Football United

Midfield player Carlos Gurpegi has signed a three-year contract extension at Athletic Club Bilbao to keep him at the club until June 2008.

Buy-out clause boost
The 23-year-old has been a first-team regular at the San Mames stadium for two seasons. He scored once in 30 appearances last campaign to help his side secure a place in next season's UEFA Cup competition. Athletic have also boosted the promising youngster's buy-out clause to €25m as part of the new deal.

Source: uefa.com

Paris Saint-Germain FC have signed two key players from Ligue 1 rivals, capturing midfield player Jérôme Rothen from AS Monaco FC on a four-year deal for €10m and defender Mario Yepes from FC Nantes Atlantique.

Impressive season
Rothen, who was under contract at the Stade Louis II until 2006, joins the Ligue 1 runners-up after impressing last season during Monaco's run to the UEFA Champions League final, resulting in his call up to Jacques Santini's France squad for UEFA EURO 2004™.

Expected move
Rothen had been expected to join PSG since the end of last season, but negotiations between the two clubs were only concluded on 24 June. Certainly the midfield player had made no secret of his desire to link up with coach Vahid Halilhodzic at PSG.

'Dream club'
"Because I'm from the Parisian suburbs, PSG have always been the club I dreamed to play for," said Rothen, adding: "Paris is not a springboard to go abroad for me. I want to clinch titles here and keep improving with coach Vahid Halilhodzic."

Caught the eye
The 26 year old left winger joined Monaco in January 2002 in a €4.5m deal from ES Troyes Aube Champagne where his pace and accurate crossing soon caught the eye after three seasons in the second division with Stade Malherbe Caen.

Tactically astute
Rothen has became a stronger and more tactically astute player under the tutelage of coach Didier Deschamps. And it was under Deschamps' watchful eye, that Rothen made his France debut in a 6-0 thrashing of Malta in March 2003.

Key departures
Rothen is the third first-team regular to leave Monaco since Deschamps' side reached the Champions League final. Since then, Dado Pršo has signed for Rangers FC and Fernando Morientes has returned to Real Madrid CF. Captain Ludovic Giuly will be the fourth if, as expected, he joins FC Barcelona in a €7m deal.

Yepes secured

PSG have also secured the signing of highly-rated Nantes defender Yepes for an undisclosed fee. The 28-year-old Colombian centre-half, who arrived in Ligue 1 in 2002, made 74 league appearances for Nantes over two-and-a-half seasons and has signed a four-year deal with the capital club.

Source: Uefa.com

Today is the first day "back at the office" for HSV's players not still on international duty in Portugal. The 2004/05 season begins today in earnest. The proceedings will begin with the players giving a blood sample which will determine their fitness level.

New signings: HSV's new signings Emile Mpenza and Daniel van Buyten will give their sample between 4.00 and 5.00 pm this afternoon. Benny Lauth will join the squad tomorrow, for HSV's public training session, which begins at 3.00 pm in the AOL Arena.

The "new" Hermann: Physiotherapist Uwe "Epi" Eplinius will officially take over the reigns from the cult- masseur.

New home: The Bundesliga squad will train at the new complex at the AOL Arena from the end of July.

New shirt: The new shirt for next season will be shown for the first time tomorrow. It contains the club colours of white black and blue, but for the first time no red.

Initial test: The initial test ahead of the new season will be against Freiburg (Unterelbe, kick off 5.00 pm.

Training camp: The HSV squad will set up a training camp from July 5th until July 11th in Glücksburg (Flensburger Förde).

Let´s now look to the HSV new faces:


Van Buyten


Emile Mpenza


Lauth


Sascha Kischstein


Miso Brecko

Source:HSV.de

River Plate won the Argentinian Clausura Tournament, after drwaung against Atletico Rafela 1-1 in the las match day. River finished 4 points ahead of Boca Juniors, that lost in the last match.

The Peruvian Jefferson Farfán has signed a four-year-deal with PSV in the Eindhoven Philips Stadium today. The19-year-old international, who can play in the position of second striker or on the right wing, is generally regarded one of the most talented young players of Peru.
Jefferson Agustín Farfán Guadalupe comes from the club Alianza Lima that won the national title in 2003. Farfán scored 13 goals in that campaign, which ran from January until December. Farfán scored the winning goal in extra time in the final league game, because of which Alianza were crowned champions. He was capped 15 times and he scored 5 goals for his country in official games. Both the press and his colleagues speak well of him. Pizarro, for example, striker of the German side Bayern Munich, predicts a great future for him.

After he had put pen to paper on his contract in the Eindhoven Philips Stadium, Farfán announced that he considers the Dutch league as a fine starting point for his career.
"Many South American young players, such as Romário and Ronaldo, have done the same thing. I think that PSV are a great club and the Dutch league suits me, as a young forward, very well. PSV are a top club and the organization in Eindhoven is excellent."

Farfán will report in Eindhoven again as soon as the Peruvian national team has no more interest in the Copa America tournament. The final of that prestigious tournament is scheduled on 25 July.

What should the PSV fans expect of the young forward, whose football name is Farfán? "A hard working player, a speedy and attractive forward”, is the answer of his agent.. "Jefferson will do anything to win the Dutch title with PSV."

By completing a deal with Farfán, PSV have been able to get the better of various foreign clubs.

Source: PSV.nl

Charlton Athletic FC have agreed an undisclosed fee with PSV Eindhoven for their Danish winger Dennis Rommedahl, the English Premiership club said on Thursday.

