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| 30 JUNE
2000 BRAZIL NEWS by Irineu de Carvalho Excellent forward EDILSON asked to leave after being threatened by hoolingans unsatisfied with the recent performance of the current CWC champion: "I am too old to play for a team where I am at risk of being beaten by supporters". Any candidates? Virtually every big Brazilian club is after the Little Devil (Sao Paulo, Palmeiras, Santos, Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Vasco, Gremio etc) Midfielder EDU to Arsenal (9 million dollars) (DONE DEAL) Goalie DIDA returned to AC Milan (DONE DEAL) Overrated b****** MARCELINHO CARIOCA to America de Mexico Hardcore pornographer and sometimes midfielder VAMPETA to PSG (the French team offered 13 million dollars, Corinthians wants 15) Everything still in the rumour status : Playmaker ALEX to Parma Left-wing JUNIOR to Olimpique Marseille Central midfielder CESAR SAMPAIO to Deportivo La Coruna Forward EULLER to Cruzeiro Reserve midfield donkey THIAGO to AIK Athens Coach SCOLARI to Barcelona, PSG or Vasco Donkey forward FAUSTINO ASPRILLA back to Parma and then rolled over to some small Premiership club Reserve defender INDIO to Internacional de Porto Alegre Reserve forwards BASILIO and LUIS CLAUDIO back to Coritiba and Vasco respectively (end of loan) 29 JUNE 2000 Wor Kev (Keegan) Quote Of The Day "Chile have three options - they could win or they could lose." 28 JUNE 2000 Wor Kev (Keegan) Quote Of The Day "I don't think there's anyone bigger or smaller than Maradona" Amaral & Edu by Irineu de Carvalho AMARAL, Vasco's hardworking ball stealer to Fiorentina. A great deal for the Viola, Amaral cost only 3 million dollars to be paid to Benfica. He is a very tough marker with virtually no ball skills. His career also has been very lucky : he was three times Brazilian champion (Palmeiras 93-94, Corinthians 98) always as a bench player, sitting on for Mazinho (now at Celta) in 93, Flavio Conceicao (now at La Coruna) in 94, and Freddy Rincon (now at Santos) in 98. EDU, Corinthians' young midfield piano carrier to Arsenal for 9 million dollars. Arsenal seems to be trying to replicate their success in the Silvinho affair. Edu is similar to Silvinho in more than a few aspects : both are hard-working lower middle class guys from Sao Paulo, feverish Corinthians' supporters that learned to work hard playing for their childhood team. Edu is 21 and became a starter when Freddy Rincon left to Santos after the CWC. At Corinthians' midfield, he is by far the least technically gifted player (the others are Selecao's Ricardinho, Vampeta and Marcelinho Carioca) but yet he managed to look quite good for a rookie. His shot is quite decent (maybe more than that for Premiership technical standards) so is his technique but the key is his workrate. 27 JUNE 2000 Deschamps To Retire Didier Deschamps will retire from International football at the end of Euro 2000 it's believed due to increasing pressure from Arsenal's awesome midfield powerhouse Patrick Viera. Viera and Emmanuel Petit arguably form the best central midfield partnership in Europe at club level for Arsenal. Keegan's Days Numbered? Various press rumours are suggesting that Kevin Keegan's future as England coach is looking bleak. Keegan himself has admitted that he has three matches to turn things around, a friendly against World Champions France (in France!) and World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Finland. Bad results in these matches will see Keegan forced to resign. There have been strong rumours that the FA will appoint a foreign coach. Names being mentioned include Gerard Houllier and Arsene Wenger, coaches at Liverpool and Arsenal respectively but it's unlikely either of them will leave their clubs. Alex Ferguson is not an option as he has stated in the past that he will never coach England. Candidates could include Johan Cruijff or Louis Van Gaal. Peter Taylor seemed to be the obvious choice having guided England's U21 team to a 100% record in U-21 European Championship qualifiers before being sacked. Taylor has just taken over as coach of Leicester City. I personally think the best man for the job is France's World Cup winning coach Aime Jacquet, if he can be tempted out of retirement. LA LIGA ROUND UP by Manuel Benet Not many news from Spain after the France match. Here people doesn't feel like in last WC (obviously). We didn't win but there's a common feeling that we were at the same level than France for many minutes (and that's what I feel, too). Too sad we don't have a Zidane :( By the way, I expect some of the Spanish players to start moving, mostly Alfonso and Munitis (don't tell me that he wasn't superb against Thuram). Lopera (Betis president) has already said that Alfonso is not a player of 2nd division, so he probably will move to Madrid, Barcelona or who knows, outside Spain. It would surprise me that he goes to Real Madrid after the bad experience he had two years ago, but you never know. No news about Barca players. Kluivert is going to be hard to keep at Camp Nou, seeing the amount of goals he's scoring in this Euro. Anyways, I don't know what's his clause, but I'll try to find out. Respect to Figo, nothing is known, only that Barca traveled to Holland to talk with him and solve the situation. If this is not much, Rivaldo news are even less. Nothing at all. However, I presume both will remain at Camp Nou. All the candidates want them, and the one that signs him knows that he will have a lot of chances to put Barca supporters in the palm of his hand. But some movements around Barca elections. Two of the candidates, Fernandez, decided to add himself to Gaspart (right hand of Nunyez), and one of the partners of Lluis Bassat, one of the main candidates, left this one and went for Gaspart. He seems to be a quite strong candidate. We'll see. Similar, but with less competence, happens at Real Madrid. Florentino Perez, the rival of Lorenzo Sanz, is already making campaign (23rd