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.

“We can’t drop any points and we just have to keep winning and hope Barcelona drop points.”

Unbeaten leaders Barcelona stayed five points ahead of Real after beating Getafe 2-0 on Saturday despite playing 65 minutes with ten men.

Along with the form of Kaka, Real were boosted by the return to fitness of Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain, who made his first appearance after three weeks out with a leg injury.

Higuain scored in the final minute to make it 3-0 with his 12th goal of the season and believes Barca could drop points with some difficult games coming up notably next weekend at Atletico Madrid who beat them 4-3 at the Vicente Calderon last season.

“Last year Barcelona slipped up there (at Atletico Madrid) and dropped points,” said Higuain. “Up until now they have not lost a single match but now the tricky games are coming up and we will see what happens.”

The Indianapolis Colt’s #29 Joseph Addai breaks through to the 23rd yard line during play at the Super Bowl XLIV. Just 4 1/2 years after their domed stadium became a house of horrors for those trapped by floodwaters and waiting in vain for help or rescue, the Saints touched off the biggest celebration of all in a city known for its party scene.

Inspired by a city still rebuilding from the 2005 devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Saints captured their first Super Bowl crown on Sunday by rallying for a 31-17 triumph over Indianapolis.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees completed a Super Bowl record-tying 32 passes in 39 attempts for 288 yards and two touchdowns to claim Most Valuable Player honors in the National Football League’s championship spectacle.

“We just believed in ourselves,” Brees said. “We knew we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us. It was all meant to be. It was all destiny.”

It was Tracy Porter’s 74-yard interception return touchdown with 3:12 remaining that sealed the epic victory, one that had Saints fans in the stands chanting their cajun battle cry – “Who Dat Say Dey Gonna Beat Dem Saints?”Related Article: New Orleans explodes with joy

“We put this city on our back four years ago and now it’s all worth it,” Saints safety Roman Harper said.

Pierre Thomas #23 of the New Orleans Saints runs the ball against the Indianapolis Colts during Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints had been losers for most of their 43-year history and fell behind 10-0 to the Colts before bouncing back to deny Indianapolis a second title in four seasons.

Just 4 1/2 years after their domed stadium became a house of horrors for those trapped by floodwaters and waiting in vain for help or rescue, the Saints touched off the biggest celebration of all in a city known for its party scene.

“New Orleans is back and this showed the whole world,” said Saints owner Tom Benson.

The Saints, once laughing-stocks that Benson was looking to relocate, had been losers for most of their 43-year history and fell behind 10-0 to the Colts before bouncing back to deny Indianapolis a second title in four seasons.

“You can’t put it into words. The city and region have been through so much. They have been so supportive this whole time,” said Saints receiver Marques Colston, who caught seven passes for 83 yards.

“We knew this as going to be a hard Super Bowl but we believed in each other and we got it done. It’s incredible.”

New Orleans Saints #12 Marques Colston runs with the ball during second quarter play. Inspired by a city still rebuilding from the 2005 devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Saints captured their first Super Bowl crown on Sunday by rallying for a 31-17 triumph over Indianapolis.

“Everyone knows what the city has gone through,” Saints defender Darren Sharper said. “That’s what makes it special. They’ve wanted it for a long time.”

Porter stepped in front of Colts receiver Reggie Wayne, picked off a pass from Indianapolis star Peyton Manning and returned it to the end zone to put the Saints ahead by the final margin.Related Article: No more Manning miracles

Manning, who had engineered an NFL-best seven victory comebacks in the fourth quarter this season, drove the Colts to the New Orleans 3-yard line but a fourth-down incompletion with 44 seconds to play sealed the Saints’ triumph.

Manning, whose father Archie was a former Saints star, completed 31-of-45 passes for 333 yards and a touchdown but one deadly interception.

Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Indianapolis Colts during Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Brees went 7-for-7 for 44 yards in marching the Saints 59 yards in 4:57 to give New Orleans the lead for good on a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey with 5:42 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Saints went for a two-point conversion pass that was ruled incomplete. New Orleans called for a video review and had the call overturned, Lance Moore being credited with possession in the end zone.

That gave New Orleans a 24-17 lead, meaning the Colts would need a touchdown and conversion kick simply to equalize.

Manning entered and had moved Indianapolis to the New Orleans 31-yard line when Porter made the interception that sealed the victory.

New Orleans recovered an onside kick to begin the second half and Brees quickly took advantage, marching the Saints 58 yards in just six plays as they took their first lead at 13-10 on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Thomas only 3:19 into the third quarter.

