SOCCER NEWS

Score Premiere League

2008-12-31T09:15:00.000+07:00

Hull vs Aston 0-1(K.Zayatte 88)

Valencia’s Miguel linked to AS Roma

2008-12-31T00:05:00.000+07:00

Serie A side AS Roma are reportedly interested in signing Valencia’s Miguel, as Cicinho might be on his way out at the Giallorossi.

Sky Sport reports that Roma manager Luciano Spalletti aims to strengthen his defender by attracting a new right back to replace Cicinho. The Brazilian has never managed to live up to expectations since joining the side in 2007.

Miguel, born in 1980 in Portugal’s capital city Lisbon, spent five years of his career at Benfica before joining Valencia in 2005. So far, he played 99 games for the Spanish side and scored twice.

The player, whose full name is Luis Miguel Brito Garcia Monteiro, traditionally plays as right defender but also has attacking abilities.

Depor Confirm Novo Interest

2008-12-31T00:04:00.000+07:00

Deportivo La Coruna are considering a bid to sign Rangers striker Nacho Novo in January.

The Spanish frontman is out of contract at the end of the season and has also been linked with a move to Barclays Premier League side Hull.

However, the Spaniard played for a Galician select team against Iran in La Coruna over the weekend and scored twice in the game.

His display impressed the watching Deportivo president Augusto Cesar Lendoiro, who will now discuss a possible offer for Novo with the club's staff.

"Nacho Novo is a player who is attractive to Deportivo because of his Galician background and also because of his contractual situation in Glasgow," Lendoiro told the Daily Record.

"We know he is out of contract at the end of this season, so we would not be talking about a big fee.

"But nothing is decided yet. These are the kind of things we have to discuss internally as we make our plans for January.

"But there will be official talks in the next few days and Nacho Novo is a name that will come up."

Novo has spent four-and-a-half years at Ibrox, but has struggled to command a starting spot this season with the majority of his appearances coming from the bench.

The worst week of my life, Berbatov

2008-12-31T00:03:00.000+07:00

In an interview after last night’s Premier League encounter against Middlesbrough, Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov outlined how this week has been the worst week of his life.

The Bulgarian striker explained how he was forced to miss his club’s success in the FIFA Club World Cup success after a virus had struck him down.

However, as he stated, everything appears to be coming back together with his winning goal against Middlesbrough in their 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.

Berbatov also said that the title chase for United lay exclusively in their own hands and if they can gain maximum six points with their two games in hand, they should be right there in May.

Zambrano wants to leave Schalke

2008-12-31T00:02:00.000+07:00

Peruvian Carlos Zambrano no longer wants to stay at Bundesliga side Schalke 04. The defender revealed this in an interview with German newspaper Bild.

The talented 19-year-old came to Europe to join Schalke 04’s youth team from Academica Deportivo Cantalao in 2006 and conquered a spot in the first team two years later. Uptil now though, he hasn’t been given a chance to show his skills.

“I don’t feel good at Schalke. The trainer should know why I don’t play,” the Peruvian said, referring to manager Fred Rutten. “I lost desire in the last few months.”

Bild goes on to report that a large amount of clubs may be interested in signing the player, including Borussia Dortmund, River Plate and Alianza Lima.

Sir Alex Ferguson praises Jonny Evans

2008-12-31T00:01:00.000+07:00

Jonathan Grant (Jonny) Evans, the Northern Ireland central defender, has come in for the highest praise from his boss, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Not quite twenty-one years old, Evans has already had a lengthy career.

He began his career at Greenisland FC where he was spotted by United scouts from where he joined the Manchester United Academy.

To gain further experience, Ferguson sent him in loan to Royal Antwerp and Sunderland.

He returned from loan for the 2007/8 season and played for United in the League Cup and UEFA Champions League.

However, in January of this year, he was sent back to Sunderland on loan until the end of the season to gain further experience.

