Bangladesh Football Federation awaits the nod of National Sports Council to activate District Football Associations with a view to running football at the district level efficiently. The BFF has placed a draft infrastructure of the DFA Advisory Council to the NSC and is waiting for positive feedback.
   The BFF proposed that either the deputy commissioner or the superintendent of police would be the head of the DFA advisory board of their respective districts. The additional deputy commissioner or the assistant police super, the secretary of DSA, the president of DFA and three representatives nominated by DFA and approved by the NSC would be on the panel of advisers. The advisory boards will run football in their respective areas.
   The three representatives will be selected by the DFA and the criteria will be their football commitment, local status and organising capabilities.
   Akbar Hussain, the secretary of the National Sports Council, said, ‘We have received the draft copy from BFF and we have to review the whole scenario, we are not ready to say anything more about it,’ said Akbar.
   Meanwhile BFF vice-president Badal Roy expects a quick reply from the NSC. ‘We expect full support from the government and that’s why we have made the draft proposals. However, we also expect immediate steps from the NSC otherwise the district level football will delayed, we have urged the ruling body of sports to send their views and we are ready to make any changes if required,’ said Badal Roy.
   Bangladesh football was experiencing a new problem with the formation of the DFAs under FIFA and AFC prescription. All the football infrastructures and the stadiums in the districts are owned by the government. The DFAs have nothing and in the past the DSAs used to run the district leagues and other tournaments, now the question has arisen who would be running the local leagues. The FIFA and the AFC want the DFAs to take the responsibility but the government has no legal power to help DFAs ignoring the government approved DSAs.

Former captain Habibul Bashar joined the practice of the Bangladesh national cricket team on Wednesday after sitting idle for nearly three months.
   Bashar has been without any cricket since the Dhaka Premier Cricket League ended in May, although he is still a contracted player of the Bangladesh Cricket Board and is very much a part of the Test squad.
   He was neither considered for the national one-day squad that played a tri-nation tournament at home and the Asia Cup in Pakistan nor for the Bangladesh A team that is now touring England.
   ‘Having been able to join the practice I feel relived now. Though I practised individually over the last few months, it is always important to do it in a group,’ Bashar told reporters after the practice.
   His first group practice in three months was limited to physical exercises as rain prevented any batting practice at the central wicket. Some of his team-mates, however, spent time in the indoor nets.
   Though Bashar returned to practice, it is unlikely for him to get a competitive game anytime soon as Bangladesh will not play any Test until October when New Zealand will tour to play two Tests and three one-day international matches.
   In August Bangladesh will tour Canada and Australia for a four-nation Twnety20 tournament and a three-match ODI series respectively, but selectors are unlikely to give him a nod for those competition. He is, however, widely tipped to tour Canada for a festival game of former cricketers.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said on Wednesday his team was keen to renew the rivalry with India in a three-Test series starting here next week.
   ‘Personally, I have a couple of milestones against India. I made my Test debut against them and also scored my first Test double-century against them. It’s a pretty good team for me to play against,’ said Jayawardene.
   ‘We thoroughly enjoy playing India at home or away. It’s always been a tough challenge. There is good rivalry with our neighbours.’
   Jayawardene, who made his Test debut in 1997 against India, hit 242 against them during the Asian Test championship match in 1999.
   The Sri Lankan captain, with 7,478 runs in 95 Tests, said the series would be closely contested as both the teams had quality players.
   ‘Every time we have played them, there has been good cricket as both the teams have some quality players. I am sure the public will have a great series to watch,’ he said.
   Sri Lanka last hosted India for a Test series in 2001, winning 2-1 after a close contest. The tourists were without key spinner Anil Kumble and batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who were injured.
   Tendulkar is now just 172 short of breaking retired West Indies captain Brian Lara’s world record of 11,953 Test runs.
   ‘We are going to treat Sachin in the same manner as anybody else in the Indian camp. It will be a great milestone if he achieves it, but our focus will be on winning the series,’ said Jayawardene.
   India captain Kumble was confident of his team’s good show in Sri Lanka, saying they would like to maintain the consistency. ‘We have done well in the lead-up to the Test series. In the last one year or so we have been consistent with our performances. That’s something we will take forward,’ said Kumble.
   India’s bowling attack will be at full strength with the return of left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan, who has not figured in a Test this year due to injuries.
   ‘We have Zaheer back with his experience of bowling in sub-continental conditions. Ishant Sharma has really progressed well as a seamer, and Harbhajan Singh is back as well,’ said Kumble. ‘The last time we played Sri Lanka in India (in 2005) we beat them, so we are confident.’
   The skipper said his team had quality batsmen to succeed against Sri Lanka’s latest spin sensation Ajantha Mendis, who could make his Test debut against the tourists.
   Mendis outwitted Indian batsmen with clever variations in the recent Asia Cup final in Karachi, where he bagged six wickets for 13 runs to lead his team to victory. ‘Our middle order has more than 30,000 Test runs and four of them have played more than 100 Tests,’ said Kumble.
   ‘It will be challenging and I am sure our batsmen will definitely cope with that. It is something we need to be on the lookout for.’
   India open their tour with a three-day practice match in Colombo on Friday. They will also play five one-day internationals after the Test series.

South Africa’s highy-rated pace attack flopped in the first Test against England because they allowed pre-match hype to make them complacent, according to their assistant coach Vinnie Barnes.
   Barnes wasn’t happy with what he saw from strike bowlers Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Makhaya Ntini as England piled up 593-8 declared in the first innings at Lord’s.
   He insisted pundits’ claims that South Africa had the fastest bowling attack in international cricket had a negative effect, but he is convinced they can bounce back in the second Test, which starts at Headingley on Friday.
   ‘We have a young attack and it was a huge occasion for them playing their first Test at Lord’s,’ Barnes said. ‘There’s no doubt that they were overawed.
   ‘There was also a lot of hype in the media about the South Africans having the fastest attack since the West Indies in the 1980s - and the guys started to believe it all.
   ‘We were also unable to get onto the field because of the bad weather preceding the Test and couldn’t get a feel of the ground, and in particular the slope.
   ‘They all have a strong feeling that they’ve let the team down - and they’re desperate to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.’
   Barnes has been working to restore morale among his bowlers after the drawn match.
   He feels it is only a matter of time before they hit their stride and has been showing them videos of their best moments to underline the point.
   ‘We’ve reminded them that they lost their game plan,’ Barnes said.
   ‘Bowling is all about patience, pressure and operating in partnerships. The guys just didn’t apply their skills.
   ‘I’ve done technical work with the guys and a lot of video analysis. I’ve sat down with the bowlers individually, for two hours each, and shown them examples of what they can do when they were bowling well.
   ‘I showed Dale Steyn his bowling at Newlands in the New Year Test against the West Indies when he was bowling at 150kph and swinging it big, and one of his best spells at Chennai against India when he took four for 10 in eight overs with the old ball.’
   ‘Makhaya has tended in the past to make slow starts to series,’ Barnes added.
   ‘We worked hard to get his intensity up, so that he knew his first ball had to be his best ball. But it didn’t happen. Nevertheless, we are confident he will get better.’

