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The Citycell Bangla-desh League kicks off today with defending champions Dhaka Abahani facing newcomers Biyanibazar SC at 5:00pm at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
   A total of 13 teams including three newcomers – Biyanibazaar SC of Sylhet, Feni Soccer Club of Feni and Shuktara Jubo Sangsad of Naryanganj – will participate in the third edition of the professional football league, which was earlier called ‘B League’.
   In the second and last version of the league the number of teams was 11 and Khulna Abahani’s relegation reduced the number to 10. The Bangladesh Football Federation in a bid to expand the league included three newcomers this season taking total of participating teams to 13. This year four venues outside Dhaka will host the matches. Chittagong Abahani and Chittagong Mohammedan have been hosting their home matches in the port city from the very beginning.
   Reigning champions Dhaka Abahani have made a strong team to win the title for the third consecutive time and they will face tremendous pressure from their arch-rivals Dhaka Mohammedan SC.
   Abahani struggled in the opening matches of the Federation Cup but gradually improved their performance. They lost the final of the curtain raiser tournament to their bitter rivals Dhaka Mohammedan on penalties but made it clear that they are contenders for the Bangladesh League trophy.
   Dhaka Mohammedan with 12 national players in their tent will be looking to break the domination of Dhaka Abahani and they are confident of winning the title for the first time. They will be looking to kill two birds with one stone by lifting their maiden trophy and denying Dhaka Abahani of a hat-trick of titles.
   The two traditional powerhouses of the country remain as the main contenders of the title and Sheikh Russell arrived as the potential third power but were inconsistent in their performances. All the top three clubs have quality overseas players on whom they rely a lot.
   Apart from Dhaka Abahani, Dhaka Mohammedan and Sheikh Russell, the other 10 clubs are almost of equal strength. Former Dhaka giants Muktijoddha have assembled a group of experienced players; Brothers Union are not the heavyweights of the past, Arambagh looked unfit in the Federation Cup, Farashganj are a relatively young outfit, Rahmatganj will be looking to rock their opponents with physical game.
   The two port city outfits, Chittagong Abahani and Mohammedan, will be fighting to keep their flags high with their medium level strength. Among the three newcomers, Biyanibazar looked a spirited side while Feni Soccer Club sounded a warning that they will be giving trouble to all with the three Egyptian players they have flown in. Shuktara were trying to tune up for the bigger challenges.
   As per bye-laws of the league two teams will be relegated to the second tier, scheduled to kick off next year. Last year the prize money for the champions was Tk 10 lakh, Tk 5 lakh for runners-up and Tk 3 lakh and Tk 2 lakh for the third and fourth-placed teams and BFF has declared to increase the amount this year.

Injury doubts over captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and explosive batsman Yuvraj Singh hit India’s preparations ahead of the first one-dayer against Australia here today.
   Dhoni limped off the ground after hurting his left knee during practice Friday while Yuvraj was yet to recover fully from a finger injury that kept him out of the Champions Trophy in South Africa in September-October.
   Dhoni stopped short of ruling out Yuvraj for the opening game while also refusing to confirm his availability.
   ‘I am feeling a lot better now but I will see how it goes on the morning of the match,’ Dhoni told a pre-match media conference on Saturday.
   ‘As for Yuvraj, all I can say is that he will surely be available for the second match,’ he said. ‘Most guys are carrying small niggles but there is nothing major.
   ‘You can’t do much when someone gets injured while batting or bowling during practice sessions, which are so intense.’
   The injuries increase the home team’s troubles, sulking after a first-round exit from the Champions Trophy.
   Dhoni is the only specialist wicketkeeper in the 15-member Indian squad with the selectors opting to leave aside Dinesh Karthik, who was the back up keeper for the Champions Trophy.
   India will however be strengthened by the return of aggressive opener Virender Sehwag, who missed the action in South Africa with a shoulder injury.
   Australia, in prime form after winning a second successive Champions Trophy, have also been hit by injuries to leading players.
   Key middle-order batsman Michael Clarke (back), first choice wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (finger) and left-arm paceman Nathan Bracken (knee) have all been forced to follow the action from the sidelines.
   The second match will be played in the western city of Nagpur on October 28.

