In an interview with Spanish sports daily Marca, Villarreal exectutive José Manuel Llenaza made it clear the club would not make any signings in the upcoming winter transfer window.
Llenaza said that the club “did not need any more” new signings, and that he would rely on the club’s strong youth team, Villarreal B, which plays in the Spanish second division, for any possible replacements for injured first-team players.
Despite emphatically stated he wished to spend his Christmas holidays without doing business in the buyer’s market, he did indicate the club might sell Jonathan Pereira to second-division Real Betis.
Llenaza said, “We play against Barcelona on 2 January and against Celta on 6 January [in the Copa del Rey], so there is no time for anything else.”
Villarreal currently sit 10th in La Liga after a slow start to the campaign, and the Yellow Submarine have won three of their last four league outings.
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French striker Fabrice Pancrate signed for Championship highflyers Newcastle on Sunday on a free transfer on a two-and-a-half year contract, his former club Paris Saint Germain announced.
Among other clubs the 29-year-old – who played for PSG from 2004-09 before being released in June this year – also had spells with Le Mans, Sochaux and Spanish side Real Betis, for half a season.
Pancrate scored 16 goals in 155 matches in French football.
PARIS (AFP)
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The Romanian Football League on Saturday called on players not to spit pitchside amid fears of potentially spreading swine flu.
“Following information linked to the spread of the H1N1 virus the League is recommending that officials of top flight clubs ask players and technical staff no longer to spit on the grass nor expel water used to rinse out their mouths,” the statement said.
“We suggest that coaches unable to desist (from spitting) wear a protective medical mask,” the League went on, adding, with a hint of irony, that they could also use a sealable receptacle for expelled saliva.
The League statement came at the end of a week which saw Romanian health authorities order the first school closure in the country after discovering 20 cases of swine flu among pupils in the northeastern town of Iasi.
More than 400 swine flu cases have been registered in Romania, none fatal.
Swine flu has become an increasing concern in football with last week’s French first division clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille postponed after three Parisian players were diagnosed with the ailment.
Saturday’s second division French rugby match between Lyon OU and Tarbes was also called off after five Tarbes players were diagnosed as showing symptoms. Top flight side Castres had two matches postponed earlier in the season.
Spanish second division team Real Betis requested on Thursday that its game Sunday be postponed after 13 players became sick with the virus, which has also hit English Premier League sides Blackburn Rovers and Bolton.
However, UEFA said on Friday that European matches would go ahead as scheduled as long as clubs had sufficient fit players, barring any major logistical problem for local authorities.
The body made the statement ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League match between Dynamo Kiev and Inter Milan in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine had earlier confirmed its first swine flu deaths, prompting Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to order schools and cinemas closed and ban public gatherings for three weeks to contain the spread of the virus.
BUCHAREST (AFP)
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Croatian defender Marko Babic has joined Primera Liga outfit Real Zaragoza as a free agent as he makes a return to the Primera Division side.
The 28-year-old moves to Spain after being released by Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin at the end of last season.
Babic, who has won 49 caps for his country, becomes Zaragoza’s sixth signing of a busy summer as they prepare for life back in the Spanish top-flight.
He has prior experience of life in the Primera Liga from a two-year stint at Real Betis between 2007 and January 2009.
Babic began his career in his homeland with Osijek and was a part of the Bayer Leverkusen team that lost in the Champions Leagu final of 2002 against Real Madrid.
He could yet be joined at Zaragoza by Real Madrid striker Alvaro Negredo, with Marcelino Garcia Toral’s men the favourites to land the highly-rated frontman.
