Premier League Goals

Juliano Belletti is on his way back to the Chelsea first team after he appeared for the reserves on Monday night.

Ana’s ranking remains unchanged at No.7 in the latest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Singles list, which is published today. She stands at No.9 in the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships, the rankings that determine the eight qualifiers for the season-ending event in Doha.

The main rankings change sees Russian Dinara …

Beleaguered Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has said the Italian marque could write off their 2009 championship hopes within two races.

After failing to score a single point in three races and languishing alongside Force India at the bottom of the constructors’ championship, the defending champions are in danger of becoming a …

We kick off a bumper global round-up with news of AZ Alkmaar’s title success in the Netherlands.

NETHERLANDS

AZ Alkmaar clinched the Dutch league championship for the second time with three games to spare.

Louis van Gaal’s side were crowned champions for the first time since 1981 after Ajax Amsterdam failed to beat …

Rafael Nadal was not taking his fifth Monte Carlo Masters title as a guarantee of success at the French Open even though he has followed up his previous wins in the principality with victory at Roland Garros.

Nadal had to dig deep to beat world number three Novak Djokovic 6-3 2-6 …

Novak Djokovic has been defeated in the final of the Monte Carlo ATP Masters to Rafael Nadal 6-3 2-6 6-1.

In the two hours and 43 minutes of world-class tennis in Monaco, both stars showed all the beauty of the game, but the “King of Clay” Nadal was the more composed …

The young squads of the region are fighting to qualify for the World Cup in their age group.
by Andrea Canales

A rumored Mexico-Argentina match won’t happen, and neither will any game against any other opponent.
by Luis Bueno

While six players made the cut for WPS player of the week, it was goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill who earned the title. Luckenbill stopped the Washington Freedom’s attack, by stopping a crucial PK.
by Kathryn Knapp

The Spanish giants have reportedly made an offer for the Colombian defender of Udinese.
by Andrea Canales

It has been all but confirmed that if Ranieri stays on as coach of the Bianconeri, then Trez will be on his way out.
by Andrea Canales

THE captains of SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates agree: when their match ends we should know where the 2008 Premiership title is destined.

In the dark days of communism, foreign footballers in Russia would have been as welcome as a biting, Siberan winter.

The history of soccer balls starting from 1963 when Adidas first thought it would be a good idea to make them and came up with something that looked like this… It was the first ball used in the World Cup that had 32 black and white panels.It was called "The TELSTAR " and was more visible on black and white televisions – (possibly because more people had black and white TV’s than colour TV’s in those days).More such fascinating facts and intriguing trivia here…

Six months after it was first asked, the Football Association will for the first time today offer its board a formal opportunity to discuss the government’s seven questions over football governance.At the board meeting on 31 March, the FA chairman, Lord Triesman, was challenged by Manchester United’s chief executive, David Gill, over where the FA was placed in its preparations for a formal stakeholder consultation.The seven questions ? over issues ranging from debt to club ownership and insolvency ? were posed by the culture secretary, Andy Burnham, last October. But, although the government had expected responses from the FA, the Football League and the Premier League in the new year, there was no document available for the board’s consideration at its March meeting.The apparent lack of urgency angered Premier League club representatives, since Triesman had delivered a broadside last year over levels of debt their clubs carry. Triesman’s speech to the Leaders In Football conference in 2008 effectively fired the starting gun on the debate on football governance.The government had expected the Premier League’s consideration of its questions to be stalled by the billion-pound auction for its television rights. Yet it is the only one of the three major football organisations to have submitted its draft replies to Burnham’s department. “Our response is under ongoing consideration and we hope to be in a position to reply to the secretary of state shortly,” said an FA spokesman.Yesterday a parliamentary group released its report on governance but it is just a sideshow to Burnham’s process.League’s board faces own relegation issuesThe Football League is braced for the outcomes of this season’s promotion and relegation battles as it faces an exodus of up to half of its eight board members. The Ipswich Town chairman, David Sheepshanks, will lose his Championship and Football Association board positions if his club contract is not renewed in May. Norwich City’s chief executive, Neil Doncaster, will similarly be removed from the FA and League boards if they go down and Sheffield United’s Terry Robinson will also quit the League board if they are promoted to the Premier League. Lorraine Rogers, below, the long-serving Tranmere Rovers chairman, will quit the League One club she represents at Gloucester Place at the end of the season after growing disillusioned with the game.Final chance for SetantaSetanta’s impressive 1.275m audience for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Arsenal came just at the right time for the network as it hopes to persuade its finance-house owners not to pull the plug. The company is in the midst of an internal review about how best to present the rights it holds and to exploit the Freeview platform where it is under-represented. There are also discussions with rights holders such as the FA about how to alter payment schedules, but most crucial will be discussions with its shareholders over refinancing. Strong hopes remain that Balderton Capital, Doughty Hansen and Goldman Sachs will maintain their commitment to a business they have already backed with hundreds of millions of pounds in venture capital. But if they do choose to keep up the expensive battle with Sky for audience share there will be a personal cost to the channel’s affable founders, Mickey O’Rourke and Leonard Ryan. They retain a 20% shareholding but should the company survive the capital-raising process that is certain to be slashed.Unfair trade-off for fansThe Office of Fair Trading has ignored Manchester United fans’ claims that the controversial Automatic Cup Scheme introduced by the Glazer regime at Old Trafford is effectively an abuse of a dominant market position. Manchester United fans are obliged to buy a ticket for every home cup and Champions League match and may opt out only of Carling Cup matches, prompting the original OFT complaint. United insist they have done nothing wrong and the OFT said in its ruling yesterday that in offering a formal appeals procedure if season tickets are terminated for non-payment of cup matches then United are discharging their duties. The OFT added it has finite resources and an expensive courtroom battle over the issue was not a viable option. But that leaves football fans out of pocket ? again.matt.scott@guardian.co.ukPremier LeagueAndy Burnhamguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