Andrew Flintoff said Wednesday he felt ‘ecstatic’ to be back in the England Test set-up after 18 months out of the side with injury and insisted his best years were ahead of him.
   The 30-year-old fast bowling all-rounder has been included in a 12-man squad for the second Test against South Africa starting here at Headingley on Friday.
   Although England have fielded an unchanged side for a record six successive Tests, Flintoff has been widely tipped to be in the team for the first time since captaining the side at Sydney in January 2007 in a defeat that sealed a 5-0 Ashes series loss.
   Since then an injury to his left ankle, which has now been operated on four times, and, more recently, a side strain have kept Flintoff out of the five-day game.
   But, having made South Africa follow-on in the first Test, the way in which the Proteas then lost just three more wickets at Lord’s suggested England were missing Flintoff the bowler especially.
   And the aggressive Lancashire paceman and hard-hitting batsman insisted he had no lingering doubts regarding his fitness.
   ‘I’ve waited a long time, a lot of hard work has gone into the past 18 months to get back in the Test squad so I’m excited as well,’ Flintoff told reporters at Headingley. ‘It has been frustrating but there’s not a great deal I could have done about it.
   ‘I’ve managed to get two Championship games under my belt. I feel good about my game and fitness. The side strain is long gone, the ankle operation was that long ago, that is forgotten too.’
   ‘Obviously, I’m pleased, I’m ecstatic to be back in the England squad. It has been so long, for me it is almost a fresh start.’
   Asked how he maintained his morale during months of rehabilitation, Flintoff replied: ‘If you have ever put an England shirt on and played for England, that’s enough. The excitement and emotions of playing a Test match, walking out there with the team, is enough to keep anyone going who has experienced it.’
   Despite his long lay-off Flintoff, the star of England’s 2005 Ashes triumph and a veteran of 67 Tests, said his best was yet to come.
   ‘I didn’t start bowling properly until I was 24 or 25. I’ve got a bit of pace but I’ve got more craft. I can adapt to siuations within the game and different pitches.
   ‘With the bat, I didn’t start the season too well but over the past few weeks I feel I’ve made strides. Batsmen in their early 30s reach their peak, so hopefully for me it’s just round the corner.’
   However, it was Flintoff’s ability to move the ball at pace that was a major concern for South Africa coach Mickey Arthur.
   ‘It’s probably Flintoff the bowler that worries us a little bit more,’ Arthur, also at Headingley, said. ‘He bowls particularly well coming round the wicket - so our left-handers Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince will be prepared.’
   ‘He’s a quality, quality player. If we’re going to conquer England and win here we want to do it against their best side - and their best side certainly has ‘Fred’ in it.’
   The out-of-form Paul Collingwood appears the most likely candidate to make way for Flintoff but Arthur said that would have an effect of England’s batting line-up.
   ‘I’m not sure who’s going to be the unlucky one to lose out for England. But if it is Collingwood, Flintoff at six is going to put a lot of pressure on their top order.’
   But Flintoff said he didn’t expect to be singled out by South Africa.
   ‘I don’t expect any special treatment, they will be going hard at us all.’

Australia pace bowler Brett Lee has saluted England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff’s long-awaited return to Test action.
   Flintoff is due to play for England in the second Test against South Africa at Headingley on Friday after finally recovering from a series of ankle problems and a side strain.
   Lee knows it has been a long and painful journey through rehabilitation for Flintoff and was quick to express his admiration for a rival who became a close friend during the 2005 Ashes series.
   ‘Flintoff is a once-in-a-generation player,’ Lee said. ‘I liken him to the great Ian Botham. They are guys who can change a game at the drop of a hat with bat and ball and also field. ‘He was the standout in the ‘05 Ashes over there, he’s also a very close friend of mine but a magnificent player on and off the field. ‘He’s a great guy and the type of guy who can change the game. I am looking forward to having him back definitely.’
   Lee, 31, has been keeping a close eye on the series between England and South Africa as he prepares for a forthcoming series against the Springboks and next year’s Ashes clash in England.
   ‘I’d be lying if I say I haven’t been doing a bit of homework on the series that is happening now because we have got South Africa and England coming up shortly,’ he said.
   ‘I have been doing a bit of homework and watching their players. They have got a lot of young guys coming through who have been very impressive so I am looking forward to playing against both of those sides.’
   After helping Australia to a 2-0 Test series win over West Indies, Lee has taken some time off with his family but the Ashes are never far from his thoughts. ‘I have actually tried to get away from cricket for a short period of time,’ he said.
   ‘It’s really good to refresh the batteries and get ready to go for what is going to be a massive summer and even a big 18 months.
   ‘We’ve got the Ashes coming up as well which we are not directly looking forward to right now because we have a few things in place that we have to take care of first. ‘I would be lying if I didn’t say I was looking forward to the Ashes next year.’

The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Wednesday called up 30 under-19 cricketers for a three-week long training camp, starting on July 18 at the BKSP. The BCB has asked the selected players to report to JI Tapash, school programme officer, at 5:00pm on the opening day of the camp.
   The training camp, which will continue up to August 7, will be supervised by national U-19 coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim. He will be assisted by three senior coaches – Nurul Abedin Nobel, Waheedul Ghani and Mizanur Rahman.
   Players: Saikat Ali, Tasamul Haq, Atiqur Rahman, Al Amin, Noor Hossain, Imamul Muttakim, Anjum Ahmed Jessy, Mehadat Amin, Mominul Haque, Naim Md Asif, Md Sabbir Ahmed, Tajul Islam, Shohag Reza, Mobassir Khan, Alauddin Babu, Saddam Hossain, Islamul Ahsan, Kamrul Islam, Chowdhury Labbayek, Muhamin M Shahid, Shaker Ahmed, Abul Hasan Raju, Irfan Sukur, Md Palash, Md Sukran, Sadaf Sarkar Hasib, Tayebur Rahman Parvez, Md Saim, Ariful Zaman and Mayedul Islam.