At the end of last night’s fixture against Middlesbrough where the Red Devils won 1-0, Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise for his twenty-year old defender.

Evans has come in for the injured Rio Ferdinand and has shown maturity beyond his years, said Sir Alex.

Jonny Evans turns twenty-one on Friday 2 January.

Score Premiere League

2008-12-30T10:22:00.000+07:00

Manchester United vs Midlesbrough 1-0(Berbatov 69)

“Portsmouth want Real Madrid’s Drenthe”

2008-12-30T01:15:00.001+07:00

Portsmouth manager Tony Adams is interested in signing Dutch midfielder Royston Drenthe, currently under contract at Real Madrid. This was reported by British newspaper News of the World.

The 21-year-old, who plays both as left back and left winger, joined Real Madrid in June 2007 but hasn’t been able to break through and doesn’t seem to be in the plans of new manager Juande Ramos.

Portsmouth first-team coach Johnny Metgod, who worked with Drenthe when the two were active at Feyenoord Rotterdam, reportedly recommended the player for Adams to sign during the winter transfer window.

Drenthe, who began his career in 2005, left a good impression during the European U-21 Championships of 2007, won by the Netherlands. Drenthe was voted best player of that tournament.

Today’s Manchester City rumour

2008-12-30T01:14:00.001+07:00

The Manchester City rumours continue to come thick and fast but today’s Daily Mail suggests that the sights of the club may have been lowered.

They claim that City have made West Ham a combined offer of £15 million to try to sign striker Craig Bellamy and midfielder Scott Parker.

They are both decent players but they are hardly David Villa and Kaka are they? Are they two players that would take Manchester City towards the Champions League qualification that the club owners so obviously crave?

Hunelaar Hoping For Euro Nod

2008-12-30T01:11:00.003+07:00

Striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar is determined to play for Real Madrid in this season's Champions League.

UEFA rules mean Madrid are likely to have to choose between their two big winter signings, Huntelaar from Ajax and Lassana Diarra from Portsmouth, with only one allowed to play in Europe.

And Huntelaar said: "They can only register one player and I have to do everything possible so that player is me.

"I hope to be chosen. It's up to me."

Huntelaar confirmed he had not discussed the issue with the club, saying: "I've heard about it from the press."

Huntelaar, who moved to the Bernabeu for an initial 20million euros, is still taking in his big-money move, which was announced at the start of December.

"I'm on a cloud," he was quoted as saying in Marca. "Everything is great and the good thing is that on January 4 I can play."

He added: "I appreciate the support and affection that I have been given [at Ajax].

"My dream now is to win in Madrid.

"Ajax will always be one of my teams, it is in my heart, but now I hope to do big things with Real Madrid. I want to succeed at this club."

Ribery Dreams Of World`s Best

2008-12-30T01:11:00.001+07:00

Franck Ribery has set his sights on playing for a top club in England or Spain, but insists he has no plans to leave Bayern Munich before his contract expires in 2011.

Speaking to Germany's Kicker magazine, the France international revealed it would be a "dream" to represent another one of Europe's top clubs.

"Bayern is obviously one of the biggest and best clubs in the world," he said.

"Obviously there are other clubs who would be a dream: Real Madrid and Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United.

"I certainly love Real Madrid because of their great tradition.

"But I feel happy here at Bayern. We will have to wait and see what the future holds."

The winger, who was voted the Bundesliga's best player of 2008 by Kicker, added that he still has ambitions of winning the Champions League with Bayern and insists they can fulfil that dream this year.

Bayern face Sporting Lisbon in the last 16 of the competition and will be favourites to make the quarter finals at least.

And at the midway stage of the Bundesliga, they lie joint top of the table with Hoffenheim while they face Stuttgart in the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal.

Ancelotti Confident Of Serie A succes

2008-12-30T01:07:00.002+07:00

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti claims his team can still win the Scudetto despite trailing Serie A leaders Inter Milan by nine points.

