Pro Eleven Headline News
Marseille aiming to finish off Ajax in UEFA Cup soccer action
Marseille is at Ajax in the UEFA Cup on Wednesday confident that it can finish what it started when it beat the Dutch club last week.
Marseille beat its fellow former European champion 2-1 in France to take a slim advantage into the second leg of the round-of-16 match, and is on a high after moving within a point of longtime leader Lyon in the French league.
Marseille won 3-1 at fierce rival Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday with a performance that could be ideal preparation for another tough away trip - this time to the Amsterdam Arena.
"Our confidence is huge and that must help us to continue and progress," midfielder Lorik Cana said.
Ajax warmed up for the match with a 3-0 Dutch league win over De Graafschap on the weekend. However, despite dominating possession, the Amsterdam club gave away several chances through careless play and could be punished by a better side.
Marseille coach Erik Gerets, who played and managed in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven, may make changes to a winning team to ensure his players aren't too tired with the final still five matches away.
Boudewijn Zenden was man of the match after scoring the first goal against PSG, but even if he sits out the match, Marseille can call upon Mamadou Niang or Hatem Ben Arfa to replace him.
"We have a coach who knows Dutch football," said Cana, who also scored Sunday. "We will listen to him and try to apply what he tells us. There will perhaps be changes but Marseille will have a very competitive team on the field."
PSG's first loss in eight matches hit its preparations for its UEFA Cup match at Braga, one of six on Thursday. The teams are tied 0-0 following the first match.
Ukrainian rivals Dynamo Kyiv and Metalist Kharkiv are tied 1-1, while Hamburg is also at 1-1 ahead of its visit to 2000 UEFA Cup winner Galatasaray (Setanta Sports Canada, 9:15 p.m. ET, delayed).
Although Hamburg beat Energie Cottbus 2-0 on Sunday to keep alive its challenge for the Bundesliga title, it will be without key striker Mladen Petric after he tore a right thigh muscle in that match.
His replacement, Piotr Trochowski, scored the second goal but damaged knee ligaments and could also miss the match in Istanbul.
Also Thursday, defending champion Zenit St. Petersburg needs to overturn a 2-0 deficit against visiting Udinese.
Udinese has extra motivation to progress in Russia. As the last Italian club still playing in Europe, Udinese could help maintain the country's standing in the UEFA rankings and keep Serie A's fourth Champions League berth.
"It means more responsibility, but we don't feel like we're the saviours of Italian football," forward Fabio Quagliarella said. "We've just got to do our job, that's it. A two-goal lead is pretty good, but it's still going to be tough to advance."
Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic is likely to return after missing Sunday's 1-1 draw with Catania, but defenders Andrea Coda and Maurizio Domizzi are out.
All three of Udinese's forwards - Quagliarella, Antonio Di Natale and Simone Pepe - play for Italy.
CSKA Moscow, the 2005 winner, is at Shakhtar Donetsk with a 1-0 lead, and Manchester City takes a 2-0 lead to Aalborg (Setanta Sports Canada, 3:45 p.m. ET).
With City manager Mark Hughes reportedly unhappy at Robinho's work ethic, the Brazil striker could sit out the match anyway after he was substituted in Sunday's 1-0 Premier League loss at Chelsea because of an ankle problem.
Saint-Etienne hosts Werder Bremen in Wednesday's other match. Canadian Press
Corinthians Dream Of Pairing Zinedine Zidane With Ronaldo
Real Madrid’s hopes of seeing Zinedine Zidane return to the confines of the Santiago Bernabeu could be derailed if Corinthians pull off one of the biggest surprise coups in football transfer history.
According to El Correo Digital, the Paulista juggernauts are looking to tempt ‘Zizou’ out of retirement in the hopes of recreating a slice of the Galacticos era right on Brazilian shores as they dream of seeing the Frenchman team up with Ronaldo again. But the club director is not holding out too much hope of that happening.
“Zidane is an impossible dream… but so was Ronaldo,” said Mario Gobbi to Gazeta Esportiva.
“I believe that it will be difficult to make two impossible dreams come true in the same year,” he added.
The Sao Paolo outfit were equally just as pessimistic, however, when they were initially linked with Ronaldo back in December. But they not only fought off several potential suitors from Europe but they also beat their fierce rivals, Flamengo to the O Fenomeno’s signature.
It has even been reported that Corinthians are currently in the midst of negotiating a major sponsorship with French hypermarket chain, Carrefour, in the hope that the company will be able to help them lure Zidane. Goal
