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AC Milan 0 Barcelona 1
   Barcelona took a step towards the Champions League final when a Ludovic Giuly goal earned them a 1-0 win over AC Milan at the San Siro stadium in their semifinal first leg match on Tuesday.
   Frenchman Giuly’s strike in the 57th minute – with a sharp finish after he raced on to a superb pass from Brazilian Ronaldinho – snapped a 13-match unbeaten home run for Milan in Europe.
   Milan had three times gone close to an opener with Alberto Gilardino hitting the post, while Andriy Shevchenko had a header parried before Gilardino wasted another chance in the 51st minute.
   Barca could have come away with an even better result, Ronaldinho hitting the post at the end of a swift counter-attack. Milan wasted another chance when substitute Massimo Ambrosini screwed a shot wide in the 81st minute.
   ‘It was a good win against a great team,’ Ronaldinho told Canal Plus TV in Spain.
   ‘We played a very good first half and then made use of the extra space in the second. But this tie is far from over and there are still 90 very tough minutes to come.’
   Milan have been clinical in their finishing throughout the competition this season but they missed the sharpness in front of goal of their striker Filippo Inzaghi, who was sidelined due to a virus.
   The result gives the Catalan club a great chance for the second-leg on April 26 as they seek to add to their solitary European Cup success.
   Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti left captain Paolo Maldini and Brazilian Cafu on the bench with Dutchman Jaap Stam and Brazilian Serginho operating in the full-back roles.
   The Italian side, playing in their third Champions League semifinal in four years, dominated the early exchanges in front of a passionate 76,000 capacity crowd.
   Gilardino, who replaced Inzaghi in attack, struck the post from a tight angle in the 14th minute after turning sharply as he received a long throw from Serginho.
   A minute later Clarence Seedorf burst down the left and whipped in a bouncing cross which Shevchenko headed powerfully goalwards but Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes made a good diving save.
   Milan went close again six minutes after the restart when Shevchenko flicked the ball to Kaka inside the area and the Brazilian, who could have shot himself, fed Gilardino but the Italy forward fired wide.
   Six minutes later Barcelona had the lead. Ronaldinho split the Milan defence open and Giuly, anticipating the delivery and losing his marker Kakha Kaladze with a sharp diagonal run, beat Dida with a precise left-foot finish.
   It was almost 2-0 shortly after when Barca hit the post, Giuly broke on the counter-attack feeding Ronaldinho whose nonchalant shot from the edge of the area struck Dida’s right-hand post.
   With the Spanish side dominating midfield, Dida was forced into action in the 66th minute to keep out a smart shot from Andres Iniesta as Ancelotti’s side looked in danger of letting the game slip out of control.
   The Milan coach responded by bringing on Maldini for an out-of-sorts Andrea Pirlo, pushing Serginho forward into midfield and then introduced Massimo Ambrosini for Gennaro Gattuso.

Pakistan (201/4) beat India (197) by 6 wickets
   Younis Khan hit a solid half-century to steer Pakistan to a six-wicket victory over India in the opening one-day international here on Tuesday.
   He scored 71 not out as Pakistan survived a minor scare to chase a modest 198-run target in the first of two day-night games held here to raise funds for victims of last year’s Kashmir earthquake.
   Pakistan were strongly placed at 146-2 before losing two wickets in the space of three runs, but Younis batted steadily to ensure victory with nine balls to spare.
   Skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq (40) and Mohammad Yousuf (one) fell in quick succession before Younis finished the match in the company of wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal (24 not out).
   Younis, who put on 86 for the third wicket with Inzamam, struck one six and four boundaries in his responsible 24th half-century.
   Pakistan, who lost the last four matches against India at home in February, ended their dismal run with a disciplined all-round peformance.
   The match, also watched by Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf, was the first to be held at the 16,000-capacity Zayad Cricket Stadium which became the second venue after Sharjah to host one-dayers in the United Arab Emirates.
   Off-spinner Shoaib Malik also played a key role in his team’s win, capturing three wickets to restrict India to a small total. India, fresh from a recent 5-1 triumph against England at home, found runs hard to come by on a slow pitch where stroke-making was difficult. Malik made batsmen struggle with his tidy line and length to finish with 3-40, including the wicket of in-form aggressive batsman Mahendra Dhoni (three).
   Middle-order batsman Venugopal Rao top-scored for India with an unbeaten 61, his best in 14 one-day internationals. Even he was not allowed to score freely as he hit just three fours in his 93-ball knock. Pakistan’s fielders backed their bowlers remarkably well, bringing off four run-outs.
   India’s problems began when skipper Rahul Dravid (20) and Irfan Pathan (26) were caught short of the crease in quick succession. The innings also ended in a pair of run-outs, the victims being Harbhajan Singh and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.
   Rao gave a good account of himself on a difficult track, steadying the innings with a 64-run stand for the fifth wicket with teenager Suresh Raina (40) after his team had been reduced to 72-4.
   Proceeds from Tuesday’s match will be donated to the survivors of the massive earthquake that hit Kashmir last October killing more than 73,000 people in Pakistan and 1,300 in India.

With football passing through a grueling time, the Bangladesh Football Federation desperately has a lot of things on its mind. Among the issues included the fate of national coach Diego Andres Cruciani but at least the Argentine agreed that he would fulfill his one year contract till the end of July. Cruciani is keen on putting in place a development programme for the federation.
   The need for such a blueprint became all the more apparent as the standard of the game at both the club and country level has been cruelly exposed in recent times.
   First, the national team was hammered 1-6 against Tajikistan in the quarter-finals of the AFC Challenge Cup and then that was followed on Tuesday when Dhaka Mohammedans were hit for a ‘magnificent’ seven against Jordan’s Al Wihdat Club. The win has all but ensured the Jordanians a berth in the last eight as the group has been whittled down to two teams after the disqualification of Yemen’s Al Hilal and Oman’s Dhofar clubs. The return leg will be played on April 25 in Dhaka and the Black and Whites will require nothing but a miracle to advance to the next stage.
   There were rumours that Cruciani would be leaving his job early but in a meeting with the BFF, he revealed his desire to soldier on. After passing nearly ten months in the country, Cruciani has sorted out the weaknesses in the system and is eager to submit a programme to help develop future players. None of Bangladesh’s eight previous foreign head coaches have ever thought about the need for a scheme to raise the standard of football.
   Cruciani now will work with the U-23 team for the SA Games that will be held in Sri Lanka in August. The National Team Management Committee has expressed its desire to persist with Cruciani until his contract expires but if Cruciani leaves in July then that might create a problem who would take charge. Maybe the SA Games will be the last frontier of Cruciani and if he fails to deliver the title his episode will be over.

