Kuhn prepares for final fling at AaB helm

After ten unbeaten games in charge, stand-in Aalborg BK boss Allan Kuhn admitted he will have a few pangs of regret when he gives up the reins to trainer-elect Magnus Pehrsson, saying: "I have definitely got the taste for being coach."

Inspired decision
AaB have only two games left to play this year, and at the moment their decision to promote Bruce Rioch's assistant Kuhn to the hot seat following the Scotsman's dismissal on 23 October is looking an inspired one. Under Kuhn, the club have contested six league games, two Danish Cup ties and two UEFA Champions League group stage matches without defeat.

Controversial decision
They have also become the first Danish club to qualify for the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup since the competition's change of format. As a result, there was a fair degree of dissent earlier this week when AaB announced that, as planned, Kuhn would resume his old role as assistant, with 32-year-old former IK Sirius, Åtvidabergs FF and GAIS Göteborg trainer Pehrsson taking over on 1 January after signing a three-year contract.

Golden touch
AaB take on Randers FC in their last league outing of the year on Sunday and then visit Manchester United FC in their final UEFA Champions League game next week. Avoiding defeat in that first game looks possible, but with the fans chanting "We want Allan as coach" at every opportunity, people are even wondering whether the newcomer's golden touch can work at Old Trafford.

Limited experience
Kuhn's experience as a coach is limited, to say the least. His only previous solo command saw him take charge of fourth division FC Bornholm in 2003, before assisting first Erik Hamrén and then Rioch at AaB. The 40-year-old has nonetheless earned the players' trust, with defender Michael Jakobsen saying early during his spell in charge: "Now we stand together."

Great results
"The whole team has moved closer together under Kuhn," elaborated captain and midfielder Thomas Augustinussen. "Everyone is fighting together all the time now, and tactically I think we have been just as good as we were last season." That was in evidence as the Danish title-holders followed their 2-1 UEFA Champions League success against Celtic FC with a 3-1 league victory over FC København last weekend.

Best yet
The latter game was generally agreed to be the club's best single performance of the season, and justified sporting director Lynge Jakobsen's claim that "Kuhn will grow with the challenge." That challenge will end at Old Trafford, and Kuhn admits that he may miss the limelight a little. "That was the deal we made from the start, but I have definitely got the taste for being coach," he said.

Pehrsson praise
The club remain convinced they have appointed the right man in Pehrsson, however. "We're happy to have succeeded in signing one of Scandinavia's greatest coaching talents, and he has been chosen after thorough research, tests, references and several interviews," said Jakobsen. Pehrsson himself is also thrilled by the challenge awaiting him. "I'm looking forward to building on the fine foundations that the current coaching team and the players have already laid. I see AaB as a club with great potential."

Zidane Reveals Headbutt Regret And Juventus Doping

The football legend reveals his World Cup regrets as well as some substance taking at Juventus...


Former France, Real Madrid and Juventus legend Zinedine Zidane has opened his heart to fans of the game, and he admits his regret at the way he behaved during the World Cup final against Italy in 2006.

His on-pitch battle with Marco Materazzi reached boiling point and Zidane let off steam by headbutting the Italian.

The gesture shocked the world, and the former Bianconero says he regrets what he did on that ill-fated night in Berlin.

"I ended my career on a very sad note," Zidane told Le Parisien.

"At the time my mother was in hospital but I am not trying to justify my actions. I felt empty when I returned to the dressing room. It was not a nice end at all.

"I was insulted but my reaction was not right. The provocation should have been punished. I don't feel any injustice at all. It was not the thing to do."

Zidane also spoke about the days when taking creatine at Juventus was the norm.

Many will remember the doping scandal which rocked the club ten years ago, but Juve were cleared of any wrongdoing by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

"Doping was a bad thing. We used to take creatine in Turin, it was illegal in France but not in Italy. I don't think it was dangerous," added Zidane.

Zizou is taking his time away from the game but he did hint at a possible coaching role in future.

"Coaching? Not now but maybe in ten years I may consider it," concluded the Frenchman.

Madrid challenge excites Huntelaar

New Real Madrid CF forward Klaas Jan Huntelaar has admitted to feeling star-struck following his €27m move from AFC Ajax to the Santiago Bernabéu, saying: "This is the biggest club in the world and I'm still trying to take everything in."

Good recovery
At his official presentation on Thursday, the prolific Dutch international revealed that he was due to join the growing contingent of his compatriots at Madrid at the end of the current season, only for the timing of the move to be brought forward. "I would have been here a little later but the Madrid squad has been destroyed by injuries," said the 25-year-old, who is currently nursing an ankle injury. "My recovery is going very well. In one or two weeks, I believe I will be back to full fitness."

Higher level
Huntelaar has signed a four-and-a-half year deal with the nine-time European champions after a burst of 76 league goals in 92 games for Ajax. Madrid hope he can transfer that impressive strike-rate to the Liga and prove a ready-made replacement for knee-injury victim Ruud van Nistelrooy. While the former Manchester United FC striker is ruled out for the rest of the season, the presence of fellow Dutch internationals Royston Drenthe, Rafael van der Vaart, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder in the Real squad means Huntelaar should have little difficulty in settling in. "My integration here will be quite easy as there are already many Dutch players with the club," the former SC Heerenveen forward said. "It's true that the Spanish league is a small step up in level to that of the Eredivisie, but that's the challenge that has to be faced and I think I'm ready."

