Dimitri Mascarenhas on Tuesday signed to play in the Indian Premier league, becoming the first Englishman to be involved in the multi-million-dollar Twenty20 event.
   The all-rounder was snapped up by the Jaipur franchise for 100,000 dollars in the second auction of players for the eight city teams taking part in the 44-day, 59-match extravaganza across India from April 18.
   ‘Dimitri was allowed to play by his county Hampshire,’ IPL commissioner Lalit Modi told reporters.
   Twenty-eight players from six countries were bought in the second auction organised by the Indian cricket board, adding to the 75 stars purchased on February 20.
   Five top Indians—Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai), Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata), Rahul Dravid (Bangalore), Yuvraj Singh (Mohali) and Virender Sehwag (Delhi) — were not auctioned.
   They will lead their respective city teams and earn 15 per cent more than the highest-paid player in their side.
   Among the players auctioned on Tuesday, Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul Haq went to Bangalore for 125,000 dollars while Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was picked up by Jaipur for the same amount.
   Fourteen members of India’s under-19 team which won the junior World Cup in Malaysia earlier this month will also take part in the IPL for a flat fee of 30,000 dollars each.
   Besides Misbah, Bangalore also signed Indian under-19 captain Virat Kohli, New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor (100,000 dollars) and under-19 wicket-keeper Shreevats Goswami.
   Jaipur picked up, along with Mascarenhas and Watson, South African fast bowler Morne Morkel (60,000 dollars), Pakistan seamer Sohail Tanvir (100,000 dollars) and India juniors Taruwar Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.
   The Kolkata franchise, owned by Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan, purchased two Pakistanis, Salman Butt (100,000 dollars) and Mohammad Hafeez (100,000 dollars) besides India juniors Siddarth Kaul and Iqbal Abdullah.
   Squads
   Indian Premier League teams after the second round of auctions on Tuesday:
   Bangalore:
   Rahul Dravid (capt-IND), Jacques Kallis (RSA), Anil Kumble (IND), Cameron White (AUS), Zaheer Khan (IND), Mark Boucher (RSA), Nathan Bracken (AUS), Dale Steyn (RSA), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WIS), Wasim Jaffer (IND), Misbah-ul Haq (PAK), Virat Kohli (IND), Abdur Razzak (BAN), Ross Taylor (NZL), Shreevats Goswami (IND).
    Chennai:
   Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt-IND)), Jacob Oram (NZL), Suresh Raina (IND), Albie Morkel (RSA), Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI), Matthew Hayden (AUS), Michael Hussey (AUS), Stephen Fleming (NZL), Parthiv Patel (IND), Joginder Sharma (IND), Makhaya Ntini (RSA), Napoleon Einstein (IND), Abhinav Mukund (IND).
   Delhi:
   Virender Sehwag (capt-IND), Gautam Gambhir (IND), Manoj Tiwary (IND), Mohammad Asif (PAK), Daniel Vettori (NZL),
   Dinesh Karthik (IND), Shoaib Malik (PAK), Glenn McGrath (AUS), Abraham de Villiers (RSA), Tillekeratne Dilshan (SRI), Farveez Maharoof (SRI), Pradeep Sangwan (IND), Brett Geeves (AUS).
   Hyderabad:
   Venkatsai Laxman (capt-IND)), Andrew Symonds (AUS), Rudra Pratap Singh (IND), Rohit Sharma (IND), Adam Gilchrist (AUS), Shahid Afridi (PAK), Herschelle Gibbs (RSA), Chaminda Vaas (SRI), Scott Styris (NZL), Nuwan Zoysa (SRI), Chamara Silva (SRI).
   Jaipur:
   Shane Warne (capt-AUS)), Yusuf Pathan (IND), Graeme Smith (RSA), Mohammad Kaif (IND), Munaf Patel (IND), Younis Khan (PAK), Justin Langer (AUS), Kamran Akmal (PAK), Dimitri Mascarenhas (ENG), Shane Watson
   (AUS), Morne Morkel (RSA), Sohail Tanvir (PAK), Taruwar Kohli (IND), Ravindra Jadeja (IND).
   Kolkata:
   Sourav Ganguly (capt-IND), Ishant Sharma (IND), Chris Gayle (WIS), Brendon McCullum (NZL), David Hussey (AUS), Shoaib Akhtar (PAK), Murali Kartik (IND), Ricky Ponting (AUS), Ajit Agarkar (IND), Umar Gul (PAK), Tatenda Taibu (ZIM), Salman Butt (PAK), Mohammad Hafeez (PAK), Siddarth Kaul (IND), Iqbal Abdullah (IND).
   Mohali:
   Yuvraj Singh (capt-IND)), Irfan Pathan (IND), Brett Lee (AUS), Kumar Sangakkara (SRI), Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (IND), Mahela Jayawardene (SRI), Piyush Chawla (IND), Ramnaresh Sarwan (WIS), Simon Katich (AUS), Ramesh Powar (IND), James Hopes (AUS), Luke Pomersbach (AUS), Kyle Mills (NZL), Tanmay Srivastava (IND), Ajitesh Argal (IND).
   Mumbai:
   Sachin Tendulkar (capt-IND), Sanath Jayasuriya (SRI), Harbhajan Singh (IND), Robin Uthappa (IND), Shaun Pollock (RSA), Lasith Malinga (SRI), Loots Bosman (RSA),
   Dilhara Fernando (SRI), Ashwell Prince (RSA), Saurabh Tiwary (IND), Manish Pandey (IND).
   Note: Local players will be added to make up the 16-man squads.

The deferred election of the Bangladesh Football Federation will be held on April 28, two days ahead of the FIFA-imposed deadline. President of BFF SA Sultan announced the date at a press conference held at BFF House on Tuesday.
   BFF explained all the details of the meeting with the AFC president Mohammad bin Hammam in Kuala Lumpur this week. Former joint secretary of BFF and football star Badal Roy and CEO of Bangladesh Olympic Association Col. (retd) Waliullah, both of whom were the part of the delegation, were also present.
   However, BFF will hold an Emergency General Meeting on March 27 to make the District Football Associations official. This EGM will be held with the existing councilors. After the legalisation of the DFAs, BFF will hold the elections with the councilors from the DFAs.
   However, the election of the BFF is going to lose some of its charm as AFC has instructed BFF to appoint paid officials in the posts of general secretary, deputy general secretary, two assistant general secretaries and the treasurer. These posts will be out of the election procedure. So, the election will be held for the president, four vice-presidents, and the general members. Currently BFF has 10 executive committee members but has appealed to AFC for the extension of another five.
   BFF still has to resolve the crisis of 13 districts and three divisions who are yet to form the DFAs. BFF extended the time thrice for the formation but due to many complicacies they did not form the regional football associations. On Monday BFF executive committee decided not to include them in the upcoming election procedure. But in the press briefing Waliullah and Roy both urged the BFF to include the districts in the election procedure.
   ‘There were many misunderstandings and vague terms between the DSAs and the BFF. Many DSAs thought without the instructions of the National Sports Council it would be risky to form the DFAs as the DSA is headed by the deputy commissioners, if there is anyway then I think they should be included,’ said the BOA chief executive.
   Roy focused on the game’s current crisis. ‘We made AFC understand that the government’s involvement at the root level was very important and we need a strong platform to overcome the downward trend,’ said the former national captain.
   Sultan was hopeful of reaching a fruitful conclusion in the upcoming EGM.