Tanvir of European Standard School slammed a 71-ball century to guide his team to a comprehensive 250-run victory over Rose Garden School in the Standard Chartered Bank Young Tigers National School Cricket at the Dhanmondi Club ground on Wednesday.
   Batting first, ESS scored 327 for five with Tanvir top-scoring with 102. Reefat Anwar contributed 58, Ninad made 47 and Ziaul Alam Rony added 28. Later Rony captured five for 28 as Rose Garden High School were bundled out for a paltry 77.
   Iqra Model High School registered a five-wicket win over Bangladesh International Tutorial. BIT batted first and were all out for 189 with Reazul Islam scoring 51. Iqra reached the target with five wickets and five overs to spare. In the other matches of the day, Shourav Smriti High School defeated Dhaka Government Muslim High School by two wickets and West End High School beat Kalatiya High School by three wickets.

South Africa (276 & 299) beat New Zealand (327 & 120) by 128 runs
   Makhaya Ntini completed his second successive ten-wicket haul as South Africa beat New Zealand by 128 runs on the fifth day of the first Test at Centurion Park Wednesday.
   Ntini and fellow new ball bowler Dale Steyn captured five wickets each as New Zealand were bowled out for 120.
   New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said the extra pace of Ntini and Steyn, who both bowled as much as 15 kilometres an hour faster than any of his bowlers, made a big difference on a pitch of unpredictable bounce.
   He said the pitch made conditions difficult.
   ‘You won’t get too many batsmen wanting to come back and play on it. But there are times when you just have to knuckle down and grind out performances. South Africa had a couple more performances than ours.’
   Fleming said he hoped fast bowler Shane Bond, who could not play because of a knee injury, would be fit for the second Test starting in Cape Town on April 27.
   ‘His pace does make a difference. There is plenty of time but the concern is that this injury has been around for a while and there has been no real improvement.’
   Fast bowler Michael Mason will be joining the team as cover for Bond.
   South African captain Graeme Smith said his team had learnt from two tough series against Australia when they lost five out of six matches.
   He said South Africa had produced key performances in the middle stages of the Test.
   ‘Jacques Kallis ground out his 62 and AB de Villiers played superbly for his 97. Then Makhaya (Ntini) and Dale (Steyn) backed it up with their bowling in the second innings.’
   Ntini took five for 51 and Steyn five for 47. Man-of-the-match Ntini finished with match figures of ten for 146. It was his fourth ten-wicket haul and he became the first South African to do the feat in successive matches after taking ten for 178 in a losing cause against Australia earlier this month.
   Smith hailed Ntini’s performance and said the fast bowler had benefited from an enforced lay-off when a knee injury caused him to miss the second half of South Africa’s tour of Australia earlier in the season.
   ‘He bowled with pace and precision. There was a crack on the wicket and he worked it all day. That just tells you what sort of bowler he’s become. He’s a thinking bowler.
   ‘As a captain, it’s wonderful to be able to throw the ball to him. Something always happens. We just need to work on some guys to back him up.’
   Ntini said he had enjoyed playing the role of senior new ball bowler with a young partner in Steyn.
   ‘I had to set up a platform so he could follow. I discussed it with him yesterday when he had already taken three wickets and I had taken four. I told him we both had a chance to get five wickets.’
   Smith said Steyn, who touched 150 kilometres an hour during the match, added an extra dimension to the South African bowling attack.
   It took South Africa just six overs to capture the remaining three wickets after New Zealand resumed on 98 for seven.
   New Zealand left-hander Daniel Vettori went on the attack, racing to 38 but opening batsman Hamish Marshall, who batted through the team’s collapse on the fourth day, added only one run to his overnight 24.
   Marshall was dropped at first slip by Boeta Dippenaar off Steyn on 25 but without adding to his score he was out to Ntini, when he edged a lifting ball to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.
   Four balls later Vettori flashed at Steyn and was caught by Boucher. Steyn then produced a fast, straight ball to bowl last man Chris Martin.

Marcus Trescothick fears leading international cricketers could suffer from ‘burn-out’ with the fixture calendar showing no signs of easing as the elite get ready for next year’s World Cup in the Caribbean.
   England vice-captain Trescothick returned home early from the recent tour of India after six years of virtual non-stop international cricket.
   But initial sympathy for his withdrawal, for what the England management in India initially said were ‘family reasons’ gave way to suspicion in some quarters when the opening batsman said, in a television interview earlier this month, that a virus had been the reason for his abrupt exit.
   Trescothick, in the field Tuesday for Somerset’s county championship opener against Gloucestershire at Bristol, said after stumps: ‘Burn-out has been talked about a lot in the last couple of weeks - it’s been mentioned in Australia about the (International Cricket Council’s future tours) programme.
   ‘I think the authorities are aware, and that will obviously help the players then to overcome it.’
   ‘However, the left-handed opening batsman added he would have to take steps to monitor his own situation.
   ‘Along with the England management and the Somerset people as well, it is something for us all to assess,’ he said. ‘I want to play as many games as I can - but there will come a time when you have to say ‘I’m going to be rested this game’.
   ‘It’s not always an easy thing to do, because you’ve geared yourself up for a long time to play international cricket - and you want to play as many games as you can,’ Trescothick added ahead of next month’s Lord’s first Test against Sri Lanka.
   But he admitted that absences such as his own, could create openings for newcomers such as Essex left-hander Alastair Cook who made a century on debut for England against India.
   ‘It’s great to get under way. I’ve had to sit at home for the last few weeks watching the boys on TV,’ he said before saying of Cook: ‘To have that option where we can bring people in and they do well straight away is obviously great.
   ‘But if I’m sitting at home watching him (Cook) I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t think I’m out of the team at the moment and I’ve got to try to get back in’.’
   Meanwhile Trescothick was reluctant to shed further light on the reasons behind his departure from India. ‘There have been external pressures - and there still will be for a couple of weeks,’ he said.
   ‘It’s to be expected. When you come back from a major tour people are obviously inquisitive to what actually happened.’
   But he still insisted medical reasons had been the main reason for his return. ‘I just got out there to Mumbai and started picking up bugs - and it gradually took its toll on me.’

