Real Madrid’s Brazilian midfielder Kaka reacts during the Spanish league football match Real Madrid against Espayol on February 06. Real Madrid’s Brazilian superstar Kaka believes he is yet to show his best form since his 68.5-million-euro move from AC Milan after scoring for the first time in three months in his side’s 3-0 home win over Espanyol on Saturday.

Real Madrid’s Brazilian superstar Kaka believes he is yet to show his best form since his 68.5-million-euro move from AC Milan after scoring for the first time in three months in his side’s 3-0 home win over Espanyol on Saturday.

Kaka, 27, was a prolific scorer with AC Milan but has found goals hard to come by since joining Real in the summer with the goal against Espanyol only his fourth league strike of the season and his first since he netted in the 3-2 derby win over Atletico Madrid back on November 7.

Kaka had his season interrupted by five weeks out with a groin injury picked up before Christmas, but the Brazilian international believes he is starting to get match sharpness back.

“I am feeling better and better and you can see that on the pitch,” said Kaka. “First of all I had the groin injury that stopped me playing like I wanted to but now I am better and feeling good.

Real Madrid’s Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo completed his two-match suspension against Espanyol and Kaka said that while Ronaldo is an important part of the side, Madrid were far from a one-man team.

“It is always important to score and, besides helping the team, it gives you confidence.”

Kaka scored Real’s second goal on 29 minutes following up after Raul’s initial shot was saved and could have had another in the second half only to be denied by the post.

“After a month and a half out it is difficult to ask for more (from Kaka),” said Real coach Manuel Pellegrini. “He will get back to his top level soon and is a very important player for us.”

Cristiano Ronaldo completed his two-match suspension against Espanyol and Kaka said that while Ronaldo is an important part of the side, Madrid were far from a one-man team.

“Cristiano is a key player but the team can’t depend on one player,” added the Brazilian. “We are playing better with each game and we want to continue in this vain. (more…)

Valencia’s midfielder David Albelda (R) figths for the ball with Valladolid’s forward Alberto Bueno during their league football match at Mestalla Stadium in Valencia. Valencia triumphed 2-0 at home over Valladolid on Saturday, moving them six points clear of fourth-placed Sevilla.

Valencia triumphed 2-0 at home over Valladolid on Saturday, moving them six points clear of fourth-placed Sevilla.

The win ends a miserable run for Valencia, who had picked up just one point from their six previous games before this match.

For Valladolid’s new coach Onesimo Sanchez, who replaced the sacked Jose Luis Mendilibar, it was a disappointing start in his first game in charge and the club now lie a point above the relegation zone without a win in 2010.

Valencia’s Argentine midfielder, Ever Banega, took advantage of a defensive mishap to thunder in an early opener after eight minutes.

Spanish international David Villa made it two for Unai Emery’s men by heading home on 29 minutes, notching up his 15th goal of the season and joining Barcelona’s Lionel Messi at the top of the goalscoring charts.

Minutes later Villa should have had another but the outstretched leg of goalkeeper Justo Villar denied him.

Valladolid responded positively after the break creating several half chances but couldn’t get the goal needed to get back into the match.

Valencia could have given the scoreline a more flattering look in the closing stages but were not clinical enough with Juan Mata the main culprit spurning two great chances.

Valencia’s forward David Villa (L) fights for the ball with Valladolid’s goalkeeper Justo Villar during their league football match at Mestalla Stadium in Valencia. Valencia triumphed 2-0 at home over Valladolid on Saturday, moving them six points clear of fourth-placed Sevilla.

League leaders Barcelona take to the field later on Saturday when they host Getafe at the Nou Camp.

Barcelona, five points clear of Real Madrid at the top, are unbeaten in the league so far but coach Pep Guardiola warned against complacency.

“Sooner or later we are going to slip-up,” said Guardiola. “One day we are going to lose and I have told the players not to get distracted because the league still has a long way to go and five points is nothing.”

Getafe are having a fine season lying five points off the top four and reaching the semi-final of the Kings Cup although they trail Sevilla 2-0 after the first leg. (more…)

Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand (R) challenges Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez during the League Cup semi-final second leg at Old Trafford in Manchester, north-west England, on January 27. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has justified the club’s decision to appeal against Ferdinand’s four-match ban by highlighting what he believes to be inconsistency within the disciplinary system.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has justified the club’s decision to appeal against Rio Ferdinand’s four-match ban by highlighting what he believes to be inconsistency within the disciplinary system.

Ferdinand originally saw a three-match ban for lashing out at Hull City’s Craig Fagan extended to four games last week because he appealed the decision but was still found to be in the wrong.

FA bosses added another match to his suspension for the “frivolous nature” of his defence and United are now contesting that decision as well.