july if I am not wrong, same day than Barca elections), and his basis is mostly the Real Madrid debt (that strange enough, he says it's higher than Nunyez and Gaspart used to say when charging against Sanz!) and the young divisions of the team. He has even made TV ads! Finally, and not less important, Rayo Vallecano will play UEFA Cup next season, if it gets to pass the first eliminatory rounds. First one is against the winners of Andorra. This should be fairly easy (with my respect to Andorra players). Well, you see. More politics than football, but the EC has eclisped almost everything. Sadly, let's get back to the real world. Spain's out. At least this time it was in QF and against the world champion. We didn't win, but that left a good impression for the next WC. Players like Raul, Munitis, Gerard, maybe Salva, Mendieta will have more experience. To dream is free. Totti - Dutch Leave Space "Watching their matches, they leave a lot of free space and we're always able to create four or five scoring chances. We'll just have to make the most of them. We know that they are a formidable side up front. But with a defence like we've got, it's going to be a bit difficult for them." Sega Sponsor Deportivo Sega have signed a one year sponsorship deal with Spanish Champions Deportivo. I assume the contract is one for one year - this coming season - because when the contract ends the Dreamcast will probably be struggling to stay alive with the arrival of the Playstation 2 in Europe this Autumn and Microsoft's X-Box console next summer. English FA Pissing In The Wind The FA are still going ahead with their bid to host the 2006 World Cup despite calls by Prime Minister Tony Blair for the bid to be scrapped. Boskov Goes Senile "Playing them on their own pitch is front of their own fans was not easy. They were better than us but I also think they were lucky." Vujadin Boskov Celtic Can Settle For Second Scotland will have two representatives i.e. Rangers and Celtic, in the Champions League from the 2001-2002 season onwards. Roma Want Ferdinand Roma are the latest club to be linked with West Ham defender Rio Ferdinand criminally left out of England's Euro 2000 squad by Kevin Keegan. Wor Kev (Keegan) Quote Of The Day "I came to Nantes two years ago and it's much the same today, except that it's totally different." 25 JUNE 2000 Barcelona Make Stupid Bid For Beckham According to Spanish newspaper reports, Barcelona have made a £45 million bid for David Beckham. Ferguson Says Shearer and Ince Past It "My fear was that they had passed beyond the point where they (Paul Ince and Alan Shearer) could be significant contributors. Regrettably the fears were justified." Alex Ferguson Penalties - Aim High Based on the results of 113 penalties in major competitions since 1988 Dutch TV researcher Bernard Krikke concluded : Players who shoot high left or high right have a 90% chance of scoring, players who shoot high center have a 81% chance of scoring, low left 88%, low right 75%, low center 16% . 81% of the time goalkeepers moved before the ball was struck which resulted in an 82% conversion rate by the penalty taker. If the 'keeper waited until the ball was struck before diving the conversion rate was 66%. BRAZIL ROUND UP by Irineu de Carvalho I am not sure about the status of this deal (transfer/rumour?). Striker FRANCA and defender EDMILSON of Sao Paulo to Arsenal for 35 million dollars. The "rumour" also states Sao Paulo would use about half of this cash to purchase replacement striker LEANDRO of Portuguesa and replacement defender CESAR BELLI, former Portuguesa, now at PSG. On the other hand, midfielder VAGNER (former Roma, Vasco and Santos) declared that Sao Paulo's offer for an extended contract is "absurd". Beware Tricolores! New rich Corinthians is after Vagner, whom I predict to be benching either Sampaio or Emerson in the Brazilian National team very soon. ROUND UP by Tim Leidecker Émerson Saga Continues With no conclusion between Roma and Leverkusen in sight Real Madrid have added to the confusion by making a £22 million offer for the Brazilian superstar. Emerson has already signed a 5-year-contract at Roma but they are unwilling to meet Bayer Leverkusen's demands of £15-20 million. Deisler In Demand "The lad is terrific. I'd love to have him!" Fiorentina coach Fatih Terim "I could imagine him with us very well. A man with great perspective" Arsenal's Arsène Wenger "We've been watching him for 2 years now. He's a great player" Real Madrid boss Lorenzo Sanz Hertha Berlin manager has already ruled out a transfer: "Selling Basti is absolutely not under discussion." The youngster himself whose value is estimated at around £13 million agreed : "I have two years left on my contract here and still have many plans with Hertha." FA 100% Convinced With Keegan!?!?!? "We're 100% convinced that Keegan is the right man to lead our team back to the top." Adam Crozier, executive director of the English FA Nemec Retires Czech Republic's 34-year-old captain Jiri Nemec has announced his retirement from the national team. Germans Want Braun axed According to a survey by German opinion research institute "Forsa" 55% of all people asked want to see the 163-year-old Egidius Braun to resign from his post as boss of the DFB (German FA). The opinion in the German public is that Braun is the head of a league of other "fossils" who have been with the DFB for over 30 years and now don't want to be replaced by some very much needed fresh blood. Footballer Wisdom Of The Day "I'm a coach for 34 years now and there I have learned that 2 and 2 is never 4." Leo Beenhakker "I'm going South somewhere, perhaps Canada or something like that." Mehmet Scholl EURO 2000 All-Star Team Shortlist UEFA announced an All-Star Team including the 50 best players of the EURO group stages according to their scouts. Keepers : Barthez (France), Van der Sar (Netherlands), Toldo (Italy) Defense : Djukic (Yugoslavia), Blanc, Desailly, Thuram (all France), Frank de Boer, Reiziger, Stam (all Netherlands), Cannavaro, Nesta, Maldini (all Italy), Jorge Costa, Fernando Couto (both Portugal), Chivu (Romania) Midfield : Zidane, Petit (both France), Cocu, Davids (both Netherlands), Stojkovic (Yugoslavia), Okan (Turkey), Nedved (Czech Rep), Rui Costa, Paulo Bento, Sérgio Conceição, Figo (all Portgugal), Guardiola, Mendieta (both Spain), Munteanu (Romania), Beckham (England), Totti, Albertini (both Italy), Ljungberg (Sweden), Mykland (Norway), Wilmots (Belgium), Hamann (Germany) Attack : Raúl (Spain), Kluivert, Bergkamp, Overmars (all Netherlands), Milosevic (Yugoslavia), Zahovic (Slovenia), Henry, Anelka (both France), Hakan Sükür (Turkey), Nuno Gomes (Portugal), Inzaghi, Del Piero (both Italy), Smicer (Czech Rep) UEFA Fair Play Awards (Before Quarter Final Stage) Fernando Couto (POR), Alfonso (ESP) and Milosevic (YUG) have been awarded with UEFA Fair Play Price. What did they do to win it ? The Portuguese defender has asked Portugal's fans to stop whistling the German national anthem, Alfonso and Milosevic prevented angry fans from attacking the referee after the incredible YUG - SPA game on Wednesday. "3 Musketeers" Enjoyed Dolce Vita German internationals Jens Jeremies, Dietmar Hamann and Markus Babbel were seen in the Cologne celebrity bar "maca ronni" in the early hours during the European Championships. No further comment needed. Ronaldo Update Ronaldo's doctor professor Saillant announced that the superstar's "healing process is progressing well" after a routine inspection in Paris. Inter plan to have him back next year at the earliest. Ronaldo has torn his patella tendon in his right knee twice within six months. Hitzfeld On German Coach's Job "I never said that I wouldn't be interested. But I still have a 3-year-contract with Bayern Munich and I have always been loyal to my employer in the past." Ottmar Hitzfeld 24 JUNE 2000 Holiday Tragedy For Dubovsky Former Real Madrid striker Peter Dubovsky has died after falling from a waterfall when on holiday in Thailand. Dubovsky died from heavy loss of blood and severe brain injuries. Rumours Hertha Berlin and Juventus are interested in Perth Glory midfielder Ivan Ergic. Yugoslavia Fined For Bad Behaviour UEFA have fined Yugoslavia £48,000 for fan trouble during and after their infamous clash with Spain. Keown - We Were Inept "There is no need for honest. The bottom line is we were inept tactically. We were exposed against teams we could have beaten." England defender Martin Keown, one of the few players to emerge with any credit from England's pathetic Euro 2000 campaign Wor Kev (Keegan) Quote Of The Day "The 33 and 34 year-olds will be 36 or 37 by the time the World Cup comes around, if they're not careful." BRAZIL ROUND UP by Irineu de Carvalho Dark future for the Pigs... CESAR SAMPAIO : Signed by Deportivo La Coruna, will play the Champions League substituting for Flavio Conceicao (who once substituted for him at Palmeiras) ALEX and EULLER : Same Deportivo offered 19 million dollars for Palmeiras' striking force. Of course, the offer was rejected. Euller also received an offer from Japanese Nagoya. Believe it or not, it seems like nobody really made a decent offer for Alex. ASPRILLA : Gone, but nobody will miss him anyway. ROQUE JUNIOR : to AC Milan. MARCELO RAMOS : returned to Cruzeiro. JUNIOR : another player that is for sale as Parmalat disinvests, probably one of the top 5 left full-backs in the world, yet nobody seems to be really interested. European clubs prefer to sign expensive dubious quality young players than cheap sure-quality players over 25. 23 JUNE 2000 Real Betis Refuse To Sell Alfonso "We are not selling him (Alfonso) to anyone. We are not a supermarket and we need to do the best thing possible for us." Faruk Hadzibegic, Real Betis Director. Alfonso has a buy-out clause of £30 million Daum Stays At Leverkusen "I have a contract with Leverkusen up until 2001. And I will see it through" Christoph Daum Paulo Sousa Laughts At England "The English were a disappointment. They've only got Scholes and Beckham. the rest of them are clumsy, slow and easy to get past. I was even laughing on the bench when I saw their defenders heading back towards their own penalty area rather than trying to tackle Figo or Rui Costa." ROUND UP by Tim Leidecker Ref Out With Injury Inept referee Kim Milton Neilsen will miss the rest of Euro 2000 with a thigh injury. Rumours Bejbl (MF, Atlético Madrid) to Sunderland Jankolovski (MF, Banik Ostrava) to Napoli Koller (FW, Anderlecht) to Lazio Luccin (MF, Marseille) to Fiorentina/Milan Song (DF, Liverpool) to Bayer Leverkusen Zahovic (FW, Olympiakos) to Barcelona/Fiorentina/Real Madrid Ribbeck Resigns As expected Erich Ribbeck has resigned as coach of the German national team on Wednesday morning. New German Coach - Van Gaal? Since no good German coaches are available to take the post Jupp Heynckes has recommended former Ajax and Barça coach Louis Van Gaal because "he works methodically and has visions". The only question remains : is Germany ready for a foreign coach? Staelens Announces Retirment Belgium's 36-year-old defense boss Lorenzo Staelens has announced his retirement from international football. Tugay Sent Home After complaining for being substituted Turkey midfielder Tugay was sent home by coach Denizli. His teammates have allegedly tried to bring round the authoritarian coach but too late, Tugay had to pack his things and leave on Tuesday. Are You Shitting Me? "Should Arsenal make an offer I would be very interested because I had a lot of fun in my time with the club." Nicolas Anelka Gala Unveil New Coach Former Rumanian national team and Inter interim coach Mircea Lucescu will sign a contract with the UEFA Cup Winner in the near future. Footballer Wisdom Of The Day "I would never have paid 90 billion lire for me" Christian Vieri 21 JUNE 2000 ROUND UP by Tim Leidecker Posh Spice "Posh Spice" Victoria Adams has allegedly asked her husband David Beckham to quit football because of the