Dhaka and Rajshahi both managed to secure four points on the basis of first innings lead after their four-day matches against Barisal and Khulna in the Ispahani Mirzapur Tea 6th National League Cricket ended in drab draws on Saturday.
   Barisal and Khulna got two points each.
   At the Fatullah Cricket Stadium, Mehrab Hossain Jr hit his maiden first class ton but an unusually slow batting by Dhaka in the match cost them two points as a win could have earned them full six points instead of four. Mehrab scored 103 off 160 balls before Dhaka declared their second innings at 202 runs losing four wickets in 51.3 overs.
   On the final day, Dhaka, who had scored 355 runs in the first innings, set a tough 295-run target for Barisal Division to chase for a win in the remaining 40 overs of the day. Barisal, who made 263 in their first innings, batted out the day playing cautiously after losing two wickets within 15 runs. They finished at 107 runs without further loss with Shahin Hossain and Humayun Kabir remaining not out on 53 and 41 runs to ensure that their team gets at least two points.
   At Khulna Divisional Stadium, Rajshahi failed to score 209 runs to register a win over the host side. Khulna, who had scored 273 in the first innings, amassed 227 runs in their second innings. But Rajshahi did not even try to chase the winning target as they spent the remaining 48 overs of the last day scoring just 84 runs losing five wickets.
   Only two batsmen reached double figures for Rajshahi. Jahirul Islam (35) and Anisur Rahman (21) both batted patiently facing 112 and 61 balls respectively.
   Earlier, Sazzadul Hasan scored 52 runs for Khulna in the second innings while an in-form Jamaluddin Babu added 47 runs.
   In the third round on February 23, Dhaka will host Khulna, Sylhet will take on Rajshahi at the Sylhet stadium and Chittagong will host Barisal in the one-day matches to be followed by the four-day encounters.
   The one-day match between Dhaka and Khulna will be held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium while the four-dayer will be played at the Fatullah stadium as usual.

Australia (236/7) beat New Zealand (226) by 10 runs
   Paceman Glenn McGrath led Australia to a 10-run win over New Zealand in a thrilling one-day cricket international here Saturday, as a late New Zealand charge faltered with the last three wickets falling for just two runs.
   As Australia defended a score of 236, McGrath finished with four for 16 after ending his first spell with the exceptional figures of one wicket for seven runs from seven overs.
   He fittingly ended the match when he bowled Daryl Tuffey for one with eight balls remaining to dismiss New Zealand for 226.
   New Zealand batsman Hamish Marshall was so nearly the hero, cracking 79 off 69 balls at No.6 after the hosts had slumped to 73 for four in the 26th over.
   Marshall hit seven fours to top-score after opener Nathan Astle set things rolling with 65.
   Needing a run rate of 4.72 per over, New Zealand's top order staggered after an outstanding opening spell by McGrath while speedster Brett Lee captured the prized wicket of captain Stephen Fleming.
   The required rate ballooned to 12 an over before Marshall anchored a recovery that saw New Zealand needing a run a ball from the last 13 balls and with three wickets in hand before McGrath mopped up the tail.
   Australian captain Ricky Ponting opted to bat first after winning the toss and following a promising start, in which he featured in a 133-run second wicket partnership with Matthew Hayden, Scott Styris ripped through the top order to leave with tourists with what seemed a less than par score.
   Styris halted Australia's momentum when they were 140 for one, and his dismissal of Hayden for 71 started a collapse that saw the next five wickets fall for 20 runs in the space of eight overs.
   Ponting followed Hayden four balls later for 61 and Styris added the wickets of Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke cheaply in a 23-ball spell of four for five.
   Big-hitting Andrew Symonds boosted the total late in the innings with 53 off 44 balls, including two sixes off Chris Cairns before Cairns bowled him in the 49th over.
   As New Zealand struggled in reply, big hitters Styris and Cairns failed to fire, Styris taking 48 balls for 14 and Cairns out for nought, and it was not until the arrival of Craig McMillan that the innings took off.
   The erratic McMillan scored 37 off 31 balls as he and Marshall added 66 in 9.3 overs before he was stumped by Adam Gilchrist standing up to the wicket to McGrath.
   Marshall continued the attack with Brendon McCullum, but when it appeared they were going to achieve the seemingly impossible, Lee dismissed both McCullum and Vettori in the 47th over.
   The second game in the five-match series is in Christchurch on Tuesday. Ponting wants better crowd control
   Meanwhile, Australia captain Ricky Ponting has demanded a review of security arrangements for the tour of New Zealand after his players were pelted with missiles during Saturday's opening one-day match.
   The match in Wellington was stopped several times after Australian players, including pace bowler Glenn McGrath and all rounder Simon Katich, complained to the umpires that they had been hit by plastic bottles thrown from the crowd.
   Ponting told a news conference the security arrangements were not up to scratch.

