No cricketer has won the National Sports Award this year as the government on Thursday named 10 publicity-shy sports dignitaries for the awards this year. Sports adviser Tapan Chowdhury declared the names of the awardees at a press conference at his Bangladesh Secretariat office.
   Sharmila Roy (athletics), Ranjit Das (football, posthumous), Amir Hossain Patwary (kabaddi), Lt Col (retd) M Arshad (swimming), Aminul Islam (judo), Nurul Islam (hockey), Sheikh Abul Hasem (badminton), Rashiduddin Ahmed (basketball), Ataul Haque Mallik (organiser, posthumous) and Kazi Anisur Rahman (organiser) have been selected for the awards this year.
   They were selected from 122 players and organisers, proposed by different sports bodies of the country. ‘In our final selection, we gave priority to the veteran sports personalities, who were publicity-shy.
   ‘To be considered for the awards the minimum age was 45 years,’ Chowdhury told the reporters.
   ‘Yes, we have got some names from the Bangladesh Cricket Board too. No doubt they have brought some honour for Bangladesh, but all of them are very young. We feel they can get the award at a later time,’ said Chowdhury.
   Among the award winners, Sharmila Roy had participated in the Asian Athletics, Asian Games, World Athletics and SAF Games, where she won several silver and bronze medals. She won at least 45 gold medals from different national competitions from 1979 to 1990.
   Ranjit Das was the goalkeeper of the then East Pakistan football team from 1955 to 1960 and hockey team from 1965 to 1969. Amir Hossain Patwary was voted Bangladesh’s best kabaddi player in 1977.
   He also coached Bangladesh and Pakistan kabaddi teams.
   Swimmer M Arshad won a gold medal at the 1964 Tehran RCD Swimming Competition. Judoka Aminul Islam won gold in the SAF Games in 1988 and also won silver medals in 1989, 1993 and 1995 as well.
   Nurul Islam was the member of national hockey team from 1978 to 1986. A BUET Blue Abul Hashem won the national badminton in 1981, 1984 and 1990 while veteran neurosurgeon Professor Rashiduddin Ahmed was the president of Bangladesh Basketball Federation from 1991 to 2001.
   Late Ataul Haque Mallik was a cricketer, umpire, commentator, scorer and sports writer. Kazi Anisur Rahman, a former member of the Bangladesh Olympic Association, was the first general secretary of the Bangladesh Krira Niyantran Sangstha, now the NSC.
   The award winners will get a gold medal and Tk 20,000.

An unbeaten 75 from in-from Golam Mabud gave Sylhet an upper hand over Dhaka while Rajshahi took a crucial first inning lead against Barisal after the end of second day’s play in the seventh round of the National Cricket League on Thursday.
   In the other game, Chittagong remained at an advantageous position against Khulna, who finished the day on 216-6 replying to the hosts’ 359 all out despite opener Nazmus Sadat hitting a fine 91 runs.
   Dhaka v Sylhet
   Resuming the innings at 223-3 at the Fatullah Stadium, Sylhet added another 89 runs before being all out for 312 in the first innings.
   Golam Mabud, who was unbeaten on 24 overnight, played a patient knock of 75 runs off 204 balls clubbing 10 boundaries. Mohammad Sharif returned with 4-60 for Dhaka.
   Replying to the total, Dhaka finished the day at 148-5 with no batsmen making a half-century. Anwar Hossain and Mehrab Hossain Sr got out having scored 31 and 36 respectively as Dhaka lost their five wickets for 96 runs.
   Shamsur Rahman and Nadif Chowdhury staved off further collapse remaining unbeaten on 27 and 29. Nabil Samad claimed 3-36 for Sylhet.
   Rajshahi v Barisal
   Rajshahi rode Naeem Islam’s 68 runs to take a 22-run lead on the first innings before they were all out for 204 runs, in response to Barisal’s 182 runs at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra.
   Rajshahi, who resumed the day at 39-1, lost three quick wickets putting only 22 runs on the board, but the former under-19 batsman salvaged them with his 167-ball innings, ornamented by 12 boundaries.
   At stumps, Barisal scored 48 runs in the second innings losing the wickets of Hannan Sarkar (22) and Imran Ahmed (6) while skipper Shahriar Nafees left the crease with injury.
   Chittagong v Khulna
   Chittagong added 37 runs to their overnight total to be dismissed for 359 runs in the first innings with skipper Ehsanul Haq, unbeaten on 56 overnight, putting on 75 finally.
   In reply, opener Nazmus Sadat batted brilliantly to smash 91 from 151 balls with 13 boundaries, but he found no worthy partner at the other end as Khulna still trail the opponents by 143 runs with four wickets in hand.
   Off-spinner Yasin Arafat grabbed 3-38 for Chittagong to leave Khulna reeling at 216-6.

A meeting between the host nations for World Cup 2011 - Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - is to take place in Bangalore this week with Pakistan pushing for a shorter and more practical format for the tournament. The meeting, to take place on the sidelines of the third Test between India and Pakistan, will have PCB officials proposing a format featuring 14 teams, with a duration of five weeks.
   ‘We want to have a relatively smaller World Cup in 2011 both in terms of participating teams and the number of days,’ Shafqat Naghmi, PCB’s chief operating officer, told the News.
   ‘The idea is to ensure that our World Cup doesn’t have the sort of ingredients that affected this year’s tournament in the West Indies,’ he said. The 2007 World Cup consisted of 16 teams with the event lasting over 50 days.
   ‘We are least interested in the 2007 World Cup format because it has been seen that one bad day can end the World Cup for even the best of teams.’ India and Pakistan both exited after the first round of the tournament.
   He said that the PCB was more interested in reverting to the format of the 2003 World Cup held in South Africa in which the 14 participating teams were divided into two groups. ‘Such a format guarantees that each of the competing teams will get at least six matches in the competition. It will also guarantee that the tournament will take less days to finish,’ he said, adding that long duration was of the biggest reasons why the 2007 World Cup failed to live up to expectations.
   According to Naghmi, another format under consideration would guarantee second-round places for the world’s top eight teams while the bottom-placed six teams will compete in the opening round.
   ‘This is our second option though such a format would give the World Cup a slow start with only the lower-ranked teams playing in the initial days. The ICC will have the final say on the World Cup format but we believe if the host boards agree on a unified stand then they will also give its approval.’

