Materazzi wins Daily Mail damages

Italian footballer Marco Materazzi has won damages from the Daily Mail over claims he racially abused Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final.

The amount was not disclosed, but the paper accepted it was wrong to report Materazzi had called Zidane "the son of a terrorist whore".

French star Zidane was sent off after head-butting the Italian's chest.

Jonathan Price, lawyer for the Daily Mail's owners, said the paper offered its apologies for the distress caused.

Materazzi, who currently plays for Inter Milan, was not at London's High Court for the settlement of his libel case against Associated Newspapers.

His counsel, Jane Phillips, told Mr Justice Eady that, in July 2006, in its coverage of the World Cup Final, the newspaper published a series of items accompanied by photos, including one of Materazzi being head-butted by Zidane, captioned "Revealed: the insult that made Zidane see red".

She added that the articles stated quite wrongly that Materazzi, who scored one of the crucial penalties which secured an Italian victory, had used vile racist abuse during the match.

'Wholly untrue'

From July to December that year, it also published articles on its website which included similar defamatory material.

Ms Phillips said the newspaper accepted all of the allegations were wholly untrue and that there was no question of Materazzi having said anything of a racist nature to Zidane such as to goad him.

Mr Price, for Associated Newspapers, said that it offered its apologies for the distress and embarrassment caused, and had agreed to pay Materazzi substantial - but undisclosed - damages and his costs.

The Italian also won damages and an apology from the Daily Star earlier in the year.

'Insulted his sister'

Following the head-butting incident, in July 2006, Materazzi was handed a two-match ban by world governing body Fifa.

France's captain Zidane, playing his last match before retiring from football, was banned for three games and fined £3,260.

At the time he claimed he was provoked after Materazzi had "insulted his mother". But he has never specified exactly what Materazzi said to him and has refused to apologise to his opponent.

Materazzi later stated that Zidane's sister was the subject.

"I was tugging his shirt, he said to me 'if you want my shirt so much I'll give it to you afterwards,' and I answered that I'd prefer his sister," he said.

Liverpool v Atlético

Venue: Anfield
Date: Tuesday 4 November
Kick-off: 1945 GMT


Liverpool are optimistic striker Fernando Torres will win his race to be fit to face former club Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Torres, 24, has not played since suffering a hamstring injury last month, but manager Rafa Benitez hopes to have him in his squad

"Hopefully he'll be ready," he said on Monday. "If he cannot start then he will be on the bench if all is okay."

"I would say he has a 70 per cent chance of featuring in the game."

Despite Torres's absence, Liverpool ended Chelsea's 84-game unbeaten home record.

But they missed a host of gilt-edged chances in Saturday's 2-1 Premier League defeat at Tottenham, which cost them top spot to Chelsea.

And Benitez is keen to see the Spaniard back to help secure Liverpool's place in the last 16 of the Champions League

"Fernando has been working really, really hard and doing good work with the physios," he told the club's website.

"He trained yesterday (Sunday) and will train again today and then we will see.

"Atletico Madrid was his first club and now he is with Liverpool - two big clubs with lots of fans who love him, so this is massive for him."

Torres missed the trip to the club he used to captain two weeks ago when a 1-1 draw left Liverpool and Atletico level at the top of Group D with seven points each.

Liverpool's home record against Spanish clubs is poor; they have failed to win any of the last five matches and did not score in the last four.

But Benitez sees the game as the perfect opportunity to quickly recover the momentum of a promising season following the defeat by Spurs.

"It's good we have another important game on Tuesday and the reaction of the players has to be to play well and win the game," he said after that game.

Atletico warmed up for the game with a 2-0 home victory over Real Mallorca in La Liga on Saturday.

Atletico coach Javier Aguirre's decision to bring Sergio Aguero back into his starting line-up paid off with the Argentine forward scoring both goals in their first league win in five matches.

Cole ruled out with calf injury

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole has been ruled out for up to 10 days after sustaining a calf injury during his side's 5-0 win over Sunderland.

The England left-back picked up the injury during the first half at Stamford Bridge and a scan revealed a small tear in the muscle.

He did not travel with the rest of the Chelsea squad to Rome for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Roma.

Cole will also miss Chelsea's Premier League trip to Blackburn on Sunday.