If Ferdinand loses, he will get yet another game added to his ban, meaning he would miss the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa on February 28 but Ferguson has backed the appeal because he feels referees are too inconsistent.

He pointed to the incident during a Carling Cup tie last September when Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano appeared to elbow Leeds United’s Jermaine Beckford in the head as an example of the contradictory nature of decision making when it comes to disciplinary matters.

“We’ve appealed that and the word that concerns us is ‘frivolous’,” Ferguson said. “The reason for appealing was that in the case of Mascherano against Leeds United, when he punched a player in the back of the head (he did not get charged).

“We don’t think it’s frivolous and that’s why we have appealed.”

Ferguson also decided last week to remove Owen Hargreaves from his list of registered players for the Champions League as the midfielder’s future continues to look bleak.

He has not played for 16 months due to severe tendonitis in both knees, a condition that has required two operations in America over the last year.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson (pictured here on January 23) has justified the club’s decision to appeal against Rio Ferdinand’s four-match ban by highlighting what he believes to be inconsistency within the disciplinary system.

Questions will continue to be asked about whether Hargreaves will ever be able to regain full fitness but Ferguson is confident that that is the case, and argued that his decision to remove him from his list of 25 players eligible for the Champions League was merely a short-term goal rather than confirmation that his career is over. (more…)

John Terry’s (pictured on February 2) future as England captain may be decided Friday after days of pressure over his alleged extra-marital affair with the former partner of a team-mate.

John Terry’s future as England captain may be decided Friday after days of pressure over his alleged extra-marital affair with the former partner of a team-mate.

Head coach Fabio Capello flew into England Thursday and will make a decision soon on whether to strip the defender of the captaincy just months before the World Cup in South Africa.

Reports the married 29-year-old had an affair with model Vanessa Perroncel, the former partner of international team-mate Wayne Bridge, have sharply divided opinion in football-mad England.

Capello returned to England after recuperating from a recent knee operation in Switzerland and was expected to decide on Terry’s future before Sunday’s draw for Euro 2012 qualifying in Warsaw.

But the Italian faces a tricky judgement over how to respond to a situation which has triggered heated debate — he will be severely criticised whatever course of action he takes.

A poll published Friday highlighted just how split the English public are over the fate of their football team’s captain.

While the majority — 46 percent of those quizzed — thought Terry should be made to stand down, this was not far off the number who favoured him keeping the job, which came in at 39 percent.

Reports the married 29-year-old John Terry had an affair with model Vanessa Perroncel (pictured in 2006), the former partner of international team-mate Wayne Bridge, have sharply divided opinion in football-mad England.

And just over half of respondents thought there was no need for the public to know about the affair, while 44 percent believed the interest legitimate, in the PoliticsHome poll that questioned more than 1,000 Britons.

Terry’s alleged affair has resulted in him being pilloried, in the words of one columnist, as a “five-star scumbag” while numerous football figures have accused him of breaking a dressing room taboo by getting involved with the former partner of Bridge.

As Dave Bassett, the former Wimbledon and Sheffield Utd manager, put it: “I’ve had players who have left their missus or had bits and pieces on the side but they’ve not gone off with a team-mate’s bird. That’s crossing a line and where it comes unstuck with Terry.” (more…)

League Cup finalists Aston Villa’s Togolese international midfielder Moustapha Salifou, pictured in 2006, admitted on Thursday he didn’t think any of the squad would survive the gun attack on their coach prior to the start of the Africa Cup of Nations last month.

League Cup finalists Aston Villa’s Togolese international midfielder Moustapha Salifou admitted on Thursday he didn’t think any of the squad would survive the gun attack on their coach prior to the start of the Africa Cup of Nations last month.

The 26-year-old was making his first public comments about the attack by a separatist group from the Angolan enclave of Cabinda which left two members of the Togolese backroom staff dead and also claimed the life of the bus driver.

“It was terrifying. The goalkeeper, (Obilade Kossi – who was seriously wounded) had been dancing and the press assistant was taking pictures of him. They were shot,” he told the Daily Mail online edition.

“I didn’t feel I would make it off the bus alive. I thought everyone was going to die.”

Salifou, who along with his team-mates were recalled by the Togolese government despite the majority of the players wanting to stay and compete, said that as a result he was barely able to sleep and even when he did manage to get some he has a recurring nightmare.

“Since I’ve been back, I’ve not slept for four days,” said Salifou, who signed for Villa from Swiss side FC Wil in 2007 but has found it hard to establish a first team place.

“When I do, I wake up at 3am or 4am and somebody is shooting at me. I’m trying to forget, but it’s difficult.”

