Franco Baldini may also take Roma role if England qualify for Euro 2012

The England manager, Fabio Capello, right, and Franco Baldini, who has been linked with Roma in Serie A. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images

 

Fabio Capello's right-hand man Franco Baldini is likely to be allowed to combine his role with a return to club football if England qualify for next summer's European Championship.

The Football Association has tried to put a lid on the debate over who will succeed Capello after the 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine. But it is understood that Baldini, who has been linked with a role at Roma, would be allowed to combine both jobs if England secure qualification in the autumn.
There is only one more England match – a friendly in February – scheduled between the end of the qualifying campaign and any warm-up matches for Euro 2012.

"We are confident from our conversations with Franco that he will remain solely focused on England's qualification campaign," said the Club England managing director Adrian Bevington. "Once we've qualified, we can look at it again."

The FA chairman, David Bernstein, has insisted since his appointment in December that he would not engage in speculation over Capello's replacement, a position that is likely to become increasinglydifficult to maintain as the departuredate draws closer. The Italian was yesterday linked with a move to Serie A with Internazionale after Leonardo's departure as coach to become Paris Saint-Germain's sporting director.

"I've said from my first day you support the manager. I'm not thinking about the next manager, at the front or back of my mind," Bernstein added.

The FA has also confirmed that Capello will travel to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup qualifying draw next month, despite the fact he will not longer be in post when the campaign begins. "The key thing is Fabio going to Rio carries on everything we've said since the World Cup: that Fabio is fully committed to the job," said Bevington. "Fabio was never hesitant about whether he was going to Rio.

"Our position was that we wanted to make sure all the other managers were going because it is optional for coaches to travel. We didn't want to turn up as one of only a few countries with our coach there." Bevington and the FA general secretary Alex Horne will accompany Capello to the first major Fifa gathering since the controversial congress in Zurich that was overshadowed by corruption allegations and criticism of the president Sepp Blatter.

Discussions over the composition of the Team GB squad at the 2012 Olympics are also continuing, with an announcement expected in the next five to six weeks.

Villarreal reject Barca's bid for Rossi

Barcelona: Barcelona have had their offer for striker Giuseppe Rossi rejected by Villarreal, the player's agent Andrea Pastorello has revealed.

The Catalan club have been linked with the Italian ace for several weeks now, but Villarreal are determined not to sell their prized asset on the cheap.

Pastorello, who represents Rossi, has indicated he was unaware of the terms offered by Barcelona, but guaranteed it did not the match the valuation set by the former Parma player's employers.

"We dot not know the figure of the proposal, but we know it is insufficient for the expectations of Villarreal," he explained to ONA FM.

"We have been waiting for answers for some days, but nothing yet, and we cannot do anything else."
Rossi, who joined Villarreal from Manchester United in 2007, has a reported release clause of €40 million in his contract.

Taarabt hints at QPR exit

Taarabt: Looking for better contract

QPR playmaker Adel Taarabt has admitted the failure of talks over a new contract could see him leave the club this summer.

Taarabt had committed himself to the Loftus Road cause earlier in the week, but his comments suggest a shift in that stance - and has also tipped the club to be relegated next season.
"I helped QPR win promotion but they will not offer me a better contract. They say I am already on big wages," Taarabt said.
"They want me to stay four years on the same terms. But I don't want to sign for four years then after one year I am going to be back in the Championship.
"No disrespect, but if we keep the same players, it will be very difficult to stay in the Premier League when you are playing Man United and Chelsea."
And he welcomed links with a move to Newcastle, who were previously rebuffed with a £5million offer, adding: "People say Newcastle will be good for me, that the fans love players like me.
"It is fantastic to play in front of 50,000 supporters every week. I do not need one of the very big clubs at this stage."

Welbeck expects United chance

Welbeck: Expects to stay at United this season

Danny Welbeck has all but ruled out a return to Sunderland by saying he has been promised the chance to prove himself at Manchester United.