Charlton confirmation
PSV said on their website on Wednesday that they had come to agreement with the south London club, although Charlton declined to comment until Thursday. "He is a world-class player and one that has performed particularly well in the 2002 [FIFA]World Cup finals and in the current [UEFA] European Championship," Charlton chief executive Peter Varney told his club's website.

Personal terms
The 26-year-old Rommedahl is expected to discuss personal terms with Charlton after UEFA EURO 2004™. He came on as a substitute as Denmark progressed to the quarter-finals thanks to a 2-2 draw with Sweden on Tuesday.

Sourece: Uefa.com

Fenerbahçe SK have further strengthened their squad ahead of next season's UEFA Champions League campaign by signing Turkish international defender Deniz Baris from Gençlerbirligi SK.

Three-year contract
The 26-year-old has signed a three-year contract with the Istanbul side. He therefore follows in the footsteps of Serkan Balci, who also recently moved from the Ankara side to Fenerbahçe.

First cap
The Erzincan-born Baris joined Gençlerbirligi from German club FC St. Pauli in summer 2002. He won his first cap for Turkey in February 2003 in a friendly against Ukraine and has since gone on to establish himself in the squad.

Önder arrival
Baris is the second defender to join Fenerbahçe in the last few days, after the arrival of Önder Turaci from R. Standard de Liège on Saturday. Fenerbahçe begin next season's Champions League in the group stage.

Source: Uefa.com

SL Benfica have strengthened their squad ahead of next season's UEFA Champions League campaign by signing Brazilian duo Eduardo Alcides and Paulo Almeida, the club's chairman Luís Filipe Vieira confirmed today. "They're both Benfica players already," the chairman said.

Pelé praise
The 23-year-old Paulo Almeida is a defensive midfield player and joins from Santos FC in his homeland. According to Pelé, a former Santos man himself: "Paulo Almeida is a warrior on the field and a guy who doesn't like to lose, even in training matches. He is a player of the future." Paulo Almeida helped Santos win the Brazilian championship in 2002 and has won five senior international caps.

Alcides injury
Alcides, meanwhile, is a 19-year-old central defender, who helped Brazil win the FIFA World Youth Championship last year. He had a spell at FC Shalke 04 this season but was a free agent when Benfica moved for him. Alcides, who has been recovering from knee surgery, said: "I am anxious to play again."

Source: Uefa.com

Wolfsburg signed goalkeeper Andre Lenz from relegated 1860 München, on free-transfer. The 30 year old keeper signed a one year contract, and was brought to the club to replace Sead Ramovic, that left to Borussia Mönchengladbach. Last season Lenz played only for three occasions.

The 2004/05 European club season gets under way this weekend when 42 teams line up for the first round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

UEFA Cup chance
In total, 61 teams representing 44 of UEFA's 52 member associations will take part in the competition, all aiming to secure one of the three UEFA Cup berths that the competition carries. The 19 sides not participating in the opening round this Saturday and Sunday will enter the fray in either the second or third rounds.

Villarreal achievement
All will be hoping to emulate the achievement of Villarreal CF, one of last year's three Intertoto winners who subsequently went all the way to the UEFA Cup semi-finals where they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Valencia CF, domestic rivals and eventual winners.

On-form Cork
Eight of the 21 weekend matches will take place on Saturday, with the pick of the draw seemingly taking place in Sweden with the 1979 European Champion Clubs' Cup finalists, Malmö FF against Cork City FC. After a disappointing start to the current Irish Premier Division season, Cork are in form and are now unbeaten in ten games.

Spartak host minnows
Sunday will see the remaining 13 fixtures, including another Scandinavian-Irish encounter, this time Danish side Odense BK face Ballymena United FC from Northern Ireland. Elsewhere, Russia plays host to a real David and Goliath tie with the might of FC Spartak Moskva welcoming Lithuanian minnows, FK Atlantas.

A different Thun
Swiss team FC Thun are the only club that featured last year too. The Bernese team will be hoping that they have more success in this year's competition when they face FC Gloria 1922 Bistrita of Romania. Thun entered the competition in round two in 2003/04 but were immediately knocked out by Czech side 1.FC Brno.

Second stage
The second legs take place next weekend - 26 and 27 June - with the 21 aggregate victors joining eleven seeded teams. This includes sides from the Netherlands, Scotland, Croatia, Spain, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Germany, the Czech Republic, France and two from Belgium.

Tricky task
If one of the 42 clubs lining up this weekend does earn a UEFA Cup berth by winning one of the three finals held in August, it will be just reward for playing ten matches over five knock-out rounds in ten summer weeks.

Source: uefa.com

VfL Wolfsburg have secured the services of international striker Thomas Brdaric, who is currently with Germany's UEFA EURO 2004™ squad in Portugal.

Goals saved Hannover
The 29-year-old forward has signed a three-year deal that will keep him at Wolfsburg until the summer of 2007. He spent last season at Hannover 96 on loan from Bayer 04 Leverkusen, scoring 12 goals in 28 games to help keep the club in the Bundesliga.

'Tough decision'
"The decision was a tough one to make," Brdaric said. "My first priority was to find a club with good prospects with a view to the [FIFA] World Cup finals in 2006 to be played in Germany. That is the case with Wolfsburg."

Three caps
Brdaric has so far played a total of 130 Bundesliga matches, scoring 27 times, and has won three international caps for Germany.

