Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones has been stripped of her gold medals from the 2000 Olympics and asked repay more than 100,000 dollars in prize and bonus money, the United States Olympic Committee said Monday.
   Jones, who admitted in a US court last week to using performance-enhancing drugs, has returned the three gold and two bronze medals she won in Sydney, USOC chief executive Jim Scherr said.
   ‘She relinquished this afternoon the medals that were won unfairly at the Sydney Games,’ Scherr said.
   ‘She has taken the right step and worked quickly and voluntarily returned the medals and that is a start. I think there is still a long ways to go.
   ‘They (medals) are in the possession of the USOC and will be returned to the IOC so they can be awarded to the appropriate winners at the Olympic Games.’
   The 31-year-old American pled guilty Friday to lying to federal investigators and USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth said the next step would be for her to hand back the Olympic medals.
   ‘We have the medals in our possession and they will be returned,’ Ueberroth said Monday.
   Scherr said Jones would also have to forfeit all her competition results since September 1, 2000.
   ‘We also will go after prize bonuses and it is in excess of 100,000 dollars,’ Scherr said. ‘We will ask her to make restitution for any money she received from the USOC.’
   Jones was also slapped with a two-year competition ban by the United States Anti-doping Agency (USADA) Monday but she had already announced her retirement on Friday.
   Jones was unavailable for comment on Monday.
   ‘She’s not going to comment on the matter while it’s pending in court but the medals were returned today,’ Jones’ New York lawyer Henry DePippo told the US media.
   Jones, who won the 100 metres and 200 metres in addition to taking third in the long jump, was part of the winning 4x400 team and the third-place 4x100 team in Australia.
   Uebberroth said they are also asking Jones’ relay teammates to turn over their medals from 2000 as well.
   ‘Basically it is unfortunate. But your results involved cheating so you are not entitled to the medals,’ Uebberroth said.
   Some of the other American athletes who are being asked to return their relay medals include, Chryste Gaines, Torri Edwards, Nanceen Perry, Jearl Miles-Clark, Monique Hennagan and LaTasha Colander-Richardson.
   Said Scherr, ‘Our opinion is that something was won unfairly and it has completely tarnished the relay events.’
   Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou is in line to receive one of the golds because she finished second behind Jones in the Sydney 100 metres. Thanou’s situation poses another problem for the IOC as she was given a two-year ban for allegedly faking a motorbike crash to cover up missing a drug test during the 2004 Summer Games.
   Scherr said Jones handed the medals over to USOC officials Monday in the Austin, Texas offices of her lawyer.
   ‘They were picked up today after being turned over,’ Scherr said.
   He said the five medals will taken to Colorado Springs before being shipped to the International Olympic Committee’s head office in Switzerland.
   Jones told the court last week that she believed the steroids her coach was giving to her was flaxseed oil.
   Asked Monday if he believed her story, Scherr said, ‘It really doesn’t matter whether we believe her or not. The results are invalidated.’
   Jones, once hailed as the greatest woman athlete in the world, was one of many high-profile athletes who testified before a federal grand jury investigating BALCO, a probe that has resulted in five convictions.
   Jones’ former partner Tim Montgomery was banished and his world 100 metres record run erased based on evidence collected in the BALCO probe.
   Jones herself had steadfastly denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs, even as the BALCO-spawned suspicions swirled around her.

South Africa (357) lead Pakistan (140/4) by 217 runs at stumps, day 2
   South Africa took a grip on the second Test on day two here Tuesday after Pakistan squandered their solid start by quickly losing a string of wickets.
   Pakistan were precariously placed at 140-4 when bad light stopped play eight overs before schedule in reply to South Africa’s first innings total of 357 on a day of fluctuating fortunes at the Gaddafi Stadium.
   Inzamam-ul-Haq was given a guard of honour by the South Africans as he came onto the ground to bat in his final Test before retirement.
   The 37-year-old former skipper was unbeaten on 10 with Misbah-ul Haq who was also on 10.
   South African coach Mickey Arthur said his team were in a ‘solid situation’ after winning the first Test in Karachi by 160 runs in the two-match series.
   ‘I certainly wouldn’t say the series is wrapped up but we did the right things,’ he said.
   Arthur said veteran Inzamam deserved a good send-off for his farewell Test.
   ‘The boys did talk about that in the dressing room, but when Inzi came out it was a spontaneous action and I am proud of my players,’ said Arthur of their guard of honour for the batsman.
   Salman Butt (40) and Kamran Akmal (52) gave Pakistan a confident start of 90 before the home team lost three wickets in the space of just nine runs.
   Butt looked in great touch but failed to keep a sweep down and was caught by Graeme Smith off left-arm spinner Paul Harris who finished with 2-33.
   Butt hit seven boundaries during his 68-ball knock.
   Mohammad Younis, who hit a fighting 126 in the first Test, did not last long. He missed an Andre Nel incoming delivery and was bowled for three.
   Akmal became Harris’s second victim in the innings when he failed to keep a drive down and was caught by Smith in the covers. Akmal hit seven boundaries.
   It was left to senior pros Yousuf and Inzamam to steady the innings. Yousuf shaped well for his 25 before he was trapped in front of the wicket by paceman Dale Steyn for his 50th wicket in 13th Test.
   Inzamam, needing 20 to surpass Pakistan’s highest Test aggregate held by Javed Miandad with 8832 runs, looked out of sorts initially before hitting Nel for a boundary.
   Earlier, Pakistan squandered the first day’s initiative when Mark Boucher scored 54 and a career-best 46 from Paul Harris took the tourists to a respectable total after they resumed at 259-6.
   Pakistan had dismissed the overnight batsman Andre Nel for nought off the fifth ball of the day when paceman Umar Gul had him caught fending a short delivery.
   Harris showed remarkable guts as the tail-ender improved his best Test score of 11 made against India in Cape Town earlier this year.
   Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik once again did not use left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman until half-an-hour before lunch.
   It was Gul who finally broke the stubborn stand when he had Harris driving uppishly and was caught by Malik in the covers. Harris hit six boundaries during his resolute 160-minute knock.
   Boucher was the last man out when he holed out at leg-spinner Danish Kaneria who was the pick of the home bowlers with 4-114. He hit Kaneria for a six to reach his 26th half-century.
   Boucher hit four boundaries and a six during his 132-ball knock.
   Kaneria was the best of Pakistan’s bowlers with 4-114, while Gul finished with 3-103.

Darrell Hair on Tuesday dropped his claim for racial discrimination against the International Cricket Council in a move the Australian hopes will lead to a resumption of his career as a Test match umpire next year.
   A statement made to a London employment tribunal on the seventh day of what was supposed to be a ten-day hearing said that Hair ‘unconditionally’ withdrew his allegation of race discrimination by world cricket’s governing body.
   Under a deal initiated by Hair’s legal team, the 55-year-old umpire will now work with ICC management on a ‘rehabilitation’ programme and the ICC will decide in March 2008 whether he can return to top-level umpiring.
   Hair secured no guarantees over his future and it remains to be seen whether ICC executives who were in favour of his demotion from top-level matches will be won round to the idea that his career can be properly resumed.
   The Australian also faces a hefty bill for his legal and personal costs as well as those of potential witnesses. The ICC will meet its own costs, which a spokesman said were less than 500,000 dollars.
   Hair took the ICC to the tribunal after being barred from officiating in Test matches following last year’s controversial England-Pakistan match at The Oval.
   The Test became the first in history to be won by forfeit after Pakistan refused to resume
   playing after being penalised
   for ball tampering by
   Australian Hair and his fellow umpire Billy Doctrove, a black West Indian.
   Hair had claimed he was a victim of racial discrimination because, while he has not been allowed to officiate in Tests since the incident, Doctrove has been able to continue his top-level career.
   Pending the conclusion of his rehabilitation programme, Hair will continue to umpire matches just below Test level.
   ICC president Ray Mali welcomed the move and said: ‘We are pleased the issue has been resolved. We had no option but to defend these serious allegations.’
   The ICC will however have been relieved to have avoided the risk of an adverse judgement that would have been hugely embarrassing.
   Hair’s solicitor, Paul Gilbert, said his client had no regrets about bringing the case and said he was pleased that the ICC would now look at the possibility of restoring Hair to the ranks of Test match umpires.
   ‘This is really about getting back to umpiring top cricket matches,’ Gilbert said. ‘Darrell feels relieved and glad it’s all over, and he does feel this is in the best interests of all parties.
   ‘What we have now is a future for Darrell that leads to the possibility of his return to top-level umpiring.’
   Over the coming six months Hair will umpire in ICC associate matches and possibly help train younger officials before a recommendation is made as to his future by ICC officials led by David Richardson, the general manager.
   This will ultimately be determined by the full ICC Board.
   Although his contract expires next March, Hair will remain as an ICC employee for at least 12 months after that, as that is the length of notice of dismissal he has to be given under his contract.
   Hair left the tribunal without making any comment and will return to his native Australia at the weekend.

