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Holders Inter Milan collapsed to a stunning 5-2 home defeat by a makeshift
Schalke 04 team in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at the San
Siro Tuesday and face almost certain elimination.

Inter failed to build on a first-minute lead
and lost their shape completely as Schalke ran riot before the home side
finished with 10 men after defender Cristian Chivu was sent off.

Inter were handed the perfect start when
Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer ran out to head the ball clear and Dejan
Stankovic volleyed the ball into the net from just inside his own half.

But the Germans struck back through Joel
Matip and, although Diego Milito briefly restored Inter’s lead, two goals from Edu,
one from Raul and an own goal by Andrea Ranocchia put Schalke in complete
control of the tie before next week’s second leg.

“It could have been 10-5 or 8-4,”
said Schalke 04 coach Ralf Rangnick. “Our attacking policy paid off. We
looked dangerous with every attack, we always looked as if we were going to get
a shot on goal.”

Inter coach Leonardo, already smarting after
a 3-0 defeat by rivals AC Milan in Serie A Saturday, added: “We have to
change this situation, we lost two important games, we must stay together and
we must try to forget these two heavy defeats.

“I have to be realistic but we are going
to do our best and try and get the result we need (in the second leg) even if
it’s a very difficult one.

“Anything is possible in football, we
will do our best to the results.”

The match had an extraordinary start when
Neuer rushed out of his area to head away Esteban Cambiasso’s long ball
forward.

His clearance landed at the feet of Stankovic
who calmly produced an exquisite volley that flew over the bemused Schalke
keeper and into the goal.

The visitors levelled in the 17th minute
when Kyriakos Papadopoulos’s effort was saved by Julio Cesar but Matip followed
up to bury the rebound.

Inter regained the lead in the 34th when
Wesley Sneijder picked out Cambiasso at the far post and he headed the ball
into the path of fellow Argentine Milito, who sidefooted his first Champions
League goal of the season.

Second
attempt

It took only six minutes for Schalke to
level again when Alexander Baumjohann sent Edu free down the right and he
scored at the second attempt after Julio Cesar again saved in vain.

Inter made an electric start to the second
half, Milito failing to put away a clear chance after he scuttled clear of the
Schalke defence and Neuer atoning for his earlier eccentricity with a superb
save to deny Samuel Eto’o.

Schalke made the most of their let-off when Spanish striker Raul
scored with a trademark finish in the 53rd to extend his record as the
competition’s leading scorer to 70 goals.

Four minutes later, disaster struck for the
Italians when Jose Manuel Jurado broke down the right and his low cross was
turned into his own net by Ranocchia.

Inter’s night got even worse when Chivu was
sent off for his second yellow card just past the hour. Jurado then struck a
post before Edu added another, sparking a mass exodus of home fans.

REUTERS

Chelsea must avenge their 2008 Champions League final defeat by Manchester United or face a trophyless season if they lose the all-English quarter-final which starts at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday (1845 GMT).

Defeat for Chelsea, 11 points behind United in the Premier League title race with eight games to play, would put manager Carlo Ancelotti under huge pressure less than a year after he led the team to a league and FA Cup double.

The Italian knows his future is on a knife-edge after an uneven season and recent history between the two clubs suggests that the Champions League tie, which concludes at Old Trafford next Tuesday, will be decided by the slimmest of margins.

Only two of their last 11 competitive matches have been settled by more than one goal, while their most famous meeting, the Champions League final in Moscow, went to penalties.

Chelsea go into the match with a good record at home against United. They are unbeaten in their last 10 matches against Alex Ferguson’s men, including last month’s Premier League game when they came from behind to win 2-1 with a goal from David Luiz and a Frank Lampard penalty.

Chelsea’s front men, however, have been lacklustre with Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Salomon Kalou and Fernando Torres scoring just three goals in their last nine matches.

NO GOALS

Torres, two months after his 50 million-pound move from Liverpool, is still looking for his first goal for Chelsea after eight appearances, and might start on the bench.

Chelsea drew 1-1 at Stoke City on Saturday, though they played better than the result suggested, and Ancelotti is looking forward to Wednesday’s game.

“The condition of the players is good psychologically and physically. We don’t have any problems and we are ready to play United. We have the confidence to do our best and win,” he said.

“We know that United have the same opinion. It will be a very exciting game, a very tough game. We know everything about Manchester United and they know everything about us. Whoever deserves to win, will win.”

United recovered from trailing 2-0 to win 4-2 at West Ham United where Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick and Javier Hernandez the other goal.

Rooney blotted his performance by a foul-mouthed rant live on television, for which he has been charged by the FA, but he will play on Wednesday and look to repeat the goal he scored in the league match at Chelsea last month.

