A moment of genius from Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool the narrowest of advantages in their Champions League quarter-final tie with Arsenal after a pulsating first leg at the Emirates finished 1-1 on Wednesday.
   Headed into the lead by Emmanuel Adebayor mid-way through the first half, Arsenal had the chances to have won here and will long complain after being denied what appeared to be a clear penalty 20 minutes from the end of a second half they overwhelmingly dominated.
   But it will be Liverpool who kick off at Anfield next week as marginal favourites to progress to the last four after Gerrard brilliantly set up Dirk Kuyt for the precious away goal that levelled the match three minutes after Adebayor’s strike.
   ‘That was really important,’ said Kuyt, referring to his goal.
   ‘We had a few other little chances and were a bit unlucky not to get another goal,’ added Kuyt, who also scored for Liverpool in the previous Champions League round against Inter Milan.
   Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left understandably frustrated.
   ‘I feel we are not paid for what we produced tonight and to finish a game like that 1-1 is disappointing,’ said the Frenchman, who is yet to win the Champions League.
   ‘But we produced the performance we wanted and we had the chances to win the game. Liverpool created very little tonight and the whole second half was played in their half.’
   He was left seething too by the decision not to award the penalty.
   ‘It was a blatant penalty just under the eyes of the referee. That is a few times that has happened to us now and it is very difficult to accept.’
   However, Kuyt insisted that he had not deliberately fouled Hleb.
   ‘It is a split second thing and you have to decide, but I didn’t pull his shirt or anything. It was close but it wasn’t a penalty.’
   Wenger’s Liverpool counterpart Rafael Benitez praised his side’s hardworking performance but summed up in one sentence what would be the crucial factor.
   ‘The away goal is crucial in Europe,’ said Benitez, who has reserved his best results for European competition.
   Opening skirmishes that were far less guarded than anyone had anticipated generated a couple of minor alarms in both goalmouths before Mathieu Flamini produced the match’s first moment of real quality.
   From the centre circle, the Frenchman’s forward chip fell invitingly for Robin van Persie in between Liverpool’s back-pedalling centrebacks and Jose Reina but the Dutchman’s attempt at a volleyed finish comfortably cleared the Liverpool goalkeeper’s bar.
   Reina was forced to make a save from van Persie a minute later, after neat build-up work by Cesc Fabregas and Adebayor, and it was from the resulting corner that Arsenal claimed the lead.
   After a quick tap to Fabregas, van Persie’s delivery was a straightforward inswinger to the edge of the six-yard box. But with Reina rooted to his line and the Liverpool centrebacks missing in action, Adebayor was able to nod his side into the lead.
   Sami Hyypia in particular will not enjoy watching the replays. The Finn was conspicuously static as Adebayor rose unchallenged in front of him.
   The home side’s celebrations were quickly curtailed however by the brilliant improvisation of Gerrard at the end of a counter-attack that the Liverpool captain had launched himself.
   The move appeared to be running out of steam when Ryan Babel over-ran the ball on the left of the box. Fortunately for Liverpool, it trundled into the path of Fernando Torres and the Spaniard’s lay-off gave Gerrard the platform to work his magic through the inside-left channel.
   Emmanuel Eboue bought a dummy, Kolo Toure was side-stepped and Flamini was left trailing before the Liverpool captain cut the ball back across goal for Kuyt to bundle the equaliser over the line from close range.
   Manuel Almunia did well to deny Kuyt a second goal in the opening minute of the second half after the Dutchman had latched on to a Martin Skrtel knockdown.
   Understandably wary of travelling to Anfield without a lead, Arsenal began to turn the screw and, after Skrtel had cleared Adebayor’s hooked shot off the line, the Londoners were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty when Hleb appeared to be manhandled by Kuyt as he wriggled into space deep in the box.
   Arsenal’s frustration was understandable but it was only to be exacerbated as Fabregas fired a 20-yard effort then
   prodded an Adebayor cross
   goalwards only to see his
   own team-mate, substitute Nicklas Bendtner, block the ball on the Liverpool goalline in a near comical moment that pretty much summed up the Gunner’s night.

Bangladesh Biman finished as the top team of the round robin league of the Premier Division Cricket League securing a dramatic two-run victory over BKSP at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Thursday.
   City Club confirmed a Super League spot defeating Victoria in the eleventh and last round while Partex, Sonargaon Cricketers and Young Pegasus also registered victories. Kalabagan’s Najmus Sadat’s century against Pegasus went in vain.
   Biman, Mohammedan, Abahani, BKSP, Surjo Tarun and City Club will be playing in the Super League scheduled to start after Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan.
   Sonargaon Cricketers, Kalabagan and Young Pegasus will be playing in the relegation league. These three teams and Partex all earned six points but Partex escaped the relegation zone thanks to having a better run rate.
   Biman v BKSP
   Opting to bat, Biman scored 219-6 and then restricted BKSP to 217 in 49.5 overs to grab a dramatic victory. Javed Omar’s 39, Tamim Iqbal’s 60, Alok Kapali’s 45 and Asif Hossain’s 36 enabled Biman to put up a fighting score.
   Nasir Hossain and Raihan Anis both grabbed two wickets each.
   BKSP were going great guns with Mohammad Mithun chipping in with 35, Mushfiqur Rahim’s 40, Nasir Hosain’s 61 and Mahmudul Hasan’s 29 took them to the brink of victory but they fell just three runs short. Nabil Samad scalped four wickets conceding 34 runs.
   City Club v Victoria
   Batting first, City Club posted 253-6 against Victoria at the BKSP and later bowled their opponents out for 225 in 47.2 overs to seal a Super League berth. City openers Rasel al Mamun (71) and Imran Ahmed (57) put 134 runs for the first wicket. Rabiul Karim’s 20, Zahoor Elahi’s 29 and an unbeaten 23 from Arafat Salahuddin contributed to winners’ fighting total.
   Victoria’s run chase rode on Nasiruddin Faruqe’s 23, Farhad Hossain’s 38 and two identical 56-run innings from Mahmudullah Riyadh and Dhiman Ghosh. But all their efforts fell 29 runs short. Shafaq al Jabir grabbed 3-46 and Rashedul Islam scalped two for 35.
   Sonargaon v Surjo Tarun
   Sonargaon Cricketers scored 195-4 batting first at the BKSP and kept Tarun in check on 171-7 in a curtailed 30-over-a-side match. Mehrab Hossain scored 57, Mustafizur Rahman added 45 for Sonargaon. Uttam Sarker’s 20, Nayeem Islam’s 46, Khaled Masud’s 44 was not enough for Surjo Tarun. Kamrul Islam’s took three for 39 for Sonargaon.
   Kalabagan v Young Pegasus
   Najmus Sadat scored 104 out of the 235 made by Kalabagan, but Young Pegasus still clinched a one-wicket victory. Rabiul Islam scored 51, Rahat Sadek added 54 for Young Pegasus.
   Old DOHS v Partex
   Old DOHS scored 186 all out on 36.5 overs while Partex scored 187-6 in 35.1 overs to clinch a four-wicket victory. Rajin Saleh of Old DOHS scored 49 while Tareq Ahmed’s 41 was the highest score for Partex.

