League not over, says defeated Mourinho

MADRID (AFP)– Jose Mourinho refused to make excuses for Real Madrid's humiliating 5-0 defeat to champions Barcelona in the Clasico at Camp Nou admitting his'Galacticos' had been well below-par but dismissed suggestions that the margin of victory reflected the difference between the two sides.

Mourinho tasted his first defeat in charge of Real on Monday and it was one of the heaviest and most painful of his career in what was his maiden Clasico as Barcelona outclassed their bitter rivals with Spanish World Cup winner David Villa scoring twice in the rout.

"It is a result for one team that played well and punishment for one that played very poorly and we deserved to lose," said Mourinho.

"I don't think you can say the result reflects the difference between the two teams and the championship isn't over today and there is still a lot for us to play for in this league as we are only two points behind."

Real's wounded players have now lost five successive Clasicos to Barcelona, with their last victory coming back in April 2008, and must pick themselves up for Saturday's home match against Valencia.

"We have to show character. I spoke to the players in the dressing room and when you lose 5-0 like today you have to come back with desire to train hard and win matches again," declared Mourinho.

"The next game is Saturday which is a shame because I wish it were tomorrow as that would be the best thing."

On a personal note it was a disappointing night for Mourinho on his return to Camp Nou, where he used to work as a translator under Bobby Robson and where he became public enemy number one when his Inter Milan defeated Barcelona in last season's Champions League semi-finals.

"Sometimes you come away with good results as I did with Chelsea and Inter Milan but sometimes it doesn't work out," said Mourinho."I am sad of course because we lost and I expected much more as we had been playing well.

"However, the game is over now and there is nothing much we can do. We are still a work in progress."

For Barca coach Pep Guardiola it was a fifth consecutive Clasico win as he continued his 100 percent record in the fixture and the 5-0 drubbing goes down as one of the greatest ever Barca wins along with the 6-2 thrashing of Real at the Santiago Bernabeu in May 2009.

"We won the league with the 6-2 in Bernabeu but we are only in November now," said Guardiola."Real are a strong rival and this will be a tough title fight until the end of the season.

"To beat a team with the most league championships and Champions League titles gives us real satisfaction and we can be happy to stay loyal to our philosophies of attacking and dominating games with style.

"The difference between the two sides is not reflected by the result as it is just one game. Everything went well for us and these games don't happen very often."

Asked if the current Barcelona side was the best ever Guardiola replied:"I am not going to say we are the best Barcelona team ever or that we are the best team in the world. I will let time pass and people can decide that on their own."

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FIFA chief undecided ahead of World Cup host vote

PORT SPAIN (AFP)– FIFA Vice President Jack Warner is"keeping his cards close to his chest" about which country he will support as World Cup host in 2018.

Warner however made clear his preference for the United States hosting the event in 2022, ahead of the December 2 vote in Zurich.

Warner is also head of the North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and is considered to be the most influential football administrator in the Western Hemisphere, but in a statement on Sunday, he said he remains"undecided as to which nation will get CONCACAF's vote."

FIFA's longest serving vice president described the English bid as"impressive" but warned the competition is stiff for all bidders.

"All nations have made impressive presentations. On December 2nd it will come down to who is able to convince the Executive Committee. I am still undecided as to whom we will support, but the CONCACAF family will vote together", Warner said.

"I have stated it openly and I will reiterate, for the 2022 World Cup, the United States has CONCACAF?s full support," he added.

Warner departed for Zurich on Sunday to attend what is arguably the most highly anticipated FIFA Executive Committee meeting of the decade.

He will meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron for lunch, and president of the English Football Association, Prince William, has also requested a meeting with Warner as they seek to bolster England's chances.

Cameron extended the invitation to Warner during a telephone conversation two weeks ago.

The 67-year-old Trinidadian football administrator is also expected to meet with former US President Bill Clinton as well as with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia, all of whom will be in Zurich this week to lend support for their various bid teams.

With much controversy surrounding this bid, Warner's emphasized"the football fraternity has received intense criticism and scrutiny over the last month."

"Despite the past we must now work together to restore the confidence in the sport and its administrators", he added.

New allegations of corruption arose on Sunday, involving FIFA officials allegedly having taken"millions in payment," Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported.