constant abuse he and his family gets from the English fans. A smarter solution would be a transfer to the continent if you ask me... New German Coach - Trapattoni or Daum? Former Fiorentina coach Giovanni Trapattoni and Leverkusen's Christoph Daum are favourites to succeed Erich Ribbeck as coach of the German national team. Daum wants to coach the national team and still continue coaching Bayer Leverkusen. Zenzational Zahovic With every goal he scores during the European Championships the names of the clubs showing interest in "ZZ" get bigger and bigger. Last week Fiorentina and Tottenham expressed their interest in the Slowenian superstar, this week he is already linked to Barcelona Lazio Want To Spend More Money With Argentina's Claudio Lopez and former Azzurri keeper Angelo Peruzzi already signed the current champs shopping tour continues. Their priority is Barcelona winger Luis Figo who has a price tag of £40 million and for whom Lazio are willing to part with Argentine playmaker Verón plus £10 million. Chelsea News Chelsea has extended the contracts of international defenders Marcel Desailly and Graham Le Gay Saux and made a bid of £8 million for Everton's Nicky Barmby. Gallardo To Milan? Milan is currently in talks with Monaco for their Argentine playmaker Marcelo Gallardo. They have allegedly offered Weah and N'Gotty in exchange. Football Wisdom Of The Day "Some players know who played which role in "Star Trek" but not who they are facing in the next match." Leverkusen coach Christoph Daum 20 JUNE 2000 Bosman II - EU Want To End Transfer Fees "It would mean that the FIFA system would no longer be legal. Nobody would be bound by those rules. It would be a matter for players and clubs to solve." European Union Spokeswoman Ameila Torres Presumably this means that clubs will no longer have to pay each other transfer fees. Compensation would be paid if a player left during his contract. If this system ever comes into effect wages will rise dramatically. How will smaller clubs survive without the profit generated from the sale of their prize assets? Raul - Media Get It Wrong I would just like to point out that despite reports in the media Raul's new contract does not make him the best paid player in the World. He earns the same amount as Del Piero - £3.6 million a season, which makes them the 2nd highest wage earners in football. Batistuta is the top earner with £5 million in wages a season. All figures after tax. ROUND UP by Tim Leidecker Kennet Andersson Sweden's huge striker Kennet Andersson, currently on loan to Bologna from Serie A Champs Lazio is wanted by Olympique Marseille who barely escaped relegation this season. They are also interested in bringing in/back Bruno N'Gotty (Milan) and Marcel Desailly (Chelsea). Zahovic Slovenia's superstar Zlatko Zahovic who fell out with his current coach Alberto Bigon and wants to leave Olympiakos has offers from Tottenham and Fiorentina. He rules out a transfer to the Premiership and has stated that he would like to return to his former club Porto or play in La Liga. Houllier Extends Contract French coach Gerard Houllier has extended his contract with Liverpool until 2005. With an annual salary of £1 million. Bierhoff Out of Euro 2000 The torn muscle injury of Oliver Bierhoff has proven to be more severe than thought at first which means that he will definitely miss the rest of Euro 2000. Pasta, Pasta The food stocks for the Azzurri include 30 clubs of Parma ham, 7 cheese loafs à 40kg, 300kg pasta and 75kg rice. In addition there is coffee powder for 3,000 cups of espresso, lots of cold pressed olive oil and 200 bottles of Sangiovese di Romagna (which the players allegedly can't access for now...). Damn, you could supply a whole city with this kind of stuff, no surprise the Italian's are playing so well ! Camacho Threatens To Resign Spanish coach José Antonio Camacho has announced that he will quit as coach of the "Selección" should the team not make it out of it's group to fire up his players even more. Figo To Juve 80% Luis Figo's agent has been quoted that "Figo's transfer to Lazio is 80% perfect". There are rumors that his Portuguese teammate Rui Costa might replace the elegant winger at Barça. Rui Costa is also wanted by rivals Real Madrid and Serie A's Milan, Inter and Parma. Verlaat Werder Bremen are interested in bringing in former VfB captain Frank Verlaat from Ajax. The Amsterdam club are asking for £1.6 million for the experienced Libero. Ziege Quotes "The English football is my World. I am very, very happy here." "I was tremendously surprised how friendly and ready to help the people here are. They even slap your back after the 7th loss in a row if they fell that you gave it all." "They will never admit it in public but they have a lot of respect for Germany. They can't simply shake it off like that." Since people liked the Trap quote so much, here's another one: "Football is ding, dang, dong. There isn't only ding." SPAIN ROUND UP by Manuel Benet Real Madrid - Lorenzo Sanz resigned yesterday to start the period of elections. Everything makes to suspect that he, after the European Cup, wil be also the president elected. On the Barcelona side, there are problems with Figo. Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, the sport manager of the club and the main candidate to be the next coach of Barcelona the next season, declared that Figo is a very valuable player for the club and is non transferable. However, opposite to other clubs in Europe, this doesn't mean anything in the Spanish League if the club asking for a player pays that player clause. Figo is known to have a clause of £37 million dollar for Spanish clubs and a clause of £73 million for clubs outside Spain. Juventus has put £37 million in the Spanish Federation in order to sign Figo, without taking in count Barcelona, and although this, in theory, shouldn't be enough, Juve thinks that if they go to trial, the Italian club will win due to the possible illegality of the clause for foreigner clubs. To finish with the clubs, Victor Munyoz is the new coach of Villareal, that will play in 1st Spanish division next year. Not many news on the selection side, mostly because Raul eclipsed them. The main points is that, as I said yesterday, there are three changes expected for the next match against Slovenia. The expected changes are: Paco leaves the position to Abelardo, Fran to Mendieta and Urzaiz to Alfonso. The players have asked not to bury them before they are eliminated, and are confident that Spain will pass to the next round. Raul renewed his contract with Real Madrid, were he will earn £3.6 million per year tax free, with a buy out clause of £111 million, and a contract has been extended from 2002 to 2005. BRAZIL ROUND UP by Irineu de Carvalho It looks like serious news (instead of a rumour) : Defensive liability and midfielder EDMILSON of Sao Paulo to Arsenal for £5 million. Central deffender CESAR BELLI of PSG to Sao Paulo for £2.8 million. Great deal for the Tricolor, after all, both have the same age and Cesar is a better player than Edmilson. 19 JUNE 2000 UEFA Threaten England With Expulsion From Euro 2000 UEFA have warned England that they could be sent home from the tournament if their fans are involved in any more trouble. So far 824 fans have been arrested following disturbances in Brussels and Charleroi. While I think drastic action needs to be taken sending the team home solves nothing. Ban all England fans from attending matches but don't punish the team. Italian Press Rumours Vieri will re-join Lazio with Salas and Baronio going to Inter in exchange. They reported a similar deal a few weeks ago and were only half right. Man United have made a £20 million bid for Nedved who has been criminally under-used at Lazio this past season after being in my opinion the best player in Serie A the previous season. Juve have been linked with Atletico Madrid's Czech midfielder Bejbl which seems a stupid move given they sold Oliseh without using him. Juve are close to signing Crespo from Parma although they are asking for £40 million! Fiore will join Juve in the 2001-2002 season. Can't see that happening especially if he continues his form at Euro 2000. Fiorentina President Checci Gori claims that Rui Costa and Toldo will remain at the club and when asked about Baggio replied : " If you had to follow the heart but I would not want to create tension in the dressing room." This isn't an exact quote but I think you get the picture. BRAZIL ROUND UP by Irineu de Carvalho FRANCA - Valencia is after a striker but their budget is only 10 million dollars. Juventus offered 15 million. Sao Paulo asked for 20 (which is cheap IMO). And guess who is coming with the twenty? FIORENTINA!!! EDMILSON, Sao Paulo's young captain who is able to play in all defense and midfield positions (without doing anything right in any of them). (Rumour) He already belongs to Arsenal. PALMEIRENSES - Roque Junior is already a done deal with Milan paying 16 million for him. This deal reminds me of Denilson to Betis for 32. No further words on that. Alex and Euller have also big offers from top European clubs. If the Pigs really win the Libertadores, they'd better skip the match against Real Madrid in Tokio... And else: Flamengo's young rising star Athirson is turning into a comet, with accusations of doping... Brazilian defender CAPONE of Galatasaray, former Mogi Mirim, Sao Paulo and Juventude is followed by Palmeiras and Corinthians. Gala still owes money to Juventude and he really feels like returning to Brazil where he expects to get himself more exposure and maybe a call by the Selecao. 17 JUNE 2000 England Fans Arrested Again Over 170 England fans have been arrested in Brussels following clashes with the police. 35 of the fans will be charged with fighting, rioting and vandalism while the majority will be deported. UK TV Rights The rights for the FA Cup and England home internationals have been awarded to BSKYB and the BBC at a cost for £440 million for the 2001-2004 seasons. BSKYB have paid the majority of the fee. Ondigital and ITV have paid £315 million for the rights to the Worthington Cup and Football League (Divisions 1, 2 and 3). Ondigital will pay the majority of the fee and will televise 88 matches a season. A percentage of the Football League matches will only be available on PPV. Athirson Fails Dope Test Flamengo defender Athirson has failed a dope test. He will be suspended for one month by the CBF (Brazilian FA). Boro Want To Sign Another Reject Chelsea have a agreed a fee of £6 million for useless striker Chris Sutton with Middlesbrough. The player has yet to discuss personal terms. 16 JUNE 2000 Jorg Berger is the new coach of Turkish club Buraspor. ROUND UP by Tim Leidecker Lazio Bid For Figo According to Lisbon sports magazine A Bola Lazio has made a £26 million bid for Portuguese ace Luis Figo. Barcelona has rejected the offer with the remark they are only ready to negotiate over an offer of £32 million. Matthäus Out In an internet poll roughly 80% of German fans voted for Leverkusen's Jens Nowotny as boss of the German defense. Lothar Matthäus received 15% while 5% want to see Jens Jeremies at the back. Del Piero Wants More Playing Time "I'm not satisfied playing for 20 minutes only. I don't want to create no tension but it's clear that I can't be satisfied." Alessandro Del Piero to "La Gazzetta dello Sport" Abuse For Ziege Germany's sensitive left winger was once again abused by the German "fans" with chants like "Ziege you a......." or "Ziege (Ziege is the German word for 'goat') into the zoo" after a poor game against Romania. Ziege who almost quit the national team for good after being mobbed out by these kind of "supporters" during the World Cup was quoted "I don't know what they all got against me. I can't bear it anymore. It hurts so much." I can only say "fantastic", Beckham for England, Ziege for Germany - what kind of fan scene is this today? Milan Fans Protest At Lack Of Signings 