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Robinho had his reputation sullied by Pele last week, when the veteran Brazilian accused the Manchester City star of taking cocaine.

Robinho has been left upset and disappointed by his fellow Santos alumnus' accusation, and has threatened court action should an apology failed to materialise

There's something of a 'will he, won't' he drama brewing at Stamford Bridge, where the fans and players are largely hoping that temporary boss Guus Hiddink will extend his stay beyond the summer.

The Spanish international defender insists he is happy at the Mestalla, but has not ruled out a move to the Premier League."

It is thought that the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool might be on alert after Valencia defender Raul Albiol admitted he would be interested in a move to the Premier League should he leave Los Che.

Apparently, the Merengots have racked up huge debts and may have to sell some of their most prized assets this summer. The 23-year-old Spanish international has been linked with a move to both the Gunners and the Reds in the past, but while he has not ruled out a move to England at some point, he insists he is happy at the Mestalla at present.

Brazilian striker Ronaldo said he has not given up hope of playing again despite a serious knee injury. The 31-year-old ruptured a tendon while playing for AC Milan and will be out for at least nine months.

"I haven't decided yet what I should do but I'm ready for anything," he said after undergoing surgery in Paris.

"I have the will to carry on playing, this is what my heart is telling me to do. But my body is giving me signs that it is tiring and needs rest." Ronaldo, the three-times World Player of the Year, has suffered two serious knee injuries in the past and this latest setback led to fears that his playing career could be over. "I know that physically and mentally it will be very hard," said Ronaldo of his rehabilitation.

"If at the end of the day, I have recovered and can play again, fine. If not, it will be a very hard decision to make but it will have to be the decision." Eric Rolland, the surgeon who operated on Ronaldo, said the striker would "not be able to run before up to five months and not be able to train before nine months." He added: "Anything can happen in the next three months because surgery is not an exact science. It will all depend on the rehabilitation.

The Portuguese has been out of management since leaving Chelsea last September and has been strongly tipped to replace Roberto Mancini at Inter.

The Italian champions have denied the rumours and Mourinho has also confirmed that he currently has nothing in place for next season. "In this moment I'm happy and I hope that I have a club to start working again in the next pre-season.

"If I don't have it, I don't have it. Life is good in many other aspects and I can wait a bit more." Mourinho would prefer to coach in a different country next season, but acknowledged he would be willing to return to England, if he receives no other offers. He added: "I was three years and a few months in English football and being so connected with the club, with a club that I wear the shirt and I was strongly connected with the club.

"I was almost like a flag of the club and the relationship I have with the fans is something which is impossible to forget and difficult to explain - it is amazing.

Platini was speaking after the suspension of second and third division matches in Italy after the fatal shooting of a fan by a policeman sparked nationwide riots. "It is necessary to stop the people that are holding football hostage and I therefore agree with a ban on the movement of violent fans," Platini told La Repubblica on Wednesday.

But the former France player and coach said he was "surprised" by the decision by the Italian federation to suspend Serie B and C matches scheduled for the weekend. "What has football got to do with what happened at Arezzo? Nothing. It's a problem of Italian society, a public order problem: football is only taken hostage. "Why the black armband (worn by players), why the suspension of matches? It's too easy. These incidents took place 300km from the stadia, and of what are the football clubs guilty?" he asked.

Manchester United are the team to beat this year in all competitions, should win the Premier League along with another cup maybe the FA Cup, Carling Cup or a European Cup or all of them isn't an impossible task.

Liverpool showing better signs of a Premiership challenge this year however, it’s going to be difficult to keep up the pace of United.

Chelsea seem to be going through a phrase of poor defending at set pieces and need to resolve their differences on tactics with new manager Scolari or see there chances of the winning league slip away. To me Chelsea is to land second spot and Liverpool just behind them at third.

And fourth it’s a race between Arsenal and Aston Villa for the remaining spot of top European football.

But Everton’s late serge will not be good enough to challenge them and will be more worried about Manchester City and Wigan over taking them.

Very hard to call for relegation, maybe Stoke, Middlesbrough, Hull, Bolton and Sunderland might be all in scrap for survival from the drop late on. Email: email@worldsoccer.tk Previous news articles at: www.oocities.org/thepointfc/blog

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has revealed he expects Amauri Carvalho to leave the club at the end of the season. The Brazilian-born forward has been linked with a host of clubs across Europe in recent months and is unlikely to remain with Rosanero next season. The 27-year-old has been mentioned as a possible transfer target for Liverpool and Real Madrid after scoring eight times in Serie A last season despite being troubled by knee problems.

