Jermain Defoe eager to take his England chance

Without quite bursting into song in the manner of Martine McCutcheon, his fellow Eastender, Jermain Defoe is keen to emphasise that this is his moment. After three successive starts in friendly internationals under Fabio Capello, the Portsmouth striker is preparing to line up for his first competitive match for England in exactly two years, against Andorra on Saturday, and is determined to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity.

For all his brash confidence, buoyed by two goals in Portsmouth’s 3-0 win over Everton last weekend, Defoe, 25, knows that he may not get another chance to establish himself at international level. Capello’s reservations about Michael Owen go beyond his lack of match fitness, but the England manager is not ready to end Owen’s international career and the Newcastle United striker is expected to return to the squad for next month’s World Cup qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and Belarus.

In what capacity may be largely down to Defoe, who has the chance to thrust England’s fourth-highest goalscorer firmly down the pecking order. He is fortunate to be facing Andorra, against whom he scored twice in a European Championship qualifier at Old Trafford two years ago, but the real test will come against Croatia in Zagreb on Wednesday.

With only one of his five international goals coming in a competitive match, Defoe’s challenge is to prove that he is more than a flat-track bully.

“I feel ready, that this is my time,” he said yesterday. “It’s great when you get an opportunity. Everyone wants to play. It doesn’t matter what position you’re in. If a forward comes in and performs, why should I feel that I should have played? If someone has come in and scored and done well for the team and the team has got a result, then they deserve to play. Playing for your country is based on merit. If you play well, you deserve to play.”

Defoe puts his renaissance down to his decision to join Portsmouth in January, a move that has enabled him to play regularly after being reduced to the role of bit-part player by Martin Jol and Juande Ramos at Tottenham Hotspur.

“I do feel a lot sharper,” he said. “When I signed for Portsmouth, after a few games it was great. If you feel sharp, it’s normal to believe that if you get a chance you will take it. Confidence is a massive thing in football. You go into games and believe you are going to do well.”

Defoe admitted that his team-mates are already focusing on Croatia, who eliminated England in qualifying for this summer’s European Championship. “I suppose we owe Croatia one,” he said. “After that game at Wembley, you’re sitting in the dressing-room and it’s like a surreal moment. You can imagine what it was like, being on holiday in the summer and watching some of the games. Obviously you don’t want to get that feeling again.”

Rio Ferdinand missed training yesterday because of a sore back, but John Terry returned from a virus while Frank Lampard, Wes Brown and Ashley Cole completed sessions with Massimo Neri, the fitness coach, and are expected to return to full training today.

Highlights of England's crucial World Cup qualifying match against Croatia on September 10 will not be shown on free-to-air television after ITV and the BBC failed to reach agreement with Setanta Sports, which is transmitting the match live (Dan Sabbagh writes).

The dispute also applies to England's match away to Andorra on Saturday and it will be the first time that is has not been possible to watch a competitive England match either live, or in highlights form, without paying.

Setanta reiterated yesterday that it had not received an offer for the highlights rights that made commercial sense, although the BBC and ITV believe that Setanta is not negotiating seriously.

FROM: TIMESONLINE

Kevin Keegan may quit football for good

Matt Dickinson and Times Online

Kevin Keegan is facing an acrimonious end to his long association with Newcastle United this morning and the prospect of a multi-million-pound wrangle over compensation. Perceived humiliation over the club’s transfer policy appears to have made the manager’s position untenable and, although Newcastle have again insisted that he remains in charge, the timing of his departure seems to be simply a matter for the lawyers to dispute.

In a statement released this morning, the club have reiterated that Keegan remains their manager and that negotiations between him and the board continue as both parties seek a resolution.

"Newcastle United Football Club can confirm that discussions are ongoing between the board and Kevin Keegan," a statement read. "Both the club and Kevin would like to reiterate that Kevin remains as manager.

"He has not resigned nor has he been sacked, as has been confirmed in respective statements made by Kevin and Newcastle United Football Club."

After farcical scenes that included bewildered fans demonstrating over the “sacking” of their hero, it is hard to believe that Keegan will stay for long — or want to — given his repeated clashes with the board. His departure could be confirmed today.

