McLeish to keep job at Birmingham

LONDON (AFP)– Birmingham City have said that Alex McLeish will stay on as manager despite failing to prevent his side from being relegated from the Premier League on Sunday.

The drop for the Blues came when they lost 2-1 to Tottenham at White Hart Lane on the last day of the season joining West Ham United and Blackpool into the Championship for next season.

Birmingham's acting chairman Peter Pannu told the club's official website that McLeish's job is"safe".

But the Scot has been told the board expect him to lead the team back to the top flight at the first attempt next season.

Birmingham will play in the Europa League next season after their win in the League Cup three months ago.

"The board will take stock of what went wrong this season despite Carson Yeung's promised injection of£40million in funds - not £80m as the media wrongly assumed," Pannu added.

"The board will closely discuss and implement appropriate procedures to ensure a speedy return to the top flight.

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Schalke's wunderkind impresses Germany's Loew

BERLIN (AFP)– Schalke 04 goal-scorer Julian Draxler was barely old enough to join his team-mates for a celebration beer after winning the German Cup final, but the wunderkind has impressed national coach Joachim Loew.

The 17-year-old netted Schalke's opening goal in the 5-0 demolition of second division Duisburg in Saturday's German Cup final at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

He first grabbed the limelight in January when he came off the bench to score Schalke's winner in the 3-2 victory over Nuremberg in the quarter-finals.

In Berlin's cup final, he unleashed an unstoppable volley from just outside the penalty area in the 18th minute which put his team on the path to their fifth cup title, but the teenager was taking it all in his stride.

"It's a mega-cool feeling," he said with the winners medal around his neck.

"One or two years ago, I was watching games like this on the television and seeing players lift the trophy. Now I have had it in my hands.

"Beer is allowed (in Germany) from 16, right?," he asked with a cheeky grin.

"Even if not, I've definitely had one or two."

Draxler will only turn 18 in September and having played for Germany's Under-18 side, Loew now has him on his radar.

"He has attracted our attention in the last six months," he said.

"He is a great talent and has a good opportunity to impress with Schalke.

"He is a player who plays with a cheeky and carefree style. We are excited about him."

There was outcry in Germany when Draxler, having become one of the youngest players to play in the Bundesliga, quit high-school under the advice of former Schalke boss Felix Magath.

Since February, he has been combining football training with studying for his Abitur -- Germany's university entrance exams -- at Gesamtschule Berger Feld, in the shadow of Schalke's Veltins Arena stadium.

Both Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Real Madrid's Mesut Ozil are former pupils.

"It's a kind of character building," Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff said of Draxler's balancing act.

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Kashiwa keep J-League lead

TOKYO (AFP)– Kashiwa Reysol, who returned to the J-League top flight this season, held defending champions Nagoya Grampus to a scoreless draw on Saturday to hold onto the top spot.

"I had expected to have a tough game today. I felt that Grampus had a strong will to improve. We managed to shut out the first half but allowed them to create chances," said Kashiwa's Brazilian coach Nelsinho.

"We were able to make several chances by picking up rebounds in the second half. Our midfielders played calmly and we could play 50-50 in the end," he added.

Kashiwa now have now 16 points from five wins, one draw and one defeat, standing two points clear of Yokohama Marinos and three points above Vissel Kobe.

They were followed by Jubilo Iwata, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Vegalta Sendai and Gamba Osaka on 12 points.

Yokohama overwhelmed Ventforet Kofu 4-0, while Kobe beat Hiroshima 1-0. Iwata also trounced bottom placers Avispa Fukuoka 4-1.

Brazilian striker Adriano scored his second goal of the day with only two minutes left on the clock to give Gamba Osaka a 2-1 win over Albirex Niigata.

In other games, former Asian club champions Urawa Red Diamonds stormed back from two goals down to draw with seven-time champions Kashima Antlers 2-2.

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Ferguson's football addiction keeps him working

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP)– Sir Alex Ferguson admits that his addiction to Manchester United and football will keep him from slipping quietly into retirement.

Ferguson, who steered United to a record 19th league title last weekend and whose side tackle Barcelona in the Champions League final next weekend, fears stepping off the treadmill.

"I have no plans to retire, I must say that and (my wife) Cathy is delighted. She would have thrown me out," he told MUTV.

"The salient point is that whilst my health is good, carry on. You hear many stories of people who come off the treadmill and their system breaks down. I don't want that happening to me."

Ferguson, whose team bring the curtain down on thier league season at home to Blackpool on Sunday, believes United have been unfairly criticised this campaign.

"If we are not scoring 10 goals every game, we have our critics. The expectation is high. But it is high from us too, and the fans. They want to see their best," he added.

"Yes, you could criticise a lot of our away performances. They have been disappointing. But our home form has been fantastic. We have scored more goals than anyone else. It is hard to criticise that kind of form."