Source: uefa.com

Boca Juniors and River Plate battled on Thursday evening at El Monumental de Núñez in their second leg of their semifinal tie. The first half didn't produce any goals, but it did pave the way for an intense second half. Luis "Lucho" Gonzalez was giving the Boca defense fits, got into some open space at the start of the second half. Fabian Vargas ran to prevent Lucho from entering the Boca penalty area and he dragged Lucho to the ground. For his efforts, Vargas was given his second yellow card and sent off. That was tonic that River needed. Four minutes later, Lucho made a similar run to the left side of the Boca box, but this time he launched a rocket that was only stopped by the net for a 1-0 lead.

River kept searching for the go ahead aggregate score, as the 70,000 fans of El Monumental were screaming to the top of their lungs and urging Los Millonarios. Unfortunate news took place for River, as in the 84th minute Rubens Sambueza was sent off for mouth off to the referee and Ricardo Rojas was injured. The man advantage that River enjoyed was gone, as Los Millonarios used their allotment of three substitutes and now were left with 9 men on the pitch. El Xeneize (Phoenix) went to work and four minutes later when Franco Cangele sent a cross into the River area and Carlos Tevez scored. Tevez acted very unprofessional in his celebration and was sent off for excessive celebrating again giving River a man advantage. River didn't have much time to work with and after 4 minutes of second half injury time Cristian Nasuti scored off a brilliantly taken set piece by River. River held on for the win in regulation.

With the aggregate score even at two goals apiece the tie went to a penalty shootout, because in the Libertadores the away goal rule does not apply. For both teams, each made their first 4 opportunities. Then on River's fifth chance, Roberto Abbondanzieri denied Maxi Lopez. Then Javier Villarreal showed Boca the way to the finals, by converting his effort from the spot. Now El Xeneize will face Once Caldas in the finals. The first match will be on June 23rd at La Bombonera. The final tie will be on July 1st in the Estadio Palogrande of Manizales, Colombia.

RIVER PLATE: Germán Lux; Horacio Ameli, Cristian Nasuti, Ricardo Rojas; Eduardo Coudet, Javier Mascherano, Claudio Husain, Luis González; Daniel Montenegro; Fernando Cavenaghi, Maximiliano López.

BOCA JUNIORS: Roberto Abbondanzieri; Luis Perea, Rolando Schiavi, Nicolás Burdisso, Clemente Rodríguez; Pablo Ledesma, Javier Villarreal, Fabián Vargas, Diego Cagna; Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Carlos Tevez.

GOAL: 1-0, Luis Gonzalez (49'); 1-1, Carlos Tevez (88'); 2-1, Cristian Nasuti (90')

Source: soccerage.com; cariverplate.com.ar

Turkish champions Fenerbahçe SK have won the race to sign R. Standard de Liège defender Önder Turaci after the 22-year-old player signed a four-year contract.

Red Devil rejection
The Istanbul outfit, who begin their European campaign in the UEFA Champions League group stage next season, have paid €2m for Önder's services. The Belgian-born player represented the Red Devils 12 times at Under-21 level but recently rejected the chance to play for them at senior international level.

Turkey choice
Instead, he preferred to take his place in the Turkey squad that travelled to Australia and the Korean Republic. However he did not play during the tour and is therefore still waiting for his first senior cap.

Source: Uefa.com, Fenerbahçe.org

PSV and sc Heerenveen have reached an agreement on a three-year deal of striker Gerald Sibon, subject to a medical examination.
The past two seasons Gerald Sibon played for the Dutch Eredivisie side sc Heerenveen; before his spell with the Frisian side was in the service of FC Twente, VVV-Venlo, Roda JC Ajax and the English club Sheffield Wednesday. Up till now Sibon has made 281 appearances in league games, in which he scored 106 goals. Last year he netted 15 goals for sc Heerenveen.

Source: PSV.nl

As of today, Football United will follow Wolfsburg, the most latin team of Germany.

Personal terms
The player is currently on holiday, but is due to meet Anderlecht officials on Friday to agree personal terms before finalising his move to the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium. The 27-year-old Mbo, the elder brother of the highly regarded Emile, has scored 39 goals in 102 games in two spells at Mouscron.

Playing record
He played the 1996/97 season there before moving on to R. Standard de Liège and then Sporting Clube de Portugal. After a short and unsuccessful spell with Galatasaray SK, he returned to Mouscron in January 2002. Mpenza missed just four games for the club this season as they finished fourth, 22 points adrift of the league's runaway champions Anderlecht.

Extra dimension
Anderlecht coach Hugo Broos is delighted to have reached an agreement over the Belgium international forward. "Mbo fits into the Anderlecht style perfectly. His pace will add an extra dimension to the team and hopefully he can combine well with Aruna [Dindane] and really make a difference to our game," Broos said. Belgian champions Anderlecht will enter the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round.

Source: Uefa.com

River Plate is one victory away from claiming the Torneo Clausura, after Los Milionarios beat Lanus 2-1 at home, and Boca Juniors was held in Costa Blanca, to Olimpo, 2-2.

