Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has underlined his desire to move to Spain, after revealing that his club have turned down a £15 million bid for his services.
The Dutchman has been the subject of interest from a number of sides in La Liga, most notably Real Madrid and Valencia, only for Hamburg to knock back all offers for the 24-year-old.
The Bundesliga side revealed recently that they were hopeful of agreeing a new contract with the player but Van der Vaart appears to have dashed the hopes of his employer.
"I want to go to Spain, and that is the end of it," he told German newspaper Bild.
"In May, [Hamburg president, Bernd] Hoffmann came to me and asked how they could make me happier. I said that I wanted to move to Spain and that I would always like to consider any such offers, and he agreed. Then a team came in, and suddenly I am not for sale at any price. I arrived for €5 million (£3.5 million) and then HSV could have earned €22 million, and nobody at the club wanted to discuss it. I cannot understand that."
08 October 2007
Tottenham have missed out on a top seeding for Tuesday's Uefa Cup group stage draw in Switzerland.
Spurs were rated ninth in Uefa's seedings and join Bolton in pool two, while Everton are in the third tier with Aberdeen in the bottom eight.
This means they could face a top seed such as Villarreal or Bayern Munich.
The 40 clubs will be drawn into eight groups of five, with each playing two home and away matches. Clubs from the same country cannot be paired together.
The top three in each of the groups will join the teams finishing third in the Champions League groups for the knockout rounds, which start with 32 sides.
Manchester City striker Emile Mpenza is determined to make the most of his chance to shine.
The Belgian has scored in each of his last two outings for Sven-Goran Eriksson's side and again looks likely to lead the line as Middlesbrough visit in the Barclays Premier League tomorrow.
With £8.8million summer signing Rolando Bianchi out injured, Mpenza played as a lone striker in last weekend's 3-1 win over Newcastle and that is a role he may reprise.
Confidence at Eastlands is soaring as City enjoy their best start to a top-flight season for 30 years and competition for places is fierce.
After waiting for his opportunity, Mpenza is determined to grab it.
The 29-year-old said: "The season is very long and the chances come. I have played good, it is good for me and I am happy. It is very difficult for one striker up front alone but for me it is no problem. I played good, the team played good."
The former Hamburg and Standard Liege player was brought to City in February by former manager Stuart Pearce and has quickly settled off the field.
He has learned his English and feels comfortable in his surroundings. Playing in the Barclays Premier League was a long-held ambition and he now hopes to establish himself in it.
He said: "I think for me it is the best league in the world. It is better I stay in England and for me it is better I stay in Manchester. I had only one chance to come to England - for this team. When I go to another team now I will not be happy!"
Mpenza has witnessed first hand the City transformation from a team struggling against relegation to one, under Eriksson, that sat third heading into the weekend's fixtures.
"I am very happy," he said. "Last year was very difficult for me. I came for the last games, which were very dangerous for the team. It is nice to be playing at the top of the league now and the team play very well. We have brought some good players and the quality is better. When you see the training it is much different to last year. There is quality in the team. I said before the league started, I saw in training, I thought fifth or seventh in the table was possible."
Eriksson is pleased with the way his squad has gelled so well this season. The Swede brought in seven new players from around the world after taking charge in July but he says they have integrated well.
The former England boss said: "The language is not a problem. There are so many players that can speak other languages anyway, and they speak to each other, but they understand English more and more. It is much better than it was a month ago. In the dressing room they speak English. It is a good group of players. The language was a problem but it is not now."
05 October 2007
Hedwiges Maduro, Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Arjen Robben have returned to the Netherlands squad for the upcoming qualifiers against Romania and Slovenia.
The three players have been out of the picture in recent months. Huntelaar has not played for the national team since June, Maduro not since the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, while a knee injury has kept Robben out of the squad since his last appearance in March.
Mario Melchiot, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder are included despite being suspended for the game against Group G leaders Romania in Constanta.
