Football news

Milan are not interested in signing Aly Cissokho from Lyon, the player’s agent said yesterday.

With Milan in dire need of adding more defenders to their squad, reports published recently linked the Rossoneri with a move for Cissokho, 23.

Some stories went as far as to suggest that the Rossoneri would offer €15m for the wing-back, just a year after the club pulled out of a deal to sign him from Porto.

“There is nothing with Milan,” Fabrizio Ferrari said.

“I also don’t believe that they are ready to make a €15m bid in January. With regard to the summer market, we’ll see. There is a lot of interest around him right now.”

Casillas: Barca dominance will pass

Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas has dismissed Barcelona’s recent dominance as a ‘passing fad’.

Barca have claimed the last two league crowns and the 2009 Champions League with a fluid passing style which has won them a new army of admirers.

But Casillas is adamant Jose Mourinho’s pragmatic approach will pay dividends.

He said: “We are able to stand up to them. We compare favourably with them and we are only a couple of months, perhaps a season away from them.

“This is the best Barca in history and they have been in fashion but this is just a passing fad.

“Mourinho is the ideal coach for his character and the way he expresses himself to the players.”

Carragher commits to Liverpool

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has signed a new two-year contract extension which will keep him at Anfield until June 2013.

The centre-back, 32, has been keen to secure his future which will more than likely see him end his career at the club he joined as a schoolboy.

Bootle-born Carragher has been a key member of the side since making his debut in 1997 and is currently sixth in the list of all-time Liverpool appearances, having played 641 times so far.

He has won 10 major honours with the Reds.

Italy will return to play in Genoa

Italy have confirmed that Genoa will host international matches again in the future despite this week’s abandoned game against Serbia.

The two sides met in a Euro 2012 qualifier but the match was stopped because of violence led by a group of Serbian fans.

“Certainly, we will return to play in Genoa,” said FIGC director Antonello Valentini.

“We didn’t make a mistake by choosing Genoa. Of course, what happened makes you reflect but Genoa’s stadium is in the norm and regularly hosts Serie A and Champions League games.

“There was no type of warning, we could not have predicted such an escalated violence.”

Allardyce demands Murphy apology

Sam Allardyce has told Danny Murphy to admit he is wrong to accuse Blackburn players of playing dirty.

Blackburn were one of three sides – Stoke and Wolves the others – to be named by the Fulham midfielder as playing too fired up and of having “no brains” in the challenges they were making.

But Allardyce, who produced figures to show his side have the fourth-cleanest record this season, said it was time for Murphy to apologise.

“If he’s man enough, that’s what he should do,” Allardyce said.

“The allegation made was totally wrong as you can see by the facts we have given out. We are not dirty and we never go out to injure a player.”

Redknapp for England – Shearer

Former England striker Alan Shearer believes Harry Redknapp would be the ideal man to take Fabio Capello’s World Cup flops forward.

Currently working as a TV pundit, Shearer believes Tottenham manager Redknapp is the man to lead England forward, especially after a World Cup campaign which he believes showed Capello’s limits in getting the best out of his players.

“Harry would be a great England manager. At that level, it’s about knitting them into a solid group and making them go out and play in a certain system,” Shearer said.

“Capello should know the players and what they want. If he doesn’t it’s up to somebody else to have a word. If the manager didn’t listen, then that’s his prerogative as manager and it backfired spectacularly. I cannot remember so many poor performances.”

Nothing wrong in Fowler’s absence

Nothing should be read into the absence of Robbie Fowler for the A-League game yesterday with North Queensland, Perth Glory skipper Jacob Burns said.

Burns said the former Liverpool striker was never in line to play the game and was holidaying in England. Fowler would return next week after sorting out some personal issues in England.

“I think the club would have liked to have kept it quiet because you don’t want the opposition to know which ones are playing and so forth,” Burns said.

“So that was all planned. He’s gone back in the FIFA break, he’ll be back (in Perth) on Tuesday. That’s all there is to it.”