Real Madrid say they’ve had no offers from Liverpool for Spain striking great Raul.
   The man who was for so long the darling of the Santiago Bernabeu has come in for criticism after a disappointing season.
   And he’s been linked in the past year with a move to Anfield to join Rafael Benitez’s Red revolution.
   But Real’s director of sport Emilio Butragueno says there has been no contact yet from the Merseyside club.
   He told Madrid’s official website, ‘Nobody has called here. Raul is a model and an example for all. He’s criticised now, but you need to understand that he is a very competitive person and that he sped up his recovery to help the team.
   ‘He needs time to regain his true form. Raul is not finished. His spirit and his zeal for improving and excelling are unique. He will come back.’
   Meanwhile Real’s former football director Benito Floro says he never wanted the club to sign Antonio Cassano from Roma, and instead told them to buy Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard and Inter Milan’s Brazilian striker Adriano.
   He told Spanish daily Marca, ‘I recommended as top priority the signing of a powerful centre-forward like Adriano, and a top midfield player in case Zidane leaves. Gerrard is man I earmarked, a player the club has looked at in the past.’

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has warned that World Cup teams may be deducted points for racist behaviour by fans.
   He said that rules to be brought into domestic competitions next season will be enforced in Germany this summer.
   ‘The regulations will be applied for this World Cup – at the first sign of racism there will be a deduction of three points,’ he stated.
   Blatter admitted the system is open to abuse, with fans passing themselves off as opposition supporters.
   The FIFA president said that deducting points, which may hinder a team’s progress in the tournament, may be a deterrent.
   He added, ‘Once we deduct points, then we are finished with the problems of discrimination.’
   The measures for domestic competitions provide for a three-point deduction for a first offence, six for a second and relegation for a third offence.
   Blatter also wants extra powers to intervene if FIFA feels a country is not adhering to the rules.

Winning captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said that it was a much-needed victory against the Indians.
   He praised Younis Khan (71 no) for playing a pivotal role in the win.
   ‘His (Younis Khan) innings was very important and he saw to it that he stayed till the end.’
   Inzamam also said that their fielding played a very crucial role in the win.
   ‘Our fielding was vary bad during the India series and we have been working hard on it. Our efforts paid off today.’
   Younis said that chasing was difficult with the ball moving and seaming around.
   ‘Chasing was difficult. There was seam and swing in the pitch so I thought I would be positive and play some shots to counter that.’

Pakistan vice captain Younis Khan does not have to try too hard to regain his form whenever he is going through the occasional bad patch.
   He just needs a game against India to start firing again, revealed the prolific middle order batsman after steering his team to a six-wicket win in the first one-dayer on Tuesday.
   A perennial thorn in India’s flesh, Younis said he had always been ‘very comfortable’ playing against his neighbours from across the border.
   ‘It is just that I try my best against India. Whenever I am out of form, I get to play against India and I regain my form.’
   Younis, who topscored with 71, did not think conditions were difficult for batting at the Zayed Stadium.
   ‘International cricketers must know how to adapt to different conditions quickly,’ he said.

England captain Michael Vaughan emerged unscathed from his first net session after returning early from the tour of India with a knee injury.
   Vaughan underwent surgery in December but broke down again in February.
   But his workout at Trent Bridge, where Yorkshire are playing NOtts, suggests a return to action is not far off.
   The 31-year-old, who has been putting in hard hours in the gym, ran round the outfield with no signs of discomfort.
   But it is his 20-minute net session that will have pleased the selectors.
   Chairman David Graveney has said they will tread carefully with the skipper, who has had a history of knee injuries.

Maybe it is appropriate that Arsenal FC’s last European game at Highbury will be a UEFA Champions League semi-final, perhaps the biggest match any club could play at home. Reaching this round may be a new experience for Arsenal, but the famous stadium in north London is no stranger to big occasions, and not just those of a footballing nature.
   Controversial move
   Even the location of the Arsenal Stadium, as Highbury is officially called, made headlines. As their name at the time of their 1913 move - Woolwich Arsenal FC - attests, the club were originally based south of the Thames, but switched to a more populous area. This did not make them popular with new neighbours Tottenham Hotspur FC, especially when Arsenal were given Spurs’ place in the first division after the end of World War I.
   Art Deco
   The stadium, initially designed by football specialist Archibald Leitch, was transformed in the 1930s, an era when the team built by Herbert Chapman were winning a hat-trick of league titles and supplying seven players to an England side that beat world champions Italy 3-2 in 1934 at Highbury. Two Art Deco stands were erected, so magnificent that planning laws state their facades must remain when the stadium is replaced by housing this summer. Even the local tube station was renamed from Gillespie Road to Arsenal, though the original title remains in the brickwork on the platform.
   Broadcasting firsts
   Before the worldwide televised events that matches like Arsenal against Villarreal CF have become, Highbury was at the forefront of broadcasting. In January 1927 a match between Arsenal and Sheffield United FC was the first league match to be transmitted on BBC radio, and the first team and reserves met ten years later in the earliest televised football game anywhere in the world. In 1939 Highbury broke into the movies with the Arsenal Stadium Mystery, a murder suspense that is still considered one of the few football films of any merit.
   European debut
   After closing for the war, when the North Bank terrace was destroyed, Highbury was soon a sporting arena once again, and on 22 October 1963 competitive European football came to the stadium for the first time with the visit of Denmark’s Staevnet in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The away team won 3-2, but nine years later Norwegian side Stromsgodset IF were defeated 4-0 in Highbury’s European Champions Clubs’ Cup debut. Meanwhile, 1966 may have seen a famous world title encounter in another London stadium, but Highbury had one of its own - the bout between Mohammed Ali and British hero Henry Cooper for the heavyweight crown, two years after their famed non-title fight at Wembley. A cut to Cooper’s eye ended the rematch after six rounds.
   Fairs Cup success
   International success for Arsenal was achieved at Highbury four years later, as they lifted the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The club had not won any silverware for 17 years, but despite starting the second leg of the final 3-1 down to RSC Anderlecht, Eddie Kelly, John Radford and Ray Kennedy scored the goals that clinched the cup and set the scene for the domestic double - only the fourth in English history - the following year.
   ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’
   Arsenal now set about attempting to add to their European honours, and three UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals were played at Highbury, all ending happily for the Gunners. The first was in 1980, when Juventus came to town for the opening leg, and their striker Roberto Bettega scored a retaken penalty but then put through his own goal and Arsenal won the return 1-0. In 1994 Paris Saint-Germain FC visited and, as a popular Highbury song of the time put it, the game ended ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ - as did the final against Parma AC. Twelve months on a thriller against UC Sampdoria ended 3-2. Arsenal won the second leg in Genoa on penalties, but lost the final as they did in 1980.
   European Cup nights
   As befits Arsenal’s recent lofty status under Arsène Wenger, UEFA Champions League fixtures have been Highbury staples in recent years, at least after a brief experiment in the 1990s when European matches were moved to Wembley. Crowds were bigger, but results disastrous. However, despite winning English doubles in 1998 and 2002, and going through the 2003/04 Premiership season unbeaten, a UEFA Champions League run past the last eight still eluded them.
   Farewell
   Patrick Vieira was a regular in Wenger’s sides, but in the penultimate European tie at Highbury the midfielder was a visitor with Juve. Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry - a Highbury hero to rank with the likes of Cliff Bastin, Charlie George and Tony Adams - ensured a night of raucous celebrations for the home team against nine-man Juventus, and ultimately earned a long-awaited European Cup semi-final. After Villarreal, only two competitive Highbury games remain - against, appropriately, Tottenham, and then Wigan Athletic FC on 7 May. The nearby new stadium will boast 21,500 more seats. It will be many decades before it holds as many memories.

