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Steven Gerrard will miss both of England's forthcoming World Cup qualifiers after having an operation on Thursday on his troublesome groin problem.
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez revealed that Gerrard has been playing through constant pain after the Anfield side forced their way into the Champions League group stages.
A goal two minutes from the end of extra-time by Dirk Kuyt gave Liverpool a 1-0 aggregate victory over a brave Standard Liege side in the third qualifying round.
But it was clear that Gerrard was not at his best, and he will now go under the knife to make sure he is fit to lead Liverpool into the group stages in September.
Gerrard will miss Liverpool's trip to Aston Villa on Sunday, the England games with Andorra and Croatia and possibly the Reds' home league game with Manchester United on September 13.
Benitez said, "He has a groin problem so he will have an operation and could be out for 10 to 15 days. It is not serious but we need to do it now. He has been playing some games in pain, not being 100% fit and we decided that this was the best moment for the operation."
"He had a problem for the first game with Liege, and also when he went away to play for England in their friendly last week against the Czech Republic. We talked with the doctor yesterday and today, and it was decided that Steven would play in this match with the pain. But now we will have to get the situation solved."
Gerrard produced a match-winning late goal on Saturday against Middlesbrough, but despite a determined display against Liege, he was clearly carrying an injury in the 30 minutes of extra-time.
Steven Gerrard was born on May 30, 1980, at Whiston, Merseyside (England). The midfielder remains the talismanic figure which drives the club.
The Liverpool-born academy graduate is already a legend at Anfield. And his tireless running, superb vision on the ball and ability to strike from distance have made him one of the best midfielders in the world.
Source: soccernet.com
For Philippe Senderos, joining Milan is a dream come true. Now there is, most of all, a lot of desire to work.
Senderos has joined AC Milan from Arsenal on a season-long loan deal on 27 August 2008.
With already a good knowledge of the Italian language, Philippe Senderos gave his first few declarations as a new Milan player before the afternoon.
"I am very happy to be able to play for a team like Milan, for me it's like a dream come true, everything went very quickly, in a week. Here everything is incredible, the people are very simple and I can say they have made me feel right at home."
Philippe Senderos then talked about all his personal successes but for him the dream isn't over.
"In the past I have achieved some satisfactions, like winning the European Championship with the Under 17 team and then of course at 18 my passage to a great team like Arsenal. in London I learned a lot, it was a life school and Wenger helped me, but today I can certainly say I have reached a superior level after joining this club."
"I want to give one hundred percent and improve myself every day. This team wants to return to the Champions League and I will do my best to help. When you will see me on the pitch? We'll see how my condition improves, I still have to undergo some tests and then after the first league match there will be two weeks to work, we'll see."
Philippe Sylvain Senderos was born February 14, 1985 in Geneva, is a Swiss footballer.
Senderos signed for Arsenal in December 2002 from Servette (Swiss). But he remained at Servette until the following summer. His first season at Arsenal was plagued by injury and he did not make his first-team debut until Arsenal's 2–1 away victory against Manchester City in the League Cup on October 27, 2004
Source: acmilan.com and wikipedia
Robinho's agent remains hopeful the player could still secure a move to Chelsea despite Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon's insistence he is not for sale.
Chelsea have already had one offer turned down for the Brazil forward who reportedly has his heart set on a move to Stamford Bridge.
Calderon is adamant Robinho is going nowhere, but Vagner Ribeiro believes his client could still leave the Bernabeu this summer.
'He (Calderon) was very polite with us,' he told Globoesporte.com. 'I told him that we had an offer of 32million euros from Chelsea and that Robinho wanted to leave the club.'
'He said he didn't want to hear that a player was unhappy with the team, but at the end nothing much was going to happen.'
'Calderon said that he wouldn't sell Robinho even for 100 million. He was very emphatic.'
'I left the meeting thinking that was that. But then I spoke to other directors of the club and saw that this position could end up changing.'
Robinho's disenchantment with the Primera Liga champions began when a swap deal for Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo was mooted.
The 24-year-old felt further sidelined at Madrid by the club's efforts to land Rafael van der Vaart and David Silva. And Ribeiro claims that if they refuse to let him leave they will be treating him like a slave.
'I told Calderon that they are doing the same to Robinho as (FIFA president Sepp) Blatter said United were doing to Cristiano Ronaldo,' he continued.
'That is to say, slavery. They don't want to release the striker, the same as United did with the Portugal player.'
Ribeiro also warned Madrid that if they refuse to offload him this year, they risk losing out financially.
He added: 'If they do (not release him), Robinho will continue, sad, and in the year that comes he could leave for a sum that is much less than Chelsea's current offer.'
Robinho's future remains very much in the air with conflicting reports coming out of Spain.
