Steve McManaman has warned Galatasaray that Real Madrid will be "almost unbeatable" with a full house behind them at the Bernabeu tonight. Trailing 3-2 following the first leg in Gala's intimidating Ali Sami Yen stadium, Real must beat the Turks to stand any chance of retaining their trophy, but McManaman is confident that their "12th-man" will see them home.
"The Bernabeu, when it is full, is frightening. We are almost unbeatable with the public supporting us," said McManaman. Real have dropped just four league points from a possible 45 at the Bernabeu this season and in the last three seasons have lost just one of their 21 Champions League matches there.
Greece soccer captain Thodoris Zagorakis has tested positive for the use of anabolic steroids, his club AEK Athens confirmed yesterday.
"The results of testing on the second sample given by the player are positive," a club spokesman said. The 31-year-old midfielder now faces up to a two-year ban. Traces of the outlawed steroids were recorded following a league match in March and then verified by tests on a second sample given on April 13th.
Former Leicester City player Zagorakis has denied using any banned substances and suggested that antibiotics prescribed by the club doctor to combat a heavy cold were responsible for the positive test.
Scotland manager Craig Brown has left under-fire Bolton defender Colin Hendry out of his squad for next week's friendly in Poland. The former Rangers star is sweating over what action FIFA's disciplinary committee will take on April 26th after he was caught elbowing a San Marino player in last month's World Cup qualifier.
Derby striker Deon Burton admits it is his own fault that he will miss the climax of his club's fight to avoid relegation. Burton was sent off in injury time of his side's vital 20 victory over Leicester on Monday for aiming a head-butt at Robbie Savage. He will make his last appearance of the season at Bradford on Saturday before starting a three-match ban for violent conduct which rules him out of the games against Manchester United, Arsenal and Ipswich. "I just lost my head and I really regret what I did. It is up to others to decide whether he (Savage) made a meal of it and they will see the incident on TV. But I know what I did was wrong and I really regret it," he said.
Jose Luis Chilavert, the goalkeeper celebrated for his goal-scoring exploits, is being linked with a move to Uruguayan club Penarol Montevideo after French side Strasbourg lost their relegation battle.
FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter has called an emergency meeting to discuss the World Cup broadcasting rights. The coverage for the next two World Cup tournaments has been thrown into doubt as owners ISL Worldwide are facing liquidation.