Pakistan cricket greats expressed dismay on Saturday after top bowler Shoaib Akhtar pulled out of the upcoming Test tour of India with a hamstring injury.
   Former captain Imran Khan said Pakistan, embarking on their first tour of India in six years next week, will struggle for wickets without the world’s fastest bowler.
   ‘Akhtar’s absence will make a serious difference,’ Imran Khan told AFP.
   ‘Whenever Akhtar has played for Pakistan he has featured in Pakistan’s wins and obviously spinners are not going to be weapons for Pakistan against India,’ Khan said.
   ‘The tour of India would not be as testing as of Australia because the wickets in India will suit Pakistani batsmen, but in Akhtar’s absence Pakistan will find it hard to take 20 Indian wickets in a Test,’ he added.
   Akhtar pulled out of the Test series on Friday, a day after being fined 500 dollars for indiscipline after pictures of him in a disco appeared in Australian and Pakistani newspapers.
   He denied the fine influenced his decision to withdraw from the tour. Captain Inzamam-ul Haq put on a brave face Friday, saying the team will try to overcome Akhtar’s loss.
   But former fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz said relations may be ‘strained’ between Akhtar and his captain.
   ‘I am amazed Inzamam not saying Akhtar’s absence is a serious blow, Akhtar has taken 89 wickets in the last 15 Tests he played for Pakistan and this shows their relationship is strained,’ said Nawaz.
   He said the withdrawal of the 29-year-old ‘Rawalpindi Express’, who has taken 144 wickets in 36 Tests and 186 in 120 one-day internationals since his debut in 1997, would hearten India.
   ‘It (Akhtar’s pull out) means full enjoyment for India and pressure on the hosts is released as they know the fiery pacer is not coming,’ said Nawaz.
   Pakistan’s chief selector Wasim Bari also rued Akhtar’s absence.
   ‘It will make a difference but we have to live with it because you can’t do anything when a bowler is injured,’ said Bari.
   Akhtar has said he is hoping to be fit for the one-day matches with India starting in late March.
   Pakistan lost both the Test and one-day series against India last year when the fierce rivals resumed cricketing ties broken in June 2000.
   Final itinerary in 2-3 days
   With the Ahmedabad issue being resolved, the Indian cricket board will announce the itinerary for the Pakistan tour in the next 2-3 days, a top BCCI official said on Saturday.
   ‘We are in the process of finalising the itinerary and the necessary logistics for the tour. We would be able to finalise everything in two or three days,’ BCCI secretary SK Nair said.
   ‘There are a lot of things that need to be worked out. We are also chalking out the travel programme for the Pakistan team,’ he said.
   Nair said once the final itinerary was ready, it would be sent to the Pakistan Cricket Board for their approval.

Claudio Caniggia, one of the stars of Argentinian football during the last decade, has announced his retirement at the age of 38.
   Caniggia, who played alongside Diego Maradona when Argentina went all the way to the 1990 World Cup final although he was suspended for the defeat by the then West Germany, played 50 matches and scored 16 goals for his country in an international career which spanned 15 years from 1987.
   The striker, who had been playing in Qatar, told Argentinia’s Radio del Plata: ‘The truth is that after seven months of inactivity, and although I train every day and I am very well physically, I have decided to retire.
   ‘I had offers but I wasn’t enthusiastic about them. I was bored in Qatar and it did not add anything to my career. It was good for me financially but for nothing else.’
   His children still go to school in Glasgow where he won the 2002/03 Scottish Premier League title with Rangers.
   Caniggia, who made his professional debut with River Plate in 1985, also played for Verona, Atalanta, AS Roma, Boca Juniors, Benfica and Dundee before moving to Rangers and finally Qatar Club. In all he played 457 matches and scored 122 goals.

