Tottenham trying to bring Beckham back to England

LONDON (AP) - David Beckham could be on his way back to England's Premier League - for a little while.

Tottenham, where Beckham trained as a schoolboy before signing for Manchester United, wants to sign the former England captain on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy until the Major League Soccer season starts in March.

Beckham has said he would like to return to the Premier League after more than seven years away and Spurs manager Harry Redknapp thinks the 35-year-old midfielder's experience could be invaluable for a team challenging for a second straight top-four finish and doing well in its Champions League season.

"He just said that he would like to come and play here at Tottenham," Redknapp said after Tottenham beat Fulham 1-0 on Saturday to stay fifth in the Premier League.

"I've left it to the people at the club. I've passed it on to them. They're talking to whoever they have to talk to at his club." Beckham spent the past two northern hemisphere winters in Italy on loan at AC Milan, while his Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan did the same last year at English club Everton. Beckham wants to join a European club on a short-term loan to boost his chances of being recalled to the England team. He made the last of his 115 international appearances against Belarus in October 2009 and missed last year's World Cup because of an Achilles injury at Milan.

Beckham previously said the only Premier League team he would consider playing for was Manchester United, which he left in 2003 to join Real Madrid. But the north London club hopes to exploit Beckham's connection to the capital, where the player was born and raised.

With a Champions League knockout round meeting with Milan to look forward to in February, Tottenham would appear well-placed to offer Beckham the sort of profile he is used to.

"He'd be a good influence to have, the type of lad you want at your club, and he'd give the whole place a lift," Redknapp said. "He's been a fantastic player and he is someone the players would look up to and respect.

"It's not as if he's suddenly lost blistering pace. He makes the ball do it and plays around people."

Midfielder David Bentley wants to leave Tottenham in January because he has failed to oust winger Aaron Lennon from the team, which would free a spot for Beckham in Spurs' Premier League squad.

Beckham's lack of pace and the presence of attacking midfielders Rafael van der Vaart, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale means he is unlikely to replace Lennon in the starting lineup of what has become recognized as a swift, free-flowing Tottenham side.

But he could replicate his recent role with England as a steadying influence late in games, with his accurate delivery from corners and free kicks still unmatched in world football.

"He can still do a job, otherwise I wouldn't bother," Redknapp said. "I'm not in a position where I need to go get somebody to sell tickets. The ground's full every week. "If he came, he could make a big impact."

  

Wayne Rooney may miss 2 weeks with ankle injury

WEST BROMWICH, England (AP) - Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney could be out of action for two weeks after injuring his left ankle in Saturday's 2-1 Premier League win at West Bromwich Albion.

Rooney scored in the third minute for his first goal from open play since March but hobbled off late in the match after he was hurt in a tackle by Chris Brunt.

Rooney limped back onto the field for the final few minutes because United had used all its substitutes.

United manager Alex Ferguson says "it looks as though he is out for a couple of weeks."

Ferguson added that the England striker had been "absolutely magnificent and drove us the whole way."

United leads the Premier League and hosts Stoke on Tuesday.

  

Stoke beats Everton 2-0 in Premier League

STOKE, England (AP) - A header from Kenwyne Jones and a fluke own goal gave Stoke a 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday to end a two-game losing streak at home.

Jones scored his sixth goal of the season with a perfectly placed header from inside the penalty area in the 23rd minute. The unlucky Phil Jagielka then scored his second own goal in his last two appearances when the ball bounced off his leg in the area and past goalkeeper Tim Howard in the 69th.

It was Everton's third own goal in three games.

Everton dominated for large spells of the game but struggled to create chances.

Australia midfielder Tim Cahill wasted the best opportunity by heading wide, in his last game for the club before departing to play in the Asian Cup.

  

Arsenal rampant against Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) - Arsenal stayed on the tail of the Manchester teams at the top of the English Premier League by powering past Birmingham 3-0 on Saturday.

