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Posts Tagged ‘Montenegro’

• Millennium Stadium may be shunned in favour of smaller venue
• Toshack predicts nations will struggle to agree fixture dates

The Wales manager, John Toshack, will consult his players before deciding whether to play their home Euro 2012 qualifier with England in the Millennium Stadium or a smaller and more intimidating ground.

Wales are in the same group as Fabio Capello’s side in addition to Switzerland, Montenegro and Bulgaria. Holding the match at the Millennium Stadium, with its capacity of nearly 75,000, would mean more revenue and less headaches in terms of security.

Toshack, however, admits other options to consider are the new Cardiff City Stadium (capacity 27,000) and Swansea’s Liberty complex (22,000) where they host Sweden in a friendly on 3 March.

Toshack said: “Things have changed a bit recently for us. We have got two other stadiums now. We were well pleased with the treatment we got from the Cardiff people when we played Scotland there recently.

“Swansea have a new stadium as well and we have been treated well there and play Sweden there shortly. You have to consider the atmosphere factor as well. It is early days yet. We have a fixture meeting on 15 March when it will be decided what dates we play but you don’t have to announce the venue until 90 days before a fixture.

“I will be interested to get the players’ views on that subject as well so we have got a little bit of time to decide.”

Toshack concedes England will be favourites to qualify but believes the battle for second spot is wide open. “Looking at our group, I think it is the most wide open of all of them. England will be clear favourites but I think the other four nations are all in contention.

“Between the four of us there is not a great deal to choose at all. It is difficult for anyone to predict the positions the teams will finish in. There are no ‘gimme’ fixtures for anyone. England are favourites but none of the teams are superpowers.”

Toshack locked horns with Capello just once when rival managers in Spain during the 1990s, but believes he can lead England to a successful World Cup.

“I sat next to Capello on the plane on the way over for the draw yesterday and we had a good two and a half hour conversation. On the way back he sat at the back, I sat at the front and we never said a word.

“Seriously, I am sure there will be an awful lot of interest in the game and I can see them having a good World Cup as well. Hopefully they will come back with 10 injuries and we can pick them off in September. You never know. For our players, the prospect of playing England at Wembley is a terrific incentive. If our young players get more game time in, and progress as we think they are capable of, it will be great.”

Toshack’s main concern is that Wales have more luck with injuries than in their World Cup qualifying campaign. “When you look at us and England, we have 11 players who play in the Premier League and two of them are goalkeepers. You can see the difficulties we have with four or five injuries. We need a bit of good fortune on the injury front which we never had the last time around.

“If we make mistakes or pick the wrong team, or concede late on, that’s down to us, but we would just hope to have our best players available.”

Toshack believes it will be more difficult for teams to come to an agreement over when to stage fixtures given the new guidelines which allow weekend games to be played on Friday or Saturday and all midweek fixtures on Tuesdays.

“I can see that being difficult this time around for all the groups. I can see a lot of these meetings to decide the fixtures being thrown out and it all going to Uefa to decide. A lot of countries are not accustomed to playing on Friday evening and won’t want Saturday-Tuesday either.

“In this country, our players are accustomed to playing Saturday-Tuesdays so I can see fixture meetings this time around having a lot of problems and not being easy to come to an agreement.”

For full story go to here

• Meeting to be held in Switzerland
• Capello thought to favour autumn games

England and Wales’s qualifying fixtures for Euro 2012 will be decided in Switzerland on 15 March.

The date was agreed in Warsaw yesterday following the draw and the meeting is almost certain to be attended by the national managers Fabio Capello and John Toshack, who will be keen to get the schedule they feel suits their sides.

Capello got his wish for a five-team group and Switzerland is the obvious meeting point to decide the fixture schedule, given that Group G also involves the Swiss, Bulgaria and Montenegro.

The England manager will want to play the most difficult fixtures during the eight dates available in September and October 2010 and 2011, as that is the time of year when he feels English players are at their most productive, before an arduous domestic campaign.

