Sri Lankan ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who is already the world’s leading taker of Test wickets, is poised to become the leading bowler in one-day internationals.
   Barring injury or a spectacular sudden loss of form for the 36-year-old, that new record is likely to come in the five-match one-day series against India, starting here today.
   Already the world’s leading wicket-taker in Tests with 769 scalps in 125 matches, the off-spinner needs just three wickets to surpass former Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram’s mark of 502 in one-day internationals.
   ‘We will be very happy when he gets the record. It is another milestone for him and another one for Sri Lankan cricket,’ Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene told reporters on Tuesday.
   ‘Everyone knows the amount of hard work he has put in over the last 16 years, going through a lot of hardship. Now, after a few games, or even tomorrow, he might hold the records in both Tests and one-dayers.
   ‘That’s an amazing effort for a guy who started as a fast bowler and then turned into an off-spinner.’
   India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he was sure the ‘champion’ Sri Lankan spinner would complete a bowling double in the series, but his team would make him work hard for the record.
   ‘He is a brilliant bowler and has been very consistent. He is a champion bowler,’ said Dhoni.
   Jayawardene said his team was keen to clinch a fourth successive one-day series after beating Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
   ‘India are a very competitive side. They pose a tough challenge for us and we are looking forward to that,’ he said.
   ‘Their batting looks better this time, with Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag returning to the one-day squad. I think batting will be their strength. They also have two good pacemen (Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma).’
   India won the last one-day series 3-2 in Sri Lanka without Tendulkar, Sehwag and Sharma, who were injured.
   The Sri Lankan captain, without a half-century in his last 12 one-dayers, said he had been working hard on his batting and hoped to regain form.
   ‘I’d like to get more runs and contribute more to the team’s totals. This is something I have been working really hard. I hope I get it right against the Indians,’ said Jayawardene.
   Indian captain Dhoni said his team had to adapt to the conditions early.
   ‘We have two experienced players (Tendulkar and Sehwag) with us this time. A lot depends on the conditions here and we have to adapt quickly.’

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday replaced Shoaib Malik with Younus Khan as captain of the national cricket team after a humiliating defeat against Sri Lanka, its chairman said.
   Malik led Pakistan to their worst one-day defeat—by 234 runs—in the third and final one-day international in Lahore on Saturday to give Sri Lanka a 2-1 series win.
   ‘Malik has accepted to step down after the Sri Lanka defeat and we have appointed Younus as the new captain for an indefinite period,’ PCB chairman Ijaz Butt told reporters.
   ‘We haven’t sacked Malik. In fact, I met Malik and told him about the situation, as the whole nation felt disappointed over the team’s poor performance and a lot of people wanted a change,’ said Butt.
   ‘That is why I requested Malik to step down and he gracefully accepted.’
   Malik was appointed captain after Pakistan’s first round exit from the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. His tenure as captain was extended for an indefinite period earlier this month.
   However, the 2-1 series defeat against Sri Lanka sparked furious reaction in cricket-mad Pakistan.
   The sports committee of the Senate also summoned Malik, coach Intikhab Alam and chief selector Abdul Qadir on February 9 to explain the defeat.
   Butt said coach Alam and team manager Yawar Saeed were also asked to submit a detailed report on the team’s loss.
   Asked about Younus refusing the captaincy on two previous occasions, Butt said the player must have had his reasons.
   ‘He (Younus) must have some reasons for not taking the captaincy,’ said Butt, referring to when Younus refused to lead Pakistan after the team’s exit from the 2007 World Cup citing personal reasons.
   Younus also refused to lead the team in the Champions Trophy held in India in October 2006, just a day after he was appointed skipper, saying he did not want to be a dummy captain.
   He was reinstated captain, however, for the Trophy after Nasim Ashraf replaced Shaharyar Khan as PCB chairman.
   Malik led Pakistan in 36 one-day internationals — 12 defeats and 24 wins—including a Pakistan record 12-match winning streak.
   Malik also led Pakistan in three Tests, losing two and drawing one.
   In contrast, the 31-year-old Younus has led Pakistan in six one-day matches, winning two and losing four.
   Younus will resume duties in the two-Test home series against Sri Lanka next month.

A demoralised Dhaka Moham-medan registered a face-saving hard-fought 1-0 victory over Rahmatganj in the Citycell B League match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Tuesday.
   Nigerian forward Alamu Bukola Oalekan’s 12th goal of the league chalked up Mohammedan’s 9th victory in16 matches.
   Rahmatganj, who grabbed the headline defeating their illustrious opponents 2-1 in the first phase, showed the same spirit while Mohammedan, defeated 2-1 by archrivals Abahani in their last encounter that threw them out of the title race, were disorganised.
   Mohammedan hardly succeeded to put any impact in the first 30 minutes and Bukola missed another attacker to his aid.
   Striker Robin missed the match for injury and array of attacking midfielders did not help Mohammedan to fill the vacuum.
   Komal let Mohammedan down hitting the ball well over the crosspiece from the six-yard box off a Bukola cross in the 20th minute.
   Rahmatganj, missing their Nigerian midfielder Nche Francis due to a three yellow card suspension, came close to score in the 30th minute but Ripon’s strong grounder off an Idris Kasirye square pass was well taken by diving Aminul.
   On the stroke of the first half, Bukola saw his angular shot beat Rahmatganj keeper Md Ali but missed the post by a whisker.
   Rahmatganj right-back Jahangir Patwary, known for his strong crosses, unleashed a lob in the 49th minute but a vigilant Aminul palmed the ball away for a corner in the last second.
   Moroccan midfielder, Hazem Mahmood, cracked a fierce drive from the top of the box in the 55th minute but Ali was well positioned to hold the ball.
   Bukola finally broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute with a low header. Maruf headed a Nasir cross into the crosspiece and the re-bounder fell into the chest of Bukola who kept his cool to head it home.
   Bukola would have made it 2-0 in the 74th minute but his double-tapped attempt lacked the fire to beat Ali from a close range.
   Mohammedan remained third in the table with 32 points from 16 matches while Rahmatganj have 20 from 16 encounters.