Scores by Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri plus an own goal from Roger Johnson kept Arsenal in third place in the standings, two points behind Manchester United and City.

Birmingham, which fell back in the relegation zone before kickoff, couldn't reproduce its sterling effort in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United in midweek.

  

Hosts Qatar out to prove they are worthy to play in the World Cup

DOHA: Hosting the Asian Cup for the second time in their history, Qatar will find themselves under greater scrutiny than ever before after their shock victory in the race to hold the 2022 World Cup.

While the tournament provides the country with a chance to prove its capacity to organise the sport’s showpiece event, the national team will look to demonstrate that they are worthy of a World Cup-hosting nation.

Critics of the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar pointed to an allegedly feeble football tradition in the country, and their record on the international stage is far from impressive.

They have never qualified for the World Cup and their previous best showing in the Asian Cup was a quarter-final exit at the hands of China in 2000.

In their six other appearances at the Asian football summit – including one as hosts in 1988 – they have failed to progress beyond the group phase.

Qatar’s most recent tune-up game saw them held to a 0-0 draw by Iran, but French coach Bruno Metsu said he was not disheartened by the performance.

“I’m not concerned about wasting opportunities,” he said.

“Being able to create opportunities against a team like Iran is something we should be proud of.

“It was not a problem with the forwards but we also have to look at the strong performance of the Iranian goalkeeper.”

Qatar raise the curtain on the Asian Cup against Uzbekistan on Jan 7 and Metsu will hope that fortune shines more favourably on his charges than it has in recent months.

The ‘Annabi’ (Maroon) competed in both the Gulf Cup of Nations and the Asian Games football tournament towards the end of 2010, and crashed out of both tournaments in agonising fashion.

At the Gulf Cup in Yemen, Qatar went into their final group game against Saudi Arabia needing victory to reach the knockout phase.

Qatar appeared to be on the brink of the last four after Ibrahim Al-Ghanim gave them the lead with six minutes to play, but an 89th-minute own goal by Hamed Shami Zaher allowed the Saudis to snatch a 1-1 draw that took them through at Qatar’s expense.

As defending champions, Qatar’s Under-23 side topped their Asian Games group ahead of Kuwait, India and Singapore, but misfortune befell them in the last 16.

A 1-0 loss to Uzbekistan saw Qatar eliminated, but a shocking extra-time miss by 18-year-old striker Fahad Khalfan – who toed the ball against the post from a yard out – meant their exit was accompanied by an unwanted dose of worldwide humiliation.

With the eyes of a dubious footballing world on Qatar, the Asian Cup presents a perfect opportunity for Metsu to engineer another ground-breaking upset. 

  

Uzbeks pursue upward curve

DOHA: Uzbekistan may not have made their Asian Cup debut until 1996, but they have improved with each participation and will be aiming for a last-four place at the 2011 tournament.

Eliminated in the group phase on their competition debut 15 years ago, the Central Asian heavyweights suffered the same fate four years later but have since reached the quarter-finals at successive tournaments.

Their showing at the 2007 event in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam proved their emerging pedigree, as they ousted China in the group phase before falling to eventual finalists Saudi Arabia in the last eight.

Uzbekistan coach Vadim Abramov ran training camps in Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates in preparation for the Qatar competition and says his players have quickly established an understanding.

“The language of football is one and, to understand each other, the players do not need to have that much time,” he told the Asian Football Confederation’s official website.

“Let’s just say that those players who are joining the team for the camp (in the UAE) are considered to have more talent, but how they perform within the team depends entirely on them.”

Uzbekistan won the Asian Games football tournament on their debut appearance in 1994 and their Under-23 side reached the last eight at the most recent event in China in November.

Having squeezed into the knockout phase by finishing third in their group – behind the UAE and Hong Kong – they edged Qatar 1-0 in the last 16 before falling 3-1 to South Korea after extra time in the quarter-finals.

Abramov’s side will cross swords with Qatar again when they tackle the hosts in the tournament’s opening game at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium on Jan 7.