Dhaka Mohammedan, Biman and Old DOHS won their third round matches in the Premier Cricket League defeating Young Pegasus, Victoria and Sonargaon Cricketers at different venues on Tuesday.
   Mohammedan v Young Pegasus
   Mohammedan thrashed Young Pegasus by 79 runs at the BKSP. Batting first, Mohammedan posted a fighting 225 for nine in the stipulated 50 overs and later bowled Young Pegasus out for 146. Opener Imtiaz played 117 balls hitting nine fours in his 101-run innings but Mohammedan failed to cash in as the other batsmen faltered. Rashedul Huq’s 30 and Aqeel Arshad’s 32 were the other notable scores. Sabbir Rahman had a three-wicket haul for 30 runs.
   Junior Tiger skipper Sohrowardi Shuvo and pacer Tareq Aziz bagged three wickets each to wreck Young Pegasus. Ashiqur Rahman’s 33, Nazmul Islam’s 26 not out and 20 off Iftekhar Nayeem’s bat gave respectability to the total.
   Biman v Victoria
   Biman overcame Victoria’s 241 at Mirpur stadium. Batting first Victoria posted a decent 241 for nine in 50 overs but Biman’s batsmen put on a good show to topple the score with two balls and two wickets to spare.
   Nasiruddin Faruque’s 40, Farhad Hossain’s 48, skipper EhsanulHuq’s 39, Mahmudullah Riyadh’s 38 and 31 from Mohammad Shahazada helped Victoria to a fighting total. Almgir Kabir captured three for 46.
   Biman skipper Sanwar Hossain led from the front hitting 51. He was ably-supported by Nafees Iqbal who scored 31, Mushfiqur Rahman (30), Sajjad Kadir (34) and number nine Alamgir Kabir’s 26. Jafar Qureishi took three for 37.
   Old DOHS v Sonargaon Cricketers
   Old DOHS piled 240-9 against Sonargaon Cricketers at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium and then bowled Sonargaon Cricketers out for 228 to register a 12-run victory.
   DOHS opener Sakib Razzak scored 40 to provide his team a good foundation and skipper Hamidul Islam hit 68 at number three. Monir Ahmed’s 54 in the middle order helped DOHS to post a defendable score. Elias Sunny and Kamrul Islam both took two wickets each respectively.
   Sonargaon Cricketers had a good start and they were cruising at 195-5 in 41 overs. But a late order collapse saw Sonargaon lose their last six wickets for 33 runs.

Pakistan cricket coach Geoff Lawson said Australia’s decision to call off their tour over security fears on Tuesday was disappointing and unjustified.
   Lawson, a former Australia paceman, lashed out after the tour scheduled for March-April was cancelled following a double bomb attack in the eastern city of Lahore that killed at least 21 people.
   ‘I don’t think they (Australia) are justified in postponing the series. I am living in Pakistan and feel secure,’ Lawson told reporters.
   ‘I am disappointed, although it was expected. It is a shame that we are not playing Australia at a time when they are beatable.’
   The tour was due to begin on March 29 and Lahore was one of the venues where Australia were to play.
   Lawson, who took over as Pakistan coach in July following the death of Bob Woolmer during the World Cup in Jamaica a year ago, said the decision would have multiple effects on Pakistani cricket.
   ‘There is an immediate disappointment of not having the best team in Pakistan and it’s a loss for players, fans, administrators who lose quality cricket,’ he said.
   ‘It may have a major effect in the short term and it’s up to the PCB to assure that it will not have a major effect in the longer run,’ he added, referring to the Pakistan Cricket Board.
   ‘I think the Australians should have come here full steam ahead,’ Lawson told the Australian Associated Press here.
   ‘Bombs do go off. You can’t argue with that. But they’re focused on particular targets that have nothing to do with sport, and particularly nothing to do with cricket.’
   The Pakistan coach said the only plus point was that the tour had been officially postponed instead of cancelled.
   ‘Officially they have postponed the tour, which is better than cancelling it and hopefully between CA (Cricket Australia) and PCB they can find the dates to reschedule the tour, and we can’t do much about that,’ he told reporters.
   Lawson said he hoped the International Cricket Council would give Pakistan the chance to play more Tests in future than it currently has scheduled in the Test programme.
   Pakistan are only set to play India at home early next year.
   ‘Test cricket-wise it is a loss not playing Australia and we don’t play very much Test cricket. So it’s up to the ICC to put more Tests on our chart,’ said Lawson.
   Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja—whose house was damaged by one of the blasts in Lahore on Tuesday—said Pakistan cricket would lose out from the cancellation.
   ‘It will impact Pakistan cricket in a terrible way,’ said Raja.
   ‘Pakistan cricket’s television rights are up for sale next month and I fear they will be devalued with the current scenario.
   ‘Young Pakistani players will also get demotivated by this situation when no team is willing to play here,’ he added.
   But he said that he didn’t blame the Australians given Pakistan’s current security image abroad.
   ‘The practical situation is getting worse and with major cities being targetted it is worrying for people who live outside Pakistan,’ he said.
   Another former captain, Wasim Akram, backed Australia’s decision.
   ‘Under the current scenario, Australia is justified to take this decision,’ said the retired Wasim, who did not take part when Pakistan were forced to play their home series against Australia at neutral venues in 2002, also for security reasons.
   ‘But I see far-reaching implications for Pakistan cricket, both financially and in sporting terms.’
   The ICC meanwhile confirmed the series could be rescheduled.
   ‘As per the agreement under the Future Tour Programmes, there is a provision for rescheduling a postponed series with the mutual consent of two countries and it has happened in the past,’ an ICC spokesman said from Dubai.
   The spokesman added that Australia would not be fined
   for pulling out of the series since the decision was ‘by mutual consent of the two boards.’

