Brendon McCullum, Mike Hussey and Matthew Hayden, the stars of the IPL who have shone the brightest so far, will be missing in action soon. Players from Australia, West Indies and New Zealand won’t be available to play in the IPL for the entire duration as Australia and West Indies are involved in a bilateral series while New Zealand tour England.
   The Australians are expected to play till the end of April before heading for a pre-series training camp in Brisbane while the New Zealand IPL players were allowed to miss the tour games in England but will nonetheless have to join the squad by May 1. Cricinfo looks at the possible impact of the event on the various IPL teams.
   Deccan Chargers
   For VVS Laxman’s Chargers, the coming weeks will see the departure of a big-ticket player in Andrew Symonds, who was priced No. 2 in auction.
   Though he is yet to fire, it can be expected that he will show his class soon. While his departure, on May 1, means the Chargers will miss his all-round skills, they do have Shahid Afridi and Scott Styris to fill that vacuum.
   Also, Herschelle Gibbs, in the bench currently, can, in theory, match up to Symonds’ hitting prowess. So the next ten days could add another punch to Deccan’s charge.
   Kolkata Knight Riders
   Sourav Ganguly’s team will be the worst hit by the exodus. Ricky Ponting, McCullum and Chris Gayle, though he is yet to play due to injury, will be missing in action soon.
   Ponting will leave on May 1, McCullum on April 30 while the injured Gayle, even if he gets fit, will have to leave on May 15.
   These are big shoes to fill as Ponting is a proven commodity and McCullum became the first superstar of the IPL with a whirlwind record 158 on the opening night.
   They will look to the Pakistan opener Salman Butt and Zimbabwe’s Tatendu Taibu to try plugging the big hole but it remains to be seen how effective they will be.
   Butt averages only 15.42 at a strike-rate of 81.20 in eight Twenty20 internationals and 16.62 at a strike-rate of 95 from 17 domestic Twenty20 games.
   Taibu averages 15.70 from 10 domestic Twenty20 matches but the runs have come at a fair clip of 122.65. Perhaps, Mohammad Hafeez will be pushed up the order.
   There is some good news for Kolkata, as the Pakistani seamer Umar Gul, who has joined the squad, will beef up the bowling.
   Bangalore Royal Challengers
   Shivnarine Chanderpaul is leaving on May 15 while Ashley Noffke and Ross Taylor leave on May 1 but the Royal Challengers won’t be hit too hard.
   They have Misbah-ul-Haq, who has made Twenty20 his calling card, arriving on April 24 and Dale Steyn, who had a triumphant Test series against India, coming on April 27.
   Both are better players than Taylor and Noffke respectively but Chanderpaul will be missed as an opener.
   Wasim Jaffer looked out of place in the first game and Bangalore might decide to open with Praveen Kumar, who has opened in domestic cricket in the limited-overs format.
   The management is hopeful that the injured Bracken will get fit in time to replace Noffke. Even without him, they have a decent bowling line-up in Praveen, Zaheer Khan, Steyn and Anil Kumble, who is expected to get fit soon.
   Chennai Super Kings
   Hayden and Hussey leave on May 1 while Jacob Oram catches the flight on April 30 but they will be replaced by Stephen Fleming and the big-hitting South African allrounder Albie Morkel, who arrive on April 27.
   While Fleming, if he gets going, can make up for Hayden’s absence at the top of the order, Albie can be expected to more than adequately replace Oram.
   But they will miss Hussey, who hit the fastest ton in the tournament - a 50-ball effort in the first game- in the middle order. However, the bowling will get better as they will have Makhaya Ntini coming in on April 27.
   Chennai has an inexperienced bowling attack that includes Palani Amarnath and Manpreet Goni but they have stood up to be counted. With Albie and Ntini in, it will get only better.
   Delhi Daredevils
   Daniel Vettori leaves on April 30 but Daredevils are going to get stronger with the inclusion of AB de Villiers, who joins the team on April 27.
   If the situation warrants an extra bowler or a batsman, de Villiers can don the wicketkeeping gloves as well. If they come across a wicket that aids spin, they might consider playing the legspinner Amit Mishra.
   Kings XI Punjab
   Brett Lee, Simon Katich and Kyle Mills will leave India on April 28. Lee’s absence will really hit them hard, considering they don’t have a foreign player of such class in the squad.
   Either VRV Singh, the Indian Test bowler, or the Under-19 bowler Ajitesh Argal will have to step up unless, Tom Moody, the coach, decides to pick anAustralian domestic player. Mills is yet to play in a game and though, Katich did play the first game, he is not known for big hitting and his absence won’t leave a hole.
   Mumbai Indians
   Only Dwayne Bravo will miss out as he is leaving on May 15 to play in the home series against Australia.
   The allrounder Dominic Thornely, who was hit on the forehead by a Zaheer Khan bouncer and didn’t play the second game against Chennai Super Kings, is expected to be fit for the third game. Mumbai will also have the services of the hard-hitting South African batsman Loots Bosman, set to join the squad on June 27.
   Rajasthan Royals
   No one is leaving and instead they will be bolstered by the arrival of Graeme Smith, Younis Khan, Sohail Tanveer and Dimitri Mascarenhas.
   Smith, who will join the team on April 27, will add some much-needed solidity to the fragile top order while Younis, who joined the squad recently, will bolster the middle order.
   Mohammad Kaif has struggled at the top and Darren Lehmann has looked out of touch so Smith and Younis could well replace them. Mascarenhas, who will be available to play in the IPL from May 12 to 26, is a perfect fit for Twenty20 as he hit Yuvraj for five consecutive sixes in a one-day match last year. Tanveer, a niggardly left-arm seamer, can bat as well and will add an extra dimension to the squad.

I am not a very keen watcher of the game, especially on television. But I love watching Sachin Tendulkar bat. During the 2003 World Cup final, I actually got up and switched off my television as soon as Sachin got out. He was always the idol, the big player I looked up to when I began my career.
   I tried to copy his style on practice wickets. It was easy on concrete wickets, because the ball doesn’t do too much. But eventually, when I first saw the video of my batting, it was nothing close to what Tendulkar used to do.
   The pull shot that he plays, to the ball back of a length, where he rocks back and hits over mid-wicket, is truly classy. Another shot that I really liked, and somehow managed to pick up, was the paddle sweep that he played against Shane Warne. That was when the rivalry between Tendulkar and Warne was really building up and I was really young when I watched that. The first time I interacted with him was during a Duleep Trophy game in Pune. I got to see him make 199 runs.
   While batting with him, Sachin relaxes you down. He helps you develop the right strategy. He uses all his experience and comes up with a gameplan for a particular situation.
   If you compare what Sachin thinks about the game in a particular situation with where your own game is, it really helps to know where you stand. Watching him bat from the non-striker’s end is good fun, especially when he is going after the bowlers.
   The challenges Sachin has faced over the past 19 years have been huge. It is not only about on-field performance, but also about being able to compete with the fittest individuals in the team. I think to be consistent throughout is phenomenal. He is a very special guy who has been made by God to play cricket at its best.
   When I was growing up, Tendulkar was my role model. As a wicket-keeper batsman the person I was trying to follow was Adam Gilchrist. I never knew Gilchrist while I got to know Sachin over the years. One thing we have in common is our love for speed.
   He tells me which car is better, which car is faster. He is into cars and I am into bikes but our common passion is speed. I would love to race against him. Sachin in his car and me on my bike. Of course, I would be designing the track.