Inter are odds on favourites to lift the title for the fourth time on the trot but Ancelotti is hoping they are distracted by the added pressure of the Champions League.

And if that happens the Milan boss is confident his team will be there to take full advantage.

"Our aim is to win the Scudetto," Ancelotti told Gazzetta dello Sport. "It will be very difficult because our rivals are all tough.

"But Milan will fight until the end.

"Inter are favourites, but Milan and Juve are there, ready to take advantage of any slip-ups.

"The rules are simple: to be optimistic or pessimistic you give the same effort, I prefer the first solution. Moreover, the group at Milan, the spirit of the squad, the desire of the players makes me think that we still have a few things to say.

"Nine points are a lot but it is still early to give definitive judgements.

"The next Champions League games with be fundamental: in these challenges you lose a lot of nervous energy.

"And our rivals, Inter and Juve in particular, have tricky games against Manchester United and Chelsea.

"They can reach the next round but they will use up quite a bit of gas on the pitch."

Milan are also competing in Europe, albeit in the UEFA Cup, and they have a tricky tie against Werder Bremen.

However, Ancelotti is confident that his side will continue their good form of late and beat the German team before going on to win the competition itself.

"Who will win the cup? What's that for a question? Milan obviously," he said. "It's very true that Bremen are tough to beat, but we are Milan and don't you ever forget it.

"To win it would be fantastic, it's a trophy that is missing in our cabinet.

"There have been two sides to this year. Until spring it wasn't great because we didn't reach the Champions League. That was a terrible blow.

"Then there were some problems at the beginning of the season, but we overcame them and we are still on course for our project."

Ancelotti is confident new loan-signing David Beckham will help them achieve their aims in the short time he is at the San Siro.

He added: "I believe he can be very useful. He can play in every role in midfield, is a great professional and knows what to do with the ball."

Ancelotti has been at Milan since 2001 and is on course to become the longest serving coach the Rossoneri - one of the most demanding clubs in Italy in terms of trophies - has ever had.

Should the 49-year-old last until the end of his contract in June 2010 he will break the record set by Nereo Rocco in several stints at the club between 1961-77.

"My aim is to overtake Nereo Rocco in number of appearances on the bench, and so become the coach who has been at Milan the longest," said Ancelotti. "I hope to do it but in this world there is never anything certain."

Ancelotti has his sights set on being on the Milan bench for even longer though, and would love nothing more than to emulate Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, adding however "but that's unreachable: he is a legend at Manchester."

The former Milan player has been a long-standing admirer of Ferguson and he believes the United manager could lead his team to back-to-back European titles.

"There's no doubt as to who were the best this year: Manchester United," said Ancelotti. "Like we did in 2007, they won the Champions League and the World Club Championship.

"Manchester United are a fantastic team and their manager, Ferguson, is exceptional.

"Who will win the Champions League this year? Manchester United and Barcelona are playing well and they can get right to the end."

Rooney´s agent loses ban appeal

2008-12-30T00:53:00.003+07:00

Wayne Rooney’s agent Paul Stretford on Monday lost an appeal against an 18-month ban imposed by the Football Association in July for breaking regulations when signing up the England striker.

Stretford was also fined 300,000 pounds (then 377,000 euros) in July after being charged by the FA following his troubled appointment as Rooney’s agent in 2002.

Seven of the nine charges brought by the FA against Stretford for breaches of world football governing body FIFA’s players’ agent regulations were proved.

The charges included failing to protect Rooney’s interests and failing to respect the rights of third parties.

Stretford was also hit with an improper conduct charge in relation to the “making of false and/or misleading witness statements to police and giving false and/or misleading testimony to Warrington Crown Court” in a case about the circumstances of how he came to represent the England striker.

Stretford made it clear he would lodge an appeal but an independent appeal board here Monday upheld the original punishment.

“The board dismissed Mr Stretford’s appeal in its entirety and the decisions of an independent regulatory commission in July 2008 were confirmed,” said a statement on the FA’s official website.