South Africa (223/4) lead India (76) by 147 runs at stumps, day 1
   Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers consolidated South Africa’s position with half-centuries after Dale Steyn sparked a sensational Indian collapse in the second Test here on Thursday.
   The 24-year-old Steyn gave a magnificent display of fast bowling on a lively track to finish with 5-23 as India crashed to 76 in their first innings in one of their worst batting performances in recent years.
   Kallis (60 not out) and De Villiers (59 not out) put on 106 for the unfinished fifth-wicket stand to press home the advantage given by Steyn as South Africa reached 223-4 in reply at stumps, for a lead of 147 runs.
   India made a horror start after winning the toss as their batsmen looked clueless against a quality pace attack led by Steyn, who bagged his eighth haul of five or more wickets in a Test innings.
   Steyn was brilliantly supported by Makhaya Ntini (3-18) and Morne Morkel (2-20) as India were dismissed before lunch on the opening day for the first time in Test cricket. The innings lasted only 20 overs.
   India’s total was their lowest against South Africa and the second-lowest at home in Tests. It was also their second-shortest innings, after 17 overs against England at Lord’s in 1974, when they were shot out for 42.
   ‘The wicket helped us here a lot more than it did in Chennai (venue for the first Test). There was a little bit of movement here,’ said Steyn.
   ‘It probably scared the Indians a bit once one or two wickets fell. It just looked like it sent a couple of shivers down the Indian batting line-up.
   ‘It looked like the guy that came in next didn’t know how to approach it. They were bowled out for 76 and I guess that’s what happens when you don’t have a gameplan or strategy.’
   Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh briefly boosted India’s hopes of restricting South Africa’s lead with three wickets in four overs, but Kallis and De Villiers batted sensibly to deny the hosts further success.
   South Africa gained the lead without losing a wicket as skipper Graeme Smith (34) and Neil McKenzie (42) put on 78 for the opening wicket.
   Harbhajan removed first-Test century-makers McKenzie and Hashim Amla (16) before accounting for Ashwell Prince (two), but South Africa found the right pair in Kallis and De Villiers.
   The Indian batsmen, who had posted 627 on a flat track in the drawn opening Test in Chennai, were exposed against pace on a pitch having both pace and movement in the morning session.
   Irfan Pathan (21 not out) and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (14) were the only batsmen to reach double figures in a fragile batting performance. Extras were the second-highest contributors with 19.
   India were in danger of falling to their lowest-ever total of 66 against South Africa (at Durban in 1996) when they were 56-8, but Pathan and Rudra Pratap Singh put on 20 for the ninth wicket.
   Steyn took two big wickets when he dismissed hard-hitting Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid, India’s key batsmen in the previous match.
   ‘His (Sehwag’s) wicket was pretty decent as was that of Dravid. They are two good batsmen and that’s two wickets you want to get before the game,’ Steyn said, adding his best ball was the one that bowled Dravid.
   ‘I haven’t played too much in the subcontinent, especially in India, and I’ve never seen a pitch like this, with grass on it.’
   Sehwag, who hammered the fastest recorded triple-century in Chennai, made six this time before inside-edging a delivery on to his stumps.
   Dravid, who scored a hundred to join the 10,000-run club in the last match, was also beaten by the movement after making three.
   India’s batting problems began in the fourth over when Ntini had Wasim Jaffer (nine) caught by Smith, who held a low catch to his left at first slip.
   Ntini then bagged two wickets in his fourth over as Venkatsai Laxman was bowled shouldering arms and Sourav Ganguly played a delivery on to his stumps before Steyn and Morkel made short work of the Indian innings.

Jahid Hossain’s unwanted incident marred the special transfer day of the hockey players at the Maulana Bhasani National Stadium on Thursday. National custodian Jahid, who was one of the 11 players whose resignation from the national team was accepted by the hockey federation thus releasing them from the national team, turned his back on Usha and unexpectedly joined Abahani.
   As Yamin Hossain is injured and poised to miss the season, the rest of the nine players signed for Usha. Jahid was also set to join Usha but all of a sudden he opted to play for the crowd-pullers instead.
   All the ten players Jahid Hossain, Shahidullah Titu, Tabib-e-Noor, Shahidullah Khokon, SM Shakil, Shamsuddin Tuhin, Rahul Kanti Roy, Maksud Alam Habul, Jahidul Islam Rajon and Mustafizur Rahman Dinar opted to quit the national team for their inclusion in the 26-member national pool and hockey federation accepted the resignation allowing them to play for any club of their choice. As per the pool quota highest six players were eligible to play for one club.
   All the players including Jahid were scheduled to sign for Usha and they already received money as advance and they all came together to the federation. Then the incident occurred. As the news spread that Jahid had opted to sign for Abahani, angry Usha supporters manhandled him accusing him of being a traitor. Abahani supporters reacted and started counter chasing the Usha supporters. Suddenly the hockey federation turned into a battlefield.
   Sensing more danger the general secretary of hockey federation Sajed Adel intervened in the matter and cooled the situation. The players however were angry with the Jahid act. ‘He certainly acted like traitor because he was with was and then took money from Usha. There’s no reason to betray the others,’ said Tuhin, the defender.
   Jahid however presented a different view. ‘Usha was always saying that all of the ten players will have to play together. If I would have disclosed the fact earlier then a new episode of trouble may have occurred so I did not disclose anything to keep the situation cool. I think I helped my fellow players,’ said Jahid who reportedly took Tk 75,000 as advance of his Tk 1.5 lakh contract.
   Abdur Rashid Sikder, the general secretary of Usha, was frustrated with incident. ‘I never thought that Jahid would create a situation like that. We will seek that the player is banned by the federation. He was looking for club and we rescued him but look what he did,’ said Rashid.

