Former England cricket hero Ian Botham, who has raised more than £10m for leukaemia charities, has been awarded a knighthood by the Queen.
   Manchester United’s nine-time Premier League title winner Ryan Giggs is appointed an OBE while veteran striker Teddy Sheringham becomes an MBE.
   Former snooker world champion Terry Griffiths becomes an OBE.
   Ex-Great Britain rugby league star Kris Radlinski and Dunfermline manager Jim Leishman are both appointed MBEs.
   Botham, 51, made his name as a flamboyant and influential all-rounder.
   Through 11 long-distance walks, many from Land’s End to John O’Groats, he has helped to dramatically increase the survival rate of leukaemia sufferers.
   Nicknamed ‘Beefy’, he played 102 Tests for England in a career that lasted from 1974 to 1993.
   He took 383 wickets, which remains an English record, and scored 5,200 runs.
   ‘I’m delighted that I’ve been honoured, not only for myself but for the people that have helped me get there,’ he told the Press Association. ‘My wife Kath organised most of the walks and this will be very much a family celebration.
   ‘I have been fortunate to go to the Palace on previous occasions and I’m excited about the prospect of going there. To go there under these circumstances will be a very proud moment, it’s very nice to be recognised for what we have all achieved.
   ‘Tom Cartwright had a lot to do with my career as did Brian Close, but there are two people who I am sad are not here to enjoy this. My father Les passed away 18 months ago and it would have been a proud moment for him and also Ian Wooldridge, who was another long-standing friend and would have been pleased to raise a glass tonight. There are a lot of other people out there who I hope will enjoy this moment with me.’
   Looking back to his early years when he was a young player starting out at Somerset with Sir Viv Richards, who was knighted in 1999, Botham smiled. ‘How many people would have thought that Viv and I would be here when we started out in his flat as teenagers and used to go across the road to Roy Marshall’s pub? They would make us feel very welcome and give us some tea because Viv and I were not the greatest in the cooking stakes.
   ‘Who would have thought that all these years later that those two young guys would be honoured like this?’
   The highlight of his career came during the series against Australia in the summer of 1981, which came to be known as ‘Botham’s Ashes’.
   He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Sport Personality of the Year Awards in 2004 and was appointed an OBE in 1992.
   Other sports stars honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List include former Wales and British Lions rugby union prop Graham Price and boxer Jane Couch (both MBE).
   Yachtswoman Dee Caffari, who last year became the first woman to sail solo non-stop around the globe against the prevailing winds, is made an MBE.
   Tim Phillips, chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, becomes a CBE.
   FA chairman Geoff Thompson, who last month was named as the new British FIFA representative, is made an OBE.
   British Show Jumping Association chief executive Jacqueline Wood also becomes an OBE.

Ian Botham, who was made a knight of the realm in Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honours list Saturday, was a rare talent on the cricket field and his flamboyant lifestyle off it often enraged authority.
   Yet 15 years after his last first-class match, the 51-year-old former rebel turned charity fundraiser is now one of a select band of respectable sporting ‘sirs.’
   Ian Terence Botham played cricket like most fans dream it – smashing sixes with a bat like a railway sleeper and toppling stumps with devilish swing. Even the cricket gear he endorsed exhorted enthusiastic amateurs: ‘Attack!’
   He also enjoyed life off the field. While lesser mortals might need eight hours of sleep, Botham could prop up the bar all night and still be a match-winner.
   But his game was built on sound cricketing principles. Especially in his early career, he combined classical fast-medium pace bowling and a textbook sideways-on action with powerful, orthodox batting.
   He departed from the coaching manuals as a slip fielder, standing almost nonchalantly with hands on thighs and much closer than a normal second slip, yet taking some breathtaking catches.
   Unlike many English sportsmen, Botham – whose all-round abilities also saw him turn out for English Football League side Scunthorpe United – was blessed with immense self-confidence but a total lack of reticence about his talents.
   In 1980 against India, he became the first player to score 100 and take 10 wickets in a Test and of all the players who have achieved the Test double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets, Botham got there quickest – in 42 matches.
   He became England captain later that year but with nine of his Tests in charge against the then-world-beating West Indies, he faced an uphill battle for results.
   In 1981, with eight draws and four defeats as England skipper, Botham jumped before he was pushed by the selectors after a ‘pair’ against Australia at Lord’s.
   But he soon made it ‘Botham’s Ashes,’ sealing his place in the pantheon of cricketing greats.
   Forced to follow on after a meagre first innings, England were heading for a crushing defeat in the third Test at Headingley. But Botham’s extraordinary 149 not out gave them a slender lead.
   Fast bowler Bob Willis then took eight for 43 as England won by 18 runs. It was only the second time in Test history a side had won after following-on.
   In the next match at Edgbaston, Botham took five wickets for one run in 28 balls as Australia, seemingly on course for victory, collapsed spectacularly.
   And in the fifth Test, a bare-headed Botham powered his way to an assured 118.
   England, having been down and out, won the series 3-1. Botham was later named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
   Botham’s great days subsequently became fewer as his weight increased, although he still proved a thorn in Australia’s side during the 1986-87 Ashes.
   He was unable to produce his best form against the in-form West Indies of his close friend and Somerset team-mate Vivian Richards.
   In the early 1980s with English football not hogging the nation’s sporting headlines to today’s extent, Botham dominated the news and sports pages in a way only previously seen in the days of Manchester United legend George Best.
   Botham’s reputation suffered not only through increasingly common displays of on-field petulance but also by his admission in 1986 that he had smoked cannabis. He was banned from cricket for 63 days.
   A bitter rivalry with former Pakistan all-rounder Imran Khan culminated in an unsuccessful libel action by Botham and former England colleague Allan Lamb, while revelations about his private life surface periodically.
   But ‘Beefy’ Botham has remained popular since his retirement in 1992, not least because of England’s until recently fruitless search for a successor, but the millions of pounds he has raised for leukaemia charities since 1985.
   Botham, honoured with an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 1992 and now a cricket commentator and pundit, is married to Kath, mother to his three children, including former professional rugby player Liam.

England captain Michael Vaughan paid tribute to Ian Botham after the cricket great was awarded a knighthood by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in the Birthday Honours list announced on Saturday.
   The 51-year-old former England all-rounder, still his country’s leading Test match wicket-taker with 383 in 102 matches, was awarded the knighthood for his services to cricket and cancer charities, having raised more than 10 million pounds with a series of long-distance walks.
   ‘Ian was the inspiration for an entire generation of young cricketers growing up in the 1980s,’ Vaughan, captaining England in the fourth Test against West Indies at Riverside said here on Saturday.
   ‘But Ian’s achievements go far beyond cricket and this is richly deserved.’
   Vaughan added: ‘With the help of his family and friends, he has devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to helping those less fortunate than himself. I know he will take great pride in this.’
   Former England captain Graham Gooch, who played international cricket alongside Botham, told BBC Radio Five Live: ‘He’s been called a lot of things down the years but I think ‘Beefy’ will suffice.
   ‘It’s a well deserved honour. He’s been England’s foremost cricketer of the past 30 years and he’s put in all that hard work and all those miles for a fantastic cause.
   ‘He’s been the people’s champion for cricket and I am sure he will be celebrating. He was a cricketer who put bums on seats.
   ‘The players in the dressing room didn’t watch every minute of play but when Beefy was batting everyone went out to watch because there would always be something happening when he had a bat in his hand.’
   Vivian Richards, the former West Indies captain and one of cricket’s greatest batsmen, who shared a flat with Botham when they were both young players making their way at English county Somerset in the early 1970s, said on the BBC: ‘I’m so excited for him. He’s come such a long way.
   ‘I liked him the first time I met him playing at Somerset. Ian was supposed to be the fast bowler and all-rounder and I was the West Indies batsman everyone had high hopes for.
   ‘I got out first ball while Ian hit a hundred and when I bowled I took five for 23.
   ‘Beefy came up afterwards and made me feel welcome. It was like I had known the guy for years. He’s a wonderful human being,’ added Richards, godfather to Botham’s son, Liam.
   Botham, who played his last Test in 1992, said: ‘I’m delighted that I’ve been honoured, not only for myself but for the people that have helped me get there.
   ‘My wife Kath organised most of the walks and this will be very much a family celebration.

