Monday International Sports News

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Sissoko set to return
Agence France-Presse . Rome
Juventus midfielder Mohamed Sissoko said on Sunday that he hasn’t long left to go before returning from injury and should be available for the Champions League preliminary matches.
The 23-year-old Mali international injured his right thigh on June 1 playing for the national team against Congo.
The former Liverpool
player - who moved to
Juventus in January for a fee of 11million euros - told La Gazzetta Sportiva that following a summer break filled with recovery work he is nearly back to 100percent.
‘I should start playing again soon, but the doctors have told me I have to take it one step at a time.
‘I don’t think there will be problems. I’ll say again, I’m fine, but if it’s possible, I’ll speed up my recovery,’ he said.
Sissoko, who prior to playing for Liverpool played for Valencia under Rafael Benitez where he won the UEFA Cup and league title in his first season,
will stay in Italy for the start of Juventus’ Champions
League campaign, rather than return to his home country for an international friendly on August 20.
However, he is keen to be present for the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Congo on September 7.
‘It’s only a friendly, I’m
not obliged to go and
there’s the Champions League preliminaries.
‘I’ll go in September for the World Cup qualifiers though,’ he said.
Sissoko is also looking forward to linking up alongside the Turin club’s new midfield signing, Christian Poulsen, who completed his 9.5 million Euro transfer from Sevilla over the weekend.
‘We have different characteristics. I think with some work we can integrate well, it’s not a case of doubling up,’ he commented.


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Inter right to target
Lampard: Zola
Agence France-Presse . Rome
Italy under-21 coach Gianfranco Zola has said that Frank Lampard would be an excellent signing for league champions Inter Milan.
The pair played together for two years at Chelsea and having seen his quality at close quarters, Zola know exactly what type of player the San Siro side will be buying.
‘Frank is unique in the world,’ he told La Gazzetta Sportiva.
‘A midfielder who can score 20 goals in the championship. The fans should know that he is not a spectacular player, but a winner.’
Should Lampard make the move to San Siro then Zola believes that he will be playing for one of the best coaches in the modern game in Jose Mourinho.
Whilst the ex-Napoli and Parma striker missed out by a year on playing under the Portuguese, he has heard enough first-hand reports to know that Mourinho can be a success in Italy.
‘Mourinho loves messing around, but when it comes to work he is a bulldozer. With Mourinho you only work with the ball, which is loved by players,’ he said.
With the Beijing Olympic Games fast approaching Zola is hopeful that Italy, whose first match is against Honduras on August 7, can improve on the bronze medal they won in Athens four years ago.
To that end he has big hopes for former Manchester United and Newcastle United striker Giuseppe Rossi, who hit 11 goals to help Villarreal to second place in the Spanish league last season.
‘Giuseppe Rossi is a phenomenon and our (Lionel) Messi. He has class, knows where the goal is and makes a difference. Plus he’s still young,’ he said.


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Adriano in Blues swap link
Sportinglife . London
Adriano’s agent is tight-lipped on reports the Inter Milan striker could be used as bait in a bid for Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard. The Italian champions’ president Massimo Moratti stated on Saturday that it is now up to the player, who has yet to agree a contract extension at Chelsea.
The latest speculation claims Inter will offer Brazilian striker Adriano plus cash in a bid to tempt Chelsea into a sale. Adriano’s future at Giuseppe Meazza is uncertain after talks with new coach Jose Mourinho and his representative Gilmar Rinaldi did not confirm reports he could swap places with Lampard.
‘Mourinho and Adriano have met and talked, but I can’t say how this meeting went,’ Rinaldi told Observer Sport.
‘The player is flying back from Rio de Janeiro to Milan next week as the pre-season starts on Wednesday. I will neither confirm nor deny that he will be exchanged for Lampard.’


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Bhutia scores a brace against
Ballack’s team
Agencies . Munich
It was a night to remember for India captain Bhaichung Bhutia who stood out with his brace alongside some big names in world football in a charity match here at the Allianz Arena.
The Saturday night match was organised by former Dutch international Clarence Seedorf and Brazil striker Ronaldo to raise money for the ‘Goal 4 Africa’ project, which was inspired by Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela’s dream of ‘Education for all—all for education’. Seedorf is also the brand ambassador for the ‘Goal4Africa’ project.
The match was played in true spirit as the two teams were name ‘Edu’ and ‘Cation’.
Bhaichung turned out for Seedorf’s side Edu, which lost 6-9 to Michael Ballack-led Cation. The Indian captain scored two and set up one for legendry Formula One driver Michael Schumacher and made his presence felt among the constellation of stars, who sweated out on the home turf of Bayern Munich for a noble cause.
The Indian forward, who played upfront, had to overcome a tough challenge from the solid Italian defender Gennaro Gattuso, something that Bhaichung could have never done with the national team.
Bhaichung also made some good moves and on one occasion set up Seedorf but the latter failed to get past Brazilian goalkeeper Nelson Dida.
A few minutes later, Bhaichung released Schumacher on the right and on receiving the return pass shot it wide.
In the 33rd minute came the much awaited moment when the Indian captain chested the ball and unleashed his powerful left footer to beat Dida from close range.
After the breather, Bhaichung came close to scoring again after being set-up by Schumacher. The Indian striker chased the ball and his resultant kick missed the bar by a whisker. Few minutes later, Seedorf laid the ball for the Indian star to place it in the net. This was Bhaichung’s second goal for his losing team but for a noble cause.
The campaign hopes to raise more than $90m (£45m) by 2010. Goal4Africa hopes to build a lasting legacy for the continent - using football, a game that is hugely popular across Africa, to help achieve its objective.


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