AC Milan are raring to avenge Boca Juniors in the Club World Cup opening here today with Ronaldo, back from injury, ready to join playmaker Kaka and fellow goal-machine Filippo Inzaghi.
   Both Milan and Boca, Argentina’s most crowned club who defeated the Italian side in the 2003 Intercontinental Cup final, have left behind disappointments in their home leagues to face other continental champions here.
   Despite advancing to the Champions League knock-out rounds, Milan are currently languishing 11th in the Serie-A, while Boca have just lost the battle for the Argentine league title to Lanus.
   ‘I have a burning desire to win the Club World Cup, especially with it being my second crack at this title,’ said Brazilian Kaka. ‘I haven’t forgotten our defeat to Boca Juniors.’
   Boca midfielder Alvaro Gonzalez said: ‘It would be very nice to win this competition, especially to compensate people for the support they gave us when things didn’t turn out well.’
   The annual tournament, in its third year under the current format, kicks off with a play-off between Iran’s Sepahan and Waitakere United of New Zealand. Milan and Boca are seeded in the semi-finals set for the middle of next week.
   ‘This time, my teammates and I will be hugely motivated to see things work out right for us,’ the 25-year-old Kaka, who won France’s prestigious Ballon d’Or award for best player of the year on Sunday, told FIFA.com.
   Kaka admitted the Club World Cup is seen as a ‘bonus’ in Europe below the Champions League although it is the ‘most important title’ in his native Brazil.
   ‘Things are different this year,’ he said. ‘In brief, we’re 100 percent focused on the job in hand and we want that Cup.’
   Europe’s best have been shamed by Brazilian sides in the Club World Cup, which merged the traditional Intercontinental Cup featuring European and South American champions and a one-off club world championship in 2000.
   Sao Paulo smashed Liverpool 1-0 in 2005 and Internacional whipped Barcelona by the same score last year. In the 2000 tournament, Corinthians beat fellow Brazilian side Vasco da Gama.
   Boca coach Miguel Russo said before his team’s departure for Tokyo that he could not wait for the Club World Cup ‘because I see that the team is in good shape.’
   Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti added: ‘This World Cup is the main objective of the season. We’ll try to bring home another Cup, to cap off a very positive year.’
   Ronaldo, the Brazilian phenomenon who has featured in just one match this season due to a thigh injury, will be fit to play in Japan, according to Milan vice president Adriano Galliani.
   Milan won the Intercontinental Cup in 1989 and 1990.
   But, in the 2003 final, the Argentinians beat the Rossoneri 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes, adding to their previous honours in 1977 and 2000.
   With the pride of their countries and regions, other continental champions refuse to be written off as also-rans in this year’s event.

Less than three weeks before India’s high-profile Test series in Australia, concerns persist over the form of batting mainstay Rahul Dravid.
   Since quitting the captaincy in September, the 34-year-old has struggled to recapture the kind of form that established him as one of the world’s top batsmen.
   While his place in the line-up for the four-Test tour starting on December 26 is not in doubt, the final Test against Pakistan beginning on Saturday presents him with a final opportunity to find his touch before heading to Australia.
   ‘It’s very important for the team that Rahul plays long innings in Australia,’ former coach Aunshuman Gaekwad told Reuters on Thursday.
   ‘He needs to stay to stabilise the entire innings to have the required effect. The role of the number three batsman is crucial for any team.’
   Dravid averages 64.72 in seven Tests in Australia and was the highest run-getter for the side during the 2003-04 tour with 619 runs at an astonishing average of 123.80.
   His double hundred helped India win the second Test at Adelaide and he also had two scores in the 90s among his three half-centuries in a remarkable series that ended in a 1-1 draw.
   However, Dravid has failed to deliver in his starts in the first two Tests against Pakistan.
   He was unfortunate to be given out for 50 in the second Test in Kolkata, where the two sides stacked up nearly 1,500 runs combined, but the manner of his dismissals in the first Test was so untypically Dravid, renowned for his technical excellence.
   Just 378 shy of joining the exclusive 10,000-run club in Test cricket, Dravid fell in the first innings playing across the line to debutant pacer Sohail Tanvir and was bowled by a quick ball from Shoaib Akhtar that sped through the gap between bat and pad.

Sri Lanka’s captain and vice-captain, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, paid tribute to their team-mate and former leader, Sanath Jayasuriya, who bowed out of Test cricket at the age of 38 following his side’s 88-run win over England in the first Test in Kandy.
   After weeks of speculation in the local media, Jayasuriya made his announcement after scoring 78 in Sri Lanka’s second innings to help put his side on course for victory. He later chipped in with one final wicket, that of Ravi Bopara, to finish his career with 6973 runs at 40.07 and 98 wickets at 34.34 from 110 Tests.
   Jayasuriya made his ODI debut against Australia in Melbourne in December 1989, and his Test debut 14 months later in Hamilton. ‘It is a tremendous loss when you lose someone who’s played for 18 years,’ said Jayawardene after the match. ‘He’s been a batsman, a senior player, and a bowler, and his loss is going to be huge, especially in the dressing room.’
   Jayasuriya’s form in Test cricket has been on the wane for the past three years, and it is widely believed that the selectors had been looking to blood a younger opener in his place. But Jayawardene praised his team-mate for going out on his own terms. ‘I think he’s pretty happy with that decision’, he said. ‘We just need to make sure that with the youngsters coming through, [that] we build another team and improve ourselves.’
   Sangakkara was even more fulsome in his praise of a man he first saw as a spectator at the Asgiriya Stadium during the 1996 World Cup. ‘That World Cup win probably inspired not just me, but a whole generation of young cricketers to try and play for Sri Lanka,’ said Sangakkara. ‘He changed the face of world cricket, especially in the one-day arena. He’s a wonderful cricketer, a wonderful man and he’s had a wonderful career.
   ‘I think for me personally he’s been a pillar of support,’ added Sangakkara. ‘He was my first captain and when I was struggling to make the side there was always positive re-enforcement from him, and never a negative word. We have the best memories of him in the dressing room. We’ll miss him, but life and cricket moves on, and we’ll look ahead with a new side.’

Both Abahani and Mohammedan Sporting Club will be aiming to clinch the Sidr football charity series when the two popular crowd-pullers of the country meet in the third and final match, which kicks at 4:30pm at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today.
   Mohammedan drew first blood by winning the first game in the tie-breaker (5-4) on Monday, but their traditional rivals got back on level terms with a 2-1 victory at the big bowl two days later.
   Both managers were upbeat ahead of the decider.
   Mohammedan manager Amirul Islam Babu said all his players were fit and raring to go while his Abahani counterpart Satyajit Das Rupu said: ‘Playing Mohammedan is always a challenge for Abahani. We will give our best to win.’
   The Sky-Blues will be reinforced by the return of skipper Arif Khan Joy, who was slapped with a one-match suspension after he was involved in a brawl with Mohammedan defender Hasan Al Mamun in the first match. The latter also suffered the same fate.
   Mohammedan coach Shafiqul Islam Manik will also back after serving a one-game touch-line ban.

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan survived a player revolt before leading his team to victory in the 1992 World Cup, according to team-mate Javed Miandad.
   Miandad, a former captain and three-time coach of the national side, said leading players had grown disaffected with Imran’s leadership style throughout the tournament.
   ‘The revolt took place before the semi-final against New Zealand. But to me the country was more important and I convinced the players to carry on playing under Imran,’ Miandad said on a local television chat show late on Wednesday.
   ‘Imran retired after winning the World Cup and before the England tour in 1992 because he had come to know about the revolt.’
   Miandad, when contacted by Reuters on Thursday, confirmed his statement but would not elaborate.
   ‘I have never spoken about this incident but now many people know about it so I disclosed the truth,’ he said.
   Pakistan, inspired by a brutal innings from Inzamam-ul-Haq, won the semi-final in Auckland before beating England in the final in Melbourne following a crucial third-wicket partnership of 139 between Imran and Miandad.