? Frank Lampard believes Chelsea have restored belief ? Ashley Cole says players want Dutchman to stayFrank Lampard believes he is having the best season of his career, which ought to make him feel more mystified about his omission from the PFA Player of the Year shortlist. The Chelsea midfielder, after all, has been nominated in the past. ­Lampard, though, also believes his team are at the peak of their powers, playing as well as when they were serial trophy ­accumulators under Jose Mourinho, and there is no doubt which silverware he would prefer to finish the season with.”I’ve not really thought about the PFA shortlist,” he said, which comprises ­Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard and five Manchester United players. “A lot of people have said they’re surprised but I think when the nominations are done, ­players pick with the right idea. They don’t pick for political reasons. I would happily give away any PFA nomination for a bit of silverware in terms of the Champions League or the FA Cup.”We are very close to winning trophies again and are playing as well as we did during those times. I hate to compare to the Mourinho era but there’s certainly an element of that strength and belief. We lost that at the start of the season. We lost points and games through giving away late goals but now there’s a much stronger feeling. Whether we’re playing better [than the Mourinho years] I don’t know but we’re certainly scoring more freely which breeds confidence. There’s always a belief that we’re going to go on and win, even late on in a game.”The most recent late winner came on Saturday in the FA Cup semi-final, when Didier Drogba’s 84th-minute goal saw off Arsenal at Wembley, and with Everton beating United in the other tie, Chelsea have been installed as favourites for the trophy. Guus Hiddink, the manager, hopes to enjoy a “beautiful” ending to his temporary reign in the final on 30 May. Before that, though, there is the small matter of the Champions League and, if the team can get past Barcelona in the semi-finals, they would face either Arsenal or United in the final on 27 May.For Ashley Cole it means the prospect of facing his former ­employers in club football’s biggest show piece three years after his acrimonious transfer. “That is something I might have to deal with,” he said with a shrug. “I will never, ever forget Arsenal, I will always have memories of there and a lot of love, but I am at Chelsea now for the rest of my career. Hopefully I can win a few more trophies here.”His chances of doing so this season, he feels, have been bolstered greatly by ­Hiddink, whose record since taking over from the sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari in February stands up to any scrutiny. Like Lampard, Cole found himself drawing the comparison to life under Mourinho, who was at the helm when he signed. “Guus has been a breath of fresh air with the players,” said Cole. “He has given us all a belief, he has come in and just made everything click so easily. He has got Drogba back and we seem to be playing and showing the spirit when I first joined and which gave me the reason to join. If we get that little bit of luck that we didn’t have last season, the Champions League is still winnable.”Whether Hiddink stays or returns full-time to his post as the Russia manager continues to be a talking point, despite the Dutchman’s categorical statements that he sees no future for himself at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of the season. Cole, though, would like him to have a change of heart. “All the players would love him to stay,” he said. “He has got everything and the lads just love him. He can be funny and he likes a laugh but he can be serious and, when he is serious, you know he is serious. We are normal people. We play football but we do have feelings and do get down but he just lightens up the place.”Lampard added: “It would be very ­fitting for the manager to finish by winning the FA Cup final but who knows what can be achieved before then? There’s nothing better than going to a stage like Wembley, which is why we celebrated like we did. All the players were there, even the quieter ones and the foreign players like Alex, and that’s how it should be.”ChelseaGuus HiddinkPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Amr Zaki has played down comments from Wigan Athletic manager Steve Bruce, describing the on-loan striker as ‘a nightmare.’

Martin O’Neill has warned that his Aston Villa side are not out of the race for fourth place in The Premier League just yet.

Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed the “drive and determination” from his Manchester United players in the wake of their 3-2 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Arsene Wenger has put aside talk of contract negotiations for any of his Arsenal players until the end of the season.

Blackburn Rovers Jason Roberts has gone for a scan on the foot injury he sustained against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday amid fears the burly frontman has suffered a broken metatarsal.

Lietuvos Rytas is once again the Eurocup champion! L. Rytas became the first team to win a second Eurocup title – and sealed its Euroleague ticket for the upcoming 2009-10 regular season – by downing BC Khimki Moscow region 80-74 in the final on Sunday, rewriting competition history in the …

The owner of Steaua Bucharest soccer club was arrested early Friday on charges of kidnapping three men who allegedly stole his car earlier this year.

Gigi Becali, 50, was arrested following a five-hour court session through the night, after prosecutors argued he was a “a public danger,” Bucharest court officials said. …

Andy Murray hit second serves for aces, angled passing shots through the narrowest openings and rarely made a mistake.

It was a performance worthy of a trophy, and Murray became the first Brit to win the Sony Ericsson Open by defeating Novak Djokovic 6-2, 7-5 Sunday.

The Scotsman used his …

Reigning constructors’ champions Ferrari were searching for a quick fix after both cars finished outside the points at the rain-shortened Malaysian Grand Prix, a week after a similar scoreless weekend in Australia.

A tropical storm over the Sepang circuit brought an abrupt end to the second race of the season and …