Barcelona tempt Materazzi

Following his row with Roberto Mancini and teammate Julio Cruz, there are reports Marco Materazzi is considering a move to Barcelona.
The Inter defender made himself very unpopular among fans and players alike when he insisted on taking the penalty – which was saved – in the 2-2 draw with Siena despite the fact Cruz was the designated spot-kick specialist.
If the Nerazzurri fail to win the Scudetto this weekend, many will blame Matrix and that could prove decisive in his consideration of a transfer to La Liga.
It is claimed in Catalan newspaper Sport that new Barca boss Pep Guardiola is looking to bring in more physical players to help complete the highly technical side.
Considering Gabriel Milito is out of action for nine months and Lilian Thuram is set to leave, he is turning to Materazzi.
The reports from Spain suggest Barcelona will offer Deco and Giovani dos Santos as part of the transfer.
The Portuguese international midfielder has long been linked with Inter. (http://www.channel4.com/)

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TRIUMPHANT ZENIT RETURN HOME

Zenit St Petersburg returned home to a party atmosphere following their UEFA Cup final victory over Rangers.
A delay in leaving Manchester meant the team only arrived back in St Petersburg late on Thursday evening.
But upon disembarking their plane at the city's Pulkovo airport the players and staff were met by the sound of a military orchestra and greeted by, amongst others, St Petersburg city governor Valentina Matvienko.
The players then moved to the city's sport and concert complex where they showed off the trophy to hoards of delirious fans, who had drowned out the celebratory speeches of city officials by continuously chanting their heroes' names.
Coach Dick Advocaat chatted openly with fans before speaking of the need to bring in new players if Zenit were going to progress further.
He told St Petersburg web portal Fontanka: "We don't need to bring in footballers of the same level we already have.
"We only need to buy those who are going to bring new qualities to the side's play.
Zenit president Alexander Dyukov agreed that for Zenit to build on their recent success the squad needs to be strengthened further.
"Ahead of us this year lie games in the Russian league, Russian Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the Champions League, where we have set the team the target of progressing from the group stage," Dyukov said.
"Furthermore our players will be involved with their national teams for the European Championship finals.
"To be able to get through all these competitions will be very difficult for the current squad, so the club will be strengthened." (http://www.football365.com/)

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Ibrahimovic Commited To Inter

Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has no intention of leaving Internazionale despite speculation linking him with a move abroad.

The Inter forward has been a reported target of Real Madrid and Chelsea, but Ibrahimovic has insisted he intends to remain at the San Siro.

"I am happy at Inter and my future is with Inter," said Ibrahimovic. "I have no problems with coach Roberto Mancini."

The 26-year-old, who is under contract with the Nerazzurri until June 2010, is recovering from a knee complaint which has seen him sit out the past five league games.

Ibrahimovic's absence has hindered Inter's progress to a third consecutive Scudetto as they have seen their lead at the top cut to one point by Roma with one round of games remaining.

The Nerazzurri foward joined Inter in a 24.8million euro (£19.6million) transfer fee from Juventus two years ago and is currently Inter's top scorer with 15 league goals struck this campaign.(www.sportinglife.com)

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Inter Slip Up Again

Internazionale missed the chance to claim their third consecutive Serie A title for the second weekend in succession after they were twice pegged back to draw 2-2 with Siena.

Roberto Mancini's side will now take just a one-point lead into the final day of the season after their nearest rivals Roma claimed a 2-1 win at home to Atalanta.

An expectant sell-out crowd saw Inter claim an 11th-minute lead when Patrick Vieira powerfully headed home from a Mario Balotelli corner.

Siena pulled a goal back through Massimo Maccarone on the half-hour mark before Balotelli restored his side's lead on the stroke of half-time.

Inter controlled proceedings in the second half but were stunned by Houssine Kharja's long-range strike.

And the home fans' feelings of anxiety were not helped when Marco Materazzi won a dubious penalty 10 minutes from time, only to see his spot kick saved by Alex Manninger.

The Nerazzurri now must win at Parma on the final day of the season to claim the Serie A title, while Roma travel to relegation-threatened Catania.

Inter showed no early signs of the jitters that have undermined their title push in recent weeks - they had managed just two points from their past three games.

A well-worked move in the opening minute afforded Julio Cruz enough time to pick his spot from the edge of the area, but he shot straight at Manninger.

Moments later Vieira scrambled a low shot past the left-hand post before Materazzi headed against the crossbar from a Balotelli corner as Inter got closer to the target.

The breakthrough finally came in the 11th minute and owed much to Balotelli's dead-ball accuracy.

The 17-year-old midfielder gave an indication of his rising talent to perfectly pick out Vieira from a corner and the France international, having stolen a mark on the static defence, headed home from close range.

The Siena defence then had to stand firm to deny a Cruz after Balotelli's free-kick caused further mayhem in their area.