Keegan has been so at odds with the directors over transfers that some Newcastle players were among those to believe that club and manager had parted company yesterday lunchtime. It appears to have been only a reluctance to surrender the payoff on his three-year deal, worth up to £3 million a year, that stopped Keegan following through his threats to take his leave. Whether he jumps or is seen to be pushed, it seems highly unlikely that he will be seen in a dugout again.

The former England manager has been so impotent in recent days that, having angrily questioned the proposed sale of Joey Barton on Monday, it is believed he was told that every member of the first-team squad could be sold, irrespective of his opinion.

The directors have pushed their manager to the brink by dictating the buying and selling of players, but, bizarrely, they seem happy for him to continue for the time being. Perhaps they want to avoid more trouble from supporters who are in revolt over Mike Ashley’s stewardship. The crowd of 47,711 for the opening home Barclays Premier League match of the season, against Bolton Wanderers, was the lowest in more than a decade and there is talk of a boycott of the next fixture, against Hull City on Saturday week.

Suggestions that Dennis Wise and Gustavo Poyet — the Tottenham Hotspur first-team coach who worked under Wise at Leeds United — may take over from Keegan have led to further uproar on Tyneside.

Boardroom sources claimed last night that they had spent most of the day talking Keegan out of resigning, but there is no doubt who the fans will side with, even with mixed results since he took over from Sam Allardyce in January.

The humiliations heaped on him stretch back over several months, since Wise was brought in as executive director (football). Wise and Tony Jimenez, both London-based directors, were appointed by Ashley, the owner, to guide transfer policy, but their seizing of control has brought only conflict with the manager.

Those rows came to a head with the recruitment on Monday of Ignacio González, the Uruguay midfield player, and Xisco, the Spanish striker, even though Keegan had not scouted the players or approved their signings. He had been asking for a left back and Bastian Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich, but was given neither. At the same time the club tried to offload Barton for £4 million to Portsmouth, even though Keegan had fought hard to retain the midfield player after his six-month prison sentence for assault.

A deal to sell Alan Smith to Everton also fell through, while the board tried to sell Michael Owen to any takers, despite Keegan imploring club officials to give the Newcastle captain a new long-term contract. Keegan had also been undermined by the sale of James Milner to Aston Villa last week.

In the circumstances, it is a surprise that Keegan, 57, has lasted this long, particularly given his temperamental history. But at his age and with his faltering record, to quit now would probably be to leave management for good.

In response to reports that Keegan had been sacked, the club said that they “wanted him to continue to play an instrumental role as manager of the club”. Whether he can endure further embarrassment is another matter.

FROM: TIMESONLINE

Sale of Liverpool likely to be sooner rather than later

The Arab invasion of the Barclays Premier League seems certain to continue, with Liverpool's American owners weakening in their resistance to selling the club to Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai. Tom Hicks vetoed an attempted sale by George Gillett Jr, his co-chairman at Anfield, this year, but the American tycoons are expected to return to the negotiating table as an unforgiving financial climate takes a toll on their ambitions for the club.

Hicks maintains that he will not sell Liverpool, but the Texan is known to be troubled by the financial storm that has engulfed him and Gillett in the past 12 months. Last week, they blamed the credit crunch for the postponement of building work on a proposed 60,000-capacity stadium in Stanley Park and, with the Premier League stakes raised further by the Abu Dhabi royal family's imminent takeover at Manchester City, Hicks and Gillett are close to conceding that they do not have the resources to fulfil the ambitions they had when they bought Liverpool in February 2007.

There remains a £400 million-plus offer on the table from Sheikh Mohammed, who is leading the bid that was being driven by Dubai International Capital, the private-equity investment arm of the Dubai Government, when Hicks blocked Gillett's attempted sale this year. Hicks is known to be more open to selling Liverpool, but the two sides remain some way apart in their valuation of the club.

Hicks and Gillett are aware that the £350 million refinancing deal they secured through the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia a little more than seven months ago is up for renewal on January 25 next year and that the banks are not certain to grant them the option of a six-month extension. They must decide by January whether to try to prop up their regime for a further six months, or to sell.

