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A century, a hat-trick and an upset marked the third round of the Premier Twenty20 League as Mohammedan SC and Khelaghar SKS took a giant leap towards the semi-finals after winning their third consecutive matches on Friday.
   Opener Ejaz Ahmed became the first cricketer to strike a century while pacer Mohammad Sharif put ice on the cake as Victoria SC recorded their first victory with a 59-run thrashing of BKSP.
   However, the four-run victory of Khelaghar against Biman Bangladesh Airlines was perhaps more significant as the newcomers in the competition now can realistically hope to play in the semi-final.
   
   Biman v Khelaghar
   Left-arm spinner Monirul Islam claimed 5-27 as newcomers Khelaghar beat Biman by four runs dramatically. Asked to bat first, Khelaghar were restricted to 95-9, but in the end Monirul proved it enough for a win.
   Biman were set a revised target of 89 runs in 18 overs after rain intervened, but they could score only 84-9 and that too was possible for a resilient 10th-wicket partnership between Tarek Aziz and Shafiul Islam.
   After they lost their ninth wicket for 59 runs, the undefeated last-wicket pair added 25 runs to give the match some excitement. Number 11 batsman Tarek was unbeaten on 19.
   
   Mohammedan v Partex
   Pace bowler Delwar Hossain set up the easy win for Mohammedan with a devastating spell of 5-10 as Partex were all out for 85 runs in 19.3 overs in the first match at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium.
   Rezaul Karim made highest 31 runs for Partex.
   Mohammedan faced little problem to overhaul the total as they cruised to 88-3 in 12.4 overs despite their in-form opener Tamim Iqbal failed to deliver in this match. After Tamim got out for four, Aftab Ahmed and Shamsur Rahman put on 45 runs for the second wicket.
   Aftab made a run-a-ball 36 while Shamsur chipped in with 21 off 19 balls. Marshall Ayub was unbeaten on 17 at the end.
   
   Victoria v BKSP
   Ejaz single-handedly guided Victoria to 134-7 as he contributed three-fourths of their total with his first century of the competition. It was such a one-man show that while Ejaz made 101 from 73 balls, no other Victoria batsman could reach double figures.
   Pacer Mohammad Sharif later shared some his glory as he took two wickets in the fifth and sixth balls of his first over and then removed the third batsman with the first ball of his second over that made him the first bowler to earn a hat-trick in the tournament. His four wickets for seven runs helped Victoria dismiss BKSP for a meagre 75 runs.
   
   Old DOHS v Kalabagan
   Kalabagan emerged winners by a clear margin of 23 runs after they had scored 79 runs in the rain-shortened nine-over-a-side game at the Fatullah Stadium. Opener Nazmus Sadat scored 24 runs and then took three wickets for as many runs to set up the win as DOHS were restricted to 56-8.
   
   Surjo Tarun v CCS
   Opener Uttam Sarkar smashed 82 off 60 balls to help CCS record a narrow three-run win, their first in the competition, over Surjo Tarun. Courtsey of the innings of Uttam, CCS gathered 134-5 before they restricted Surjo Tarun to 131-9. Imtiaz Hossain scored 46 for Surjo Tarun.

Holders Mohammedan SC are in desperate need to shrug off their quarter-final jitters to advance to the final of the Citycell Federation Cup when they take on spirited Feni Soccer Club in the first semi-final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today.
   Mohammedan had little trouble in making the knockout phase scoring as many as 19 goals in three group matches but then faced a tough challenge against Shuktara Jubo Sangsad of Narayanganj in the quarter-final and had to thank their luck for the penalty shootout win.
   Mohammedan had routed Feni Soccer 4-0 in the group phase but their coach Maruful Haq prefers to take the semi-final as a fresh one instead of dwelling on the past.
   ‘We played against them almost five weeks ago, so there is no point to be complacent at his stage. Certainly they (Feni Soccer) have improved a lot in the meantime,’ Maruf old reporters on Friday.
   Maruf also hoped that their performance against Shuktara Club would not affect his players’ motivation. He wanted to create a feeling among the players that it was a bad day for them.
   Maruf also takes confidence from his strike duo, Alamu Bukola Olaleken and Zahid Hasan Emily, who both have found the back of net in all four matches and are currently topping the goalscorers’ list with seven goals each.
   ‘Scoring at least a goal in all four previous matches, I am feeling much confident now. Hopefully I will do it again in the semi-final,’ said Emily.
   Even Feni Soccer coach Zahidur Rahman Milon said stopping Emily from scoring of a goal will be hard job for his team. Milon had no hesitation to say his team will go into the match as clear underdogs.

Michael Clarke will take over as captain of Australia’s Twenty20 team from Ricky Ponting, Cricket Australia said on Friday.
   It follows Ponting’s decision last month to step down from international Twenty20 cricket and concentrate on leading Australia in Test and one-day cricket.
   Cameron White will be Clarke’s vice-captain, Cricket Australia said.
   ‘I’ve learnt a lot from Ricky Ponting over the last few years and I’ll continue to learn from him,’ Clarke said in a CA statement.
   ‘I’m really excited to lead Australia in the newest form of the game.
   ‘We’ve got a young and enthusiastic group but we must recognise that we’ve got a lot of work to do in T20 cricket and our recent form hasn’t been good.
   ‘We’ll target the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean next year and I feel we have plenty of talent to genuinely mount a challenge in that tournament.’
   Ponting said that Clarke as his deputy had grown into the leadership role.
   ‘We have developed a strong working relationship and he has always led the team well in my absence,’ Ponting said in the statement.
   ‘I am sure he will do a very good job with the T20 team and I congratulate him and Cameron White on their appointments.’
   CA chief executive James Sutherland also announced that Andrew Hilditch had been reappointed Chairman of the National Selection Panel through to the end of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Little clarity has emerged from two key meetings within the Pakistan Cricket Board centering around the future of Younus Khan as captain of Pakistan.
   Younus met Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, on Thursday in Lahore and Butt then presided over a meeting on Friday with the chairman of selectors, Iqbal Qasim, the coach Intikhab Alam, the team manager Yawar Saeed, associate manager Shafqat Rana, and the team’s vice-captain Shahid Afridi. Younus had been invited, but had informed the chairman that he would not be able to make it.
   The PCB was unwilling to make any official comment on the conclusions of either meeting, save to say that a final announcement will be made ‘in the next couple of days.’ That is likely to be on Monday, after Butt meets the PCB governing board and discusses the matter with them as well. ‘We will make an announcement soon,’ Butt told Cricinfo. ‘I will not comment on either meeting but will say only that today’s meeting was a regular debriefing of the kind we hold after big series and tournaments. We wanted to address issues and concerns arising out of the Champions Trophy. Younus had told me he would not be able to attend so there is nothing in his absence.’
   At least one board official, closely monitoring the situation - which arose with Younus’ resignation at a National Assembly hearing looking into match-fixing allegations earlier this week - is privately confident that Younus will return. ‘The meeting with the chairman went fairly well yesterday from what I know. Younus told him what he would like and they are fairly just requests, so I expect they will be accepted and he will return,’ the official told Cricinfo.
   Reports in local media yesterday said that Younus had asked for a guarantee of his captaincy tenure till the 2011 World Cup, but both the official and sources close to Younus have denied such a demand was made. ‘He is realistic enough to know that such a long-term assurance is not possible in Pakistan,’ the official said. ‘But he does want the board to announce him captain for longer than just on a series-by-series basis. Maybe for the next six months or so, but more than a specific time he just wants some stability so he can plan how his team will be and how it should play.’
   The other matter supposedly discussed at Younus’ meeting with Butt is possibly more telling. Younus, it is believed, wants to streamline the process of selecting the final XI; during the Champions Trophy, as many as five people were often involved in selection, including the captain, vice-captain, coach, manager and associate manager. Younus wants the panel to be reduced: captain, coach and a member of the selection committee at home and captain and coach on overseas tours.
   Friday’s meeting is believed to have discussed these conditions. Additionally, Qasim wants senior players in the team to have a meeting among themselves, to clear the air so to speak, over issues that have been floating around the team since Younus took over. Even though the board has denied it, speculation over the role of a lobby, led by Shoaib Malik, and Afridi’s own desire to be captain, in trying to undermine Younus’ authority is rife.
   There are those close to Younus who believe, however, that the situation remains 50-50. ‘The conditions he has laid down at the meeting are things he has been requesting over the last 6-8 months. Not much has emerged about how the meeting with the chairman went but those two conditions were laid out. If the board doesn’t agree to them, or compromises further on it, I can’t see Younus changing his mind and coming back.’