Stretford can now go to an arbitration panel to challenge this latest ruling and his ban will be suspended until he has made that decision.

Capello shrugs off Ramsey comparisons

2008-12-30T00:53:00.001+07:00

Fabio Capello insisted on Saturday that he does not yet deserve to be compared to Sir Alf Ramsey, the man he hopes to emulate by transforming England into world-beaters.

Ramsey coached England to their only World Cup success back in 1966 but Capello's impressive first year in charge of the national squad already has many observers tipping the Italian's team as champions in South Africa in 2010.

But Capello says there is plenty of work ahead if the England of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney are to be kings of the world.

“Someone spoke to me about this big manager (Ramsey) but we have to wait. He's up here - I'm still down here,” said Capello.

“It's a very long way to arrive at the level of Sir Alf Ramsey - it is difficult and very, very long.”

Capello has overseen a dramatic improvement in the national team's fortunes in 2008.

After the low of failing to qualify for Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren, England have reached the end of the year on course for the World Cup finals boasting a perfect record in the qualifiers.

For good measure, they ended 2008 with a 2-1 friendly win over Germany in Berlin with their only loss in the year coming against France.

“It's been step forward, step forward,” Capello said.

“I'm very happy because the last game against Germany we played very well. The first 11 was new players, some players who hadn't played a lot of games, and we won and this is very important for the future.

“We had another (stepping) stone for the future.”

Capello added that, unlike McClaren, he was determined to maintain barriers between himself and his players.

“It's not important to play cards or games with the players. It's not important to me to be one of the lads,” said the Italian.

“The important thing is respect. I always say a manager is one against 24 always - there is one boss, one leader being judged by 24 players, in every moment he is under scrutiny and it's important the players know that is my role. The leader is the leader.”

Score Premiere League

2008-12-29T01:05:00.000+07:00

Newcastle vs Liverpool 1-5(D.Edgar 45; S.Gerrard 31,66, S.Hyypiä 66, R.Babel 50, X.Alonso(pen) 76)
Arsenal vs Portsmouth 1-0(W.Gallas 81)
Bolton vs Wigan 0-1(A.Zaki(pen) 44)
Everton vs Sunderland 3-0(M.Arteta 10,27, D.Gosling 83)
Fulham vs Chelsea 2-2(C.Dempsey 10,90; F.Lampard 50,73)
West Brom vs Tottenham 2-0(R.Bednar 83, C.Beattie 90)
West Ham vs Stoke 2-1(C.Cole 51, D.Tristán 87; A.Faye 5)
Blackburn vs Manchester City 2-2(B.McCarthy 45, J.Roberts 84; D.Sturridge 88, Robinho 91)

Handanovic to stay at Udinese

2008-12-29T00:05:00.000+07:00

Slovenian ace Samir Handanovic will not be leaving Udinese next month, according to his agent Danilo Caravello.

“Samir is staying in Udine,” noted Caravello. “At least until an important club approach Udinese with an offer. It will then be up to the Bianconeri to evaluate the situation.

“As far as I know, we are not aware of any interested parties in his services. And Samir isn’t interested either as he’s just concentrated on Udinese and his teammates.”

Handanovic’s contract expires in June 2012 and in recent weeks he has been linked with a move away from the club.

“You often become a desirable object on the market when you play for Udinese,” the agent underlined.

“It’s obviously pleasing to hear such stories because it is acknowledgement of the player’s ability. However, for now, nobody has come forward for him.”

Maniche Blast For `Big Phil`

2008-12-29T00:04:00.000+07:00

Atletico Madrid midfielder Maniche has launched a scathing attack on former Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari for omitting him from the Euro 2008 squad.

Maniche, who featured in Euro 2004 and the World Cup two years ago, somewhat surprisingly did not make the cut for last summer's tournament.