Saturday’s victory at West Ham left United seven points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table.

Defender Chris Smalling, whose trip on Yuri Zhirkov led to the penalty that cost United the league game at Stamford Bridge, said the mood in Manchester was confident.

“Those things happen in your career…and it’s important how you react, and we’ve kicked on with our performances. We’re now going into Wednesday’s game with a lot of confidence — and so we should.”

Teams (possible):

Chelsea: 1-Petr Cech; 3-Ashley Cole, 26-John Terry, 33-Alex, 17-Jose Bosingwa; 7-Ramires, 8-Frank Lampard, 5-Michael Essien, 15-Florent Malouda; 11-Didier Drogba, 39-Nicolas Anelka

Manchester United: 1-Edwin Van der Sar; 2-Fabio da Silva, 15-Nemanja Vidic, 12-Chris Smalling, 3-Patrice Evra, 25-Antonio Valencia, 16-Michael Carrick, 18-Paul Scholes, 11-Ryan Giggs, 17-Nani 10-Wayne Rooney

Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

REUTERS

When Jose Mourinho and his boys file
out at the Santiago Bernabeu today, the players may still be thinking
about their 0-1 loss to Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Victory and not
conceding a crucial away goal to Tottenham will also be one of the
challenges facing Real Madrid, including the loss of top goal scorer,
Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese captain may miss the game because of
a thigh problem even though Mourinho has said the Portuguese star could
be risked if the player agrees to play.

Mourinho also just lost his record of
not losing a league match at home for nine years to Gijon -so will the
Real players be motivated to win this tie that could see them meeting
their fiercest rivals, Barcelona in the semi finals? But that is
jumping the gun.

Karim Benzema and Marcelo could also
miss out, which means that Mourinho must exact the best from his
threadbare squad. The good news is that Gonzalo Higuain is back even
though he showed signs of rustiness in the match against Gijon.

Tottenham as always will be expected be
at their exuberant best in this their first foray into the Champions
League quarter finals. They have already beaten AC Milan and Inter
Milan but today’s match is against the grand heavyweight of the
tournament -nine-time winners at one of the hallowed grounds of
football – Santiago Bernebeu. Will the players be frightened unto
submission or will the atmosphere lift their game?

Left to Harry Redknapp, their manager,
this tie holds no fear, apart from the raft of injuries that Spurs are
suffering from presently.

Defenders Ledley King, Jonathan
Woodgate and Younes Kaboul were joined by Alan Hutton, who needs
surgery for a knee injury on the treatment table. There are also doubts
over the fitness of William Gallas but Tom Huddlestone and Gareth Bale
should be fit.

Inter have to be careful

Still with a shout
to reclaim the treble won last season but with the bad result of
Saturday still ringing in their ears, the defending champions have the
onerous task of facing the competition’s remaining under-dog, Schalke
04.

And in Schalke 04
boss Ralf Rangnick, we have a greenhorn, having never coached any team
in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Though they might
be high on confidence having beaten Spanish club Valencia 4-2 on
aggregate in the round of 16, they have some injury problems, as do
Inter, especially in defence. Christoph Metzelder is likely to miss out
for Schalke with a broken nose. Mario Gavranovic has an ankle complaint
and Peer Kluge picked up an injury in Friday’s league match against St
Pauli, abandoned after the assistant referee was hit by a cup of beer
thrown from the stands.

Brazilian defender Lucio will sit out
the match due to suspension and should be replaced by Ivan Cordoba.
Andrea Ranocchia, his partner has been showing his inexperience in
recent times so it is left to old warhorse – Raul and the speedy
Jefferson Farfan to find the gaps.</

The
management of English Premier League side, West Ham United are
investigating claims by the family of their Nigerian forward, Obinna
Nsofor, that they were racially abused by spectators during last
weekend’s game against Manchester United.

A similar
allegation was also levelled by the family of the club’s French
forward, Frederic Piquionne, against a section of the home fans during
Saturday’s 4-2 defeat at Upton Park.

And the London
based club’s co-chairman, David Sullivan, says he is “appalled” by
allegations that racial abuse was directed towards the families of both
players.

A statement on the
club’s website read that the club is searching for more evidence, after
a small group of supporters allegedly racially abused the families of
both players, who were sitting in the corporate box in the West Stand
during the loss to Manchester United.

CCTV footage is being studied and stewards are being interviewed but Sullivan has already spoken out on the matter.

“If these
allegations are found to be true, then it appals me,” he told the
Evening Standard. “I believe all human beings are equal. We are all
born with different physical attributes.”