The takeover of City could have a knock-on effect, with Liverpool facing greater competition to qualify for next season's Champions League. The club have annual interest payments of £30 million, which last season's revenue of about £20 million from European competition went a long way towards clearing.

Increased competition from an opponents with seemingly unlimited financial resources is likely to heighten the anxiety of Liverpool's owners, who kept a tight hold of the purse strings this summer in the belief that Rafael Benítez's squad was good enough to compete for the Premier League title and at very least to secure the top-four finish that would lead to next season's Champions League. Liverpool's net spend this summer was approximately £18 million, but Benítez remains aggrieved that the board vetoed an £18 million deal to sign Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.

FROM: TIMESONLINE

Agent arrested after Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing lodges formal complaint

Stewart Downing’s former agent was arrested yesterday on suspicion of fraud after the Middlesbrough and England winger made a formal complaint to the police. Ian Elliott was being questioned by Cleveland Police’s Economic Crime Unit on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money-laundering.

Elliott was linked with the BBC’s Panorama programme on bungs and dodgy agents in September 2006, although there were no allegations of wrongdoing about him and he protested his innocence. Elliott was also warned two years ago by the FA as to his future conduct after a case involving Grant Leadbitter, the Sunderland midfield player.

This time he has been reported directly by a player he used to represent. Downing, 24, is thought to have terminated Elliott’s contract this year after negotiations with Middlesbrough over the terms of a new five-year deal became acrimonious. Steve Gibson, the club’s chairman, described Elliott as “a man who, in any other walk of life, you couldn’t imagine giving ten minutes of your time to”.

A Middlesbrough spokesman said yesterday: “We can confirm that the club was approached some time ago by Stewart with concerns regarding the way his and his company’s affairs have been handled. The club advised him to involve lawyers and accountants to investigate these concerns. Having established his position, Stewart made a formal complaint to Cleveland Police.”

Elliott, 50, who is based in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, was arrested along with a 43-year-old woman.

Leeds United have pleaded guilty to an FA charge of using an unlicensed agent, relating to the transfer of Anthony Elding from Stockport County in January. Elding has since left the club. “We would like to reiterate that no payment has been made or is alleged to have been made to the agent,” a club statement read.

FROM: TIMESONLINE

Robinho tops Sky poll on transfer deadline day

Bafta in the bag, surely. If the big broadcasting awards don't flow for the coverage of transfer deadline night by Sky Sports News, Martin Cranie hasn't joined Charlton Athletic on a year-long loan and Sone Aluko is still a Birmingham City player as we speak. Incredible doesn't begin to describe the energy, imagination and sheer viewer-engrossing vim that the channel brought to what is, let's face it, an evening during which nothing really happens apart from a few men in shirtsleeves faxing sheets of paper to each other behind closed doors.

Yes, obviously, there was a digital clock counting down to midnight in a strip across the screen. Did you really think for one second that they wouldn't have one of those? But, much more than that, there were the shots of London's most famous clock face marking time's inexorable march towards the witching hour and, with it, Jason Shackell's inexorable march to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Hands up if you thought that Big Ben was a useful Croatian centre back attracting the attention of Hull City. Wrong, it's the emphatic timepiece that announces the end of a frantic night for Sky Sports News - although not, sadly, with the bongs. Maybe those are contracted to ITV.

“Even though it's nowhere near that time,” Jim White, the newscaster, said, “I feel like wishing everyone a happy new year.” There were moments throughout the evening when one thought that White might be about to cry with the emotion of it all. Ditto his partner, Sam Matterface, whose name, if it didn't exist, would have to be invented by Chris Morris and The Day Today team.

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Feeding them the breaking stories was Andy “Three Mobiles” Burton. His triple-ply electronic arsenal was lined up on the desk in front of him. If you can't get him on the mobile, try him on the other mobile. Or the other mobile. Is he ever on all three at once? You'd like to see him have a go. He's potentially the only man in Britain who can phone out for a pizza, a Chinese and an Indian at the same time.