Biplob Ram of Bangladesh won the rain-interrupted Prime Bank ATF Under-14 Tennis singles final with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 drubbing of his compatriot Rustam Ali at the National Tennis Complex on Friday.
   Biplob had lost the first set and had been trailing 3-5 in the second set when rain halted the game on Thursday, but he came back strongly to win the next two sets to become the first Bangladeshi player to win a singles trophy in an international tournament.
   Biplop started the competition as an unseeded player and was clearly an underdog against Rustam, the recently crowned junior champion, who won the doubles trophy. In the doubles final, Rustam and his Indian partner Dhankar Shaurya of India had defeated Biplob and Jamil Bhuyian.

The visiting England Under-19 team were restricted to 124 for five by the Bangladesh Under-19 on the rain-hit opening day of the four-day match at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium on Friday.
   After a 64-run opening stand, leg-spinner Sabbir Rahman earned the first breakthrough for Bangladesh taking the wicket of Joe Root (21) and two overs later skipper Mahmudul Hasan removed his opening partner Chris Dent (45).
   However, the pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers was another leg-spinner, Noor Hossain, who triggered England’s middle-order collapse to finish with 3-25 before the umpires called off the day’s play due to rain.
   The match is a part of build-up for the England and Bangladesh Under-19 teams ahead of the Junior World Cup in New Zealand in January. The two teams will play seven one-day matches after the end of the four-dayer.

Indian Cricket League returnee Shahriar Nafees scored a solid half-century to guide Gazi Tank Cricketers to a seven-wicket wicket victory against Abahani in the first big match of the Premier Twenty20 League on Friday.
   Shahriar, with his 57 off 50 balls that included four fours and three sixes, entertained nearly 10,000 holiday crowd who gathered at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium to watch the game under floodlights that promised a lot but in end provided very little competition.
   After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Abahani made a terrific start amassing 77 runs in the opening stand inside 10 overs but were eventually restricted to 110 runs to surrender meekly. The starting of Gazi was, however, exactly opposite.
   The last year’s runners-up side lost their first three wickets for 31 runs and managed only 46 runs in the first 10 overs that cast a serious doubt on their chance of winning the match.
   But an 80-run partnership between Nafees and Naeem Islam lifted them to 111-3 with five balls still to go. They have now won three matches on the trot that took them to the brink of semi-finals. Naeem was unbeaten on 32 facing 37 balls.
   Earlier, opener Imrul Kayes and Rony Talukder signalled a big total for Abahani but Gazi Tanks came back strongly once Abdur Razzak earned them the first breakthrough in 9.5 overs dismissing the latter for 20.
   The biggest wicket, however, went to the account of Alok Kapali, who bowled a dangerous-looking Imrul Kayes to take the momentum away from Abahani. Imrul scored 64 off 49 balls that included two fours and seven sixes, most of which were hit through the square leg area.
   Razzak and Sohrwardi Shuvo claimed three wickets each while Kapali scalped two wickets to leave Abahani with a little chance.

Six new records were set on the second day of the 25th National Age-group Swimming Championships at the National Swimming Complex at Mirpur on Friday.
   Jewel Ahmed of Bangladesh Ansar set two individual marks in 200 metre butterfly and 400m individual medley of the boys’ 15-17 age group winning the events with a timing of 2:21:28 and 5:11:18 seconds respectively to eclipse the previous records of 2:28:44 and 5:21:00sec.
   In the boys’ 200m freestyle of the 15-17 years section, Palash Chowdrury of the BKSP created a new record clocking 2:10:71sec breaking the previous record of 2:13:34.
   Babita Akhter of Bangladesh Ansar clocked 3:01:91sec in the 200m backstroke of the girls’ 18-20 age level to make a new record erasing the previous mark of 3:02:25sec.
   In the girls’ 11-12 year group’ 200m freestyle, Nazma Khatun of Bangladesh Ansar broke the previous timing of 2:44:97sec by crossing the distance in 2:36:99sec.
   In the 1500m freestyle for the boys of 18-20 years, Md Al-Amin of the BKSP clocked 19:51:72sec to win the title.
   At the end of the second day, Bangladesh Ansar were leading the medals table with 17 golds, 11 silvers and 9 bronzes followed by the BKSP who earned 14 gold, 14 silver and 11 bronze medals.

Two new national records were set in the 10th National Summer Athletic Competition that was held on the synthetic track at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Friday after a gap of four years.
   Sajib Hossain of BKSP created the first record in the high jump event clearing 2.04 metres, which improved the previous record by 0.02 metre. Sunita Rani of Bangladesh Jail made the other record clocking 13.08 seconds in the 100m hurdle.
   A total of 457 athletes from 63 different organisations participated in the meet, which provided the Bangladeshi athletes their last competition before the SA Games, scheduled to be held in Dhaka in January-February.
   ASM Ali Kabir, the president of the Bangladesh Athletics Federation, inaugurated the meet in the afternoon.