He may try to avoid qualifying games in June 2011, knowing that Bulgaria and Montenegro can get uncomfortably warm at that time of year.

For full story go to here

• Manager says Terry is ’still important’
• Capello says ‘time to move on’ from captaincy debate

Fabio Capello says John Terry, the deposed England captain, still has an integral role to play with the national team and will be one of his “most important players” at the World Cup in South Africa this summer.

Terry was stripped of the captaincy in a meeting with Capello, the England coach, and the general manager, Franco Baldini, at Wembley on Friday, following a week of allegations about his private life. The 29-year-old is the first England player to lose the role over misdemeanours off the field. Having vowed to “continue to give everything” for his country, he will be buoyed by Capello’s public backing.

The Italian was in Warsaw for yesterday’s Euro 2012 qualifying draw. England were drawn in Group G with Wales, ­Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro but, much to the Italian’s frustration, Terry dominated the agenda.

“[The issue] is now all over, it is finished,” said Capello as he left Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science. “It is now time to move on. But yes, John Terry is still an important player for England. He is one of our most important players.”

Rio Ferdinand, who was appointed as Terry’s vice-captain in August 2008, will take over the captaincy. Baldini has telephoned the Manchester United defender but Capello does not intend to speak to him until the squad meets before a friendly against Egypt at Wembley on 3 March. Steven Gerrard will be Ferdinand’s deputy and Frank Lampard is expected to be next in the pecking order.

Capello said: “I want to speak about this question [the captaincy], but first I want to speak with Rio and the other players. I want to do that before everything – we will speak about the new captain then. I prefer to speak with the players first.

“When I was made England manager I decided on the captain, the vice-captain and the third captain. Everyone knows this. It has been a normal week for me. I spoke with John Terry – everyone knows why – but it was a private conversation.”

A fear remains at the Football Association and among those close to Terry that further damaging allegations over the player’s conduct could emerge during the build-up to the World Cup.

Terry, who captained Chelsea in ­yesterday’s 2-0 win over Arsenal, retains the support of his club. Last night he received the backing of a former manager at Stamford Bridge, Guus Hiddink.

“I loved to work with John and even in training I’d have to say to him, ‘A little slower because we have a game tomorrow’,” said the Russia coach, who spent three months at Chelsea at the end of last season. “That means he’s very ­committed. I know his spirit. He will fight back. But they had to make a decision and I’m sure Fabio made the right one.”

The Croatia coach, Slaven Bilic, who faced Terry’s England in qualifying for Euro 2008 and this year’s World Cup, said: “John Terry is a tiger, he is a lion and [he] always will be for his team, there is no doubt about that. He is just a leader. Some players need the push of the armband to be a captain, to be an authority and gain that from the rest of the players and a leader for the rest of the team, but not John Terry.

“He has never needed that. He is a natural leader, anyway. He can still be that kind of player for England this summer in the World Cup. It will not affect him. That is the kind of man he is. He was the leader on the pitch for Chelsea right from the beginning, long before he became the captain of the club. It is the way he plays and he always will show that leadership on the pitch, whether he is the captain or not. Capello knows that as well.”

The draw for 2012 qualifying saw ­Scotland pulled out of the hat with the European champions, Spain, and the Czech Republic in Group I. Northern Ireland face the world champions, Italy, and Serbia in Group C. The Republic of Ireland join Hiddink’s Russia in Group B.

For full story go to here

• England face awkward derby against John Toshack’s Wales
• Scotland draw European champions Spain in tough group

Fabio Capello claimed his side would “not be able to play a single qualifying game relaxed” but privately the national manager might concede that England’s prospects of qualifying for the 2012 European Championship appear far from daunting.

The draw for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine cast England into one of the three groups of five teams, with Switzerland the only other side to have qualified for the summer’s World Cup finals. They avoided any energy-sapping trips to the furthest reaches of the continent and, although Wales will provide an awkward local challenge, Capello will be confident of seeing off a side ranked 76th in the world.