"It's going to be very difficult to keep Amauri," admitted Zamparini. "It will be difficult especially if continues to play as he has done. "Amauri could finish in a top club in Spain or in the Premiership."

Grant was unveiled as first-team coach at Stamford Bridge on Friday evening, taking over from Jose Mourinho following the shock events at the club this week, but he made a less dramatic immediate impact than his predecessor. While Mourinho famously called himself "special", Grant said: "I am a normal person. I have my own philosophy.

"I respect everything that was here in the past and I'm sure what I do in the future will be respected. "I fully respect Jose Mourinho. In the two months we worked together I enjoyed working with him. I respect everything he did for the club. "In the three years here he had a lot of success. I want to follow that success and make things of my own."

He added: "In all of the world there are billions of people and they are all different. Not two people have the same opinion." Grant could not have asked for a tougher start, with Manchester United on Sunday his first game and Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday, meaning he will not be working with his squad the day before the match. Mourinho's close relationship with his players has led to suggestions Grant will have to win over the squad as he moves up from his role as director of football at the club.

"I would be more disappointed if the players did not have a good relationship with Jose," Grant said. "He was the coach for three and a half years and won games and trophies. "I need to look at the future, the near future especially. I think we will have a good relationship with the players and continue what we started in the last two days. "We will make them together and they are together."

Despite reports of player unrest after Mourinho's departure, chief executive Peter Kenyon stated that the squad were supportive after a turbulent few days. "At the training ground, it was business as usual," Kenyon said. "It was Avram trying to prepare the team. As professionals they all want to turn their attention to the Manchester United game. “We knew this was a position we could have most problems if we suffered injuries,” said Benitez.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon moved to allay fears the club could lose their star players as a result of Jose Mourinho's departure. Reports suggested a number of stars were unhappy with the manager's exit. But Kenyon, who has spoken to several members of the squad, said: "I am not concerned about there being a mass exodus in the summer.

"The players came out before training this morning and made it clear they are supportive of moving forwards." Ricardo Carvalho was among those players reported to be considering their Stamford Bridge futures.

"It is a very sad day for me and the team," the defender is quoted as saying. "I had a big offer from Real Madrid but I stayed at Chelsea because of Mourinho." Summer signing Florent Malouda added: "I joined Chelsea because of my first meeting with Mourinho." Several reports claimed striker Didier Drogba was "furious and upset" at the parting of the ways between Chelsea and their charismatic Portuguese coach.

The Iraqi team are on an emotional rollercoaster after reaching their first Asian Cup final as it took a bloody toll back home where at least 26 celebrating fans were killed. Iraq shocked the more fancied South Korea 4-3 in a penalty shootout after it was scoreless after extra time on Wednesday to put them on the brink of their greatest footballing achievement. They had only got as far as the semi-finals in 1976 and lost in their last three consecutive quarter-finals at the Asian Cup, but now travel to Jakarta for an all-Arab final with Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

"Everyone is happy and we have reason to be happy because this victory brings us to the final and we deserved that," said Iraq's Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira, who has been in charge for less than two months. "My boys have worked very hard." An emotional Vieira said the victory was for "the people of Iraq because they deserve it". Thousands of Iraqis wearing team jerseys and waving national flags poured on to the streets of Baghdad cheering and firing assault rifles wildly into the air after the match to celebrate a rare moment of shared joy. But the jubilation didn't last long.

A massive car bomb detonated in the formerly upscale western neighbourhood of Mansour in the middle of a crowd, killing at least nine men. Another 62 people, including women and children, were wounded in the blast. In a separate attack another car bomb went off in Zayuna, a mixed neighbourhood near downtown Baghdad, killing at least 17 people and wounding 60 others. Goalkeeper Noor Sabri was Iraq's hero, making a crucial save in the penalty shootout to steer his side into the final, and he dedicated his team's fighting spirit to his beleaguered compatriots in his war-ravaged homeland. Noor illustrated the grim personal cost his teammates have endured to play at the Asian Cup and how they are doing their bit in lifting spirits for those suffering in the Iraq civil conflict. "Four days before we came to Bangkok my wife's brother died and my teammate Hawar Mohammed lost his step-mother," he said.