Tearaway South Africa speedster Dale Steyn is smacking his lips in anticipation of a battle royale with India’s batsmen in the upcoming three-Test series.
   Steyn, 24, taught Bangladesh a few lessons in fast bowling in the recent two-Test series from which he bagged 14 wickets, and is now training his guns on India who have recently returned from their Australia tour.
   The last time he played against India in 2006-07, Steyn picked six wickets from two Tests but given his current form, it should come as no surprise if he betters his record.
   ‘I am looking forward to playing against India, especially after their successful tour of Australia. It will be interesting going to India,’ Steyn told AFP here.
   ‘The good thing is we have been playing quite a bit of cricket on the sub-continent lately in Pakistan and Bangladesh. We won both Test series, so this will be an interesting contest between two good teams.’
   Steyn, who recently went past Allan Donald’s record of the quickest South African to 100 Test wickets, however admits that bowling to Indian batsmen in their own conditions will be a challenge.
   ‘It is going to be tough bowling to any of the batsmen, particularly under conditions that they are used to. They have plenty of depth. The key will be to work on their weaknesses and take it from there.’
   Steyn will also rely on his slower ball to unravel the mighty Indian batting line-up during the series beginning March 26.
   ‘My slower ball really took off when we went to Sri Lanka a couple of seasons ago. Polly (Shaun Pollock) told me that it was a vital weapon to have in my arsenal, particularly in sub-continent conditions.
   ‘It makes a big difference when you are bowling at 145 (kilometres an hour) and can suddenly change gear to 110 or
   less,’ said the bowler who has 105 wickets from 20 Tests.
   Steyn added he saw nothing wrong with intimidating batsmen with short balls.
   ‘It is never nice to see somebody get hit on a cricket field but the short ball is part of the game and, if you do hit somebody, it sends shivers down the rest of the batting line-up.
   ‘If a top player can’t handle a short ball, then it is unlikely that those down the order are going to fare any better.
   ‘It is important to show aggression and let the batsman know that you have got the upper hand.’
   Stey, ranked world number two among bowlers behind
   Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan in official charts, denies feeling any pressure as a result of the constant hype around him.
   ‘I don’t feel I need to prove anything to anybody.
   ‘If I do well, I am quite happy. At the end of the day it
   is all about team performance and not about individual achievement.
   ‘There are 10 other guys playing with me and it is all about the team.
   ‘I am hoping that somebody else in our team will come to India and take 20 wickets in the series because, if somebody is doing that, then we are winning as a team.’
   The bowler, who will also be seen in action in the inaugural Indian Premier League in India in April-May, is excited about sharing the dressing room with rivals.
   ‘I will have Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis on my side which will be great but what will be really interesting will be having players like Rahul Dravid and Nathan Bracken as team mates.
   ‘I believe I will learn quite a lot from the experience. It should be a lot of fun and it is great for the players to be so well paid.’

BKSP defeated Khulna 4-2 in the final round of the 4th JFA Cup U-15 Football Championship that began at the Rajshahi stadium on Tuesday.
   Anisur Rahman scored twice for the sports institute team while Ali Akbar Kanan and Sumon added a goal apiece. Ariful Islam and Tawfiq Elahi netted for the losers.
   In the day’s other match, Cox’s Bazar defeated Moulvibazar 2-0.
   Earlier, Hafizur Rahman Bhuiyan, the divisional commissioner of Rajshahi, inaugurated the final round as the chief guest while Ibrahim Khalil, the deputy commissioner of Rajshahi was also present.

The Hong Kong women’s cricket team will tour Bangladesh from March 20-29 to play four one-day matches against their Bangladesh counterparts.
   The Bangladesh Cricket Board has selected the following players for the training camp ahead of the tour: Shathira Zakir Jessy, Shukhtara, Ayesha Akhter, Salma Khatun, mIrin Sultana, Chamily Khatun, Rumana Akhter, Panna Ghosh, Shamima Akhter Pinky, Jahanara Alam, Lily Rani, Tithi Rani, Papiya Haque Babu and Mina Khatun. Reserves: Fatematuz Zahora, Rifat Ara, Mahmuda Khan and Lata Mondal.
   The cricketers have been requested to report to coach Zafrul Ehsan, Parveen Nasima Nahar and Tashrequl Islam at the Dhanmondi Women’s Sports Complex on Thursday at 5:00pm.
   Itinerary:
   March 23: 1st ODI at Shaheed Chandu Stadium, Bogra
   March 25: 2nd ODI at Shaheed Chandu Stadium, Bogra
   March 27: 3rd ODI at Narayanganj Osmani Stadium, Fatullah
   March 29: 4th ODI at Narayanganj Osmani Stadium, Fatullah

It could not have been a better surprise for Bangladesh’s left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak after he was picked by Bangalore Royal Challengers for the lucrative Indian Premier League through an auction in Mumbai on Tuesday.
   Razzak joined Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq and New Zealand’s Ross Taylor to join an already star-studded Bangalore team during the second auction of the competition. He will get annually $50,000 playing for the side.
   The Bangladesh left-arm spinner will now team up with Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Anil Kumble, Nathan Bracken, Zaheer Khan, Wasim Jaffer, Shivnarayan Chandarpaul.
   ‘I am absolutely stunned to see my name in the list. I had no idea about,’ Razzak told New Age shortly after he got the news.
   ‘Everybody was talking about (Mohammad) Ashraful and Mashrafee (bin Murtaza) and I was also wishing them a good. I never thought my name could be there,’ said Razzak, who ranked in the top 20 for one-day cricket.
   Razzak, Ashraful, Mashrafee were among the 25 cricketers, who were sold in the Mumbai auction. But no team showed any interest to buy the Bangladesh captain and vice-captain. Only 14 players were sold among the 25 cricketers, who had been auctioned.

Ispahani Media Agency Limited, a sister concern of Ispahani Mirzapore Tea, has secured the title sponsorship of Bangladesh’s upcoming home series against Ireland, said the company on Tuesday.
   The company agreed to pay the BCB Taka 18 lakh to secure rights of the three-match series. The money included BCB’s royalty on all the prizes to be given in the series and the rental of a bus for the visiting team.
   Ireland will be arriving in Dhaka on March 16 and the three one-day matches will be played on March 18, 20 and 22.

Runs and wickets at the Indian Premier League’s Twenty20 competition will not gain official recognition, cricket’s world governing body said Tuesday.
   The International Cricket Council regards the multi-million-dollar IPL, promoted by the Indian board and featuring top stars from around the world, as a domestic Indian competition, a spokesman said.
   ‘The IPL is not inter-
   national cricket, it is a domestic tournament,’ ICC spokes-
   man James Fitzgerald told AFP when asked if players’ performances will gain official recognition.
   ‘Therefore, the matches do not have Twenty20 international status.’
   The IPL is a city-based tournament with eight teams bought by franchises who selected their respective line-ups via auction in Mumbai last month.
   The tournament, which runs from April 18 to June 1, will mark the first time international cricketers will put aside their national allegiances to play for privately-owned teams.
   Players have received huge pay packets, starting from 100,000 dollars for the first year, to take part in the 44-day, 59-match extravaganza across cricket-mad India.
   In a sport where only a few top stars net more than a million dollars a year in fees
   and endorsements for their respective countries, the IPL has showered unprecedented riches.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova said Tuesday she has regained Czech nationality more than 30 years after fleeing communism in the country of her birth to live in the United States.
   ‘I lost it at the time I defected. I got it back on January 9,’ Navratilova told a news conference on a visit to Tokyo.
   The 51-year-old former world champion said she was maintaining dual nationality and keeping her US passport.
   Born in Prague, Navratilova fled to the United States in 1975 at the height of the Cold War, angering communist authorities who stripped her of her nationality. She became a US citizen six years later.
   But Navratilova said last year that while she was once ashamed about Czechoslovakia, she was now ashamed of the United States under President George W. Bush.
   ‘The thing is that we elected Bush. That is worse! Against that, nobody chose a communist government in Czechoslovakia,’ she told the Czech daily Lidove Noviny.
   Czechoslovakia split in 1993 after the fall of communism
   into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
   Navratilova has said that she left home because authorities refused to let her play tennis in the United States, where the vast majority of tournaments were then held.
   She went on to become one of the greatest stars that the sport has ever seen, winning 18 Grand Slams—nine at Wimbledon, four at the US Open, three at the Australian Open and two at Roland Garros.
   She retired in 1994 but returned to play doubles in 2000, again winning several tournaments. She definitively hung up her racket in December 2006 after winning in mixed doubles at the US Open, the 354th tournament of her career.
   She is planning to open an academy for young tennis players in the Czech Republic.