New Zealand coach Andy Moles quit Saturday, New Zealand Cricket officials confirmed, ending a stand-off in which senior players had appealed for him to be sacked.
   Moles was standing down ‘in the best interests’ of the organisation following a review of the recent tour of Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy tournament in South Africa, a New Zealand Cricket release said.
   Chief executive Justin Vaughan said no immediate replacement would be named for the upcoming series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, leaving captain Daniel Vettori in charge of a coachless side.
   English-born Moles, a surprise choice to replace John Bracewell as the coach of the New Zealand team last November, was contracted through to the 2011 World Cup but lasted less than a year in the job.
   His departure was seen as inevitable when he went into mediation talks on Friday after it became public that senior players had raised concerns about his abilities.
   Moles, 48, said he held no grudge against the players but was aggrieved at the sudden revelation of their concerns.
   ‘It is unfortunate that it (coaching deficiencies) wasn’t raised before and that will be looked at, I’m sure, by New Zealand Cricket going forward,’ the former Warwickshire batsman said.
   ‘If I had got some feedback earlier, we may have been able to quell this problem and been aware of it.’
   Under Moles’ tenure, New Zealand’s record has been patchy. Four Tests have been drawn and three lost, and in one-day internationals New Zealand have won nine and lost 10.
   However, his departure ironically comes immediately after their best performance in the past year, reaching the final of the Champions Trophy.
   Moles said he did not believe player power was escalating out of control but he stressed the importance of choosing a strong-willed individual as his successor.
   ‘They need a coach who’s going to be really forceful and a guy who perhaps will be allowed to come in and run the show by himself,’ he said.
   ‘Obviously my brand of coaching wasn’t the type of coaching that these players desired and I understand that.’ Leaked media reports early this week said senior players claimed Moles had not provided them with adequate tactical or technical support, and wanted him sacked.
   But captain Vettori was non-specific when asked about player dissatisfaction.
   ‘I don’t think I’d put it in those terms .... we’re not sitting around trying to plot Andy’s demise,’ he said.
   ‘Whenever players are asked honest questions about anything they give their answers. I think guys have voiced ways of making the team better.’

Brett Lee starred with a stunning all-round performance as New South Wales beat Trinidad & Tobago to win the inaugural Champions League Twenty20, and with it a jackpot of $2.5 million, in Hyderabad. The 41-run margin of victory, however, didn’t mean it was a one-sided contest. T&T dominated initially, reducing NSW to 83 for 6, before Lee’s fighting innings lifted his side to a competitive total. He then returned for a fiery spell with the new ball, jolting T&T’s chase with two early wickets.
   The match was won and lost in ten overs – the last five of the NSW innings and the first five of T&T’s – and it was Lee who imposed himself on the game-breaking moments. The game had several subplots – the nervy collapse of both top orders, Ravi Rampaul’s canny seam bowling, Steven Smith’s sensible support act and the threat posed by Kieron Pollard – but the one that had the biggest impact was Lee’s all-round contribution.
   He walked in with NSW tottering and proceeded to slowly pull them out of the hole before shifting gears to propel them to a competitive score. It was almost the perfect counter punch. Lee’s first priority was safety – he scored just 7 off 13 deliveries – but, knowing that meandering to a below-par total would be futile against an aggressive T&T team, he upped the ante with precise and powerful blows in the final overs.
   Lee launched his assault in the 16th over against Lendl Simmons. The first delivery – a full toss – was swung over square-leg for six, the fourth was hit over long-on, and the last one carved to the cover boundary. From then on he repeatedly cleared the front leg and swung cleanly through the line. Navin Stewart disappeared over long-on and Sherwin Ganga was heaved over midwicket. Lee got support from Steven Smith, who did what was required – give the strike to Lee, try to pinch the occasional boundary, and ensure he didn’t lose his wicket.
   Lee was the last man out but wasn’t done for the night. He returned to harass the T&T top order with pace, bounce and movement. He bowled the impetuous William Perkins with a full, fast and straight delivery and removed Lendl Simmons by taking a sharp return catch off a slower one. Stuart Clark, with his slower cutters, and Doug Bollinger, with his bounce from short of length, proceeded to strangle T&T’s middle order and it was left to that man Pollard to try to do the improbable. And he nearly did.
   Throughout this tournament, Pollard has batted like Lance Klusener did in the 1999 World Cup. No target seemed to be too much for him. Just like Klusener, he showed unbelievable composure: he started his innings calmly, dealing in singles, before he unleashed his own brand of razzmatazz. He pulled a free hit from Bollinger over midwicket, swung Nathan Hauritz over long-on and got the equation down to 47 from 31 balls when it happened. He went for another six off Hauritz but couldn’t clear the boundary, and who else but Lee at long-on settled under the catch. With Pollard’s exit, Trinidad’s dream run came to a crushing halt, and they had to settle for second prize – US$ 1.3 million.
   It ended with defeat, but the game had started splendidly for T&T. If NSW were to reach a huge total, their two hard-hitting openers had to contribute heavily but that didn’t happen. T&T started with a spin-seam combination and Sherwin Ganga, the off-spinner, bowled three overs in the Powerplay. David Warner opted to play a weak reverse sweep against him and nearly edged it back to the bowler. Warner did go on to thread a couple of boundaries on the off side but never looked in. Meanwhile the pressure told on his partner Phillip Hughes, who faced three balls in the first three overs, and fell, trying to slog-pull the impressive Ravi Rampaul.
   While Sherwin Ganga was miserly, it was Rampaul who really shone with a fine display of canny seam bowling. He hit a full length, got the ball to cut both ways and built pressure. One moment captured his combative spirit perfectly: When Warner tried to impose himself with a crashing cover-drive, Rampaul fired in a sharp 140kmph bouncer that flew past the startled batsman.
   The chance for NSW to break free came in the fifth over bowled by Dwayne Bravo, who had leaked runs in the semi-final. Katich started off with a bottom-hand powered six over long-on but Warner fell in the same over, edging one to right of backward point where Dave Mohammed took a fine catch.
   What followed was a nervy phase for NSW as one batsman after another fell to soft dismissals. Katich punched Bravo straight to mid-off, Moises Henriques swung a short delivery to fine-leg, Ben Rohrer pulled a long hop straight to deep midwicket, and Daniel Smith chopped a length delivery back on to his stumps. But Lee and Smith saved the day with some sensible batting before Lee returned with the ball to end T&T’s dream.

