Brazil shocked the top-ranked United States 4-0 Thursday in a dazzling display that set up a World Cup final with defending champions Germany.
   On a horror night for the Americans at the Hangzhou Dragon Stadium, Leslie Osborne gifted the South Americans the lead with an own goal after 20 minutes and superstar Marta got the second seven minutes later.
   Cristiane bagged the third on 56 minutes and in a magical moment 2006 World Player of the Year Marta flicked the ball with the outside of her boot past a defender before drilling home for the fourth with 13 minutes left.
   Compounding the US misery, experienced midfielder Shannon Boxx was sent off just before half-time, effectively ending American hopes of getting their hands on the trophy for the third time.
   ‘For me, nothing is impossible in football and that is what I told the girls tonight,’ said Brazilian coach Jorge Barcellos.
   ‘It was the perfect win. My players wanted it so much. They were aggressive and determined and that made the difference. It was a team effort.’
   The Samba Girls have been the surprise of the tournament, winning an army of fans with their attractive football, and now face their maiden final in Shanghai on Sunday against a German side that has yet to concede a goal.
   The US, whose two-and-a-half year, 51-game unbeaten streak was ended, must now lift for a third-place play-off against Norway following their heaviest ever World Cup defeat.
   ‘We were always chasing,’ admitted US coach Greg Ryan.
   ‘Brazil played with great skill and it was very difficult for us.
   Going a goal down and then being reduced to 10 men was always going to make it hard.’
   In a physical game in front of 47,000 fans, the Americans came out firing with Lori Chalupny forcing Brazilian goalkeeper Andreia into a diving save after just 15 seconds.
   Brazil though soon found their feet and were aggrieved after a penalty decision
   went against them four minutes later.
   Cristiane broke from the left and was hacked down by Cat Whitehill in the box but Swiss referee Nicole Petignat saw nothing amiss. Television replays clearly showed a foul.
   Undeterred, Brazil got the breakthrough thanks to a comical own goal by Osborne.
   Formiga swung in a corner that was destined for the
   arms of Briana Scurry, chosen ahead of usual goalkeeper Hope Solo, until Osborne darted in front of her to head into the net in a terrible miscommunication.
   The Americans were rattled and Marta rammed home the advantage seven minutes later, dribbling into the box to unleash a hard and low
   drive with her trademark left foot that Scurry should have saved.
   The US nerves were jangling and Brazil piled on the pressure, going close several times, and it went from bad to worse when Boxx got her marching orders for a second yellow card.
   Brazil swarmed all over the US in the second period with Daniela and Maycon both whistling shots narrowly wide.
   It was only a matter of time before the third goal and Cristiane obliged, coolly slotting home after being set free by Formiga.
   Marta, who was taunting the Americans, sparked huge cheers with some stunning individual skill to hammer the final nail in the US coffin with the fourth goal on 79 minutes.
   The strike was her seventh, making her the tournament’s leading scorer, and took her tally to a remarkable 47 in the last 45 matches.

South Africa (294/5) against v Patron’s XI
   Jacques Kallis left his Twenty20 World Cup frustration behind him with a solid 73 while Hashim Amla notched a patient 87 as South Africa gained valuable batting practice in their opening tour game here on Thursday.
   The tourists finished the first day of their three-day match at 294-5 against a young Patron’s XI at the National Bank Sports complex after the home team put them in on a placid pitch.
   AB de Villiers was unbeaten on 48 and with him Mark Boucher on 14.
   The tourists play Pakistan in the first of two Tests here from Monday.
   The 31-year-old Kallis resigned from the South African captaincy after he was dropped from the squad for the Twenty20 World Cup earlier this month which raised doubts over his international future.
   But Kallis put his exclusion behind him by hitting nine boundaries during an attractive innings which lasted two-and-a-half hours.
   Amla hit two sixes and 10 boundaries during his 220-minute stay at the crease before he was caught at deep cover off right-arm leg-spinner Rizwan Ahmed who was the pick of home bowlers with 3-90.
   The 24-year-old from Durban steadied the South African innings with Kallis through a 130-run third wicket stand after they lost openers Graeme Smith (20) and Herschelle Gibbs (31) early in their innings.
   Smith fell stumped off Ahmed after he struggled during his brief innings. Gibbs was also not in his elements driving straight to cover off paceman Junaid Zia to leave South Africa at 58-2.
   De Villiers added 69 runs for the fifth wicket with Amla to boost the South African innings.
   The tourists, who arrived in Pakistan amid tight security on Wednesday, played with dozens of military rangers surrounding the stadium where spectators were not allowed due to security reasons.
   ‘I am happy that all the batters got a good chance in the middle rather than spending time in the nets which was needed before the Test,’ South African coach Mickey Arthur said after the match. Arthur praised Kallis’s batting.
   ‘Kallis is a class act. He walked straight out in the middle having played little cricket and played as he usually does. The top four will matter in the Test and Kallis is one of them.’

Australia captain Ricky Ponting warned Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s celebrating Indians Thursday the tourists are determined to start the one-day series on a winning note on Saturday.
   Ponting said India would be under pressure after lifting the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa and his side had all the resources they needed despite missing key players.
   ‘We have a talented side and have to apply pressure on the opposition all the time. We always want to win every game we play,’ Ponting told reporters a day after arriving in India to play seven one-day internationals.
   ‘I think India will be under pressure after winning in South Africa and we hope to start with a victory on Saturday. We also have a good record against India, especially in one-dayers.’
   India beat Australia in the Twenty20 semi-final in South Africa, but skipper Ponting said: ‘The Twenty20 win is great, but it’s a thing of the past.’
   Dhoni hopes to add to his growing stature with a winning display against the 50-overs World Cup winners after his young squad returned home Wednesday from South Africa to a hero’s welcome.
   The wicketkeeper-batsman raised expectations in cricket-mad India with a memorable victory in South Africa in his first tournament as captain.
   It was India’s first big success at world level since winning the 1983 World Cup in England under Kapil Dev’s captaincy.
   Dhoni has already earned lavish praise from former cricketers for his shrewd handling of the side in South Africa, but his real test comes now against the Australians, who are always formidable in a 50-overs contests.
   Missing from Australia’s Caribbean World Cup-winning squad are batsman Michael Hussey, fast bowler Shaun Tait and all-rounder Shane Watson.
   Paceman Nathan Bracken returned home from South Africa on compassionate leave to be with his wife as she prepares to give birth to their first child. He may figure in the series at some stage so a replacement has not been named. Adam Voges was added to the injury-hit squad as cover for Ponting, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, while Brad Haddin replaced Hussey. All-rounder James Hopes stands in for Watson.
   Australia may not be at full strength but have the players to rise to the occasion, a trait which helped them win the World Cup for a record third successive time in the Caribbean earlier this year.
   The tourists boast explosive batsmen in Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds, who are capable of demoralising the Indian attack with some big hitting.
   India will be bolstered by the return of the talented batting trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, who had opted out of the Twenty20 cup. Each has completed 10,000 runs in one-day internationals.
   The Indian bowling also looks sharp with the comebacks of seamers Irfan Pathan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who were axed from the squad for a recent one-day series in England.