Cheerlead-ers are taking Indian cricket by storm, but some are wondering if this conservative South Asian nation is ready for dancers with bulging breasts and gyrating bellies parading in packed stadia.
   Many foreign cheerleaders have been imported to India with this month’s inauguration of the India Premier League, a shortened form of traditional cricket that transforms the game into a more glitzy US-style sponsored sport event.
   But some outraged politicians say it is an affront to Indian culture while a few of the cheerleaders themselves complain lewd comment and insults from spectators is making their job a misery.
   ‘It’s been horrendous,’ Tabitha, a cheerleader from Uzbekistan, told the Hindustan Times. ‘
   ‘Wherever we go we do expect people to pass lewd, snide remarks but I’m shocked by the nature and magnitude of the comments people pass here.’
   The IPL has caught the imagination of India, a nation of 1.1 billion and the world’s biggest cricket audience. TV rights sold for more than $900 million and players for eight teams, many imported from abroad, were auctioned for millions.
   In contrast to the cliched cricket image of genteel spectators sipping tea while politely applauding their team, now scantily-clad dancers gyrate to Bollywood or Western-style dance music blaring out from loudspeakers in stadia.
   Even well-known cheerleaders from the Washington Redskins flew to India to perform for the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Photos of the dancers graced the front pages of most newspapers.
   ‘What the cheerleaders are doing during cricket matches is ten times more vulgar than what used to happen in dance bars of Mumbai,’ Nitin Gadkari, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, home to the Mumbai Indians.
   The BJP is India’s main opposition party, which was part of a coalition which banned popular bars in Mumbai where girls would dance on stage to Bollywood tunes.
   ‘If we could ban dance bars, how can we allow such vulgar dance in a cricket field. I am getting huge complaints and cheerleaders must be banned immediately from entering a cricket field,’ Gadkari said.
   In the IT hub of Bangalore, Parvathi, a housewife, said US cheerleaders were an affront to India.
   ‘What is the purpose of this display? It is embarrassing,’ said Parvathi.
   But Charu Sharma, chief executive of Bangalore Royal Challengers defended the cheerleaders.
   ‘Let us not play this high handed moral belief game. It is only small maverick groups that are making a noise,’ Sharma told Reuters.
   He told the Hindustan Times that security would be tightened for the dancers.
   ‘We are aware of the concerns and can take nothing for granted. A security ring will be provided to them and everything that can be done will be done,’ Sharma said.
   Some Indians said critics were hypocritical in a nation well known for its sensual Bollywood musicals.
   ‘Our stars wear skimpy dresses in movies but nobody seems to protest. Why this double standards?’ said Mohan, a marketing executive from Bangalore.

Somewhat to his bemusement, Ryan Sidebottom found himself this week sitting in a dusty toolshed explaining how his new-found celebrity status as England’s paramount bowler has changed his life.
   Not to any great extent, it would appear, as Sidebottom reflected on a year during which he has emerged from the international wilderness to lead his country’s attack.
   ‘I’m still a home bird,’ he told reporters. ‘I like to go and watch rugby league. I spend time at home with the two cats.
   ‘People in general have been nice. They come up to me and say ‘well done, keep going’. That has been really satisfying.’
   Until his recall to the national colours last year, Sidebottom appeared destined to become part of the answer to a sports quiz question.
   His father Arnie played one Test against Australia in 1985 and Ryan had similarly resigned himself to a life on the county circuit after failing to take a wicket in his only Test against Pakistan in 2001.
   To his frustration, Sidebottom’s brand of medium-fast left-arm swing was out of fashion as then England coach Duncan Fletcher searched for tall, young fast bowlers banging the ball hard into the pitch regularly in excess of 140kph. Sidebottom, at around 130kph, was considered too slow.
   In fact, as he showed in the series against New Zealand this year, Sidebottom can be deceptively quick, and at times he came close to the 140 mark.
   ‘I have always been able to bowl a little bit quicker but in county cricket you are bowling day in and day out and the body just won’t last,’ he said after launching an npower artificial practice area in the Yorkshire city of Sheffield. ‘I was disappointed when I was bowling well for Notts (Nottinghamshire) and nobody came to see me.
   ‘Duncan didn’t come down to see what I was capable of. That’s the way it goes. He’s been a good coach and he’s done well for England. I can bowl a little bit quicker and maybe I can surprise myself.’
   To the casual sports watcher, Sidebottom is the bowler with the long, ginger, curly hair worn in a style rarely seen outside heavy metal bands. Cricket fans relish his ability to move the ball late in the air and England supporters applaud the extra dimension he brings to an attack which has faltered since the heady Ashes triumph of 2005.
   The figures are compelling. In 12 Tests since his recall against West Indies last year Sidebottom has taken 53 wickets. In three Tests against New Zealand his tally was 24 and he was essentially the difference between the sides as England recovered from one down to win 2-1.
   ‘I have worked hard on my swing bowling,’ Sidebottom said. ‘I think swing bowling in general is coming back into cricket.
   ‘There was an era when there was swing bowling and then it went to 90 miles (140kms) an hour. I think swing bowling has come back into it. I have always worked on that side of my game because balls are swinging in general.’
   Sidebottom’s emergence, and the return of Andy Flintoff to first-class cricket after a fourth ankle operation, have generated guarded optimism among England supporters with home series against New Zealand and South Africa and a tour of West Indies in sight before they challenge Australia for the Ashes next year.
   ‘There are good bowlers, great bowlers who have done well for England,’ Sidebottom said. ‘They have won the Ashes, they will be looking to take wickets, they will be knocking on the door, come selection day. I need to be ready and taking wickets.’
   Six years on the county circuit have kept the likeable Sidebottom firmly grounded and the family experience makes him fully aware of the fleeting glory of sporting fame.
   ‘I’m still learning to play Test cricket and it’s hard work and it’s tiring,’ he said.
   ‘Twelve months ago if someone was to say: ‘You are going to play for England again’ I suppose I would have laughed. All the talk was about every other bowler in county cricket but myself.
   ‘At the time I thought I was bowling well and I’m excited every time I play. My aim is to take wickets and I am enjoying every minute of it, interviews, people asking me to do things.
   ‘I couldn’t be happier and I would like it to continue.’

Argentina’s ruling Peronist party welcomed football legend Diego Maradona into its ranks, assigning him the same registration number as the one he famously wore on the pitch.
   ‘We gave him the number 10,’ said Mayor Alejandro Santiago Granados of Ezeiza, in Buenos Aires province on Thursday.
   Maradona, 47, who captained Argentina to the World Cup in Mexico in 1986, lives in Ezeiza.
   ‘He told us it would be a great joy to show his father the membership card in the Judicialist (Peronist) party, because his father is very Peronist,’ Granados told C5N television. ‘His whole family has always been Peronist.’
   Maradona has not spoken publicly about his new political affiliation. But over the years he has expressed support for Peronism and hobnobbed with several presidents from the party.
   He espouses leftist views and boasts of a friendship with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
   Former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner also welcomed the star during his first official act as new party leader Thursday.
   ‘The No 10 of Judicialism will be Maradona. We receive him with open arms,’ said Kirchner, whose wife, Cristina Fernandez, is the country’s current president.
   ‘Thank you, Diego. You are the people and you know what you represent.’
   The party was founded by Juan Domingo Peron in 1945 and has dominated Argentine politics ever since.

Dato’ Paul Mony Samuel, the general secretary of the Asian Football Confederation, will lead a delegation to observe the April 28 elections of the Bangladesh Football Federation. The AFC high-up was due to arrive in the capital last night.
   Besides, it was learnt that the AFC vice-president Vernon Manilal Fernando of Sri Lanka is expected to reach Dhaka on Sunday.

The GP-BCB Academy team faces Pakistan in the first of the two-match four-day series beginning at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra today.
   The second four-day match between the two sides will also be held at the same venue, commencing on May 2.
   Earlier, Pakistan clinched the triangular Grameenphone Academy Cup beating GP-BCB Academy team by 39 runs in the final at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday.
   South Africa were the other side in the three-team Academy Cup.
   Before the triangular one-day tournament, the hosts also won the two-match four-day series against South Africa Academy team 1-0.
   The GP-BCB Academy team won the first four-day match against the Proteas side by an innings and 68 runs while the second four-dayer ended in a draw.

Bangladesh take on West Indies in a first round league basis match of the group stage of the two-tier eight-team CLICO Under-15 Cricket tournament that begins at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain today.
   In the second round on Sunday, Bangladesh will play Kenya at NCC in Couva and will face Ireland in the third round on April 29 at the same venue.
   The semi-finals are billed for May 1, while the final match is scheduled for May 4.

Narail crushed Gopalganj 36-1 in one of the opening day’s matches of the EXIM Bank 19th National Women’s Handball Competition (Kha zone) at the Bagerhat Stadium on Friday.
   Narail led the first half 16-1.
   In the day’s other matches, Jessore outclassed Jhenidah 31-2, hosts Bagerhat blanked Jhenidah 21-0 and Faridpur thrashed Jhalkathi 18-2.
   Earlier, Bagerhat Women’s Sports Association president Farzana Ahmed inaugurated the competition as the chief guest. Bangladesh Handball Federation assistant general secretary Mohammad Nurul Islam was also present.

New Zealand have given a go-ahead to a three-match one-day series against Pakistan agreeing to the hosts’ proposal, Pakistan Cricket Board announced Friday.
   ‘New Zealand will play three one-day matches in late August in Pakistan. The first match will be played at Multan on August 24 while the remaining two games will be played at Faisalabad on August 27 and 30,’ said a PCB announcement.
   The one-day series will also allow the Black Caps to warm up for the Champions Trophy to be staged in Pakistan from 11-28 September.
   It will be New Zealand’s first visit to Pakistan in six years. They were forced to cut short a tour of Pakistan after a suicide bomb blast outside their team hotel in Karachi in May 2002 which killed 14 people, including 11 French naval staff.