World number one Roger Federer put down a Russian rebellion in the shape of journeyman Nikolay Davydenko here on Friday as a 7-5, 7-5 victory gave him a semi-final place in the Rotterdam Open.
   But there was more misery for third seeded Briton Tim Henman who lost to Croatia’s Mario Ancic 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in his quarter-final. It was the second straight setback for Henman against Ancic who ran him out of Wimbledon in the quarter-finals last summer.
   The loss in two hours was a bitter blow for the Briton who has been a runner-up here three times while Ancic goes on to face Federer in the semi-finals on Saturday.
   Henman lost the opening set after 58 minutes after four breaks of serve had been exchanged and the British number one had saved a pair of set points.
   The second was more of the same, with the Briton losing a 5-3 lead.
   In the breaker, Henman fell to 0-3, recovered but couldn’t get on top of his rival. A running forehand wide from the Briton gave Ancic a pair of match points and he ended it moments later.
   ‘It’s disappointing but most importantly I feel that to be competing, and feeling as good physically out there as I was, is a great sign for me,’ said Henman.
   ‘Mentally there were a few lapses of concentration. Maybe that comes down to lack of match practice. But in the big picture it’s been a really good week for me.
   ‘Ancic can generate so much power with limited effort and that’s tough to deal with. With two tie-breaks it’s always going to come down to a couple of points and credit to him, he took them.’
   Swiss top seed Federer, aiming to bounce back from his disappointing Australian Open semi-final exit, had to shake off two break points from the 15th-ranked Russian Davydenko in the penultimate game of the match before advancing.
   ‘He made me work very hard, it was a close match,’ said Federer, now 13-1 in the season with a title at the start of the year in Doha.
   ‘I’m very happy to be through to the semis. It could have been a very different results, it could have gone the three sets.
   ‘But what counts is making the big points, and that’s what I did. It’s only the quarter-finals so I’ll have to keep on doing it, hopefully for the rest of the tournament.’
   The win in one hour and 41 minutes was Federer’s fifth without loss against Davydenko.
   Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic booked his place in the semi-finals but only after an angry 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan.
   Ljubicic said the Asian number one broke into a ‘victory dance’ after earning a break point at four-all in the second set of their quarter-final clash.
   The gesture, innocent as it was, fired the Bosnian-born former war refugee into action.
   ‘I thought that if he could dance, so could I,’ said Ljubicic.
   ‘Let’s say I found extra motivation right there. I got some energy, which I used to win the match.’
   Meanwhile Thomas Johansson of Sweden clinched a 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) quarter-final victory over Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic to set up a semi-final clash with Ljubicic.

