Football United

While Wednesday's encounter between Portugal and Italy is being billed as a "friendly" match, it's no secret that this contest will be a serious test for both nations ahead of Euro 2004.

Both sides are eyeing the prize at this summer's big tournament and a win for either side on Wednesday will be a huge boost of confidence.

Furthermore, these two nations could potentially face off in the quarterfinals of the tournament should one side finish first and the other end up in second in their respective groups.

If history is an indicator, than Italy have nothing to worry about as they have dominated this rivalry. In 22 matches with the Portuguese, Italy has 16 wins, 2 draws and just 4 losses. During these 22 matches, Italy has outscored Portugal 46 to 19.

Their last meeting was on February 12, 2003 in Genova where Italy won 1-0. This time around, the match is being played in Portugal for the first time since 1993 when Italy won 3-1.

Team News:

Portugal:
Newcastle's midfielder Hugo Viana has been dropped from the squad and is considered a long shot to make the team for Euro 2004.

Tottenham's Helder Postiga is on the verge of being axed from the squad and this could be his last chance to shine for Portugal.

Porto's Vitor Baia and Maniche continue to get snubbed by Scolari, same goes for Stuttgart's Fernando Meira.

Nuno Gomes makes a return to the international fold, after his two-goal display in Benfica's 4-3 loss to Inter in the UEFA Cup on Thursday.

Fernando Couto, Deco, Petit, Rui Jorge and Tiago have all been training separately from the rest of the squad because of minor injury problems and are all doubtful starters for Wednesday's match.

Italy:
Trapattoni is without three of his first choice players as AC Milan's Alessandro Nesta, Inter Milan's Fabio Cannavaro and Juventus' Gianluca Zambrotta are all injured.

Look for Parma's promising Matteo Ferrari and Inter's Daniele Adani to start in the center of back line with AC Milan's Giuseppe Pancaro to take over from Zambrotta at left back.

Lazio's Giuseppe Favalli, who has not played for Italy since 1998, and Parma's Marcello Castellini are some of the surprises in Italy's 22-man squad announced on Sunday.

Juventus' striker Marco Di Vaio will pair up with Vieri in attack in what should be a formidable partnership.

Probable Starting Lineups:

Portugal: Ricardo; Paulo Ferreira, Fernando Couto, Jorge Andrade, Rui Jorge; Costinha, Petit, Rui Costa, Luis Figo, Simao Sabrosa; Pauleta

Italy: Buffon; Panucci, Ferrari, Adani, Pancaro; Gattuso, Pirlo, Camoranesi; Totti, Di Vaio, Vieri

Source: Soccerage

Arsenal FC set a new English record of 30 matches without defeat since the start of a top-flight season on Sunday by drawing 1-1 against Manchester United FC. The leaders in Italy and Germany also drew on a weekend where the top two in Spain and France broke further away.

England
Having seen their lead cut to seven points by Chelsea FC - who beat Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 5-2 on Saturday, thanks largely to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's hat-trick - Arsenal increased their advantage at the Premiership summit to eight at Highbury yesterday by drawing with the champions. The Londoners were on course for maximum points when Thierry Henry shot them in front in spectacular fashion, only for substitute Louis Saha to equalise in the 86th minute. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said of Arsenal: "I think they will go on and win the league now. I'm sure of that. They're playing with great determination." The battle for fourth place remains intense: Liverpool FC are in pole position after they drew 0-0 at Leicester City FC yesterday and Newcastle United FC lost at Bolton Wanderers FC. Birmingham City FC, Aston Villa FC and Charlton Athletic FC, however, are all within three points with eight games left.

Italy

In Italy, an Andriy Shevchenko header seven minutes into added time salvaged a 2-2 draw for AC Milan against AC Chievo Verona at the San Siro. Goals from Giuseppe Sculli and Simone Perrotta had put Chievo on course to become only the second team to beat the leaders in Serie A this season, only for Andrea Pirlo and Shevchenko to level. AS Roma's 2-1 home defeat by Bologna FC allowed Juventus FC to move second with a 3-1 victory against Modena FC.

Germany

Milan are nine points clear of Juve, the same tally by which SV Werder Bremen lead FC Bayern München in Germany. Bremen were in devastating attacking form at VfB Stuttgart, plundering four goal against the meanest defence in the Bundesliga, only to concede four themselves, with Marcelo Bordon scoring three of them. "I think everybody won today," said Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf. Bayern maintained their slender title hopes by beating VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-2 on Saturday.

Spain~

It is much closer in Spain, where Vicente Rodríguez scored twice and made another as Valencia CF beat Real Racing Club Santander 3-0 to temporarily reside at the top of the Primera División. However, it was business as usual later on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabéu as Real Madrid CF beat Sevilla FC 5-1. Ronaldo scored two and Santiago Solari, Zinedine Zidane, Michel Salgado the others as Madrid climbed to 63 points, one more than Valencia. With FC Barcelona's game at Real Betis Balompié postponed because of torrential rain in Seville, RC Deportivo La Coruña took advantage to claim third place - eight points behind Madrid - with a 2-1 win against Real Sociedad de Fútbol. UEFA Cup hopefuls Villarreal CF were held to a goalless draw at home by Club Atlético de Madrid, who moved fifth.