An invincible Roger Federer moved a step closer to a record-equalling 14th Grand Slam title Tuesday as Novak Djokovic’s defence of his Australian Open crown ended in misery.
   The Swiss star was in awesome form as he thrashed young Argentine pretender Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 to set up a semi-final with Andy Roddick, who went through after Djokovic withdrew from their match with cramp.
   Meanwhile, Russia’s Dinara Safina overcame dogged resistance from Jelena Dokic to win 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 and end the Australian’s comeback tournament after years of depression sparked by the antics of her infamous father Damir.
   The third seed will now meet seventh-seeded compatriot Vera Zvonareva for a place in the final after the Russian coolly disposed of France’s Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-0.
   World number two Federer is now in his 19th consecutive Grand Slam semi-final.
   ‘I played great tonight, I didn’t expect a result like this,’ said the Swiss, who is chasing his fourth Australian Open title in his quest to equal Pete Sampras’s all-time Grand Slam record.
   ‘For me, it is a fabulous effort, I’m delighted. When all of a sudden it clicks, it’s a nice thing.’
   Earlier, Serbia’s Djokovic was trailing 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 2-6, 1-2 in furnace-like conditions to Roddick when he signalled that he could not continue.
   In an Open that has produced plenty of surprises, he became the fourth player to pull out of the quarter-finals either injured or ill, following Zheng Jie, Victoria Azarenka and Gael Monfils.
   Djokovic blamed his retirement on cramps and the heat, with the mercury reaching 35 C (95 F).
   There appears to be little respite in store with forecasters warning the city is this week heading for its worst heatwave in 100 years, with 40 C plus temperatures predicted every day.
   ‘People could see that I was struggling with movement, the main reason is cramping and soreness in the whole body,’ said Djokovic, adding that organisers needed to look again at their heat policy.
   ‘That’s something we have to discuss in the future. Of course, it’s concerning a lot of players,’ he said.
   ‘As a tournament or as a tennis fan, you don’t want to see a player retiring. You didn’t pay for a ticket to come to see somebody retiring the match.’
   The seventh seeded Roddick, looking for another Grand Slam title to go with his US Open crown in 2003, was playing high-class tennis when Djokovic withdrew and may well have progressed regardless.
   But he said the victory was hollow.
   ‘I feel for Novak because he worked so hard to win the title and for him not to get a fair chance to defend it, it’s too bad,’ Roddick said.
   ‘But I was pretty happy with everything. I just kind of stayed the course. I felt good.’
   Safina produced an error-ridden display in front of a fiercely patriotic crowd to down Dokic.
   ‘It was not easy to play having the whole crowd against you,’ she said afterwards.
   ‘Basically I was trying to just find my game and go for my shots and just be aggressive, not let her dictate. Sometimes I was doing this, and sometimes no.’
   Dokic was philosophical about the defeat.
   ‘I played three sets with the number three player in the world, so everything is positive,’ said the former world number four.
   ‘I’ve had a great tournament. It’s a little bit disappointing, I had some chances. But sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t.’
   Like Djokovic, Bartoli also felt the effects of the searing heat in her match against Zvonareva, often bending double and sucking for breath.
   She started strongly but rapidly wilted in a one-sided drubbing to a player who is now in her first Grand Slam semi-final in 25 attempts.
   Zvonareva declared herself ready to win the tournament.
   ‘If I’m in the tournament, I’m here to try to win it,’ she said.

As befits a man playing the lead role in ‘Shane Warne—The Musical,’ comedian Eddie Perfect’s first action upon arriving for his interview is to light up a cigarette.
   After all, his warts-and-all production about the wayward cricketer is billed as ‘a new breed of Aussie music theatre that smokes, drinks, carries a few extra kilos and still brings home the Ashes.’
   The musical has been a smash hit since it opened in Warne’s hometown of Melbourne last month, drawing in a blokey audience of sports lovers who Perfect says would not normally be seen dead at a musical.
   Chants of ‘Warney, Warney’ regularly erupt in the normally sedate Athenaeum Theatre as the crowd watch musical numbers such as ‘What an SMS I’m In’ documenting the ups and downs of the legendary spinner’s career.
   ‘We’re getting guys dragging their girlfriends to the theatre, which is the opposite of how it usually works,’ Perfect told AFP.
   ‘You see young blokes making their way to their seats carrying armfuls of beers for their mates, just like they do at the cricket.
   ‘It upset a few of the traditional musical theatre people but I think it’s great. It’s like Reformation theatre when people were buying oranges to throw at the actors—why shouldn’t they have fun?’
   Perfect, who admits he is only a casual cricket fan, was previously best known for stand-up comedy and edgy cabaret with titles such as ‘Angry Eddie’ and ‘Drink Pepsi, Bitch.’
   He initially encountered scepticism in the theatre world when he canvassed the idea of making a musical about Warne but persisted with the project, convinced the spinner’s ‘operatic’ life was naturally suited to the stage.
   ‘He’s someone who has fascinated the whole of Australia,’ Perfect said. ‘He really transcends sport, it’s like he’s come to typify the best and worst of Australia.
   ‘Shane Warne represents a maverick in a game that’s very mannered.
   ‘That’s part of his mythology, the simple everyday guy that didn’t want to curb his eating habits or his drinking habits or his smoking to fit in with the game of cricket.’
   Perfect said writing the musical took three years because he was determined to do justice to the leg spinner while not shying away from the sex, betting, drugs and mobile phone scandals that plagued his stellar career.
   ‘I could have knocked it out in three months and just had Shane Warne on stage in his underpants, with a mobile phone in one hand, an inflatable penis in the other and the Benny Hill musical playing in the background,’ he said.
   ‘But I didn’t want to do that. Warne’s flawed, he’s made mistakes and I wanted people to suspend their judgement of him and analyse how and why their opinions have been formed.’
   Warne himself initially lashed out at the unauthorised musical, fearful about how his ex-wife Simone and mother Brigitte would be portrayed.
   But he gave it his stamp of approval after seeing it in December, admitting that he squirmed uncomfortably as some of his past controversies were re-enacted on the stage.
   ‘There’s an affection for Warne that people pick up on,’ said Perfect, explaining the difficulties of portraying a character so immensely popular with Australians.
   ‘You can take the mickey out of someone if you do it with respect and a bit of love.’
   Perfect, who grew up in a Melbourne suburb not far from Warne’s home, says he has a physical resemblance to the spinner that helps his depiction of the character.
   With his hair dyed blond and teased into a recreation of Warne’s spikey coiffure, Perfect does indeed look like a slimline version of the cricketer.
   He says he has even been mistaken for Warne on the street, which appeals to his sense of the ridiculous.
   ‘It’s always construction workers who do it,’ he said.
   Perfect says there has been interest from Britain in taking the production to London.
   ‘It’d be interesting playing Warne sticking it to the Poms (English) in London,’ he said. ‘I don’t think we’d have to change too much, they’ve taken to Warne over there almost as much as Australians have.’
   Perfect is also excited by suggestions the show could go to cricket-mad India, although he said nothing concrete had yet been arranged.
   ‘It’d be a blast,’ he said. ‘We could turn every number into a huge Bollywood production.’