Peter Snow, eat your heart out. General election nights wish they could be half as exciting as this. Robinho looked a certainty to be voted in at Chelsea, but an unexpectedly high turnout of cash in the Eastlands constituency of Manchester brought about a massive swing to the north for the tearful Brazilian. Alan Myers was live in the borough, improvising the part of a returning officer, while a group of about 40 City fans pogoed on top of him, honking: “We've got Robinho, we've got Robinho.”

“It was never like this for David Dimbleby,” Myers must have muttered to himself as he briefly became the filling in a replica-shirt sandwich.

Back in the comfort of the studio, White dryly remarked: “Good to see Alan and so many members of the Myers family out so late at night.” It's easy for him to talk, though. On these occasions, all that White has to look out for over his shoulders is a thick plate of glass, screening what appears to be Mission Control in Houston - rank upon rank of monitors. Amazing the amount of technology required to keep tabs on Antoine Sibierski's situation at Norwich City.

Yet, for all Myers's physical discomfort, he had it easy by comparison with the reporter dispatched to stand outside the Tottenham Hotspur training ground in Chigwell. It looked pretty closed, as training grounds tend to at that sort of hour, and the only source of light was the one falling on our reporter's face, making it appear that he had just levered himself out of an escape tunnel at the request of a guard with a torch.

“I've been joined by a few Tottenham fans,” our reporter said. Two, to be precise. Neither of them seemed to be in a party mood (“I just feel disappointed, in the main”), but nor would you be in the circumstances. You've lost your best player to Manchester United and you're being questioned at the bottom of an abandoned lane in Essex at midnight. Those kinds of things can bring a person low.

Who will forget, though, the sight of Sir Alex Ferguson and Dimitar Berbatov looming chillingly behind frosted glass at Old Trafford and David Gill, the United chief executive, closing his blind (finally)? Or Rob Dorset, in Stoke, insisting that, somewhere behind him, “Tony Pulis is running from one office to the next” - a memorable image.

Or David Craig in Gateshead, in a room full of old television parts. What was he doing indoors? Are you telling me there were no Newcastle United fans standing outside St James' Park becoming photogenically angry or happy about something? If so, it was the only night of the year on which this could have been the case.

Unless, of course, they were at home, watching it on the telly. Good move, if so.

FROM: TIMESONLINE

US midfielder Bradley signs with Moenchengladbach

MOENCHENGLADBACH, Germany (AP)—Borussia Moenchengladbach signed United States midfielder Michael Bradley from Dutch club SC Heerenveen to a four-year contract on Monday.

The deal was completed when Bradley passed his medical exam. He briefly spoke to reporters before flying to join the U.S. team, which plays at Cuba in a World Cup qualifier Saturday.

“Borussia is a club with a great history and great fans,” Bradley said on the Bundesliga club’s Web site.

Bradley also spoke to the team’s Canadian striker, Rob Friend, who also played for Heerenveen.

“I asked Rob lots of questions about the players, the fans and the club as a whole and I only got positive answers,” he said.

The 21-year-old Bradley, the son of U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley, scored 15 goals in 33 Dutch league appearances last season.

“Michael’s an accomplished passer of the ball and an excellent linkup player who also does a lot of running off the ball. He’s also a threat with shots from outside the penalty area,” Borussia coach Jos Luhukay said.

Bradley has played 22 games for the U.S. national team.

After playing Cuba, the Americans meet Trinidad and Tobago four days later.

FROM: YAHOO

Underdog Charleston aims for US Open Cup title

WASHINGTON (AP)—Two days before his chance to play for an improbable national title, Dusty Hudock was cutting some tile with his wife as they remodeled their kids’ bathroom in the South Carolina coastal city of Charleston.

Hudock likes it there. He’s called the city home more or less since 1999, playing goalkeeper for the Charleston Battery before crowds of 4,000 or so at Blackbaud Stadium and coaching during the offseason to boost the family income.

On Wednesday, at least for a few hours, Hudock will leave the minor league life behind. He and the Battery will face D.C. United at RFK Stadium in the championship game of soccer’s U.S. Open Cup—the equivalent of a Triple-A baseball team getting to face the Boston Red Sox for the title of top club in America.

