Bayern Eye Van Bommel

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said the club have earmarked Barcelona midfielder Marc Van Bommel as the ideal replacement for Michael Ballack who is expected to join Chelsea on a free transfer at the end of the season :

"He is a player that we like. He is not a number 10, not a pure playmaker who scores many goals but he is a midfielder of high quality and, above all, a good character. Van Bommel quite literally marched ahead with the flag for PSV and almost alone brought Milan to the brink of defeat. We will find out from his manager and Barcelona if there is a fundamental willingness and a chance that he will move to Bayern.
We  will look into that in the coming weeks and see."

Newspaper Apologises To Schweinsteiger

German daily newspaper TZ gave a front page apology under the heading "Sorry" to Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger after accusing him of betting on fixed matches.

Troussier Converts To Islam

Former Marseille coach Philippe Troussier and his wife, Dominique, have converted to Islam. The much travelled Troussier, who has coached Marseille as well as the national teams of  South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Qatar, Japan and Morocco, where he now lives, has taken the name Omar and his wife the name Amina.

The news, reported by French-Moroccan newspaper L'Opinion, was confirmed by a friend close to the couple. When the newspaper contacted Troussier he said :

"I want to keep my feelings for myself, as you see things evolve"

The couple have adopted two local girls.

Capello Reiterates English Desire

Fabio Capello, ahead of Juve's Champions League match with Arsenal, has once again spoken of his desire to coach in England :

"It's my dream to coach in England, it's something I've always felt inside of me. In three years I will stop coaching here, then I would like to realise the dream I've always had - England. After that I'll probably retire, maybe to Pantelleria (an island near Sicily) where a little while ago I bought a place."

Capello has been tipped as a successor to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Fiorentina Doping Scandal

The highly respected Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport has suggested the deaths of four former Fiorentina players were linked to the use of Cortex and Micoren. The drugs, which strengthen muscles and increase stamina, were banned six years ago but administered by the clubs doctors during the 1970s.
 
Pino Longoni (63), died on Wednesday at the age of 63 after suffering from an illness which narrowed the arteries in his brain. Bruno Beatrice (39) died of leukaemia in 1987. Nello Saltutti (56) died of a heart attack in 2003 and Ugo Ferrante (59) died of cancer of the tonsils in 2004.

Three other former Fiorentina players also had major health issues - Massimo Mattolini has kidney disease, Domenico Caso cancer of the liver and Giancarlo Antognoni had a heart attack two years ago.

The wife of Pino Longoni, Grazia, said :

"We don't even know what reduced him (her husband Pino) to such a state. They've told us there is no connection between his illness and his time as a footballer. I'm not accusing anybody, I'm just saying that it's a strange coincidence, these illnesses and the deaths of all these ex-footballers."

Sullivan Slams Players

Birmingham chairman David Sullivan has blasted his players after their humiliating
0-7 FA Cup defeat against Liverpool :

"I've got to a point now where I don't like footballers. I don't like football agents and
I don't like footballers because it's so one-sided with them and it does hurt. Whatever
happens this season (the club are 18th) we're going to bomb a lot of players out in the summer and bring in a lot of players that want to play for this club. We've got to be much tougher with the players. We've got to demand much more of them. We've had occasions where players can't be bothered to turn up for club events. They're on £20,000 to £30,000 a week and it does make you incredibly resentful."

Platini Hits Out At G14

Sepp Bladder's stooge, Michel Platini, has hit out at the G14 over suing FIFA for a massive €860 million for what they term unlawful use of players on international duty.
 
Platini, a potential UEFA President, whose ideas include the banning of tackles and
merging the Champions League and UEFA Cup, said :

"The G14 has no legitimacy. Clubs have the right to make certain demands but they must do so through already existing bodies, including the UEFA clubs forum or the national federations. The G14 is simply following the money trail. The big clubs always want more. For them, sport is just a way to make money. We don't share that philosophy."

Platini failed to mentioned that he owes much of his fame and fortune to one of G14's founder members - Juventus.

Ballack Eyes Premiership Future

"For me it is the Premiership rather than La Liga. I am a very physical player and in England the pace is fast and the tackles are hard. If you look at the players that have become legends in England, like Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane, I see a lot of myself in players like that." - Michael Ballack

South Africa Want Eriksson
 
Danny Jordan, the chief executive of South Africa's 2010 World Cup, has bizarrely claimed Sven Goran Eriksson is the right choice to lead his country because of his work (!!?!?!?) with young players, spectacularly overlooking the fact that all of the players owe their development to their clubs coaches not Eriksson :

"Sven has overseen the emergence of young players and that sort of attitude would be important when building a new team for South Africa. England have moved away from the idea that if David Beckham isn't available or Paul Scholes retires then the team is in trouble. There's more depth and balance to the England team - whatever's said about Eriksson, young players now have a permanent place in the squad and that sort of attitude would be important when building a new team for South Africa."

Neo Nazis Target Muslims & Police At World Cup

In a statement published by Italian newspaper La Repubblica, a member of  Roma's ultras claimed there would be a massacre at the World Cup :

"We are united. For the first time we are talking and planning together, with the English, the Germans, the Dutch, the Spanish,  everyone with the same objective. At the World Cup there  will be a massacre. We will all be in Germany and there will be Turks, Algerians and Tunisians. The Turks, we can't stand them. In our country there are not many but in Germany, there are many of those guys there. They are Islamic terrorists. We will attack them. They are all enemies that need to be eliminated, just like the police. If we make the Roman greeting (the fascist salute used by Paolo Di Canio) they put us in prison. We will be tens of thousands. Nothing but the English are feared."

G14 Sue FIFA For €860 Million

The G14, the body that represents 18 of Europe's most powerful clubs, have began legal action against FIFA. The group have long argued for compensation for players while they are on international duty and compensation for players who are injured while on international duty. In his opening speech the groups lawyer, Jean-Louis Dupont, told a court :

"The G14 demands €860 million in damages from the International Football Federation (FIFA) to cover the losses incurred by the 18 clubs in the G14 over the past ten years. This figure covers the cost of putting players at FIFA's disposal and their unavailability after they have been injured while playing for the national team."

"The World Cup in Germany this year will generate two and a half billion euros in revenue. Yet not one euro will be given back to the clubs who have provided the crucial ingredient to this truly global tournament - the players, the employees of the clubs."

Schweinsteiger Sues Newspaper

Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has started legal action against newspaper TZ for defamation after they claimed he gambled on fixed football matches.

Mourinho Rules Out Inter
 
"I have a contract with Chelsea until 2010 and I fully intend to see that out. There is no way I will be at Inter Milan next season. I promise you I will be the Chelsea manager. Soon we will hopefully be celebrating our second Premiership title and maybe if we can win the FA Cup too it will be Chelsea's greatest ever season. Chelsea is a great project for the future, as well as the present, and I have spoken many times about being part of that project for years to come. Nothing has changed."  - Jose Mourinho

Deisler Blow for Germany

Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Sebastian Deisler has been ruled out of the World Cup and faces six months on the sidelines and a sixth operation on his right knee following a training ground collision with team-mate Owen Hargreaves.

Newspaper Pulls Schweinsteiger Story

Munich based newspaper TZ have pulled a story from their website claiming Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger was involved in a betting scandal.

In their Friday edition they accused Schweinsteiger of betting on fixed matches. Schweinsteiger is considering legal action against the newspaper.