Col (retd) Waliullah, the chief executive officer of the Bangladesh Olympic Association, has dismissed allegations of interfering in the election process of the Bangladesh Football Federation.
   Quazi Salahuddin, the president candidate in the April 28 election, on Thursday accused the BOA official and also the
   secretary general of the BOA Kutubuddin Ahmed of meddling and intimidating the councillors.
   ‘These allegations are untrue, unwanted and unacceptable. We strongly protest and condemn the allegation of Mr Salahuddin,’ Wali said in a statement on Friday.
   ‘The BOA is working for the development of sports in country. It is not our duty to interfere in an election of a federation. It has been proved in the recent BOA election. I urge Salahuddin to withdraw his untrue and baseless allegation,’ he said in the statement.

The International Cricket Council asked outgoing chief executive Malcolm Speed to go on leave on Friday following major differences at the top of the organisation.
   ‘The ICC president, Ray Mali, and the CEO Speed have agreed that Malcolm Speed will be on paid leave from April 30 until the end of his contract on July 4 2008,’ an ICC statement from its president-elect David Morgan said.
   ‘This change of plan is the result of a fundamental breakdown in the relationship between the CEO and a number of board members, including the president, over a variety of issues that include Zimbabwe.’
   South Africa’s David Richardson, the ICC general manager for cricket, will hold the post until his compatriot Haroon Lorgat takes over the job at the ICC annual conference in early July.

World number one Roger Federer survived a brutal first set assault to beat Argentine sixth seed David Nalbandian 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 and reach the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals on Friday.
   The top seed, the runner-up to triple champion Rafael Nadal for the past two years, goes on to face either third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia or America’s Sam Querrey for a place in Sunday’s final.
   The win was Federer’s ninth in 17 career meetings with the muscular Nalbandian who had won their last two encounters.
   Serve dominated the first 10 games until Nalbandian, consistently finding the angles, broke to lead 6-5 which he converted into a one-set advantage on a third set point when Federer hit a backhand wide.
   It was an impressive performance by the 26-year-old Nalbandian who didn’t face a break point in the first set.
   However, he soon cracked to trail 0-2 in the second set before hitting back immediately.
   Federer, who was two points away from defeat in his opening match with Spain’s world 137 Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, nipped ahead again to lead 4-2 and held on to back it up to go 5-2.
   He broke the Argentinian for the third time in the set to level the quarter-final when Nalbandian went long with a tame forehand.
   Federer piled on the pressure in the decider and broke to lead 4-2 when his opponent netted an awkward volley from a return which landed at his toes.
   Another supremely confident service game followed to put the top seed ahead at 5-2.
   Victory arrived in the next game on his first match point courtesy of a swooping crosscourt forehand winner with Federer reaping the reward for a daring fightback which saw him hit 43 winners to Nalbandian’s 27.
   Russian fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko reached his fifth semi-final of 2008 with a gruelling 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Davis Cup teammate Igor Andreev.
   Davydenko, who has already won the Miami Masters title this season, will now take on either triple defending champion Rafael Nadal or David Ferrer for a place in Sunday’s final.
   But his 2hr 45min win on Friday was desperately mediocre with Davydenko losing his serve seven times and Andreev suffering nine breaks.
   In a brutal summary of the tie, Davydenko sent down 61 unforced errors to Andreev’s 54.
   ‘I fought back in the first set and played very well but in the second set he changed tactics, tried to play more slowly, hitting no winners and just tried to keep the ball in court,’ said Davydenko.
   ‘But I came back from 3-5 in the last set. Then he came back to 5-5 and I was 0-40 on my serve so maybe I got lucky.’
   Defending champion Nadal, who is hoping to be the first man since 1914 to win four
   Monte Carlo titles in a row, faces Spanish compatriot Ferrer, the fifth seed.
   Nadal has a Monte Carlo record of 21 wins in 22
   matches and has won 95 of his last 96 claycourt ties in the last three years.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant will let Frank Lampard leave it until the last minute to decide if he wants to play in today’s Premier League title showdown against Manchester United.
   Lampard didn’t train on Friday because he was mourning the death of his mother Pat, who passed away on Thursday after a brief bout of pneumonia.
   Chelsea are willing to give Lampard as much compassionate leave as he wants, but Grant refused to confirm if the England midfielder will definitely opt to spend time with his family instead of playing at Stamford Bridge.
   Lampard missed Chelsea’s matches against Wigan and Everton before returning for the 1-1 midweek Champions League clash at Liverpool because he believed his mother’s condition was improving.
   Now Blues manager Grant will speak to Lampard before the United match and tell him he should do whatever feels right.
   ‘We need to speak to Frank of course. Football is very important but it is more important how he feels with this,’ Grant said here Friday at Chelsea’s training ground, south west of London.
   ‘He didn’t train today. I can tell you our thoughts are with him. We are a close family here at Chelsea.
   ‘All our sympathy is with Frank and his family. We want to make sure when he comes back we are still fighting.
   ‘I think it could bring the team closer together. It’s not an easy situation. All the players and staff were very sad for him.’
   If Lampard does miss out Michael Essien is likely to replace him for a match that Chelsea have to win to keep their title hopes alive.
   Grant’s side must beat United to move level on points with the leaders with two games to play.
   If they lose, United will open up a six-point lead that would effectively make them champions again because of their vastly superior goal difference.
   There is no margin for error for the Blues, who face a week that will define their season and possibly Grant’s future at the club.
   Liverpool visit Stamford Bridge on Wednesday for the Champions League semi-final second leg and if Grant fails to deliver either that prize or the league he could quickly find himself out of a job.
   It would be understandable if the Israeli was starting to feel the strain. But there were no signs of any frayed nerves on Friday.
   ‘The pressure is good. I hope I have it all my life, a week like this. It is exciting for everybody,’ Grant said. ‘We worked hard to come to this situation and we want to enjoy it.
   ‘I’m sure people will ask about my future if something negative happens. I am thinking positive.’
   Grant believes the spirit Chelsea have shown to remain in the title race despite trailing the leaders by eight points at one stage can help them inflict United’s first league defeat since February.
   ‘We are a team that came from fifth to second place and showed a lot of spirit, good football and good recovery from some difficult situations. We are a team that is not easy to beat.’
   Chelsea’s formidable home record - they are unbeaten at Stamford Bridge in 80 league matches - could give them a psychological advantage as Grant prepares to throw caution to the wind.
   ‘When we play in our home against anyone we want to win. It doesn’t matter what the situation is,’ he said. ‘We played with attacking players since I came here. We will not change it tomorrow (Saturday).
   ‘In any case they cannot take the championship tomorrow. We don’t want them to take it at all.’
   If Chelsea need any further motivation, Grant will stoke their fires by reminding his players of the injustice of their 2-0 defeat away to United at Old Trafford in September.
   That was Grant’s first match in charge after Jose Mourinho’s departure and he is still bitter about the red card awarded in that game to Mikel Jon Obi.

England coach Fabio Capello believes Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez and Tottenham Hotspur’s Juande Ramos have revolutionised the Premier League.
   In an interview with Spanish sports newspaper Marca published, Capello claimed the Spanish coaches have had a positive effect on the country’s top-flight. The Italian said, ‘They have implanted this new philosophy, a new touch system, not only long balls, so that is good for English football.’
   Spanish players have thrived in the Premier League in recent times and the England coach had words of praise for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, both of whom should line up for their country at Euro 2008.
   He said, ‘Liverpool have never had a player like Torres. He is playing phenomenally well. He could be one of the stars of Euro 2008. He is enjoying a very good spell and he is also finishing better than he did at Atletico Madrid.
   ‘Fabregas is a brilliant player. He is one of the best midfielders in the world.’
   Capello has also been impressed by the free-scoring Cristiano Ronaldo, but is not yet convinced that he is the best player in the world.
   He said, ‘He is one of the best, but on that list you have Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, Kaka, Alexandre Pato, Cesc and Wayne Rooney.’
   Moving on to Ronaldo’s employers, the 61-year-old believes Manchester United are slight favourites to win the Champions League, following the Red Devils’ first leg semi-final draw at the Nou Camp against Barcelona this week.
   He said, ‘I think Manchester United are in an ideal condition, but I would not rule out anyone.’
   In the absence of England at the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland this summer, Capello believes that Euro 2000 winners France will be the team to beat, although Italy and Spain will also be a threat.
   He said, ‘France have a very good team. They have good players and a lot of quality. Italy have a good national team and then there is Spain. I always put them among then favourites. They have a great team.’