The second inter-district women’s football competition begins at the Dhanmondi Women’s Sports Complex on Saturday.
   Women and Children Affairs adviser Geeteara Safiya Chowdhury will inaugurate the eight-day meet, organised the Bangladesh Women Sports Association, as chief guest at 3:00pm.

Gary Kirsten could not have asked for more. The South African, who has been appointed coach of the Indian team, has been offered a whopping salary of $30,000 per month, according to sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
   That is exactly 50 per cent more than what his predecessor and Greg Chappell was drawing per month from the BCCI. Kirsten, who confirmed to the BCCI about his acceptance on Wednesday, will also be getting free accommodation during his two-year tenure.

Sri Lanka’s prolific Kumar Sangakkara took over as the number one Test batsman after his record-breaking feats in the first Test against England, according to official new rankings released Thursday.
   Sangakkara’s team-mate Muttiah Muralitharan, who this week overtook retired Australian Shane Warne as the leading wicket-taker, already tops the Test rankings for bowlers, according to the International Cricket Council rankings.
   Left-handed Sangakkara, 30, continued his brilliant recent form by making 92 and a match-winning 152 to help Sri Lanka defeat England by 88 runs in the Kandy Test on Wednesday.
   His second-innings century made him the first batsman in history to score 150-plus in four consecutive Tests, having scored 200 not out and 222 not out against Bangladesh at home in July and 192 against Australia in Hobart last month.
   Australian legend Don Bradman, Wally Hammond of England and Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan did it in three successive Tests.
   Sangakkara, with 938 points, overtakes Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who is now in second place with 936 points.
   Muralitharan ended the first Test with 713 wickets from 116 matches.
   The second Test against England starts here on Sunday.
   Test rankings
   Batsmen
   1 Kumar Sangakkara (SL), 938 points
   2 Ricky Ponting (AUS), 936
   3 Jacques Kallis (RSA), 935
   4 Mohammad Yousuf (PAK), 885
   5 Mike Hussey (AUS), 874
   6 Kevin Pietersen (ENG), 848
   7 Younis Khan (PAK), 816
   8 Matthew Hayden (AUS), 803
   9 Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI), 762
   10 Michael Clarke (AUS), 751
   Bowlers
   1 Muttiah Muralitharan (SL), 910
   2 Makhaya Ntini (RSA), 808
   3 Dale Steyn (RSA), 775
   4 Stuart Clark (AUS), 769
   5. Matthew Hoggard (ENG), 733
   6 Brett Lee (AUS), 726
   7 Shane Bond (NZ), 724
   Anil Kumble (IND), 724
   9 Shaun Pollock (RSA), 701
   Shoaib Akhtar (PAK), 701

New Zealand coach John Bracewell Thursday urged veteran strike bowler Shane Bond to continue his international career, despite his latest injury setback.
   There have been reports in New Zealand that Bond was considering retiring and Bracewell admitted here that the career of the 32-year-old Bond, who is missing the limited-overs tour of Australia due to an abdominal problem, was in some jeopardy.
   ‘To be fair, that’s been going on now for four or five years,’ he said of the retirement talk.
   ‘But he keeps coming back and he’s a bloody good trainer who works damn hard.
   ‘But eventually it has got to get you down, that sort of stuff, and he is not getting any younger.
   ‘I would discourage it, mainly from a selfish point of view, because he is such an outstanding bowler for us.’
   The injury-plagued Bond, with 125 one-day scalps at 19.32, has been New Zealand’s premier fast bowler for many years.
   He was the quickest New Zealander to reach 50 one-day international wickets, but the tale of his career is in his tally of just 17 Tests over seven years, for 79 wickets at 22.39.
   Bond has battled stress fractures in his feet and back.
   While Bracewell claimed New Zealand’s fast bowling stocks were healthy, with some emerging talent coming through, he said Bond was still required.
   ‘It would be nice for some of those guys to bowl with Shane for a while and get that experience rub off on them,’ he said.
   Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori said on Tuesday he would be surprised if Bond retired, but he too admitted the injuries were taking their toll on the paceman.
   With Bond resting at home, New Zealand open their Chappell-Hadlee Trophy tour of Australia with a festival match against the Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI here today at Lilac Hill.
   With Vettori not playing, wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum will captain the Black Caps for the first time.

Paceman Shaun Tait Thursday returned to Australian international cricket for the three-match Chappell Hadlee Trophy one-day series against New Zealand.
   Tait, who hasn’t played for his country since his major role in Australia’s World Cup victory in the West Indies, was named in a 13-man squad to take on the Kiwis starting next week.
   He has been sidelined following an elbow surgery but proved his fitness and form in domestic cricket, chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said.
   ‘After making a huge impact at the World Cup earlier this year, Shaun Tait has been brought back into the squad after having fully recovered from injury,’ Hilditch added.
   ‘Once he was back to full fitness he was going to be strongly considered... he looks fully fit and ready to go.’
   Tait demanded inclusion after taking a 10-wicket haul, including 7-29, for South Australia in a Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in Brisbane last week. The slinger admitted to reporters he could not help looking ahead at the prospect of playing India in the first Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, provided he can take some New Zealand wickets in the one-day series.
   ‘It’s a bit hard, it’s in the back of my mind,’ said Tait, who took 23 wickets at the World Cup.
   ‘But at this stage I’m just stoked to be back in the one-day side. The last time was the World Cup, so it’s exciting. I’ll concentrate on that for the next couple of weeks.’
   Other notable inclusions in the squad are Queensland all-rounder James Hopes and NSW batsman/wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Victoria batsman Brad Hodge was unable to hold his position, with the return of prolific run-scorer Michael Hussey.
   Left-arm spinner Brad Hogg was included and will have a chance to further his Test claims in the one-day series starting in Adelaide on December 14 and continuing in Sydney (Dec 16) and Hobart (Dec 20).
   Squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist (vice-captain), Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, James Hopes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait.

A junior British minister admitted Wednesday that he would fail the so-called ‘Tebbit test’ by supporting India over England at cricket.
   Parmjit Dhanda, communities and local government minister in Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government, noted that his parents had a Sikh background in the Punjab although he grew up in West London.
   ‘I’m unashamedly a supporter of Liverpool Football club and I fail Norman Tebbit’s cricket test by supporting India against England at cricket,’ he said, during a debate on Christianophobia in London. Tebbit, a minister under Conservative premier Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, caused outrage when he suggested that immigrants moving here should back the English team rather than that of their country of origin.