Young England paceman Stuart Broad has come back strongly against Sri Lanka in the one-day series after becoming the fourth bowler in history to be smashed for six sixes in an over.
   The 21-year-old played a big role in England’s tense two-wicket win over the hosts at Dambulla on Sunday, scoring an unbeaten 20 on a difficult track to help his side chase a 164-run target for a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
   Broad’s gutsy performance came just two weeks after he was hit for six sixes in an over by Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh in a World Twenty20 match at Durban in South Africa.
   ‘It was obviously not a pleasant experience, but I didn’t lose any sleep over it. It happened. I can’t get away from that, but I think I’ve come back pretty strongly,’ Broad said.
   ‘I could have bowled better. I bowled a poor over, to be fair, but my variations are something I can work on. It was quite nice coming to Sri Lanka straightaway, and I could focus on my practice for 50-over cricket.’
   Former West Indies skipper Garry Sobers, Indian all-rounder Ravi Shastri and South African Herschelle Gibbs are the other batsmen to have hammered six sixes in an over.
   Many would have found it difficult to recover from such a mauling, but Broad was made of a sterner stuff. He bounced back quickly to play a key role with both ball and bat in his very next tournament.
   Broad, son of former England batsman Chris Broad, has so far grabbed six wickets in three games on low, slow Sri Lankan pitches, and contributed vital runs as a lower-order batsman.
   Broad said he was unlikely to be the last bowler to concede six sixes in an over in the Twenty20 game.
   ‘Twenty20 gives batsmen a real freedom and I’m sure it will happen again in the future. I was the bowler it happened to in this World Cup, but I’m sure it will happen again,’ said Broad.
   He said he was focused on the ongoing series and hoped to continue in the same vein to help England win.
   ‘In our team meetings it’s popped up a couple of times that we could be the first (England) side to win on the sub-continent for 20 years,’ he said.
   ‘It’s very exciting going into the next game knowing if we get our games 100 percent right, no matter what we’ll do, we’ll come away with a series win.’
   England’s last one-day series victory in the sub-continent came in Pakistan in 1986-87.
   The last two matches will be played here on Wednesday and Saturday.

Test captains Graeme Smith of South Africa and New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori will play in the official Indian Premier League next year, officials said on Tuesday.
   The Twenty20 league, to be organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in April, has also signed up South African opener Herschelle Gibbs and West Indian veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
   Pakistani batsman Mohammad Yousuf, who has also been associated with the breakaway Indian Cricket League bankrolled by Zee Telefilms, was among the players named by the IPL on Tuesday.
   Other new players in the official list are Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka, former Australian opener Justin Langer, Scott Styris of New Zealand and current South African internationals A.B. de Villiers, Ashwell Prince and Albie Morkel.
   The induction of the 11 new players takes the count of international cricketers joining the IPL to 22.
   Among the players named earlier were retired Australian greats Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and Sri Lankans Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya.
   ‘We had made a promise to the cricket-loving masses of India for some truly international class high-octane action through the Twenty20 format in the IPL,’ said BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi.
   ‘It is in line with this promise and philosophy that we have signed some of the best cricketing talent on display internationally, including over five players that have captained their respective countries.
   ‘We are in talks with some very promising talent and should shortly be making some further announcements.’
   The IPL league in April offers three million dollars in prize money and will have eight teams to be bought by franchisees.
   The top two sides will qualify for the international Champions Twenty20 League to be played at an yet undecided venue in October next year.
   Teams could include up to four internationals besides domestic players and local youngsters.
   South African Smith said he was looking forward to playing in the Indian Twenty20 competition.
   ‘The outpouring of emotions when India lifted the inaugural World Twenty20 Championship is the stuff legends are made of and as a cricketer I have always loved the passion and enthusiasm of the cricket loving public of India,’ Smith said in a statement.
   ‘T20 cricket is an exciting new format which should further spread the appeal of the game and the success of the World Championship proves that it is here to stay.’

The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Tuesday floated a tender to sell the sponsorship rights of the national team for the next two years. The tender schedule will be available from October 11.
   The BCB hoped to open the tender at the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel on November 5 between 11:00am to 1:00pm. A floor price will be announced on October 29 at the Board’s corporate office at the Navana Tower.
   The sponsorship rights excluded beverages, branded bottled drinking water, internet service provider and sports wear manufacturers, said the BCB.
   Grameenphone, the leading cellular company in the market, sponsored the national team for the last three years. Their contract with the BCB ended in June only to be extended for the time being due to the Sri Lanka tour of the national team.
   AB Bank sponsored the team during last month’s ICC Twenty20 World Cup.

Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will not be risked in the remaining two one-day games against England as he is still struggling with a biceps injury.
   Muralitharan’s manager Kushil Gunasekera said: ‘He has just started to bowl and is testing his injury out.
   ‘He wants to be sure before he makes a decision to play and the one-day games against England are out, but he is targeting November’s Australia tour.’

Paul Collingwood has set his sights on sealing a first one-day series triumph for England in Sri Lanka by winning today’s fourth game in Colombo.
   The captain was passed fit after a precautionary scan on his shoulder.
   ‘It’s nothing more than a niggle, and I can’t wait for the game. I’m hitting the ball well and desperate to get on the park,’ Collingwood told BBC Sport.
   ‘We’re 2-1 up, have a chance to achieve something massive here and take the series home with us. It’s exciting.’
   Collingwood hurt his right shoulder in the first match of the series, which they lost by 119 runs, but the tourists learned from that by winning the next two games on similarly slow pitches in Dambulla.
   They will go into the fourth instalment at the Premadasa Stadium in good heart as they look to clinch their first one-day series success on the subcontinent since winning in Pakistan in 1986-87.

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni has said Alessandro Del Piero’s age played a part in his decision not to pick the World Cup winner in the squad for Saturday’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Georgia.
   The omission of Del Piero, 33 next month, was on the cards after he was left out of last month’s 2-1 win in Ukraine following a lacklustre performance in the 0-0 draw with France.
   He has since said he only wanted to play for Italy as a striker rather than a winger where he is often employed.
   ‘It is difficult to leave anyone at home, not just Del Piero. Certainly he must show he is in condition like all the players,’ Donadoni told reporters at Italy’s training base outside Florence.
   ‘At 33 years old it is harder than at 27 to manage certain things but my choices are not personal. I take into account the balance of a group of 20 players.’
   The Juventus captain, whose contract talks have stalled, started Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Fiorentina on the bench. Italian football federation chief Giancarlo Abete said Del Piero’s omission did not mean the end of his Italy career.
    ‘Italian football must be grateful to Del Piero for what he has given to the national team and Juventus. But one missed call-up does nothing to his career,’ Abete told reporters.
   ‘His bitterness is understandable but it is not a definitive end. What counts is not a single person but the worth of the team. The federation has faith in the coach’s decision.’
   AC Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi 34, was also left out of the squad for the game in Genoa in a more surprising move.
   Inzaghi struggled against France too and was dropped for the Ukraine game but he has been Italy’s saviour many times, including two goals in the 2-1 win in the Faroes in June which saved the world champions from immense embarrassment.
   ‘It is a problem for everybody. There are many players over 30 years of age and other nations are having difficulties intregrating fresh blood. Generational change will be an issue for the next few years,’ Abete added.
   After nine games Italy are second in Group B with 20 points, one behind leaders Scotland and one ahead of France.
   Juve striker Vincenzo Iaquinta, who started in place of Del Piero on Sunday, has a swollen knee but may be fit for Saturday.

