Bangladesh face hosts Kyrgyzstan in a do-or-die match of group C of the AFC Challenge Cup at the Bishkek stadium today. The last match of the group is scheduled to kick off at 5:30pm BST.
   Bangladesh booters need a 2-0 win against the hosts to win the group on goal difference. Kyrgyzstan were beaten 0-1 by Afghanistan on Wednesday and that result has thrown the hosts out of the tournament. A win for the hosts will, however, give them some consolation as Afghanistan will win this group with four points.
   However, if Bangladesh win by 1-0 margin then the group winners will be decided by the flip of coin.
   Bangladesh coach Abu Yusuf is expected to insert Ariful in the place of Shaikat who was sent off in added time of the second half against Afghanistan.
   According to Bektour Iskender, the AFC correspondent in Kyrgyzstan, the hosts looked disorganised against Afghanistan. ‘If Bangladesh can put away the chances that fall in their way and exploit the weaknesses of the hosts then a victory is not impossible,’ said Bektour.
   However, Kyrgyzstan coach Nematjan Zakirov told AFC, ‘We created a lot of chances but failed to utilise them.
   Afghanistan took their only chance of the game. We don’t want to let our spectators down and will try hard to beat Bangladesh in the final game,’ he said.
   Bangladesh were thrashed 3-0 by Kyrgyzstan in the Nehru Cup last year in New Delhi and it remains the only match between the two teams to date.

The exciting Super League phase of the Dhaka Premier Cricket League begins today at three different venues in and around the capital after more than a month’s gap.
   League leaders Biman Bangladesh Airlines will play sixth-ranked City Club at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium while Mohammedan SC will face Surjo Tarun Club at the BKSP on the opening day.
   Abahani Limited will take on newcomers BKSP at the Narayanganj Osmani Stadium at Fatullah in the other game of the day.
   After eleven rounds of first phase matches, Biman lead the table with 19 points while Mohammedan SC and Abahani Limited remained hot on their heels with 18 and 17 points respectively.
   Biman, already a formidable side, bolstered their title bid by recruiting Pakistani national opener Nasir Jamshed while Mohammedan will rely on Akil Arshad, who also played for them in the first phase.
   Abahani have yet to confirm their overseas players for the Super League. Their chances were reduced further after middle-order batsman Nazimuddin became uncertain for most of the Super League, which will end on May 21, due to an ankle injury.
   Meanwhile, the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolitan reached an agreement with Wintel Limited for live score update of the Super League matches on cell-phone.
   Subscribers of all mobile phone operators in Bangladesh can avail of the service named ‘SMS Premier League Live Update’ by writing the text: DPL in the mobile’s message option and sending it to: 2777. Scores will be updated after every over of a match.

International cricket chiefs have banned hi-tech cricket bats that give an unfair advantage to batsmen, saying the move will help prevent the game becoming too predictable.
   Rule changes will ensure bat handles are made with cane, wood, twine and rubber, according to a statement from the Marylebone Cricket Club, the guardian of the game’s laws, released to media Thursday.
   The move follows the development of bats that use materials such as graphite and titanium in their lightweight handles, giving extra power to batsmen.
   MCC head of cricket John Stephenson said the new laws, passed with overwhelming 98.6 per cent support, were designed to maintain the balance between bat and ball.
   ‘In cricket, the battle between bat and ball is key,’ he said.
   ‘If one comes to dominate the other, the game will become predictable and less enjoyable to play and watch.’
   Stephenson said cricket pitches, balls and boundaries had changed little in centuries but ‘modern bats have developed to the extent that miss-hits are now sometimes clearing the boundary rope for six’.
   He said the MCC was mindful of the impact of technology on other sports when it ruled that bats must be made ‘in the traditional manner’.
   ‘Golfers drive the ball enormous distances, tennis players serve at greater speeds, footballers can dip and swerve the ball extravagantly,’ he said.
   ‘If the development of cricket bats is left unchecked the balance could be tipped too far towards batsmen.’
   Stephenson said modern training methods meant many batsmen were stronger and fitter than their predecessors, allowing them to hit the ball harder and further.
   ‘MCC is not trying to legislate against those players, but rather the new materials that could give them an unfair advantage,’ he said.
   In addition to setting out the materials that can be used in bat handles, the new laws also state that the handle cannot exceed 52 per cent of the bat’s total length.
   The MCC said it would carry out random tests around the world to ensure bats complied with the new law.
   It also said three type of bat grading would be introduced, allowing for more leeway in the materials for bats used in the lower forms of the game.

Chennai Super Kings (188/6) beat Delhi Daredevils (187/5) by four wickets
   Partisan fans at the Feroz Shah Kotla were treated to a cracker of a match as the Chennai Super Kings pulled off a dramatic last-ball win, sneaking past Delhi Daredevils’ total of 187 for 5, by four wickets. Chennai’s chase veered from the authoritative to the insane but in the end they kept their nerves and put an end to their three-game losing streak, thanks largely to some fearless hitting right through the order. Chennai recovered somewhat to restrict the hosts to under 200 after Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan added a record third-wicker partnership of 121 and that, in hindsight, proved critical before a thrilling chase kept their hopes alive in the tournament.
   Chennai were given a 62-run start inside seven overs with S Vidyut, promoted to open in place of Parthiv Patel, batting purposefully. Both Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif were unusually off-key in their first overs and Vidyut handled the short and full deliveries admirably, stepping out to meet the ball. Asif’s first over went for 15, with Vidyut taking two fours and Stephen Fleming playing a gorgeous cover drive, and the sixth over, bowled by Yo Mahesh, went for 20 with both openers clubbing the width.
   Vidyut fell for 40 from 23 balls, attempting another pull but Fleming, finding rhythm after three poor innings, kept the momentum with Chennai. Initially a watchful spectator with Vidyut cashing in on some short-pitched stuff, he played some eye-catching square-drives and cuts. Shoaib Malik bowled a poor line and Fleming kept McGrath busy at square leg with powerful sweeps.
   With Dhoni keeping the ball along the grass, Fleming went for his shots except that a flat hard drive found AB de Villiers at cover. Suresh Raina steered a simple catch to backward point four balls later and Chennai failed to score a boundary for 16 deliveries. Albie Morkel made up with 25 off a Virender Sehwag over, swung into motion by three consecutive sixes, but the bowler had his revenge of sorts with a direct hit from mid-on sent Morkel running on his way to the pavilion.
   Dhoni threatened to seal the deal with a sensible hand but Yo Mahesh returned to snap up two wickets in the 19th over – one down to a stunning catch from de Villiers, running in from long-on – and that left Chennai with 15 to get off six balls. Sehwag gave the task to Malik and it proved a disaster.
   Manpreet Gony slogged the first ball over midwicket for six, a wide followed, easing the pressure further, and a thick edge past the wicketkeeper sent the crowd into silence.
   A single to mid-on set the stage for S Badrinath,
   who tied the scores with a chip over the covers for two, and won it with another over mid-on.