The final round of the AFC Challenge Cup, which was scheduled to be held from February 4 to 14 in the Sri Lankan capital, has been deferred for a few days.
   Bangladesh Football Federation had asked the Asian Football Confederation to postpone the AFC Challenge Cup final round as the date clashed with the 11th SA Games.
   Dhaka will host the 11th edition of SA Games from January 29 to February 9.
   Sri Lanka, who will also be sending their football team in the games, supported Bangladesh’s plea. The sources said the final round will kick off in the last week of February.

Emdadul Huq Milon of Bangladesh tried his best but finished second losing the final of the Men’s Recurve Bow by one point on the concluding day of the Asian Archery Grand Prix at the BKSP on Saturday.
   Tarun of India won the gold scoring 108 points, just a point ahead of Milon’s 107. Bangladesh also won the silver of the Men’s Recurve Bow team event with 214 points, three behind India.
   Both the gold medals of women’s Recurve Bow events went to India with Dola winning the individual event with 107 (09.10) points followed by Balosree, who scored 107 (09.06). In the team event, India compiled 206, Bangladesh 191 and Malaysia 183 to win the gold, silver and bronze respectively.
   Chungda of India scored 118 to clinch the gold of the Men’s Compound Bow while Ye Min Swe (116) of Myanmar and A Singh Sidhu (114) of India won the silver and bronze respectively. The team gold of the event also was clinched by India.
   A Nhgein of Myanmar scored 114 to win the title of the Women’s Compound Bow while Sayeeda of Iran totalled 113 to clinch the silver and Hia Hla San of Myanmar scored 112 to win the bronze. In the team event, Myanmar clinched gold, India won silver and Bangladesh got bronze.
   The state minister for youth and sports, Md Ahad Ali Sarkar, was the chief guest and distributed the medals and prizes among the winners and all the participants. Major General (retd) Md Sadique Hasan Rumi, president of Bangladesh Archery Federation, Brig Gen Md Shawkat Hossain, director general of BKSP, and Kazi Rajib Uddin Ahmed Chapol, general secretary of Bangladesh Archery Federation and vice-chairman of the Asian Grand Prix organising committee, were present on the occasion.

The visiting England U-19 cricketers provided cricket tips to the budding school cricketers under a project of International Inspiration Programme of the UK government at the Quamrunnessa High School at Dhanmondi on Saturday.
   International Inspiration is an international legacy programme of the UK government for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It uses the power of sport to transform the lives of millions and young people of all abilities in communities and schools across the world, particularly in the developing countries.
   The highlight of the programme was enhancing the leadership qualities, reinforcing the social bonding and realising the importance of physical education.
   The programme in Bangladesh is being implemented with the assistance of UNICEF, ministry of youth and sports, ministry of education, ministry of primary and mass education and ministry of women and children affairs.
   Around 200 students of six different schools participated in the programme.

