SOCCER SHORTS:LIONEL Messi has broken Barcelona's all-time goalscoring record by netting a hat-trick during last night's 5-3 Primera Division win over Granada at the Nou Camp.
Messi equalled the mark of 232 official goals set by Cesar Rodriguez during the 1940s and 50s when he slotted home Isaac Cuenca’s cross in the 17th minute and the Argentina international secured the record outright in the 68th minute when he lobbed the ball over Granada goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
The 24-year-old then completed his hat-trick – his eighth of the season for Barca – in the 86th minute after rounding Julio Cesar and slamming the ball into the roof of the net.
Messi has now scored an incredible 48 goals in 40 games for the Catalan giants this season, with the result closing the gap on leaders Real Madrid to five points, with Barca having played a game more.
Scudamore stands by ritual handsake
PREMIER League chairman Richard Scudamore yesterday told QPR to forget about scrapping the pre-match handshake before John Terry’s next reunion with Anton Ferdinand.
Terry and Ferdinand are due to come face to face next month for the first time since a trial date was set into allegations the Chelsea captain racially abused his fellow defender during October’s league game.
The English FA agreed to cancel the handshake before January’s FA Cup clash between the sides after it emerged the QPR team were to snub Terry en masse.
The sides meet in the league on April 29th and Scudamore said the Premier League were opposed to scrapping the ritual itself.
He said: “It’s not a handshake that says everybody loves everybody else. It’s a handshake that says ‘whatever crap’s gone on before now and whatever crap will go on after this game is over, for the next 90 minutes, let’s just play a game of football’.”
Lisbon to host 2014 European final
UEFA have chosen the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon as the venue for the 2014 Champions League final.
Benfica’s home ground will host the showpiece match, while European football’s governing body confirmed the 2014 Europa League final will be played at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.
The Estadio da Luz hosted the final of Euro 2004, where Greece triumphed over tournament hosts Portugal. The city last hosted a European Cup final in 1967, when Celtic beat Inter Milan at the National Stadium.
The new Juventus Stadium was inaugurated at the start of the current campaign and is built on the site of the club’s former Stadio delle Alpi home.
The Allianz Arena in Munich will host this season’s Champions League final having also staged games during the 2006 World Cup.
Bucharest’s new National Arena will host the 2012 Europa League final.
Ireland may be set for New York
MICHAEL Ballack’s agent is reported to have suggested that he cannot secure a move for the former Germany captain to the New York Red Bulls this summer because the club is intent on signing Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland instead.
Michael Becker was quoted yesterday as having taken exception to having been told that the MLS outfit prefer the 25 year-old Corkman to the 35 year-old client who is expected to leave Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season.
“Why one would want a no-name player (Ireland), that no one knows, who hasn’t played in months?” he is quoted as saying.
Torquay United midfielder Eunan O’Kane has received international clearance to play for Republic of Ireland and could feature for the under-21s when they take on Italy at the start of June. O’Kane had previously represented Northern Ireland at various underage levels including under-21.
Dunne will spend a week in Cleveland for treatment
RICHARD Dunne is travelling to the United States for treatment on the broken collarbone that has threatened to rule him out for the rest of the Premier League campaign and this summer’s European Championships.The Dubliner will receive treatment for the injury from the medical staff of the Cleveland Browns, the NFL club that is owned by Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner.
“I’m hoping that when I come back I’ll be sorted and I can push on with things and start training again,” said Dunne. “The doctor and the physios here have been brilliant with me but I’ll be going to Cleveland in a week or so for about a week to see the Browns staff there.
“They haven’t said exactly what they’ll be doing over there but because of the nature of American football, the Browns have a lot of experience in dealing with the kind of injury I suffered, so any help I can get will be much appreciated.
“It’ll take a few weeks after that but hopefully I can be back before the end of April.”