Brett Lee expects Australia to find it difficult to stamp their authority in the forthcoming ODI series against India despite their recent successes in the format. They beat England 6-1 and went on to win the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa without dropping a game.
   ‘You could put the favourites tag on the Australian team if we were playing somewhere else but, regardless of what has happened in the past, it doesn’t really count when we are playing in India,’ Lee said in Hyderabad, where he is part of the New South Wales team for the Champions League Twenty20. Lee said Australia played some ‘really, really good cricket’ to confirm their status as the No. 1 team but playing India at home was always an uphill task.
   ‘We have to make sure we play our best cricket and of course that experience and momentum will filter on after those last two one-day tournaments we have played and hopefully enable us to play some decent cricket.’
   India made early exits from the World Twenty20 in England and the Champions Trophy in South Africa after injuries to key players like Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh forced them to field weaker sides in those events. Sehwag and Yuvraj are now fit and Lee said their return would make it tough for the visitors.
   ‘They are a very, very unpredictable side in the nicest way possible and are capable of beating any side on their day. It is a going to be an extremely tough series and I say that based on the experience of having played here.’
   Lee said the pitches would no longer favour the home side completely. ‘We are now used to playing on low, slow turning wickets and some of the players have played on such pitches during the Champions League.’
   The previous ODI series between the sides in India served as evidence to Lee’s point: Australia beat India 4-2 as Andrew Symonds, Brad Haddin and Mathew Hayden easily overcame the home challenge. But there are only four members from that squad - Ricky Ponting, Mitchell Johnson, James Hopes and Lee - on this trip. But Lee is not worried. ‘Some of us are playing the Champions League. It is a perfect entrée into the series,’ he said.
   Lee, who missed the Ashes after picking up an injury at the start of the series, made a successful return, taking 14 wickets in the seven-match series against England, including a five-for at Lord’s. ‘I will never stop bowling fast,’ Lee said. ‘I want my Test spot back. I want to be able to take that new ball for Australia in Brisbane.’

Frenchman Gilles Simon put up a fight before second seed Novak Djokovic struggled through into his second straight semi-final in China with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 win at the Shanghai Masters Friday.
   Second seed Djokovic backed up his Beijing title of last weekend as he overcame stiff resistance to advance into the last four, with Simon saving a pair of match points.
   The Serb broke to start the opening set before Simon, winner of the Bangkok title last month, retaliated by taking the second.
   A run of breaks in the third finally ended with Djokovic taking a 4-2 lead on his way to a semi-final spot in his fifth Masters 1000 of the season.
   Nikolay Davydenko moved closer to a spot in next month’s season-ending showpiece in London with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 defeat of Radek Stepanek in his quarter final.
   The Russian sixth seed, who missed three months of the season with injuries but has still reached a dozen quarter-finals in 2009, leapfrogged Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez to currently stand a provisional ninth in the race to the World Tour Finals.
   Three places remain up for grabs in the eight-man field with a month of the regular ATP season to go.
   Davydenko, aged 28, next faces Djokovic standing 0-3 in the series.
   Spain’s unseeded Feliciano Lopez continued his winning streak of the season, producing his best showing of 2009 for a place in the final four with an upset of ninth seed Robin Soderling 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
   The Swede, who played the Roland Garros final against Roger Federer, led 4-2 in the opening set before Lopez, 28 and ranked 41st, seized the momentum for the win in 94 minutes with three breaks of serve and 30 unforced errors by Soderling. Lopez could next face fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal if the top seed goes past Ivan Ljubicic later.
   Davydenko regained control against 13th-seed Stepanek after the 30-year-old Czech won the second set to pull level.
   Davydenko re-established his dominance in the final set as he broke twice and went through on his first match point after just over two hours at the Qi Zhong complex.
   ‘Stepanek changed the game in the second set. He started to better return and play better from the baseline. He’s very difficult to play, so unpredictable. You never know what he will do in a match.’
   The Russian is trying to complete the autumn Asian swing with a second title after lifting his third of the season in Kuala Lumpur a fortnight ago.
   ‘I’ve had good results in Asia for three weeks,’ he said. ‘I still have three more tournaments this season. I hope I can play well (at the final Masters 1000 of the season) at Paris Bercy and defend my semi-final there.’

David Beckham has set his sights on helping England win the 2010 World Cup as well as lending his support to the country’s bid to host the 2018 edition of the tournament.
   Beckham revealed he will take up a role as an official ambassador for the bid in an attempt to convince the FIFA executive committee to award England a first World Cup since 1966.
   The former Manchester United midfielder was speaking just days after FIFA vice-president Jack Warner insisted the English bid team must take advantage of Beckham’s popularity in the same way London did to help win the 2012 Olympics.
   Beckham, 34, plans to attend the draw for next year’s World Cup in Cape Town in December and will spend much of the trip trying to win over FIFA’s 24-man voting panel ahead of their final decision on the 2018 host, which will be made in December 2010.
   ‘Everyone has their opinions and say things that we need to do,’ Beckham said of Warner’s criticism. ‘We need to take that on board. It’s not something that you just dismiss.
   ‘You have to take advice and criticism from people because you learn from that.
   ‘You have to learn from people who have high ranking and know a lot about it. That’s been where the criticism has come from so we take that on board and we have to learn from things.
   ‘And we will do because we are not expecting this - we want to get it. We’re not taking anything for granted.
   ‘We have the people there and we are serious about this bid. It’s not something we’re taking lightly.
   ‘Just because we are England, love the game and we’re one of the biggest nations for the game, it doesn’t mean we are taking this bid lightly.’
   Beckham’s involvement will be limited for several months by his playing commitments for LA Galaxy but he will help when he can.
   ‘If I can fly to different countries and help us have a chance of getting this then I’ll do that,’ he said.
   ‘I was honoured to be involved in the Olympic bid and we were successful there and I was asked to be an ambassador of this one. So of course I accepted it and I’m serious about it.
   ‘But obviously I’m still playing as well so it’s difficult for me to go to different places but given the MLS season ends in November, I’ll be in South Africa in December (for the World Cup draw).’ The ideal scenario would be to win the World Cup in South Africa next year, then help England earn the right to host the tournament in 2018.
   ‘It’s everyone’s dream to do that but there is a lot of hard work for both,’ he said.