China and recently crowned Gulf Cup of Nations champions Kuwait complete the Group A line-up.

  

Kuwait dream big again under maverick coach

DOHA: Kuwait may be the bottom seeds in Group A, but few teams will enter the Asian Cup with as much recent experience of lifting silverware as Goran Tufegdzic’s (pic) rejuvenated outfit.

’Al Azraq’ (The Blues), who begin their campaign against China on Jan 8, will be bidding to start the year in positive fashion after ending a long, 12-year wait for silverware in 2010.

In October they won the West Asian Football Federation Championship on their maiden appearance, defeating defending champions Iran 2-1 in the final in Jordan.

They took their momentum into the Gulf Cup of Nations in Yemen at the end of the year and emerged with their 10th trophy in the event’s history – and first since 1998 – after Walid Ali Jumah’s extra-time long-ranger earned a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in the final.

Key to the upturn in the country’s fortunes has been inspirational Serbian coach Tufegdzic.

The 39-year-old was promoted from his role as assistant coach in February 2009 and within 20 months he had ended a trophy drought stretching back to Kuwait’s previous Gulf Cup success under Czech coach Milan Macala in 1998.

Tufegdzic’s renovation of the squad yielded rich dividends, with striker Bader Al-Mutawa finishing as top scorer, captain Nawaf Al-Khalidi crowned best goalkeeper and winger Fahad Al-Enezi voted player of the tournament.

“I feel this is a second phase of Kuwaits golden era in football,” said Tufegdzic. “Our next target is the Asian Cup.”

After tackling China, Kuwait meet Uzbekistan on Jan 12 before a potentially decisive game with hosts Qatar on Jan 16.

They will take heart from their most recent encounter with Qatar, which saw Kuwait prevail through a Yousef Nasser goal in the Gulf Cup group phase in November.

It is 31 years since Kuwait’s one and only triumph in the Asian Cup and 29 years since their only appearance to date at a World Cup – a group-stage exit in Spain in 1982.

The brilliance of their maverick coach, however, means that the country’s football fans are dreaming big once again. 

   

Youthful China look to the future in Doha

China coach Gao Hongbo

DOHA: China’s squad for the Asian Cup is the youngest in the team’s history, but after a number of breakthroughs in 2010 there is a renewed air of optimism around the continent’s perennial under-achievers.

Last year marked a series of firsts for Gao Hongbo’s side.

Their 3-0 defeat of South Korea at the East Asian Football Championship in February was their first victory over their rivals in 28 attempts, and set China on the path to their second triumph in the regional event.

They missed out on a place at the World Cup in South Africa, but a shock 1-0 win over France on the island of Reunion in June was the most sensational result of the pre-tournament friendly matches.

China’s Under-23 side fell to South Korea in the last 16 at the Asian Games in November, but they ended the year strongly and Deng Zhuoxiang’s stoppage-time penalty in the 1-0 defeat of Macedonia on Dec 23 brought China a fourth victory from five Asian Cup warm-up games.

“They have prepared well and they have a good balance between youth and experience,” said well-travelled former China coach Bora Milutinovic.

“When I watch this team and I see the names of Du Wei and Qu Bo, for me it’s a special sensation because they started to play with me 10 years ago when I was China coach and it’s very exciting.”

The average age of the squad for the Asian Cup is just 24, as China embark on a long-term plan with qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as their objective.

“The ultimate goal for this young senior team is to make the 2014 World Cup,” Cao Jingwei, a Chinese Football Association official, told the China Daily last month. “The Asian Cup is just a test.”

Hongbo took over as coach in May 2009 and has overseen a steady rise up the FIFA world rankings from 108 to a current position of 87.

  

Defender Makino joins Cologne

BERLIN: Japan defender Tomoaki Makino has joined Bundesliga strugglers Cologne from J-League side Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

“I’ve been observing the player for a long time and I’m convinced of his qualities,” Cologne sporting director Volker Finke told the club’s website (www.fc-koeln.de) on Friday.