The World Cup isn’t just about which country has the best team.
   The tournament in Germany, which kicks off 50 days from today, is also a shop window for stars who don’t know where they will be playing next season.
   About 25 per cent of the world’s population is expected to watch Brazil attempt to defend its title and try win its sixth World Cup, while club owners will be in the crowds hoping to snap up a big name player.
   Some of the biggest of all may be on the move before the opening match on June 9.
   Germany captain Michael Ballack has admitted he is talking with English champion Chelsea and seems likely to disappoint Bayern Munich fans by leaving the Bundesliga.
   Thierry Henry won’t give Arsenal a decision on his future until the end of a season in which he’s trying to help the Gunners win their first Champions League title.
   The France striker has been at Arsenal for seven seasons and has been linked with a move to either FC Barcelona or Real Madrid. Ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League match against Villarreal, he didn’t want to talk about his future even when told that he owed the Arsenal fans an answer.
   ‘Who do I owe, and for what?’ he snapped. ‘Don’t you see my commitment on the pitch? I think you can see it. I don’t think about the word owe. I owe something to my Dad, who put me on this planet.’
   According to the British papers, Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo could be leaving Stamford Bridge and returning to Italian soccer.
   Chelsea, on the verge of winning the English Premier League for the second season in a row, has the vast wealth of billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich to spend. He has already spent more than $532 million as well as underwriting debts of $248 million.
   With that sort of wealth, no player appears to be out of Chelsea’s range and the English champions could be among the big movers in the World Cup marketplace.
   The Blues, who have the ambitious Jose Mourinho as manager, have also been linked with AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko, who will be Ukraine’s main threat on its World Cup debut in Germany.
   Both Shevchenko and Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti have said the Ukrainian is staying at San Siro. But Ancelotti’s future at Milan may also be in doubt.
   After Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to visiting Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, Milan looks likely to miss out on European glory again. It’s also trailing Juventus in Serie A.
   If that happens, that could lead to a clear-out at Milan and the breakup of a star-studded squad which also has Brazilians Kaka, Dida, Cafu and Serginho - some of whom will be playing at the World Cup.
   The same applies to neighbor Inter Milan and the futures of Brazil striker Adriano, Portugal midfielder Luis Figo and Argentina internationals Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso.
   Thirteen points behind Barcelona in the Spanish league, Real Madrid is another powerhouse set to miss out on a major trophy this season and is looking for new talent and a replacement coach. France midfielder Zinedine Zidane could even retire after the World Cup.
   Madrid sports director Benito Floro told a radio station Wednesday the club would be interested in signing ‘a powerful center forward such as Adriano’ and a dynamic midfielder such as Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who will be one of England’s leading players at the World Cup.
   With speculation that Netherlands striker Ruud van Nistelrooy could be leaving Old Trafford after losing his starting place to Louis Saha, there could be changes at Manchester United, too. The Red Devils, now run by American businessman and Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer, are chasing midfielders rather than strikers, however.
   Whatever position a team may need to fill, owners will likely be able to find someone in Germany.

Host nation Germany should make a quarter-final spot the minimum target at this summer’s World Cup, German icon Franz Beckenbauer said Wednesday.
   Beckenbauer, head of the 2006 World Cup Organising Committee, says the current German team, under the guidance of manager Jurgen Klinsmann, is on a par with the teams of 1994 and 1998 that reached the last eight of the World Cup.
   ‘We are certainly no worse than the 1994 and 1998 teams when we crashed out at the quarter-finals. It should not be worse than that,’ Beckenbauer said in Sport Bild magazine.
   ‘We can expect to reach the quarter-finals or even the semi-finals with home advantage.’
   In 1994 Bulgaria caused a massive upset by defeating Germany 2-1 at the quarter-final stage and four years later Berti Vogts and his team were crushed 3-0 by Croatia in the last eight.

German star Michael Ballack is stalling over his £110,000-aweek contract offer from Chelsea - because he wants guarantees over first-team football.
   The Bayern Munich midfielder, available on a free transfer, has already held talks with the Blues but is concerned over competition for places.

