Football Dispatch

Wednesday Football
30 May 2007
Leeds United are teetering on the brink of collapse. Chairman and prospective owner Ken Bates admitted, yesterday, that the football club may not survive its latest financial restructuring. Earlier this month, with relegation to Ligue-One all but a certainty, Bates allowed the club to fall into administration. He quickly struck a new company, entitled Leeds United Football Club, and bought the club back from the KPGM Group which had overseen the transition to and from administration. The deal has yet to be approved by either the Football League or the club's creditors. On Friday, 01 June, the creditors will decide whether or not to bankroll Leeds' 35M-pound debt. If not, the club could be disbanded ahead of next season. "If creditors want a club in Leeds, they should make sure they vote the right way," warned Bates. He continued, "Otherwise, I can assure fans it's unlikely there will be a Leeds United."

Levski Sofia will open next season behind closed doors. The punishment was handed-down by the Bulgarian Football Association after a policeman was struck by a flare during the final match of the season -- a 6-2 win for Levski over Litex Lovech. The crowd was troublesome throughout the 90-minutes -- lighting rockets and fire-crackers in celebration of the club's 25th league title.

Ryan Giggs has retired from international football. The Manchester United winger will play his final match for Wales on Saturday against the Czech Republic at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. It will be his 64th-cap for his country. After 16-year of service, Giggs, like teammate Paul Scholes, is sacrificing international duty in hopes of prolonging his career at United. He remarked, "I think it's the right time to do this. It wasn't an easy decision for me."

Luca Toni has joined Bayern Munich. The 30-year-old Italy international arrives in Bavaria for 11M-Euros and has agreed a contract which will keep him at the Allianz Arena through 2011. Toni was the Serie-A's most lethal marksman over his past two seasons at Fiorentina -- scoring 49-goals. His arrival will pave the way for the impending exits of Claudio Pizzaro and Roque Santa Cruz. Roy Makaay's future at the club is also in limbo. Meanwhile, Franck Ribery's transfer to Bayern, once assumed a done-deal, seems to have hit the skids. After it appeared that his signature had been secured last Wednesday, he has yet to agree terms with the club.

Liverpool are preparing a 12M-pound raid on Valencia. But rather than striker David Villa, Rafael Benitez has set his sights on left-winger David Silva. Liverpool's weakness at the position was exposed throughout the season -- particularly during the club's 2-1 defeat to AC Milan at the Champions' League Final in Athens earlier this month. Although Silva has 3-years remaining on a 4-year contract, Rafael Benitez is confident that he can pry the player from Valencia. The Liverpool boss served as manager at the Mestalla before coming to Anfield in 2004.

Inter Milan are poised to start a bidding-war for Thierry Henry. With Alvaro Recoba departing the San Siro for Atletico Madrid in June, Roberto Mancini is desperate to replenish the depth among the club's forwards. Henry, for his part, may be swayed by the fact that former Arsenal teammate Patrick Vieira is a current Inter player as well. Mancini is expected to place an initial offer of 15M-pounds for the Frenchman. The bid is sure to alert Barcelona. The Spanish giants have been tracking Henry since the end of last season and can be expected to participate in any bidding-war for his services.

Alain Perrin has been hired as manager at Olympique Lyonnais. The 50-year-old is fresh off a French Cup victory with Sochaux and has agreed a new, 2-year contract with his new club. Lyon are rumored to have paid Sochaux 350,000-Euros as compensation. Prior to a move to France in 2006, Perrin served as Portsmouth manager over parts of two seasons. In late 2005, however, he was replaced by Harry Redknapp after achieving a mere 4-wins in his time at Fratton Park.

Redknapp, still in charge at Pompey, has finalized the 7M-pound transfer of Sulley Muntari from Udinese. The Ghana forward impressed throughout last summer's World Cup and it Portsmouth's all-time most expensive signing. He is just part of a major, summer make-over at the club. Each of Mark Viduka, John Utaka, and Alou Diarra have also been linked with moves to the south coast.