Adriano looks to have played his last match for Inter Milan after failing to return to the Serie A leaders from international duty with Brazil this month and announcing he was taking a break from football.

President Massimo Moratti said last week that Inter were considering extinguishing the player’s contract, which runs until the end of next season.

They have grounds to do so as the failure to turn up to work of the 27-year-old, who has suffered alcohol and personal problems, comes after a string of run-ins with coaches and incidents of indiscipline.

In fairness, Inter have tried hard to restore the fine fettle Adriano displayed between 2004 and 2006, when he was one of Serie A’s most feared forwards and helped Brazil win the 2004 Copa America as the competition’s top scorer.

They allowed him to have a loan stint at Sao Paulo in the first half of 2008, when he scored 16 goals, but he was soon out of sorts again when back in Italy even though his old foe Roberto Mancini had been replaced by coach Jose Mourinho.

Indeed, this time the club appear to have few alternatives to offloading the player after he said he is unhappy in Italy and wants to “live in peace here in Brazil”.

If life in Serie A is really what is getting Adriano down, he will probably not be tempted by future offers from Inter’s domestic rivals, something his agent suggested on Friday.

The burly striker’s comments seem to rule out a move elsewhere in Europe too and his fragile reputation would probably scare off the top clubs at the moment anyway.

But with his blend of speed, power and agility he remains potentially formidable and if gets back into the groove in his homeland, he may soon find the Brazilian top flight limited.

A return to form would help foreign managers forget his troubled past, at which point a transfer to the English Premier League, where the off-field pressure is less intense than in Serie A, would not be out of the question.

You never know. Adriano could come back to haunt Inter in the Champions League yet.

PHOTO: Inter Milan’s Brazilian soccer striker Adriano smiles during a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, April 9, 2009. Reuters photo.

Roy Keane is back, with a new gig as manager of Ipswich Town.

Whatever else the appointment will do, this seems a surefire way for Ipswich to reacquaint themselves with the spotlight. Keane generates a huge amount of interest in Britain and considering he’s already engineered one successful promotion campaign, with Sunderland, it could be a good move from a purely footballing point of view as well (assuming he has some money to spend).

Ipswich, of course, have had a few very high profile managers. The list includes Alf Ramsey and (for a brief spell) Jackie Milburn, as well as Robson, and that’s just the footballing royalty.

Will Keane’s stay be as fleeting as Milburn’s or will that legendary charisma help him do for the club what Ramsey and Robson managed? Ipswich were one of the biggest clubs in England when I was growing up, in the age of Robson, Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen.

How exotic those two Dutch names seemed then, eh?

FILE PHOTO: Then Manchester United captain Roy Keane tackles Ipswich Town’s Hermann Hreidarsson during their Premier League match at Portman Road August 22, 2000.

Anyone remember the score?

Real Madrid’s Portuguese defender Pepe faces a lengthy ban that could extend to the end of the season after he had an astonishing Zinedine Zidane moment against Getafe on Tuesday.

I had the evening off and watched the match in a Madrid bar and the looks of disbelief on the faces of the punters around me reminded me of the reaction to the Frenchman’s headbutt in the World Cup final in Berlin in 2006.

There was less at stake on Tuesday but Pepe’s meltdown could hurt Real badly as he is almost certain to miss next week’s “Clasico” against leaders Barcelona at the Bernabeu and may be unavailable for the remaining four league matches after that. He will also miss Sunday’s match at third-placed Sevilla.

The Brazilian-born defender, who moved to Madrid from Porto for 30 million euros in the summer of 2007, has forged an effective partnership with Fabio Cannavaro in central defence and his absence will severely weaken Real as they attempt to overhaul Barca and clinch a third consecutive title.

For those of you who haven’t seen the incident, which happened with the scores level at 2-2 and three minutes left, Pepe totally lost his cool after pushing over Francisco Casquero and conceding a penalty.

He kicked Casquero once on the ground and raked his studs over the midfielder’s back with a vicious second swipe. In the ensuing melee he struck another Getafe player, Juan Albin, in the face.

As he stormed off the pitch, he said “You are all sons of whores” to the fourth official and then committed a further offence by running back on to celebrate Gonzalo Higuain’s dramatic winner in added time.

It’s not a first sending-off in Real colours for Pepe, who apologised for his actions and said he was not a violent player. He had a nightmare home debut against Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup in August 2007 when he conceded a penalty and was later red carded. He was also dismissed in the Champions League defeat to Roma in March.

But he has never imploded in quite the same way before and his inexplicable reaction on Tuesday did seem out of character for a usually fair-minded player.

His fate will likely be known by the end of the week and it would be no great surprise if the disciplinary body comes down hard.

FILE PHOTO: Real Madrid’s Pepe gestures during a match against Valencia at the Bernabeu, March 23, 2008. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Diego Simeone was often described as playing with a knife between his teeth as he scowled his way through 106 internationals for Argentina.