Ricky Ponting has described Australia’s eight-wicket defeat in Adelaide as their worst effort of the season after the loss handed South Africa an unassailable 3-1 lead in the one-day series. Ponting went into the match hoping that his team would lift given the match was on Australia’s national holiday but the hosts were completely dominated by South Africa.
   ‘That’s our worst performance of the summer by a long way,’ Ponting said after the match. ‘We pride ourselves in the way we play big games. Today was a big game and we fell a long way short on this occasion. I was really disappointed with the way we went about our cricket today. There wasn’t that spark that we needed in the field.’
   The problems began with the batting and Ponting, who made 63, was the only one of the top order who looked consistently threatening. Five others reached double figures but the fact that nobody went on to post a big score was a frustration for Ponting, whose men were dismissed for 222 after 48 overs.
   ‘Once again in our batting we got ourselves into a reasonable position [2 for 110] and then a few overs later we were 5 for 130, and that’s really been the tale right through this series. The guys at the top of the order have got to take that responsibility, and every game I’ve played I’ve got 60, 60, 40 and 30 and not gone on to make a big score, so I can put my hand up and say that I need to do better.’
   Australia never looked like defending their small total on a good batting pitch and the fact that South Africa got home in the 39th over was a major embarrassment. The South Africa captain Johan Botha entered the series trying to find his feet as a leader and he said it was enormously satisfying to take the trophy.
   ‘Before the game today we asked for a really special performance and the guys have delivered brilliantly,’ Botha said. ‘We said this will make it real sweet on Australia Day.’ Botha bowled superbly for the second match in a row and his 2 for 28 from ten overs was one of the key causes of Australia’s middle-order woes.

The first real big match of the domestic cricket season will be held today when arch-rivals Abahani will face Mohammedan Sporting Club in the Premier Twenty20 Tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
   The two teams placed in Group A have won both of their previous matches to remain equal on points-table. The winners in today’s match will thorough to the semi-finals. Gazi Tanks, Bangladesh Biman and Suro Tarun are vying for the two semi-final slots from the other group.

Top seed Sathi Sarkar of NTC and Ayami of BKSP fight for the title of the ladies singles of the Runner Group Tennis at the National Tennis Complex today.
   In the semi-finals held on Tuesday, Sathi Sarkar beat compatriot Disha Islam 6-1, 6-4 while Ayami outclassed Ripa of Narsingdi 6-1, 6-0.
   In the men’s singles, top seed Amol Roy and Ranjan Ram of NTC, Alamgir Hossain of Nordic Club booked last four places. Amol Roy beat Omar Faruk Sunny of BKSP 6-3, 6-3, second seed Ranjan Ram of NTC defeated Mufazzal Hossain of NTC 6-4, 6-1 while Alamgir Hossain beat Anwar Hossain of British Club 6-4, 6-3.
   In the U-14 boys singles top seed, Rustom Ali of NTC Tanjir Ahmed of BKSP, Delwar Hossain of BKSP booked semi-final places winning their respective quarter-finals.
   Raqibul Alam of Bogra, Delwar Hossain of BKSP and Biplob Hossain of NTC moved into the semi-finals of U-12 group. .

Muslim Institute faces BKSP in the opening match of the Citycell 3rd Division Football League at the Kamalapur Stadium at 3:30pm today.
   Eighteen teams, split into two groups, play the first phase and the top four teams from each group will qualify for the 8-team super league. BFF will provide a pursed of Tk 40,000 for each of the teams as participation money. Citycell, the sponsors will provide the whole budget of Tk 1.4 million.
   League committee chairman and BFF vice-president Manjoor Hossain Malu disclosed the details at a press conference at the Bangabandhu National Stadium conference room on Tuesday.
   League committee deputy chairman and BFF vice-president Shawkat Ali Khan Jahangir, Atique Akbar, deputy manager (events & sponsorship) of Citycell, and league organising committee secretary Mohammad Selim Khan were present among others.
   Participating teams:
   Group A: The Muslim Institute, Swadhinata KS, Tongi KC, City United Club, Jirabo SC, Dhaka Juniors SC, Mirpur XI, Dilkusha SC and BKSP.
   Group B: Anirban Sangha, Lalbagh SC, PWD SC, Rahmatganj SC, Rainbow SC, Kasaituly Samaj Kalyan Parishad, Shantinagar Club, Govt. Printing Press S&RC and Rampura KC.

The visiting ‘Friends of Stadium Clubs’ women’s football team of West Bengal, wrapped up their tour with a convincing 4-0 win over Dhaka Metropolitan Women’s XI at the Bangabnadhu National Stadium on Tuesday.
   Sujata Kaur of West Bengal slammed a hat-trick scoring in the 18th, 38th and 53rd minute.
   Shilpi Dey netted the other for the winners.
   The visitors won 3-0 against Munsihganj District in their opener while defeated Ansar & VDP 2-0 in the second of the three match series.

England (424/8 & 118/0) lead St Kitts Invitational XI (251) by 291 runs at stumps, day 2
   England enjoyed another productive day in their opening tour match against St Kitts and Nevis on Monday even though the casualty list continued to mount.
   Monty Panesar was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, as England gained a first innings lead of 173, when they dismissed St. Kitts and Nevis for 251 on the second day of three at Warner Park. New captain Andrew Strauss then put the disappointment of a first-ball duck behind him with an unbeaten 59, and Alastair Cook continued from where he left off with 50 not out, guiding England to 118 without loss at the close.
   But England suffered another injury setback, when first innings century-maker Owais Shah was withdrawn from the match, after he awoke with blurred vision in his left eye from a scratched cornea.
   Shah is the second player to be withdrawn from the match, following Andrew Flintoff, who was dispatched to Jamaica for a scan on a left-side strain sustained when bowling in the nets.
   Shah is hoping for a speedy recovery, as he chases a place in the England Test line-up for the third time in his career.
   ‘I don’t know how I did it,’ he said. ‘The doctor didn’t know either. She said it could have been anything, maybe a tiny bit of sand went in, and I just rubbed my eye.
   ‘The doctor put some medicine in there, covered it up, and she reckons it should heal up overnight. Hopefully, it will be okay.
   ‘I walked out of the hotel room and my vision was a little bit blurred. When I spoke to the physiotherapist, I was concerned about my eyesight going, but he said, ‘You can’t lose your eyesight overnight’.’

