Drop Beckham, Robson urges Capello

Bobby Robson says England coach Fabio Capello must make a stand and drop David Beckham from his starting line-up ahead of their upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign.

With England due to face Andorra on September 6 ahead of a tough meeting with Euro 2008 qualifier nemeses Croatia former England boss Robson says Capello must be more decisive.

“Fabio is meant to lead but the only place we’ve gone so far is round in circles,” Robson said in his Mail on Sunday column.

“It is time for the real Capello to stand up and start dictating to the players and the public exactly what he wants. Then he’ll find people will get behind him.”

Sir Bobby believes there is now little room for Beckham if England, who last week struggled to draw with the Czech Republic in a Wembley friendly, are to unearth a coherent system.

“It means picking vibrant wide players rather than starting with David Beckham when he can’t get forward as he used to. It means banging Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard’s heads together and getting them to play as a unit. Because they can,” Robson insisted.

Only the qualifying group winners automatically qualify for the World Cup finals in South Africa.

That means the Croatians, who did the double over England in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, this time have to be sent packing.

Robson says Capello should have been more decisive in picking his skipper for the Czech encounter.

“The weeks of dithering about who should be England captain summed it up for me. I’m sure the intention was to give everyone a fair chance, but it made him look weak and indecisive.

“Steve McClaren could have told him two years ago that John Terry was the best man for the job.”

Sir Alex Ferguson makes final £25 million bid for Berbatov

Manchester United have made their final bid for the troubled Tottenham Hotspur and Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov.

The bid is said to be ₤25 million which is higher than the previous one of ₤20 million last week but way short of the ₤30 million asked for by Spurs.

The deal could go through seeing that Berbatov has landed himself in deep water by not wanting to play against Sunderland at the weekend as he was not in the best of frames of mind.

Sir Alex would be keen to sign the player by the coming weekend to bolster his squad in view of the fact that his injury list is a long one.

Shevchenko to rejoin AC Milan

Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko will rejoin AC Milan subject to a medical, the Premier League club confirmed on Saturday.

Shevchenko has endured a miserable time at Stamford Bridge since his club record 30 million pounds (37 million euros) move from Milan in 2006 and had been repeatedly linked with a return to the San Siro.

Chelsea have been keen to cut their losses for several months and the Ukraine striker, who has scored just nine league goals for the club, is expected to complete an emotional return to Serie A next week.

“I'm happy,” Shevchenko told www.acmilan.com. “I have hoped for a return for a while and yesterday I began to believe that this deal could end well. For me it is as if I've won the Champions League.

“There were some complications, but now that everything is resolved I am really happy.”

A statement on Chelsea's website announced: “Chelsea FC have agreed terms for Andriy Shevchenko to return to AC Milan. Details of the agreement will remain confidential. The move is subject to a successful medical.”

Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani revealed the deal for Shevchenko should be concluded on Monday.

“After a series of frantic phone calls during the day today, we have reached an agreement with Chelsea,” he told Milan Channel.

“Andriy returns to the Rossoneri, tomorrow he will be in Milan, Monday he will undergo a medical, then he will sign a contract and from Tuesday he will be available to Carlo Ancelotti.

“We succeeded in bringing home the player who in the last 50 years has scored the most goals in our shirt.

“President (Silvio) Berlusconi and I am happy, as is our coach and I believe also our players.

“I believe that Milan are the only club in the world to have three European players of the year in our squad.”

Galliani added: “Andriy has returned home and I am happy about it. I am a Milan fan and I am very happy.

“I've spoken to Andriy 48 times in the past three hours…the terms of the agreement are very private.

“Between today and tomorrow Andriy will be at Milan and he will start again his life as a Milan player.

“Andriy made a mistake in leaving and I believe that in the past two years he has realised that this is his home.

“Now he has made his financial sacrifices but at this point the only thing that matters is that he returns to us.”

Chelsea close in on Robinho

Real Madrid are set to accept a bid for Brazilian winger Robinho from Chelsea, it is thought, after Peter Kenyon was spotted in Madrid this morning. According to a report The Daily Mail, the purpose of Kenyon’s trip to Madrid was so that he would finalize a deal for the Brazilian and he has done just that.

Earlier in the summer, Chelsea have had a £20 million offer for Robinho rejected and Real Madrid have made it clear that the player is not for sale. However an improved offer of £25 million is thought to have done the trick.

Robinho is set to join Portuguese duo Deco and Jose Bosingwa as a new arrival at Chelsea this summer, while Pizzaro and Shevchenko are leaving Stamford Bridge on loan deal. The signing of Robinho could be crucial to Chelsea who have reportedly been deprived of the services of Didier Drogba until October due to injury.