France

Ligue 1 challengers Olympique Lyonnais and AS Monaco FC both picked up 1-0 victories as the race for the French championship intensified at the weekend. Giovane Elber scored the only goal for Lyon at OGC Nice, while Dado Pršo did likewise for Monaco against the bottom club Le Mans UC 72. Both clubs have 63 points, six more than Paris Saint-Germain FC who saw their chances of silverware dealt a huge blow by an away loss at RC Lens.

Source: Uefa.com

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Porto 27 71
2. Sporting 28 64
3. Benfica 28 60
4. Braga 28 47
5. Nacional 27 46
...
9. Beira-Mar 28 36
...
18 . Est. Amadora 28 13



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Lyon 30 63
2. Monaco 30 63
3. PSG 30 57
4. Sochaux 30 53
5. Auxerre 30 50



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Ajax 27 65
2. PSV 27 53
3. Feyenoord 27 52
4. Alkmaar 27 49
5. Heerenveen 27 48
...
8. Utrecht 27 49



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Fenerbahçe 27 63
2. Besikats 27 57
3. Trabzonspor 27 56
4. Denizlispor 27 48
5. Gaziantepspor 27 45



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Bremen 26 62
2. Bayern 26 53
3. Stuttgart 26 48
4. Leverkusen 26 45
5. Bochum 26 42
...
8. Hamburg 26 36



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Anderlecht 27 68
2. Club Brugge 27 55
3. Standard Liege 27 51
4. Mouscron 27 49
5. Genk 27 44



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Real Madrid 30 64
2. Valencia 30 63
3. Deportivo 30 56
4. Barcelona 29 55
5. Atlético 30 45
...
7. Athletic 30 44




Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Milan 27 68
2. Juventus 27 59
3. Roma 26 57
4. Lazio 26 44
5. Parma 27 44
...
6. Inter 27 43


Torneo Clausura

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Talleres 7 19
2. Boca Jrs 6 14
3. River Plate 7 13
4. Racing 7 13
5. Colón 7 13


Campeonato Carioca

Taça Rio

Semi-finals

Fluminense 3-1 Americano
Vasco 1-1 Friburgense (5-4 pen)

Third-placed SL Benfica, knocked out of the UEFA Cup by FC Internazionale in midweek, made light work of Alverca Futebol SAD in the late game on Sunday, winning 2-0 after goals from Tomislav Sokota and Luizão.

Goals: Sokota 8´; Luizão 16´

HSV put any worries of possible relegation behind them this evening, with a well-deserved 3-2 home win against over Kaiserslautern, who now have to win four of their remaining eight matches to stay in the Bundesliga, according to their Coach Kurt Jara, who returned to the AOL Arena for the first time since his dismissal in October of last year.

Klaus Toppmöller as expected changed his team which lost 0-3 in Gladbach last time out. In came Romeo and Mahdavikia in to the attack, at the back, Bastian Reinhardt replaced Collin Benjamin who wasn't even in the squad. Vyacheslav Hleb, who made his full debut in Gladbach, was on the bench for the Lautern match. The visitors started at a furious pace. On 17 minutes they were unlucky not to take the lead, as a Hristov header hit the crossbar, with Wächter well beaten. On 26 minutes HSV had their first chance, as Romeo headed narrowly wide.

Four minutes later the home side took the lead. A free kick taken by Rahn just outside the area was deflected by Lucien Mettomo past Tim Wiese, who had no chance of stopping the ball. Lautern tried to get back into the game by playing long balls up to Hristov and Klose, without much success. Just before half time Sergej Barbarez had an opportunity to double HSV's lead, but reached a glancing header by Reinhardt a stride too late.

HSV came out for the second half and struck again a minute after the re-start. Barbarez played a fine ball to Rahn down the wing. He reached the by-line before putting in a cross which was so accurate, that Bernardo Romeo only had to stick his foot out for his 11th goal of the season. The HSV fans got behind the side like never before this season. The 41,020 were in good voice as Lautern struck out of the blue. Good work by Drescher found Klose in the box. The German international finished well with the home defence in disarray. Lautern continued to press but without much effect.

Toppmöller brought on Takahara for Barbarez and on 70 minutes the "Sushi-Bomber" brought Rahn into play with a sweet pass down the left wing. Rahn strolled into the left side of the area and to everyone's surprise, blasted a shot into the net off the underside of the crossbar, which was probably still vibrating ten minutes afterwards! Lautern to their credit never gave up and scored again through Hristov 11 minutes from time, but in all honesty they never looked likely to take a point from a match which on the balance of play, HSV thoroughly deserved to win. Kurt Jara said after the match that he spent two wonderful years in Hamburg, and sincerely hoped that he would be back with Lautern next year. The victory over Lautern was HSV's 400th league win in their long history.

HSV: Wächter - Wicky (73. Schlicke), Hoogma, Ujfalusi, Hollerbach - Mahdavikia, Jarolim (89. Fukal), Reinhardt, Rahn - Romeo, Barbarez (63. Takahara)

Kaiserslautern: Wiese - Mettomo, Wenzel, Drescher - Riedl, Lehmann, Bjelica, Nurmela (55. Altintop), Malz (72. Vreven) - Klose (62. Dominguez), Hristov

Goals: 1:0 Rahn (30.), 2:0 Romeo (46.), 2:1 Klose (53.), 3:1 Rahn (70.), 3:2 Hristov (79.)

