De Rossi warns Inter and praises Ranieri
(GSM) - Daniele De Rossi still believes Roma can mount a title challenge despite an eight-point gap with league leaders Internazionale.
Roma are back on track after a struggling start of the season and are unbeaten in seventeen games.
"It's an incredible thing," Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Many factors have tied in together: a maturation of character, serenity, results. It's credit to the group.
"Other teams would have beaten someone up in the dressing room. Instead we always remained united. We are healthy. Sure, Inter are too, but the Champions League could bother them later on.
"The table says that, together with Milan, we are the anti-Inter. Let six or seven games pass and then we'll see. Also because there is still a match to play against them at home."
Asked to explain the difference Claudio Ranieri made since he took over from Luciano Spalletti De Rossi said: "He is an expert. He never gives up the charge.
"Claudio has given us the compactness that we needed. And it's not true that he doesn't love good football. Look at the games against Fiorentina and Genoa.”
Finally, De Rossi outlined his ambitions this season: "I would like to win the Europa League, but our objective now is to finish third and return to the Champions League without the preliminaries.
"It's too important for us as a window and for the club on an economic level."
Hargreaves looks set for United return
(GSM) - Finally, there's light at the end of the tunnel for Owen Hargreaves. The Manchester United midfielder has been recovering from various knee injuries for almost one and a half year now and should've been fit for a while.
At last, his return looks to be in sight: the Mancunian aims for a comeback against Milan, later this month.
Sir Alex Ferguson hopes Hargreaves will be available to him for the first time in seventeen months.
"But we won't rush him," insisted Ferguson. "We are being patient with the rehabilitation following his knee operations and he is alternating his training with the reserve and first-team squads, working for two days and then resting a day.
"It's a matter of him regaining his confidence and, when he is able to train every day, that will be the moment for him to return to match play."
Hargreaves has gone through a hard time the last months. The former Bayern Munchen man played his last league match on September 21, 2008 against Chelsea. After that he was troubled by various knee problems and he received surgery on both knees in December 2008 and January 2009.
Several setbacks have lengthened the recovery time.
Ancelotti backs Terry as Chelsea held by Hull
HULL (AFP) - Carlo Ancelotti has backed John Terry to come through his personal crisis and lead Chelsea to the title despite his side's disappointing failure to overcome Hull City in a 1-1 draw at the KC Stadium.
Terry's week of woe showed no signs of improving as he was subjected to abuse on Humberside on Tuesday evening.
And just to make matters worse he was booked before having to watch his side drop two crucial points against Phil Brown's struggling team, blowing their chance to open up a four-point lead over Manchester United at the top of the table.
Terry had to run a gauntlet of hate from the home supporters that promises to become a regular event for the defender, but Ancelotti insists his captain can handle the flak and will carry on playing.
Terry will meet England manager Fabio Capello later this week to discuss his future as his country's captain following reports of his affair with the former girlfriend of international team-mate Wayne Bridge.
But he has the backing of Ancelotti, even if the Italian admits he might give the centreback a family holiday later this month when Chelsea face Cardiff City in the FA Cup fifth round at Stamford Bridge.
Ancelotti said: "Nothing can distract our concentration in this competition. In every game the Chelsea team has good focus and we can play good football.
"Concentration is always on top. This is an issue for me and John Terry. I think it's not a problem. You can see the line-up against Cardiff.
"If he needs a holiday he will have one and if not, he will play against Cardiff.
"I don't like to speak about this. It's not a question I want to speak about.
"For him (Terry) nothing has changed. He continues to play a very good game and every game he's living a good moment.
"He's doing his best. The atmosphere in the team is the same. There has been no change.
"We are in a good position now. We are top. We know Manchester United are very good and it will be a long race until the end of the season.
"We are happy to have a two-point lead. This was an opportunity, but it's impossible to win every game."
Chelsea had to rely on Didier Drogba's clinical free kick to salvage a point for the league leaders. It was his 20th goal of the season and cancelled out Stephen Mouyokolo's opening goal for Hull, his first for the club.
Ancelotti praised the impact Drogba had on his return to the side following international duty at the African Cup of Nations and believes his form and fitness will be key as the season enters its final third.
Ancelotti added: "It's an important moment for us, but we need to have all the players in good condition between now and the end of the season."
Hull rode their luck at times with goalkeeper Boaz Myhill once again impressive but Brown is convinced this result can provide his side with the belief that they have what it takes to go on and avoid relegation for the second season in succession.
