FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s powerbase in world football has been shored up by an over-whelming election triumph in the Asian confederation by Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, from Bahrain.
Salman, a controversial can-didate accused of being com-plicit in human rights abuses involving players in his country, trounced his opponents to win in the first round of voting in Kuala Lumpur.
Blatter was quick to con-gratulate Salman on a “brilliant election” and added: “One of the key missions he will have to ensure is that unity prevails within the AFC.”
Deco fails dope test, misses game
Midfielder Deco did not travel to Ecuador with his Brazilian side Fluminense for yesterday’s Liber-tadores Cup clash with Emelec after testing positive for a banned substance.
The former Barcelona, Chel-sea and Portugal player tested positive on Tuesday for the masking agent furosemide, Brazilian media reported.
“My career goes back 18 years, 15 of them in Europe, without any problems,” said Deco, who claimed vitamins he takes were contaminated by a pharmacy.
Anzhi have faith in Hiddink
Anzhi Makhachkala have denied media rumours that the wealthy Russian Premier League side are about to part company with Dutch coach Guus Hiddink.
“We’re fully satisfied with the work of the coaching staff headed by Hiddink,” Anzhi general director Aivaz Kaziak-hmedov told the club’s website.
“We’re very disappointed with numerous hasty and often false comments in the media, made by so-called ‘experts’ who had never in their lives even come close to those trophies that have been won by Hiddink and many of our players,” added Kaziakhmedov.
United on course for financial targets
New sponsorship deals in Europe and Asia helped English champions Manchester United to report a 23 per cent increase in underlying profit in the three months to March.
Manchester United, who have just recaptured the En-glish Premier League title, said they were on course to hit revenue and profit targets for their financial year, which runs to the end of June.
Revenues in the three months to March rose almost 30 per cent to £91.7 million, with the commercial sector, which includes sponsorship, showing the strongest growth.
Profit before charges such as interest and tax was ahead of forecasts at £25 million.
Casillas to stay at Real Madrid
Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas says he has no intention of quitting the Spanish giants this summer despite losing his first-team spot.
Real coach Jose Mourinho caused a stir before Christmas when he dropped Casillas in favour of little-known back-up keeper Antonio Adan.
Casillas then suffered a hand injury in January, leading to Madrid signing Diego Lopez as cover, and despite the return to fitness of the Spain skipper, he has been unable to dislodge Lopez.
“My future is at Real Madrid because I have a contract with them and because I’ve been there since I was nine, it’s my life-long club and where I would like to be,” said Casillas after receiving an award from the City of Madrid.
Xavi sees bright future for Barca
Barcelona midfielder Xavi does not believe his side’s Champions League semi-final mauling at the hands of Bayern Munich signals the end of an era for the Catalan giants.
Although Xavi concedes Bayern Munich were a class apart in sealing their final spot with a 7-0 aggregate win, the Spain international still sees a bright future for Barca.
“I think so, yes. There’s no need to be drastic. The team has a future, we’ve competed very well up until now. I’m always optimistic and this team has the desire,” he told Canal Plus.
“We’ve not been able to get through the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and Champions League (but) I think we have the team to carry on.
“On Sunday we have another competition.”
Juve keen on Higuain – report
Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain is a target for Juventus, according to a report in Spain.
Marca claimed that Juventus boss Antonio Conte and directors Beppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici were present for the Champions League semi-final against Borus-sia Dortmund this week to have a closer look at Higuain.
Despite securing the signing of Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente on a free transfer, Juventus are still looking to add another striker to their squad.
Higuain, signed by Real Madrid from River Plate in January 2007, has scored over 100 goals for the Spanish giants.