South African captain Graeme Smith Wednesday said his team would put security concerns aside to focus on playing good hard cricket on their tour of Pakistan.
   Smith lead a 14-member South African team to play two Tests and five one-day internationals on their month-long tour, a visit highlighted by security concerns which had put the fate of the tour in doubt.
   Pakistan deployed dozens of police officers including elite commandos at the airport for the arrival of the South African side here Wednesday afternoon.
   ‘Look I am not going to lie it’s (security) different to how we live back home but it’s not the first time we are facing this,’ Smith told a press conference.
   ‘Security is becoming a part of international sport and we have the security men who travel with us around the world and we are realistic about it,’ he said.
   ‘We trust the people and it’s left to them so that we can go out and play cricket,’ said Smith whose squad was accompanied by three security personnel.
   He expressed satisfaction over the security provided by the hosts.
   ‘The security provided to the team is fantastic and I hope it allows us to focus on our cricket. We have come to Pakistan and a number of teams are coming here after us also and we can set up a good base for them,’ said Smith.
   The tourists, who opted not to practise on Wednesday due to jet-lag, open their tour with a three-day warm-up match here from Thursday. They play the first of two Tests here from October 1.
   The second Test will be played in Lahore from October 8 followed by five one-day internationals.
   Smith said the tour to South Asia was always a big challenge.
   ‘Tours to the subcontinent are one of the challenges, some challenging tours lie ahead of us, it starts with Pakistan and next year we will go to India, then England and then Australia, so all are very, very tough and testing tours ahead of us and hopefully we start with success here.’
   Smith said he hoped his team would put their second round exit from the Twenty20 World Cup behind them before the Tests.
   ‘I think mentally it’s going to be a tough challenge not only for us but also for the Pakistan team too to get your mindset changed for the longer version of the game—more so because we have not played Tests for months,’ Smith said.
   South Africa last played a Test against Pakistan in February this year.
   ‘It’s tough to play Test cricket in the subcontinent and Pakistan is a very formidable team at home. They are a tough team to beat at home, but we are ready for that,’ said Smith.
   Smith who lost his first Test series as captain in Pakistan four years ago predicted a tough series.
   ‘One thing that I can predict is that this will be a tough series. I think there will be some very good cricket played and Pakistani people will see some really quality cricket, hard fought battle.’
   South African coach Micky Arthur said both South Africa and Pakistan were trying to improve their Test rankings. South Africa are placed fifth and Pakistan sixth.
   ‘The fact that both we and Pakistan are on the same boat, trying to go up on the ladder makes the series enthralling,’ said Arthur.
   ‘We have some good series coming up so we have a chance to blood a young team that could carry us for a couple of years to come and Pakistan are on the same track as we are,’ said the South African coach.

Record-breaking Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf said on Thursday he has ditched a contract with the breakaway Indian Cricket League and will play for his national side.
   Yousuf, 33, signed with the multi-million dollar ICL last month after he was not selected for the Twenty20 world championship in South Africa, in which Pakistan reached the final.
   But after a lengthy meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf in the eastern city of Lahore, Yousuf said that he had been convinced to sign a central contract.
   ‘I have always wanted to play for my country and I can sacrifice my life for my country,’ Yousuf told a press conference.
   ‘I did not know about the clause in the Indian league contract that if both the league and Pakistan team matches are held at the same time I had to give preference to the league. I cannot agree to that,’ he added.
   The development means Yousuf will be available to play for Pakistan in the first Test against South Africa starting here from Monday.
   Yousuf scored a world record of 1,788 runs in a calendar year in 2006 and was declared the best Test player of the year, but was not picked for the Twenty20 tournament.
   Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, opener Imran Farhat and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq also signed up for the rebel league, bankrolled by country’s biggest media group which owns the Zee television.
   The PCB had warned that players signing for the Indian league would not be considered for selection in the Pakistan team.
   ‘I had a fruitful meeting with Yousuf and he has signed the central contract with the PCB after agreeing not to play in the Indian league. He is available to play for Pakistan,’ Ashraf said.
   Ashraf said Yousuf has been a star for Pakistan team.
   ‘Yousuf has been the backbone of Pakistan team’s batting and we are happy that he is back and will bolster the team against South Africa,’ said Ashraf.
   Yousuf has played 75 Tests, scoring 6,553 runs. He also has 8,081 runs in 242 one-day internationals. Pakistan are due to announce their squad for the first Test today.

Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi Thursday pulled out of the Test series against South Africa, saying he did not want to play while fasting in the holy month of Ramadan.
   ‘I asked the Pakistan Cricket Board to allow me to skip the two Tests against South Africa because it would be difficult to fast and play in Ramadan,’ Afridi told AFP.
   The PCB said it had accepted Afridi’s request and released him from the series which starts with the first Test here from Monday. The second Test will be played in Lahore from October 8.
   Afridi said his decision had nothing to do with the team losing last week’s final of the Twenty20 World Cup to arch-rivals India in South Africa.
   ‘We lost the final due to poor batting and I apologised to the fans for not doing my part in the final but that did not influence my decision of not playing Tests,’ said Afridi.
   Afridi was declared player of the Twenty20 World Cup for his 12 wickets in the tournament.
   But Afridi, known for his big hitting, failed to take a single wicket in the final and was dismissed for a first-ball duck.

The Bangladesh national football team starts their training camp at the BKSP today for the World Cup qualifier against Tajikistan, to be held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on October 8.
   The national squad returned to Dhaka from Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday night and were granted a one day’s leave on Thursday. They will report to coach Syed Naeemuddin today at the BKSP. The final squad for the qualifier will be announced two or three days later.
   Meanwhile, the National Team Management Committee sat with Naeemuddin at BFF House on Thursday. He gave a detailed overview of the 20-day-long conditioning camp at Cox’s Bazar and discussed about the probable squad.
   ‘We are happy with the proceedings and Naeemuddin is doing a fine job. Let the team start practice at the BKSP, we will declare the squad for the Tajikistan match two or three days later,’ said Monzur Hossain Malu, the acting general secretary of Bangladesh Football Federation.
   The National Team Management Committee visited the BKSP on Thursday to see all the available facilities.

A 67-member Bangladesh Special Olympics squad left Dhaka on Thursday for Shanghai to take part in the Special Olympics Summer World Games scheduled to start on October 2.
   The Bangladesh team comprises 48 players and 19 officials.
   Bangladesh will participate in seven disciplines – aquatics, athletics, badminton, bocce, football, table tennis and cricket.
   Bangladesh, participating in the Special Olympics Summer World Games since 1995,
   won 37 gold, 22 silver and 19 bronze medals in the last three editions.

England are aware of the Sri Lanka cauldron when they start the next week’s five-match One-Day series, captain Paul Collingwood said here Thursday.
   ‘The hot conditions do favour the local team, it is one of the most difficult places to play cricket due to the weather,’ Collingwood said, adding that not many England teams had done well in Sri Lanka in the past.
   The England captain said they had a bunch of young players who were keen to prove themselves.
   ‘It is a challenge that most guys want to take on,’ Collingwood said, expressing confidence in his young team.
   England will be without star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff who is out through injury.
   ‘He is two players in one, so he will be missed,’ Collingwood said.
   Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena was not reading too much into his team’s 100 per cent record in the last six One Dayers between the two teams.
   ‘It is like starting all over again. We have had a few team changes since the World Cup. It’s a new series and if we don’t do well you will find that the opposition will come harder at you,’ Jayawardena said.
   The first of the five matches will be played in the central town of Dambulla on Monday.

