Ballack reveals near-misses are motivating Chelsea

The Blues were close to winning a treble last season but lost the Champions League final on penalties to Manchester United, suffered a League Cup final loss to Tottenham and finished runners-up to United in the Premier League.

Now Ballack and company are back on the glory trail after edging into the Champions League semi-finals, where they will face Barcelona, after Tuesday''s dramatic 7-5 aggregate win over Liverpool.

Guus Hiddink''s side also face Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday and remain in contention for the league title.

Ballack believes the bitter memories of last season''s near-misses have provided the perfect motivation for the crucial, final weeks of the campaign.

"The team are hungry after finishing runners-up three times last season," he told the London Evening Standard.

"We are not a team who have won everything in the past. If you compare us to Liverpool, they have had big success.

"But now we are smelling the success. We are coming close to winning something. This club need a big title to go further and that''s what we are trying for.

"I want to win something. I have a few years ahead but I will give everything for the rest of the season to win one, two or three trophies."

Ballack is out for revenge against the Gunners after Arsene Wenger''s men came from behind to triumph 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League earlier in the season.

"We want to show Arsenal we can beat them after what happened before. We were controlling the game until they scored an offside goal," he said.

"Getting to the Champions League semi-final has given us a confidence boost going into another big game. Arsenal have a squad and a team that can play football but sometimes they can be up and down.

"That is why they are sometimes not at the top of the League but, if they play at their highest level, they can play fantastic football."

Rooney ready to sink his boyhood heroes

Rooney remains an Everton fan despite the acrimony surrounding his 27 million pounds move to United in 2004, but the England star knows he can''t afford to let emotion get the better of him at Wembley this weekend.

The 23-year-old spent much of his youth in an Everton shirt as he played football with his friends in Liverpool and he travelled to Wembley to see the Toffees beat United 1-0 in the 1995 FA Cup final.

That was Everton''s last visit to Wembley and now Rooney, who spent two seasons at Goodison Park, plans to ruin their return to the English national stadium.

"It still means something that it is Everton. It is the team I grew up supporting," Rooney said.

"It makes it a big day for me, although the most important thing is for United to reach the final.

"I missed the League Cup final when we last got to Wembley, so hopefully I will be part of the team that gets us to another on Sunday."

Rooney has found goals hard to come by in recent weeks as United boss Sir Alex Ferguson continues to use him in a variety of roles.

He spent much of Wednesday''s Champions League quarter-final win in Porto stuck out on the right wing, where he struggled to influence the game and had few opportunities to improve his record of three goals in eight matches.

But the fiery forward insists he has no problem operating out of position if it helps United remain on course for an unprecedented haul of five trophies in one season.

"I have no problem with where I play," Rooney said. "If it helps the team get results, I will do it. The plan was in place and we stuck to it.

"To have so many big games coming up is amazing. It is why you want to play for Manchester United.

"Every game is massive. When you get close to winning trophies, they always are. We are getting closer."

Arsenal injury crisis mounts before Chelsea clash

Gibbs deputised for Gael Clichy in Wednesday''s Champions League quarter-final second leg win over Villarreal, but the 19-year-old finished the tie limping and is a doubt for the Cup semi-final.

If Gibbs is sidelined on Saturday, he will join defenders Clichy, William Gallas and John Djourou and goalkeeper Manuel Almunia on the sidelines, while Bacary Sagna may also miss out with a virus that forced him to withdraw from the Villarreal match.

"We still have Sagna as a doubt for the weekend. And after Villarreal we have Kieran Gibbs as doubt too. He has a little groin problem. Clichy, Almunia and Djourou are still out," Wenger said.

"There is the option to play Sagna at left-back if he has recovered. The other is to play (Mikael) Silvestre there and put (Alex) Song at the back.

"There are not many options but we''ll deal with the situation no matter what happens.

"I am happy to take 48 hours more so I can assess the injury situation. Also it means I can look back at how I rotated before and, as well, how we can keep the balance right considering the opponent.

"We have to rotate a little bit because we play every three days now and only the squad can achieve what we want to achieve."

Arsenal injury crisis mounts before Chelsea clash

Gibbs deputised for Gael Clichy in Wednesday''s Champions League quarter-final second leg win over Villarreal, but the 19-year-old finished the tie limping and is a doubt for the Cup semi-final.

If Gibbs is sidelined on Saturday, he will join defenders Clichy, William Gallas and John Djourou and goalkeeper Manuel Almunia on the sidelines, while Bacary Sagna may also miss out with a virus that forced him to withdraw from the Villarreal match.

"We still have Sagna as a doubt for the weekend. And after Villarreal we have Kieran Gibbs as doubt too. He has a little groin problem. Clichy, Almunia and Djourou are still out," Wenger said.