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif needs surgery to cure a chronic elbow problem, an Australian specialist has told the Pakistan Cricket Board.
   ‘Asif is likely to remain out of action for two months from the day he has the surgery. He will certainly miss the one-day series against Zimbabwe in January,’ a PCB source told Reuters on Thursday.
   The sports injuries specialist in Sydney had recommended surgery after examining Asif and conducting Tests over the last two days, board sources said.
   Asif, who has had to miss the current series in India, was sent to Australia for a third opinion after local specialists disagreed on the treatment needed for the problem.
   The injury also forced Asif, who has played 11 Tests for 51 wickets, to miss three Tests in England last year and four one-day internationals against South Africa recently at home.
   A PCB official said a decision on when the surgery should take place would be made soon. ‘For the time being he is returning home tonight,’ the official said.

South African bowler Nicky Boje will not be able to leave India without assisting police inquiries into a major match-fixing scandal in 2000, officials said Thursday.
   ‘We want Boje to join the investigations and although a date has not been set for him to come, he will be asked to assist us before he leaves India,’ police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told AFP.
   The New Delhi police issued a summons Wednesday ordering the left-arm spinner to answer questions in the capital.
   Bhagat said the seven-year-old case, which led to a life ban for late South African skipper Hansie Cronje, was still under investigation in India.
   Boje and teammate Herschelle Gibbs were found guilty of being part of their skipper’s conspiracy in a public enquiry held in South Africa. They were fined and banned for six months.
   Boje retired from international cricket last year but is currently playing in the rebel Indian Cricket League until December 16 outside the northern city of Chandigarh.
   ‘We will ensure that he makes himself available to us so that we can continue from where we left off in October last year,’ said a senior officer from New Delhi crime branch, which exposed the biggest betting scandal to hit cricket.
   Gibbs was questioned by detectives when the batsman flew to India for the Champions Trophy in October 2006.
   The Indian Express on Thursday said Gibbs had claimed that not only Boje, but South Africans Pieter Strydom and Derek Crooks were also involved in the conspiracy.
   ‘He (Gibbs) had also claimed that Cronje had twice offered him money,’ the daily said.
   Spokesman Bhagat declined to comment on the report.

Dale Steyn and Johan Botha are the new faces in South Africa’s squad for the first Twenty20 match against West Indies be played at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, on December 16.
   The selectors reposed their faith in the youngsters who were in the side during the ICC World Twenty20 in September and experienced players Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher were left out.
   ‘We want to give more opportunities to younger players like JP Duminy, Vernon Philander, Albie Morkel, Gulam Bodi and Dale Steyn,’ said Joubert Strydom, the chairman of the selection panel. ‘In the case of Dale, we want him to get more experience of playing with the white ball and in coloured clothing.
   ‘At the same time we have kept a core of experience in Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini,’ Strydom said. ‘We did not consider Kallis, Boucher and Andre Nel as they all have a heavy workload coming up in the Test series and the ODI series against the West Indies.’
   Smith has been struggling with an illness and in case he does not recover in time, Morne van Wyk will replace him while Pollock will lead the side.

Atletico Madrid and Villarreal upheld Spain’s fine recent UEFA Cup record by reaching the knockout phase after 2-0 wins on Wednesday.
   They will be joined in the last-32 by Everton, Hamburg SV and Basel who also successfully negotiated the group stage.
   Sevilla, who have since graduated to the Champions League, have won the trophy for the last two years and, with Getafe also in with a chance of qualifying for the knockout round on Thursday, Spain should again have a strong showing.
   Villarreal’s 2-0 win over Elfsborg Boras with two goals from Dane Jon Dahl Tomasson, knocked the Swedish side out of the competition in Group C. Tomasson should have had a hat-trick but missed a penalty with two minutes to go.
   Atletico earned all three points in Group B at FC Copenhagen to join already-qualified Panathinaikos in the next round thanks to Portugal’s Simao, who turned a low cross into the net in the 21st minute, and Sergio Aguero who scored in the 62nd.
   Panathinaikos beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0.
   Spain’s Mikel Arteta missed a penalty for Everton at home to Zenit St Petersburg after half an hour and it took the English Premier League side until the 85th minute to go in front.
   Zenit had Belgium defender Nicolas Lombaerts sent off after Iceland referee Kristinn Jakobsson adjudged him harshly to have handled the ball.
   Dick Advocaat’s side battled hard for nearly an hour with 10 men but Everton eventually scored through Tim Cahill after a goalmouth scramble to win 1-0 and maintain a 100 per cent record.
   ‘It’s difficult when you play 10 men. They seem to put all 10 behind the ball and play on the break...but we persevered,’ Australian Cahill said.
   Everton top Group A with one match to play.
   Nuremburg came from behind to beat AZ Alkmaar 2-1 with 83rd and 85th-minute goals from Marek Mintal and are now vying with Alkmaar and Zenit for the other two qualifying places from the group.
   Tamandani Nsaliwa’s 46th-minute goal for AEK Athens against Mlada Boleslav meant they leapfrogged the Czech side in Group C by moving onto five points alongside Fiorentina, who did not play on Wednesday.
   Two of the three will qualify after the final round of games in a fortnight’s time.
   Hamburg SV beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 in Croatia to top Group D with nine points. They ensured their progress with an 88th-minute goal from Nigel de Jong and a penalty deep into stoppage time from Piotr Trochowski.
   FC Basel join them in the next round after a 1-0 win over Norway’s Brann Bergen with a 40th-minute goal from Carlitos.

Sam Allardyce has admitted that Newcastle’s battling 1-1 draw with Premier League leaders Arsenal has lifted the pressure on him.
   Newcastle fought back from a goal down to thwart Arsene Wenger’s unbeaten side, who had to be content with stretching their lead over their nearest rivals Manchester United to four points.
   Newcastle still have much rebuilding to do after claiming only their second point in six games thanks to Steven Taylor’s second-half equaliser.
   But manager Allardyce was understandably keen to accentuate the positive and said, ‘It was a huge result and under the circumstances, it’s a weight lifted off us all.
   ‘I don’t want to see a crisis ever again, if that was a crisis okay, but I never called it one. I’m always relieved when
   I get a result and the
   players have done all they can for me.’
   After issuing a public vote of confidence in Allardyce earlier this week, Newcastle’s players backed their words with deeds in a bid to quell fears the manager was at loggerheads with his squad over tactics, team selection and his unpopular plans to take them away for a four-day bonding break over Christmas.
   He added, ‘Whispers leak out when things aren’t going so well and they get written into massive headlines, it’s a fact of life at this club.
   ‘They showed great commitment to get the fans behind them that was there for all to see.
   ‘We’ve got to make sure we build from this now starting with Birmingham on Saturday, make sure things don’t turn again.’
   Newcastle fought back after a stunning early striker from Emmanuel Adebayor put Arsenal in command, and Allardyce added, ‘At the start I’d have settled for a draw but in the end I thought we didn’t get what we deserved.
   ‘It’s not often you get Arsenal on the back foot for so long, they were hanging on at the end. I love to hear the fans behind us like they were, that’s what I took the job for and it’s what you want to hear every week.’
   Arsenal remain unbeaten in the league since April, and Wenger was unsurprised by the battle his side faced as they ground out another point in their attempts to wrest the title from United’s grasp.
   The Frenchman – who admitted he is unlikely to see his lengthy injury list reduced before the weekend – added, ‘I could feel there was a crisis at Newcastle and because of that I’d anticipated it’d be very difficult.
   ‘I don’t know about the differences within the club but it looked like their players made a union to stick together and they fought like mad.’
   Wenger re-iterated his offer to the Football Association to tap into his expertise in their efforts to fill the vacant England manager’s job, but revealed he is yet to meet FA chief executive Brian Barwick.
   The Frenchman remains keen for an Englishman to replace Steve McClaren, and he added, ‘I’ll leave it to Brian Barwick to inform you of who he sees.
   ‘I’m like a doctor, I have a confidentiality clause. I’ve not met him yet but if he wants to I will give him my opinion.
   ‘I’ve said many times that it has to be an Englishman. I’m more nationalistic than many English people who want to give it to Mourinho or Capello. I’m the only one who goes for an Englishman.’

