Joe Cole: England midfielder Joe Cole wants to sign a new Chelsea contract before the World Cup to avoid any distractions at the finals in Germany. Cole, who joined the champions from West Ham in 2003, has a year left on his current deal and wants to clear the air before the tournament when the subject could be a regular target for the massed English media. "There is no way I want to leave Chelsea," he said. "The contract talks are going well."

Trapattoni: Giovanni Trapattoni and Lothar Matthaeus have been hired as team boss and coach of Red Bull Salzburg, the soccer club's owner Dietrich Mateschitz announced yesterday. "I'm coming to Salzburg to make something great happen," Trapattoni said. Matthaeus, who coached Rapid Vienna and Partizan Belgrade before a spell as Hungary's coach, will replace Kurt Jara immediately, Red Bull said.

Carboni: Valencia's former Italy defender Amedeo Carboni has brought his playing career to an end aged 41 to become the Primera Liga club's sports director. The league's oldest player retired after nine years at Valencia in which time he won two league titles, the UEFA Cup in 2004 and the King's Cup in 1999. Carboni also played in the 2000 and 2001 Champions League finals.

Drogba: Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho says Didier Drogba is not leaving Stamford Bridge. Ivorian Drogba was quoted yesterday as saying he wanted to leave the English champions. "The situation is that Drogba has two more years of a contract with Chelsea and he is one of the players we consider not negotiable, so he has no chance to leave," Mourinho said.

Ardiles: Argentine Osvaldo Ardiles arrived in Israel yesterday with a view to signing as the next coach of big-spending Premier League club Betar Jerusalem. Betar are looking for a new coach following the departure last month of Frenchman Luis Fernandez, who decided not to exercise the option of a one-year extension on his contract.

Bolton: Bolton Wanderers have become the latest English club to forge links with China by signing a partnership agreement with Chinese Super League club Wuhan Guanggu. Bolton will be building a football development centre in Wuhan, an industrial city in central China with a population of 7.86 million, some 30 times bigger than Bolton's.

Basketball: Louis Borg Cup final 1st leg - Hibs vs Depiro 64-55.

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