NEILL DETERMINED TO LEAVE BLACKBURN
Defender Lucas Neill is adamant that this is his final season at Blackburn. The 28-year-old Australian, who caught the eye at the World Cup, wants a move to a bigger club in 2007 having missed out on a summer transfer to Liverpool. Neill said: "That deal was not in Blackburn's best interests, therefore I didn't have a say and didn't move on. But now I'm hopefully in just as good a position when opportunities present themselves in January, or if not then, I'll get a free transfer in June."
BELLAMY PRAISES MANAGER'S "NERVE"
Craig Bellamy has praised John Toshack for having the courage to make him captain of Wales. The Liverpool forward will step in for the injured Ryan Giggs tomorrow when Wales play Slovakia in Cardiff in a European Championship qualifier at the Millennium Stadium, despite having a date at court to answer an assault charge next week.
“I was a little bit surprised but I cannot deny it is something I have always wanted, I am extremely excited about it,” said Bellamy. “The decision gets a lot of respect from me to John Toshack, I knew of all the attention it would create and it took a lot of nerve. There’s an extra appreciation on my behalf for what he has done. There was always going to be a lot of media attention with it. I expected this reaction, the negativity. It is not something I am unfamiliar with but one or two good things have been said.”
AD PULLED BY BARCELONA COURT
A Barcelona court has ordered the provisional withdrawal of a television advertisement in support of separate Catalan sports teams because of its use of children. The controversial advert, which is paid for by the Platform for Catalan Sports Teams, shows a boy wearing the red shirt of Spain refusing to allow another, who has donned the national colours of Catalonia, to join in a game of football. The advert ends with the excluded child taking off his shirt and the words "a nation" superimposed on his chest and "a national team" above the fluttering shirt.
The court ruled that the advertising campaign could encourage discrimination between young people and that "it is necessary to be careful and sensitive in relation to such messages." Catalan nationalists have demanded separate representation for the region in international sports competitions but Spain has resisted such calls.
Catalonia does have its own soccer team which usually plays at least one friendly against a national side each year but it does not have separate representation in international competition. Catalonia will play a team representing the Basque region at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium on Sunday. Spanish daily El Pais reported that nationalist groups had asked fans to protest at the withdrawal of the advert by taking off their shirts when the players walk on to the pitch.
SPAIN SQUAD IN DISARRAY
Valencia winger Joaquin, dropped from the Spain squad for Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier against Sweden, has said the national team is in a state of disarray and that coach Luis Aragones has no idea how to deal with it.
"Right now the national team is a joke, it's in chaos and not even Luis knows which way to turn," the 25-year-old winger told Punto Radio on Thursday night. I know what I'm saying won't help me get back into the squad but it's what I feel. All that is left to me is to work hard to try and regain the confidence of the coach."
The build-up to the Sweden game has been overshadowed by a national debate over Aragones's decision to drop captain Raul for the first time in 10 years for a reason other than injury. Aragones's future as national coach has also been questioned following the team's shock 3-2 defeat to Northern Ireland in their last qualifier. The 68-year-old tendered his resignation shortly after last month's game in Belfast but reversed that decision almost immediately. Joaquin, who has played 42 games for Spain, was clearly put out by the fact that attention was focused on the decision to drop Raul.
"The press are only talking about the fact that Raul has been left out but they haven't said anything about me," he said.
The winger, who has been replaced in the squad by club colleague Miguel Angel Angulo, said that Raul did not deserve to be dropped after scoring three goals in a week for Real Madrid.
"There were many other times when Raul could have been left out but this week he deserved to be in the team and these sort of things unsettle you."
Spain are in joint second place in Group F, three points behind leaders Sweden with three points from two games. Aragones is expected to ring the changes in the starting lineup following the defeat to Northern Ireland, bringing in Real Betis centre half Juanito and Deportivo Coruna left back Joan Capdevila. Barcelona's Andres Iniesta and Angulo are favourites to start in midfield alongside Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas and Valencia's David Albelda.
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