John Toshack has warned Rafa Benitez: Your team rotations are putting you in danger.
   Liverpool legend Toshack reckons the Kop chief’s constant tinkering is angering the fans and testing the patience of the club’s top brass.
   He also fears Benitez is becoming increasingly isolated at Anfield and that his highly controversial policy of continually changing his line-ups is both weakening Liverpool’s trophy challenge and leaving the Spaniard vulnerable.
   Toshack, now Wales manager, told The Sun: ‘I really hope Rafa knows what he’s doing, as it’s clear people at Liverpool are starting to get a bit nervous.
   ‘His constant choice of rotating the squad is really angering the fans and, within the club, I think there is a good deal of confusion right now.
   ‘Having spent a very significant amount of money on around 40 players in just over three years, I hope Rafa hasn’t bitten off more than he can chew.
   ‘The evident danger is that, with so many footballers now in the first-team squad at Liverpool, it’s very tough indeed to keep everyone sufficiently happy.
   ‘But, more importantly, it’s the case that if you change the team so regularly then the players simply don’t have time to gel together on the pitch.’
   Coming from a player who spanned the Bob Shankly and Bob Paisley eras, it is this last criticism which will be felt most sharply by the Merseysiders.
   Liverpool’s indomitable team spirit was a hallmark of the great teams of the 70s and 80s, when 11 league titles were won.
   Benitez was judged to have restored that Anfield glory after the remarkable back-from-the-dead Champions League victory over AC Milan in Istanbul in May 2005.
   But now, in Toshack’s view, the Benitez effect is becoming a negative instead of a positive.
   He believes the Spaniard will feel increasingly isolated and vulnerable unless he accepts the growing demand from around the club that his team selections need to show more consistency.
   The Reds’ current form of only one win in their last six Premier and Champions League matches is not what the supporters want to see.
   And Toshack added: ‘I guess by now Rafa must even be beginning to doubt the truth of the Liverpool anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
   ‘Two of his closest assistants, Pako Ayestaran and Jose Ochotorena, have left and things are not as they once were for him.
   ‘It’s a hard fact that there is a long way to go in the Premier League and the title looks like a three-way battle between Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
   ‘Time will be the judge of what is happening right now.’
   At least Xabi Alonso and Daniel Agger are ready to give Liverpool a double derby boost by returning at Goodison Park on Saturday week.
   Both fell victim to broken metatarsals last month and have missed the last six games, as the Reds have suffered that dramatic dip in form.
   Yet the pair are back in training and hope to make their comebacks against their local rivals after the international break.
   Midfield star Alonso suffered his initial problem at Portsmouth and had a recurrence training for the Champions League game in Porto three days later. Centre-back Agger had complained of soreness in his ankle for some time, which finally forced him on to the sidelines less than half an hour into Denmark’s Euro qualifying win over Liechtenstein last month.
   Initial fears were both could be out for six weeks.
   Yet they have made such good progress, they could now give boss Benitez a timely boost for the Everton showdown.

Steven Gerrard took some of the heat off under-fire Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez on Monday by reassuring worried fans over his side’s recent faltering form and telling them: ‘Trust me — there’s no crisis.’
   The Anfield skipper spoke out on Benitez’s behalf after Liverpool had to rely on an injury-time equaliser from Fernando Torres against Tottenham on Sunday to avoid a second morale-sapping home defeat in four days.
   Criticism was still ringing in their ears from a lacklustre goalless draw with Birmingham and sorry Champions League showing against Marseille and would have intensified but for Torres’ late leveller.
   There were still misgivings over the way Liverpool have suddenly looked vulnerable at Anfield, but Gerrard said: ‘I’m asking the fans to trust me when I say there is no crisis here.
   ‘We have fantastic players and a world-class manager, and we will get things right again. There’s no doubt about that.
   ‘It’s true we haven’t been ourselves of late. Results haven’t been good, and the performances could have been better. But all the top teams go through a dip in form at some stage, and we just have to make sure we play our way through it.
   ‘We are not performing to the standard we are capable of, but I can assure the fans that will change. We have got an international break now, and that will give Rafa the chance to look at things and work with the players who are staying behind.
   ‘For those of us going away, we’ve got to get the jobs done with our countries, then come back ready for a massive match at Everton. If we can win the derby and turn in the right performance, things will be looking better again. That has to be the aim.’
   Steve Finnan also believes the lunchtime showdown at Goodison Park a week on Saturday could help Liverpool recapture the form that led to them being Premier League front-runners earlier in the season.
   ‘It was a relief to rescue a point so late on and important that it kept us unbeaten in the league,’ the full back said. ‘We’ve got some big games coming up, starting with the derby, and it is up to us to get back to the form we were showing at the start of the season.’
   As Benitez analysed his side’s recent failings, he was cheered by news that centre back Daniel Agger and midfielder Xabi Alonso could be fit to return against Everton.

AC Milan’s lawyer Leandro Cantamessa believes goalkeeper Dida could receive a ‘light punishment’ from UEFA for his reaction to being struck by a Celtic fan at Parkhead last week.
   UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary Body will review the actions of both Dida and Milan at a hearing on Thursday and although Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani anticipates the club will avoid sanction by European football’s governing body, Cantamessa fears Dida may incur a personal punishment for his antics.
   Cantamessa said: ‘I believe this inquiry is a formality and I don’t expect a punishment for Milan, perhaps a light punishment for Dida.
   ‘You must not forget the emotional situation for the player as he had just conceded a goal and he saw an unknown person come towards him.
   ‘Let’s not forget what happened to Dida in the Milan derby when he was hit by a firework.’
   The incident came in the aftermath of Scott McDonald’s last-minute winner for the Scottish side in the Champions League clash in Glasgow last Wednesday.
   The fan, 27-year-old Robert McHendry, made contact with Dida, who briefly gave chase before theatrically collapsing to the ground.
   After treatment, the Brazilian was carried off on a stretcher with an ice pack on his face.
   Cantamessa also defended the actions of Milan’s medical staff, who opted to use a stretcher to remove the goalkeeper from the field.
   ‘The player had a headache,’ Cantamessa continued.
   ‘What could the doctor have done if he didn’t see what actually happened? Any doctor would have asked for the player to be stretchered off.
   ‘At that time with those symptoms you don’t know what could have happened to Dida.’
   Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has also waded into the controversy, pleading that Dida should not be heavily punished for his antics.
   ‘Perhaps he was confused and he did something which one minute later he regretted - do not crucify him for it,’ he said.

