Scolari back in charge of Brazil

Former Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has returned for a second stint as coach of the Brazil national side.

The 64-year-old, nicknamed ‘Big Phil’, replaces Mano Menezes who was sacked last Friday.

As well as jobs at the helm of Chelsea and Brazil, the globetrotting Scolari has also served as the manager of the Portuguese national side who he steered to the EURO 2004 Final and a fourth placed finish at the 2006 World Cup.

He’s been without a job since leaving struggling Brazilian topflight club Palmeiras in September.

Scolari now has the mission to lead Brazil into the 2014 World Cup on home soil and to a sixth world title.

His first spell in charge of his national side started in 2001. The following year he guided the Seleção to world cup glory in Japan and South Korea. It would be the last time Brazil would make it past the quarter-finals of FIFA’s flagship tournament.

His first official game this time around is a friendly against England in February.

Chelsea target another striker to ease burden on misfiring attack

Chelsea is planning to bring in or sign another striker in January with new manager Rafael Benitez of the view that they simply cannot place the burden on Fernando Torres to score their goals and play every game to the end of the season.

The club have not ruled out bringing Romelu Lukaku from his loan spell at West Bromwich Albion, where he has scored five Premier League goals this season, one more than Torres, but there is a feeling that the Belgium international’s development would be best served by seeing out his season there.
Lukaku, 19, has made significant steps at West Brom but the club believe that they may need a more experienced player to see them through the final five months. Much will also depend on whether they beat the odds and get through to the Champions League knockout stages next week.
While Torres’s goalscoring form has been poor – he has just four league goals in 14 games – Benitez is not prepared to play him in every game, especially given the fixture pressure on the club. Providing they win their semi-final in the Club World Cup and their third round FA Cup tie, Chelsea will play 17 games in the next two months, starting with the trip to West Ham United on Saturday.
The Colombia international Radamel Falcao is the primary long-term target but he would take a monumental investment to sign in January with a €60m release clause in his Atletico Madrid contract. .
Benitez and Chelsea may look at a more short-term option than Falcao, especially if they are only competing in the Europa League come January. The club have looked at Wilfried Bony, 23, the Ivorian who plays for Vitesse Arnhem, a club with whom they have a close relationship. Three Chelsea players – Patrick Van Aanholt, Gaël Kakuta and Tomas Kalas – are currently on loan at the club. Bony has scored 15 goals already for Vitesse this season and is the leading goalscorer in the Eredivisie. That he will be playing at the African Nations for most of January means that he is unlikely to be the quick fix required.
They have explored the possibility of bringing Didier Drogba back on loan from Shanghai Shensua but it is fraught with problems. He is playing for the Ivory Coast in the African Nations and the Chinese Super League season clubs begin pre-season training in February.
Nevertheless, the striker has retained close links with senior officials at the club and was back at Stamford Bridge earlier in the month for the games against Shakhtar Donetsk and Liverpool. A move for Drogba was a consideration before the appointment of Benitez but there was the friction between the two when the latter was Liverpool manager.
Another option is the Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente, who is a free agent at the end of the season. He is expected to go to Juventus in the next transfer window but at the relatively low price of €7m he remains an option for the second half of the season.

Messi, C-Ron up for Ballon d'Or

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta were on Thursday shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or, FIFA and sponsors France Football magazine said. Barcelona forward Messi, 25, has already won the title thrice. The prize will be presented in Zurich on January 7. If he wins, he

would become the first player to win it four times.
who do you think will win the prize?

Evans: Rafael can be world's best

Jonny Evans has tipped his Manchester United team-mate Rafael da Silva to become one of the outstanding right-backs in world football.
Rafael, 22, has become an automatic choice at right-back this season and Evans believes the Brazil international will keep improving.
"He's been outstanding all season. With his energy, he really sets the tone for the rest of the players. He's a credit to himself," Evans told MUTV.
"He's working hard and he's going to be one of the best right-backs in the world, no doubt about that."
Midfielder Michael Carrick joined in the praise, adding: "He has progressed every year he has been here. He came across at a very young age and it was a big change from Brazil and what he was used to.
"Every season he has got better and better. He has played nearly every game this season and has been terrific. There is still more to come from him, he is still learning the game and is still improving, so it is great for him and he is having a good time."

Chelsea Falcao deal now unlikely?