Abhimanyu Rajput
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‘Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looks set to step up his interest in Bordeaux’s £12m-rated Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh.’ – L’Equipe
‘Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is holding out for £30m following Xabi Alonso’s transfer request, with Real Madrid having already offered £24m.’ – The Guardian
‘Liverpool have been offered Negredo, Rafael Van der Vaart or Klas Jan Huntelaar as a part of the Xabi Alonso transfer deal by Real Madrid.’ – AS
‘England midfielder David Beckham insists he is happy at the Los Angeles Galaxy in America despite last week’s ugly confrontation with spectators during his first home game for the club after returning from a five-month loan spell in Italy with AC Milan.’ – Sky Sports
‘Manchester United will launch a £35m bid for Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery in two weeks.’ – The Sun
‘Mark Hughes is set to offer £22m for Joleon Lescott, with Everton so far unwilling to release their defender to Manchester City.’ – Daily Express
‘Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is targeting Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi, with the Italian star valued at around £30m.’ – The Independent
‘It looks like a busy time for the Gunners with St Etienne’s defensive midfielder Blaise Matuidi being lined up for a move, while midfield legend Patrick Vieira is set to return and be his mentor.’ – Daily Mail
‘Ghanaian midfielder Derek Boateng will leave Cologne for the Spanish club Getafe’ – Official site (1. FC Köln)
‘Liverpool are keen on signing Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani.’ – The Independent
‘Portsmouth are close to signing Australian striker Mark Viduka on a one-year deal after they failed to get Croatia’s Nikola Kalinic.’ – Daily Mail
‘West Brom have offered £1.5m for Real Betis winger David Odonkor.’ – The Sun
‘Nicolas Dieuze will sign a two year contract with Le Havre from Grenoble’ – Official site (Le Havre)
‘Uruguayan striker Ernesto Javier Chevantón is “waiting for something new” regarding a possible departure from Spanish Club Sevilla FC’ – Marca
‘Malaga have signed Albert Luque and Edinho.’ – Official site (Malaga)
‘Hull City manager Phil Brown has confirmed the club’s interest in Newcastle’s Senegalese defender Habib Beye.’ – Sky Sports
‘Former Swiss international defender Stephan Keller has committed to a season with Sydney FC, after the 30-year-old became a free agent on leaving Dutch club De Graafschap last summer’ – L’Equipe
‘Frédéric Piquionne could soon join the Premier League and Portsmouth, Lyon and Pompey currently negotiating a loan deal with an option to purchase the forward.’ – L’Equipe
Abhimanyu Rajput
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MADRID (AFP) – In-form Espanyol boosted their survival hopes and at the same time put a huge dent in Valencia’s Champions League hopes with a convincing 3-0 victory on Sunday.
Second half goals from Roman Martinez, Nicolas Pareja and Nene made it 16 points from 18 for Espanyol who climb four points above the relegation zone.
For Valencia it was a major setback as they missed a golden opportunity to pull away from Villarreal, a point behind in fifth, who lost 2-0 against Sevilla on Saturday.
A few weeks ago Espanyol looked destined for the second division but Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino has found the magic formula at the right time with five wins and a draw in the last six matches.
It was good news for Atletico Madrid who can close to within a point of Valencia with victory at Real Betis later on Sunday.
Deportivo La Coruna are still in with an outside shot of Champions League football defeating Valladolid 1-0 on Sunday to move three points behind Valencia.
New Getafe coach Michel tasted defeat in his first match in charge losing 2-1 to Real Mallorca on Sunday to leave the club staring relegation in the face.
A disastrous mistake from Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic, on loan from Portugueses giants Sporting Lisbon, gifted Mallorca the winning goal on 68 minutes with Aritz Aduriz pouncing on his slack goalkick to slot home.
“At 1-1 the game we were on top and wanted to win it but then this incident (the mistake from Stojkovic) cost us the match,” bemoaned Michel.
Last season Getafe were jostling with Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup and lost to Valencia in the Kings Cup final but they currently lie fourth from bottom.
Getafe sacked Victor Munoz on Monday after three successive defeats but a new coach did not bring a change of fortune.
Michel won six league titles as a player with Real Madrid and is not used to fighting relegation and has little time to adapt with just four games left to save the club from the drop.
Recretivo Huelva scored a crucial late winner to down relegation rivals Osasuna 2-1 on Sunday and are now just a point from safety.
Defender Nasief Morris scored a brilliant volleyed winner in the dying seconds of the match to boost Recre’s chances of staying up. Osasuna stay two points above the bottom three after the defeat.
Sporting Gijon were frustrated by a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Incredibly it was Sporting’s first draw of the season and they are now level on points with Getafe who occupy the final safety spot.
Bilbao look to have won their relegation battle and are gearing up for their clash with Barcelona in the Kings Cup final in Valencia on May 13.
On Saturday Barcelona took a giant stride to the title thrashing arch rivals Real Madrid 6-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu to open up a seven point gap at the top with four games left.
“I think Barcelona are a cut above and showed that they were superior,” admitted Real coach Juande Ramos.
Barcelona continue their treble bid on Wednesday when they travel to Chelsea for the Champions League semi-final second leg with the first leg finishing 0-0.
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MADRID (AFP) – Villarreal needed a dubious goal to keep up their Champions League chase closing to within three points of the top four with a 2-1 home win over Recreativo Huelva on Thursday.
