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| Man City, Juventus heading to Hong Kong - report |
10/4/2008
HONG KONG (AFP) - Manchester City and Juventus will play exhibition matches in Hong Kong next month against a South China invitational XI, a report said Thursday.
The English Premier League side, owned by former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, will appear at Hong Kong Stadium on May 22, followed by a match between South China and the Italians, the South China Morning Post said.
"They are both quality sides and they have promised to bring their best players to Hong Kong as their domestic seasons will have ended in early May," South China convener Steven Lo Kit-shing was quoted as saying.
The cost of staging the exhibition will be about 10 million Hong Kong dollars (1.3 million US), according to Lo.
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| Adebayor tells Arsenal to focus on title race |
10/4/2008
LONDON (AFP) - Emmanuel Adebayor wants Arsenal to forget about their Champions League misery and focus on getting back into the Premier League title race.
The Gunners slumped out of Europe in agonising fashion against Liverpool on Tuesday, but Adebayor knows there is no time for his team-mates to feel sorry for themselves.
Arsene Wenger and #39;s side face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday in a make or break clash. Arsenal are six points behind the league leaders and only a win will keep their faint title hopes alive.
"The most important thing now is to stay focused on what we can achieve this season," the Togo striker said.
"We are still playing for the title and we still believe we can win something at the end of the season.
"Sunday will be another big game for us and we will see what we can do."
Wenger has praised his side and #39;s mental strength time and again this season but he faces a massive task to rebuild their shattered confidence.
Adebayor is convinced the French coach will be able to find a way to lift the squad.
"We have learned a lot of things this year, but the boss has more experience than anyone here," he said.
"He knows the words he will use so that we can come back on the pitch to be more successful and want it more."
The one bright spot from Arsenal and #39;s defeat at Anfield was Theo Walcott and #39;s second half cameo. The England winger set up Arsenal and #39;s second goal for Adebayor with a breath-taking run from deep in his own half and looks set to finally fulfill his potential.
"For a few months now Theo has been on fire. Theo is very quick and is playing some good football," Adebayor said. "Playing up front alongside him is brilliant."
Gunners defender Kolo Toure added: "Theo is a good player and is improving every time. I think Theo is going to be one of the best players in England."
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| Pienaar warns Everton to buy him or lose him |
9/4/2008
LIVERPOOL (AFP) - South Africa star Steven Pienaar has warned Everton they have until the end of this month to make his loan move from Borussia Dortmund permanent or risk losing him to a Premier League rival.
Pienaar has successfully adapted to English football since joining the Toffees at the start of the season and would like to extend his stay at Goodison Park.
But he has grown concerned over Everton and #39;s failure to make a move towards buying him on a permanent basis before the end-of-the-month expiry of a clause in his contract which allows him to leave Dortmund for three million euros.
That is well below the amount the 26-year-old would command on the open market and Pienaar, whose top priority is to carry on playing in England, is anxious to see his future resolved.
"At this stage I and #39;m in the dark," he said of his current contractual situation. "I and #39;m still under contract to Borussia Dortmund until June 2009 and only when they give me the go-ahead can I start to negotiate with any possible club.
"Obviously they will only give me this permission when they have reached an agreement with a club that wishes to buy me, but so far I have not been informed by Dortmund that they have reached agreement with Everton."
Pienaar has been linked with Arsenal, Newcastle and Valencia in recent weeks but he says his first choice would be to stay where he is.
Speaking to www.Kick-Of.com, he said: "I have enjoyed my time here, as I said. But the clock is ticking for me because I have a maximum transfer fee of three million euros in my contract with Dortmund that is only valid until April 30.
"I cannot allow this deadline to expire because this is a transfer fee that is affordable to a number of clubs, particularly in the Premiership.
"So reasonably speaking, I can only wait for a few more days for Everton to reach agreement with Dortmund.
"If that and #39;s not going to be forthcoming, then I will then need to pursue the other options that I may have and finalise everything by the end of April."
