Djokovic cruises into Shanghai final with Berdych defeat

Novak Djokovic got into the Shanghai final gallantly and can now boast of an ATP Tour-leading 69-11 match record for the season as he secured a break in just the second game of the match to take control of the opening set, before taking it for the loss of just three games.
Berdych was always behind in the match, and he was unable to match the world number two in the second set as Djokovic closed it out efficiently to improve his head-to-head record over the Czech to 10-1 while securing his place in the final.
Djokovic will next take on the winner of two-time defending champion Andy Murray’s semi-final clash with world number one Roger Federer in the Shanghai showpiece.

Unwritten pact flaws Falcao’s link to Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho has ruled out Radamel Falcao’s chances of joining Real Madrid for a striking position saying there’s an ‘Unwritten pact’ between the two clubs which makes Real Madrid unable to bid Falcao who plays for Atletico Madrid.
Real are one of the clubs who have been very strongly linked with the Colombian striker – currently regarded as one of the top players in world football.
Jose Mourinho said the move is a  forbidden subject as Falcao is a key player for Atletico Madrid against Real Madrid, as was Sergio Aguero, and there is a kind of non-aggression pact between Atletico and Madrid.
The news is likely to be a boost to Mourinho’s former club Chelsea, who have been strongly linked with a January move for Falcao.
One player who will not be moving in January is Fabio Coentrao – he blasted: “I miss the times that lying and inventing in the newspapers was almost a crime. Now this does not happen, we are in a situation where it is very easy to lie and invent. It says what you want.”
But Mourinho did admit that his recent dropping of Coentrao has become a bit of an issue.
“We cannot escape that the reality of the Fabio Coentrao situation is not easy, but Fabio should be able to overcome a situation that I recognise is not easy for him – but there is no possibility he could leave in January – not long ago he cost €30million.”
He also spoke about Ricardo Carvalho’s situation at the club and he insists he is happy that he wants to stay – after a move to Queens Park Rangers in August failed to materialise.
“I thought he wanted out of Madrid, he is a tremendous player – especially for me, as I have had him at three clubs,” he said.
“With his injury last season and with Pepe and Ramos forming a partnership which can be the best in the world, he got a little delayed.
“But he decided to stay in Madrid, for me it is not a problem, he could be a solution but he knows his chances could be restricted.”
He also dispelled rumours that he looked at signing another of his former Chelsea players Jose Bosingwa in the summer.
“No, I did not think about it. You have to be good to bring the Portuguese and Portuguese to Madrid, would be mean to them.”

Muamba eyeing up FIFA role with former Bolton star to meet with president Blatter

Former Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba is hoping he could be offered a job with FIFA when he meets president Sepp Blatter next week.
The 24-year-old was forced to retire from football after suffering a cardiac arrest during a match at Tottenham in March and is still yet to decide where his future lies.
He believes he is too impatient to become a manager and also claimed watching football can lead to him getting 'very frustrated'.

FIFA role: Fabrice Muamba, pictured with Brazilian World Cup-winner Ronaldo, will meet Sepp Blatter next week

But a job with the sport's governing body could be on the cards after Muamba revealed he has been offered a chance to speak to Blatter next week.
He said: 'Funnily enough I have a meeting with Sepp Blatter this time next week. Hopefully he can get a job for me.
'I've been told he's invited me to Zurich and hopefully we can sort something out. I don't know [what], I have to go and see what happens. I will go and see him. Some time next week I have to fly to Zurich.'

Setting out his stall: Muamba said watching football can be a frustrating experience

One role that Muamba will definitely be undertaking is an ambassadorial position with the Trotters as he fulfils the length of his original contact at the Reebok Stadium.
'I've been told that in the last year of my contract, which is next season, I will be working as an ambassador of the club,' he said.
'I just hope I do a good job there and then we will see what happens. That was already written into my contract.
'I had a choice but I said it's fine, we could leave it how it was and then we will see.'

Ambassadorial role: Muamba will continue to work for Bolton

FIFA ranking: Super Eagles drop to 13th in Africa

World’s football governing body, FIFA has released its rankings for the month of October, and the Super Eagles of Nigeria have dropped five spots on the rankings and are now 63rd in the world.
The team also dropped out of the top 10 to now occupy the 13th position in Africa, coming after Cape Verde and Central African Republic.
Elephants of Cote’ d Ivoire remain the highest ranked African team on the list; they occupy the 16th position in the world and number one on the continent.
Algeria, Mali, Ghana and Egypt follow in that order, making it up the top five, while African champions, Zambia are in sixth position and are 41 in the world.
Tunisia, Gabon, Central African Republic and Cape Verde are the other countries that are in the top 10 in the continent.