Paceman Shoaib Akhtar regained full fitness to claim a place in Pakistan’s 15-man squad for the upcoming tour of Scotland, selectors announced here on Saturday.
   The 32-year-old missed the World Cup in the Caribbean due to a knee injury and was also left out of the squad for the three-match series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi last month.
   However, Akhtar bowled strongly at the team’s tune-up camp for the tour of Scotland, where Pakistan play one-off limited over internationals against India on July 1 and against the hosts two days later.
   The injury-prone fast bowler played briefly for Pakistan in their Test series against South Africa in January before breaking down once more. His last one-day international was against England in September.
   Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said Akhtar’s fitness is a good omen for Pakistan. ‘A fit Akhtar is an asset for Pakistan and we have watched him bowl so he was included,’ said Ahmed.
   In October Akhtar was banned for two years and fellow paceman Mohammad Asif for one year after testing positive for the steroid nandrolone, but the bans were later overturned on the grounds that they took the substance unknowingly.
   Both missed the World Cup as Akhtar was battling a knee and hamstring injury, while Asif had an elbow injury.
   Akhtar said he was delighted to be back in the squad.
   ‘I am happy and look forward to play for Pakistan once more. I have been bowling with full throttle and intensity and hope to do well,’ said Akhtar, who has 169 Test and 208 one-day wickets.
   Former vice-captain and leading batsman Younis Khan also returned to the team after missing the Sri Lanka series due to his commitment with English county Yorkshire.
   Pakistan had a troubled World Cup where they were dumped out in the first round following defeats against the West Indies and minnows Ireland.
   They also lost their coach Bob Woolmer who died in the team hotel after Pakistan’s exit. Police launched a murder inquiry, but now say he died of natural causes.
   Their captain Inzamam-ul-Haq later announced his retirement from one-day cricket while his potential replacement Younis refused to lead the side citing personal reasons.
   It forced the authorities to choose young Shoaib Malik as the new captain.
   Pakistan is still searching for a new coach and hope to shortlist contenders on Sunday before taking a final decision later this month.
   A vice-captain for the Scotland tour will also be named on Sunday, after Asif’s appointment as Malik’s deputy for the Sri Lanka series raised eyebrows due to his involvement in the doping scandal.
   Squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Imran Nazir, Salman Butt, Younis Khan, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Rao Iftikhar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami.

Former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson will fly to Pakistan for talks on coaching the troubled national team following the death of Bob Woolmer, a report said here Saturday.
   Lawson is among three on Pakistan’s shortlist for the job, along with compatriots Dav Whatmore and former fast bowler Richard Done, the newspaper report said.
   Former New South Wales and New Zealand coach Steve Rixon has told AFP that the Pakistan Cricket Board contacted him about the role but he had already made other plans.
   Lawson said he also had been contacted, at short notice, about the job and was trying to obtain a visa from the Pakistan High Commission in Canberra. He was hoping to fly out this weekend ‘once the paper work has been done’.
   ‘It’s a significant challenge,’ Lawson told Saturday’s The Australian newspaper about coaching Pakistan.
   ‘They’re an underachieving team with plenty of talent.
   ‘I’m flattered I’ve even been invited I suppose. I certainly haven’t been chasing it. At short notice they asked me to come to Islamabad for an interview.’
   Lawson, 49, currently a media commentator, claimed 180 wickets in 46 Tests between 1980 and 1989 before finishing his career as NSW state captain and later becoming their coach.
   Done replaced Woolmer as the International Cricket Council’s high performance manager two-and-a-half years ago, after the South African took up the Pakistan job.
   Done played first-class cricket for NSW before beginning a successful coaching career in Australia.
   He worked for nine years as senior coach at the Australian Cricket Academy with Rod Marsh in the development of future

The Bangladesh cricket team, led by new captain Mohammad Ashraful and interim coach Shaun Williams, left for Sri Lanka to play three Tests and as many one-day internationals on Saturday.
   Ashraful’s men will open their tour with a three-day warm-up match starting on June 20.
   The three-Test series begins on June 25. It will be followed by the one-day series that commences on July 20.
   Trevor Bayliss has been named the new Sri Lanka coach.
   Bayliss (44) replaced Tom Moody who resigned after the 2007 World Cup. Sri Lanka has recalled its former captain and opening batsman Marvan Atapattu for the Bangladesh series.
   Atapattu, who did not play any match in the World Cup, returns for the Test side since the Indian Test Series in 2005.
   Meanwhile, the stylish and veteran Sanath Jayasuriya has been picked for only the one-day game where he will be joined also by the leg-spinner Upul Chandana, who returns to the team since November 2005.

GM Ziaur Rahman slipped to second place after he lost his seventh round match against FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed in the Premier Group of the Destiny International Rating Chess Tournament on Saturday.
   Nasir, who shares top spot with IM Enamul Hossain, played with white pieces and won after the 40th move. The win increased his points tally to 5.5.
   Zia, IM Abdullah Al Rakib, FM Abu Sufian Shakil, Minhazuddin Ahmed Sagar and Debaraj Chatterjeee are in second position with 4.5 points respectively.

Rahul Dravid, the Indian captain, has insisted that his side has got over the World Cup disappointment and are ready for the forthcoming tour of Ireland and England, starting in a week’s time. He was confident that his young bowling attack would stand up to the challenge in Tests and said there was no point harping about the coach-issue.

The West Indies found themselves in disarray as England made the most of swinging conditions to reduce them to 55-4 after 17 overs of the fourth Test.
   Following a week of rain, play finally got under way after lunch on the second day and Ryan Sidebottom had Daren Ganga caught at short leg off the first ball.
   Chris Gayle responded with a quick 28, before Matthew Hoggard trapped him lbw, and Sidebottom bowled Devon Smith (4).
   Steve Harmison then had Runako Morten caught at mid-off in his second over.
   Earlier, England captain Michael Vaughan won the toss and elected to field.
   England made one change from the team that won the third Test at Old Trafford by 60 runs.
   Fast bowler Matthew Hoggard, who’d missed the last two Tests with a groin problem sustained while bowling in the series opener at Lord’s, replaced out-of-form Durham quick Liam Plunkett who missed out on playing a Test on his home ground.