RIVER PLATE:Germán Lux, Ariel Garcé, Cristian Nasuti, Cristian Tula, Franco Miranda, Patricio Toranzo, Oscar Ahumada, Rubens Sambueza, Marcelo Gallardo (Daniel Ludueña), Nelson Cuevas (Lima), José Sand (Maxi Lopez)

LANÚS:Claudio Flores, Juan José Serrizuela, Leandro Gioda, Gabriel Ramón, Rodolfo Graieb, Sebastián Salomón, Ezequiel Carboni, Agustín Pelletieri, Martín Andrizzi, Ignacio Risso (Rodrigo Diaz), Diego Manicero (Lagos)

GOALS: 1-0, Sand (25); 1-1, Andrizzi (51'); 2-1, Toranzo (72')

Boca Juniors and River Plate literally went toe to toe at the Estadio Alberto J. Armando (A.K.A. La Bombonera) on Thursday evening in the Semifinals of the Copa Libertadores. There wasn't much fan violence due to the fact that no River fans were allowed in La Bombonera, but the players on the field showed how much love they had for one another. That answer is none. Boca came out on top thanks to Rolando Schiavi connecting on a cross from Guillermo Barros Schelotto and his header found the near post and beat Los Millonarios keeper German Lux in minute 28. However the main incident took place a few minutes later. Raul Cascini seemed to be moving down field with the ball, when Marcelo Gallardo just moved up and clipped Cascini on the head. The two had been going after each other all match and the players had enough. Cascini went to confront Gallardo and Gallardo replied with a head butt to the face. Claudio Martin ejected the players, but the two team still got into a fist fight. Replays show that Gallardo punched Roberto Abbondanzieri. Abbondanzieri was soon bloodied. The teams had to be separated by the police.

Then right before the end of the first half, Ariel Garce committed a terrible tackle on Fabian Vargas. Vargas had the ball and made a move on Garce, but Garce came sliding into Vargas with his studs slamming into Vargas's leg. Martin showed red on that play as well, but it seemed that River only wanted blood instead of the win. Boca would have several chances to stretch their lead in the second half, but were not able to find the back of the River net. In the 78th minute Antonio Barijho did put the ball past Lux into the net, but linesman ruled that Barijho was offside. Then in the 87th minute, Barijho took a free kick from about 25 yard out. As Barijho delivered his kick, Eduardo "Chacho" Coudet ran up to stop the shot. El Chacho who was inside the River penalty area, leaped into the air and knocked the ball out of the air with his arms. Martin witness the event, but did not say a word about the incident and play moved on.

The second leg of the tie will take place next week in El Monumental de Núñez, but Boca fans will not be allowed in the match. River will be severely hurt with the lost of Gallardo and Garce, both starters as well as main producers for Los Millonarios. El Xeneize (Phoenix) will miss Cascini's leadership, but not his terrible temper. River still has an excellent chance of moving onto the finals, but needs to play ball and not get into a hockey match with Boca. However both teams hate each other's existence and that is why we call this meeting a SuperClasico.

BOCA JUNIORS:Roberto Abbondanzieri, José María Calvo, Rolando Schiavi, Nicolás Burdisso, Clemente Rodríguez, Javier Villarreal, Raúl Cascini, Fabián Vargas, Miguel Caneo (carlos Tevez), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Franco Cangele), Antonio Barijho

RIVER PLATE:Germán Lux, Ariel Garcé, Horacio Ameli, Eduardo Tuzzio, Ricardo Rojas, Javier Mascherano (Rubens Sambueza), Claudio Husain, Luis González (Juan Fernandez), Marcelo Gallardo, Fernando Cavenaghi (Eduardo Coudet), Maximiliano López

GOALS: 1-0, Schiavi (28')

SENT-OFF: Cascini (BJ). Gallardo (RP), Garcé (RP)

Other results

São Paulo (BRA) 0-0 Once Caldas (COL)

Source: soccerage.com, cariverplate.org

Botafogo has signed central defencer Scheidt, on loan, from Corinthians, until the end of the season. Sheidt is the third signing since Mauro Galvão has took control of Botafogo, has the team continues unable to achieve its first win in the championship

Meanwhile, striker Amoroso has stated that, although he has no interest in playing again in Brazil, he is very flattered by the interest shown by Botafogo in his signing. He remains without a club, after the end of his contract with Borussia Dortmund, and, along with Botafogo, S.L.Benfica has shown some interest in signing the player.

Botafogo continues without winning, and has drawed yet another match agains Paraná, after, once again, being in front.

PARANÁ: Flávio; Cláudio, Fernando Lombardi, Gelson Baresi e Edinho; Nilson, Goiano, Marcel (Adriano) e João Vítor (Da Silva); Fernando, Galvão.

BOTAFOGO: Jefferson; Ruy, João Carlos (Gilmar), Gustavo e Daniel; Fernando, Thiago Xavier, Carlos Alberto e Camacho (Valdo); Luizão, Schwenck (Almir).

GOALS: 0-1, Luizão (2'); 1-1, Fernando (10')

According to the latest information Laudrup is the favourite choise to substitute Camacho in Benfica. Fernandez had been linked to Benfica in the past week, but it seems that the nordic former star, and currently Brondby coatch, is the first choise to lead the eagles in the next season.

If so, Thomas Kahlenberg that is a powerful attacking midfield player from Brondby, might follow the coatch and become the so wished number 10 in Benfica. Last season he score eleven goals in 29 league games and he was a key player in the team despite only having 21 years old.

Turkish international goalkeeper Volkan Demirel has agreed a three-year contract extension with Fenerbahçe SK.

International debut
Volkan's current deal was set to expire this summer, but he has now agreed to stay at the side he joined from second division Kartalspor in 2002, replacing the FC Barcelona-bound Rüstü Reçber. The 22-year-old's form in helping Fenerbahçe to this season's league title earned Volkan an international debut in April against Belgium and he has been capped twice more since.

Ambitious
After winning the league last season, Demirel is looking forward to UEFA Champions League football with Fenerbahçe. He said: "I want to play for Fenerbahçe for a long time and help the club to their deserved place. Last year we gave a promise, and that was winning the title.

Kept promise
"We kept that promise. Now, we want some success in the Champions League and will do our utmost to make it real." Board member Ilhan Eksioglu said: "He is a player who will serve Fenerbahçe for many, many years."