Top tennis players to storm Lagos for Governor’s cup

Nina Bratchikova of Russia is one of the top female tennis players expected to hit Lagos for the 12th edition of the Governor’s cup.
Nina, ranked 93 in the world will slug it out for the $50,000 prize money in the women’s event with Kristina Kucova of Slovakia, Germany’s Anne Schaefer, and Melanie Klaffner of Austria.
Fatimah Abinu, Christie Agugbom, Chinenye Ndidi and Blessing Samuel are some of the Nigerian ladies who have registered for the competition scheduled to hold from October the  13th -27th  at the Lagos lawn tennis, Onikan.
France’s Laurent Rochette is leading the pack in the men’s category.
He will be joined by Kamil Capkovic of Slovakia, India’s Ranjeet Virali and South Africa’s Ruan Roelofse.

Check out the triple dummy... is this the most outrageous goal from a corner ever?

It's the sort of fixture that you are likely to find on Eurosport and will only watch if the TV remote is more than a foot away or you just watch any football that comes on the box.

But if you was lucky enough to catch the highlights of Moldova's Under 17 match with Serbia, you would have witnessed one of the more amusing set-pieces seen in recent times.

Watch the video

From a corner kick, Serbia played a short pass to the edge of the penalty area, which resulted in three attackers performing dummies before Andrija Zivkovic buried his first-time strike into the bottom corner.

Three players performing the distraction seems a bit excessive, and the statue-like defending as well as the Moldovan keeper being anchored to the spot only aid the eventual goal.
Still, it beats your over-paid Premier League right winger delivering yet another corner to be easily headed away at the near post and credit must be given to Zivkovic.

The pass to the forward took a ridiculous amount of bobbles before he found the sweet spot, making him a handy option for a number of Premier League sides facing tricky FA Cup away trips to the lower leagues in a few months' time.

Throw City out of Champions League over 'back-door' funding, blasts Dortmund chief

Borussia Dortmund have attacked Manchester City's reliance on Sheik Mansour ahead of the two clubs' Champions League clash on Wednesday night.
The Bundesliga champions' chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke, says clubs should be thrown out of the competition should they enter into big sponsorship deals with companies controlled by the same club's owners - just as City have with Etihad, whose shirt and stadium sponsorship will net the Premier League champions £350million over 10 years.
Watzke called such deals 'back-door funding' and also said he would dismiss out of hand investment from any rich foreign businessman in Dortmund, which is 51 per cent owned by its supporters.

Warming up: Roberto Mancini oversees Manchester City training ahead of the match against Dortmund

 

The German giants have strict rules on spending and are advocates of UEFA president Michel Platini's new Financial Fair Play rules, which seek to limit each club's expenditure based on its revenue.
The penalty for not complying could be expulsion from the Champions League - the biggest cash cow for Europe's elite clubs.
And the Dortmund chief says that UEFA must crack down on clubs like City and prevent them from bending the rules.
'UEFA must find the thin line between sponsorship and excessive back-door funding – they must show strength to expel big clubs,' said Watzke.
'No tycoon should be allowed to pump crazy money into a club with sponsorship from five companies he controls. If that happens, financial fair play will fail.'
Watzke cited the example of Spanish club Malaga to demonstrate what he thinks the dangers are of rich, foreign investors in football clubs.
Qatar’s Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani appeared to have lost interest and the club began selling players, such as Santi Cazorla to Arsenal, but the club insist that they are simply restructuring to fit the new FFP rules and that the Sheik is still committed to the club.
But when asked if Dortmund would talk to a potential rich investor such as Sheik Mansour or Sheik Abdullah, Watzke replied: 'I would not even welcome him.'

Tough test: Borussia Dortmund's squad in training ahead of their Champions League date in Manchester

He added: 'What if the sheikh, as shown by Malaga, lost interest?
'The fact is that the Bundesliga has caught up considerably, thanks to their sound banking practices. This will eventually be expressed by results.'
The match is likely to prove a difficult game for City against the German champions. Dortmund won the first game of their Group D campaign at home to Ajax, with Lewandowski scoring the only goal, and on Saturday they put five past Borussia Monchengladbach.

Big money: City host Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium, which is sponsored to the tune of £350m

The pressure is on Mancini and his side to make their mark on the competition after failure last season, particularly after losing their opening game 3-2 at Real Madrid last month.
Mancini has attempted to apply a touch of realism ahead of the match at the Etihad. In Madrid he had likened his side to a Ferrari. At Carrington on Tuesday he said that although ‘the moment will arrive when City can win the Champions League’, they are ‘not there yet’.
He also acknowledged what a tough challenge Jurgen Klopp’s side represent when City are looking to avoid a third consecutive home game without a win.

Danger men: Dortmund's attacking triumvirate of Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus

Borussia Dortmund have beaten Bayern Munich for the last two years,’ he said in reference to the problems his side experienced against Bayern last season.
‘For this reason I think it will be a very difficult game. In my opinion Dortmund are one of the best teams in Europe. They won the Bundesliga. They are very strong and in players like Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze they are dangerous going forward. If we concede space, like we did in Madrid, we will make it difficult for ourselves.
In Madrid the problems we had in the first half were normal. But we conceded too much space to players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in the last five minutes and that made them dangerous.’