There promises to be a battle royal in the Bundesliga this evening as the league’s top two sides Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen square off in the Hanseatic City.
   League-leaders Leverkusen only hold top spot by virtue of a superior goal difference and both sides at the HSH Nordbank Arena will be defending an unbeaten record after eight games.
   Hamburg have lost several stars with knee injuries as defenders Alex Silva, Collin Benjamin and Miroslav Stepanek plus striker Paolo Guerrero have all suffered torn cruciate knee ligaments and are out for a number of weeks.
   Defender Bastian Reinhardt, foot, and forward Mladen Petric, ankle, are also ruled out for the rest of the first half of the current campaign.
   But Hamburg are still in good form and ex-Bayern Munich midfielder Ze Roberto has had a new lease of life since quitting the Isar for the Alster and has been a big part of their success this season.
   With David Jarolim playing as a holding midfielder, the Brazilian is able to spear-head attacks and has earned a good return with four goals and three assists so far.
   Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia certainly has a strong group of players to choose from.
   ‘We want to enjoy playing football and entertain the fans but we are well aware of the level of expectation in Hamburg,’ said Labbadia.
   ‘Our aim is to qualify for Europe.’
   Leverkusen hammered Nuremberg 4-0 in their last Bundesliga game and striker Steffan Kiessling says both sides have earned the right to lead the German league.
   ‘Both sides have concentrated hard from the start and played to their full potential,’ said the Germany forward.
   ‘Other teams have not fared so well, but I do not think it will remain as just a duel between two sides.’
   Bayern Munich look set to welcome back Dutch stars Mark van Bommel and Arjen Robben for today’s trip to Freiburg, while Italy’s Luca Toni could also feature for the first time this season.
   A broken big toe and ruptured tendon in his left foot kept van Bommel on the sidelines for nine weeks, but, along with Toni, he completed a 60-minute comeback for the reserves away to Jahn Regensburg on Tuesday.
   Coach Louis van Gaal also said winger Robben could be in the squad for Freiburg having made a faster than expected return from the knee operation he had just two weeks ago.
   ‘He has come back terribly quickly,’ said van Gaal with Bayern eighth in the league.
   ‘Arjen is doing well and I think he will sit on the bank on Saturday.’
   But van Gaal must do without the services of Franck Ribery who is still labouring with a knee injury.
   
   Fixtures
   Saturday
   VfB Stuttgart v Schalke 04
   Werder Bremen v Hoffenheim
   Cologne v Mainz 05
   Eintracht Frankfurt v Hanover 96
   Freiburg v Bayern Munich
   Nuremburg v Hertha Berlin
   Hamburg v Bayer Leverkusen
   
   Sunday
   VfL Wolfsburg v Borussia M’gladbach
   Borussia Dortmund v VfL Bochum

Zinedine Zidane is all set to work for Real Madrid for free, according to sports daily Marca on Friday. Marca states that Zidane, 37, will be part of Real’s ‘football committee’ from next week onwards, though it is not clear exactly what his role will be.
   He will be present on Saturday for the home game against Valladolid, and will travel with the team for important away games.
   According to AS, the former French idol ‘will not have an office or a salary’ but ‘has put himself at the disposal of the directors’ to help them with football issues.
   Florentino Perez was expected to name Zidane as a special ‘football advisor’ when he returned as Real president four months ago, but such an official announcement has still not been made.
   Perez broke the world transfer record to sign Zidane from Juventus in 2001 and the Frenchman entered Real folklore with his spectacular winning goal in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen.
   He played on for Real until he retired from football in 2006, at the age of 34.

Diego Maradona’s sexually-explicit, foul-mouthed rant at his growing army of media critics, which overshadowed Argentina’s World Cup qualification, drew a scathing response on Thursday.
   Maradona had just overseen a 1-0 win over Uruguay in Montevideo which allowed the two-time world champions to squeeze nervously into the 2010 finals in South Africa when months of simmering rage finally boiled over.
   ‘There were those who did not believe in this team and who treated me as less than nothing,’ said Maradona, whose team had endured a chaotic, lacklustre qualifying campaign.
   ‘Today we are in the World Cup finals with help from nobody but with honour. To all of you who did not believe in us, and I apologise to all the women here, you can suck it and keep sucking it,’ he added, repeating the phrase.
   Maradona, 48, a sporting icon in Argentina after skippering the 1986 World Cup winning team, enjoyed a honeymoon period at the start of his coaching reign before the knives began to be sharpened.
   He was widely pilloried for the record 6-1 World Cup qualifier defeat in Bolivia and his relationship with the country’s soccer-obsessed sports media never recovered.
   Three more losses – against Ecuador, Brazil and Paraguay – threatened to dump Argentina out of the World Cup picture for the first time since 1970.
   ‘A festival of rancour’, headlined La Nacion newspaper, which wrote that ‘Maradona was devoured by anger...by a surplus of tension which finally exploded in the form of vindictive outbursts against journalists.
   ‘Provocative, insolent. These obscenities will go round the world, increasing the shame. The team continues to go to the dogs.’
   Maradona’s outburst has already become a sensation with Internet sites selling T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase ‘They can keep sucking it’.
   Argentina’s faltering campaign, in which Maradona called up 78 players and presided over four wins and four defeats, will lead to more questions over the coach’s future.
   The country’s biggest-selling newspaper, Clarin, blasted Maradona’s outburst at the news conference which also saw him grab his testicles before gesturing at the TV cameras.
   ‘On the night that he achieved his objective, instead of relaxing and savouring the moment, he vented his aggression,’ said the newspaper.
   Maradona will discuss his future as national coach next month with Argentine football federation chief Julio Grondona.
   But his outburst has not helped his cause.
   In a survey, carried out by La Nacion’s Internet edition on Thursday, 79 per cent of readers said that the AFA should sack Maradona.
   Later Thursday, Grondona refused to condemn Maradona’s outburst.
   ‘In the heat of the moment, people say things that they later regret,’ said the AFA chief, adding that he believes Maradona will continue in the job.
   ‘I’m not thinking of a change. Diego, like us has the power to improve things.’

