Football Preview: Schalke vs Stuttgart

Schalke fans will have to wait until after Saturday's game against Stuttgart before finding out whether Raul will give himself to a longer stay at the club. The Spaniard's agreement expires in the summer and, while he has already signalled an eagerness to stay on in Gelsenkirchen, discussions have not actually taken place yet. Talks have now been scheduled for after Saturday afternoon's first Bundesliga fixture of 2012.

"Talks about a possible contract extension with Raul are on the agenda," said Schalke's director of sport Horst Heldt at the pre-match press conference. "There is nothing new." The focus for now, then, is making a winning start to 2012 to leave the club in an even better position from which to try and convince the former Real Madrid striker to carry on. "If you start (the year) with a win, then things are a lot easier," said Coach Hub Stevens.

"We are at home in front of our great fans and we have a lot of self-confidence; we have self-confidence but no fear - that is the right way."Stuttgart is also keen to make a winning start to the New Year as they look to keep in touch with the top six. However, they are without five regulars, three of whom could be missing until the middle of February. Arthur Boka, Ibrahima Traore and Mahamdou Bah are all contribute in the African Nations Cup while Christian Gentner and Shinji Okazaki are both carrying knocks.

India takes Afghanistan in SAFF opener

Five time winners and defending champions India will start the 10th edition of the South Asian Football Federation Cup with a clash against Afghanistan on December 3.India, who won the Cup's last edition in 2009 were seeded for the draw along with the Maldives who India beat in the final two years ago. The draw ceremony was attended by a host of personage including All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das, SAFF General Secretary Alberto Colaco and Maldives Football Association General Secretary Shah Ismial.

AIFF President Mr Praful Patel said: "It is a great pleasure to host the SAFF Championship in New Delhi once again."This time the Championship will be held at the world class Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium which is now being developed as a football hub as part of the heritage plan of the Ministry of Sports, Government of India. I wish all the participating countries the very best and hope to see a very spirited tournament."

SAFF CUP 2011 GROUPS:

Group A: India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan.

Group B: Maldives, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal.

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Messi finishing on Barcelona record

Lionel Messi's hat-trick in Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Athletic Madrid has seen him go closer to overhauling Laszlo Kubala in the club's goal scoring charts. Messi, who hit his 12th career hat-trick against Athletic, has now scored 192 goals for Barca, just four behind Kubala's haul of 196.And while the Argentinean international is yet to pass Kubala he admits he already has Cesar Rodriguez's all-time record of 235 goals in his sights.

"I'm pretty calm about it," Messi said. "I just take it a game at a time, but obviously I'm very thrilled about becoming top scorer."Many years have gone by and it's still the same player. "Hopefully I can beat his stats. I want to carry on breaking records here." Athletic are one of Messi's favourite victims, with the dimunitive forward having scored 14 times against them, with three hat-tricks.

And despite Barca having notched up 22 goals in just five league games so far this season, Messi believes there is still room for advance, particularly with coach Pep Guardiola experimenting with a new 3-4-3 formation. "We feel pretty relaxed with it."There are some things we still aren't doing well, just like with the earlier system, but that's okay."

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Canales: Valencia has to keep working

Despite Valencia's superior position atop the La Liga table, Sergio Canales has refused to let his side become complacent. Valencia midfielder Sergio Canales has given small significance to the fact his side has retained their position at the top of the Liga table after holding Barcelona to a 2-2 draw. Canales, who is on loan from Real Madrid, admitted he was pleased with the result, but cautioned his side from satisfaction,

"The truth is that, looking at the match, not getting the victory leaves a bitter taste," he said, according to speech marks from AS. "But a draw is good. It is clear we have good dynamics and we can get good results. "Right now, it is unreliable to be leading the table, we have to think about the game against Sevilla and that is it.

"We have to keep working in the same manner. The players are united and there is a lot of hope to make a good season. I am very happy with the work of coach Emery", Canales concluded. Valencia now has ten points from four La Liga fixtures.

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Wellington sign Warner

Wellington Phoenix have signed former Millwall and Fulham goalkeeper Tony Warner, the club have confirmed. The 37-year-old, who played for Tranmere previous season, is set to provide competition for the A-League club's present custodian Mark Paston."One of the main ingredients that make a club successful is competition for places," said Phoenix coach Riki Herbert.

"This season we are going to have some well battles for first team spots throughout the team."It will be good for Mark to have someone so experienced to work with in training as well as keeping him on his toes."Mark is going really well now that he is over that bad run of injuries and the contest from Tony will do him no harm."