United also have the Champions League final to look forward to with Ferguson aiming to lift the trophy for a third time in his career following a late, late victory against Bayern Munich in 1999 and the 2008 triumph over Chelsea via a penalty shootout.

He admits he already has an idea of his side to face Barcelona on May 28 at Wembley.

Ferguson said:"We have the nucleus of a team in place. There are others that deserve a place. But we can only pick 11. That is the horrible part of being a manager. It is absolute agony.

"It is something you don't relish at all. I have to pick a team and I have to leave some very good players out.

"Hopefully those who have all played a part in the European campaign will feel satisfaction at the end of the night and we win the cup."

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S. Africa, Morocco want to host Club World Cup

JOHANNESBURG (AFP)– Another chapter in the football boardroom battles between South Africa and Morocco is looming with both countries wanting to host the 2013 and 2014 FIFA Club World Cup.

Iran and the United Arab Emirates, who staged the last two editions of the annual end-of-year tournament, are the other challengers to follow 2011 and 2012 hosts Japan.

"It is important that competitions like the Club World Cup come to Africa," stressed South Africa Football Association vice-president Danny Jordaan in the wake of his country successfully staging the 2010 World Cup.

The four aspirant hosts must submit a definitive bid by the end of September and the successful candidate will be named on October 21 after a meeting of executives from world football governing body FIFA.

A Club World Cup has seven fixtures with a play-off involving the host nation champions followed by two quarter-finals and the South American and European champions enter at the semi-finals stage.

South Africa have an embarrassment of venue riches with 10 World Cup venues to choose from while Morocco have been busy expanding the number of stadia and upgrading others ahead of hosting the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

The boardroom battles between South Africa and Morocco began a decade ago when they emerged as the heavyweight contenders in an Africa-only contest to put on the 2010 World Cup.

Africa had never hosted the most watched sport event in the world and after the controversial 12-11 defeat of South Africa by Germany for the 2006 rights, FIFA decided the next tournament must be on the'dark continent'.

South Africa defeated Morocco 14-10 while Egypt did not receive a single vote and -- freezing evening conditions in some locations apart -- South Africa put on a near-flawless spectacle despite a deluge of pre-tournament media pessimism.

The countries from the south west and north west of the continent came face to face again this year as they sought hosting rights to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Morocco won this time after a meeting of African governing body CAF in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa received the consolation prize of being awarded the right to stage the 2017 Cup of Nations.

Africa would appear to have a strong case in the Club World Cup contest as by the end of next year, Japan will have staged the tournament six times and the UAE twice with Brazil (2000) the sole non-Asian host.

Club World Cup champions include Corinthians, Internacional and Sao Paulo of Brazil, Inter Milan and AC Milan of Italy, Barcelona of Spain and Manchester United of England.

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Silva, Van Bommel and Roma extend Milan contracts

ROME (AFP)– Brazil centre-back Thiago Silva has signed a contract extension at AC Milan that will keep him at the club for another five years.

The 26-year-old joined Milan in 2009 from Fluminense in his homeland after previous unsuccessful spells in Europe with Porto and Dynamo Moscow.

Dutch veteran Mark van Bommel and third-choice goalkeeper Flavio Roma also signed extensions keeping them at the club until the end of next season.

But former Holland midfielder Clarence Seedorf said he is unsure about his future following his meeting with club bosses.

Seedorf is out of contract with Milan at the end of the season and has been linked with a move to Brazil.

He was one of nine players (including Van Bommel and Roma) whose contracts were running out this season with whom Milan have planned meetings to discuss their futures.

"The meeting went well, I don't know if I'll stay at Milan but it was a good meeting, very friendly," said Seedorf.

"We'll get together again next week because we want to finish the season with a win and then talk.

"Even if we don't continue our working relationship that will be fine, I've always had a good relationship with the club."

Other veterans including captain Massimo Ambrosini, Alessandro Nesta and Andrea Pirlo are also set to discuss new deals in the coming days.

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FA warns Ferguson over future conduct

LONDON (AFP)– Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was on Monday warned by the Football Association (FA) as to his future conduct in relation to recent comments about referee Howard Webb.

Ferguson was charged with improper conduct, relating to his pre-match media comments made about Webb ahead of Manchester United's key Premier League encounter with Chelsea last on May 8.

Ferguson is not believed to have offered a significant response to the charge.

And on Monday he has learned he will face no punishment, beyond a gentle reminder not to do it again.

"A Regulatory Commission has today warned Sir Alex Ferguson as to his future conduct," said an FA statement.

"Ferguson was charged with improper conduct, relating to his pre-match media comments made about match official Howard Webb on May 6, 2011.

"The chairman of the commission made the following statement following the hearing:'This rule was brought in at the start of the 2009/10 season and this was reiterated formally to all Clubs again on 21 October 2010.

'This is a clear breach of the rule and it is the first time such a matter has been placed in front of a Commission."

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