The two countries are level on 20 points and are battling with Bulgaria, two points back but having played a game more, for the top two places.
Henk Timmer provides extra cover for goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who is doubtful with a toe injury, while Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink misses out with a hamstring injury.
Netherlands squad
Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United FC), Maarten Stekelenburg (AFC Ajax), Henk Timmer (Feyenoord).
Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla FC), Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa FC), Urby Emanuelson (AFC Ajax), John Heitinga (AFC Ajax), Kew Jaliens (AZ Alkmaar), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburger SV), Mario Melchiot (Wigan Athletic FC), Andre Ooijer (Blackburn Rovers FC).
Midfielders: Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Nigel de Jong (Hamburger SV), Hedwiges Maduro (AFC Ajax), Clarence Seedorf (AC Milan), Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid CF), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburger SV), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar).
Forwards: Ryan Babel (Liverpool FC), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (AFC Ajax), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool FC), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid CF), Robin van Persie (Arsenal FC), Arjen Robben (Real Madrid CF).
05 October 2007
Werder Bremen midfielders Torsten Frings and Tim Borowski are back in Germany's squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Ireland and the Czech Republic, but striker Miroslav Klose and captain Michael Ballack are still missing.
Klose has re-injured his right knee and Ballack is still recovering from an ankle operation. The Chelsea midfielder has not played since April. Klose leads the Bundesliga with eight goals for Bayern Munich.
Also missing are defenders Philipp Lahm of Bayern Munich and Christian Pander of Schalke and Stuttgart midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger.
Frings and Borowski return after missing the start of the season with knee injuries. Also back is Werder defender Clemens Fritz.
Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez is also back in the 22-man roster announced by coach Joachim Loew on Friday. Gomez missed last month's qualifier against Wales and the friendly against Romania.
Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is in the squad although he hasn't played for more than a month because of an elbow injury.
Germany leads Group D with 22 points from eight games. The Czechs have 20 points from nine games and Ireland 14, also from nine games.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Timo Hildebrand (Valencia), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal)
Defenders: Gonzalo Castro (Bayer Leverkusen), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Manuel Friedrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen), Marcell Jansen (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart), David Odonkor (Betis Sevilla), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburger SV)
Forwards: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Patrick Helmes (Cologne), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke 04), Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich)
01 October 2007
Markus Babbel, assistant manager at VfB Stuttgart, has pledged that his team will do its utmost to make it to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Having lost on Matchday 1 to Rangers at Ibrox, the German side faces an uphill struggle, with Barcelona the opponents at the Gottlieb-Daimler on Tuesday.
Nonetheless, the former Liverpool man insists that their European challenge is very much alive.
"European football is a bit different from the Bundesliga but I think Stuttgart can play at the highest level and if the players perform to their best we can beat any team on our day. At the very least we should be aiming to qualify from this group," he told UEFA.com.
Babbel himself is no stranger to European success, being a member of the Liverpool side that won an historic treble in 2001, including a close-fought UEFA Cup final win over Deportivo Alaves of Spain.
"It was the best time in my life," sighed the former defender.
"I played for one of the biggest clubs in Europe alongside players like Gary [McAllister], who's a legend for me because he's such a great character and leader. We won five trophies together. That was a fantastic time. The only sadness for me was that I became ill after that and never came back as before. I was a little unlucky but this one season will always be in my head."
Indeed, while Babbel's career was cut short by Guillain-Barre syndrome, he's still heavily involved in football - and even has his eye on the Anfield hotseat.
"I would like to manage a club in Britain one day," he revealed.
"I love the British style of football and especially the passion of the fans at big clubs like Liverpool. Of course, it would be a dream to go back to Anfield as manager, but there's a lot of hard work to be done before that can happen."
Babbel, 35, spent three years with Liverpool - plus one on loan at Blackburn - before signing for Stuttgart in 2004. The Munich-born player has also served hometown side Bayern, and Hamburger SV.