Roman Abramovich really did put all of his eggs in one basket with the £50 million signing of Fernando Torres back in 2010, and Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto di Matteo have all paid the price.Di Matteo was a man exasperated by the end of his tenure as manager, a period on which he backed Torres to come good, but this season he has simply flattered to deceive more than ever before.Colombian striker Falcao, one of the most prolific strikers in world football over the past three seasons, was widely seen as his replacement. Countless reports had linked the forward with a January switch to the Blues, after he shredded their defence with a hat-trick in a 4-1 European Super Cup win in August.
It had even been claimed that Torres would be dispatched to Atletico Madrid as part of a swap deal. That seems unlikely now, as Benitez has been brought in to get the best out of Abramovich's golden goose.
Benitez was the man who brought Torres to England, and oversaw his most successful spell at Liverpool, which convinced Chelsea to shell out such a fee on the striker.
If anybody can get the best out of him, it is Benitez, and Torres must be thrilled with the appointment.
But what does this mean for the Falcao deal? At the moment, it's fair to say it has been put on ice.
Abramovich has in no uncertain terms backed Torres as the club's number one striker, having sacked three managers to make his point.
He will not want to shell out £50 million to sign Falcao just a month and a half after dismissing Di Matteo. Given his loyalty to Torres, it would be truly bizarre. Chelsea's system utilises just the one striker; and Benitez played with just one at Liverpool too, and there won't be space for them both.
Having Falcao competing for a place with Torres will simply put Chelsea back to the same situation they had with Torres and Drogba. This is Torres' and Benitez's team now, and the Colombian would upset that - Even if Chelsea fans would rather see Falcao up top.
Had Di Matteo stayed, the deal would have looked more likely, but it probably won't happen until next summer at the earliest. Falcao will prefer not to move mid-season, Atletico Madrid are having a very good year so far and he will want to see it through.
Like Benitez, Torres will likely be given until the end of the season to prove his worth. If he can't do that, then he could end up getting the boot next summer, and Rafa may find his contract isn't renewed either.
Who knows, in June there could be two new arrivals through the door, Guardiola and Falcao? But in January... Don't expect the Colombian to be incoming.
Do you agree Chelsea are unlikely to sign Falcao in January, or do you think it could still happen? pls comment

Italians Sorry over Anti Semitic Row

Milan - Italian football bosses have offered an apology for the violent anti-Semitic incidents which greeted Tottenham fans in Rome, leaving several supporters in hospital and causing uproar in the Jewish community.

The incidents marred Spurs' visit to the Italian capital for a Europa League game against Lazio on Thursday, prior to which fans of the London club were attacked in a pub by a group of around 40 thugs.

During the match some sections of the Lazio support brandished a banner which read "Free Palestine" and sang "Juden Tottenham" ("Tottenham Jews" in German) at the visiting fans, whose club have a historical Jewish connection.

Police have since arrested two of the assailants and charged them with attempted murder. Reports Friday said the pair are known to have connections with Rome's other Serie A club, AS Roma.

Italian football federation chief Giancarlo Abete said the gravity of the affair warranted an apology to Tottenham and the victims.

In a letter addressed to English Football Association chairman David Bernstein, Abate wrote: "I have already had the opportunity to publicly express my condemnation and outrage at what has happened.

"We would like to extend our apologies to all of the Tottenham fans and in particular to the families of the people involved.

"We are following the investigation closely and remain at the disposal of the authorities to help take this case forward."

UEFA have not yet commented on the matter but the FA said they would be sending a report on the match to European football's governing body.

"We were saddened and alarmed to see reports of violent incidents prior to the game as well as anti-Semitic chants," said a spokesperson for English football's governing body.

"The FA had a crowd control advisor present at the fixture who will provide an urgent report, which we will pass on to UEFA as a matter of priority."

Lazio have already been fined 32,500 ($51,800, 40,200 euros) by UEFA this season after fans directed racist monkey chants at Tottenham players during the reverse fixture in London in September.

Lazio, however, distanced themselves from the attack on the pub. Reports Friday said the men arrested by police, 26-year-old Francesco Ianari and 27-year-old Mauro Pinnelli, have links to Roma.

One of the victims of the attack, identified as Ashley Mills, had suffered cuts to the head and leg which left him in a serious condition in hospital although he is now reported to be out of danger.