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Fabregas and Nasri out of Arsenal squad

Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri has been left out of Arsenal's squad for their Barclays Premier League opener against Newcastle on Saturday. The duo have been powerfully linked with a move out of the Emirates, with Fabregas set to finish his long-awaited move back to Barcelona while Nasri is allegedly close to a Manchester City switch.

Despite the strong conjecture this summer, the club - together with the fans - has frequently held on to the hope of keeping the two star players. However, according to Sky Sports News, Wenger has left both Fabregas and Nasri out of his squad for Saturday's trip to Newcastle - in the clearest of signs he has resigned to losing them.

In fact, reports emanating from the UK claim the Frenchman want them out of the club before the start of their Premier League battle. Meanwhile, the Gunners boss has rejected the option of signing Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker, insisting the club does not need anymore defenders."We presently have four central defenders, and thus we do not need any more," Wenger told Kicker.

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Ronaldo seals win for Real Madrid

Real Madrid forward Christiano Ronaldo netted a second-half hat-trick in a 3-0 pre-season friendly victory over Chivas Guadalajara. In a highly spirited game, the former Manchester united winger rough three goals inside a span of 10 minutes to break the first-half deadlock.

The 26-year-old opened his account with a tap-in and doubled his count with a penalty kick. Ronaldo wrapped up his hat-trick with a well finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, following an outstanding cut-back from Mesut Ozil.

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Pique eyes win over Real Madrid

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique desires a winning start to the season by beating rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super cup next month. The match is usually a shade raiser to the La Liga season among the league champions and the winners of the Copa Del Rey. This will pit Barcelona against Madrid in August and Pique is eager to deal the Los Blancos with a known blow.

"First we have the two difficult Super cups against Real Madrid and Porto which we want to win as they are two titles which would be nice to have in the museum," Pique is quoted as saying by Sport."From there we will take on the Liga, Champions League, Copa and then the European challenge.

"When we play on the pitch everyone helps out so that team can give all they can and Pep guides us with this. We always play the same way," he concluded. Barcelona begins their La Liga battle away to Malaga while Real Madrid welcomes Athletic Bilbao to the Santiago Bernabeu.

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India shock Qatar in friendly match

India stunned Qatar 2-1 in an international football friendly in one of the most unforgettable victories by the country over a top Asian side in Doha on Sunday. Sunil Chhetri put India ahead in the 16th minute when he changed a penalty kick before Sushil Kumar Singh struck in the 73rd minute at the Al Sadd Stadium. Qatar pulled one back in the 74th minute through Ibrahim Khalfan.

India had not beaten a top Asian side for a long time and it would boost new coach Armando Colaco's side ahead of their double-leg World Cup qualifiers against United Arab Emirates at Al Ain near Dubai on July 23 and in New Delhi on July 28.Qatar are ranked 94th in the world and ninth in Asia while India are now at 147th at FIFA rankings.

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Copa America: Argentina draw with Colombia

Argentina stay without a win at this year`s Copa America after escaping from their Group A clash with Colombia with a draw. Although Sergio Batista`s men did the better part of the running, Los Cafetoros had the better of the chances, with Dayro Moreno responsible of a shocking miss midway through the first half.

The point leaves Colombia in a well position at the head of the group on four points, with Argentina second with two. However, a win for either Bolivia or Costa Rica in clash will leave La Albiceleste needing a win from their last game to qualify. Moreno worn a free-kick wide in the early stages, before his cross found Gustavo Ramos almost under the crossbar, but the striker somehow spooned the ball over.

Group A Standings:

No	Team	Played	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Colombia	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	3
2	Argentina	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
3	Bolivia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
4	Costa Rica	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1	0

Elmohamady signs for Sunderland

Sunderland have completed the signing of Egypt international Ahmed Elmohamady on a permanent deal. The winger, who can also play at right-back, spent last season on loan at the Stadium of Light from ENPPI in a deal which integrated an option for Sunderland to buy him outright.

That clause has now been exercised and the 23-year-old has joined on a pre-arranged unidentified fee having signed a three-year contract.

Owen extends contract

Michael Owen has agreed a one year extension to his contract at Manchester United, the club has confirmed. Speculation had been common that Owen would leave Old Trafford this summer after a two year spell in which a lack of form and fitness strictly limited his first team appearances, but the 31-year-old has frequently stated his desire to remain at the club.

United have settled Owen his wish, and the former Liverpool front man has revealed he is delighted to have earned a new deal."I'm happy to have agreed a one-year extension to my contract," he told. "To play alongside so many great players, under an exceptional manager, and in front of so many extremely passionate supporters, is a real motivation. I can't wait for next season to start."