"There is the option to play Sagna at left-back if he has recovered. The other is to play (Mikael) Silvestre there and put (Alex) Song at the back.

"There are not many options but we''ll deal with the situation no matter what happens.

"I am happy to take 48 hours more so I can assess the injury situation. Also it means I can look back at how I rotated before and, as well, how we can keep the balance right considering the opponent.

"We have to rotate a little bit because we play every three days now and only the squad can achieve what we want to achieve."

Arsenal have quality if not quantity, says Wenger

The Frenchman, seeking to extend Arsenal''s 62-year unbeaten record in FA Cup ties against their London rivals on Saturday, said he would pick a team that would enjoy the day and play ''the Arsenal way''.

"Yes it is bad news again," Wenger told a news conference when asked about his squad''s fitness.

"Bacary Sagna is out because he is ill. He has come to the training ground, but he has a virus, he is weak and cannot play.

"That means we are short in numbers, but not in quality so we will go there and try to play our best. We are not going to sit back and let Chelsea dictate to us."

Arsenal last lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup 2-0 in a third round second replay on Jan. 20, 1947.

"I am not one for the history like that," said Wenger. "This match is about how we play, and how they play, on the day. We are just going there to go for it."

Arsenal will be without first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Almunia (ankle), central defenders Johan Djourou (knee) and William Gallas (knee), full backs Gael Clichy (back) and Sagna (virus) and possibly reserve left back Kieran Gibbs (groin) who was injured during Wednesday''s 3-0 Champions League win over Villarreal.

Gibbs is expected to have a fitness test on Saturday at Wembley.

Wenger said his team''s greatest challenge would be to contain the threat from Chelsea''s in-form Ivorian striker Didier Drogba.

"Didier Drogba is a fighter and we must make sure we contain him. It is one of the keys for us to keep him quiet," Wenger said.

Drogba has scored seven goals in his eight games against Arsenal.

Wenger paid tribute to the achievements of Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink, who has revitalised the side since taking over on a temporary basis in February following the sacking of Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari.

"Anyone who has been at the very top level and survived for so long is high quality," he said. "He is very experienced and he has given them belief and strength. They are going to be difficult to beat."

Surprisingly, Wenger said he was not a fan of the new Wembley stadium.

"I have only been there once -- to see the FA Cup final in 2007 between Chelsea and Manchester United -- and I was not too impressed. I loved the old Wembley personally.

"When I was a boy, everyone played on some bad pitches but dreamt of going to play on the perfect grass on the pitch at Wembley. It was part of the history and it was something special. But not now."

Mourinho confident of keeping Ibrahimovic at Inter

"I don''t expect there to be an offer for Ibra in the summer because everyone knows an offer of 40, 50 or 60 (million euros) would be rejected immediately," Mourinho told a news conference.

"No one will be able to make an offer of 100 million. I''m absolutely certain no offers will arrive because clubs don''t make stupid offers. They don''t make stupidly low offers and a stupidly high one won''t arrive."

Ferguson accuses Benitez of being arrogant

Ferguson lambasted the Benitez for his description of Everton as a "small club" and for the attitude he showed in dismissing Blackburn Rovers last weekend once Liverpool had scored their second goal during a 4-0 win at Anfield.

"He called Everton a small club which points to his arrogance," Ferguson told reporters as his team prepared to meet Liverpool''s Merseyside rivals in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.

"They are a big club and David Moyes, the manager, is doing a great job.

"But arrogance is one thing. You cannot forgive contempt, which is what he showed (Blackburn manager) Sam Allardyce last weekend.

"When Liverpool scored their second goal he signalled as if the game was finished. I do not think Sam deserved that.

"It''s beyond the pale. I don''t think any other Liverpool manager would have done that."

Ferguson and Benitez have been embroiled in a series of spats since the Spaniard accused the long-serving Old Trafford manager of being a whinger.

The United manager responded by taunting Benitez, saying the pressure of the title race was getting to him.

Champions United are one point ahead of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League. However, United are favourites to retain their title as they have a game in hand over their nearest rivals. Liverpool have six matches left.

Liverpool targets Premiership after European exit

Benitez''s side crashed out of Europe on Tuesday after narrowly failing to overturn a 3-1 first deficit at Stamford Bridge.

Twice during the amazing 4-4 draw, Liverpool were within one goal of going through, only to finally miss out when Frank Lampard''s last minute strike gave Guus Hiddink''s men enough breathing space to go through 7-5 on aggregate.

Despite the heartache of losing to Chelsea in the Champions League for the second successive season, Benitez sees no reason to be downcast.