Two Australians, Dav Whatmore and John Dyson, are among the candidates to take over as head coach of the West Indies team, according to a report on caribbeancricket.com.
   Insiders suggest that Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka to the World Cup in 1996 before stints with Lancashire and Bangladesh, is the favourite. He recently unsuccessfully applied for the post of Pakistan coach. Dyson also has experience with a national side, replacing Whatmore as Sri Lanka coach in 2003 before standing down in 2005.
   Of local candidates, former Zimbabwe and current Ireland coach Phil Simmons is believed to have applied, as have former KwaZulu-Natal coach Eldine Baptiste, incumbent assistant coaches David Williams and Hendy Springer, Durham’s fast bower and temporary England bowling coach Ottis Gibson, former Bermuda coach Mark Harper and Vincentian Ian Allen.
   The main question facing the West Indies board is whether to gamble on appointing a foreign coach following the problems that increasingly dogged Bennett King, the Australian who coached the side until he stood down after the World Cup. There remains a strong sentiment in the Caribbean that King’s replacement should come from within the region.
   It had been hinted that Roger Harper would apply, but he has not and is instead being linked with the post of coaching director at the West Indies Academy. Harper was Kenya’s coach between January 2006 and this month, but he stood down as he wanted to be closer to his family in Guyana.

Former captain Wasim Akram believes that Pakistan need speedster Shoaib Akhtar in their side for the home Test series against South Africa.
   Pakistan Cricket Board had imposed an indefinite ban on Shoaib after he lashed out at fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif following a dressing room argument in South Africa just before the start of World Twenty20.
   After the incident Shoaib was sent home but the mercurial paceman did try to calm things by apologising to Asif and the nation for his bad conduct.
   As it stands now, PCB will take action after they have conducted an inquiry into the incident but Akram believes that Pakistan need Shoaib on the field against South Africa for the first Test starting Monday at Karachi.
   ‘I believe Shoaib is still the need of the team and he must be playing against South Africa,’ the former Pakistan all-rounder told the Dawn.
   ‘The PCB should start the inquiry immediately into the case and should announce the verdict well before the start of the Test series.
   ‘To me the case is over since Shoaib has already apologised to the nation and also to Asif. I believe Shoaib has the talent and potential to play for the country for another two years.’

Sourav Ganguly believes India’s Twenty20 World Cup triumph is an extension of the team’s purple patch and the side is capable of beating world champions Australia in the seven-match ODI series starting on Saturday.
   Ganguly said despite India’s Twenty20 victory in South Africa, the series against Australia would be a difficult one because the format would be different.
   ‘It’s completely a different format of the game. Fifty-over matches would require more skills than Twenty20. It will be a lot more difficult game.’
   ‘We have to take a series at a time and I think we are capable of beating Australia,’ Ganguly told a private TV channel.
   And Ganguly’s optimism stems from the side’s impressive show in recent times.
   ‘In the last six-seven months, Indian cricket has done well, starting from the Bangladesh tour to South Africa, England and now in the Twenty20 World Cup.’
   Ganguly heaped praise on Mahendra Singh Dhoni and said the Jharkhand player was outstanding as a skipper in South Africa.
   ‘I think he has done a wonderful job there. I like his attitude on the field. He has got a carefree attitude which is important. As India captain, you have lot of pressure to go with it and you need that sort of attitude to succeed,’ he said.
   Dhoni led India to a nail-biting five-run win against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup final and during the celebration, he took his shirt off and gifted it to an young fan. Asked if that reminded him of going shirtless in the Lord’s balcony when India won the NatWest trophy, a coy Ganguly said, ‘No, not really.’

Batsman Michael Papps returns to the New Zealand Test squad for their tour of South Africa starting next month as selectors continue their search for a successful opening partnership. Papps has played only six Tests since making his debut in 2003-2004 in a career marred by injury and patchy form.
   He is likely to partner Craig Cumming who played in New Zealand’s last Test outing, a tied home series against Sri Lanka in December last year.
   The opening batting positions have been a longstanding problem for New Zealand, and Jamie How, one of the opening pair against Sri Lanka last year, has been passed over.
   ‘The selectors are looking to form a quality opening partnership,’ New Zealand coach John Bracewell said.
   ‘Craig Cumming is the incumbent and is acknowledged as a quality player of pace, while Michael Papps is being rewarded after an excellent domestic season.’
   Promising middle order batsman Ross Taylor has been named in the Test squad for the first time after establishing himself in the one-day arena, as has quick bowler Mark Gillespie.
   Pace bowler Kyle Mills returns after recovering from a serious knee injury, while notable omissions include batsmen Lou Vincent and Craig McMillan.
   All rounder James Franklin was not considered due to a knee injury but Bracewell said it was hoped he might be fit for the following one-day series in South Africa.
   New Zealand travels to South Africa next month for two warm-up matches before the first of two Tests starts on November 8.
   Squad: Daniel Vettori (captain), Shane Bond, Craig Cumming, Stephen Fleming, Mark Gillespie, Peter Fulton, Chris Martin, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Michael Papps, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor.

Chelsea have vowed to fight a charge of failing to control their players over the fracas that erupted following the sending-off of Mikel John Obi during their 2-0 defeat by Manchester United on Sunday.
   Referee Mike Dean reported the club to the Football Association after at least four players surrounded him after he issued a straight red card to the Nigerian midfielder.
   Chelsea skipper John Terry escaped an individual charge after apparently trying to grab the red card from the referee, but assistant coach Steve Clarke faces disciplinary action for using abusive or insulting language to the match officials.
   Chelsea and Clarke have until October 12 to respond to the charges announced on Thursday, which could result in a heavy fine for the club and a touchline ban for Clarke.
   In a statement, Chelsea said it would fight both charges.

Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit cricket stadium at Galle is embroiled in a heritage row as it races to host the final Test of the England tour in December, officials said Thursday.
   Jayananda Warnaweera, the curator overseeing its reconstruction, said conservationists had objected to a new building at the stadium that could obstruct views of Galle’s 17th century Dutch Fort, a heritage site.
   He added that he was worried about meeting the reconstruction deadline.
   ‘We may not be able to meet the targeted November 15 deadline,’ Warnaweera told AFP, adding that work had also been slowed by continuous rain.
   The Third Test against England is due to start at the southern coastal city’s ground on December 18.
   The Galle International Stadium, which sits in the shadow of the huge fort walls, was devastated by the December 2004 Indian ocean tsunami which killed an estimated 31,000 people on the island.
   Sri Lanka Cricket recommenced construction of the stadium after an initial government order to move it to another location. A new three-storey building to house player facilities has irked the Galle Heritage Foundation.
   ‘The view of the Fort will be completely blocked by the new building that is coming up,’ the Foundation’s President Parakrama Dahanayake said.
   He said the Urban Development Authority had approved the blueprint on condition that it would not impede views of the 36-hectare (89-acre) fort.
   ‘The view is obscured and the Galle Fort may find itself struck off the World Heritage list as a result’, Dahanayake said.
   Galle has been a happy hunting ground for Sri Lanka with six wins in 11 Tests at the stadium.