Barce-lona’s perfect record of 18 points from six Spanish League matches comes under threat on Saturday when the champions travel to Valencia in arguably their most difficult fixture so far.
   Real Madrid have an easier task with a home game against Valladolid but must again do without Cristiano Ronaldo whose ankle injury flared up on international duty with Portugal.
   Valencia are likely to be without star striker David Villa – whom Barcelona tried to capture for a reported 40 million euros in the summer – due to a thigh injury but still have the firepower to hurt Barcelona in Spanish internationals Juan Mata and David Silva.
   ‘We may have to bring in some back-up players to cover injuries but we can’t start moaning about injuries to Villa, (Carlos) Marchena or anyone else,’ said veteran midfielder Ruben Baraja.
   Barcelona equalled their best ever league start with six wins and hope to set a new club record by notching a seventh successive win at the Mestalla Stadium.
   Madrid, who welcome Valladolid, fell to their first defeat of the season – a 2-1 loss at Sevilla – last time out and the sometimes dramatic local media decided to attribute the defeat to the absence of Ronaldo claiming Real suffered from ‘Ronaldo dependency’.
   Ronaldo has scored nine goals in seven games for Real but will again be missing after aggravating his ankle injury in a brief appearance for Portugal.
   ‘I am not some kind of saviour but after the Sevilla defeat I wanted to help my team-mates win the upcoming matches,’ explained Ronaldo. ‘I am sad because I was on a good run and getting injured again is a blow.’
   Sevilla outclassed Real to suggest they could disrupt the Madrid-Barca title monopoly, but need to build on that win at Deportivo La Coruna today.
   Deportivo have had a great start to the season lying fourth in the standings after three straight wins while Sevilla are on a run of five consecutive victories.
   It is a great time for Sevilla new boy Alvaro Negredo who helped defeat old club Real last time out, made his Spain debut against Armenia on Saturday and scored his first international goals against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday.
   ‘I left Madrid because I wanted to play football and I am very happy with my choice to join Sevilla,’ said Negredo.
   ‘It was a unique opportunity for me (to play for Spain) and I wanted to take advantage of the door that Vicente del Bosque (Spain national coach) opened for me to go to the World Cup.’
   Elsewhere, only two teams have yet to win a league match with six games gone and they meet on Sunday when promoted Xerez host Villarreal.
   Xerez were expected to struggle but Villarreal’s stuttering start has come as a surprise with coach Ernesto Valverde longing for his maiden win.
   Three points from six games sees Villarreal languish second from bottom – a point above basement boys Xerez.
   ‘The international break has been good for us as it helps take our minds off our situation and prepare for our forthcoming matches,’ said Villarreal midfielder Robert Pires.
   ‘We cannot let our heads go down because we have sufficient quality to get back on track soon.’

A week of World Cup qualifying drama will weigh heavily on the Premier League this weekend as Chelsea head to Aston Villa aiming to maintain their lead over Manchester United at the top of the table.
   Injuries picked up on international duty threaten to sideline the likes of United striker Wayne Rooney and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard while all of the league’s 20 managers will be grappling with the emotional hangover suffered by players who experienced World Cup joy and heartbreak.
   Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti can count on Didier Drogba firing on all cylinders after a week’s rest in the wake of the Ivory Coast’s draw with Malawi which clinched their place in next year’s finals in South Africa.
   In contrast, goalkeeper Petr Cech, who returns from suspension, will have spent the last few days digesting the disappointment of the Czech Republic’s failure to even reach the play-offs for a final slot.
   For Villa boss Martin O’Neill, the week has left him with an unwanted headache following Emile Heskey’s public declaration that his lack of first-team football at the club might lead him to seek a January move in order to bolster his hopes of starting for England at the World Cup.
   Villa also have Ashley Young, James Milner, Stewart Downing and Gabriel Agbonlahor hoping to go to South Africa with England, and O’Neill is determined to prevent them being distracted by thoughts of glory on the international stage.
   ‘Players need to remember themselves here,’ the Northern Irishman said. ‘The World Cup is not next week, not before Christmas and not even before Easter. It’s a long, long way away.’
   Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar predicted the toughest test of the season to date for the Villa back four.
   ‘A lot of people said Nicolas Anelka and Drogba could not play together but they have are in great form as a partnership now,’ Cuellar said. ‘But we must not underestimate ourselves. We have been defending well and we have to keep that up.’
   Rooney may be doubtful for United’s meeting with Bolton after missing England’s final World Cup qualifier with a calf injury.
   But United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will have been cheered by the form of Dimitar Berbatov, who struck a 38-minute hat-trick for Bulgaria in midweek, and has Michael Owen fit again as a potential partner.
   Harry Redknapp takes third-placed Tottenham travel to bottom side Portsmouth for what promises to be a highly-charged encounter against his former club.
   Redknapp, who won the FA Cup in his second spell in charge at Fratton Park, left the club for Spurs last year. He knows some fans will give him a bit of abuse but he has refused to countenance any special security measures.
   ‘People who have got any sense look at what I did for that football club,’ Redknapp said.
   ‘I took them from the bottom of the Championship to winning the Championship and becoming a top-seven, top-eight Premier League club, winning the FA Cup.
   ‘If people are stupid enough to shout abuse they need their heads looking at in my opinion. Am I bothered about some nutter running up to me? No. I don’t need security, I can look after myself.’
   Sunderland, who were denied a famous win over Manchester United by an injury-time equaliser in their last outing, will seek to end a seven-year wait for a home win over Liverpool.
   The combination of Kenwyne Jones and seven-goal top scorer Darren Bent will provide a significant test of a Liverpool defence that has appeared uncharacteristically shaky this season.
   Arsenal entertain Birmingham in what will be the visitors’ first outing since Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung completed his takeover of the club.
   The Gunners have a 100 percent record at home this season and manager Arsene Wenger is determined to extend that run.
   ‘We know that our season will be decided at home,’ the Frenchman said.

Lionel Messi did not exactly look happy when he was substituted 10 minutes from time in Argentina’s match against Uruguay late Wednesday. Still, the Barcelona striker remains a key element in coach Diego Maradona’s plans for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where he is likely to get yet another chance to settle his undoubted debt with the national team.
   Maradona did not immediately confirm whether he was to remain at the helm of the national team.
   However, following the key 1-0 win against Uruguay in Montevideo he said his squad in South Africa will feature Javier Mascherano, Messi, Martin Palermo and Jonas Gutierrez. He did not mention any others by name. ‘We will always wait for (Messi). It is the great challenge,’ the coach said in recent days.
   At the time, Maradona defined him as an ace. But he then pulled him off the pitch. Messi did not appear to like the decision, and he left the pitch with his head down amid whistling from the fans. Once again, he had failed to perform.
   Messi is an unknown, a pending debt, an indecipherable enigma for Argentine fans, who can still not understand the variations in the performances of a football superstar depending on the shirt he is wearing: Fantastic for Barcelona, a continuous disappointment for Argentina.
   It is true that he cannot play alone against the world and that many of his team-mates have also played badly in the qualifiers. But it is also certain by now that he does not have the football courage required to take charge of the national team, as many expected from the heir to Maradona’s number 10 shirt.
   In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, coach Jose Pekerman tried to shelter him from public scrutiny. Now, at age 22, Messi is all set to take the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award. He won a historic treble last year with Barcelona, and he recently extended a most lucrative contract with the La Liga giants.
   For Argentina, however, he has never shone.
   As so many times before, some expected Messi to be extra motivated to fight criticism, and particularly so when faced with the risk of missing the World Cup altogether. But they were wrong once again.
   Maradona stressed the need to instil in Argentine players the value of the blue-and-white shirt they wear.
   ‘I think that now, when we have more time, we can get more things into the boys’ heads about what this shirt means, about what it is to touch on the ball, about what a footballer’s quality is, about the prestige that the national team gets from winning a match,’ he said.
   ‘We have a responsibility for wearing a historic shirt like Argentina’s,’ he stressed.
   Maradona mentioned midfielder Mario Bolatti – the hero against Uruguay after scoring the lone goal of the game – as a role model.
   ‘You have got to love the “Gringo” – he has manners, he works hard, he never fails you, he does what you ask him to do, and on top of that he scores a goal,’ the coach said.
   ‘When he did not get to play he took it like a gentleman, helping his team-mates. And that is a plus for the World Cup’s 23 (men squad),’ Maradona said.
   Argentina are now set to play in South Africa 2010, but they still have plenty of work to do. They’ll need to find a solid, reliable team, they’ll need to practise and develop a strategy that allows a global football giant to get back lost prestige.
   And Maradona will have to keep trying to get Messi to the top level that made him arguably the world’s best player.