United manager Alex Ferguson expressed his delight at approving the deal which will keep Owen at the club for another season, and has promised the striker will be given more of a chance to shine next term. "Michael has proved to be a top footballer," he said. "It's unfortunate Michael didn't get more chances but the form of Chicharito put everyone in the shade and his partnership with Rooney proved invaluable.

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Football:Champions League Preview - Barcelona vs Man United

The breaking news you want to sink your teeth into before Manchester United and Barcelona clash at Wembley. The mood ahead of the UEFA Champions League final between United and Barca has been friendly. A good final for the impartial is expected with both teams doing their best to talk up the abilities of their opponents.

The Red Devils with three European Cups to their name are still behind their bitter rivals Liverpool who have five while a win for Barca at Wembley would cement the Catalans' fight for being the best side ever. Motivation to go out and win the game on Saturday will not be a problem for both sets of players.

Porto win Europa League

Porto took the Europa League trophy with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Braga in the final in Dublin. Falcao's header just before the end of the first half was enough to give the 33-year-old Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas his third trophy of an unbelievable first season in charge. Braga replacement Mossoro wasted a golden chance to level when he fired straight at Helton when clean through, but otherwise the Arsenalistas never looked like intimidating the Portuguese champions.

Manager Villas-Boas was delighted to lift the Europa League but he also admitted to being a little dissatisfied with the poor quality of the match."I do feel just a little sad, because both teams could have been better," he said."Both teams found it hard, but that is nothing new in a final."Braga are always very aggressive and very dense, which makes our work very hard."But there is a great joy in winning the trophy."

Falcao ended the battle as top scorer in the contest and he was delighted."I am very, very happy - I lived for a moment like this - but this is particularly for the team," he said."I thank God and Porto to be in a situation like this."Being the top-scorer is just an extra, what matters is the victory."Porto captain Helton was also celebrating his 33rd birthday on what proved to be a special night."Besides being very heavy, this trophy is a wonderful birthday gift," he said."We knew it would not be easy and that is how it proved."

Man United to keep winning

Ryan Giggs is certain the current crop of Manchester United players are intended for greater success. At 37, the expert Welshman knows he will not be around for too much longer. However, with a 12th Premier League title safely tucked away, Giggs has previously committed himself to the Old Trafford cause for one more season, and Sir Alex Ferguson has not given up on the idea his longest-serving player may be around the season after that as well.

No matter how long he lasts, Giggs is sure United have a trophy-ladened future ahead of them, regardless of the challenge offered by the appearance of Manchester City."This side can go on to more things," he said."You look around the changing room at Fabio, Rafael, Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez. They will be at the club a long time."You can see they love the club purely through the way they play and their manner around the training ground. It is obvious.

"It is all part of the manager's strategy for keeping things going."He has those three tiers. Now it is me, Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar and Gary Neville. Then you have those in their late 20s and early 30s and then the younger players." Giggs is certain United's record 19th championship was a collective effort, with selfless contributions from the likes of Park Ji-sung and Darren Fletcher and the most constant performer their skipper, Nemanja Vidic.

"You would find it hard to find a stand-out player this season," said Giggs. "It has been a real group effort."The team spirit has always been good and that has shown in some of the results we have clawed back."If you asked 10 United fans for their player of the season, the chances are you would get a different answer off the majority”.

Rudi Krol keen to coach Indian football team

Former Dutch captain Rudi Krol, a veteran of two World Cup finals, is eager to coach the Indian football team, soccer officials say. The 62-year-old is one of the several coaches who have applied for the post of chief coach, which is unfilled after the resignation of Bob Houghton. A top All India Football Federation official told that Krol's CV was among more than a few they have received from foreign coaches in the last two weeks.

AIFF secretary Kushal Das, however, refused to expose names but definite that some former national coaches have applied."It is not probable to reveal the names. But some international coaches, who have the experience of coaching international sides have applied," Das told. Krol, a former Dutch defender, played in 1974 and captained the side in the 1978 World Cup.




Krol played 83 times for Holland between 1969-83, scoring four goals. He was the star player for the Dutch team in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina and also featured in the FIFA All Star team. In 1979, Krol completed third in the European Footballer of the Year contest behind the winner Kevin Keegan of England and Germany's Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

He spent most of his club career at Ajax Amsterdam and turned out for Italian club Napoli from 1980-84.As a manager, he was in charge of the Egyptian national team in 1996 and was assistant manager of the Netherlands, under Louis van Gaal. He is presently in charge of top South African club side Orlando Pirates.