The Liverpool manager is convinced his team''s gutsy display proves they have the character to overhaul Premier League leaders Manchester United.

The Reds are one point behind United and face a crucial match at home to Arsenal next Tuesday.

"We are not happy with the result. When you lose you are disappointed but to lose in this way, the players have to be really proud and hold their heads up high," Benitez said.

"We showed character, quality and we have to be really proud. The players have done a fantastic job and the fans will be very pleased with the team.

"You are always disappointed to lose but thinking about the Premier League maybe it is positive because we showed we can score four goals at Stamford Bridge, so we can do the same at any stadium.

"We can win a lot of games with this mentality."

Liverpool can take extra pride in pushing Chelsea so close despite being without captain Steven Gerrard. The England midfielder didn''t even make the bench after tweaking a groin injury 24 hours before the match, but Benitez expects him to be fit for the Arsenal clash.

"He had a problem on Monday and felt something. We thought he could be ok but he couldn''t play," Benitez said. "I don''t think it is serious. I hope he will be ok (for Arsenal).

"For us to lose a key player is important but credit to the other players, they did a fantastic job.

"Important players like (Fernando) Torres and Gerrard can score a lot of goals but the rest of the team can do the job."

Despite being given a first-half penalty for Branislav Ivanovic''s tug on Xabi Alonso, Benitez was unhappy with Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo.

"When you play against a good team like Chelsea and make a mistake, you pay for it. We were attacking, controlling it, but one or two mistakes and that''s it," he said.

"We had 29 fouls against us, too. I prefer not to talk too much about the referee. Twenty nine fouls against us. We are not happy with the result at the end. I said congratulations to Guus (Hiddink) and all the best for the Champions League, but I was not happy."

Ronaldo screamer sets up semi-final showdown with Arsenal

Ronaldo''s early long-range strike gave United a 1-0 win and a 3-2 aggregate success, the European champions becoming the first English club to beat Porto in Portugal.

Arsenal cruised into the last four as goals from Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie secured a 3-0 home victory over Spain''s Villarreal. The London side went through 4-1 overall.

England will have three sides in the last four for the third successive season. Chelsea withstood a spirited Liverpool comeback on Tuesday, drawing 4-4 with their Premier League rivals at Stamford Bridge to progress 7-5 over the two legs.

Chelsea will next play Barcelona, the Spanish side easing through 5-1 on aggregate against Bayern Munich after a 1-1 draw in Germany.

Mansour ‘officially’ runs Zamalek elections

Three members preceded Mansour and applied for the prestigious position; former president Kamal Daruish, Khaled EL-Koshy and Abd El-Tawab Khalaf.

Mansour, The white castle ex-president, announced his run for elections during a press conference on Wednesday.

And the controversial lawyer revealed that both members Khaled Latif and George Sad are included in his list.

Elsewhere, ten members have announced running the elections for board-membership seat.

It should be noted that Zamalek board elections will be held on May 29th.

Arsenal injury crisis mounts before Chelsea clash

Gibbs deputised for Gael Clichy in Wednesday''s Champions League quarter-final second leg win over Villarreal, but the 19-year-old finished the tie limping and is a doubt for the Cup semi-final.

If Gibbs is sidelined on Saturday, he will join defenders Clichy, William Gallas and John Djourou and goalkeeper Manuel Almunia on the sidelines, while Bacary Sagna may also miss out with a virus that forced him to withdraw from the Villarreal match.

"We still have Sagna as a doubt for the weekend. And after Villarreal we have Kieran Gibbs as doubt too. He has a little groin problem. Clichy, Almunia and Djourou are still out," Wenger said.

"There is the option to play Sagna at left-back if he has recovered. The other is to play (Mikael) Silvestre there and put (Alex) Song at the back.

"There are not many options but we''ll deal with the situation no matter what happens.

"I am happy to take 48 hours more so I can assess the injury situation. Also it means I can look back at how I rotated before and, as well, how we can keep the balance right considering the opponent.

"We have to rotate a little bit because we play every three days now and only the squad can achieve what we want to achieve."

Bayern will win the Bundesliga, insists Klose

"It is recovering well and I am optimistic I will be able to train with the team before the end of the season," said Klose who had an ankle operation to repair ligaments last month and expects to play in Bayern''s last four games.

Having damaged the ligaments in the 3-0 win over Bochum on March 14, Klose - the top-scorer at the last World Cup - insists Bayern can still knock leaders Wolfsburg off top spot to finish the season on May 23 as league champions.

"My goal is to be able to hold up the Bundesliga trophy with a shirt on my back, we will be champions," said Klose.

