Pena and Real’s Ronaldo played together at Barcelona during the 1996-97 season and are still regularly in close contact.
   ‘I used to have great fun playing alongside Ronaldo,’ said De La Pena. ‘He was a bit thinner then, but he’s still a phenomenon on the pitch.’
   The main worry for Luxemburgo is whether Zinedine Zidane will recover from his midweek bout of gastro-enteritis.
   If Zidane is unfit, Spanish international Jose Maria Gutierrez will start alongside recent signing Thomas Gravesen.
   Reigning champions Valencia are now a distant third behind the top two, having only managed two points from their last three games to fall seven points behind Real Madrid.
   The sorry streak prompted an astonishing outburst from Valencia coach Claudio Ranieri during training on Wednesday.
   ‘Why do you only react when you are up to your necks in trouble?’ demanded Ranieri ahead of Sunday’s match with Real Sociedad.

England captain David Beckham says he wants to end his career at Real Madrid.
   Beckham said his personal life was now less frantic after he cut his advertising commitments and that his wife Victoria and two sons were settled in Spain.
   ‘I want, and I’m convinced that I will, end my career at Real Madrid,’ the 29-year-old told sports daily Marca on Friday.
   ‘In football you can never tell what’s going to happen, but I still think that I’ve got a lot to give as a player and I would like to continue at one of the best clubs in the world – Real Madrid.
   ‘I want to stay here for many more years, for as long as Real Madrid want me to stay.’
   Beckham, who is under contract until 2007, made a promising start to his career at Real Madrid after joining the club for up to 35 million euros ($45.39 million) from Manchester United.
   However, his form, like that of the rest of his team-mates, tailed off badly as Real ended last season empty-handed.
   Beckham insisted he had
   put the disappointments of his first season at the club behind him.
   ‘I’ve got over what happened last year,’ he said. ‘It’s now in the past. Now I prefer to look ahead to 2005.
   ‘My aim is to play good football, enjoy life in Spain and enjoy playing for Real Madrid.
   ‘I’m very happy at the moment, the team is working much harder and I’ve still got a lot more to give.
   ‘Things have calmed down a lot,’ he said, referring to his private life. ‘I’ve still got a few problems from the paparazzi but apart from that there are no problems.
   ‘I’ve got a house and my sons are happy at school. My wife is here every day and that helps. We’re going to have our third child in Madrid, so he can play for Spain or England.’

Real Madrid playmaker Zinedine Zidane will retire in 2007 at the latest.
   'My contract runs until 2007 and I won't go any further,' the 32-year-old Frenchman said on Friday.
   'At the latest I will end my career in 2007. Stopping before then is not on my agenda, but who knows? I won't go further than 2007 but I would like to go all the way,' he said.
   Zidane, among the most gifted players of his generation, said it would be 'nice to win another European Cup' with Real before calling it quits. Zidane put an end to his international career after Euro 2004 with 93 caps and 26 goals.
   'I'm no longer part of France's team but I watch them as a fan. The most important thing is for them to go to the World Cup,' he told French pay television channel Canal Plus.
   'Little by little, the team has changed but it remains something special to me,' he said. The two goals he scored in the 1998 World Cup final against Brazil remained the best moments in his career, he said.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has fuelled speculation about a summer bid for Arsenal’s Ashley Cole days after newspaper reports the Premier League leaders had made an illegal approach for the left-back.
   Mourinho has promised to make two major signings in the summer – a left-back as well as one of the world’s greatest players – but he has ruled out David Beckham.
   ‘We’ll buy two – one left-sided defender, because I only have one, and another player,’ he told the Daily Mail. Ashley Cole is the best English defender.’
   Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard looks to be the man he has singled out as one of the world’s greatest players. ‘We are already scouting half-a-dozen players, who are the best in the world, because only they have the ability to join a super, balanced squad like ours,’ he said.
   ‘That player isn’t Beckham, not that I don’t like him as a player or as a person.
   ‘It’s simply that because of the position that he plays, and the way that our team play, he doesn’t seem ideal to us.’
   Newspaper reports last weekend claimed Cole had met Mourinho and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon in a London hotel but the Premier League has said it would only launch an investigation if Arsenal lodged an official complaint.
   A Chelsea statement released on Friday read, ‘The club has an established policy on stories linking it with players, whatever the circumstances. We have not commented in the past, do not intend to comment now, and will not do so in the future.’
   Arsenal are currently in talks with Cole to extend his current deal which runs out in 2007.

Runaway leaders Chelsea are likely to be without in-form Dutch winger Arjen Robben on Sunday when they host the only team to have beaten them in the Premier League this season, Manchester City.
   Robben limped off with a badly bruised foot after scoring the only goal in Wednesday’s 1-0 win at Blackburn, Chelsea’s eighth consecutive league win and one that stretched their lead at the top to 11 points over Manchester United.
   Chelsea’s first title in 50 years is in sight with the sole blemish, a 1-0 defeat at City in October, when the now-departed Nicolas Anelka slotted City’s winning penalty past Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech.
   The Chelsea goalkeeper beat former Manchester United keeper Peter Schmeichel’s record of 694 minutes without conceding a league goal against Blackburn and will expect to extend his shutout to nine matches on Sunday.
   Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said the defence of their title was over after the thrilling 4-2 home defeat to Manchester United on Tuesday but a win at goal-shy Aston Villa on Saturday will help them restore confidence for the Champions League and FA Cup.
   However, they must do without central defensive pairing Sol Campbell (injured) and Kolo Toure, who is still suspended.
   United host Birmingham City buoyed by their Highbury heroics and only a win will do in their near impossible pursuit of Chelsea, although defender Mikael Silvestre starts his three-match ban for head-butting Freddie Ljungberg against Arsenal.
   Fernando Morientes cracked a superb first goal for Liverpool in the 2-1 win at Charlton in midweek and another hard-earned victory over Fulham today will spark hopes they can snatch fourth and the final Champions League berth.
   Everton occupy fourth and will hope to maintain a seven-point advantage over their city rivals by winning at relegation-threatened Southampton on Sunday in striker James Beattie’s first return to St Mary’s since last month’s move.

Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez admits that his success in taking Valencia to the Spanish title last season has only added to expectations of him in England.
   The Anfield giants are struggling to depose local rivals Everton from fourth place in the Premiership – the last qualifying place for the Champions League – and have fallen seven points behind.
   Liverpool know they need to beat Fulham today to keep up the chase.
   ‘When I arrived in Valencia, people said he is not a famous manager. Here I arrived with two leagues and one UEFA Cup, a lot of trophies, and then it was different,’ said Benitez.
   ‘The first year at Valencia was not good enough but after three years we had the best statistics in the club’s history, and I would like to do the same here.’