The Welsh have not beaten the English since triumphing 1-0 at Wrexham in 1984 and were twice seen off by Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup finals. Capello sat next to the Wales manager, John Toshack, on his flight to Warsaw with their conversation centring on Real Madrid, where they have each coached twice. “But he was also telling me how Wales are a young team,” said Capello. “Their average age is 22 years old, and it will be a very interesting game, for me and England.

“They have good, young players, and derbies are never normal games. But it is a difficult group. We won’t be able to play a single qualifying game relaxed. Switzerland will be really tough. My first game [as England manager] was against them and I remember seeing the players in training and being really happy, and then seeing that they were not the same players out on the pitch when the match started, even if we won. When we play the Swiss again we will show that we have progressed since that first game.”

Capello’s wariness is founded on Montenegro’s presence in the section from the lowest pot of seeds, despite being ranked four places higher than the Welsh in Fifa’s current pecking order. The Swiss remain somewhat erratic, having won their qualifying group for the World Cup finals under Otmar Hitzfeld despite contriving to lose to Luxembourg in Zurich en route, while England have never lost to Bulgaria. Both Hitzfeld and Bulgaria’s Stanimir Stoilov insisted that Capello’s side will begin the group as “strong favourites”, the latter adding that his team were merely “­targeting second place”.

Yet Toshack will point to a clutch of promising players as cause for optimism if the personnel continue to gain experience in the Premier League. “We only have 10 players in the Premier League, and two of them are goalkeepers, and it’s very difficult to get out of these qualifying groups with six or seven players from the Championship,” he said. “So we have hope the likes of David Edwards at Wolves, Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal, Jack Collison at West Ham and Tottenham’s Gareth Bale continue to play regularly if we’re going to stand a chance of getting anywhere.

“England are a top side, we realise that. They probably start as one of the favourites to win the World Cup this summer. But my players will be excited by the prospect of this group, and the games against England in particular, and we will give it a go. My lads will relish the challenge ahead.”

The Scots have arguably been handed the most onerous task if they are to reach the finals in Poland and Ukraine, with the European champions Spain and the Czech Republic awaiting in Group I. “It is exciting,” said the new Scotland manager, Craig Levein. “You’re talking about some of the best players in the world, and drawing Spain will capture people’s imagination. They will be formidable opponents.

“Spain are an outstanding side – they won the European Championships, and that’s all you need to say. I also think the Czech Republic [whom Scotland play in a friendly on 3 March] are a fantastic team. But this is an opportunity for us to do our best and, if we can pick up points against all of the teams in the group, you just never know.”

The Republic of Ireland manager, ­Giovanni Trapattoni, has called upon his team to summon similar spirit to that which so nearly earned them a place at the summer’s World Cup as they confront a group that includes Russia and Slovakia.

“We will start with the same mentality we had three months ago against France [in the play-off],” said Trapattoni. “If we begin with the same mentality, we have the possibility to qualify. Russia will be difficult and Slovakia are a technically good team with a very tough mentality.”

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, must attempt to emerge from a section that includes the reigning world champions Italy and the World Cup qualifiers Serbia and Slovenia.

“I can see teams in that group taking points off each other,” said the national coach, Nigel Worthington.

“You want to be tested against the best and Italy are just that. Serbia are a very good team, we had Slovenia last time in the World Cup qualifiers so we know all about them. Brian Kerr is with the Faroe Islands now and knows the British game inside out so that doesn’t make it any easier.

“We’ve got to make sure we are switched on. There is plenty to battle for and we’ve got to make sure we are at our most professional and disciplined so we get the most out of the games. It will be difficult but we have a fighting spirit and will go into the campaign with great belief.”

For full story go to here

All the plastic ball-by-plastic ball action as Europe’s national sides learned their fate in Warsaw

Preview: Poland and Ukraine are the hosts for Euro 2012 and today, representatives of the 53 member associations who’ll be duking it out Royal Rumble style to qualify for the finals, which kick off on 8 June 2012, will gather in Warsaw to learn their fate.

