Senderos contemplates Celtic switch

Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos believes a loan move to Celtic could help resurrect his dream of playing for Switzerland at this year's FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa.

"I am very honoured that a big club like Celtic are interested in me and a loan deal right now would suit me perfectly," said Senderos, who has fallen down the Gunners central defensive pecking order behind William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen.

The World Cup this summer is a really big thing for me. I know that if I'm not playing regularly my chances of playing in South Africa will be badly affected.Senderos of Arsenal and Switzerland
"My main priority is to get back playing regular football," said Senderos. "I really miss that. The World Cup this summer is a really big thing for me. I know that if I'm not playing regularly my chances of playing in South Africa will be badly affected.

SA celebrities relish 2010

In less than six months, South Africa is due to embark on what figures to be the most rewarding and spectacular journey in its short yet celebrated history as a democracy when the country will host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

And South Africans can hardly wait. Neil Tovey, the man who led South Africa to their first ever continental triumph at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in 1996 described this year as "probably the second most important" period the country’s era. The first one, obviously, being when South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994, thus ending the country’s apartheid regime.

"It’s an important year for all South Africans. When I was still playing, I never dreamt that we would one day host a FIFA World Cup in this country. At this moment, I guess everyone is proud to be South African because we have an opportunity to change people’s perception of not only South Africa but also about the African continent," Tovey said.

Lampard: England can win it

Frank Lampard is adamant England will not get swept up in the hype surrounding their prospects at this year's FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa.

England may have won the FIFA World Cup just once, on home soil in 1966, but every subsequent appearance they have made at a major football tournament has sparked hopes of a similar outcome among their fans. Chelsea midfielder Lampard was a member of the England squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany where the team lost in the quarter-finals to Portugal after some players had suggested they could win the event.

During Fabio Capello's two years in charge of England the team has undergone a major upsurge in fortunes, from failing to qualify for UEFA EURO 2008 under former boss Steve McClaren to FIFA World Cup contenders. But the Italian is not one for getting carried away and friendly defeats by Brazil, France and Spain have served to reinforce awareness of the scale of the task facing England in South Africa.

Meanwhile Lampard is confident England have learnt their lessons from four years ago. "There's an inner confidence within the squad but I don't think we're thinking about winning the trophy. We've been here before," he said. "The experienced players who have been here before know that it doesn't really matter what you say before the tournament or what your form's like a few months before the tournament, what really matters is how you play when you get there.

With the squad we have got and the way we have played, we are doing everything right but when we go there we have to do everything right thereEngland midfielder Frank Lampard.
"You get asked the question a million times - 'Can you win it?' and the obvious answer is 'Yes we can if we are playing well,' but you have to go there and win it. With the squad we have got and the way we have played, we are doing everything right but when we go there we have to do everything right there."

Lampard - the guest of honour at a Football Writers' Association dinner in London on Sunday - knows that at the age of 31 this is likely to be his last FIFA World Cup. "This year is a big year for me," he said. "It's obviously a World Cup year so it's career defining. If we were to go there and win it then who knows what would happen after that?"

Before the World Cup gets underway in June, Lampard has the chance to win yet more club honours with Chelsea, the Premier League leaders. "I don't think I'll become distracted by the World Cup," said Lampard, who has been capped 76 times by England.

"When I play for my club you get into the zone about playing club football. I don't look too far ahead. It's nice when the draw comes around, you get excited and when it gets nearer you get more excited but there's too much going on at Chelsea, it's too important.

"We are in everything at the moment so we are focused completely on that. Hopefully when it comes to the end of the season I'll be confident after winning things with Chelsea and go to the World Cup."

Source: FIFA.com

Maradona takes SA by storm

From legendary football players in their own right to young and aspiring sportsmen and women, the arrival this morning of one of the world's greatest football players of all time, Diego Maradona, has caused a wave of excitement among South Africans.

Former South African football great Mark Fish, who helped his country to its African Cup of Nations victory in 1996 and who took part in the 1998 FIFA World Cup has certainly met some well known sportsmen in his time, but his meeting with Maradona this afternoon at the High Performance Centre (HPC) at the University of Pretoria is one he will never forget.

“When I met him now I was lost for words, I literally had goose bumps all over. This really is a dream come true – his football ability was second to none,” said the former South African national player. “My friends and I often talk about who is the greatest player of all time but I know who it is, I now know I have met the greatest football player,” to which Maradona jokingly responded, “Yes my mother also thinks so,” as the two compared their Che Guevara tattoos.

Dempsey eases USA fears

Fulham striker Clint Dempsey will not require surgery to repair his injured right knee, the English Premier League side announced on Tuesday, easing USA fears that he might be lost for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

Dempsey, who plays forward as well as attacking midfielder, suffered moderate ligament damage but an MRI scan indicated there was not a torn ligament and that he might play for Fulham before the end of the season. That means he should be healthy when the Americans face England on 12 June in their FIFA World Cup opener.