Sporting briefs
Blackburn: Henning Berg has returned to his old club Blackburn Rovers to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of former manager Steve Kean. Berg, 43, won the Premier League title with Blackburn as a player in the 1994-95 season before going on to...
Blackburn: Henning Berg has returned to his old club Blackburn Rovers to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of former manager Steve Kean. Berg, 43, won the Premier League title with Blackburn as a player in the 1994-95 season before going on to join Manchester United. “Blackburn can confirm that Henning Berg has accepted the role of manager,” read a statement on Blackburn’s Twitter feed.
Di Santo: Wigan striker Franco Di Santo was called up by Argentina for the first time yesterday for the friendly away to Saudi Arabia in two weeks time. The 23-year-old former Chelsea and Blackburn forward has been in fine form this season, scoring three Premier League goals. Di Santo and recalled Newcastle defender Fabricio Coloccini were included in a 23-man squad named by coach Alejandro Sabella for the Nov. 14 match in Riyadh.
Russia: Russia coach Fabio Capello has called up several newcomers, including Real Madrid forward Denis Cheryshev, for next month’s friendly against the United States. Capello included the 21-year-old winger in an expanded 35-man squad he named yesterday for the Nov. 14 game in the southern city of Krasnodar.
US women: Scotsman Tom Sermanni, who spent 11 years guiding Australia through three Women’s World Cups, wants more competition for positions as he becomes coach of the top-ranked United States. The 58-year-old from Glasgow takes over on January 1 from Pia Sundhage, who departed to coach the national team in her native Sweden after leading the Americans to victory over Japan in the London Olympics final.
Metzelder: Schalke defender Christoph Metzelder will miss the weekend meeting with Hoffenheim through injury. The 31-year-old hurt his groin against SV Sandhausen on Tuesday, on what was his first competitive start of the season. “I'm afraid I have a torn muscle in the groin area,” Metzelder told Schalke’s website.
Hartley: Former international Paul Hartley has backed Scotland manager Craig Levein as his position comes under the spotlight. Hartley said: “I think we’ve got the right man in Craig. We can’t chop and change managers every couple of years, we've got to give them more time to get the positive results.”
League Cup draw: Quarter-finals – Leeds vs Chelsea; Swansea vs Middlesbrough; Norwich vs Aston Villa; Bradford vs Arsenal.