Football news

Livorno sacked coach Daniele Arrigoni yesterday and replaced him with Fernando Orsi, the Serie A side said.

Livorno lost 4-0 to Udinese on Sunday, continuing a poor run which has yielded three points from five matches.

Orsi, 46, has never taken charge of a Serie A club before, but worked as Roberto Mancini's second-in-command at Lazio and Inter.

Livorno are 13th in the 20-team division, five points above the relegation zone.

Ribery seeks Italy move

Franck Ribery is not against a move to Italy during the summer.

"At the end of the season I will speak to the club's management and I will tell them that I want to move to a foreign league," the Marseille player said. "Italy is certainly my preferred destination."

The 23-year-old played a vital role in France's run to the World Cup final last year and instantly won admirers all over Europe. Ribery remained with Marseille this season even though it now seems likely that he's heading out of Ligue 1 in the near future.

Reports said the player has already found an agreement with president Pape Diouf, who has previously admitted that Serie A would allow the player to fully express his talents.

Ronaldo against Real switch

Cristiano Ronaldo is not interested in joining Real Madrid. The Manchester United ace has been heavily linked with moves to both Real and Barcelona in recent weeks but Barca claimed this week they have made no approach, and Real's hopes of signing him now appear to have been dashed.

"I consider myself a United footballer who is playing well and trying to help the team," Ronaldo said. "If things keep going well, I want to stay here. I'm only thinking about United and I want to stay here for more than two more years."

Gerrard collects MBE

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has been honoured by the Queen in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

The England midfielder was awarded an MBE in the New Year's Honours list, which was presented to him yesterday.

Gerrard's honour was awarded in recognition of his contribution to his club, particularly their 2005 Champions League victory.

Werder offer Klose new deal

Werder Bremen are set to break the bank in an effort to keep Miroslav Klose. The Bundesliga title chasers are believed to have offered the Germany international a lucrative deal to stay with them.

Klose, who has indicated he would like to move abroad, is contracted to Bremen until 2008, but according to the national daily Bild, the club have now offered the former Kaiserslautern hit-man a three-year deal.

The new contract would see Klose's salary increase from 2.8 million euros to 4.2 million euros per year.

Rosina has Wembley in his dreams

Alessandro Rosina, of Torino, is dreaming of scoring the opening goal at the new Wembley stadium in the U-21 clash between Italy and England on Saturday.

Wembley will host its first competitive match this week since it was closed for refurbishment in 2000 and Rosina is keen to leave his mark in Italy's last U-21 friendly of this term.

"I hope I will be the first player to score at the new Wembley," said Rosina. "I would be willing to pay to be able to net a goal, but I would be happy if we were protagonists and managed to win against England."

Ashton out all season

Dean Ashton has been ruled out for the rest of the season. The 23-year-old West Ham striker has undergone minor surgery to remove scar tissue from the ankle he broke while on duty for England in August.

West Ham head physio Steve Allen said: "It will be six weeks before he is back running."

Ashton had suffered a succession of frustrating setbacks in his attempt to recover from the injury and rejoin West Ham's battle against relegation.

Chelsea-Man. United on May 9

Manchester United's crucial trip to Chelsea has been re-arranged for Wednesday, May 9. Chelsea were due to host United on April 14 but with both sides reaching the FA Cup semi-finals, it was automatically postponed.

It means the match will now be the second-last game of the campaign for both teams.

United currently lead Chelsea by six points with both teams having eight Premiership matches remaining.

Cole on loan with Birmingham

Andy Cole left Portsmouth to join Birmingham on loan until the end of the season. The 35-year-old striker, who has made only nine first-team starts for Pompey since a £500,000 move from Manchester City in August, approached boss Harry Redknapp over his frustration at not playing regularly.

Birmingham are currently second in the Championship with a game in hand over leaders Derby. Cole has another year on his deal with Portsmouth and could return next season - depending on how he performs at St Andrews.