Inter cancel Adriano's contract

Inter Milan have cancelled the contract of their unsettled Brazilian striker Adriano.

The 27-year-old announced earlier this month that he was taking a break from the game and would stay in Brazil to rethink his career.

In a statement, Inter thanked the player for "his 74 goals and the eight years we spent together."

The move was widely expected with his contract with the club due to run out at the end of next season.

Adriano did not return to Italy after Brazil's World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Peru, in which he was an unused substitute.

He said at the time: "I've lost the happiness of playing. I wouldn't like to go back to Italy, I want to live in peace here in Brazil.

Adriano joined Inter in 2001 but had loan spells with Fiorentina for the first half of 2002, then Parma (late 2002 to January 2004) and finally Sao Paulo (in the first half of 2008).

He played 177 times for Inter, scoring 48 goals in 123 league appearances and 18 in 35 European matches and won the Serie A title in 2006, 2007 and 2008 as well as two Italian Cups.

Source: bbc.co.uk/sports

English Angle: England Don't Need A No. 9 To Win In 2010

Fabio Capello's squad, as ever, looks a little short up front, but Goal.com's Alan Dawson believes this needn't hold back the Three Lions on their quest to re-establish themselves as one of the international scene's top teams...

Italy proved just as much with their 2006 World Cup squad as the awkward Luca Toni managed to record just two goals during that competition. The goal-scoring burden fell on the shoulders of the supporting Azzurri cast, with players such as Andrea Pirlo, Francesco Totti, Gianluca Zambrotta, Alessandro Del Piero, Fabio Grosso and Marco Materazzi lending their weight towards the goal-getting effort.

England manager Fabio Capello does not have the luxury of calling up a relentlessly net-bulging No. 9 like the Alan Shearers, Jimmy Greaves and the Bobby Charltons of the past, so, bar Michael Owen - should the northern crock ever return to a sustained run of full match fitness - the Italian tactician should arguably focus more on where the Three Lions are blessed with quality in abundance: the midfield.

By skirting clear of England's favoured 4-4-2 formation - a system that has not borne fruit for an unwanted number of years now - and opting for the more continental and flexible 4-2-3-1, Capello can suitably answer the question of whether Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can play in the same team together. All too often they were slotted into the centre of the 4-4-2 and, consequently, England fans were left underwhelmed as they failed to dovetail.

Under Rafael Benitez at Liverpool, Gerrard is flourishing more than ever and calls from esteemed figureheads such as Zinedine Zidane have declared that the Scouse skipper is the best in the world. The influence he has at club-level certainly seems to be unrivalled and so Capello's primary task must be replicating that on the international arena, by, presumably, continuing to deploy him in the No. 10's role.

How can you accommodate the pair?

A 4-4-2 can often be too rigid and concrete, with set roles too defined, whereas the 4-2-3-1 has room for negotiation, meaning that Gerrard could even be positioned further up-field. It is possible that he could perform the same duties as his club's local rival Tim Cahill has recently been doing with Everton while they suffered from a striking crisis.

Both Gerrard and Rooney can effectively share the role of the spearheading trequartista. They would then have to rely on an incoming midfield or two - from Frank Lampard; Theo Walcott; Ashley Young; Shaun Wright-Phillips; the resurgent Aaron Lennon; and Joe Cole (when he returns) - to take advantage of the second ball.

Comparisons between Gerrard and Lampard are futile and ultimately pointless. They play different roles. Gerrard now supports Fernando Torres while Lampard is effectively an attack-minded box-to-box midfielder. His defensive work is often understated. He is strong in the tackle and his positional sense in the deeper areas of the midfield is nothing short of wise.

Source: goal.com

Evra says France's fans lack football culture

France defender Patrice Evra has slammed French fans, claiming their lack of support for the national team shows a lack of football culture and that their support paled in comparison to that he receives at Manchester United.

A disastrous Euro 2008 saw them eliminated at the group stage after failing to win a match and French players were jeered by their own fans at the Stade Velodrome during a friendly defeat by Argentina last month and Evra, who was sidelined for the match, has hit out at the boo boys.

"I was disappointed to see the fans shouting 'ola' when the Argentinians were doing their tricks," he told France sports daily L'Equipe.

"(Manchester United team-mate and Argentina striker Carlos) Tevez, when he came back from international duty, told me he felt as if he was playing in Buenos Aires.

"There were (Diego) Maradona and Argentina flags in the stands. I still haven't seen a (Thierry) Henry flag or a (Franck) Ribery one at the Stade de France.

"The supporters need to be behind us. If they want us to get to the World Cup they will need to do something different."

Evra added: "We don't have the sporting culture of Brazilian, Argentinian, Italian or English fans.

"When I arrived in England, I had the impression that I was doing a new job. Because of the impact of the stadiums and the supporters...there it's a religion.

"We don't lose on purpose, nobody does that, we all go out there to win.

"In three years at United I have just lost two games on the trot for the first time, I understand that we have to win the next game. But even when we've lost, they've still applauded us, not booed."

Evra admits the players have been affected by the jeers and has urged the fans to get behind every single member of the France camp ahead of the crucial double header against Group Seven rivals Lithuania.