Source: HSV.de

Bonazzoli in desperation after the own goal

REGGIO CALABRIA - The Nerazzurri saw off a gritty Reggina side at the Oreste Granillo on Sunday afternoon to win 2-0 and keep their sights on the Serie A fourth spot.

Zaccheroni's men went into the half-time break with a one-goal lead after Bonazzoli anticipated Cordoba to Recoba's right-wing cross then headed into his own net at the near post.

Adriano added the second in additional time at the end of the ninety, capitalising on a moment of defensive madness by Belardi and Torrisi to smash the ball into an open goal.

Inter's next match is the 'derby d'Italia' at home to Juventus at 20:30 on Sunday 4 April.

Match facts:
Scorers: Bonazzoli (o.g.) 41', Adriano 90'+3'
Booked: C.Zanetti 24', Paredes 37', Cordoba 45'+3', Pasquale 58', Farinos 90'+2'
Referee: Pasquale Rodomonti

REGGINA: 1 Belardi, 2 Comotto (3 Falsini 56'), 5 Paredes, 8 Bonazzoli (7 Stellone 83'), 14 Franceschini, 17 Di Michele, 19 Tedesco (22 Mozart 65'), 20 Mesto, 21 Torrisi, 25 Jiranek, 35 Cozza
Subs not used: 23 Coppola, 4 Baiocco, 10 Nakamura, 18 Sottil
Coach: Giancarlo Camolese

INTER: 1 Toldo, 2 Cordoba, 4 J. Zanetti , 6 C.Zanetti, 10 Adriano, 11 Stankovic (22 Okan 80'), 15 Adani, 20 Recoba (14 Farinos 65'), 24 Gamarra, 26 Pasquale, 29 Biava, 30 Martins (9 Cruz 86')
Subs not used: 71 Cordaz, 18 Kily Gonzalez, 29 Biava, 31 Brechet
Coach: Alberto Zaccheroni

Milan came back from a two first half goals from Chievo, to avoyed a shock home defeat at the hands of the team from Verona. With two goals in the last minutes of the match, Milan grabbed a point, and Shevchenko reached 20 goals in the league.

MILAN: Dida, Cafu, Costacurta, Maldini, Pancaro, Gattuso (Ambrosini, 66'), Pirlo, Seedorf (Rui Costa, 46'), Kakà, Inzaghi, Tomasson (Shevchenko, 46').

CHIEVO: Marchegiani, Moro, Barzaghi, D'Anna, Lanna, Semioli, Perrotta, Baronio (Morrone, 87'), Luciano (Malagò, 64'), Cossato, Sculli (Pellisier, 79').

GOALS: 0-1, Sculli (22'); 0-2, Perrotta (39'); 1-2, Pirlo (80'); 2-2, Shevchenko (95').

E. AMADORA – Veiga; Paulo Madeira (Rui Neves, 65 m)), Hugo Carreira e Marcos; Semedo, Rogério, Juba, Davide e Wesnalton; Alex Garcia (Júlio César, 46 m) e Miran (Litera, 65 m).

SP. BRAGA – Quim; Pedro Costa, Maurício, Nem (Artur Jorge, 46 m)) e Kenedy; Vanzini e Soderstrom; Paulo Sérgio, Nikolov (Wooter, 46 m) e Wender; Igor (Foley, 64 m).

Goal: 0-1 por Foley (86 m)

England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson has ended speculation over his future by signing a new contract keeping him in the job until UEFA EURO 2008™.

New deal
Eriksson was already committed to the Football Association (FA) until 2006, but reports in England have linked him to a return to club management, most specifically at Chelsea FC. But the Swedish coach, who took over in early 2001 and reached the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, has agreed a two-year extension to his current deal ahead of Wednesday’s friendly against his home nation in Gothenburg. His assistant Tord Grip has signed a similar new contract.

'I am happy'
Speaking on Sunday morning, Eriksson said: "I am happy. The team is extremely good. I think they can do big, big things. I hope that we can stop the speculation now. Chelsea have never offered me anything."

'Great news'
FA chief executive Mark Palios added: "This is great news for England fans and the England team. He is one of the best managers in the world."

Source: uefa.com

The Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) has announced new sponsors and unveiled a new logo. The EPO is aiming to adjust its image to today's market conditions, bringing out football's marketing dimension at the same time.

Sponsorship deals
Vassilios Gagatsis, the president of the EPO, today welcomed representatives of OPAP S.A., Vodafone, adidas, Grecotel, Mercedes and Hellas On Line, who have all accepted the opportunity to affiliate their names with the Greek national team between 2004 and 2006.

'European model'
"When we began this project, our starting point was to organise the senior national team in a way modelled after major European national teams," Gagatsis said. "For the first time since it was founded in 1926, the EPO has at its disposal a fully-equipped athletics centre and a team of qualified coaches in charge of Greek national sides."

Firm financial framework
Gagatsis went on to speak about the EPO's aim of becoming financially self-reliant, with the examples of UEFA and FIFA used as development platforms. "We have decided on an administrational reconstruction based on the new framework of modern technology and new activities," he said. "We made the first steps in the marketing field two years ago. We are trying to increase our financial resources so that the sport can become independent and self-powered.