Bangladesh Under-21 Hockey team defeated Singapore 3-1 in penalty shootout earning the right to play in the fifth place decider of the 6th Men’s Junior Asia Cup Hockey at Hyderabad on Wednesday.The stipulated time ended goalless.
   In the 5th place decider today Bangladesh faces Malaysia.
   Bangladesh national hockey team drew 1-1 with Singapore on their way to the title of AHF Cup held at Singapore on June last.
   Bangladesh lost 0-8 against South Korea and conceded 2-8 goals defeat against Pakistan and beat Oman by 7-1 goals in the last group match.

Japanese swimming star Kosuke Kitajima has warned against any complacency in his defence of the double Olympic breaststroke titles after US rival Brendan Hansen failed to qualify for the 200-metre race.
   ‘It was unfortunate, indeed,’ Kitajima said of Hansen’s flop as he returned home from a month of altitude training in Flagstaff, Arizona, Japanese dailies reported Wednesday.
   ‘They say I am favoured. But there is no change in my determination to achieve my goal without fail,’ the 25-year-old Kitajima told reporters at Tokyo’s Narita airport on Tuesday.
   At the US Olympic trials earlier this month, Hansen booked a 100m Olympic berth but foundered in the 200m by finishing fourth.
   Last month, Kitajima slashed Hansen’s two-year-old 200m world record by 0.99 seconds to 2:07.51 in a domestic meet, wearing Speedo’s blockbuster LZR Racer bodysuit for the first time.
   But Kitajima was sure that Hansen, who still holds the 100m world record of 59.13, would go all out in the shorter distance, the first breakstroke event in the Beijing Games.
   ‘Regardless of my opponent’s condition, I will go out to win,’ Kitajima said about the 100m in which his personal record is 0.31 seconds slower than Hansen’s mark.
   ‘The 100m will be important as it will give me an impetus ahead of the 200m,’ he said. ‘I have a special feeling for that event.’
   At the 2004 Athens Games, he added Olympic golds to his world titles one month after Hansen shattered the Japanese’s world records in both distances.
   Kitajima has not beaten Hansen head to head since 2005 while the American, who will turn 27 in August, kept lowering world marks. Kitajima is scheduled to train in Tokyo and Beijing, and on the South Korean resort island of Jeju ahead of the Olympics due to open in three weeks.
   ‘Training from now on will determine my results in the actual races. It will be important to keep that in mind,’ he said.

Sri Lanka’s legendary former captain Arjuna Ranatunga on Wednesday urged players to preserve Test cricket in the face of the challenge posed by the lucrative Twenty20 format.
   Ranatunga, who led his country to their only World Cup title in 1996, also said the players needed to focus more on Tests.
   ‘You need Twenty20 to get more money, but ultimately you have to realise that Test cricket is the major thing,’ said Ranatunga, who is also the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket.
   ‘It’s very important to preserve Test cricket. When it comes to Twenty20, it’s more like a business as far as I am concerned.’
   His comments came a few days after his country’s cricketers asked for next year’s hastily-arranged Test tour of England to be rescheduled as the dates clashed with the Indian Premier League.
   The tour, arranged earlier this month after England suspended bilateral cricket relations with Zimbabwe, includes two Tests, three one-dayers and four warm-up games, running from April 21 to May 30.
   The IPL, which features at least 13 top Sri Lankans including captain Mahela Jayawardene and star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, is due to be played between April 10 and May 25.
   Sri Lankan officials said they are negotiating with their England counterparts on the fate of the tour. Captains of India and Sri Lanka, who begin a three-Test series here next week, endorsed Ranatunga’s comments.
   ‘As cricketers, the ultimate challenge for most of us is Test cricket. Twenty20 is a different challenge, so is one-day cricket. Test cricket is where the cricketers are really tested,’ said Jayawardene.
   Anil Kumble of India said Test cricket would always be part of the game because players valued it more than any other form.
   ‘Personally, I remember most of my milestones achieved in Test matches. The players feel privileged to be a part of Test cricket,’ said Kumble, only the second bowler to bag 10 wickets in a Test innings after Englishman Jim Laker.

Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik on Wednesday urged the International Cricket Council not to move the Champions Trophy out of his country in September, saying it was perfectly safe for international teams.
   Malik’s plea came amid renewed fears about security here, following a suicide blast in the capital Islamabad earlier this month that killed 19 people and a series of small bombings in the port city of Karachi a day later.
   Players from Australia, New Zealand and England have expressed concerns over playing in Pakistan. The Champions Trophy tournament is to be held in Karachi, Rawalpindi – which adjoins Islamabad – and Lahore from September 11-28.
   ‘Pakistan is the safest country for cricket and all teams must come here without any fears of security,’ said Malik, one day after Pakistan announced its 30-man provisional squad for the Trophy.
   The Pakistan Cricket Board said all participating countries would be briefed on security arrangements at a meeting of the International Cricket Council in Dubai on Sunday.
   The ICC said last week it could pull the Champions Trophy out of Pakistan if there were any threat of violence.
   Pakistan hosted the six-nation Asia Cup without incident from June 24 until July 6 –evidence, according to Malik, that the Champions Trophy also would go off without a hitch.

Dhaka Mohammedan Sporting Club completed their fifteen-day conditioning camp at the BARD in Comilla on Wednesday.
   Coach Maruful Huq claimed it was a new concept in Bangladesh football. ‘We have been concentrating wholly on the game nothing else; the players had gone through extensive physical conditioning to face the upcoming challenges,’ said Maruf.
   Mohammedan have formed a strong squad with national stars – goalkeeper Aminul, defender Rajani, midfielder Arman Aziz and young national forwards Komol and Robin – in their fold.