Salifou, who has also played in France for Stade Brest 29 and in Germany for Oberhausen, went into graphic detail about the terrifying moment when they came under fire.

“We were travelling through a forest when people started to shoot at the coach,” said Salifou, who was a key figure when Togo qualified for their first ever World Cup finals in 2006.

“The attackers shot the driver. After two or three minutes we lay on the floor and everyone started crying. (more…)

AS Roma’s French defender Philippe Mexes (L) celebrates with teammate AS Roma’s midfielder Daniele De Rossi after scores during AS Roma vs Udinese first leg of Coppa Italia semifinal football match at Olympic stadium in Rome. AS Roma’s stunning recent run continued as they beat Udinese 2-0 in the capital to take a commanding lead in their Coppa Italia semi-final.

AS Roma’s stunning recent run continued as they beat Udinese 2-0 in the capital to take a commanding lead in their Coppa Italia semi-final.

Goals from Mirko Vucinic and Philippe Mexes settled the first-leg tie in Roma’s favour and took their recent run to 15 wins and three draws in their last 18 matches.

It is a run that has lifted them from just above the relegation zone in Serie A to joint second while they have also progressed in the Europa League and Italian Cup.

They did the damage in the first half with Montenegro forward Vucinic giving them the lead on 12 minutes when he ran onto Daniele De Rossi’s pass to find himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and he shot home in off the post.

Five minutes before the interval French defender Mexes doubled the advantage as he headed home a free-kick from David Pizarro.

Having dominated the first period, Roma controlled the second to ease to a comfortable victory.

On Wednesday Diego Milito gave Inter Milan a narrow 1-0 win over Fiorentina at the San Siro.

The second legs will be played on April 14.

Inter Milan’s Argentinian forward Diego Milito (R) is tackled by Fiorentina’s defender Gianluca Comotto during their Coppa Italia football match at San Siro Stadium in Milan. Milan won 1-0 with a goal by Milito.

Diego Milito scored the only goal of the game to give Inter Milan a 1-0 win over Fiorentina and a slight advantage in their Coppa Italia semi-final after the first leg at the San Siro on Wednesday.

However, they will have a long wait to see if they make the final or not as the second leg will not be played until April 14.

Milito scored in the 34th minute after he was set up by Mario Balotelli, although Inter had chances to make the victory more emphatic.

In a competition often shown little respect by teams, Inter coach Jose Mourinho had said before the game that he wanted to make the final and that was demonstrated by his selection which was as good as his first choice XI, with only goalkeeper Julio Cesar rested.

But the win was marred by a spat between Mourinho and Balotelli midway through the second half that saw the coach haul off his errant star as punishment for complaining about having hurt himself rather than getting back to defend a corner.

“I prefer the result to the way my team played, I was expecting more from them in the second half. Fiorentina had control of the match and forced me to make certain changes,” said Mourinho before explaining his decision to replace Balotelli.

“In my system players must always defend, even if they have a problem, they’ve hurt themselves or lost a contact lens.

“First they have to defend and then they can deal with the other problems.”

Inter Milan’s Argentinian forward Diego Milito (L) celebrates his goal with teammate Mario Balotelli during their Coppa Italia football match vs Fiorentina at San Siro Stadium in Milan. Milan won 1-0.

Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli was satisfied with his team and played down fears that his small squad would struggle to cope with their commitments on three fronts – the league, Champions League and Cup.

“We played well, we gave away the right amount of ground to Inter, maybe we could have been a little more fluid in front of goal,” he said. (more…)

Tottenham Hotspur’s English forward Jermain Defoe celebrates after scoring his third goal during the FA Cup Fourth round replay football match against Leeds at Elland Road in Leeds. Defoe spared his own blushes and those of Tottenham Hotspur with a hat-trick to help Harry Redknapp’s side overcome brave Leeds and book a place in the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-1 win.

Jermain Defoe spared his own blushes and those of Tottenham Hotspur with a hat-trick at Elland Road to help Harry Redknapp’s side overcome brave Leeds and book a place in the FA Cup fifth round at the second time of asking with a 3-1 win here on Wednesday.

England striker Defoe missed a host of good chances but still managed to come up trumps for the Premier League side with strikes in the 37th and 73rd minutes before putting the result beyond all doubt in the fourth minute of stoppage time to take his tally for the season to 22 goals.

Luciano Becchio had equalised for Leeds on the stroke of half-time as Simon Grayson’s League One side threatened to pull off another shock in front of a partisan home crowd.

But Defoe secured a trip for Tottenham to top-flight rivals Bolton in the last 16 and kill-off the Cup dreams of Leeds, who had knocked Manchester United at Old Trafford out of the competition in stunning style in the previous round.