Two teams of cricket-mad Britons vowed Tuesday to take the sport to new heights by playing on Mount Everest in the world’s highest-ever match.
   The two teams are to make a nine-day expedition in April to Gorak Shep, a plateau 5,165 metres above sea level near the Everest base camp, for the record-breaking Twenty20 charity game.
   England captain Andrew Strauss is the honorary skipper of Team Tenzing, while England vice-captain Alastair Cook is doing likewise for Team Hillary.
   Self-confessed ‘cricket obsessive’ Richard Kirtley dreamed up the Everest Test idea during a trip to the world’s highest mountain in 2006. He saw Gorak Shep, thought it resembled The Oval cricket ground in south London, and resolved to set up a match.
   The expedition leader told AFP the game would going ahead on April 21 no matter what the conditions — clear blue skies or a blizzard.
   ‘We’re not going all that way not to play,’ said the marketing manager, 28, from Cheltenham in southwest England.
   ‘It’s a quintessentially British thing to do. I’m quite proud of our history of doing odd things so it’s nice to write a new chapter in that book.
   ‘At that altitude, we’ll be going for a lot of boundaries because quick singles are going to exhaust people,’ he explained.
   ‘The challenge is not to be underestimated because there is only 66 percent of the oxygen found at sea level, so your resting heartbeat is a lot faster.
   ‘With the thinner air I reckon seamers will get some big bounces and wing it down there. Batsmen will have their work cut out.’
   Kirtley said he has been in touch with a NASA scientist investigating how cricket ball turns, to ask what it will do in thinner air.
   The 22 players, eight reserves, medics, groundsmen and even spectators make up the 50-strong expedition party.
   The cricketers have been training hard on cardio-vascular fitness to cope with the extreme conditions.
   Kirtley said: ‘Everyone’s training a lot. They are such a competitive bunch, they will put their all into it. It will definitely take it out of us but we will able to complete the match.’ The Gorak Shep plateau is sandy, so the groundsmen will roll out a synthetic track to ensure a competitive game.
   The teams, which include a handful of Australians and New Zealanders, hope to raise 250,000 pounds (352,000 dollars, 267,000 euros) for The Lord’s Taverners and The Himalayan Trust UK.
   At the launch of their expedition in London’s Trafalgar Square on Tuesday, the cricketers — wearing ski goggles, scarves and wooly hats — had a practice session, and ended up hitting a six straight into one of the fountains.
   Former England batsman Mark Butcher, recovering from a knee injury, said he would have relished the chance to play in the Himalayas.
   ‘It’s typically British and a fantastic idea,’ the Surrey captain told AFP.
   ‘At the heights they’re going up to it will be very interesting to see if they’re leaping around a lot when appealing.
   ‘Fast bowling will be a tough ask, not to mention diving catches and falling down crevasses!’

Injury-hit England were boosted by news Tuesday that an MRI scan on key all-rounder Andrew Flintoff revealed no major damage to his left side.
   Flintoff, 31, made a round trip to Jamaica on Monday, accompanied by team doctor Mike Stone, after complaining of a side strain.
   The scan results, assessed in Britain by the ECB’s chief medical officer Nick Peirce, have proved encouraging.
   Flintoff, whose international comeback last summer was delayed by a similar injury, will now be monitored ahead of Thursday’s fixture against West Indies A at Warner Park, Basseterre.
   ‘The scan showed no major damage and we will continue to assess Andrew on a daily basis,’ said an England team spokesman.

Shahid Khan’s team won the trophy of the Pro-Am event of the City Bank–Dhaka Bank Bangladesh Open 2009, played at the Kurmitola Golf Club on Tuesday.
   Bangladeshi professional Shahid Khan’s team, comprised of amateurs Jahangir Alam and Anis ud Dowala, totaled 56.8 points to be on the top. Bangladesh-based professional Md Milon Ahmed’s team finished second. Milon Ahmed’s team, comprised of amateurs MI Ibrahim, Brig RN Nair and Mrs SY Lee, earned 57.1 points.
   The Pro-Am event provided amateur golfers from Dhaka an opportunity to play alongside some of the top professionals from India and Bangladesh.

Mark Hughes has confirmed Robinho will be fined after walking out of Manchester City’s training camp last week.
   The midfielder left City’s warm-weather base in Tenerife last Monday without permission to return to his native Brazil to deal with a personal matter following the club’s failure to sign his compatriot Kaka.
   Robinho was back in Manchester on Monday and met with Hughes, who has decided to fine the player.
   But the City manager, who has to persistently fend off suggestions his authority has been undermined since City’s mega-rich Abu Dhabi owners took over at Eastlands in September, is hopeful the situation has now been resolved.
   And the former Wales and Blackburn manager was adamant Robinho would be treated like any other City player despite his British record 32.5 million pounds price tag.
   ‘Robbie was told my feelings about the situation and the intention is to fine Robbie and there are disciplinary procedures that have to be gone through,’ Hughes told reporters here Tuesday.
   ‘When that has run it’s course then Robbie will have to face some disciplinary measures but the level of those measures will be kept private,’ Hughes added following reports Robinho would be fined two weeks’ wages, a total of more than 200,000 pounds.
   ‘Let’s make this clear, Robinho will be treated in exactly the same manner, given the circumstances, as any other Manchester City player, everybody knows that,’ the former Manchester United striker said.
   ‘There’s no special case here and given similar circumstances any other player at Manchester City could expect to be treated in the same manner,’ Hughes, stressed.
   ‘That needs to be made clear. It’s been addressed and it’s been dealt with and we’re looking forward to the Newcastle game (on Wednesday).’
   Along with Dutchman Nigel de Jong, Hughes was unveiling another new signing in Craig Bellamy and the striker said he hadn’t fall-out with his former club West Ham.
   Bellamy, also a transfer window target for Tottenham, was reported to have gone on strike to force a move away from Upton Park.
   But the Welshman said that while he had a good relationship with the east London club’s manager Gianfranco Zola, he could not turn down the opportunity to join City.
   ‘When I heard talk of going on strike, I don’t know where it comes from and I can’t for the life of me.
   ‘Maybe in the past I’ve gone down routes that maybe I shouldn’t have but that completely didn’t happen.
   ‘I spoke to Gianfranco and we get on really well. He wanted to improve me and keep pushing me as a player and a person.’
   But Bellamy said being involved in City’s push for the big-time was too tempting to resist.
   ‘The opportunity, the project and that’s going to happen at this club is just going to be phenomenal,’ Bellamy, who played under Hughes for both Blackburn and Wales, explained.
   City are currently 11th in the Premier League table and Bellamy said: ‘Hopefully we can kick on in the rest of this year because I still think that top six is realistic this season as well.’
   The much-travelled forward added: ‘If you look throughout my whole career, I’ve always been involved in the top six.
   ‘Apart from my first season in the Premiership I’ve never been outside the top six and that’s what I’m aiming for here.’
   Meanwhile Hughes denied Micah Richards was about to move to Arsenal.
   The England international has suffered a significant dip in form this season and is a reported target for the Gunners. But Hughes said: ‘I’m not aware of that interest, no.’