Bayern Munich insist their star midfielder Franck Ribery is not for sale with captain Oliver Kahn describing the Frenchman as the new Zinedine Zidane after a string of world-class performances.
   Ribery, 24, scored Bayern’s second goal in a 2-0 win over Karlsruhe last weekend which gave the Munich side a seven-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table.
   But since his switch from Marseille last summer, Ribery has produced several world-class performances and Kahn says the Frenchman is the best player he has seen since former Real Madrid star Zinedine Zidane.
   ‘It’s a while since I’ve seen that level of performance from an individual player,’ Kahn confessed to Bayern’s website after Zidane ended his career in controversy when he was sent off in the 2006 World Cup final.
   ‘Ribery has a very different style, but in terms of technical ability, he’s a second Zidane.
   ‘I’ve never seen a player who’s so good at such high speed,’ Kahn enthused. And with Bayern bosses having paid 26 million euros (39.7 million US dollars) for the French star, the investment is starting to really pay off with fans flocking to watch Ribery who is set to star for his country at Euro 2008 in June.
   ‘He has been breathtaking, astounding,’ said Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness. He’s going at top speed, but he can still accelerate and keep control of the ball. And not just a couple of times per half, it’s six, seven or eight times.’
   The Frenchman is now on eight for the season, but has provided 15 assists in 29 competitive appearances - and with his contract set to run until 2011, Hoeness warned Europe’s top teams that Ribery is not for sale.
   ‘The oil magnates can try what they want but we won’t sell the player,’ said Hoeness.

Young cricketers may soon opt out of playing for their country because of the huge amounts of money available in the sport, Sri Lanka’s cricket chief Arjuna Ranatunga said on Tuesday.
   Ranatunga, Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning captain in 1996, said he was worried about the future of younger players who could be tempted to join the cash-rich Twenty20 leagues in India.
   ‘It is India today, it could be another country tomorrow that will be offering large sums of money to players,’ said Ranatunga.
   ‘I have no problem with senior players joining these leagues, but the younger players worry me.
   ‘I have heard them say that there are ways of making money even if one does not get picked for the national team.’
   Top Sri Lankans like Sanath Jayasuriya, captain Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Chamara Silva and Tillekaratne Dilshan have all been contracted to play in the Indian Premier League starting on April 18.
   Retired Test stars like Marvan Atapattu and Russel Arnold, who are playing for the rebel Indian Cricket league, have been banned from holding any post in the Sri Lankan cricket establishment.
   IPL franchises bought players for the inaugural edition at prices ranging from 100,000 dollars to 1.5 million dollars a year for India’s one-day and Twenty20 captain Mahendra Dhoni.

Youngmen’s Club Fakirerpool retained their solo lead in the super six of the Metropolis Senior Division Football League beating Badda Jagarani Sangsad 2-1 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Tuesday.
   Towhidul Islam scored both goals for Fakirerpool in the 52nd and 75th minutes while Al Amin netted the lone goal for Badda in the 59th minute.
   With the day’s win, Fakirerpool secured 33 points from 14 matches while Badda remain on 22 points playing the same number of matches.
   In the relegation league, Mohakhali Eleven earned a facile 4-0 victory over Agrani Bank SC at the Kamalapur Stadium.
   Golap Hossain struck twice, while Zakir Hossain and Humayan Kabir netted one goal each for the winners.

Narayanganj High School emerged champions in the Standard Chartered Young Tigers National School Cricket Tournament beating Sinha High School by 82 runs at the Osmani Poura Stadium on Tuesday.
   Deciding to bat, Narayanganj piled up 286 losing eight wickets in stipulated 50 overs. In reply, Sinha were bowled out for 204 in 39.2 overs.
   Gazi Ashraf Hossain, chairman of the CCDM and executive committee member, distributed prizes among the winners.

Viqarunnissa Noon School and College registered a three-wicket victory over MDC Model Institute on the third day of the 1st School Girls’ Twenty20 Cricket Tournament at the Azimpur Girls’ School and College ground on Tuesday.
   Batting first, MDC Model Institute were bundled out for 66 in 13.5 overs. In reply, Viqarunnissa reached the target losing seven wickets in 11.1 overs.

Former Australia coach John Buchanan will link up with old adversary Saurav Ganguly after signing up with the lucrative Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
   Buchanan, who guided Australia to two World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007 before stepping down in April last year, was unveiled as coach of the Ganguly-led Kolkata in the eight-team franchise Twenty20 league due to start on April 18.
   Ganguly dealt Buchanan’s Australia a surprise defeat when he captained India to a memorable comeback test series win in 2001.
   Each team franchise was sold for millions of dollars. The ‘Kolkata Knight Riders’ were bought for $75.09 million by a consortium that includes Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.

Sports organisers commemorated the renowned sports journalist and freedom fighter Masud Ahmed Rumi on his fifth death anniversary at the Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association on Tuesday. A milad mahfil praying for the salvation of the departed soul was also held.
   Rumi, who was a trainer of the Bangladesh Liberation Force in Deradhun of India, passed away on this day in 2003. He was then the sports editor of BSS.
   Former MP and vice-president of BFF Monirul Huq Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Volleyball Federation, Golam Quddus Chowdhury, BOA treasurer Monirul Huq, BOA deputy secretary general Ishtiaque Ahmed Karen, former BCB general secretary Aminul Huq Moni, veteran cricket coach Jalal Ahmed Chowdhury, sports organiser FR Babul, Rumi’s elder sister professor Dilruba Afroze and BSJA president Monjurul Huq spoke on the occasion.

Bayern Munich will be among a trio of German teams targetting quarter-final berths in UEFA Cup last 16, second round ties midweek, as the hopes of England’s three contenders are in the balance.
   Germany almost have two teams through with Bayern Munich virtually qualified after their 5-0 thrashing of Anderlecht in Brussels, and a Bundesliga side are guaranteed from the duel today between Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen.
   Bayer Leverkusen have a 1-0 advantage having won their home leg.
   Werder Bremen, however, need to overcome a 2-0 deficit when they host Scottish side Rangers on Thursday, as the Bundesliga title chasers look to keep their bid to become the seventh German side to win Europe’s second tier competition alive.
   However, England’s three hopefuls - Everton, Tottenham and Bolton - all face a tough task to stay in the competition which their country has won ten times.
   Everton need two goals at home against Fiorentina, and Bolton need to win, or draw by 2-2 or 3-3, in Lisbon against Sporting Lisbon to make up for their 1-1 draw at home.
   Everton boss David Moyes knows his side face a tough challenge, but believes they are up to the task.
   ‘The problem was that we were playing a good Italian team on the night and it wasn’t the way we have been playing of late,’ said Moyes.
   ‘We have got to give them credit, they played well on the night, defended well and got their goals late on.
   ‘I think we have got a lot of belief here the way we have been playing this season. I have got a great deal of faith in the way they have been playing and progressing.
   ‘I feel we deserve an awful lot of credit for that and we are going to try and keep that up.
   ‘We have scored a lot of goals at Goodison Park. The crowd will play a part and we are going to need a strong referee, a good referee and if we get that hopefully we can turn it around.’
   Tottenham face the trickest task of the trio after being beaten 1-0 at home by PSV Eindhoven and need to win in the Netherlands.
   Elsewhere French side Marseille, finalists in 1999 and 2004, travel to St. Petersburg as favourites after a comfortable 3-1 win at home against Zenit.
   Spaniards Getafe, playing their first UEFA Cup, could continue their surprise run as they hold a 2-1 advantage going into their home time against Benfica.
   The Portuguese club have a new coach with former Portugal international Fernando Chalana replacing Jose Antonio Camacho who resigned Sunday claiming the motivation has disappeared from handling one of Portugal’s biggest clubs.