Alan Shearer admitted Tuesday he ‘fears the worst’ after a scan on his injured knee had to be delayed.
   Shearer, set to retire as a player at the end of the current season, suffered a suspected tear of his medial ligament during Newcastle’s 4-1 north-east derby win away to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Monday.
   So bad is the swelling around Shearer’s left knee that a scan originally scheduled for Thursday has been put back 24 hours until Friday, making it increasingly likely that the former England captain will not see out his final campaign as a player.
   ‘I am fearing the worst unfortunately,’ said Shearer. ‘I have been injured before plenty of times so I know the scenario and I haven’t got a great hope.
   ‘It’s a matter of time. We have to wait and see and let nature take its course and hopefully the scan will reveal on Friday the damage is not too bad. ‘Over the years my glass has always been half full and not half empty.’
   Whatever else happens, local hero Shearer plans to make one final appearance at Newcastle’s St James’ Park ground for his end-of-season testimonial match against Celtic.

Real Madrid’s director of football Benito Floro has proposed the club buy Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard and Inter Milan’s Adriano, and suggested Bernd Schuster as the next Real coach.
   Floro, who replaced Arrigo Sacchi in December, said he had presented his proposals to new president Fernando Martin and the board.
   ‘As a priority I recommended the signing of a powerful centre forward like Adriano, and a quality midfielder should Zinedine Zidane leave,’ Floro told radio station Cadena Ser.
   ‘Gerrard is a player I included on the list and is someone the club have wanted to sign in previous seasons.’
   Zidane, 33, has hinted he may retire after the World Cup finals in Germany though he has a contract with Real until 2007.
   Martin has spoken openly about his desire for a new coach to replace Juan Ramon Lopez Caro at the end of the season and last month listed seven high-profile figures as his preferred targets.
   Floro said he had proposed another option, not mentioned by Martin—former Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Schuster, currently the boss of modest neighbours Getafe.
   ‘Schuster’s name was on the list because if Lopez Caro does not continue I think the ideal person is someone who knows Spanish football well. Also he tries to play the type of football Real want to see.’
   Elsewhere, reports in Portugal claim that Real are considering other Premiership targets, with the A Bola newspaper insisting that Fulham pair Luis Boa Morte and Wayne Bridge – who is on loan from Chelsea – are also on the Spaniard’s wish-list.
   Meanwhile, according to reports from Spain also says, Real have been offered Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
   The Dutchman’s future has been a topic of hot speculation ever since he was left out of United’s starting line-up for their Carling Cup final victory over Wigan in February.
   That began a run of games in which French hitman Louis Saha was preferred to van Nistelrooy.
   And even though he’s started the last three games for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, many still expect him to be on the way out of Old Trafford this summer.
   Now reports in Spanish daily Marca suggest the former PSV striker - who cost United £19million in April 2001 - has been offered to Los Galacticos.
   The reports say that van Nistelrooy, who turns 30 on July 1, has now decided to quit Manchester in search of a new challenge.
   But it says the stumbling blocks to a potential Real move are his age and the knee injuries he’s suffered in the past.

It is a player’s worst nightmare – and quite enough to keep a coach awake at night too.
   With the FIFA World Cup approaching fast, an injury is the last thing any footballer wants. For Korea Republic striker Lee Dong-gook, the worst-case scenario unfolded when he received the news last week that he would miss the finals because of a serious knee injury.
   As Lee embarks on the lonely road to recovery, three potential stars of this summer’s tournament – Lionel Messi, Michael Owen and Francesco Totti – head a list of injured players fighting to avoid the same fate. And while their coaches scan the latest medical bulletins with increasing urgency, the question is whether they will make it in time.
   Messi heads home
   In Messi’s case, he returned to Argentina this week for treatment on the thigh muscle he tore playing against Chelsea on March 7. The Barcelona teenager aggravated the problem by, in his own words, trying to ‘come back sooner than I should have’ and Argentina team doctor Donato Villani’s observation that Messi was unlikely to be fit before the UEFA Champions League final has done little to ease the worries of Albiceleste fans.
   That final, should Barcelona get there, takes place two days after the May 15 deadline for naming squads, but Messi is optimistic and declared on his arrival in Buenos Aires that he wants to ‘try and play the last games of the season for Barcelona and, of course, for Argentina’. His coach Jose Pekerman was more cautious, however, saying, ‘To include a player on the list we have to know if he is right.’
   If Pekerman must wait on Messi, he did receive some encouraging news over the Easter weekend as Gabriel Heinze was included in the Manchester United squad for the first time since sustaining a cruciate ligament injury last September. Heinze is ‘tackling like a tiger’ in training, according to United manager Sir Alex Ferguson; now he just needs matches.
   Totti targets Cup final
   Over in Italy, the fitness of Francesco Totti is the main concern for Azzurri fans but the Roma playmaker is progressing ahead of schedule, according to Pierpaolo Mariani, the doctor monitoring his recovery from surgery to repair his fractured left fibula.
   Dr Mariani told Italian journalists Totti, sidelined since February, would ‘start work with the fitness coaches from April 20’. The player himself hopes to be available for the second leg of the Italian Cup final against Inter Milan on May 11 – four days before the deadline for Marcello Lippi to confirm his Italy squad for Germany.
   While Lippi follows the rehabilitation of Totti and fellow striker Christian Vieri, currently out with a knee injury, his England counterpart, Sven-Goran Eriksson, will breathe a huge sigh of relief should Michael Owen appear in a Newcastle shirt before the season’s end. Owen has not played since breaking a bone in his foot on December 31 and his recovery has taken longer than expected, with a second operation required in March after the initial surgery to have a metal pin inserted in his foot.
   Owen put on his boots for the first time on the training ground last week, however, and his Newcastle United manager, Glenn Roeder, predicted it would be ‘onwards and upwards for Michael’, who hopes to get in at least one club appearance before Eriksson names his squad.
   Defensive worries for Eriksson
   Eriksson also has worries at the back with defenders Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole and Ledley King all facing a race to be fit. Campbell, troubled by fitness and off-field problems, suffered another setback when he broke his nose on his first Arsenal appearance since February last week, while Cole has played just once in the last six months. King, meanwhile, suffered a stress fracture to a metatarsal bone in his left foot playing for Tottenham on Saturday.
   A metatarsal injury is also the worry for Japan striker Atsushi Yanagisawa, who has been absent since late March. However, he hopes to be back in time for Kashima Antlers’ match against Urawa Reds on May 7. Several steps ahead on the comeback trail is Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz, who has already made three substitute appearances for Bayern Munich since recovering from a cruciate ligament injury. ‘Everything is going faster than I expected,’ the 24-year-old said.
   The worry for some, of course, is that things are not going fast enough. Two other cruciate injury victims, Czech Republic striker Jan Koller and Spain midfielder Xavi, are back in training but yet to kick a ball in anger. Meanwhile, Brazil forward Ricardo Oliveira, fit again after his knee problems, has engineered a loan move from Real Betis to Sao Paulo in the hope of persuading Carlos Alberto Parreira to take a chance on him. Club seasons may be ending soon but for these players there is still plenty of work to do.
   Will they or won’t they? XI on the fitness trail
   Oleksander Shovkovsky, Ukraine goalkeeper – just back in the Dynamo Kiev team after three months out with a broken collarbone
   Gabriel Heinze, Argentina defender
   Sol Campbell, England defender
   Ledley King, England defender
   Ashley Cole, England defender
   Xavi, Spain midfielder
   Pablo Aimar, Argentina midfielder – hospitalised over Easter with mild strain of viral meningitis but should not be absent long
   Lionel Messi, Argentina midfielder
   Francesco Totti, Italy forward
   Jan Koller, Czech Republic forward
   Michael Owen, England forward

