Sporting briefs
Blatter: FIFA president Sepp Blatter says one of the reasons for cancelling the World Cup opening gala in Berlin was lack of public interest in the event. "To be honest, response from the public was very weak and we have realised football people want...
Blatter: FIFA president Sepp Blatter says one of the reasons for cancelling the World Cup opening gala in Berlin was lack of public interest in the event. "To be honest, response from the public was very weak and we have realised football people want to watch football, not galas," Blatter told Reuters. FIFA scrapped the June 7 gala on Friday, saying it could damage the Olympic Stadium's playing surface with the first match at the ground between world champions Brazil and Croatia due to be played six days later.
Motta: Barcelona midfielder Thiago Motta will be out for about six weeks after injuring his right knee during training. Motta will undergo arthroscopic surgery this week to repair the damage the club's medical services reported. The 23-year-old missed most of last season with a serious knee injury.
Cassano: Antonio Cassano has received his first call-up by Real Madrid after being included in Juan Roman Lopez Caro's squad for the home game with Sevilla today. Cassano trained with the squad for the first time on Friday. Coach Lopez Caro's side have been hit by a spate of injuries as they struggle to catch leaders Barcelona, who hold a 13-point advantage over Real.
U-17 friendly: Malta U-17 were beaten 5-1 yesterday by Scotland in a friendly at the training grounds, Ta' Qali. The Scots were leading 1-0 at half-time and Leighton Grech pulled one back when the Maltese were trailing 2-1. Scotland and Malta meet again at the same venu e tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Barcelona: Membership of Barcelona has reached an all-time high of 134,000 after an end-of-year rush to sign up to support the club. Some 2,700 new members became Barca "socios" in December, many of whom were young children receiving membership as a Christmas gift.
In France: Nancy vs Lyon 0-2; Auxerre vs Lens 1-0; Monaco vs Bordeaux 0-1; Nantes vs Nice 0-0; Le Mans vs Ajaccio 1-0; Lille vs Sochaux 3-0; Strasbourg vs Metz 2-1.
King's Cup: Quarter-finals draw - Barcelona vs Real Zaragoza or Atletico Madrid; Cadiz vs Espanyol; Deportivo vs Valencia; Real Betis vs Real Madrid. Ties to be played over two legs on Jan. 18 and 25.
In Spain: Real Betis vs Atletico Madrid 1-0.