Henk Ten Cate’s imminent appointment at Chelsea is expected to spark a string of high-profile Dutch signings, beginning with the capture of Ajax striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and ending with the arrival of Frank Rijkaard as manager.
   Ajax have given Ten Cate permission to talk to Chelsea and he should be in place as assistant to Avram Grant before the end of the international break.
   But according to sources in Holland, Ten Cate is the first part of a grand Chelsea plan that will conclude with Rijkaard moving from Barcelona to Stamford Bridge next summer.
   Huntelaar, the highly-rated Holland star who turned down the chance to move to Manchester United last summer for £14million after deciding he wanted to spend one more season in Holland, could become a Chelsea player in the January transfer window.
   The 24-year-old scored 21 goals in 32 league games for Ajax last season and his arrival at Chelsea is sure to lead to Andriy Shevchenko’s departure, with Inter Milan the most likely destination for the troubled Ukrainian.
   Well-placed sources in Holland believe Rijkaard will then follow. ‘It is an open secret in Holland that this is Rijkaard’s last season at Barcelona,’ said one insider.
   ‘He will move to Chelsea as coach, with Henk Ten Cate as his assistant and Grant back as director of football.’
   Rijkaard and Ten Cate worked successfully together at the Nou Camp and earned the admiration of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. Ten Cate has revealed to friends how he and Rijkaard once met Abramovich and were complimented for their style of football.
   While Chelsea continue to insist Grant is a longterm appointment, it now seems highly unlikely that he will remain manager after this season.
   As Jurgen Klinsmann revealed in an interview, Grant was a member of a Chelsea party that approached him last season to succeed Jose Mourinho as manager.
   Grant was still at Portsmouth at the time, but was presented to the ex-Germany coach as the club’s soon-to-be-appointed director of football and that still seems to be the role Abramovich has in mind for him.
   Rijkaard’s arrival could even make it easier to lure Ronaldinho to Stamford Bridge. Reports in Spain claim the Brazil superstar is dating Rijkaard’s daughter Lindsay.

FIFA’s newly formed Ethics Committee is to be given a role in future World Cup bidding procedures, according to a statement by the committee’s chairman Sebastian Coe.
   Following a meeting with FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Zurich on Tuesday, Coe said the committee would ‘discuss its role in the bidding process for the 2018 FIFA World Cup’ when it holds its first working meeting in December.
   The statement, published on FIFA’s web site (www.fifa.org), gave no further details as to the precise role of the Ethics Committee in the bidding process.
   No timeframe has yet been set for the 2018 World Cup bids with FIFA’s Executive Committee yet to decide if it will stick with its current practice of rotating World Cups by continent.
   Coe said the committee would also take a decision over ‘irregularities’ in the selection of Kenyan match officials for FIFA’s 2007 list of international referees.
   The controversial settlement reached with former secretary general Urs Linsi will not be on the agenda however.
   Switzerland’s SonntagsZeitung newspaper last month claimed that Linsi had received a payout of around eight million Swiss Francs from FIFA after managing to secure an eight-year renewal of his contract shortly before his dismissal.
   According to Tuesday’s statement, the issue was only ‘touched upon’ during Tuesday’s meeting and would instead
   be taken up by FIFA’s exe- cutive committee at the end of October.
   FIFA’s Ethics Committee was formed in September 2006 following the executive committee’s approval of a new Code of Ethics.
   Its only previous official meeting came shortly after the committee was founded and did not examine any specific cases.

England are unconcerned about playing next week’s crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Russia on the artificial surface in the Luzhniki Stadium, the Football Association said on Tuesday.
   Media reports suggested that the Russian Football Federation had changed their minds about upgrading the surface for the October 17 match to maximise home advantage in a match they have to win.
   However, an FA source said England coach Steve McClaren and his staff had ‘no reservations about playing on the surface’.
   ‘We have sent two delegations to Moscow to see the pitch and we’ve done out homework,’ an FA spokesman said. ‘It’s not an issue as far as we are concerned.
   ‘For now the team is purely focused on the Estonia game at Wembley on Saturday.’
   The FA have two virtually identical pitches for the players to train on before departing for the Russian capital. One is at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground while the other is at a school in Altrincham in the north of England.
   ‘The one at Altrincham is identical to the one in Moscow and the players will use it on the Monday,’ the FA said.
   Russia’s federation have denied that there was ever a formal decision to upgrade the pitch despite a spokesman for Fieldturf, who installed the surface, saying they had on a BBC television programme Inside Sport on Monday.

Frank Lampard insists he will not forget what Jose Mourinho did for him at Chelsea.
   The midfielder’s reputation was greatly enhanced under Mourinho and he was disappointed with the recent regime change. The 29-year-old, who has adopted a pragmatic approach to life under new boss Avram Grant, said: ‘We all understand what the previous manager did for us and I especially understand what he did for me personally, but you continue playing for Chelsea and that is what I will do.’ Lampard, who returned in Sunday’s 1-0 win at Bolton after six weeks out with a thigh injury, is concerned that the side are only seventh in the League and warned two wins in the last week does not mean they have turned a corner.
   ‘At a club like Chelsea it is no good getting too excited by one or two results,’ he said. ‘We need to be up there and that is what we have done for the last three seasons. ‘It has to be possible to mount a title charge because we are Chelsea. We can’t talk about trying to get in the top four, we have to talk about winning titles.’

France striker Louis Saha will miss Euro 2008 qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania with a knee injury, the French Federation (FFF) said on Tuesday.
   Saha has left France’s training camp in Clairefontaine and will not be replaced in the squad, said FFF spokesman Yann Le Guillard.

Habibur Rahman, the father of Tabibur Rahman Masum, the general-secretary of Bangladesh Sports Association Rajshahi branch, died on Monday. He was 65.
   Rahman is survived by his wife, three sons and two daughters. The BSWA condoled the death of Rahman and prayed for the salvation of the departed soul.

South Africa Tuesday made four changes to their Test squad for the five-match one-day series against Pakistan starting later this month.
   Ashwell Prince, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn and Paul Harris will return home to make way for vice-captain Justin Kemp, Albie Morkel, Johan Botha and Charl Langeveldt after the two-Test series which finishes here on Friday.
   The first of the five one-day matches will be played here on October 18. The second match will also be played in Lahore two days later.
   The remaining matches are scheduled for Faisalabad (October 23), Multan (October 26) and Karachi (October 29).
   Squad: Graeme Smith (captain), Justin Kemp (vice capt), Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Albie Morkel, Jacques Kallis, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Vernon Philander, Johan Botha, Charl Langeveldt.

Uncappped Subramaniam Badrinath will step in for the injured Gautam Gambhir as India bid to draw level with Australia in the ongoing one-day series.
   Gambhir missed Monday’s fourth match in Chandigarh—which India won by eight runs to make it 1-2 — due to a groin strain and will miss the remaining three games.
   Badrinath, a prolific right-hand batsman in domestic cricket, was called up to join the Indian squad for the fifth match to be played in Vadodara on Thursday.
   The 27-year-old, who has yet to play a Test or one-day international, hit a double-century for India ‘A’ in the recent home series against the South African second-string.
   ‘It’s a dream come true,’ said Badrinath, who is currently playing for the Rest of India in the five-day Irani Cup fixture against national champions Mumbai in Rajkot.
   ‘Playing for India has been a childhood dream for me and I am delighted that I am close to achieving that now.’
   The Indian team for the last two matches in Nagpur (October 14) and Mumbai (Oct 17) will be named after the Vadodara game.

New Zealand pace bowler Kyle Mills has been ruled out of the Test squad to play South Africa next month because of a calf strain.
   Mills, who was returning to the national side for the first time since surgery for a knee injury in January, will be replaced by Iain O’Brien, Cricket New Zealand said Tuesday.
   ‘The selectors are not satisfied that Kyle will be fit enough to leave with the Test team next week and decided today to remove him from the Test section of the tour,’ New Zealand team manager Lindsay Crocker said.

