Raul: I'm Going To The European Championships

Newspaper headlines may sometimes give the impression that Raul (pictured) and Luis Aragones are at loggerheads, but Spanish sports daily Marca reports, this appears to be far from the truth.

For at the paper's gala Christmas dinner, the two were pictured in pleasant, animated conversation.

Marca contends that the two even exchanged light-hearted but illuminating discussions pertaining to Raul's appearance at next year's Euro 2008.

"I'm fully fit and will go to the Euros," reportedly said the Real Madrid captain.Aragones responded, "Well, you know better than me, but I'm glad that you're in form.""I'll surely be there," continued Raul.Aragones, changing the subject, concluded, "I see that you're confident... we'll see."

Indeed, we will see by June, if not before, whether or not Raul can make an international comeback.

Steve Michaels, Goal.com

Löw: France And Italy Are Euro 2008 Favourites

Germany, last year's third-placed World Cup contenders, are among the sides tipped for success at next year's European Championships in Austria and Switzerland.

However, Nationalelf manager Joachim Löw (pictured) has instead tipped the World Champions and runners-up for glory, with the Iberian sides not far behind.

"I don't see us as the absolute top favourite," Löw told Kicker."In view of the last 10 years, I see France and Italy at the absolute top."I see Spain and Portugal as very strong as well."

Germany last won the tournament in 1996 in England. In the 2004 edition in Portugal, they were sensationally knocked out without a win in Round 1.

by Steve Michaels, Goal.com

Romania Thank's Mutu and Piturca

ACF Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu and national team coach Victor Piturca have been voted Romanian Player and Coach of the Year respectively.

Brilliant form
The pair won a ballot of Romanian club presidents, coaches, captains and supporters run by the newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor and are rewarded for a brilliant 2007 in which they helped their country qualify for UEFA EURO 2008™, the first major tournament Romania has reached in eight years. Mutu has been in inspirational form for both club and country, scoring six times for Romania during qualifying and nine times already for Fiorentina in Serie A.

Chivu second
He was followed in the voting by fellow internationals Cristian Chivu, Bogdan Lobont and Dorin Goian, while Piturca finished above Ioan Andone, whose CFR 1907 Cluj side go into the winter break top of Liga 1, FC Rapid Bucureşti coach Mircea Rednic, who led FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti to the Romanian title last year, and FC Shakhtar Donetsk's Mircea Lucescu. It is the third time Mutu has won the title after 2003 and 2005 while Piturca is named Coach of the Year for the first time.

Champion League 2008 draw

The draw for the last sixteen of the Champions League has just taken place, and a few spicy games have been served up.

Tie 1: Celtic versus Barcelona. Barcelona were knocked out by them in the Uefa Cup three seasons ago, one must recall.

Tie 2: Lyon versus Manchester United. The Red Devils will fancy themselves in this one, though a couple of Karim Benzema goals could be a bother.

Tie 3: Schalke versus FC Porto. Both sides will back themselves here.

Tie 4: Liverpool versus Inter Milan. That is a big one. Inter have so much to prove in Europe, and looks like they will have to do it against one of the legendary clubs as far as European Cups are concerned. Will it be another early exit, or glory finally?

Tie 5: AS Roma versus Real Madrid. That will most definitely not be easy for Los Merengues. Another trip to Rome after facing Lazio in the group stage.

Tie 6: Arsenal versus AC Milan. That will be the clash of the round, undoubtedly. The young guns against the old guard, so to speak. And of course, Fabregas against Kaka!

Tie 7: Olympiakos versus Chelsea. The Blues will fancy themselves in this one.

Tie 8: Fenerbahce versus Sevilla. It will not be plain sailing for Sevilla, as they must first negociate a tricky first leg in Turkey.

The first leg on 19/20 Feb, and return leg on 04/05 Mar. Inter will play their second leg on Mar 11 due to a stadium clash with Milan. Premiership versus Serie A is very much the theme as far as high profile games go. Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea have the relatively easy draws on paper

Kaka Wins FIFA World Player Of The Year Award 2007

It has been a spectacular season for Kaka, littered with trophies and awards, and he made sure nobody ran away with the final plaudit of the season.

The Champions League, European Cup and Club World Cup winner saw off the challenge from Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo in the poll of national team coaches and captains to win by more than 500 points.