Brazilian superstar Ronaldo on Tuesday was accused of showing Australia a ‘total lack of respect’ after the Real Madrid forward declared he had never heard of champion Socceroos Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka.
   Ronaldo, who will line up against Australia in the World Cup in Munich on June 18, made the startling claim despite having twice played against the Socceroos, including several of the current Australian squad.
   The striker, who has come under sustained attack from Real fans and the Spanish media for poor form and a perceived weight problem, claimed he only knew of one Australian player, ‘the one who plays for Osasuna’ – meaning John Aloisi, who scored the winning penalty in the play-off with Uruguay but who actually left Spanish side Osasuna months ago to join Alaves.
   In an interview with Alpha magazine, he also said that teams such as Australia would be ‘all excited’ about playing in the World Cup, but warned that progress to the second round would be ‘more difficult’.
   ‘There is no key to success that I can give you,’ he added.
   ‘Each national team will try to eliminate the others. And as far as Australia is concerned, even if I had a clue, I would not give it to you.’
   His insulting claim is all the more remarkable given that Ronaldo played against Australia twice at the Confederations Cup in 1997, and at least five of that Socceroo side will very likely be in the 2006 group.
   His indifference may stem from the second of those games, in which Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, but earlier in the tournament the Terry Venables-coached Socceroos held Brazil to a 0-0 draw.
   Yet in the interview, Ronaldo says, ‘All the best players from all the best countries are coming to play. I believe that countries with less tradition and less experience in World Cups will not have the same benefits.’
   Last night former Socceroo coach Frank Farina said Ronaldo’s insult could work to the team’s advantage.
   ‘I think this could stand us in good stead and give us a surprise factor,’ he said. ‘It shows that the players are maybe underestimating us.
   ‘I know that their coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, is quite complimentary about us, but maybe he’ll have a job to get that across to his players.
   ‘If that’s the players’ mindset, it could turn round and bite them on the arse.’
   Ronaldo’s claims came as the coach of another of Australia’s World Cup opponents, Croatia, declared that he expects to qualify for the second round, and insisted his team is better than both Australia and Japan.
   Zlatko Kranjcar said that ‘compared to Japan and Australia, we have a good chance of qualifying for the second round.
   ‘I think my team are a few points better than Australia and Japan.’
   He added, ‘With the quality in our team, we should reach the second round.’
   Showing remarkable confidence, Kranjcar also claimed his team could actually win the tournament. ‘Maybe we can reach the final.
   Croatia have some very good individuals and the players have shown in public and in the media that we are a strong and unified team.
   ‘We might be the ones to cause an upset at the World Cup,’ he told the FIFA website.

The presidents of Honduras and El Salvador stood on their border and shook hands on Tuesday, formally burying a boundary squabble that dates back to a short but bloody 1969 conflict dubbed ‘The Soccer War.’
   Presidents Manuel Zelaya of Honduras and Tony Saca of El Salvador met at the tiny border town of El Poy to ratify their 233 mile (375 km) border, which had been in dispute since the 1969 ‘Soccer War’ killed some 5,000 people in brief but bloody army skirmishes. Neither side gained a decisive military victory.
   Called the Soccer War, or Football War, because it was triggered by tensions that erupted in rival stands of a series of World Cup qualifier matches between the Central American neighbours, the conflict lasted just a few days, but has taken decades to resolve.
   The border was fixed by an international judge in 1992, but it has taken 14 years for the two countries to set up monuments and border posts to actually mark out the frontier.
   ‘We are signing the fruit of a collective effort over many decades,’ Zelaya told a crowd of some 200 people from both sides of the border.
   The two leaders said they planned joint infrastructure projects, like a hydroelectric dam, and a customs union to allow free movement of people and goods between their countries.
   ‘From today, the issue of border demarcation between Honduras and El Salvador is simply in the past and done with,’ Saca said.
   Even with the border fixed, tensions run high in places, with several thousand Salvadorans still living in an area of the border that was handed to Honduras in the 1992 ruling.
   One of several festering border spats in Latin America, the conflict arose out of Honduran resentment of Salvadoran migrants and a years-old disagreement over the location of the border.
   In 1969 Honduras sparked a social and political upheaval by evicting masses of Salvadoran peasants, who had fled land shortages at home.
   Mutual hatred between the two nations was inflamed at the first soccer play-off in Tegucigalpa when Salvadoran fans taunted and vilified the victorious Honduran players.
   Sparring continued, leaving black eyes, broken bones and burnt-out cars, at a return match which El Salvador won. When El Salvador won the final play-off at a raucous third match in Mexico City, Honduras charged the team with cheating.
   Hostilities quickly flared into a diplomatic stand-off and then full-on military action as El Salvador attacked Honduras.
   A cease-fire was called after a few days but it was another decade before a peace accord was signed in 1980 – and even then the neighbours could not agree on where to draw the border.
   The case was taken to the International Court of Justice, which in 1992 set out a boundary granting Honduras most of the disputed territory in the border area, mostly mountainous terrain that is home to poor rural communities.