'Investment in training'
"From our €30m budget last year, only 27 per cent came from state subsidy," the EPO president continued. "Around the country, 47 training centres are already being constructed in corresponding regional football unions. Recently, we held eight coaching courses modelled on UEFA and for the first time we trained coaches for junior age groups. Our target is to make the national team more accessible to the public, through its own boutique, its own products, even its own season-ticket offers."

Logo explained
According to marketing executive director Ioannis Farfarellis, the EPO's new logo consists of a variety of symbols. "The circle labelled 'Hellenic Football Federation' symbolises the endeavour that drives the team effort and affirms the idea that football unites," he said. "The ball in the circle symbolises the drive, the constant movement, the show, whilst the geographic image of Greece is a mark of inspiration, energy, pride and perspective."

Illustrious names
The presentation ceremony in Athens was held in the presence of Otto Rehhagel, coach of Greece, while internationals Antonios Nikopolidis, Vassilios Tsiartas and Georgios Georgiadis were also present, as were members of the EPO's executive board.

Source: uefa.com, epo.gr

Dortumd striker Marcio Amoroso has confirmed that Botafogo President, Bebeto de Freitas, has contacted him to join the Alvinegros.

The player, who is currently in Brazil recovering from a knee surgery, also stated that the time is not the more appropriate, but has not discarded the return from Brazil. "I was very flattered with the contacts made" he said.

Botafogo is seeking to sign key players to face the brasilian championship, after failing to qualify twice in the Rio de Janeiro regional championship.

River Plate returned to the victories in the home league with a smashing result in front of it's hinchas. River did not have no play superbly well to defeat a weak Arsenal. Four quick goals, two in the beginning of each half dictated the flow of the game. Gallardo with 3 goals and Sand with 2 were the key figures of the match. River is showing that the recent defeats were a stumble that is being surpassed.

RIVER PLATE: Franco Costanzo; Ariel Garcé, Horacio Ameli, Eduardo Tuzzio, Juan Fernández; Eduardo Coudet (Kilian Virviescas, 73'), Javier Mascherano, Luis González; Marcelo Gallardo; Daniel Montenegro (José Maria Sand, 20'), Marcelo Salas (Daniel Ludueña, 61').

ARSENAL SARANDÍ: Alejandro Lima; Darío Espínola, Carlos Ruiz, Víctor Molina (Quinteros, 45'), Marcelo Bustamante; Juan Fernández D’Alesio (Monrroy 74'), Gastón Esmerado, Carlos Castiglione, Patricio González; José Luis Calderón, Martín Vilallonga.

GOALS: 1-0, Gallardo (10'); 2-0, Gallardo (11'); 3-0, Sand (46'); 4-0, Sand (50'); 5-0, Gallardo (86')

A tough but vital 2-1 win was the result from our trip to relegation faced Adanaspor today. Marcio Nobre`s double answered the home side`s shock early goal.
After the injuries to Mehmet Yozgatlı and Kemal Arslan Christoph Daum had to re-shuffle his midfield, which brought the return of Selçuk Şahin to the side. Ümit Özat switched to the left, while Ali Güneş and Marco Aurelio played in the centre with Selçuk to their right. Fatih Akyel played at right back as Ali moved up the field.

The bottom side of the league were still to prove a challenge for our team, as the stress multiplies by the week towards the end of the season. Adanaspor were to add more to that by scoring in the 2nd minute. Ümit Ozan was played in just inside our half, beating the offside trap according to the referees, before squaring the ball for Murat Özatak who finished off in his second attempt following Volkan Demirel`s save.

It still took a while before we got out of our tracks, and it proved that a dead ball situation would be our catalyst. Pierre van Hooijdonk`s rapid delivery from the byline was met by Marcio Nobre`s head with some power to get our equaliser in the 22nd minute.

Daum made an early change by taking off Stjepan Tomas for Sergei Rebrov to boost our attacking force.

But Adanaspor continued to be a threat and forced our team back on many occassions. Volkan was forced to cut out dangerous crosses particularly in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

The second half should ideally have started with a bomb for Fenerbahçe, but the complete opposite happened as the home side got two clear cut opportunities, luckily squandering them to keep the score at 1-1.

Ten minutes into the second half Marcio Nobre showed great persistence to score his second of the game. The Brazilian forward headed Rebrov`s corner straight at the keeper, snap-shot at the rebound before finally scoring on his third attempt while he was on the floor, 2-1.

He could have added another if he was one step ahead to reach van Hooijdonk`s pass into the area.

With 20 minutes to go van Hooijdonk looked wrongly judged offside as he scored a clever goal onto a move created by Aurelio.

Ümit was one-on-one with the keeper too after breaking in from the left, but his effort was tipped away by the keeper.

Adanaspor threatened particularly with attacks from our left wing. Many balls were cleared from the box by the likes of Fabio Luciano, Ali, Volkan and even Rebrov.

Marcio Nobre was clearly brought down in the box by Timur but referee Serdar Tatlı`s whistle remained silent.

With the final whistle however, our fans were in the joy of taking the three points despite a below par performance.