The Colts with a four-yard touchdown run by Joseph Addai for a 17-13 lead 8:45 into the third quarter, but Garrett Hartley followed with his third field goal of the game, a 47-yard effort, to pull New Orleans within 17-16 and set up the dramatic finish.

Hartley hit field goals of 44 and 46 yards in the second quarter, pulling the Saints within 10-6 at half-time after the Colts took the lead on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Pierre Garcon and a 38-yard field goal by Matt Stover, the oldest player in Super Bowl history at age 42.

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic during the Australian Open. Djokovic will strive to show that his recent case of indigestion at the Australian Open was just a case of bad luck, with the Serb world number two returning to action as top seed at the Rotterdam Open starting here on Monday.

Novak Djokovic will strive to show that his recent case of indigestion at the Australian Open was just a case of bad luck, with the Serb world number two returning to action as top seed at the Rotterdam Open starting here on Monday.

Djokovic, who moved up to second in the world behind Roger Federer after the Australian Open, had to quit with stomach problems in a quarter-final loss to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Djokovic last played at the Ahoy stadium in this Dutch port city in 2007, reaching the semi-finals at the ATP 500 series event with a loss to Mikhail Youzhny, the eventual champion. He opens in the first round against Ukrainian Sergei Stakhovsky, ranked 66th.

Djokovic takes top seeding after the injury withdrawal of Rafael Nadal, who is resting a fragile knee on doctor’s orders in Spain with hopes of returning in early March.

Nadal played the 2009 final, losing with a different knee injury to Andy Murray, who is not returning to defend his title.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has been forced to pull out of the Rotterdam Open due to a stomach muscle injury.

The event received another late blow from Australian Open semi-finalist Tsonga, forced to pull out due to a stomach muscle injury.

“It bothered me in the quarter-final against Novak Djokovic and in the semi-final against Roger Federer,” Tsonga revealed on his website.

“I hope I’ll be able to go back to training next week without serving.”

Australian Open surprise Nikolay Davydenko returns to Rotterdam for the seventh consecutive year, with semi-finals in 2006 and 2007 as his best efforts.

The sixth-ranked Russian turned into the comedy hit of the Open as his formerly quiet personality sudden took on new life in a series of entertaining media conferences.

The workaholic of the courts comes back to Rotterdam with recent success including the title at the year-end championships in London in November and victory in Doha in January.

His opening test will be against Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who has beaten the Russian in four of five ATP meetings and is also in form having reached the final of the South African Open.

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal (R) is treated during the Australian Open. He withdrew from the semi-final match with Andy Murray. He is resting a fragile knee on doctor’s orders in Spain with hopes of returning in early March

Sweden’s Robin Soderling, last year’s Roland Garros finalist against Federer, was given a wild card after an opening round defeat in Australia.

Soderling lost the 2008 final to France’s MIchael Llodra, inserted into the 32-man draw in place of compatriot Tsonga.

Frenchman Gael Monfils takes the fourth seeding with a late start expected after he reached the semi-finals at the South African Open but failed to live up to his top seed status as Lopez beat him in their last four encounter.

Spain’s Tommy Robredo is seeded fifth ahead of Youzhny.

American James Blake makes his Rotterdam debut with a first-round encounter with Marcos Baghdatis as the Cypriot shrugs off concerns of tendinitis in a shoulder.

Finland has produced a long line of great Rally drivers but never one quite with the pedigree or potential of 2007 Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

The 30-year-old former McLaren and Ferrari driver, known as the ‘Iceman’, has opted to forego the massive wages on offer on the Formula One circuit to have a tilt at capturing the world rally title this season – the first leg gets under way in Sweden next Thursday.

It is a decision the impassive unemotional Finn – though his readiness for laughs extends to competing in a powerboat race dressed as a gorilla under the pseudonym James Hunt in honour of the late Formula One champion (gaining his team the award for best dressed group) – is not regretting making.

“This is a different challenge,” conceded Raikkonen, whose older brother Rami is a rally driver, when the pilots came together for a press conference in Paris earlier this week.

“To be frank I am more interested in this than Formula One. Even when I was testing my Formula One car I never paid any interest to the times of the other drivers,” added Raikkonen, who will be racing for the Citroen Junior team.

Raikkonen, who was released by Ferrari at the end of last season and replaced by Fernando Alonso despite a year remaining on his contract, said he preferred the atmosphere and camaraderie around the Rally paddock to Formula One.

“This is very nice and more open than in Formula One,” said Raikkonen, who had 18 wins in 156 starts in Grands Prix with his first coming in the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix.

“The teams are more friendly with each other. It’s great.

“It (the Rally stables) is very small. The people are closer in terms of personal relationships.