FIFA is to open a disciplinary investigation into Diego Maradona after the Argentinian coach’s sexually-explicit, foul-mouthed rant following his team’s qualification for the 2010 World Cup.
   ‘We’ve been left with no other option than to open a disciplinary investigation into the Argentinian team coach,’ said Sepp Blatter, head of FIFA, football’s world ruling body.
   The 48-year-old, a sporting icon in Argentina after skippering the 1986 World Cup winning team, enjoyed a honeymoon period at the start of his coaching reign before the knives began to be sharpened. He was widely pilloried for the record 6-1 World Cup qualifier defeat in Bolivia and his relationship with the country’s soccer-obsessed sports media never recovered.
   Three more losses - against Ecuador, Brazil and Paraguay - threatened to dump Argentina out of the World Cup picture for the first time since 1970.
   And Maradona was in belligerent mood after the Uruguay match, telling journalists to ‘suck it and keep sucking it’, amid a torrent of other abuse.
   Blatter, who was in Cairo for the final of the under-20 World Cup, warned that Maradona might have fallen foul of FIFA regulations which could result in a fine of up to 29,400 dollars and/or suspension.
   ‘According to article 58.a, anyone who harms the dignity of a person through acts or words can be punished,’ said Blatter. ‘The case will go to the disciplinary committee and I cannot say anything else. It’s a matter of jurisdiction for this committee.’
   Article 58.a states: ‘Anyone who offends the dignity of a person or group of persons through contemptuous, discriminatory or denigratory words or actions concerning race, colour, language, religion or origin shall be suspended for at least five matches.
   ‘Furthermore, a stadium ban and a fine of at least 20,000 Swiss francs shall be imposed. If the perpetrator is an official, the fine shall be at least 30,000 Swiss francs.’
   Blatter also bid a fond welcome to Argentina to the World Cup. ‘Naturally, Argentina received the card from the president congratulating them as he did to all the teams including the smallest ones,’ he said.

France, Portugal, Russia and Greece have been confirmed as the seeded teams for Monday’s World Cup play-off draw.
   The quartet, who all finished second in their respective European qualifying pools, earn their seeded status due to being the top four of the eight play-off teams in the latest FIFA world rankings.
   The unseeded pot includes the other four best runners-up - Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovenia.
   Raymond Domenech’s France are the top-ranked play-off team in ninth, one ahead of Portugal who clinched second place in Group One on Wednesday. Carlos Queiroz’s side have risen seven places in the rankings thanks to their positive end to the qualifying campaign.
   Guus Hiddink’s Russia, who finished second in Group Four behind Germany, slip six spots to 12th while 2004 European champions Greece lie 16th.
   Ukraine, who spoiled England’s perfect qualifying record with a 1-0 win in Dnipropetrovsk last Saturday, are the top-ranked unseeded team at 22nd with Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic 34th, Bosnia-Herzegovina 42nd and Slovenia 49th.

Pele congratulates Argentina
   Brazilian legend Pele congratulated bitter rivals Argentina on their World Cup qualification on Thursday, insisting that the finals need to have Diego Maradona’s team involved. ‘I wasn’t against Argentina. They are my friends,’ said triple World Cup winner Pele. ‘I said before the match (Argentina beat Uruguay 1-0 on Wednesday to secure their place in the 2010 finals) that a World Cup without Argentina would not be the same. It’s good for Maradona that Argentina qualified,’ Pele told TV Globo. ‘For those who love football, Argentina could not be out of the World Cup.’
   — AFP
   
   C’Ron afraid of missing WC: Kaka
   Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka have become friends after they both signed for Real Madrid this summer, and the Brazil star revealed that his club team-mate is worried about missing out on next summer’s World Cup. Portugal have made the play-offs after winning their last three qualifiers, but Ronaldo is still concerned despite the fact that the play-off draw will be seeded. ‘Cristiano is afraid of not going to the World Cup, like all Portuguese,’ Kaka revealed to AS. ‘After winning these two games, they have improved their situation and are able to go into the play-offs.’ The former Milan star also gave his views on Brazil’s goalless draw with Venezuela, and thanked the fans for applauding the team even though they didn’t win. ‘I think Brazil played well, with intensity. I had one last chance which unfortunately hit the bar. But the fans were cheering with the draw – that’s wonderful.’
   — Agencies
   
   ‘I wasn’t at my best’
   Argentina forward Lionel Messi has acknowledged he was not at his best for Diego Maradona’s side in their World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay.
   ‘I know that things did not go as well for me as I would have wished,’ Messi told reporters on his arrival back in Barcelona on Thursday after Argentina reached the 2010 finals. ‘Many things have to change, we have to continue improving, growing as a team and prepare well for the World Cup,’ he added. ‘If we do things well we have a good chance because (we have) some very good players.’
   — Reuters/Bdnews24.com
   
   Brazil stay top
   Brazil stayed top of FIFA world rankings released on Friday while Argentina jumped two spots to sixth and Russia fell out of the top 10. Portugal were the big winners, jumping seven spots into 10th, while the Russians now sit 12th behind the United States. 1 Brazil 1632points, 2 Spain 1629, 3 Netherlands 1340, 4 Italy 1215, 5 Germany 1161 (1), 6 Argentina 1103 (+2), 7 England 1101, 8 Croatia 1087 (+1), 9 France 1049 (+1), 10 Portugal 1042 (+7).
   — AFP
   