Sayan Majumder of Indira Gandhi School became unbeaten champion in the KG to V group in the 10th Standard Chartered School Chess on Wednesday. Sayan earned 8.5 points to clinch the title.
   Aditya Chakrabarty of Delhi Public School became runner-up with 7½ points. Three players with 7 points each were positioned third, fourth and fifth in the tiebreakers. Mohammad Fahim of Titas School was third,-Mitrabha Guha of South Point School became fourth and Afzal of Aporajeyo Bangladesh finished fifth.
   Mohona Sengupta of Binodini Girls High School became unbeaten champion in the girls’ section with 6 points, Shwati Majumder of Indira Gandhi Memorial School became runner-up with the same points.
   A total of 214 students from India, Nepal and Bangladesh participated in the event. The governor of Bangladesh Bank,
   Salehuddin Ahmed, distributed prizes among the winners as the chief guest. Ahmed Ali Shah, the head of Origination & Client Coverage, Standard Chartered Bank, Col (retd) Waliullah, the CEO of Bangladesh Olympic Association, were present as special guests. Vice-President of Bangladesh Chess Federation Syed Aziz Ahmed and general secretary Jamilur Rahman were also present.

English cricket is to feature two Twenty20 competitions as part of a new structure for the domestic game starting in 2010, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Wednesday.
   The new English Premier League will feature two, as yet unnamed, overseas teams, in addition to England’s 18 first-class counties, playing in two divisions of 10.
   The existing Pro-40 competition, a 40 overs per side event, will end in 2009 and be replaced in 2010 by a Twenty20 League which will incorporate all 18 counties. This competition will be played primarily on Friday nights in July and August.
   Plans were agreed at a board meeting on Tuesday.
   An ECB statement added the Twenty20 League would be the qualifying tournament for the multi-million dollar Champions League, the inaugural
   edition of which takes place later this year and features the world’s leading domestic Twenty20 sides.
   The board’s announcement put paid to the proposal put forward by MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw and Surrey chairman David Stewart which envisaged a nine-team tournament similar to the lucrative Indian Premier League.
   However, the ECB said the EPL would incorporate ‘elements’ of the duo’s plans, which did feature Friday night matches.
   The board also agreed the 2010 season would, as happens at present, include a 50 over competition and aimed at a schedule which allowed for 16 County Championship matches to be played in a two division structure.
   The EPL will be staged in June with the Twenty20 League being played in July, August and September.
   ECB chairman Giles Clarke said: ‘I am delighted the board unanimously supported these creative proposals... we have already received enormous broadcast and sponsor interest from around the world which was reported to the board by the chief executive, David Collier.’
   Stewart added: ‘These are extremely exciting and satisfying proposals for the future of domestic cricket in England and Wales. They incorporate some excellent ideas and Keith Bradshaw and I were delighted to be able to submit our ideas as part of the decision making process.’
   The ECB’s statement added Collier would be having further talks with parties identified by Bradshaw and Stewart as being interested in the EPL.

Javed Miandad, the former Pakistan captain and coach, has joined a growing number of board critics, urging his county’s president, Pervez Musharraf, to take strong action against the PCB.
   Miandad held the board responsible for all the controversies to have dogged Pakistan cricket in recent times, including the latest Mohammad Asif drugs scandal, and wants Musharraf, also the Patron-in-Chief of the PCB, to hire technocrats.
   ‘I was in the US in the last few days. And I can’t tell you what feelings the Pakistanis there have about the cricketing affairs of the country,’ Miandad told Dawn. ‘Every day there is a new controversy in the board and it is due to the non-technocrat persons handling the affairs of the country’s most important game; it is the right time for the president (Musharraf), to remove the entire board immediately and bring technocrats.
   ‘The game of cricket is also a source for creating national unity but unfortunately the defeats and back-to-back controversies are causing great disappointment among Pakistan cricket fans, which is not good.’
   Asif, the fast bowler, has been officially suspended by the PCB for testing positive for a banned substance during random drug tests conducted during the Indian Premier League. This is his second drug offence after both he and Shoaib Akhtar failed a dope test before the Champions Trophy in 2006.
   Miandad added that the board was too lenient on the pair initially after their bans were overturned by an appellate tribunal appointed by board. He implied the latest scandal, plus Shoaib’s repeated acts of indiscipline, wouldn’t have occurred had the board acted otherwise.
   ‘Both Shoaib and Asif had been rightly banned for two and one year (respectively) for positive dope tests in 2006,’ he said. ‘But the same PCB monarchy influenced to get both of them free by its own appellate tribunal with the desire that they (bowlers) will help them win the 2007 World Cup. But all these efforts produced nothing positive; instead they encouraged the players and both remained active in more indiscipline cases after that.’
   Miandad is among a growing number of former Pakistan players to slam the board for its mishandling of the Shoaib-Asif scandal, including Imran Khan, Majid Khan, Ramiz Raja, Zaheer Abbas and Aamer Sohail.

Beijing has recruited more than 74,000 volunteers to work at next month’s Olympic Games, state media said Wednesday, with the eldest aged 87.
   The 74,615 people were chosen from a record 1.1 million applicants, Xinhua news agency quoted Zhang Juming, deputy director of the volunteers’ department of the Beijing Olympic Committee, as saying. A large majority of the volunteers were from the mainland, Xinhua said, while fewer than 1,000 foreign.
   Engineer Sun Fangchui, 87, was due to work at the National Stadium, the agency said.
   The Paralympic Games in September, meanwhile, will have 30,000 volunteers. Between August 2006 and the end of March this year more than 1.1 million people applied to help, Zhang said, adding: ‘The number of applicants is the biggest in Olympic history.’ The Beijing Olympic Committee also recruited 400,000 so-called ‘city volunteers’ to help visitors and provide first-aid at 550 temporary stations around the capital.
   An additional one million ‘social volunteers’ had also been selected to maintain traffic and public order, Xinhua reported.

Australia’s 116-year interstate cricket competition will revert to being called the Sheffield Shield, ending a nine-year period named after a commercial sponsor, Cricket Australia said Wednesday.
   The traditional first-class competition, contested by six states, is considered the essential foundation for Australia’s sustained run of success in Test and one-day cricket.
   Cricket Australia announced the Sheffield Shield, which has its origins in 1891-1892 when Lord Sheffield was in Australia as the promoter of the English team led by W.G. Grace, would not have a naming sponsor from next season.
   The switch to a commercial sponsor in 1999 was not popularly received by cricket lovers around Australia.
   ‘Cricket Australia is passionate about bringing back the history and tradition of the Sheffield Shield and we are appreciative of the new sponsor for giving us the opportunity to do this,’ CA chief executive James Sutherland said.
   Sutherland said CA had found a sponsor which did not want to put its name at the front of the competition.

