Barcelona eye Liverpool boss Benitez
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is being banded around the Barcelona boardroom as a potential replacement for Frank Rijkaard.
Nou Camp president Joan Laporta chaired a board-level meeting yesterday to discuss a number of issues which the Catalan giants intend to address after the climax of the La Liga season this summer.
One of those issues is whether former Holland legend Rijkaard, 45, will depart for Chelsea - as is widely expected - and who will take the reins at Barca?
The players are not satisfied with the current performance of the manager Rijkaard either. The board also has major concerns with keeping in mind that Barcelona has the best attacking players of the world which include; Ronaldinho, Mess, Eto and the latest transfer Henry. After reading these names one can easily conclude that Rijkaard has failed to fully utilise his striking resources.
Rafael Benítez Maudes, who guided Valencia to two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup triumph before taking Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005, is top of Laporta’s list, according to news leaked to Spanish newspapers.
The 47-year-old Anfield chief is favoured over other managers - namely Jose Mourinho - because of his proven track record in Spain and his ability to rotate a squad littered with star names.
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David Beckham’s 100th cap for England
David Beckham delighted after playing his 100th match for the England team
David Beckham finally won his 100th cap today in a friendly match. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star was in the starting line up today. England face France at Stade de France in Paris today (Wednesday 26 March 2008) where David Beckham won his 100th cap for England.
Results of International Friendly Matches Played on March 26
All 16 Euro teams were busy in Friendly matches today. It was the last chance for all the coaches to select their final squad for the Euro 2008. The results of the main matches were as follow:
Bulgaria 2 - 1 Finland
Ukraine 2 - 0 Serbia
Israel 1 - 0 Chile
Belarus 2 - 2 Turkey
Egypt 0 - 2 Argentina
Malta 7 - 1 Liechtenstein
I.Coast 0 - 2 Tunisia
Romania 3 - 0 Russia
Denmark 1 - 1 Czech Republic
Austria 3 - 4 Holland
Brazil 1 - 0 Sweden
N.Ireland 4 - 1 Georgia
Switzerland 0 - 4 Germany
Portugal 1 - 2 Greece
France 1 - 0 England
Mexico 1 - 1 Ghana
Scotland 1 - 1 Croatia
World Cup Asia qualifying matches!
FIFA WorldCup 2010 qualifying matches:
ASIA
(Group 1)
FT China 0 - 0 Australia
FT Qatar 2 - 0 Iraq
(Group 2)
FT Thailand 0 - 1 Oman
FT Bahrain 1 - 0 Japan
(Group 3)
FT North Korea 0 - 0 Korea Republic
FT Turkmenistan 0 - 2 Jordan
(Group 4)
FT Uzbekistan 3 - 0 Saudi Arabia
FT Singapore 2 - 0 Lebanon
(Group 5)
FT Syria 1 - 1 U.A.E.
FT Kuwait 2 - 2 Iran
FA: Macherano suspension could increase!
English Football Association’s (FA) spokesman said that Javier Mascherano could face a lengthy ban after being sent off for dissent. Liverpool’s midfielder, Javier Mascherano, was sent off against Manchester United in the first half when United was one up.
Mascherano was already on yellow card and was sent off in just the closing minutes of second half when he protested to referee Steve Bennett over booking of his team mate, Fernando Torres.