“This is undoubtedly the biggest game in the club’s history,” Hudock said. “It’s a fantastic opportunity.”

It’s one of those classic underdog vs. top-dog games. The 95-year-old Open Cup, the oldest annual team tournament in American sports history, is open to any amateur and professional soccer team affiliated with U.S. Soccer, much like the FA Cup in England and similar single-elimination tournaments around the world.

Of course, since MLS came into existence in 1996, a team from the top league has usually won. The exception was in 1999, when the Rochester Raging Rhinos stunned the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in the final.

The Battery have been around since 1993. They’re regularly one of the top teams in the United Soccer League’s First Division—essentially the second tier of American soccer behind MLS—and they’ve faced MLS teams before in exhibition games and in the U.S. Open Cup. They’ve already knocked out FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo this year to earn their way to their first Open Cup final.

But a win over United would mark new territory. Charleston, which has a population of a little more than 100,000, would have a national professional championship team. The winner also gets an automatic berth in next year’s CONCACAF Champions League, which determines the best club in North America. For a team that jostles for attention with minor league baseball and hockey teams and College of Charleston sports, the accomplishment would be worth more than just the trophy.

“Soccer is always a tough draw anywhere in America,” said Hudock, who had fans chanting his name after making two saves during the shootout in the home semifinal win over fellow USL team Seattle. “And down here in the South it’s more so. Anything that would boost the club around here locally is always going to help us.”

The players have been so anxious about the trip to Washington that coach Mike Anhaeuser has had trouble keeping them focused. They are on a seven-game winless streak in the USL.

“We’ve taken our foot off the pedal in our league games,” Anhaeuser said, “so we do know it’s a big game.”

Anhaeuser is realistic enough to know the task won’t be easy. United are hungry for a trophy themselves, having won the last of their four MLS Cups in 2004. United’s only U.S. Open Cup title came on their first try in 1996.

But if the Battery win? Oh, the joy that will ensue for the minor leaguers from South Carolina.

“I can tell you the celebration will go into the wee hours, and will happen on the field right after,” Anhaeuser said. “I’m sure the disappointment will be there if we don’t win it. We’re not coming there just to play a game. We’re coming to win.”

FROM: YAHOO

Minor league Sounders edge MLS Earthquakes

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP)—Kenji Treschuk and Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar scored second-half goals to give the minor league Seattle Sounders a 2-1 exhibition victory Tuesday night over the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS.

Jamil Roberts scored the only goal for San Jose, which rested many of its regular starters. Goalkeeper Joe Cannon and recent additions Darren Huckerby, Scott Sealy and Francisco Lima, who have contributed heavily to the Earthquakes’ seven-game unbeaten streak in MLS play, didn’t play.

The game was still a good test for the Sounders, defending champion of the United Soccer League’s First Division. Seattle players will be made available to the Seattle Sounders FC expansion franchise when it joins MLS next season.

Treschuk got the Sounders even 1-1 in the 50th minute, converting a point-blank, right-footed shot after receiving a flicked header from Roger Levesque.

Seattle, which outshot San Jose 8-3 in the second half, kept the pressure on in the latter stages, culminating in a pretty sequence of three passes inside the Earthquakes’ penalty box in the 85th minute. The final pass, from Sebastien Le Toux, led to an open 12-yard blast from Alcaraz-Cuellar that San Jose goalkeeper Michael Gustavson could only watch.

The Earthquakes took a 1-0 lead when Jovan Kirovski’s perfectly curled corner kick from the left side was powered in off a header by Roberts in the 40th minute.

Seattle came close to answering 90 seconds later when Taylor Graham got a head to a corner kick from Leughton O’Brien. But Graham’s shot ricocheted off the crossbar.

The Earthquakes found some similar luck in the second half. Forward Mikel Arce got behind the Seattle defense for a 60th-minute breakaway, but a shot caromed off the left post and out of bounds.