Spanish champions Real Madrid will kick-off their title defence on August 31 at Deportivo La Coruna after the calendar for next season was unveiled Wednesday by the Spanish football federation.
   Villarreal, last year’s runners-up, will travel to Pamplona to play Osasuna, while third-placed Barcelona play at promoted Numancia.
   The clashes between Barcelona and Real Madrid will take place on December 14 at the Nou Camp, with the return leg on May 3 in the Spanish capital.

Terry Jenner, the former Australian legspinner who mentored Shane Warne, has said while Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis is an exciting prospect, it is too early to assess him.
   Mendis, who picked up 17 wickets in the Asia Cup last month, including two five-wicket hauls, has had batsmen confounded by his mixture of googlies, offbreaks, top-spinners, flippers and legbreaks. But Jenner said it still had to be seen whether Mendis had the variation of pace to bowl in Tests.
   ‘We don’t know yet, but that’s where [Anil] Kumble has been fantastic, particularly over the last five years,’ said Jenner, who was in Chennai for a coaching clinic for young spinners at the MAC Spin Foundation.
   Jenner, also said that though the Indian Premier League was fantastic for a lot of reasons, it did not help in the development of young players. ‘It’s a mature-age spinner’s game, not a developing spinner’s. When I watch Harbhajan [Singh] bowl yorkers at 100 kph, it’s clever, but where’s the development?’
   Switching between formats, Jenner said, was very difficult. ‘From my experience, when a spinner starts pushing it through, he starts to lose the ability to spin it. Twenty20 serves a purpose with the entertainment, but it mustn’t encroach on Test cricket.’

Carlos Queiroz said Wednesday he would doggedly pursue ‘excellence’ with the Portuguese national team on his official presentation.
   ‘For me, excellence is a routine, a habit, and that’s the way we are going to work,’ declared Queiroz, who last week quit as Sir Alex Ferguson’s right hand man at Manchester United to take charge of his country.
   ‘The first priority is picking the first squad and qualification for the World Cup,’ said the 55-year-old Queiroz, who had a year in charge at Real Madrid in 2003-2004 before returning to the Old Trafford fold.
   ‘To begin with I am going to bring to bear all my analytical capacity to bring about continual progress and achieve the success we all desire,’ added Queiroz, saying his motto was ‘promise less to do more.’
   Queiroz has signed a four-year deal with Portugal and replaces Luiz Felipe Scolari, who has taken over at Chelsea.
   He previously coached the national side between 1991 and 1993 but failed to steer the ‘Selecao’ to the 1994 World Cup finals.
   Nonetheless, Queiroz built his reputation on nurturing the lower age groups and led Portugal to two under20 world championships - in 1989 and 1991 - with a ‘golden generation’ that included players of the calibre of Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Fernando Couto and Paulo Sousa.
   He then coached Sporting Lisbon for three seasons before a spell in the UAE from 1997 to 1999 and then South Africa, whose national side he led from 2000 to 2002.

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is expecting big things from his new signing Ronaldinho and is confident the Brazilian can become the world’s best again.
   The Brazilian completed his 18.5million euros move from Barcelona late on Tuesday night and met his new teammates at the club’s Milanello training complex on Wednesday.
   For two years the 28 year-old was the best player in the world, winning the World Player of the Year award in 2004 and 2005 and inspired Barcelona to two league titles and a Champions League.
   Ancelotti was on the receiving end of Ronaldinho’s magic during the 2006 Champions League semi-final when his cross set-up Ludovic Giuly for the only goal of the tie and he is looking forward to helping the Porto Alegre native back to those heights.
   He told Milan’s television channel: ‘I expect the best he can give. We want to get him into the condition where he can return to being the best in the world at Milan. He will find the ideal atmosphere to redeem himself.’
   It has been a big summer of transfer activity at San Siro with a host of reinforcements arriving to avoid the club slipping out of the Champions League places for a second consecutive season.
   Club president Silvio Berlusconi has ratcheted up the pressure by saying he expects a league title and UEFA Cup victory in the coming season and Ancelotti feels he has the squad to do just that.
   ‘We’ve reinforced ourselves in defence with (Gianluca) Zambrotta, in midfield with (Mathieu) Flamini and in attack with Ronaldinho and (Marco) Borriello. ‘We’ve got lots of options. Ronaldinho is a big name that will bring a lot of enthusiasm, amongst the players as well. We will try to translate this enthusiasm into results and our play.
   ‘It is true Ronaldinho isn’t an out and out striker, he is someone who loves finding space, but is still highly prolific. It’s a quality attack; a mix between young and players with experience.’
   One player who could be forgiven for being less than enthusiastic at Ronaldinho’s arrival is Marco Borriello, who scored 19 goals on loan at Genoa before returning to Milan this summer.
   But Ancelotti is quick to soothe his fears and reassure him he is in his plans.
   ‘He had an excellent season at Genoa and will have his turn. He has the ability to work with two support strikers.’

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood insists Arsene Wenger is under no pressure to end the club’s three-year trophy drought.
   Wenger’s last major honour was the 2005 FA Cup and his side once again finished empty-handed last season when Manchester United overhauled them in the final weeks to take the Premier League title.
   Arsenal’s prospects for the coming season are uncertain as speculation continues over the future of leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor.
   Wenger had already lost Mathieu Flamini to AC Milan, while reports in Greece claim Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva will join Panathinaikos.
   But Hill-Wood has complete faith in Wenger’s ability to get the Gunners back to the top and has no intention of setting him trophy targets.
   ‘I am a patient man and so are my colleagues. As long as we are doing what we think is the right thing on the playing field then I feel we are
   relaxed about it, but at the same time we are not complacent,’ Hill-Wood told the club’s website.
   ‘We would like to win trophies as much as the players and the fans, but there can be only one winner of the Premier League and the Champions League and it was not us this year.
   ‘Although we did not win anything it was a very good season. Most other clubs would have been happy to have ended where we did, but it was disappointing because we had set our standards so high.
   ‘We were up there and I think we will be challenging again next season.’
   While Manchester United and Chelsea continue to line up big money signings to bolster their squads, Wenger has once again opted to sign potential rather than proven talent.
   Young French playmaker Samir Nasri has moved to the Emirates Stadium from Marseille and Welsh teenager Aaron Ramsey was persuade to snub United in favour of a switch to north London.
   Hill-Wood believes Wenger’s policy will help the club flourish on and off the pitch.
   ‘Buying a whole lot of stars and hoping to mould them together is one way of doing it, but it is not Arsene’s way,’ he said.
   ‘He prefers to build long-term as best he can and develop young players in the way he wants them to play. I am personally very much in favour of that.
   ‘There is an awful lot of talk about big transfers and major demands of players, but you will find throughout the UK and Europe that money is not quite as easy to obtain as it used to be.
   ‘A lot of people don’t seem to realise that in the long run you must run a football club on a sensible commercial basis.’