Sunil Gavaskar on Wednesday announced he was standing down as chairman of the ICC Cricket committee.
   ICC’s acting chief executive officer David Richards said, ‘We are indebted to the work Sunil has put into his role as Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee.
   ‘He has brought his vast experience of the game to bear, not only over the eight years of his chairmanship but also the six years prior to that, when he was a delegate on the same committee.
   ‘Having someone of Sunil’s stature involved has to be of benefit to the game and given the ICC’s lengthy relationship with him we hope we can still utilize his knowledge in some other capacity in the future.’
   Gavaskar, in an ICC statement, said, ‘I have thoroughly enjoyed the eight years I have held the role which is an honorary position, and it has been extremely fulfilling to be able to give back to the game through that role.
   ‘However, with more and more cricket being played it has become clear that it is not possible for me to do justice to two jobs, the chairmanship of the ICC Cricket Committee and my media commitments.
   ‘As an example of that, I had to leave my professional commitments as a commentator on the Indian Premier League matches in order to come and chair this year’s meeting in Dubai.
   ‘I envisaged the potential for this sort of issue two years ago and intimated then that I was not able to continue in the role but when I was asked to do so I was honoured to be re-elected.
   ‘Now, however, it is clear I cannot combine both roles and therefore I am relinquishing the chair of the ICC Cricket Committee.’
   The former India captain, the first player in history to top 10,000 Test runs and an ICC Cricket World Cup winner in 1983, arrived at his decision in the wake of a meeting of the ICC Board in March in Dubai.
   At that meeting the Board discussed the potential for a conflict of interest for a person chairing the ICC Cricket Committee while, at the same time, working for a media outlet. That fear was put to Gavaskar when he met ICC chief executive officer Malcolm Speed in Dubai later that same month.
   No decision has yet been made on who will succeed Gavaskar.

Mumbai Indians (104/3) beat Rajasthan Royals (103) by
   seven wickets
   Mumbai’s medium-pacers bowled a clever mix of bouncers, slower balls and cutters to restrict Rajasthan to 103, the lowest first-innings total of the IPL, on a two-paced pitch at the DY Patil Stadium before some sensible batting sealed a hat-trick of triumphs for the home team. In what was their second successive upset victory, after taming Delhi on Sunday, Mumbai prevailed over the table leaders yet again. The pitch wasn’t conducive to stroke-play: balls stopped, kept low and batsmen didn’t find their timing easily. The experienced trio of Shaun Pollock, Ashish Nehra and Dwayne Bravo were canny with their variations but it was impressive to see the unheralded duo of Dhaval Kulkarni and Rohan Raje break the back of Rajasthan’s line-up.
   Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t fit for Wednesday’s game but he had the satisfaction of seeing a wicket fall almost every time the commentators cut to have a word with him. He was particularly thrilled with the performance of Kulkarni and Raje, young Turks who utilised the conditions perfectly. Nehra finished as the most effective bowler, adding two tailenders to Yusuf Pathan’s wicket early on to finish with 3 for 13; Bravo showed the power of the slower ball; and Pollock yet again proved the value of experience.
   The fact that the Mumbai wicketkeeper Yogesh Takawale pouched three skiers, when top-edges ballooned off the bat, showed the slow nature of the surface. Even Mumbai’s batsmen weren’t fluent with their strokeplay but a few lucky breaks ensured a comfortable victory. Shane Watson struck twice – taking the wicket of Sanath Jayasuriya who pulled one to deep square leg – and Shane Warne struck with his very first ball, removing Takawale with a slider. However, Robin Uthappa’s 34 was enough to take Mumbai past the finish line.
   The match, though, was decided by the end of Rajasthan’s innings. Pollock, whose decision to field first appeared to be a bold one, nipped out Graeme Smith early though even he would have been surprised at the manner of the dismissal.

Joint-champions Abahani and Usha continued their impressive run in the Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League by defeating Azad Sporting 6-3 and Shadharan Bima 7-1 respectively at the Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium on Thursday.
   Penalty corner specialist of Abahani, Chayan, converted four penalty corners as Abahani came from behind to beat Azad Sporting Club while a superb hat-trick from Rahul Kanti Roy helped Usha record their massive win. Both the teams now have 12 points from four matches and are jointly leading the table.
   Apart from the Chayan heroics, Rasel Mahmud Jimmy and Musa Miah scored one goal each.
   Jamil bin Talib scored the game’s first goal for Azad and Udit Kumar and Belal added the other two.
   Usha went 3-0 up within the 18 minutes with Dinar, Habul and Mukhtar netting one goal each before Rahul Kanti Roy struck three goals in a row in the 22nd, 36th and 46th minutes to complete his hat-trick.
   Pakistani recruit Tareq Aziz scored the last one.
   Afsaruddin scored one goal for Bima in the 43rd minute.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech claimed to have the secret weapon that will help Chelsea to a Premier League and Champions League double - his new orange kit.
   Cech believes the striking design is scientifically proven to distract players when shooting for goal and will wear the top in the Blues’ crucial title showdown against Bolton on Sunday.
   The 26-year-old is also almost certain to use the new kit against Manchester United in Moscow and claims the new adidas shirt, labelled ‘Warning’ by club officials, will boost his side’s chances of success.
   ‘Studies say the orange colour spreads the most when the striker attacks, in the split of a second as he focuses,’ said Cech, whose side need to get a better result at Stamford Bridge than United achieve at Wigan to win their third title in four seasons.
   ‘This colour is like a sort of alarm or alert which really spreads and is very difficult to avoid, so this should be good for me.’
   Aside from the eye-catching colour, Cech’s new jersey could clash with United’s red shirts in Moscow on 21 May.
   A UEFA spokesman said: ‘Chelsea’s goalkeeper jersey for the Champions League final match will be fluorescent orange. The reserve jersey will be dark grey.
   ‘The referee of the game always has the final word regarding the jersey. Therefore it is impossible to say today which jersey Chelsea’s goalkeeper will be wearing in Moscow.’
   Kit issues have been raised in the past, with United famously changing from their ill-advised grey strip at half-time in a match they were losing 3-1 at Southampton in 1996, after Sir Alex Ferguson claimed his players were struggling to identify each other against the backdrop of the crowd.
   Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos designed his own eccentric jerseys in the 1990s with the aim of increasing his popularity and distracting the opposition.

