Dogan Group renews Turkish media rights

UEFA announced today the award of the 2012–15 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League media rights in Turkey to the Dogan Group.

The DSmart platform will deliver a strong programming base for both UEFA club competitions. Every week a significant choice of live match programmes and matchnight highlights programmes will be broadcast across the platform in order to provide Turkish viewers with comprehensive UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League coverage.

To complement the DSmart coverage, the first-choice UEFA Champions League game each Tuesday, the best UEFA Europa League match each Thursday as well as the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League finals will be shown on a free-to-air basis on a combination of Star TV and NTV. The free-to-air programming will also include a highlights programme every Tuesday, for the UEFA Champions League, and every Thursday, for the UEFA Europa League.

DSmart internet and mobile services will be used to exploit the rights to all games in line with UEFA's platform neutral approa

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Chelsea's cup king Cole in no mood to lose

Ashley Cole is optimistic about his prospects of reaching a seventh FA Cup final and has warned Chelsea FC's last-four opponents Tottenham Hotspur FC that "there are not a lot of losers" in the Blues squad.

With a record six FA Cup winners' medals to his name, Cole is out on his own when it comes to individual success in the oldest domestic cup competition in the world. The England left-back spoke to UEFA.com ahead of Sunday's semi-final with Tottenham about the extra motivation of a London derby, and why he believes Chelsea, with whom he lifted the trophy in 2007, 2009 and 2010, have the edge.

"Playing against Spurs in the semi-final is going to be a great game, there's going to be a great atmosphere," said Cole, who was also a member of the side that eliminated Tottenham in the 2007 quarter-finals.

"We have had joy over the seasons playing against Spurs. But on a bigger pitch it is going to be harder to stop the likes of [Gareth] Bale, [Aaron] Lennon and [Rafael] van der Vaart. Spurs have done well, Harry [Redknapp] has done very well there. Their players seemed to push on and progress this season, but we've just got to know it is our chance now."

Cole, 31, was a doubt for Sunday's trip to Wembley because of an ankle injury yet has been declared fit by interim boss Roberto Di Matteo. Now he says the overriding feeling in the Chelsea camp is one of determination, and insists their experience of this situation gives them an advantage.

"It is one game away from being in the FA Cup final, and we know what it's like to win, we know the feeling," the defender added. "Not just me, but a lot of players here have fond memories of the FA Cup. We also know what it is like to lose, and there are not a lot of losers in this squad and in this team. We don't like losing. Of course we know how it is against a rival team – it is going to be a tough game – but we think we are good enough to win it."

This, of course, is not the only last-four encounter facing the Stamford Bridge outfit as Di Matteo's charges have the daunting prospect of a UEFA Champions League semi-final against FC Barcelona, starting on home soil on Wednesday. "We can't think about that," explained Cole. "We've just got to go in and try to get to the final of the FA Cup. I have had great memories of the FA Cup and I want to go back to another final."

Fernando Torres, meanwhile, has never got further than the fourth round before and is excited by the prospect of running out at Wembley. "It'll be the first time I play at Wembley with an English team," the forward told UEFA.com. "I have played there with the national team, but never with Liverpool or Chelsea.

"Tottenham have a good side and the coach has been doing great work to get the best out of his players. In the two [league] matches against them we managed to get two draws. It will be a very balanced match. We have been fighting against Tottenham for a Champions League spot, and now for the cup. It's a nice tie. I think both teams are pretty similar, and whoever is luckier in terms of the performance of their players will have a good chance to win."

There is sure to be no love lost in the other Wembley semi-final either, as Liverpool FC and Everton FC meet in a Merseyside derby on Saturday lunchtime. The two clubs have pedigree in this competition: the Reds' seven titles edge out the Toffees' five, and they are both targeting a 14th final appearance. Liverpool have the fonder recent memories, having collected the trophy in 2006, while Everton have contested just one final since they last won the cup in 1995 – the 2-1 defeat by Ashley Cole's Chelsea in 2009.

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Schaefer returns to Köln in place of Solbakken

Following a disappointing run of results that have taken the club into the lower reaches of the Bundesliga, 1. FC Köln have replaced boss Ståle Solbakken with former coach Frank Schaefer.

Solbakken, who enjoyed a productive five-year tenure at previous team FC København – guiding the Danish outfit into the knockout stage of last season's UEFA Champions League – has been unable to find the same degree of success at the Bundesliga side he joined in the summer.