Belarussian midfielder Alexander Hleb arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday for a medical checkup ahead of his expected transfer from Arsenal, the club said.
   ‘If he passes the medical tests, Alexander Hleb will be presented at the Nou Camp later today,’ the club said on its website.
   ‘I love this club,’ Hleb told reporters. ‘I spoke with (coach Josep) Guardiola and it’s good to know that he wants me. I will give my best to this team and I want to win everything with Barca.’
   The Belarussian, who joined Arsenal from VfB Stuttgart in 2005, scored only 10 goals in his three seasons at the London side.
   Hleb, who had also been linked with a move to Italian champions Inter Milan, said during an interview in Russia last week that he had told Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that he did not like living in London and wanted to leave the club.
   The 27-year-old would be Barca’s fifth signing for the 2008-2009 season.
   The club has already signed Mali’s midfielder Seydou Keita from Seville and three defenders: Spaniard Gerard Pique from Manchester United, Uruguayan Martin Caceres from Villarreal and Brazilian Daniel Alves from Seville.

Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs was awarded an honorary degree for his contribution to sport and charitable causes on Tuesday. Giggs, 33, was made a master of arts by the University of Salford in a ceremony at the Lowry Theatre.
   The Welsh veteran is an ambassador for Unicef, campaigns for children in South Africa who have been made vulnerable by HIV and Aids and was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List last year. Giggs, who beat Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 758 appearances for the Old Trafford club in May, said: ‘When I started my career as a professional footballer I didn’t envisage that one day I’d be made a master of arts. ‘I grew up in Salford and it’s been a big part of my life for 30 years, so it’s great to be a part of Salford University now.’
   

Mark Hughes insisted on Wednesday Manchester City’s failed attempt to sign Ronaldinho won’t stop him targeting the world’s best players.
   City’s ambitious bid to lure former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho to Eastlands ended in disappointment when AC Milan announced the Barcelona star will move to the San Siro.
   But Hughes was encouraged by City’s Thai owner Thaksin Shinawatra decision to sanction a massive financial package for Ronaldinho, which would have paid the player 200,000 pounds (251,000 euros) a week.
   ‘We have presented our case as well as we possibly could and the fact that we are in there trying to get one of the top players in the world shows our ambition and where we want to go,’ Hughes told the Manchester Evening News.
   ‘I don’t know the finer details of the negotiations, but the way the Ronaldinho deal was constructed was a little bit different by all accounts to an ordinary deal, so my budget would not have been affected as much as people think.’
   Hughes is already turning his attention to other transfer options, with reports suggesting he will move for Blackburn duo Roque Santa Cruz and David Bentley, who were both signed by the Welshman during his time at Ewood Park.
   ‘Obviously, I am being linked with players that I know and possibly have worked with before and then there are others that agents are trying to move on and place,’ he said.

Injured Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery is still at least two months away from a return to full fitness, according to club director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
   France international Ribery tore ligaments just above his left ankle during his country’s 2-0 defeat to Italy in Euro 2008 and underwent surgery soon after.
   The 25-year-old will now have a second operation to remove metal plates from the ankle and faces eight weeks of intensive rehabilitation to get fit before he can make a return to the Bayern fold.
   ‘He will undergo a second operation so that the screw in his ankle can be withdrawn,’ Rummenigge told French newspaper L’Equipe.

AS Roma’s Brazilian winger Mancini has become Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho’s first major signing, the two clubs said on Tuesday. Roma, who finished second to Inter in Serie A last season, announced an initial agreement last week and the deal has now been finalised after the player returned to Italy from holiday.
   The skilful and versatile Mancini has moved for 13 million euros ($20.7 million), Roma said in a statement. They added that a friendly between the teams for the season after next was part of the deal. ‘I thank Roma for everything they have done for me, for how they have treated me and for the way in which they have behaved in the negotiations with Inter,’ Mancini told a news conference.
   The 27-year-old, who spent five years at Roma and had an uneasy relationship with coach Luciano Spalletti, is the second top player in two seasons to switch between the rivals.
   Romania centre back Cristian Chivu left Roma for Inter at the start of last season in an acrimonious move.

Wesley Sneijder has questioned the wisdom of Real Madrid signing Cristiano Ronaldo because of the effect his wages would have on the squad.
   The Dutch playmaker is well aware that the Manchester United winger’s ability could help Real, but fears his arrival may cause rifts within the dressing room.
   While separating himself from any financial envy, Sneijder believes that some members of the Spanish champions’ squad would not be happy earning less than the Portuguese star.
   ‘The truth is that could happen a bit. It would be bad for the squad if one player had a much higher salary than the rest,’ he said in an extensive interview with AS.
   ‘It would not matter to me, but I know that there are other players that would not like that.
   ‘But I do not want to say much because every day there is different news. Cristiano is a great player with incredible quality and if he joins Madrid then he will be welcomed.
   ‘We cannot comment on it now because to speak highly of him would be slightly disrespectful to the players that are already here and have shown their class.
   ‘There are already similar players to him here, like (Arjen) Robben and Robinho. It is clear that he would be a useful acquisition, but also maintaining the stability within the squad is important.
   ‘I do not think that Madrid need to sign anyone. In the final games of last season we were very solid and the team showed it has grown a lot. Maybe the only thing we do need is to sign a forward.
   ‘This squad is strong and next term we will become even better. But I suppose that if you bring in a player with great quality it could be good for the team.’
   Sneijder is also keen to see Robinho remain at the club and believes that there is not much difference between the Brazilian and Ronaldo.
   He added: ‘I want Robinho to stay with Madrid because I think that he is almost the same as Cristiano Ronaldo.
   ‘People criticise him a bit and say he does not play well in big games, but I have seen Ronaldo disappear in some of Manchester United’s big games.
   ‘I am not criticising because I just want to point out that a player cannot be at the same level all year round.’
   Meanwhile, Manchester United may finally be ready to talk about selling Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, the Spanish sports newspaper Marca reported Wednesday.
   The Glazer family, which bought the club in 2004, ‘has agreed to the operation,’ as they feel his value could decrease if they hold onto him, it said, quoting sources close to the affair.
   Real Madrid are believed to be prepared to offer around 85 million euros ($134 million) for the 23-year-old, who is under contract at United until 2012, and pay him nine million euros on a five-year deal.
   Ronaldo, a boyhood Real fan, has consistently been linked with a move to the Spanish capital since the end of last season, after scoring an impressive 42 goals last term as United won both the Premier League and Champions League.

