Football news

North Korea women’s football team coach Kim Kwang Min claimed several players had played in the opening 2-0 World Cup loss to the United States on Tuesday still suffering from the effects of being struck by lightning at a pre-tournament training camp.

“Frankly speaking, when we were having training and test matches before we left for this tournament, five of the players were hit by lightning and were in hospital,” Kim told reporters.

“We had an accident in Pyong-yang before we left. Some of the players were left behind. Some were in hospital and came later.”

The coach said doctors had originally decided that they were not in a fit state to play but that they played anyway.

Ronaldo not a big-game star – Guti

Former Real Madrid midfielder Guti has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of failing to perform in big matches.

The 34-year-old, who left Real last summer to join Turkish side Besiktas, believes Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is the superior player due to his ability to produce his best in the most important fixtures.

“Cristiano is a great player,” he said of his former team-mate on Punto Pelota.

“He’s decisive in many games, but in the big games he isn’t up to the task, unlike Messi, who has shown he is.

“The very best players are the ones who work in the highest-level matches.”

Man. United sign goalkeeper De Gea

David de Gea is to join Manchester United on a five-year contract after the English champions confirmed they had reached agreement with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of the goalkeeper yesterday.

The 20-year-old passed a medical this week, having become a European Championship winner with Spain Under-21s last weekend.

Although no fee was disclosed, reports have suggested United may have paid as much as £18 million for De Gea, pushing manager Alex Ferguson’s pre-season spending to about £50 million after Phil Jones and Ashley Young both arrived at Old Trafford earlier this month.

Man. City pull out of Sanchez race

Manchester City have pulled out of the race to sign Udinese winger Alexis Sanchez, according to coach Roberto Mancini. The Chile international is a target of Barce-lona and is under contract with Udinese until June 2014.

“I have spoken to Sanchez. He said he was open to the idea of coming to City but then we pulled out,” Mancini said.

“After our last offer, we are out of the race to acquire the player.”

Udinese, meanwhile, confirmed the 22-year-old would prefer a move to Spain.

“The will of the player is to go to Barcelona. The negotiations with the Catalan club are going forward,” Gino Pozzo, son of Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo, said.

Rijkaard set for Saudi Arabia job

Saudi Arabia are set to name Frank Rijkaard as national team coach with the aim of qualifying the side for the 2014 World Cup finals.

The post had been due to go to Brazilian Ricardo Gomes, but the deal fell through at the last moment.

“The contract with Rijkaard is 99 per cent done,” a Saudi federation source said.

“But after what happened with Ricardo, the Saudi Arabia federation will not make an official announcement until everything has been agreed.”

Press reports said that Rijkaard had been offered a three-year contract and would take charge in time to prepare the team for the Asian World Cup qualifiers.

Napoli stand firm on Hamsik

Milan target Marek Hamsik will only leave Napoli this summer if the club receive an offer too good to turn down, according to presi-dent Aurelio De Laurentiis.

The Slovakia international has been strongly linked with a move to the San Siro this month. Hamsik is under contract at Napoli for another four seasons.

“When I say that Hamsik is not for sale I mean it. However, if an offer that you cannot turn down arrives, we will listen to it,” De Laurentiis said.

“If anyone wants to sit down at my very expensive table, they can go ahead and do it. If the offers are similar to the value of the player we can discuss it.”

Lazio close in on Brescia’s Kone

Brescia president Gino Corioni has confirmed Lazio are closing in on the signature of Panagiotis Kone.

The two clubs have agreed a fee for the 23-year-old but the move has been put on hold until defender Stephan Lichtsteiner completes a move from the Biancocelesti to Juventus later this week.

“With Lazio there is already an agreement for Kone. But every-thing depends on the transfer of Lichtsteiner to Juventus,” Kone said.

“Kone is a player who interests many clubs but we have already reached an agreement with Lazio on his transfer.

“We await with confidence the final call to complete the deal before pre-season starts.”