The countdown clock outside Vienna’s town hall tells passers-by there are only 43 days to go until Euro 2008 but many Austrians could not care less.
   The three-week tournament, this year’s biggest soccer event, is expected to bring millions of tourists and euros to joint hosts Austria and Switzerland.
   Some Austrians, though, say there is little interest in the country, especially with fears that the national team will prove an embarrassment.
   ‘I’m no football fan and I don’t really care that the tournament is happening here,’ said 27-year-old doctor Thomas Jasik, sitting by a hotdog stand in the capital.
   ‘It doesn’t help that the (Austrian) team is not very good. Austrians are great at skiing but when it comes to football – forget it!,’ he said, laughing and shaking his head.
   A quarter of Austrians do not care that Euro 2008 is being held in their country, according to a recent survey of 1,000 people by marketing group Makam, although a majority said it was positive that Austria was a host.
   While teams from the host countries automatically qualify, a petition started last year by the son of former national player Werner Kriess pleaded with Austria not to take part because they were not good enough. It has collected more than 10,000 signatures online.
   Austria is not known for its footballing prowess. Apart from captain Andreas Ivanschitz, its top players barely register outside the country.
   Its most feted footballer Hans Krankl hung up his boots some 20 years ago and was unable to repeat his success as a player during a four-year stint as coach that ended with his sacking in 2005.
   Austrians still turn misty-eyed with memories of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, where Krankl helped them to beat West Germany 3-2, eliminating the defending world champions.
   But that brief moment of glory was 30 years ago. In attempting to qualify for the last European Championship, Austria were beaten by Moldova, a result Austrian media called ‘a huge disgrace’.
   Even though the national team leave something to be desired, Euro 2008 could still boost Austria’s image internationally if the country can at least stage a successful event.
   Euro 2008 organisers have set Germany’s widely-praised 2006 World Cup as a benchmark after it set off a wave of feel-good patriotism and was dubbed a ‘summer fairytale’.
   Austrian lawyer and football fan Ulla Weinke, 32, thinks the stakes are too high. ‘Germany had the World Cup, we’ve got Euro 2008, you just can’t compare the two. Germany is always going to be on a bigger scale than us,’ she said.
   ‘Publicity for it has been very slow but hopefully the momentum will pick up and we will be able to enjoy ourselves’.
   In many parts of the quiet Austrian capital there is little sign of impending football fever with only a few understated posters and Euro 2008 promotions in shops.
   Even in a bar advertising Champions League football, excitement about Euro 2008 is muted.
   ‘It might have a good effect on Austria’s image I suppose,’ said tradesman Alexander Unterhumer, standing at the bar. ‘But I don’t really like football myself, I just find it too brutal.’
   A newsagent displaying football magazines in her shop window summed up perhaps the most dismissive attitude.
   Asked if she was looking forward to Euro 2008, she simply replied, ‘I don’t have time for such silly subjects.’

Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi could leave Bundesliga side Schalke 04 this summer for 25 million euros (40 million US dollars) if the Royal Blues fail to qualify for the Champions League.
   The 26-year-old is contracted to Schalke until 2010, but has a clause in his contract which says he can leave early with a multi-million euro price tag.
   ‘Yes, that’s right,’ Kuranyi confirmed to German tabloid Bild on Friday. ‘At the moment, I am only interested in success, I want to achieve that with Schalke in the Champions League.’
   But Schalke, currently third in the league, are not yet sure of a Champions League berth next season and the next few weeks could have a huge impact on where Kuranyi plays next season.
   ‘Kevin wants to play at the highest level,’ said his agent Roger Wittman and life in the UEFA Cup would not be an attractive proposition.

The England and Wales Cricket Board is on course to create its own version of the Indian Premier League by 2010, says chief executive David Collier.
   Collier told BBC Radio Four that talks with billionaire investor Sir Allen Stanford were ‘well advanced’.
   ‘We’ve had some very positive and constructive discussions with Sir Allen during the last week,’ said Collier.
   ‘I think Sir Allen has certainly mentioned 2010 and I think that’s the more likely (date).’
   In an interview with BBC Sport, Stanford suggested a new English Twenty20 competition must come into force no later than 2010 or risk losing his backing.
   ‘We’re looking for no later than 2010,’ said the Texan.
   ‘If I was to make a more aggressive bet I would say 2009. But no later than 2010 or they’ve missed the boat.
   ‘We all know that and I don’t think the British are going to miss the boat.’
   Stanford, who runs his own Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean, was in London this week for talks with the ECB and believes an English Premier League could be worth as much as £500m.
   When asked if the ECB were moving towards a deal, Collier replied: ‘I think we are. Our discussions are well advanced and we are enthused.
   ‘I think people tend to forget it is only a week ago today we were in Bangalore for the opening of the IPL and things have happened remarkably quickly during that period.’
   Stanford has also proposed a £10m winner-takes-all series between an England side and his own West Indies All-Stars XI.
   ‘The discussions we’ve had regarding one-off internationals are particularly important,’ said Collier. They are hugely beneficial to the game because they don’t add an awful lot to workload and yet they do give the players opportunities to earn large sums of money.
   ‘They also bring large sums of money into county cricket and certainly into grassroots cricket, which is also something dear to Sir Allen’s heart.
   ‘We’re one of the fastest growing sports in the UK at the moment - there has been a 27% increase in participation - so certainly cricket is on an very upwardly mobile track at the moment.’
   However, Sean Morris, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, feels a competition involving 18 first-class counties would not attract the necessary TV and sponsorship interest, or fan base, to be a viable commercial option.
   The Guardian reports that, as the EPL talks gather momentum, the counties will face growing pressure to merge into six regional sides.
   ‘This is the biggest opportunity we will ever get to restructure,’ said Morris. ‘I am very open-minded about the future, but I don’t automatically envisage the EPL being played by the 18 first-class counties.
   ‘You can have all 18 counties, with a few overseas players involved, play-offs, all good stuff.
   ‘But when you look at the broadcasting deal that will drive it and for sponsorship partners and for fans, does playing 18 teams really stack up?’

Northamptonshire captain Nicky Boje starred with both bat and ball as the former South Africa spinner’s side took charge against Warwickshire on Thursday’s second day of four in the latest round of matches in England’s County Championship.
   And he hasn’t been the only South African to have made a significant contribution to this Second Division fixture.
   Boje, 58 not out overnight, pressed on to 105 in a total of 385 at Northamptonshire’s Wantage Road home ground and then took three for 15 as Warwickshire slumped to 129 for seven at stumps.
   Northamptonshire’s innings had already featured an even 50 from former Proteas all-rounder Lance Klusener.
   Meanwhile, South Africa fast bowler Monde Zondeki, who had two wickets overnight, led the Warwickshire attack with four for 125. His figures might have been better had he not bowled 17 no-balls in his 19 overs.

Water Development Board beat Wari Club in straight sets in the Premier Division Volleyball League at the volleyball stadium on Friday.
   In the day’s other matches, Bangladesh Rifles beat Titas Club also by 3-0 sets at the same venue.
   Saturday’s match: Power Development Board v East End Club at 6:30pm.

Rainbow Athletic Club defeated Poll Star Club by two wickets in the Seraj Memorial Cricket Tournament, jointly organised by Narayanganj District Sports Association and AB Bank Ltd, at the Osmany Poura Stadium on Friday.
   Poll Star Club scored 58 in 24.1 overs with Rana hitting 14. GM Rony was the pick of the bowlers taking 4/7, Rony 2/6, Bappi 2/8, Shiplu 1/3. Rainbow Athletic Club reached 62 for 8 in 11.5 overs in reply.
   Today’s match: Shitalakhya Cricket Club vs Toufik Sattar Cricket Club

Yuvraj Singh has never made a secret of his desire to lead India one day. The dashing left-hander was pretty excited about leading the Mohali team in the IPL, and even talked of using the experience gained here in leading the country as and when he gets a chance.
   However, it has been a baptism by fire for Yuvraj, what with Mohali finishing on the losing side in both the matches played so far. And Yuvraj didn’t hesitate in admitting that he has made mistakes. ‘Look, I am new to the job and I know I have made certain mistakes, but I am learning,’ said Yuvraj Singh.
   ‘It’s been pretty tough, but then I also realise nothing comes easy. We have a great bunch together and we will soon turn it around,’ he said.
   Echoing his thoughts, coach Tom Moody said the team has a bunch of match winners who have been winning the games consistently for their teams they play for outside the IPL. ‘We have players with us who take great pride in winning. So, nobody is comfortable with the fact that we have lost the first two matches and are looking forward to start winning,’ said Moody.