He had 1,047 points while Messi had 504 and Ronaldo 426, making it a runaway win like in the Ballon d'Or.

Didier Drogba was fourth, a further 200 points off, with 209, while Ronaldinho came in fifth.

Milan Crowned World Club Champions

AC Milan have become the first European team to win the Club World Cup as they defeated Boca Juniors in a thrilling final in Japan.

Filippo Inzaghi netted twice and Alessandro Nesta and Kaká were also on target as the Champions League winners saw off the challenge of the Copa Libertadores holders in style.Boca netted through Rodrigo Palacio and an own goal from Massimo Ambrosini, but it was not enough to prevent Milan from making history and clinching the trophy.

In front of a packed stadium in Yokohama, the Rossoneri took the lead after 21 minutes as Kaká saw his effort blocked before picking up the rebound to find Inzaghi and the poacher slotted home from six yards.Within a minute, however, the Argentinian outfit were level as Palacio headed in an equaliser while Milan were still settling down after their opener.

The game was played at a high tempo and as the pace did not drop after the break, Nesta stepped forward to hammer Milan back into the lead in the 50th minute.Kaká was in sparkling form as he looked to drive the Italians forward, while at the other end Boca came close to a second equaliser when Hugo Ibarra's long range effort struck the woodwork.

As the match continued though, Milan began to take the upper hand and it was fitting that Kaká added his side's third goal as he poked the ball through the keeper's legs just after the hour mark.The encounter was over as a contest with 19 minutes remaining as Inzaghi netted his second of the evening after Kaká supplied the pass once again.There was still time for Boca to reduce the arrears and they were given a helping hand by Ambrosini as he beat Dida with five minutes left on the clock

FA Board Member Says Capello Hiring Was Rush-Job

The Premier League chairman was keen to stress that he believes that the FA got the right man, but feels strongly that there was no need to go through the hiring process in such a rush.

"I'm not happy with what's gone on and have told the FA," Richards thundered."What was all the rush about? It was totally unnecessary to contact everybody by phone on Thursday when the contracts weren't finalised until the following afternoon. This level of business should not be done over the phone. It needs a face-to-face discussion.

"No one's objecting to Capello - far from it. But it would have made so much more sense to call a board meeting for today, tomorrow or Monday.

"England don't play their next game until February 6, so why the need to do everything in such a mad hurry? It's bizarre. We have the next scheduled board meeting on Thursday, so it wasn't as if there was nothing in the diary.

"Decisions of this magnitude should be made at a board meeting in the right way, so all the detail can be discussed in a calm orderly manner."This is a very important appointment, involving a lot of money and personnel, that should be arrived at via a rigorously proper process."I regard myself as a custodian of the game who tries to do his best for the game. If that means walking out of meetings or objecting to conference calls about the England manager's job, then I'll do it."

Van Basten to quit Dutch team after Euro 2008

Van Basten and his assistant John van't Schip will not extend their contracts which expire on June 30.

'After the World Cup finals last year we considered the coming Euro finals as a new challenge and after four years it will be time to work in a new environment,' Van Basten was quoted as saying in a Dutch FA statement. Van Basten succeeded Dick Advocaat in July 2004 and guided the Dutch side through an unbeaten 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign. At last year's finals the Netherlands lost to Portugal in the first knockout stage.

The Dutch qualified for the finals of Euro 2008 as group runners-up behind Romania and have been handed a tough assignment in Austria and Switzerland. They will play in Group C along with world champions Italy, France and Romania. 'It is a pity but I appreciate the fact that they informed us in time,' said KNVB director Henk Kesler. 'We will have time to see who will succeed them and Marco (van Basten) and John (van't Schip) made clear that they will focus completely on the coming tournament.' Van Basten's decision has already triggered speculation about his future and who will succeed him as coach of the Netherlands team that will face Scotland, Norway, Macedonia and Iceland in the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup.

Van Basten became Netherlands coach on the recommendation of Johan Cruyff, who is an advisor to the Dutch FA and Ajax. Foppe de Haan, 64, has been named by Dutch media as being among the candidates to take over the Netherlands job. De Haan guided the Netherlands Under-21 side to two successive European titles in 2006 and 2007 and is preparing his team for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol, who was sacked by the Premier League club in October, was also tipped to be among the likely candidates although KNVB director Kesler is on record saying Jol would not be an option if Van Basten quit.