West Ham midfielder Scott Parker has been voted Footballer of the Year by the English Football Writers Association.
Parker topped the poll of journalists ahead of Tottenham defender Gareth Bale, who was last week named the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year.
The former Chelsea and Newcastle player has been in fine form for the Hammers this year, earning a recall to the England squad despite having to cope with the death of his father.
He will receive his trophy at a gala dinner at the Lancaster London Hotel on May 12. Parker is the first West Ham player to win this honour since Bobby Moore in 1964.
Loew eyes Gdansk as Euro 2012 base
Germany coach Joachim Loew said he is keen to base his team in the north Poland city of Gdansk as they look to plan their Euro 2012 campaign. Germany are currently five points clear at the top of their Euro 2012 qualifying group and on course to qualify.
Gdansk is Loew’s first choice for the Germans, who finished second to Spain in the final of Euro 2008 in Vienna.
“The climate there is excellent, Gdansk lies on the Baltic Sea, which is good to clear the head,” Loew said.
“We want to decide quickly, it is good when plans are finalised promptly.”
Kahn heavily fined for tax evasion
Former Germany goalkeeper Oliver Khan has been fined €125,000 in court for failing to declare more than €6,000 of luxury clothing he bought on a trip to Dubai.
The 41-year-old was fined for tax evasion by a regional court in Landshut, Bavaria, after he failed to declare clothes worth €6,685 when he returned to Munich airport.
The collection of polo shirts, t-shirts, sweaters, shirts, trousers, jackets and cuff-links were from top brands such as Armani and Dolce & Gabbana.
At the customs in Munich airport, Kahn used the ‘nothing to declare’ aisle, but the tax on the imported goods was €2,119, which resulted in the fine.
Blokhin takes over as Ukraine coach
Ukrainian football legend Oleg Blokhin has been appointed as the new national coach. He replaces interim coach Yury Kalitvintsev.
The 58-year-old, who was top scorer of the Soviet league and the Soviet national side during his career, previously trained Ukraine’s national squad in 2003-2007, leading them to the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals.
“I feel double responsibility,” Blokhin said.
“First is the national side’s prestige and second is the European championship, which Ukraine host. Our main goal is to win the European championship.”
Houllier won’t need surgery
Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier doesn’t need surgery after going into hospital with chest pains, his assistant Gary McAllister revealed yesterday.
Houllier underwent a major heart operation while in charge at Liverpool in 2001 and it was feared the Frenchman may have been in a similiar situation when it emerged he was admitted to a Birmingham hospital on Wednesday.
But the 63-year-old needs only medicine and rest to recover according to McAllister, who will take charge of the team against Stoke on Saturday.
McAllister said: “I visited Gerard in hospital. If you took away all the stuff attached to his arms, he didn’t look ill. He had a tough night but he was looking surprisingly well and in fine fettle.”
Zamparini puts €60m tag on Pastore
Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini put a €60 million price tag on star playmaker Javier Pastore’s head.
Pastore played a starring role in Wednesday’s 2-2 Italian Cup semi-final, first leg draw at Milan to add further weight to his burgeoning reputation.
And when asked how much it would take to prise the 21-year-old away from Sicily, Zamparini replied: “Upwards of €60 million.”
The Uruguay striker left in the summer to join Napoli after spending three years in Sicily and he has blossomed in Naples, scoring 25 goals in 32 league matches this season.
Real call up sub for damaged cup
Real Madrid have put a replica of the King’s Cup on display after the original was crushed during celebrations following Wednesday’s 1-0 extra time final win over Barcelona.
The owner of the Madrid jewellery shop that made Spain’s most treasured trophy, Federico Alegre, heard about the incident on the radio as he was driving back to Madrid from Valencia and immediately headed to the club to supply the team with a replacement cup.
“I arrived at the Bernabeu two minutes before the team bus arrived. I always make a spare in case something unexpected happens, lest the king be left with nothing to give out,” he said.
Alegre said he would try to repair the original trophy, which he said was badly damaged.