The 31-year-old reveals he was left flabbergasted by Scolari's decision, claiming the current Chelsea coach had handed him numerous assurances he would be involved.

"Coincidence or not, in the Scolari era it was always with me that indecision and doubts occurred," Maniche told Portuguese newspaper O Jogo.

"It was like this before the European Championships, it was like this before the World Cup and it was like this afterwards.

"Honestly, I do not know why. They said of me one time, after a game against Spain in which we lost and I was taken off, that I must have had orders from (Jose) Mourinho not to play well for the national team.

"It was a stupidity, a form of sorting out an excuse instead of saying the truth. When inappropriate excuses are said, sometimes these reports arise.

"I was at the World Cup, at a level which people thought I would not reach, then I was operated on and was not in a good moment, but it was Scolari who said for me to be operated on and that he was counting on me.

"He told me it was for me to be rested. He told me it was so that I would manage not to get tangled up at Inter Milan - I was on loan from Atletico Madrid for six months, a period where I was always in the starting XI - told me he was counting on me, and on the last day everything changed."

Gerrard stars in rout of Newcastle

2008-12-29T00:03:00.000+07:00

Liverpool maintained their grip on first place on the Premier League table with a stunning 5-1 win against a toothless Newcastle United here at St James' Park on Sunday.

Reds captain Steven Gerrard scored twice and had had it not been for Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given, the hosts could have been on the wrong end of a double-figure disaster after being completely outclassed.

Republic of Ireland international Given made five world-class saves in 10 minutes to prevent Newcastle from total capitulation before the midway point of the first-half.

The Arsenal target began his run of jaw-dropping stops in the 10th minute as he pushed away a fierce near post strike from lone Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt.

Within a minute England midfielder Gerrard weaved his way around three United defenders only to see his left foot shot palmed away by Given.

However, the onslaught had only just begun and in the 14th minute the Magpies No 1 denied Gerrard again as he sprung to his right to claw away a rising left footed shot.

But that stunning save was eclipsed by an even better show of agility five minutes later as Given denied the Brazilian midfielder Lucas from point-blank range.

When the former Gremio player saw his header, from a Gerrard corner, beaten away by the Newcastle goalkeeper moments later, the visitors must have begun to fear this would be no easy win on Tyneside.

United, for their part, had barely managed to break beyond halfway and the Magpies' owner, Mike Ashley, must have been wondering whether he had been premature in announcing his decision to take the club off the market for the foreseeable future.

If his aim had been to usher in a period of calm at St James' Park, the effect had not extended to the pitch.

Liverpool continued to press forward at will and two goals before half-time appeared to end the game as a contest.

Inevitably, given his sensational start to the match, it was Gerrard who broke the deadlock in the 31st minute when he drilled Yossi Benayoun's pass in off the post.

Poor Given had no opportunity to reprise his heroics and the Irishman was stranded again five minutes later when defender Sami Hyypia was given the freedom of the Newcastle penalty area to head home Gerrard's corner.

The experienced Finn could have grabbed a second three minutes before the break only for a diving Given to push the ball into the path of Newcastle's Charles N'Zogbia, who cleared.

These were torrid times for United but, incredibly, Canada international defender David Edgar reduced the arrears on the stroke of half-time by heading in Danny Guthrie's corner.

Liverpool's third, five minutes after the restart, had an element of luck about it, with referee Mark Halsey failing to spot Lucas's hand ball, but Dutch international Ryan Babel tapped-in from five yards despite being surrounded by several Newcastle players.

Gerrard grabbed his second from Lucas's astute through ball in the 66th minute.

And when substitute Xabi Alonso wrapped things up with a well taken penalty 13 minutes from time with Gerrard off the field, after his fellow replacement David Ngog had been brought down by Edgar, Liverpool could celebrate heading into 2009 on top of the Premier League pile.