Today’s draw takes place in the Polish capital’s Palace of Culture and Science and will feature 51 plastic balls (Poland and Ukraine qualify automatically as hosts, but holders Spain must qualify the hard way) being swirled, plucked and cracked open by a dizzying array of tanned and well fed men in fetching blazers.

There are 14 berths at Euro 2012 up for grabs and nine groups will be formed in today’s qualifying draw: six groups of six teams and three of five. The seedings are formed on the basis of the Uefa national team coefficient ranking system, with holders Spain automatically top seeded. Each group will contain one side from the first five pots and six of them will also feature a team from Pot 6.

The nine group winners and the best runner-up qualify directly for the final tournament. The eight remaining runners-up will contest two-legged play-offs to decide who gets the four remaining places. You can see who’s in which pot below, where I’ve highlighted the five home nations. England are in Pot One, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland are in Pot Three and Wales are in Pot Four.

Pot One: Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal, France, Russia

Pot Two: Greece, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Turkey, Denmark, Slovakia, Romania

Pot Three: Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Pot Four: Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Belarus, Belgium, Wales, FYR Macedonia, Cyprus

Pot Five: Montenegro, Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Iceland, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein

Pot Six: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Malta, Faroe Islands, Andorra, San Marino

The draw hasn’t started yet, but on Eurosport they’re broadcasting a pre-recorded interview with Uefa president Michel Platini. He says that today’s preview is a “bit of a preamble” and that they don’t want to “outshine the World Cup”. He says there’s been problems with the infrastructures in some of the smaller cities set to host games during 2012: hotels, airport runways, stadia etc and so on. He says he hopes that Euro 2012 will be a different type of event to those staged in countries such as Germany.

An email: “I am genuinely puzzled that Slovenia, who have qualified for the World Cup, are in Pot Four along with Macedonia, Wales and other luminaries, and below Pot Three, where none of the participants have qualified for anything for a good long time,” writes Richard Woods. “Russia, who lost out to them, are in Pot One. Do co-efficients simply take no notice of real and meaningful competitive results, or am I just grumpy this morning?”

11am: We’re about to begin. Marsha and Piotr are our hosts for today. If their forced “banter” is anything to go by, I presume they’re Poland’s equivalent of Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly. Marsha is wearing a black dsress with very puffed-up shoulders. It may well be a nod to tonight’s Super Bowl.

11.03am: Poland prime minister Donald Tusk is introduced. He says that “Poland and Ukraine are the first winners of this elimination”, possibly misreading the word ‘competition’ on the autocue.

11.05am: Only five minutes in and we’re already on to our first montage of the morning, soundtracked by Chopin and celebrating – I think – 50 years of the European Championships.

11.07am: On Sky Sports News, they’re discussing Fabio Capello’s decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy. Ray Houghton, who’s in punditing for the Uefa draw alongside Terry Venables and John Hartson, among others, doesn’t think it matters who the captain is. I’m inclined to agree with him.

11.10am: Sky cut to Bryan Swanson in the media centre at the Palace of Culture and Science, which is – unsurprisingly – full of people like Bryan Swanson.

11.12am: Piotr and Marsha introduce Poland legend Zbigniew “Ziggy” Boniek and his Ukrainian equivalent Andriy Shevchenko, who’ll be assisting with the draw. A couple of very longwinded interviews involving multiple translations ensues. Suffice to say, they are both looking forward to Euro 2012. Cue: another montage, showing what fans who travel to Poland and Ukraine can expect to see. A lot of building sites, is my guess. Perhaps I’m being too cynical.

11.17am: “Can you confirm that it has been agreed in advance that Ireland will be drawn in the same group as France?” asks Kevin Dardis. “That this will be the ‘replay’ some people were screaming for? And that Brian Kerr’s Faroe Islands will also be in the group? And Cyprus (as usual).”

11.18am: I can report that Poland and Ukraine both look very nice places – I’ve never been to either, so I’m only going on what they’re showing in the montage, which features a lot of Lovely Girls.