And Klose, who has scored 44 goals in 88 appearances for Germany, says the team must produce good performances to back under-fire Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

"We know that he does a good job," said Klose.

"We must now concentrate on the most important thing, making sure we win the title as champions."

But Klose agreed with Bayern team-mates Ze Roberto and Ribery in saying the German giants need to sign good players this summer to help with their European ambitions after they lost their Champions League quarter-final to Barcelona.

"It is important that some good players arrive. When we have injuries, we are unable to compete with the top teams," said the ex-Bremen striker.

Ferguson warns Manchester United about ''hungry'' Everton

United face their Premier League rivals in the semi-final of the competition at Wembley and a win will ensure Ferguson''s team a place in the final for the fourth time in six years.

"My problem on Sunday is that we are facing a hungry team," Ferguson told a news conference on Friday.

"They want to win a trophy but we have got to make sure we are on top of our game."

Everton have not won a major trophy for 14 years, whereas United are course for five this season with the Premier League leaders having already won the League Cup and FIFA Club World Championship.

Holders United also face a two-leg semi-final date with Arsenal in the Champions League.

"I''m not getting into all that," Ferguson said, playing down the prospect of finishing the season with five trophies

"All I''m thinking about is our next game which is Everton on Sunday. Then we play Portsmouth in the league next Wednesday.

"I''m not looking at anything further."

Wes Brown returned to training on Friday after a lengthy knee injury although the tie comes too soon for the defender.

However, Ferguson will make changes to the side which defeated Porto in midweek to advance to the last four stage of the Champions League.

"Wednesday was a very high tempo game," said Ferguson.

"There''s a loss of energy in parts of the team and I have to recognise that. I will be making changes."

Not much English in English clubs'' success, says Ranieri

The failure of any of Serie A''s representatives to reach the quarter-finals of this season''s Champions League has prompted soul searching in Italy.

England, in contrast, has three teams in the semi-finals for the third consecutive year after Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal progressed to the last four this week.

"There are very few English people in the English teams, what with the (foreign) owners, coaches and players," Ranieri told a news conference on Friday before Juve''s home match against Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Saturday.

"We say English football but it could be the football of any other country. That''s why the English FA hired an Italian coach (for the national team) to try (to improve)."

Ranieri, whose side were knocked out by his former team Chelsea in the last 16, suggested spending power is the main difference.

"We talk about English football but we are talking about the football of economics," he said. "Many (clubs) invest, one of them wins the championship and another wins the Champions League, but that does not mean the others have invested badly."

Inter coach Jose Mourinho, who won the 2005 and 2006 Premier League titles at Chelsea after succeeding Ranieri there, said Serie A was no weaker than the English or Spanish top flights.

"I know the other championships because I played three years in England and four years in Spain and I don''t agree (that Serie A is inferior)," said Mourinho, who worked as assistant coach at Barcelona in the 1990s.

"They are championships with two or three really strong teams but after there''s a very big difference.

"Maybe there aren''t these really strong teams in Italy but game-after-game it''s more difficult. In England I won the championship because I won against Manchester (United), Liverpool and Arsenal.

"In the Italian championship the team who win, win because they beat Lecce, Genoa, Palermo and Cagliari to gain the points week-after-week to win the championship."

Rooney ready to sink his boyhood heroes

Rooney remains an Everton fan despite the acrimony surrounding his 27 million pounds move to United in 2004, but the England star knows he can''t afford to let emotion get the better of him at Wembley this weekend.

The 23-year-old spent much of his youth in an Everton shirt as he played football with his friends in Liverpool and he travelled to Wembley to see the Toffees beat United 1-0 in the 1995 FA Cup final.

That was Everton''s last visit to Wembley and now Rooney, who spent two seasons at Goodison Park, plans to ruin their return to the English national stadium.

"It still means something that it is Everton. It is the team I grew up supporting," Rooney said.

"It makes it a big day for me, although the most important thing is for United to reach the final.

"I missed the League Cup final when we last got to Wembley, so hopefully I will be part of the team that gets us to another on Sunday."

Rooney has found goals hard to come by in recent weeks as United boss Sir Alex Ferguson continues to use him in a variety of roles.

He spent much of Wednesday''s Champions League quarter-final win in Porto stuck out on the right wing, where he struggled to influence the game and had few opportunities to improve his record of three goals in eight matches.

But the fiery forward insists he has no problem operating out of position if it helps United remain on course for an unprecedented haul of five trophies in one season.

"I have no problem with where I play," Rooney said. "If it helps the team get results, I will do it. The plan was in place and we stuck to it.

"To have so many big games coming up is amazing. It is why you want to play for Manchester United.

"Every game is massive. When you get close to winning trophies, they always are. We are getting closer."