Real Madrid keen on Valencia

2008-12-29T00:02:00.000+07:00

Spanish giants Real Madrid are keen to sign Ecuadorean international wing Luis Antonio Valencia, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Wigan Athletic star has become Real's preferred target after they dropped their interest in Aston Villa's Ashley Young and having pulled out of a deal for Liverpool's Jermaine Pennant because of his wage demands.

Valencia - scorer of three goals in 20 matches this term - would cost Real 17.5million euros and they could face stiff competition for the former Villarreal player from several of Wigan's Premier League rivals.

Real - who are fifth in the title race some 12 points adrift of Barcelona - are in desperate need of reinforcements to their squad after several key players such as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Malian midfielder Mahamadou Diarra suffered season ending injuries.

They have already signed French international midfielder Lassana Diarra from FA Cup holders Portsmouth for 20million euros.

Hleb confident of success

2008-12-29T00:01:00.000+07:00

Barcelona ace Alexander Hleb is confident of having an successful future with the Spanish giants this season.

He said: “I feel wanted by the coach, and I want to repay him for the confidence he has given me since the first day. I know what he wants from me, and I know that I can give it. I know that I will not let either the manager or the team down.”

Hleb joined Barcelona from Arsenal, but struggled at the start in Spain.

He continued: “I needed some time to get acclimatized to my team-mates style of play. In training our understanding is flowing, and soon it will be at 100% in matches as well.”

He added: “I believe that I can contribute significantly to Barcelona’s success from January onwards. I am more familiar with the squad, and I predict a great 2009 for all concerned.”

Rumours abound as transfer window gets closer

2008-12-28T00:08:00.000+07:00

Four out of ten in the predictions yesterday. That’s pretty good for me! You can’t predict into the future though. Who could possibly predict the results for future? Who could possibly know where a player is going to be by the end of January?

We are just a few days away from the silly season that is the January transfer window. It is silly because everyone will be linked to a move from everywhere to anywhere and the media will heighten the tension and speculation by reporting on every time a player sneezes in a manner likely to mean he is on the move!

Semblance of truth

I just want to point out that this site will be no exception! We will tell you about every rumour, whether it is based on a semblance of truth or whether it has come about because the friend of one of my mate’s cousins works in Rochdale and he says that one of his mate’s sister’s friend’s auntie definitely saw Lionel Messi going into the Rochdale players entrance in disguise!

The rumours annoy me and interest me in just about equal measures. The stories very often turn out to be totally untrue but the fun is in trying to spot the ones that actually are possibilities.

In the week before Christmas alone, I saw the following rumours:

Carlos Tevez from Manchester United to Arsenal
Diego Lopez from Villarreal to Manchester City
Adriano from Inter to just about anywhere
Arsenio Halfhuid from Excelsior Rotterdam to Aston Villa
Eljero Elia from FC Twente to Ajax
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Barcelona
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Real Madrid
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Tottenham
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Arsenal
Massimo Donati from Celtic to Milan
Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn to Manchester City
Gokhan Inler from Udinese to Arsenal
Gianluigi Buffon from Juventus to Manchester City
Didier Zokora from Tottenham to Portsmouth
Stewart Downing from Middlesbrough to Tottenham
Matthew Upson from West Ham to Manchester City
Any top player in the world from anywhere to Manchester City

That is just a very few of the hundreds and hundreds of rumours that are wildly circulating around the media fuelled transfer frenzy in football as the window prepares to open.

Most likely

As I say, the exciting bit is to work out which of them might be based on truth. From the above list, the most likely move seems to be the last one. Any top player from anywhere to Manchester City!

Robinho proved that top players may be prepared to move to an under achieving club rather than a Champions League club if the money is right. Having said that, Robinho couldn’t establish a regular place in the Real Madrid team and they hardly set Europe alight in his time at the club.

Well renowned

Other likely moves in England I think will invole Tottenham who may well ship out a few and bring in a few. Harry Redknapp is well renowned for his transfer dealings and he will be looking to stamp his mark on the team. I also think it likely that Santa Cruz will leave Blackburn.