AC Milan and Juventus will be hoping the recent controversy at title rivals Inter will distract the leaders enough that they drop points during today’s full Serie A programme.
   Inter lead Juve by three points with Milan a further three points back but the pressure has been mounting on Jose Mourinho’s team since the turn of the year.
   They have been anything but convincing in the league, drawing at home to Cagliari and losing embarrassingly 3-1 at Atalanta before scraping a narrow 1-0 home success over Sampdoria.
   That victory came at a cost, though, as Mourinho copped a one match touchline ban and in-form forward Adriano was hit with a three-match ban for punching Daniele Gastaldello in the gut.
   They’ve picked up three points fewer than each of their title rivals since the New Year and Mourinho has shown signs of getting rattled.
   He has already developped a difficult relationship with Italian journalists who seem eager to provoke him and see him fail.
   Following the Atalanta defeat he was asked about Inter’s current ‘crisis’, to which he reacted defiantly, claiming every other team in the league would swap their position for Inter’s.
   But the constant criticisms seem to be getting to him as he got angered when discussing refereeing decisions following the Sampdoria victory after he was asked about an apparent foul by Inter defender Ivan Cordoba on Giampaolo Pazzini that went unpunished.
   Across the city, his counterpart at Milan, Carlo Ancelotti, is feeling relaxed and confident.
   ‘It’s turning into a great battle between us, Juve and Inter,’ he said. ‘Each team has different strengths.
   ‘Inter are based around strength, Juve on teamwork and enthusiasm and Milan on quality.
   ‘Whoever is in the best shape in the spring when the Champions League starts up again should win.’
   One of the reasons Ancelotti is feeling so good has been the impact David Beckham has had on the team since joining on loan from LA Galaxy.
   Beckham scored his first goal in a Milan shirt in Sunday’s 4-1 win at Bologna and has otherwise been unspectacular but his contribution has helped make Milan a better team.
   Ancelotti has been impressed with how quickly Beckham found his rhythm and match-fitness in Italy.
   ‘I’m patient and sometimes I do well. But I wouldn’t risk signing a player and putting him in the side after just 10 days,’ said the coach.
   ‘All the credit is his and down to his desire to play top level football. He’s done it with his feet and with his intelligence.
   ‘Will he stay? In football anything is possible. We’re not putting him under any pressure, the choice is his. Of course he knows our wish that he stays.
   ‘When the time comes that he has to return to America, it will certainly be disappointing because of the help he has been in terms of his quality and the balance he brings to the team.
   ‘His position in the midfield (on the right side of three) is ideal for him.’
   Milan host Genoa looking to gain revenge for the 2-0 defeat they suffered in their second game of the season, a result that has helped Genoa challenge for a top four finish.
   They currently hold fourth place but AS Roma, who host Palermo, are charging up behind them on the back of a 10 game spell in which they won eight times.
   Juventus have what would on paper seem a difficult match away to Udinese but the northerners have not won since October, when they topped the league.
   Since then they have lost eight and drawn three of their 11 matches, including home defeats to the bottom two, Reggina and Chievo.

Cristiano Ronaldo believes he is now part of a select breed of ‘special’ players who are worth more than £100million on the transfer market.
   Manchester United’s star performer made the bold claim in the aftermath of local rivals City’s botched attempt to sign former World Player of the Year Kaka for a record-breaking fee of £108m.
   And in a remarkable interview Ronaldo, the current World and European Player of the Year who remains a target for Real Madrid, said it is only a matter of time before a club breaks the £100m barrier to sign a box-office name like him.
   ‘Special players are maybe worth that,’ said Ronaldo. ‘I agree with that. When you are good, when you are a special player, you are more expensive than the other ones. That’s normal.
   ‘It’s like cars. Some cars are better than others, that’s why they’re more expensive. It’s the same with players. But this is only my opinion.’
   Ronaldo has struggled to repeat his heroics of last season when he plundered 42 goals.
   Despite that remarkable haul, which earned him virtually every individual award going and helped United to Premier League and Champions League success, Ronaldo gave himself only nine out of 10 for achievement.
   ‘I can’t say 10, so nine,’ said Ronaldo.
   ‘I think I can improve all the time. 10 is the maximum and I haven’t reached the maximum yet, so I’d give myself nine. I hope 10 out of 10 is to come. I believe it will.
   ‘My challenge is always to be better and better. You have to try for that. If you don’t try, you won’t win anything.
   ‘I’ll try to be as good as I was last season but it’s hard.
   ‘Some circumstances have gone against me - like at the start of the season when I was injured - but I don’t want to think about that. My form is coming back and the team are winning. That’s the most important thing. Me scoring is not important, as long as the team wins. If that happens, I win too.
   ‘I know if I keep working hard and doing the right things, my form is going to get better and better.
   ‘So I don’t worry. But this season I’d give myself eight out of 10.
   ‘Being the World Player of the Year is a great feeling. But it doesn’t change anything in my personality, my character, my ambition. I’m still the same. I want to win games, help United to win trophies. This is my ambition. If you relax it’s not good. Maybe sometimes you relax automatically, but I don’t want that.
   ‘In my head, I know and I am always thinking ‘Cristiano, you have won nothing’ and I want to carry on like that.
   ‘Sometimes I put pressure on myself, but I’m more mature now, more experienced. The games you play give you experience, and winning titles gives you these things.
   ‘I know what I have to do, I know the right things for me. That is why I’m playing at the right club, one of the biggest in the world, and winning things with my colleagues and friends.’
   Despite his sublime natural talent, Ronaldo agreed with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who claims that courage is arguably the 23-year-old’s greatest attribute.
   ‘Skill and courage are very important,’ Ronaldo told ITV. ‘If you don’t have courage, you can’t do the skills. So it’s difficult to choose between the two, because both of them are so important.
   ‘Courage is maybe more important. But I don’t think defenders are malicious when they play me.
   ‘Maybe one or two ... but 99 per cent of them are fair. I don’t fear anyone. Sometimes you have a good game or a bad game, but I don’t fear anyone.’
   Despite being one of the world’s most gifted footballers, Ronaldo claimed winning with United was far more important than entertaining the fans who come to watch him play.
   ‘I try to make people happy with the way I play,’ he said. ‘But for me, the first thing is to help the team to win.
   ‘When people come to the stadium to watch you, they want to enjoy themselves, and I try to make that happen for them. But the principle is to win. When you win, everything is good. That’s the most important thing. But I like to try to give the fans some happy moments in games.’
   He has also revealed Tiger Woods is the star he would most like to meet - then admitted he is so bad at golf he has given it up.
   Ronaldo has met his football heroes Maradona, Pele and Zidane, as well as United legends Sir Bobby Charlton and Denis Law.
   But Ronaldo said Woods, a fellow Nike client, is top of his list of sporting celebrities.
   ‘In terms of footballers, I have met everyone,’ he said. ‘But I’d like to meet Tiger Woods. He’s phenomenal.
   ‘My golf is very bad. I don’t like to play golf but I like to watch it.’