Source: Uefa.com

The classy Belgian international defender Daniel van Buyten will be a HSV player from July 1st 2004! The final details regarding his move from Olympique Marseille were tied up on Saturday (12.6.04) by the HSV boss Hoffmann, sport director Beiersdorfer and the French club.


26 year old van Buyten , who has been on a loan spell at Kevin Keegan's Manchester City club, will sign a four year deal at HSV.

Number one choice

The player is delighted that the move has finally been arranged: "I really wanted to move to HSV. The talks I held with their club officials were very convincing. I believe things are happening at the club and I look forward to contributing to it all," said an obviously delighted van Buyten after the clubs had finally reached agreement.


Delight all round

"We have finally managed to find a first choice and worthy replacement for Nico Hoogma. With the signings of Mpenza, Lauth and now Van Buyten, we have considerably improved the quality of our squad," said the HSV boss Hoffmann. Klaus Toppmöller is over the moon: "Daniel was my absolute first choice player for central defence. I'm over the moon that he's joining HSV. If it was up to me, I'd start training tomorrow," enthused Toppi.

Paris Saint-Germain FC have completed the signing of FC Nantes Atlantique defender Sylvain Armand.

Third signing
24-year-old Armand, whose contract with Nantes runs out at the end of the month, signed a four-year contract with the Ligue 1 runners-up. He becomes the third new signing in the French capital, following the capture of Stéphane Pichot fron Lille OSC and Armand's former Nantes team-mate Jean-Hugues Ateba.

Highly rated
Paris becomes the highly rated defender's third professional club after he started his career at Clermont Foot Auvergne in 1999/00 after leaving the AS Saint-Etienne academy. He moved to Nantes in time for the next season and has since made 118 appearances, and missed just three league games this season as they finished sixth.

Crucial own-goal
He also made his best return of four goals, but also scored a crucial own goal too; against PSG in April. Ironically, that goal helped PSG to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season and Armand is delighted to have the chance of playing in Europe's premier club competition. "I am happy to have achieved my target of joining an ambitious side," he said.

Source: Uefa.com

After losing 1-0 with KR in Reykjavík on Wednesday, with a goal from former ÍA player Arnar Gunnlaugsson from the penalty spot just four minutes into the game, the Akranes side were knocked out of the cup. The winners of last year's cup were beaten yesterday afternoon by second division HK, with a last minute goal from Hordur Mar Magnusson.

ÍA are currently third in the Icelandic Premier League, 3 points behind leaders Fylkir.

The saying goes: "It ain't over until the fat lady dances". That lady could soon be dancing for HSV because reports are indicating that the French club Olympique Marseille, are prepared to reduce their original demand of around 7 million Euros for their classy Belgian defender Daniel van Buyten.

Good mates

The player who is a mate of Emile Mpenza from the Belgian national team, has recently stated that he would like to join HSV, now as usual the bartering over just how much he will cost is in full flow.

Price still too high

Marseille are reportedly now "only" demanding 5,5 million Euros for van Buyten. That figure is much closer to the 4 million offered by HSV to date, so the club is optimistic: "5,5 million is a very high price for a defender, I hope they will further reduce the price," says the player's agent Christophe Henrotay.

Source: HSV.de

Fenerbahce President Aziz Yýldýrým said a third keeper will join the squad and gave former keeper Reçber Rüstü as a possible signing.

"We`ve started working to create the team of the future. We need three keepers to play in the Champions League. We have Recep and Volkan but we`ll get a third keeper. I don`t know if this keeper will be Turkish or foreign. Rüstü is one of Turkey`s best keepers. It could also be him."

Source: Fenerbahce.org

Manager Herman Van Holsbeeck had a meeting with his colleague from Excelsior Mouscron, Mr. Roland Louf, to start the negotiations concerning the transfer of Mbo Mpenza. The discussions will be continued in order to realize the transfer of the player.

Source:rsca.be

Luis Fernandez and Espanyol have parted company and now the Portuguese media are reporting that he will likely sign on with Portuguese giants Benfica.

"I would have liked to continue at Espanyol, but that will not be possible so I must look to other options. I don't want to comment on Benfica just yet. I would like to go home first and then think about the future," the French manager said.

Fernandez has also managed Cannes, PSG and Athletic Bilbao.

Source: Soccerage

Italy charged to their fifth UEFA European Under-21 Championship in seven attempts with an emphatic defeat of nine-man Serbia and Montenegro in Bochum.

Vladimir Petrovic's side were forced to play with a one-man disadvantage for almost an hour after Nikola Mijailovic had been dismissed for his second bookable offence and Daniele De Rossi had thundered in a 31st-minute header. Serbia and Montenegro battled relentlessly but were eventually undone by two goals inside three second-half minutes from Cesare Bovo and Alberto Gilardino as Italy ran away with victory. Branislav Ivanovic then received a red card just before the end.

If Serbia and Montenegro had a sense of injustice at having been squeezed out of their Group A match against the Claudio Gentile's Italians eleven days ago, it only grew in the opening exchanges as a string of early decisions went in the Italians' favour. The most costly proved to be Mijailovic's eleventh-minute booking for a foul as Italy broke.

Petrovic's side, fuelled by the quick feet of attacking midfield player Miloš Maric, dominated the first half an hour and both Donadel and De Rossi were booked as the ill-disciplined Italians did their best to weather the storm - then broke at pace to score the opening goal.