The Pakistan Cricket Board sued paceman Shoaib Akhtar for 200 million rupees (three million dollars) on Thursday for making allegedly defamatory comments after he was banned for five years.
   Akhtar was banned by the PCB on Tuesday, a move that effectively ends his career after a series of disciplinary problems culminating in a public outburst against the board for not giving him a contract.
   ‘We demand the immediate retraction of allegations from Akhtar in various statements which were malicious and baseless,’ PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf told AFP.
   ‘He must apologise and pay damages of 100 million rupees to the PCB and damages of 100 million rupees to me.’
   In a letter made public by the board, lawyers for PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf demanded the money for a ‘malicious and vile piece of defamation’ allegedly made by Akhtar in a television interview on Wednesday.
   The letter said that in the interview with the Express News Channel, Akhtar alleged that Ashraf had ‘pressurised you for and tried to extort from you’ payments from Akhtar’s Indian Premier League contract, and that the five-year ban was a response to Akhtar’s alleged refusal.
   Akhtar and several other Pakistan players have signed for the multi-billion dollar IPL, which starts from April 18.
   The lawyers’ letter said he should pay Ashraf 100 million rupees ‘for defaming him personally’ and the same amount again ‘for sullying the name of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan cricket team.’
   ‘By alleging that players have given me a commission to join the IPL, he has tarnished the image of his fellow players as well,’ said Ashraf.
   Reports from India said the IPL has also barred Akhtar from featuring in the lucrative league until his five-year ban is averted.
    ‘Shoaib has been banned from playing and until his ban is lifted he cannot play in the IPL,’ Modi the League chairman told Reuters.
   ‘We know his appeal against the ban is coming up for hearing,’ he said. ‘We’re hoping his ban will be lifted. He is a great player and we want him to play.
   ‘But he cannot play in IPL as long as the ban is applicable.’
   Ashraf denied he put any pressure on the IPL to stop Akhtar playing for them. The PCB said Tuesday that Akhtar was only banned from playing for Pakistan or in Pakistan.
   ‘We stand by our commitment to allow Akhtar to play anywhere in the world and its the IPL’s decision to ban him from playing, we have nothing to do with that,’ said the PCB chairman.
   Ashraf said the ban on Akhtar had nothing to do with any personal confrontation with the fast bowler.
   ‘It (the ban) is a matter between the PCB and Akhtar but the malicious, baseless and outrageous allegations he has levelled against me are mud-slinging and I will fight that myself,’ said Ashraf.
   Ashraf said if Akhtar appeals against the ban the matter will be dealt with by the book.

The National Sports Awards for 2007 will be handed over to 10 sports personalities of the country at a function at the Osmani Memorial Hall on April 8.
   Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed will hand over the awards to the recipients at 10:30am. The special assistant to the chief adviser for youth and sports, Mahbub Jamil, will preside over the function.
   The award winners are: Sharmila Roy (athletics), Ranjit Das (football), Amir Hossain Patwari (kabaddi), Lt Commander (retd) Arshad Hossain (swimming), Aminul Islam (judo), Nurul Islam (hockey), Engineer Sheikh Abul Hashem (badminton), Prof Dr Rashiduddin Ahmed (basketball), late Ataul Haq Mallik (organiser, posthumous) and Kazi Anisur Rahman (organiser). Each award carries a gold medal, cash prize of Tk 20,000 and a certificate.

The Jessore District Stadium is ready to stage the Grameenphone Academy Cup four-day match between the GP-BCB National Academy and South Africa National Academy which begins today. The match is scheduled to start at 10:00am. An opening ceremony will be held at 9:30am. The South African team, which arrived here on Tuesday, had another training session at the venue on Thursday that nearly last two and a half hours.
   Before leaving for the stadium coach Grant Morgan told New Age that his team had fully prepared for the match and he expected a good performance from the players.
   ‘We have young players in our team. Bangladesh has also some young stars,’ he said.
   The tourists also spent some time with 20 young cricketers of Jessore.
   Squads
   GP-BCB Academy: Nazmul Hossain, Talha Jubayer, Jahirul Islam Ami, Sohrawardi Shuvo, Dollar Mahmood, Raihan Uddin Arafat, Imrul Kayes, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Mushfiqur Rahim, Enamul Haque Jr, Nazmus Sadat and Naim.
   SA Academy: Matthew Arnold, Sammy-Joe Avontuur, Bradley Barnes, Richard Das Neves, CJ de Villiers, Reeza Hendricks, Rushdi Jappie, Mondli Mahlombe, Mafinki Serame, Mthokozisi Shezi, Abdul Aziz Temoor, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Dane Vilas and Neil Wagner.

The final of the Boost U-13 Twenty20 Power Cup will be played at the Kalabagan Krira Chakra playground on Saturday.
   The match starts at 10:00am and it will be followed by the prize-giving ceremony.
   Former national captain Gazi Ashraf Hossain, who is now chairman of the CCDM, will attend the final as the chief guest. Minhajul Abedin, another former Bangladesh captain, Carlton Bermardus, BCB’s deputy manager, game development, and GS Hasan, member secretary, game development of BCB, will be present as the special guests.

Banned fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar claims he was offered cash to underperform in matches in South Africa and India, but he refused to take part in any match-fixing.
   ‘I was offered billions of rupees in betting. There was a briefcase full of money placed on the table before me in Johannesburg,’ Akhtar said in television interviews broadcast late on Wednesday.
   ‘I was never tempted yet I am punished for doing nothing wrong,’ he said, alleging a link between his ban this week and the unspecified bribe offers.
   Akhtar was banned for five years for repeated disciplinary breaches, effectively ending the maverick paceman’s controversial career.
   The 32-year-old appeared before a disciplinary committee charged with publicly criticising the country’s cricket board. He was already on two years’ probation for hitting a team-mate with a bat last year.
   Akhtar, whose 11-year career has been plagued by injuries, discipline problems and a doping scandal in 2007, has vowed to appeal the ban with the Pakistan Cricket Board and take the matter to the civil courts if required.
   ‘I don’t want to sensationalise things, but by saying this I want to let the people know how much I love to play for my country and I have never tried to damage the name of my country,’ he said in the interviews.
   ‘Even in India I was offered money to under-perform and on various other occasions but I told the people who offered me money to run away or I will let loose,’ said Akhtar.
   ‘I never tried to sell cricket or my country’s name. I was never tempted by money. I have played my cricket clean but the ban has hurt me badly.’
   Akhtar, who has taken 178 wickets in 46 Tests and 219 in 138 one-day matches, did not specify when he was offered the massive bribes.
   But he was part of the Pakistan team that toured India twice in 1998 and 2007 and South Africa in 2002, 2003 and 2007.