Spanish side Villarreal on Thursday became the latest club to indicate an interest in signing French international striker Nicolas Anelka from English Premiership outfit Bolton Wanderers according to sports daily Marca. According to the paper the 2006 Champions League semi-finalists would swoop for the 29-year-old former Arsenal and Real Madrid star should they fail in their bid to sign another former Real and Gunners player Brazilian international Julio Baptista. Bolton, whose manager Sammy Lee said last week were ready to accept offers from English or European clubs if they received a realistic offer, are prepared to negotiate with Villarreal should the Baptista chase fail. Were Anelka to join he would line-up alongside two other former Arsenal players, central defender Pascal Cygan, former French international Robert Pires and French international midfielder Rio Mavuba.

Japanese media on Thursday blamed fatigue for the national team's 2-3 loss to Saudi Arabia who ended Japan's bid for a third straight Asian Cup victory. "Japan's dream of Victory Three shattered," ran a headline in the best-selling Yomiuri Shimbun, which ran photos of a dejected team and coach Ivica Osim. "One of the team's strengths is their mental concentration in a big game, but Japan were short of it," it said. Some pundits repeated criticism that the Japanese are not aggressive enough compared with rival football nations. "If you see a goal in sight, you need to go for a shot more aggressively," Shu Kamo, former coach of the national team, said in the Sports Nippon newspaper. The Asahi Shimbun said that Japan's squad, featuring stars such as Celtic's Shunsuke Nakamura and Eintracht Frankfurt's Naohiro Takahara, made mistakes that used to be "unthinkable" for them. "They were their own enemy,"the Asahi wrote. "Having emerged from the Australia match, there was no sense of intensity." The defending champions had qualified for semi-finals on penalties in Saturday's gruelling match with Asian newcomers Australia. "It is hard to imagine that Japan would have given up three goals if they were in the same form as they were until the quarter-final," the Asahi said. In one upside, Japanese broadcasters now have a clear choice for coverage Sunday. The final -- between Saudi Arabia and Iraq -- was scheduled just as results are due in from Japan's national elections. One network had already said it would choose football over the election if Japan were playing.

Barcelona's Portuguese international Deco, who has been linked to a move to the English Premiership, will be staying put at the Spanish club, Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said on Wednesday. Rijkaard told the club's website that he is "very pleased" with Deco, as is the player with the club, so his departure from Barcelona would be "difficult". The 29-year-old midfiedler is under contract with Barcelona until 2010 but the media have suggested that his days at the Nou Camp are numbered after the club surrendered the Spanish league title to arch-rivals Real Madrid last season. Press reports in Britain and Spain have linked Deco to a move to Chelsea in exchange for Frank Lampard with Newcastle United named as another possible destination. Deco joined Barcelona after winning the Champions League with Portuguese side FC Porto in 2004 under coach Jose Mourinho who now manages Chelsea. His goals return at Barcelona have fallen from eight in his first season with the club to just one in 2006/07.

Coach Pim Verbeek says crushed South Korean will recover from the anguish of their defeat on penalties to Iraq and regroup mentally for Saturday's "terrible" play-off for third place at the Asian Cup. The spent Koreans were dumped from the tournament 4-3 on penalties in their second penalty shoot-out in three days here Wednesday as Iraq advanced to Sunday's all-Arab final against Saudi Arabia in Jakarta. South Korea, winners of the first two editions of the Asian Cup in 1956 and 1960, were again cruelly denied a chance to reach their first continental tournament final since 1988. Verbeek has the task to lift shattered spirits for the third place play-off in Palembang, Indonesia, in a match he describes as "the most terrible game there is in football," yet which will qualify the winners for the 2011 Cup. The outspoken Dutchman, who has been with the Korean team for six years, was in a defiant mood after the match, critical of national over-expectations of their young team at the Asian Cup. "First, we all have to recover from this disappointment, not only the players, but the staff as well," Verbeek said. "I have to look at my players, how fit they are mentally, physically before taking a decision. We will not give up because Korean footballers never give up. "We will go for the third and fourth place match. I think it's the most terrible game there is in football, but we will go for it and we will be ready again Saturday." Verbeek, who had to battle against the Korean Football Association and KFA clubs to have his players released for pre-tournament training, said he had already made a decision about his position as national team coach. "I've taken my decision already, but I'm not going to tell you. I'll keep Korea excited for the coming days," said Verbeek, who has had a running battle with the Korean football media throughout the tournament. "If the Korean fans think we didn't play a good tournament then the fans have to think very deeply about having a real vision of international football. "I think a lot of countries would be very proud if their teams got through to the semi-final and fought until the last seconds and two times in extra-time for 120 minutes. I would be proud if I was a fan of Korean football.