Argentina’s Angel Cabrera birdied his final hole Friday to seize the halfway lead in the US Open on an Oakmont course that humbled golf’s best, including Tiger Woods.
   Cabrera, winner of three European tour events and a dozen other tournaments in South America, added a one-over 71 to his first-round 69 for an even-par total of 140. Everyone else was over par.
   When he sank his three-footer at his closing hole, the par-four ninth, Cabrera grabbed a one-shot lead over big-hitting American Bubba Watson and also put paid to world No. 2 Phil Mickelson’s chances of playing on the weekend.
   Watson, still seeking a first victory in his second year on the US PGA Tour, carded a 71 for sole possession of second place.
   Australian Aaron Baddeley, England’s Justin Rose, Trinidad-born Canadian Stephen Ames and Sweden’s Niclas Fasth shared third on 142, with England’s Paul Casey a further shot back.
   Mickelson, who missed the cut with an 11-over total after a 77, wasn’t alone in his struggles on the par-70, 7,230-yard Oakmont course, whose tilting, glassy greens lived up to their formidable reputation.
   The round of the day belonged to England’s Paul Casey, whose 66 put him at three-over 143.
   Casey sank a 45-footer for birdie at his opening hole, the 10th, and added birdies at the long par-five 12th, 14 and 17.
   His only bogey came at 18, and six pars to start his back nine were followed by a 12-footer for birdie at the seventh.
   The 11-shot turnaround from Thursday stunned Casey.
   Creativity paid off for Cabrera, who saved par at the fourth hole by hitting out of a weed-infested ditch onto the neighboring fifth fairway, and going for the fourth green from there.
   His next visit to the fifth fairway resulted in a bogey, however, when he three-putted from 30 feet at the fifth.
   He regained sole possession of the lead with his textbook birdie at the ninth.
   Watson, who leads the PGA Tour in driving distance but is still searching for his first tour victory in his second season, had four birdies and five bogeys in his 71.
   He missed the cut in his only previous appearance in the Open in 2004, and was looking forward with some trepidation to Saturday.
   Rose showed remarkable consistency to gain his share of third place, posting his second straight 71. He had to rebound from three early bogeys to do it.
   Baddeley carded a 70, Fasth a 71 and Ames a 69 that was the only round apart from Casey’s under par.
   Overnight leader Nick Dougherty of England, with Cabrera the only players under par on Thursday, settled for a 77 to join Woods on 145.
   Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy of Australia posted a 75 for 146. Vijay Singh and Jose Maria Olazabal were among a group on 148, and South African Ernie Els, who won the last US Open held at Oakmont in 1994, was on 149.
   The halfway cut fell at 10-over 150, which saw Mickelson miss it by a stroke after a 77.
   He dropped six shots in four holes beginning with a double-bogey at seven, followed by two bogeys and finishing up with another double-bogey at the 10th.
   Other notable names who failed to advance included Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, who like Mickelson blew a chance to win at Winged Foot last year, two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen of South Africa and world No 4 Adam Scott of Australia.

French Open champion Rafael Nadal suffered a rare taste of defeat as unseeded Nicolas Mahut knocked him out of Queen’s in the quarter-finals on Friday.
   Nadal was well below his best as Mahut set up an all-French semi-final against Arnaud Clement with an impressive 7-5, 7-6 (7/0) victory over the top seed.
   The Spaniard had arrived at the Wimbledon warm-up event on the back of another triumphant clay-court campaign that had concluded with his third consecutive Roland Garros title last Sunday.
   But he remains less than comfortable on grass and Mahut took advantage as he savoured the best day of his career. Nadal had quickly wrapped up the one game he needed to beat Max Mirnyi 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in his rain-delayed third round match earlier on Friday.
   But the world number two still looked lethargic against an opponent who had already played virtually a full match on Friday afternoon.
   Mahut, ranked 106th in the world, had beaten fifth seed Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 to reach his first quarter-final of the season and was back on court just hours later.
   The 25-year-old showed no signs of flagging and gave Nadal his most rigorous test for weeks. He refused to be bullied by Nadal’s power-play and took the first set after breaking in the 12th game.
   Nadal had chances to move in front in the second set but squandered four break points in the 11th game.
   Mahut showed no sign of nerves as the set went to a tie-break and Nadal gifted him a memorable scalp with a series of unforced errors as he lost the breaker to love.
   Andy Roddick remained on course for a fourth Queen’s title after easing into the semi-finals with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Croatian wild card Marin Cilic.
   Roddick, the second seed, had too much grasscourt experience for his teenage opponent and now faces Dmitry Tursunov.
   The American won the Wimbledon warm-up event on three successive occasions from 2002 to 2005 and will believe he can tie the record of four singles crowns held by Lleyton Hewitt, Boris Becker and John McEnroe.

Jamaican 100m world record holder Asafa Powell and Russian world and Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva underlined their star credentials here Friday with crushing wins in their respective events.
   Ethiopian Meseret Defar kept up the Bislett stadium’s reputation as one where records will continue to be broken by setting the 53rd, smashing her previous world record mark in the women’s 5000m by eight seconds.
   Defar, the 23-year-old Olympic champion, timed 14min 16.63sec after some great pace-making by Russian Olga Komyagina and a final 800m in 2:12.51.
   With a tailwind of 0.9m/s, Powell enjoyed a great start and raced home in 9.94sec, his 27th sub-10sec timing recorded over the blue riband event, and just one-hundredth off the world lead set last week by American Walter Dix.
   The Jamaican dominated a strong field that included double European sprint champion and Olympic silver medallist Francis Obikwelu, Trinidad’s 2003 world silver medallist Darrel Brown and African record holder Olusoji Fasuba.
   Obikwelu came second in 10.06sec with Fasuba promoted to third after Briton Marlon Devonish was disqualified.
   Devonish, the Athens Olympics 4x100m relay gold medallist, was a last-minute inclusion after earlier clocking 10.20sec in the ‘B’ race.
   But he was disqualified from the main event for having run twice in the same day.
   Isinbayeva, who has previously bemoaned the dearth of quality opposition in her event, entered the pole vault at 4.60m with only Poland’s Monica Pyrek left in the competition.
   Pyrek promptly crashed out at 4.70m while Isinbayeva had to settle for 4.85m.

Former Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen midfielder Mario Basler insisted on Saturday German international striker Miroslav Klose will struggle if he joins Bayern this summer.
    Basler, who spent three years at both Bremen and Bayern in the 90s, told German on-line magazine Sport-Bild he predicts a tough 12 months for Klose - who ever he plays for.
   ‘Klose will have problems at Bayern,’ insisted Basler, 38, who was the Bundesliga’s top-scorer in 1995 at Bremen and was capped 30 times for Germany.
   ‘In his current form, Klose will have big problems to assert himself in the team with Toni signed and with Lukas Podolski fighting for his place.’
   Klose is in a precarious position at Bremen - with his contract set to expire in 2008, he has already pledged his future to Bayern from July next year when he will join on a free transfer.
   But Bayern are keen to sign him sooner and Klose was forced to apologise to both his club and fans in April when it was revealed he had a ‘secret’ meeting with Bayern bosses to discuss a possible switch.
   And Basler was quick to point out the mistakes Klose - who scored five goals at last year’s World Cup - has made this season on and off the pitch, having failed to score a goal since April.
   After Klose told reporters after Germany’s recent Euro 2008 qualifier win over Slovakia, Basler said he can expect a hard time from the Bremen fans if he stays.
   ‘Klose isn’t playing well this season and has made many mistakes,’ said Basler.
   ‘He hasn’t done himself many favours with the things he has said and he will have big problems with the fans at Bremen - if he stays.
   Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said he wants to sign Klose this summer and is reported to have offered ten million euros.
   Werder want at least 15 million, but which ever shirt he wears next season, Basler thinks it will be a tough campaign.
   He said: ‘All the same, where ever Klose plays, it will be a tough season for him. With every bad game he has he makes himself more vulnerable.’