In Italy, I would expect Jose Mourinho to expand his Inter squad although whether he will raid his old Stamford Bridge hunting groundis less certain.

I would also expect Juande Ramos to try to strengthen his Real Madrid team with more signings than just Lassana Diarra.

Square root

So there we have it. Although most of the rumours will be based on the square root of bugger all, the transfer window always leads to some interesting and exciting speculation.

SoccerNews will be bringing it all to you as it happens and we can all dream that the signing that will make all the difference to our team is going to be the one that makes the headlines.

As a Watford supporter, I am told by the board of the club that we will be selling in January to ensure that the club balances the books and manages to survive. I accept that, but I’m sure we’ll make one big signing that will see us roaring up the table towards the Championship play-off places.

In fact, my brother told me that a friend of his in Watford was shopping in WH Smith in the town the other day and he had spoken to a bloke he used to work with who told him that a friend of his uncle’s had been told that one of his mates had seen Thierry Henry walking towards Watford’s Vicarage Road ground.

Dalla Bona keen on West Ham move

2008-12-28T00:07:00.000+07:00

Napoli midfielder Sam Dalla Bona has revealed he would be keen on a move to Premier League side West Ham.

Dalla Bona spent from 1999 to 2002 alongside current West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola at Chelsea.

“I would love to come back to the Premier League - that can motivate any player,” he told the Daily Mirror.

“Chelsea is still in my heart and I am following my former team-mates Frank Lampard and John Terry.

“But in that squad there was also Gianfranco Zola and I would like to work again with him at West Ham.

“He is a great man.”

Martin Laursen to be out for a month

2008-12-28T00:06:00.000+07:00

Aston Villa’s captain and key defender Martin Laursen is expected to be out of action for about a month.

The Danish international was forced to sit out of yesterday’s key match against Arsenal at Villa Park. The highly entertaining match ended 2-2.

He aggravated an old knee injury in last week’s defeat of West Ham United at Upton Park.

Manager Martin O’Neill said in his post-match interview that Laursen would not require surgery.

No Real Approach For Santa - Father

2008-12-28T00:05:00.000+07:00

Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz has not received an offer from Real Madrid, according to the player's father.

Santa Cruz has frequently been linked with a move away from Ewood Park, with Manchester City said to be keen, but Madrid have now been mentioned with Juande Ramos retooling at the Bernabeu.

Aproniano Santa Cruz claims the former Bayern Munich frontman is keen to move to a big club, but insists there has been no official approach from the Spanish giants.

"There is nothing official from Real Madrid, but it is logical that Roque is being linked to another club," he said in an interview with teledeportes.com.

"If the chance appears and Blackburn agree to let him go I believe that he would prefer to sign for a team who are fighting for the likes of the Champions League or a domestic title.

"He talked with the new boss (Sam Allardyce) to tell him his desire to help the club. But I have no doubt that if Blackburn maintain their top-flight status there will be negotiations with other clubs.

"However, I do not know when. It could be in January or next June."

Huntelaar or Diarra to miss out on Champions League

2008-12-28T00:04:00.000+07:00

Spanish giants Real Madrid will probably have to leave either Klaas Jan Huntelaar or Lassana Diarra out of their Champions League selection for the knock-out stages.

According to UEFA regulations, each team is entitled to make three changes. However, only one of these three may be a player that previously played in the UEFA Cup for another club in the same season. Huntelaar has already done so for Ajax while Diarra represented Portsmouth in Europe’s other club tournament.

Spanish sportspaper Marca claims that Madrid weren’t aware of that fact, but the club deny that that is the case and hope to find a loophole that might allow both players to be registered for the tournament.

Currently placed fifth in the Primera Division, Real Madrid are practically forced to make several changes in the January transfer window. Huntelaar’s arrival was recently announced and Diarra’s deal followed this week. The club announced that more new signings could take place.