Rajshahi DSA got off to a flying start in the Araf Apparel 21st National Youth Hockey Championship with a massive 19-0 win over Panchagarh DSA at Maulana Bhasani National Stadium on Thursday.
   Sabbir Rana struck five goals including a hat-trick for Rajshahi, who dominated the first half 5-0.
   Rajshahi Division faced a stiff challenge from Comilla before winning 2-0. Dinajpur DSA registered a 4-0 win over Sylhet DSA

Pakistan bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has signed a two-year deal with English county cricket side Yorkshire, the club confirmed on Thursday.
   The 29-year-old, who has played nine Tests and 62 one-day internationals for his country, was a key part of the Sussex side which won this season’s LV County Championship.
   But he was told he could leave Hove due to next year’s ruling which restricts counties to one overseas player, with compatriot Mushtaq Ahmed taking that role.
   Naved is set to link up with the Tykes in March but will undergo a thorough medical examination at the end of the year as Yorkshire assess his recovery from a right shoulder injury.
   Naved sustained the problem earlier this month while playing for Sussex at Chester-le-Street, where he slid into advertising hoardings and forced a 50-minute halt to play while paramedics dealt with his injury.
   The Pakistan star’s contract includes a get-out clause should his rehabilitation not go to plan.
   However Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan is certain he will be fit to play a full part in the county’s tilt for honours next season.
   Regan told the Yorkshire Post: ‘We are confident that, following physiotherapy over the last two weeks at Sussex, he will make a speedy recovery.
   ‘We have signed him for two years subject to medical checks.’
   Naved added: ‘I’m excited about the challenges ahead over the next two years and look forward to playing a big part in moving Yorkshire further up the table in all competitions and winning silverware for the club.’

Sri Lanka have laid long- and short-term plans to prepare for the absence of star spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan from the team, coach Trevor Bayliss said Thursday. Muralitharan has been forced out of the home series against England which starts next week. He has a sore right shoulder which was aggravated during the English summer when he turned out for Lancashire.
   The off spinner is likely to miss out the entire series.
   Bayliss said Sri Lanka have picked leg spinner Kasuhal Lokuararchchi and off spinner Dilruwan Perera, both aged 25, in the squad as replacements for Murali. ‘This is our plan for the next two to four years. We will give younger spinners the opportunity and hope they will gain from experience.’
   Lokuarachchi has played four Tests and 19 one day internationals while Perers is still uncapped.

Newly-elected England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke has threatened to suspend any players who step out of line. Captain Paul Collingwood and all rounder Andrew Flintoff have made the front pages this year while on tour and Clarke has warned them about their future behaviour.
   ‘I don’t see why they shouldn’t be (banned). I think people understand that with privilege and money comes responsibility,’ Clarke told the BBC.
   ‘We’re not going to get proper athletes and a decent team if people do not have the right attitude as professionals in their sport. Head coach Peter Moores is clear on what he wants to see happen and has set down parameters on what is expected.
   ‘We need serious professionalism at all levels if we’re going to win the Ashes back.’

Defending champions Inter Milan moved level on points with Serie A leaders AS Roma after a 3-0 home win over Sampdoria on Wednesday.
   With Roma being held to a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina it left them and Inter on 11 points, with Roma retaining the lead on goal difference.
   Roma, missing skipper Francesco Totti and Simone Perrotta, held the advantage until ten minutes from time when Adrian Mutu’s penalty earned Fiorentina a share of the points.
   The Romans were held to the same scoreline on Sunday by Juventus.
   ‘We could have done better, but I’m satisfied with the result as it is,’ said Roma coach Luciano Spalletti.
   He added, ‘It was a good match, a great battle between two sides who went out to win.’
   Inter had Zlatan Ibrahimovic largely to thank for their points at the San Siro, the Swedish striker producing a double in the 24th and 49th minutes with Luis Figo completing a good night’s work just before the hour.
   Ibrahimovic leads the goalscoring list with David Trezeguet with six. Trezeguet moved up to the half dozen mark for the season when scoring in the 76th minute in Juventus’ 4-0 win at Reggina.
   That pushed Juve into third, one point behind the leaders.
   The big surprise of Wednesday night’s full league programme was the 2-1 defeat imposed on European champions AC Milan by Palermo, Milan’s first loss of the season.
   After three consecutive draws AC Milan slipped to defeat when succumbing in the final minutes to Palermo whose Italy international Fabrizio Miccoli produced the decider in the third minute of time added on.
   AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti told Sky Sport, ‘This loss was cruel, first because it wasn’t deserved, and secondly because we were penalised (AC Milan’s protests for handball in the first goal were turned down).
   ‘This evening Milan should have won.’

English football icon David Beckham rushed back from Los Angeles on Thursday after his father suffered a serious heart attack in London, his spokesman said.
   The former England captain landed at London’s Heathrow airport after an overnight flight, and headed straight to the hospital where Ted Beckham, 59, was being treated after being taken ill late Wednesday.
   ‘His priority is to see his dad and that is his first concern,’ said Beckham’s spokesman.
   The 32-year-old footballer looked sombre as he arrived, wearing a brown leather shirt, white T-shirt, jeans and sunglasses, with a bag over his shoulder.
   He was picked up by a car to take him to the London Chest Hospital in Bethnal Green, in the east of the capital.
   Beckham, who is married to former Spice Girl Victoria, moved to California in July when Beckham left Spanish giants Real Madrid to join the LA Galaxy club.
   The Sun newspaper’s website reported that Beckham’s father suffered a heart attack at home and had to be resuscitated by paramedics in the ambulance on the way to hospital.
   A hospital source quoted by the newspaper added: ‘Ted was in a bad way and actually died on his way to hospital. The paramedics managed to bring him back.’
   ‘He was further stabilised in hospital before being transferred,’ the source said.
   Beckham’s wife was not with him when he travelled back overnight. ‘Victoria is in Japan working but obviously she has been informed of it and she is concerned,’ said the spokesman.
   Beckham’s contract in California is worth a potential $250-million over five years in endorsements and other promotion sales and has provided a marketing boost for a US league in need of something to lure supporters.