Bangladesh have been granted two Tests and three one-day internationals on their tour of South Africa in November.
   They will start with a Pro20 international at the Wanderers in Johannesburg before playing three one-day internationals in the secondary venues of Potchefstroom, Benoni and East London, Cricket South Africa announced on Thursday.
   Bangladesh will also play a three-day match in Kimberley against South Africa A to warm up for the Test series.
   The first Test will be in Bloemfontein from November 20-24, with the tour ending with the second Test in Centurion from November 28 to December 2.

A lucrative new tournament, the iSixes World Series, was unveiled Thursday featuring teams from all nine Test playing nations, with one million US dollars going to the winners.
   Singapore will host the first leg of the six-a-side extravaganza in July, with further stops expected in Shanghai, Dubai and one other yet-to-be announced country.
   Apart from the Test nations—Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies—the host country will field a team, there will be an All Star selection and a wildcard.
   Among players confirmed for the All Stars are India captain Anil Kumble, former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak, New Zealander Craig McMillan, Australian great Shane Warne and Sri Lanka’s Romesh Kaluwitharana.
   Each of the first three legs will offer $285,000 in prize money with the series concluding at a finale in the first quarter of next year for the top six teams, where the winner takes home one million dollars.
   ‘With all the games and some of the big names we will have on the All Star team packed into one weekend, it is an ideal format,’ said Warne, who will captain an All Stars.
   ‘All the guys are looking forward to visiting some great cities where we can help grow the game as well, so it is a great concept.’
   Organisers said they were in talks with the International Cricket Council to have the tournament officially sanctioned.
   Ace spinner Kumble said he expected India to field a strong team.
   ‘I have already spoken with some of the boys at home and although I will be on the All Star team, I am sure India will bring a very strong squad,’ he said.
   McMillan, who hit a tournament best 13 sixes at last year’s Twenty20 World Cup, said the format allowed players to be more creative than usual, which always gets the crowds going.
   ‘For the players, we get to have a great time entertaining big crowds in packed stadiums, while for the fans, they see plenty of big hits and lots of action over a short period of time,’ he said. ‘It’s a fun weekend.’
   The sixes is the shortest and most dynamic form of the game, featuring six-player teams rather than the traditional 11, with the premium on fast and furious entertainment and a party atmosphere.
   Everyone except the wicketkeeper bowls one over each with a match lasting around 45 minutes, allowing 10-12 games to be played in a day.
   Perhaps the best-known sixes tournament is held annually in Hong Kong, where the All Star team, led by Warne, lost last year to Sri Lanka.
   Organisers of the iSixes World Series said they approached Hong Kong to be involved in the new tournament, but they declined.
   The first leg in Singapore will be held from July 4-6 at the Singapore Cricket Club’s Padang ground, which last hosted an international series in 1996 when India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka played a one-day series.
   It was notable for Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya setting then-world records for the fastest one-day century (48 balls) and most sixes in an innings (11). Both matches were against Pakistan.
   Dates for the other legs are yet to be determined.

Australian batsman Michael Clarke has scoffed at suggestions his team’s mantle as the world’s top cricketing nation is under threat after the retirement of players ranked among the all-time greats.
   Opponents have been hoping that the loss of players such as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist will spell the end of Australia’s long dominance of world cricket but Clarke said such speculation was premature.
   ‘I think Australia is playing as well as ever, and I think our squad is as good as it has ever been,’ Clarke told the Sydney Morning Herald.
   ‘We have definitely lost a few great players in the last two years, but people come and go and the game stays the same,’ he added, in comments published Thursday.
   Clarke, speaking ahead of Australia’s tour of the West Indies, said both he and captain Ricky Ponting were excited at the prospect of a new crop of players stepping up and fulfilling their potential.
   The 27-year-old, regarded as Ponting’s natural successor, admitted he was left drained by the recent series with India, which was marred by allegations of racism and poor sportsmanship.
   Clarke was one of the few Australians to reject big-money offers to play in an on-going Indian tournament, preferring instead to spend time with his fiancee and family, including father Les, who is battling Hodgkin’s Disease.
   ‘It was a big summer, a very competitive summer,’ he told the Herald.
   ‘Just getting away from the game at that stage, getting away from the limelight, I really needed it.
   ‘I love cricket, but at times it can feel like being stuck in a garage and I wanted to get back to that place where you are so keen to get back into it.
   ‘And now I’m feeling great, I feel very fresh at the moment. ‘It’s great to be back with all the boys and I’m really enjoying some outdoor cricket training.’

Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has warned the authorities not to get ‘too silly’ with the ICC’s proposals for umpire referrals on disputed decisions. The game’s governing body has suggested the change, which includes using Hawk-Eye to help determine the line of the ball, and will vote in July on whether three incidents per innings can go to the third official.
   Australians generally prefer to rely on the call of the on-field umpire - Ricky Ponting has also tried to instigate a captain’s agreement on low catches - and the changes concern Nielsen. ‘I just hope they don’t get too silly with it,’ he told AAP. ‘We need to be a bit careful that we don’t jump head-first in and go gung-ho the other way and make too many calls.
   ‘I don’t know how many times there have been three really dodgy decisions in an innings too often. It means almost a third of the wickets that you need to get a team out, you can contest, which seems like a high number to me.’
   Nielsen is also worried about the potential for extra interruptions as a result of the captain calling for the referral. ‘I just hope that we don’t have big stoppages and regular conjecture about umpiring decisions on the back of technology being introduced,’ Nielsen said. ‘If it’s going to work it’s got to make the game better.’
   Brad Haddin, the Australia wicketkeeper, would prefer the human element remained. ‘In all honesty I like the umpiring set-up the way it is,’ he said, ‘you take the good with the bad.’
   Steve Waugh was also cautious about the move, but felt it was worth trying. ‘Modern-day sport is moving more and more in this direction and if it works it will be great,’ Waugh said in the Australian. ‘If it doesn’t detract too much from the game and the right decisions are given, it can only be a good thing. I’m willing to see how it works, just as long as it doesn’t take too long.’
   Michael Kasprowicz, who suffered a bad ruling to end the Edgbaston Test of 2005, told the paper decisions tended to even themselves out over time. ‘It’s all a part of the game,’ Kasprowicz said. ‘Part of the beauty of cricket was that there was room for human error and sometimes it went your way, sometimes it didn’t. It all evened out in the end.
   ‘Today, with all the money invested in cricket, the shareholders are going to demand the right decision all the time. You don’t pay $800 million for a cricket team to let an umpire’s error ruin it for you.’

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori will learn this weekend whether an injured finger will prevent him playing a full role in next week’s first Test against England at Lord’s.
   Vettori has been forced to miss the warm-up match against an England Lions side, which was due to start Thursday at Hampshire’s Rose Bowl, and the spinner admits he is in uncharted territory with the relatively minor but painful injury he suffered to his bowling hand in a match against Essex at the weekend.
   ‘I’m having the stitches taken out on Saturday or Sunday and I’ll know a little bit more then,’ Vettori said when asked if the gash on the index finger of his left hand could keep him out of the first Test.
   ‘I’m confident, but I’ve never dealt with this before and it’s in the worst possible spot.’
   With the exception of Vettori and the rested seamer Kyle Mills, New Zealand went into the match against an experienced Lions side with virtually a full-strength side, with vice-captain Brendon McCullum standing in as skipper.
   Vettori is hoping the warm-up against players of the calibre of seamer Matthew Hoggard and former Test batsman Robert Key, who will skipper the Lions, will help ensure New Zealand’s squad do not succumb to nerves when they appear at Lord’s next week.
   ‘The quality of the opposition is very high so it’s not a case of us being able to meander through a warm-up game and expect to get a result,’ he said.
   ‘We have to treat this pretty seriously. There’s still a lot of competition for Test places. Even though you’d probably say the majority of the team is set in stone for the Test, I still want guys to have that hunger to perform because it’s not that easy just to switch it on for a Test match.
   ‘There are going to be a lot of other things going on when we arrive at Lord’s, it will be busy and it’ll be exciting and if you don’t have form under your belt sometimes you can be a little overwhelmed by it.’
   England’s Lions include several players desperate to break into the Test squad with Key, Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara among those vying for recognition in the top order should the present incumbents fail to deliver in the first Test.
   Their bowling attack is also impressive and Vettori knows Hoggard, 31, will have a point to prove having been discarded by England after their first Test defeat in New Zealand earlier this year.
   ‘It’s important to him that he puts on a performance here and tries to get his Test place back and I know within our team he’s a highly-respected bowler,’ Vettori said.

Manchester City are favourites to seal a deal for Barcelona’s Giovanni Dos Santos, the player’s father has confirmed.
   The young Mexican seems set to leave Camp Nou this summer and a host of clubs are now jostling to seal his signature.
   But City look to be in pole position ahead of the likes of Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool.
   The player’s father - former Brazilian international Zizinho - has confirmed to the Mexican press that City have made their move.
   ‘The news is certain, but the subject is in the hands of the agent,’ Zizinho revealed.
   ‘We would prefer much discretion until the end of the season.
   ‘We will not decide, but Barca know the situation as we have had contact with sporting director Txiki Beguiristain.
   ‘Our objective now is for him to finish the season with Barcelona at a good level and then we will speak.’
   Zizinho then confirmed that City were amongst a host of English clubs in the hunt.
   ‘Other English clubs have demanded information about Giovanni but the main chance is City,’ he added.
   Barcelona have a wealth of forward options which is why Giovanni will seemingly be allowed to leave - with former youth colleague Bojan now very much the talk of Catalunya.
   It is believed Barca are willing to let Giovanni go for 10 million euros (£7.8million), although they are also open to the idea of a season-long loan but any club would have to take over the whole of his salary.
   Giovanni’s current deal has three-years left to run.

Shaun Pollock, the former South Africa captain, has joined the MCC’s World Cricket Committee. He is currently playing in the Indian Premier League and accepted the invitation from Tony Lewis, the cricket committee chairman.
   Lewis, together with the MCC secretary and chief executive, Keith Bradshaw, and head of cricket, John Stephenson, has been in India to conduct talks with three World Cricket Committee members actively involved in the IPL. Pollock and Rahul Dravid on the playing side and Martin Crowe, who is chief cricket officer of the Bangalore Royal Challengers.
   ‘I am honoured and delighted to be joining the MCC’s World Cricket Committee at such an interesting time for the sport,’ said Pollock. ‘The challenge for cricket is to embrace change for the good of the game whilst celebrating its rich heritage and the MCC’s World Cricket Committee has a huge role to play in this respect.
   ‘A lifetime’s involvement in cricket has given me so many great experiences and I hope my knowledge of the game can be beneficial.
   ‘It’s a huge honour to be asked to contribute and I’m greatly looking forward to my next challenge in the game.’

Kayseripor took home the Turkey Cup and gained a berth in the UEFA Cup here Wednesday night after beating Ankara’s Genclerbirligi 11-10 in European football’s second longest penalty shootout.
   A total of 28 shots were taken after a goalless 120 minutes dominated by the luckless Ankara side, which barely escaped relegation last weekend.
   Genclerbirligi were also involved in the longest European penalty shootout on record, in another Turkey Cup match in November 1996, when they won a shootout against Galatasaray 17-16 after a 1-1 draw after extra time.
   The second Turkish team to go to the UEFA Cup will not be known until the last day Saturday of the Turkish Superlig first division - a tossup between Istanbul’s Besiktas and this season’s surprise package Sivasspor, both tied at third place with 70 points.
   Istanbul giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahce have guaranteed their spots in the Champion’s League, holding the first two spots on the league table.
   The league champion will not be known until the last day of the championship, although Galatasaray have a strong advatage with a three-point lead and a relatively comfortable home game ahead of them, while Fenerbahce travel to tough Trabzonspor.

