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April 2000 Having pulled out of the deal to sign Ruud van Nistelrooij after doubts over his knee injury the move to Man United looks even less likely after the striker ruptured knee ligaments in training and will be out of action for at least eight months. This is the second injury to a high profile striker in recent weeks following Ronaldo's ill fated comeback against Lazio in the Italian Cup final. Ruthless defenders are no longer the biggest threats to players careers rather the demands of their clubs. 27 April 2000 SERIE A RUMOURS Juve striker Filippo Inzaghi could be set to leave after demanding the same wages as Del Piero. Batistuta is being linked with a move to Inter and Rui Costa to Milan and Parma. Fiorentina's other star player, goalkeeper Francesco Toldo, has been a long time target of Man United. According to the survey the average French league player earns a quarter of the amount earned by his Premiership counterparts (£400,000) and the reason French clubs are unable to match the wages offered in the rest of Europe is because players have to pay as much as 10 times the tax paid by players based in England, Italy, Germany and Spain. BAGGIO "When I was little, I was taught how to stop the ball, how to hit it when it was stationary and when you were running forward. Today, three-quarters of training is done without a ball." "Players run. Once I even got injured because I was made to run with weights. It felt like I was pulling a train. During the week, if you try a joke or do something different, you'll be criticized and accused of not being concentrated. It's hard now to have any fun, even in training. " CHAMPIONS LEAGUE UEFA will not make any changes to the format of the Champions League next season which means we can once again look forward to meaningless matches in the first group stages. BRAZIL Ronaldinho (Ronaldo Assiss) has been dropped from Brazil's squad for being overweight. Brazil will play Ecuador in Sao Paulo in a World Cup qualifier. Flamengo have sacked Paulo Cesar Carpegiani after they were thrashed 5-1 by Vasco da Gama. 25 April 2000 BUNDESLIGA NEWS Bayern is strongly interested in signing HSV midfielder Niko Kovac. The Croatian international midfielder has become one of the best defensive midfielders in the league and wants to join Bayern as well. The only problem is Hamburg who don't want to sell. HSV coach Frank Pagelsdorf has extended his contract with the club until 2004. Ex-Schalker Jens Lehmann wants to leave Borussia Dortmund. His manager André Groß has already offered his services to Manchester United but unfortunately a ManU scout saw Dortmund's game against Leverkusen where Lehmann gifted Bayer a goal. His replacement in the yellow & black goal could be former Gladbach keeper Robert Enke, now between the posts for Benfica Lisbon. Allegedly Dortmund has already contacted him. Tim Liedecker 23 April 2000 Three fans died in a crush as thousands of supporters forced their way into Liberia's national stadium during a World Cup qualifier between Liberia and Chad. 21 April 2000 Newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo has just released the rumour that Rede Globo (Brazil's by-far biggest media group) is about to substitute for Parmalat at Palmeiras. The project includes turning Palmeiras' old fashioned little Parque Antartica stadium into a 45k seats arena. With Globo's sponsorship, Palmeiras is likely to have a budget at least twice as big as any other Brazilian team. Irineu Carvalho Franco Ciminelli, a Torino businessman, has paid £11.5 million for a 98.55% stake in his hometown club. "The one at 2-0? I think if he (Keane) had scored that we would have won.". Alex Ferguson on Keane's crucial miss against Real Madrid yesterday. The woman who claimed she was raped by Patrick Kluivert several years ago has been ordered to pay him £12,000 in losses by a Dutch Court. Kluivert was acquitted of the charges. Atlético de Madrid is not only threatened by relegation but also completely bankrupt financially with debts around £50 (it was about time if you ask me). Therefore they'll have to sell their best players starting next season. These are the rumors I have heard of : Bejbl (MF) to Tottenham Hasselbaink (FW) to PSV Kiko (FW) to Real Betis Molina (GK) to Manchester United Solari (MF) Juventus Gil y Gil : "We will fight until the very end. If Atlético dies, I will die as well." Tim Liedecker 20 April 2000 According to numerous press reports, Lazio have signed Rivaldo for £31 million. West Ham midfielder Joe Cole will miss Euro 2000 after X-ray's revealed that he has a fractured right long following a murderous foul by Rory Delap during last Saturday's match at Derby. Tottenham have confirmed that Man United have expressed an interested in signing defender Sol Campbell. According to Italian economy magazine Il Sole 24 Ore Inter will receive £30 million if Ronaldo had to end his career prematurely. Inter sports director Rinaldo Ghelfi added that all Inter players are insured with such an amount of money that would normally be necessary to buy them from the club. Tim Liedecker Rupert Murdoch, Leo Kirch, Canal Plus and Telefonica of Spain are said to be interested in setting up a European Super League which would guarantee each of the 16 clubs £16 million a season. Pedrag Mijatovic will miss the last 4 weeks of the season with a calf injury but is expected to be fit in time for Euro 2000. Derby