One clever touch enabled Gilardino to create space in the Serbo-Montenegrin area and force a corner, which De Rossi rose to meet with an unstoppable 33rd-minute header. It got worse for Serbia and Montenegro two minutes later when Mijailovic's clattering challenge on Mesto by the touchline brought him his second yellow card of the evening.

From then until the interval Gentile's team dominated, Gilardino twice missing the target from close range either side of Giuseppe Sculli, who scored twice against Serbia and Montenegro in the group stage, flashing a half-chance across the face of goal.

Italy midfield player Angelo Palombo drove the ball wide when presented with the first chance of the second half but, despite only having ten men, it was Serbia and Montenegro who enjoyed the majority of chances, their tireless captain Danko Lazovic miscuing a free-kick and half-time substitute Simon Vukcevic curling a hopeful effort over from 20 metres.

Substitute Simone Del Nero thought he had doubled the lead when he stabbed in from an offside position ten minutes from time but the conclusive goals did not take long to arrive. First goalkeeper Nikola Milojevic inexplicably dropped a tame cross and allowed Bovo to tap in, then came the goal of the game.

Gilardino ran on to a 50-50 ball with the goalkeeper and clipped it past him before keeping his feet and rolling the ball over the line to cue ecstatic on-field celebrations from Gentile's men. Distraught and defeated, Ivanovic paid for Serbia and Montenegro frustrations with a late red card for a foul on Del Nero to end a disappointing night.

By Tim Dykes at the Ruhrstadion

Source: uefa.com.

A sparkling display from winger Danny saw Portugal edge a pulsating match against Sweden 3-2 to claim third place in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship and entry into this summer's Olympic Games men's football tournament.

Dramatic game
Swedish captain Johan Emander became the tournament's leading scorer as he registered on the stroke of half-time. Hugo Viana and Jorge Ribeiro turned the game in the second half, and although Markus Rosenberg came on to equalise in added time, Carlitos - set up by Danny - saw Portugal home near the end of the extra half-hour.

Banned players return
Sweden were without injured centre-back Martin Andersson while Boswinga's suspension for Portugal was cancelled out by the return of Raúl Meireles, Carlos Martins and strikers Lourenço and Hugo Almeida, who all missed their semi-final loss against Italy.

Danny dazzles
The match sprang into life in the third minute as Danny set off on a dazzling 40-metre run that ended with his goal-bound shot being blocked. Moments later Swedish goalkeeper Johan Wiland was then called into action to deny Martins and Lourenço.

Goalline clearance
Sweden defended deep and in numbers to withstand the early onslaught and nearly snatched the lead against the run of play on when Jon Jönsson's deflected shot was headed off the line by Miguel Garcia.

Sweden ahead
But Sweden only needed one more chance as Emander picked up on a slide-rule pass from Haralampos Stefanidis in the 45th minute to score his fourth goal of the finals. Portugal could still have nicked an equaliser before the break, but Lourenço twice missed golden opportunities.

Andersson unlucky
Johan Andersson nearly doubled Sweden’s lead six minutes after the restart, but he was unlucky to see his lob over goalkeeper Moreira bounce in front of goal and above the bar. Stefan Ishizaki then saw a free-kick saved.

Woodwork hit
Carlitos had Wilands beaten at the other end as his ferocious 30-metre shot on the hour mark clipped the top of the bar, and Elmander nearly doubled his tally by poking a shot wide as the tempo picked up.

Games turns
But with 14 minutes of normal time remaining Portugal drew level as Danny was tripped in the area by Sweden's hero Elmander and substitute Hugo Viana stepped up to convert. More good work by Danny gave Portugal the lead as he teed up Jorge Ribeiro, who sent an angled drive into the corner of the net.

Late equaliser
Sweden looked to be heading for defeat, but with seconds of normal time remaining, substitute Markus Rosenberg latched on to Per Nilsson’s knock-down and ensured an extra 30 minutes.

Carlitos winner
Mikael Antonsson went close for Sweden in the first period of extra-time, but saw his glancing header slide agonisingly wide. It was Danny again who was the difference between the two sides as his run set up Carlitos with the easiest of finishes. Portugal join U21 finalists Italy and Serbia and Montenegro and hosts Greece at the Olympics.

Source: Uefa.com

Turkish champions Fenerbahçe SK have extended the loan deals of Brazilian pair Fabio Luciano and Marcio Nobre following the capture of Brazilian international Alex de Souza from Cruzeiro EC this week. Both players have signed one-year loan extensions to their contracts.

Solid partnership
Centre-back Luciano, 29, started his loan spell from SC Corinthians Paulista at the beginning of the season and impressed with his displays after forming a solid partnership with Croatian international Stjepan Tomas at the heart of defence.

Fans' favourite
Nobre became a firm favourite with the fans after the 23-year-old striker scored 12 goals in 18 matches following his mid-season loan from Cruzeiro. Luciano also chipped in with four goals from set pieces as both players helped Fenerbahçe become champions.

Brazilian influence
Fenerbahçe coach Christoph Daum has steadily built up a strong Brazilian influence at the club with Luciano, Nobre and De Souza joining compatriot Marco Aurelio, who is contracted until 2006.

Source: Uefa.com

Lille OSC defender Stéphane Pichot has signed a three-year deal at Paris Saint-Germain FC.

Free transfer
The 27-year-old, who plays on the right side of defence, will join the Ligue 1 runners-up after his Lille contract expires in June. He will be reunited with former Lille coach Vahid Halilhodzic under whom he played eight games for the club in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League.

