The Blues have rejected an official approach from Inter Milan to discuss the transfer of the England midfielder.

And after meeting Lampard the Brazilian told Chelsea TV there is no chance of the 30-year-old joining ex-Blues boss Jose Mourinho at the Italian club.

“I was very happy because I asked if he wants to stay and he said ‘yes, I will stay at Chelsea’,” said Scolari.

Lampard’s contract expires next summer but, speaking later at his first press conference in England since taking charge of the Blues, Scolari underlined that he sees Lampard’s long-term future as being at the London club.

“I met him on Monday and told him that I like him very much as a player and as a person and I asked him if he wanted to stay, not only for this season but for longer,” added Scolari.

“After we had spoken for 15 minutes, he said he wants to stay and play for Chelsea for many years.

“I am very happy because I think Chelsea need Lampard and I think he is with us for more than one year.”

BBC Sport revealed on Monday that Inter had contacted the Blues over Lampard.

However, a statement on Chelsea’s website on Tuesday read: “We have informed Inter that we will not enter into any discussions regarding the transfer.”

Should he fail to agree a new deal with the Stamford Bridge output before his current deal runs out, Lampard would be free to leave without his new club paying a fee.

That appears to be reflected in Inter’s valuation of the midfielder, with reports suggesting they had made a £6.5m bid.

And, despite Chelsea’s insistence that they had not received an offer from Inter, the Italian club’s president Massimo Moratti claims a bid was made.

“This is not true,” said Moratti.

“There was an offer and we confirm it. However, we don’t want to create any big problems.

“They replied that they have no intention of negotiating, as was their right. Now we will see.”

Some reports had suggested that Lampard might be willing to buy out the remaining 12 months of his contract - as permitted under Fifa rules and on the back of Chelsea signing Portugal midfielder Deco from Barcelona in June.

Source: BBC Sport

The World Cup was won by Italy who were captained by centre-half Fabio Cannavaro and, of course, the recent Euros were won by Spain, captained in all but name by Barcelona centre-half Carles Puyol.

As well as being captains, great centre-halves and championship winners, they have another thing in common. They both stand at well under six feet tall. Cannavaro is the shorter of the two at 5’9 ½” (1.76m) and Puyol is slightly taller at 5’10” (1.78m).

In England, centre-halves have to be big. It is as simple as that. From my experience around the youth set-ups at professional clubs many young defenders who are clearly talented are released at the age of sixteen or eighteen simply because they are deemed to be too small. If the lad shows no sign of reaching at least 6’1” the clubs will not entertain the thought of keeping on a young centre-half no matter how good he is. In one case known to me, such as player was retained at his club but they tried to turn him into a right back.

I truly hope that the people in charge of the youth system in England have looked at these two footballing superstars who have reached the pinnacle of their sport and realised that ability is more important than size.

John Terry is regarded very highly in England, quite rightly. He is a very fine defender and if you want someone to tackle anything and head everything and put his body on the line to protect his goal, then they don’t come much better than him. As I say, he is a great defender, but I would question whether he is a great footballer.

Both Cannavaro and Puyol are great defenders and great footballers. They win enough in the air and what they contribute to the team in terms of stopping the opposition and starting attacking moves and being part of a whole team working together, far outweighs what many English coaches would regard as their lack of height.

Carles Puyol, as well as the many trophies he has won with Barcelona and now Spain has been named in the UEFA Team of the Year three times, 2002, 2005, 2006, the UEFA Club Best Defender in 2006 and the FIFPro World XI in 2007.

Fabio Cannavaro has won trophies with Parma, Juventus, Real Madrid and Italy and on a personal level, he was FIFA World Player of the Year, European Footballer of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Award winner, FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament, Serie A Footballer of the year, UEFA Team of the Year and named in the FIFPro World XI all in 2006. He has been Italian footballer of the year, Serie A defender of the year and was included in the Euro 2000 team of the tournament.

The achievements of these men just go to show that if you have the ability you can make it to the top regardless of your size. Perhaps if this was recognised in England we would not be in the mess we currently find ourselves in.

For many years English football has been based on strength, power, physique, stamina and heart. All of these things are useful qualities but the lack of success we have had shows that they are not enough. Ability on the ball will always be what the winners possess more of than the losers. Being brave and full of heart makes you a gallant loser. Being a talented ball player tends to make you a winner.

For years we have been saying that English players are technically less gifted than the rest of the world. It is true and when managers of professional clubs are giving their scouts instructions to find only players who are big and quick, as I know of in one particular case, it is not something that is likely to change soon.

Puyol and Cannavaro are lucky they were not born in England. At some stage in their teenage years they would have been told, “sorry son, you’re a decent player but you’ll never make a centre-half. Come back if you grow a few inches or see if you can play on the wing.”

It beggars belief! I really hope that these two greats are changing opinions where it matters.

Source: Soccernews

Torres netted 33 times in a blistering first season for Liverpool - breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record for goals scored by a foreigner in a debut Premier League campaign.

The 24-year-old said that Benitez’s relentless quest for improvement since he joined from Athletico Madrid has been a catalyst for his career.

“There are days when you think: ‘My God, this guy (Benitez) doesn’t let you breathe’,” Torres told the club’s website.

“At a club like Liverpool, you can’t sit back after scoring 20-odd goals and say: ‘Well, that’s it.’ After you score 20, Benitez is at you during the next training session and stays on top of you all day, all week.”

Torres was instrumental in helping Spain win their first major honour in 44 years, scoring the winning goal in last weekend’s Euro 2008 final against Germany.

He added: “He (Benitez) tells you to go off on your own and do new exercises. I want to progress in life, not relax, not be complacent, and you need someone close to you telling you to keep at it.

