World Cup One Twos

L-R: Zinedine Zidane and Hugo Chavez

LAHM, SCHWEINSTEIGER STAYING PUT
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm are not for sale, Bayern Munich sports director Christian Nerlinger said in the wake of interest from major clubs in the two.
Premier League champions Chelsea are reportedly pondering a bid for the midfielder Schweinsteiger and the German World Cup captain Lahm has in the past been linked with Spanish champs Barcelona.
But Nerlinger told Monday's edition of Kicker sports magazine that "Lahm and Schweinsteiger are our crown jewels. They are not for sale!"
Schweinsteiger, 25, and Lahm, 26, are under contract in Munich until 2012. They were both impressive in Germany's 4-0 rout of Australia in their World Cup opener on Sunday, which could lead to more interest after the event.
ZIZOU BLASTS THE FRENCH
French footballing legend Zinedine Zidane has attacked the country's World Cup stars for not playing as a team. He also accused Raymond Domenech of "not being a coach".
"I did not see any team play," said Zidane in an interview with French television channel Canal+ late Sunday about France's opening goalless draw with Uruguay.
"The players should control themselves and leave their egos to one side. There was no team play. They did not play for each other. Always trying to do things on your own is not good," he said.
The 37-year-old who played his last game for the national team in the 2006 World Cup final also criticised coach Domenech, suggesting he was capable of picking the players but not organising them.
Zidane said: "He is not a coach, he just picks the players. He should concern himself with making sure the players work as a team. But ultimately it is the players that have to show what they can do on the pitch."
France play Mexico in Polokwane on Thursday and Zidane added: "Only as a team can we succeed. Each player has to help his team- mate. No player can do everything alone."

CARRAGHER CALLS FOR CALM
Centre-back Jamie Carragher on Tuesday called on England fans to have faith in manager Fabio Capello after widespread criticism of the Italian in the English media.
Capello was widely blamed for the selections of James Milner, Rob Green and Ledley King in Saturday's 1-1 draw against the United States in Group C.
But Carragher, who replaced King at half-time, is firmly behind the manager.
"Look at his record," Carragher said. "He's Fabio Capello: look at what he's done in his career and what he's done up to now with England."
He dismissed the thought that the pressure would have any effect on the England manager.
"I'm sure Fabio Capello will be fine," he said. "He's been manager of Real Madrid and AC Milan. He's seen it all before."
Having won nine titles in 14 years at club level, Capello dragged England from the gloom that surrounded their failure to qualify for Euro 2008 so they qualified for the World Cup at the top of their group, having scored seven more goals than anybody else in the European section.

WORLD CUP FEVER HITS VENEZUELA
Even Hugo Chavez has to take a back seat during the World Cup. The Venezuela president put back his daily address to the nation on Sunday so that it did not clash with any matches.
The weekly radio and television programme "Alo presidente" is usually broadcast at 11 am but it was switched to 6 pm to allow the Venezuelan people to watch events in South Africa.
Chavez announced the scheduling change via his social networking account on Twitter. He also congratulated Diego Maradona for Argentina's success against Nigeria saying: "Well done Argentina! It could have been five goals. Congratulations comrade Maradona."

PORTUGAL DENY NANI COVER-UP
Portugal have denied suggestions that there were any secret motives for the country's decision to send injured winger Nani home from the World Cup.
Nani has told reporters, "I'll be fine in a week" and questions have been raised after Nani travelled to South Africa with the injury and even trained with Carlos Queiroz's squad for two days.
Portugal are adamant that concerns over the player's fitness were the only factor in their decision to replace Nani ahead of the tournament.
"There is no attempting to hide anything, there was only the hope that he could have recovered," Portuguese federation vice-president Amandio de Carvalho said.