"Against the quality of the opposition, that performance is right up there. I'm just disappointed we can't perform like this on a more regular basis," said Brown.
Ferguson wary of Beckham 'media circus'
(GSM) - David Beckham's return to Old Trafford will add some spice to the confrontation between Milan and Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson will warn his players not to get caught up in the 'David Beckham media circus'.
"Our job is to concentrate on the football match and let the David Beckham media circus carry on," Ferguson told United's club magazine. "He's such a high-profile celebrity - not just a high-profile footballer - and we haven't really seen anybody else return to the club in that situation."
Beckham is in his second loan spell at Milan. The 34-year-old Los Angeles Galaxy player hopes his performances will persuade England boss Fabio Capello to include him in the squad for this summer's World Cup.
"I think I told him myself last year when I saw him before our game against Inter that he should be thinking about getting back to Europe if he wanted to go to the World Cup," said Ferguson.
"It looks like he might just get his wish now. He had a good spell with Milan last time, so it made sense to me to see him back there again."
Manchester United and Milan will face each other on February 16 and March 10. United starts with an away match. "The European Cup is always special to us and we've had some marvellous nights at Old Trafford. I just hope we have another one.
"We're away from home in the first leg, which won't be easy, but I'm certain the tie will be decided back at Old Trafford."
Gago and Real blast Manchester City
(GSM) - Fernando Gago is very disappointed that his move to Manchester City was cancelled right at the end.
The Real Madrid midfielder hoped to boost his World Cup chances by leaving Real this winter but his move to City was stalled at the last moment. "They used us," said Gago's agent Marcello Lombilla.
Manchester City launched their first bid on Gago last week and the Argentine midfielder felt the deal would be settled. However, City manager Roberto Mancini opted to move for McDonald Mariga, the Kenyan midfielder who signed for Internazionale at the last day of the transfer window.
The Citizens then returned to Real Madrid for Gago but it was already to late. They could not complete the deal until they had an official agreement from club chairman Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who they could not reach in time.
"They had nothing prepared, not even one document signed," Real's sporting director Jorge Valdano told El Pais. "They had not reached an agreement with the player and they would have had to have done everything in 40 minutes."
Lombilla is very angry at City, considering his client might miss the World Cup.
"This has never happened to me before," the agent told radio station Onda Cero. ""I don't want to talk about the figures that City were offering because they approached Madrid without even knowing there wasn't physically enough time to put something together."
Lombilla insists that Gago will now concentrate on getting his Real career back on track.
"Despite the fact he went from being 'untransferable' to suddenly 'for sale', he will always continue to work hard," he stated.
Injury heartache goes on for Fulham's Johnson
LONDON (AFP) - Andy Johnson, Fulham's former England striker, will be out of action for at least three weeks with a knee injury that is threatening to rule him out for the rest of the season.
Johnson, who has made only 13 appearances in the current campaign as a result of a dislocated collarbone and a groin strain, is to have exploratory surgery to determine the gravity of the injury.
"If they find that the problem is as major as it could possibly be, then he would need an operation that would keep him out for the rest of the season," Fulham boss Roy Hodgson said, adding that the 28-year-old had been "shattered" by the latest setback.
"If we're lucky and the major operation is not needed, and it's something wrong with the cartilage, then he might be back earlier.
"At the moment we're talking three to four weeks, and the worst-case scenario is the rest of the season and him being fit to join us in pre-season."
Hodgson is already without Clint Dempsey and Zoltan Gera because of their knee injuries and he admitted he would not have let Diomansy Kamara go to Celtic on loan earlier this week if he had been aware of Johnson's latest problem.
"One of the reasons why we let Diomansy go was because we didn't think the problem with Andy was anywhere near as grave," Hodgson said.
"I was concerned that I would not be able to give Diomansy regular games, so when a club of Celtic's stature comes in for him, it is very difficult for me to say 'you have to stay'."
Hodgson added: "Andy is shattered. He's devastated. If it's as serious as it could turn out to be, it needs to be put right for the start of next season."
Fulham were due to face the Premier League's bottom side, Portsmouth, on Wednesday with the west London club aiming to end a run of five straight defeats.
"At the moment I can divorce performances from results, but if you keep losing you will get dragged down there and get into a relegation battle," Hodgson warned.
"I'm hoping that won't happen and in the not-too-distant future we will have a squad of players together who are more competitive than we currently are."