Millions of men tend to take things a little easier by the time they reach their 72nd birthday but FIFA president Sepp Blatter appears to be moving into overdrive.
   He was spending his birthday on Monday chairing a FIFA technical committee meeting in Zurich, after a flying visit to Gleneagles in Scotland for the annual meeting of the law-making International Football Association Board.
   Asked if he was going to find time during the weekend to play a round at Gleneagles, one of the greatest golf courses in the world, Blatter, laughed.
   ‘It’s a wonderful game, golf, but let’s talk about football,’ he told Reuters in the luxurious surroundings of the Gleneagles Hotel.
   Blatter joined FIFA as technical director in 1975. By 1981 he was the body’s general secretary, a post he held until 1998 when he was elected president.
   He has had his ups and downs over the last decade and this week a court case into the collapse of FIFA’s former marketing partners ISL opens in Switzerland. Some observers say it could prove damaging to FIFA; Blatter disagrees.
   ‘FIFA has nothing to fear,’ he said. ‘We welcome the case, we were the ones that brought it.’
   FIFA was a very different organisation when Blatter arrived.
   ‘FIFA employed 11 people then, now we have 300 people and football is the global game. We all know this but we have to respect our history, our past and our responsibilities.
   ‘It is not just about money and the big clubs. We have many problems in football but I believe in the good side of human nature.
   ‘I believe we can maintain football as a very important factor, not only to provide entertainment but also to bring emotion and passion and to integrate people and bring hope around the world. Of course that is easier said than done, too.’
   Blatter admitted that greed and the sheer economic dynamics of soccer made those ideals hard to attain.
   He said football provided the livelihoods for some 260 million people around the world and there was only so much FIFA could do to maintain standards.
   As he celebrates 10 years as president, he seems determined to leave a lasting legacy for the sport.
   When he might retire is anyone’s guess. Before he quits, he wants to have the ‘6 plus 5’ quota system in place throughout FIFA’s 206 member nations to preserve, or re-introduce, some national identity to clubs.
   By 2012 he wants every club to start games with a minimum of six players eligible to play for that club’s home international side and is not put off by European laws which forbid restraint of trade on grounds of nationality.
   ‘We have established the specificity of sport in the EU treaty and I am sure the European Parliament will understand what we are trying to do is for the good of the game.
   ‘You cannot have a European solution to a worldwide problem either and we are prepared to fight for this. Fans must start to have a national identity with their own teams again.’
   In the last few weeks he has condemned as ‘a joke’ English Premier League plans to host a 39th competitive league match overseas and he is also determined to ban players who commit violent fouls.
   ‘There is no place for someone who wants to demolish another player in the game. They should be banned for life,’ he said.
   He is also against, but admits he is powerless to stop, wealthy overseas owners taking control of foreign clubs.
   ‘I do not like it,’ he said. ‘It is like a fashion now for a rich man to buy a football club. For a while they wanted to buy a Formula One team, or a personal golf course, or they have race horses and now it’s football. The football community should pay attention to such things.’
   Blatter keeps a close eye on every development in the game: the role of agents, third-party ownership of players, foreign coaches taking over at major countries and the laws of the game.
   On Saturday, FIFA finally ended all experiments with goal-line technology, something he had opposed for years.
   That decision was taken by the IFAB, a somewhat obscure arm of FIFA that is the game’s ultimate law-making body.
   Formed in 1886, it comprises the four British associations and four from FIFA and rarely makes major changes to the laws of the game.
   ‘It is one of the reasons football remains such a great game. FIFA once had a general secretary between 1981 and 1998 who always wanted to change things. You may know who he was. The International Board stopped a lot of his ideas—and they were right,’ he laughed as he left to make the draw for the Scottish Cup semi-finals before heading back to FIFA House in Zurich; definitely not via the golf course

Newcastle striker Michael Owen insists he is happy at the club despite their disastrous run of form.
   The Magpies have been dragged into a relegation fight after failing to record a win since Kevin Keegan’s return to the club in January.
   Owen’s future on Tyneside has been the subject of speculation with his current contract due to expire at the end of the season.
   Former Liverpool star Owen is reported to be looking a new deal at Newcastle and the 28-year-old says he is settled at St James’ Park.
   ‘I know people talk about contract negotiations,’ Owen told the Daily Mail. I’m in a similar position to a lot of players at our club.
   ‘I’m settled in Newcastle and I am happy at Newcastle, although not happy with the results at the moment.’
   Owen also admitted he fears for his place in the England squad after failing to make the starting XI in Fabio Capello’s first game in charge against Switzerland.
   Reports have suggested Owen may not be included in Capello’s squad for this month’s friendly with France and the striker is aware his predicament with Newcastle could see him miss out for England
   ‘When you’re down it’s
   hard to be listened to,’ added Owen.
   ‘Results aren’t going well and, when you’re not playing well as a team and individually, then individuals will not get picked for the national team.
   ‘The new manager has only had one game in charge and that was a friendly, so we’ll see what develops.’
   Owen also hit back at criticism that he is not the same player he used to be.
   The former European Player of the Year has scored only four Premier League goals this term in an injury-hit campaign, but Owen insists he is still as good as ever.
   ‘Players don’t change overnight. I’m still the same player I was last year, I’m the same player I was five years ago,’ concluded Owen.

They may not be Manchester United, Real Madrid or AC Milan but Terek Grozny have big dreams.
   The problem is that when you’re an ambitious football club based in the heart of war-torn Chechnya, where around 150,000 people are believed to have died in fighting in a 14-year independence battle, few of your league rivals are particularly eager to pay a visit.
   But that’s the dilemma which the Russian Premier League has faced in the build-up to the new football season which kicks-off this weekend.
   Samara FC, from the south-eastern city near the Kazakh border, have the pleasure of being Terek Grozny’s first visitors on Friday.
   Terek won promotion back into the Russian Premier League last season.
   They had already played in the top flight in 2005 but were relegated after one season.
   Back then, the squad was Chechen in name only as the team trained and played their home games in the southern city of Kislovodsk in the neighbouring Stavropol region because Grozny was considered too dangerous.
   But Terek has been given permission to play their home matches this season in the Chechen capital after the Premier League commission recognised conditions in the volatile republic met strict requirements.
   Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov welcomed the decision, saying the republic’s security forces would guarantee the safety of both the visiting players and their supporters.
   ‘Our police can ensure the safety of visiting teams and their fans,’ pro-Moscow Kadyrov said.
   ‘The Chechen republic is just a region of Russia like any other and people live here in peace like in any other region of the country.
   ‘I can give a 100-percent guarantee that there are no terrorist threats here. I’m confident that the ability to see Premier League matches will be the most precious gift for our people.’
   In the mid-1990s, the war in Chechnya made holding sports competitions in the rebel republic impossible and the local club, which was founded in 1946, was disbanded.
   In 2001, after years of war, the Kremlin decided that the situation in Chechnya was stable enough to allow the local team to take part in the domestic football championships.
   The club, named after the river that runs through the Chechen capital, was restored and took third place in the third division in their first season.
   But the fans demanded more and soon a squad of veterans, including some former Russian internationals, joined the club, relegating most players of Chechen origin to the bench.
   The appearance of these skilled players boosted the squad’s performance, and Terek soon won promotion to the second division.
   In 2004, Terek made history as they became the first-ever second division side in post-Soviet Russia to win the national cup, beating Samara 1-0 in the final.
   That victory gave the Chechen side a place in the UEFA Cup where they saw off Polish club Lech Poznan in the qualifying round.
   Now Terek are ready once again for the Premiership.
   Commentators attribute the success of the Chechen side to the club’s friendly atmosphere and team spirit created by manager Leonid Nazarenko along with encouragement from the Chechen government.
   Players of different nationalities now feature in the Chechen side.
   Although they do not all speak the same language, much now depends on how they understand one another on the pitch.