“Of course the challenge is different as in Formula One you are racing against each other, whereas in Rallying it is racing against the clock,” added Raikkonen, who has raced in one previous leg of the series, the 2009 Rally of Finland, which he failed to finish.

Raikkonen, who had an offer from McLaren which broke down over financial terms and didn’t fancy a move to Toyota, admitted he didn’t expect to make an immediate impact.

“Everything is new. I don’t know the places or the stages,” he confessed.

“It’s always exciting. You have to learn everything, gain experience and in all sorts of conditions. Also writing the notes on each stage and the direction to take is extremely important.

“I am learning from zero. With the notes, you have to write them so you can understand them. If they are not legible you make mistakes.”

Raikkonen, who when he first joined Ferrari replacing seven-times champion Michael Schumacher was on 51million dollars a year, also was at pains to downplay the rumours that this year was a means of breaking him in so he could step up and be six-time champion Sebastien Loeb’s team-mate.

“There are always stories like that. I just want to learn and we’ll see what happens,” he said.

Raikkonen also insisted that thoughts of him winning the title were overly ambitious.

“It would be great to win but let’s wait and see what happens,” he said.

“I don’t really know what to expect, I want to get into the points first and later in the season we can work on getting the car to go faster.”

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.

Real Madrid are also at home on Saturday as they host Espanyol looking for an 11th straight home victory at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Cristiano Ronaldo is still suspended but veteran Guti, 33, has been in fine form and taking the plaudits in the press.

“Guti is a different sort of player (to Cristiano Ronaldo),” said midfielder Xabi Alonso. “You don’t spend 15 years at Real Madrid for nothing. It’s important that people enjoy his football. He is on a roll.”

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.

“It would be nice to think we could get to the (Champions League) final and have Owen Hargreaves available but we’re not in the cup final,” Ferguson said.

“We’ve got AC Milan in 10 days or two weeks time and really we need to win that game.

“And if I chose Owen I would have to leave another important player out and that important player could be the one I need for the AC Milan game so the decision was not so much about the latter part of the campaign but it was to do with the Milan game.

“Sometimes it is a hard decision but it was the correct decision.

“Owen Hargreaves will not be available for the AC Milan game and it’s more important for us as a club to navigate that one.

“His recovery is slow, it is a year and a half now and I can’t put a time on it now so I think I’ve done the right thing. He will be back though and hopefully make an impact in the league for us and hopefully he does.”

Defender Nemanja Vidic could return to the United line-up for Saturday’s fixture with Portsmouth for the first time since the 5-0 victory over Wigan Athletic on December 30.

He has been struggling with a calf problem but looks to have overcome that and has trained all week although United will be without fellow defender John O’Shea whose thigh strain shows little sign of improving at present.

Win or lose on Sunday, the New Orleans Saints will return from their first-ever Super Bowl to a hero’s welcome, complete with their own Carnival parade, from a long-suffering city still rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina.

Win or lose on Sunday, the New Orleans Saints will return from their first-ever Super Bowl to a hero’s welcome, complete with their own Carnival parade, from a long-suffering city still rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina.

Super Bowl fever has swamped the Big Easy, where everything from Mardi Gras parades to church services has been rescheduled to make sure fans can catch the kickoff of their team’s first-ever shot at the National Football League championship spectacle.

The Saints’ surprisingly successful season has been a powerful tonic for residents still recovering from the killer August 26, 2005 storm that flooded nearly 80 percent of the low-lying coastal city.

Hundreds of people died in their homes after the levees broke and water levels rose the rooftops. Even more died in the chaos that followed — including some of those stranded in the Superdome football stadium that served as a shelter.

Locals, who had angrily brooded over the sluggish pace of recovery, have for months now greeted each other on the street with the joyously ungrammatical Saints’ fan chant, “Who dat? Who dat! Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?”

The emotional boost came at a time when disaster-struck residents typically become disillusioned and fearful that their lives will never return to normal, said Charles Figley, an expert in post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Superdome football stadium — once a horrific symbol of the abject failure of government to help thousands of people displaced by the storm — is now an emblem of the city’s rebirth.

“It’s new life. It’s new hope. It’s promise,” said Figley, a professor at Tulane University in New Orleans.

“The Saints are in the Super Bowl — Anything is possible.”

Most cities only throw parades if their teams win the Super Bowl.

But fans here have been greeting their team at the airport after every game this season. And city officials say the floats will roll and the marching bands will play for the Saints on Tuesday whether they win or lose.

A football with the new Super Bowl logo is unveiled during a press conference held at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center as part of media week for Super Bowl XLIV, on February 4. Super Bowl fever has swamped New Orleans, where everything has been rescheduled to make sure fans can catch the kickoff of their team’s first-ever shot at the NFL championship spectacle.