The 23-year-old Makino has been included in Japan’s squad for next month’s Asian Cup in Qatar and will join up with his Cologne team-mates at the end of the tournament.

He was included in the J-League’s team of the season but was left out of Japan’s squad for this year’s World Cup.

Makino joins fellow countrymen Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg) and Kisho Yano (Freiburg) in the Bundesliga.

  

Barca looking for more Messis in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES: How to clone Lionel Messi? Set up a Barcelona football school in Argentina.

This was the thinking behind the Catalan club when they decided to look for more Argentine talent to nurture in their rich, world famous youth scheme.

Barcelona Junior Lujan was set up in 2007 as a subsidiary of the Spanish giants in a Buenos Aires suburb, recruiting and preparing boys to fulfil their dream of reaching clubs in the Argentine Division One.

Director Jorge Raffo said in an interview about the care and education of boys between the ages of nine and 12 and the possibility that one of them might become a top performer like Messi or Diego Maradona, Mario Kempes and Enrique Omar Sivori before him.

“The junior project respects the essence of the Argentine footballer through his quality, individuality, intellectual development and teamwork to return to the source and find those great players of our history like Maradona, Messi, Kempes or Sivori,” Raffo said.

“When we work with nine, 10 and 11-year-olds we don’t know if a kid is going to be a footballer, but we do know he’s going to be a person.

“So we’re particularly aware, specifically in this place, that the kids must be supported, accompanied, educated and not pressured.”

General manager Daniel Vitali, Barcelona’s legal representative in Argentina, said one of their main concerns was handling the uprooting of the boys.

“Messi’s was a case in point. He left when he was 12, it was very painful for him and his family, the uprooting process,” Vitali said.

“One of our objectives is to avoid kids leaving Argentina when they are very young, so we aim for them to develop in their own place, with their people, their family, in their country.”

The boys in the project, aged nine to 16, who arrive from all corners of Argentina through scouts and talent spotters, are required to study at Don Bosco School, one of the leading schools in Buenos Aires province.

The school has about 45 boarders and another 150 boys who live at home and train there every day.

“The 45 kids are the ones that go to Don Bosco school, they live here with us, they return to their homes five times a year and their parents also come here to visit them three or four times a year,” Vitali said. 

  

Kaka boost for Real

MADRID: Real Madrid are set to boost their team for the new year with a former World Player of the Year without spending a penny when they return from La Liga’s winter break for a local derby at Getafe tomorrow.

Brazil playmaker Kaka has been out for five months since having surgery on his left knee but he has returned to training and delighted Real fans with some exquisite touches in a practice match open to the general public on Thursday.

“He’s been out a long time but he’s already showing that he is a Ballon d’Or winner. I’m sure he’s going to bring us many days of glory,” team-mate Pedro Leon told reporters.

Kaka has struggled to live up to his 65mil (US$86.91mil) price tag since switching from AC Milan in 2009 and a string of injuries, combined with doubts among fans over his commitment, means he still has much to prove in Spain.

The 28-year-old’s return tomorrow, or perhaps in the King’s Cup on Thursday, gives coach Jose Mourinho options going forward with striker Gonzalo Higuain still injured.

Mourinho also has to shuffle his defence with first-choice centre backs Ricardo Carvalho and Pepe suspended. Sergio Ramos and Raul Albiol are likely to deputise.

Both Real and Getafe have won their last five games in all competitions, but the seventh-placed hosts have a knack of upsetting their neighbours at the Coliseum. They have lost only twice to Real there in the last six seasons.

Second-placed Real Madrid trail leaders Barcelona by two points, and they could start their match five adrift with the in-form champions hosting promoted Levante tomorrow. Barca are unbeaten in 23 outings in all competitions.

Pep Guardiola also has to make changes in defence with Carles Puyol injured and Gerard Pique suspended, while top scorer Lionel Messi has permission not to return from holiday until today and will probably be rested.