Assuring that the voting process is"free, fair and democratic," Warner said"we understand the importance of the December 2nd vote. The eyes of the world will be watching and I am certain we will all do what is best for the game".

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Chelsea's'fear factor'has gone, manager agrees

NEWCASTLE, England (AFP)– Carlo Ancelotti has reinforced Florent Malouda's claim that Chelsea's recent loss of form means they no longer carry a fear factor into games.

Ancelotti's side face Newcastle United at St James' Park having lost three of their last four Premier League games, scoring just one goal in the process.

The midweek Champions League victory over MSK Zilina brought relief following last weekend's defeat at Birmingham City but the recent problems on the pitch have been mirrored by off-field concerns following the dismissal of assistant manager Ray Wilkins.

Ancelotti's own future has also been subject to growing speculation.

And the Italian manager accepts the assessment of Malouda, the Chelsea midfielder, who believes the change in fortunes at Stamford Bridge means opposition sides are less intimidated by the prospect of facing the reigning champions.

"At the beginning of the season, when you're winning 6-0, you can put pressure on the team," Ancelotti said.

"Now a lot of teams have improved their confidence to play us. This is normal. We've had some problems playing against particular teams. I agree with him."

Ancelotti has made it clear he believes his side's problems lie in front of goal where his side have proved less ruthless when it comes to converting chances.

Midfielder John Mikel Obi, however, believes the recent run of injuries and suspensions that have seen John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Alex and Didier Drogba sidelined has stretched the squad too far.

"Everyone who knows Chelsea knows the reason why this is happening - we are short of players," said Obi.

"We have so many players injured or suspended, so I think people know why this is happening, but at the same time there are no excuses for the players who are playing.

"We have to take responsibility for results and start to win these games."

Terry and Lampard are both still injured while Essien serves the final game of a three-match suspension.

Newcastle have suspension problems too as they bid to beat Chelsea on home soil for the first time in four-and-a-half years, with three players banned for the visit of the Premier League Champions.

Centre-backs Mike Williamson and Fabricio Coloccini start three-game suspensions, meaning Steven Taylor and veteran former Arsenal defender Sol Campbell are on standby for their first Premier League starts of the season.

Midfielder Joey Barton serves the last of his three-match ban, with Ivory Coast international Cheik Tiote returning from a one-game suspension in place of Alan Smith.

Newcastle beat Chelsea 4-3 in a thrilling League Cup tie at Stamford Bridge back in September, but after an encouraging start to the season following promotion from the Championship, a disappointing return of one point from their last three games sees them in danger of being sucked into the relegation battle.

Manager Chris Hughton admits that with a relatively small squad, Newcastle can't afford to keep shooting themselves in the foot by losing players to suspension for lengthy spells.

"To lose the two centre-halves for three games is a big, big blow but we just have to get on with it," he said.

"This is where players have to be responsible for their actions and they have to accept their bans. Discipline is something we remind players about all the time. We can't afford to lose any more players.

"Chelsea was already going to be a tough game but it's even more difficult now because we've lost three first-choice players. These are the sort of things sent to try you over the course of a season, and it's about how we respond."

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Things will only get harder, says AC Milan's Gattuso

ROME (AFP)– AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso believes things are going to start getting tougher for the Serie A leaders as they travel to Sampdoria this weekend.

Milan opened up a three point gap at the top of the table last week with a 1-0 defeat of Fiorentina, coupled with Lazio's 1-1 draw at Parma.

Things are going well for Massimiliano Allegri's team as they also qualified for the Champions League knock-out stages in midweek following a 2-0 win at Auxerre.

However, Sampdoria is a notoriously difficult destination for visiting teams and, what's more, Gattuso suspects there is widespread determination to beat the leaders.

"Now things are going to get tough," he warned.

"All the teams we'll play against will have the attitude that they're playing the leaders and they'll give 100 percent.

"They also did it before because playing against Milan is always very important but when you're top every match played is one less towards the final objective.

"With every game the three points become more important."

Gattuso also played tribute to his team's battling spirit given that they have been missing some top players at various stages this season.

"Right now we're missing a player who for me defines football: Andrea Pirlo," added Gattuso of his great friend.

"The fact that he's missing and we're still getting results says a lot about what makes this sport special.

"You also need a lot of luck. For example, against Auxerre we didn't play well but you could see how much we wanted to win.