Eight teams hope to take a step closer to the 2007 World Cup finals when they take part in the ICC World Cup Qualifying Series in Malaysia starting from Monday.
   Only one team out of the Cayman Islands, Fiji, Italy, Kuwait, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Qatar and Zambia will make it through to the ICC Trophy later this year from which the final qualifiers for the 2007 showpiece in the Caribbean will be decided.
   Cayman Islands captain Ryan Bovell has set his sights on winning the event though he admits that the devastating impact of Hurricane Ivan severely hindered his side’s preparations.
   ‘Our target is to win the tournament by dominating all opponents in every facet of the game,’ said Bovell whose squad includes two policemen and three prison officers.
   ‘My country was devastated by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.
   ‘The majority of my team mates lost everything and our cricket fields and practice areas were seriously damaged but we have the ability to fight when everything seems lost.’
   Cayman Islands begin their campaign against Fiji whose captain Waisake Tukana believes the international experience will be invaluable to his team’s development.
   ‘The ICC WCQS Division 2 tournament is very important for the Fiji team as it gives us the opportunity to pit our skills against teams of comparable strength and experience,’ said Tukana.
   ‘Playing other international teams has a big impact on the skills of our players, as most of our players are not accustomed to playing at this level of cricket. It is playing at tournaments like this which brings out the best of our players.’
   Italy will be captained by the Australian-born Joe Scuderi who has earned first class honours with South Australia and Lancashire.
   The experienced all-rounder said good performances will be as important as positive results for his team.
   ‘We want to be successful in this tournament and that doesn’t mean winning all our games. It means playing well and being competitive,’ said Scuderi.
   ‘It gives the players an insight to the strengths and perhaps weaknesses of other players and an opportunity to compare themselves with
   them on a skill and knowledge level.’
   The winner of the Malaysia tournament will be one of 12 teams to contest the ICC Trophy in Ireland (July 1-13) from which five teams will qualify for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Top seed Andy Roddick needed two tiebreakers to edge a battling Robby Ginepri and reach the semi-finals of the ATP Tour tennis tournament here on Friday.
   Ginepri never dropped his serve but still succumbed to Roddick 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/2), in an all-American quarter-final.
   The 22-year-old Roddick, who captured the title last week in San Jose, California, for his 16th career ATP Tour title and first of the year, will face Denmark’s Kenneth Carlsen in the semifinals.
   Carlsen defeated American Jan-Michael Gambill earlier Friday 7-6 (9/7), 7-5.
   Eighth seed Max Mirnyi of Belarus also reached the semifinals with a 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/1) decision over France’s Antony Dupuis.
   Mirnyi awaits second seed Tommy Haas of Germany, who improved to 8-2 lifetime against Xavier Malisse of Belgium with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the fifth seed.
   In the WTA Tour event running concurrently with the ATP tournament, top seed and defending champion Vera Zvonareva of Russia reached the final with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over eighth-seeded compatriot Evgenia Linetskaya.
   Linetskaya had reached her second straight WTA Tour semi-final. Two weeks ago, she made it to her first career semi-final at Pattaya City before retiring against Conchita Martinez due to heat illness.
   In Saturday night’s final, Zvonareva will face third-seeded American Meghann Shaughnessy, who defeated seventh-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (8/6).
   The 15-year-old Vaidisova saved five match points in the second set before finally succumbing.

India plans to issue an unprecedented 10,000 visas to Pakistani cricket fans to watch a rare series between the arch rivals starting next month, a foreign ministry official said on Saturday.
   It will be the first time in the bitter history of the nuclear-armed neighbours that so many visitors are expected to make a trip across the border for an event, indicating that a slow peace process has helped boost ties between people of the two countries.
   The Indian decision comes days after the two countries gave fresh impetus to their peace moves by agreeing to start a historic bus service linking disputed Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan and the cause of decades of enmity.
   ‘We are expecting a huge demand for visas and plan to have special visa camps in Pakistan to issue up to 10,000,’ the Indian official said.
   ‘We might even allow Pakistanis to obtain special permits and drive in their cars into India to watch the match in Mohali,’ he said referring to the northern Indian city which is a three-hour drive from Wagah, the only India-Pakistan border crossing located in the Punjab region.
   Normally it is not easy for ordinary Indians and Pakistanis to travel across the border as visas are issued only to families separated by the 1947 partition of the subcontinent, and for religious, business and academic events.
   New Delhi’s decision reciprocates a similar landmark move by Islamabad last year which allowed about 8,000 Indians to travel to Pakistan to watch the first cricket series between the two countries on Pakistani soil in 14 years.
   Last year, India won the Tests 2-1 and the one-dayers 3-2 in a series that generated huge goodwill among people of the two cricket-crazy countries who have a common history and share many cultural similarities but have fought three wars.
   Analysts said the cricket diplomacy helped the peace process, which was launched last year and made the cricket series possible after the neighbours teetered on the brink of a fourth war in 2002.
   Both countries claim the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir in full. India accuses Pakistan of supporting a revolt against New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir which has killed more than 45,000 people since it began in 1989.
   Pakistan denies the charge and says the rebellion is an indigenous freedom struggle.
   The political rivalry has often spilled over into the cricketing arena as matches between the two teams are marked by intense competition and have in the past been called ‘war without guns’.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is all set to play in the upcoming series against Pakistan with the International Cricket Council reportedly finding his bowling action to be within its prescribed limits.
   Harbhajan was reported for his action while bowling the doosra  by the match referee, Chris Broad, during India’s series against Bangladesh in December.
   He subsequently went to Australia for testing and, if required, corrective measures.
   Harbhajan, who underwent biomechemical analysis at the University of Western Australia, has been cleared to play the series, sources said on Friday.
   The results of the biomechemical analysis, however, are yet to be released oficially.
   When contacted, ICC spokesman Jon Long said they were still awaiting the BCCI report on the issue.
   ‘Under the process in which Harbhajan was reported the procedure is that ICC will receive a report from the player’s home board, in this case the BCCI, approaching the end of the process they have undertaken.
   In this case the deadline is February 25.
   The ICC is in no way involved in the process that the home board undertakes,’ Long said.
   However, he did not confirm whether Harbhajan had indeed been cleared at this juncture.
   ‘I can’t say anything unless we receive the report from the BCCI. I can’t make any comment on the outcome.’