Pakistan’s Test and ODI vice-captain Shahid Afridi has quashed rumours about an ongoing rift with captain Younus Khan, and believes Younus is the ideal man to lead the team.
   ‘I am fed up of the thousand and one stories doing the rounds about me and Younus not getting along or me playing in the hands of a certain lobby, my lust for captaincy and the like,’ he told Dawn, the Pakistan daily. ‘I take this opportunity to clarify once and for all that Younus and I go a long way as friends, almost 15 years, and are mature enough to discuss and sort out any problem under the sun in an amicable way.
   ‘We won the World Twenty20 in June this year under Younus’ leadership and there’s no reason why I should not back him for leading the team and the country to more such laurels in the future.
   ‘A mountain was made out of a molehill by some quarters about my meeting with the PCB chief earlier this month, which, centered around the Twenty20 planning and not captaincy. But I am quite used to such rumours of discord or leadership difference which surface everytime Pakistan lose a key match or a tournament. I am not unfazed by them anymore.’
   Afridi, who was appointed Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain after Younus retired from the shortest format after the World Twenty20, said he was not aware of any lobby working to remove Younus as captain, but advised that the problems should be sorted out in a mature manner.
   ‘When so many people with varying temperaments are thrown together for several weeks or months on a tour, things of course cannot always be trouble-free,’ Afridi said ‘But cricket is through and through a team game, more than any other sports perhaps. I feel the players, the skipper and the team management should accommodate each other on all fronts to make it a success on the field.’
   Having completed 13 international years in the game, Afridi said the experience had taught him to handle things better, both personally and professionally. ‘I have come to realise that no one is bigger than the game and holding grudges will not do anyone any good. At the end of the day, only your performance for the country matters, difference of opinion should not dictate your game, never.’

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez believes today’s showdown with arch-rivals Manchester United provides the perfect opportunity to stop his club’s season spiralling out of control.
   Benitez’s team head into English football’s premier grudge match at Anfield amid their worst run of form for 22 years after four successive defeats.
   After beginning the campaign with high hopes of ending their 20-year wait to win the league, the Reds are already seven points adrift of leaders United and face the unpalatable prospect of having their title challenge effectively ended by their most despised opponents.
   The woeful run has left Benitez fighting a rearguard action to convince increasingly sceptical fans and pundits that he is still the right man to bring the title back to Anfield.
   A planned pre-match fans’ protest against George Gillett and Tom Hicks, Liverpool’s American owners, adds to the growing sense of a club in danger of imploding.
   Yet if Benitez harboured any fears about the consequences of losing to United, he did a good job of hiding them as the Spaniard launched a passionate defence of his position in his pre-match press conference.
   ‘I am really relaxed in terms of my position because I know how we are working on the pitch every day. In the past we were doing really good things and we haven’t changed too much,’ Benitez said.
   ‘It’s a question of confidence. We know we have to improve but it’s about winning the first game now.
   ‘As a manager you know you will have good moments and bad moments. At this moment we know we have to improve, we have to win and it’s a question of time. I’m sure once we win the first game everything will change.
   ‘This game against United could be the right opportunity for us because it’s a massive game against our rivals and the fans will be behind the team from the first minute until the last. We can change everything.’
   Benitez’s cause isn’t helped by groin injuries to Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson that could sideline all three stars on Sunday.
   Torres is the most likely to feature but even if the Spain striker misses out, Benitez points to last season’s 2-1 win over United at Anfield – a result achieved without Gerrard and Torres – as proof that Liverpool have nothing to fear.
   ‘Beating United last season is something positive we can use,’ he said. ‘Without Gerrard and Torres, the team was really good.’
   United have their own injury concerns as England forward Wayne Rooney, suffering with a calf injury, may not recover in time to play.
   If Rooney misses out then Michael Owen should make the United starting line-up, with the former Liverpool striker likely to receive a hostile reception from the Kop.
   That kind of enmity is typical of a fixture that been marred by unsavoury scenes on and off the field for years, but it is the game that United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has relished most since he made it his aim ‘to knock Liverpool off their perch’ when he arrived at Old Trafford in 1986.
   ‘Manchester United and Liverpool games, as I have said many times, are without question massive games. That will never change,’ he said.
   ‘In my first derby game with them I got a complete sense of the history of both teams and it hasn’t changed. It is still a massive game.
   ‘It is “the” game as far as I am concerned, that won’t change.’
   However, Ferguson’s side are just one point ahead of second-placed Chelsea and could be off top spot by the time they kick off at Anfield.
   So keeping United in pole position, rather than adding to Liverpool’s woes, will be Ferguson’s motivation on Sunday.
   ‘I’m not interested in Liverpool. I’m only concerned about what we do on Sunday,’ Ferguson added.
   ‘I don’t see that we have a point to prove. Different games are shaped by circumstances of games.
   ‘You can’t look at last season as a barometer of our form or Liverpool’s form. Derby games are derby games and anyone can win it.’