Surgery consigns Semih to sidelines

Fenerbahçe SK and Turkey striker Semih Şentürk will be out of action for at least three weeks after undergoing surgery on his right knee.

Kyiv absence
The 25-year-old succumbed to injury 15 minutes into his club's Turkish Süper Lig encounter with Ankaraspor AS on 15 November and was forced to sit out Turkey's friendly with Austria four days later. Semih also missed league meetings with MKE Ankaragücü and Beşiktaş JK, as well as the 2-1 UEFA Champions League loss to FC Porto on Matchday 5, and will be absent for the crucial Group G showdown with FC Dynamo Kyiv on 10 December as his team target the victory which will earn them a UEFA Cup place. "I won't be able to play in the remainder of the first part of the season," he said. "I hope to start training again in a month."

Nedved Hoping To End Juventus Career In Rome

Czech Fury’s Italian adventure started at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and he believes that destiny wants him to call it a day on the same pitch...

Pavel Nedved has often stated his desire to lift the Champions Legue trophy before hanging up his boots.

And seeing as he is expected to bow out of the beautiful game at the end of this season, next May’s showpiece event at the Stadio Olimpico will be his last shot to hoist the ‘big-eared’ cup, as he likes to call it.

“I should not say this, but I think that each one of us is guided by fate,” he mused, speaking to Tuttosport.

“I played my first game in Italy in the same ground that will host the Champions League final next May. It would be a wonderful way to wrap things up…”

Juventus lost to Inter in the Derby d’Italia earlier this month and are now six point adrift of the leaders, but the 36-year-old is confident the Old Lady will soon reduce the gap between themselves and the Nerazzurri.

“It’s not up to me to say whether we need reinforcements in January,” he stated, “I just know that we are already strong now and will be even more next season, as more champions will come in.

“I have faith in the future of this club, because we have several young talents.”

Juventus Closer To Signing Bayern Munich's Schweinsteiger

Negative attitudes from the Allianz Arena have seen Juventus adopt a positive stance with their plans to push on for the German star...


uventus have moved a step closer to signing Bastian Schweinsteiger after Bayern Munich president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge revealed that it will be tough trying to keep him.

Contract talks between club and player are up in the air and this has added weight to reports of an exit.

Juve are standing by and waiting for the next chapter in the 'Schweini' story to unfold. The Italians are keen on the German international who has stated his ambitions to move on.

Unless Bayern offer him a special package, the chances of him leaving the Allianz Arena will continue to grow. Rummenigge doesn't sound confident about being able to hang on to his man.

"It will be hard trying to keep him but I am not a pessimist," the president is quoted as saying on Sportmediaset.

The player's agent is also taking his time in an attempt to push up his client's price and start a bidding war between all the interested clubs.

Reports suggest the Old Lady has already filled her handbag with cash and a January move is expected.

Laporta Targets Karim Benzema And Cesc Fabregas

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has given a glimpse of his future plans for the club as recent reports suggest that he is after two of Europe’s most sought after young guns.

As Barcelona’s arch nemesis Real Madrid stagger about hastily and desperately to sign players in the January trade period to bolster their injury-plagued squad, the Blaugrana are also eager to get themselves into the transfer spotlight. But they are taking a more placid approach.

The Catalan giants’ own media mouthpiece, Sport have reported that Barca president, Joan Laporta is already thinking ahead to the future to assemble a young squad of players to complement the veterans currently in the team.

It is believed that the supremo has made Arsenal midfielder, Cesc Fabregas and Olympique Lyonnais striker, Karim Benzema, both 21 years of age, his prime targets for next season.

With players like Xavi, Carles Puyol, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o, Rafael Marquez either approaching or already in their 30’s, Laporta wants to ensure that there are enough young players to continually carry the club forward as well as superstars who will be able to provide the kind of spectacular football the team are showcasing now.

Cesc is seen as the perfect long-term deputy for Xavi when he finally retires, while Benzema would step in to replace Henry first and eventually Eto’o as well.

Despite a glut of outrageous young talents already in the squad, including Messi (21 years old), Iniesta (23), Busquets (20) Bojan (18) and Pique (21), Barcelona are eager to land both Cesc and Benzema sooner rather than later.

The only issue for the Blaugrana is the exorbitant transfer fees they will have to dish out for the duo. Cesc is currently valued at an estimated €30 million, a figure that both Laporta and technical director, Txiki Begiristain are unwilling to even consider paying, especially for a player that they produced in their own backyard just a few years ago.

As such, Barcelona’s only hope of seeing the Arsenal man make a return to the Camp Nou would be for the player himself to demand an exit from the Emirates, an unlikely scenario at present seeing as the midfielder had only just pledged his future to the Gunners.