Steven Gerrard claims he is not interested in battling with Cesc Fabregas and Frank Lampard to become the Premier League’s highest-scoring midfielder.
   The Liverpool captain has scored eight in his last nine games – and nine in total to be level with his rivals in the scoring stakes – but he would rather his side finish above Arsenal and Chelsea.
   Gerrard said, ‘You don’t compare yourself to other people. What I do compare is Liverpool to Arsenal and Liverpool to Chelsea.
   ‘If Fabregas and Lampard score more goals than me but we finish higher than them in the table I certainly will not be complaining. Goals are important but not as important as points.’
   If Gerrard continues scoring at his current rate he could break his personal best of 23 goals in a season.
   The 27-year-old added on the club’s official website, www.liverpoolfc.tv, ‘But I want to score as many goals as I can.
   ‘I set myself a target before the start of each season, which I keep to myself! But things are going along nice and smoothly at the moment.’
   Three of Gerrard’s tally this season have come from expertly-taken penalties, but the Anfield skipper admits he is still not certain of regular spot-kick duty.
   He said, ‘The manager says before the game who takes the penalties. He swaps and changes, I don’t know how he decides at all.
   ‘I think I am scoring a few because Xabi Alonso is injured. I am trying to get as many as I can before he gets back!’
   Gerrard’s latest goal came in last weekend’s 4-0 win against Bolton, a game in which he also claimed two assists.
   Crosses and through-balls might not be as memorable as goals but Gerrard insists they give him just as much enjoyment.
   He said, ‘I get as much pleasure out of assists, I always have done. It is nice to score a goal but setting people up for them to score gives me a real buzz. That is part of my job from midfield.’
   Meanwhile, Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry has dismissed claims that Fabio Capello has been approached about becoming manager as ‘absolutely, completely and utterly untrue.’
   It had been claimed that the Italian had been contacted both before and after last week’s Champions League win over Porto.
   But Parry has angrily denied any approach for the 61-year-old former AC Milan and Real Madrid chief, adding in the Liverpool Echo, ‘Capello has not contacted us and we have not contacted him.’

Michael Essien insists England will win the next World Cup – if Jose Mourinho is made boss.
   And the Chelsea star has told the FA, ‘Stop wasting time and appoint the Special One now.’
   Mourinho has the overwhelming support of both the players and fans but is still waiting for FA chief Brian Barwick to call.
   Essien told The Sun, ‘Frankly, I don’t know why the FA are delaying over Mourinho.
   ‘They should get him now to coach the team and get England back to where it belongs – on top of world football.
   ‘Having worked under him I know he is the man to help the team regain its confidence, like he did many times at Chelsea.
   ‘I know that Mourinho will help England win the World Cup when all hope is lost.
   ‘Jose will be very good for England. We all know what Jose is made off and how he can turn everything he touches into gold.
   ‘He did that with Porto when no one gave them a chance to win the Champions League.
   ‘He turned Chelsea into a title-winning team and I am sure he will restore the belief and win trophies for England.’
   People’s favourite Mourinho left Stamford Bridge in September and admits it would be an honour to manage England.
   But the FA’s dithering and hesitancy to sound him out could come back to haunt them, as a host of European clubs like Barcelona are also monitoring the situation. Three Lions skipper John Terry has already given his backing, while Blues pal Mikel John Obi said, ‘He’d be a good manager for England.
   ‘He’s dedicated to his job and gives everything, no matter what the situation. I think everyone would love him for his honesty and energy to bring the best out of every situation.
   ‘I would give him the all-clear to be the manager of a big nation like England.
   ‘He is different from other managers. He has the charisma to deliver, which he proved while with Porto and Chelsea.
   ‘People who don’t know him have problems with him but, when you get closer to Jose, you will realise what a nice and decent man he really is. I think England would be a great team under him.’
   Essien admits he was stunned by England’s Euro 2008 disaster and said he even went off his food when they crashed against Croatia.
   He added, ‘Apart from my national team, I follow England and I have since I was a child.
   ‘I was religiously following the Croatia game when I was in Ghana for the international break. It was a sad moment and I felt very bad for my English team-mates and the English people when they lost.
   ‘I even lost my appetite.
   ‘It’s a shame because
   England have the talent and could have done well. But that’s football.’

Michel Platini has confirmed that Liverpool’s 8-0 thrashing of Besiktas in the UEFA Champions League is not part of UEFA’s investigation into match fixing allegations.
   The UEFA president revealed he personally met with European police and politicians to assist with ‘protecting the game’ and admitted his concerns over online betting. Speaking in Dublin at the official launch of the Football Association of Ireland’s new headquarters at the National Sports Campus, Platini expressed his concern at the vast sums of money staked on European games.
   He insisted, ‘There is nothing in that (Liverpool v Besiktas) no, nothing.
   ‘We have some games under investigation, and one is more important than the other.
   ‘We have some teams but not a huge amount of games. But there is no national association and there are some clubs which come from the Intertoto Cup.’
   Platini added, ‘This is a big danger for football, but we have an early warning system, to protect the game against the amount of money coming from Asia, from betting.
   ‘We are here to protect the game. I went to Brussels six months ago and came back one week ago to ask the European police to take care of the sport because there are so many things we cannot do anything about.
   ‘The violence, the racism, the betting – there are many dangers for our sport so we asked to help.
   ‘I asked the politicians in Europe to help us to protect our game too. But it is very complicated with illegal betting, very complicated to investigate.
   ‘Who is responsible? The president, the club, the referee, the defender, the goalkeeper, the forward? Who can you go to see who is responsible?
   ‘It is very complicated but we need to get a solution with the politicians or police. It is a huge problem with the sport.’