Birmingham owner's funds boast backfired: director
BIRMINGHAM, England (AFP) - Carson Yeung's pledge to give Birmingham manager Alex McLeish up to 40 million pounds to spend in the transfer market backfired as rival clubs racked up asking prices for players, a club director has reportedly admitted.
Yeung, the Birmingham owner, made his pledge shortly after taking over the club in October and Birmingham's vice-chairman Peter Pannu believes the Hong Kong businessman would have been wise to be more discreet about his spending plans.
"It was not particularly helpful that our chairman indicated a desire to buy players in January and spend some money," Pannu was quoted as saying by The Guardian. "I think that raised expectations among the clubs that we approached."
McLeish had made a new striker his priority during the transfer window but Birmingham's moves for Germany forward Kevin Kuranyi, Liverpool winger Ryan Babel, Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones and Tottenham's Russian international Roman Pavlyuchenko all came to nothing.
Pannu said the asking price for Pavlyuchenko had gone from 10 million pounds to 15 million plus during the course of negotiations with Spurs while Kuranyi's wage demands doubled.
"We have every support possible from Carson," Pannu stressed. "There is no problem there. The problem we have is the way some of these clubs have behaved. We have been messed around."
Birmingham winger James McFadden meanwhile has backed team-mate Barry Ferguson to make a successful return to the Scotland squad following Craig Levein's appointment as manager.
Ferguson was banished from the international set-up last season following an all-night drinking session between two World Cup qualifiers and a subsequent furore over obscene gestures he made to photographers.
Levein has promised a fresh start however and McFadden believes Ferguson, 32, has earned a recall on the strength of his outstanding form for Birmingham this season.
"Everybody that watches Birmingham can see what a good player Barry is," McFadden said. "In his last year up in Scotland, he was maybe starting to doubt himself a little bit but he has come here and shown everybody exactly how good he is.
"He has been brilliant for Birmingham and a big part of the reason that we've had such a great run.
"I think he's still got a big contribution to make in the international scene. I think it would be great for the country if Barry did come back in."
Van Nistelrooy needs time: Hamburg coach
BERLIN (AFP) - Hamburg's new star signing Ruud van Nistelrooy needs more time to get fit before making his Bundesliga debut, his coach Bruno Labbadia said on Wednesday.Having spent most of the season on the bench at Real Madrid before signing for Hamburg 10 days ago, the 33-year-old Dutch hot-shot striker is only 60 percent fit, according to Labbadia.
And it looks as though the striker will sit out Hamburg's Bundesliga game at Cologne on Saturday and needs plenty of fitness work after knee surgery in November 2008 and having played just 127 minutes of football for Real this season.
"We would never put someone under a pressure of time to say when they will be fit," Labbadia told SID, a subsidiary of AFP, with his side fifth in the German league table.
"Ruud is still working his way back to fitness and it is only 60 percent.
"Whether or not he is in the squad, we will decide at the end of the week."
Labbadia says the Dutchman needs "a few more weeks" to return to top fitness.
"We don't want to rush him back too early and risk him getting injured," said Labbadia.
A calf injury meant van Nistelrooy only trained with the squad for the first time on Tuesday.
"He has not played for the best part of a year, it is a different story if a player has just been out for a few weeks."
Van Nistelrooy has signed a contract until June 2011 and Hamburg are reported to have spent four million euros on him.
He has already been crowned the best striker in Holland, having scored 62 goals for Eindhoven between 1998 and 2001, England, having scored 95 goals for Manchester United between 2001-06 and Spain, having netted 46 goals for Real between 2006 and 2010.
Having retired after Holland were knocked out of Euro 2008 by Russia in the quarter-finals, van Nistelrooy has said he would like to play for the Netherlands again at this summer's World Cup.
Barca VP Godall confident of Fabregas return
(GSM) - Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas is continuously involved in speculations regarding a possible transfer to Spain. Real Madrid and Barcelona are both linked with the Arsenal captain.Now, speculation about Fabregas' future has been stirred up yet again by British tabloid The Sun publishing quotes from Barcelona vice-president Alfons Godall.
Godall is convinced Fabregas will return to the Camp Nou at some point in the future.
The Spain international progressed through the youth ranks at Barcelona before moving to London in 2003.
Arsenal's frustrations in the Premier League, going from top of the league to six points adrift in the space of a fortnight, together with Barcelona's ambitions, have been cited as the catalysts that could ensure a £40 million deal is struck in the summer.