Cani scored a controversial 67th-minute winner for Villarreal for their first win in six games but relegation-threatened Recre were furious claiming Cani’s chip hadn’t crossed the line.
Villarreal move three points behind fourth-placed Valencia, 2-1 winners over Real Betis on Wednesday, and will hope Barcelona can turn over their Champions League rivals this Saturday.
Recre took the lead after just 56 seconds following a terrible mix-up in the Villarreal defence and Javi Camunas was alert stealing possession before poking home his ninth goal of the season.
Villarreal were struggling but Joseba Llorente raced onto a great pass from Ariel Ibagaza and produced a great chip over the goalkeeper to equalise in the 40th minute.
Giuseppe Rossi almost put the hosts ahead close to half-time but a heroic goal-line block denied the former Manchester United man.
Recre threatened to go back in front in the second period but fell victim to Cani’s controversial goal.
The winger used his quick feet to get in behind the defence and his chip looked to have been cleared off the line but the referee awarded a goal.
Recre were so convinced it wasn’t goal that they continued to play on and appealing Villarreal players had to wait several seconds before knowing whether the goal had been awarded.
Several protesting Recre players were booked as they vented their frustration at the referee who then angered the home players by disallowing an inswinging free-kick from Nihat.
Recre drop to second from bottom following the defeat with Espanyol climbing above them courtesy of a 3-0 win over relegation rivals Sporting Gijon on Thursday.
Espanyol have put a brilliant run together at the right time with 10 points from the last 12 and are now just one point behind Sporting, who are clinging to the final safety spot.
Brazilian Nene, on a season loan from Monaco, opened the scoring before Roman Martinez and Jose Callejon scored twice in as many minutes to wrap up the points.
Atletico Madrid travel to out of sorts Racing Santander later on Thursday needing to close the six-point gap on Valencia.
“At this stage of the season each team is fighting for their future,” said Atletico coach Abel Resino. “Racing are fighting to stay up and we have to fight to the death if we want to reach our target.”
Racing were fighting for the Champions League last season but have had a difficult campaign and are just four points above the relegation zone.
Real Mallorca are another side looking to secure their top-flight status with one more win and hope it arrives in Thursday’s late match against Valladolid.
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MADRID (AFP) – Real Betis on Tuesday sacked their coach Francisco Chaparro and promoted youth team manager Jose Maria Nogues to act as his successor.
The club, announcing the managerial upheaval on their internet site, said Nogues would remain in the job until the end of the season and possibly for longer depending on results.
Chaparro was appointed manager of the Seville side which is struggling in 16th place in the Spanish first division at the end of 2007.
Written by: AFP
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Anyone remember Arsenal’s Steve Morrow being dropped by Tony Adams in the 1993 English League Cup final? Well this guy in Spain got injured all by himself….
This is from our main website.
Real Betis striker Sergio Garcia will be out for a month after injuring his knee while celebrating scoring the opening goal in the 3-3 home draw against Numancia.
The Spain international slid to his knees after netting in the ninth minute on Saturday, and had to be substituted soon after.
The side’s top scorer with nine goals twisted the lateral ligament in his left knee, the club said on their website.
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MADRID (AFP) – Spain coach Vicente del Bosque on Friday gave Villareal keeper Diego Lopez his first call-up for World Cup qualifiers against Turkey at home on March 28 and away four days later.
The 27-year-old was listed as the Spanish squad’s third keeper after Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas and usual substitute Jose Reina of Liverpool.
Lopez was Casillas’ understudy between 2005 and 2007 when he was at Real. He is the only new name in the squad unveiled by Del Bosque.
The European champions have not lost a game since going down 1-0 in a friendly to Romania in Cadiz in November 2006.
They top their Group Five 2010 World Cup qualifying group, with four wins from four games, and have only conceded one goal in their last 10 internationals.
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool/ENG), Diego Lopez (Villarreal)
Defenders: Raul Albiol (Valencia), Alvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool/ENG), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Juanito (Real Betis), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool/ENG), Sergi Busquets (Barcelona), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Santiago Cazorla (Villarreal), Albert Riera (Liverpool/ENG), David Silva (Valencia)
Strikers: Fernando Torres (Liverpool/ENG), Daniel Guiza (Fenerbahce/TUR), David Villa (Valencia), Fernando Llorente (Athletic de Bilbao)
Written by: AFP
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