European campaign
The Champions League will be on the defender's mind as he joins his new club, as PSG's second-placed finish in France this season has earned them an automatic place in the group stages. He is not likely to be Halilhodzic's last signing of the summer as PSG aim to emulate AS Monaco FC and Olympique Lyonnais' successes in Europe this season.

Source: Uefa.com

As previously announced by FU Dutch international Philip Cocu has opted for a return to his homeland after signing a two-year contract with PSV Eindhoven.

Cocu is part of the Dutch squad at UEFA EURO 2004™ and has been capped 79 times by his country, scoring seven goals. The 33-year-old, whose previous clubs include AZ Alkmaar and SBV Vitesse, made more than 200 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 31 goals.

Source: Soccerage

Juan Sebastian Veron will wear black and blue in the 2004/05 season. The Argentine midfielder, born in La Palta on 9 March 1975, returns to Italy after three seasons in the English Premier League with Manchester United and Chelsea.

During five Italian seasons with Sampdoria, Parma and Lazio, Veron totalled 140 Serie A appearances and scored 18 goals. He scored 7 goals in 57 European cup competition matches and 3 goals in 17 Italian Cup games.

There's no lack of silverware in Veron's personal trophy cabinet. With Lazio he won a Scudetto, an Italian Super Cup, a European Super Cup and a Coppa Italia, while with Parma he won a Uefa Cup and a Coppa Italia.

Veron started out at Estudiantes then had a spell with Boca Juniors before making the move to Europe. He has scored 11 goals in 54 appearances for Argentina.

source: inter.it.

The biggest win of Sven-Göran Eriksson's 38 games in charge of England sent his side into UEFA EURO 2004 on a high.

Two goals each from Wayne Rooney and Darius Vassell, plus further strikes by Frank Lampard and Wayne Bridge ensured England won the triangular FA Summer Tournament in Manchester ahead of Japan on goal difference. But more importantly it helped them find their groove after Tuesday's stuttering draw with the Asian champions here - with their Portugal opener against holders France only eight days away.

Eriksson's starting lineup saw just two changes from Tuesday's selection, with Jamie Carragher at centre-back allowing John Terry to rest his hamstring and Paul Robinson replacing first-choice David James in goal. The midfield was unchanged but formed as a flat four instead of a diamond.

Scholes came close to ending his three years without an England goal on four minutes, but missed the target. However, Lampard opened the scoring on 24 minutes with a deflected long-range shot.

Within two minutes Rooney turned the ball in after being set up by Gary Neville and the 18-year-old Everton FC striker claimed his fifth England goal from long range on 38 minutes. Heidar Helguson pulled a goal back three minutes later, and although Eriksson replaced every player other than Robinson and Carragher at the break, England's dominance continued.

Vassell's first arrived within eleven minutes as he deflected in Owen Hargreaves' effort. On 67 minutes left-back Bridge opened his international account in his 17th appearance with a confident finish.

The win was sealed by Vassell when he combined with Emile Heskey and curled the ball in. England will not expect such a comfortable day against France in Lisbon, but scoring six goals for the first time since 1999 against Luxembourg will boost their confidence.

source: UEFA Euro 2004.

Finally the deal is over. FU had announced the Fenerbahce interest in the Brasilian since december. The long awaited Alex da Silva transfer has gone through as the Brazilian star has signed a three-year deal with Fenerbahçe in Brazil today.
Vice-president Hakan Bilal Kutlualp concluded the deal with the midfielder in Brazil, a day after he featured in Brazil`s 3-1 win over Argentina.

Alex`s arrival date in Istanbul will be decided next week.

About Alex da Silva
Date of birth: 14/9/1977
Place of birth Curitiba/PR
Nationality: Brazil
Position: Midfielder
Previous clubs: Cruzeiro, Parma, Flamengo, Palmeiras, CuCoritiba

Source: Fenerbahçe.org

Monaco winger Jerome Rothen says he wants a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

"I am interested in PSG and I hope I will be settled on my future team as soon as possible," he said.

"I want to play Champions League again. I have just had two big seasons at Monaco and now I would like to change.

"The Monaco president told me that I can leave the club. I heard the transfer fee would be roughly 10 or 12 million euros (£7-8.5m). If it is correct, it is logical.

"Monaco can realise this would be a good transfer for them.

"Playing at PSG is my ambition. There is no reason I can not play in Paris, Vahid Halilhodzic is a great coach and the challenge is exciting.

"Times have changed and I would like to know new sensations."

Source: Soccerage

PSV have completed a three-year-deal with the Australian goalkeeper Nathan Coe. Now that Coe, born in Brisbane on 1 June 1984 has strengthened the squad, one of the wishes of PSV coach Guus Hiddink (to add a young goalkeeper to the squad) has come true.

Coe played in Austrialia for the Brisbane Strikers and last season he had closed a deal with Inter Milan. He has also been called up for the Australian teams under 17 and under 20. During the mid-winter break he joined the PSV first team squad for a training camp in Turkey and he played half a game on two occasions.

Source: PSV.nl

As previous announced in FU the injured German international Benjamin Lauth has signed for Hamburger SV from relegated TSV 1860 München. The Hamburg team had to pay 4,5 Mio Eur to close the deal.

Four-year contract
The striker agreed a four-year contract with Hamburg on Thursday and will partner newly-signed Belgian international Emile Mpenza up front in the upcoming season. "We are happy to have signed one of the brightest young strikers in German football," said Hamburg sporting director Dietmar Beiersdorfer.

Lauth 'happy'
Lauth, who was set to play both in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship and at UEFA EURO 2004™ before breaking his foot, said: "I am happy that we have reached an agreement. Hamburg are a big club in the Bundesliga and I am looking forward to the challenge."