Godall, who hopes to succeed Joan Laporta as president, believes that even if Fabregas does not make the move at the end of this season he will one day return to Barcelona.
"Sooner or later Cesc will end up coming back," Godall said. "We are a club that can sign players because we are respected and solvent."
Ribery set to decide Bayern future: agent
BERLIN (AFP) - Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery will decide in the next eight weeks whether or not to stay with the German giants, his agent said Wednesday.Ribery, 26, has a contract at Bayern until June 2011 but after a series of top class displays for Munich he has been linked to some of Europe's top sides, including Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Although Ribery has struggled with a knee injury since October, he is working his way back to fitness and is widely regarded, alongside Bayern team-mate Arjen Robben, as one of the most creative players in the Bundesliga.
"Franck has a contract until 2011 and so Bayern hold all the cards in their hands," Ribery's agent Alain Migliaccio told German daily newspaper Bild on Wednesday.
"Before we meet with (Bayern's chief executive Karl-Heinz) Rummenigge, (president Uli) Hoeness and (director of sport Christian) Nerlinger, nothing will happen."
Migliaccio also confirmed Nerlinger's rejection of reports that Ribery had been given an ultimatum by Bayern to prolong his contract before the end of March.
"The story about the ultimatum is absolute nonsense, nobody has given Franck an ultimatum," he said.
"We are waiting to see what the club wants to do."
Ribery has won 41 caps and scored seven goals for France and looks set to be a star of the 2010 World Cup which takes place in South Africa from June 11-July 11.
O'Hara rejoins Pompey
(GSM) - Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara has rejoined Portsmouth on loan until the end of the season. Spurs have let O'Hara go to Pompey, who have struggled financially recently, have re-signed O'Hara.
The 23-year-old former Arsenal trainee made 14 appearances for Pompey during the first half of the campaign, scoring one goal against Blackburn.
O'Hara had returned to White Hart Lane due to the transfer embargo placed on the South Coast side.
An agreement had been reached between Spurs and Pompey for the player to extend his stay at the club, but he was forced to move back to north London and bide his time.
O'Hara had spoken of his desire to return to Fratton Park, and Portsmouth fans will be glad of some good news in what is a turbulent time for the club.
With the financial situation seeming to get worse by the day, it remains to be seen whether O'Hara will be able to improve the fortunes of the cash-strapped outift.
He is expected to be part of Avram Grant's side for the Premier League game against Manchester City on Sunday.
Mutu banned after failing drug test
ROME (AFP) - Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu was on Friday provisionally banned over doping claims, while his mother suggested she was to blame after he tested positive for the banned substance sibutramine.
Italy's National Anti-doping Tribunal (TNA), operating under the jurisdiction of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), announced that it had "suspended the player according to the demand made by the office of the anti-doping prosecutor on January 28".
Mutu, 31, tested positive for sibutramine after scoring in his side's 2-1 home win over Bari in the league on January 10. The Romanian international risks a suspension of between one and four years.
CONI indicated later on Friday that Mutu had also tested positive for the same substance 10 days later, following Fiorentina's 3-2 Italian Cup win over Lazio, in which he scored a brace.
In a statement, the Tuscan club said their medical staff had had nothing to do with the administration of a banned substance and expressed their belief in "the good faith" of the player.
The club added that they wanted to see "the affair cleared up as quickly as possible".
Sibutramine is a medicine principally used in the treatment of obesity.
According to the ANSA news agency, who spoke to a pharmacologist, the substance would enable an athlete to increase his level of aggression.
Media reports in Romania on Friday, meanwhile, speculated that Mutu could have accidentally been given the drug by his mother.
Interviewed by the TV channel Telesport, Mutu's mother, Rodica Mutu, admitted to having taken slimming tablets and said she had "definitely left some of them in Italy" while visiting her son.
"Maybe he took them out of curiosity as I had boasted about losing weight," she said. "But in any case, the box says that they're a natural product that contains no banned substances."
Friends and relatives have rallied round the star, asserting that he would not have taken doping products on purpose.
Inter Milan defender Cristian Chivu, the Romania captain, also defended his "friend", saying that he was "obsessed by his figure".
"I know that he was always taking tablets to stay in shape," Chivu said.
"This time he must have just taken the wrong pill. I don't believe it was an intentional thing."