Avram Grant has warned Andriy Shevchenko he cannot guarantee the Ukraine striker a place in his Chelsea revolution.
   Grant took the brave decision to leave Shevchenko out of his starting line-up for Chelsea’s 4-0 League Cup third round win at Hull on Wednesday following his disappointing display in last weekend’s defeat at Manchester United.
   It remains to be seen if Shevchenko is recalled to face Fulham on Saturday but Grant insists he won’t bow to pressure from billionaire owner Roman Abramovich to pick him unless he feels he is ready.
   Jose Mourinho’s refusal to select Shevchenko on a regular basis played a key role in the breakdown of the former Chelsea manager’s relationship with Abramovich, leading to his departure from the club last week.
   So Grant was taking a risk by axing Shevchenko, but he did little to assure the former AC Milan star that he was a major part of his plans.
   But despite the ongoing problem surrounding the record 30 million pounds signing, Grant insisted he had the backing of the majority of his players and that this result showed the players wanted to perform under his leadership.
   He said: ‘We have three games coming up within a week so we need all the players feeling fit and fresh and no player can perform three games in such a short space of time.
   ‘It’s too much. We have a big squad but we will need each and every one of them. Will he (Shevchenko) play on Saturday? I will have to think about it.
   ‘I’m delighted with this result. I thought out passing and movement was good and we scored some good goals.
   ‘It is most important that the players want to play for the club. Managers come and go but it is the players and supporters who are the most important.
   ‘It’s important that they show commitment at a high level for the club. It is not easy to do after what has happened but it’s important they have the right attitude. At the end of the day we need to play football and be together.’
   Grant has assured England manager Steve McClaren that Shaun Wright-Phillips will be available for his country’s crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers next month, even though the winger limped off at Hull.
   Grant looked concerned when Wright-Phillips hobbled off in the 49th minute clutching his knee and looking in some discomfort. The midfielder pulled up after taking a shot at goal and was immediately replaced by Joe Cole.
   Wright-Phillips will go for a precautionary scan on Thursday to make sure there is no substantial damage and could be rested for his side’s Premier League encounter with Fulham this weekend.
   McClaren must have greeted the sight of Wright-Phillips departing down the KC Stadium tunnel with some despair given the injury problems afflicting his squad at the moment.
   He has seen both Emile Heskey and Michael Owen ruled out in the last week and can ill-afford to be without Wright-Phillips for the forthcoming qualifiers against Estonia at Wembley on October 13 and Russia in Moscow four days later.
   But Grant, who secured his first win in charge of Chelsea thanks to goals from Salomon Kalou (two), Steve Sidwell and Scott Sinclair, believes Wright-Phillips will be available.
   Grant said: ‘Shaun has told me he feels okay. He came off because his knee was hurting but he’s told me afterwards that he now feels fine. So this is good news.’
   Hull forward Jay-Jay Okocha reckons Chelsea should get behind Grant and give him a chance to make a success of following in Mourinho’s footsteps.
   He said: ‘Chelsea have some world class players but they need to play as a team. They need to support the new coach and get behind him because if they don’t the team will find it difficult to be successful.
   ‘It was a difficult experience for us but hopefully one we can learn from. It is no disgrace to lose to Chelsea. They are one of the best teams in Europe.’

Martin Jol has stepped up his efforts to save his job by warning that Tottenham could easily go into reverse if he is sacked.
   The Dutchman gained some desperately needed breathing space when his under-performing side beat Middlesbrough 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the fourth round of the League Cup.
   But with Spurs currently third from bottom of the Premier League, Jol knows he needs to engineer a rapid climb up the table as well as convincing the club’s directors that they have nothing to gain from replacing him.
   ‘The fans know how difficult it is if they change management again, they know you could easily go back for years,’ Jol said on Thursday.
   ‘I hope people are realistic - you can get anyone in the world to come, but to do better you must finish fourth.’
   Spurs have denied press reports that club chairman Daniel Levy had already agreed a pay-off with Jol but that has failed to stem the swirl of speculation around White Hart Lane.
   ‘The speculation isn’t a nice position to be in, but I can’t do anything about it,’ Jol told BBC Radio before mounting a strong defence of his record of guiding Spurs to two fifth-placed finishes in his first two full seasons in charge.
   ‘We were fifth two years in-a-row, I don’t think anybody else could do any better. The continuity of the club is important and we did that here with my staff over the last couple of years.
   ‘We won a lot of points, had nine wins in Europe and got back into Europe via the league, which probably didn’t happen for 25 years or so.
   ‘So the fans realise and they appreciate my work and that is a good feeling.’
   Late goals from Gareth Bale and Tom Huddlestone saw off Boro although an otherwise positive evening was marred by Jermain Defoe’s angry reaction to being substituted with just over 20 minutes left.
   His replacement, Robbie Keane, set up Bale for the first goal, vindicating Jol’s switch, but Defoe’s antics and the boos that greeted his exit will not have helped the manager’s cause.
   ‘I don’t think it’s about booing me - because a minute later they are singing my name,’ said Jol, who also shrugged off Defoe’s reaction.

Fernando Torres has been hailed as the new Ian Rush by Steven Gerrard — and not just because of the Spaniard’s goals.
   Kop captain Gerrard has paid tribute to the new striker’s work-rate — and is already drawing comparisons with Anfield legend Rushie. Welsh star Rush is the Reds’ greatest goalscorer of all time with an incredible 346 strikes in 658 games.
   But he carved a reputation as one of the hardest-working forwards in the game during his 16 years at the club. Gerrard told The Sun: ‘I know Ian Rush was a great striker and I don’t want to put much pressure on Fernando as far as goals are concerned — but he does remind me of him.
   ‘Rushie got a lot of credit for working hard for the team, tracking back and not giving defenders a minute on the ball. And Fernando’s similar in a lot ways.
   ‘There’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders and, as captain of the team, I don’t want to put any more on him. But if we keep on delivering good through balls and give him good service, he has shown he’s a good finisher.
   ‘I’m sure he’ll hit his own personal targets. It’s something he has shown from the first day he arrived here and that’s what surprised me the most.
    ‘I knew he was a good striker and I knew he was quick but what I didn’t realise was his work-rate and attitude, plus his willpower and character are tremendous.
   ‘If he keeps working that hard for the team, we’re going to get results even if he doesn’t score.’
   Hitman Torres has six goals in as many starts since his £21.5million move from Atletico Madrid in July. Kop boss Rafa Benitez had already warned defenders were wasting their time in trying to boot Torres out of games.
   Reading’s Andre Bikey and Michael Duberry did their utmost to rough up the striker, while ref Martin Atkinson only offered minimal protection.
   The official’s performance did not exactly endear him to Gerrard.
   He added: ‘I was slightly disappointed in the referee.
   ‘I thought he could have been a little bit more protective of Fernando, I counted seven or eight bad challenges from behind and he should have had a penalty as well.
   ‘It’s a referee’s responsibility to give a striker slightly more protection but I suppose he will get a lot more treatment like that because if defenders don’t get close to him, he’ll destroy them.
   ‘Foreign strikers normally get a bit of stick and when they get kicked they go hiding. A lot of strikers would get that treatment and go missing but he kept going back. But he got murdered all night by their centre-halves.
   ‘I thought he was awesome. He didn’t react to what was happening.
   ‘I’m sure if you ask the two Reading defenders, they’ll say that’s the hardest work-out they’ve had this season.
    ‘Away from home he is going to be marked really tight. He’ll receive knocks, kicks and bruises and he’ll have to keep giving as good as he gets, like he did on Tuesday night.’
   Midfielder Gerrard showed he is over the broken toe which kept him out for three games by following his 90 minutes against Birmingham on Saturday with another 13 at Reading.
   And he had an ominous warning for the rest of the Premier League, when he insisted he is close to his best once again.
   Gerrard said: ‘I’m feeling a lot better now. The last three or four days, I’ve been totally pain-free in my toe. ‘I have been struggling during the last two or three games and have been getting a lot of pain from it.
   ‘But I’ve been training in every session and can feel my sharpness coming back, so I think my top form is only around the corner.’

The chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Gordon Taylor, said there could be ‘one or two surprises’ in the line-ups for the union’s centenary celebration match at Eastlands – with former Real Madrid pair David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane top of the wish list.
   A Rest of the World XI managed by Manchester City manager Sven Goran Eriksson will face a team of England Legends coached by Terry Venables on December 2. The cast list for the game already includes some stellar names – including respective captains Gianfranco Zola and Alan Shearer – and Taylor says the prospect of adding the recent England and France captains is still alive.
   He said: ‘I’m hoping against hope that there will be one or two more surprises in store as international icons David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane have also expressed an interest in appearing, but both may have other commitments so I’m not going to say for definite they will be there.
   ‘David has said if he can make it he will. But there’s always a doubt at the moment with America [where Beckham plays for Los Angeles Galaxy]. Their season should be over but they’re organising international tours so I wouldn’t want to promise that.’
   Taylor added: ‘As for Zidane, I’ve spoken with him and he’s very much a player’s man but he has a lot of demands so we just have to keep our fingers crossed.’
   Those who are confirmed to play some part include Teddy Sheringham, Roy Keane, David Ginola, Marcel Desailly, Ian Rush, Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle and Niall Quinn.
   And Taylor is confident of a memorable spectacle, saying: ‘Gianfranco Zola was not only a living legend who played the game in a magical way, but a brilliant role model to all and a perfect gentleman to boot. I’m sure his many fans will be delighted to see him back in action again.
   ‘The same, of course, applies to Alan Shearer whose goalscoring record at club and international level alike was nothing short of phenomenal.’
   Proceeds from the match will go towards the PFA’s funding of a £1m new children’s rehabilitation and physiotherapy unit at the University Children’s Hospital in Manchester.

The ghost of match-fixing has come to haunt Wimbledon, the mecca of tennis, with Belgian Gilles Elseneer’s claim that he was offered 70,000 pounds to throw his first-round match against Italian Potito Starace at the 2005 Championships.
   Elseneer disclosed that soon after he qualified for the singles event two years ago, he was approached ‘bluntly into my face’ and told that he could make a hundred times more than his first-round winner’s cheque for giving up the match, The Times reported on Thursday.
   ‘They said I should take my time and give them my reply the next day, but I only needed a couple of minutes to realise it was impossible for me to contemplate,’ Elseneer said.
   ‘I had my honour as a player to protect and Wimbledon meant everything to me,’ he was quoted as saying by the paper.
   The report also gave other instances of corruption such as another Belgian, Dick Norman, a 10-year tour veteran, confessing to being approached and offered 12,500 euros at Wimbledon to turn informant on the state of health, mind and physical fitness of fellow players.
   Although Norman could not recall the year, he also declined, it said.

Former Argentina coach Carlos Bilardo launched
   an outspoken attack on the state of the game in his country and the leadership of its
   football association on Wednesday.
   Bilardo, who led Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986 and the 1990 final, said it was time for a change at the top of the Argentina Football Association, where Julio Grondona has been president since 1979.
   ‘I feel shame when I see the state of Argentine football,’ Bilardo told La Nacion newspaper in an interview.
   ‘The security matter is a disgrace, the standard of
   refereeing is worrying...the clubs are in a mess and don’t have enough money even to buy grass.
   ‘On the day that Grondona leaves, a lot of problems will be solved in Argentine football... But if there isn’t a change soon, Argentina football will fall apart. It’s a disgrace.
   ‘Compare our stadiums to the ones in Spain and you’ll see what I am talking about.’
   Bilardo, 68, who has been working in television since his last coaching job with Estudiantes, said he had ditched his plan to run for the AFA presidency because it was a closed shop.
   ‘I’ve given up on being AFA president, because the strongest 20 clubs support this leadership,’ he said.
   ‘Nowadays, trying to be president of the AFA is like banging your head against a wall, you have to fight everyone and I’m tired of that.
   ‘If all the 2,800 clubs in this country had a vote, it wouldn’t be a problem, I tell you that I’d win.
   ‘But only 49 have the vote.

Peter Crouch insists England can cope without Michael Owen after the striker was ruled out of his country’s crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers.
   Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce has confirmed that Owen, who has groin and hernia injuries, will miss the matches against Estonia and Russia in October.
   As if that wasn’t bad enough, England coach Steve McClaren will have to do without Owen’s strike partner Emile Heskey, who was injured in his first match for Wigan after impressing in the recent back to back wins over Israel and Russia.
   Crouch is likely to profit from those injuries by regaining his place alongside Wayne Rooney in the England attack.
   But the Liverpool forward believes McClaren has enough quality options regardless of who he picks.
   ‘We are rich in the striking department,’ Crouch told Radio Five Live on Wednesday.
   ‘We’ve got the strength in depth to cope with any injuries we’ve got.
   ‘I certainly believe we have got players to come in and can certainly do more than a job.
   ‘If Owen’s out, we’ve got Andrew Johnson, Wayne Rooney’s fit now. We’ve got Jermain Defoe.’

FIFA president Sepp Blatter Thursday hailed the advances made by women in ‘macho’ football, and said he wanted to see more females in the corridors of power.
   ‘It’s been a great spectacle of women’s football here,’ he said on the sidelines of the women’s World Cup.
   ‘Generally speaking, it is a big improvement by all the teams from four years ago in the United States.
   ‘There has been an improvement in the speed of the games. Also, importantly, though not by all the teams, there has been an improvement in tactics.
   ‘All in all, compared to 2003, women’s football has moved to a new level, but not in all continents. It is now our duty to develop women’s football everywhere.’
   The World Cup has seen average crowds of 38,000 fans, which Blatter said was hugely encouraging.
   Now he wants to see more women’s professional leagues and more women in senior positions in FIFA, the world governing body, and national federations.
   ‘Football is a macho organisation and this is not correct because football is for all,’ he said.
   ‘I want to give women more positions inside FIFA, although when it comes to the FIFA Executive Committee it is not easy because they are elected by national federations.
   ‘At the moment, the only chance for a women to be elected by FIFA to the Executive Committee is to challenge the president, and that’s me.’

UEFA has no plans to ban new Chelsea manager Avram Grant from coaching in the Champions League despite uncertainty over his qualifications, European soccer’s governing body said on Thursday.
   Grant, who took over from Jose Mourinho last week, has yet to obtain the UEFA Pro Licence normally required to coach in European competition and the Premier League.
   ‘We are awaiting the outcome of the discussions between Chelsea, the Israeli Football Association and the English Premier League,’ said a UEFA spokesman.
   ‘But we have no intention of banning him from the touchline or taking any other such disciplinary measure.’
   Chelsea were unavailable for immediate comment.
   The spokesman said UEFA would only be forced to consider Grant’s case if the Premier League formally complained to the European body about his lack of qualifications.