Never mind Kaka or Zinedine Zidane. When it comes to record transfers, the man with a suitcase permanently at the ready is Lutz Pfannenstiel, a globetrotting German who’s just signed for his 24th club.
   After Malaysia, Canada, Australia and Albania - to name but a few - Pfannenstiel recently headed for Norway, where last week he signed a contract as player-coach of Oslo-based third-division club Mangerud Star.
   The career of the 35-year-old goalkeeper certainly doesn’t compare to that of the world’s most expensive player, France’s Zidane, who moved from Juventus to Real Madrid for 75 million euros in 2001.
   But he has probably seen more of the world as well as experiencing at first hand the game’s underbelly.
   It has also given him, in place of a bulging trophy haul, a unique title - he is the first professional footballer to have played on the six continents defined by world governing body FIFA, which classes North and South America separately.
   ‘It’s not something that I planned. It’s all been completely by chance, but I’m proud of the record,’ said the keeper.
   However Pfannenstiel (which translates as ‘panhandle’) got very close to never leaving Germany, or even his native Bavaria at the start of his career.
   In his youth, he was capped by his country at various age levels, but at 20 he found himself at a third division club.
   He prompted interest from the Bayern Munich, but never made it beyond their reserve team. So Pfannenstiel packed his bags and started his footballing odyssey. His first stop was Penang in Malaysia.
   Then followed 23 transfers in 15 years, featuring well-known clubs, such as Wimbledon and Nottingham Forest in England, then the Orlando Pirates in South Africa, before stops in Malta, New Zealand and Brazil.
   During his travels, the ‘Phileas Fogg of football’ has found himself penniless in Armenia, faced a brush with death in 2002, following a serious collision with an opponent in England’s seventh tier, and spent three and a half months behind bars after being suspected of corruption in Singapore.
   If he hasn’t quite amassed the riches of Kaka or Zidane, Pfannenstiel still has causes close to his heart, like the fight against climate change.
   In 2009 he hopes to organise a charity match of football legends in Antarctica, the only ‘continent’ missing from his list of conquests.

Liverpool travel to Wigan hoping to get their Premier League title challenge back on track today but with off-field issues continuing to overshadow the Merseysiders’ quest for trophies.
   Sunday’s 1-1 FA Cup draw with Everton, played out against the back-drop of co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett seeking further investment, once again highlighted the issue of Robbie Keane’s position at Anfield.
   The striker is reported to have refused to attend the game after being told he would not be included in the 18-man squad.
   His 20.3 million pounds pre-season arrival from Tottenham was the second biggest fee in Liverpool’s history but the Republic of Ireland international’s impact has been limited and manager Rafael Benitez’s patience looks to be wearing thin. Keane, 28, has started just one Premier League game since the turn of the year and whether he is selected at the JJB Stadium will be seen as an indicator to the player’s Liverpool future.
   There is also continued uncertainty about Dirk Kuyt, who is seen as a key man by Benitez but is out of contract at the end of next season, as well as Daniel Agger.
   The Dane’s current deal also expires in the summer of 2010 and despite the defender publicly denying he could be on his way to AC Milan, he has revealed that Reds officials are yet to start negotiations to keep him at Anfield.
   ‘The ball is with Liverpool,’ Agger said. ‘I haven’t heard a sound from the club since the beginning of November.
   ‘There is no reason to set the expectations too high. To be honest, I have no idea if they want to sign a new deal.’ American duo Hicks and Gillett will travel to Merseyside for Sunday’s game against Chelsea when the issue of Benitez’s deal, which also runs until the summer of 2010, will be firmly back on the agenda.
   By the time they kick off at the JJB Stadium, Liverpool could be three points behind leaders Manchester United, who travel to West Brom on Tuesday.
   Benitez knows his team must improve their recent form, which has seen them drop four points in their last two league games - against Stoke and Everton - if they are to stick with Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.
   Liverpool have an impressive record against their hosts, having won on their previous three trips to their Lancashire club in the Premier League.
   Wigan, who won five out of six matches in the run-up to the turn of the year, have lost their last two.
   They must now cope without Wilson Palacios and Emile Heskey, who left for Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa respectively last week.

English Premiership club West Ham have signed Ugandan-born Germany Under-20 forward Savio Nsereko from Italian second division side Brescia.
   The 19-year-old has agreed a four-and-a-half year deal with the Hammers after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.
   Nsereko then passed a medical and, subject to international clearance, will make his debut in the Premier League clash against Hull at Upton Park on Wednesday.
   West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury told the club’s official website: ‘We are delighted to sign Savio, particularly with the fierce competition for his services across Europe.
   ‘He is an exciting prospect, who Gianfranco Zola believes will prove a valuable asset for this club now and in the years to come.
   ‘It is a significant investment and shows our determination to continue moving this club forward.’
   Savio has scored three goals in 17 games for Brescia this season and his arrival at Upton Park follows the departure from the London club of Wales striker Craig Bellamy to Premier League rivals Manchester City.

Former European footballer of the year Ronaldinho was on Monday recalled to Brazil’s squad by coach Carlos Dunga for a friendly international against Italy in London next month.
   The 28-year-old striker, also the FIFA World Player of the Year in both 2004 and 2005, is part of a Europe-based squad also including his AC Milan team-mates, midfielder Kaka, striker Alexandre Pato and keeper Thiago Silva.
   Manchester City’s Robinho and Inter Milan’s Adriano are also in the squad, adding to Dunga’s attacking options for the fixture at Arsenal’s Emirates stadium on February 10.
   Dunga called up 25-year-old Fiorentina midfielder Felipe Melo for the first time after praising the player in recent performances.
   Manchester United midfielder Anderson was also on Dunga’s list although just three days ago it was announced he would be out for three weeks with an ankle injury after being stretchered off in the League Cup semi-final win over Derby on January 20.
   Brazil squad for friendly against Italy on February 10
   Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan/ITA), Doni (AS Roma/ITA); Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan/ITA), Daniel Alves (Barcelona/ESP), Lucio (Bayern Munich/GER), Juan (AS Roma/ITA), Thiago Silva (AC Milan/ITA), Luisao (Benfica/POR), Marcelo (Real Madrid/ESP), Adriano Correia (Sevilla/ESP); Midfielders: Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos/GRE), Josue (Wolfsburg/GER), Anderson (Manchester United/ENG), Felipe Melo (Fiorentina/ITA), Elano (Manchester City/ENG), Julio Baptista (AS Roma/ITA), Ronaldinho (AC Milan/ITA), Kaka (AC Milan/ITA); Strikers: Alexandre Pato (AC Milan/ITA), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla/ESP), Adriano (Inter Milan/ITA), Robinho (Manchester City/ENG).

A group of up to eight international investors is mulling a bid for British Premier League club FC Chelsea, one of the investors has told Reuters.
   Holger Heims, a German investment manager at Falcon Equity, said in an interview that he and a group of six to seven other investors from Europe, the Middle East and Asia were preparing a takeover offer for the club, which is home to the captain of the German national team, Michael Ballack.
   Sulaiman al-Fahim, board member of Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, which last year bought British club Manchester City, was also part of the group, Heims said.
   Speculation has emerged that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the man who has bankrolled Chelsea’s most successful period since their formation in 1905, may have fallen out of love with the boys in blue.
   Heims declined to say how much the group was prepared to pay for Chelsea but said the investment had to add up in the medium to long run.
   Germany’s tabloid Bild paper reported earlier a possible price tag of 770 million euros ($1.01 billion).
   So far there had not been any talks with Abramovich, Heims said. ‘We have no intention of launching a hostile takeover. This is only possible as a friendly deal,’ Heims said.
   Heims aims to push the Chelsea brand further and sees strong growth potential in Asia and the Arab world, he said.