Rangers will need to carry out a successful Italian job in Florence next week after they failed to score against Fiorentina in a nervy UEFA Cup semi-final, first leg goalless draw here on Thursday.
   The Glasgow side will travel to Italy next Thursday knowing they will almost certainly need to net a crucial away goal if they are to make it to the final at the City of Manchester Stadium on May 14.
   Fiorentina had the better of the chances at Ibrox but Cesare Prandelli’s men couldn’t get that crucial away goal to leave the tie on a knife-edge.
   ‘It was always going to be a tough game but give credit to our defence, I thought we were superb,’ Rangers keeper Neil Alexander told ITV4.
   ‘They’ve got some fantastic individuals. But I think we played well tonight and I think maybe they didn’t reach their full potential. Our record in the away games has been fantastic. We know we can go there and score.’
   Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist was also happy with a 0-0 result.
   ‘That’s fine with me,’ said the former Scotland striker. ‘This may be ironic coming from an ex-centre forward, I thought the most important thing was keeping a clean sheet.’
   Yet again Rangers could pay tribute to the defensively-sound 4-5-1 system deployed by their tactically astute coach Walter Smith.
   Some of European football’s most fancied names have fallen by the wayside when encountering this solid and effective Rangers side this season.
   Spanish giants Barcelona couldn’t score at Ibrox, VfB Stuttgart went home defeated with fellow Germans Werder Bremen, Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon and Greece’s Panathinaikos were all overcome as the Gers made it through to the last four against the predictions of many pundits.
   The prize for dishing out the same sort of treatment to Serie A side Fiorentina? Well, one carefully worded banner behind Alexander’s goal summed it up at kick-off time.
   ‘This is your chance. This is your time. Become legends,’ it read.
   However, for those ten words to inspire Rangers to reach
   their first European final for 36 years, they needed a special
   performance to seal a meeting with the winners of the
   other semi-final between
   Bayern Munich and Zenit St Petersburg.
   Against a side who reached the UEFA Cup final 18 years ago, many of the players needed no introduction to the passionate 50,000 home crowd.
   And it was the biggest name on the ‘Viola’ side that rose to the occasion - former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu.
   Mutu has had a challenging time to rekindle his career after he was banned for seven months after testing positive for cocaine in 2004.
   Sacked by Chelsea, the Romanian rebuilt his reputation at Juventus before moving to Fiorentina two years ago and he revelled in the chance to prove himself on the big stage of a major European semi-final.
   He was gifted the chance to show what he could do as nervy Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot mis-kicked a clearance straight to Mutu on nine minutes.
   However, Giampaolo Pazzini, lurking dangerously inside the penalty area, couldn’t get his head on Mutu’s cross and Rangers survived the early scare.
   Three minutes later Pazzini had another close range attempt blocked by experienced Scotland defender David Weir on the goal-line.
   Then, in the 15th minute, Rangers had their first chance.
   Steven Whittaker sent talisman Jean-Claude Darcheville racing clear on the left flank but the man nick-named The Rocket for his blistering pace ran out of fuel at the key moment and drove a tame 15 metre strike into the hands of Sebastien Frey.
   Whittaker then curled a 20-metre effort over Frey’s crossbar before Alexander denied Denmark international Martin Jorgensen from a similar range at the other end.
   Mutu then had one final chance before the break as his 31st minute downward header was saved by Alexander.
   The second period saw a far more adventurous looking home side, with Spaniard Nacho Novo getting forward more to support the attack.
   Novo’s 55th minute cross almost set up the opening goal but Steve Davis couldn’t get his header on target.
   Then it was Novo’s turn to have a shot on goal as he used his pace to beat the offside trap before driving low into the side-netting.
   However, as the clock ticked it was Fiorentina who looked most likely to score with Alexander having to be sharp to prevent a Mutu 35 metre strike from finding the top corner in the 75th minute.

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United will be well prepared for their title decider with Chelsea here today despite his side having had less rest than their rivals.
   United, who expect to have key defender Nemanja Vidic back after illness, flew to London on Thursday after their goalless Champions League semi-final draw in Barcelona on Wednesday.
   Chelsea, three points behind Premier League leaders United, have had more time to prepare with an extra day’s rest after a 1-1 Champions League semi-final draw at Liverpool on Tuesday.
   United will also have the second leg of their tie with Barcelona a day before the Blues take on Rafael Benitez’s side at Stamford Bridge.
   While Ferguson thinks that Avram Grant’s team have been given a major advantage, he is sure United have made the best of the situation.
   ‘The fixture is not fair as well in terms of the timing between the two games,’ United manager Ferguson said.
   ‘The Liverpool fixture with Chelsea was Tuesday followed by Wednesday, so there is four days either way to get themselves ready, which is a big advantage, there is no question about that.
   ‘Unfortunately, we have 60 hours to prepare for this game. All we can do is rest them. We stayed overnight in Barcelona.
   ‘Then we had a light training session at Barcelona’s training ground. Being in the sun and having a day relaxing is probably the best thing we could have done,’ the Scot added.
   Serbian centre-back Vidic came through training on Friday after missing the game in the Nou Camp with sickness.
   With Chelsea trailing United and with a vastly inferior goal difference, Ferguson believes he can make one or two changes for Saturday’s game at Stamford Bridge without great risk.
   ‘I will freshen up one or two positions obviously. With the squad I have got, I can do that. But nothing definite at the moment but I will make a couple of changes.
   ‘Vidic will hopefully be okay. He has trained and we are hopeful he will be fit. He has a good chance.
   ‘We could achieve quite a lot in the next few days. The incentives are all there and we have the players to do it,’ added Ferguson, who saw his 1999 United side lift the Champions League trophy as part of a memorable ‘treble’.
   ‘We have the squad to do it. We just have to make sure we are rested properly and prepared for the game. The game will take care of itself. It is a massive, big game.
   ‘It would not have mattered where we would have been in the table. When you play the top four, you have to do well. Our record against them is not too bad. It is not great but it balances out overall.’
   Ferguson believes Cristiano Ronaldo will not be distracted by criticism for his early penalty miss in the Nou Camp which, had he scored, would have secured United a valuable away goal.
   ‘That is the modern way,’ he continued. ‘There is nothing we can do about that. When you are as big as Ronaldo, they will always look for holes to pick.
   ‘That is just the way it is. We will not worry too much about that.’

Nani admits he had to pick Cristiano Ronaldo up off the floor following his Champions League penalty blunder.
   Ronaldo missed a third-minute spot-kick in the Nou Camp as Manchester United drew 0-0 in Wednesday’s first leg of their semi-final with Barcelona.
   And fellow Portu-geezer Nani told The Sun: ‘I had to comfort Cristiano in the changing room after the game as he was very down after missing the penalty.’
   But Nani — like the rest of the United team — were fully supportive of Ronaldo given the season he has had so far.
   Nani said: ‘All of us have given him encouragement. He’s been so instrumental for us all season and has won so many games for us.
   ‘He is a born winner and he’ll help us beat Barcelona and reach the final.
   ‘We’ll be ready to knock them out at Old Trafford.’
   Wayne Rooney also backed Ronaldo to bounce back and show why many regard him as the world’s best player.
   Rooney said: ‘He’s an unbelievable player and I’m sure that the penalty miss won’t affect him at all. He’s scored 38 goals this season.
   ‘He’s missed a penalty, but it’s difficult up front on his own and he did well. His football speaks for itself. All the great players have missed penalties so he won’t worry about that.’
   Many thought United were lucky to leave the Nou Camp on level terms.
   Yet Rooney said: ‘I thought defensively we played very well. We maybe never had as many opportunities as we could have had going forward but we knew we had to defend well and we did that.
   ‘We’ve got a great record at Old Trafford and we are confident of beating anyone there. It will be a different game at Old Trafford, we’ll attack more and we’ll try to win the game as we know we can do.
   ‘Barcelona are a great passing team, especially at home — so we knew we had to defend well and I think we did that. It’s a good result for us.
   ‘It’s still close and it can still go either way, we know that. But I’ve seen teams come to Barcelona and get beat 3-0 or 4-0 so I think 0-0 is a good result.’
   Rooney was played in an unaccustomed left-wing role.
   Rooney said: ‘We knew they have got good attacking players and their full-backs bomb forward so the manager asked me to do a job watching the full-backs and I was happy to do that.’
   The positives for United came from an exceptional defensive display with Rio Ferdinand the star man. Ferdinand said: ‘I thought every one of us defended resolutely. Everybody expected us to come out and be very open but we weren’t going to do that.’
   Like Nani and Rooney, Ferdinand was full of support for Ronaldo. He said: ‘He’s so confident. You can forgive him that miss because he’s had such a great season and has been there when we needed him.’
   United assistant-manager Carlos Queiroz added: ‘Missing penalties is part of the game but we were very happy with the way he played for the rest of the game.
   ‘There’s no doubt he’ll come back against Chelsea on Saturday and Barcelona next week. The way he played after missing the penalty showed what a great player he is.’
   Captain Rio Ferdinand revealed after the game that he thanked Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o for not going down to win a penalty.
   Ferdinand slipped when he challenged the Cameroon superstar and admits he could have been sent off.
   Rio said: ‘It did surprise me, especially in today’s game, because a lot of players make a meal out of challenges.
   ‘I lost my feet and slipped into him. If he had gone over it probably would have been a penalty and a red card.
   ‘So I thanked him afterwards for his good sportsmanship, which you don’t often see.
   Meanwhile, Franz Beckenbauer has admitted an all-English Champions League final would be his worst nightmare.
   The legend — who won the World Cup as a player and manager with West Germany — moaned: ‘Chelsea and Manchester United have it in their hands to reach the final.
   ‘They have to win their home games and then we would have what we have already dreaded — an English final.
   ‘They know each other well and if that would be an attractive final . . . they could even play in London then!’
   Beckenbauer — nicknamed The Kaiser — mocked Ronaldo’s penalty miss and said: ‘It is possible to practice penalties!’
   But the 62-year-old also had sympathy for the winger and added: ‘Normally, United play offensively but played very defensively.
   ‘Ronaldo had his issues with the fans and was affected by the catcalls. He did not play to his potential but was left on his own.
   ‘It was not an attractive match. You can tell that it has been a long season and that the players are exhausted.’