   Beckham to Milan ‘a done deal’
   AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has confirmed England midfielder David Beckham will rejoin the club on loan in January. Negotiations have been going on for some weeks and on Wednesday night Beckham intimated that they were 95 per cent done, although the Milan chief has now confirmed the move. ‘David Beckham’s return on loan in January is already a done deal,’ Galliani told Sky Sport Italia. The England midfielder joins from LA Galaxy with a view to getting enough regular first team football at the highest level to justify a place in Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad.
   — Agencies

The picture at the Serie A summit could look a little clearer following this weekend’s matches as four of the top five sides clash in direct top-of-the-table encounters.
   Champions and leaders Inter Milan travel to fifth-placed Genoa who could go top with a victory if other results go their way.
   In Turin third-placed Juventus host Fiorentina, below them by just one place and goal difference.
   The biggest game, though, takes place in Genoa where Inter have already lost once this season having been defeated 1-0 by Sampdoria – second behind Inter on goal difference and travelling to the capital Rome to face Lazio on Sunday.
   The clash has an intriguing sub-plot as Inter poached Genoa’s two best players in the close season, paying out big money to prise away Argentine striker Diego Milito and Brazilian midfielder Thiago Motta.
   In return Genoa signed veteran Argentine forward Hernan Crespo from the nerazzurri and he will be desperate to put one over his former employers having found himself surplus to requirements in Milan in the summer.
   He is certain to play a part, even if he starts on the bench, whereas both Milito and Motta are out of the clash with injury.
   Without those two, Inter could be feeling a little more vulnerable than usual as they have been far from dominant this season, despite leading the league.
   Apart from the defeat at Sampdoria, they were held at the San Siro by Bari and needed an injury time strike to beat Udinese 2-1 at home last time out.
   They have also failed to register a win yet in the Champions League after matches against Barcelona and Rubin Kazan.
   Although they won 2-0 at Genoa last season, they will surely miss the input of five-goal top scorer Milito and Genoa will feel they are there for the taking.
   Inter club captain Javier Zanetti knows things will be tough in the coming week as Inter host Dynamo Kiev and former AC Milan star Andriy Shevchenko on Tuesday in Europe’s Premier competition.
   ‘We’re expecting two difficult matches, in the league against Genoa and then in Europe against Dynamo Kiev,’ he said.
   ‘We know that playing Genoa in front of their own fans is never easy but we want to do well and maintain top spot.’
   In Turin Juve’s Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo will come up against the employers he left in the summer.
   Fiorentina midfielder pair Marco Marchionni and Cristiano Zanetti will be in an identical situation but all eyes will likely be on La Viola striker Alberto Gilardino, Italy’s midweek hat-trick hero against Cyprus.
   In fact it is the strikers who will generate most interest as Juve’s Vincenzo Iaquinta is currently Italy’s first choice forward while team-mate Amauri, a Brazilian, is trying to get international clearance to play for Italy.
   All three will be hoping to impress to further their own international aims.
   Meanwhile one midtable clash will spark plenty of interest as it probably should have been the plum tie of the weekend.
   Struggling AC Milan, 12th, host eighth-placed AS Roma in what many would have thought at the beginning of the season could be an early test of each team’s title aspirations.
   Instead it has become a match that both must win and neither can afford to lose if they hold any hopes of keeping pace with the early front runners with Roma five points and Milan seven points behind Inter.
   However a defeat for either would open up a more ominous looking gap but perhaps points is not either team’s primary problem.
   Roma have the joint worst defence in the league alongside Napoli while only the bottom two have scored fewer than Milan.
   With Roma’s shoddy defence up against Milan’s impotent attack, something will have to give this weekend and could kick-start either team’s season.

Former Newcastle forward Stephane Guivarc’h has lashed out at a poll in a British newspaper which named the 1998 World Cup winner as the worst striker ever to appear in the Premier League.
   Guivarc’h, who played under Kenny Dalglish and then Ruud Gullit at Newcastle in 1998, was responding to a survey published in The Daily Mai last week.
   He told Friday’s edition of French newspaper 10 Sport: ‘I couldn’t care less about this Daily Mail poll. It’s really a crap paper, how can they judge that?
   ‘At Newcastle I only started in two games and played in four in total. And I scored once, against Liverpool.
   ‘After two matches Kenny Dalglish, who signed me and who wanted to use me with Alan Shearer, was fired. Ruud Gullit arrived and sidelined me straight away.’
   Guivarc’h, who retired in 2002 and now coaches a French amateur side in Brittany, dismissed Gullit as ‘a tourist’.
   ‘He used to only turn up on Wednesdays and the day of the match, and spent the rest of the time with his wife back home in the Netherlands.
   ‘... Never has a coach shown me such a lack of respect.’
   The 39-year-old recalled: ‘After six months I left to join Rangers, I wanted to link up with (Rangers’ then goalkeeper) Lionel Charbonnier. But the day I signed, he got injured.
   ‘In the Scottish Cup final I scored and set up another goal, but my ankle was causing me a lot of problems.’
   Turning his ire on English football in general, Guivarc’h concluded: ‘In fact what have the English won since the 1966 World Cup?
   ‘Perhaps they invented football but they would do better to focus on their national team because they haven’t really made a lot of progress for quite some time.’
   Guivarc’h started each of France’s seven World Cup games on the way to the 1998 title but failed to score any goals.
   He was made a Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion d’honneur in 1998.
   In The Daily Mail poll the second worst striker nomination went to West Ham’s former Dutch player Mark Boogers with Aston Villa ‘flop’ Bosko Balaban in third.
   Others to make the rogues’ list were ‘the footballer that never was’, Southampton’s Ali Dia, Fulham’s Steve Marlet, Ade Akinbiyi (Leicester), Tomas Brolin (Leeds), Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea), Jason Lee (Nottingham Forest) and Sergei Rebrov (Tottenham).