The home side may have enjoyed all the running in the opening half hour, but it took just a moment of invention from Siena's Moroccan midfielder Kharja to peg back their advantage.

Kharja won the ball back from an Inter throw and played a defence-splitting ball to Maccarone, who fired his angled shot under the body of goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

If the Brazilian goalkeeper was at fault for the equaliser he made up for his blunder with a fine reflex save at the feet of Andrea Rossi to deny Siena an unlikely lead five minutes before half-time.

Moments later Inter took the lead when Vieira turned provider for Balotelli to score with his head.

Vieira nodded on a long Maicon throw from the edge of the six-yard box, which flew across the face of goal and into the path of an unmarked Balotelli who had the simplest of tasks to score.

The half-time whistle blew soon after to herald celebratory scenes amongst the Inter fans who clearly felt their side would at the least hold on to their interval lead and claim a 16th scudetto.

Indeed, they almost built on their advantage a minute after the break when Cruz's footwork proved too quick for the defence, but with just the keeper to beat he shot into the side netting.

And Inter were again made to pay for not taking their chances when Kharja equalised after 70 minutes, the midfielder placing his low shot into the far corner from 25 yards.

The swagger that had marked Inter's play was replaced by anxiety as they desperately went in search of a winner that would claim the title.

Cruz continued to provide their most likely avenue to goal but he shot wide when well placed before another attempt was blocked by Materazzi, who was in an offside position.

However, Inter were gifted a chance to claim the win when Materazzi won a debatable penalty after Christian Rigano was penalised for wrestling the defender to the ground, replays suggesting the decision might have gone the other way.

Materazzi stepped up to take the 79th minute spot kick, but his shot was expertly saved at full-length by Manninger to deny Inter and set up an enthralling last day.(www.sportinglife.com)

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Liga de Fútbol Profesional - Score

Final score Estadio El Madrigal
Villareal 2 - 0 Espanyol
[Robert Pires (43), Joan Capdevilla (31)]

Final score Estadio Jose Zorila
Valladolid 0 - 0 Getafe

Final score El Sadar
Osasuna 2 - 1 Real Murcia
[Eduardo Gomes Dady (2)Juanfran (53) - Gonzalez (90)]

Final score Ciudad de Valencia
Levante 1 - 5 Valencia
[Javi Fuego (32) - Villa (14), (30), (67), Mata Garcia (35), Miguel Angulo (66)]

Final score Estadio San Mames
Athletic Bilbao 0 - 0 Racing Santander

Final score Manuel Ruiz de Lopera
Real Betis 0 - 2 Sevilla
[Fabiano (32), Federico Fazio (51)]

Final score Estadio Camp Nou
Barcelona 2 - 3 Mallorca
[Thierry Henry (17), Samuel Eto'o (56) - Borja Valero (67), Webo (70), Guiza (90)]

Final score Vicente Calderon
Atletico Madrid 1 - 0 Deportivo La Coruna
[Diego Forlan (45)]

Final score Estadio del Mediterraneo
Almeria 0 - 2 Recreativo Huelva
[Jesus Vasquez (24) - Florent Sinama Pongolle (42)]

Final score Santiago Bernabeu
Real Madrid 2 - 2 Real Zaragoza
[Ruud van Nistelrooy (22), Robinho (77) - Oliveira (19), Garcia Sergio (86)]

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Lega Calcio - Score

Final score Stadio Artemio Franchi
Fiorentina 3 - 1 Parma
[Mario Alberto Santana (39), Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (86), Franco Semioli (77) - Igor Budan (11)]

Final score Stadio Friuli
Udinese 0 - 2 Cagliari
[Robert Acquafresca (48), Cossu (56)]

Final score Stadio San Elia
Reggina 2 - 0 Empoli
[Nicola Amoruso (79), Edgar Barreto (68)]

Final score Renzo Barbera
Palermo 0 - 2 Sampdoria
[Cassano (61), Christian Maggio (76)]

Final score San Paolo
Napoli 3 - 1 AC Milan
[Maurizio Domizzi (69), Marek Hamsik (36), Gyorgy Garics (90) - Seedorf (90)]

Final score Armando Picchi
Livorno 0 - 1 Torino
[Rosina (41)]

Final score Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino
Juventus 1 - 1 Catania
[Alessandro Del Piero (89) - Andres Martinez (48)]

Final score Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Inter 2 - 2 Siena
[Patrick Vieira (11), Mario Balotelli (45) - Massimo Maccarone (31), Houssine Kharja (69)]

Final score Stadio Luigi Ferraris
Genoa 0 - 2 Lazio
[Pandev (32), Rocchi (45)]

Final score Stadio Olimpico
AS Roma 2 - 1 Atalanta
[Christian Panucci (23), Daniele De Rossi (68) - Gianpaolo Bellini (88)]