England manager Steve McClaren has called for his players to dish up a repeat dose of last month’s back to back wins in next week’s Euro 2008 qualifiers against Russia and Estonia.
   After a troubled start to his time in charge of England McClaren is finally experiencing a sense of unity as England’s Euro 2008 qualifying campaign reaches its climax.
   Certainly, there were no complaints from the home fans last month as McClaren’s men recorded back-to-back three-goal wins over Israel and major Group E rivals Russia.
   Those victories mean England now occupy pole position in their bid to accompany likely table-toppers Croatia into next summer’s finals.
   But McClaren is eager to ensure the momentum is not lost on Saturday when Estonia head to Wembley for a contest which should provide the ideal confidence boost ahead of the trip to Moscow four days later for a re-match with Guus Hiddink’s Russia that will probably determine England’s fate.
   ‘Before the Israel game I called for everyone to push together on behalf of the team,’ said McClaren.
   ‘The reaction was amazing and the atmosphere transmitted itself over to the players, so we ended up with a performance everyone wanted.
   ‘Those last two wins have put us in an excellent position. But the job is still to be completed, which is why the fans must realise they have such an important role to play this weekend.’
   McClaren has already hinted at changes for Estonia’s visit as he looks to ensure his strongest possible side is available for the Moscow adventure.
   Skipper John Terry, central defensive partner Rio Ferdinand and Chelsea duo Joe and Ashley Cole are most at risk given they are a caution away from suspension.
   Michael Owen and Frank Lampard both played for their clubs at the weekend and will need to have their fitness assessed before McClaren finalises his line-up.
   Yet the former Middlesbrough boss is acutely aware he cannot risk an unexpected slip-up against an Estonia side whose only point - with the exception of a win over Andorra - came against Macedonia, a team England failed to beat on home soil 12 months ago.
   ‘Russia is the make-or-break game for us but sometimes you can be too clever with yourself,’ said McClaren.
   ‘You should go into every game respecting your opponents and realising you are never going to get an easy game.
   ‘Ask any of the managers whose teams were playing in Europe this week and they will tell you exactly the same thing.
   ‘They might play clubs they have never heard of, who they think they should beat, and still have difficult games against them. I know that because I have experienced it myself.
   ‘If you go into any game not respecting your opponent or not taking them seriously, you are going to be in trouble.
   ‘Estonia are a tough, organised team who will play with a dogged determination to keep us out.’
   McClaren will be without strikers Dean Ashton and Andy Johnson, who miss out with respective knee and ankle problems.
   West Ham striker Ashton said: ‘It’s frustrating but there are plenty of players with the same sort of luck and I’m not going to get too down about it.
   ‘It is part of the game and one of those things.’

French striker Nicolas Anelka said an upset of UEFA Cup favourites Bayern Munich by Bolton would put the Premiership club on the map as a European force, following Tuesday’s group stage draw.
   Bayern Munich, who have had a continual presence in the Champions League for a decade and a half, are in the second-tier UEFA Cup this time and would look a tough draw but Anelka saw the positive side of playing the German giants.
   Anelka told the Bolton club website they had nothing to lose when they go to Munich next month: ‘I would love to go there and upset the world of football by winning. It would put Bolton on the map in terms of being a European force.
   ‘Bayern Munich are the best team in the competition and will give us a great test in Munich. I have played at the old Olympic Stadium many times and the atmosphere is amazing.
   ‘The new Allianz Arena, where they play now, is one of the best stadiums in the world. I haven’t played there before but I’m looking forward to it. Bayern have some great players that will be a threat to us.
   ‘My international team-mate Franck Ribery joined them from Marseille this season and he is a great talent, who has the ability to change a game.’
   In Group F, Bolton have home games against Portugal’s Braga and Greeks Aris Salonika before trips to Bayern Munich and Red Star Belgrade, who won the competition in 1991.
   ‘The match against Red Star will be very intimidating,’ Anelka added. ‘They always seem to raise their game in European competition and their fanatical fans are always very passionate at home.
   It will be a great atmosphere in Belgrade and one that the Bolton fans will look forward to.’
   Meanwhile Tottenham Hotspurs have been drawn against Belgians Anderlecht, the team they beat in the 1984 final, in Group G while Everton are up against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in Group A.
   In Group B, Scotland’s Aberdeen meet Greeks Panathinaikos and Atletico Madrid.
   Each team will play two matches at home and two away with the group stage starting on 25 October and the top three of the five go through.
   They will be joined by eight third-placed teams from the Champions League groups for the knockout round.

English Premiership leaders Arsenal launched a Chinese-language website here on Tuesday in a bid to widen the club’s global fan base and increase its support in the world’s most populous country.
   Manager Arsene Wenger said he hoped the new site, http: //arsenal.tom.com, would turn ‘all’ of China’s 1.3 billion people into avid fans of the Gunners, who are unbeaten after eight league games.
   ‘Of course you now have the largest population in the world and we would like to make them all Arsenal fans,’ Wenger said in a video message to the website launch ceremony here.
   Arsenal are following in the footsteps of Chelsea, who opened a similar site earlier this year, and reigning champions Manchester United, who are also keen to boost their profile in China.
   United toured Asia in July and played two matches in China while and Chelsea are set to tour China next year.
   Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman signed the joint venture agreement here under which Tom.Com hosts the website, will match the content of the club’s English site. China’s leading sports newspaper Titan Sports Weekly will oversee the Chinese content.
   Edelman said Arsenal expected to double its Chinese fan base within the next two years.
   ‘We know we have about 50 million fans in the world who support Arsenal and we believe that about four million of them would sit in China,’ he said.
   ‘But we hope that with these new venues with Tom.com and Titan Sports that we should be more than doubling that figure over the next 12 months, 24 months.’
   However Edelman said the club had no plans for the moment to match Chelsea and Manchester United with a pre-season Asian tour.
   He said, however, that the Londoners were working on joint ventures in China along similar lines to the club’s work in Thailand and Vietnam, where Arsenal run football clinics for local youths.
   ‘We believe we will make a significant contribution to football in those countries as we hope to do in China,’ Edelman said.
   ‘We are very excited about today and we’re very excited about the future in China.’
   Chelsea set up a partnership with Sina.com, one of China’s top portals, in January for a China-hosted Internet site.
   The club is investing two million dollars a year to help finance training for Chinese leagues, and develop professional club management, marketing strategies and sports medicine.

England captain John Terry is determined to line up for his country against Estonia on Saturday.
   Steve McClaren may decide to rest the Chelsea defender, who is one booking away from a suspension, to make sure he is available for the second Euro 2008 qualifier in this international break against Russia in Moscow a week on Wednesday.
   Terry, who wore a protective mask in his last two games for Chelsea after suffering a fractured cheekbone, insists he is ready for action.
   He told the Daily Express: ‘My body is holding up fine. I am just delighted to be out there. I will do my best to make sure I am fit to be there week in, week out.
   ‘We will have a chat, but it is all about England and what is best and right for the team, whether it is me, Rio (Ferdinand), Ashley (Cole) or Joe (Cole). We are all on bookings.’
   England midfielder David Bentley stands by his decision to withdraw from the under-21 squad for the European Championships in the summer, insisting he feels ‘fresh and fit’.
   ‘I only made the decision I made for the benefit of my football career.
   ‘By making that decision I wanted to make sure I was in the best condition possible to play in the Premier League or the highest level.
   ‘And I’m feeling fit. That is what you want at this stage of the season - to be fresh and fit.’
   The Blackburn player has also revealed his opposition to FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s plans to introduce a quota system to limit the number of foreign players per team.
   ‘You hear people moaning about the detriment of
   foreign players to the English game,’ Bentley told the Daily Express.
   ‘But all the players coming in has made it better. It has made the level of performances better, so English players are better footballers.
   ‘You don’t want 100 average English players in the Pre-
   mier League, you want 30 brilliant ones. I believe the talent has gone up and I am part of that.’