“It is impossible to do it otherwise. We don’t always fancy someone that close but, in the long term, I am sure that everybody will thank him for it.”

Torres also spoke of his admiration for the leadership qualities of club captain and England star Steven Gerrard.

“He’s a great example, and those of us who have been in a similar situation know how difficult it is to handle.

“It’s incredible the way he (Gerrard) carries himself regardless of what is going on around him. I’d love to be captain of another team one day and Steve has shown me how to be a great leader.”

Source: Soccernews

The 29-year-old Australian has been available on a free transfer since he was released by Liverpool in May after five injury-plagued seasons.

“You could say it’s a new chapter,” Kewell said on his move to Istanbul.

“I wanted to move on and this is the best way. I can’t wait to get started, it’s just what I’m looking forward to, a new challenge.”

Kewell joined Liverpool from Leeds and had been linked with a move to Roma, Spartak Moscow and Portsmouth.

His switch to Galatasaray would end any possibility of Kewell being one of Australia’s three over-age players at the Beijing Olympics.

Kewell was sent off playing for Leeds against Galatasaray in the 2000 Uefa Cup semi-final.

And he scored a goal and helped set up another in Australia’s 3-1 win over Qatar in June that guaranteed them a place in the second round of Asian qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

Kewell, who was welcomed by throngs of supporters his arrival in Istanbul, said he was excited to have joined a club with such a large fan base.

“I know that that fans are passionate about sport and I love that,” he said. “I can’t wait to get more of it.

“There’s a lot of talk about the Turkish league, it’s coming up in the world.

“The national team has done well in the last couple of international tournaments and there’s a lot of young talent here.”

Source: BBC Sport

The 28-year-old Brazilian joined his new team-mates at their pre-season training camp in Italy on Saturday.

Assistant manager Brian Horton told BBC Radio Humberside: “He’s got a very good track record so I think he’ll be an excellent signing for us.

“We’ve heard a lot about him and spoken to quite a few people, but we saw him ourselves so we know the player.”

And Horton revealed that France international Bernard Mendy will also join them this weekend for training, although the deal to sign him has not yet gone through.

Horton said: “He’s on his way out here. He’s not signed but it is virtually agreed so again he’s a good acquisition.

“Phil Brown knows him well. He’s played for big clubs and he wants to get back in the French national team - he thinks by playing in the Premier League he could fulfil that ambition.”

Meanwhile, former Danish international Henrik Pederson has left the club and returned to Denmark.

Source: BBC Sport

The Brazilian football confederation is yet to confirm the matches, but FIFA lists them on its calendar.

The match against Portugal is scheduled to be played in Brasilia, while the location of the game against Italy is yet to be determined.

Brazil, which dropped to fourth in the latest FIFA rankings, will play World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia in September and against Venezuela and Colombia in October.

The five-time world champions are winless in three matches — losing to Venezuela in a friendly and to Paraguay in a qualifier, and drawing Argentina at home in another qualifier.

Source: CNN Sport

It is understood representatives of owner Mike Ashley have met counterparts from New York-based private equity fund InterMedia Partners.

A report claimed Ashley named a price of £420m - about £286m more than he paid for the club a year ago.

Sources in America confirmed that the US company held initial talks, but Newcastle have not commented.

Former chairman Freddy Shepherd had already fought off a series of potential takeover bids when Ashley made his move last summer, eventually securing a £134.4m takeover.

He has since ploughed around £100m into the club to address the debt situation he inherited and to strengthen the squad.

Ashley has now embarked upon a economy drive in an attempt to slash transfer expenditure and a spiralling wage bill.

Source: BBC Sport

Source: CNN Sport

Another notable inclusion is Juan Roman Riquelme of Boca Juniors, who is the only “overage” player involved in the squad, which mainly comprises players younger than 23.

Argentina passed up the chance to include a further two overagers after the likes of Fabricio Coloccini were denied permission to head to China.

Argentina will meet Serbia and the Ivory Coast — both of whom it faced at the 2006 World Cup — as well as Australia in the group stage.

Oscar Ustari of Getafe is expected to be the first-choice goalkeeper, while Messi and Sergio Agüero are set to lead the forward line.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Oscar Ustari (Getafe), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar)

Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol), Luciano Monzon (Boca Juniors), Ezequiel Garay (Real Madrid), Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan), Federico Fazio (Sevilla), Lautaro Acosta (Sevilla)

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors), Ever Banega (Valencia), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Jose Sosa (Bayern Munich)

Forwards: Diego Buonanotte (River Plate), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli), Angel Di Maria (Benfica).

Source: CNN Sport

After weeks of Marca promoting the Portuguese star’s increasingly problematic switch, the strongest Madrid-leaning paper has now waded in with a claim that a deal will be done.

While AS recognizes that Sir Alex Ferguson will continue to strongly object to the transfer, the owners of the Red Devils are tempted, according to the report.

It was reported some weeks ago that Madrid was considering bypassing the vociferous Scottish manager in order to try and tempt the Glazers, and it may be working.

After a meeting with United executive director David Gill, the club’s bosses are even more convinced that the cash on offer is worth more than the player himself.

The latest reports on Ronaldo requiring surgery have not thought to have dampened Madrid’s desire, because as reported on Wednesday, the club cannot afford to miss out on signing him.

Some figures within the Bernabéu doubt the sense in splashing out so much money when the club’s debts are already alleged to be bordering on $630 million, but president Ramón Calderón is keen to press on.

Previous figures of $140 million were mentioned, but AS now states that Madrid will look to bring it down to less than $110 million in order to keep some restraint.

Source: CNN Sport