Some suggest the player is on the verge of going on strike, having cancelled a press conference scheduled for Friday and refusing to travel to Valencia for the first leg of the Supercopa.
However, other reports claim Robinho is ready to stay at the Bernabeu and is about to sign a new, much improved contract.
Source: soccernet.com
Zenit St Petersburg claim they have lowered their asking price for Andrei Arshavin to clear the path for the Russia forward to move to Tottenham.
Spurs were originally told the 27-year-old, who starred at Euro 2008 for his country, would cost upwards of £20million and no fee was agreed between the clubs.
Arshavin, encouraged by a conversation with Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos, is willing to join Spurs after initially declaring Barcelona as his preferred destination.
Spurs are in the market for strikers following the departure of Robbie Keane to Liverpool and Dimitar Berbatov wanting to leave White Hart Lane Lane for Manchester United. Arshavin would be seen as a like-for-like replacement for Keane.
"There are only small differences left," Zenit sporting director Konstantin Sarsaniya told Russian newspaper Sovetsky Sport, who suggested a deal could be concluded over the weekend.
"Zenit have decided to reduce the asking price for Andrei, but exactly how much I cannot say because the negotiations were led by Zenit president Alexander Dyukov."
Should Berbatov leave, Ramos would be left with Darren Bent as his only out-and-out striker, with new signing Giovani dos Santos as possible support for the attack.
Ramos has also been linked earlier in the summer with a move for Arshavin's Russia team-mate Roman Pavlyuchenko. More recently Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz has been suggested as a possible target.
Source: sportinglife.com
Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is set to miss the Olympic Games football tournament after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled Wednesday that clubs were not obliged to release players for the event.
The Lausanne-based CAS's ruling has major implications for reigning Olympic champions Argentina and fellow South American giants Brazil ahead of the start of Thursday's tournament, primarily an Under-23 event although teams can field over-age players.
Barcelona, Werder Bremen and Schalke had all been fighting to keep their young stars -- Argentina's Messi and Brazil's Diego and Rafinha -- out of the Games, which clash with their own season after appealing an earlier ruling by FIFA, football's world governing body, which said players must be allowed to compete in Beijing.
"FIFA is surprised and disappointed by this decision, but we respect it," said FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
"Nevertheless, I appeal to the clubs: Let your players take part in the Olympic Games. It would be an act of solidarity in perfect harmony with the Olympic spirit. It would be wonderful for the players, for the fans and for the game itself."
He added: "FIFA's opinion has not changed. The Olympic football tournaments are high level competitions that give everyone involved - most notably young players - the chance to gain international experience that will stand them in good stead for the future.
"It stands to reason, therefore, that it is not only the player who will benefit from such an experience, but also his club.
"I regret that the CAS has not taken the Olympic spirit into consideration."
Both Barcelona and Schalke have Champions League qualifiers during the Olympics, where the football final takes place on August 22, while Bremen want Diego for the start of the Bundesliga on August 15.
Normally, clubs must release players for internationals. But CAS, explaining their decision, said: "The Olympic tournament doesn't feature in the official FIFA calendar and there is no executive decision by FIFA which establishes a right of release for Under-23 players for this tournament,
"Consequently, Schalke 04, Werder Bremen and Barcelona are not obliged to release the players Rafinha, Diego and Messi."
It added: "CAS appeals to the good sense of the clubs and FIFA to find a reasonable solution which will allow a player who wishes to represent his country to compete in the Olympic Games."
Source: AFP
Liverpool's increasingly impressive unbeaten pre-season run was stretched to seven games via a 4-1 win against Valerenga in Oslo - but they suffered the worrying loss of skipper Steven Gerrard.
The midfielder limped off in the first half of this comfortable victory with what looked like a recurrence of a groin problem that has dogged him in recent weeks.
Liverpool will hope they took Gerrard out of the action before any further serious damage could be done, but with a Champions League qualifier in a week's time against Standard Liege, this is a problem boss Rafael Benitez could do without.
The loss of Gerrard after 27 minutes, though, was a worrying blow. After bursting from defence, he pulled up with what seemed a recurrence of the injury that has disrupted his pre-season. Teenager Jay Spearing took over.
Steven George Gerrard MBE born at 30 May 1980 in Whiston, Merseyside, England. He has been called an influential and versatile midfielder, and is known for his long-range shots and defence-splitting passes. He is usually employed in the "box-to-box" midfield role, although he has often been deployed as a right-sided midfielder, and occasionally as a second striker.
During his career he has won the PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, European Midfielder of the year, Premier League Most Valuable Player (twice), and UEFA Most Valuable Player. He has also been awarded the MBE for his contributions in both the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final and the 2006 FA Cup Final in which he inspired his team's comeback.
He has been nominated three times for the FIFA Player of the Year, in 2005, 2006 and 2007. On 5 February 2008, it was announced he had been voted by fans as the Nationwide England Player of the Year for 2007.