Danny Welbeck has revealed Sir Alex Ferguson has promised he will be given the chance to prove he can become a Manchester United regular next season.
Like many youngsters at Old Trafford, Welbeck has been forced to wait for his big break, spending the majority of his career out on loan.
But the 20-year-old will return to United after England's European Under-21 Championship campaign with an assurance he will be able to show how much he has improved.
"The manager said I'll get decent opportunities and hopefully I'll take them and progress from there," said Welbeck, who admitted he would be forced to consider moving on if he failed to make it into Ferguson's first-team plans.
"It gets to the stage where you have to decide on your future but I'm still only 20 and looking forward to my opportunity."
Welbeck made his United debut two months short of his 18th birthday and scored on both his Premier League and FA Cup debuts.
It got even better for him when he started the 2009 Carling Cup final win over Tottenham.
But that was arguably the peak of his Old Trafford career so far and he has not played for his parent club for almost a year and a half.
Instead, he has trodden the same path as many United hopefuls before him by attempting to prove himself while on loan.
And he has largely done that, both at Preston and - last season - Sunderland.
"Going on loan really benefits you," said Welbeck, who is set to lead the line again in England's must-win European Under-21 Championship clash with the Czech Republic on Sunday.
"You learn massive amounts. It's experience you can't gain from being at United on the bench.
"I was playing with top strikers. Darren Bent was there at the start and then Asamoah Gyan came.
"I learnt a lot from Darren in training as well every day.
"It was the same with Asamoah as well and I'll always take that into my learning process."
That process continues in Denmark, where Welbeck's bid to impress Ferguson has yielded mixed fortunes.
He scored England's only goal of the tournament so far in their scrambled 1-1 draw with Spain but missed when clean through against Ukraine.
But his big problem has been a lack of support from midfield, leaving him all too often isolated up front.
"The team's not really had great possession of the ball at times so I've not really got onto the ball as much as I'd like," he said.
"We need to get on the ball a bit more, actually take control of the game and make them chase the ball more."
Head coach Stuart Pearce revealed his players may have been paralysed by nerves in their opening two draws against Spain and Ukraine, but not Welbeck.
"I don't see any need to be nervous," he said ahead of Sunday's final Group B match.
"It's different with every player but I go into every game like I'm playing at school, looking forward to getting on the pitch."
England's performances have been frustrating for their fans and also Pearce, who has nevertheless managed to keep his own temper in check.
Welbeck said: "I've not seen that side yet and don't plan on seeing it either.
"He's cool, calm and collected, lets you know his thoughts and he's really motivational, so you really know once his words are out of his mouth, it goes into your brain and stays there."
Never more so than when Pearce hauled Welbeck off after introducing him as a substitute against Greece early in his under-21 career almost two years ago.
Pearce said: "I spoke to him after the game and said that when you enter the pitch for England, you have to work harder than you did.
"He's rolled his sleeves up and his work rate is sensational and he's got goals.
"I know Fabio's a real big fan of his."
Indeed senior boss Fabio Capello handed Welbeck his first cap in March's friendly against Ghana.
The striker's debut came after he snubbed the chance to represent England's opponents, who jeered him mercilessly when he came off the bench at Wembley.
"I even had a few cousins in the stands and they said they were booing!" Welbeck joked.
"It was fine. We all had a little laugh at the end of the game.
"I've still got aunties and uncles back in Ghana and they were all really happy for me having made my debut for England so it was all sweet."

Swiss seal top spot, Danes miss out

By ESPNsoccernet staff


Iceland beat Denmark 3-1 but missed out on a place in the semi-finals of the Under-21 European Championships to Belarus on head to head record.

GettyImagesAdmir Mehmedi slots home for Switzerland.

Two goals in the space of two second-half minutes from Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Birkir Bjarnason put the bottom of the group Icelanders (who had not scored in their first two games) in command but a header from Bashkim Kadrii with nine minutes left threatened to get the Danes back into the game.
Another goal would have sent Denmark through but Haraldur Bjornsson in the Iceland net was in inspired form to keep the scoreline down and a great run and curled shot from defender Hjortur Valgardsson put Iceland 3-1 ahead.
Switzerland made it three wins out of three as they beat Belarus 3-0 thanks to a brace from Admir Mehmedi. The first, a penalty, came after Innocent Emeghara was fouled by Oleg Veretilo after just five minutes and the second saw the striker net from just inside the box.
A late strike from Frank Feltscher from a tight angle made the table interesting, but it was of little consequence to the Swiss who had already claimed a place in the semi-finals after their first two games.
Iceland and Belarus both finished level on Goal Difference, Goals Scored and Goals Against, but went through on superior goal difference from the group matches played between the teams in question (Belarus +1, Iceland 0, Denmark -1).

