Spain go to the very top

Spain have climbed to the top of the FIFA ranking for the first time ever.The latest rankings are ..
!. Spain
2. Italy
3. Germany
4. Brazil
5. Holland
6. Argentina
7. Croatia
8. Czech Republic
9. Portugal
10. France

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Indian kids get a chance to meet Zidane

An Indian under 12 team has been included among 40 nations playing "Yakult Danone Nations Cup football tournament" - in which the other teams thankfully are also made up of kids of the same age.12 teams of kids are gathering at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on July 11 and 12 to fight for a place among those selected.
The winner of the national leg will not only play in the world finals in Paris, but also get a dream chance of meeting Zinedine Zidane.
And who knows we might discover an "El Nino" of our own.......

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Video: El Nino when he was El Nino

Here's Fernando Torres doing what he does best - scoring goals.So what makes the video any different from so many others videos of Torres ? The fact that he is only 12 years old here.This vintage video shows a game between the Atletico Madrid and AC Milan youth teams in 1996.Torres demonstrates the foundations of the skills that took Spain to the summit in 2008.(The ref should have given him a red card for that foul..! :)

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Messi has Italian dream

Lionel Messi's father has claimed that his son hopes to play in Serie A at some point in the future.



Jorge Messi, who doubles as the Barcelona ace's agent, will have alerted Internazionale, Milan and Roma with his shock revelation.

The Argentina playmaker is regarded as untouchable and his Catalan employers are likely to give any approach for his services short shrift.

However, with Barca currently in the process of rebuilding a squad which failed so dramatically last season, things could change for the 21-year-old at some point in the future.

"For the moment we are thinking of Barcelona, which is a second home for Leo, and he wants to make up for all his injury problems," Jorge Messi told Sportal.

"Having said that, clearly playing in Italy is the dream of every player, including my son.

"Seeing as nobody knows what will happen in the future, let us just say it is possible that sooner or later that dream can come true."

Contact

Inter have made no secret of their admiration for Messi in the past and club president Massimo Moratti will welcome the news that his dream signing could be within reach.

"Let's just say there has been no official contact with Inter," continued Messi's father.

"Nothing official. I prefer not to add anything else to that statement.

"As I said before, things could change in the future."

With Inter encountering difficulties in their pursuit of Porto's Ricardo Quaresma and Chelsea's Frank Lampard, recently installed coach Jose Mourinho may be tempted to switch his attentions to Messi.

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Ronaldo set for surgery

All4All News understands that Manchester United and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo is to undergo surgery on his ankle injury in the next two to three days.



United representatives met with Ronaldo and members of Portugal's medical staff on Wednesday to discuss the necessary course of action for the winger's injured right ankle.

Portugal's team doctor has told All4All News that Ronaldo is expected to go under the knife at the weekend.

But United claim a decision is still to be reached as to whether Ronaldo requires an operation, and issued a statement on their official website.

It read: "Procedures are in place to seek specialist advice, in order to finalise the treatment plan as soon as possible."

The meeting with United officials is reported to be the first time this summer that Ronaldo has spoken to his club since Real Madrid's pursuit of the 23-year-old became public.

Ronaldo, who represented his country as they reached the quarter-finals at Euro 2008, is believed to have delayed the expected operation because he wanted to go on holiday.

Surgery would see Ronaldo sidelined for pre-season, but United will hope their star player is still at Old Trafford and is fit in time for their first game of the 2008/09 campaign, at home to Newcastle on 16th August.

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There's no need to panic - Blatter has another plan

If South Africa ultimately prove unable to stage the World Cup 2010 Blatter is not worried.He has another plan - ingeniously code named "Plan B" stashed in a drawer somewhere . So there is absolutely no need to panic.

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Liga Deportiva Universitaria wins Copa Libertadores

Liga Deportiva Universitaria (LDU) of Quito became the first Ecuadorean club to win the Libertadores Cup after beating Brazil's Fluminense in a penalty shootout on Wednesday.



The Ecuadorian outfit surrendered a 4-2 first leg lead as they succumbed to a 3-1 away defeat in Rio de Janeiro, forcing a 5-5 draw and sending the game to penalties.

Fluminense midfielder Thiago Neves scored a hat-trick while Bolanos scored LDU's only goal.

But it was goalkeeper Jose Cevallos who was the hero for LDU as he saved 3 out of Fluminense's four spot kicks to give his country their first Libertadores title with a 3-1 shootout victory.

The win means LDU will be representing South America in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan this December.

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