Manchester United crashed out of the League Cup as Coventry’s Maltese striker Michael Mifsud scored twice in his side’s shock 2-0 victory at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
   Sir Alex Ferguson rested all 11 of the players who started against Chelsea on Sunday and his lack of interest in the third round tie was reflected in a sloppy display by United’s reserves.
   ‘We could never have believed that performance,’ Ferguson said. ‘We think the young players have good ability but that was disappointing.
   ‘They should be looking at themselves. Coventry made it a real cup-tie and we were second to every ball. They deserved to win.’
   It was the Premier League champions’ first defeat in six matches, but a team including big-money signings Nani and Anderson deserved little better after being stung by Mifsud.
   The 26-year-old is nicknamed the ‘Mosquito’ and he was a pest for United all night as Ferguson’s side lost to lower league opposition at home for the first time in 12 years.
   Memories of that defeat against York came flooding back as Coventry, who arrived at Old Trafford without a win in three games and sitting eighth in the Championship, took the game to United.
   Roared on by over 11,000 fans, Iain Dowie’s side took the lead in the 27th minute when Sky Blues skipper Michael Doyle stole in at the far post and delivered a low cross back across goal for Mifsud to convert from close range.
   It was the first goal United had conceded in six matches and they never recovered.
   Mifsud grabbed a second in the 70th minute with a fierce finish from Jay Tabb’s flick to send Coventry into dreamland.
   Avram Grant got his first win as Chelsea manager as the League Cup holders started their defence of the trophy with a 4-0 victory against Hull.
   Grant’s debut after replacing Jose Mourinho ended in defeat at Manchester United at the weekend, but he avoided a third round embarrassment at the KC Stadium thanks to goals from Scott Sinclair, Salomon Kalou and Steve Sidwell.
   The Israeli insisted he was not concerned by reports linking Dutch coach Marco van Basten to his job.
   He said, ‘Managers come and go. The only thing that always remains are the supporters, but their commitment and my commitment is to the club first of all.
   ‘I want the players to want to play for the club, that’s the most important thing.’
   Teenage winger Sinclair broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when he met Shaun Wright-Phillips’s cross with a first-time finish.
   Kalou added the second with a 47th-minute strike. Then Sidwell blasted in his first goal for the club from the edge of the penalty area five minutes later before Kalou notched a fourth in the 81st minute.
   Leicester’s Matty Fryatt stunned Aston Villa as his late strike gave the Championship team a 1-0 win.
   Fryatt settled a tense tie at Villa Park in the 76th minute when he slotted home from a tight angle.
   It was Leicester’s first win under new manager Gary Megson and their first in five matches.
   Shaun Maloney had Villa’s best chance but wasted it and, although Martin O’Neill’s men had plenty of pressure, they were unable to escape an embarrassing defeat.
   Martin Jol could breathe a sigh of relief as Tottenham beat Middlesbrough 2-0 at White Hart Lane.
   Speculation over Jol’s future continues but second half goals from Gareth Bale and Tom Huddlestone lightened the mood in north London.
   Dean Ashton hit a 90th minute winner to send West Ham through with a 1-0 victory over Plymouth at Upton Park.
   Ashton’s third goal in three games was enough to see off the Championship side after a dominant display from the Hammers, who gave a debut to Scott Parker after his return from a knee injury.
   James McFadden’s double striker set Everton on their way to a 3-0 victory against Sheffield Wednesday.
   McFadden scored his
   first goal since hitting the
   memorable winner for Scotland against France earlier this month in the 59th minute at Hillsborough.
   He was on the scoresheet again in the 84th minute when he converted Yakubu’s pass and then he returned the favour by setting up the Nigerian striker’s 85th minute goal.
   Blackburn demolished Birmingham 3-0 at Ewood Park.
   Birmingham boss Steve Bruce made 11 changes from the side that drew at Liverpool on Saturday and paid the price.
   England winger David Bentley opened the scoring in the 66th minute and Matt Derbyshire’s penalty made it two before Roque Santa Cruz struck in the last minute.
   Bolton claimed only their second win this season thanks as Stelios Giannakopoulos’s extra-time goal sealed a 2-1 win at Fulham.
   Sammy Lee’s side took the lead through Danny Guthrie but David Healy’s late goal sent the tie into an additional 30 minutes before Stelios won it in the 112th minute.

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he was ‘flabbergasted’ after two goals from Maltese striker Michael Mifsud sealed a stunning 2-0 League Cup victory for Championship outfit Coventry at Old Trafford.
   Ferguson, who made eleven changes from the team which defeated Chelsea in the Premiership, called on his youngsters for the third round tie against Iain Dowie’s outfit on Wednesday.
   But it was a gamble that backfired spectacularly for Ferguson as Coventry became the first lower league club to win at Old Trafford since York City in 1995. And Ferguson admitted the 2006 winners could have no excuses for the shock result.
   ‘I’m flabbergasted by our performance. It is a big shock for us all. These are young players that we have shown great hope for and trumpeted them in a loud way,’ he said.
   ‘You hope that the young players will look at it and want to improve themselves. Their temperament, against a team who were ready for a cup tie, was certainly an issue in the first-half, so maybe they are not used to that kind of cup-tie football.
   ‘One great save by their keeper led to a goal at the other end that won them the game, but that’s not the way we should look at it because the other 89 minutes were disappointing.
   ‘But we will keep giving youngsters their chances. We have been doing it for years now and these players have to have to have games.
   ‘We have been unable to give them games recently because they have had to stay around the first-team squad due to injuries.’
   ‘Alex put out a team that was good enough to win, but obviously not seeing players like Rooney, Ferdinand, Scholes and Vidic on the team-sheet is a benefit,’ said Dowie.
   ‘To talk about players that weren’t here, though, would be a travesty for Coventry City. We restricted United to very few out-and-out chances. There was one great save by our keeper, Andy Marshall, but that speaks volumes for our defence and our desire.
   ‘To get a clean-sheet at Old Trafford against United is a big thing for us and the players have really made me proud. They had players like Carrick, O’Shea, Nani and Anderson on the field from the 55th minute, so it is a very good performance for us.
   ‘I’ve been here a few times as a player and a manager and gone away with a few hidings, so it’s nice to come away with a win.’
   Mifsud has earned the nickname ‘Mosquito’ during his nine months at Coventry and Dowie claims that the striker can sometimes be too quick for his own good.
   ‘Mifsud buzzes around and he can be a real pest, but he is so quick sometimes that he can be too quick for himself,’ he said.
   ‘That can be a problem, but we have worked on his finishing and this will have done him good tonight.’

Villarreal took the lead in La Liga after they won 2-0 at Racing Santander on Wednesday.
   First-half goals from Turkish international Nihat Kahveci and their American-born Italian striker Guiseppe Rossi secured pole position on goal difference from local rivals Valencia, who laboured to a 2-1 win over Getafe.
   The two teams both have 12 points from their five games, with unbeaten Barcelona one point further back after inflicting a 4-1 thrashing on Real Zaragoza.
   However, Villarreal’s lead may only last a little over 24 hours as Real Madrid, who started the week on top, have a game in hand and play host to struggling Real Betis on Thursday.
   The unbeaten reigning Spanish champions need only to draw with Betis, who have yet to win this season, to leapfrog over the three teams who are ahead of them.
   After Racing had several good early chances, Kahveci broke the deadlock six minutes before half time after a superb pass from the right flank by Chilean winger Matias Fernandez.
   Racing were reduced to 10 men on 62 minutes after defender Aldo Duscher was dismissed for a wild tackle on Cani Garcia.
   Guiseppe Rossi then secured three points for the visitors when he scored, his fourth goal of the season, from a Robert Pires pass after 76 minutes.
   ‘Duscher’s sending off wasn’t decisive. Our effectiveness was,’ reflected Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini.
   ‘This was a very good victory against a team that was waiting for us, a team that had only lost once and that against a very good team before we met them,’ added the Chilean coach.
   Valencia were made to work hard for their fourth successive win but eventually triumphed after first half goals from Spanish internationals David Silva and David Villa.
   Silva opened the scoring after 15 minutes, jumping on the ball after Getafe goalkeeper Oscar Ustari failed to properly clear a Fernando Morientes shot.
   Villa, last season’s top domestic scorer with 16 goals, then got his first of this season on the half hour when he hammered home a pass from Valencia captain David Albelda.
   Getafe midfielder Braulio Nobrega got one back but, despite some late pressure, the visitors from Madrid could not quite salvage a draw.
   ‘We gave away the two goals and that makes life difficult however well you play after that,’ said Getafe’s under-fire coach Michael Laudrup.
   The result means that Getafe are still without a win this season and are just one place off the bottom of the Spanish first division.
   Barcelona produced their best performance of the season to unravel Real Zaragoza with four first-half goals.
   Argentine winger Lionel Messi found the net after just five minutes but Zaragoza’s Alberto Zapater equalised four minutes later.
   However, the 2006 European champions quickly got back into their stride and Messi took barely a minute before he sent a cross from Deco into the back of the net to give Barca the lead again.
   Andres Iniesta and Rafa Marquez added more goals before the break before the Catalan club stepped off the gas in the second half.
   Thierry Henry once again disappointed and – with the crowd chanting ‘Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho’ and clamouring for the return of the Brazilian – squandered several chances late in the game despite the best efforts of his team-mates to set him up with a gilt-edged goal scoring chance.
   ‘Messi is probably the best player in the world at the moment, not only for his goals but for his all-round play,’ Zaragoza coach Victor Fernandez said.
   Osasuna got their first win of the season with an emphatic 4-1 defeat of bottom club Levante.
   Uruguayan striker Walter Pandiani put the hosts ahead with a header after 31 minutes, connecting with a Jose Izquierdo cross from the right wing, but Levante equalised through Felix Ettien just three minutes later.
   Pandiani then put Osasuna back in front six minutes after the break and Juanfran Torres added the Pamplona-based side’s third from the edge of the area just before the hour.
   Javi Garcia finished off the thrashing 14 minutes from time to leave Levante continuing to prop up the Spanish first division with just a solitary point to their name.