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said his players were not supermen and he had little choice but to rest some of them at Newcastle today when they begin a busy week of football.
   Chelsea face Newcastle at St James’ Park in the FA Cup fifth round before then flying straight out to prepare for Wednesday’s Champions League tie in Barcelona.
   Indeed, Mourinho warned the fixture planners and TV schedulers are giving English clubs little chance of winning Europe’s biggest prize as they are handicapped in contrast to their main rivals.
   With the English League Cup final next Sunday as well, he will therefore rest the likes of Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele, Petr Cech, Paulo Ferreira and possibly Damien Duff at St James’ Park.
   His side will still be relatively strong, with such a large squad to call upon, even in the absence of John Terry through suspension, as well as Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben through injury.
   However Mourinho warned, ‘People try to put pressure on us, saying we can win every competition. But while we have a top squad and top men, we are not supermen.
   ‘If we lose in the FA Cup, they will say I don’t respect it. But my players can’t all play 90 minutes against Newcastle, Barcelona and Liverpool in eight days.’
   He told Chelsea TV, ‘I want to show respect to the FA Cup. I don’t want to play with a reserve team, but I cannot play with the same team that will play in Barcelona.
   ‘I want to try to win all three games, but I will rotate my players.’
   Jiri Jarosik, ineligible for the Champions League, will therefore start at St James’ Park, along with the likes of Carlo Cudicini, Glen Johnson and Alexei Smertin or Geremi.
   Chelsea’s FA Cup tie has been scheduled on Sunday afternoon due to Newcastle playing their UEFA Cup at Heerenveen on Thursday evening.
   Mourinho said the fixture schedule and the demands of TV companies are reasons why English clubs are handicapped in Europe, echoing previous concerns expressed by Arsene Wenger.
   The Chelsea boss, who won the Champions League with Porto last season, explained: ‘Other countries protect their teams in Europe and in England they don’t.
   ‘Before I played a Champions League tie with Porto, I’d play a Portuguese league game on a Friday night and the next league game would be on a Monday.
   ‘In fact, they would even phone me and ask me when I wanted to play the league games. This is the type of protection that other countries give to their teams in Europe.
   ‘Monaco didn’t play a French championship game the weekend before the Champions League final. They had seven days in Germany to prepare for the game.
   ‘Here, especially with Chelsea, we have to play today. I must wait for the game and then fly to Barcelona and arrive at 2:00am. I’m not English but I would like English teams to win the Champions League - especially Chelsea!’
   Chelsea officials have been trying to explain to Mourinho that as Chelsea accept so much TV revenue from broadcasters BSkyB, they must expect some demands to be made upon them.
   However he insisted, ‘Television controls football. But in Portugal, Spain and France, you have a department working with you to protect the teams in Europe.’
   No wonder, in Mourinho’s view, that it is almost six years since an English club won the Champions League and the gap was 15 years before that.
   ‘It’s very difficult to win the Champions League. You can have a good team and play well but you can still be out of it, even when you don’t deserve it.
   ‘English teams must play differently in Europe than in the Premier League. You must play not so much with your heart but more with your brain. You must adapt to the reality of European football.’
   The realities of football also dictate that success breeds fixture congestion, as Arsenal found to their cost last season - with Chelsea beating them in the Champions League quarter-finals.
   The next eight days are now the real test of Chelsea’s squad - and their quadruple ambitions.

Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo believes the media interest surrounding Ronaldo’s Valentine’s Day engagement celebrations has damaged his team’s preparations on the eve of crucial domestic and European games.
   ‘I haven’t liked what has happened this week because we have two very important games coming up,’ an irate Luxemburgo told a news conference on Friday. ‘People have been talking about everything except football.’
   Real, who are four points behind Primera Liga leaders Barcelona, host Athletic Bilbao on Saturday before welcoming Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League first knockout round tie at the Bernabeu next Tuesday.
   ‘People should be talking about Athletic and what a difficult team they are and how many goals they score, but instead they are talking about personal matters, like the ‘wedding’, about what players might leave the club at the end of the season and which ones are going to arrive.
   ‘Instead, we should be thinking about the league and Champions League. As coach I don’t think we’ve had the ideal preparation for two such complicated games.’
   Ronaldo was late to training on Tuesday and Wednesday this week after throwing a lavish party at a secluded chateau near Paris to mark his engagement to Brazilian model Daniella Cicarelli.
   It also emerged that he had sustained an injury to his big toe during the celebrations. He then turned up late to a book launch on Thursday at which an authorised biography of club president Florentino Perez was presented to the media.
   The 28-year-old Brazilian and his fiancee brought affairs to a standstill when they arrived 55 minutes into the presentation at a luxury hotel in the centre of Madrid.
   The club have fined Ronaldo for his tardy appearances at training but Luxemburgo said he had not yet made up his mind whether to play the Brazil striker in the Bilbao game.
   ‘I’m going to think over what I should do but Ronaldo hasn’t had a good week because he has trained very little.’
   Luxemburgo said Michael Owen was almost certain to start although he denied that his decision had anything to do with the England striker’s remarks in the press that he was getting frustrated with spending so much time on the bench.
   ‘I want to make it clear that if Owen does play it isn’t because of what has been said in the newspapers this week. If he plays it will be because I think he deserves it—players won’t get a place just because they’ve been talking to the press.

Italian soccer on Friday mourned the death from cancer of former European Footballer of the Year Omar Sivori, who played for both Argentina and Italy.
   He had been in hosptal since September and died, aged 69 almost a year to the day after the death of his old Juventus team mate John Charles.
   Former Juventus team mate Giampiero Boniperti told La Gazzetta dello Sport, ‘To see Omar play was spellbinding one touch of the ball and then that extraordinary and deadly dribble that used to drive opponents crazy.
   ‘Sivori had class, but his greatest gift was that he could think faster than the others.’
   Giacinto Facchetti, now president of Inter Milan and one of Italy’s greatest ever defenders, said, ‘He was a great adversary, a player of immense class and character.’
   Gianni Rivera, Italy’s Golden Boy in the 1960s, added, ‘He was always cocky because he knew he was good...off the pitch, though, he was extrovert and friendly.’
   Sandro Mazzola, another 1960s great who was in the Italian team that lost to Brazil in the 1970 World Cup final, said, ‘He was my inspiration - the only player of his time who knew how to play just behind the strikers. He had infinite skill.’
   Sivori made his first division debut for River Plate in 1954 and won two Argentine championships with the club.
   He played 18 times for Argentina, shining in their 1957 Copa America victory in Peru. A year later, he was transferred to Juventus, where he won Serie A titles in 1958, 1960 and 1961 and the Italian Cup in 1959 and 1960.
   While at Juventus, he also won the European Footballer of the Year award in 1961.
   Under the less stringent nationality rules of the time he later won nine caps for Italy, scoring eight goals, and represented the country in the 1962 World Cup in Chile.
   He finished his playing career at Napoli, scoring 12 goals in 63 games, before retiring in 1968.
   He returned to Argentina to coach Rosario Central and River Plate before taking charge of the national team for the 1974 World Cup qualifiers but resigned before the finals over differences with the AFA.
   His famed team mate at Juventus, Welshman Charles, died on February 21 last year at the age of 72.