11.20am: Piotr and Marsha introduce the second pair of tournament ambassadors who’ll be helping with the draw: former international footballers Poland’s Andres Szarmach and Ukraine’s Oleg Blokhin. They too are very much looking forward to Euro 2012. Enough fannying around – let’s get on with the draw.

11.22am: Uefa big cheese Gianni Infantino takes to the stage and introduces a little primer for explaining the procedure: the lowest seeded teams will be coming out first.

Group A: Germany, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan

Group B: Russia, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Macedonia, Armenia, Andorra

Group C: Italy, Serbia, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Estonia, Faroe Islands

Group D: France, Romania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania, Luxembourg

Group E: Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Moldova, San Marino

Group F: Croatia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Georgia, Malta

Group G: England, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, Montenegro

Group H: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Iceland

Group I: Spain, Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, Liechtenstein

11.28am: With the lowest ranked teams out, now we move on to the next pot. The tension here is … non-existent. Armenia get drawn out first, but go into Group B because official Uefa diktats forbid them from being in in the same group as Azerbaijan or Russia.

11.32am: Things are hotting up in Warsaw. No, really. We’re on to the third pot now.

11.35pm: We move on to the next pot, containing Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Rep of Ireland.

11.38am: The Republic of Ireland get Macedonia … again. Bah!

11.42am: So, just the Big Boys left to come out …

11.46pm: So England get Wales, which could make for a couple of interesting matches in Cardiff and Wembley.

11.48am: I’m examining those groups in a bid to come up with a Group of Death, but I’m jiggered if I can find one. Group H, with Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus and Iceland is probably the toughest, but none of them look too difficult.

11.54am: On Sky Sports News, Terry Venables is talking some seriously incomprehenisble gibberish through his grey goatee about the merits of groups with six teams over groups with five teams. He sounds very, very confused.

11.56am: Sky pundit and former Wales international John Hartson is predictably enthused by the prospect of his country playing England. He doesn’t think England will too worried at having to play Wales.

11.58am: Sky pundit and former Scotland manager Craig Brown has “got to concede that Spain are probably the favourites” to win Group I, where they are joined by the Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania and Liechtenstein. Probably the favourites? Probably?

12pm: Ray Houghton is delighted with the Republic of Ireland’s draw. He thinks Russia, Slovakia, Macedonia, Armenia and Andorra are all beatable and reckons there’s no reason why Ireland shouldn’t top the group “and that’s not something we’ve said too often in the past”.

12.02pm: Sky’s Norn Ironish correspondent Lawrie Sanchez looks glum and thinks his country’s chances of finishing in the top two of their group with Italy, Serbia, Estonia, Slovenia and the Faroe Islands are slim. However, he adds, there are some good destinations in Group C to suit any lads organising stag parties.

For full story go to here

Click on the auto-refresh doo-hickey for all the latest action after 10.45am. Send your emails to barry.glendenning@guardian.co.uk

Preview: Poland and Ukraine are the hosts for Euro 2012 and today, representatives of the 53 member associations who’ll be duking it out Royal Rumble style to qualify for the finals, which kick off on 8 June, will gather in Warsaw to learn their fate.

Today’s draw takes place in the Polish capital’s Palace of Culture and Science and will feature 51 plastic balls (Poland and Ukraine qualify automatically as hosts, but holders Spain must qualify the hard way) being swirled, plucked and cracked open by a dizzying array of tanned and well fed men in fetching blazers.

There are 14 berths at Euro 2012 up for grabs and nine groups will be formed in today’s qualifying draw: six groups of six teams and three of five. The seedings are formed on the basis of the Uefa national team coefficient ranking system, with holders Spain automatically top seeded. Each group will contain one side from the first five pots and six of them will also feature a team from Pot 6.

The nine group winners and the best runner-up qualify directly for the final tournament. The eight remaining runners-up will contest two-legged play-offs to decide who gets the four remaining places. You can see who’s in which pot below, where I’ve highlighted the five home nations. England are in Pot One, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland are in Pot Three and Wales are in Pot Four.