Mutu was fired by Chelsea after a positive test for cocaine in 2004, not long after joining the English Premier League club. He subsequently served a seven-month ban for use of a banned substance.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport last year upheld the 17.17-million-euro fine handed to Mutu by FIFA as a punishment for breaching his contract with Chelsea.
The Romanian says he is unable to pay the fine but has offered to make a donation to a charity in its place.
Mutu arrived in Florence in 2006 after a year and a half at Juventus, and this season he has played in 11 Serie A and six Champions League matches, scoring four and three goals in each competition respectively.
Benitez ´proud´ of Juventus link
LIVERPOOL, England (AFP) - Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez said Friday that he was proud of Juventus's reported interest in him, in comments that will be seen as keeping the door open to a possible move to Serie A.
Juventus on Friday sacked Ciro Ferrara and installed Alberto Zaccheroni as their new head coach.
The Italian giants did not confirm the length of Zaccheroni's contract but local media reported that he had only been guaranteed the role until the end of the season.
That may be a sign that Juve's directors, who reportedly sent a delegation to Liverpool to see Benitez earlier this week, still harbour hope of persuading the Spaniard to quit Anfield.
Benitez insisted on Friday that he did not want to talk about the subject but, perhaps significantly, confirmed he had been made aware of Juventus's interest.
"I am not here to talk about speculation because people talk too much," he told reporters.
"I am focused on preparing my team for the game against Bolton. I know they (Juventus) were interested, that is part of the game now in football, but I am not ready to talk too much because I don't want to lose my focus.
"When you are a manager and you have clubs asking (for you), you have to be proud because they are a top side in Europe, but I am really happy here and want to do my job as best I can."
Benitez remains a highly respected coach around Europe, despite Liverpool's problems this season.
The club have been knocked out of both the Champions League and the FA Cup and face a battle to secure a return to Europe's elite competition next season by clinching a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Benitez, who is under contract at Anfield until 2013, has vowed to ensure that goal is achieved and Liverpool's recent form -- three wins and two draws in their last five league matches -- has been encouraging.
But a section of the Liverpool support has already lost patience with the manager and, if the top-four place is not delivered, the club's American owners will come under increased pressure to sack him at the end of the season.
There is also a school of thought that Benitez, a fluent Italian speaker and a friend of Juventus director Roberto Bettega, may simply grow tired of Liverpool's boardroom politics, his strained relationship with owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and criticism from fans and former players.
And there certainly seemed to be a feeling of being under-appreciated as he mused on the reasons why Juve could be interested in him.
"Juventus is a big club, we have played against them in the Champions League and they know Liverpool are a top side," he said.
"They know it is not easy to do well always in a top side so it is a question of professionals who know the market, they know the managers and how to find someone good enough for them.
"But again I say, I am proud but I'm also really proud to be here. I am really happy here and want to do my job as best I can."
Ghana sweat on skipper Kingson
LUANDA (AFP) - Africa Cup of Nations finalists Ghana, beset by a bagful of injuries to star players, suffered a fresh setback on Friday involving inspirational captain Richard Kingson.
The Ghana and Wigan goalkeeper is one of only a handful of experienced players available to the Black Stars, who face champions Egypt in Sunday's final.
But Kingson, who pulled off a series of match-winning saves in the 1-0 semi-final win over Nigeria, had to be taken to hospital in Luanda on Friday to undergo tests on a groin problem.
He picked up the injury in last Sunday's 1-0 quarter-final win over hosts Angola, and was clearly not 100 percent against Nigeria, restricting his kicking to his left foot.
"I wasn't entirely fit but I promised the boys I would do anything for them, I sacrificed myself for the guys to help them reach the final," he said after Thursday's historic win in the west African derby, which has put Ghana into its first Africa Cup of Nations final for 18 years.
Coach Milovan Rajevic, already missing most of his regular first XI, told AFP at the team's hotel in downtown Luanda: "Richard has had to skip a couple of training sessions because of the injury. And as you saw he was feeling it yesterday, using only his left foot.
"He is in hospital today to have tests and treatment, but I'm hopeful he will be able to play on Sunday.
"He really wanted to play against Nigeria, he wanted to help them with his experience."
Despite his fine performance in the quarter-finals there was a sting in the tail for the Ghana captain, who was booked in injury time.
Another yellow card in the final will see him miss Ghana's World Cup first round opening game against Serbia in Pretoria, South Africa on June 13.
He is one of a rare breed of experienced players left in the squad following the defection due to injury of regular captain Stephen Appiah, Chelsea star Michael Essien, John Pantsil and John Mensah.
