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PARIS - FIFA has sent a strong signal to the richest clubs that they must stop plundering young talent, Le Havre sporting director Alain Belsoeur said on Friday.

NYON, Switzerland - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has backed UEFA's decision to ban Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva for deceiving a referee.

LONDON - England are looking forward to the prospect of sealing a place in the 2010 World Cup when they face Croatia next week, captain John Terry said on Friday.

PARIS - Cases like that of teenager Gael Kakuta are ruining football, French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said on Friday.

JOHANNESBURG - Cameroon are putting their hopes in Samuel Eto'o to revive flagging World Cup qualification chances, thrusting the controversial striker into a new leadership role for vital matches over the next week.

Brazil striker Afonso Alves, Middlesbrough's 12 million pounds record signing last year, is leaving for Qatari club Al-Sadd.

Manchester United insist they have nothing to fear over Le Havre's claims they acted improperly when they signed French teenager Paul Pogba last month.

BUENOS AIRES - Former Ecuador coach Luis Fernandez Suarez quit Atletico Nacional after they lost again in the Colombian championship on Sunday while club president Victor Marulanda offered to stand down.

MADRID - Valencia striker David Villa has no intention of moving to a club outside Spain, his agent was quoted as saying on Friday.

BARCELONA - Barcelona will have to starve Juninho of dead-ball scoring chances in Wednesday's Champions League clash with Olympique Lyon, coach Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday.

Malaga put a turbulent summer behind them to claim their place among Europe's elite with a 2-0 win at home to 10-man Porto on Wednesday that put them through to the last eight 2-1 on aggregate on a memorable night for the Qatar-owned club.

Zenit St Petersburg coach Luciano Spalletti has vowed to stay on despite mounting pressure on him to resign following a streak of poor results in recent matches.

Galatasaray's nail-biting Champions League win over Schalke 04 bore the indelible stamp of their coach Fatih Terim and brought back memories of his never-say-die Turkey side at Euro 2008.

Galatasaray, spearheaded by Didier Drogba, struck twice before half-time and survived a second-half barrage to oust Schalke 04 on Tuesday, denying Germany a full house in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Four-times European champions Bayern Munich have refused to accept the favourites tag for the title this season and expect Arsenal to try every trick in the book to reverse a 3-1 Champions League last 16 first leg deficit.

Malaga have used medieval imagery in a promotional video for their Champions League last 16 second leg at home to Porto, seeking inspiration for an historic performance from the Spanish debutantes on Wednesday.

Reading hit the panic button and sacked manager Brian McDermott on Monday after four consecutive Premier League defeats left the Premier League club deep in relegation trouble.

CSKA Sofia have sacked Serbian coach Miodrag Jesic after two games in charge and replaced him with former boss Milen Radukanov, the 31-times Bulgarian champions said on Monday.

Spartak Moscow's billionaire owner Leonid Fedun plans to float the club's shares on the stock market in order to recoup some of the huge sums of money he has ploughed into the Russian Premier League side.

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel believes fan negativity is affecting the players at the Premier League club.

President Sepp Blatter's push to clean up FIFA flushed out another potentially corrupt official on Monday when executive committee member Vernon Manilal Fernando of Sri Lanka was banned from any football activity for three months.

Liverpool's Luis Suarez will be the greatest player not to win one of England's player of the year awards if he is overlooked this season, according to his captain Steven Gerrard.

A pine marten ran on to the pitch and bit a player who tried to catch it during the Swiss Super League match between FC Thun and FC Zurich on Sunday.

Real Madrid followed up Tuesday's Champions League success at Manchester United by climbing above beaten city rivals Atletico into second in La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice in a 2-1 win at second-bottom Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Ryan Giggs said nothing has shocked him in his 1,000 matches as much as his Manchester United team-mate Nani's red card against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.