Scholes rejects talk of England return

Manchester United veteran midfielder Paul Scholes maintains he will not be making a return to the England side, four years after turning his back on the international game.

Following England's disjointed 2-2 draw at Wembley with the Czech Republic there have been calls in some quarters for the 33-year-old to consider a return to the fold, but Scholes says there is no chance of that, having previously turned down a plea to do so when Steve McClaren was in charge.

“When Steve McClaren was appointed he rang me and asked me to return. He also came down to training and asked if I fancied it,” Scholes told the Manchester Evening News.

“That meant a lot to me, but I don't think I was ever that close that I would have said yes.”

Asked if he would similarly turn down a request, were one to materialise, from McClaren's successor Fabio Capello, Scholes insisted: “Yes. It wasn't about thinking it was too much or I wasn't capable - it was just that when I was playing I was not enjoying it one little bit.”

Since hanging up his Three Lions shirt after the Euro 2004 finals Scholes has shrugged off a serious eye complaint to lift consecutive Premier League titles - he has won eight in all - and scored the goal against Barcelona that took United to last season's Champions League final.

He insisted he still had plenty of hunger at club level.

“I am 34 in November and hope to still be playing when I am 35.

“Anything after that will be a bonus. As long as I still feel I am contributing to United, I will carry on.”

Argentina 3-0 Brazil

The 2008 Olympic football final will be a replay of the 1996 edition, with Nigeria facing Argentina at Beijing’s National Stadium. The Argentinians beat arch rivals Brazil 3-0 in the semi final on Tuesday.

No goals were scored in the first half at Workers Stadium but Argentina made the difference after the break.

Sergio Aguero broke the deadlock after 52nd minute and netted a second goal just six minutes later.

Although initially stunned by the two goals, Brazil did try to do something back but other than a goal disallowed for off-side, Dunga’s men failed to threaten their opponents.

The decider came in the 76th minute when Argentina were given a chance to make it 3-0 from the penalty spot. Captain Juan Roman Riquelme stepped up and struck the ball right through the middle.

Brazil failed to keep their cool and will be missing both Lucas and Thiago Neves for the Bronze Medal match with Belgium. The two players were both sent off in the final phase.

Nigeria 4-1 Belgium

Nigeria are on their way to their second Olympic Gold following a clear 4-1 victory over Belgium in the semi finals on Tuesday.

The Africans needed seventeen minutes to open the score through Olubayo Adefemi and Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi made it 2-0 close to the hour mark.

Ogbuke Obasi went on to net another in the 72nd minute to end all Belgian hopes, and Chibuzor Okonkwo scored Nigeria’s fourth with twelve minutes to go.

The Belgians restored some of their pride with a goal from Laurent Ciman in the 88th minute.

Nigeria will face either Brazil or Argentina in the final. These two South American arch rivals face each other in the second semi final later today.

Real Madrid seem to have problems behind the scenes whilst all is well at Barcelona

I have often wondered just how much input the manager of Real Madrid has when it comes to deciding who he wants to buy for the club and play in his team.

The answer may have been given a few days, much to the annoyance of Ramon Calderon, by the present incumbent, Bernd Schuster.

Bernd Schuster has become pretty good at caused a stir at Real Madrid and he did so again by telling the press that he is the last to know about how the club’s transfer dealings are progressing.

The disgruntled German coach took a swipe at club president Ramon Calderon and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic, having already revealed the lack of communication between the trio on previous occasions.

Schuster said that he was not kept in the loop about the progress of transfer deals, or the lack of it.

“I am the last to find out anything,” he said. “At last I am content because the president has arrived and intends to speak to me and clear things up. We came up with some ideas some time ago that were quite clear. I do not now if they have changed, but it would be good to find out. I am not that bothered as I am used to be being more or less the last to find things out. Everyone else seems to know things before me. It is not great and nor is not being given any answers. I would like to know more.”

The outburst will no doubt see Schuster reprimanded again by Calderon after being reminded on several occasions last season to be more careful about his comments when speaking to the press.

The forty-eight year old German coach has often courted controversy and has a reputation for speaking his mind and not suffering fools gladly. As a player with Barcelona he achieved great things but managed to fall out with the club president and just every coach he played under. His move to Real Madrid was highly controversial due to his Barcelona past.

It seemed likely that he would lose his job as coach when Real were eliminated from last season’s Champions League, but he managed to hang on and took them to their thirty-first La Liga title with a record points haul.