Abate added in the letter: "Once again, unfortunately, football has been used as a vehicle by mindless thugs to express their racist and anti-Semitic views.

"This was unquestionably the motive behind this attack, which has damaged the image of our football and does not reflect the real tradition of warmth and hospitality of the city of Rome."

It is not the first time English fans have fallen victim to violence in the Italian capital.

Liverpool supporters were stabbed after a European Cup final win against AS Roma in 1984. Fans from Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Manchester United have since been attacked by hardcore "ultras" from both AS Roma and Lazio.

CAF sets deadline for submission of 2013 AFCON team list

The African confederation wants all 23-man squad lists sent to its Cairo headquarters by midnight GMT on the 9th of January. Failing to do so will result in a fine and infringing countries will only be allowed to take a 22-man squad to the finals.

Along with their 23-man squads, countries will be allowed to bring a delegation of 17 officials.

Hosts South Africa will play the opening the competition with a match against Cape Verde Islands on the 19th of January at the FNB stadium.

Didier Drogba has been refused permission by Fifa to make an immediate loan move away from Shanghai Shenhua

Fifa said in a statement: "We can confirm that the player Didier Drogba submitted a request for authorisation to be registered outside an open registration period for a club on a loan basis.

"Fifa has informed him about the relevant regulations... that players may only be registered during one of the two annual registration periods fixed by the relevant association."

Fifa has maintained their rules which state no player can move outside the international transfer window, this has been the case where MLS players such as Thierry Henry and Landon Donavon have been forced to wait till January to complete their moves.

The National Sports Festival Returns To Lagos

The Sports Festival, essentially, is a perennial Festival involving designated Olympic Sports, which is programmed to support the development of the Youths, especially from the Provinces to the State, with the finals going to the National stage, as we are about to witness in Lagos, from the  November 27 to December 7, 2012.
Below, therefore, is a sketch of Nigeria’s leading Sports States as they  prepare for the games. With what we have seen on our tour, juxtaposed with the leadership and the philosophies guiding those States, we would venture to predict that Lagos State, perhaps, is the most conditioned and the best prepared to win the festival.
Mention is also given to those states like Osun, Enugu, Ogun, Abuja Capital Territory, Nasarawa, who though may not win it, are faithful to the concept of the founders of Spaitaikada.
Lagos
As the host of the Festival, Lagos is expected to win. Whatever, the host’s greatest boost is that the Governor is a product of the Secondary Schools Sports. Currently, he is a nail biting competitor in both football and Tennis.

Benitez says he calls the shots at Chelsea not Abramovich

Benitez, aware that he is likely to be in for a rocky ride on Sunday afternoon - and who has not yet decided whether to risk the wrath of the Blues fans opposed to his appointment by appearing on the pitch before kick-off - was adamant, though, that he will call all the on-field shots.

He added: “I’ve had 26 years in charge of clubs and I can guarantee I’ve had a lot of different owners, presidents and chairmen.

“If you have confidence in yourself and explain yourself, everyone can understand.

“My impression with him (Abramovich) is he’s a nice person. You can talk with him. He understands.

“He likes to see you have a clear idea: 'I think it’s ‘white’ because of this or that, or this is ‘black’ because of this or that.'

“When we had dinner it was interesting as we were talking about everything. He knows my ideas about zonal marking, and he knows why [Benitez prefers it].

“We both spoke. Normally I talk too much.

"The priority of the owner is whether I’m a good manager, a good coach, if the players understand me, if we’ll be a winning team. He was very clear with that. He’s happy with the things I’ve said.”

Those things, it seems, are a promise that Benitez will unlock Torres’ scoring instincts and impose defensive discipline on "PlayStation" defender David Luiz - and a team that has not kept a clean sheet in 10 games.

Benitez has now spoken to the majority of the club's senior professionals, including injured skipper John Terry - described as “a winner, like me” by the Spaniard.

He will gradually introduce all his ideas, including zonal defending rather than man-marking - a system which was a disaster for Chelsea when they tried it under then-boss Luiz Felipe Scolari four years ago.

Getting Torres scoring, though, is the prime directive.

“Fernando is trying his best, like the others,” said Benitez, who managed his countryman at Anfield. “He was fine. He knows what I want and he is trying to do this.

“At Liverpool, the pace of Steven Gerrard’s passes was very good and Fernando could take advantage.