Sven-Goran Eriksson has confirmed he is considering an offer to return to his old club Benfica after being told he has no future at Manchester City under Thai owner Thaksin Shinawatra.
   Eriksson, who has had two successful previous spells at the Portuguese giants, met with Benfica’s president Luis Felipe Vieira and incoming director of football Rui Costa in Manchester on Wednesday evening.
   ‘I’ve had a meeting with the Benfica people,’ Eriksson said. ‘I’m considering the offer and it could be a step forward in my career. Let’s see what happens.’
   Eriksson’s agent acknowledged last week that the former England boss was unlikely to still be in charge of City at the start of next season after reportedly being given a dressing down by Thaksin over the club’s dip in form in the second half of this campaign.
   According to City sources, Thaksin has made it clear he intends to sack the Swede once he has lined up a replacement, but he still expects him to lead the club on an end-of-season promotional tour of Thailand and Hong Kong.
   Eriksson has yet to commit to doing that although he did persuade his players to drop a threat of boycotting the trip in protest at the way he has been treated.
   If Eriksson does agree a deal with Benfica, it could reduce the amount it will cost Thaksin to pay him off.
   Having only taken charge at City last year, Eriksson has two years remaining on a contract worth a reported 1.5 million pounds (3 million dollars) per year.
   According to the Portuguese press, Eriksson, who has kept a house near Lisbon, has been offered a three-year contract at Benfica, whom he managed from 1982-84 and then again for a three-year spell from 1989.
   With Benfica struggling to qualify for next season’s Champions League, Jose Antonio Camacho stepped down as manager earlier this week.
   Eriksson has said he will give an indication about where his future lies after City’s final Premier League match of the season, at Middlesbrough on Sunday.
   City are on course to finish at least ninth in the Premier League table, a significant improvement on their 14th-placed finish to last season.
   Eriksson won rave reviews for his transformation of the club in the first half of the season as signings such as Brazilian playmaker Elano and the Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov proved to be instant hits in English football.
   City have faded since the turn of the year but Eriksson remains hugely popular with fans and players alike while failing to impress Thaksin, who believes the club should be challenging for a place in the Champions League.
   The former Thai premier has reportedly identified Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari as the man to succeed Eriksson. Scolari’s representatives have confirmed that they have been in contact with City but it remains to be seen if the man who guided Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002 will be willing to take over from Eriksson.

The president of Steaua Bucharest was on Thursday charged by police with trying to bribe players of another Romanian club with one million euros in cash in an audacious and illegal bid to win the title.
   Gigi Becali was one of four men charged over the affair which surfaced on Wednesday night when five men were arrested in possession of a suitcase containing the wadge of euro notes.
   The cash was reportedly put up as an incentive by Steaua to Universitatea Cluj to draw with or beat CFR Cluj, who were involved in a neck and neck battle with Steaua for the Romanian league title. In the end Universitatea lost Wednesday’s game 1-0, leaving CFR to claim the title on the last day of the season by a single point from Steaua.
   The other men charged with Becali Thursday were Universitatea club president Anton Dobos, Steaua vice-president Teia Sponte, and Gigel Coman, a former Steaua player but now with Universitatea.
   Dobos is accused of accepting the seven figure pay-off from Becali and he appeared before magistrates in Cluj on Thursday afternoon, the Mediafax agency reported. As for Sponte and Coman they were among the five arrested, and later released, at a restaurant in Cluj on Wednesday night along with two of Becali’s bodyguards.
   According to media Becali and a number of his close associates have been put under surveillance by police in the past few days
   Before the midweek drama Becali, a billionaire businessman, had aleady made his intentions public, announcing that he was organising a sum of money ‘with lots of zeros’ as an incentive to Universitatea to block FCR Cluj’s path to the championship on Wednesday night.
   ‘If you don’t lose the match, the money is yours. If on the other hand you don’t succeed in stopping CFR, the money returns to me,’ the 49-year-old former shepherd had told Universitatea’s players. Interviewed on Telesport after Wednesday’s arrests Becali implicitly confirmed he was the target of the investigation by the Romanian police’s anti-corruption squad (DNA).
   ‘So, my men don’t have the right to have money on them to buy property in Cluj?’ he asked when quizzed over his involvement in the affair, adding that the suitcase contained not one million euros but in fact 1.7m euros.
   ‘It’s up to the DNA to prove that the money was for buying players,’ he added.
   Earlier this week he insisted there was nothing wrong with offering money like this as ‘big incentives mean proper football, otherwise you’d get fixed matches.’
   He said he would agree to the DNA’s summons to interview him next week, but only to ‘get back the money’.
   ‘I’ll go to the DNA to look in the eyes of these layabouts, these rubbish prosecutors,’ he stormed on radio InfoPro.
   ‘How dare they charge Becali, and especially on May 7, 22 years to the day after Steaua won the European champion clubs’ Cup against Barcelona in Seville.’
   Under Romanian Football Federation rules Steaua and Universitatea risk being docked up to nine points and hit with a fine if found guilty.

FC Bruges’ Belgian international Francois Sterchele was killed in a car accident on Wednesday night, Belgian media report Thursday.
   The 26-year-old was travelling alone between Antwerp and Knokke in the north of the country when his Porsche left the road and smashed into a tree.
   The car was travelling at ‘an unsuitable speed’ at the time of the crash, a judicial expert told Belga news agency. Sterchele was the Belgian league’s top scorer last season when he played for Antwerp club Germinal Beerschot, before joining Bruges. On the six goal mark this term the young striker had made six international appearances.
   Marc Brys, his former coach at Germinal Beerschot, gave his reaction to the tragedy, saying: ‘Unfortuately this is an accident that underlines the fact that Francois lived at 100 miles an hour on and off the pitch.
   ‘Francois was the most talented player I’ve ever worked with. He was cunning, fast and intelligent.’
   FC Bruges president Michel D’Hooghe said he was ‘devastated’ at the news of the death of Sterchele who was due to turn out for the club on Sunday for the last day of the season.
   That game, against Westerloo, is going ahead as scheduled ‘but in silence, without music and without festivities’ announced the club which has received a telegram of condolence from UEFA, European football’s governing body.
   With his teammates in shock Thursday’s training at FC Bruges was cancelled.
   ‘Francois was one of those players with enormous talent and with plenty of potential. This season he was one of the maintstays of the club and one of the fans’ favorite players,’ commented former Belgian Prime Minister and ardent Bruges fan Jean-Luc Dehaene. A shocked Bruges captain Sven Vermant described Sterchele as ‘a friend to everyone here’.
   ‘And he’s going to remain like that, as we’ll never forget him.’
   The funeral is scheduled to take place on Tuesday at Alleur, near Liege.

