"The FA and Sven felt it was important to clarify his future. There has
been so much
speculation surrounding this matter in recent weeks and
months, it was important to
resolve it now. This is the right outcome
and I would like to thank Sven and his advisors for their tremendous
co-operation. Our main objective is giving Sven and the England team the
best chance of achieving success at the World Cup and Sven is definitely
the man to lead us in Germany."
Former Arsenal midfielder Jermaine Pennant has warned the club's new
teenage signing 16 year old Theo Walcott that Arsene Wenger's reputation
for developing talent is misplaced :
"I've never seen Walcott play but I've heard he is a good player and
the big teams have been in for him so he must be good. I wish him all the
best but it is not going to be easy. Are Arsenal the best club to develop
at? Things didn't work out for me so it would be hard for me to say but
the club has got a lot of faith in him and they will try and nurture him
as best as possible. When I was there my FA Youth Cup team won the
competition two years in a row and there is nobody to show for it playing
now at Arsenal. Everyone has gone elsewhere - Steve Sidwell, David Noble,
Jay Bothroyd, a lot of players, I could keep on going. Only Ashley Cole
has come through from the youth ranks so I don't know if the youngsters do
get a chance but we will see what happens with Walcott."
Arsenal signed Pennant from Notts County in 1995 for €3 million, a
record fee for a 15 year old.
"UEFA is aware and is deeply concerned by the recent allegations made
public in the French media by former Olympique Marseille player,
Jean-Jacques Eydelie, concerning alleged doping prior to the UEFA
Champions League final in Madrid in 1993. UEFA will now look into this
matter thoroughly despite the time elapsed since the match was played.
UEFA is serious and committed to the battle against any form of doping
within the sport of football, as exemplified by the introduction of out of
competition testing in the UEFA Champions League."
Lazio forward Paolo Di Canio has been given a one match ban, effective
immediately, and fined €10,000 for giving the Roman salute during Lazio's
league match at Livorno in December. Earlier this month, fearing action
against his club Lazio, Di Canio said he would no longer give the
salute.
22 January 2006
Man United's Profits Drop
Manchester United's profit have fallen from €84.71 million to €66.84
for the year ending June 2005. The club's chief executive said :
"It's been a very profitable year for the club but, despite the drop,
Malcolm Glazer is
comfortable with the results."
Despite the clubs early exit from the Champions League and loss of
sponsors Vodaphone, Gill suggested the future is looking bright, despite
the club facing massive interest payments from 2007 following Glazer's
takeover :
"Going forward, the new stadium expansion means there will be nearly
8,000 extra seats from the start of next season and the end of 2007 is
looking very positive."
Gill claimed there were no plans to replace Alex Ferguson as coach
:
"Alex has got the full support of everyone. I have no thoughts of a
long-term replacement."
21 January 2006
Doping Scandal Rocks Marseille
Jean-Jacques Edelie, a midfielder who played in
Marseille's 1993 European Cup winning side, has revealed in his
autobiography that the team took injections before the final, which they
won 1-0. In exerts published in the highly respected sports newspaper
L'Equipe, Edelie
said :
"The only time I agreed to take a doping product was the 1993 Champions
League
Final. In all the
clubs I played in I saw some doping going on, except for Bastia but this
was the only time I accepted. We all took a series of injections and I
felt different during the game, as my
physique responded differently under strain. The only player
who
refused to take part was Rudi Voller"
Former Milan striker Daniele Massaro, who played in the 1993 final,
believes the result
should be overturned :
"I am shocked and find this news disturbing. If these allegations are
proved then it
would be right to take the trophy away from Marseille
and return it to Milan. The whole
thing is simply incredible."
Marseille were relegated and stripped of the
French league title they won that season after it emerged that they fixed
a league match against Valenciennes before the final (in order to rest
players) but they were not, as many sources incorrectly claim, stripped of the
European Cup.
18 January 2006
Car Crash Ends Strikers Career
Paraguayan international striker Julio Gonzalez has had his left arm
amputated after
being involved in a car accident on the 22nd of
December. Julio and his Venezia
team-mate, 17-year-old Argentinean
Gerardo Grighini, were travelling to Venice airport
for the Christmas
holidays. Julio suffered multiple fractures and bruising. Gerardo
broke
a fibula and has since been released from hospital. Julio's father, Celso,
said :
"There was no alternative, he had to have an amputation to save his
life."
17 January 2006
Di Stefano Fitted With Pacemaker
A medical report issued by heart specialists at the La Fe hospital in
Valencia read :
"An operation to fit Alfredo Di Stefano with a pacemaker has been
carried out successfully. The patient is making favourable progress in the
hospital ward and is
waiting to receive approval for his discharge in
the next few days."
Eriksson To Sue News of the World
England coach Sven Goran Eriksson is to sue the tabloid newspaper The
News of the World after the newspaper tricked him into giving an interview
with one of their reporters, who dressed up as an Arab Sheikh, and taped
the conversation before revealing the contents in their newspaper. His
lawyers said :
"It is now clear that this was all a highly sophisticated deception by
the newspaper. The resulting articles were a gross invasion of privacy,
and the discussions, which our clients were expressly asked to keep
confidential, were reported out of context in a distorted and
sensationalised manner so as to provide a spurious pretext for the
headlines which appeared. Our clients' position is that stories of this
sort, and the distortion of what was said during confidential discussions
in order to create the bogus appearance of some legitimate public
interest, must be remedied."
Minister Urges Compromise in Serie A TV Row
Italy's communications minister, Mario Landolfi, has urged Serie A
clubs and the
television networks to find a compromise in the TV rights
row :
"Those in charge of soccer and television have been urged to find a
solution that
guarantees the championship and fulfils the needs of the
broadcasters."
Following a three hour meeting with Landolfi and representatives of
Serie A clubs and
other television networks, the chairman of
broadcaster Telecom Italia Media, Riccardo
Perissich, seemed to think a
return to a collective television deal was likely :
"It is probable that we will move towards the collective sale of
television rights. We achieved consensus today that the current system of
bargaining needs to be
replaced."