That has left the door open to Ghana's youngsters, who have grabbed the chance to shine and state their case to be included in Rajevic's World Cup squad.
As well as Rajevic's home country, Ghana are drawn against Germany and Australia in Group D in South Africa.
One piece of good news for the underdogs in Sunday's final is the return to fitness of Anthony Annan.
The midfielder, who plays his club football in Norway with Rosenborg, had to sit out Ghana's first three games but started against Nigeria and will be even sharper for Egypt.
The champions, seeking their third straight title and seventh in total, arrive in Luanda later on Friday to prepare for what they hope will be yet another continental crown.
Victory will see coach Hassan Shehata become the first manager to win three consecutive championships.
Anderson linked with Lyon switch
(GSM) - Manchester United's Anderson could be set for Old Trafford exit as the midfielder's representatives claimed a deal with Olympique Lyon could be "closed this weekend".
The Brazil international, who has made 96 appearances for United since joining from Porto in 2007, was left out of the squad for United's last two games.
Speculation about his future at Old Trafford has arisen, after reports have claimed that Anderson paid an unauthorised visit back to Brazil and is in line to be fined two weeks' wages.
He was linked with a move to Vasco da Gama in his homeland, although the club have played down suggestions they could sign the 21-year-old.
However, Lyon may be able to offer Anderson a route out of United after the player's representatives confirmed the interest from the French giants.
A spokesman for his agents Gestifute told The Sun: "We are working towards some authorisation with United.
"The subject could be closed this weekend."
There are suggestions that United will look to have the highly-rated goalkeeper Hugo Lloris included any deal which would see Anderson head to Stade Gerland.
Tottenham snub Blues' Pav bid
(GSM) - Birmingham City have had a formal bid for Tottenham's Roman Pavlyuchenko snubbed. Although Pav is set to leave Spurs, the North London club has dismissed Birmingham's offer as they hope to get a better offer for their Russian striker.
The two clubs have been talking over the past week about a possible deal. Blues boss Alex McLeish confirmed his interest in signing the Russia international.
Birmingham's approach has been rebuffed as Tottenham to return the £14million they paid for the player in 2008.
Spurs have already signed Eidur Gudjohnsen, a fact that will further unsettle Pavlyuchenko. However, Birmingham will have to better their offer if they want to land the Tottenham striker.
Pulis gives up on Jones
(GSM) - Stoke manager Tony Pulis has admitted that signing Kenwyne Jones from Sunderland is not going to happen. A deal for Jones to join the Stoke squad demands more money than the club can afford.
Kenwyne Jones has triggered interest from Stoke, Liverpool and Birmingham this window. But Pulis has now ruled out the prospect of signing the Trinidad & Tobago international.
"The Kenwyne Jones one, that is not going to happen, and Victor Moses, that was never going to happen anyway," Pulis said.
"We had Kenwyne here when we first started, quite a while back. I know there has been interest from Liverpool and other clubs and rightly so, he's a good player.
"But he's on a lot of money at Sunderland and they want a lot of money for him, it's been well documented. So we won't be in that market."
World Cup finalists battle for bronze in Benguela
BENGUELA, Angola (AFP) - World Cup-bound Nigeria and Algeria will have to dig deep to motivate themselves for Saturday's Africa Cup of Nations losers' final.
Nigeria were stopped from reaching the final proper by a youthful Ghana team courtesy of a first-half winner from Asamoah Gyan after the Super Eagles failed to convert a hat-full of chances in their semi-final in Luanda on Thursday.
Algeria, on the other hand, held out against their bitter rivals Egypt until just before half time in Benguela when they went behind through a penalty and also lost a defender.
Then in the second half they capitulated to let in three more goals and get two other players sent off.
This is the second time that Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu has failed to reach the Nations Cup final after his team also lost to Senegal in 2002.
Amodu may have met the semi-final target set for him in Angola by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), but the signs are ominous that, as in 2002, he may not be the man in charge when the Eagles feature at the World Cup in South Africa in June.
Osaze Odemwingie, captain on the day against Ghana, did not help the coach's situation when he questioned the team's tactics after the loss to perennial rivals Ghana.
He also said it would be difficult for the team to motivate themselves in the third-place playoff against Algeria at the weekend.
"It will be difficult. We will have to travel again for the last game and have only one day to train. We will be tired. Maybe those who have not had a chance will play," said the Lokomotiv Moscow striker.