Ricardo Carvalho compared the Premier League title race to the Tour de France - and claimed the wheels are about to come off Manchester United’s season.
   Portuguese defender Carvalho is convinced Chelsea can blow the championship wide open by beating United at Stamford Bridge today.
   Then the Blues can see off Liverpool in the return of
   their Champions League semi-final.
   United have led the title race for the past two months but Chelsea can go level on points by defeating them.
   And Carvalho believes Avram Grant’s men can still complete a league and European Cup double - because it is easier to be in the chasing pack than out in front, as if wearing the famous yellow jersey in the Tour de France.
   ‘If Chelsea win on Saturday then anything can happen in the last two league games because all of the pressure will be on Manchester United,’ said Carvalho.
   ‘The Premier League title is like a bicycle race and we are chasing the leaders. But the nerves will show for United in the last few metres.
   ‘This is the most important week of our season. We got the first good result at Anfield and we have put ourselves in a good position to reach the Champions League Final.
   But now we can put ourselves alongside Manchester United in the league.
   ‘To win against Manchester United would give us so much belief and morale. It’s enormous for us because it means we can tie with them at the top of the table.
   ‘A lot of people have written us off in the title race. But we are ready for the biggest games of our season and we are ready physically and mentally for the challenge.’
   Suddenly from what looked a desperate situation, Chelsea boss Grant is dreaming of trophies - and the next five days will decide whether he finishes as a hero or a nearly man.
   The Blues have suddenly found their spirit and new confidence thanks to John Arne Riise’s amazing own goal and a terrific run in the Premier League.
   Even though United’s goal difference effectively means they are four points clear, Carvalho is convinced they will slip up, especially after watching Fergie’s drop points at Blackburn and Middlesbrough.
   However, Carvalho admits that stopping United’s deadly counter attacks and the threat of compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo will be the key.
   ‘I don’t see United as being invincible,’ said Carvalho. ‘Boro and Blackburn have already shown that they can fail.
   ‘Nobody doubts that Cristiano Ronaldo is the star at Manchester United because he is No.1 in the world. To stop him is nearly impossible.
   ‘Our mission will be to make sure he is not given time and space on the pitch. I know him very well and I also know his weak points.
   ‘We play in a different way to United but we are strong, determined and we don’t have any fears about them.
   ‘Even heroes can suffer bad days and I am hoping that it will not be a good day for them at Stamford Bridge.
   ‘We know that we have to go out to score, win the game and make sure our fans see us winning so they can get behind us. We have to win - and the quality comes second.’
   Grant’s men must go for the jugular against United, but Carvalho says that Chelsea’s dramatic last-gasp draw at Anfield has only increased their belief that they can pip Sir Alex Ferguson’s side to both trophies this season.
   ‘For the whole of the season I have insisted that we can win the Double and each time, with every game it becomes more feasible,’ added Carvalho.
   ‘The draw at Anfield has only increased our morale and confidence for the game against Manchester United.
   ‘But we know we have to go for three points. A point will be decisive for United and that will be a great result for them.
   ‘But we will have to be very good tactically but determined as well as keeping the ball to create chances.
   ‘United’s counter attacks will be dangerous but we have a strong enough defence to eliminate the danger.’
   To stop Cristiano is
   nearly impossible. I know him well, and I also know his weak points.

Real Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze would jump at the chance to have Cristiano Ronaldo join him in Spain, but admits prising the jewel from Manchester United’s crown would be impossible.
   Ronaldo has emerged as Madrid’s most-wanted signing in recent weeks, with sporting director Predrag Mijatovic recently claiming he wants the Portugal star to be ‘the face of the new Real Madrid’.
   Heinze played alongside Ronaldo during his stint at Old Trafford, and he knows better than most how difficult it would be to convince manager Sir Alex Ferguson to part with his star player.
   ‘I would sign him, but I think it’s impossible,’ he told Spanish newspaper AS.
   ‘While Cristiano is at the level he’s at, and knowing Alex Ferguson, I think it is very difficult for Madrid to get him.
   ‘He’s going through a glorious spell at Manchester and Ferguson was the one who found him and who got him to the top level.
   ‘While Ferguson’s there, there’s little chance of signing him.’
   He added: ‘I’d love to play alongside him again. And he’s a kid who’s always spoken highly of Madrid, but at Manchester he’s coming on in leaps and bounds and it’s normal that he wouldn’t want to move.
   ‘He’s young and he has plenty of time to come here.’
   Ronaldo missed a great chance to give his side an advantage from the penalty spot in the first leg of Manchester United’s Champions League semi-final clash with Barcelona on Wednesday, which ended goalless.
   Heinze admitted he was disappointed for his old side, but claimed he was not supporting them just because they were playing his new side’s fiercest rivals.
   He said: ‘I want Manchester to win, and not because they’re up against Barcelona but because I spent three great
   years in Manchester and I’ll be grateful to them for the rest of my life.
   ‘Against Barcelona I was just another Manchester United fan.’
   One team he admits to not being a fan of, however, is his own side Madrid.
   Many of Madrid’s supporters are hoping their side will win the league in their home game against Barcelona in two week’s time, but Heinze says he is only interested in winning and will leave rivalry to the fans.
   ‘Winning the league against Barcelona at the Bernabeu is for the fans. I’m not a Madrid fan,’ he said.
   ‘Today I’m a Madrid professional and I’ll defend their colours to the death, but I’m not a Madrid fan. I don’t want to wait until the Barcelona game.’
   If results go their way Madrid could win the league this weekend when they play Athletic Bilbao.
   They hold a 10-point advantage at the top of La Liga going into the final five games of the season.

Germany midfielder Torsten Frings insists his side are capable of winning Euro 2008 in June to be crowned European champions for the fourth time.
   ‘We have what it is takes to be champions,’ said Frings on the German Football League website after Germany won the European Championships in 1972, 1980 and 1996. ‘But we belong to a group of favorites which includes France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.’
   Frings has missed most of the season after suffering three knee injuries and has only played eight matches for Werder Bremen this season.
   His last appearance for the Germany team was in October 2007, but national coach Joachim Loew is set to name him on May 16 when he unveils his 23-man squad for Euro 2008.
   ‘Torsten is a player who can raise his game over five, six or seven matches, he is the sort of player you want in a tournament,’ said Loew.

Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is hoping the return of Italian World Cup winner Luca Toni will be the decisive factor in next week’s UEFA Cup semi-final, second-leg tie in St Petersburg.
   The home side took the lead when French midfielder Franck Ribery converted an 18th-minute penalty, but the Russians went level on 60 minutes when Brazilian defender Lucio headed the ball into his own net.
   Munich were without suspended Italian striker Toni for the first leg and with 10 UEFA Cup goals this season – and 35 in all competitions – the towering Italian could well make the difference in Russia on May 1.
   Just like at the same stage in their quarter-final, Bayern now have to score in the second leg just to stay in the competition.
   ‘We still have a good chance,’ said Hitzfeld, ‘we still have plenty to play for and we will have Luca Toni back for next week’s game.
   ‘In the first half, we played at a high tempo and put some good passages of play together, but after the break we were too defensive and we let Zenit into the game.
   ‘They started to become dangerous and in the last half hour we had the chances to go 2-1 ahead. The own goal was unfortunate, but we just have to work hard next week.’
   The Russian champions blasted Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals and their Dutch coach Dick Advocaat was pleased with the first leg.
   But with four yellow cards against his side, Advocaat will have several of his squad suspended for the return leg.
   ‘It was good to get the away goal, but we still have to work hard over the next 90 minutes,’ said former Ranger boss Advocaat. ‘Before the penalty there was a foul by Ze Roberto.
   ‘In the replay we will have several players missing through suspension and that is a big difference to make up.’

Cristiano Ronaldo has warned Chelsea that Manchester United are determined to end the Premier League title race by winning their decisive showdown today.
   Sir Alex Ferguson’s league leaders can effectively wrap up their 17th English title by beating second-placed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
   A victory for the reigning champions would open up a six-point gap over Avram Grant’s team with only two games to play and United’s vastly superior goal difference makes it impossible for Chelsea to overhaul them.
   If United do retain the crown they will owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ronaldo. The Portugal winger has an incredible 28 league goals this season and even his penalty miss against Barcelona in midweek couldn’t shake his confidence ahead of the trip to west London.
   ‘It will be a tough game but we have a great chance as the team is very confident,’ he said. ‘We do not want to drop any points at Chelsea, so it is important we go for the victory.’
   Even a defeat wouldn’t be a disaster for United as they would stay top thanks to their goal difference, but Chelsea deserve credit for keeping up the pressure after trailing by eight points earlier this year.
   When the Blues were beaten 2-0 at Old Trafford in Grant’s first match back in September, they looked anything but a title contender. Now they have one last chance to make United sweat and Petr Cech is relishing the challenge.
   ‘Every game now is like a final. Personally I play football to play in the big games and this is an exciting time for everyone,’ Cech said.
   ‘The Premier League is getting towards the end and after Saturday we can be neck-and-neck with Man United.
   ‘Of course, United score the most goals in the league – they have got the attacking threat. But we have got a pretty good record at Stamford Bridge, so we hope to keep that going.’
   The death of Frank Lampard’s mother Pat after a short battle with pneumonia on Thursday cast a shadow over Chelsea’s preparations. Lampard could be missing but United also have a worry over Nemanja Vidic, who is struggling to recover from a stomach bug.
   While the title fight is top of the bill this weekend, an equally fierce battle is taking place at the bottom as seven teams try to avoid relegation.
   Fulham, who face Manchester City, are odds-on to fill one of the two remaining places in the bottom three, but Birmingham still believe they can climb out of the drop zone.
   Alex McLeish’s side could be helped by Liverpool, who are likely to rest a host of stars for their trip to St Andrews as they prepare for the Champions League semi-final second leg against Chelsea.
   ‘It’s a fantastic challenge lying ahead for the boys,’ McLeish said. ‘They are very keen to be in the Premier League again. But to do that, it means pitting yourselves against fantastic players every week and a club like Liverpool have so much depth to their squad.’
   If Birmingham slip up Reading can edge towards survival with a win at Wigan. But Royals boss Steve Coppell is concerned that Wigan’s sub-standard pitch, labelled a disgrace by Latics manager Steve Bruce, could prove more of a problem than the home team.
   ‘The only thing that could benefit Wigan is that they know that teams don’t like playing on a surface like that and they are almost frightened by it,’ Coppell said. ‘We will have to deal with that.’
   Successive wins over West Ham and Middlesbrough have given Bolton a lifeline but Gary Megson’s team can’t afford a slip when they meet Tottenham.

Bayern Munich defender Lucio headed into his own net to give Zenit St Petersburg a crucial away goal ahead of next week’s return match in Russia after Thursday night’s UEFA Cup semi-final, first leg ended in a 1-1 draw.
   After the drama of Luca Toni’s 120th-minute equaliser which sealed a 3-3 draw in Getafe in the quarter-finals to put the Germans in the last four, Bayern will now have their work cut out.
   French midfielder Franck Ribery put his side ahead with an 18th-minute penalty until Brazilian Lucio turned the ball into his own net in the second-half.
   ‘It will be difficult next week, but it is still possible,’ admitted Bayern striker Lukas Podolski. ‘We don’t need to have any fear, because we are the better team.
   ‘We played a decent game today, but we conceded a stupid goal.’
   After winning the German Cup in Berlin by beating Borussia Dortmund last weekend – and the League Cup earlier in the season – Bayern are still aiming to lift their third cup this season, but Dick Advocaat’s side will give them a stiff test on home turf.
   Bayern were without suspended Italian striker Toni, who has scored 10 UEFA Cup goals in the campaign so far including the two crucial efforts in extra time in Getafe which put his side in the semi-finals.
   It took just 18 minutes for Bayern to go ahead when midfielder Ze Roberto was fouled in the penalty area by St Petersburg’s Dutch midfielder Fernando Ricksen and Ribery converted the penalty.
   After his first effort was saved, Ribery smashed home the re-bound to give his side the lead over the Russian champions who humiliated Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 at home in the quarter-finals.
   But the Russians were back on level terms on the hour mark when midfielder Viktor Fayzulin whipped in a cross and Bayern defender Lucio headed the ball past his own goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.
   A thigh injury saw Kahn make way for Bayern’s reserve goalkeeper Michael Rensing on 66 minutes and his forlorn figure trudging off the pitch summed up the home side’s mood.
   With Kahn set to retire at the end of the season, he faces a race against time to be fit for Thursday’s second leg while striker Miroslav Klose is also struggling after breaking his nose in the game.
   ‘It is too early to know the gravity of Kahn’s injury,’ said Hitzfeld.
   Lucio went close on 78 minutes when he unleashed a fierce drive, but Russian goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev tipped the shot over the cross bar.
   Having won Bayern the early penalty, Ze Roberto then kept his side in the game when he cleared a shot off the line after the ball trickled through Rensing’s legs.
   Germany striker Lukas Podolski had a golden chance to snatch the winner in the 90th minute but his shot went just wide of the post.
   And the Russians finished the game the stronger to leave Bayern with a huge task in St Petersburg next Thursday.

Rafa Benitez has called on Liverpool’s feuding owners to resolve their differences so he can plan for the future.
   American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have been at loggerheads for months and Benitez is worried he will miss out on transfer targets if there is a lack of direction from the board.
   The Spanish coach talked with Hicks at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground before Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final against Chelsea and told the tycoon what he needs to make the team into title challengers.
   ‘We have two owners and a chief executive. I need to progress, I have a responsibility as manager to prepare the squad for the future, to improve the squad,’ Benitez said.
   ‘I had to talk to them (the owners). It was a good, positive meeting. We have talked about targets in the transfer market and how this club must progress.
   ‘I have not spoken to them about the ongoing situation, only how to improve and how to progress. It is important to sign the right players for the future, that was what I wanted to talk about.
   ‘Now we have started to progress with some of our targets. It is okay, last week and this week it is the same. We are progressing so I believe we will be stronger next season.
   ‘You need to keep going if you want to improve, that is what is really important.’
   Benitez wants funds to move for Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry and Blackburn’s David Bentley and hopes the meeting with Hicks will be the start of an outbreak of detante between the warring camps.
   ‘We have had a very positive meeting. We talked of how to progress in the future,’ he said.
   ‘We need to work together, and he (Hicks) agreed with me that we must talk together. If we want to go forward and sign players, we have to all work together.
   ‘Everything is positive. We have talked about targets to sign, that is my aim. I do not doubt we will achieve those targets. I have a scouting department that is working and progressing. Now I have told the owners how we need to progress.
   ‘Clearly I expect agreement on recruiting players for the summer. We are ready now for going forward.
   ‘George knows about what was said, everybody knows. Everyone has the same information.’