ArsEne Wenger Friday launched an impassioned defence of his foreign policy at Arsenal and questioned whether this week’s criticism was rooted in xenophobia.
   Wenger has come under fire since choosing an all-foreign 16 against Crystal Palace last Monday and showed the depth of his feeling by swearing in public - a rare occurrence - as he argued that quality and not nationality matters.
   ‘I feel guilty when people pay £50, go to watch a game and I feel after the game: ‘For fuck’s sake, these people have come for nothing because the game produced was rubbish.’
   ‘But when people pay £50, see a good game, see real football, then why would I feel guilty? Because the players are not from the right country? The guy who comes to the game should love football.’
   Wondering what was behind the outcry, Wenger said, ‘Is it because you are scared the national team doesn’t do well or is it because people are scared and you don’t want foreign people in the team?
   ‘If it’s being scared about the English team then you need not worry because you have never had so many stars. From Rio Ferdinand up, every player is worth £30m.’
   Wenger stressed that he had no policy of playing few Englishmen, was putting £4m a year into the Arsenal academy and would use 11 homegrown players if he had 11 good enough.
   He noted that he bought Richard Wright and Francis Jeffers, who did not make the grade, and that academy products such as Julian Gray and Jay Bothroyd had not been good enough for Arsenal but were still playing in the Premiership.
   ‘My priority is always to Arsenal but I feel a responsibility to England’s national team as well,’ said Wenger, who will have one Englishman - the goalkeeper Stuart Taylor - on the bench today.
   ‘If I can produce 10 England national team players then I’m happier but I don’t manage that - I’m not a magician.’
   Jose Mourinho has said he will never field an all-foreign squad at Chelsea.
   He has six England internationals, although he bought none.
   ‘I don’t see especially that they play more English players than we do,’ Wenger said.
   ‘Do you feel they are more of a British club than Arsenal?
   Who have they produced who is homegrown?’ he added, John Terry being the only one.
   Wenger strongly criticised UEFA’s homegrown quotas for the Champions League and UEFA Cup from 2006-07,
   saying it would ‘produce mediocrity’.
   Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger can expect to be given the necessary cash to bolster his squad this summer, team managing director Keith Edelman said Friday.
   Arsenal announced an increase in profits of 10.2 million pounds (23 million dollars) before player trading in their interim results for the six-month period ending on November 30 last year.
   And Edelman believes that the London outfit are heading towards a much 'stronger financial footing' as Wenger looks to regain their dominance in the Premiership and Europe.
   'We have got 17.4 million pounds (33 million dollars) of cash in the bank at this stage, which is obviously a very healthy position to be in,' said Edelman.
   'He (Wenger) will have sufficient transfer funds in the summer, as he did in January, but chose not to spend.
   'The stadium is going very well, we have spent 54 million pounds on it in the period and it is still on schedule to open
   for the 2006/2007 season,' Edelman told the The Press Association.
   'We have always said that the new stadium would enhance the manager's budget, not detract from it and we still believe that to be the case.
   'Now we have got the funding for the stadium, there will be sufficient funds for his transfer budget.'
   The recently-published Deloitte Football Money League of European clubs saw Arsenal climb a place to sixth with an income of 115 million pounds (217 million dollars).
   'I think we should be one of the top three richest clubs in the world in the long run, on the way that they calculate it,' said Edelman.

Brazilian sensation Adriano wants to end his career with Internazionale.
   Adriano celebrated his 23rd birthday on Friday while training with the rest of his teammates in preparation for a the difficult week ahead, which will see Inter take on Udinese, FC Porto and AC Milan.
   The Brazilian international, who is the club's current top scorer this season, has been linked in the past few months with a move to giants Real Madrid and Chelsea.
   His comments made a month ago to Spanish television Canal + in which he stated that his wish was to play one day for Real Madrid, hit the Nerazzurri fans hard.
   However, all appears to have been forgiven as Adriano pledged eternal love for Inter after blowing out the candles.
   'I want to remain always at Inter,' said Adriano.
   'I want to end my career here because this team has a place in my heart.
   'Inter is very important for me, it's like my second home.'