Wayne Bridge replaced Cole after 36 minutes of Chelsea's victory over the Black Cats on Saturday and is likely to deputise in his absence.

Striker Didier Drogba will be available to face Roma after coming off the bench against Sunderland - his first appearance for a month after knee and ankle injuries.

FC Barcelona v Basel

04 November 2008 20:45 (CET)
Camp Nou
Barcelona - Spain


Although you never win matches or trophies in the press conference room it remains one of the most important and difficult things in football for players or coaches to self-analyse in public.

Spectacular form
Football, particularly at the top level where FC Barcelona play, remains a conservative sport where blame, recrimination and corrective remedies are often kept rigorously secret within the dressing room or on the training pitch. Add to that the fact that Andrés Iniesta is a tremendously discrete, even shy young man and it becomes all the more interesting that he chose the eve of Matchday 4, when Barça play their return fixture against FC Basel 1893 knowing a fourth Group C win could take them through, to put their spectacular domestic and European form in context.

Revival
Barça's last six matches, including the 5-0 success at Basel, have produced 22 goals and Josep Guardiola's side are on a run of eleven straight victories in all competitions. But Iniesta admits that he and his team-mates are not solely driven by a desire to impress their new coach or to win trophies. Matters had, apparently, reached such a low ebb over the last couple of years that the only way was up.

New hunger
"We were so bad last season that it was nearly impossible for things to continue like that," Iniesta said. "There has been a total change of mentality at this club and Pep Guardiola has added to that by making many specific tactical alterations and changes to training. Things were not good. How we are playing now is simply the fruit of very good and very hard work every day. Plus we are totally driven by having won nothing in the last two seasons, that gives you a real hunger."

Record target
While Iniesta is a disciple of Guardiola's doctrine of one game at a time, the truth is that there is huge anticipation around Camp Nou at the prospect of equalling Barça's all-time record of 18 consecutive victories set under Frank Rijkaard between October 2005 and January 2006 in a season that ended with Spanish and European titles. The Spain midfielder believes it is vital to treat Basel with caution, try not be distracted by the false goal of superseding the Rijkaard record and keep on racking up wins for their own merit.

Basel threat
"Runs like this are wonderful when you play so well, get the points, score lots of goals and receive praise for the style of football," Iniesta admitted. "But we know that whatever happens this run won't last all season, it cannot. So what we intend to do is to extend it for as long as possible and simply take advantage of the fact that we are on superb form right now. I view the visit of Basel to be a threat. No one should view them as an easy win and none of us want to slip up by underestimating them.

Ferguson insists Tevez is happy

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson does not believe striker Carlos Tevez wants to leave the club.

On-loan Tevez, 24, has been regularly left out of the starting line-up in the past month, but Ferguson said the Argentine striker understands his role.

"He is happy here," said Ferguson. "The players and fans love him.

"Just because I have left him out for a couple of games, doesn't mean it should be a negative part of negotiations to get him here in a full-time capacity."

Tevez joined the Old Trafford outfit on a two-year loan that is due to expire next summer.

It had been expected he would sign a permanent contract before the end of the season.

But with Tevez sinking behind Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov in the pecking order, talks between Red Devils chief executive David Gill and Tevez's trusted advisor Kia Joorabchian have taken place.

The forward has been subsequently linked with a move away from Old Trafford, with Real Madrid and cash-rich Manchester City mentioned as possible destinations, but Ferguson said Tevez wanted to remain at the club.

"Obviously there is always the language barrier with Carlos but it is quite straightforward. He wants to play," said Ferguson.

"That is fine. I have just reminded him of how we operate here. He understands that. It is the same for Rooney. They are not happy but that is the way it is."

Ferguson admitted it was tricky keeping all of his strikers happy, comparing his current dilemma to the 1999 Manchester United side, where Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were vying for a place in the team.

"It is much more delicate handling the striking situation now," he said

In those days there was that northern European culture that was easier to manage. There was a British mentality and there was no problem dealing with it.

"None of them were happy when they didn't play but they understood and it wasn't an issue.

"I sat Wayne down the other day and told him I had to find out how Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos played together. He understood that, but I don't think he would be too impressed if I left him out of two or three games. However, I don't think it is unmanageable."