Ahead of Manchester United’s Premier League visit to fierce rivals Liverpool today, a look back at five classic encounters between the teams.
   Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool, FA Cup final, May 1977
   Liverpool were the emerging force in English football and were embarking upon a stellar run of success that would see them dominate both at home and abroad throughout the late 1970s and 1980s.
   Having already defended their league title and with a European Cup final against Borussia Moenchengladbach to come, they took on United at Wembley bidding to become the first English side ever to secure the Treble.
   United had been surprisingly beaten by Southampton in the previous year’s final but a shot from Lou Macari that deflected off team-mate Jimmy Greenhoff’s chest earned them a 2-1 win that denied Liverpool their place in history.
   Liverpool 3-3 Manchester United, Premier League, January 1994
   Manchester United had ended a 26-year wait for the English league title in the 1992-1993 season and they travelled to Anfield the following January with a 12-point lead over Blackburn Rovers at the league summit.
   They roared into a 3-0 lead within 24 minutes thanks to strikes from Steve Bruce, Ryan Giggs and a Denis Irwin free-kick but Liverpool responded with a Nigel Clough brace before Neil Ruddock headed home a dramatic equaliser.
   Manchester United 2-2 Liverpool, Premier League, October 1995
   A match marked by the return to competitive action of United’s talismanic striker Eric Cantona, after his eight-month ban for assaulting an opposition fan during a game at Crystal Palace in January.
   Within two minutes he had teed up Nicky Butt for the game’s opener and he had the last laugh with a 71st-minute penalty after Robbie Fowler had threatened to steal his thunder with a finely taken double.
   Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool, FA Cup fourth round, January 1999
   Almost 22 years after their FA Cup final encounter, United were the team pushing for honours on three fronts.
   Michael Owen – who is now with United – headed Liverpool into a third-minute lead in front of the Stretford End and Alex Ferguson’s men looked destined for an early exit from the competition.
   With two minutes to play Dwight Yorke produced a close-range equaliser and in injury time Ole Gunnar Solskjaer blasted home the winner, before repeating the trick against Bayern Munich in the European Cup final to make United England’s first ever Treble winners.
   Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool, Premier League,March 2009
   United went into the last meeting between the sides seven points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table, having conceded just five goals at home all season.
   But the myth of their defensive invulnerability was exploded against Rafael Benitez’s visitors, with Fernando Torres inspiring a rout that thrust Liverpool firmly back into the title picture.

Inter Milan captain Javier Zanetti will wrack up 139 consecutive appearances dating back three years when he plays against Catania on Saturday night.
   And the 36-year-old Argentine revealed his secret is in his training, having not even taken a break on his wedding day.
   ‘I was in Argentina during a break in the championship and as ever I did some training,’ he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
   ‘I’ve never cheated on (my wife) but I was like this when she met me and she chose me warts and all.’
   Zanetti’s run of games is all the more remarkable given his age but the Argentine is almost never injured or suspended—his last red card was more than 10 years ago—and continues to be an integral part of the Italian champions’ midfield.
   And it is his example that Inter coach Jose Mourinho is hoping will rub off on younger players such as Mario Balotelli.
   Mourinho criticised Balotelli in his Friday press conference saying that after a good performance last weekend against Genoa, he trained badly during the week.
   Mourinho added that Balotelli would play against Catania but only because he has a striker crisis and has no other options.
   Zanetti had some advice for the young Italian, saying he needed to realise the opportunity he has been given.
   ‘Mario is someone who listens, he’s young, has phenomenal potential, has the right to make mistakes but also has the duty to capitalise on the incredible luck he has,’ he said.
   ‘Not many people have the chance to grow, make mistakes and learn at a club like Inter, surrounded by great players who never deny him advice or a pat on the back, the coach included.
   ‘Because Mourinho is always the first to encourage him and you can’t say he hasn’t given him time or opportunities.’
   It is Balotelli’s attitude that has always been in question rather than his ability and he could do a lot worse than learning from his club captain.
   Zanetti will join Inter legend Giacinto Facchetti on 476 Serie A appearances for Inter on Saturday night, putting him joint second in the club’s all-time list behind Giuseppe Bergomi.
   And Zanetti revealed his secret is quite simply dedication.
   ‘You need the luck of not having physical problems or even catching the flu but then it’s all down to hard work,’ he said.
   ‘I approach every training session as if it was a final or a derby. It’s during the week that you make your professional luck.’