Source: Soccernet.com
Dutch international midfielder Rafael van der Vaart will "almost certainly" be Real Madrid's only new signing of the season, the president of the Spanish champions, Ramon Calderon, said Tuesday.
"Rafael van der Vaart is the first recruit of this year and he will almost certainly be the only one," Calderon said during the 25-year-old's official unveiling at Real Madrid's Santiago-Bernabeu stadium.
His comments come amidst growing signs that Real Madrid's bid to recruit Manchester United's Portuguese international winger Cristiano Ronaldo have stalled due to the English side's refusal to sell the 23-year-old player.
Van der Vaart, whose mother is Spanish, signed with Real for five seasons in a deal reportedly worth 13 million euros (20 million dollars).
"This is a family dream. I want to win many trophies," said van der Vaart who becomes Real's fifth Dutch player, the others being Ruud van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Royston Drenthe.
Real signed Argentine defender Ezequiel Garay from Racing Santander at the end of the season but under the terms of the deal the player will only join the club in the 2009-10 season.
In addition midfielders Javi Garcia and Ruben de la Red, who helped Spain win the Euro 2008 title in June, have rejoined Real after a season with Osasuna and Getafe respectively.
Calderon, who has repeatedly said he would like to sign Ronaldo, said at the end of the season that there would be "few new recruits but very good ones".
Van der Vaart, who has won over 50 caps for his country and scored 12 goals, joined Hamburg in 2005, scoring 29 goals in 74 Bundesliga matches.
Source: AFP / GettyImages
Barcelona want Samuel Eto'o's future to be decided before next week's Champions League qualifier.
Eto'o has been told that he will be allowed to leave the Nou Camp over the summer, but has yet to reach an agreement with any clubs.
The Cameroon striker has been linked with moves to both the Premier League and Serie A, and is wanted by "four or five" teams, according to Txiki Begiristain.
However, Begiristain is keen for the matter to reach a quick resolution ahead of Barca's game against either Beitar Jerusalem or Wisla Krakow in a week's time.
"The date limit we have set to decide the future of Samuel Eto'o is the 12th August," Begiristain told reporters in New York.
"The days are going past and the market closing.
"If there is a decision, the best solution would be to do so before the Champions League preliminary.
"We are looking at reactions and above all watching to see how Pep (Guardiola) sees himself with the group and with the player."
Samuel Eto'o Fils born at March 10, 1981 in Douala, Cameroon. He is a versatile player who, in addition to being a prolific scorer, is also known for his playmaking and defense. He is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, with sixteen goals; he is also the record holder in number of appearances by an African in La Liga.
Eto'o earned his first cap with Cameroon at age 14 on March 9, 1996, in a 5-0 friendly loss to Costa Rica. In 1998, he was the youngest participant in the 1998 FIFA World Cup at the age of 17 years and three months. Eto'o scored his lone goal of the 2002 World Cup when he netted the game-winner against Saudi Arabia during the group stage.
Source: sportinglife.com
Andriy Shevchenko insisted Tuesday he can still be a Chelsea legend if he avoids the injuries that have plagued him since his move to Stamford Bridge.
Shevchenko has endured a miserable two years in west London following his 30 million pounds (37 million euros) move from AC Milan and has repeatedly been linked with a switch back to Serie A.
The Ukraine striker scored 173 times for Milan but has only recorded nine league goals for Chelsea, yet he has no intention of throwing in the towel.
"During these two years at Chelsea I had two operations and a serious back injury," Shevchenko told the club's official website.
"If I will have the opportunity to train and play without injuries, I would like to leave my mark on the history of Chelsea. Injuries constantly kept me out of action.
"I have trained with the team only a week. The process of recovery is taking place normally and the injury doesn't bother me."
Shevchenko hopes to thrive under new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, who has already promised to give the forward a fresh start.
"It is gratifying that the coach gave me an opportunity to get back to the rhythm of playing," Shevchenko added.
"We had a good conversation. I'm only now getting into shape and recovering from injury, so prefence is given to those players who are in better form.
"The coach always chooses the best players in order to choose the best scheme. I very much respect Scolari as a man and a great coach.
"I think the challenge for the coach now is to find the optimum team and help the players achieve their best form.
"Scolari has enough players to change the scheme of the game. He will be able to judge the best strategy."
Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko born at September 29, 1976, in Dvirkivschyna, Kiev Oblast. In 2004, he won the Ballon d'or and was included in Pelé's FIFA 100. He is the third-highest goalscorer in the history of European club competition with 60, behind Gerd Müller and Filippo Inzaghi.
Before playing to chelsea, Sheva played for Dinamo Kiev (1994-1999) and AC Milan (1999-2006).
Source: AFP
Source: AFP