Spain bid a half-hearted farewell to Ronaldinho following news of his transfer from Barcelona to AC Milan, with the press noting that despite his talents he had become ‘tired of winning.’
   ‘Adios Ronaldinho,’ headlined the newspaper El Periodico.
   The Brazilian superstar agreed late on Tuesday to leave Barcelona, where he was deemed surplus to requirements, and sign for AC Milan in a deal reported to be worth 30 million dollars.
   The news of the deal was a body-blow to English Premier League side Manchester City who had offered 32 million euros for the two-time world player of the year.
   Ronaldinho scored 70 goals in 145 appearances for Barca, helping them win the Spanish championship in 2005 and 2006 as well as the 2006 Champions League.
   The club also made handsome profits on the sale of team shirts carrying his name, the newspapers La Vanguardia and El Periodico noted.
   But in the past two years, Ronaldinho has been better known for his nocturnal exploits than his performances on the field.
   He was not wanted at the Nou Camp by new coach Pep Guardiola following a dip in form last season.
   He had become ‘tired of winning,’ despite his annual salary of 7 million euros, said the sports newspaper AS.
   He had ‘wonderful glory days’ at Barca, but he is ‘the antithesis of the new plan’ which Guardiola hopes will finally bring the Catalan club some success after two seasons without silverware, the newspaper El Periodico said.
   Guardiola cracked the whip at the first training session on Tuesday, in a contrast to the more relaxed style of his sacked predecessor Frank Rijkaard.
   But the press also raised the question of another star at the club, Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o, whom Guardiola wants to sell but who has yet to find a buyer.
   The newspaper La Vanguardia said Barca could decide to keep the striker, who is under contract until 2010, especially since it appears unlikely the club will tempt over Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor.
   Meanwhile, there will be an overwhelming welcome for Ronaldinho when he meets his new AC Milan team-mates for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.
   The Brazilian joined the Italian giants from Barcelona late on Tuesday night and will fly into the city late on Wednesday morning ahead of his medical at the Milanello training centre.
   ‘It’s always good to welcome big names to the club,’ Italian striker Filippo Inzaghi told Corriere dello Sport.
   ‘With him we can now challenge for the title.’
   Fellow Brazilian Kaka is hoping the pair can recreate the partnership they enjoyed at international level, in a black and red shirt.
   ‘I’m delighted because he’s a star. In the national team
   we get along well, it will be a pleasure (to play alongside him).’
   Georgian defender Kaka Kaladze was even more gushing: ‘He’s unique, can be a playmaker or a striker. He will be welcomed by us; yes I’m very happy.’
   One player ready to calm the excitement is Clarence Seedorf, who will find his first-team position under threat by the Brazilian’s arrival, highlighting that Ronaldinho must be a star for the team and not only for himself.
   ‘He has to be the cherry on top. We can’t reconstruct the squad for one player,’ said Seedorf.
   Ex-Milan striker Alberto Gilardino, who moved to Fiorentina in the close season, is in agreement with the Dutchman.
   ‘He’s an excellent player, but Seedorf is right. He’s the cherry, but that doesn’t mean he is indispensable.’

When Barcelona beat Manchester United in the 28-million-euro race to sign Ronaldinho from Paris Saint Germain in 2003, they received an instant return on their investment.
   The Brazilian scored on his debut against Milan, the team he has now joined for 10 million euros less, in a pre-season match.
   His signing was seen as a statement of intent by the Catalan club which featured a new-look team coached by former Dutch international Frank Rijkaard.
   Barcelona finished second in Ronaldinho’s first season in La Liga behind Valencia, but a year later, with the Brazilian World Cup winner in scintillating form, and helped by Deco, Samuel Eto’o and Ludovic Giuly, the team won the league title for the first time since 1999.
   Ronaldinho maintained his form into the next campaign and spurred on by Lionel Messi’s arrival, the pair helped Barcelona retain the Spanish title.
   For good measure, he also won the World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
   The Spaniards also became European champions for the first time since 1992, the second time in the club’s history.
   Whilst Ronaldinho was subdued in the 2-1 final win over Arsenal, he had proved his worth in the earlier rounds, scoring twice in the quarter-final victory against Chelsea and setting up Giuly for the only goal of the semi-final against Milan.
   Since then, however, the Porto Alegre native has failed to perform with consistency.
   He was a disappointment at the 2006 World Cup, part of a Brazil team that blew hot and cold before being eliminated by France in the quarter-finals.
   At club level, the 28-year-old has failed to shine, arguing continually with Rijkaard, to the extent that when the Dutchman announced that Ronaldinho was injured in March 2008, many thought it was his way of getting the Brazilian out of the way before he could sell him in the summer.
   When Josep Guardiola replaced Rijkaard towards the end of last season, there was speculation that Ronaldinho may be rehabilitated at the Nou Camp. But the ex-club captain promptly announced that the Brazilian was up for sale along with Eto’o and Deco.
   There will be many who will be wondering how Ronaldinho will gel with Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti.
   PSG coach Luis Fernandez and Rijkaard both accused the Brazilian of spending too much time in nightclubs rather than on the training pitch.
   At international level he has yet to recover from his anti-climactic performance at Germany 2006 and has seen new Milan team-mate Kaka usurp his position as international star.
   He has also had questions raised about his fitness with a number of unflattering photos published in recent years.
   However, the move to Italy gives him the chance to reignite his career and at 28 he will be confident of at least another five years at the top.
   At the San Siro he should not have too many problems settling in as, along with Kaka, there are fellow Brazilians Dida, Emerson and Ronaldo, whilst hopes exist that he will be similarly inspired by 18-year-old Alexander Pato as he was by Messi at Barcelona.