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| Play-off talks continue in the Netherlands |
9/4/2008
ZEIST, Apr 9 (SW) - Discussions about the play-offs in the Netherlands continue as the clubs and the Dutch association try to find a compromise.
At the moment, the numbers two to five battle for one spot in the third preliminary round of the UEFA Cup, while numbers six to nine attempt to conquer a spot in the UEFA Cup.
The 18 teams in the Eredivisie recently agreed to change the set-up of these play-offs by allowing the runner-up to advance to the Champions League preliminary round without having to appear in knock-out matches.
Numbers three and four would earn a place in the UEFA Cup, and numbers five to eight would face off for the remaining spot.
KNVB's Henk Kesler, responsible for the professional football section of the Dutch FA, sees nothing in the idea proposed by the clubs.
Instead, Kesler offered to agree with the part where the runner-up moves on to the Champions League, while numbers three to ten meet for three UEFA Cup berths. The Cup winner would complete the Dutch representation.
If it is up to Kesler, the teams only have three options to choose from: His idea, continuing the play-offs the way they are at the moment, or suspending the entire play-off system.
Chairman Frank Rutten of the ECV, which represents the interests of the clubs, didn't wait long to show his opinion: "The clubs unanimously made a different proposal. Soon we'll undoubtedly have to talk to the KNVB."
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| Toure strike seals Barca´s progress to the semi-finals |
9/4/2008
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) - Yaya Toure picked the perfect time to get his first Champions League goal for Barcelona, his 43rd minute strike giving the 2006 winners a 1-0 win over Schalke 04 here Wednesday.
After winning their Champions League quarter-final first leg in Germany by the same score last week, Barcelona progressed to a mouth-watering semi-final meeting with English giants Manchester United with a 2-0 aggregate victory.
Toure got the only goal of an entertaining if error-strewn game two minutes before half time, side-footing a loose ball home from the edge of the six yard box.
The Ivory Coast international was the man who found the net but the credit for creating it has to go to their 17-year-old striker Bojan Krkic, Barca and #39;s scorer in the first leg, who broke away clear down the right wing.
Barca and #39;s teenage prodigy out-sprinted his markers before providing a tricky cross which two Schalke defenders failed to clear properly and Toure was on hand to break his duck for the Catalan club.
There was joy for Barca after their recent dismal displays in La Liga, with only one win in their last seven outings, but both they and Schalke will be regretting their otherwise comprehensive failure to find the net.
"We were not always on the target but at least we played better than in some of our other games," admitted Barca and #39;s Spanish international midfielder Xavi Hernandez.
The first half before Toure and #39;s goal saw thrilling end-to-end action in which only poor finishing was to blame for neither side scoring.
A host of Barca players failed to capitalise on their opportunities while Schalke target man Kevin Kuranyi squandered no less than four good chances in the first 20 minutes. The second half followed in similar fashion.
Samuel Eto and #39;o and Thierry henry mis-hit almost every ball that came their way while Halil Altintop and Kuranyi were equally inept for Schalke 04.
By contrast to Barca and #39;s better-known names, Bojan was a constant threat to Schalke with his darting runs and dribbling. Deservedly, his name rang around the Nou Camp when Barca coach Frank Rijkaard substituted the exhausted teenager after 73 minutes.
One disappointing note for Rijkaard was that his captain Carles Puyol was among the four men booked and the Spanish international will miss the semi-final first leg in two weeks time.
With a long list of injuries, Rijkaard will be hoping that Gabi Milito will have recovered from his groin problem in time for the visit by United.
Nevertheless the victory will ease the pressure a little on Rijkaard and Barca and #39;s under-fire president Joan Laporta.
"I don and #39;t think too many people can complain if we are in the Champions League semi-finals," commented Laporta after the game.
Barca now face Manchester United in the Champions League semi-finals with the first leg being in the Nou Camp on April 23.
The English Premiership champions beat Roma 1-0 on Wednesday to go through 3-0 on aggregate. This season and #39;s Champions League final will be in Moscow on May 21.
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