Pot One: Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal, France, Russia

Pot Two: Greece, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Turkey, Denmark, Slovakia, Romania

Pot Three: Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Pot Four: Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Belarus, Belgium, Wales, FYR Macedonia, Cyprus

Pot Five: Montenegro, Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Iceland, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein

Pot Six: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Malta, Faroe Islands, Andorra, San Marino

For full story go to here

John Terry went from being a Chelsea debutant at 17 to the England captaincy – but with the odd scandal along the way

1980

7 December: Born in Barking

1998

28 October Makes Chelsea debut against Aston Villa aged 17

2000

Has a two-month loan spell at Nottingham Forest

2001

September Terry is one of four players fined two weeks’ wages by Chelsea after their behaviour at a Heathrow hotel is criticised on the day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks

2002

Terry and Chelsea team-mate Jody Morris are cleared after being charged with assault and affray in connection with a nightclub incident. Terry, uncapped at the time, is ruled out of the World Cup after the Football Association decides he should not be considered for international duty with England until the legal case is completed. Chelsea fine Terry and Morris for being out late less than 48 hours before an FA Cup third-round tie at Norwich

4 May Part of Chelsea side who lose FA Cup final to Arsenal

2003

3 June Makes England debut against Serbia & Montenegro, coming on as a half-time substitute

2004

24 June Penalised for foul on Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo, denying Sol Campbell a winner in the European Championship quarter-final

15 August Appointed Chelsea captain, succeeding Marcel Desailly

2005

April Chelsea win Premier League

2006

April Chelsea clinch the title with a 3-0 win over Manchester United

10 August Chosen as new England captain by head coach Steve McClaren to replace David Beckham

16 August England beat Greece 4-0 in a friendly in Terry’s first game as captain, with the defender scoring the first goal of the new era

11 October Suffers his first defeat as England captain, 2-0 in Croatia in a Euro 2008 qualifier

30 November Charged with improper conduct by the Football Association for comments about referee Graham Poll. Later admits the charge and is reprimanded and fined £10,000

2007

25 February Knocked unconscious during the Carling Cup final victory over Arsenal when Abou Diaby’s foot accidentally connects with his head

1 June Scores his first senior England goal at the new Wembley in 1-1 draw with Brazil

27 July Signs a new five-year deal with Chelsea

29 September Suffers broken cheekbone in a match against Fulham

19 October Undergoes surgery on a knee injury which rules him out of England’s crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia, Russia and Croatia

16 December Breaks a foot in a challenge with Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboué, and misses two months of action, including England’s first match under new manager Fabio Capello

2008

25 March Loses out as Rio Ferdinand is named England captain for friendly against France

21 May Misses penalty in shoot-out against Manchester United which would have won Chelsea the Champions League. Manchester United win the shoot-out and Terry admits he will be “haunted forever” by the miss

2 May Restored to captaincy for England’s friendly against the USA, he scores in a 2-0 win

19 August Named as permanent captain of England by Capello ahead of friendly against Czech Republic at Wembley

28 August Named Uefa’s defender of the year

19 November Scores fifth England goal against Germany in a friendly

2009

15 February Chelsea and Terry dismiss media reports of a move to Manchester City, with the player saying: “I have always said that I want to end my career at the club which I love”

1 April Scores winner in the 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory against Ukraine

May Former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele claims in a book that Terry played a part in José Mourinho’s exit from Chelsea. Terry denies Makelele’s suggestions

July Manchester City make renewed contact over Terry, seeing at least two bids for the player turned down

26 July Terry releases a statement declaring neither he nor Chelsea considered Manchester City’s offers and insisting he is “totally committed” to the club

20 December Chelsea defend Terry after allegations he took secret cash payments to lay on a behind-the-scenes tour of the club’s training ground

2010

29 January Terry named as the sportsman behind a gagging injunction involving his private life. A court order had previously been in place, covering an alleged relationship between married Terry and French underwear model Vanessa Perroncel

30 January Terry scores the winning goal in Chelsea’s 2-1 win at Burnley but does not smile as he is congratulated by team-mates. Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti confirms that Terry will remain captain of the club