Andy Roddick admits he won’t be satisified with his career until he has won Wimbledon.
   Roddick lost consecutive Wimbledon finals to Roger Federer in 2004 and 2005 and is desperate to erase those bitter memories.
   Although the American has won his home Grand Slam, the US Open, it is the famous gold trophy given to the mens’ singles champion at Wimbledon that Roddick dreams of lifting.
   To do that he will have to break Federer’s four-year winning run at the All-England Club, but the world number five believes he has as good a chance as anyone on the tour of beating the Swiss master.
   ‘I’d love to win a Wimbledon,’ he said. ‘I’ve been so close before. That is probably my primary goal in my career at this point.
   ‘You would probably say that Roger was the favourite, but outside that, I feel like I’m right there.
   ‘I put last year aside because I was probably playing the worst tennis I had played in the last four or five years.
   ‘Every other time on grass, I have been right there, both with these tournaments and then I lost to Roger three times in the final and the semi-final.’
   Roddick has been fine-tuning his preparations for Wimbledon with an impressive run at Queen’s this week, with the expert guidance of former Wimbledon champion Jimmy Connors helping him along.
   Connors knows exactly what it takes to succeed on the lawns of west London and that makes him an invaluable addition to Roddick’s camp.
   Roddick frequently has to listen while fans talk to Connors about famous matches the American played in, but he loves soaking up the history lesson.
   ‘We will be walking around and people will come up and say ‘remember that match you played against this guy in 1970-something?,’ Roddick said.
   ‘He has a running history of every match he has played. I don’t know if he remembers all of them, but he pretends to.
   ‘I’ve hit with his old racket. He brought it to practice one day and had me hit 10 minutes with it. He said ‘if you can hit with this thing, you can hit with anything.’
   ‘You can hit through the ball, you just can’t get this massive top spin shots that people do.
   ‘I don’t think Rafa would like it, but I hit through the ball a little bit, so I didn’t mind it too much.’

Beating competition from football icon David Beckham and pop star Peter Andre, England cricketer Andrew Flintoff has won the ‘Celebrity Dad of the Year’ award in a public vote organised by Virgin Money.
   Flintoff, who is currently nursing an ankle injury, was presented the award in Manchester yesterday. The 29-year-old all-rounder has two children – Corey (1) and Holly (2) – with wife Rachel.
   Flintoff bagged the award despite spending more than 200 days away from home in 2006-07. On field, he was making headlines for all the wrong reasons in the just concluded World Cup.
   The flamboyant star almost drowned himself after falling off a pedalo in an inebriated state during the mega event. The incident cost him the vice-captaincy of England and his skipper Michael Vaughan went on to blame him for the team’s debacle at the tournament.
   Before Vaughan, Flintoff’s wife had called him a ‘stupid bugger’ for his drunken escapades.

Emirates, the official airline of Rugby World Cup 2007, re-united England’s legendary rugby hero, Martin Johnson, with the Webb Ellis Cup as part of the Emirates Airline Trophy Tour.
   Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, on Thursday began its historic Tour that involves taking the Webb Ellis Cup to those nations that have been successful in winning the coveted trophy. From England, the tour will travel to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa where winning captains like Martin Johnson will head up activities and initiatives that will excite rugby fans around the globe, as France and the UK prepare to host Rugby World Cup 2007 from September 7 to October 20.
   The former England captain took part in Emirates activities that included a special on location photocall at Southbank on the River Thames and a ‘meet the press’ session at NEC Harlequins. Bournemouth School also enjoyed a once in a lifetime opportunity, as they took part in a coaching clinic run by the ex-England back rower.
   Martin Johnson said: ‘It’s fantastic that Emirates is using its Rugby World Cup 2007 sponsorship to take the Webb Ellis Cup to rugby fans and followers all over the world. I am proud to be part of the Emirates Airline Trophy Tour and hopefully I will have coached an England hero of
   the future this afternoon at the clinic.’
   The remainder of the Tour and captains that Emirates will be working with are as follows: June 18 - Auckland, New Zealand - David Kirk (1987), June 20 - Sydney, Australia - Nick Farr-Jones (1991) and June 27 - Johannesburg, South Africa - Francois Pienaar (1995).

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker has the girl, the championship rings and the MVP trophy although he does not have top billing in his native France.
   That, he said, goes to soccer great Zinedine Zidane.
   ‘Zidane is always going to be the man in France because soccer is so popular,’ Parker said of the former Real Madrid playmaker who helped his country win the World Cup in 1998.
   ‘But, hopefully, French people can realise what I accomplished – three championships in five years, that’s not bad,’ added Parker.’
   He was named MVP of the NBA finals on Thursday night after scoring 24 points to lead the Spurs to an 83-82 victory and a series sweep over the outmanned Cleveland Cavaliers.
   The title was the third in the six-year NBA career for the 25-year-old Belgian-born Frenchman. He won the MVP award after averaging 24.5 points on 57 per cent shooting.
   Spurs coach Gregg Popovich chatted with Parker on the stage while the team was being presented with the championship trophy.
   ‘I reminded him that when we gave him his first workout, we didn’t think he was tough enough and we sent him home,’ Popovich said.
   ‘And then we set up another interview, another workout where we stacked it and had some people go after him physically and he was fantastic in that one.
   ‘I reminded him of that and he had a big laugh. And I said, “Now you’re standing here on the stage with the finals MVP trophy”, and he just kept laughing. He couldn’t believe it.’
   The Spurs owe their fourth title in the last 11 years largely to a man who used to watch Michael Jordan on TV at 3:00am in France and dreamed of playing in the NBA.
   Parker recalled his first workout as Popovich seethed.
   ‘I was terrible and coach Pop said, ‘I never want to see him again,’ Parker recalled. ‘And then I came back and I did better and they finally drafted me. And after five games, he puts me in the starting five.
   ‘It was just like growing pains. But it was great because it made me better.’
   Life is good for the diminutive point guard with the film star looks and a new rap CD ready to hit the United States.
   On July 7, he will marry Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria but he sidestepped questions on which ring he will treasure more – that from the NBA or the one he will receive from Longoria.
   ‘Can’t choose,’ he said. ‘Both are very good.’