Haroon Lorgat, the former convenor of South African selectors, seemed set on Wednesday to be offered the job of chief executive of the International Cricket Council.
   The 48-year-old met ICC president Ray Mali and president-elect David Morgan in Cape Town and said he expected an announcement from the world body by the weekend. ‘We had a good meeting and I suppose it could be said that the ICC have made a proposition to me. I indicated my willingness to accept,’ said Lorgat.
   A chartered accountant, Lorgat served as treasurer of the United Cricket Board of South Africa before he was appointed convenor of selectors in 2004. He held the post until 2007.
   Lorgat said the ICC ‘needs to complete the process of appointing the next chief executive’ but said he expected an announcement before the weekend.
   ‘It is certainly a very exciting prospect for me,’ he added.
   Lorgat was a partner in a major international accountancy firm before recently setting up a consultancy partnership.
   Mali and Morgan will need to consult their fellow members of a four-man recruitment commit - Indian cricket president Sharad Pawar and Australian cricket chairman Creagh O’Connor - before making a recommendation to the ICC board.
   Lorgat is the second South African to be targeted for the job. Imtiaz Patel, chief executive of the SuperSport television company and like Lorgat a South African of Asian descent, turned down an offer earlier this week.
   The new chief executive will take over from Australian Malcolm Speed after the ICC annual conference which takes place between June 29 and July 4.
   Lorgat was one of the leading all-rounders in the nonracial SA Cricket Board, which played in opposition to the mainly white SA Cricket Union before the formation of the United Cricket Board in 1991. He was an opening batsman and medium-paced bowler.
   He played club cricket for five years in the unified system but said unity came too late for him to play at a higher level.

India has shortened the Olympic torch relay route for New Delhi and put security officials on high alert after learning that Tibetan activists intended to disrupt the event, reports said Thursday.
   The move is intended to prevent ‘embarrassing’ protests as the flame passes through the country later this month, officials said. Concern over the event will see police and security officials ordered to keep a close eye on exiled Tibetan groups.
   The Olympic torch had been scheduled to be carried from the Red Fort to India Gate, a distance of around nine kilometres (six miles), but will now only travel a mere 2-3 kilometres on Indian soil, the Press Trust of India reported.
   ‘The route has been shortened and the details of it will be made known on a later date,’ Indian Olympic Association secretary general Randhir Singh told PTI. According to an Indian home ministry security advisory seen by AFP, ‘Tibetan activists intend to disrupt the event’ and police need to ‘remain alert at all times.’

Cristiano Ronaldo has watched countless re-runs of Manchester United’s 1999 Champions League triumph.
   Now he is determined to make history of his own.
   Ronaldo produced a brilliant performance as he scored the opener in United’s 2-0 win away to Roma on Tuesday.
   It has all but booked the club’s place in the semi-finals.
   But Ronaldo, 23, is convinced they will go further and win the final in Moscow on May 21 to prove his and this team’s greatness.
   Ronaldo said, ‘Many times I have watched on television as Manchester United won this trophy. It is something I want to do as well.
   ‘I was 14 years old then, living in Madeira. Since then, I have watched the match time and time again on TV at home in Manchester.
   ‘The manager has said United should have won it more than twice. I think the same. This is a fantastic club with great players. We have the experience. We have the team. We have a great chance.
   ‘It is a great competition and it would be such a great experience to win it.
   ‘Every one of the lads wants to win not just the Champions league but the Premier League also.
   ‘We know we have a good chance because we are in such a good position.’
   Ronaldo believes this United team are now peaking just at the right time for glory.
   He added, ‘I feel the team is more mature and that I am more mature, too. We know there is a big difference between the Champions League and the Premier League.
   ‘The lads know that and I think we produced a fantastic result in Rome.
   ‘I think the team improves every year. In fact, at the moment the team is brilliant. Everyone is so confident.
   ‘We are experiencing a good moment and are playing nice football with such maturity.’
   United look the best team in Europe right now and Ronaldo admitted, ‘Maybe we are the best team at the moment.
   ‘But we must not forget you have Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and also Barcelona. Even so, we are in a very good position right now.
   ‘To win 2-0 at a big team like Roma is a very, very good result.
   ‘And the lads know if we carry on like this we have a good chance to win the Champions League. But we have to take it game by game. If we do that, then we will be OK.’
   Ronaldo’s thunderous header for the first goal in the Olympic Stadium established him as the leading scorer in this season’s competition with seven – one more than Lionel Messi of Barca.
   It was also the wing wonder’s 36th goal in all competitions in what is proving to be a phenomenal season.
   The Portuguese superstar said, ‘I am very happy to score important goals but you must remember my team-mates give me the passes.’
   Cristiano also insists he has not been ‘taking the mickey’ following criticism from Roma midfielder David Pizarro.
   The Manchester United winger was called a ‘big head’ by Pizarro after Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League meeting in Rome, which the Red Devils won 2-0.
   Pizarro was booked for a challenge on Ronaldo just before half-time as the Portugal international displayed his fancy footwork moments after heading United in front.
   Ronaldo has been accused of showboating throughout his United career, but is adamant his tricks are only done for the benefit of the team.
   ‘I’ve not been taking the mickey or playing the fool with anybody,’ Ronaldo told reporters.
   ‘On the field I respect my adversary. If someone thinks my moves are mockery then they are wrong.
   ‘If I’ve a certain attitude it’s simply because I have always had it and will continue to do that. I play for the team and not to show off.’

Diego Maradona was always dangerous on the left. Now most of his friends are dangerous leftwingers too.
   The Argentinian football legend has been hailed as ‘His Excellency’ by no less a fan than President Ahmadinejad of Iran.
   In an unlikely gesture of solidarity, Maradona last year presented Iran with a football shirt expressing his love for the country and its people - an article now displayed in the museum of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
   On Wednesday Mr Ahmadinejad got back to him. ‘I am sincerely thankful for His Excellency’s kindness towards the righteous and revolutionary Iranian nation,’ the president replied, in a message of thanks carried by the official news agency IRNA. ‘Latin America is the land of pure, hospitable, kind and oppressed nations, on whose body one can see deep whip scars dealt by centuries of world arrogance.’