Three days after wrapping up the title Real Madrid showed Barcelona why they are the new Spanish champions crushing their arch-rivals 4-1 in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
   An 18th goal of the season for Real captain Raul, another Arjen Robben header and strikes from substitutes Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud van Nistelrooy ensured a historic league double for Real, who won 1-0 at Nou Camp back in December, as they humiliated Barca to cap a fine season.
   The loss means Barca must now qualify for the Champions League after losing second place to Villarreal who won 2-0 against Recreativo Huelva and are now seven points clear with two games remaining.
   Barca players greeted newly-crowned champions Real in the guard of honour as they ran onto the pitch – a moment for Real to treasure and for Barca to try to wipe from the memory.
   After a 6-0 drubbing of Valencia Barca should have been full of confidence but that seeped away when Real got off to the dream start after just 12 minutes with Raul curling a brilliant left-footed finish past Victor Valdes.
   Barca were taunted by ‘oles’ and a chorus of ‘champions’ and it got worse when Robben bagged a second.
   Robben said he had never scored a header after his vital goal in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Osasuna but he repeated the trick taking advantage of some non-existent marking.
   Real were far superior and Higuain, the hero against Osasuna, scored a third just after the hour mark before van Nistelrooy converted a penalty.
   Thierry Henry struck a late consolation for the visitors after a great pass from Barca’s shining light Lionel Messi before Barca lost Xavi for dissent seconds before the end.
   When the final whistle blew Real fans applauded their team for a fine season in which they have retained the championship for the first time since 1990.
   Barca players trudged off and the Catalan club must rebuild for next season probably starting with a new manager.
   Frank Rijkaard is unlikely to be in charge with reserves coach Pep Guardiola emerging as the favourite to succeed the Dutchman.
   Earlier, Argentine midfielder Fazio was Sevilla’s hero scoring twice as the club boosted their chances of a second successive season in the Champions League with a 3-0 win at rivals Racing Santander.
   Fazio scored in both halves as Sevilla leapfrogged Racing into fifth and they are now level on points with fourth-placed Atletico.
   ‘We have two finals now and we will go for it,’ said Sevilla coach Manolo Jimenez. ‘One of them is the derby against Real Betis and they won’t give us anything for sure.’
   Racing are two points behind Sevilla as they rued a first half penalty miss from Aldo Duscher with the score at 0-0.
   Atletico remain in pole position to take fourth but cannot afford to slip up when they travel to Espanyol on Thursday.
   Elsewhere, Kings Cup winners Valencia are virtually safe after a 1-0 home win over fellow strugglers Real Zaragoza.
   A goal from Daniel Silva, who was also sent off, guided Valencia five points from the drop.
   Zaragoza stay one point above relegation going into their final two games of a season that started with hopes of European qualification.
   Osasuna lost 2-1 at Real Mallorca and stay third from bottom while Recreativo Huelva stay level on 40 points after the Villarreal loss.
   Getafe came from two goals down to win 4-2 over Almeria and are now five points clear of the drop.

China is being tipped to end the reign of the United States as the leading Olympic nation at the Beijing Games.
   Research undertaken by Sheffield Hallam University predicts the hosts will win 46 gold medals in the Chinese capital.
   ‘China has set its stall out to become the number one nation in sport and to top the table in its host event,’ Professor Simon Shibli told BBC Sport.
   ‘We are forecasting China will win 46 gold medals, which probably exceeds most other people’s forecasts.’
   China is the most populous country in the world, with approximately 1.33 billion people, compared with the 305.8 million of the US.
   Professor Shibli analysed past Olympic performances, China’s record in turning bronze and silver medals into gold ones, and recent success on the international stage to reach his conclusions.
   He also plotted the likely effect, the considerable sums of money and resources being pumped into its sporting development programme by the Chinese government would have on the country’s medal haul in Beijing.
   Professor Shibli said conservative estimates indicated the Chinese government had spent billions of pounds ensuring its Olympians were in the best possible shape when the Games start.
   ‘Value for money and costs per medal become of secondary importance to actually winning,’ he said.
   China first entered the Summer Olympic arena in 1984, winning 15 gold medals in the heavily boycotted Games in Los Angeles.
   At the 1988 Games in Seoul, China won just five golds – the same number as Great Britain – but since then its performances have improved dramatically.
   China won 16 golds in both Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996) to finish fourth overall, before moving up to third in Sydney with 28 and second in Athens with 32.
   ‘Its improvement from the Seoul Olympics in 1988 to second place and 32 gold medals in Athens is unprecedented,’ said Professor Shibli.
   ‘For most nations, it is a great achievement to hang on to what you already have.
   ‘So for a nation to be continually improving – in the case of China to double its gold medals from 16 in Barcelona to 32 in Athens – is really quite unprecedented.’
   Professor Shibli’s research actually indicated China would win 39 gold medals in Beijing, but his team felt home support would secure the host nation a further seven. Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia took gold in the 3m synchronised final ‘It is a top-end estimate, but that is what the data is telling us,’ he added.
   ‘If China were to achieve 46 gold medals, then, in the current climate, that would be more than enough to top the table.’
   But not everyone agrees with the results of the research.
   The highly respected Luciano Barra, the former head of the Italian Olympic Committee, has predicted the US will win 45 gold medals in Beijing to top the table ahead of China, who would get 40.
   As for the United States Olympic Committee, it said it had not made any predictions for Beijing but admitted the host nation was favourite to top the medals table.
   ‘The USOC has not made medal projections or set medal goals for this Olympic Games,’ a spokesman told BBC Sport.
   ‘That said, America’s athletes recognise just how challenging the competitive environment will be, and they are preparing with this in mind.
   ‘While China is clearly the favourite, the USOC is confident Team USA will rise to meet the competitive challenges in Beijing.’
   The US has finished top of the medals table at the last three Olympics, thanks chiefly to the dominance of its athletes and swimmers. What China is trying to do is broaden the base of sports in which it wins medals
   ‘China and the USA achieve their success in radically different sports,’ explained Professor Shibli.
   ‘The USA typically does very well on the track and very well in the pool – and these are two areas in which China, traditionally, has not done very well.
   ‘What China is trying to do is broaden the base of sports in which it wins medals. Quite often these are sports which are not particularly high profile.’
   China has been investing heavily in most of the Olympic disciplines ahead of Beijing and already boasts a strong record in diving, having won six golds in Athens.
   It also picked up five in weightlifting, four in shooting and three in both badminton and table tennis.
   In contrast, the US claimed 12 golds in the pool alone, with another eight coming from its athletes. The Americans finished up winning 36 golds in Athens, just four ahead of China, with Russia third on 27.
   As for Great Britain, they were 10th with nine, two less than they won in Sydney.
   However, Professor Shibli thinks Team GB could reach double figures again in Beijing thanks to National Lottery funding and the London 2012 factor.
   ‘All of the evidence suggests we have reasons to be positive,’ he said.
   ‘We’ve been investing since the changes in National Lottery funding regulations to support athletes and national governing bodies.
   ‘The evidence we have indicates that in the run-up to being the host nation, the would-be host tends to do better than it has in previous editions
   ‘Given that we won nine gold medals in Athens it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume we’d do something like 10 to 12 and easily get a place in the top 10.’

Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster paid tribute to the professionalism of his team after their 4-1 destruction of arch-rivals Barcelona on Wednesday and admitted that he is surprised by how easily Real have won the league this season.
   Goals from captain Raul, Arjen Robben, Gonzalo Higuain and a Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty handed Real a league double over their rivals and continued the title celebrations at the Santiago Bernabeu.
   ‘After winning the title on Sunday, we wanted to finish off the season in style,’ Schuster said.
   ‘Sometimes you can relax after winning the title but the team’s attitude was exemplary and we played it like it was a final.’
   Champions Real sit ten points above second-placed Villarreal and a staggering 17 points ahead of Barca and Schuster admits the gap is surprising.
   ‘We knew we had what it took to fight for the title, but this lead is quite shocking. We have won a large number of points which is why the lead is what it is, but nobody expected it.’
   Real have now won back-to-back titles for the first time since 1990 and Barcelona must now try to stop them from making it three in a row next season.
   Barca coach Frank Rijkaard watched on in agony as his team collapsed in what is likely to be his final Clasico with the board preparing a successor after two years without silverware.
   ‘Madrid were better and deserved to win,’ Rijkaard said.
   ‘There was a huge difference – they have much more confidence and played, back and forth, like a team.
   ‘We suffered a lot, and this is one of the worst moments of the season.’
   Barca actually started the season as favourites but have been far too inconsistent and reserve team coach Pep Guardiola, a former player, is the favourite to take over from Rijkaard.
   ‘The easiest thing would be for me not to continue,’ Rijkaard added.
   While Barca were down on themselves Real playmaker Guti paid tribute to the opposition for their guard of honour – where players line up either side outside the tunnel to applaud the victorious team – to congratulate Real as champions.
   ‘They were gentleman on and off the pitch not just the players but also Rijkaard,’ Guti said.
   ‘We would have done the same in their situation.’

Dimitar Berb-atov’s absence at the launch of Tottenham’s new kit this week left us in little doubt that he will not be wearing it next season.
   Less clear is where the Bulgaria striker will end up, and what impact his move will have on the transfer market as the Premier League’s foreign owners flex their financial muscles.
   And there was a thinly-veiled warning from Steven Gerrard on Wednesday that Liverpool – who are closing in on £10m Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry and will look at Sunderland’s Kenwyne Jones if Peter Crouch leaves – must put their squabbles to one side and support manager Rafa Benitez in his bid to build a championship-winning team.
   He said, ‘I don’t want to look back and say I’ve never been in a title race. That’s why so much is riding on this summer. We need to keep the momentum going, and the manager’s signings will be as important as ever.
   ‘We all know we have a chance now to move on to that next level.’
   Berbatov’s departure from White Hart Lane promises to be one of the most significant deals of the transfer window. Rumours were rife yesterday that Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra was lining up a British record £32-million offer.
   However, he is more likely to end up on the other side of Manchester. A year after turning down the opportunity to sign Berbatov for £10.9m, United are prepared to pay twice that after his agent confided he would only consider Old Trafford if he stays in England.
   Spain and Italy are also options, but Sir Alex Ferguson is likely to be at the front of the queue after being told he will have money to spend. Capturing Berbatov would mean that Ferguson’s rivals could go for his other targets – Ajax striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Sevilla’s Luis Fabiano and Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz – while United would almost certainly put Louis Saha on the market.
   A right-back and right-midfielder are Ferguson’s other priorities. He is ready to compete with Chelsea for Sevilla’s £20m-rated Daniel Alves but the United boss could also try to capitalise on the uncertainty at City created by Thaksin’s decision to axe Sven-Goran Eriksson by making a bold move for £25m Micah Richards.
   Roman Abramovich is ready to sanction a £100m outlay for Chelsea to sign up to four players. If Berbatov does not move to Stamford Bridge, Palermo’s Amauri and David Villa of Valencia remain options. Ironically, Spurs see Villa as the ideal replacement for Berbatov, with Valencia desperate to sell the striker for £16m.
   Wounded pride on the continent over English clubs dominating the Champions League is bound to bring a strong response this summer.
   While AC Milan remain favourites to sign Barcelona’s Ronaldinho, Rino Gattuso’s time at the San Siro could be up, which could alert Arsenal, who will need two midfielders if Alexander Hleb follows Mathieu Flamini out of the Emirates.
   With Thaksin eager to appease fans over the Eriksson fall-out and Berbatov and Ronaldinho out of their reach, City could move for CSKA Moscow’s Brazilian quartet of Jo, Vagner Love, Daniel Carvalho and Dudu Cearense, particularly if former Brazil coach Phil Scolari replaces the Swede.
   It all points to another mammoth spending spree this summer, although some experts believe it will not beat the record £500m set by English clubs last year.
   Dan Jones, a partner in the sports business group at Deloitte said, ‘It will be busy but I’m not sure whether it will beat last summer because that was that first year of the new TV deal and there haven’t been as many changes of ownership and manager.
   ‘Gates are at record levels, there are big sponsorship deals, and a big Champions League TV deal being done, so the majority of that flows through to wages and transfers.’