Barcelona’s under-fire Brazilian star Ronaldinho will return to the pitch for Tuesday’s Champions League match against Stuttgart, according to Spanish press reports on Thursday.
   The club was forced to issue a statement supporting Ronaldinho on Wednesday after widespread media speculation that they were looking to sell the Brazilian for a reported 70 million euros (95 million dollars) to Chelsea.
   A club statement read, ‘In the face of the avalanche of information and opinions about the absence of first-team player Ronaldinho from the last two league games, Barcelona wishes to clarify:
   ‘That the absence of the player is strictly medical – specifically related to a calf problem in his right leg, as was officially announced last Saturday.
   ‘That the player, the same as the rest of the players at the club, has the support of all the organisation to recover from his physical problems.
   ‘That Ronaldinho is considered a basic piece of the current sporting project, and as such, there are no plans other than for his continuity in the first team.’
   ‘(Barca) consider Ronaldinho a major element of its current sporting project,’ continued the statement, adding that as such there was no chance of his not playing a key role in the first team once fit again.
   Ronaldinho’s brother and agent, Roberto de Assis, admitted the player had experienced ‘a difficult period’ and didn’t rule out a possible departure despite his contract until 2010.
   ‘Leave Barcelona? In football things change fast. But at Barcelona he has an idyllic life, but that’s not to say he will never want to leave,’ Assis told the daily AS Sport.
   Ronaldinho joined Barcelona in 2003 and his silky skills have helped them to two league titles and the Champions League in 2006.
   Ronaldinho could reportedly join Chelsea for as little as £14-million next summer.
   According to The Sun the brilliant Brazilian will be able to use a FIFA rule to buy out the remaining two years of his Barcelona contract.
   The rule says any player aged 28 or older who has played for the same club for five years can buy his freedom.
   Ronaldinho has become frustrated at the Catalan club, and the failure to agree on a new long-term contract.
   His brother Roberto De Assis admitted to the tabloid, ‘Contact with Milan or Chelsea? It is well known I have relationships with a lot of people and we talk about several different players.
   ‘A player like my brother can attract the greatest clubs.
   De Assis also denied reports Ronaldinho has fallen out with Barca coach Frank Rijkaard at a time when the Spanish media is making allegations about his private life.

Russia coach Guus Hiddink revealed on Thursday that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has asked him to take over as manager of the Premiership giants.
   Dutch national coach Marco van Basten and former Germany boss Jurgen Klinsmann have both been linked with the job which Avram Grant currently holds, leading Chelsea to issue a statement on Wednesday insisting no one had been offered the job to replace Jose Mourinho.
   But Hiddink said the club’s Russian billionaire owner asked him if he wanted to return to club management. Hiddink, 60, said in the Daily Express, ‘Abramovich asked me “What do you want?”. I told him that right now I want to do nothing else except concentrate on Russia.
   ‘I want to see this through now and then see what happens. We like living in Moscow and they seem to like us,’ said Hiddink.
   Hiddink could be available in November when Russia’s Euro 2008 campaign comes to an end, but with the side looking good for qualification, Abramovich, who pays half Hiddink’s 1.2 million pounds-a-year wages, may have to wait until after next summer’s finals before making his move.
   ‘We have started a project here with this team and they want us to stay for another two years after the European Championships,’ added the Dutchman.

Manchester United serves up the worst footie food in Europe, says a survey.
   Yet the 76,000-capacity Old Trafford stadium was rated as the best ‘overall experience’.
   In the grub stakes, Glasgow clubs Rangers and Celtic had the next most disliked meals, followed by Tottenham and Chelsea. Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium was the top culinary experience, along with Barcelona while Delia Smith’s Norwich was third. Scottish battlers Kilmarnock were in fourth place and Wigan fifth.
   United fans would have felt sick enough last night after their team lost 2-0 to Coventry in the Carling Cup.
   But supporter Paul Simms of Salford told The Sun, ‘The grub is terrible. It’s always half cold and overpriced.’
   A United spokesman said, ‘We like to think we serve up the right ingredients on and off the pitch.’
   Liverpool’s Anfield was voted as having the best atmosphere of any stadium in Europe.
   Tottenham’s White Hart Lane has the worst public transport access, according to the online poll of more than 1,100 season-ticket holders who could not vote for their own team.

UEFA president Michel Platini on Thursday ruled out the introduction of video replays to solve controversial calls in football games but said he favoured the eventual use of goal-line technology. Platini was speaking after chairing a two-day meeting of the executive committee of European football’s top body here.
   ‘Football must remain human, but we must also try to limit mistakes,’ said Platini, who insisted that he was ‘totally opposed’ to the use of instant video replay which has been widespread in rugby for many years.
   The French football legend believes that the solution to controversial calls would be to have ‘two additional assistant referees to keep a watch on the penalty areas’.
   But he said that he was not against a system to determine whether the ball has crossed the goal-line, similar to Hawk-Eye used in tennis and cricket.
   Platini, meanwhile, reiterated his concern over the growing role of money in football, citing in particular ‘foreigners who come and buy clubs in England just to get richer’.
   ‘Of course they (the English) can do what they want, but it is dangerous,’ he warned.
   Platini wrote last week to European leaders, warning against ‘the malign and ever-present influence of money’ in the sport, whose ‘main purpose has always been to win trophies’.
   UEFA, meanwhile, also approved the procedure for the draw for the Euro 2008 finals which will take place on December 2 in Lucerne, Switzerland. Hosts Switzerland and Austria will be placed into groups A1 and B1 respectively, and the 14 other teams divided into four pots.
   ‘Pot 1 will comprise reigning European champions Greece if they qualify for the tournament as well as the team with the highest coefficient,’ UEFA said in a statement.
   ‘The other teams will then be placed in the three remaining pots based on the coefficient obtained in the qualifying competition of the 2006 FIFA World Cup and for UEFA Euro 2008.’
   UEFA’s next Executive Committee meeting will take place in Lucerne on November 30 and December 1, just ahead of the draw.