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba will decide on his future within the next 10 days, according to his agent Thierno Seydi.
   Drogba has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge since launching a scathing attack on the club over the way they parted company with former coach Jose Mourinho early last season and vowing to leave. The Ivory Coast international also did himself no favours as he was sent off in the Champions League final defeat to Manchester United at the end of the campaign.
   Barcelona, AC Milan and Inter Milan are all reportedly interested in Drogba, but his agent now claims he could decide to remain at the Blues. ‘Didier has given himself 10 days,’ Seydi told France Football. ‘If nothing happens he’ll stay at Chelsea and extend his contract by two years.
   ‘He doesn’t see himself starting training in a few days with Chelsea and then leaving to a new club. The reality of November is not that of today. At the time Didier was affected by departure of Jose Mourinho who he was very close to. ‘Today, there is nothing to say that he won’t stay at Chelsea.’
   Drogba has seemed destined for the Stamford Bridge exit door for months but recently looked to be reconsidering his options.
   New Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari claimed at his official unveiling that Drogba was still ‘200 per cent in his plans’, and the Blues have reportedly offered the 30-year-old a big-money deal to remain at the club.
   Meanwhile, Drogba is also aware of the Marseille fans’ audacious bid to bring him back to the club he left four years ago. The supporters have launched an appeal to raise the £22 million they feel is needed to buy the forward.
   According to his agent, Drogba has praised the fans for their initiative but is upset they have had to resort to such a scheme.
   ‘OM would have difficulty paying the player’s transfer and salary,’ added Seydi. ‘The “Drogbathon” really touched him.
   ‘He found the initiative nice but pitiful, because that shows a bit that OM and French clubs have real difficulties in attracting great players.’

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is ready to offer Andriy Shevchenko a fresh start at Stamford Bridge.
   Shevchenko has endured a miserable time at Chelsea since his 30 million pounds (37 million euros) move from AC Milan in 2006 and the Italian club have made it clear they would like to re-sign him.
   The Ukraine stiker would be keen on a move back to Serie A but, although Scolari is keen to offload several players, he has told Shechenko he will figure in his plans.
   ‘Last season he made 12 starts and scored eight,’ Scolari told the Daily Star.
   ‘Yes, he is a player for Chelsea. If I see him in training and if I believe in him, I will put him on the field.’
   Ricardo Carvalho is also set to stay at the Bridge despite Jose Mourinho’s attempts to sign the Portugal defender.
   Carvalho has worked with Mourinho at Porto and Chelsea, with the Portuguese coach describing him as one of his favourite players.
   But Carvalho insists he is looking forward to the challenge of a new campaign at Chelsea.
   ‘It is good to see all the people again, fighting for the club like we have for the past few years,’ Carvalho told The Times.
   Meanwhile Chelsea’s bid for Real Madrid winger Robinho could stumble over the player’s valuation.
   Chelsea were reported to have offered 48 million pounds (60 million euros) for the Brazilian, but Real president Ramon Calderon believes he is worth more than that.
   ‘I think he is worth more then 60 million,’ Calderon said. ‘There is nothing new on the subject of Robinho because the player is not unhappy with the club.’

FIFA expect Barcelona to release Lionel Messi so he can play for Argentina at next month’s Olympics.
   The Barcelona winger returned for pre-season training on Tuesday still awaiting a decision on whether he would be involved in the Spanish club’s Champions League matches or play at the Beijing Games.
   Messi returned earlier than his Saturday due date to meet coach Pep Guardiola, who had said the club would not release Messi or Brazil midfielder Ronaldinho for the Olympics unless ordered to by FIFA.
   ‘We moved his arrival date forward and now we’re waiting on the communication from FIFA,’ Guardiola said. ‘We’re defending what we believe is fair and, if they confirm, Leo will stay. If not, he’ll have to go to the games.’
   Barcelona were counting on the 21-year-old Messi to take part in Champions League qualifying matches on August 12 and 27.
   FIFA said on Tuesday that they had not received any communique from Barcelona and expected the Catalan club to adhere to the principles of its rules, which state that all clubs must release players who are under the age of 23 for the Games.
   ‘The release of players has always been mandatory. So for Beijing the same principles apply,’ FIFA said. ‘We won’t make any exceptions for Barcelona.’

Former Real Madrid boss Vicente del Bosque was on Tuesday named as the new coach of the Spanish national team to replace Luis Aragones who masterminded the successful Euro 2008 campaign last month.
   ‘The president of the Spanish football federation Angel Maria Villar proposed the nomination of Del Bosque to the executive committee which was accepted,’ said a RFEF spokesman.
   ‘He will be presented today at 1115 GMT.’
   The 57-year-old Del Bosque will take charge of his first match on August 20 when Spain face Austria in a friendly international in Copenhagen. His first competitive game will be a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Bosnia in Murcia on September 6.
   The 69-year-old Aragones was not offered a new deal with Spain despite delivering a first title for the soccer-mad nation since 1964 with victory over Germany in the Euro 2008 final.
   He has since signed a two-year contract to coach Turkish club Fenerbahce although he has also been linked with the vacancy at Valencia.
   Del Bosque coached Real Madrid to two Spanish titles as well as a Champions League double before enjoying more modest spells at Besiktas in Turkey from 2004-2005 and as sporting director with Spanish second division side Cadiz last season.
   He played as a midfielder with Real from 1973-1984, winning five championships (1975, 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1980) and four Spanish Cups (1974, 1975, 1980 and 1982).
   Del Bosque then started his coaching career with the Real Madrid B team in 1987. After two short spells in charge of the first team in 1993-1994 and 1995-1996, he took charge on a full-time basis in 1999.
   Despite his two league titles (2001 and 2003) and two European crowns (2000 and 2002), his contract was not renewed by controversial president Florentino Perez who believed a Real coach should match the charisma of the so-called ‘galacticos’ of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham.
   In April 2005, Del Bosque insisted he would never be tempted to return to Real declaring himself a ‘man of principle’.
   ‘The way the club announced my departure to the press was very hurtful,’ he added.

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, the owner of AC Milan, on Tuesday reacted with joy to Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho agreeing to leave Barcelona and sign for his club in a deal reported to be worth 30 million dollars.
   ‘Ronaldinho is ours, Galliani called me from Barcelona,’ Berlusconi told Italian television by telephone, referring to AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani.
   ‘Galliani told me that an agreement was reached and it will be signed tomorrow (Wednesday). Now I hope all the fans who asked me during the election campaign for Ronaldinho will be happy.’