John O’Shea has hailed his Manchester United team-mates Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic as the best central defensive partnership in Europe.
   United have kept clean sheets in their last six consecutive league games, and have conceded only two goals in eight Barclays Premier League matches - both away from home - and none in Europe.
   One more clean sheet, at Aston Villa on October 20, will mean the team equal a club record of seven set way back in 1924 in the old second division.
   O’Shea said: ‘It’s a pretty happy camp at the moment, especially with the defensive situation with the clean sheets.
   ‘Rio and Nemanja are definitely a major factor to it - you cannot ask for two better central defenders in Europe, in my opinion.
   ‘I hope they will stay clear of injury because they have been a major influence on keeping the clean sheets.’
   Vidic had to be substituted because of concussion during Saturday’s 4-0 win over Wigan. But that was mainly as a precaution, and there are suggestions that the Serbian defender is in line to be given a new contract.
   United do not normally hand out new deals until 12 months before a player’s contract expires - but such has been Vidic’s impact they may make a special case for him.
   As O’Shea made clear, Vidic also gives opponents a headache at the other end of the pitch.
   ‘Nemanja is big goal threat as well,’ he said.
   ‘You know if the ball is going towards him when he makes a run there’s a good chance of it being a goal. Other teams are picking up on that now, and he’s becoming really tightly marked.’
   O’Shea has been filling in at right-back for the injured Wes Brown - and the Republic of Ireland international says there is huge pride in the back four and the goalkeeper when they stop opponents scoring.
   ‘For a defender, keeping a clean sheet is like a striker scoring a couple of goals,’ he reasons.
   ‘With the attacking quality we have, we know if we keep a clean sheet then nine times out of 10 we are going to win the game.
   ‘We hope we can keep it going. Gary Neville will be back soon - and with the games we have coming up in the Champions League and the Premier League, we need his kind of experience.
   ‘The top teams are gathering pace now - and Arsenal, in particular, look very tasty at the minute.’

Germany’s main Jewish group has criticised the decision of an Iranian-born German international footballer to refuse to play in Israel for political reasons.
   Ashkan Dejagah, 21, said he feared his family in Iran would be a target for reprisals if he played against Israel in an under-21 international match in Tel Aviv on October 12.
   The German Football Federation said it had ‘accepted’ the ‘personal’ reasons given by Dejagah, a talented striker who is believed to have a good chance of making the step up to the senior German squad.
   The leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Charlotte Knobloch, said she hoped Dejagah would now be banned from German national teams.
   Dejagah is ‘behaving in an extremely unsporting way because sporting contests are supposed to be peaceful, carried out with respect and overcome political tensions,’ Knobloch said.
   ‘In view of Germany’s historical responsibility to maintain friendly relations with the Jewish state, it would be a great affront to tolerate this anti-Israeli behaviour in silence.
   ‘I therefore expect the DFB to ban the player from the German national side.’
   DFB president Theo Zwanziger said the under-21 team’s coach, Dieter Eilts, had told him he had accepted Dejagah’s ‘personal reasons’ for refusing to make the trip to Israel.
   But he said the basic position of the German federation was clear: ‘We cannot accept that players refuse to play in a match because of their view of the world or their religion.’
   Zwanziger said in Tuesday’s edition of Bild newspaper: ‘Whoever wears our (German national) shirt must identify with the country and its basic values.
   ‘Otherwise one must do without them.’
   Dejagah told the BZ tabloid: ‘I have more Iranian than German blood in my veins, that must be accepted.
   ‘I am doing this out of respect. At the end of the day, my parents are Iranians.’
   Iran does not recognise Israel’s right to exist and
   Iranian President President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the country to be wiped off the map.

Manchester United are preparing to offer new contracts to at least six senior players as Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager, seeks to retain a strong supporting cast around the big names who form the nucleus of his team.
   United have already held preliminary discussions over new deals to extend the careers of Edwin van der Sar, the goalkeeper, who is undecided about his future, and Ryan Giggs for another year, but they are also discussing new deals for Wes Brown, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, John O’Shea and Ben Foster, the 24-year-old goalkeeper, who has yet to make his debut for the club.
   In the cases of Evra and Vidic, the new contracts are designed to reward them for the progress they have made since joining the club in January 2006, with their basic wage
   due to climb to approximately £55,000 a week.
   Negotiations with Vidic may be accelerated by the head injury that will keep him out of Serbia’s European Championship qualifying matches against Armenia and Azerbaijan, but talks with Federico Pastorello, Evra’s agent, are another priority as he was offered only a 3½year contract when he joined United from AS Monaco.
   Brown is another top priority with less than eight months remaining on his contract, although both Ferguson and David Gill, the chief executive, are confident that he will sign a new deal.
   A similar thought process applies to Van der Sar and Giggs, whose contracts
   also expire at the end of this season.
   Van der Sar, who will be 37 this month, is expected to stay with United if he decides to continue playing next season, while Giggs, who will be 34 next month, is firmly expected to accept any opportunity to stay at Old Trafford.
   Ferguson is also preoccupied with the task of farming out some of United’s younger players following the club’s elimination from the Carling Cup.
   Lee Martin, the winger, joined Plymouth Argyle on a three-month loan last week
   and Darron Gibson, the
   Ireland midfield player, is expected to join Wolverhampton Wanderers on a similar basis.
   It is not yet clear whether Dong Fangzhuo, the China forward, will be among the loanees as the club ponder ways to advance his education.

Thousands of fans stood in rain for more than five hours on Monday to buy tickets for next week’s Euro 2008 qualifier between Russia and England.
   The demand for tickets has been unprecedented, with the Russian FA receiving more than 500,000 requests for the October 17 encounter in Moscow that is likely to decide the outcome of a tight Group E.
   Because of the security arrangements, only 74,000 seats have been made available at the 84,000 Luzhniki Stadium.
   But with most tickets being distributed through clubs and organisations, only about 6,500 went on sale on Monday morning.
   Witnesses reported that some 70,000 people lined the 1.5-km route from the nearest subway station to Luzhniki, with almost 1,500 riot police making sure there was no trouble.
   ‘We’ve been here from five in the morning,’ one lucky fan, who had bought four tickets for 1,600 roubles ($64), was quoted as saying by the daily Izvestia.
   ‘The metro wasn’t even working, so we had to take a car to get here. It was raining all morning and we are soaked to our skin but it was all worth it.’
   A spokesman for the Russian FA said: ‘This will be the biggest game Moscow has seen in over a decade.
   Much bigger than (the 1998 World Cup playoff) against Italy or (the Euro 2000 qualifier) against Ukraine.’

Several Spanish clubs have complained over non-payment of fees for television broadcasts of matches, the result of a cutthroat battle between two media groups for control of the market, a Spanish business daily reported Tuesday.
   Six clubs in the first division and most of those in the second division have not been paid this month by AVS, a subsidiary of media giant Sogecable, which holds the broadcast rights, La Gaceta de los Negocios quoted sources close to the Spain’s professional football league (LFP) as saying.
   AVS said the non-payments were due to financial difficulties, the paper said.
   AVS holds the broadcast rights to matches for 12 first division clubs, including those of league leaders Real Madrid Barcelona.
   But for the past few months, Sogecable, which operates Canal Plus in Spain, and the Mediapro group have been locked in a battle to control television broadcast rights, which has at times led to the non-tranmission of certain matches.
   In July 2006, the two groups agreed that AVS could have broadcast rights. But Mediapro then negotiated with the clubs to hold those rights from 2009, excluding Sogecable from the profitable market.
   Since then each side has accused the other of failing to respect their commitments.
   The LFP is meanwhile attempting to resolve the conflict, La Gaceta said, but gave no further details.
   The first division clubs that have complained are Almeria, Osasuna, Recreativo Huelva, Majorca, Espanyol Barcelona and Valladolid.

Manchester City defender Micah Richards has revealed he hopes to play for his boyhood heroes Arsenal one day in the future.
   The 19-year-old centre-half has been superb for City in their flying start to life under Sven-Goran Eriksson and he has also performed well at right-back for England.
   Richards was born in Birmingham and grew up in Leeds but the north London side were his favourites as a child and his long-term goal is to be a Gunner. ‘I was a big Ian Wright fan when I was younger, so I supported Arsenal,’ he told Nuts magazine.
   ‘Wright and Patrick Vieira were my idols so yeah, if the opportunity came to play for them one day I’d take it.
   ‘But right now I’m concentrating on trying to keep City in the top half, and we’ve got the players to do it.’