31 January Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe says that if the allegations against Terry are proven they call into question his role as England captain

1 February The FA says Capello alone will decide whether Terry remains as England captain

3 February Terry’s spokesman Phil Hall says Terry will make no announcement regarding his future as England captain before meeting Capello

5 February Terry is axed as England captain following a meeting with Capello

For full story go to here

A cautionary tale of Rumba Slubb, Caligula Krump, Enrico Palazzo and a scandal at the heart of the Potya national side

As followers of the international scene will know, this week has been a tumultuous one in the history of the former Yugoslav republic (twice removed) of Potya. Indeed, some experts have gone so far as to say it is the most staggering seven days in the history of that tiny nation tucked away down the back of Montenegro since it emerged that there was film on YouTube of its top golfer Bantam Fluke miming along to Serge Gainsbourg’s lubricious hit Je T’Aime (Moi Non Plus) while writhing about on a buttered rubber sheet with half a dozen underage carp.

To recap the situation: last week FC Stump’s left-over left-back Rumba Slubb discovered that a woman he once slept with had recently slept with someone else. This is the sort of eye-popping shock that would stretch the masculine credibility vortex in any land, but in Potya, an old-fashioned patriarchal society where it is said “every man is measured by the jam in his doughnuts”, it provoked a nationwide bellow of outrage and a synchronised campaign of wilful toilet-door slamming.

Slubb immediately employed a media expert to communicate his distress to the press via the medium of mime, circus skills and light opera. To summarise the three-hour performance: “My client, Mr Slubb, not only gave this lady the gift of many sperm, but also bestowed on her the chance to grow his boy-child in her belly. In return for such saintly generosity, was chastity unto death too much to ask of the wench?”

The scandal then took a double twist with pike and tuck when it emerged that the man who had been cavorting pantless with Rumba Slubb’s ex was none other than the skipper of the Potya national football team Caligula Krump.

Krump is an iconic figure in Potya, the more so since he had himself coated in gold leaf and encrusted with precious gems and took to spending his spare time standing on a plinth in the cathedral with lighted candles round his feet. He is also no stranger to controversy, with scandal hanging over his career like a dangerously eroded spoil heap. The most recent slippage occurred 18 months ago when Krump declared: “I have become a god,” and demanded that the head coach of his club side Mustikka FC (aka “The Mighty Dwarves”) be replaced by his horse, Dobbin. The latter was seen as a sign of billowing egotism, though, to be fair, Dobbin has done a better job than his predecessor, Graeme Souness.

Journalists, pundits and fans quickly waded into the debate on Krump’s future with the national XI. The sports minister, Gregor Glugg, said: “The captain’s armband of Potya is a sacred truss binding the ruptured abdomen of the state,” and called on Krump to demonstrate contrition by playing his next game while gibbering pitifully and besmirched with his own excrement.

Some thought this a little rich coming from a man whose boss, President Plov, recently ordered a town in the north of the country bombed flat after apparently receiving “a message from God that on the balance of probability something bad might happen there sometime in the future in all likelihood, possibly”. Glugg held fast to his patriotic course, however, saying that captaining the Potyan football team was a holy calling that required an incumbent whose reputation was as stainless as the back seat of his car. “It is not like being mayor of London, or something,” he added cryptically.

Caligula Krump is a man who lives in a bubble. He recently bought his own Center Parc so he didn’t have to queue for the big waterslide. He offered no comment on the affair, but instead called on the services of Potya’s master of self-publicity, Straff Plak, an expert at crisis manipulation, news massage and media “extras” (which will appear on your bill simply as “soap and towels”).

Whenever there is scandal in Potya, Plak is never far behind, summoned to the brouhaha by the Plaklight, a powerful laser beam which projects a gigantic dollar sign on to the side of the moon. Plak immediately got to work attempting to “bury the Krump story” by producing a two-headed kitten and blowing up several gasometers.

