Soccer shorts: Argentina defender Milito out for six
months
FC Barcelona centreback Gabriel Milito will undergo arthroscopic knee
surgery next week and is expected to be out for six months.
Tests confirmed a twisted ligament in the Argentina defender's right knee
after the club's 1-0 Champions League defeat to Manchester United last
week.
"We have determined arthroscopic surgery next week as a solution
to the problem," Barcelona's medical services said in a statement
Monday. "Once the surgery is over we'll have a better idea of the
recovery period, which should be six months."
Milito has been a regular at the Camp Nou, making 40 appearances since
his off-season move from Zaragoza.
Surgery means the 27-year-old will miss Argentina's World Cup qualifying
matches against Paraguay and Peru in June with further games against Uruguay
and Chile in October also in doubt.
Croatia coach signs two-year contract
Slaven Bilic re-signed as Croatia coach for two years Monday, just over
a month before the European Championship starts, despite receiving better
offers from foreign clubs.
Bilic said he wanted to "express gratitude" to the Croatian
soccer federation for placing faith in him when he had only coached the
country's under-21 team.
"We had a lot of much better offers," Bilic said. "(But)
they made a courageous move back then.
"Besides, I do believe in myself and this team. I expect us to make
big achievements, not only at Euro 2008, but in the future as well."
The terms of the new contract weren't disclosed. It starts Aug.1, when
his current deal expires.
Local media said Bilic would be paid about 100,000 kuna ($21,600 Canadian)
a month - more than twice what he gets now - and would receive bonuses
depending on the team's achievements.
Bilic became hugely popular in Croatia after guiding the team to the June
7-29 Euro 2008, knocking out England with a 3-2 win at Wembley along the
way.
He had been negotiating a new contract for months, asking for higher salaries
for himself and his assistants, and improved training conditions for the
team.
Bilic had been linked with West Ham and Manchester City in England and
Hamburg in Germany.
Croatian federation head Vlatko Markovic said extending Bilic's contract
was "never in question."
Belgium turns to former player to help coach
Former Belgium player Franky Vercauteren became an assistant coach of
the national team on Monday through the 2010 World Cup campaign.
Vercauteren, who starred as Belgium reached the 1986 World Cup semifinals,
will try to help coach Rene Vandereycken revive the fortunes of a team
that has slipped to 48th place in the FIFA rankings.
Belgium failed to qualify for the European Championship in June, and faces
a tough task to reach the World Cup in South Africa as it has drawn Spain
and Turkey in its group with only the top team automatically advancing.
Vercauteren was fired by Anderlecht in November after a string of bad
results left the team struggling in the Belgian league and UEFA Cup. He
won two league titles since becoming Anderlecht coach in 2005.
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May 05, 2008
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