Adanaspor: Serkan Kırıntılı, Timur, Güngör, Serkan Bekiroğlu, İlker (86` Gökmen), Ercan, İbrahim, Murat Özatak, Ümit Ozan, Ümit Bilican (71` Ali Asım), Yusuf (79` Lalik)

Fenerbahçe: Volkan Demirel, Fabio Luciano, Stjepan Tomas (34` Sergei Rebrov), Fatih Akyel, Mahmut Hanefi Erdoğdu, Ali Güneş, Ümit Özat, Selçuk Şahin, Marcio Nobre, Pierre van Hooijdonk

Goals: 22`, 55` Marcio Nobre (Fenerbahçe), 2` Murat Özatak (Adanaspor)

Source: Fenerbahçe.org

According to the portuguese journal, A Bola, Benfica signed a pre-deal with Paulo Almeida for the coming season. The brasilian center defender is currently playing for Santos and had been with the brasilian national team in the pre-olimpics. Paulo Almeida arrived at Santos in 2000 and played 28 games last year winning the Brasileirão in 2002, allong with players as Diego and Robinho.

Source: abola

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has included Nuno Gomes in his squad for the UEFA EURO 2004™ hosts' friendly against Italy next Wednesday in Braga.

Due to injury the 27-year-old forward has been missing from the international fold since the friendly against Kuwait in November. However two goals in last night's UEFA Cup match against FC Internazionale have helped seal his return - and lessen the pain of SL Benfica's 4-3 aggregate defeat.

Tottenham Hotspur FC forward Hélder Postiga is also recalled after an absence of five months while Hugo Almeida and Hugo Viana have been dropped from the squad that faced England. Experienced internationals Maniche, Sérgio Conceição and Fernando Meira also miss out and now look unlikely to figure this summer.

Scolari said: "I almost have my squad finalised for the finals. I wanted to call three strikers up and see Pauleta, Nuno Gomes and Postiga playing - I hope this will help me decide if I will call two or three of them for the final squad. We are playing almost as I want us to. Those 21 days we have before EURO 2004™ will be fundamental to completing our preparations."

Portuguese squad

Benfica (5) – Miguel, Nuno Gomes, Petit, Simão e Tiago
FC Porto (5) – Paulo Ferreira, Costinha, Deco, Nuno Valente, Ricardo Carvalho
Sporting (3) – Ricardo, Beto e Rui Jorge
AC Milan – Rui Costa
D. Corunha – Jorge Andrade
Fulham – Luís Boa Morte
Lázio – Fernando Couto
Manchester United – Cristiano Ronaldo
Paris-SG – Pauleta
Real Madrid – Figo
Sp. Braga – Quim
Tottenham – Hélder Postiga

Source: Uefa.com, abola.pt

Bruges-Bordéus, 0-1 (1-3)
PSV Eindhoven-Auxerre, 3-0 (1-1)
AS Roma-Villarreal, 2-1 (0-2)
Maiorca-Newcastle, 0-3 (1-4)
Inter de Milão-Benfica, 4-3 (0-0)
Marselha-Liverpool, 2-1 (1-1)
Barcelona-Celtic, 0-0 (0-1)
Valência-Gençlergirligi, 2-0 (0-1), Silver Goal

FC Internazionale edged out SL Benfica in a thrilling UEFA Cup fourth round second-leg match at the San Siro to earn a quarter-final meeting with Olympique de Marseille.

The visitors took the lead through Nuno Gomes before Obafemi Martins hit a first-half equaliser. The game really came to life on the hour with the introduction of Alvaro Recoba, as he scored one before providing Christian Vieri with the third. Nuno Gomes scored a second before Martins struck again, only for Tiago to ensure a tense finish by making it 4-3.

On 36 minutes Benfica took the lead, catapulting what had been a cagey game into life. Tiago found Nuno Gomes with a short pass and the Portuguese international set himself before shooting low into the goal off Francesco Toldo's right-hand post.

Gomes then hit the same post with a side-footed effort after good work from Armando, but this time it went behind for a goal-kick. Then, just six minutes after the opener, Martins had the ball in the net, but the strike was disallowed for a foul by Vieri in the build up. The burly Italian international was adjudged to have fouled Ricardo Rocha as they competed for an aerial ball.

Martins did get his goal in the end however, as Inter equalised in first-half stoppage time. All the credit went to Giorgios Karagounis though, as the Greek midfield player's winding run on the by-line took him past several Inter defenders and a sprawling Moriera to give Martins a simple tap-in.

The second half started quietly, before a whirlwind of four goals in ten minutes. The game changed with the introduction of the mercurial Recoba for Okan Buruk on 59 minutes. The Uruguayan star made a profound impact as he put the hosts in front a minute later. Javier Zanetti's crossfield pass was cleverly left by Vieri, buying Recoba the time to shoot across Moriera and in from the edge of the box.

Inter were rampant and on 64 minutes they grabbed a splendid second. Martins launched a counterattack down the right by finding Recoba in space. He looked up and fired a crossfield pass to Vieri, who chested down before blasting a ferocious volley into the net.

Benfica refused to give in though and turned what looked like an easy ride for Inter into a thrilling finale. First Nuno Gomes slid in to grab a second from close range, before Martins struck again from a Recoba pass to restore Inter's two-goal cushion.