Meanwhile, Diego Maradona, who is due to be confirmed as head coach of Argentina on Tuesday, has abandoned plans to fly to England this weekend and meet with Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

The 48-year-old former Napoli and Barcelona forward will stay in Argentina to formulate his squad for the upcoming friendly against Scotland.

Roma v Chelsea

De Rossi puts fire under the Roma cauldron


Despite being on top of Group A with seven points after beating AS Roma 1-0 at home, Chelsea FC will not be expecting an easy return leg this week, with Daniele De Rossi telling uefa.com: "We will show how important our fans are and what they can do for us."

'Little bit extra'
Roma supporters looking to create an atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico as intimidating as the one gladiators once faced at the city's ancient Colosseum, but De Rossi knows his team-mates have to play their part too: "It's up to us," explained the 25-year-old Italian international. "We have to work on it and be professional. If things don't go easily you have to work hard and it's good to know that there are people that are behind us pushing us on. It gives us that little bit extra."

Morale boost
Luciano Spalletti's side are having a tough time in Serie A, where they find themselves at the wrong end of the table, and they have collected just three points from their first three UEFA Champions League matches this term too. Nonetheless, thanks to FC Girondins de Bordeaux's 1-0 victory against CFR 1907 Cluj on Matchday 3, Roma can still aspire to a top-two finish in the section. "It was important that the Romanian team didn't win," said De Rossi. "This could help us to recover and be more successful in the return matches."

Encouraging display
The Giallorossi can take further encouragement from the performance they put in at Stamford Bridge. "We played one of the strongest teams in Europe and we didn't look too bad," added De Rossi. "But it doesn't matter who you face, we were able to play at the same level. It wasn't an impressive performance from us, but we were able to keep pace with them."

'We are confident'
Knocked out of last season's competition by Manchester United FC, this time Roma can only hope a victory against another English side can spark a UEFA Champions League Lazarus act. French defender Philippe Mexès said: "We will make it out of this. It won't be easy, but we are confident and two or three good results now would bring us back.

Wenger admits to Arsenal weakness

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted his team simply could not cope with Stoke's aerial threat as they slipped to a 2-1 away defeat.

Both of Stoke's goals came courtesy of Rory Delap long throws and Wenger said: "Yes we had a plan, of course.

"We worked on it a lot. But those kind of goals, straight into the box with 20 people there, it is not our greatest strength to deal with that.

"We were punished, but at the end of the day Stoke deserved their victory."

Ricardo Fuller profited from Delap's 35-yard throw to head home Stoke's first goal.

And Delap threw the Gunners into turmoil again in the second half when Ryan Shawcross flicked on the midfielder's hurler and Olofinjana bundled the ball over the line.

Wenger added: "Traditional people who love the traditional English game with a lot of fight and a lot of commitment, will have been happy because they got what they like."

Delap, who has contributed to eight of Stoke's 13 Premier League goals this season with his throws, believes they are "undefendable".

"If I throw the perfect ball, with the height and quality in our team, I think it is undefendable and that has been proven," said Delap.

"There's no secret to it, everyone knows we do it and it's working well for us."

But Stoke assistant boss David Kemp says Stoke have much more to their game.

"I think we saw what Stoke are all about," said Kemp. "We played very well, created chances and caused plenty of problems.

"Delap's throw is a fantastic weapon but we created chances through other areas of our play. Winning games likes this is a big thing."

Wenger believes striker Robin van Persie should not have been sent off for his petulant late challenge on Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen.

"It should have been a yellow," said the Frenchman.

"He should not have done it and he knows that but a red card was harsh."

Arsenal also picked up injuries to Theo Walcott, who was stretchered off with his left arm in a sling, Emmanuel Adebayor and Bacary Sagna.

The Gunners now sit fourth in the table and trail Chelsea by six points.

Defeat at the Britannia Stadium came just days after rivals Tottenham scored two late goals to snatch a 4-4 draw at The Emirates.

And Wenger admitted: "We lacked sharpness. It was very difficult. You could see that Stoke, physically, were a bit stronger than us.

"And we conceded goals that Stoke are strong at. We lost many players and had a red card."

Arsenal play Fenerbahce in the Champions League on Wednesday and Manchester United in the Premier League next Saturday.

"It is an opportunity to show how strong we are," said the Gunners manager.