“Beating the Indianapolis Colts may be more important to the players, but the fans will be proud of the Saints — win or lose,” explained Vincent Sylvain, a radio talk show host on WBOK-AM radio.

The Saints’ Super Bowl bid has put New Orleans back in the national spotlight “right at the time when we think many people have forgotten us,” Sylvain said. “It’s more than just a game.”

The players agree.

“It’s a source of strength for us just knowing we’re playing for much more than a Super Bowl,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said.

“We have an opportunity to give them so much hope, lift their spirits. No city deserves a champion more than New Orleans.”

A million people were displaced by Katrina and tens of thousands have not yet returned.

The Saints spent a year as nomads, with owner Tom Benson pondering relocating the team while the Superdome was repaired.

The notion that the once-woeful Saints could even reach the Super Bowl five years after Katrina is so fantastic that residents here credit the team with infusing the city with triumphant optimism not seen since the storm.

“No matter what happens in the Super Bowl, the Saints have already given this city a gift that will last forever,” novelist Tom Piazza agreed, as he tried on a black-and-gold Saints cap at a drugstore in the flood-scarred Lakeview neighborhood.

“No matter what stories other cities tell about themselves, New Orleans has the greatest story of any city in the country and maybe the world.”

If past is prologue, Damion Frey predicted he will see a surge of business after the Super Bowl at the Art Accent Tattoo Studio near the French Quarter.

“We’re doing more fleur de lis, more Superdomes and more 504s than we did before the storm,” said Frey, referring to the Saints’ domed stadium and the city’s telephone area code.

Winning the championship would be a welcome feat, he said. But it would just be icing on the cake.

“We ‘won’ — we done got there.”

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.”

But former England manager Graham Taylor took a measured view, saying Capello would think of how the decision to strip Terry of the captaincy would affect his performance as the team heads into the World Cup.

“The most important thing is how he performs as a player, not that he’s the captain,” Taylor told BBC radio.

Capello could opt to take the view that events in Terry’s private life are none of his business and have no bearing on the player’s role with England.

England Manager Fabio Capello is seen during a training session at Arsenal’s Training facility in London Colney, last November. Capello flew in on Thursday and will make a decision soon on whether to strip John Terry of the England captaincy just months before the World Cup in South Africa.

But that line may be untenable if — as has been reported — Bridge is not willing to be part of an England squad led by Terry.

On the other hand, if he decides to drop Terry in order to accommodate Bridge, Capello will be accused of undermining England’s chances of winning the World Cup in South Africa later this year.

Bridge, who is currently England’s second-choice left-back but by no means assured of making Capello’s final squad for the World Cup, has not made any public comment.

Terry has so far resisted calls for him to resign the captaincy and issued a statement on Tuesday saying he would not be making a decision before he had spoken to Capello.

Reports of Terry’s infidelity were published after a High Court judge lifted an injunction on the media barring disclosure of the alleged affair, ruling that it could not be justified under current English law.

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.

“We couldn’t see anyone shooting because of the forest. It was difficult to say how close they were. After two minutes, we all lay on the floor and I was protecting myself.

“We shouted to each other every few minutes: ‘Are you okay? Are you okay?’ “Our security guys started firing back and then one of them boarded the bus and told us not to scream. If we screamed they would know we were still alive.

“We had to be quiet. Everyone started praying while shots flew over our heads and blood was on the coach floor.”

Salifou, who has been referred to as the ‘Togolese Zidane’, was disgusted by the manner in which they had been treated by the African Football Confederation (CAF) which reached its nadir when they received a four year ban for failing to play any of their matches at the finals.

“If we had returned to the tournament, there were going to be no sanctions against Togo,” said Salilou.

“Now they (CAF say we have a four-year ban.

“They treat us like they have because we are a small country. If it had been Cameroon or the Ivory Coast, nobody is going to say they are banned from two African Cup of Nations.

“Have we been picked on? Yes, I think so. If the crime had been against Cameroon or the Ivory Coast, they would never have played the tournament.

“When it is a small country like Togo, it is not the same, although I believe we are appealing the decision.”

The state of Togo and relatives of the two victims are now plaintiffs in a suit in a French court targeting the CAF and one of the two rebel groups which claimed responsibility for the attack, whose leader is based in Paris.

Relatives of the two victims hold the CAF responsible for “failing to assure the safety of the team from injury or death,” a legal source said, although the French court must still determine whether it has the legal right to act upon the complaint.

The state of Togo also holds the FLEC-PM (Forces for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda-Military Position) responsible for “acts of terrorism”, “assassination and attempts to assassinate”.

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.