Daniel Levy tells Chelsea to forget about signing Luka Modric

Tottenham Hotspur's chairman Daniel Levy says Luka Modric is not for sale. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto

Daniel Levy has warned Chelsea that Luka Modric is not for sale "at any price" to any club, despite the midfielder indicating that he wants to move to Stamford Bridge. Modric's comments came two days after Tottenham turned down Chelsea's £22m offer, but the Spurs chairman is adamant the Croatian is staying.
In a statement which appears to leave little room for manoeuvre, Levy also took aim at Chelsea for going public with their interest in the midfielder, who is widely regarded as Tottenham's best player and has attracted interest from Manchester City and Manchester United.
"I wish to make it absolutely clear, as I have said previously, that none of our key players will be sold this summer," Levy said. "We are building a team for the future to consistently play at the highest level and retaining quality players is crucial to that.
"In respect of Luka Modric, we are not prepared to sell, at any price, to Chelsea or any other club. We made our stance on this issue abundantly clear in writing to Chelsea. They chose to ignore it and then subsequently made the offer public."
However, Chelsea denied they had leaked details of their bid for Modric on Saturday, branding Levy's claims as "nonsense".
Harry Redknapp backed his chairman's stance, but also warned Levy that Tottenham risk ridicule if Modric is sold now.
"The chairman has made a statement," the Tottenham manager told TalkSport. "He can't backtrack on that. He means that - I know he means that. Luka's not going.
"Daniel has made that statement - he can't come out and suddenly sell him. Everyone will go, 'What's the use of listening to what he says?' It's a happy thing to have a player like Luka Modric. We aren't selling him, that's what the chairman says and that's good enough for me. It's not easy to keep a player who's not happy, but the chairman has said we're not going to sell him so we've got to stand by that now. He can't be saying that and then we sell him.
"If we sell Modric where are we going as a football club? We'll have to accept that we're a middle-of-the-table team. That's not what the chairman wants. It's not what I want. It's not, most importantly, what the fans want.
"You've got to keep your best players. I don't see Liverpool wanting to sell Steven Gerrard or Chelsea wanting to sell Frank Lampard, John Terry or any of their top players. Arsenal don't want to sell [Samir] Nasri so you've got to keep your best players if you want to be successful.
"He's such a great player for us we just don't want to lose him. He's a great guy, top-class boy and obviously his head's been turned a little bit by the fact that he's wanted by all these clubs and he could probably go and get a fantastic contract.
"It's difficult but we certainly don't want to lose him. Daniel's made the statement and I'm sure he's determined to stand by what he's said."
Even so within White Hart Lane, there may be an acceptance that they will find it difficult to keep hold of Modric, who joined Tottenham from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008, now he has expressed a desire to leave. Furthermore, although Spurs reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season, they fell short in their attempt to qualify for next season's competition, finishing only fifth in the Premier League. Modric's ambition to experience the Champions League again is behind his wish for a transfer.
"It's a short period [your career] and you want to fulfil your personal ambitions as a football player, win trophies, play Champions League football every year," he said. "I would like to play in it this year – it's going to be difficult to play without the Champions League."
Tottenham have been in this position before. In 2006, they were unable to prevent Michael Carrick joining United for £18.6m. Two years later United came calling again, this time for Dimitar Berbatov, and after Levy initially rebuffed them, United eventually stumped up £30m for the striker.
Modric and Berbatov are viewed differently, however. Whereas Berbatov, who left for £30m, was close to being able to buy out his contract under the Webster ruling, which would have meant Tottenham losing him for next to nothing, Modric, 25, still has five years left on his contract. While Berbatov ultimately became a hindrance at the club, The player has promised he will not hand in a transfer request as he wishes to depart on good terms.
The dilemma for Tottenham is that if they do allow Modric to leave, it could spark an exodus of other key players, such as Gareth Bale, who has long been linked with Internazionale and Real Madrid. For the time being though, Levy is refusing to budge.
"For the avoidance of any doubt, let me reiterate that we shall not enter into any negotiations whatsoever, with any club, regarding Luka," he said. "We now consider this matter closed."

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Fellaini keen to move on from Everton

By ESPNsoccernet staff


Everton's Marouane Fellaini has insisted that he will move on in search of Champions League football, claiming the club are not at the right level for him.

GettyImagesMarouane Fellaini saw an ankle injury ruin his season

Fellaini, 23, cost Everton £15 million three years ago and has attracted the attention of Europe's elite with his performances for the Toffees, as Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid have all been linked. An ankle injury ruined his prospects last season, but the Belgium international is adamant that he can do better than his current surroundings.
"One thing is certain, I want to play in a team that wins trophies and play in the Champions League,'' he told Belgian media. ''Everton is a team of sub-top."
The midfielder has a contract which expires in 2013, although talks have broken down over a possible extension.