"When you have such motivation no-one is indispensible and me even less so."

Sampdoria has always been a difficult place to go to but Domenico Di Carlo's team have been highly inconsistent this season.

They have only lost at home once, to Napoli, but have also struggled a lot, being held to scoreless home draws by the likes of Chievo, Catania and Udinese.

Overall they have won only four games out of 13 and drawn seven.

Sampdoria are also still without star forward Antonio Cassano, who remains suspended by his club for having insulted president Riccardo Garrone. The club is trying to terminate the 28-year-old's contract.

Second placed Lazio host Catania while third-placed Napoli are at Udinese in games that look decidedly winnable on paper.

One team that needs a real boost, though, is champions Inter Milan as they have not won in four league matches.

That run has seen them drop to sixth and nine points behind Milan.

But playmaker Wesley Sneijder believes Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League success against FC Twente can be a springboard for Rafael Benitez's team.

That saw them qualify for the knock-out stages of Europe's premier club competition and now Sneijder insists the club is buoyed.

"We're going through a tough period but we knew before the game that if we won we'd qualify," he said.

"That's really important for us, finally we've won and our morale is great, we can't wait to play the next match."

Inter host struggling Parma in Sunday's early match knowing they must win to have any chance of rekindling their title hopes.

However they will be without top goalscorer Samuel Eto'o, the scorer of nine of their 14 league goals, as he starts a three-game ban for his headbutt against Chievo last week.

That will leave injury-ravaged Inter short up front as Diego Milito and Coutinho are also out.

Fixtures:

Saturday

Sampdoria v AC Milan, Juventus v Fiorentina

Sunday

Inter Milan v Parma, Bari v Cesena, Bologna v Chievo, Brescia v Genoa, Cagliari v Lecce, Lazio v Catania, Udinese v Napoli, Palermo v Roma

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Rooney apologises to Manchester United fans

GLASGOW (AFP)– Wayne Rooney has tried to make his peace with Manchester United's fans by saying sorry for the way his contract talks were concluded last month.

The England striker appeared to question United's desire and left open the possibility he might move to local rivals Manchester City.

It left a sour taste with many United fans who, when Rooney did extend his Old Trafford contract by five years, felt he toyed with their emotions in the hope of getting a better financial deal.

Rooney, before scoring his match-winning penalty in United's 1-0 Champions League victory over Rangers at Ibrox here on Wednesday, said:"I feel like I have apologised to the fans but everyone keeps saying that I haven't.

"If that is the case, then I apologise for my side of things.

"I have made my point clear since I signed my contract that I am committed to this club for the long term. I want to be successful here.

"Everyone is saying that I was definitely going to Manchester City. Believe me if I had gone it wouldn't have been in England."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson blamed Rooney's agent, Paul Stretford, for giving the forward bad advice but the 25-year-old himself was adamant he never wanted to leave Old Trafford.

"You see so many players leave this club and not do so well so I am delighted to have stayed."

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FIFA says England WCup could clash with Wimbledon

GENEVA (AFP)– England's bid to stage football's World Cup in 2018 may suffer from a possible clash with the historic Wimbledon tennis tournament in June to July, according to FIFA's technical evaluation.

"It is a FIFA requirement that no other major sporting event is hosted in a Host City during the event period and the fact that the Wimbledon tennis championships take place in London during late June/early July could have an impact on the public attention given to the FIFA World Cup," the evaluation report said.

Dates for football's month-long showpiece event in 2018 have not been set but they have typically straddled those two months when it has been hosted by European countries.

Wimbledon, the world's oldest tennis tournament, has been staged since 1877 over a two-week period in late June and early July.

The report was published by world football's governing body two weeks before British Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William are expected to join David Beckham in a high-profile final pitch by England against other bidders in Zurich.

FIFA's technical evaluation team found that England's stadiums exceeded minimum requirements and highlighted the country's experience with hosting international sports events as well as transport links.

However, they raised technical questions about the readiness of training sites and contractual issues over accommodation.

England, Russia and joint bids by Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium are in the running to host the 2018 World Cup.

Australia, the United States, Japan, Qatar and South Korea are bidding for the 2022 event.

The hosts of both tournaments will be chosen simultaneously by FIFA's executive committee in Zurich on December 2.

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