23 May 2005 Juve Not Interested in Cassano Speaking on continuing rumours linking the club with a move for Roma's Antonio Cassano Juventus director Luciano Moggi said : "Cassano is one of the best attacking players in circulation but he won't come here for two reasons. The first is that I am absolutely convinced that he will not leave Roma at the end of the season. The second is that I don't see how he can fit into our side given the champions we already have in our squad. I can't see what you can improve on when you already have the best at your disposal." Shevchenko Reveals Admiration For Rush "(Ian) Rush was a terrific striker, one of the best of his time, and I'll never forget receiving a pair of boots from him at a youth tournament in Wales. I must have been about 14 at the time and used to love those boots. I was a big admirer of Rush." Nice Appoint Antonetti Frederic Antonetti will sign a three-year contract to coach Nice. Antonetti was firmly in charge of St Etienne and replaces Gernot Rohr who was sacked last month. Parma Climb-down Over Gilardino Fee Parma administrator Luca Baraldi has tried to distance himself from the following comments he made last week : "We sold Adriano to Inter for €50 million and Gilardino, who has more impressive numbers than the Brazilian, can't be worth any less." After Milan vice president Adriano Galliani ruled out a move for the player claiming he was too expensive Baraldi said : "The best players can make the difference and it is right that clubs should gain an economical advantage for them. Galliani said he would pull out at that price? I didn't set a price, I just gave my opinion by comparing him to Adriano. We'll consider figures at the end of the season. Only once serious negotiations start will we get a clear picture of the situation. Galliani is a great football official and it is only right that he is saying what he is right now." Gullit Resigns Ruud Gullit has quit as coach for Feyenoord after they finished 4th, 25 points behind champions PSV. 22 May 2005 Monchengladbach Sack Drunken Moore Borussia Monchengladbach's have sacked Australian defender Craig Moore for turning up to training drunk last Thursday. Sporting director Peter Pander said : "They must be professionals and I can not accept what Craig did. We have cancelled his contract for this reason. We have not given him a send-off because we do not want to see him again." 20 May 2005 Jealous Wenger Accuses Chelsea of Financial Doping "They have enhancement of performances through financial resources which are unlimited. For me it's a kind of doping because it's not in any way linked to their resources. It puts pressure on the market that is not very healthy. They can go to Steven Gerrard or Rio Ferdinand and 'say how much do you earn, we'll give you twice as much'. Chelsea now look to be the third force, if not the first one at the moment and that will make it more interesting." - Arsene Wenger Former Stars Open Allianz Arena Former stars of derby rivals Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich played in the first 'unofficial' match at their clubs new home, the Allianz Arena. 32,000 spectators watched 1860 beat Bayern 3-2 in the €280 million, 66,000 seater stadium which will be inaugurated at the end of the month. On the 30th of May 1870 will play Nurnberg and on the 31st Bayern will play the German national side. Peter Pacult, Martin Max and Bernhard Winkler gave 1860 a 3-0 half time lead. Bayern replied in the second half through Ludwig Kogl and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. 19 May 2005 FA Cup Sold for €695,000 The oldest surviving FA Cup was sold at Christies auction for €695,000 to Birmingham City chairman David Gold. Alan Ball's 1966 World Cup winners medal sold for €240,000 and his cap sold for €63,000. Zenga Sacked Steaua Bucharest have sacked Italian coach Walter Zenga after poor recent form in which they took 7 points from their last six games and their lead over bitter rivals Dinamo Bucharest cut to one point with 2 games remaining. Steaua's owner Gigi Becali said : "Zenga is the man responsible for the team's poor play recently. Steaua might lose the title and Zenga must pay for that. The team needed a shock in order to wake up." Dorinel Munteanu and Dumitru Dumitriu will take over for the remaining games. Barcelona to Sign Record Shirt Sponsorship Deal with China In what will be a World Record Barcelona are reported to be close to signing a five year shirt sponsorship deal with China for €276,000 million, the first shirt sponsorship deal in the clubs history. Barcelona are expected to carry Beijing or Beijing 2008 (Olympics) next season. Lyon Tracking Tomasson Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had rejected speculation linking the club with a move for Juventus striker David Trezeguet and instead turned his attentions to Milan forward Jon Dahl Tomasson : "We've been interested in him for a long time. We tried to bring him here a while ago. Now he's got the Champions' League Final to look forward to and I hope he plays in it and wins but his future at Milan could be different. It's premature to say he's coming to Lyon, although it's not stupid to say we want him but there are lots of others too." 18 May 2005 Lampard Robbed, Literally Frank Lampard's agent Steve Kuttner has released the following statement : In the early hours of this morning Frank Lampard's private residence was the subject of a burglary. Frank has only been in the house for a matter of days but unfortunately photographs of the house have been published in various newspapers which has not helped with maintaining his privacy and security. A small number of items were taken from Frank's house along with two motor vehicles. Frank was disturbed by the sounds of the cars leaving his property and we immediately contacted the police and activated his tracker system. Both cars and his property have been recovered undamaged. Neither Frank nor his fiance Elen who were asleep in the house at the time were harmed in any way and neither was his house ransacked nor damaged. Premier League to Crackdown on Cool Streaming The Premier League are planning legal action against Coolstreaming sites. Coolstreaming is the streaming of live media over the internet. Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson said : "We were seeing people infringing our rights with streaming - we're now considering taking one of those sites to court to make an example of them. It's something we became aware of six months ago. I think it's a relatively recent phenomenon and the technological access to broadband has enabled it (streaming) to be done. Basically we were seeing people infringing our rights with streaming. We're now considering taking one of those sites to court to make an example of them - and to set a precedent." FIFA to Sort Out Mikel Mess Manchester United and Lyn have submitted documents to FIFA over Chelsea's apparent involvement in the non transfer of 18 year old Lyn midfielder John Obi Mikel. Mikel signed a contract with Manchester United on the 29th of April but claims he did so against his own free will : "I signed a contract with Manchester United and I didn't do that of my own free will. I was put into a lot of pressure to do that and I was denied advice from my agent and people I trust and I didn't get much time to think about that. I did something I did not want to do because of the pressure from Mr Morgan (Morgan Andersen, Lyn's sporting director) and a representative of United it became too much. I was pushed and I had nobody on my side so I had to do it. I was denied a chance to have a week to think about it and get some independent advice from people so the pressure was too much." Mikel is expected to sign for Chelsea but denied any contact with officials from the club : "I came into London and I have been in my hotel with my agent and haven't seen anyone or talked to anyone from Chelsea. I have no contact with Chelsea for now." Lyn's sporting director Morgan Andersen said : "This thing is much larger than people think. John Obi Mikel received his work permit to play in Norway in September last year, he turned professional on April 22 and until April 29 when he signed for Manchester United, we had no problems and everything was quiet. We do not believe John left Norway of his free will. Legally, he is our player. He should be with us now and next year, he should be free to join Manchester United. As far as we are concerned, it is a very clear case but it needs sorting out, which is why, together with Manchester United, we have asked FIFA to get involved." Drogba Longing For Return to Marseille "Marseille is close to my heart. I said that when I left Marseille and I have not changed my opinion in the last few months. You cannot explain love. I have won a championship medal in England and one day I want to win a championship medal in France." - Chelsea flop Didier Drogba Ambrosini Ruled out of European Cup Final Milan midfielder Massimo Ambrosini has been ruled out of next week's European Cup final after suffered a thigh strain in Sunday's 2-2 draw at Lecce. Sky Italia Purchase World Cup Rights Sky Italia have paid €40 million for exclusive rights to show 39 World Cup matches next year on their pay TV channels. State broadcaster RAI have the rights to show all games involving Italy, the opening match, both semi-finals and the final. 17 May 2005 Pele - When in Rome In a typical display of brownnosing Pele, in Cannes to promote a new film documenting his glorious career laughably claimed Zinedine Zidane was the best player of the past decade - because of his consistency : "Zinedine Zidane is the best player of the past 10 years. Figo, Raul, Beckham, Ronaldo or Kaka are very good players, but Zidane has been the more consistent." I would assume Pele meant consistently good and not consistently disappointing which is the case. Lahm Out for Six Months Bayern Munich defender Philip Lahm has been ruled out for six months after picking up a knee injury in training. Lahm is currently on loan at Stuttgart. Le Guen Expected to join Fenerbahce In a surprise move former Lyon coach Paul Le Guen is expected to sign a three year contract with Fenerbahce. Two More Soccer Deaths in Sweden An 11 year old boy died during a school soccer game. The boy was having difficulty breathing after the ball struck him on the chest. He died on the way to hospital. Heart surgeon Mats Boerjesson drew parallels with children in the US who die after being struck by baseballs : "They suffer from a so-called heart-shaking when the blow to the heart happens at an unfortunate moment in the heart rhythm. The same thing can happen with a football, although it is very unusual." On Monday a 13 year old boy died after collapsing while playing football. He was taken to hospital by helicopter but was announced dead on arrival. It's thought he had a congenital heart disorder. Three children aged between 10-15 have also died while playing football in Sweden this year and a 15 year old died while playing Ice Hockey.