However, José Antonio Camacho's side were still not deterred and Tiago made it 4-3 on 77 minutes after a smart one-two with substitute Tomislav Šokota. A fourth would have put Benfica into the quarter-finals on away goals but Inter held out to go through, and now visit Marseille on 8 April before a return here six days later.

Match facts:
Scorers: Nuno Gomes 36', 67', Martins 46', 71', Recoba 60', Vieri 64', Tiago 77'
Booked: Tiago 23', Okan 42', Pereira 57', Cordoba 69', Armando 79', Recoba 80'
Referee: Alain Sars

INTER: 1 Toldo , 2 Cordoba , 4 J. Zanetti , 8 Lamouchi , 15 Adani , 18 Kily Gonzalez , 19 Karagounis (31 Brechet 72'), 22 Okan (20 Recoba 59'), 24 Gamarra , 30 Martins (25 Almeyda 86'), 32 Vieri
Subs not used: 71 Cordaz , 7 van der Meyde , 9 Cruz , 14 Farinos
Coach Alberto Zaccheroni

BENFICA: 1 Moreira, 2 Armando, 4 Luisao, 6 Petit (11 Geovanni 86'), 10 Zahovic (25 Sokota, 20 Simao, 21 Nuno Gomez, 23 Miguel, 30 Tiago, 33 Ricardo Rocha, 47 João Pereira (Manuel Fernades 74')
Subs not used: 24 Bossio, 5 Cristiano, 16 Aguiar, 37 Helder
Coach: José Antonio Camacho

source: uefa.com & inter.it

Botafogo and Gama drawed in the match for the brasilian cup, played in the Federal District of Brasilia. The decision of the round moves now to Rio de Janeiro, and Estádio Caio Martins, home of the Alvinegros, on the 7th of April.

GAMA: Osmair, Weider, Carlos Eduardo, Emerson e Boby; Erivaldo, Goéber, Wesley e Rodriguinho (Macaé); Victor e Michel Platini.

BOTAFOGO: Jefferson, Ruy, João Carlos, Sandro e Jorginho (Daniel); Fernando, Túlio (Carlos Alberto), Valdo (Dill) e Camacho; Alex Alves e Almir. Técnico:

GOALS: 0-1, Fernando (4'); 1-1, Rodriguinho (7'); 2-1, Emerson (16'); 2-2, Camacho (22'); 2-3, Alex Alves (46'); 3-3, Goéber (60'); 3-4, Alex Alves (63'); 4-4, Victor (78')

The time for decisions had arrived in Hamburg. HSV wasn´t able to announce no new signings for the coming season. According to the german journal MOPO the club wants to attract Leverkusens Yildiray Bastürk at the Elbe since the contract of the Turk in Bayer runs out in the end of the season.

The 25 years old attacking midfielder is in the Bundesliga since 1997. He started on Bochum where he played 4 seasons and became a crucial member of the team and of the turkish national team. In 2001 he moved to Leverkusen by the hands of Klaus Toppmöller. In the most glorious season of the Bayer team the turkish managed to settle down in the first team and to made excellent games in the Champions League (Bayer reatched the final).

Toppmöller leaved the team in 2002 but Bastürk still managed to stay on the first team and to travel with the turkish national team to Japan to play the World Cup 2002.

But now Bastürk seem determined in abandoning Leverkusen. Last pre season Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Celtic and Liverpool offer him a contract but the player decided to stay until the end of the contract. HSV already offer him a contract, and in Hamburg everybody would be pleased to receive the turkish star and the player would be pleased to meet again his former coatch.

FC Internazionale will be striving to prove that there is more than one team in Milan capable of dazzling on the European stage when they tackle SL Benfica in the second leg of their UEFA Cup fourth-round tie on Thursday.

With the red half of the city still revelling in the glory of AC Milan's 4-1 UEFA Champions League victory against RC Deportivo La Coruña last night, Inter supporters could claim the bragging rights on Friday should their side overcome Benfica to set up a quarter-final meeting with Liverpool FC or Olympique de Marseille. The tie is finely balanced, though, with the Nerazzurri being susceptible to an away goal following a scoreless draw at the Estádio da Luz.

Benfica will take confidence from a showing in Lisbon which saw them dominate possession and goalscoring opportunities, and the fact that Inter have been flawed of late in front of their own fans: Alberto Zaccheroni's side last won at home on 1 February, AC Siena beaten 4-0. Inter are sixth in Serie A and would have been even further adrift had they not arrested a run of six games without success against Ancona Calcio on Sunday.

Christian Vieri was rested for that 2-0 victory but will return to spearhead an attack in which Obafemi Martins, Alvaro Recoba and Julio Cruz are competing for a starting place. Dutch winger Andy van der Meyde is also available after recovering from flu, yet there is little cheer for Zaccheroni in other positions: Thomas Helveg, Cristiano Zanetti and Marco Materazzi are suspended, Dejan Stankovic and Adriano ineligible and Francesco Coco (back), Emre Belözoglu and Fabio Cannavaro (both thigh) injured.

None the less, Zaccheroni is confident Inter are equipped to progress. "I'm expecting to win even if I'm aware that we're facing a team that's in good shape at the moment," the coach told the club's official website. "Benfica are strong across the field and come into the match on the back of a series of good results. It'll be a difficult match, but we've got the means to reach the next round."