What should have been a great summer with further top names coming to the Bernabau to further their European ambitions has gone a little sour.

The Real coach has grown frustrated by the actions of those above him in the club’s hierarchy after seeing so much energy exerted on the pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo that he has been virtually unable to add to his squad at all.

As an outsider it is difficult to understand what goes on at Real Madrid. The title was won under Fabio Capello and he was relieved of his duties. It was true that the style adopted by Madrid that season was not the expansive and entertaining football with which Madrid are associated, but the preceding ‘Galacticos’ years had been notable by their lack of success.

Schuster came in, provided a more attacking and entertaining style of play and won the league and even his position it seems is always under threat.

Does Calderon only value success in Europe or is it that he cannot put up with a manager who has his own opinions and wants to play a part in the transfer process?

With Madrid looking something like their best towards the end of last season it would be a shame if the off-field squabbles and problems caused them to ‘take their eye off the ball’.

Their sworn enemies at Barcelona are undergoing a minor revolution under Pep Guardiola and they will be ready to pounce should Madrid show the slightest signs of slipping.

La Liga promises to be fascinating this season as the big two will probably battle it out again. Minor things like disagreements between the manager and the President can have a major knock on effect on the club, the players and the results.

At Barca, Guardiola is very much Laporta’s man. At Madrid, the support for the boss is not so obvious. After winning La Liga for two years in a row after suffering three fruitless seasons it really would be an ‘own goal’ to upset the nature of things at this time.

Schuster knows what he is doing, but he would have hoped to have strengthened his squad more than he has during the summer. He will be blaming those above him for that. That is not a healthy position whereas Guardiola seems to have been given free rein to go out and form his squad.

To an outsider it looks like Madrid are the team who had a poor season by their standards and Barcelona are the ones looking to carry on where they left off. Something is definitely not right.

Ballack out of Germany squad for Belgium friendly

Germany captain Michael Ballack is ruled out of his country's squad for their international friendly against Belgium on Wednesday, the German football federation (DFB) said on Monday.

The Chelsea midfielder had to exit the field in the English Premier League side's 4-0 win over Portsmouth on Sunday and is being treated for a bruise to his left foot, the DFB statement added.

Following the injury, Ballack contacted Germany coach Joachim Loew to say he would not be fit to play in Wednesday's match at Nuremburg.

Werder Bremen midfielder Torsten Frings also ruled himself out of the Belgium fixture, the 31-year-old is suffering from muscular strain after the match between his club and Bielefeld (2-2).

Others on the injury list are Germaine Jones of Schalke 04, suffering from an ankle problem and goalkeeper Rene Adler of Bayer Leverkusen.

Ferdinand to decide on Sunderland move

Anton Ferdinand will reportedly have to make a decision regarding his future today, as West Ham have accepted an offer for the English defender from Sunderland, according to The Independent.

The report mentions that Sunderland have matched West Ham’s £8 million evaluation of the player and will now try to convince the player to accept their terms.

Ferdinand is thought to be unfavoured at Upton Park as West Ham have accepted several offers for the player this summer, but Ferdinand himself is in no mood to leave as he has reportedly turned down the likes of Newcastle.

Sunderland manager, Roy Keane, will hope that the player is willing to join his team as he is without cover in the middle of defence. Keane has tried all summer to bring an additional central defender to The Stadium of Light, but has failed in bids for Manchester United’s Johnny Evans and Tottenham’s Younes Kaboul.

Berbatov pleads with Tottenham to accept Manchester United’s offer

Dimitar Berbatov has reportedly asked Tottenham to allow him to complete his dream move to Old Trafford, after Manchester United’s game against Newcastle United.

Many pundits seem to be convinced that Manchester United’s inability to overcome Newcastle might have been the result of an incapable attack line and Dimitar Berbatov has taken this time to make a public plea.

“I’m now in Tottenham, but no one can disagree with me wanting to follow my dream,” said Berbatov, according to The Times, before adding: “If I had been laughing when I was on the bench, people would say I was an idiot. Eric Cantona never smiled, but I don’t know if anyone ever asked him why he didn’t look happier,” when asked why he looked so gloomy while sitting on the bench during his side’s defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Del Piero says that Juventus can definitely compete with Inter Milan

Juventus captain Alessandro de Piero says that Juventus can now compete with the best in Italy if not Europe.

He added that without getting too carried away the Juventus squad has the beating of Inter Milan and the gap in the last year narrowed down considerably.

He also said that the winning of the Serie A was no longer a pipe dream but a reality.