Tired of having no words to sing when they step up to the podium, Spanish sports figures are pushing for the creation of an official verse to go along with their national anthem.
   Spanish athletes hum or gaze at the sky when the ‘Royal March’, an up-tempo 18th century military tune which has been stripped of words because of their links to the right-wing dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, is played.
   To put an end to this, Spain’s Olympic Committee has called on the government to provide words to the anthem, one of the few national anthems in the world to have no official lyrics.
   ‘Many Spanish athletes are demanding words that they can sing when they are on the podium,’ said Alejandro Blanco, the president of the committee.
   ‘They want to feel as proud as the British or the French.’
   The suggestion was swiftly backed by the conservative opposition Popular Party, which said it would present a bill calling for a committee charged with drawing up lyrics for the anthem within three months.
   But in a country made up of 17 autonomous regions and four official languages, coming up with words for the anthem that will please everyone will not be easy.
   The previous conservative government of prime minister Jose Maria Aznar charged a group of poets and writers to devise a verse for the anthem several years ago but no agreement was reached as to what the words should be.
   But Blanco said lyrics that are agreeable to people from across Spain could be found if they focus on sports.
   ‘No one should see this as a political opportunity. The intention is to reflect the pride of our sportspeople when they represent us at great events. Sports should unite people,’ he told sports daily AS.
   Most professional athletes welcomed the prospect of finally having lyrics to go along with the anthem.
   ‘It would help fire up all the fans,’ said Real Madrid and Spanish international goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
   Strong loyalty to regional teams such as Barcelona or Real Madrid is often blamed for a lack of ardent support for the Spanish national football team.
   ‘I would naturally sing the national anthem. It is true that we tennis players do not have many opportunities to do so, but for me it would not be a problem to sing it,’ Spain’s former world number one tennis player Carlos Moya told daily newspaper El Mundo.
   Still, not all athletes thought having lyrics was important.
   ‘Not all anthems have to have lyrics. What is important is the feelings of each person at the moment that you hear it,’ Spain’s national basketball coach Pepu Hernandez told the newspaper.
   ‘I don’t think it is necessary to have lyrics.’
   The government has said it backs the addition of words to the anthem.
   ‘If there is a consensus from all parts, I think it is a good idea,’ foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told public radio RNE last week.
   In 1770 King Carlos III ordered the ‘Royal March’ to be played at public events attended by the royal family and Spaniards soon came to see it as their national anthem.
   Franco added lyrics, including the line ‘raise your arms, sons of the Spanish people who are rising again’, to the tune, but they were dropped following the right-wing dictator’s death in 1975.

George Gillett insists pressure to spend on players this summer will not force Liverpool into mega-bucks deals just to ‘prove something’.
   The expected blitz of the transfer market following Gillett and Tom Hicks’ takeover of the Reds earlier this year has so far failed to materialise, amid suggestions that manager Rafael Benitez has become disillusioned with the lack of funds made available to him by the Americans.
   So far, Bosman signing Andriy Voronin and young Brazilian Lucas Leiva are the only major new arrivals – hardly the established world-class talents the Liverpool faithful were hoping for.
   But while Gillett admits he is privy to the fans’ frustration, he insists the Reds regime will not be forced into any token buys.
   ‘I sense that kind of pressure building from the media,’ he told The Times.
   ‘I think the fans know that we have huge regard for Rafa. He has a number of initiatives and concepts and plans under way.
   ‘We’re not going to do something just to try to prove something. I can assure you that we are working on different things.
   ‘What we’ve said and what Rafa has said was that we had a programme and he would share that with us and that we would support it.
   ‘The first part was that we identified a number of our existing star players (Jose Reina, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso) whom Rafa wanted to sign on long-term contracts.
   ‘That was the first step and it has been done. Now we’re moving on to phase two, which is bringing players in.’
   Gillett insists the time to judge the club’s owners will be when the summer’s dealings are completed.
   ‘For Tom and me, this really is about trying to win championships. And that takes commitment, no matter what sport,’ he added.
   ‘We are pleased with Rafa and his strategy. It’s not dissimilar to what he outlined to us in February.
   ‘His belief is to look for players with the proper chemistry to enhance the team.
   ‘We support Rafa. He has a programme under way and, as that unfolds, that will be the time for us to be judged, not now.’

Former Chelsea star Eidur Gudjohnsen wants to return to the Premiership with champions Manchester United.
   Barcelona, the Iceland striker’s current club, want to swap Gudjohnsen for United’s Spanish central defender Gerard Pique, who has impressed on loan in La Liga this season with Real Zaragoza.
   United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is not thought to be keen on such a deal because he wants to bring the talented Pique back in to his squad for the new season.
   But last night Gudjohnsen revealed he is ready to quit the Nou Camp after becoming frustrated over a lack of first team opportunities.
   Celtic and West Ham are also monitoring the unsettled 29-yearold’s situation.
   Gudjohnsen told the Daily Mail, ‘I joined Barcelona to be part of the club’s triumphs but it is not easy for me when you look at the club’s forward line and see all the big names there.
   ‘Each minute has been a special test for me but to sit on the bench is not the most desirable experience for a player.
   ‘I don’t think I have failed in Spain but perhaps I have not totally won the confidence of the coach. If I leave then my ideal idea would be to return to British football.
   ‘If Barcelona decide to place me in the market then I need to study all the details. But a perfect choice for me will be a club that plays in the Champions League.
   ‘Obviously Manchester United fit that category.’
   Gudjohnsen has spent only one season at Barcelona since his move from Stamford Bridge and, although he is contracted until 2010, he would be available for £9 million.
   The former Bolton star would also consider a move to join Gordon Strachan at Celtic and added, ‘I know there has been some contact with English clubs and with Celtic but the answer to this question does not rely just on me.’
   Meanwhile, rumoured makeweight Pique – says he has not heard about any swap deal but a move back Los Cules does appeal.
   ‘I have contract with the Manchester United and I have not said anything about my future,’ he told Sport.
   ‘It is not a secret that I am Cule (a Barca fan) and I have always said that my illusion is to return to play one day with Barca.
   ‘I am very been thankful to Manchester, but I have never spoken with them of the possibility of an exchange.’

Former Bundesliga coach Michael Krueger admitted on Friday he took a banned stimulant as a player and says he saw other footballers use the same drug.
   After former Schalke 04 coach Peter Neururer revealed on Thursday he saw players taking the banned stimulant Captagon in the early 1990s, Krueger, Neurerer’s former assistant coach at Schalke, says he also took the drug as a teenager.
   Doping is a hot topic in German sport at the moment after several cyclists admitted they took the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoetin) in the 1990s and the German government has set up a working party to look into the issue.
   But Krueger, who now coaches at FC Saarbuecken in a regional league, told German on-line magazine Sport-Bild he took the banned stimulant.
   ‘As an 18-year-old I took Captagon,’ says Krueger.
   ‘It didn’t do much for me, but the day after I was exhausted and when I later found out what Captagon was I stopped taking it.
   ‘During the earlier part of my career with Arminia Hannover (between 1976 and 1980), I saw one or two players take the drug just before important games.’
   Former Hanover coach Neururer admitted seeing players take Captagon while he was coaching Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga’s second division in the 1989/90 season.
   ‘(Taking Captogen) was quite usual in football,’ Neururer had told Sport-Bild.
   ‘It was widely known that players were using substances. Up to 50 per cent of players have consumed this drug
   and not only in the second league.’
   But Krueger says the issue in German football has only been highlighted covered by the media after the EPO admissions in cycling.
   ‘This wouldn’t cause much of a stir normally, but the incidents of doping in cycling have put the issue on everyone’s lips,’ he said.
   ‘One thing is clear, doping cannot be trivialised in any sport.’
   The German Football Association (DFB) has already written to Neururer asking for more details.
   Doping tests have been carried out in the Bundesliga
   since 1988 and after every
   game two players are chosen at random to provide a urine sample.
   Since 1995, 15 players from the Bundesliga’s first and second divisions have been accused of doping offences.

Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed on Friday government guarantees required by FIFA for candidates to stage the World Cup.
   Silva said Brazil has ‘nearly’ guaranteed it will host the event in 2014 and redress the ‘unforgettable defeat’ it suffered in the 1950 World Cup, the only Cup the five-time champions have ever hosted.
   Brazil is the lone candidate for the 2014 Cup after Colombia withdrew its bid in April.
   A successful presentation of the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro in July will boost Brazil’s chances of receiving the 2014 Cup when FIFA’s executive committee meets in November, Silva said at the presidential palace.
   ‘I am sure they will be an extraordinary success,’ he said.
   ‘Brazil will be definitively having the credentials to stage bigger events, like the soccer World Cup.’
   The FIFA guarantees will be delivered on July 31 to Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brazilian Soccer Confederation. They include requirements ranging from ensuring
   visas and customs entry for foreigners, to tax breaks for hotels to encourage private-sector participation.
   Construction or remodelling of stadiums is taken up separately between FIFA and the Brazilian Soccer Confederation, sports minister Orlando Silva said.
   ‘The World Cup is almost ours,’ Silva said.
   Silva, who was born in 1945, was 5 years old when Brazil suffered its greatest soccer
   trauma. Widely favoured to win the 1950 final, the team was upset 2-1 by Uruguay before a packed crowd at Rio’s Maracana, the world’s largest soccer arena built especially for the Cup.
   Fifty-seven years after ‘that unfortunately unforgettable defeat by Uruguay in Maracana, Brazil has all the conditions to hold in 2014 the second World Cup in its history,’ he said.
   Silva added that ‘the government and the people are united in this task.’

Alex Del Piero has admitted that losing David Trezeguet and Mauro Camoranesi would be a massive blow to Juve on their Serie A return.
   The Bianconeri have been in contract talks with both internationals, but it does seem as if they will be leaving the Turin giants.
   The Frenchman has made it clear that he wants out before his contract expires in June 2008, while Camoranesi wants a bigger salary before he puts pen to paper on an agreement until 2009.
   ‘If Trezeguet and Camoranesi were to leave then we would be in big trouble,’ said Del Piero in an interview to Sportweek.
   However, it does seem that the Bianconeri will have a new look to them next season with or without the duo – even if the captain has urged the club to spend wisely.
   ‘I have my own idea on how I would plan the next transfer campaign,’ continued the former Padova youngster.
   ‘If it is true that we have a £35m budget, then I would target two or three players who would allow us to improve our quality, rather than spend the entire amount on one big name.
   ‘Gianluigi Buffon? His contract extension was a delicate issue and his decision to stay filled us with enthusiasm.’
   Club chiefs have spoken about a five-year plan to get the outfit back to where they were before Calciopoli, but Pinturicchio is eager for success. ‘We can’t afford to take that long,’ he noted.
   The No 10 stayed loyal to Madama following their demotion and he insists that Serie B football served him well.
   ‘I feel stronger and I think people now like Juventus more when compared to the past,’ continued the Italian World Cup winner.
   ‘I first understood that we were in Serie B when we arrived at Cesena for the Coppa Italia. There were no supporters in front of our hotel waiting for us and it was clear that something had changed.’

Pavel Nedved is not yet sure whether he’ll continue playing next season, but whatever his decision, his future remains in Italy.
   ‘I have promised to tell Juventus my decision before June 30,’ revealed the veteran midfielder from a charity tournament in his hometown of Skaina.
   The 2003 Golden Ball winner had already considered hanging up his boots after the World Cup, but opted to stay on to help salvage Juve from Serie B.
   Now that the side has returned to the top flight, he could continue for another term under new Coach Claudio Ranieri.
   Turin-based newspaper ‘Tuttosport’ claims today that Nedved has decided to play on for the 2007-08 season, even though he will turn 35 in August.
   Even if he does retire, the Czech hero has assured he will continue his rapport with Juventus, as he will be offered a job in the youth academy.
   ‘My children’s home is Turin,’ he told the Czech media. ‘My ideal solution would be to live in my home country for six months and the other six over there, but it is not possible because my children go to school in Italy and have all their friends there.’
   Meanwhile, Juve have released a statement after Marco Tardelli said he would resign from the Board of Directors after the Under-21 European Championship.
   A terse note simply read: ‘We take note of Tardelli’s resignation.’

Milan’s players do not want Andriy Shevchenko back, so the race for Thierry Henry is back on, according to reports.
   President Silvio Berlusconi has long been sponsoring the return of Sheva from Chelsea and this week said the likelihood of this being achieved was ‘at 80 per cent.’
   However, newspaper ‘Il Giornale’ claims this morning that both coach Carlo Ancelotti and the squad are unhappy with the idea.
   Above all Paolo Maldini, Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf do not believe he should be welcomed back with open arms so soon after demanding a transfer to Stamford Bridge.
   There are also issues over the price-tag, as Chelsea demand no less than £20m – which would already be a £10m loss on the money they paid only 12 months ago – but the Rossoneri won’t go above £6.7m for a one or two-year loan deal.
   With Samuel Eto’o eager to stay at Barcelona – or join rivals Inter – Milan are instead turning their attention back to Arsenal’s want-away star Henry.
   Reports of a deal with Barcelona have been denied by all the parties involved, so the Frenchman is still on the market.
   Coach Ancelotti name-checked Henry as ‘one of the players we are very interested in’ and he could be convinced by the opportunity to play alongside Ronaldo and Kaka.
   Meanwhile, ‘Il Giornale’ also states that the negotiations for Edmilson have been abandoned so that Yoann Gourcuff can be given more space in midfield next season.

Mali striker Frederic Kanoute said a FIFA decision ordering him to skip international duty so he can play for Sevilla in the final league match of the Spanish season is an insult to African football.
   ‘It shows a lack of respect towards me and Mali,’ the 29-year-old was quoted as saying in daily Sport on Saturday.
   ‘I’m upset for my country because FIFA is showing no respect for African national sides. We are not important for them.’
   Kanoute, Sevilla’s top-scorer this season, arrived back with his club late on Friday after being ordered to return to Spain on the eve of an important African Nations Cup qualifier against Sierra Leone.

Valencia have confirmed they enquired after David Trezeguet, while Cagliari signed the ‘new Gabriel Batistuta.’
   Trezeguet has made it very clear he wishes to leave Juventus this summer, having called the contract renewal offer presented to him ‘ridiculous.’
   In turn, the Bianconeri are refusing to sell him to any other Italian club – specifically Inter – to avoid reinforcing their direct rivals in Serie A.
   With Olympique Lyonnais, Arsenal and Marseille all said to be interested in the Frenchman, Valencia have officially added their name to the list.
   ‘There has been contact so we could understand what the situation was,’ said director of sport Amedeo Carboni to ‘RaiSport.’
   ‘We would certainly like Trezeguet. Inside I am optimistic, but in official terms we don’t have much of a chance.’
   In other transfer news, Cagliari have already replaced Inter-bound David Suazo with Argentine hitman Joaquin Larrivey.
   The 22-year-old has been the top-scorer in the second division with Huracan, netting 10 goals, and his style has earned him the nickname ‘El Bati’ for his similarity to Fiorentina legend Batistuta.