Lauth will join Emile Mpenza in the HSV attack next season and is now expected that Romeu leaves to Spain.

Lauth CV

Birthday: 04. August 1981
Games in the Bundesliga/Goals: 61/22
Games in the national team/Goals: 5/0 (A-Eteam), 8/2 (U21), 2/0 (U20), 2/2 (U17), 11/2 (U18)
Past Teams: TSV München 1860, SF Fischbachau

Source: uefa.com, hsv.de

According to the latest information the former coach of Bayer Munchen might be heading to Lisbon to take over SL Benfica.

Goalkeepers
Oliver Kahn (FC Bayern München)
Jens Lehmann (Arsenal FC)
Timo Hildebrand (VfB Stuttgart)

Defenders
Frank Baumann (SV Werder Bremen)
Arne Friedrich (Hertha BSC Berlin)
Andreas Hinkel (VfB Stuttgart)
Philipp Lahm (VfB Stuttgart)
Jens Nowotny (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Christian Rahn (Hamburger SV)
Christian Wörns (BV Borussia Dortmund)

Midfielders
Michael Ballack (FC Bayern München)
Fabian Ernst (SV Werder Bremen)
Torsten Frings (BV Borussia Dortmund)
Dietmar Hamann (Liverpool FC)
Jens Jeremies (FC Bayern München)
Sebastian Kehl (BV Borussia Dortmund)
Bernd Schneider (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern München)

Forwards
Fredi Bobic (Hertha BSC Berlin)
Thomas Brdaric (Hannover 96)
Miroslav Klose (1. FC Kaiserslautern)
Kevin Kuranyi (VfB Stuttgart)
Lukas Podolski (1. FC Köln)

Goalkeepers
Jaromír Blazek (AC Sparta Praha)
Petr Cech (Stade Rennais FC)
Antonín Kinský (FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast)

Defenders
René Bolf (FC Baník Ostrava)
Zdenek Grygera (AFC Ajax)
Tomáš Hübschmann (AC Sparta Praha)
Marek Jankulovski (Udinese Calcio)
Martin Jiránek (Reggina Calcio)
Pavel Mareš (FC Zenit St. Peterburg)
David Rozehnal (Club Brugge KV)
Tomáš Ujfaluši (Hamburger SV)

Midfield players
Tomáš Galásek (AFC Ajax)
Pavel Nedved (Juventus FC)
Jaroslav Plašil (AS Monaco FC)
Karel Poborský (AC Sparta Praha)
Tomáš Rosický (BV Borussia Dortmund)
Vladimír Šmicer (Liverpool FC)
Roman Týce (TSV 1860 München)
Štepán Vachoušek (Olympique de Marseille)

Forwards
Milan Baroš (Liverpool FC)
Marek Heinz (FC Baník Ostrava)
Jan Koller (BV Borussia Dortmund)
Vratislav Lokvenc (1. FC Kaiserslautern)

Goalkeepers
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF)
Santiago Cañizares (Valencia CF)
Daniel Aranzubia (Athletic Club Bilbao)

Defenders
Carlos Marchena (Valencia CF)
Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona)
Raúl Bravo (Real Madrid CF)
César Martín (RC Deportivo La Coruña)
Iván Helguera (Real Madrid CF)
Joan Capdevila (RC Deportivo La Coruña)
Juanito Gutiérrez (Real Betis Balompié)
Gabri García (FC Barcelona)

Midfielders
David Albelda (Valencia CF)
Rubén Baraja (Valencia CF)
Vicente Rodríguez (Valencia CF)
Joaquín Sánchez (Real Betis Balompié)
Juan Carlos Valerón (RC Deportivo La Coruña)
Xabi Alonso (Real Sociedad de Fútbol)
Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona)
Joseba Etxeberria (Athletic Club Bilbao)

Strikers
Fernando Morientes (AS Monaco FC)
Raúl González (Real Madrid CF)
Fernando Torres (Club Atlético de Madrid)
Albert Luque (RC Deportivo La Coruña)

Goalkeepers
Viacheslav Malafeev (FC Zenit St. Peterburg)
Sergei Ovchinnikov (FC Lokomotiv Moskva)
Igor Akinfeev (PFC CSKA Moskva)

Defenders
Vadim Evseev (FC Lokomotiv Moskva)
Dmitri Sennikov (FC Lokomotiv Moskva)
Aleksei Bugayev (FC Torpedo Moskva)
Roman Sharonov (FC Rubin Kazan)
Aleksandr Anyukov (FC Krylya Sovetov Samara)

Midfielders
Aleksei Smertin (Portsmouth FC)
Vladislav Radimov (FC Zenit St. Peterburg)
Marat Izmailov (FC Lokomotiv Moskva)
Andrei Kariaka (FC Krylya Sovetov Samara)
Rolan Gusev (PFC CSKA Moskva)
Vladimir Bystrov (FC Zenit St. Peterburg)
Evgeni Aldonin (PFC CSKA Moskva)
Aleksandr Mostovoi (RC Celta de Vigo)
Dmitri Alenichev (FC Porto)
Dmitri Loskov (FC Lokomotiv Moskva)
Igor Semshov (FC Torpedo Moskva)

Forwards
Dmitri Bulykin (FC Dinamo Moskva)
Dmitri Sychev (FC Lokomotiv Moskva)
Aleksandr Kerzhakov (FC Zenit St. Peterburg)
Dmitri Kirichenko (PFC CSKA Moskva)