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| 28 February 2003 Giggs Wants To Stay At Man United "There's been a lot of speculation about Inter Milan, but as far as I'm concerned I'm happy where I am. I've got three years left on my contract and I'm pleased to stay where I am." - Ryan Giggs 25 February 2003 Home Ban For Torino Torino have been handed a five game home ban following the riots that lead to the suspension of last weeks match against Milan. 24 February 2003 Seedorf Claims Media Incite Violence Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf has lashed out at the media for the increasing levels of fan violence in Serie A : "Papers only care about increasing sales so they provoke controversy. In Italy I have seen a radical change. If a paper was credible in the past, nowadays it reports 90% lies. The most important thing is actually money and revenues, not football as a sport. I'm not blaming the media for the way fans behave in a stadium, I am just saying that during the week you read and hear only about rows and these later spill over at the stadium. Football is linked to politics and money. We play eighty games a season not to have fun, but for money and for television. It's a delicate matter and I think that we are all involved." 22 February 2003 3 Match Ban For Recoba Inter forward Alvaro Recoba has been given a three match ban for stamping on Barca defender Carlos Puyol during the teams 3-0 Champions League loss in the Nou Camp. 19 February 2003 Bayern In Bribery Scandal A German magazine has revealed that current Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich received payments of €20 million from KirchMedia. Bayern claimed that the money was compensation for relinquishing marketing rights : "The existence of a contract with the Kirch group to whom all the marketing rights had been relinquished, as is the custom with other Bundesliga clubs". Nuremburg President Michael Rother was one of many to question Bayern for keeping the payments secret : "Bayern shouldn't have cashed this money themselves. It should have been shared out with all the other clubs." Leverkusen director Wolfgang Holzhauser disputed Bayern's claims : "I don't know any club which has signed a deal with KirchMedia." Bangkok To Stage End Of Season Tournament A four team tournament, the King's Super Cup, featuring Arsenal, Chelsea, Inter and a team of Asian all stars will be held between the 28-31 May 2003. 18 February 2003 One More Season For Maldini Milan captain Paolo Maldini has admitted to holding contract talks with the club he has spent his entire life playing for. Maldini wants to stay at the club for one more season before bringing his glittering career to an end. 17 February 2003 World Cup Rights Sold, Again Infront Sports and Media AG, a marketing company led by former German international Guenter Netzer, have bought the rights for the 2006 World Cup from KirchSport for €305 million. Infront Sports and Media AG will pay FIFA €1 billion before selling World Cup rights around the World. The US rights have already been purchased by MLS commissioner Don Garber, Anschutz Entertainment Group, The Hunt Sports Group and Dentsu Inc. Ferguson Injures Beckham In a freak dressing room accident following Man United's FA Cup exit at the hands of Arsenal on Sunday, coach Alex Ferguson kicked a boot which struck David Beckham over his left eye and required two stitches to close. 16 February 2003 Ancelotti Signs On For Another Year Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has agreed to a one year contract extension, keeping him at the San Siro until June 2005. Ancelotti was delighted with the deal : "I am very happy. It took about 30 seconds to work things out. We seemed to agree on almost everything and I intend to stay at the San Siro for a long time. I cannot think of a better place to work." Toppmoeller Sacked Leverkusen have sacked coach Klaus Toppmoeller following Saturday's home loss to Hansa Rostock which left the club one point above the relegation zone. Last season Leverkusen gained an un-enviable treble - finishing runners up in the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup. Thomas Horster, coach of the clubs amateur side, takes over for the remainder of the season. 14 February 2003 Vieira Says Arsenal Don't Need Ronaldo Patrick Vieira insists Arsenal do not need Ronaldo after the Brazilian claimed he would like to join the team in an interview earlier in the week : "Steve (McManaman) has told me many times that in England I would score goals for fun. Arsenal are one of the great traditional English clubs so perhaps I should go and play for them. The idea of taking my career to the Premiership is very attractive." Vieira replied : "We have Thierry Henry and at the moment he's better than Ronaldo. Thierry is fantastic for us so we don't need anybody else." Gurpegi Fails Drug Test Athletic Bilbao midfielder Carlos Gurpegi has been suspended by the Spanish FA for testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone. 13 February 2003 Curro Torres Out For 6 Months Valencia defender Curro Torres is out for the rest of the season with a knee ligament injury. Torres, who was injured in a match against Real Sociedad in January, will undergo surgery on Friday. 10 February 2003 Kahn Sets Record Bayern Munich 'keeper Oliver Kahn set a league record of 803 minutes without conceding a goal before being beaten by Hamburg striker Naohiro Takahara on Sunday. Kahn set the previous record of 753 minutes in the 1998-1999 season. Hierro Out For Six Weeks Real Madrid captain Fernando Hierro will be out of action for six week with knee ligament damage. Larsson Out For A Month Celtic striker Henrik Larsson will be out of action for a month after suffering a double jaw fracture following a clash of heads with Gustave Bahoken in a league match against Livingston. 7 February 2003 Gaspart To Relinquish Presidency Joan Gaspart announced that he will step down as president on the 1st of March with elections for a new president due to be held in June. Gaspart's decision to appoint the hugely unpopular Louis Van Gaal as coach at the start of this season ultimately led to his downfall. 3 February 2003 Juve Lose Del Piero For Two Months Juventus forward Allesandro Del Piero could be out of action for upto two months after injuring a thigh muscle during the clubs 1-1 draw with Atalanta on Sunday. UEFA Team of the Year As voted by visitors to UEFA's website, uefa.com : GK : Rustu (Fenerbahce & Turkey) Right Back : Puyol (Barcelona & Spain) Centre Back : Chivu (Ajax & Romania) Centre Back : Nesta (Milan & Italy) Left Back : Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid & Brazil) Right Midfield : Seedorf (Milan & Holland) Central Midfield : Zidane (Real Madrid & France) Central Midfield : Ballack (Bayern Munich & Germany) Left Midfield : Damien Duff Attack : Henry (Arsenal & France) Attack : Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Brazil) 2 February 2003 Antic New Barca Coach Radomir Antic has succeeded Louis Van Gaal as coach of Barcelona. Antic lead his last two clubs, Atletico Madrid and Oviedo, to relegation. 1 February 2003 Bodyguards For Ridsdale Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale is under guard 24 hours a day after being sent death threats following the sale of Robbie Fowler and Jonathan Woodgate to Man City and Newcastle respectively. |