New signing, Dutch midfielder Ibrahim Afellay, could make his debut.

Third-placed Villarreal are forced to continue the defence of their unbeaten home record without two of their leading figures, Nilmar and Marcos Senna, when Almeria visit tomorrow.

Brazil striker Nilmar, their top scorer with 10 goals, is to have a surgery on a knee problem while Spain midfielder Senna has damaged a hamstring, and both will be out until February.

Fourth-placed Valencia and fifth-placed Espanyol meet at Mestalla today separated only by goal difference, in the battle to hold the last remaining Champions League qualification berth moving into January. 

  

Ex-Argentina captain Ayala retires

BUENOS AIRES: Former Argentina captain Roberto Ayala, his country’s second most-capped player, has told his club that he is retiring, according to Argentine media reports.

The reports said the former Napoli, AC Milan, Valencia and Real Zaragoza player had informed Racing Club of his decision on Thursday, although Ayala has not made any public comment himself.

Ayala, 37, won 115 caps for Argentina, second only to Javier Zanetti, but bowed out in unhappy style when he scored an own goal in a 3-0 defeat by arch-rivals Brazil in the 2007 Copa America final, his last international.

Ayala played at the 1998 and 2006 World Cups, though he missed the 2002 tournament after injuring himself during the warm-up for Argentina’s first match against Nigeria.

He was in the Argentina side who won gold at the 2004 Olympics after being included in the Under-23 tournament as one of his team’s three permitted overage players.

Ayala also helped Valencia reach the Champions League final in 2001 and win two La Liga and one UEFA Cup title during a spell when he was considered one of the world’s top defenders.

He returned to Argentina to play for Racing Club, one of the country’s most popular sides, at the start of this year but failed to hold down a regular place.

  

Bielsa calls up reserve team for US match

SANTIAGO: Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa has called up a team of young players and substitutes for an international friendly on Jan 22 against the United States in Los Angeles.

Bielsa’s future with the Chile team is unclear. He stepped down in November after Jorge Segovia was elected president of the national federation, saying he could not work for the Spanish businessman.

Bielsa was hired by the outgoing president Harold Mayne-Nicholls. Segovia’s election was annulled several weeks afterwards with a new ballot set for Jan 7.

The Argentina-born Bielsa has been urged to stay on by top Chilean officials, at least until the Copa America in six months, but he has not made his plans clear. 

  

No shopping spree for Devils in January, says Ferguson

LONDON: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has ruled out a spending spree in the January sales.

United are in pole position to regain the Premier League title as they go into 2011 on top of the table, but Ferguson doesn’t plan to bolster his squad with new signings during the one-month transfer window.

Title rivals Manchester City look set to buy Wolfsburg forward Edin Dzeko, while Chelsea are in the market for a new defender and title contenders Arsenal could move for a goalkeeper.

Ferguson, who has already completed the capture of Denmark keeper Anders Lindegaard from Aalesund, is confident his squad is strong enough to last the pace in the title race.

“I don’t think so,” he told Manchester radio station Key103 when asked if he would make signings.

“There is always this situation that if a certain player came up that we like, we would do something, but that doesn’t really happen in January.

“In any case, a lot of the players relish the fact we are keeping ahead of the game by bringing in players who can challenge and be a first-team squad player.

“We are all in it together and we all want to win together. Having a stronger squad helps.”

Meanwhile, Ferguson’s squad will be improved soon as veteran midfielder Paul Scholes will return to training next week after five weeks out of action.

Scholes, 35, has been sidelined by a groin injury since United’s Champions League win at Rangers on Nov 24.

He has already missed six fixtures, but Ferguson hopes the rest will have allowed the former England international’s injury to heal completely.

“Scholes had a little recurrence of the groin injury,” said Ferguson.

“We just told him to have a complete break, which is what he has done.

“Hopefully that break will get rid of the injury problem through rest and we will have him back training sometime next week.”