Dutchman Pim Verbeek was unveiled on Thursday as the new coach of Australia, tasked with guiding them to the 2010 World Cup finals.
   Verbeek and Frenchman Phillippe Troussier had been the front-runners for the job since another Dutchman, Dick Advocaat, reneged on his contract three weeks ago to stay with new Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg.
   Verbeek, 51, told a video conference he was positive Australia would be in the South Africa finals in 2010.
   ‘I promise that we will do everything to succeed and I am 100 per cent convinced that we will succeed and that we will go to the World Cup and we will have a good (tournament) over there also,’ Verbeek said.
   ‘It’s a major challenge, it’s a big challenge, and I am really looking forward to coming to Australia and to learn about the A-League.’
   ‘I am committed to also helping to develop the game in Australia,’ he added.
   ‘I intend to become as familiar as possible with football in Australia and I will be based in Australia and intend to relocate immediately.
   ‘I will be in Australia next week to observe players in the final rounds of the A-League.
   ‘I am excited to be involved in what is an exciting time for football in Australia and I look forward to assisting the FFA in developing football in Australia and making myself available to support the national football development plan, in particular working with Australian coaches.’
   Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy, who was largely responsible for snaring Guus Hiddink as Australia’s coach for last year’s World Cup in Germany, said Verbeek was the right man for the job.
   ‘After very careful consideration and a rigorous recruitment process I am delighted that we have secured the services of a very experienced and respected national coach for the Socceroos,’ Lowy said at the announcement.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that Anderson is the best young footballer in the world.
   Ferguson has described the 19-year-old midfielder as a ‘special’ talent and compared him favourably with Cesc Fabregas.
   ‘Anderson has been absolutely superb. The boy has definitely got something special. There was an urgency to get him once we’d scouted him, even though he’d broken his leg and had been out for four or five months,’ the United boss told The Daily Telegraph.
   ‘The reports we were getting were saying that he was the best young player in the world. At the time, I was saying, “For God’s sake, let’s calm down a bit here”.
   ‘I knew he had real potential, but I didn’t want to put labels on him like that. But we’ve been delighted with him and he has proven himself to be a true central midfield player.
   ‘He can tackle, he’s lightning quick, he’s brave and he can pass the ball. What he’s got to prove is his goal-scoring ability because that’s something that Scholesy has always given us.’
   ‘Fabregas is going through a golden period at Arsenal, but I thought Anderson dominated that position.’

Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor has revealed that he has been working hard to improve on his physical strength. After an indifferent start to his Gunners career, the £7-million signing from Monaco has really impressed in his third season with the club, demonstrating a fine balance between raw power and technique. Adebayor has explained that the demands of the Premier League meant he had to work hard on his conditioning.
   And reports suggest that the 23-year-old striker has added more than a stone of muscle in the past five months.
   ’I needed to do something. I needed to build up my muscles to take the blows. You have to in England,’ he said in the Daily Mirror.
   ’When I got going, I was a lot more powerful. There is no comparison with before. Here, you don’t take creatine, only vitamins to recuperate. But we work twice as much. ’I had to progress. I used to take two metres to control the ball. But now the fans are seeing a new Adebayor.’

South Korea’s football association said on Thursday it has failed in its attempt to sign Frenchman Gerard Houllier as coach of its national team.
   The Korea Football Association said on Wednesday it had narrowed its choice down to Houllier or Mick McCarthy.
   But McCarthy said late Wednesday said he would stay with his current English club Wolverhampton Wanderers, and late Thursday, the KFA said the Houllier deal was also off.
   ‘A deal collapsed shortly before producing a contract with Houllier following the final negotiations because of opposition from the French football governing body and his family,’ said spokesman You Young-cheol.

Hertha Berlin, the German capital’s premier football team, was not heavily linked to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party, according to a history expert’s study.
   Professor Daniel Koerfer, who works at Berlin’s Freie University, has conducted a study into Hertha, who play at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, to assess how much influence the Nazis had on the team during the Third Reich era.
   Koerfer’s report shows the vast majority of players stayed away from the Nazi party and almost all the club’s 400 members did not sympathise with the Third Reich regime. But the report does conclude several leading figures at the club became party members and co-operated with the Nazis, often to protect the club.
   Hertha president Bernd Schiphorst says the club is still often associated with the Nazi era because of their links to the stadium built by Hitler’s chief architect Albert Speer. ‘Many fans, even today, link us to that era because we have played at the Olympic Stadium since the Bundesliga began in 1963,’ said Schiphorst.

Inter Milan and AS Roma are threatening to disappear over the hill as Serie A’s top two sides both won their games in hand on Wednesday.
   Champions Inter trounced sorry Lazio 3-0 at the San Siro here while Roma coasted to a 2-0 win over lowly Cagliari at Rome’s Stadio Olympico.
   Inter lead Roma by three points with the capital club a further five points clear of everyone else after 14 matches.
   The Italian league is looking more and more like a two-horse race, particularly with European champions AC Milan 16 points off the pace.
   Inter coach Roberto Mancini was keen to play down the significance of the increasing gap.
   ‘The difference between us and Roma is just the match between the two sides (Inter won 4-2 in Rome earlier in the season),’ Mancini told Sky Sport.
   ‘Roma are playing well and Inter and Roma are the best teams at this time. However, Juventus can come back because there is a lot of time left.’
   Lazio created the first chance as captain Luciano Zauri crossed from left to right where top-scorer Goran Pandev was waiting unmarked.
   He cracked a volley across goal and Stefano Mauri was inches away from turning the ball in at the far post.
   But thereafter, Inter took control, although there was a touch of fortune about their opener.
   Guglielmo Stendardo was harshly adjudged to have impeded Nicolas Burdisso and the referee pointed to the spot on 22 minutes.
   Zlatan Ibrahimovic stepped up, and the excitable Sweden forward smashed the ball home, high to goalkeeper Marco Ballotta’s right.
   Just past the half hour mark Inter had the ball in the net again but Honduran forward David Suazo’s close range finish after Ballotta had parried young winger Pele’s fierce long range shot, was rightly ruled offside.
   Just two minutes later, though, Lazio hit the self-destruct button.
   Brazilian full-back Maicon arrived like a steam engine to meet Chilean midfielder Luis Jimenez’s left-wing corner and unchallenged he blasted a volley home from inside the six-yard box.
   Lazio coach Delio Rossi must have been tearing out what little hair he has left.
   Ten minutes into the second period and Inter threatened to rack up a cricket score as Suazo latched onto a long ball from Argentina midfielder Esteban Cambiasso to coolly slot home under Ballotta.
   Inter turned on the style and seemed to be playing for fun, with Jimenez and Ibrahimovic at the heart of everything.
   Inter did eventually take their foot off the gas and Lazio substitute Mourad Meghni and forward Tommaso Rocchi both forced Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar into smart saves.
   Argentina centre-back Walter Samuel had the ball in the net for the hosts in injury time but that too was ruled out for offside.
   In Rome Francesco Totti made his return from injury to the Roma starting line-up but it was Brazilian midfielder Taddei who had things wrapped up by half-time.
   On 28 minutes he headed home a free-kick from David Pizarro and eight minutes later he finished off a sweeping move involving Macedonia forward Mirko Vucinic and Brazilian winger Alessandro Mancini, whose shot was parried only for his compatriot to slot home the loose ball.
   Taddei is determined that Roma won’t make the same mistakes as last season when they finished runners-up to Inter but gave away too many points against supposed lesser sides, something the champions didn’t do.
   ‘We need to concentrate on ourselves and not the others. We respect other teams but our aim is always to win,’ he said.
   ‘Last season we lost important points. This season we can’t make the same mistakes.’

Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini dismissed suggestions he needs to strengthen his injury-ravaged squad in the January transfer window, despite losing Olivier Dacourt for the season.
   Inter are already without France captain Patrick Vieira and veteran Portugal winger Luis Figo, while Serbian Dejan Stankovic’s recent comeback from injury proved short-lived.
   And with Frenchman Dacourt now ruled out for the season following a knee ligament injury, Inter’s midfield resources are being seriously stretched.
   Mancini responded on Wednesday night by giving Portugal under-21 international Pele his first start of the season on the right flank, as the champions beat Lazio 3-0 to maintain their unbeaten start to Serie A.
   Despite the players out, in 14 matches the nerazzuri have won 10 and drawn just four games. They lead second-placed Roma by three points with third-placed Juventus a distant eight points back.
   Mancini complained about his side’s injury problems, but ruled out any rash signings.
   ‘When Dacourt was injured the doctors told me he would be out for 40 days but now it turns out he is out for the season,’ said the coach.
   ‘Stankovic won’t play against Torino or PSV Eindhoven (Inter’s next two matches) but I hope to have him back against Cagliari, but I’m not sure because he can’t play in pain.
   ‘I don’t know if we will buy any players in January. Right now I just want to play on with this group of players until December 23 (when the Italian league takes a break), then we will see how many players come back and how many don’t.
   ‘Vieira has been out for 50 days and we don’t know when he will be back.’
   As well as dominating in the league, Inter ensured top spot in their Champions League group with a game to spare in a season where they are increasingly looking like the strongest outfit both at home and abroad.
   But even so, Mancini is not ready to declare the domestic championship a two-horse race, despite Inter and Roma’s apparent superiority.
   ‘Right now Inter and Roma have something more than the rest, and I don’t mean just in terms of points but also on the pitch,’ he said.
   ‘We are eight points clear of Juventus, which is a lot, but Juventus have a big advantage: they aren’t playing in the Champions League.
   ‘The difference between Inter and Roma is the match that we played (Inter won 4-2 in Rome earlier in the season). Roma are playing well and the best teams at the moment are Inter and Roma.
   ‘But over time Juventus can come back because there’s a lot of time left.’

The latest wonder striker from Emmanuel Adebayor was not enough for an under-strength Arsenal to claim all three points as Newcastle hit back to secure a 1-1 draw with the unbeaten Premier League leaders.
   Steven Taylor’s second-half equaliser earned some valuable breathing space for the under-pressure Sam Allardyce after Newcastle fell behind to Adebayor’s stunning early goal at St James’ Park.
   After the public vote of confidence issued by the players in the manager earlier this week, Allardyce was no doubt happy his squad backed their words with deeds, with a spirited display in stark contrast to their previous two abject home defeats.
   However, after picking up just a second point in six games, there is still much work to be done to arrest the current slump.
   All the same, the standing ovation afforded those in black and white at the death suggests Allardyce’s men have gone a long way to winning back the support of fans who had begun to question their side’s commitment.
   Despite being pegged back by Taylor’s expertly-taken first goal of the season on the hour, Arsenal can still be satisfied with what could prove to be a valuable point at the end of the season.
   It is one which stretches their advantage over their nearest challengers Manchester United to four points, after racking up a 22nd straight league game unbeaten, a run which dates back to April.
   Newcastle couldn’t have wished for a worse start as they found themselves behind inside four minutes against the depleted leaders, who were without five influential first team players through injury.
   The goal was of the hosts’ own making as Charles N’Zogbia, again played out of position at left-back by Allardyce, gave the ball away in a dangerous position on the corner of the Newcastle area.
   Emmanuel Eboue accepted possession to swing in an inviting centre from Arsenal’s right, which Adebayor controlled with his chest before volleying a fierce shot into the roof of the net from 12 yards to maintain Arsenal’s record of scoring in every league game this season.
   Newcastle spurned an opportunity to restore parity within 60 seconds as Obafemi Martins headed narrowly wide after rising to meet a James Milner cross eight yards out.
   And it was the hosts who carved out the more meaningful chances before the break, as Manuel Almunia was forced to save smartly on his line when Newcastle captain Geremi curled a low 25-yard free-kick round the wall.
   Taylor came even closer to an equaliser 10 minutes before the interval, with a header from N’Zogbia’s corner which the back-tracking Almunia palmed onto an upright.
   Replays suggested strong appeals for handball by Lassana Diarra, in his efforts to complete the clearance from his station on the post, were unfounded.
   Newcastle’s persistence paid off when they deservedly drew level 15 minutes after the break.
   Joey Barton’s tenacity enabled the midfielder to block Eduardo Da Silva’s clearance, allowing full-back Habib Beye to send over a dangerous cross from the right.
   Alan Smith, arriving at the near post, applied an important flick which allowed the centre to reach Taylor, who beat Almunia with a low shot which went in off the post from 12 yards, leaving Arsenal with just one win in their last seven visits to Tyneside.
   Newcastle dominated the remainder of the contest, but failed to create any further clear-cut chances as they were forced to keep numbers back to prevent Arsenal from hitting them on the break.
   That almost happened at the death, and N’Zogbia, the last defender, was lucky to escape a red card as he hauled Adebayor down with the striker racing through on goal.

With Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o having been sidelined with injuries and the unsettled Ronaldinho overlooked by Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard, the Spanish club is increasingly turning to its younger players.
   Rijkaard’s starting line-up during the team’s 1-1 draw against city rivals Espanyol last Saturday included six products of the club’s youth team while Ronaldinho came on as a 62nd-minute substitute.
   It was the first time that the Brazilian playmaker did not start for the club in the Spanish league when available since the 27-year old signed from Paris Saint-Germain in 2003. Two of the younger players – Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta – meanwhile joined forces to provide the Catalan club with its only goal of the match.
   Argentine international Messi, 20, and Bojan Krkic, 17, have risen to prominence following Barcelona’s 3-0 win at home over Huelva last month where each player contributed one goal.
   It was the first time that Krkic had scored for the Barcelona senior side in front of the home crowd since he joined the squad at the start of the season.
   ‘It’s incredible. Three months ago I was in the stands watching like any other fan,’ he said after the match. Krkic, whose father is a former Yugoslav international and who has a Spanish mother, has started for Barcelona twice since the match against Huelva.
   In October he became Barcelona’s youngest-ever goal-scorer in a Spanish league match, contributing one goal in his side’s 3-1 defeat away to Villarreal.
   Krkic was 17 years and 52 days when he scored the goal, defeating the previous record set by Messi who was 17 years, 10 months and seven days when he scored his first league goal for Barcelona.
   Coincidentally it was Messi who supplied Krkic with the pass for the goal to beat his record.
   ‘I know that he is making an impact and I am certain that he will force me into retirement because the kid has everything,’ said Eto’o.
   ‘Right now he shouldn’t believe all the good press he is receiving because the day that they turn against you, they will not take into account if you are young or not,’ the 26-year-old Cameroon striker added.
   Eto’o, who ruptured a tendon in a friendly match with Inter Milan in late August, got the all-clear on Tuesday to resume playing while Henry is expected to be out of action for another two weeks with back problems.
   Messi meanwhile has continued his flight towards stardom this season. With eight goals from 14 matches he is the Spanish league’s top-scorer along with Sevilla’s 27-year-old Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano and Real Madrid’s 30-year-old striker Raul.
   Messi looks set to surpass the 14 goals which he scored last season in 26 appearances despite four months on the sidelines due to injury.
   His success has won him comparisons to former Argentine football legend Diego Maradona and sparked talk that he could be a contender for a place on the podium at the forthcoming FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
   ‘I do not know whether or not I am the best in the world. I am working away as normal and feel good and I am pleased with the way things have been going,’ he said earlier this season when asked about the media praise.
   Barcelona lie second in the Spanish league with 28 points, four behind leaders and defending champions Real Madrid.