The battle lines between the two players’ camps are now firmly drawn and it is believed that tomorrow Rumba Slubb’s team-mates will show their solidarity with him by wearing plastic cuckold’s horns during their game. “It will affect our ability to head the ball,” one commented, “but that is a small price to pay for the chance to show Rumba that we are standing behind him, sniggering slightly into our hands.”

When it comes to Krump’s future, the Potyan FA has handed the ultimate decision on what the Potyan papers have inevitably – and in a flagrant V-sign to the Guardian’s style guide – dubbed “Onemanbonkedawomanwhobonkedanothermansomemonthsbefore-gate” to the national team boss, Enrico Palazzo.

Palazzo is a man of few words – and two of those are eggplant – but he is known to be a devout, practising Italian and many believe that means he will regard adultery as totally unacceptable, unless the man involved happens to be ageing, balding and prone to wearing cummerbunds, in which case fair play to the fella. Palazzo’s verdict is eagerly awaited by everyone who is profoundly sick of the whole business.

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• England join Europe’s elite international teams in pot one
• Rep of Ireland and N Ireland joined by Scotland in pot three

England have been named among the top seeds for February’s European Championship qualifying draw, but Scotland are in the third band after slipping down the rankings.

Fabio Capello’s side won nine of their 10 qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup and they will again be the highest-ranked team in their group.

But Scotland’s dismal showing in their failed World Cup qualification campaign has led to a drop down to 26th in the European rankings, meaning they join the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in pot three, with Wales among the fourth seeds.

How the teams are seeded

Pot One Spain, Germany, Holland, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal, France, Russia.

Pot Two Greece, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Turkey, Denmark, Slovakia, Romania.

Pot Three Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Pot Four Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Belarus, Belgium, Wales, FYR Macedonia, Cyprus.

Pot Five Montenegro, Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Iceland, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein.

Pot Six Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Malta, Faroe Islands, Andorra, San Marino.

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• Fabio Capello’s side placed fifth in Uefa’s interim seedings
• Portugal and Serbia among the likely second seeds

England are virtually guaranteed a top seeding in the Euro 2012 qualification draw even though they did not reach the finals of the last tournament.

Uefa has released interim seedings for the draw, which will be held in Warsaw on 7 February. While there are still some matches to be played, England’s current position of fifth should ensure Fabio Capello’s men get a favourable seeding among the nine groups.

With six pools of six teams and three of five, only the group winners will be guaranteed a place in the finals alongside the co-hosts Poland and Ukraine, who England face in Dnipropetrovsk tomorrow. The best runner-up will also go through, with the eight others going into the play-offs.

Capello will not want to be paired with either Portugal – who may yet be eliminated from the World Cup – or Serbia, who currently head a group containing France, both of whom are potential second seeds. A potential ‘group of death’ for England could see them compete for the one automatic qualifying spot with Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, and the improving Slovenia. In geographical terms, a potential group including Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Georgia and Azerbaijan would hardly hold much appeal.

As it presently stands, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland will all be in pot three, while Wales will once again be up against it when they come out of pot four.

Uefa interim seedings

1 Spain

2 Germany

3 Netherlands

4 Italy

5 England

6 Russia

7 Croatia

8 France

9 Sweden

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10 Portugal

11 Serbia

12 Czech Republic

13 Switzerland

14 Denmark

15 Greece

16 Turkey

17 Slovakia

18 Romania

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19 Ukraine (qualified as hosts)

20 Poland (qualified as hosts)

21 Israel

22 Republic of Ireland

23 Bulgaria

24 Finland

25 Norway

26 Bosnia-Herzegovina

27 Scotland

28 Northern Ireland

29 Austria

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30 Latvia

31 Hungary

32 Slovenia

33 Lithuania

34 Belarus

35 Wales

36 Belgium

37 FYR Macedonia

38 Albania

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39 Cyprus

40 Estonia

41 Georgia

42 Moldova

43 Montenegro

44 Armenia

45 Iceland

46 Kazakhstan

47 Liechtenstein

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48 Luxembourg

49 Azerbaijan

50 Malta

51 Faroe Islands

52 Andorra

53 San Marino

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