European Champions Barcelona are prepared to swap Thierry Henry and other players for Manchester City’s Robinho, according to a report in sports daily AS on Friday. AS claims that Barca are reluctant to pay City’s asking price of around 35 million euros (52.26 million dollars) for the Brazilian winger, and want to bring the price down by offering the Manchester club several players in part-exchange.
   According to AS, these players are Henry, Yaya Toure, Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal.
   Barca are clearly disappointed with the frequent injuries picked up by Henry, who has still to score his first goal this season. On Thursday they announced that he will be out of action for 10 days after tearing a muscle in his right leg in Wednesday’s France-Austria clash.
   Barca coach Josep Guardiola is unhappy with the displays of Abidal but seems to be satisfied with Toure. Puyol, 31, is club captain but his contract runs out in June 2010 and has still not been extended.
   Rival daily Marca, for its part, claims on Friday that Barca might be more interested in taking Robinho on a six-month loan, from January to June, instead of signing him in the winter transfer window.
   Catalan paper Sport claimed on Wednesday that Barca had already agreed personal terms with Robinho, 25.
   Guardiola has said on various occasions that his squad is a little thin. The only genuine winger that he has at his disposal is young Pedro Rodriguez.
   Meanwhile, Manchester City manager Mark Hughes insists Robinho still has a future at Eastlands despite the Brazil forward’s reported admission that he would love to join Barcelona.
   Robinho is currently sidelined with an ankle injury but he fuelled speculation of a January move to the Nou Camp when he was quoted this week saying that it would be a dream to play for Barca.
   It is not the first time Robinho has been linked with a move since joining City from Real Madrid in 2008.
   But Hughes said on Friday: ‘There is always speculation and noise surrounding Robinho. That has been the case since he came to the club.
   ‘He is a great guy. We are not in the process of taking outstanding players out of the team.
   ‘We want to complement the outstanding players at the club. We are looking to build, not dismantle.’
   Hughes also revealed Robinho could make his comeback in the League Cup match against Scunthorpe in two weeks.
   ‘The only frustration he has at the moment is that he is not fit and well,’ Hughes said.
   ‘I hope that will be resolved in the next week to 10 days, and he will be back on the pitch.’

English Premiership club Sunderland have signed the much-travelled former Holland winger Boudewijn Zenden until the end of the season.
   The 33-year-old who played for PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Chelsea, Middlesbrough and Liverpool, has been a free agent since leaving Marseille at the end of last season.
   Sunderland are now awaiting international clearance to allow Zenden, who has 54 senior international caps, to go into the squad for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool.
   Zenden will provide cover in midfield for Sunderland, who also have the option of extending his deal until the summer of 2011.
   The Black Cats are short of numbers in the middle of the park after Dean Whitehead, Grant Leadbitter and Carlos Edwards were sold in the summer while Teemu Tainio was allowed to join Birmingham on loan.
   Manager Steve Bruce said on www.safc.com: ‘We are delighted to be able to add a player of Bolo’s quality to the squad. ‘He has performed at the highest level year after year and he’s done extremely well during his time training with the club.
   ‘The move happened fairly quickly. Bolo came in and it was immediately obvious that he was still supremely fit. ‘Bolo’s performances in training have persuaded me that he has a valuable role to play this season.
   ‘He brings international class, a steadying influence and a wide breadth of experience.
   ‘His career is a testament to his quality and he gives us more depth in midfield which is a vital position.’

Wayne Rooney will miss Manchester United’s Premier League clash against Bolton today after suffering a calf injury on England duty.
   Rooney sustained the problem during England’s World Cup qualifying defeat against Ukraine last weekend.
   United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes Rooney could be available for Wednesday’s Champions League trip to CSKA Moscow, although he may be saved for the crucial Premier League match at Liverpool on October 25.
   ‘Calf injuries can be troublesome,’ Ferguson said on Friday. ‘We are trying our best to get him fit for Wednesday but I have my doubts on that. But Wayne should be fit for the Liverpool game.
   ‘We know how difficult these things can be so we will not be taking any chances with the Moscow trip.’
   There was some good injury news for Ferguson on Friday however as he revealed that Dutch goalkeeper Edwin For Van Der Sar is ready to play against Bolton - his first appearance of the season after he broke two fingers during a friendly with Bayern Munich in July.
   ‘Edwin plays tomorrow (Saturday),’ Ferguson said. ‘He had a reserve game 10 days ago and has come through that fine. He has been training for quite a spell now but with a hand injury you don’t take any chances and that game has given him a good confidence boost.’

FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Thursday said he thought that Russia had ‘a good chance’ of winning the right to host the 2018 World Cup.
   ‘You have a good chance,’ Blatter said in a meeting with Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin here, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
   ‘Russia made a very attractive bid.’
   Blatter said that the Eastern European country had never hosted the World Cup before adding that this fact may become an additional forcible argument in the favour of Russia’s bid.
   ‘Competitions of such a high rank should be hosted by countries that have never staged a World Cup before,’ Blatter added.
   ‘I had a chance to become acquainted with your plan of preparations for the hosting of the World Cup,’ Blatter told Putin. ‘All of the documents that I have seen looked very impressive.’
   Putin, whose support was key to Sochi winning the right to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, replied: ‘I think that organising a tournament of such prestige would without doubt provide a catalyst for the development of football in the whole of Eastern Europe and particularly in the former Soviet Union.’
   On October 9 Russia presented their candidature for the right to organise the World Cup in either 2018 or 2022.
   The executive committee of world football’s governing body FIFA will announce the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups at the end of 2010.
   England, Australia, the United States, Indonesia, Japan and joint bids from Spain and Portugal and Belgium and the Netherlands are the other candidates for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, while South Korea and Qatar have bid only for the 2022 edition.
   The 2010 World Cup will take place in South Africa, with five-time world champions Brazil hosting the tournament four years later.

Liverpool stars Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard will miss today’s Premier League clash at Sunderland after suffering injuries on international duty.
   Liverpool captain Gerrard sustained a groin problem during England’s World Cup defeat to Ukraine last weekend and missed Wednesday’s win over Belarus after limping out on training.
   Spain striker Torres picked up a groin injury while away with his country and was an unused substitute for their final group match on Wednesday.
   Both will now be sidelined this weekend as Rafa Benitez’s side head to the Stadium of Light but could be available for the midweek Champions League tie with Lyon.

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher insists he will bounce back from a poor start to the season and play a major role in his side’s Premier League title challenge.
   Carragher has been caught out by opponents too often for his liking this season as he struggles to find his best form.
   Liverpool have suffered several defeats, partly as a result of his mistakes, and some pundits have suggested the 31-year-old has lost a yard of pace due to his age, but Carragher has no doubts that can cope with the criticism and emerge stronger for it.
   ‘What will happen with me now is that every time I have a bad game, people will mention my age, whereas before it was just a case of me having a bad game,’ Carragher said.
   ‘I look after myself very well. It’s just that when things aren’t going well for you, nothing goes well.
   ‘The best thing to do is try not to analyse it too much. You only end up beating yourself up over it. You’ve got to have confidence in your own ability and that you’ll get back.
   ‘I’m not playing well at the moment, I know that. It’s up to me to turn that around. I’ve got the strength of character to put it right.
   ‘The reason I’ve been here so long is because I can deal with it and have the character to do that.
   ‘I don’t have a problem with being criticised in the press or on TV. Who
   knows what I’ll be doing when I finish playing?
   That could be me talking about other players for all I know.
   ‘In a strange sort of way, it’s a compliment if you’re playing for a big club and suddenly you start getting criticised. It means you must have been doing something right in the first place.’