200 furious Milanisti have protested against the Rossoneri's transfer policy on Wednesday. During the course of the demonstration the fans stopped two trams, threw fake money into the air and set up fund-raising boxes. Prior to the demonstration the Milan board had announced the conclusion of their transfer campaign for the upcoming season. Germans Fans Support World Cup Bid Under the campaign "Wish you were here" the German public was asked to invite a country of their choosing to the World Cup 2006 in Germany. The fans wrote more than 80,000 invitation cards to 175 different countries which will be passed on to the recipients during the next weeks, among other things already during the EURO. The fans' favourites were Brazil with 7,600 postcards followed by England (4,100), Italy (3,600) and France (3,400). I will release you today with a philosophic statement from Giovanni Trapattoni: "There is only one ball. If the opponent has the ball the question arises why does he have the ball". 15 JUNE 2000 England Do Not Deserve The 2008 World Cup As many of you are aware Beckham gestured to a section of the England fans that hurled abuse at him after Monday's clash with Portugal. According to the national newspapers today they said : "Your wife is a whore" "We hope your son dies of cancer" "We will kill your baby" We've heard it all before whenever trouble follows England - 'they are not real fans', 'they are a minority'. It's time to stop making excuses. If this is how they treat one of their best players they don't deserve the World Cup. BSKYB Retain Premiership Rights BSKYB have paid £1.1 billion to screen 66 live Premiership matches a season between 2001-2004. Cable TV operator NTL won the rights to show 40 pay-per-view matches at a cost of £328 million for three seasons. The BBC have lost the rights to the highlights show Match of the Day, ITV outbidding the BBC, now the home of cookery shows, DIY shows and women's programming, £183 million to £120 million. NTL have also signed a partnership with Glasgow Rangers for over £30 million. Misc Dragon Stojkovic will retire from football at the end of the year Ajax chief executive Frank Kales has resigned. 13 JUNE 2000 Transfer Rumours Edmilson (MF, Sao Paolo) & Franca (FW, Sao Paolo) to Arsenal Where's My Giro? "If people are convicted (relating to hooliganism) during the competition, then they are liable to lose their benefits," English Social Security Secretary Alistair Darling Culture Shock for Leicester Peter Taylor has left Gillingham to become the new coach of Leicester City. Leicester are famous for their direct football, Taylor is an advocate of the passing game. ROUND UP by Tim Leidecker Back to the roots Dortmund keeper Jens Lehmann has asked Borussia to release him out of his contract as he wants to rejoin his "old love" Schalke. Bodo Illgner, currently under contract with Real Madrid, could replace the German international at Dortmund. Anelka negotiations under way Juventus general manager Luiciano Moggi was in Madrid on Friday to negotiate the transfer of French striker Nicolas Anelka to the Italian record champs. Real president Sanz has been quoted "for £26 million we'd sell him". Milan still looking to strength midfield After missing out on Farinós Milan are looking at Sporting Lisbon's Argentine midfielder Aldo Duscher and Sabri Lamouchi of French champs Monaco. 10 JUNE 2000 Opening Ceremoney As usual this looks like it has been choreographed by someone under the influence of some seriously heavy drugs. Wilmots Extends Contract Marc Wilmots has signed a two year extension to his contract with Schalke. Last Dance Blanc and Hagi are the latest players to announce they will quit international football after Euro 2000 the others being Bergkamp, Matthaus and Shearer. 9 JUNE 2000 After claiming he had signed for Milan, former Valencia midfielder Javier Farinos has now signed for arch rivals Inter. Reporters Arrested Three reporters for English tabloid, News of the World, were arrested in Brussels for carrying weapons. The reporters wanted to demonstrate how easy it was to obtain weapons banned in England but available in Belgium. Dope Test Two players from each team will be randomly dope tested after every match. Let's all hope there are no positive tests. New Coach For Galatasaray Luis Fernandez has signed a contract to coach Galatasaray. Fernandez was previously in charge of Athletic Bilbao. Transfer Rumours Lazio have joined the race to sign Trezeguet. Boksic may move to Monaco. Cuper is interested in Barcelona striker Dani, benched this season by Van Gaal No Sex Please, We're Swedish "It's just a rumour. I don't know where it comes from. When we are in the camp here, we don't have any wives so obviously there's no sex either" Fredrik Ljungberg What does he mean 'obviously'?!?!? "A ban on sex? What do you mean? It's hard when your wife's not here" Henrik Larsson Poached Glasgow Rangers 'stole' Peter Loverkrands from Newcastle after he was advised against a move to England by ex Glasgow Rangers star Brian Laudrup. Painting The Town Orange Dutch Police has arrested a supporter for painting his rented home Orange and the sidewalk red, white and blue. A spokesman said "We cannot tolerate people who cause irreparable damage to our property. Most supporters leave it to a few decorations." Beckham - The People's Choice According to a poll conducted by onefootball.com, David Beckham is the player most fans would like to have in their national team. 3,011 supporters from England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy and Spain took part in the vote. Beckham was the clear winner with 405 votes, Zidane second with 281 and Figo third with 83 votes. Beckham was the top choice for every country with the exception of Italy, whose fans voted for Zidane first and Beckham second. England fans voted Zidane first and Bergkamp second. Comparisons in league form this season are staggering - Beckham has scored 7 goals and made 15 assists, Zidane just 