More soccer news in brief.
Benitez: Torres going nowhere
RAFAEL Benitez has dismissed any possibility that Liverpool would consider selling top scorer Fernando Torres to Chelsea.
Suggestions emerged this week that "some people" at Anfield would consider selling the striker if the price was right. Benitez said: "We do not want to sell Fernando Torres. I am not aware of any offer being made by Chelsea but even if there was my answer would be the same - he is not for sale."
Blatter still wants limits
FIFA president Sepp Blatter will forge ahead with plans to curb the number of foreign players at soccer clubs, saying yesterday that his organisation should coral the world of sport into helping make it happen.
Blatter insisted that Fifa would not be "going into confrontation" with any employment laws by pursuing the foreign quota proposal and that they should explore all means possible to implement it as a rule.
Terry gets consolation prize of captaincy
JOHN Terry will captain England in their friendly against the United States this evening at Wembley (Kick-off 8.05, BBC 1), manager Fabio Capello said yesterday.
Terry was left distraught last week after missing the penalty that would have won the Champions League final for Chelsea against Manchester United but Capello said the player was ready to lead his country.
"The captain is John Terry. I decided before what happened (in the Champions League final)," the Italian said at his pre-match news conference in London.
Speaking in English publicly for the first time since his appointment as England coach last December, Capello said: "I think at this moment it is a good decision for John Terry after his not nice Wednesday."
Asked if Terry had recovered from his traumatic experience in Moscow, Capello replied: "I think he is very well. He has trained very well and when I told him he was going to be the captain he was very, very happy.
Capello said Terry's Chelsea team-mates Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Ashley Cole would all play a part against the United States and also in next Sunday's friendly in Trinidad & Tobago.
Pique gets back to his Barca roots
MANCHESTER United manager Alex Ferguson began to prune his double-winning squad yesterday when, four years after leaving the club's academy, the 21-year-old central defender Gerard Pique rejoined Barcelona for a fee believed to be in the region of €7.5 million.
United, Meanwhile, are expected to launch a €25 million bid to lure Micah Richards from Manchester City.
Mexico make deal with Eriksson
SVEN-GORAN Eriksson will be confirmed as the new manager of the Mexico national team on Monday, according to the head of the country's governing body.
Mexican Football Federation president Justino Compean yesterday claimed Eriksson, whose future as Manchester City manager has been the subject of intense speculation over recent weeks, has agreed the details of the deal.
In brief . . .
Avram Grantrejected an offer to return to his old job as Chelsea's director of football after being sacked as the club's manager on Saturday, he said on yesterday . . . Newcastleare trailing Cameroon midfielder Achille Emana (25), who currently plays with French side Toulouse . . . Tottenhamdefender Ricardo Rocha (29) says he wants a return to Portugal this summer to rejoin Benfica . . . Former French striker Jean-Pierre Papinhas been sacked as manager of Lens.