have made Georgi Kinkladze loan deal permanent and transferred him from Ajax for £3 million. Denis Irwin will stay at Mau United for one more season after signing a new contract. Man United have been nominated for the Laureus team award. A survey carried out by English newspaper the independent found that the average Premiership player earns £400,000 per year and 100 players earn over a £1 million per year. Division One players average £128,000, division two £52,000 and division three £37,00. I assume these figure are before tax. 18 April 2000 RONALDO "Ronaldo has suffered for more than two years from his right rotula tendon and even with his two tendons. There is a kind of tendon illness which is not a fatality or inevitable, but it's a weakness of his tendon. Ronaldo is an exceptional person. You notice straight off his manner of running which is slightly in a sitting position. Above all he is an explosive player, a player both relaxed and of speed and I think that this harms his tendon." Surgeon Gerard Saillant "We have excluded the right knee from the contract as it had already been operated on. As soon as I heard about the accident, I looked at the contract to verify. If his career is finished he will receive approximately £28 million." Tommy Nilsson, Managing Director of Euro Accident FIFA FAIL IN FOREIGNER LIMIT As expected the European Union has refused proposals by FIFA to limit the number of foreign players that can be fielded by clubs. "The six (national players) plus five (foreigners) idea is simply not possible and I think federations have got that message" said Viviane Reding, the commissioner for Sport. Here is the relevant section from the treaty of Rome. TITLE III. FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS, SERVICES AND CAPITAL CHAPTER 1. WORKERS Article 48. 1. Freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the Community by the end of the transitional period at the latest. 2. Such freedom of movement shall entail the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment. 3. It shall entail the right, subject to limitations justified on grounds of public policy, public security or public health: (a) to accept offers of employment actually made; (b) to move freely within the territory of Member States for this purpose; (c) to stay in a Member State for the purpose of employment in accordance with the provisions governing the employment of nationals of that State laid down by law, regulation or administrative action; (d) to remain in the territory of a Member State after having been employed in that State, subject to conditions which shall be embodied in implementing regulations to be drawn up by the Commission. MORE VIOLENCE IN ITALY 40 year old Marco Schena, an Italian policeman, is in a coma after being hit by an ashtray thrown by Lecce fans from a train on Sunday. DEATH THREAT FOR MAN UNITED STAR Gary Neville's car was attacked after Man United's game against Liverpool and he has also received death threats. A PFA executive urged the defender to contact police if he receives anymore death threats. OTHER NEWS "I reinforce the fact that money will be made available for whichever players the manager wished to sign.". Leeds Chairman Peter Ridsdale Berti Vogts is expected to be named as coach of Borussia Dortmund. Racing Santander midfielder Jose Emilio Amavisca has been ruled out of Euro 2000 after rupturing knee ligaments. 15 April 2000 A 16 year old has been arrested for throwing a goal ball at Bayern Munich 'keeper Oliver Khan during Freiburg's match with Bayern Munich last Wednesday. Khan needed stitches for a head wound. 14 April 2000 Former Real Madrid striker Sebastiean Fleitas was found dead in his flat aged 53. Bundesliga club Frankfurt, already struggling to avoid relegation, suffered a further blow when they were deducted two points for a licence infringment. Middlesbrough legend Wilf Mannion has died aged 81. Davor Suker will leave Arsenal at the end of the season. His most likley destination is West Ham. UEFA have banned Galatasary fans from the second leg of their UEFA Cup semi-final against Leeds. Four men have been charged with the murder of the two Leeds United fans. "A programme of seven to eight months is expected for rehabilitation and his comeback. The return if therefore not scheduled before the end of the current year.". A hospital spokesman allays fears that Ronaldo may not play again following successful surgery to repair a snapped tendon. "Recent weeks have seen several matches in which the results has been known ahead of the kickoff.". Romanian politicians speak of widespread corruption in their domestic game Bernd Krauss has been sacked as coach of Borussia Dortmund after just two months in charge. Udo Lattek takes charge until the end of the season. Bayer Leverkusen midfielder is out for the rest of the season after tearing ankle ligaments in Wednesday's league match away to Hansa Rostock. Marseille's deputy coach Christophe Galtier has been given a 6 month ban over his alleged assault of Marcelo Gallardo in last Friday's league match against Monaco. Marseille were fined £50,000 for failing to provide adequate security. 