SPORTS NEWS Brazilian legend Pele believes his country face the unusual situation of being stronger in defence than attack ahead of the FIFA World Cup. The five-time World Cup winners are renowned for producing world-class forwards, with Neymar the latest star name to carry the hopes of the nation. Pele is confident Brazil can shine on home soil later this year, but admits to a sense of concern over the options coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has in attack. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has attributed some blame for Ramires red card against Aston Villa to a lack of control from the referee. Referee Chris Foy dismissed the Brazilian late in the Blues 1-0 loss away to the Birmingham-based club on Saturday. The soft-sly Mourinho later himself got sent off for storming onto the pitch in the aftermath of the incident, but the Portuguese tactician claimed Foys lack of control on the contest at Villa Park led to Ramires two-footed lunge on Villas Karim El Ahmadi. Ukraine outfit Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk have revealed talks are underway with Tottenham, about a potential transfer of winger Yevhen Konoplyanka. Both Spurs and Liverpool are reportedly interested in Ukraine international Konoplyanka, 24, who has 36 caps to his name for the eastern European nation. Dnipro chairman Igor Kolomoyskyi said he has been in discussions with Spurs opposite number Daniel Levy, regarding Konoplyanka, and claims Tottenham lead the race for the impressive attackers signature. Fiorentina striker Giuseppe Rossi will be present for his sides UEFA Europa League last-16 home leg against Juventus on Thursday. Rossi, 27, has been sidelined by a knee injury since January and remains in doubt to represent Italy at the World Cup in Brazil in mid-year. But in a fillip for Fiorentinas active squad members, Rossi - who has been undergoing treatment in the United States, the country of his birth - will be at the Stadio Artemio Franchi to watch his side try to progress past the Italian champions and into the last eight in the European competition. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has implored the clubs owners to re-sign manager Brendan Rodgers. The Reds are the only traditional big four club not to win the English top-flight title since it became the Premier League in 1992, but the current campaign represents their best chance to break their duck. Liverpool sit second, four points behind leaders Chelsea but with a game in hand, and are fresh off a 3-0 rout of Manchester United at Old Trafford -their fifth league win in succession. Villarreal coach Marcelino rued their misfortune against Athletic Bilbao this season, after a 1-1 La Liga draw with the Basque club. Marcelinos men finished with 10 men against Bilbao for the second time this season, and conceded a late equaliser to leave them seven points behind Ernesto Valverdes side in the race for UEFA Champions League honours. Hull City chairman Assem Allam said he will stay true to his word, and sell the Premier League club, should a name change be rejected. The English Football Associations membership committee voted against Steve Bruces side being re-named Hull Tigers on Tuesday, and Allam - who pledged to cut ties with the club he has backed since 2010 - said he will keep his promise, despite the recent setback. Napoli coach Rafael Benitez was proud after they produced a hard-fought 1-0 win at Torino in Serie A on Monday. Benitezs side were second best for the majority of the match, with Cesare Bovo and Riccardo Meggiorini hitting the post for the hosts. Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina also had to make a series of saves, before Gonzalo Higuain scored a controversial 90th-minute winner. Barcelona have rubbished reports that coach Gerardo Martino could quit the club to take the Argentina national job. Martino has come under pressure in recent weeks, with Barcas La Liga title defence stuttering badly after three defeats in quick succession. Losses to Valencia, Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid in their last seven games have left the champions four points off Real Madrid, though the sides will contest El Clasico on Sunday, with Barca desperate for points. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho paid credit to Didier Drogba ahead of Tuesdays UEFA Champions League tie against Galatasaray. Mourinho and his side will come up against former Chelsea striker Drogba at Stamford Bridge with the last-16 clash evenly poised after a 1-1 first-leg draw in Turkey. The Ivorian is Chelseas fourth highest scorer in the clubs history and he is expected to receive an excellent reception in west London. Jan Vertonghen admits Tottenham have failed to improve on last season as they look destined to again miss out on the UEFA Champions League. Tottenham invested heavily in the close-season to bring the likes of Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen and Paulinho to White Hart Lane, but they trail fourth-placed Manchester City by seven points with just eight games remaining in their Premier League season. Jens Keller wants his Schalke side to demonstrate bravery in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie with Real Madrid. Schalkes hopes of reaching the quarter-finals were effectively ended in Gelsenkirchen three weeks ago as Real romped to a 6-1 triumph. There would appear to be little more than pride for Schalke to gain when the two teams meet again at the Bernabeu on Tuesday. Luuk de Jong has admitted Newcastle United must raise their game following their boring display against Fulham on Saturday. Newcastle travelled to Craven Cottage looking to record a third Premier League win in a row, but were unable to create many chances and fell to a 1-0 defeat after Ashkan Dejagah scored the only goal of the game after 68 minutes. Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has refused to bite back at criticism from club legend Franz Beckenbauer. The fact that Bayern have been criticised seems astounding on the surface, with the European champions 23 points clear of the second-placed Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. Their UEFA Champions League defence is on track with Bayern having qualified for the quarter-finals, while they meet second-tier Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 06:51:30 +0000
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