A round-up of today's other soccer stories in brief
Mourinho keeps his cool
Jose Mourinho insists he is looking no further than the five-year duration of his current contract even though Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich intends to set a 100-year dynasty in motion at the Stamford Bridge club.
Abramovich revealed his long-term ambitions for the reigning English Premiership champions when he wrote a foreword to the club's newly-published official history.
But the Portuguese coach is adamant he does not feel under any extra pressure to deliver more trophies following the Russian's remarks that he wants to build the most successful football club in the world.
Instead, Mourinho says he feels he is under even less pressure than when he first arrived, boasting he was the "special one" on the back of his Champions League glory with Porto.
He admits his remark exerted more pressure on himself but the fact he led Chelsea to their first title in 50 years last season has taken most, if not all, of the burden of expectation from his shoulders this time around.
"For me the pressure is only for the next five years not for the next 100," said Mourinho. "But having more pressure than when I'm first arrived at the club, I don't think I will face again - not in Chelsea and not in my future."
Little charity with Wenger
Arsene Wenger will release Thierry Henry for France's controversial friendly against Costa Rica but warned coach Raymond Domenech he risks endangering his country's World Cup chances.
The Arsenal manager described the friendly in Martinique on November 9th - a fundraiser for the families of victims of a plane crash in August - as a "disgrace" and a "scandal".
However, he will not attempt to bar the striker from playing. Henry had revealed his determination to play in the game, given that the Caribbean island of Martinique is the birthplace of his mother.
Wenger declared: "I am a little bit nervous about his injury but I feel that, when the French national team go to the Caribbean, they can't travel without the Caribbean players. But the timing of the game is not appropriate. I can't see what the French team can get out of it."
Cut your World Cup losses
Fans will be able to offer unwanted World Cup tickets for resale via an official internet site due to go live in February, organisers announced yesterday.
Most fans who applied for individual match tickets for the tournament, rather than the Team Specific Tickets, were effectively buying blind.
Only after the draw in Leipzig on December 9th will those lucky enough to have received tickets in the lottery find out which matches they are in line to see.
The new internet site, which should be up and running on February 1st, will give supporters the chance to sell them on if they cannot or do no not want to see a match, but the sales will be only be at face value, organisers of next summer's competition revealed.
In Brief . . .
England international midfielder Kieran Richardson (21) has signed a new four-year deal with Manchester United . . . Manager Rafael Benitez says Liverpool have agreed a deal to bring Chile's Mark Gonzalez to Anfield, their bid to sign the winger from from Spanish side Albacete last Summer failed due to his lack of a work permit . . . The European Union said yesterday it hopes to clinch a deal with England's Premier League this Monday on live soccer broadcast rights, a move likely to end Sky's exclusive hold on top-flight English soccer.