German league leaders Leverkusen were held to a 1-1 draw at home to mid-table Borussia Dortmund on Friday with ex-Germany defender Manuel Friedrich heading a second-half equaliser for the hosts.
   With second-placed Hamburg playing Schalke 04 on Sunday, Leverkusen missed a chance to underline their status at the top of the table when they were forced to share the points at home to their tenth-placed visitors.
   ‘We put Dortmund under pressure in the second-half, but we didn’t play well,’ admitted Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes.
   ‘However, I am not dissatisfied with the 1-1 draw, because Dortmund played with plenty of spirit and they are on an upswing. Dortmund deserved to take a point home with them.’
   The visitors got off to the best possible start when Argentinian striker Lucio Barrios scored his third goal in his last three league matches as he headed home from a Nelson Valdez cross on eight minutes.
   Leverkusen’s ex-Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia’s hesitation allowed Barrios to add to goals he scored against Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bochum.
   Dortmund were cruising to their third consecutive league win before Leverkusen hit back in the 64th minute.
   Tranquillo Barnetta crossed for Friedrich to head home across the face of goal and past Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller.
   ‘We gave a good account of ourselves,’ said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.
   ‘But I’m not happy that we didn’t continue as we had started. We are improving in the league and a draw against the league leaders is not bad.’

Wayne Rooney is still not happy Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford last summer, claiming the Portuguese superstar is ‘irreplaceable’.
   The United striker has had to carry the burden of expectation now that Ronaldo plies his trade in Madrid rather than Manchester.
   Rooney returns from a calf injury today to take on the old foe Liverpool at Anfield.
   It is some game in which to make his 250th appearance for United in five years at the club. But he wishes he was still playing with Ronaldo by his side.
   Rooney, who turned 24 on Saturday, told The Sun: ‘I don’t consider I was ever in Ronaldo’s shadow but, no, I’m not happy he left the club and I don’t think any of us are.
   ‘I’d prefer him to still be in the team if I’m being honest.
   ‘He’s a brilliant player, irreplaceable, the best player in the world – so no one’s happy he left.’
   Rooney says, on the first day back for training after Ronaldo’s departure, manager Alex Ferguson told him he had to up his goals rate.
   The England star revealed: ‘The manager said he wanted me to score more goals – but then he tells me that every season. As the season goes on, if I am not scoring enough, he’ll tell me I need to improve.
   ‘And if I am scoring goals, he’ll still tell me I need to improve. That’s just how he is.’
   Rooney still keeps in touch with Ronaldo following his former team-mate’s world record £80-million move to the Bernabeu.
   Some thought they would never speak again after the Portuguese international’s part in Roo’s red card in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals.
   But Rooney quickly patched things up with ‘The Winker’ and they went on to win three titles and the Champions League together.
   Rooney added: ‘We still speak from time to time. He’s enjoying his football in Madrid and obviously he’s settled in well and is scoring goals. He sounds like he is loving it over there.’
   Despite Ronaldo’s absence, Rooney is still happy with United’s form this season.
   They go to Anfield today top of the table and all but certain of qualification for the next stage of the Champions League.
   Rooney said: ‘It’s funny because as soon as we got beaten at Burnley, people came out saying ‘we’re not as good as last season, we won’t win the title, we’ll be lucky to finish in the top four’ and all that.
   ‘It was laughable, we’d only lost one game. But then they’ve done it the last three seasons when we’ve won the league - the next season they’ve been straight out saying Chelsea are the favourites.
   ‘I think because of United’s dominance over the last couple of decades, a lot of people like to see us lose. We just have to get on with it.’