Benfica have passed Portuguese international duo Tiago and Petit fit and both should play. Nuno Gomes scored the only goal as the Eagles defeated SC Beira-Mar 1-0 in the SuperLiga on Sunday and he will again be on the prowl at the San Siro, a venue where Inter have won just once in five European games this term.

"This battle with Inter is very important because most of the players are playing in big European matches for the first time," said Benfica coach I already know who will play. "I already know who will play and I can guarantee it will be a very competitive team." And a competitive match, no doubt.

Probable Lineups:

Inter (4-4-2)
Toldo; Cordoba, Adani, Gamarra, J.Zanetti; C. Zanetti, Farinos, Kily Gonzalez, Recoba; Martins and Vieri

Benfica (4-4-2)
Moreira; Miguel, Ricardo Rocha, Luisão, Armando; Petit, Tiago, João Pereira, Simão Sabrosa; Nuno Gomes and Sokota

Prediction

Despite Benfica's red-hot form, if Inter play to their potential on Thursday they should win. Benfica are likely to get off to a nervous start because they are reletiveli inexperienced in big European matches of this nature.
The expected result is Inter 2 : Benfica 1

Source: Uefa.com

Four stunning goals in a blistering eight-minute spell gave the holders AC Milan a massive advantage to take from the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against RC Deportivo La Coruña.

Kaká double
Despite a fine first 44 minutes from Javier Irureta's visitors which included Walter Pandiani's opener, two wonderful goals from Kaká, a fine strike by Andriy Shevchenko and Andrea Pirlo's thunderous free-kick devastated the visitors and allowed Milan to put one foot into the last four.

Spanish tempo
The fact Deportivo were fortified in confidence from having eliminated Juventus FC two weeks ago was evident from the way they began. Their passing was measured and effective as the Spanish side, not the European champions, dictated the tempo of the game. Irureta deployed his customary 4-2-3-1 formation, with Aldo Duscher used to stifle Kaká's creativity behind the Milan strikers.

Altered Formation
Carlo Ancelotti relegated Massimo Ambrosini to the bench despite his powerful performance in the 4-1 victory over AC Sparta Praha in the first knockout round and installed Clarence Seedorf. The Dutchman, who has Champions League medals with three different clubs, played in an adjusted 4-2-2-2 alongside Kaká.

Sluggish start
Deportivo's marking scheme, and Seedorf's advanced role, crowded the space in front of the Spanish side's penalty area and Kaká initially found it hard to receive his customary amount of possession. Milan started sluggishly and, with Alessandro Nesta out injured, Ancelotti fielded the 37-year-old Alessandro Costacurta at centre-half; the veteran was quickly exposed as Deportivo took the lead.

Pandiani pounces
Irureta's side had threatened just before when Alberto Luque's tenth-minute cross to the near post was intercepted by Costacurta as Pandiani waited to score. But the Uruguayan hit his fifth goal in nine Champions League games 60 seconds later when he headed in Joan Capdevila's left-wing cross with the Milan defence motionless.

Kaká control
Milan's threat gradually grew from the clever lofted crosses of Giuseppe Pancaro but it was Kaká, as usual, who started to make the difference. The 21-year-old connected with Cafu's 16th-minute cross but volleyed narrowly wide and when Paolo Maldini splendidly robbed Sergio González it was Kaká's fizzing drive which was saved.

Excellent equaliser
Although Filippo Inzaghi had Milan's brightest early chance when Pancaro's cross drifted over Nourredine Naybet and José Molina was forced to save at the Italian's feet, it was a Brazilian breakthrough which brought Milan back in the game. Cafu raced down the right and cut his cross back, wrong-footing the Deportivo back line and Kaká, who had raced clear of Duscher, controlled the ball on his left thigh before striking a low volley with his right foot.

Deportivo disrupted
The goal disrupted Deportivo's controlled passing and possession which had been frustrating the noisy San Siro crowd and Milan ended the half on a high, having been jeered for a long spell before half-time when they could not win the ball back during a 24-pass Deportivo move.

Smooth movement
The world caved in on Irureta's side as Milan surged into a three-goal lead inside eight minutes of the second half. Within 30 seconds of the restart Shevchenko swivelled on the ball, ran at Naybet and, in one smooth movement, cut inside and curled the ball past Molina into the far corner.

Pirlo seal
Two minutes later Seedorf cut in from a similar inside-left position, exposing Capdevila, and set up Kaká for a searing bottom-corner drive. And Pirlo set the seal on a monstrous display of power when he curled a 25-metre free-kick at pace past Molina.

MILAN: Dida; Cafu, Costacurta, Maldini, Pancaro (Serginho, 72'); Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf; Kakà; Shevchenko (Tomasson, 84'), Inzaghi (Ambrosini, 79').

DEPORTIVO: Molina; Scaloni, Andrade, Naybet, Capdevila; Mauro Silva, Duscher (Fran, 66'); Sergio (Manuel Pablo, 81'), Valeron, Luque (Tristan, 83'); Pandiani.

GOALS: 0-1, Pandiani (11'); 1-1, Kakà (45'); 2-1, Shevchenko (46'); 3-1, Kakà (49'); 4-1, Pirlo (53').