13 April 2000 As many of you will have noticed by now there are a lot of news and rumours concerning Milan on this page simply because they are busier than any of the other major European clubs in the transfer market. If you have exclusive news from your clubs please let me know. AC Milan get the pole for Rivaldo, they offered the same 120Mld Lira (£40 millon) then Lazio, but it seems that Rivaldo would prefer to move to Milan (12Mld Lira per season, £4 million). Daniel Schmidhofer Ronaldo faces another lengthy spell out of the game after he snapped a tendon in his right knee in yesterday's Italian Cup match against Lazio. "I would not be against the competition (Champions League) being changed. There are a number of things we could do but I would personally not be against it being streamlined. There are a number of alternatives we could introduce either looking at the number of matches of clubs.". UEFA President Lennhart Johansson Milan have officially completed the signing of Spanish midfielder Gerard from Valencia. We reported the story earlier in the week which by our standards is slow, usually we list transfers weeks or months before they are made official! "I know of this Milan's offer for a long time. It is a big club which is hard to resist but, still, there is also Fiorentina interested in me. I will make a decision at the end of the season, although a lot can be known even after the Saturday meeting.". Partizan Belgrade forward Mateja Kezman. Miona Kovacevic 12 April 2000 Ronaldo lasted only 7 minutes of his comeback after 5 months out with a knee injury in Wednesday's Italian Cup match against Lazio. The Inter striker re-injured his right knee after a fall. Ronaldo has been plagued by injury problems since the 1998 World Cup. Marco Simone is threatening to sue Marseille defender Patrick Blondeau for punching him in the face before the start of Marseille's match against Monaco. Marseille's deputy coach Christophe Galtier has been suspended indefinitely for assaulting Marcelo Gallardo in the same match. Emmanuel Petit has been fined £5000 for making an obscene gesture at Aston Villa fans during Arsenal's visit to Villa park in March. FIFA's Latest Top 20 National Team Ranking 1. Brazil 2. Czech Republic 3. France 4. Spain 5. Germany 6. Argentina 7. Norway 8. Mexico 9. Romania 10. Croatia 11. Yugoslavia 12. Denmark 13. England 14. Italy 15. Portugal 16. Sweden 17. Colombia 18. Paraguay 19. USA 20. Holland Don't even attempt to make sense of this list! 11 April 2000 A new TV deal has been signed between the Bundesliga and ISPR. Starting next season Premiere World will carry every single Bundesliga game live, the highlights will remain with SAT-1. Clubs will receive a minimum of 16 million DM per season, about £5 million which is a long way short of the fees earned by Italian and Spanish clubs. Inter have been linked with a move for Werder Bremen's Brazilian forward Ailton. Kaiserslautern and Schalke have been linked with a move for Roda defender Vrede. Thanks to Tim Liedecker for these news items. Brazilian Sebastiao Lazaroni is the new coach of Jamaica. Jesus Gil back in charge of Atletico Madrid. Gil was arrested on suspicion of fraud but no charges have been made. Fiorentina's match against Lazio on Saturday has been moved back to the afternoon for safety reasons. I have received a conflicting report from our Brazilian correspondence Irineu Carvalho. According to Brazilian newspaper O Globo Juventus are about to sign Flamengo defender Arithson. Editor in chief, Tim Leidecker reports that Real Madrid have signed Arithson. 10 April 2000 Five people have been charged with the murder of two Leeds United fans last week. The trial is expected to take place within the next few days. Milan have signed Valencia midfielder Gerard for £15 million and Real have also signed a player for £15 million, Flamengo defender Aphirson. Libyan club Tripoli have arranged 45 minute friendly matches against Middlesbrough and Bari on the 17th of May to mark the opening of a new stadium. Middlesbrough had denied press reports that they will be paid an appearance fee of £1 million. Mel Gibson's production company are making a fly on the wall documentary on Man United. Former Brazil goalkeeper, Moacir Barbosa passed away today. He was 79 years old. Renzo Ulivieri will step down as coach of doomed Cagliari at the end of the season. 9 April 2000 Monaco's Argentinean playmaker Marcelo Gallardo has filed an official police complaint against Marseille's assistant trainer Christophe Galtier. Gallardo alleges that he was assaulted by Galtier. Rivaldo has hinted that he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season, he is claimed to have said he knows where he will play next season but wouldn't elaborate further. Juventus have reportedly offered Zidane + cash for Rivaldo. Newcastle's Peruvian winger Nolberto Solano has again been linked with Real Madrid. Leo Beenhakker has quit as coach of Feyenoord following a home defeat. 8 April 2000 Barcelona midfielder Emmanuel Amunike resumed training with Barca on Friday after a two year battle with a knee injury. Ajax's Greek striker Nikos Machlas will be out for 5 months following knee surgery. Jean Tigana, one of the stars of France's 1984 European Championship squad and former coach of Monaco is being tipped to coach English first division side Fulham. Ronaldo's wife Milene gave birth to a baby boy on Thursday. They named him, wait for it, Ronald! For those interested you can see 'photos or Ronald at Inter's website - www.inter.it 7 April 2000 Five men have been arrested in connection with the deaths of two Leeds United fans. One of the men has confessed to stabbing a Leeds supporter to death. 