Former France international striker David Trezeguet was in the squad which lifted the 1998 World Cup and scored the winner at Euro 2000 for Les Bleus – but he feels Argentinian at heart, the veteran says.

“France gave me so much, but I’ve always been Argentinian at heart and I’ve always been very fond of its football and national team.

“But, of course, when I had to take them on I’d give my all for France,” Trezeguet, now 34 and playing for River Plate, told FIFA.com.

Trezeguet was born in France but has long had dual nationality. He moved to Argentina with his family as a youngster.

Anti-racism stance

John Terry will be asked by UEFA to wear an anti-racism armband if he captains Chelsea against Shakhtar Donetsk tonight.

All club captains will be asked to wear a ‘United Against Racism’ armband as part of a week of action by European anti-discrimination body FARE.

Terry last week accepted a four-match ban for racially abusing QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, but the suspension only applies to domestic matches.

The campaign will be promoted at 40 matches across the Champions League and Europa League this week, with films broadcast on giant screens and announcements made on stadium loudspeakers to encou-rage fans to join UEFA in its call to unite against racism in football.

Gignac blow for Marseille

Marseille striker Andre-Pierre Gignac will be out of action for six weeks after breaking his left foot in their 1-0 Ligue 1 loss at Troyes on Sunday, the club said.

“Andre-Pierre Gignac has suffered a broken metatarsus. He will be sidelined for six weeks according to the medical staff,” the club said.

After two poor years at Marseille, injury-prone Gignac played a key role in his club’s six league wins at the start of the season, scoring five goals.

Marseille were the first team to win their first six games since Monaco in the 1960-61 season.

Man jailed for Kirkland assault

A Leeds United fan who attacked former England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland during a match against Sheffield Wednesday was jailed for 16 weeks yesterday.

Aaron Cawley, 21, from Cheltenham, pleaded guilty at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court to assault and invading the pitch during the Championship game at Hillsborough on Friday.

Wednesday keeper Kirkland was pushed in the face by Cawley and shoved to the ground moments after conceding an equaliser in the 76th minute.

After treatment he was able to continue for the remainder of the game which ended 1-1.

Valcke leaves Rio hospital

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has left a Rio hospital, four days after being admitted for treatment of a urinary infection, a hospital spokesman said yesterday.

The 52-year-old Frenchman had been in Brazil to inspect progress in construction of stadiums for the 2014 World Cup but was admitted late Wednesday to Samaritano hospital.

“FIFA’s secretary general was today discharged from Samaritano hospital in Rio de Janeiro,” FIFA said in a statement.

“According to the doctor treating him, Joao Mansur Filho, Valcke responded well to the intravenous antibiotic treatment administered,” FIFA added.

Wenger unhappy with team position

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits the Premier League table makes unpleasant reading after defeat at Norwich left them 10 points behind leaders Chelsea.

The Canaries recorded their first league win under Chris Hughton after producing a hard-working display to capitalise on a poor outing by the Gunners.

“The gap is very unpleasant,” Wenger said. “We had an opportunity that Tottenham could win and we could win, and we both lost. That of course makes the gap a lot bigger.

“You cannot say you do not worry about that, but what is more disappointing is that we could not score. After we went 1-0 down we had the ball for 70 minutes and could not score a goal.”

Sterling’s rise excites Gerrard

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes that youngster Raheem Sterling has everything he needs to become a great at the club.

Sterling, 17, a first-team regular this season, scored his first senior goal as Reading were beaten 1-0 at Anfield on Saturday.

“I think Raheem has been a great surprise to everyone,” Gerrard said. “Not that he’s doing so well at this level but I don’t think anyone expected him to break through so early.

“The manager has given him his chance and Raheem’s not let anyone down.

“If he can add goals and assists to his game as he grows then he can go all the way to the top.”

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.