Source: uefa.com, gazzetta.it

Sunday, 21st of March

ANCONA - The Nerazzurri warmed up for Thursday's Uefa Cup fourth round return leg at home to Benfica with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Ancona on Sunday afternoon.

After a vivacious end-to-end first half at the Stadio Del Conero it was one-way traffic after the restart and Alvaro Recoba , easily Inter's most creative player, opened the scoring in the 61st minute. The Uruguayan received inside the Ancona half then advanced before unleashing a trademark left-foot rocket which gave Marcon no chance of making a save.

Just under ten minutes later Daniele Adani redoubled with a close-range header from Recoba's curled free kick.

Inter had a handful of chances to increase their lead, but the Ancona custodian did well to deny Il Chino a second on 84 minutes then Martins in the last minute of added time.

Match facts:
Scorers: Recoba 61', Adani 70'
Booked: C.Zanetti 17', Esposito 54', Berretta 68', Cordoba 73'
Referee: Palanca

INTER: 1 Toldo , 2 Cordoba , 4 J. Zanetti , 6 C.Zanetti , 9 Cruz (30 Martins 59'), 10 Adriano , 11 Stankovic , 13 Helveg , 25 Adani , 20 Recoba (31 Brechet 85'), 24 Gamarra
Subs not used: 71 Cordaz , 14 Farinos , 18 Kily Gonzalez , 19 Karagounis , 32 Vieri
Coach Alberto Zaccheroni

ANCONA: 31 Marcon, 2 Bolic, 4 Andersson, 7 Berretta, 8 D.Baggio, 14 Esposito, 15 Rapaic (19 Pandev 66'), 18 Goretti, 23 Ganz (27 Bucchi 75'), 28 Zavagno, 29 Sommese (11 Helguera 69')
Subs not used: 1 Hedman, 3 Bilica, 13 Maini, 42 Sogliano
Coach: Giovanni Galeone

source: inter.it

The new-style UEFA Cup will feature a central branding concept when it is launched at the start of next season.

UEFA's Executive Committee heard at its meeting in Dublin on Monday that the central branding concept for the second major European club competition would apply for an initial period of two years. The competition will not be centrally marketed, unlike the prestigious UEFA Champions League.

From 2004/05, the UEFA Cup will feature a 40-team group stage after the first knockout round, with the teams drawn into eight groups of five teams each. From the group stage, 32 teams will then go through to the closing knockout stages. The new format was born after consultation between UEFA and Europe's major clubs amid a common desire to enhance the UEFA Cup's commercial and sporting appeal.

Source: Uefa.com

Elber told yesterday to the french press that we would like to return to Germany on the next season. Dietmar Beiersdorfer, the sport manager of Hamburg, started immediatly the negotiotions with the former Bayer Munchen striker, according to the journal Hamburger Morgen Post . Elber would fit in Klaus Toppmöller wish of getting a stronger attack for the next season.

Source: mopo.de

From now on FU will follow the steps of the Spanish Giants, Barcelona. Our reporter Pierre Montagne will bring you all the relevant news.

FU TEAM

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Porto 26 68
2. Sporting 27 61
3. Benfica 27 57
4. Braga 27 44
5. Nacional 26 43
...
9. Beira-Mar 27 36
...
18. Est. Amadora 27 13



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Lyon 29 60
2. Monaco 29 60
3. PSG 29 57
4. Souchaux 29 50
5. Auxerre 29 47



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1 Ajax 26 64
2 PSV 26 53
3 Feyenoord 26 49
4 Alkmaar 26 48
5 Heerenveen 26 45
...
10. Utrecht 26 36



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Fenerbahçe 26 60
2. Besiktas 26 54
3. Trabzonspor 26 53
4. Denizlispor 26 45
5. Gaziantepspor 26 45




Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Bremen 25 61
2. Bayer Munchen 25 50
3. Stuttgart 25 47
4. Leverkusen 25 42
5. Bochum 25 42
...
8. Hamburg 25 33



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Anderlecht 26 65
2. Club Brugge 27 55
3. Standard Liege 27 51
4. Mouscron 26 49
5. Genk 27 44



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Real Madrid 29 61
2. Valencia 29 60
3. Barcelona 29 55
4. Deportivo 29 53
5. Athletic 29 44



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Milan 26 67
2. Roma 25 57
3. Juventus 26 56
4. Lazio 24 41
5. Parma 26 41
...
6. Inter 26 40


Torneo Clausura

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Talleres 6 16
2. Boca Jrs 5 11
3. Vélez Sarsfield 6 11
4. River Plate 6 10
5. Nueva Chicago 6 10


Campeonato Carioca

Taça Rio

Group A

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Vasco da Gama 6 15
2. Americano 6 12
3. Botafogo 6 11
4. Portuguesa RJ 6 6
5. Olaria 6 6

Campeonato Carioca Final Global Standings

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Vasco da Gama 11 26
2. Fluminense 11 23
3. Americano 11 23
4. Botafogo 11 21
5. Friburguense 11 18
6. Flamengo 11 15
7. America 11 11
8. Cabofriense 11 10
9. Portuguesa 11 10
10. Madureira 11 9
11. Olaria 11 8
12. Bangu 11 5

Bangu is relegated to 2nd division