AS Roma chief Bruno Conti lashed out at Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday, a day after the Portuguese flyer scored in Manchester United’s 2-0 Champions League victory in Italy.
   Roma now need a minor miracle to progress to the semi-finals following their home defeat in the quarter-final first leg, where Wayne Rooney also got on the scoresheet.
   And it seems as if Ronaldo is bearing the brunt of Roman frustrations at seeing their Champions League hopes go up in flames.
   ‘There were several incidents that showed that he is a boy who needs to grow up,’ said Conti, who was a member of the Italian side that won the 1982 World Cup.
   ‘It’s tiresome to see certain things, such as making fun of opponents; there are champions who behave differently.’
   Ronaldo was whistled throughout the match and angered some players and fans by showboating.
   ‘Sometimes I try to do something a bit special, it’s a part of me,’ he told Italian TV after the game. ‘But I’m also a team player, even if sometimes I try to put on a show.’
   Despite the Serie A outfit’s near impossible task at Old Trafford next week Conti has not given up hope.
   ‘We’re saddened by the result. We need to go out and play the second leg knowing that we have nothing to lose,’ he told radio Centro Suono Sport.
   ‘At the end of the day we can’t criticise our lads for what they gave.
   ‘I don’t think Manchester had us under the cosh. Even in difficult moments our players know how to pull something out of the bag.
   ‘I am happy in the knowledge that even in difficulty these players can do something, they’re great professionals.
   ‘Soon there will be the reaction, we’re convinced about what they can achieve.’

World Player of the Year front-runner Cristiano Ronaldo might be setting Europe alight this season, but he only ranks eighth in a list of the world’s most lavishly paid players.
   A photocopied list of the top 50 earners, compiled by inside sources, is making its way around the Internet, allowing for some interesting wage comparisons.
   AC Milan’s Kaka tops the pile – raking in $286,876 per week, or just less than $15 million a year – with second-place Barcelona ace Ronaldinho making similar money.
   As one would expect, big-spending Chelsea’s presence in the top 10 hints at its astronomical wage bill. Frank Lampard and John Terry are third and fourth, with Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack also in the top seven.
   Liverpool striker Fernando Torres is sandwiched between his Blues rivals in fifth place, while Barca’s Thierry Henry and Reds skipper Steven Gerrard complete the top 10.
   Perhaps the biggest surprise, then, is 36-goal Manchester United winger Ronaldo, who earns $40,000 less than Kaka – $244,800 per week. However, an oft-proposed move to Spain’s La Liga would surely put his earnings into the stratosphere.
   There are a few surprising names on the list. Portsmouth’s Sol Campbell earns more than $210,000 a week in 15th, while Tottenham’s Darren Bent’s salary is put at $189,338
   and Liverpool’s injury-plagued midfielder Harry Kewell ranks 39th.
   England cap centurion David Beckham, meanwhile, is at $142,000 per week with the Los Angeles Galaxy. However, his position in 44th is slightly misleading, as his MLS contract is structured in such a way that he also earns a percentage of ticket and jersey sales.
   Still, it’s quite a drop from the reported $240,000 per week he received during his spell at Real Madrid.
   The top ten
   1. Kaka (AC Milan): $14.9 million per year
   2. Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona): $14.1 million
   3. Frank Lampard (Chelsea): $13.5 million
   4. John Terry (Chelsea): $13.5 million
   5. Fernando Torres (Liverpool): $13.1 million
   6. Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea): $12.9 million
   7. Michael Ballack (Chelsea): $12.9 million
   8. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United): $12.7 million
   9. Thierry Henry (FC Barcelona): $12.7 million
   10. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool): $12.7 million
   *Other notable mentions include Michael Owen (Newcastle United), 14th with $11.1 million; Robinho (Real Madrid), 23rd with $9.2 million; Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan) 29th with $8.3 million; Samuel Eto’o (FC Barcelona) 32nd with $8.3 million; Beckham (LA Galaxy), 44th at $7.5 million. Meanwhile, there are no Arsenal players on the list.

World number two Rafael Nadal rallied for a three-set victory Wednesday over James Blake to book his semi-final berth at the ATP and WTA Sony Ericsson Open.
   Nadal, seeded second behind world number one Roger Federer, defeated Blake 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 as he moved a step closer to his first title of 2008.
   It was the Spaniard’s second victory over Blake in as many starts, following his quarter-final win over the American at Indian Wells.
   Prior to that, Blake had won the first three career meetings between the two.
   Nadal earned the break he needed in the third game of the of the third set, and held on to close out the match in 1hr 55min.
   Nadal said the key to his changing fortune against Blake was a more aggressive, albeit riskier, stance.
   In the semi-finals, Nadal will face Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych, who eliminated Russian Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-4 in the day’s other men’s quarter-final.
   In women’s action fourth-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic reached the semi-finals when Russia’s Elena Dementieva retired while trailing in the second-set of their quarter-final clash.
   Jankovic led 6-1, 3-1 when Dementieva, battling a back injury for which she received treatment after the first set, decided she couldn’t continue because of pain in her lower back.
   ‘I think I played pretty good tennis, especially in the first set,’ Jankovic said. ‘I was really dictating the points.
   ‘It was my game overall that was out there on the court, and I was really happy with that. Unfortunately she stopped the match in the middle of the second set and there’s nothing I could do.’
   Jankovic, who had saved five match points in her battling second-round victory over Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson, booked a semi-final matchup with Vera Zvonareva, who beat Russian compatriot Dinara Safina 7-5, 6-4.
   Jankovic’s abbreviated quarter-final echoed her experience at Indian Wells, where she reached the semi-finals when American Lindsay Davenport retired from their contest with a back injury.

Manchester United have lost the services of Serbian centreback Nemanja Vidic for up to three weeks following the knee injury he suffered during Tuesday’s Champions League win over Roma.
   Vidic limped off after falling awkwardly in the Stadio Olimpico but a scan has assuaged fears of ligament damage.
   ‘There is no major damage to the left knee, and he will be out for two to three weeks,’ a club spokesman said on Thursday.
   Vidic has been a cornerstone of United’s superb form this season, his centreback pairing with Rio Ferdinand helping to make their defence comfortably the meanest in the English Premier League.
   United will defend a 2-0 quarter-final first leg lead against Roma at Old Trafford on Tuesday and the English champions are widely expected to advance to a semi-final meeting with Barcelona.

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has had his ban for being sent off against Manchester United extended from one to three matches following his refusal to leave the pitch.
   The Argentina international, who was also fined 15,000 pounds by the Football Association, had admitted a charge of improper conduct.
   The extension of the ban means he will miss Saturday’s league match at Arsenal and the home game against Blackburn on April 13. Liverpool are considering an appeal. ‘Although we received a fair hearing we must now decide whether to appeal on the basis of inconsistency of sentencing for Javier based on past precedents,’ a spokesman said.