Barcelona’s players worked hard to control their euphoria after securing a 1-0 first-leg win over AC Milan in their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.
   ‘I can’t see the top of the Eiffel Tower yet,’ captain Carles Puyol told reporters.
   ‘I am well aware of the significance of such a win in the San Siro but we haven’t won anything yet, and there are still another 90 minutes to go.’
   The victory brought to an end to Milan’s 13-match unbeaten home run in Europe and moved Barcelona a step nearer next month’s final in Paris.
   The breakthrough came in the 57th minute when Frenchman Ludovic Giuly slammed a rising shot inside the near post, after racing on to a clever pass from Ronaldinho.
   After a difficult season, where he has often been forced to play second fiddle to Argentine youngster Lionel Messi, Giuly said the goal was a big boost, not just for the team.
   He said: ‘Ronaldinho’s pass for the goal was fantastic. I am delighted because I hadn’t scored for a while and it was a crucial goal for the team and for my confidence.
   ‘The second half was ours. We managed to control the game quite comfortably and we were in better shape physically than our opponents.’
   Ronaldinho hit a post soon after Giuly’s goal but the Spaniards failed to add to their score despite taking charge in the final minutes.
   Milan created enough chances to have at least drawn the game and hit a post themselves early on.
   Echoing the words of his team mates Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o remained cautious about next Wednesday’s decider at the Nou Camp.
   ‘We still have a lot of work to do,’ he said. ‘Nothing is ever settled in football. We had to be very patient today and we have to be prepared to do the same in the second leg.’

Comparing sports teams from different eras has always been a subjective and futile exercise. There is just no way of creating an even playing field.
   Take Australia’s two World Cup soccer teams from 1974 and 2006 – both hailed as trailblazers for defying great odds to reach the finals in Germany.
   That is where the similarities end, however. The two sets of players could not have been more different.
   While the current crop of players earn a fortune plying their trade in the top European competitions and are feted like pop stars, the 1974 team were the ultimate band of brotherly misfits.
   They had come from other parts of the world, searching for a better life in Australia, and were brought together by their common love of football.
   They did not win a match or even score a goal at the World Cup. Nevertheless, until now they have been unrivalled as Australia’s finest team.
   The best known of the players was Johnny Warren, a loveable ‘larrikan’ who later became a television commentator and penned a best-selling book.
   Such was Warren’s popularity that when he died from lung cancer in 2004 the government honoured him with a state funeral. He died a year before his beloved Socceroos qualified for the World Cup for the second time but was credited with playing a bizarre role in their belated success.
   Warren’s book detailed how he believed the Australia team had been living under a curse since a 1969 trip to Mozambique when they fell foul of an African witchdoctor.
   The Australians had asked the witchdoctor to put a curse on their opponents but when they could not afford to pay him, he turned the curse on them.
   When Warren told the story to an Australian television comedian in 2004, the host agreed to go to back to Mozambique. The witchdoctor had died but he found another who said he could lift the curse.
   A chicken was sacrificed and its blood was splattered over the comedian who then travelled to Sydney’s Olympic stadium where he and Warren washed themselves with clay the witchdoctor had given them.
   It made for some good, light-hearted television but two years later Australia’s long and heart-breaking run of World Cup misses did end, when they beat Uruguay at the same Olympic stadium.
   A lesser-known, but no less fascinating, character is the 1974 Australian captain Peter Wilson, a no-nonsense centre-half who was born in Middlesbrough, England.
   Wilson made 115 appearances for the Socceroos but now lives as a recluse and has not spoken publicly in more than two decades.
   An Australian newspaper which tracked him down last year reported that he was living in a mountain hideaway south of Sydney.
   He was heavily tattooed, had a Harley Davidson parked in his driveway and a Clydesdale horse called Bonza, and his home was ringed with barbed wire to keep away prying media.
   ‘There’s nothing I want to say,’ he told the Daily Telegraph. ‘I’ve got nothing to add.’
   Warren and Wilson were just part of the odd mixture that made up the 1974 team. At the heart of the defence was German-born Manfred Schaefer, whose full-time job was as a milkman.
   Australia’s key striker was Atti Abonyi, who emigrated to Australia from Hungary when he was aged 10 and now reportedly runs a laundry business. The coach, Rale Rasic, was born in Yugoslavia and raised in an orphanage before moving to Australia. Australia qualified for the World Cup by beating South Korea in a play-off but were drawn in the ‘group of death’ and duly finished bottom though it hardly seemed to matter.
   They lost 2-0 to East Germany, then 3-0 to hosts and eventual champions West Germany but drew 0-0 with Chile.
   The team still get together every four years to celebrate their achievement in getting to the finals.

An Arsenal fan splashed out £204,000 on Tuesday on the biggest-ever bet on the Champions League.
   He opened a telephone account with bookies William Hill and deposited all the stake money. The mystery punter bet £100,000 that the Gunners will go through to the Champions’ League Final, at odds of 4-9, a profit of £44,444.
   He followed that with £50,000 on Arsenal winning tonight’s first leg against Villarreal, at 4-7 – a possible win of £28,571. Then he added a £54,000 double on Arsenal to progress along with Middlesbrough in their UEFA Cup semifinal, to net £58,666.
   If both teams make the finals, he’ll get £335,681 back, including his stake.
   A William Hill spokesman said, ‘It’s a huge bet. He must have great faith in Arsenal’s star striker Thierry Henry.’

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi arrived in Argentina to continue treatment on his injured thigh muscle on Tuesday and said he hoped to be ready for the end of the European season.
   The 18-year-old has been out of action since early March when he tore a thigh muscle in his right leg during the second leg of Barcelona’s 3-2 aggregate victory over Chelsea in the first knockout round of the Champions League.
   Messi has been one Barcelona’s most exciting players this season and is expected to shine for Argentina in Germany.
   ‘It doesn’t hurt at all, I’m doing the treatment which Barcelona have recommended and I want to be back
   playing as quickly as possible,’ he told reporters at Buenos Aires airport.
   ‘I want to try and play the last games of the season for Barcelona and, of course, for Argentina.’
   Messi, who arrived with a Barcelona representative, said he would return to Spain when he was fully fit. Barcelona are poised to retain their Spanish league title.
   He was initially to be expected to be ready for Tuesday’s semifinal first leg against AC Milan but experienced problems with the injured leg while training a week ago.
   ‘My anxiety to play again and be with the team maybe made me try and go a bit too quickly,’ he said.
   Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has approved the idea of Messi returning home, saying last week that he might benefit from a change of scenery.

