IBLOG SPACE

Inter Milan have reportedly joined in the race to sign Valencia coveted star David Silva . The 24-year-old winger is expected to follow his former team-mate David Villa out of Mestalla as Valencia look to sort out their finances. Beside Inter, Real Madrid and Manchester City are also believed to be keeping tabs on Silva. Silva is currently with the Spain national side for the World Cup and has refused to commit his long-term future to Valencia as the Spaniard's transfer saga looks to drag on. With Rafael Benitez set to replace Jose Mourinho as Inter's new man at the helm, the former Liverpool manager is determined to bring his long-term target with him to San Siro as reports also crediting him with a move for Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano and Palermo's Edinson Cavani.

Jay DeMerit hopes the United States can frustrate Wayne Rooney to the extent the England striker loses his cool. Defender DeMerit insists the USA will not try to deliberately wind up Rooney, whose temperament has again come under the spotlight after his yellow card against the Platinum Stars. But DeMerit believes keeping a tight rein on Rooney could result in the Manchester United star losing his self-control. DeMerit told Press Association Sport: "A lot has been said about Rooney over the years as far as temperament goes. "I think Wayne more than anyone knows that people are going to try to use that against him. "That's not our worry. My worry as an individual is not to try to wind him up and try to get him sent off. "He is a competitive guy, an aggressive guy, he wears his heart on his sleeve. "Those guys in a lot of people's minds are easy to wind up. It is not a tactic we will employ on Saturday. "But it is our job to make his day as difficult

Bayern Munich forward Arjen Robben has been ruled out of Holland's World Cup opener against Denmark with a hamstring injury. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid man sustained a small tear in his left hamstring towards the end of Saturday's 6-1 warm-up victory over Hungary. He is hoping intensive physiotherapy will help him play some part in South Africa, but Oranje coach Bert van Marwijk is resigned to being without the 26-year-old for Monday's Group E opener against the Danes in Johannesburg. "Since the final of the Champions League (May 22), Arjen has hardly played," said Van Marwijk. "It is illusory to believe that he will be ready to face Denmark. "Whatever one may say, his injury is serious and I do not know when he can join us. "The team's goal now is to go as far as possible in the competition to allow Arjen to play with us during this World Cup."

Xav i is an admirer of England's midfield stars and would not be surprised to see The Three Lions riumph at the World Cup. The Barcelona midfielder picked out Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard as the players who can fire England into the latter stages of the tournament. He told www.betfairfootball.com: "Lampard and Gerrard, for me, are number one players. I like the way they play because they see football very well, and they score goals and are always prepared to shoot. "I like them because they play in my position, I notice them more and they are fantastic players." Spain are the favourites to triumph in South Africa but Xavi believes his country and England are in the same position having consistently underachieved at past tournaments. He added: "England for me is like Spain. They can be one of the favourites in the World Cup but previously they haven't done much. I think the favourites are the teams who have won it previously. "England has possibiliti

John Terry is glad stricken team-mate Rio Ferdinand will be hanging around the England camp for a bit. Such is the extent of the knee injury which has ruled the Three Lions skipper out of the World Cup, Ferdinand has been advised not to contemplate a return home until after Saturday's Group C opener against the United States in Rustenburg. It means the Manchester United man remains in camp, his experience providing a useful sounding board for players who were his team-mates until last Friday's unfortunate turn of events. He made his way to yesterday's victory over the Platinum Stars rather uncomfortably on crutches and has been hobbling around the training ground this week. And although Terry can only imagine the internal torture his regular central defensive partner must be going through, the 29-year-old is happy to have Ferdinand around. "It is great for him to still want to be part of the squad," said Terry. "He is great fun to have around. When you have

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has admitted he is interested in taking Joe Cole to White Hart Lane. Cole, who scored in England's 3-0 World Cup warm-up victory against Platinum Stars on Saturday, is out of contract at Chelsea this summer and has been linked with a number of clubs, notably Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United. Now the Spurs boss has revealed his desire to lure the former West Ham player to north London. He told the Daily Express: "Yes, I am prepared to declare my interest in Joe Cole. "Why not? He is a great player, his contract is up and he is on a free transfer. "When he returns I would love to talk to him about coming to Spurs." Redknapp's statement contradicts his comments last week when he claimed he believed the 28-year-old would leave Stamford Bridge this summer but his destination would be somewhere other than Tottenham. "It looks to me someone's going to make a great free transfer, if he doesn't stay at Chelsea,"