Fenerbahce coach Zico called for his players to keep their focus after Turkish media on Thursday trumpeted the team’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg victory over Chelsea.
   Fenerbahce fans across Turkey celebrated long into the night after Wednesday’s 2-1 win, waving the club’s yellow and blue flags and parading through the streets sounding their car horns.
   There is now growing confidence Fenerbahce will become the first Turkish club to reach the Champions League semi-finals. The greatest previous success by a club from Turkey was Galatasaray’s UEFA Cup triumph in 2000.
   ‘Conquerors of Europe Fenerbahce write another epic in the Champions League,’ gushed a headline in Vatan newspaper. Zico was more measured as he turned his attention to next week’s second leg rather than the May 21 final in Moscow.
   ‘We are not thinking about Moscow now, but about the opponents in front of us... at Stamford Bridge,’ he said.
   Zico praised the performance of substitute Colin Kazim-Richards, who moved to Fenerbahce from English Championship (second division) side Sheffield United in 2007.
   Kazim-Richards equalised in the 65th minute when he beat the offside trap and rifled a shot past goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.
   ‘Colin is... slowly adapting to Turkish football. He has very good technical capacity. I am trying to give him confidence and strength,’ said Zico. ‘Colin will be an asset for Fenerbahce and the Turkish national side,’ he added.
   The front pages of the papers were filled with photos of Brazilian striker Deivid celebrating the 81st minute winner that turned him from villain to hero after his early own goal.
   ‘I’m not just happy about the goal I scored but because we won and I was able to make amends. I didn’t let my head drop. I stayed driven, I didn’t give up,’ Deivid said.
   The challenge now for both sides is to recover in time for next Tuesday’s return leg in London, Zico said. ‘The five-day period is very short for our recovery. This will have a negative impact on both us and Chelsea,’ he said.

Fenerbahce midfielder Deivid went from zero to hero as his side came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final, first leg.
   Deivid had looked like the villain of the peace when he gifted Chelsea the lead with an early own goal at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium.
   But the Turkish champions snatched an equaliser through Colin Kazim-Kazim midway through the second half and Deivid made amends for his earlier blunder with a breath-taking winner nine minutes from full-time.
   How Chelsea left Istanbul empty-handed only they will know. They were in complete control and should have been further in front before Kazim-Kazim struck.
   Avram Grant’s side will still believe they can overturn the deficit in the return at Stamford Bridge next week but the task is far harder than it should have been.
   Grant told Sky TV afterwards, ‘This is football. A game supposed to be 3-0 or 4-0 for us ends 2-1 against us.
   ‘We dominated the game, we created chances. At 1-1 Michael Ballack was in front of the goal. But this is football. Sometimes you don’t pay attention, you sleep and we lost the game.
   ‘Normally, it’s a good result to lose 2-1 away from home but because we played the better football it’s disappointing. Now they are coming to our home, we need to win the game.’
   His Fenerbahce counterpart Zico said that they had turned things round at half-time.
   ‘At the break we told the players that we had to take risks, that without taking them we would end up with nothing,’ said the former Brazil playing legend.
   ‘If we show the same attitude in England then I believe that we will get the result that sends us through to the semi-finals.’
   Fenerbahce had never been this far in the competition before and Chelsea’s visit was billed as the biggest match in their history.
   As the club’s volatile fans crammed into the stadium hours before kick-off, whipping the atmosphere to fever pitch, it was easy to see why they were unbeaten in the last 11 home European matches.
   In such a seething cauldron of noise, Grant needed Chelsea’s stars to show their greater experience at this rarified level.
   Every touch by a Chelsea player was greeted with an ear-splitting barrage of whistles, but Grant’s side have survived equally hostile environments many times before.
   They made an assured start and scored with their first serious attack in the 13th minute.
   Frank Lampard cleverly dummied Ashley Cole’s pass, allowing Florent Malouda to find space on the left side of the penalty area.
   He drove a low cross towards Didier Drogba and Deivid tried to clear but only succeeded in deflecting the ball past by wrong-footed keeper Volkan Demirel into his own net.
   Confidence now flowing, Michael Essien almost doubled Chelsea’s lead moments later with a swerving 25-yard strike that skimmed the crossbar.
   Drogba’s muscular presence unsettled Zico’s team time and again. He easily turned Gokcek Vederson to fire in a powerful shot that Demirel pushed away.
   With the hosts in disarray, Michael Ballack had yards of space to produce a majestic defence-splitting pass to Drogba. The Ivorian striker was only denied a goal by Demirel’s charge from his line to hack clear.
   The hosts could only improve after half-time and finally put together an attack of note when Alex glanced a header wide from Onder Turaci’s cross.
   Kazim-Kazim was an unlikely savour for Fenerbahce. He was called Kazim-Richards when he was bought by Brighton with a transfer fee donated by a fan who won a League Cup competition but changed his name after moving to Turkey last year.
   He certainly added some fizz to his side and Mateja Kezman responded with an overhead kick which Carlo Cudicini blocked at his near post.
   Ballack’s long-range effort drew a fine save from Demirel as Chelsea responded. Then out of nowhere Fenerbahce equalised as Grant’s side were caught sleeping at the back in the 65th minute.
   Mehmet Aurelio’s pass cut out Chelsea’s centre-backs and Kazim-Kazim timed his run perfectly before lashing it past Cudicini.
   ‘I can’t believe it!,’ beamed Kazim-Kazim.
   ‘To score the goal with my left foot for the first time ever, and against Chelsea is unbelievable!’
   Ballack should have restored Chelsea’s lead moments later but Demirel saved well to frustrate the German again. How Chelsea would rue that miss.
   There seemed little danger when Deivid took possession 30 yards out in the 81st minute. He quickly disproved that theory with a stunning strike that arrowed into the top corner.
   Ballack said afterwards, ‘We are very disappointed. We had a big chance to win here. Even after the 1-1 we had two good chances, me and Didier (Drogba) to score the second goal.
   ‘But we didn’t concentrate enough. We have to go again next week. It was our fault, the game was in our hands. We gave it away.’

