Podolski hoping for the Schumi-factor at Euro 2008 

On the first floor of his villa, 30 kilometres from Munich, Germany and Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski has set up an office where his most treasured sports memorabilia are kept.

No crisis at Real Madrid: Robben 

Dutch international Arjen Robben on Monday denied suggestions of a crisis at Real Madrid after the Spanish side lost its second straight league match over the weekend.

“The defeat was a disappointment but we played really well and I don’t think there is a crisis. What we have to do is remain strong and be conscious of what awaits us,” the 24-year-old striker told a news conference.

McLeish challenges forwards to fill McFadden gap 

Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish has thrown down the gauntlet to his forwards after revealing that Scotland striker James McFadden will be out for two weeks.

The 24-year-old underwent surgery on his knee on Saturday morning and will now miss Birmingham’s home match against Manchester City and their away game against Premier League relegation rivals Wigan Athletic.

Capello dismisses talk of Beckham favour 

If David Beckham does reach the coveted landmark of a 100th England cap against France next week, he will have earnt it purely on footballing grounds according to manager Fabio Capello.

Italian supremo Capello left Beckham out of his initial England squad for the 2-1 friendly win over Switzerland last month, saying the LA Galaxy midfielder was not fit enough.

Grant praises Cole’s maturity 

Chelsea coach Avram Grant has praised Ashley Cole for the “mature” way in which he apologised for his dreadful tackle on Tottenham defender Alan Hutton.

Cole apologised after Wednesday’s 4-4 Premier League draw against their London rivals to Scotland defender Hutton and referee Mike Riley, whom he turned his back on when the official was trying to book him for the dangerous studs-up challenge on Wednesday at White Hart Lane.

Torres just as much a threat as Ronaldo says Benitez 

Cristiano Ronaldo may have been hogging the headline ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match between Manchester United and traditional rivals Liverpool but Anfield supremo Rafael Benitez believes Fernando Torres could pose just as big a threat at Old Trafford on Sunday.

We need to improve to win title, says Trezeguet 

Juventus’s French forward David Trezeguet admitted Thursday that the team needs to improve if they are to have any chance of challenging for the Serie A title next season.

USA, Honduras victorious in Olympics qualifiers 

The United States and Honduras book their berths in the 2008 Beijing Olympic football tournament with victories over Canada and Guatemala on Thursday.

Eddie Gaven, Freedy Adu and Sacha Kljestan scored for the United States in the semi-final contest of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament.

Wow Accounts 

If there is one website in the world, which offers a guaranteed non-reclaimable accounts of World of Warcraft (WoW), which is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), then it’s BuyMMOAccounts.com, which is the premier account retailer for World of Warcraft gaming accounts. Wow starts when you buy wow accounts from BuyMMOAccounts.com.

Real’s Van Nistelrooy undergoes surgery 

Real Madrid’s Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy was to undergo surgery Wednesday to repair an ankle injury, the club announced.

Van Nistelrooy “will today undergo an exploratory atroscopic operation on his right ankle due to the chronic synovitis which he is suffering,” Real said in a statement on its website.