4 goals and only 1 assist. ROUND UP by Tim Leidecker Wingers On The Move? Lazio have made a £16 million bid for Marc Overmars. His possible replacement at Highbury Park is most likely going to be French World Cup Winner Robert Pires from Olympique de Marseille. Sükür: Fiorentina Not Good Enough Turkey's star striker Hakan Sükür has been quoted "I won't go to Fiorentina because they are a second-rate club. At best they could make eighth position in the league and that isn't enough for me. If make the move to Italy it will be to Milan with whom my manager is currently negotiating." New Rules FIFA have announced a new set of rules to take effect from Euro 2000 : Goalkeepers are only allowed to hold the ball for 6 seconds Linesmen or "assistant referees" as they want to be called will have more power e.g. getting the distance of free kick walls right themselves The fourth referee who until now only served as a supervisor can now inform the referee about acts of violence and other unsportsmanlike behaviour Inter Wants To Become More "Nazionale" There are rumors that the Nerazzurri want to swap their U-21 stars Pirlo and Ventola for Udinese's Azzurri playmaker Stefano Fiore. Additionally Moratti & Co. have also set their eyes on Perugia's Materazzi and Salernitana's Vannucchi. Ayala To Valencia As reported several days ago Milan have signed defender Roque Junior from Palmeiras for £6.5 million. They are now trying to fob bench warmer Roberto Ayala off on Valencia for the same amount of money to finance the deal. Hector Cuper seems quite prepared to move for the Argentine international to infuse fresh blood into his average 33 years old defense. 8 JUNE 2000 Southgate Wants To Move Aston Villa's England defender and penalty expert Gareth Southgate has requested a transfer. Seamen is Fat "We will try to take advantage of their weak points such as goalkeeping." Portugal's Sergio Conceicao reflects ahead of Portugal's clash with England Ljunberg - Sex Wrecks My Ball Control! "After having sex the night before I lose all feelings in my feet. I'm totally empty. I can't control the ball anymore. I watch erotic movies the night before. That doesn't affect my power." Sweden's Freddy Ljunberg I tired to think of a better headline but I've never come across this condition before! He MUST be doing something wrong! Maybe his wife stands on his feet while they're in the er never mind. Aigner Slams British Government "It is regrettable that the government in the United Kingdom has not introduced legislation which would make it possible to stop registered hooligans from travelling." Gerhard Aigner, UEFA chief executive Game On Videogame software house Eidos have donated consoles and games to the England squad. So that's they're excuse when they screw up! Eidos publish UEFA Champions League 2000, far superior to the FIFA series in my opinion. You actually have control over your shooting, a novelty in soccer video games. Rejected Belarus have sacked coach Sergei Borovsky. 7 JUNE 2000 Milan V Real Madrid, Juventus The two most successful club sides in Europe will meet in a friendly match on the 31st of August as Milan entertain European Champions Real Madrid. The annual Luigi Berlusconi trophy will be played between Milan and Juventus on the 27th of August. Parma Make Play for Rui Costa Parma are prepared to offer Lassissi, Ortega and Stanic in exchange for Fiorentina playmaker Rui Costa. Rui Costa wants to join for Milan. Milan's Targets Milan's coach Alberto Zaccheroni has confirmed that his main targets are Rui Costa, David Trezeguet (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) and some defenders although he wouldn't elaborate further Milan have been continually linked with Monaco's Martin Djetou. 6 JUNE 2000 soccer-europe.com - the Media's choice! Just thought I would mention that in recent months this site has been visited by IPC magazines (publishers of World Soccer), Foxsports, Kicker, SportDe and most recently Eurosport. So this is where they get all their news from! (Just kidding). Gaddafi Invades Malta! Colonel Gaddafi's son, Moammer Gaddafi, has signed for Maltese champions Birkirkatra. Amunike Prefers The Bench Amunike's move to 1860 Munich fell through after he asked for more wages, what an idiot, what's he going to do on the bench at Barca? Zeman & Hagi Zeman will coach Napoli next season. Any guess as to how long he will last? Galatasaray have asked playmaker Hagi to replace coach Fatih Terim who is off to Fiorentina. Philips Is Player of the Year Sunderland striker Kevin Philips has been named Carling Player of the year, Carling being the official sponsors of the Premiership. Transfer Rumours Etxeberria (MF, Athletic Bilbao) to Man United ROUND UP by Tim Leidecker Capello wants Hierro Roma 'dictator' coach Fabio Capello wants Fernando Hierro as defense boss for next season. Real Madrid would be quite prepared to sell their captain who lost his first team place this season due to injury and poor form. The only thing that stands between a quick transfer is Hierro's fixed transfer fee of £20 million. Barça wants Luxemburgo According to various Brazilian media reports Barcelona has made a lucrative offer to the current "Seleçao" coach Wanderley Luxemburgo to succeed Louis Van Gaal as coach of the "Blaugrana". Would Barça turn from an "Oranje Colony" to a "Canary Branch" if they signed him...? I want out ! Fiorentina's Portuguese playmaker Rui Costa has stated that he wants to leave the Viola before his contract runs out in 2001. Milan are prepared to pay up £18 million. Anelka will leave All signs indicate that France's spoilt teenager n°1 will leave the current European Champions, most likely for Juventus According to French football bible "France Football" Juventus is prepared to pay up to £28 million for Anelka. Real boss Lorenzo Sanz has stated "Anelka can leave for a transfer fee of £25 million." Real coach Vicente Del Bosque has stated that he doesn't like Anelka and he'd rather keep Morientes. Anelka