As a coach, the former Lazio, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid player cuts an equally menacing figure as he prowls the touchline, unshaven and dressed all in black.

Simeone got off to a flying start to his coaching career by helping Estudiantes win the Apertura championship in 2006, their first major title for 23 years.

One year ago, the man who famously provoked David Beckham’s sending-off in the epic England-Argentina match at the 1998 World Cup, added another domestic title to his cabinet as his River Plate team won the Clausura championship.

By the time Alfio Basile quit as Argentina coach in October, Simeone was already being tipped as a possible replacement.

Unfortunately for Simeone, his career was by then in freefall. River suffered an unprecedented 11-match winless run which left them at the bottom of the table and Simeone quit. In between, Diego Maradona came from nowhere to be given the Argentina job.

Simeone has now been given the chance to resurrect his career at San Lorenzo, another of Argentina’s big clubs. But he has made a risky move.

San Lorenzo are in disarray, weighed down by debts and with an expensive squad of under-achieving players which is expected to be disbanded at the end of the current season in June.

He is going to have to rebuild it on a greatly reduced budget, yet the supporters’ expectations will remain as high as ever.

If Simeone can rebuild San Lorenzo, he will have put his career firmly back on track. If he fails, then San Lorenzo could go down the same path as the likes of Independiente and Racing Club, two other big clubs who have seen themselves overtaken by smaller rivals such as Lanus and Arsenal.

And if that happens, then Simeone will run the risk of becoming a journeyman coach who flits from club to club.

PHOTO: Diego Simeone, head coach of Argentina’s River Plate, looks down during their first-leg quarter-final Copa Sudamericana soccer match against Mexico’s Chivas Guadalajara in Buenos Aires, October 22, 2008. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

4-4 is the sort of scoreline that delights neutrals, TV companies and marketing executives but it’s not one that Liverpool fans will remember with any fondness.

A point from Tuesday night’s draw with Arsenal at Anfield was enough to take Liverpool top of the Premier League table on goal difference from Manchester United, but seeing as Alex Ferguson’s side have two games in hand it’s hard to see the title ending up anywhere but at Old Trafford.

There could still be room for a twist or two, of course, but United seem to have regained their defensive stability, just as Liverpool have lost their poise at the back.

As for Arsenal, the result was not as costly — they’re all but guaranteed fourth spot — and Andrei Arshavin’s four-goal performance was spectacular but their own defensive failings would have made very interesting viewing for United looking ahead to the Champions League semi-finals.

Altogether, a very satisfying night for Ferguson, I should say…

PHOTO: Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun reacts after the final whistle against Arsenal at Anfield, April 21, 2009. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Working to break through the clutter in the crowded North American sports market, Major league Soccer has teamed up with CosmoGirl.com to show off its best-looking young players, or "eye candy" as the website dubs them.

Fifteen MLS players, or "playas," are on display at the website of Cosmopolitan's teen magazine. Ranging in age from 19 to 27, the players are shown in photos both in action and relaxing off the soccer pitch.

The introduction: "Thought you had to travel abroad to look at some serious soccer hotties? Not anymore! We tracked down Major League Soccer's most talented guys-next-door and got them to reveal some serious dating dirt! Find out what these cuties are looking for in a girl while staring at their steamy pics."

For instance, Chance Myers (pictured), the 21-year-old Kansas City Wizards defender, lists his dating status as "taken" and reveals a girl who catches his eye is wearing "a sweet hat!." Meanwhile, 23-year-old goaltender Danny Capero of the New York Red Bulls calls kissing on the first date "absolutely necessary". (Sorry girls, he's taken).

Robbie Rogers, the single, 21-year-old midfielder for the Columbus Crew, when asked to describe himself in three words, replied: "That's easy...the three F's: fun, friendly and fysical!"

The MLS has held up relatively well amid the recession thanks to lower ticket costs. The 15-team U.S. professional soccer league has pushed ahead with expansion despite the slowdown, with plans to add teams in Philadelphia in 2010 and Vancouver and Portland in 2011.

MLS officials said the CosmoGirl.com campaign is part of the sport's efforts to branch beyond its 18-34 male target market and reach young women.

(Photo: MLS)

One of the most appealing aspects of football is that, unlike with most sports, you can find the passion of the game in almost every corner of the world, often hidden away in the most unlikely places.

What separates football from, say Formula One or tennis, is that even at the lower levels of the game you can still get the buzz of being a fan even without the top stars or the fully-serviced facilities.

On Saturday, after a long wait, I got my fix again watching Miami FC.

Before I began reporting on games for Reuters, I had spent most of my life watching lower level football as part of small but committed crowds in my native England and later in Hungary.

Having never been a regular visitor to Old Trafford or Anfield, I never missed the absence of a big crowd, wasn’t put off by the shambles of organisation, the crumbling stadiums in Eastern Europe, the lack of mass media interest or the knowledge that the players I was watching weren’t a patch on those who turn out in the Champions League.