Chelsea are reportedly set for a massive purge of players at the end of the season. The Daily Express reports that as many as 10 players could be on their way out of Stamford Bridge, with owner Roman Abramovich apparently ‘angry’ at their relative failure this season. Abramovich will reportedly spend £100million on the team in the summer, but who the manager will be at that point is unclear. Avram Grant may keep his job, but only if he wins either the Premier or Champions League. With Didier Drogba and possibly Frank Lampard set to depart of their own free will, Abramovich will reportedly also rid the squad of Andriy Shevchenko, as well as Juliano Belletti and Florent Malouda. Assorted squad players such as Claudio Pizarro, Steve Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim will also apparently be shipped out. Long-serving reserve ‘keeper Carlo Cudicini may be told he can leave, and to finish off the clear-out, Claude Makelele is expected to retire.

Argentine forward Claudio Lopez is nicknamed ‘The Louse’ but the Kansas City Wizards are hoping to avoid a lousy 2008 Major League Soccer season after signing him Monday.
   Lopez, 33, has 10 goals in 58 caps for Argentina’s national team and played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.
   His club career includes stints with Lazio of Italy, Spain’s Valencia, Mexico’s Club America and Estudiantes and Racing of Argentina. Lopez played last season with Racing after 11 years playing outside his homeland.
   ‘He fits into our attack-minded team on the field and will be very marketable as well. His experience will be invaluable to the rest of the players on our team,’ Wizards technical director Peter Vermes said.
   Lopez becomes the sixth player to join an MLS club under a rule allowing teams to add a player beyond the MLS salary cap, the rule that allowed English star David Beckham to join the Los Angeles Galaxy. ‘He’s a proven goal-scorer and his quickness, experience and savvy will enable him to have tremendous success,’ Wizards coach Curt Onalfo said.

Cesc Fabregas says he is desperate to avoid Barcelona in Friday’s Champions League draw - because he wants to save them for the final.
   The Arsenal midfielder, 20, admits that he has an ‘extra incentive’ to beat former team-mate Thierry Henry after losing to Barcelona in the final two years ago.
   Fabregas said: ‘We’d like to avoid them at this stage and save them for the final after what happened in Paris two seasons ago.
   ‘But if we do draw them then we know we will have a big extra incentive to beat them and we believe we could do it.’
   Fabregas has also revealed that his ‘ideal coach’ is Arsene Wenger and admitted he would be perfect for his ex-club Barcelona. But Fabregas says he cannot envisage leaving Arsenal.
   Fabregas added: ‘If I was at Barcelona then I’d recommend they sign Wenger as coach. He’s the best coach I have ever had and the longer I stay with him the more I’ll learn. I want to carry on learning and if it’s besides Wenger, all the better.
   ‘I’d rather not think of what might have become of me had I stayed at Barca - but I don’t regret leaving because I’m at a fantastic club with great team-mates and coach.
   ‘When I was at Barca I wasn’t promoted within the youth team and was never included in the first-team training sessions - it was demoralising.’

Avram Grant is clinging to his job by a slender thread but the beleaguered Chelsea manager will be heartened by an outpouring of support from his players ahead of today’s Premier League clash against Derby.
   Chelsea’s FA Cup defeat against Barnsley on Saturday has once again raised questions about Grant’s ability to get the best out of his star-studded squad.
   The Israeli had already been criticised for his passive demeanour and confused tactics in last month’s League Cup final loss to Tottenham.
   So when Chelsea were victims of one of the FA Cup’s greatest giant-killings, Grant was certain to get it in the neck.
   Blues owner Roman Abramovich has been a staunch supporter of Grant since appointing his friend as Jose Mourinho’s successor in September, but even he is unlikely to placated by anything less than winning the Premier League or Champions League now.
   Getafe manager Michael Laudrup is the latest name to be linked with Grant’s job and Derby’s visit to Stamford Bridge must seem like another unwanted trial.
   If, as expected, Chelsea see off the league’s bottom team, Grant will hardly be showered with praise. But a defeat could prove the last straw for Abramovich and the fans who have never fully embraced the boss.
   Grant’s last hope is to keep his players with him. Rumours of dressing unrest have never been far from the surface since Mourinho left, but, publicly at least, he retains their backing.
   ‘We know there will be people after the manager, but as a player you know when you haven’t played well and we haven’t done recently,’ France striker Nicolas Anelka said.
   ‘The criticism should be aimed at the players. We have spoken about the Champions League and we will try to do our best to win it. We have big players who have the quality to do it.’
   Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech echoed Anelka’s support. He said: ‘We’re a big club and have a coach who was unknown in England in the past and that is why everyone tries to find new things.
   ‘If the relationship was not working, we would not be winning. This is clear evidence of that being just speculation.’
   To his credit, Grant shows no signs of blaming anyone but himself for Chelsea’s erratic form.
   ‘When I am responsible for the team, and when my team loses at Barnsley, there will be many negative things said about it,’ Grant said.
   ‘On the other hand, we have two major competitions left. I am concentrating on them, not other things.’
   Cech will miss today’s match as he recovers from an ankle injury, but Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard are likely to return after being rested at the weekend.
   Even without those two stars, Chelsea would still be heavy favourites to beat a Derby side whose sole ambition for the rest of the campaign is to avoid finishing with the lowest ever Premier League points total.
   Chelsea have gone unbeaten at Stamford Bridge for over two years, while Derby are still waiting for their first win on their travels this season, so their chances of edging closer to Sunderland’s all-time low of 15 points are slim.
   Rams manager Paul Jewell hardly sounded optimistic when he admitted Chelsea will be determined to recover from their Barnsley humiliation.
   ‘Great teams bounce back. Both Chelsea and Manchester United have had poor results over the weekend for them, they would have both fancied themselves for the FA Cup but they’ve been beaten,’ Jewell said.
   ‘They left a few out but they still have world-class players to choose from and I’m sure they’ll be chomping at the bit on Wednesday.’

