Football Dispatch

Thursday Football
23 August 2007
Four Croatian football supporters were injured following a clash with Bosnia-Herzegovina fans in Sarajevo, yesterday. The two Slavic nations staged a friendly match in the evening -- although the entertaining football on the field was greatly overshadowed by the violent incidents preceding it. Over 80 hooligans were involved in the brawl -- many brandishing knives or using chairs to attack their adversaries. And although they got it handed to them on the streets, Croatia triumped 5-3 in a thrilling contest on the pitch.

Real Madrid landed both Gabriel Heinze and Arjen Robben in a sensational double-swoop, yesterday. Heinze will be expected to fill the boots of departed left-back Roberto Carlos while Robben's acquisition completes a total makeover of Madrid's wings. Wesley Sneijder was brought in from Ajax a fortnight ago and will play opposite Robben on the flanks of the field. Just 23-years-old, Robben has penned a 5-year contract at the Bernabeu. Heinze, by comparison, has signed-on for 4-years. Madrid topped Liverpool's offer for the 29-year-old Argentinean by more than 2M-pounds while shelling-out 24.5M-pounds for Robben -- more than twice what Chelsea paid to bring him to Stamford Bridge from PSV Eindhoven in 2004.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will not spend the cash windfall to fund a move for Daniel Alves, however. Instead, the Blues have already agreed a transfer fee for Barcelona right-beck Juliano Belletti. And at just 3.75M-pounds, he comes almost 25M-pounds cheaper than Alves. Belletti, on the final year of his contract at the Nou Camp, fell behind Gianluca Zambrotta in Frank Rijkaard's pecking-order.

Manchester United are rumored to have made a fresh bid for Dimitar Berbatov. Reports suggest that the offer came in the run-up to England's friendly encounter with Germany at Wembley, yesterday. But at 21M-pounds, the bid is merely half what Tottenham Hotspur have valued the 26-year-old Bulgarian striker.

Former Arsenal striker Sylvain Wiltord has rejoined his childhood club. The 33-year-old France international completed a move to Rennes, yesterday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Wiltord has agreed a new 2-year contract at Orient Road. He initially left the club for Bordeaux in 1997 before moving to Arsenal for 13M-pounds in 2000.

El Hadji Diouf admitted this week that Bolton Wanderers' 10M-pound valuation of him was excessive and likely inhibitted a move away from the Reebok. The price-tag doesn't seem to intimidate West Ham, however. Alan Curbishley is preparing a formal bid for the Senegal international and is already salivating over an attacking partership of Diouf and Craig Bellamy. Diouf, for his part, proclaimed himself to be a "top player", yesterday, known by "everyone in the UK."