Rafael Nadal plans to cope with his shock Queen’s Club exit by cheering his friends in the Real Madrid team as they try to win the Spanish League title.
   Nadal, 21, is a passionate football fan and has become friendly with Real stars Raul and Iker Casillas, as well as admitting to being a big fan of David Beckham.
   The French Open champion will be back in Spain in time to watch the climax to La Liga’s thrilling championship race as Beckham and company look for a win against Mallorca to pip Barcelona to the crown.
   Nadal, who was surprisingly beaten by unseeded Nicolas Mahut in the quarter-finals at Queen’s on Friday, believes Beckham will be a big loss to Real when he joins LA Galaxy at the end of the season.
   ‘For me he is a very good professional,’ Nadal said. ‘I have a lot of admiration for him. It is unbelievable how much he has been going on outside the sport, always doing commercials, he has people following him wherever he goes.
   ‘When he goes on the pitch he runs for every ball and is always fighting. He will be a big loss for Madrid. But the important thing is he always has a smile when people go to him. That is very nice, and difficult.’
   Nadal has been playing relentlessly for months as he slogged through the clay court season, so the chance to put his feet up and forget about tennis for a few days before starting his Wimbledon preparations is much appreciated.
   ‘I have only had a couple of days at home in the last two months, so I will go home now,’ said Nadal who was a surprise Wimbledon finalist last year.
   ‘I will play some golf, watch the end of the football season in Spain and have some fun with friends. For a few days I will put the racket very far away and forget tennis.
   ‘I have some good relations with some of the Madrid players like Raul and Casillas. It is nice for me when I am playing in Madrid and they come to watch my matches.
   ‘I am a fan of Mallorca and Real Madrid. Real are playing for La Liga and Mallorca have had a good season so I am very happy. But on Sunday it is a very important match for Madrid and not so important for Mallorca.’
   Mahut, ranked 106th in the world, enjoyed a day to remember as he followed his third round victory over fifth seed Ivan Ljubicic earlier on Friday with a stunning upset of Nadal.
   ‘Of course it was my best result,’ he said. ‘To beat Ljubicic and Nadal in the same day is amazing. The guy who bet on me this morning should be a rich man now.
   ‘It will give me a lot of confidence but my goal is to reach the first final of my career. That is my goal now.
   ‘I felt OK. Nadal had two weeks at the French Open
   and played the final on Sunday, so you have to ask him if
   he felt tired. I just played four matches.
   ‘I really love playing on grass. I think it is my best surface. I should ask the ATP to put more tournaments on it.
   The grass season only lasts for three weeks.’

The off-field antics of the so-called WAGs—wives and girlfriends—of England’s footballers were as much the focus as their husbands and boyfriends’ on-pitch performances at last year’s World Cup.
   Three of them will again take centre-stage Saturday as they walk down the aisle, creating a fixture clash for the celebrity guests as they get hitched virtually at the same time but in different locations.
   England captain and Chelsea defender John Terry avoided the problem by marrying his long-term girlfriend Toni Poole at a lavish ceremony at former British premier Winston Churchill’s ancestral home on Friday.
   But Manchester United players Michael Carrick and Gary Neville plus Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard have all plumped for a Saturday afternoon kick-off.
   With football-mad rocker Rod Stewart and partner Penny Lancaster at an undisclosed location Saturday, ensuring a star-studded guest list at all four events could be as tricky as stopping a swerving Wayne Rooney thunderbolt.
   Old Trafford striker Rooney and his girlfriend Coleen McLoughlin—the queen of the WAGs for the tabloids—are even rumoured to be flying between two of Saturday’s ceremonies.
   The top footballers’ nuptials have provided a boon for Britain’s press, with acres of news print devoted to who’s wearing what, who’s attending, how much the events could cost and which celebrity magazine has bought the rights.
   Terry’s bash—although described as ‘low key’ by one newspaper—is rumoured to have cost one million pounds (1.5 million euros, 1.9 million dollars).
   Neville’s wedding to Emma Hadfield at Manchester Cathedral and their six-million-pound mansion is said to be in the same price bracket.
   Among the guests pictured being driven into Terry’s event at Blenheim Palace, near Oxford, south central England, were Chelsea and England players Ashley Cole and Joe Cole.
   Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, with new girlfriend Daria Zhukova in tow, was also there, according to The Sun, as was England boss Steve McLaren and a host of other high-earning English Premiership stars.
   One visitor who saw Terry’s marquee being prepared during a visit to the palace Thursday, was unimpressed, according to Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency.
   ‘There were pink Cadillac seats, purple carpets—it all looked very tacky to me,’ he was quoted as saying.
   One star who is not scheduled to attend, according to reports, is Real Madrid and England midfielder David Beckham. He is on club duty but The Sun said he will deliver a live video message to Neville from Spain.

The Spanish title race is reaching its most dramatic finale in more than a decade, but the build-up to the final round of matches has been dominated by talk of illegal third party incentive payments.
   All week the Spanish media have been reporting that briefcases full of money will be changing hands this weekend as clubs do their best to encourage other teams to beat their rivals.
   While such payments are not permitted under Spanish Football Federation rules, some players say they are commonplace.
   Leaders Real Madrid and Barcelona, tied on 73 points, and outsiders Sevilla two points further back, all have a chance of clinching the league title today, but it is the nine-time European champions who are in the driving seat.
   Their superior head-to-head record against Barca means a victory over mid-table Real Mallorca at the Bernabeu would guarantee them their first major trophy in four seasons.
   Mallorca, safe from relegation and out of the running for Europe, have nothing other than pride to play for, which is where talk of the incentive payments comes in.
   ‘Unfortunately it (the issue of incentives) has been the theme of the week,’ Mallorca coach Gregorio Manzano told sports daily Marca on Friday.
   ‘Now if we lose people will say it was because Real paid us, and if we win it was because Barcelona paid us. You can’t buy and sell honour and glory in football with money.’
   The rumours are not confined to the teams at the top.
   At the other end of the table, Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis and Celta Vigo have been fighting it out to avoid relegation, amidst similar allegations.