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English Premier League - Score

Final score St Andrew's
Birmingham City 4 - 1 Blackburn Rovers
Cameron Jerome (89) Morten Gamst Pedersen (49)
Cameron Jerome (73)
Fabrice Muamba (90)
David Murphy (31)

Final score Upton Park
West Ham United 2 - 2 Aston Villa
Dean Ashton (88) Ashley Young (14)
Nolberto Solano (8) Gareth Barry (58)

Final score White Hart Lane
Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 2 Liverpool
Fernando Torres (74)
Andriy Voronin (69)

Final score Stadium of Light
Sunderland 0 - 1 Arsenal
Theo Walcott (24)

Final score Fratton Park
Portsmouth 0 - 1 Fulham
Danny Murphy (76)

Final score Riverside Stadium
Middlesbrough 8 - 1 Manchester City
Stewart Downing (58) Elano (87)
Stewart Downing (16)
Jeremie Aliadiere (85)
Afonso Alves (90)
Afonso Alves (60)
Afonso Alves (37)
Adam Johnson (70)
Fabio Rochemback (80)

Final score Goodison Park
Everton 3 - 1 Newcastle United
Joleon Lescott (70) Michael Owen (47)
Ayegbeni Yakubu (82)
Ayegbeni Yakubu (28)

Final score Pride Park Stadium
Derby County 0 - 4 Reading
Dave Kitson (61)
James Harper (16)
Kevin Doyle (69)
Leroy Lita (90)

Final score JJB Stadium
Wigan Athletic 0 - 2 Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo (17)
Ryan Giggs (81)

Final score Stamford Bridge
Chelsea 1 - 1 Bolton Wanderers
Andriy Shevchenko (62) Kevin Davies (90)

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Bosingwa Set For Chelsea

Chelsea are set to win the race to sign Portuguese star Jose Bosingwa after agreeing a deal with Porto.

The Blues have struck a deal worth £16.2 million with Porto and the player has flown to London for talks and a medical.

The player's agent Jorge Mendes has accompanied his client as Chelsea look to seal the deal in the next 48 hours.

Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa have all made moves for the 25-year-old in recent months but it appears Chelsea have held them off to land the highly-rated full-back.

Porto announced a deal was done in a statement to the Portuguese Stock Exchange: "We inform the market that we have an understanding with Chelsea for the rights to our player Jose Bosingwa for the price of 20.5million euros.

"More information on the relative agreement of the transfer will be legalised once the player concludes the medical examinations that he is now having with the permission of Porto football club." (www.sportinglife.com)

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Fergie sets sights on title record

Ferguson won his 10th Premier League title on Sunday as United won 2-0 at Wigan to pip Chelsea to the trophy by two points.

There had been suggestions that the Scot could quit in the summer if the Red Devils complete a fantastic double in Moscow later this month, but Ferguson sees more silverware on the horizon and has no intention of quitting.

"Retire? That wife of mine just bullies me, so she'd throw me out of the door at seven o'clock in the morning!" stated Ferguson. "So that's a definite no.

"She's quite a formidable person! I am proud to have survived for so long, but it is easier for me than the rest because I am at such a great club. How would I be without this? Please tell me.

"This team is a good young one and has plenty of years left, so the 18th title will come.

"It has a lot of experience in Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. That kind of experience allows young players to develop."

Ferguson had previously announced he would step down at the end of the 2001/02 season, but after finishing with a trophy-less season he postponed his retirement and penned a three-year contract.(www.teamtalk.com)

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ADEBAYOR BLASTS EXIT RUMOURS

Emmanuel Adebayor has labelled reports he is set to leave Arsenal as "rubbish".
The Togo international has enjoyed a fine campaign at the spearhead of the Gunners attack - even if his impressive personal haul of 30 goals so far was not able to secure any silverware for the Gunners.
However, it had been claimed the 24-year-old - signed from Monaco in January 2006 - was ready to follow Mathieu Flamini, who has agreed to join AC Milan on a free transfer, out of Emirates Stadium unless he was handed a new bumper pay deal.
Adebayor, though, has vehemently denied the reports and pledged his allegiance to Arsene Wenger's men.
"I am very happy here. Reports which suggest I have threatened to quit are rubbish," he said in a statement this afternoon.
"I love the club and the fans.
"We have a great set of players here with a fantastic team spirit.
"We have had a good season, but next year we want to go one better by winning a trophy."
(http://www.sportinglife.com/)

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City in line for UEFA Cup spot