Brazil and AC Milan’s Kaka, perhaps the best attacking midfielder in the world, is one of the favourites for December’s 2007 European Footballer of the Year award.
   The 25-year-old Kaka looks a top tip having starred in AC Milan’s run to the 2006/07 Champions League title.
   Few fans of Manchester United will forget Kaka’s opening goal in the semi-final, second leg at the San Siro, a low drive from 20 metres, which put the tie level at 3-3, but crucially left the Italians ahead on away goals.
   Milan went on to win 3-0, and 5-3 on aggregate, before going on to beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Athens final.
   Kaka plays in the style of a classic number 10 such as legends Pele, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane, whom so many youngsters dream of emulating.
   Kaka, born Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, comes from a comfortably off family in Sao Paulo, not from the slums which have produced so many top Brazilians, and aged just 20 played in his first World Cup in 2002 where Brazil won the title for the fifth time.
   At a young age, the diminutive Kaka had high hopes heaped on his shoulders with the Brazilian media saying he would emulate legendary playmakers such as Rivelino and Socrates and it was not a surprise when he joined European giants AC Milan in 2003.
   His talent was as obvious as the jokes about his name were numerous and he was a key component of AC Milan’s 2003/2004 Italian league winning team which finished 11 points ahead of AS Roma.
   Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi is famously said to have commented: ‘Kaka? We could never sign anyone with a name like that.’ Of course AC Milan had the last laugh and he went on to become one of the best players in Italy.
   He was part of the Brazilian dream team which, for them, did so disastrously to lose to France in the World Cup quarter-finals in 2006, to all appearances because of overconfidence.
   Although last season Kaka did not many goals in Serie A, he still managed to set up a lot of scores for his team-mates. However, his strike rate of 10 goals in 13 matches in the Champions League helped AC Milan avenge their defeat to Liverpool in the 2005 final.
   As his career has progressed, he has become more fluent in his movement, has continually improved technically and has generally got better and better in all departments.
   In an interview published just last week, AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi said that ‘there has never been any possibility’ that Milan would sell Kaka, who has been a target of Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon.
   Real Madrid offered AC Milan 90 million euros (123 million US dollars) for Kaka, Spanish sports daily Marca reported in the summer.
   Kaka, the highest earning footballer in Italy, ‘has never wanted to leave and I believe that he will never do so... Kaka is the symbol of Milan,’ Berlusconi added.
   And Kaka is the highest earning footballer in Italy with an annual salary of six million euros, according to a study published in the Gazzetta dello Sport.
   Milan, who have the biggest wages bill at 120 million euros a year, certainly have the financial muscle to handsomely pay for Kaka’s huge influence on the team.
   Kaka is contracted to them till 2011 when he will not even have reached 30 and the European footballer of the year award seems another inevitable honour for this remarkable footballer.

Carlos Tevez warned Arsenal that Manchester United are ready to regain pole position in the title race after claiming Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the Premier League.
   Tevez insists United can overhaul Arsenal from the top when the bitter rivals meet at the Emirates on Saturday, November 11.
   The Argentinian striker told the Daily Mirror: ‘Arsenal are the leaders in the table, but Manchester United should be favourites for the title and the Champions League.
   ‘I think we will show that and prove it to our opponents when we play them in the key matches this season.
   ‘United have special players and Cristiano Ronaldo is the best in the Premier League.
   ‘He is ideal, great and easy to play alongside because he provides assists and scores goals.
   ‘For a winger, he scores a lot of goals. Cristiano can score 20 goals in this league and, for me, that would not be a surprise.’
   Meanwhile Man United defender Patrice Evra believes just one defeat will open up the chinks in Arsenal’s armour.
   The Gunners have had an explosive start to the new season with seven wins and one draw.
   That has put them two points ahead of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand.
   But Old Trafford defender Evra believes there could be a fragility beneath.
   The French left-back told The Sun: ‘There is no doubt that Arsenal are a stronger side than they were last season.
   ‘But I don’t think we will know about this Arsenal team this season until they lose.
   ‘That’s the important time when you look to see how a team reacts. It is how you bounce back.
   ‘We know we can do it. We had a difficult start to the season but we have shown great strength and character and are winning now without conceding any goals.’
   Until Arsenal do slip-up, Evra knows United are going to have to keep winning every game to stay on their heels.
   But it is something they have been doing already. Since losing at Manchester City on August 19, United have won every Premier League game without letting in a goal. That is six successive league clean sheets and one more at Aston Villa on October 20 will match a club record dating back to 1924 when they were in the old Second Division.
   Evra said: ‘I have never played with two stronger centre-backs than Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
   ‘There is a lot of pride in our defensive record. We feel more and more confident with each game that we are not going to concede.’
   Boss Alex Ferguson believes the Ferdinand-Vidic combination at the heart of United’s defence is the best since Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister in the early 1980s.
   Pallister is certainly full of praise for the pair. He said: ‘The two of them look more and more confident with each game.
   ‘They can only get better as a partnership. Vidic defends like his life depends on it.
   ‘Rio has got that quality and class not only to defend but bring the ball out and start attacks.’
   United defender John O’Shea said: ‘You cannot ask for two better central defenders in Europe, in my opinion.
   ‘I hope they will stay clear of injury because they have been a major influence on the team keeping the clean sheets.
   ‘For a defender, keeping a clean sheet is like a striker scoring a couple of goals. With the attacking quality we have, we know if we keep a clean sheet then nine times out of 10 we are going to win the game.’
   While the season is not yet a quarter over, Evra believes the champions are already looking better than last term.
   He added: ‘We are stronger throughout the team than last season.
   ‘At the end of last season we were struggling with injuries and that was one of the reasons we lost in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
   ‘I think we have the strength not only to win the league this season but do better in that competition.’

On-form Lionel Messi arrived in Buenos Aires late on Monday in anticipation of Argentina’s match with Chile on Saturday.
   Lionel Messi flew into Buenos Aires on Monday with victory for the national team on his mind.
   While the young forward has been on form with Barcelona lately, he insisted that Argentina was now his primary concern.
   The albiceleste face Chile on Saturday, Messi remarking, ‘I’ve come here full of desire to play well and win.’
   The Rosario-born striker shared a flight with team-mate Gabriel Milito, as well as Atletico Madrid pair Maxi Rodriguez and Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero, whom he played against in Barca’s 3-0 weekend win.
   In addition to this Spain-based quartet, there is one other notable Argentinian making his way over from Iberia: Riquelme.
   The Villarreal playmaker is still frozen out at club level but national team coach Alfio Basile has called him up regardless.
   Messi supported the decision, saying, ‘He is a great addition in terms of everything that he means for the squad.’
   Lionel has 22 caps and 6 goals for Spain, while Riquelme, 9 years his senior, has 41, netting 13 times.
   Getafe goalkeepers Pato Abbondanzieri and Oscar Ustari, and defender Cata Diaz further expand the Liga contingent, along with Gabriel Heinze, Fernando Gago, and Javier Saviola of Real Madrid, and Jonas Gutierrez of Real Mallorca.
   Fabricio Coloccini of Deportivo La Coruna completes the set of 13 players, over half the current squad, to have come from Spain for the meeting with Chile.
   Meanwhile, Johan Cruyff believes that Lionel Messi will become a star because of his strong desire to be the best, praised Andres Iniesta and also criticised Atletico for their performance against Barca.
   In his weekly column for Catalan daily, El Periodico, the Dutch legend spelt out why the young Argentinian has what it takes to live up to the hype surrounding him.
   Messi has been the star for Barça in their last six matches and Cruyff thinks that his internal quest to continue improving is what is driving the player forward.
   ‘Leo has all the conditions to be a true star, but he also wants that and works for that,’ he said.
   ‘There are players that will work as hard as anyone, but they will never be extra special because that comes from inside. You can improve on things, but you cannot create that.
   As well as being impressed by Messi, the former Barca player and coach highlighted the performance of Andres Iniesta as he put in another strong performance in the defensive midfield role.
   ‘Iniesta should not be forgotten,’ he stated. ‘It is obvious that he is best employed further forward, nearer the opposition area. But the circumstances meant that he had to play further back as there was nobody else.
   ‘I do not know if ever panicked or was worried, but there are few players that can stand the pressure knowing that when one, two or three opponents close in any mistake could lead to a goal.
   ‘The best thing about Iniesta is that he has the ability to play anywhere on the pitch without being scared.’
   Reflecting on Barca’s performance against Atletico, Cruyff hit out the visitors for their attitude after falling behind thanks to a goalkeeping error.
   ‘It is no good saying ‘we have conceded a goal and we did not deserve to’. There are games where that happens every week in the league,’ he explained.
   ‘You have to bounce back, or continue playing in the same manner.
   ‘Atletico went from doing everything well to losing their positions and not going forward any longer. That is where Barca and Messi will kill you.
   ‘Sooner or later they will do that. Messi, in the form he is in, does not an excuse to finish off an opponent.
   ‘Barca played well overall throughout the 90 minutes. Maybe people prefer the way they played against Real Zaragoza, but I do not think games should be compared, nor the teams.
   ‘Every game tells its own story and Barca, who had some great moments and some not so good moments, continued playing in a style that had been missing before.’