FROM: YAHOO

Jamaica’s qualifier moved due to Gustav damage

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP)—The World Cup qualifying match between Jamaica and Mexico scheduled for Saturday has been moved because of damage caused in the Caribbean by Hurricane Gustav, FIFA said Tuesday.

The two countries will play at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City instead of the Jamaican capital of Kingston.

The return match scheduled for Oct. 11 in Mexico City will now be played at Jamaica’s National Stadium.

Jamaica and Mexico are drawn with Canada and Honduras in Group 2 of the third stage of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The winner and runner-up in each group will go forward to the fourth stage.

FROM: YAHOO

US men’s soccer prepares for historic game in Cuba

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. (AP)—Landon Donovan took off his shirt and soaked in the South Florida sun as he walked off the field Monday, chuckling at the dozen or so college girls photographing his every move.

Don’t expect Donovan and the United States men’s soccer team to get such a friendly reception at their next stop: The national team’s first match in Cuba in 61 years.

And don’t expect the U.S. to focus on anything but soccer, either.

“We’re not going there to be political,” Donovan said Monday. “I’m not going there to make any political statements. I’m going there to play and try to win. That (political) part of it is real, but the reason we’re there is to play soccer. And that’s what we have to remember.”

The U.S. team held the first of four practices in this north Miami suburb as it prepared to play Cuba in a World Cup qualifier in Havana on Saturday. The Americans are coming off a 1-0 win over Guatemala and are heavily favored against a Cuban squad that lost to Trinidad and Tobago 3-1 in its opening semifinal qualifier on Aug. 20.

The U.S. national team has traveled to Cuba only once, losing 5-2 in 1947, although the under-20 team played in Havana in 1991 during the Pan American Games.

Most U.S. fans won’t be able to attend the game because of the government’s restrictions on travel to the communist nation, leaving the U.S. team unsure of what kind of reception it will receive.

“I’m hoping it will be good,” midfielder Eddie Lewis said. “But certainly with the political situation between our two countries, we might hear a little more jeers. Not that most guys on our team understand Spanish.”

Though baseball-crazy Cuba would need to score a major upset to bolster its chances of qualifying for the nation’s first World Cup since 1938, goalkeeper Dany Luis Quintero said “our motivation is always greater against a rival like the United States.”

“Cubans don’t like to lose to the United States,” he said. “The fans are more motivated and we are hoping for a full stadium.”

The U.S. knows it needs a win to stay on track to qualify for the World Cup. The Americans play Trinidad and Tobago on Sept. 10 in Bridgeview, Ill., and wins against both countries would all but assure a berth in the final round of qualifying in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

U.S. coach Bob Bradley said it’s important his team doesn’t lose focus with the distractions that could surround the game in Havana.

“It’s been a real long time so I think for our team, our players, it’s a tremendous opportunity,” Bradley said of the trip. “It’s certainly a unique experience and one everybody is looking forward to. We just need to make sure we keep our concentration on the importance of the game with qualifying for the World Cup.”

Luis Hernandez, president of the Cuban Soccer Association, downplayed the political significance of the game, which is being televised on cable in the United States.

“The political aspect has nothing to do with it,” Hernandez said Monday outside Havana’s Pedro Marero Stadium, the small and crumbling concrete venue of Saturday’s game. “The U.S. players are just athletes, soccer players, and we are too.”

Associated Press Writer Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana contributed to this report.

FROM: YAHOO

Brazil’s Viera agrees to coach Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP)—Jorvan Viera is returning to coach Iraq a year after leading the country to an improbable Asian title.

The Brazilian will sign a one-year contract in Baghdad on Tuesday, Iraq federation head Ahmed Abbas said Monday.

Viera stepped down after Iraq unexpectedly won the Asian Cup by defeating Saudi Arabia 1-0—a feat that gave the Brazilian instant hero status here.

Iraqi Adnan Hamad was fired in June after Iraq lost to Qatar in a World Cup qualifier, ending the soccer-mad country’s dream of attending the 2010 finals in South Africa.

Iraq has not played a home game in nearly two decades because of wars and internal strife. Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the national squad has been training mostly in neighboring Jordan, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.