Arsene Wenger has insisted that Arsenal’s Champions League showdown with Liverpool remains wide open, despite his side’s failure to grasp their chances to establish a first-leg lead to take to Anfield.
   Dirk Kuyt’s equaliser, brilliantly created by Steven Gerrard, cancelled out an Emmanuel Adebayor header at the Emirates and ensured Liverpool will kick off next Tuesday’s second leg as marginal favourites to progress to the last four.
   But Wenger believes the number of chances his side created on Wednesday evening augured well for their chances of performing an encore to their famous second-round win over AC Milan in the San Siro.
   ‘I cannot fault our display,’ the Frenchman said. ‘In a game like that you don’t create 20 chances, you create four or five and we had four or five while they took the one they had.
   ‘To finish a game like that 1-1 is disappointing. But we produced the performance we wanted and we had the chances to win the game. Liverpool created very little and the whole second half played in their half.’
   As well as the frustration at missed opportunities, Arsenal were left nursing a justifiable grievance over the referee’s failure to award a second-half penalty when Kuyt unbalanced Alexander Hleb with a tug from behind as the midfielder wriggled into space deep in the box.
   ‘It was a blatant penalty just under the eyes of the referee,’ Wenger complained. ‘That is a few times that has happened to us now and it is very difficult to accept.’
   Predictably, his counterpart Rafael Benitez did not see the penalty in such clear cut terms.
   ‘I watched the replay and I think it is not clear,’ said the Spaniard. ‘In England it is not a penalty.’
   The one thing that the managers did agree on was the significance of the run from Gerrard that carried the England midfielder past three Arsenal players before he sent in the cross for Kuyt to equalise three minutes after Adebayor’s opener.
   ‘Credit to Gerrard – he showed a touch of class on that goal,’ Wenger admitted, while Benitez admitted that his side’s evening may have evolved very differently without the intervention of their captain.
   ‘Arsenal are a very good team and when you concede a goal and you cannot score soon it becomes very difficult,’ Benitez said. ‘It was really important for us to score so fast.’
   Benitez knows how rare it is for teams to come to Anfield and win when the old stadium is bursting at the seams with fans used to feasting on European glory. But he also recognises the threat posed by Arsenal’s quality on the counter-attack.
   ‘They can score in any stadium,’ Benitez said. ‘When we play at Anfield with our supporters it makes a massive difference but we will have to defend very well and be very careful about the counters.
   ‘An away goal is always important in the Champions League. We know that if we can score it will be more difficult for them and if you need to play extra time it will be harder for them because we are at home.’
   Before the second leg, the two sides must play each other in the league, here on Saturday, and Wenger believes the physical impact of that encounter will have a role to play next Tuesday.
   ‘It is a little bit of a survival battle,’ he said. ‘The one that lasts out the best to the third game is the better team.’
   Arsenal’s opener came after Jose Reina had touched a Robin van Persie shot around his left-hand post, conceding a corner that Liverpool defended very poorly, allowing Adebayor a free header on the edge of the six-yard box.
   The home side’s celebrations were quickly curtailed, however, by the brilliant improvisation of Gerrard at the end of a counter-attack that the Liverpool captain had launched himself.
   Emmanuel Eboue bought a dummy, Kolo Toure was side-stepped and Mathieu Flamini was left trailing before the Liverpool captain cut the ball back across goal for Kuyt to bundle the equaliser over the line from close range.
   Manuel Almunia did well to deny Kuyt a second goal a minute after the restart but the second period was overwhelmingly dominated by Arsenal.
   Martin Skrtel cleared Adebayor’s hooked shot off the line, Hleb’s appeal for a penalty went unheeded and, most frustratingly of all, Cesc Fabregas’s goal-bound shot was blocked on the Liverpool line by one of his own team-mates, substitute Nicklas Bendtner, in a comical moment that summed up the Gunners’ night.

Avram Grant insists Chelsea can still reach the Champions League semi-finals despite watching Colin Kazim-Kazim take the fizz out of his side’s quarter-final first leg against Fenerbahce.
   Now they have it all to do in the return at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday, but Grant is convinced they will go through if they produce a similar level of performance.
   ‘I haven’t spoken to the players yet but the message will be we need to win the next game,’ Grant said. ‘We play at home in the second leg, we can win this game.
   ‘It is a fact that we lost but the most important thing is to be in the next round. We can do it. If we have this performance in the second leg it will be good.
   ‘We are at home and we need to win even though Fenerbahce are a good team. This is not the best result but it is not a bad result.’
   The bitter memory of Champions League semi-final defeats in three of the last four seasons has made Chelsea desperate to reach the final in Moscow this year.
   They will have to work harder than expected to achieve that dream now. But Grant was adamant his side should have won convincingly.
   ‘We played such good football we deserved to win 3-0 or 4-0. That would have been the normal result. Then one minute of sleeping and they are back in the game,’ he said.
   After Deivid turned Florent Malouda’s cross into his own net in the 13th minute, Chelsea dominated to such an extent that it seemed the only question was how many goals they would win by.
   Michael Essien hit the crossbar and Didier Drogba’s ferocious shot was parried by Volkan Demirel, who then raced off his line to tackle the Ivorian when Michael Ballack sent him clear just before half-time.
   Ballack was denied by Demirel early in the second half but then Fenerbahce coach Zico sent on Kazim-Kazim.
   Ricardo Carvalho went to sleep in the 64th minute when Mehmet Aurelio’s pass picked out Kazim-Kazim, who lashed a fine strike past Carlo Cudicini.
   Ballack missed again moments later and how costly it proved when Deivid beat Carlo Cudicini with an unstoppable 30-yard shot nine minutes from full-time.
   Kazim-Kazim, 21, was the most unlikely of heroes for Fenerbahce. Known as Kazim-Richards during his time in England with Bury, Brighton and Sheffield United, he changed his name when he moved to Istanbul last year.
   The Turkey striker’s most notable contribution to English football was to be signed by Brighton when a fan donated the £250,000 transfer fee after winning a Coca Cola competition.
   Now his influential cameo has left the game’s most expensively assembled squad in danger of another European let-down.
   Zico said, ‘Colin is getting used to the team and our play slowly. He is a quality player. When he can handle the adaptation problems he has had he will be a great asset.
   ‘That is what I’m trying to help him with. In the forthcoming days he will contribute a lot to Fenerbahce and the Turkish national team.
   Fenerbahce have never been this far in the competition before. Now they are
   within touching distance of a semi-final against Liverpool or Arsenal.
   Zico laughed off Grant’s claim that Chelsea should have won easily and insisted the pressure was all on the Blues now.
   ‘I believe there is no normal score in a match. The score is the one when the match finishes. If you don’t take your chances you won’t get the result you want. We managed to take our chances and got the result we wanted,’ he said.
   ‘In the second match if they win 1-0 they go through. But there is one truth. Chelsea has to come forward to beat us in London. This is an advantage for us because we also go looking for a goal.’

Football and crystal balls
   The winners of Euro 2008 are already known, two months before the first kick-off – according to one Austrian fortune-teller. Rosalinde Haller, who accurately predicted the 2004 Asian tsunami, says that Italy will win this year’s trophy after defeating Portugal in the final. Croatia and France will reach the semis, while Germany will go out in the quarters. But these results could still change ‘with a little physical and mental training,’ according to Haller. Don’t place your bets yet!
   
   Saved by the bell
   No need for Salzburg schoolchildren to skive off school during the Euro. The city plans to let them out at noon on match-days so they can avoid the crowds of supporters heading for the stadium...even though the games will only start at 8:45 pm.
   