Following a ten-match sequence in which Köln have managed just one league win and slipped to 16th in the 18-team table, the club have called time on the 44-year-old Norwegian's reign. "Avoiding relegation in the final stage of the season is the only priority," said Werner Wolf, director of Köln's supervisory board. "Parting company with Ståle Solbakken is a regrettable but inevitable step. Our team need a boost for the fight against relegation."

The man chosen to steer the northern German side out of trouble is Schaefer, who enjoyed a fruitful, if brief, spell in charge after taking over from Zvonimir Soldo between October 2010 and April 2011. The 48-year-old stepped down for personal reasons, however, becoming chief scout instead.

"Frank Schaefer proved last season that he can motivate the team to perform at a top level," said Köln chief executive Claus Horstmann. "He knows the players and now has the task of mobilising all our energies so the team can pick up the points required to avoid relegation. He is also very popular with the fans and their support will be much needed in what is a difficult situation."

Köln have four games remaining to preserve their top-flight status, beginning with Sunday's trip to fourth-placed VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, followed by encounters with VfB Stuttgart, SC Freiburg and, lastly, UEFA Champions League semi-finalists FC Bayern München.

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Ronaldo treble secures Madrid derby spoils

A hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo helped settle the capital derby in Real Madrid CF's favour as the Merengues restored their four-point lead at the Liga summit with a 4-1 win at Club Atlético de Madrid.

José Mourinho's team responded to FC Barcelona's 4-0 defeat of Getafe CF 24 hours earlier with a victory that extends their unbeaten record against the Rojiblancos to 23 matches in all competitions. They opened the scoring when Ronaldo (25) fired a dipping free-kick past Thibaut Courtois, only for Falcao (55) to head in Adrián López's cross.

The Portugal striker doubled his and Madrid's tally on 68 minutes with a dipping, right-footed effort from outside the penalty area, and completed his seventh Liga treble of the campaign from the spot after Diego Godín had barged over Gonzalo Higuaín.

Ronaldo – now on 40 league goals for the season, the total with which he won the ESM Golden Shoe last term – turned provider for José Callejón late on.

Elsewhere, Jonas scored twice as Valencia CF climbed into third courtesy of a 4-1 defeat of Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, while fifth-placed Levante UD wasted the chance to move into fourth, losing 3-2 at strugglers Real Sporting de Gijón. Granada CF against Athletic Club finished 2-2.

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Del Piero steals the show to send Juventus top

A free-kick from Alessandro Del Piero on his 700th Juventus appearance earned the Bianconeri a 2-1 win against S.S. Lazio and a return to the top of Serie A.
Simone Pepe (30) gave the hosts the lead when he drifted in behind the Lazio defence, collected Andrea Pirlo's clipped pass and acrobatically fired in from close range. The advantage lasted all of 15 minutes, however, as Stefano Mauri met Lionel Scaloni's whipped cross with a powerful header.
With eight minutes left, up stepped Del Piero to curl a free-kick into the bottom corner and seal a win that puts his side a point clear of AC Milan, who on Tuesday prevailed 1-0 at AC Chievo Verona.
"We are in the final stages of the battle, we won't give up and neither will [Milan]," Del Piero said. "I feel fine in the head and in my legs and I'm just thinking about the next game."
AS Roma were the other big winners of the evening, goals in the last four minutes from Francesco Totti and Marquinho securing a 3-1 triumph over Udinese Calcio. The win means the Giallorossi leapfrog SSC Napoli – who lost 3-1 to Atalanta BC – into fifth.
Elsewhere, FC Internazionale Milano overcame AC Siena 2-1, Calcio Catania lost 2-1 at home to relegation-threatened US Lecce, Parma FC beat Novara Calcio 2-0, while Genoa CFC and ACF Fiorentina drew with AC Cesena and US Città di Palermo respectively.

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Dogged Milan reassume pole position

AC Milan reclaimed pole position in Serie A, two points clear of unbeaten title rivals Juventus, with an obdurate 1-0 win at ninth-placed AC Chievo Verona.

After a draw at Calcio Catania and a home defeat by ACF Fiorentina in their previous two matches, Massimiliano Allegri had seen his side leapfrogged at the summit by Juventus.

However, despite being dogged by a raft of suspensions and injury problems that ruled out, among others, Massimo Ambrosini, Alberto Aquilani, Luca Antonini, Thiago Silva, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Alexandre Pato, Milan bounced back in Verona.