World Cup hosts South Africa appointed Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira as coach for a second time Friday, national football association president Kirsten Nematandani said.
   Parreira returns to a post he relinquished in April last year when his wife became seriously ill in Rio de Janeiro, and he was succeeded by compatriot Joel Santana.
   International novice Santana, 60, lost his first match in charge away to Nigeria, struggled to improve the team, and was fired after suffering eight losses in nine matches.
   Parreira, 66, guided Brazil to the 1994 World Cup title when they defeated Italy after a penalty shootout in the United States, but fared less well three years ago with the South Americans making a quarter-finals exit to France.
   That defeat cost him his job and he took over Bafana Bafana (The Boys) for the first time in January 2007, but battled to convert the African also-rans into a formidable force on the world stage.
   His greatest achievement came in his final match, a 3-0 defeat of Paraguay in a Pretoria friendly, soon after a poor 2008 African Nations Cup showing that led to a first round exit.
   South Africa snatched a late draw against Angola in Ghana, were outplayed by Tunisia, and managed to take only one point off a Senegal team demoralised by the resignation of their coach.
   Nematandani told a media conference that Parreira would be assisted by compatriot Jairo Leal and South African Pitso Mosimane.
   Parreira and Santana worked with the pair and another, unnamed South African would be added to the coaching staff for an eight-month race to lift a team that has slumped to a 16-year low of 85 on the FIFA world rankings.
   Nemantandani, who met Parreira in Brazil this week, refused to disclose his salary, saying only that it would be ‘less’ than the 1.8 million rand (241,000 dollars) a month received during his previous stint.
   The official said Parreira would be replaced by a South African coach after the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 11 2010 and will be the first edition staged in Africa.
   Parreira’s first game in charge will be a friendly against fellow World Cup qualifiers Japan on November 14 at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.

Arsene Wenger celebrated his 60th birthday this week but the Arsenal manager’s desire to end the club’s four-year wait for a trophy shows no sign of abating.
   Wenger is increasingly confident his current side is maturing into genuine title contenders and his players will get the opportunity to justify their manager’s growing confidence by recording a fifth successive league victory at West Ham today.
   Since suffering the shock of back-to-back away defeats at Manchester United and Manchester City, Wenger’s team have recovered well, although AZ Alkmaar’s stoppage time equaliser this week served as a reminder that Arsenal can be guilty of failing to finish teams off.
   That is certainly an issue Wenger will have addressed in the wake of that Champions League group game and the manager admitted his hunger for success is as strong as it ever was.
   ‘Am I happy with all that I have achieved? Certainly not,’ he said. ‘I expect always more and you can never be completely happy with what you do. The only credit that I give to myself is that I have worked very hard my whole career and always try to improve.
   ‘I am very lucky to still be in charge today. If I look at all my friends who started with me, I was very, very young when I started.
   ‘I was in charge at 33 and to survive at that age is not easy. You could see with many young managers, it’s difficult when you start with such a big responsibility. Overall I was very lucky. But always think you could have achieved more and make better decisions.’
   On paper West Ham should provide only limited opposition to an in-form Arsenal, with Gianfranco Zola’s side rooted second bottom with just one league victory to their name this season.
   Yet the intensity of a London derby will undoubtedly lift the Hammers and defender Matthew Upson with be particularly keen to impress and provide Wenger with another reminder of why the manager was wrong to let him leave for Birmingham six years ago.
   Wenger admits he reluctantly sanctioned the transfer and revealed he has contemplated re-signing the England international on a number of occasions.
   ‘I didn’t stop him (going) because I knew he had qualities to play in the Premier League but he had players in front of him,’ Wenger said.
   ‘I knew he would make it. He had Premier League quality and had the potential to be international quality.
   ‘He is there now because he is at the right age for a central defender and for a few years now he has not been stopped by injury which was his problem for a while.’
   Upson is likely to face an Arsenal attacked boosted by the return of Eduardo, although Tomas Rosicky will not feature after suffering a problem with his knee this week.
   Zola acknowledges his side’s position is causing him concern.
   The Hammers manager has maintained his team has deserved greater reward for its performances this season but putting points on the board is now the main priority.
   ‘It’s very difficult at the moment because I care about the players and club. It hurts me,’ said the Italian.
   ‘But I am a warrior – I don’t look like it but I am one and I don’t like to let myself down in my work.
   ‘I am someone who never gives up and my determination to succeed is stronger than anything. Of course this job gives me awake at night. You are always thinking about things and trying to find answers.
   ‘Everyone has problems – that is what life is about. But one thing I want from the players is to look for the solutions, rather than worry.’