Fans pour onto the streets, waving flags and honking car horns after the dramatic victory in the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup.
    The happiest person of all? It just might be France soccer coach Raymond Domenech.
   The rugby team’s upset of the mighty All Blacks has dominated news in France. And that means Domenech is left alone.
   Amid the rugby euphoria, people seem to have forgotten the soccer team’s stunning 1-0 loss at home to Scotland
   less than a month ago in a European Championship qualifying game.
   The defeat dropped France from first to third in its qualifying group.
   Only two teams in each group advance to the tournament next year in Austria and Switzerland.
   Domenech’s team has to win its next two games—against the Faeroe Islands on Saturday and Lithuania the following Wednesday—to edge closer to Scotland and Italy and stay ahead of fourth-place Ukraine.
   A glance at the sports pages in Paris on Monday and those games barely get a mention.
   When Domenech announced his lineup for the two games
   last week, he didn’t want to linger.
   ‘OK, we are going to do this very fast,’ he said. ‘I give you the names and everybody goes home. There will be no questions. You’re all focused on rugby for the moment.’
   While the rugby team plays against defending champion England before 80,000 fans at the Stade de France on Saturday, Les Bleus will play in the Faeroes capital of Torshavn before a few thousand of their own followers.
   After the loss to the Scots, Domenech decided to drop striker David Trezeguet for the two upcoming games, especially with Thierry Henry returning from suspension. Trezeguet has scored seven goals for his Italian club, Juventus, this season. He was recalled by Domenech for the Euro 2008 qualifying games against Italy and Scotland in which Les Bleus failed to score each time.
   ‘Trezeguet’s absence is related to the competition,’ Domenech said. ‘We have six or seven center forwards. There were choices to make.’
   If France struggles to score against the Faeroes, one of European soccer’s weakest nations, Domenech will take the heat.
   Trezeguet was critical of the tactics Domenech used against the Scots—not allowing his attacking midfielders to support him in the penalty area.
   He said he got better support at Juve.
   Appearing on a Canal Plus sports program and standing in front of a writing board, Trezeguet explained what was wrong.
   ‘When we are attacking, we have to be high on the pitch, where the spaces are shorter,’ he said, illustrating his arguments with a pen. ‘It’s then my job to take advantage of the others’ work.’
   If Henry and Nicolas Anelka don’t get the service their co-striker demanded, Trezeguet will be the first to make
   the point, and he won’t let
   the rugby team’s exploits stop him.
   When Domenech’s team takes on Lithuania in Nantes on October 17, the fate of the rugby team will be known.
   Either France will be playing in the rugby final October 20, or the host nation will be forced to watch the English play there instead.
   If the French are out of the Rugby World Cup, Domenech had better watch out. The soccer team will be back in the spotlight and he will have nowhere to hide.

Bollywood movie ‘Goal’ has tied up with Manchester United Football Club in the hope of scoring a major hit when it is released at the end of the month.
   Indian hunk John Abraham plays the role of a footballer inspired by the English Premier League champions.
   ‘It’s great to be associated with the Manchester United Club for our film,’ Abraham told Tuesday’s The Times of India. ‘I have been a die-hard soccer fan since childhood and I have been idolising Manchester United since then.’
   The movie’s director Vivek Agnihotri said it was the first time that the club would be associated with an Indian movie.
   ‘We have shot in (the) club premises which is also another first for any Indian movie,’ he said.
   The Times of India said England’s Wayne Rooney and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo will be among the United heroes featured in promotional clips for the movie.
   Bollywood bombshell Bipasha Basu, Abraham’s girlfriend, also stars in ‘Goal.’
   The story revolves around a club facing closure unless they start winning games.
   The manager takes his players to Manchester United, not to learn to sing and dance in traditional Bollywood style, but to seek inspiration.
   With India’s economy booming and new audiences being drawn to the cinema, Bollywood films are branching out into new fields.
   ‘Chak De India’ (Go India), a film based about hockey, proved a roaring success this year with superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the role of a disgraced player who turns the Indian women’s hockey team into world cup winners.

France midfielder Franck Ribery has reignited tensions between Les Bleus and Italy by declaring that the Azzurri won’t qualify for Euro 2008.
   Scotland are in pole position in Group B after a sensational triumph in France with Italy holding second place by a point.
   While Ribery’s side only have to face the Faroe Islands, Lithuania and Ukraine, Roberto Donadoni’s Italy have still to travel to Scotland on November 17.
   ‘Even now I’m not scared because I’m quite sure that it will be ourselves and Scotland who qualify from Group B in November,’ Ribery told The Daily Record.
   ‘Losing to Scotland was like a massive sucker punch to me. It is hard to digest and even harder to accept.
   ‘But as far as I am concerned unless the Scots totally screw it up for themselves then Italy are going out and we will go to the Euro with them.’
   Ribery’s comments are likely to be met with a lukewarm reception from the Italian camp, which didn’t respond to taunts from French players and Coach Raymond Domenech in September.

Ajax are unhappy with Henk ten Cate over his imminent move to Chelsea.
   Ten Cate is in talks with Chelsea about joining the club’s coaching staff after the Blues agreed a compensation deal with Ajax on Monday.
   The former Barcelona assistant manager is expected to seal his move to Stamford Bridge in the next few days where he is expected to work alongside Avram Grant.
   Ajax’s technical director Martin van Geel says the club are not happy at how the move for ten Cate has come about
   ‘Henk spoke with Chelsea a week last Thursday. The following Tuesday Henk approached the board and said he wanted to go to Chelsea,’ van Geel told The Sun.
   ‘Henk presented it to us as a fact and we didn’t have any choice.
   ‘We didn’t want to work with a coach who had his mind at Chelsea.
   ‘Things should have been done differently. I don’t want to say more.’

England’s Michael Owen is ready to defy Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce by passing himself fit for England’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia.
   With Owen undergoing surgery on a hernia injury less than two weeks ago, Allardyce has expressed his reservations about the striker featuring prominently against Estonia at Wembley on Saturday before travelling to Russia for Wednesday’s crunch tie.
   ‘I don’t know whether two games in such a short space of time is right,’ Allardyce complained.
   ‘Michael isn’t qualified to do anything other than play football, so he can’t ignore the information he’s given by our highly-qualified medical staff and me as his manager.’
   However, in an apparent snub of Allardyce’s urging, Owen insists that he will only heed the advice of the surgeon who operated on his hernia in Munich last Friday.
   ‘Could I play against Estonia? I don’t see why not,’ he told reporters.
   ‘I will listen to the surgeon and not anyone else because she knows what she is talking about. I don’t see why there was any risk in me playing on Sunday.
   ‘Everyone could see how much I wanted to get back quickly and play for Newcastle.
   It shows a bit of determination on my part to get out there. It’s feeling good and I’m available for both teams I represent.’
   The issue of Owen’s availability is set to rumble on throughout the week, with Allardyce vowing to contact England boss Steve McClaren to outline his concerns.