Carlos Tevez loves playing alongside Wayne Rooney and predicts their Manchester United partnership will thrive.
   At first there were question marks over whether the strikers could link well.
   The statistics prove they can, the pairing having scored 12 goals from nine starts together. Tevez told The Sun, ‘The main factor is that we both have a great desire to play together. ‘I love playing alongside Wayne and he loves it too, which is essential if the partnership is to succeed.
   ‘I think that is reflected in the way we play together on the field. We both enjoy it very much and you can see that.
   ‘So far I think we are doing well. We understand each other very well on and off the pitch. That’s important in a successful partnership and, hopefully, we can continue to play well together over the rest of the season and beyond.’
   That ‘beyond’ means for a possible further five years. United have him on a two-year loan agreement. But both sides want that made permanent.
   Ferguson believes the Tevez-Rooney combination was at its best when United scored their third goal in the 4-1 home win over Middlesbrough in October.
   Asked for his favourite this season, Ferguson said, ‘Without question the Tevez goal created from the Rooney back-heel against Middlesbrough, no doubt about that. In the move you saw how well they were gelling.’
   The way Tevez has been welcomed has helped the Argentine international make up his mind Old Trafford is the place for him.
   Like Gabriel Heinze before, the United fans chant ‘Argentina’ in his honour.
   Tevez said, ‘Gaby told me a lot about the United fans before I joined the club.
   ‘He said if he was playing well or he did something inspiring then the crowd would often chant “Argentina” which is something to make anyone proud.
   ‘I love to hear it. I feel very happy here now.
   ‘The priority for me and my dream is to win trophies with Manchester United. It is a massive club and I want to pay back the faith the fans have shown in me.’

Bayern Munich manager Uli Hoeness has admitted there is a rift between French defender Willy Sagnol and coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.
   Sagnol seriously injured his knee in April and has struggled to break back into the Bayern team this season, causing a rift between the French international and his coach.
   Two weeks ago, the 53-times capped French star voiced his desire to leave Munich during the winter break which starts on December 15.
   ‘There are at present some problems between Willy and Ottmar Hitzfeld, differences of opinion over his fitness and we hope they will be resolved during the winter break,’ said Hoeness.
   ‘We will discuss the situation and hope to try and resolve it, but if we can’t then we will have to look at the options and make a decision.
   ‘I would not like to anticipate what that discussion would lead to.’
   Hoeness also confirmed the transfer of French defender Valerien Ismael, who will become a Hanover player on January 1 after signing a three-year contract.
   The Frenchman had a medical on Wednesday and the transfer has been agreed for an undisclosed sum.
   Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer has also hinted that more stars are on their way to Bayern.
   Brazilian teenage defender Breno is expected to join
   during the winter break
   from Sao Paulo for a reported 14 million euros and the
   German giants are looking to reinforce their defence which has creaked on occasions this season.

Barcelona’s Brazilian play-maker Ronaldinho is finding the situation at the Spanish club ‘untenable’, according to El Mundo newspaper on Thursday.
   Quoting sources close to his brother and agent Roberto de Assis, El Mundo said Ronaldinho was unhappy at the Nou Camp this season, where he has fallen out of favour, especially since his reputation was damaged by highly-publicised reports of his nocturnal party lifestyle.
   ‘It’s been a long time that he has not been happy in Barcelona. He’s not at ease in the dressing-room and is not ready to play the role of replacement,’ the daily quoted other sources close to the Brazilian as saying.
   Ronaldinho was a replacement during Barca’s last two matches, the 2-2 Champions league draw against Lyon and the 1-1 La Liga draw against Espanyol, playing just the final 20 minutes of each match.
   ‘Players like Ronaldinho, it’s not the coach who sits them on the replacements’ bench, it’s them who decide,’ Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard told Ona FM radio.
   The Dutchman said it was up to Ronaldinho to show what a ‘great player he is, and he’s going about that’.

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba faces knee surgery that could rule him out for ‘several months’, The Times newspaper reported Thursday.
   The Ivorian is believed to have had a scan on Wednesday that revealed degeneration in his left meniscus, which requires surgery, according to the paper.
   However, with Drogba due to leave Stamford Bridge next month for African Nations Cup duty with Ivory Coast, it remains to be seen whether Chelsea will opt to place their striker under the knife immediately or ask him to struggle on during the critical Christmas period.
   The newspaper reports that Chelsea’s medical staff will speak to the player and examine his performance in training on Thursday before advising the club’s manager Avram Grant of the best course of action.
   If Drogba is deemed not fit enough to face Sunderland on Saturday it is thought they are likely to recommend an operation as soon as possible.
   The situation is further complicated by Drogba’s
   understandable reluctance to risk his long-term health as well as his desire to represent his country.
   An operation would rule the Ivorian out of action for a minimum of five weeks, meaning it is distinctly conceivable that Drogba will not play again for Chelsea until February.

Barcelona’s Mexican defender Rafael Marquez on Wednesday welcomed the return to full fitness of the club’s three-time African Footballer of the Year Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, saying it would help boost the Spanish side’s defence.
   ‘Eto’o is essential for the team. He has a strong desire to play and when he hits the pitch he will help us, especially defensively as he is the one who starts applying pressure,’ he told a press conference.
   Barcelona on Tuesday announced that 26-year-old Eto’o had received the all-clear to resume playing and could return in this Sunday’s league match against Deportivo La Coruna.

Two-time defending UEFA Cup champions Sevilla drew 1-1 away to Osasuna on Wednesday in a game that was rearranged following the death at the start of the season of the club’s defender Antonio Puerta.
   Czech striker Jaroslav Plasil opened the scoring for Osasuna at Pamplona’s Reyno de Navarra stadium with a shot from close range that slipped under Sevilla keeper Andres Palop’s legs in the 18th minute.
   But Sevilla midfielder equalized for his side in the second half in the 46th minute after a cross from the left from Portuguese winger Sergio ‘Duda’ Valente.
   The draw left Sevilla tied in 12th place with 16 points with Almeria, Osasuna and Valladolid.
   The Andalucian side has struggled in the Spanish league this season but lead their Champions League group ahead of English side Arsenal.