David Beckham has been warned his Spanish title dream could be destroyed – by an Angel of doom.
   Real Mallorca keeper Miguel Angel Moya, 23, insists he will block Becks’ path to glory in today’s La Liga decider.
   Moya told The Sun, ‘We know we can ruin everything for Real Madrid. Beckham wants to leave Spain with the title but dreams don’t always come true.’
   Beckham, 32, is determined to bow out after four years at the Bernabeu with his first trophy before joining LA Galaxy.
   If Seville fail to beat Villarreal then Madrid need only to equal Barcelona’s result against Gimnastic – but a win will guarantee Becks’ top-flight club career ends in ecstasy. Moya added, ‘We have nothing to play for but we have our pride.
   ‘I’m not shaking in my boots at the prospect of facing Ruud van Nistelrooy or Beckham.
   ‘I have no fear of Beckham’s free-kicks. I must do my job and that is what I intend to do as a professional.
   ‘Beckham has an amazing way of striking a ball that makes it curl like a banana but I know I can’t afford a moment’s loss of concentration. We’ve won in the Bernabeu before and even though it’s difficult, we know it’s possible.’
   Real boss Fabio Capello is certain to start Becks, even though the former England skipper is still suffering from an injured left ankle and has been limited to training on his own all week.
   Today’s clash will also see Brazil legend Roberto Carlos bring the curtain down on his 11-year Real career before his move to Fenerbahce.
   Carlos, 34, added, ‘David has the same regrets as me because we’re leaving the best club in the world.
    ‘He is a great player and person and I have a lot of affection and respect for him.
   ‘He’s OK and he’s walking better, although I’m no doctor. We all want him to recover so he plays his best match.’
   And Becks is willing to share the limelight with Carlos if it comes to the crunch and Real need one of their trademark free-kicks to win the league title.
   Beckham said, ‘If the scores are level at the end and we get a free-kick, I’ll have to discuss with Roberto who takes it.
   ‘I don’t care who takes it as long as we score – whether it’s me, Roberto or keeper Iker Casillas.
   ‘Hopefully, it doesn’t come down to that and we score the goals we need early on.’
   Former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy said of Beckham, ‘He is a dream for any centre-forward because his delivery is world class. But I shall also miss him as a friend and as a person.’
   Meanwhile, Beckham has shaken off a niggling ankle injury and will be fit to play his final match for Real Madrid in today’s title decider against Real Mallorca.
   ‘I spoke with him after training and he said that he felt very good and would have no problems in playing,’ Real coach Fabio Capello told a news conference on Saturday.
   The Italian, who sidelined Beckham for a month after the midfielder announced he would be joining LA Galaxy at the end of the season, paid tribute to the 32-year-old when asked about his contribution to Real’s late-season revival.
   ‘I think Beckham has been a very important player and in the last three months he has recovered the psychological and physical condition that was missing before,’ he said.
   ‘I would put him up amongst the best players I’ve ever coached.’
   Beckham suffered a recurrence of an injury to his left ankle during last Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Real Zaragoza and had trained on his own for the majority of this week.
   But he joined in with the rest of the team in Saturday’s final training session and gave the thumbs up to reporters when asked if he would be ready to play at the Bernabeu.
   Beckham, who will hook up with the Galaxy in July, will win his first significant trophy since joining Real from Manchester United in 2003 they beat the islanders on Sunday.
   Midfielder Mahamadou Diarra also trained with the team after being given permission by FIFA to return from international duty with Mali ahead of their African Nations Cup qualifier against Sierra Leone.

In the old days, Pini Zahavi was the son of a shopkeeper who took oranges to Liverpool’s training ground and wrote football reports. Now he is one of the most powerful men in the sport, facilitating takeovers and a reported £3 million payment for a single deal.
   He is routinely referred to as a super-agent, but such a tag gives the misguided impression that he merely has a nicer sheepskin coat and a bigger cigar than his peers. Zahavi’s brief is far broader than that, involving scouting networks in Africa and South America, a penchant for controversy and sugar daddies on tap.
   The popular perception of the football agent is of a sharp-suited spiv who sorts out a player’s contract and books his manicure. Zahavi, by contrast, is a mover and shaker, acting as a traditional agent only for a few select millionaires, and instead working for clubs such as Chelsea.
   ‘I say what I mean,’ he says. And he likes what he says, not least the story of how Trevor Birch, the Chelsea chief executive at the time, begged him for help because the club could not pay the players’ wages. The solution? Roman Abramovich. He repeated the trick at Portsmouth, bringing in Alexandre Gaydamak to give the club a new ‘war chest’. Earlier in his career Zahavi had paved the way for Gaydamak’s father, Arcadi, to take over Beitar Jerusalem.
   He is an adept net-worker who has mined his Israeli background for profit, brokering deals for Eyal Berkovic and Yakubu Ayegbeni when they moved from Maccabi Haifa. When it was revealed that Middlesbrough had agreed to pay Zahavi £3 million on top of the transfer fee for Yakubu, laymen shook their heads at the state of the game. For Zahavi, it was payback.
   Perhaps it was his background as a sports journalist that enabled him to shrug off the bad publicity. There was plenty, from his role in the meeting between Sven-Goran Eriksson and Abramovich, when the former was still England head coach and the latter looking for a manager, to Rio Ferdinand’s dinner date with Peter Kenyon – the Manchester United defender and Chelsea chief executive.
   If you wanted to go public with your secret meeting, Zahavi

The South American Football Confederation (CSF) is to ask world soccer’s governing body FIFA to reconsider a ban on international matches being played at high altitude.
   ‘Our representatives will ask for this ruling not to be applied until an exhaustive analysis has been completed,’ CSF general secretary Eduardo Deluca told reporters after an executive committee meeting on Friday.
   Doctors from the Andean countries say they can produce evidence that playing at high altitude does not pose any risk to the players.
   Deluca said the CSF’s decision was unanimous, even though Brazil and Argentina have often complained bitterly in the past about playing matches at high altitude.
   FIFA decided last month to ban international games at more than 2,500 metres above sea level.
   The ruling affects mainly Bolivia, who play in La Paz at 3,600 metres, and Ecuador, who play at 2,800 metres in Quito.
   Bolivia’s only viable alternative would be the lowland city of Santa Cruz while Ecuador would have to play in the tropical port of Guayaquil.
   Ecuador, who had never previously played at a World Cup, qualified for the 2002 and 2006 tournaments thanks to their record at Quito’s Atahualpa stadium where they are unbeaten for almost six years.
   If matches were allowed at 3,000 metres they could be played in Bogota, the capital of Colombia.
   Peru, who traditionally play at sea level in Lima, had been contemplating moving matches to high altitude Cusco in a bid to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1982.
   FIFA’s decision caused an outcry in the Andean nations where the matter has become a major political issue.
   Bolivia president Evo Morales has led the campaign to have the ruling overturned and on Tuesday took part in a kick-about with aides on a mountain at nearly 6,000 metres above sea level.
   Morales visited the CSF headquarters before Friday’s meeting.
   ‘We have come here in the name of the Bolivian people and the people of the Andean region to appeal for...sporting justice,’ he said.
   ‘We ask you with great respect and humility not to exclude or marginalise us.’
   Earlier on Friday, FIFA denied a suggestion from a member of the CSF’s medical committee that it had lifted the limit to 2,800 metres.

Brazil have agreed that Robinho can play in Real Madrid’s league title decider after the Spanish club apologised for not letting him train with his country.
   Real will take the championship for the first time in four years if they beat mid-table Real Mallorca at home today.
   In another club-versus-country saga, striker Robinho remained in Spain to train with Real this week despite Brazilian demands he join them for their training camp ahead of the Copa America in Venezuela.
   ‘The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has released Robinho and Marcelo (who has been selected for the under-20 team) and they will report after Real Madrid’s game on June 17,’ said the CBF in a statement.
   ‘Real Madrid have recognised the rights of the confederation, backed by FIFA legislation, to call up the players and also the trouble they have caused the national team.’
   The CBF said it had also agreed to allow full-back Daniel Alves to play for Sevilla in their final game of the season.
   The Copa America, Brazil are the holders after winning in Peru three years ago, starts on June 26.
   The rules of world soccer’s governing body FIFA allow national teams to call up players two weeks in advance.
   Brazil have already lost Kaka and Ronaldinho for the tournament after the pair said they were tired and asked not to be picked.

La Galaxy president Alexi Lalas on Friday told Real Madrid they could not buy David Beckham back even if they offered $00 million.
   Real president Ramon Calderon is desperately trying to hang on to the re-born England star as they bid to win the Spanish title tomorrow. But Lalas said Beckham, who makes his Galaxy debut against Chelsea next month, is worth more to them than Madrid could pay.
   ‘I don’t doubt Real Madrid want David back,’ said Lalas.
   ‘But we have invested so much. If they made a bid of $100m, we are a business so have to entertain any proposals. But I don’t see that happening.’