World number one Roger Federer enjoyed a special moment here on Monday when he beat Pete Sampras in an electrifying exhibition match in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
   ‘It was like a dream come true for me,’ Federer said. ‘Playing my childhood hero here at the Garden. I had never played here. It was great. We had lots of fun.’
   Sampras and Federer, considered two of the greatest male tennis players of all time, performed before a crowd of 19,000, including golfing legend Tiger Woods.
   ‘I have messed up the Grand Slam this year,’ Federer, 26, said. ‘Pete is not playing anymore so the only one really going for it is Tiger Woods.
   ‘It was great that he came. I always appreciate when he does a trip like when he came to see me in the US Open in ‘06.’
   Federer, who revealed on Saturday he was sick with mononucleosis at the start of the season, is feeling healthy again.
   ‘I felt great. Now, I really need more matches. It is nice to have been pushed to the brink,’ he said
   The Swiss superstar had to fight hard before prevailing 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (8/6) in two hours and 14 minutes.
   ‘I knew it was going to be tricky,’ said Federer who thumped 19 aces to Sampras’ 13 and hammered 55 winners to 40 for his opponent.
   ‘There was lots of pressure for both of us.’
   Despite the strong showing, the 36-year-old Sampras pushed aside any notion that he might attempt a comeback on the pro tour.
   ‘That’s not for me anymore,’ Sampras said. ‘I have no intention of coming back, not today, tomorrow, or ever.’
   Sampras, who officially retired after the 2002 US Open, dropped his serve in the opening game.
   Federer displayed brilliant court stewardship. He broke Sampras one more time in the ninth game to run away with the first set in 29 minutes.
   In the second set, Sampras leveled with solid serving.
   The seven-time Wimbledon champion fell 0-2 in the ensuing set but staged a remarkable comeback, reeling off five straight games to go up 5-2 and 30-all.
   But Federer regrouped and snatched the victory in the tie-breaker when a Sampras backhand sailed wide.
   ‘I thought I had everything under control, then he came back out of nowhere with some great serving,’ Federer said. ‘I hit some great shots when I needed too.’
   Federer and Sampras reportedly earned 500,000 dollars in appearance fee money in New York.
   The Swiss and the American faced each other for the first time in a three-city Asian exhibition tour in November.
   The series kicked off in Seoul on November 20, moved to Kuala Lumpur on November 22 and concluded at Macau, China on November 24.
   Federer edged Sampras twice, with the American veteran coming on top in their last encounter.
   ‘I’d love to do it again,’ Sampras said. ‘I am retired and he is very active. It is up to Roger if he wants to do it.’

Growing up in Buenos Aires, Javier Mascherano only wanted to be a destroyer. From the age of 10, his father Oscar demanded he should learn the art of the enforcer.
   He did it so well that El Jefecito (The Little Chief) was born and ten days ago Liverpool paid £19million to make the Argentine international the world’s most expensive ‘water carrier’.
   We have not all learned to love the position of holding midfielder so Mascherano, a likeable little chap who speaks excellent English, kindly offers me a master class in his duties.
   ‘The holding midfielder must keep his position, cover the space, protect the centre back. The most important job is to protect the centre back. Then, win the second balls. In England, many teams play long, so be ready to collect the second ball.
   ‘When you have the ball, do not give it away; a simple pass, easy ball to one of your team-mates.
   ‘When Claude Makelele came to Chelsea, he showed you how to play the position. It was an education. Always, Makelele is in the right position. He
   doesn’t have to run a lot, he knows where he must be, he anticipates danger. Owen Hargreaves is the best English player for this job.’
   All dirty work and no goals or glory? ‘Well, it’s very difficult to find a holding player who can score too,’ he accepts. ‘You can’t do everything! Every player has a role in the team. For the holding midfielder, his job is tactical.
   ‘Maybe the fans don’t yet like the position too much because it is seen as negative. They like goals, but I come back again and ask you “how can you score when you are the holding midfielder?’.
   ‘If you have a good shot, it helps, like Xabi Alonso, who has a beautiful shot, but my priority is my job. Perhaps I could score three goals a season. Maybe. I will try, no?’
   He hasn’t scored yet for Liverpool and probably won’t on Tuesday night, but his outstanding discipline is a handy quality when entering the San Siro protecting a 2-0 lead against the runaway leaders of Serie A.
   ‘We are in control of the tie and we must keep control,’ demands Mascherano. ‘A place in the quarter finals of the Champions League is in our hands.’
   Tackling is a crucial part of his game, too. Mascherano, however, is not known for studs-up challenges. ‘No. I try to run parallel with my opponent and then slide in and hope to come out with the ball.
   ‘The timing of the tackle is everything. I never try to kick other players. When I do the tackle I never go to hurt, I never try violence.
   ‘Okay, sometimes I commit a foul if the tackle is mistimed, but never with intent. I try to do this (he sweeps with his foot) and retrieve the ball. I am calm in my head when I tackle and I don’t tackle from behind.’
   Kia Joorabchian, his mentor, first signed Mascherano, 23, from River Plate and then took him to Anfield via Corinthians and West Ham.
   ‘He is not my owner, he is my friend,’ insists Mascherano. ‘He has helped to make this possible. I wanted to be at Liverpool, I have always said that.
   ‘I felt from the first moment when I arrived: “This is my house”. When I was a boy, I never imagined it would be possible. In Argentina, we look to Europe, but we think of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Milan. Never Liverpool.
   ‘We have heard of the city, of course, because we know The Beatles. They were my father’s favourite rock band.
   ‘When I came here, I wanted to understand the Liverpool life. I have been reading, watching films. This club and the city has a lot of history, many great players from the past and so many achievements. It is one of the biggest clubs in the world. From the decades in the 70s and 80s, they won many things.
   ‘I know that playing here now I can win titles, too. We have a squad to do that.
   ‘We have players who’ve won the Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup, Carling Cup. The only one missing is the Premier League. The supporters want this title.
   ‘This season, the target is the top four but we need to think about next season and prepare everything so we don’t make the same mistakes. We have drawn too many games at home.
   ‘I watched Liverpool win the Champions League on television and now I am playing with Steven Gerrard. He is better than I imagined — his finishing, his shooting. He is the complete midfielder, the perfect midfielder. Technique, pace, power and he is very clever.’
   It has been a difficult period for Rafa Benitez, who communicates with Mascherano in English, but his Little Chief has this message.
   ‘I don’t forget that he came and took me from West Ham, where I was in the second team. I know this season has not been the best time for Rafa,
   but it is not his fault that we are behind Arsenal. He is not on the pitch.
   ‘To win the title, you need the supporters, the squad, the
   staff, the owners together. It is like this table in front of us. You need the four legs or it will fall over.’