England World Cup winner Martin Peters has backed United star Wayne Rooney to be as unstoppable in Germany this summer as Pele was in his prime.
   After bursting onto the international scene at Euro 2004, Rooney will head to the World Cup with a reputation as one of the most dangerous forwards in world football.
   Peters expects England’s opponents to be devising specific tactics aimed at keeping the Reds striker quiet.
   But that kind of special attention did not stop Pele winning three World Cups with Brazil – and Peters is convinced it will not stop Rooney either.
   ‘At the European Championships, Wayne Rooney was fantastic but two years on people are aware of his ability,’ said Peters.
   ‘The world knows about him, Brazil will know about him, Argentina do and certainly Trinidad and Tobago will.
   ‘He may find it a little bit more difficult when he drops off now because someone will pick him up – but knowing about him is one thing and stopping him is another.
   ‘They knew all about Pele and couldn’t stop him, they knew all about Bobby Charlton and couldn’t stop him. It was because of their ability and the fantastic way they play the game.
   ‘They will know about Wayne but that does not mean they will stop him.’
   Peters, who scored against Germany in the 1966 final, does not subscribe to the theory that Rooney will win England their second World Cup on his own.
   For Peters, the key will be in the centre of midfield and whether Sven-Goran Eriksson can hit upon a formula that brings the best out of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.
   ‘I think that if England are to win the World Cup we must have Lampard and Gerrard playing together,’ said Peters.
   ‘You can’t leave either of them out, they have something like 20 goals each this season.
   ‘And with Rooney playing just in front of them, that triangle would most probably be what can win England the World Cup.’
   Rooney’s Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson recently expressed concerns about the striker’s ability to shoulder the weight of expectation at the World Cup.
   But Peters is not concerned about Rooney’s temperament.
   ‘He seems to be a bit calmer in himself, keeping a lid on things,’ said Peters.
   ‘And it will be drilled into him. When we played against Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinal in 1966, Alf Ramsey said “do not retaliate, whatever happens just walk away”.
   ‘That is what you have to do – and it is what Rooney is doing now. He did it against Tottenham and I am sure he will do it at the World Cup.’

After coming under fire for a number of controversial incidents, Chelsea forward Didier Drogba insists that his recent displays have shown what he is really capable of.
   In recent weeks the Ivory Coast hit-man has been made a pariah due to his theatrical nature on the pitch, and Drogba courted controversy when he admitted to diving before retracting the statement.
   The negative perception of the former Marseille man reached its nadir against Manchester City on March 25 when he was booed by his own fans after falling to the ground.
   However, since that dark day Drogba has returned with a vengeance by contributing a number of impressive performances as Chelsea have moved ever closer to the Premiership title.
   Against Everton on Bank Holiday Monday, Drogba scored his 12th goal of the Premiership season, and the £24 million man says he is now showing his true qualities whilst again denying he is a diver.
   ‘Against Everton I feel that I not only scored but also showed to everybody what I’m really capable of doing,’ said Drogba.
   ‘I am not a diver, maybe what happened against Manchester City was unfortunate for me, but that is the past.
   ‘I think I have now showed the real Didier Drogba, especially in the last two home games.’
   In the last three games Blues boss Jose Mourinho has experimented with an unfamiliar system as Drogba has been partnered by Hernan Crespo in attack.
   Chelsea’s success under the guidance of the Portuguese tactician has previously been based on a 4-3-3 approach, but Drogba has welcomed the change – insisting he relishes having the Argentine striker alongside him.
   ‘The new system with Crespo is very good for me,’ Drogba added.
   ‘I am used to playing as one of two strikers because it was what I did in the whole of my career at Guingamp and Marseille before I came to Chelsea and it is better for me.
   ‘I have a great understanding with Crespo, he is a great player and a great person too.
   ‘The one thing that stands out is that he is very intelligent.
   ‘I don’t have to speak to him on the pitch, we both know what we want to do.
   ‘He understands and smells football, that makes it very easy to play with him.
   ‘But the team as a whole needs to adapt to this new system.

Valencia’s Argentina midfielder Pablo Aimar left hospital on Wednesday after being treated for a form of viral meningitis.
   ‘I am looking forward to playing again as soon as possible and helping my team over their remaining league matches,’ Aimar told the club’s website.
   No date was given for the 26-year-old’s return to training.
   Aimar, a key figure in Argentine coach Jose Pekerman’s World Cup plans, was admitted to hospital a week ago complaining of fever and headaches.
   Doctors said it was a benign form of meningitis that would not have any permanent consequences.

Sergei Bubka, the greatest pole vaulter of all time, has tennis on his mind these days.
   The legendary athlete’s son, named Sergei Bubka Junior, preferred tennis after a brief flirtation with pole vault and is now a regular on the ATP’s second-string Challenger circuit.
   The 19-year-old, now in India to play tournaments, says he likes his name. ‘It is an interesting name and does not put any pressure on me because I grew up with it and am used to it.’
   Bubka senior set 35 world records in pole vault - his current mark of 6.14 metres in 1994 remains unsurpassed - before he quit competitive sport in 2000.
   Bubka junior says he took up pole vault as a toddler - ‘might have scaled around 2.5 metres’ - before deciding his career lay in tennis.
   ‘I love tennis, I enjoy the game and it is a choice that I have made,’ the youngster said.
   ‘I have a good technique though I need to work on my baseline game and need to get comfortable with playing on grass. I have got the right genes and I am physically very fit.’
   The Monaco-based Bubka junior, currently ranked 698 in the world, said his father was not the only sportsman in the family.
   ‘My mother was a gymnast and my elder brother briefly toyed with tennis before switching over to academics.
   ‘I am fortunate. In my country there are so many talented players but they don’t have the facilities to travel and play.
   ‘Having a champion sportsman like my father is a big help.’
   His father’s advice to stay determined rings in Bubka junior’s ears all the time.