Iraq last reached the World Cup in Mexico in 1986.

FROM: YAHOO

Chelsea, Liverpool end perfect starts with draws

LONDON (AP)—Darren Bent delivered Tottenham’s first point of the season in a hard-fought 1-1 draw Sunday at Chelsea, while Liverpool tied 0-0 at Villa to end its perfect start to the season.

Juliano Belletti capped Chelsea’s early domination with a 28th-minute opener at Stamford Bridge, only to see it canceled out in first-half injury time by Bent’s first goal of the season.

Chelsea, like Liverpool, had won its first two Premier League matches. But Spurs manager Juande Ramos was under pressure after two defeats and the uncertainty surrounding Dimitar Berbatov.

“We needed something to kickstart the season to lift the season and give the players some confidence,” Ramos said through a translator.

Bent operated as the lone striker while Berbatov looks likely to wrap up his bitter move to Manchester United before the transfer window closes Monday night. Spurs completed the signing of Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko as Berbatov’s replacement over the weekend.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez was taunted at Villa Park for his part in the failed pursuit of Villa captain Gareth Barry.

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres pulled up sharply when chasing a pass and summer recruit David Ngog made his debut.

Three days after leaving Chelsea, winger Shaun Wright-Phillips immediately reignited his career by scoring twice on his return to Manchester City in a 3-0 victory at Sunderland.

Stephen Ireland put the visitors ahead in first-half injury time. Wright-Phillips, who left City in 2005, scored in the 50th and 58th.

MADRID, Spain (AP)—FC Barcelona lost at promoted Numancia 1-0 in its opening game of the Spanish league season in a major disappointment for new coach Pep Guardiola.

Numancia midfielder Mario Martinez decided the game in the 13th minute at Los Pajaritos Stadium with a fierce shot past goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

Villarreal, last season’s runner-up, drew its first match at Osasuna 1-1 in an encounter in which both teams ended with 10 men.

Midfielder Marcos Senna gave Villarreal the lead in the 54th minute with a free kick from the edge of the area.

Villarreal defender Diego Godin was ejected for fouling Osasuna’s Masoud Shojaei, and Javad Nekounam converted the resulting penalty in the 68th. Osasuna then had defender Miguel Flano ejected for a 77th-minute foul.

In other games, it was: Atletico Madrid 4, Malaga 0; Sporting Gijon 1, Getafe 2; Racing Santander 1, Sevilla 1; Athletic Bilbao 1, Almeria 3; and Real Betis 0, Recreativo Huelva 1.

Later Sunday, Real Madrid was to begin its bid for a third straight title at Deportivo La Coruna, where it hasn’t won since 1991.

MILAN, Italy (AP)—Newly promoted Bologna beat AC Milan 2-1 to spoil Ronaldinho’s debut in the opening round of Serie A.

Ronaldinho set up Milan’s equalizer with a cross headed in by Massimo Ambrosini in the 41st minute, after Marco Di Vaio had put Bologna ahead in the 18th. Francesco Valiani sealed the win in the 79th.

AS Roma could only manage a 1-1 tie with Napoli, which had 10 men for most of the second half.

Roma pulled ahead in the 29th, but Marek Hamsik drew Napoli level a minute after Fabiano Santacroce’s expulsion.

Lazio beat Cagliari 4-1, coming back with four goals in 30 minutes after going behind 1-0.

Chievo rallied to defeat Reggina 2-1 with a goal in the 88th by Vincenzo Italiano after the teams traded penalty kicks to make it 1-1. Reggina has never won in 11 meetings between the two teams at Chievo’s home stadium in Verona.

In other games, it was: Torino 3, Lecce 0; Catania 1, Genoa 0; and Atalanta 1, Siena 0.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP)—Luca Toni scored his first goal of the season and Juergen Klinsmann earned his first Bundesliga victory in charge of Bayern when the defending champion routed Hertha Berlin 4-1.

Stuttgart won 2-0 at Hannover, which remained winless.

Toni opened the scoring in the 12th minute, but Bayern could not score again until Philipp Lahm broke through after a pass from Ze Roberto and beat Berlin’s goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny in the 54th.

