Football news

Coach Jupp Heynckes has demanded Bayern Munich work together to bounce back from their Champions League defeat in Basel by beating Schalke in the Bundesliga today to get their season back on track.

“We must all pull together in one direction,” said Heynckes after his players argued in Basel.

“The team spirt is the most important thing, we need to be united as quickly as possible. We must find the team spirit to succeed. It’s very important we communicate more on the field.

“That’s what I mean by teamwork, we have to talk to each other and support each other much more.”

Gerrard wants England captaincy

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard says he would relish the opportunity to captain England at the Euro 2012.

“If I get offered it, I’ll take it and I’ll be delighted and I’ll be very proud to take it,” Gerrard told BBC’s Football Focus yesterday.

The midfielder added that he believed manager Fabio Capello’s resignation could give the team the necessary lift “for a successful summer”.

Talking about the captaincy he said: “It’s not my decision. It’s down to, first of all, who Stuart Pearce wants to lead the team out, then whoever gets the job full time. But I want to be England captain.”

Nani struggling for form

Nani has admitted he is struggling to regain his top form since returning from injury for Manchester United.

The Portugal international played in both legs against Ajax in the Europa League after being sidelined for a month.

And although Nani helped United edge past the Dutch champions 3-2 on aggregate to set up a last-16 clash with Athletic Bilbao, the 25-year-old said his best form remains elusive.

“I am getting there but I need more minutes,” he said. “It has been difficult to get the consistency. I will work hard to come back because we need every player.

“Just now I am not at my best but I will try to recover my form as quickly as possible.”

Adamu loses CAS appeal

Nigeria’s former FIFA member Amos Adamu has lost his appeal against a three-year ban over World Cup bid bribes.

The ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed the FIFA ban and even said that the sanction was “relatively mild given the seriousness of the offence”.

Adamu was banned by FIFA’s ethics committee following a Sunday Times investigation when he was secretly filmed by journalists, posing as lobbyists, asking for 800,000 US dollars to influence his vote for the 2018 World Cup.

Arshavin joins Zenit on loan

Zenit Saint Petersburg have signed Arsenal’s Russian midfielder Andrey Arshavin on loan until the end of the season.

The Arsenal player, who cost the Gunners 15 million pounds when he arrived in London two and a half seasons ago, tweeted ‘it’s done’ as he prepared to head back to his former club amid reports Zenit had agreed to pay a fee of around 1.5 million dollars and also pay his wages.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger had previously insisted that the Russian would be staying in London although the 30-year-old has come in for criticism from fans for some recent below-par performances.

Redknapp sickened by abusive ‘filth’

Harry Redknapp admits the abusive chants some Arsenal fans aimed at Emmanuel Adebayor in the last north London derby sickened him to the core.

Spurs ran out 2-1 winners against their London rivals at White Hart Lane last October but the match was marred by a series of unsavoury chants.

A section of the away support sparked outrage by directing chants about the deadly gun attack on Togo players in Angola towards Adebayor.

Redknapp was particularly unhappy with the chants about Adebayor.

“Unbelievable. It’s crazy,” the Spurs boss said, shaking his head.

“No-one deserves that. It’s absolute filth.

“Having seen boys get killed like that, get shot, and then for people to start singing about it...”

Ghana accused of ‘witchcraft’

Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic claims some of his players turned on each other using withcraft at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Stevanovic’s accusation of deep divisions in the Black Stars’ ranks emerged from a leaked review of the team’s performance in Gabon where Ghana were knocked out by eventual winners Zambia in the semi-finals.

“We all need to help in changing some players’ mentality about using ‘black power’ to destroy themselves, and also make sure we instil discipline and respect for each other,” the coach said.

“After losing to Zambia, there arose so many accusations amongst the players.”