Blackburn Rovers’ former France striker Youri Djorkaeff announced Friday he was moving to New York to play for THE MetroStars.
   The 36-year-old World Cup winner, who has been out of work since his brief spell at Blackburn where he made three Premiership appearances, said: ‘I’m lucky. This is another dream come true.’
   Djorkaeff, who was a member of the France team that lifted the 1998 World Cup, told a press conference the move to New York was the culmination of over two years of negotiations.
   ‘This is going to give me a boost, not only in terms of the football but also for life outside of my family.’

Chelsea target Andriy Shevchenko has ruled out ever moving to the Premiership as he 'never wants to leave' AC Milan.
   The Ukraine striker will return to Old Trafford, scene of his winning spot-kick in the 2003 Champions League final shoot-out, next Wednesday.
   Milan face Manchester United in the last 16 of the Champions League, and while he promises to savour the occasion, Shevchenko insists his heart belongs to the Rossoneri.
   He has been linked with a move to Chelsea recently, but stressed that he is not prepared to join Jose Mourinho's foreign legion at Stamford Bridge, even though he holds both coach and chairman Roman Abramovich in high regard.
   'I really admire what Roman and boss Mourinho are doing at Chelsea,' Shevchenko told The Sun.
   'It is not just because Abramovich spends money but he shows a great deal of enthusiasm for what he is doing. He is a real winner.
   'But I do not want to move to English football. I do not want to leave AC Milan to join anyone else.'
   Shevchenko has scored 105 Serie A goals for Milan since joining from Dynamo Kiev in 1999, together with a host of crucial strikes in Europe.
   'This is my spiritual home,' he said. 'They have voted me their greatest player - I cannot leave a place like this.'
   He expects the first leg of the tie against United to be a stern test of Milan's capacity to reign over Europe this year.
   'I have never played against Rio Ferdinand before but I know all about him. He is a really strong defender,' Shevchenko added.

Chelsea are set to break with tradition after the Blues' manager Jose Mourinho decreed players will not wear specially-made suits for next week's League Cup final against Liverpool, the London Evening Standard reported Thursday.
   Mourinho, whose side are chasing an unprecedented four major trophies in one season, wants the London club to treat the February 27 Millennium Stadium clash like any other match.
   It is certainly not a question of money with Chelsea's Russian oil billionaire owner Roman Abramovich having catapulted the Londoners into 10th place in a 'rich list' of the world's biggest football clubs released Thursday by accountants Deloitte and Touche.
   But Mourinho doesn't want his players to be distracted from their pursuit of the Champions League, Premiership and FA Cup crowns. So he has ordered his players and staff to make sure the build-up to the match is low key.
   Usually, clubs make a show of participating in a major final by fitting out their stars in identical designer outfits
   When Chelsea last reached a final, their 2-0 defeat by Arsenal in the FA Cup three years ago, they turned-up before kick-off in blue pinstriped suits designed by Italian fashion icon Giorgio Armani.
   But this time the players will use the normal Hugo Boss club suits the Chelsea squad wear to away matches.
   Mourinho too is unlikely to change his match-day attire either. This season he has taken to wearing a grey trench coat his wife bought him to games since the winter weather began because he believes it brings him luck.

Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo wants Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard at the Santiago Bernabeu next season.
   Luxemburgo met with Real ‘s board on Thursday to discuss his priorities for the summer transfer market - particularly his foreign targets.
   The three names on the Brazilian’s shortlist were Santos winger Robinho, Arsenal striker Jose Antonio Reyes and Gerrard.
   The agent of Robinho, Juan Figger, will take in Real’s Champions League clash with Juventus next week and final details over the youngster’s move are expected to be ironed out.
   Luxemburgo hopes Gerrard’s signing can also be just as smooth.
   Liverpool chief Rick Parry is on record stating they won’t block the midfielder should he decide to leave Anfield and its always been Real’s policy not to bid for a player unless he demands a move from his club first.

The directors of the Uruguayan Football Association make a surprising decision in the run-up to the inaugural South American Youth Championship in Venezuela by forbidding the country’s youth team from wearing the national jersey. The ruling stipulated that ‘only a team taken entirely from the national first division can wear the glorious celeste of Uruguay’. The decision proved controversial and unpopular, and after several more meetings the committee were eventually obliged to overturn their ruling. The youth side got to wear the national colours in the tournament, and in all subsequent competitions.