quotes : "I know that Juve has shown interest in me for years." "Playing with Zinedine [Zidane] is fun. With him you play fast and successful." "In the Champions League Final I played in right midfield. For once I accepted that. That's normal. But this isn't likely to happen for a full season. My job is to score goals. Winning the Champions League was nice * but I haven't forgotten what happened before. I don't feel like playing such a season again. * Only 'nice' ? Some players play 20 years without winning a EC and he has the unique chance of lifting it after only, what, 3 full seasons as a pro and he calls it 'nice'...talking about a spoilt brat! To be complete PSG, Lazio and Parma are also interested but not willing to spend more than £16 million so Juve remain favourites for his signature. Round 3...Fight! errr...Marriage! Ruud Gullit has married Estelle Cruijff, the 21-year-old niece of "King Johan". It is already Gullit's 3rd wife Arsenal seek fresh blood at the back Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has made a bid for Inter right back Christian Panucci who has fallen out of favour with just about everybody in Italy (lost regular spot on both club and national team) to rejuvenate Arsenal's ancient defense. Christian "Dior" Panucci's transfer fee is estimated at around £10 million and he wants to (continue to) make £7.2 million a season. Trio becomes acmilan.com "Azzurri" correspondent Demetrio Albertini will be Milan's official website correspondent throughout Euro 2000. 4 JUNE 2000 Transfer Rumours Desailly (DF, Chelsea) to Man United Ketsbaia (MF, Newcastle) to Olympiakos Lebouef (DF, Chelsea) to Napoli Lovenkrands (FW, AB Copenhagen) to Newcastle, Inter, Valencia, Everton & St Etienne Vieira (MF, Arsenal) to Juventus Zola (FW, Chelsea) to Napoli I Ain't Getting on no Plane Fool (Mr T, A-Team) Dennis Bergkamp will retire from international football after Euro 2000. 3 JUNE 2000 Buffon Out of Euro 2000 Milan's Christian Abbiati has been called up to Italy's Euro 2000 squad after first choice 'keeper Gianluigi Buffon broke his hand in Italy's friendly away to Norway. Abbiati should have been called up in the first place ahead of Roma's Francesco Antonioli. No Calcio Until October! Yes you read that right. In a mind numbingly stupid move the Italian FA have delayed the start of the 2000-2001 Serie A campaign until October because of the Olympics. At most maybe 4-5 key players will be involved in Italy's Olympic soccer squad. Serie A clubs will enter the early stages of the Champions league without having played any competitive football. Can you say suicide? Coaches on the move Janos Csank to Ferencvaros Juan Manuel Lillo to Real Zaragoza Raddy Antic to Real Oviedo Rolland Courbis to Lens Sammer to Dortmund Txetxu Rojo to Athletic Bilbao Wanted In Milan - Makelele Milan and Inter are being linked with Celta Vigo midfielder Claude Makelele. Celta have already rejected a bid from Real Madrid, said to be below their £6.5 evaluation of the player. Milan may also bring back Italy U21 striker Gianni Comandini, on loan to Vicenza. Nothing further to report on Inter's interest in Signori but it's likely he will sign for Inter sometime next week. Rui Costa Is contemplating whether to stay at Fiorentina or join Milan. What a tough choice, eternal UEFA Cup football or the Champions League. Men Got Beat by Girls! The England Women's football team challenged the all male team of crap English TV show TFI Friday (produced and presented by professional ginger tosser Chris Evans) to a game of five-a-side and won 5-3. The final goal scored by a WOMAN was a fantastic back heel. No Calcio Until October I know but it's worth repeating twice. ROUND UP by Tim Leidecker Ronaldo Ronaldo has stated that he wants to return to the pitch still this year. The former World Footballer of the Year had put his stellar career in a limbo after he let himself talk into an early comeback from a torn patella tendon which let to an identical injury in the same knee in his first match back. Bayern after Turkey bomber... Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has confirmed that Bayern would like to sign Turkey's top striker Hakan Sükür from UEFA Cup Winners' Galatasaray. Sükür who is valued at £8.5 million wants to leave the club after coach Terim left "Gala" for Fiorentina. Chilavert's racism accusations nonsense... Paraguay's national team keeper José Luis Chilavert has accused Bayern of being racist and treating their players poorly after a dispute about Bayern youngster Santa Cruz's medical treatment. This is of course absolute nonsense as the club Bayern Munich is known througout the World as one of the very best ones. Also the club's team doctor, Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, does not by accident have the reputation of being a "wonder doc" (he just recently helped Michael Owen get over his hamstring problems) so poor medical treatment is out of the question. I don't know what Chilavert was smoking when he made these comments as I got to know him as a intelligent and reasonable person... Toni, Toni, Toni Polster yet again... Austrian record international Anton "Toni" Polster made a guest appearance on German reality TV soap opera "Big Brother" on Friday evening. Polster advertised a new table football game on the show - D'OH! Player Stuck Dead by Lightning Ivan Krstic of yugoslav first division club Radnicki Nis died during practise after being struck by a lightning bolt Monday night. Several other players had to be taken to hospital with combustions and shocks. 2 JUNE 2000 Euro 2000 Final Squad Lists The Serie A, Premiership and Champions League sections have been changed, finding data for your favourite club will now be a lot easier. When time permits, probably after Euro 2000, I plan on adding tactical formations for every Serie A, Premiership and Bundesliga club. 1 JUNE 2000 Lazio and Juventus are chasing Crespo. Nothing further on Figo's move to either Milan or Juventus. |