Real Madrid celebrated as if they were champions last weekend and they can clinch a 31st Spanish title on Sunday if they defeat Athletic Bilbao at home and Barcelona and Villarreal both fail to win.
   With five games left Villarreal are ten points behind Real while Barcelona are eleven points adrift and Real’s celebrations after the Racing win showed the players think they have done enough to retain the title.
   Last year Real secured the championship on the final day of the season in a nerve-wracking comeback win at Real Mallorca so wrapping the title up with a few games to spare would be welcome relief for the players and supporters.
   It would be a first managerial title for German coach Bernd Schuster in his maiden season after replacing the sacked Fabio Capello in the summer.
   ‘You can’t sound the victory bells just yet, although we’re only a small step away,’ said goalkeeper Iker Casillas. ‘We have everything going for us, but we can’t count our chickens before they hatch.
   ‘We’ve been on top from the very start and I think we deserve to win the title again.’
   With the title looking a big ask Barcelona have switched their attention to their Champions League semi-final with Manchester United with the first leg ending 0-0 on Wednesday night. Today they travel to a resurgent Deportivo La Coruna trying to claw back second place from Villarreal.
   Ten draws have undermined Barcelona’s title hopes and there could be some departures in the summer with Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry and coach Frank Rijkaard all tipped to go for different reasons.
   Villarreal are targeting a best ever league finish this season as they try to fend off Barca, one point behind, and hold onto second place, starting with an away match at Real Betis on Sunday.
   ‘We are in second place and that’s got to be our objective because it would beat all our previous records. We’ve got just five games to play and the advantage is ours,’ said Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini.
   The battle for fourth looks set to go down to the wire with Atletico Madrid clinging onto the final Champions League spot.
   Atletico are one point ahead of Racing Santander and three in front of Sevilla going into Sunday’s derby against cup runners-up Getafe.
   Mexican manager Javier Aguirre is feeling the heat and Atletico fans voiced their disapproval last weekend.
   ‘The players are to blame and the fans need to be calmer,’ said Atletico goalkeeper Leo Franco.
   ‘It is wrong to jeer Aguirre because he is the coach that got us into Europe last season and now has us in the Champions League places.’
   Sevilla coach Manolo Jimenez is also struggling for confidence as he desperately tries to step out of Juande Ramos’s giant shadow.
   Sevilla take on Real Murcia today while Racing travel to freescoring Real Mallorca 24 hours later.
   Ronald Koeman has been under pressure for months at Valencia and the board finally lost patience when they sacked the Dutchman on Tuesday just five days after he won the Kings Cup.
   A 5-1 drubbing by Athletic Bilbao was the final straw with the 2004 champions now just two points clear of safety.
   ‘I leave here with the pride of having achieved a prize as important as the King’s Cup,’ said Koeman.
   In 22 league games in charge Koeman collected a meagre four wins, six draws, and 12 defeats.
   Caretaker boss Voro takes charge for a crucial six-pointer against Osasuna who are one point better off than Valencia.
   Fourth from bottom Recreativo host basement boys Levante on Sunday and there is an added twist as Levante players are threatening to carry out a strike due to unpaid wages.
   If they go through with the strike they will forfeit the match and also be relegated.

England manager Fabio Capello believes David Beckham can play on until the 2010 World Cup if the midfielder takes care of his fitness.
   In an interview with Spanish sports newspaper Marca, Capello was asked if Beckham’s England career was close to an end after the midfielder won his 100th cap against France last month.
   ‘It’s still open,’ the Italian replied.
   ‘He (Beckham) played in the last game, he did well against France, and I sometimes go to see him in Los Angeles.’
   However, Capello added that the midfielder’s participation at the showpiece in South Africa will rest on his fitness as well as England’s qualification.
   He said, ‘It depends, there are players who at 33 or 34 take good care of themselves, they understand that the body is not as it was and they take more care. It depends a lot on that.’
   The former Juventus, AC Milan and Real Madrid coach also revealed he is still adapting to the role of national team coach.
   ‘It’s all new for me. I was used to working daily with clubs and now it’s different,’ he said.
   ‘The job is very different from that of a club coach. At the moment I have only had the opportunity to train for five days. Only five days.
   ‘I think I am becoming more integrated every day. I need some time, like in all jobs.
   ‘I read a lot, I travel a lot and I see a lot of football. A couple of weeks ago I saw three games in a weekend – one at Tottenham, one in Liverpool and one in Manchester.’
   The Italian revealed his English is now at a competent level, although he will not be speaking to the press in the language for the time being.
   He is worried about being misinterpreted, as happened in Spain two years ago when he mistakenly labelled Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, then with Atletico Madrid, a ‘tramposo’ – which translates as cheat.
   ‘I can speak English, but I don’t want to speak English with the press, because if you get a word wrong it can make big headlines,’ he explained.
   ‘That happened to me in Spain after a Real Madrid-Atletico match, when I wanted to refer to Torres and asked the Madrid press officer how to say something and he replied ‘tramposo’.
   ‘That wasn’t exactly what I wanted to say and it caused a tremendous scandal.’
   Capello believes the Premier League is the pick of all the domestic competitions in Europe, although he admits the influx of foreign players represents a problem for the national side
   ‘Some really good football is being played in England. At the moment it is the best league (in Europe), but then you have Arsenal, who play fantastic football and are out of the Champions League,’ he said.
   ‘Our problem is that we have only 38 per cent of the players. There are Welsh players, Irish and Scots.
   ‘In Spain and Italy, for example, 70 per cent of the players can be called up.’
   The 61-year-old insists he is not thinking of winning the World Cup at the moment.
   He said, ‘I think we have a good team, but we have to work a little so that everyone understands what I want. We are not thinking about that (the World Cup) at the moment, we have to go step by step.’
   Capello nevertheless claims he is happy with his team’s progress and hopes to have his best players available for the upcoming friendly matches against the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.
   ‘I told the players after the defeat against France that I was happy because I had seen them take a step forward.
   ‘Now we have two friendlies, we’ll have to see if I have all of my players available.’

Barcelona striker Thierry Henry insisted Friday that he has no regrets about his move to Spain but that his former club Arsenal hold a special place in his heart.
   The 30-year-old striker has been linked with a move back to England after an unsuccessful first season in Spain.
   He told the BBC’s Football Focus, ‘I’m happy – I don’t regret leaving Arsenal.
   ‘But there’s only one team in England for me. Everybody knows the love and affection I have for Arsenal. I was so into it, I became a fan.’
   The Frenchman, who scored 174 Premier League goals in 254 appearances for Arsenal, moved to Spain last June in a £16-million deal but his first season has been hit by injuries.
   He has scored just seven goals in 25 appearances.
   But despite the criticism, the former Monaco and Juventus player claims he has no
   intention of leaving the Spanish club.
   ‘People who know me will tell you, I’m the same in training, I’m the same in life – I cannot act. If I’m not happy, I’m not happy,’ he said.
   Newcastle are reportedly interested in brining Henry back to England.
   But asked if he would return to play in the Premier League, Henry replied, ‘I don’t know. I’m happy here at Barcelona. I still have three years of my contract left with Barcelona.
   ‘But England...I watch every game that I see on TV. I was watching Stoke City versus Crystal Palace. I will always miss it.
   ‘There has been since I arrived here a lot of speculation from day one but, hey, go back where?
   ‘There’s only one team for me in my heart. It took me a while to understand what that club, Arsenal, meant.’
   He added, ‘I don’t regret stuff in my life.
   ‘Stuff happens for a reason. You don’t regret stuff that you thought about.
   ‘I don’t regret it.’

Arsenal captain William Gallas has hit back at criticism of his leadership by British media.
   ‘They (the media) can say what they want...they will not bring me down, I’m stronger than that’, the France defender told French sports daily L’Equipe on Friday.
   Gallas was criticised for his behaviour in a 2-2 draw at Birmingham City in February, when he walked away from his team-mates and stood in the other half of the pitch after the home side were awarded a stoppage-time penalty.
   ‘It makes me mad because I don’t think (what happened in Birmingham) was our problem,’ he added. ‘How can you summarise our season with that thing at Birmingham? That is not why we stopped winning matches.’

Kolo Toure admitted Friday that he would love the chance to take over from defensive partner William Gallas as Arsenal captain next season.
   Gallas has attracted criticism for his leadership, including after his sit-down protest following Birmingham’s last-minute penalty in the 2-2 draw at St Andrews in February. And Toure went on to question the actions of the Frenchman.
   Toure said, ‘Gallas was really good for us at the start of the season. But then after this Birmingham game he made a mistake, he knows that and we all tried to bring him back to the team and he came back well.
   ‘But when you make a mistake it is difficult after that - it was a really important part of our season.’ Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has said he will review the situation in the summer and the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Toure have been linked with the role.
   ‘I would be really, really proud to be captain,’ said the Ivorian centre-half.
   ‘I am now one of the oldest players in the squad so naturally I feel like a captain and it doesn’t matter if I have the armband or not.
   ‘It is a decision for the manager and he is the only one who can make it.’