Chelsea will go into today’s Premier League clash against strugglers Middlesbrough looking to keep up the pressure on league leaders Manchester United and second-placed Liverpool.
   Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari will have one eye on Sunday’s summit clash with the Merseysiders as he attempts to prolong the Blues’ promising recent run of three straight victories.
   Chelsea’s humiliating 3-0 reverse to United at Old Trafford on January 11 saw many write off their title ambitions but their encouraging form since, which left them two points behind the leading duo heading into this week’s matches, will have given their fans new belief.
   Scolari’s side managed a comfortable 3-1 home win over mid-table Championship side Ipswich Town in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday thanks to two goals from Germany midfielder Michael Ballack.
   Not that he was getting carried away ahead of Wednesday’s match.
   ‘We have dropped too many points at home and we have to be careful,’ Ballack warned.
   Chelsea will have to do without Carlo Cudicini for Wednesday’s clash after Tottenham signed the club’s reserve goalkeeper on a free transfer on Monday.
   Middlesbrough also made it through to the last 16 of the FA Cup on Saturday with a 2-1 win at Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.
   The result, thanks to a late winner from Dutch striker Marvin Emnes, eased the pressure on Boro boss Gareth Southgate, whose side are rooted in the bottom three after a dreadful run of 10 league games without a win.
   The Teessiders’ last Premier League outing ended in a 3-0 thumping at bottom club West Bromwich Albion and Southgate may turn to new signing Marlon King in his search for a greater goal threat.
   The on-loan striker, who joined the club from Wigan last week, could replace Brazilian frontman Afonso Alves who is struggling with an Achilles injury sustained during Boro’s win at Wolves.
   ‘He was raked down the side of his Achilles so we took him off,’ Southgate told Middlesbrough’s Evening Gazette newspaper.
   ‘We need to see what reaction he gets but we hope he will be fit because he is playing well and scoring goals.
   ‘Marlon is fully fit. He’s been playing regularly and we can slot him in without any worries.’
   Left-back Andrew Taylor hobbled off early on in Saturday’s game and Mohamed Shawky is also doubtful after coming off at half-time with a hamstring problem, while Julio Arca is suffering from a virus.
   Matthew Bates, who came on as a stop-gap midfielder in the second-half at Molineux, could be handed the job from the start at Chelsea.
   However, Southgate will not have the option of turning to Ben Watson after Wigan Athletic signed the Crystal Palace midfielder from under Boro’s noses.
   The Latics paid an estimated two million pounds for the former England Under-21 international, the same figure Middlesbrough had seen accepted last Thursday before Watson underwent a medical and the deal collapsed.
   ‘It’s disappointing to see Ben go to Wigan because we have put a couple of months into trying to make it happen,’ said Southgate.

Carlo Cudicini is eager to revive his football career after moving across London on Monday to join Tottenham Hotspur from Premier League rivals Chelsea on a free transfer.
   The 35-year-old Italian goalkeeper will provide competition for the error prone Heurelho Gomes.
   Cudicini, who had been at Stamford Bridge since 1999 and was Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper until Petr Cech joined the west London club in 2004, told Spurs TV Online: ‘I met Heurelho Gomes and Ben (Alnwick) so it will be fantastic to work with them and we’ll try to push each other.
   ‘I think it will be a fair competition and that is good for the team.
   ‘At this moment the team is not in the best position but it doesn’t matter - I’m here to bring some experience and try to push this club forward.’
   Brazilian Gomes is currently struggling with injury and Cudicini could make his debut in Tuesday’s match against Stoke - one of five clubs along with Spurs struggling at the foot of the table on 16 points.
   But Cudicini insisted he’d no regrets about arriving at a team struggling to avoid relegation from one still in contention for the title.
   ‘It’s five months until the end of the season and we have to fight in every game to get out of this situation as soon as possible,’ he said.
   ‘I hope I bring some points,’ Cudicini added. ‘I’m really happy with this choice. This was the time to find a new challenge and push for other success - and for the club as well.
   ‘I was at Chelsea for 10 years - nearly a third of my life. It was a fantastic experience but now we move forward.’
   Cudicini, the son of a former AC Milan goalkeeper, originally joined Chelsea on a year-long loan from Castel di Sangro and made his move permanent in 2000.
   His time with Chelsea saw him help the Blues win two Premier League titles, two FA Cup and two League Cups.
   Despite Spurs spending most of the season battling to avoid the drop neither Alnwick nor Cesar Sanchez (released last week) has been able to displace Gomes, a seven million pounds pre-season signing from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven.
   However, Cudicini said his time at White Hart Lane had begun in ideal fashion after he encountered a legendary Spurs shot-stopper.
   ‘I met a great goalkeeper on the first morning - Pat Jennings. That was a fantastic start.’

Veteran Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs could win England’s Player of the Year award this season if he maintains his dazzling form, his manager Alex Ferguson said on Monday.
   Despite recently turning 35, Giggs is still regarded as a match-winner by Ferguson whose injury-hit side can move three points clear in the Premier League with victory at West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday.
   ‘He could win the Footballer of the Year award,’ Ferguson told United’s website (www.manutd.com) on Monday. ‘And it would be fitting if he did after the career he has had.’
   With a long injury list including Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves, the experience of players like Giggs and Paul Scholes will be invaluable as United seek their third title in a row.
   ‘Ryan will be offered a new contract, of course,’ Ferguson said. ‘He has been fantastic for us this season—he seems to be getting even better with age.
   ‘He seems to be one of those rare people who find that age and injuries don’t catch up with them.’
   Giggs, who broke United’s record for appearances in last season’s Champions League final, has 10 league winners’ medals amongst a sackful of silverware and knows the value of eking out victories in potentially tricky away games.
   ‘We’ve just got to approach every match with the right attitude otherwise we’ll get beaten,’ Giggs said.
   ‘We’re just focused on getting the three points and staying top. Once you hit the front you want to stay there and that’s definitely our aim.’

Paul Scholes insists he will give it his all for Manchester United until he eventually hangs up his boots.
   The veteran midefielder, 34, is determined his last couple of years at Old Trafford will not be spent winding down towards retirement.
   He said: ‘My desire to win more trophies is still strong. Manchester United is a massive club that demands that you win things.
   ‘If you are just happy to go along and not earn medals there is no point in you being here.
   ‘We are almost at the end of January now and in a great position to be successful this season. Hopefully we can see it through.’
   Scholes has revealed his game has changed as time has caught up with him.
   Despite a thunderous strike sealing the Champions League semi-final last season, the former England ace believes a more deep-lying role is his best now. He added: ‘As you get older, you don’t play as often which is the manager’s way of looking after you and getting the best out of you.
   ‘I don’t go forward or score goals like I used to or would like to. We probably saw the end of those bursts into the penalty area about two years ago.
   ‘It is just one of those things and something you have to accept.
   ‘I know the end is not too far away for me but as long as I am here I will just try my best to help the team in whatever way I can.’