He added: “I happen
to be small and I’ve been the subject to many years of ‘heightism’ -a
word I invented -so I know how people feel when they are subject to
this sort of abuse.

“We will be
monitoring CCTV, interviewing stewards and taking strong action against
offenders if these allegations are proved to be correct.

“It is particularly
sad that the families of our players were so treated.” At least one of
the family members left the box to confront the fans and it is believed
an argument broke out.

West Ham launched a
new campaign in their matchday programme on Saturday urging fans to
respect each other. But reports in the British media suggest that the
families of both players are considering making an official complaint
to the club while West Ham officials say that they are investigating
the accusations.

A club spokesman said: “We take these allegations very seriously and
are looking into them. If there is found to be any wrongdoing, then we
will take appropriate action.”

Mohammed
Bin Hammam will be the only challenger for the FIFA presidency when
incumbent Sepp Blatter stands for re-election on June 1, soccer’s world
governing body confirmed Monday.

FIFA said that
Swiss Blatter, who has been president since 1998 and will be trying for
a fourth term, and Qatari multi-millionaire businessman, Bin Hammam
were the only candidates to register by the April 1 deadline.

The election will
be held on June 1 at the FIFA Congress in Zurich where each one of the
208 member national associations holds a vote, provided they are not
suspended at the time.

There had been two
other possible candidates but US journalist, Grant Wahl, said he failed
to get the written support of one national football association, which
candidates must have, and former Chile captain, Elias Figueroa, pulled
out last Thursday.

Figueroa, one of
South America’s most respected footballers, was representing a group
called Change FIFA but said he did not have enough time from which to
launch a creditable platform.

Humble beginning

Blatter, FIFA’s
eighth president since the organisation was founded in 1904, joined as
a technical officer in 1975 and was general secretary from 1981 to 1998
under the presidency of Joao Havelange.

In 1998 he swept to
a 111-80 victory over Swede, Lennart Johansson, then UEFA president,
who conceded defeat, forgoing a second ballot.

Four years later,
Blatter took a landslide 139-56 vote victory over Cameroon’s Issa
Hayatou, the president of the African confederation, and if anything,
his grip on FIFA has tightened since then.

There were no opponents when he was re-elected in 2007.

Under Blatter’s
leadership, FIFA took the World Cup to Africa for the first time,
holding what was widely seen as a successful tournament in South Africa.

Bin Hammam, 61, is also a candidate from within FIFA, having been a member of the powerful executive committee since 1996.

Although he was not
part of the bidding team, he played a huge role in securing Qatar the
rights to stage the 2022 World Cup finals in December.

A former Blatter
ally, he helped the Swiss win the elections in 1998 and 2002 but has
been increasingly critical of Blatter’s leadership, saying that change
is needed at the top and FIFA needs a new figurehead.

FIFA have confirmed that Bosnia and Brunei are the only two associations currently suspended.

Muhammadu
Babaganaru, chief coach of Kano Pillars Football Club, has blamed the
early exit of his team from the 15th edition of the CAF Champions
League on bad officiating of the Guinean centre referee, Bangoura Mario
and his assistants.

Babaganaru who
spoke to NEXT in Kano, after the match between his team and visiting
Wydad Athletic Football Club of Morocco, said that the centre referee
took sides with the Moroccans from the blast of the whistle.

He particularly
frowned at the decision of the referee to he send off Pillars’
defender, Maurice Chigozie in the 25th minute, an action, which he said
demoralized his team adding that the referee faulted almost every move
made by his players.

“We are astonished
at the attitude of the centre referee and his assistant referee, Diane
Alhassane who blatantly showed partiality.

“We would have won the match, were it not for the unprofessional manner in which they handled the match.”

Meanwhile, the
chief coach Wydad Athletic, Rajhy Fakhreddine, has said that his boys
worked hard and got the desired result, which has passed them through
to the next round.

He stated that they
will now go back home to prepare for their next opponent, noting that
his team will excel in its quest to clinch the highly coveted trophy.

He described
Pillars as a good team with promising players, but said the only
problem is that they are yet to blend, as their attack lacks the
required spark.

The match played in the Sani Abacha Stadium on Sunday ended
goalless, giving the Moroccans the overall win 2-0 on aggregate having
won the first leg by the same margin.

The
management of Plateau United has dispelled allegations from some of its
sacked players, that they were unjustly ousted from the team.

Spokesperson for
the team, Goteng Tongshinung, said the sacking was done in accordance
with an extensive technical report carried out by the club management.