   Crying ‘foul’ in every language
   For those who have always wanted to say ‘penalty shoot-out’ in Russian or who wish to demonstrate their knowledge of the offside rule in Portuguese, here is the answer. Learning centres in Vienna and Tirol are offering special language courses dedicated to the beautiful game. Students will also learn how to answer questions like ‘where is the stadium?’
   Speaking of which...
   Austrian Rail (OeBB) has roped in language teachers in the four host cities – Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt – to help welcome foreign fans when they step off the train and prevent them getting lost on the way to the stadium. ‘Because only a well-orientated fan is a safe fan,’ says OeBB.
   
   Volunteers’ football frenzy
   Over 17,600 people from 150 countries, even as far as Brazil, Senegal and Togo, have applied to work as volunteers during the championships. The lucky 5,000 will be contacted in mid-April after a months-long selection process including 4,000 hours of interviews.
   
   Cultivating sport
   Besides hosting the final, Vienna will also offer over 100 cultural events during the month of June, including musical and dance performances. Among them, concerts by Elton John, opera stars Anna Netrebko and Placido Domingo...and a more football-orientated concert of whistles conducted by Viennese artist Hermann Nitsch.
   
   We are the champions
   Austria’s four host cities will have a special fan radio for the duration of the competition. ‘Soundtrack to the Euro’ will debut in May and broadcast ‘the greatest football songs mixed with the coolest club hits’ as well as news about the championship. Co-hosts Switzerland, meanwhile, will have its own radio: ‘The Rhythm of Football.’
   
   Behind bars -1
   In case they run out of prison cells, Salzburg police will have three containers at their disposal to hold potentially disruptive fans. The containers will be set up near the stadium, the central police station and the airport. Perhaps to ship fans directly back to their country?
   
   Behind bars -2
   Bars in Salzburg will be allowed exceptionally to stay open until 4:00am on match-days, but only when the city is hosting a game or when Austria is playing. Residents of Mozart’s hometown will also be able to enjoy a later Kruegerl (half litre) of beer during the semi-finals and the final. Cheers!
   
   Good business
   With some 3 million visitors expected to descend on Austria during Euro 2008, local breweries are hoping to see their profits rise 10-20 per cent in May and June. And one brewer seems to have found a way around the strict licensing rules by offering a ‘2008 Euro’ beer. Unless customers mistake the name for the price of a pint...
   — AFP

Rumours that Ronaldinho will join AC Milan next season were heightened by photographs of his brother and agent Roberto Assis at a Milan restaurant with the Italian club’s vice-president Adriano Galliani.
   Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport published the photos on Thursday while speculating that a deal was being done to bring the former world player of the year to the San Siro from his present club Barcelona.
   However, it also pointed out that Assis was also agent to Milan’s Brazilian forward Ricardo Oliveira, currently on loan at Real Zaragoza, and could have been sorting out his future at the Italian giants.
   Ronaldinho is out of favour at Barcelona and rumours abound that he will leave at the end of the season, with Chelsea also touted as a possible destination.
   Meanwhile, Barcelona’s three-time African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’o on Wednesday urged the media to stop speculating about the leg muscle problem that has caused his team-mate Ronaldinho to miss the club’s last four Spanish league matches.
   ‘Leave him (Ronaldinho) in peace. Everyone talks and writes about it but no one waits for him to give his opinion, speak his truth. Leave him, when he is ready, he will speak,’ said the Cameroon star.
   ‘If he says that he is hurt, then he is hurt. There are injuries that can’t be seen in a scan.
   ‘Every day he is here working on his recovery and we can’t ask anything more of him,’ Eto’o added.
   Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard says the 28-year-old
   FIFA former World Player of the Year has been absent because of muscle ‘discomforts’ in his right leg.
   But a report from the Catalan club’s medical staff, published on March 17 on Barcelona’s website, said scans found he had ‘neither a tendon nor muscular injury.’
   The injury problem has fueled media speculation of a rift between Ronaldinho – whose performances have been criticised as never before this season – and the club with reports suggesting Barcelona will offload the Brazilian player at the end of the season.
   Last month Barcelona Joan Laporta moved to quash the media speculation, telling reporters there was no ‘divorce’ between the club and the player.
   Ronaldinho on Wednesday trained normally with the rest of his team-mates.

David Beckham’s departure from Real Madrid has reportedly helped plunge the world’s richest club into financial difficulties. Real have been forced to ask one of Spain’s biggest banks for an emergency loan of 30 million euros (about £23 million) to cover running costs, according to El Mundo, the Spanish newspaper. As well as the bank loan, it is claimed, directors at the club have been asked to raise additional funds.
   Real were named by Deloitte, the accountancy firm, as the world’s richest club as recently as February, but despite their vast assets and host of galacticos, their revenue has plummeted thanks to the world’s most marketable player leaving for the Los Angeles Galaxy and their early elimination from the Champions League in the past two years.
   Despite average attendances of 70,000 at the Bernabeu, Real took only £55 million in gate receipts last season, 60 per cent of Manchester United’s takings at the turnstiles. The club’s high wage bill and a hefty payoff to Fabio Capello, who earned £4 million a year as coach, mean that their margins are under pressure and they have reportedly run into cash-flow problems.
   The absence of Beckham was also felt – more keenly on the club’s balance sheet than on the pitch. His departure has cost the club between £24 million and £30 million, according to a study by the University of Catalonia. However, any financial difficulty is unlikely to be felt for long. The club boasted pre-tax profits of nearly £30 million last year and a turnover of about £250 million.

Spanish giants Barcelona have denied they will replace their under-fire Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard at the end of the season.
   Barcelona have recently lost ground to arch-rivals and league leaders Real Madrid, and now have only the Champions League to play for after being ousted from the Spanish Cup by Valencia.
   But despite the growing pressure on Rijkaard, the Catalan club have denied they are lining up his successor.
   ‘FC Barcelona emphatically denies that a decision has been taken to replace the football coach, Frank Rijkaard, for the next season,’ the club said in a statement late Wednesday.
   ‘The Dutch manager has a contract until the 2009 season and the board of directors has complete confidence in him,’ it added.
   Catalan television TV-3 reported on Wednesday that club president Joan Laporta had given the green light for the club’s former player Pep Guardiola and the coach of its reserve team to take over from Rijkaard.
   On the eve of Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Schalke 04 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday, sports daily Sport reported that Guardiola could step in if the team performed badly at the match.
   Rijkaard, 45, has coached FC Barcelona since the 2003-04 season. He led the club to two Spanish league titles in 2005 and 2006 and the Champions League title in 2006.