United States striker Robbie Findley has warned England they can cause them problems "all over the pitch". Findley and Edson Buddle impressed as a forward combination during the USA's 3-1 win over Australia in their final warm-up international. Buddle scored a brace, his first goals for his country after seeing a promising career affected by various injury problems. But Findley believes England will have more to contend with than just their contribution. He feels the US have been gradually improving in the build-up to the tournament. Findley told Press Association Sport: "From the first warm-up matches, we just wanted to build and build. "We did well in Turkey, got the win there, and have done some good stuff out here as well. "It is just about taking those steps forward and getting ready for next weekend and we are in good shape for that match. "We can cause England problems. We scored some great goals against Australia and, when Josmer (Jozy Altidor

Gareth Barry has confirmed he will sit out England's World Cup opener against the United States next Saturday. Barry has made a quicker than expected recovery from the ankle injury he suffered on Manchester City duty at the beginning of May. Having been given a deadline of June 13, the day after the United States encounter in Rustenburg, to begin full training, the 29-year-old will actually start playing a major part in all sessions from tomorrow. However, coach Fabio Capello has already declared that Barry was unlikely to face the USA for fear of jeopardising his return to full fitness. And it seems the Italian has not changed his mind. "I've been told I'm not playing against USA to give me more time," Barry told www.newsoftheworld.co.uk. "I'll be back in full training with the team from tomorrow." In Barry's absence, Capello looks likely to team Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in central midfield on Saturday, with Joe Cole occupying the left-

FIFA claim its ticketing policy is the right one, insisting that sales or distribution of tickets should "never" be done at a stadium on a matchday. Sixteen people, including two police officers, were injured when a stampede occurred at the Johannesburg ground where fans were trying to get in to watch Nigeria take on North Korea in a pre-World Cup friendly - a match where the 10,000 tickets were free. The incident happened just days before the start of the global spectacle, set to kick off when hosts South Africa face Mexico at Soccer City on Friday. The world governing body has often been criticised in the build-up to the tournament for not making tickets more easily accessible for locals, most of whom live in poverty and do not have the luxury of the internet - FIFA's preferred method of selling tickets. Secretary general Jerome Valcke said that the happenings in Tembisa township, east of the city, proved that the organisation had the correct policy. He said: "We

Barcelona's director general Joan Oliver has rubbished reports Arsenal have told them to double their offer if they want Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas has long been linked with a return to Barca, the club where he learned his trade as a youngster before moving to the Gunners seven years ago and the Catalan giants had a £29million (35million euros) offer for the Spain international rejected. Reports suggested Arsenal are now prepared to accept an offer - if Barca increase their bid to £58million (70million euros). However, Oliver insists they have heard nothing from the Barclays Premier League club. "They said they would not sell, it's logical therefore that they have not set a price for him," he said as he left a Barcelona board meeting. "We made a formal offer. The only official response we have from Arsenal is that they are not ready to sell the player, for which it would be difficult for them to be putting a price when they say they are not selling." Oliver was

Jermaine Defoe is confident England will be prepared for the World Cup opener despite having problems against Platinum Stars. Defoe scored the opening goal in a 3-0 success, with Joe Cole and a fired-up Wayne Rooney also on target in England's final friendly before they face Bob Bradley's side in Rustenburg on Saturday. Fabio Capello used 21 of his 23 players, with only Gareth Barry and David James, who has had knee problems, not participating. Defoe said: "It was quite difficult to breathe out there to be honest. "We are higher up than when in Austria for the training camp so altitude is going to play a major part. "It felt a lot harder in terms of breathing and getting your recovery. "It was quite difficult to get your breath back. "But we will get used to that and we feel prepared for Saturday. Mentally we are prepared, physically we are prepared. "Everyone is looking forward to the game." Rooney received a yellow card for dissent and was

England limped to an unconvincing and, at times, pretty awful victory in their practice match against Platinum Stars. Fabio Capello claimed the second half against Japan on his side's last outing nine days ago represented a major step forward. This was an even bigger stride backwards. Jermain Defoe gave England an interval lead before Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney extended it after the break. But Capello can only hope the standard of opposition - limited, yet hugely spirited - failed to bring the best out of his team because if that is not the case, England's stay in South Africa is destined to be a brief one. Having previously declared his intended starting line-up for Saturday's Group C opener against the United States would all get 45 minutes, the guessing game began as to whether - with the notable exception of Wayne Rooney - Capello had begun with it here. It would indicate a willingness to hand Joe Hart the first international start of his career in the biggest game of h