"It certainly affects us," he continued. "We talk about it between ourselves.

"I'm at a great club. When you have 76,000 people behind you, it gives you a massive boost, but if you hear boos from the fifth minute, you can't feel the same thing.

Tevez's Future Hangs In The Balance

Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez says he will only know what his future holds at the end of the season.

The barrel-chested Argentine is contracted to United until June, having initially arrived on a two year loan from West Ham.

The Red Devils are reportedly in agreement to pay around GBP 30 million for the player's services to a third party, but this has yet to be contractually sealed.

Tevez, however, hinted he would like to remain at Old Trafford. "I have the head start in Manchester and my idea is to stay here for a few more years," Tevez told Radio del Plata.

"It would be very difficult to have to leave one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"I spoke with the president of the club, but nothing is signed yet."

Source: soccer365.com

Nene keen on Arsenal move

Brazilian striker Nene has admitted he would be interested in joining Premiership side Arsenal in the summer.

The 25-year-old has been linked with a move to the Gunners in the press recently, but the Brazilian ace has admitted he has not been in contact with the club.

Nene has scored 14 goals in 17 games for Portuguese side Nacional this season.

Nene said: “I only know about the rumours in the press.

“I have spoken with my agent and we still have not received a concrete offer.

“I am focussed on helping Nacional to seucre success this season.

“My dream is to progress in football and it is normal that I desire a bright future.”

source: soccernews.com

Official: Hiddink Confirmed As Chelsea Coach

Chelsea have today appointed Guus Hiddink as their coach until the end of the season, as a statement on their official website confirms. The appointment had been expected over the last 48 hours, as the Dutchman, coach of the Russian national team and a close personal friend of Chelsea's oligarch Russian owner Roman Abramovich, emerged as the strong favourite to succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari.

The statement reads, "Chelsea Football Club is delighted to confirm Guus Hiddink will become temporary coach until the end of the season.

"He is due to meet the players later this week. The club would like to take this opportunity to thank the Russian Football Union for their understanding and co-operation."

Hiddink has managed the Russian national side since 2006, and England supporters will be well aware of how his team qualified for Euro 2008 at the expense of the Three Lions. His Russian side reached the semi-finals of the competition, and were applauded throughout for the skill and verve with which they played.

The Dutchman has combined the roles of coaching a national side and a club side previously. When, in 2002, he returned to coach PSV Eindhoven, whom he'd coached to a hat-trick of Eredivisie titles and a European Cup victory in the late 1980s, he combined the role with that of coaching Australia, whom he guided to their first World Cup finals since 1974, and still managed to win the Dutch league three times in four years.

His first test as Chelsea coach will be a trip to Premier League form side Aston Villa on February 21.

Bayern Munich - a blackhole for Germany´s rising stars?

Just like Germany stars Lukas Podolski, Jan Schlaudraff and Marcell Jansen before him, talented teenager Toni Kroos has become the latest star to opt out of Bayern Munich.

“For a young player, to play is most important and it is something which was only proposed to me on occasion at Bayern,” said Kroos, voted the best player at the Under-19 World Cup in 2007.

Kroos, 19, signed an 18-month loan deal with Bayer Leverkusen last week having made just seven league appearances for Bayern this season.

It remains to be see whether he ever returns to Bayern and he is not the only rising German star to leave the Bavarian giants in frustration at a lack of first-team chances.

Podolski, voted the best young player at the 2006 World Cup, also shone for the national team during Euro 2008, despite spending virtually all of last season amongst the reserves, but his torture will end.

Next season, he returns to Cologne - even if they are relegated - from where he broke into the Germany side before his ill-fated switch to Bayern in 2006.

Barred by more experienced and expensive players like Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni, who both command higher salaries, Kroos and Podolski are not the only examples of promising players who failed to make the grade at Bayern.

Having impressed with Aachen, Jan Schlaudraff played only eight matches in the Bayern shirt before joining Hanover last summer.

His time on the bench in Munich cost him his place in the Germany squad.

And Euro 2008 finalist, Marcell Jansen lasted only a season in Bayern before heading to Hamburg.

“Of course, it is extremely difficult for talented young players to exert themselves in the team,” Jansen told the Bild newspaper.

“Young players don’t have this unscrupulousness and if you don’t take your first chance you have a long wait for the second one - if it comes at all.”

When Bayern failed to qualify for the Champions League in 2007, they flexed their considerable financial muscle with a 70 million euro spending spree to recruit the likes of Klose, Toni and French midfielder Franck Ribery.

“Our philosophy rests on two pillars, one with the likes of foreign players like Ribery and Toni, which has guaranteed our success, the other with players who are home-grown,” said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

And while the Bayern boss quotes the names of nurtured stars in Michael Rensing, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm, even glittering performances with Germany do not guarantee a place in Bayern’s first team.

But Bayern, with 21 German titles to their name, will always attract the country’s top young players, like Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Alexander Baumjohann, who has just signed a three-year contract.

“I believe I will be able to succeed in Munich, if not, I would not have accepted this offer,” said the 22-year-old midfielder echoing the sentiments of the likes of Podolski, Schlaudraff and Jansen before him.

Source: www.soccernews.com