Yury Shishlov, who worked as a coach and sporting director at several Russian clubs, died in a Moscow hospital yesterday following a fatal assault.
The 65-year-old Shishlov, who was working as a selector and assistant coach at lower league side Vladivostok, was found badly wounded not far from his Moscow apartment.
Reports said that Shishlov had recently testified in court against the former general manager of Yaroslavl FC, Vladimir Shepel.
The press have speculated that Shishlov’s murder could be a revenge killing for him giving evidence, which resulted in a five-year sentence for Shepel.
Ancelotti: Benayoun smarter than Cole
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti believes Yossi Benayoun is tactically smarter than Joe Cole. Ancelotti signed Israeli Benayoun from Liverpool to replace Cole, who moved in the opposite direction after being released by Chelsea.
Over the last three seasons, statistics show Benayoun scored more goals (18-11) and created more chances (116-77) than Cole.
“Yossi is an intelligent player, tactically he knows everything very well,” Ancelotti said.
“Joe was quicker, with respect to Yossi, but tactically I think Yossi is better.”
Owen to consider management
Michael Owen has admitted he is coming round to the idea of a career in management.
The 30-year-old is about to start his second season at Manchester United and has no intention of dropping down the leagues to prolong a career that has had more than its fair share of high points but been adversely affected by injury over the past few years.
“Until three or four years ago I was still thinking about whether I should stay in the game, via management or media,” Owen said.
“At that point I would probably have said no chance. Now it is almost a case of ‘why not’. We will have to see whether I will have a shot at it.”
Rummenigge frustrated by Klose
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has criticised Miroslav Klose for his attitude last season. Klose scored just three goals for Bayern yet found the back of the net four times for Germany at the World Cup.
Watching Klose in such form was “frustrating”, according to Rummenigge, who claims Klose made more of an effort in South Africa than he had done all season for the club.
“Miro was criticised before the World Cup and the media said Cacau should have played ahead of him,” he explained.
“So, he said he was going to work hard and he lost five kilos. At this point, I asked myself: ‘does he not have to work hard for FC Bayern and shouldn’t you be at your ideal weight for them’?”
Wilshere U-21 absence sparks speculation
Arsenal’s teenage midfielder Jack Wilshere could be catapulted into the senior England ranks after being left out of Stuart Pearce’s U-21 squad.
England play Hungary at Wembley next Wednesday, 24 hours after the U-21s tackle Uzbekistan in a friendly at Ashton Gate.
Fabio Capello vowed to make changes to his squad after England’s World Cup debacle and including Wilshere for the Hungary game would certainly be a pointer to the future.
Micah Richards, Lee Cattermole, Adam Johnson and Theo Walcott are also absent from the U-21 squad, suggesting they too could be in Capello’s Wembley plans.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger highlighted Wilshere’s international credentials after the 18-year-old produced a man-of-the-match performance against Celtic last Sunday.
Palermo snap up Munoz from Boca
Palermo have confirmed they have completed the signing of Argentinian teenager Ezequiel Munoz from Boca Juniors.
The 19-year-old, who is considered one of the most promising central defenders in his homeland, has signed a five-year contract with the Serie A club.
Munoz was strongly linked with a move to Fiorentina last year, with La Viola reportedly shelling out eight million euros as a down payment, before pulling out of the deal after doubts surfaced over his fitness following a serious knee injury which sidelined the defender for six months.
Real Madrid also had an option to buy Munoz, but that expired at the end of last month and Palermo immediately moved in.
Birmingham home in on Dembele
Birmingham are closing in on the signing of AZ Alkmaar striker Moussa Dembele in a £5m deal.
The 23-year-old has confirmed that the Blues are “the most concrete option” in terms of his future after his representative met City manager Alex McLeish for talks.
If the deal goes through, it will take City’s summer spending up to £17m after the signing of Ben Foster and Nikola Zigic.
The Blues have also been linked with a move for Juventus duo of midfielder Mauro Camoranesi and left-back Fabio Grosso.
The moves for new players comes a day after McLeish had insisted there was no rift between himself and the board over transfer dealings.