6 April 2000 Lazio may have used a false passport to grant Veron EC (European Community) status. Serie A clubs are only allowed to field 3 non EC players. If found guilty, which is highly unlikely in my opinion, they could be stripped of all points gained when over the EC player limit. FIFA President Sepp Bladder and UEFA President Lennart Johansson will meet with European Union politicians in a bid to stop the Bosman ruling. They want to impose a limit of 5 foreigner players per club. "I am quitting Madrid. I never intended to leave the club but I need to feel useful. I want to play here but I cannot get in the team. It's the most painful decision in my life. I have contacts. I will return to Italy or maybe go to England.". Christian Karembeu. Karembeu will be available on a free transfer. His stunning supermodel wife is a regular on a Sunday afternoon Italian variety show. She's a bit flat chested but you can't have everything! Leeds United supporters Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus were stabbed to death in clashes between fans of Leeds and Galatasaray in Turkey on Wednesday. "He (Beckham) is not a player with speed or real ability and you have to face him in one on one situations on few occasions.". Roberto Carlos Roy Keane has signed a three year boot deal with Italian company Diadora. The deal is said to be the biggest in the clubs history. Diadora have sponsored Marco Van Basten and Roberto Baggio in the past. Pawel Michalski, a supporter of Polish club Wisla Krakow has been jailed for 6 and a half years for throwing a knife at Dino Baggio during a UEFA Cup match between his club and Parma in 1998. A Leeds United supporter was stabbed to death in a clash between fans of Leeds and Galatasaray in Turkey. Johan Cruijff will step down as an advisor to former club Ajax because he feels he is not being taken seriously. Cruijff blasted the teams youth program blaming Barca coach Van Gaal and new Ajax coach Co Adriaanse. Bordeaux playmaker Johan Micoud has signed a pre contract with Parma. Two players repeatedly linked with Milan are Monaco's Argentinean playmaker Marcello Gallardo and Valencia midfielder Gerard whose value would have went through the roof following today's performance against Lazio. 5 April 2000 "Every so often I have a few regrets at having spent my career at Fiorentina". Batistuta reflects after scoring his 200th goal for Fiorentina against Bologna. Fabio Capello has signed a two year contract extension with Roma that will keep him at the club 2003, unless he gets the sack! Ronaldo will make his long awaited comeback for Inter against Lazio in next week's Italian Cup final. Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux has had a second operation on an ankle injury and is not expected to return until October. Stan Collymoore will be out for over 4 weeks with a fractured ankle. 4 April 2000 Premiership TV Rights After a meeting between the 20 Premier League chairmen the following television rights are up for grabs when the current contract with BSkyB and the BBC expires at the end of next season (2000-2001) : 66 live games to be broadcast on Sundays and Mondays and another highlights program in addition to Match of the Day 40 games to be broadcast live on PPV Each club will also be able to screen their matches on their own TV channels and internet sites on a taped delay basis In an interview with Kicker magazine German midfielder Jens Jeremies has said Germany were unlikely to retain their title at Euro 2000 and also criticised the play of the team in recent years. Unsurprisingly German Coach Erich Ribbech has threatened to drop Jeremies from the national squad. Luis Fernandez will step down as coach of Athletic Bilbao at the end of the season Arsenal goalkeeper David Seamen escaped unhurt from a car crash. Team-mate Lee Dixon pulled Seamen to safety. Gheorghe Hagi has said he will leave Galatasaray for either a Romanian club or the MLS. 1 April 2000 Just thought I would point out that none of these stories are April fool's jokes. After a dominance of more than 10 years La Liga has replaced Serie A on top of UEFA's 5-year-coefficient. After strong performances from Barcelona, Valencia and Real Madrid in the Champions League La Liga now leads with 56,742 points, Serie A has 55,677. The Bundesliga remains third at 45,546. After the top trio follow the French Première Division (42,727) and the English Premiership (40,035). Tim Leidecker Bari striker Antonio Cassano has been summoned before doping investigators to explain why he refused to take a drugs test after the Serie A match against Parma on 12th March. Ethnikos Achnas' Yugoslavian defender Andic Perica was found dead in his home on Thursday. He hanged himself. Ricardo Guerra, a member of the Athletico Madrid's Bastion fan club has been found guilty of stabbing Aitor Zabaleta on 3 December 1998 outside the Madrid stadium. "We were not supposed to caress them. If a player does not take 10 kicks a game he should go and play the piano and not soccer.". Yugoslavia's U21 coach Dusan Savic responds to criticism of his teams racist treatment of England Striker Emile Heskey. UEFA have moved the deadline for naming Euro 2000 squads to 12pm 1 June 2000. The original deadline was set for 31 May 2000, the same day as many international friendlies. UEFA President Lennard Johansson has backed the proposal to limit the number of foreigners in a team. Not going to happen unless the European Union change their trade laws which is very unlikely. |