“That would be
unfair of them to say so, the sacking was done in accordance to the
technical evaluation we carried out. We are currently battling
relegation in the league so we would not have sacked players that would
help us out. We have to get rid of players that cannot help our cause,
the sacking is good for Plateau United” he affirmed.

The management of
the bottom-placed Premier League outfit sacked nine of its players on
Monday. The players affected include Abdullahi Isa, Ajibade Omolade,
Saleh Mohammed, Shedrack Monaya, and Daniel Njoku.

Others are Waziri Kabiru, Chorbe Godwin, Uche Ilo and Eze Nwabike.

Reasons for sack

General manager of
the club, Bitrus Bewarang, explained that the sacking of the players
had become necessary to “save the team from relegation”.

According to him
the players were sacked for reasons ranging from indolence, truancy,
absenteeism, indiscipline, poor performance and poor commitment.

“A good player must exhibit qualities of good discipline, punctuality, commitment to the team and must be ready to deliver.

“But where these
qualities are lacking, such a player does not deserve to be kept in a
team because he has the tendency to corrupt other players in the team.

“We have taken these measures to ensure that those that not ready, do not affect others’ interest,” he added.

Bewerang said that
the club is already making moves at finding capable replacements for
the sacked players “The screening is ongoing and we hope that those,
who prove themselves, can join us and be part of the crucial second
round.”

The Nigeria Premier League is currently on break and should resume next month.

On September 21,
2010, my column titled: ‘God fearing women and men needed’ started
with: ‘Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long
hours of complete darkness, constant danger and safe return doubtful.
Honour and recognition in the event of success’. This was an advert
placed by Ernest Shackleton in the Times, in 1913, asking people to
join in his 1915 Antarctic expedition.

Here in this great
nation at a time like this, it is not only men that are needed. Women,
too, are needed, particularly in sports journalism, to assist in saving
sports in Nigeria. I am, therefore, praying that God, the greatest
sportsman Himself, will raise men and women, competent, credible, bold,
proactive and forward-looking, who will be willing to embark on this
journey with us.

My friend and
colleague, Tayo Balogun, a veteran sports writer, published an article
titled: ‘No sports writer will make heaven’. The write-up was culled
from his book titled: Will Anything Change?

My first reaction
was to immediately reject his submission as regards sports writers not
making heaven. As far as I am concerned, I will make heaven. How could
I go through all the ‘wahala’ of this world, especially in this
wonderful country, and yet not make it to heaven? In fact, I reject it
once more. I don’t know about Tayo himself, or about my editor or any
other sports journalist, but as for me, Paulo, heaven is my eternal
home.

But Tayo’s write-up
is so interesting, that I wish it could be syndicated for publication
in all our national newspapers. He did not just concentrate on sport
journalists. Mention is made of automobile mechanics and lawyers, who
are referred to as leeches and liars respectively. Tayo says a friend
of his once told him that, were he to meet members of the press in
heaven, he would know immediately that he had missed his way or maybe
something had gone drastically wrong. According to Tayo’s friend, those
whose trade it is to set things right, are themselves involved in
turning those things the wrong way.

Like the mechanics
or their lawyer friends, journalists look to be sure candidates for
hell. They lie, prostitute and cheat. Like lawyers, they turn black
into white. So if no journalist will make heaven, it follows that no
sports writer will be spared this horrendous state of nothingness
called hell, in the hereafter because, according to him, the average
Nigerian sports writer is odious.

He is a bad
imitation of the Nigerian on the street. He hankers after ‘brown
envelopes’, not news. That, according to Tayo, is why so many truths
would remain blurred in the mind of sports journalists. That is why
there is always magic in the decision-making process of our sports
policies.

Tayo continues, by
mentioning that sports journalists are not only supposed to reflect the
society in which they find themselves, but must also serve as catalysts
for the needed change, to turn the society around.

He goes on to quote
Effiong Nyong, another journalist in Lagos who, according to Tayo, told
a television audience that maybe the journalist succumbs to undue
monetary influence, because to do otherwise would mean exposing his
family to hunger and deprivation, and so for a long time, sports
writers have remained a laughing stock.

At press
conferences, ‘journalists’ without sponsoring media houses, are seen
scampering for crumbs. They visit the houses of sports policy
formulators to ask for money to buy batteries for radio sets or ask for
money to buy recharge cards. Tayo is not done yet. He goes on to state
that it remains business as usual, crazy and no one cares.

He says: “It is amazing no one dares to bring about a change. Not
the SWAN (Sports Writers Association of Nigeria) that is criminally
corrupt, so skewed, it has always found it easy to foster nincompoops
on itself, as leaders…” Well, what do fellow Nigerians think about
this? Nigerian sports must be saved.