Football fans from across the globe enjoying a successful and safe World Cup may be the dream, but the organisers of South Africa 2010 are the first to admit making it reality needs hard work.
   Concerns over stadiums behind schedule, power cuts, plus transport and security worries have been well documented.
   But the event’s spokesperson Tumi Makgabo, and the South African tourist board’s CEO Moeketsi Mosola, speaking at a travel trade fair in Berlin, insist the event will be a huge success and delivered on schedule. There are ambitious plans in place.
   Johannesburg’s Soccer City is undergoing a major upgrade to host 94,700 fans for the final - scheduled for July 11 2010 - the culimination of four weeks of football with five of the ten stadiums involved being built from scratch.
   But problems have blighted the showpiece Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth, a World Cup semi-final venue, which has until the end of next month to prove to FIFA it is ready for next year’s Confederations Cup. But Makgabo insists everything will be ready for kick-off on June 11, 2010.
   ‘It’s the first thing people ask - ‘Are you on track?’ and the answer is definitely ‘yes’,’ she told AFP.
   ‘There is a Plan B in place and a C, D, E and F right down to Z - they are all South Africa.
   ‘The proof will be in the pudding - people won’t get it until they have got it.’
   Marketing the 2010 World Cup is no easy feat as just one horror story of a knife-point robbery in the Rainbow Nation can undo thousands of rands worth of advertising.
   ‘We have always said as a country that one incident of violence is one too many,’ said Mosola.
   ‘There is a fundamental commitment to make sure our country is safe - not only for visitors, but our own people.
   ‘There will be an additional 90,000 police officers in our system by 2010.
   ‘This is the first time an African country will host the World Cup, so we have a massive responsibility to make sure everyone feels safe.’
   But Mosola says supporters will be treated to experiences in South Africa which other World Cup host nations could only dream of offering.
   ‘Fans will be able to wake up in one of our national parks, go into the city to watch a World Cup game and then return to the game reserves for their dinner,’ said Mosala.
   ‘That incredible experience is what will set us apart from other World Cups.’
   Some 120,000 of the lowest-priced tickets will be given away to allow the country’s poorest to watch with sponsors covering the cost.
   And advice from the last World Cup is being passed on by the Germany, who hosted the 2006 tournament, to make sure sports-mad South Africa is not blighted by the problem.
   ‘We are working with Interpol and other bodies,’ said Makgabo.
   ‘Hooliganism is something new to us and we are working hard to be prepared.’
   With unemployment in South Africa running at just over 25 per cent, the World Cup will generate thousands of jobs with the government investing 17.4 billion rand to improve the country’s infrastructure.
   There is also major investment planned for the country’s power supply, while every venue will have its own back-up electricity.
   ‘There will be 130,000 permanent and non-permanent jobs created by the World Cup and there are currently 16,000 employed by the construction industry alone in South Africa,’ said Makgabo.
   ‘It’s about getting people off the streets and into jobs to improve their standard of living.’
   South Africa 2010 will have just under three million tickets for fans to see the games live - the same amount available in Germany, with in excess of 20 million fans expected to attend the free public viewings across the country.
   ‘It is about creating a unique atmosphere and show-casing the rich culture and beauty of our country,’ said Makgabo.
   ‘This is our chance to deliver a safe a colourful World Cup - not just for South Africa, but the whole continent.’

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and assistant Carlos Queiroz have been asked to explain their comments regarding referee Martin Atkinson following last Saturday’s 1-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat against Portsmouth at Old Trafford.
   Ferguson said Atkinson’s display was ‘unacceptable’ and also accused referees’ chief Keith Hackett of ‘not doing his job properly’.
   Ferguson and Queiroz, who also criticised Atkinson, were unhappy United were not given a first-half penalty for a challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo. Both men have until Wednesday, March 19 to respond.
   United spurned several clear chances against Portsmouth, the only top-flight side now in the semi-finals, before their Premier League rivals scored the only goal of their game through a Sulley Muntari penalty after Tomasz Kuszczak fouled Milan Baros.
   Kuszczak, who had earlier replaced the injured Edwin van der Sar, was sent off, leaving Rio Ferdinand to face the penalty-kick.
   But what really angered Ferguson was Atkinson’s decision not to award a penalty when Sylvain Distin appeared to barge Ronaldo off the ball.
   The Scot, who admitted a charge of using abusive language towards referee Mark Clattenburg after the 1-0 defeat at Bolton earlier this season, also felt Atkinson let Portsmouth players get away with too many fouls and accused the referee of being ‘on their side’.
   ‘It’s absolutely ridiculous. I cannot explain it,’ said Ferguson.
   ‘Managers get sacked because of things like that and he’s going to referee a game next week.’
   He then turned his fire on Hackett, saying: ‘He’s not doing his job properly and he needs to be assessed. I’m assessed as a manager, players are assessed, referees should be assessed properly by the right people.
   ‘That performance today should not be accepted by our game.’
   Queiroz called Atkinson ‘a disgrace’, while Ronaldo said afterwards he felt ‘scared’ playing in England because he feels officials do not protect him.

AC Milan forward Ronaldo has returned to Italy following surgery in Paris to repair a ruptured knee tendon.
   The 31-year-old Brazil international damaged his knee last month in a match against Reggina and flew to the French capital for the surgery.
   He stayed there for almost four weeks of treatment but touched down in Italy just after midday Tuesday where he was accompanied by his girlfriend Maria Beatriz and Milan scout Leonardo.
   Ronaldo’s long term future in football is in doubt as he is likely to be out until the end of the year and his contract at AC Milan expires in June.

France’s Franck Ribery, enjoying a superb season with his Bayern Munich club, said his goal was to become as great as Zinedine Zidane.
   ‘I’ll do everything I can for that,’ the attacking midfielder told French sports daily L’Equipe when asked whether he believed he could eventually match retired France playmaker Zidane, one of the sport’s all-time greats.
   ‘Up to now I’m satisfied with myself,’ Ribery said in an interview published on Tuesday. ‘I’m still a long way from Zidane but I have many years ahead of me.’
   The 24-year-old, who helped France reach the final of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, has reached a new dimension since joining Bayern from Olympique Marseille last year.
   His unique skills, playmaking ability and taste for splendid goals have made him the darling of Bayern fans and German media.
   ‘If I stay at this level and play a good European Championship, this could be a great year for me,’ he said, adding that the Ballon d’Or, formerly known as the European Footballer of the Year award, was on his mind. I’m thinking about it,’ he said. ‘I’m a player who wants to win everything and, if possible, even the Ballon d’Or.’
   Ribery offered depressing news to French clubs by ruling out a return to France. I can’t see myself playing for a French club again, even for (six-times champions and Ligue 1 leaders Olympique) Lyon,’ he said. ‘Here (at Bayern), everything is so well organised. You just can’t compare.’

Chelsea player Didier Drogba has been buying dozens of his own football shirts to increase the club shop’s sales and persuade team-mates of his popularity with fans.
   The 29-year-old, originally from the Ivory Coast, has reportedly spent thousands of pounds on replica shirts in a bid to try and convince his team-mates he is just as much of a crowd favourite as they are.
   The £24 million striker, who was named Premier League top goal scorer for 2006-2007, has had less success in shirt sales compared to John Terry and Frank Lampard who reportedly taunt him about it on the training ground.
   One Chelsea insider claimed Drogba visits the club shop up to 10 times a week and on one occasion walked out of the store with 40 shirts priced at approximately £45 each, setting him back £1,800.
   The first-team regular could easily get shirts free of charge but the £70,000-a-week centre forward is paying like any other customer to improve his shirt sale statistics.
   A Stamford Bridge source told the Daily Mail: ‘Dids is never out of the club shop. He is spending a fortune. He is on first name terms with the staff and is easily their best customer. The competition to be the most popular is massive and Didier hates losing. He has been buying loads of copies of his number 11 shirt and must be up there with the club’s top sellers by now.
   ‘Dids has been sending all his replica shirts to his mates back home.’