Force India's test and reserve driver Paul di Resta secured his first podium finish of the DTM season in this weekend's event at the Lausitzring where he came second. The 24-year-old driver brought his AMG Mercedes C-Class home in second place, just seconds behind race winner Bruno Spengler, according to a statement here. Paul had started the 52 lap race from pole position, edging out Mercedes-Benz team-mate and championship leader Spengler by just 35 thousandths of a second, to take his third DTM career pole and the 100th pole position for Mercedes-Benz in the championship. In the race, Paul held the lead into the first corner and was trying to control the race until his second pit stop on lap 34 when the left rear wheel nut got stuck. Paul lost about three seconds, which was enough to allow Spengler through to the lead, which he maintained until the end to win it. "I had everything under control and was in an easy lead. However, during my second pit stop I lost a lot of

Former world champion Nigel Mansell believes McLaren will dominate Formula One for many years to come. However, he did state that this will only happen if they manage to keep hold of the all-British partnership of Jenson Button and Lewils Hamilton. Hamilton's victory in Istanbul - his first in nine races - put the 25-year-old nine points behind leader Mark Webber while Button, who has won twice this season, sits four points above his team-mate in second. Button raised a few eyebrows when he decided to swap Brawn GP for McLaren shortly after winning the 2009 drivers' championship. Many thought he would struggle to work alongside 2008 champion Hamilton but the pair have developed a good working relationship which has seen them both stay in contention for the title despite fierce opposition from a fast Red Bull team. Mansell, who won the drivers' championship in 1992, is not surprised that Button and Hamilton have established a strong partnership, and believes the duo can win

Flamboyant Virender Sehwag maintained his number one position in the ICC rankings for Test batsmen and India also held on to its top spot in the latest chart. Sehwag is leading the list with 863 points and is followed by South Africa`s Hashim Amla (842) and Sri Lanka`s Mahela Jayawardene (836). Left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir (824) and batting great Sachin Tendulkar (805) are the other two Indian batsmen in top-10 at number six and seven positions respectively. VVS Laxman (14) and Rahul Dravid (16) also had their rankings unchanged. In the bowlers list, India have two players in the top-10 with paceman Zaheer Khan placed at number six followed by spinner Harbhajan Singh. In the teams` list, India are at the top with 124 points followed by South Africa (120) and Australia (119).

Royal Challengers Bangalore owner Vijay Mallya on Monday rubbished reports of Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar having a stake in his franchise, calling them "absurd". After Pawar reportedly admitted to having 0.05 per cent shares in United Breweries Group, the owner of RCB, Mallya ridiculed suggestions that having stake in his company amounted to being a part owner of the Indian Premier League team. "Mr Pawar is just being transparent because then the media would say he has stake in another IPL team," said Mallya, referring to recent reports of Pawar's involvement in a failed bid of the Pune IPL team. "This is pushing the limits of absurdity," he said. Pawar and his parliamentarian daughter Supriya Sule are in the dock for not revealing their over 16 per cent equity in a Pune-based real estate firm which made an unsuccessful bid for the Pune IPL team. Mallya felt a mountain is being made out of a molehill. "If we follow this logic then every sha

Rafael Nadal does not believe he is the best clay-court player of all time despite winning his fifth French Open title. New world number one Nadal proved once and for all he is without equal on the dirt in the modern era by romping to victory in Sunday's final at Roland Garros. The 24-year-old's 6-4 6-2 6-4 triumph over Robin Soderling ensured he repeated his 2008 feat of claiming the title without dropping a set, as well as burying the ghosts of last year's defeat to the Swede. Nadal has now won all 22 of his clay-court matches this season, conceding just two sets and taking his overall number of wins on the surface to 203. That is a long way short of Guillermo Vilas' record 631 victories, while Bjorn Borg still has one more French Open title than the Spaniard. However, Nadal has only lost 16 times in his career on clay, a jaw-dropping figure when compared to Vilas' 159 defeats. Borg and Mats Wilander boasted statistics that were almost as impressive as Nadal'