Manchester United feared their title bid might be wrecked by a cabbage patch in Wigan but perhaps they ought to be more concerned about the surface in Moscow ahead of the Champions League final on Wednesday week. The pitch at Wigan’s JJB Stadium has been heavily criticised this season. Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia claimed it was the worst he had seen in his professional career after his side drew there in March.
   United visit on Sunday, when a win will be enough to retain the Barclays Premier League crown. Although it remains far from pristine, Sir Alex Ferguson will be relieved to see a healthy covering of grass.
   The JJB pitch was at its
   worst in December and January for games against Aston Villa and Everton and was pretty grim for Chelsea’s win in the FA Cup six days after Everton’s visit.
   But the surface has improved, thanks to a few days of sunshine and a fortnight without a home game for either Wigan’s football or rugby league teams, who share the stadium. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan even ordered the Warriors to move their cup match from Friday to Monday.
   United may find it is still not good enough for their slick passing game and Ferguson will surely have a comment to make if his team trip up and allow Chelsea to snatch the title on the final day of the season.
   Both he and Chelsea manager Avram Grant will also be keeping an eye on developments in Russia, where a new grass pitch, grown specifically to replace the artificial surface at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, had to be ripped up almost as soon as it was laid.
   Another pitch has been bought from Slovakia at a cost of £160,000 and was hastily imported last week in a bid to have it ready for the Champions League final between United and Chelsea.
   England lost their vital Euro 2008 qualifier on the Luzhniki plastic last year but UEFA insisted their showpiece final must be played on grass.
   The Russian authorities had been nurturing the grass in Moscow for nine months and took it to the stadium in 6,000 small squares of turf.
   But as soon as it was laid, the patchwork effect made it too bumpy and uneven.
   It was ripped out and the Slovakian pitch was still in the process of being rolled out when officials from United and Chelsea went to inspect facilities last week. The two Premier League clubs will reserve judgment on the surface until they arrive in the Russian capital ahead of the final.
   British groundsman Matthew Frost had been in Moscow for months, supervising the grass which will no longer be used. He promised it would be a ‘Rolls-Royce of a football pitch’ but has discovered it will now be used for landscaping around the stadium.
   ‘We put it in and then we took it out again,’ said Frost, from Sheffield.
   ‘It was always the wrong selection of turf and I said so nine months ago.
   ‘But I am an adviser and all I can do is advise. It is a normal situation in Russia.’

Barcelona were heavily criticised by the city’s sports press on Thursday after a 4-1 defeat by arch-rivals and champions Real Madrid left them a distant third in the Primera Liga standings.
   ‘Shameful’ was the headline on sports daily Mundo Deportivo’s website while the daily Sport led on a black front page with: ‘You have dishonoured the Barcelona shirt’.
   Goals from Raul, Arjen Robben, Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud van Nistelrooy crowned a perfect night of celebration for the home fans on Wednesday, who packed the stadium after Real had clinched the title in Pamplona on Sunday.
   The defeat left Barca 17 points adrift of Real and seven short of Villarreal, which means they miss out on automatic qualification for the Champions League group stage, with two games left to play.
   The build-up to the match was dominated by talk of the traditional guard of honour Barca would have to afford to the champions as they took to the pitch.
   The Madrid-based sports daily Marca had a free glossy pullout poster of the moment in its Thursday edition, but that was the least of the worries for the Catalan press.
   ‘The guard of honour wasn’t the low point. What came after was worse,’ said daily Sport. ‘They scored four and it could have been six.
   ‘The defence was like butter. It isn’t a renovation that’s needed, it is a revolution.’
   Barca’s players did not try to make excuses.
   ‘It will be very difficult to forget,’ Brazilian defender Silvinho told reporters.
   ‘There was no comparison between the state-of-mind of the two teams. There is no way we can wave a wand to cheer up our fans. We’ll have to do it step by step on the pitch.’
   Barca coach Frank Rijkaard gave little away on his future, with Spanish media reporting former club captain Pep Guardiola has been lined up to take his place at the end of the season.
   ‘The easiest thing to do would be to walk away, but it’s not something I am planning,’ the Dutchman said. ‘I stand with the team especially in the tough moments.’

Ten-man Inter Milan’s virtual second string side battled to a 2-0 victory at Lazio in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday to qualify for the Italian Cup final.
   Following last month’s goalless semi-final, first leg at
   the San Siro this was a surprisingly tight affair until young Portuguese midfielder
   Vitor Pele’s goal separated the teams.
   The champions and league leaders faced an anxious last few minutes after substitute Marco Materazzi was sent off for kicking out at Goran Pandez just a quarter of an hour after coming on.
   But moments later Pele turned provider for Argentina forward Julio Cruz to seal the victory five minutes from time.
   Pele’s cross into the box caused confusion between Lazio goalkeeper Marco Ballotta and centre-back Siviglia, leaving the ball at Cruz’s feet for an easy tap in.
   Inter captain Javier Zanetti, who was one of the few regular starters, along with Cruz, to be included in the first 11 said he now hoped this result could inspire the club to the title on Sunday against Siena.
   ‘This season has been very important for Inter and now we’re in the final,’ he said.
   ‘This evening we played well and we hope to play like
   this and win the league on Sunday.’
   Lazio coach Delio Rossi praised his young team
   despite the defeat but
   admitted his club had had a poor season.
   ‘We saw on the pitch what happened and this was a
   good example of our season,’ he said.
   ‘We need to improve the team, Lazio haven’t had a good season, we need to start again next year but we’ve blooded a lot of youngsters so it’s not been a total loss.’