The Eagles will have their top players available with Everton defender Joseph Yobo pressing for a starting line-up place after he claimed he has had a "miracle" healing on a hamstring injury that had earlier ruled him of the competition.
The Desert Foxes of Algeria will be without at least three top stars - goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi and defenders Rafik Halliche and Nadir Belhadj - after they all saw red against Egypt in Thursday's semi-final.
"It will be a very difficult task for us against Nigeria because we will be without several of our players," admitted coach Rabah Saadane.
Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra insisted Algeria will take a lot of positives from their experience in Angola despite going down to fierce rivals Egypt.
"We're a young team, who have continued to make progress. People did not expect us to get to the semi-final," said Bougherra, who again questioned the penalty kick awarded against his team by Benin referee Koffi Codjia.
Nigeria and Algeria last clashed at full international level in 2005 with the west Africans running away 5-2 winners in Algiers in a 2006 World Cup qualifier.
French mull post-Domenech era - as 8-year-old stakes claim
PARIS (AFP) - The head of the French Football Federation (FFF), Jean-Pierre Escalettes, said Friday the organisation was already mulling who would succeed coach Raymond Domenech, whose contract expires after the World Cup.
"Out of respect, this should be done before the World Cup," said Escalettes after a meeting of the FFF federal council.
"I thought it was my duty not to be a hypocrite, as everyone knows what will happen after the World Cup," he added in allusion to the long-held expectation that Domenech will be dispensed with after this summer's finals in South Africa.
Domenech took the French to the 2006 final - lost on penalties to Italy - but a poor Euro 2008 showing placed him under pressure and qualification for South Africa was only achieved after a controversial playoff win over Ireland, courtesy of Thierry Henry's blatant handball.
"You have to get on with things in advance - you can't choose a new coach in July. And don't say this destabilises the players," Escalettes told reporters.
"The players have to know - it's better the president of the Federation says that five or six months before the start of the World Cup rather than a fortnight before the kickoff," he added.
The FFF is now set to designate a successor in April or May.
Among those in the frame are Bordeaux boss Laurent Blanc and Marseille's Didier Deschamps (Marseille), who were teammates in the side which lifted the 1998 World Cup.
Former international Luis Fernandez, who won Euro 84 with Les Bleus, has already staked his claim.
So too, has Nicholas, an eight-year-old boy whom Escalettes revealed had made a written application.
"I received a well-written letter from an eight-year-old putting himself forward as national coach," a smiling Escalettes said.
"On the back of the letter he added a postcript in which he wrote this is the team I would field' and laid out his selection."
Hearts sack Laszlo, bring back Jefferies
EDINBURGH (AFP) - Jim Jefferies returned to the Hearts hotseat on Friday, just two hours after the Scottish Premier League side had sacked Csaba Laszlo.
Jefferies was in charge at Tynecastle from 1995 and 2000 when he masterminded the 1998 Scottish Cup triumph over Rangers.
He also led Hearts to four top-four finishes before moving to Bradford in England.
Jefferies stood down as Kilmarnock boss on January 11 after almost eight years in charge at Rugby Park.
Laszlo was sacked after 18 months in charge when majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov finally lost patience with his repeated complaints about Hearts' transfer policy.
The 45-year-old Laszlo was the sixth man to fill the manager's seat in just over five years, following George Burley, Graham Rix, Valdas Ivanauskas, Anatoly Korobochka and Steven Frail.
He regularly criticised the club's failure to invest in new players with his latest outburst coming in a Friday morning press conference, at which he blamed Hearts' reliance on young players for the club's current injury crisis.
Hearts, who are fifth in the SPL, landed Falkirk captain Darren Barr this week on a pre-contract agreement but Laszlo described the signing as "not enough".
He added: "At the end of November or beginning of December, I gave to the board a complete plan for the short-term and also the long-term. Now the January transfer window is finished. This plan you can put in the dustbin."
Laszlo's departure could also lead to the exit of star defender Jose Goncalves, who is out of contract this summer and had publicly linked his own future to that of the manager.
The 24-year-old, a former Portugal Under-21 international, has attracted interest from Celtic and has suggested he agrees with Laszlo's view that Hearts need an injection of fresh blood.
"To get some ambition and motivation from the club is very important to go forward," he said on Friday, prior to news of the manager's dismissal breaking.
"If we get some good quality players, you can see the club want to build on something."