Sulley Muntari's eighth-minute goal, a thumped strike into the bottom corner from long range, and the alertness of goalkeeper Christian Abbiati proved the difference at the Stadio Bentegodi, as a makeshift Rossoneri lineup – which included 19-year-old Serie A debutant Mattia De Sciglio – was given a thorough examination by the Flying Donkeys.

Second-placed Juventus play their game in hand at home to S.S. Lazio in one of eight fixtures to be played on Wednesday.

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Guidolin: Inilah Saatnya Udinese!

STRIKE BOLA -- Udine: Tidak ada opsi lain bagi Udinese untuk kembali menempati peringkat empat besar klasemen sementara alias tiket terakhir ke Liga Champions musim depan yang kini diduduki Lazio, selain meraih kemenangan saat bertandang ke Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi, markasnya Chievo Verona, Minggu (15/5) siang waktu setempat.

Di mata allenatore tim Francesco Guidolin, partai tersebut merupakan laga penentu peluang Zebrette untuk tampil di ajang bergengsi. Pasalnya, di Liga Champions musim depan, Italia hanya diwakili tiga tim.

“Jika kami menginginkan posisi empat besar, hanya kemenangan yang bisa membuka jalan ke arah itu. Kami sadar tidak mudah bagi kami untuk meraihnya. Namun, kami pun tahu benar jika kali ini merupakan kesempatan unik bagi kami. Jangan lupa, jika musim depan hanya tiga tim teratas di Serie A yang berhak lolos ke ajang Liga Champions. Jadi, inilah saatnya bagi Udinese untuk meraihnya atau tidak sama sekali,” tegas Guidolin.

Andaikata Udinese mampu menyingkirkan rival terdekatnya Lazio dan AS Roma, maka Guidolin bakal mencicipi turnamen Liga Champions untuk kali pertama. “Kami pantas menduduki posisi yang sekarang kami tempati. Tidak ada tim yang memberikannya kepada kami. Kali ini, saya tidak mau tim melakukan kesalahan. Saya berharap anak-anak mampu mengantarkan saya ke kompetisi yang belum pernah saya rasakan sebelumnya,” aku Guidolin.

Menjelang laga tersebut, Udinese hanya mendapat gangguan dengan masih berkutatnya bintang mereka asal Cile Alexis Sanchez dengan cedera engkel yang dialaminya. Sepanjang pekan ini, Sanchez berlatih terpisah dari Antonio Di Natale dkk. Namun, Guidolin tetap memasukkan Sanchez dalam daftar pemain.

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Pasquale Marino Dikontrak Genoa

STRIKE BOLA -- Roma: Pelatih sepak bola Itali Pasquale Marino geser Alberto Malesani.Ia ditunjuk untuk mengasuh Genoa, menggantikan Alberto Malesani. Langkah tersebut diambil karena Malesani, menghasilkan banyak kekalahan bagi klub asuhannya. Marino pun merasa bangga dan tak dapat menutupi rasa gembiranya bisa bergabung di klub besar itu. Demikian Menurut konfirmasi dari website Seri A belum lama ini.

"Berada di klub besar seperti Genoa adalah hadiah terbesar yang bisa saya bayangkan untuk Natal," ungkap Marino.

"Itu semua terjadi sangat cepat. Saya dihubungi Kamis(22/12) pagi. "Saya ingin berterima kasih kepada presiden klub (Enrico Preziosi) dan klub atas kepercayaan mereka menempatkan saya disitu, untuk menjadikan saya pelatih mereka, saya tidak sabar untuk mulai bekerja," imbuhnya dengan bangga.

Penggantian Malesani itu terjadi setelah serangkaian hasil buruk bagi klub yang dipimpinnya, terakhir klub itu mengalami kekalahan 6-1 di Naples pada Rabu (21/12) malam. Padahal pertandingan tersebut adalah pertandingan terakhir mereka, sebelum libur panjang musim dingin selama dua pekan. Jadi tak ada harapan lagi untuk klub itu memperbaiki keadaan.

Marino yang kini berusia 49 tahun, dikontrak Genoa hingga Juni 2013. Klub Genoa menduduki peringkat kesepuluh di Serie A dengan 21 poin dari 16 pertandingan. Klub tersebut membuntuti klub AC Milan dengan 13 poin. (BBC/ARI)

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