Tottenham Hotspur’s English forward Jermain Defoe (R) celebrates with English midfielder David Bentley after scoring his team’s second goal during the FA Cup Fourth round replay football match against Leeds at Elland Road. Defoe spared his own blushes and those of Tottenham Hotspur with a hat-trick to help Harry Redknapp’s side overcome Leeds 3-1.

Redknapp made three changes from the side held to a draw by Birmingham last weekend, recalling Jermaine Jenas, Sebastien Bassong and Niko Kranjcar to his starting line-up.

Ledley King was rested and both Wilson Palacios and Luka Modric dropped to the bench.

This was a game Redknapp was desperate to win, given it represented his side’s last realistic chance to win some silverware this season.

They arrived at Elland Road in confident mood as well, having lost just one of their last 10 games in all competitions.

Yet his starting line-up proved just how much Redknapp respected Leeds, despite their being 42 league places separating the two clubs.

He knew to his cost from the first tie at White Hart Lane, which ended in a 2-2 draw, just what Grayson’s men were capable of. (more…)

Chelsea’s Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech in an earlier match. Cech is convinced Chelsea have the perfect opportunity to establish a lead at the top of the Premier League this week that could prove highly significant come the end of the season.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech is convinced Chelsea have the perfect opportunity to establish a lead at the top of the Premier League this week that could prove highly significant come the end of the season.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side, which won 2-1 at Burnley on Saturday, will use the game in hand they possess over Manchester United and Arsenal at Hull City on Tuesday night.

Then, on Sunday, they host Arsene Wenger’s Gunners in one of the highest profile fixtures of the calendar.

Cech, the Czech Republic international, was hoping his side would then be perfectly positioned in the league once Champions League hostilities, which see Chelsea pitted against Inter Milan, begin again.

“Now we have games coming up fast,” he said. “We have to take advantage of it and we’ve got a game in hand at Hull. If we win that one we will open up a gap at the top. We have to keep winning our games, and if the others start dropping points it’s the best scenario for us.”

John Terry provided the winning goal at Burnley despite revelations that the married father-of-two had an affair with the girlfriend of former Stamford Bridge team-mate Wayne Bridge, now at Manchester City.

Hull City’s English manager Phil Brown is confident his plyers can rise to the occasion against potential title winners Chelsea.

Those led to calls for him to be stripped of the England captaincy but Ancelotti made it clear he would continue to wear the armband for his club.

“He is the captain and he will be the captain,” said the Italian, who confirmed that Terry would remain an automatic pick for the Hull game. “The players have never lost trust in him.”

Hull’s worries are of a different nature as a 2-2 draw at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday left them still in the relegation zone.

Failure to beat fellow strugglers like Mick McCarthy’s team could prove costly but Tigers manager Phil Brown was confident his players could rise to the occasion against potential title winners. (more…)

Robbie Keane, seen here in 2009, gave Monday’s transfer deadline day a late twist by completing a loan move from Tottenham to Celtic.

Robbie Keane was at the centre of another transfer deadline day of drama as the Ireland captain completed a late loan move from Tottenham to Celtic.

A year after returning to Spurs from Liverpool, Keane, who had fallen behind Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe in the White Hart Lane pecking order, moved north in search of first-team football with the decision made easier for him by Tottenham’s decision to sign Eidur Gudjohnsen, a similar style of player, on loan from Monaco, earlier this week.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp admitted: “Robbie wants to play and I have Crouch, Defoe and (Roman) Pavlyuchenko and I signed Gudjohnsen so it will be difficult to guarantee him a starting place and he has to be playing regularly so I have decided to let him go on loan until the end of the season.”

Spurs also released Alan Hutton on loan with the Scotland defender joining Sunderland until the end of the season.

The biggest deal of the day was Manchester City’s signing of Adam Johnson from Middlesbrough on a four-and-a-half-year deal, although the reported transfer fee of six million pounds underlined how the recession and high debt levels have taken their toll on spending at England’s leading clubs.

Business advisory firm Deloitte put total spending in this transfer window at 30 million pounds, the lowest total since the mid-season window system was introduced in January 2003 and a huge fall when compared with the 170 million pounds that was spent last year.

Australia striker Scott McDonald, seen here in 2009, left Celtic for English Championship side Middlesbrough on Monday’s transfer deadline day as boyhood Hoops fan Robbie Keane prepared to join the Glasgow giants.

Deloitte partner Dan Jones said it was not just the economic climate that had caused the reduction in spending.

“Managers, club owners and directors have become increasingly sceptical of the near-term impact a January acquisition can have,” Jones said.

“Therefore, it is unsurprising to see a lack of high value activity, with those clubs that are active preferring loan deals. (more…)