Bayern got its third 2 minutes later when Schweinsteiger converted a penalty he had earned.

Berlin defender Steven von Bergen gave away his second penalty when he downed Ze Roberto and Miroslav Klose scored from the spot in the 70th.

In Stuttgart, striker Mario Gomez scored in the 18th after his Germany teammate, Hannover goalkeeper Robert Enke, deflected a shot after a corner. Gomez volleyed in the rebound and notched his sixth goal in six games.

Pavel Pardo converted a penalty in the 40th to seal Stuttgart’s second win of the season.

PARIS (AP)—Ludovic Obraniak’s second-half goal gave Lille a surprise 2-1 win over Bordeaux in the French league.

The midfielder sent a powerful shot from the edge of the box into the top corner in the 76th minute, as Lille rallied from a goal down for its first win of the season.

Argentina forward Fernando Cavenaghi had given Bordeaux the lead with a semi-volley from 25 yards under the crossbar in the 28th. Brazilian midfielder Michel Bastos then beat the offside trap to level for Lille in the 31st, placing the ball out of goalkeeper Ulrich Rame’s reach.

Rennes held Toulouse to a scoreless draw in a game with few scoring chances.

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)—Striker Kenny Miller scored two goals against his former team to give Rangers a 4-2 win over Celtic in the Old Firm derby.

Miller scored his first goals since an offseason move from Derby made him the first player to rejoin Rangers after a spell at Glasgow rival Celtic.

Daniel Cousin and Pedro Mendes added the other goals to send Rangers to the top of the Scottish Premier League ahead of Kilmarnock on goal difference. Celtic, which had goals from Georgios Samaras and Shunsuke Nakamura, is three points behind in fourth place.

FROM: YAHOO

We'd pay 135 million pounds for Cristiano Ronaldo say City owners

LONDON (AFP) - Manchester City's new billionaire Arab owners say they are willing to pay 135 million pounds (210 million dollars) to land Cristiano Ronaldo from the Red side of the city.

"Ronaldo has said he wants to play for the biggest club in the world, so we will see in January if he is serious," the Guardian newspaper quoted Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, of City's new owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, as saying on their website.

According to the report Tuesday, Al-Fahim also wants to track down other major stars, including Arsenal striker Thierry Henry and Valencia's David Villa as City, one of England's perennial under-achievers in recent decades, head for the footballing stratosphere.

Al-Fahim says he wants to build a "dream team" which can compete in the Champions League within the coming three years.

City have already stunned fellow moneybags club Chelsea in landing Robinho from Real Madrid in a British record 32.5 million-pound move on deadline day late Monday.

And now Ronaldo, linked with Real for much of the summer, is seen as the potential jewel in the crown.

"Real Madrid were estimating his value at 160 million dollars but for a player like that, to actually get him, will cost a lot more; I would think 240 million (dollars) (135 million pounds).

"But why not? We are going to be the biggest club in the world, bigger than both Real Madrid and Manchester United.

"We want a team who can win the Champions League," the Guardian quoted Al-Fahim as saying.

Were such a mega-deal to materialise it would be three times bigger than the current world record which Real paid Juventus for Zinedine Zidane in 2001.

"If we can get the biggest players in the world, and of course if the manager wants them, then we will get them," said Al-Fahim, who has agreed to acquire a majority stake in City, subject to due diligence, from former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Al-Fahim has not disclosed the amount he is paying for City when he made the purchase on Monday on behalf of the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, of which he is a board member.

The National, an English-language Abu Dhabi daily, earlier Tuesday estimated the value of the buy-out at 177 million dollars.

Robinho, 24, will earn a reported 300,000 dollars a week at City, which would make him the highest-paid footballer ever.

On Ronaldo, a United spokesman said curtly: "We have made it clear all summer that Cristiano is not for sale."

Ronaldo is currently on the sidelines as he recovers from July ankle surgery.

Last season he scored 42 goals to help United retain their Premier League title and also win the Champions League, the Portuguese wideman scoring in the final win over Chelsea.

FROM: YAHOO