tottenham hotspur sign brazil midfielder sandro from internacional

... sandro's move had been expected for several days and he finally signed for the barclays premier league club after passing a medical ... spurs boss harry redknapp, whose side are chasing a place in the champions league, believes he has signed a major talent ... there were around 14 or 15 english players playing in the champions league last year and over 100 brazilians

elite eight: europa league

... somehow, that stopped neither of them from brushing aside a league leader (anderlecht and panathinaikos, respectively) in the round of 16 ... hamburg moves on after a 3-2 aggregate victory the salvage derby as it has been a frustrating campaign for both atlético madrid and valencia, this intra-league knockout reminds me of last year's hsv-werder bremen uefa cup semifinal ... it is two teams from the same league, each looking to rescue something of note from the season ... atlético closed last season winning eight of nine to earn a champions league berth ... they then stumbled from the gate this term, winning just one of their first 11 la liga contests and plummeting down to the europa league after a winless group phase ... players to watch: despite a stretch of glory as back-up with real madrid that included starting (but not finishing) the 2002 champions league final, this is the most opportune time in the career of 38-year old valencia keeper césar sánchez - and he will be facing an array of sharpshooters ... the english reds will hit the road first in facing benfica, who knocked them out of the champions league with a clean sweep in 2006

ferguson still feels strain of title battles

... ferguson, 68, took over at united in 1986 and is battling chelsea and arsenal for a record fourth straight premier league title, which would take his tally of english championships to 12 ... "we're all the same, whether you're top of the league or bottom of the league, that's what football does to you ... "ferguson, whose side travel to bayern munich in the champions league next week, believes that portuguese winger nani, who has signed a new contract to keep him at old trafford until 2014, is finally showing signs of consistency

ancelotti readies chelsea for first premiership ´final´

... london (afp) - chelsea manager carlo ancelotti says his side will face the first of nine 'finals' when their quest for the premier league title continues against aston villa at stamford bridge on saturday ... the blues are one point behind leaders manchester united with both teams having seven league games of the season left ... but victory over villa would see chelsea go two points in front before reigning champions united kicked-off in saturday's late match against bolton ... ferguson left the 29-year-old former bayern munich player out of his champions league squad ... "almost as tight as the title race itself is the battle for the fourth place finish that guarantees the last spot on offer to english clubs for next season's champions league ... liverpool, still with a chance of finishing fourth are at home to sunderland on sunday while manchester city, one of their rivals for a champions league place, must wait until monday's match against wigan to atone for their defeat by everton last weekend

lyon row looms over french league cup final

... paris (afp) - title rivals bordeaux and marseille will set aside their battle for league dominance to contest the first piece of silverware of the season in saturday's french league cup final ... the build-up to the match at the stade de france was overshadowed, however, by a row over fixtures between bordeaux and lyon, who face off in the first leg of their champions league quarter-final on tuesday ... lyon's league game with grenoble was initially brought forward to friday by the professional football league (lfp) to give claude puel's side more time to prepare for the european match but bordeaux complained that the move gave lyon an unfair advantage ... the league's competitions commission then decided to push the match back to the saturday, the same day as bordeaux's game with marseille, only for lyon to take their case to the french national olympic and sporting committee (cnosf) ... the saga drew the ire of lyon president jean-michel aulas, who criticised what he described as "arrangements made on the telephone between a coach (bordeaux's laurent blanc) and the president of the league (frederic thiriez)" ... "bordeaux are bidding to become the first side to retain the french league cup, having thrashed second-tier vannes 4-0 in last year's final ... the reigning french champions and current league leaders are missing centre-back marc planus due to a knee problem, while 20-year-old midfielder gregory sertic is out with a fractured toe ... second-choice goalkeeper ulrich rame will start in place of cedric carrasso for the final as the 37-year-old targets a fourth league cup success with bordeaux after previous wins in 2002, 2007 and 2009 ... "marseille reinvigorated their bid for the ligue 1 crown by beating lyon 2-1 last weekend and they are gunning for their first piece of major silverware since the 1992-93 champions league ... fixtures (1600gmt unless otherwise stated)saturdaylyon v grenoble, marseille v bordeaux (french league cup final, 1950gmt)sundayle mans v rennes, lorient v saint-etienne, nancy v lens, paris saint-germain v boulogne, toulouse v nice, lille v montpellier (2000gmt)mondaymonaco v auxerre (2000gmt) read all about the world cup 2010 at worldcup

harry redknapp claims portsmouth star kanu is 49 but still king

... what a player!' he's not over the hill: kanu hit pompey's cup winner in 2008it's the dress rehearsal of the cup semi-final at white hart lane, with spurs still aiming for a precious champions league place ... but when you think he played at inter milan, won the champions league with ajax and he'd had a heart problem ... peter crouch insists tottenham hold upper hand in champions league chase pompey offered £250,000 by spartak to terminate owusu-abeyie's loanportsmouth fc

des kelly- going drownits admiral david sullivan and his sinking ship at west ham

... 21/02/10 des kelly: premier league? it's more like last of the summer wine19/02/10 des kelly: portsmouth are cheats, so let them go to the wall12/02/10 view full archive should west ham rouse themselves to win against stoke city today, zola will carry on until the summer and sullivan will claim his words had the desiredinvigorating effect ... it shows how arbitrary and ridiculous the premier league's punishment was ... on day one, they announced: 'we'll be in the champions league in seven years' ... it must be down to all those foreign players in the premier league he keeps moaning about

premier league prize is bottom line for chelsea boss carlo ancelotti

... eye on the prize: chelsea manager carlo ancelotti is content with his side's positionand while ancelotti knows he is embroiled in a titanic battle with ferguson and arsenal manager arsene wenger, two mangers who know a thing or two about winning league titles in england, ancelotti certainly does not view his status as the new kid on the block as a disadvantage ... we were either involved in serie a or the semi-finals and final of the champions league ... 'i am an optimist and i would like to win the premier league title,' he said ... it was also the ideal result after a great deal of negativity brought on by chelsea's champions league defeat by inter milan and a lacklustre performance against blackburn ... 'i once said that, if i won the champions league in 2007, i promised to quit smoking,' said ancelotti

messi fabregas piqueall forged in barcelonas hothouse of champions

... has already played in la liga and was in the champions league final squad for last season's victory over manchester united

tottenham hotspur v portsmouth - follow live text commentary

... tottenham hotspur take on portsmouth at white hart lane on saturday afternoon and a win for the hosts would consolidate their position in fourth place in the premier league table ... under redknapp, who guided pompey to fa cup glory at the end of the 2007-08 season, spurs are causing liverpool and manchester city great concern as they chase the fourth spot that would clinch champions league qualification next term ... four successive league victories has aided their challenge and they must be confident of making that five on the spin ahead of their weekend fixture