Argen-tina captain Javier Mascherano wants his Liverpool team-mates to be inspired by his country’s example as they seek to end a run of four straight defeats against Manchester United.
   Sunday’s match at Anfield threatens to be a pivotal fixture for the struggling Reds, who are seven points behind Premier League champions United and in danger of falling out of the title race before the end of October.
   But midfielder Mascherano has already come out of one slump this term, with Argentina turning round a poor run of results to qualify for next year’s World Cup finals in South Africa.
   ‘I am relaxed now that Argentina have qualified for the World Cup finals, I can concentrate only on Liverpool,’ Mascherano said. ‘I can think of Liverpool and not Argentina. This is not a good situation at the club, and I want to give Liverpool my best.
   ‘I am captain of my country, and we were really under pressure in the final two qualifying games; people said we were out, that was very difficult.
   ‘But we won both those games. We have qualified. Maybe it will be the same for Liverpool now if we start to win, things will start to happen for us like they did for my country,’ he added of Rafael Benitez’s under pressure side.
   Liverpool, beaten 2-1 in the Champions League by Lyon in midweek, hope to have striker Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson back from injury but captain Steven Gerrard is still doubtful with a groin problem.
   Liverpool did though beat United twice last season and a positive Mascherano said: ‘We have a very important game now with Manchester United. We must stop thinking and worrying about what happened against Lyon.
   ‘If we can beat United then the confidence will be back, it is important to do that. ‘We beat them twice last season. We know what we are capable of. Hopefully our form will be like that on Sunday.
   ‘We must win the next game, against Manchester United. If you have confidence you can do anything.
   ‘The team is not playing well, and a lot of players are not in the best form. That is not good and we are losing confidence, but we have to believe that we can overcome this.’
   And he insisted they could cope without Gerrard and Torres.
   ‘Even without Steven, or Fernando, we believe we can still win matches. We won a lot of games last season without the pair of them on the pitch together.
   ‘But obviously they are our key players and we do need them back against United. We are trying all the time to give our best. Maybe now we have to show character, personality and hard work.
   ‘It is difficult. Liverpool is not a team that loses a lot of games. Now we have lost six games this season, that is different for us and difficult.
   ‘We cannot let that bother us. We must think only of winning on Sunday. That will bring back the confidence.
   ‘We can still win the league, but we must start winning and stop dropping so many points.’

The English Premier League agreed a new three-year sponsorship deal with Barclays Bank worth a total of 82.25 million pounds (89.61m euros) to the 20 top-flight clubs. Barclays have been the Premier League’s title sponsor since 2004 and their current three-year contract, which expires next year, was worth 65.8 million pounds (71.6m euros).
   The increase in the value of the deal reflects the strength of the Premier League brand across the world and comes after a lower offer from the bank was rejected. The new deal will run from the 2010-11 season to the end of the 2012-13 season.

Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has ‘agreed in principle’ to a new contract with the European champions that will keep him at the Camp Nou until 2013.
   The 31-year-old Spanish international, whose current accord was set to expire next summer, will sign the three-year deal in the next few days.
   Puyol came through the ranks at the Catalan giants and has been a mainstay of the back four since making his debut in 1999.
   ‘FC Barcelona and Carles Puyol have reached an agreement in principle to renew the captain’s contract until 2013,’ the Spanish club said in a statement. ‘Now the new conditions will be drawn up and will be signed in the next few days.
   ‘The coach Pep Guardiola and the footballer himself made the news known to the rest of his team-mates just before the start of training this morning. The Barca squad, united in a circle, welcomed it with a resounding ovation and congratulated the captain for the agreement in principle.’

Rossi grabs pole position
Italy’s Valentino Rossi will launch his bid for a seventh Moto GP world title from pole position at the Malaysian Grand Prix after clocking a lap record in gruelling conditions on Saturday. The Yamaha rider and defending world champion showed his jubilation after his successful outing at the Sepang circuit by pulling a wheelie and raising his left hand as he entered the pit lane at the end of qualifying. The 30-year-old has a 38-point advantage in the world championship and a top-four finish in Sepang, one of his favourite circuits, will be enough for him to take the title on Sunday. Rossi, whose teammate Jorge Lorenzo will join him on the front row, paid tribute to his team and the bike for his stunning performance in the hot weather. ‘The team worked well, the bike performed well, hence I was able to go faster,’ Rossi said after his seventh pole position this season. ‘Starting from pole is important since the (first) corner is far away,’ he added. Rossi set a time of 2min 00.518sec while Lorenzo was just 0.569sec behind. Spaniard Dani Pedrosa (Honda) was 0.736sec adrift of Rossi while Australian Casey Stoner was fourth at 0.937sec. — AFP