(more…)

After bagging his 300th career goal last month, AC Milan’s Filippo Inzaghi has set his sights on Roberto Baggio’s tally of 318.

The 35-year-old hit a hat-trick in Sunday’s 5-1 thrashing of Torino in Serie A to take his total up to 304 and he looks good to achieve his target next season.

This got me wondering whether reaching a milestone set by a universally recognised great of the modern game will win over those still sceptical about Inzaghi’s talents.

Inzaghi’s goal feats often fail to receive the enthusiastic greeting they get in Italy outside his homeland, especially with British fans and journalists.

“English colleagues have often suggested that ‘SuperPippo’ was nothing more than a ‘poacher’ and a ’six-yard merchant’, with a marked penchant for taking a ‘dive’ to boot,” Irish Times correspondent Paddy Agnew wrote in his book Forza Italia.

Agnew, who has covered Serie A since the 1980s, argues that Inzaghi is no more of a diver than his colleagues who have played in the Premier League “Saint Michael Owen, Ruud Van Nistelrooy or Wayne Rooney included”.

But the accusation that he is little more than a goal-hanger may be harder to shake off. His first goal of the 2007 Champions League final against Liverpool, which he deflected in with his arm, is seen by many as a typical Inzaghi effort.

What critics fail to take account of is that Inzaghi’s knack of being in the right place at the right time is more than just luck, it stems from the understanding he has with his team mates and his superb ability to read the game.

What’s more, you don’t score 300 plus goals just by sticking out random body parts. Indeed, I’d says Inzaghi’s second strike in the 2007 Champions League final, where he rounded the keeper and coolly slotted in from a tight angle, was much more typical than his first.

And while he is not a playmaker forward in the mould of Baggio, scoring goals is not his only contribution, as displayed by the smart lay-off he produced to create Clarence Seedorf’s winner for Milan at Chievo Verona two weekends ago.

Inzaghi has already pulled off many achievements, including being part of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning squad, so I doubt that one more will dispel the reputation he has gained, in Britain at least, for simply being an expert poacher.

For blogs on other sports than soccer, check out http://blogs.reuters.com/sport

PHOTO: AC Milan’s Filippo Inzaghi celebrates with team mate David Beckham (R) after scoring against Torino during their Serie A match at the San Siro, April 19, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

After years of racist chanting from the stands, Italian soccer has finally realised it has a problem.

Inter Milan goalscorer Mario Balotelli, born in Palermo and of Ghanaian descent, was racially abused by sections of the Juventus crowd during Saturday’s 1-1 Serie A draw in Turin.

Fans sang “a black Italian does not exist” at the Italy under-21 international.

Maybe it is because the high-profile game was a top-of-the-table clash, maybe it is because Balotelli is Italian, but this time the revulsion felt by fans and the media is much greater than at any time in the past.

Monkey chants towards non-Italian black players are a reasonably regular occurence but clubs normally get just a small fine, like 8,000 euros, from the league. Media coverage is minimal.

This time even some Juve supporters are calling on the authorities to make an example of the Turin club and make them play games behind closed doors at the Stadio Olimpico or force them to move their matches to another stadium.

Making them play at another stadium might not be a huge punishment, though. Despite what Inter and AC Milan think, Juve are Italy’s biggest club and most of their fans are from the rest of the country not Turin. Being forced to play games in the south for example would please many Juve supporters who rarely see their team.

The newspapers expect nothing more than the usual fine but momentum is building with the police involved and Inter president Massimo Moratti saying he would have pulled his team off the pitch if he had been in Turin on Saturday.

Balotelli is a controversial character who likes to wind up opponents and fans but no one deserves the treatment he received.

UPDATE: JUVE MUST PLAY ONE GAME BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

PHOTOS: Inter Milan’s Mario Balotelli (C) celebrates with supporters after scoring against Juventus during their Serie A match in Turin, April 18, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

There is not much romantic about Everton’s current lineup, especially now they are operating without injured Spaniard Mikel Arteta, but the unceasingly honest boys in blue certainly injected some desperately-needed colour to this season’s FA Cup with their penalty-shootout win over Manchester United on Sunday.

Yes it was an awful semi-final, with neither team really testing the opposing goalkeeper, but at least Everton, and their fans, took it seriously.

If United’s reserves had gone through to play Chelsea, again, it would have been another nail in the coffin of a competition that used to be the highlight of the season.

Alex Ferguson decided to rest his big names to keep them fresh for Premier and Champions League action. Everton boss David Moyes couldn’t have done the same even if his team had anything else to play for.

So bye bye to Darron Gibson, Danny Welbeck, Anderson, Federico Macheda and Fabio and Rafael Da Silva. Their day will come, but, thankfully for lovers of the FA Cup and neutrals alike, it will not be Saturday May 30. (more…)