Manchester City could secure a surprise route into European football next season after UEFA revealed England have finished top of the fair play standings.
One Premier League club will now be handed entry into the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup - taking the number of English sides in the competition to four.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's side appear to be the front-runners for the prize as they are fifth in the domestic fair play league - but behind four teams who have already secured places in Europe via alternative routes.
The Citizens, who face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, also qualified for Europe via the same route in 2004.
However, should they qualify for Europe, then owner Thaksin Shinawatra faces the unusual scenario of parting company with a manager who has exceeded his own pre-season expectations.
The former Thai prime minister indicated he would be happy with a top half of the table finish in his first season when he took over at Eastlands last summer.
Shinawatra has since suggested that Eriksson's services will be dispensed with in the summer after a disappointing second half of the season.
The former England coach, who himself was only appointed last summer, has been linked with a return to Portuguese club Benfica should he be shown the door later this month.(http://www.football.co.uk/)

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Wenger Puts Club Before Players

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned any player who may be contemplating their Arsenal future that "what is good for the club" will always come first.
Alexander Hleb's agent claims the Belarus winger will leave this summer, amid suggestions he is ready to buy out his contract to sign for Inter.
French midfielder Mathieu Flamini has already walked out on a free transfer, joining AC Milan.
Wenger, however, maintains individual desires will always play second fiddle to the bigger picture.
"I have a responsibility, it is not what I like, it is not what the players like, it is what is good for the club. That's the only decision I will make," Wenger said.
"When we do that, afterwards, if you are happy or not happy, it is less important than that the club is happy.
"If you have a choice between three million people are happy or one is happy, the choice is made quickly."
Wenger also suggested talk of players like Hleb buying out the remainder of their contract under new FIFA guidelines - following the test case of Andy Webster in Scotland - was not as straightforward as has been made out.
"That is not as simple as it looks, this 'Webster clause'," said Wenger.
"You can't come in the next day and buy out. There is no rule at all that says what it is about.
"You have to go to tribunal, to go first to FIFA, and if you don't agree with FIFA you have to go to CAS (the Court of Arbitration for Sport).
"It takes a lots of months. You (the player) can be banned for the whole period if it is not done in a proper way."
Wenger - whose third-placed side travel to Sunderland for their final game of the season on Sunday - insisted maintaining the right footballing "values" must always come first.
He said: "What is a big club? Is it only down to trophies? This club here has a history of being built by people of values.
"For me that is a big club, a club that comes out of people's desire to respect values. Look at our whole history, it's clean."
Wenger added: "That is why at the head of the club you have a responsibility to keep these values and to make sure that people who come after you can be proud.
"They may say this manager didn't win enough trophies, but the club has kept its reputation within the values for the whole history. That is vital."
Despite the doom-mongers already predicting a player exodus and a bleak future, Wenger insists he is not short of options to strengthen his squad this summer.
"There are plenty of players who want to join us, don't worry, we have no problem on that front," he said.
"What is unbelievable is I'm sitting here like we have killed all the players and when I go to my office I have 220 calls from players who want to come in."
Wenger added: "What we need next year is two or three players maybe. We need talent.
"I think a huge player is better than a huge name. You have huge names who produce very little at the moment.
"But don't worry, we will have a team to compete for the championship next year."
While the Arsenal manager was disappointed with Flamini's exit, it is not something which he will lose sleep over.
"For me its not a problem, I wish him well - thanks for the services, lets go on and focus on what's important for this club and the players who want to stay here," he said.
"There is no bitterness, nothing. He was in a situation where he could make a decision, and he did. Goodbye and good luck.
"What is important is that a player, when he plays, gives 100%. When he played for us he gave 100%."
One player set to remain, however, is Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who today rejected as "rubbish" reports that he was after a big pay increase or would quit the club.
Wenger quipped: "The agents always get nervous in May and they calm down on August 31.
"It is like they take tranquillisers on the first of September." (http://www.football365.com/)

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Fergie reveals Rooney doubt

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed Wayne Rooney is doubtful for Manchester United's title decider with Wigan Athletic, but is confident the striker will be fit for the Champions League Final.

The England striker has missed the last two games after aggravating the hip problem he picked up in the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers on April 19.
Ferguson will leave his decision on whether to name Rooney as a substitute for Sunday's trip to Wigan until the last minute, but is confident he will be fit to face Chelsea in the Champions League showpiece in Moscow on May 21.
The Red Devils will be crowned Premier League champions for a second successive season should they pick up three points at the JJB Stadium.
"He may be on the bench," revealed Ferguson. "He'll certainly be fit for the Champions League Final."

Meanwhile, Ferguson expects to have Nemanja Vidic available on Sunday.
The Serbia defender has sat out the last two games with concussion following a blow to the head in last month's 2-1 defeat at Chelsea.

"I'm hopeful of having Vida," he continued. "The next two training sessions (Friday and Saturday) are going to be very important for him.
"We'll have had eight days to prepare by the time the game comes round on Sunday which is a bonus.

"The training sessions have been quite light and all the little niggles have cleared up. The mood is very good in the camp." (http://www.football.co.uk/)

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