Game by game and piece by piece, Arsenal are beginning to stitch their tattered season back together.
   The north Londoners’ recent performances may have lacked some of their renowned swagger, but for the moment manager Arsene Wenger is not complaining.
   An eight-game unbeaten run is the club’s best of the season and such consistency is welcome given the way they scaled euphoric highs and plunged to desperate lows earlier in the campaign.
   There is still work to be done - the Gunners may be undefeated since December 10 but they have been held to four draws since then - and a trip to Everton today will test the side’s new-found resolve, but at least foundations have been laid for a late-season charge.
   Arsenal, currently fifth in the table to Everton’s sixth, can ill afford any slip-ups.
   With Aston Villa showing no sign of losing momentum in their own quest to break into the English Premier League’s top four, any dropped points could be decisive in the final reckoning.
   Indeed, for all the talk of Villa gatecrashing the established elite, it has been rather overlooked that Everton themselves could draw to within two points of Arsenal with a win at Goodison Park.

Juande Ramos has accused Tottenham of prioritising money over success during his time at White Hart Lane.
   The Spaniard left Spurs in October last year after overseeing the club’s worst-ever start to a campaign, as his side took just two points from eight games.
   Ramos has since landed the Real Madrid job but looks back on his time in north London with misgivings.
   ‘The club sold (Dimitar) Berbatov and (Robbie) Keane and everything went down,’ said Ramos in The Sun.
   ‘They preferred money ahead of competitiveness.’
   But Ramos has fond memories of his time with Tottenham, adding: ‘It was a short experience but intense.
   ‘To play and win the Carling Cup final in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley singing the national anthem and against a great team like Chelsea was extraordinary.’

Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has played down talk of a treble this season, insisting that winning the Primera Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey will be ‘very difficult’.
   With 26 wins and only three defeats in their 33 competitive matches so far this term, Barca are looking unstoppable and it is no surprise to hear talk of the Catalan giants claiming a trophy hat-trick at the end of the campaign.
   However, Puyol is preaching caution, pointing out there is still a long way to go before they claim even one title, let alone three.
   ‘We are aware that this (the treble) is all a long way off and we still haven’t won anything. The treble is very difficult. For example, in the cup you have a bad game and you are out,’ Puyol told Radio Marca.
   The Spain centre-back did have a word of warning for rival teams expecting Barca to go through a sticky spell in the coming months though, suggesting they may have already had theirs.
   ‘All teams go through bad patches yes, (but) we’ve already been through ours, in the first two weeks of the season when we lost and we drew,’ said Puyol, referring to the early matches against Numancia and Racing Santander. Puyol insists Barca are not underestimating the threat still posed by arch rivals Madrid though, with the two-time reigning champions enjoying a resurgence under new coach Juande Ramos.

Danish international midfielder Thomas Gravesen, reknowned for his combative style of play, has retired from football at the age of 32.
   ‘I have spent some extraordinary years abroad, I have played and lived in four countries,’ said the Dane who played for Hamburg, Everton, Real Madrid and Celtic during his career.
   ‘But I’m 32 years old, 33 in March, so before age and health force my hand, I have opted to take the decision to stop myself.’
   Gravesen called an end to his international playing days in 2006, having scored five goals in 66 games for Denmark.

Argentine international Javier Saviola is set to join Portsmouth on loan.
   Saviola has snubbed offers from Newcastle and Everton after being persuaded by boss Tony Adams to help out the south coast club in their relegation fight.
   The 27-year-old will watch Portsmouth’s Premier League home game with Aston Villa from the Fratton Park stands before sealing a six-month deal.
   Saviola becomes Portsmouth’s sixth signing of the January window and follows the captures of West Ham midfielder Hayden Mullins and Porto youngster Pele.
   Manager Adams, who admits looking at 150 players, said: ‘I would still like a midfielder and a striker and hopefully we can get them in this week. We need some bodies.
   ‘We have a budget here. I do not have £40 million pounds to spend and most of my work will be done in the summer.’
   Mullins, 29, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract after Portsmouth agreed a £1 million pounds fee with West Ham.
   Attacking midfielder Pele, 19, joins on a six-month loan.
   Former Barcelona and River Plate striker Saviola, nicknamed the little Rabbit, has scored 12 goals in 44 games for Argentina but has made only 16 appearances since joining Madrid in 2007.

Striker David Trezeguet has dropped plans to come out of international retirement, saying he will never play for France again.
   ‘For me, Les Bleus, it’s over for good,’ the 31-year-old, who said last month he was considering a return after announcing his international retirement in July last year, told France Football magazine in an interview published on Tuesday.
   Trezeguet, back in training with Juventus after knee surgery in September, said he was ready to resume playing at club level.
   ‘I’m waiting for a sign from the coach,’ he said. ‘I can’t say I’m at 100 per cent yet but I’m ready to play.’
   As for France, Trezeguet, who has a difficult relationship with national team coach Raymond Domenech and has often been overlooked by him, said he would not change his mind again.
   ‘During my injury, I’ve had time to think about it and analyse what happened during the last four years with Domenech,’ said Trezeguet, whose last appearance for his country was in a 1-0 win over England in March last year.
   ‘My decision is clear and irrevocable,’ he added.

AC Milan are willing to pay a £4.5m transfer fee for David Beckham to remain at the San Siro but, according to chief executive Adriano Galliani, LA Galaxy are yet to agree to a deal.
   David Beckham celebrated his first goal as a Serie A player at the weekend.
   Beckham’s five-year deal with the MLS club has a break clause inserted that means he can leave California for free in October. Milan aim to offer cash to tempt Galaxy to allow the 33-year-old to stay in Italy. Reports in England suggest that Milan, having held discussions with his American club believe that £4.5m will be enough to get that clause activated.
   ‘If Beckham comes to an agreement with Galaxy, we are ready to pay a figure. In the coming days we will meet his advisors,’ Galliani told Sky Sport 24.
   ‘If Los Angeles Galaxy decide not to sell him, they won’t sell him.’
   ‘The player wants to stay with us but even he knows he must return to America.’
   Beckham, who moved to Milan to prove his fitness to England boss Fabio Capello, has been a first-choice starter for the Rossoneri and grabbed his first goal at the weekend in a 4-1 rout of Bologna.
   His post-match press conference seemed to open the door of an extension of his stay and manager Carlo Ancelotti and Milan owner and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi have both spoken of his readiness to retain the former England captain.
   British tabloid reports suggest wife Victoria is less keen on staying in Italy and does not want to uproot their three sons after their previous spell in a non-English speaking country with Real Madrid.
   Galliani said Milan would be willing to soften the blow of any loss in earnings if Beckham broke his a highly lucrative deal with Galaxy and MLS.