Ferguson relishing Barcelona test

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is excited by the prospect of playing Barcelona after his team defeated Roma in the Champions League.

Carlos Tevez scored as United won the second-leg 1-0 to secure a 3-0 victory on aggregate over Roma - and set up a semi-final tie with the Catalan giants.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Ferguson. “I think that we have something special in our team.

“We cannot go to Spain and be negative, we must be positive.”

United last met Barcelona in the Champions League in 1998 when their group encounter at the Nou Camp ended in a 3-3 draw.

But United won the Champions League final at the Nou Camp in 1999, with a spectacular 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich.

The first leg of this year’s tie will also take place in Spain, on 22 or 23 April, with the return leg at Old Trafford on 29 or 30 April.

Barca defender Carles Puyol will be missing from the first leg after picking up a yellow card in the 1-0 win over Schalke.

Beckham left out of England squad

David Beckham has been left out of Fabio Capello’s first England squad to play Switzerland on 6 February. It means Beckham will be left still searching for his 100th cap, although Capello has not fully closed the door on the 32-year-old former captain.

Capello, who also dropped Beckham at Real Madrid, is thought to have had doubts over his match fitness.

The Italian will name his provisional party at 1530 GMT on Thursday, with the final squad announced on Saturday.

Beckham has not played a competitive game since England’s Euro qualifying defeat by Croatia on 21 November.

However, Beckham has been training at Arsenal and told BBC World in Brazil on Tuesday that he “is as fit as I can be. I’m fit and sharp and I’m ready to be selected”.

Klinsmann handed reins at Bayern

Former Germany boss and World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann will take over as coach of Bayern Munich next season. Klinsmann will replace Ottmar Hitzfeld, who is due to step down from the post at the end of the current campaign.

The appointment marks Klinsmann’s first foray into club coaching after he guided host nation Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup.

He had been linked with the vacant Newcastle job and, earlier in the season, with Chelsea and Tottenham.

The 43-year-old was also viewed as a dark horse to succeed Steve McClaren as England national coach before the appointment of Fabio Capello.

He won 108 caps for his country. He scored 47 goals for Germany, 11 of which came in three World Cup campaigns.

Shearer plays down Newcastle link

Alan Shearer is extremely unlikely to be the next manager of Newcastle, sources close to the former Magpies captain have confirmed to the BBC. Shearer has been tipped to succeed Sam Allardyce but he is said to be very happy with his job on Match of the Day.

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp has also been linked with the job but has insisted it was pure speculation.

“There’s nothing in my being linked with the job. I am happy on the south coast,” he told the News in Portsmouth.

“I have not spoken to anyone from Newcastle. I really do not know anything about this.”

When asked by BBC Radio Solent whether he was interested in taking over at St James’ Park he said it was a “hypothetical question”.

Regardless, Redknapp has been made the even-money favourite by several bookies.

Mourinho out of England running

Jose Mourinho has ruled himself out of the running to become England coach. The former Chelsea boss revealed he had held talks with the Football Association following Steve McClaren’s dismissal last month.

But in a statement on his agent’s website, Mourinho said: “After serious thought, I decided to exclude myself despite it being a fantastic position.

“I’m sure the FA will hire a great manager, one able to place the team back where it belongs.”

Mourinho said he had had “useful discussions” with the FA’s chief executive Brian Barwick and director of football Trevor Brooking.

He said: “We exchanged ideas to evaluate the entire situation about the England squad and set the goals in case of a real approach.”

Man City ponder swoop for Adriano

Manchester City chairman Thaksin Shinawatra has revealed they are pondering a move for Inter Milan’s unsettled striker Adriano. Thaksin told reporters in Hong Kong: “We’re looking to see whether we’ll do a swap deal or not.

“Adriano was a top player, but he lost form when his father died, and he put on weight. Now he’s returning to form.”

Thaksin also said City will target a midfield man as well as Inter’s 25-year-old Brazil international.

Uefa to take action on Anderlecht

Uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Anderlecht following an incident during Thursday’s match against Tottenham. Spurs’ Didier Zokora appeared to be hit by objects thrown from the crowd during the 1-1 Uefa Cup draw at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in Brussels.

Goalkeeper Paul Robinson also picked up a metal rod which he handed to the fourth official after the match.

Spurs boss Juande Ramos later expressed his concern for his players’ safety.

The Belgian side have already been fined for crowd disturbances during a Champions League qualifier earlier in the season against Fenerbahce and Uefa officials will take previous cases into consideration when they meet.

Beckham ‘would accept’ 2018 role

David Beckham would be willing to work as the official face of the Football Association’s 2018 World Cup bid if he is approached. The former England captain, 32, worked as an ambassador to promote London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Beckham is yet to discuss any role with the FA but BBC Sport understands the governing body wants him on board and he would be happy to support it.

The LA Galaxy star has won 99 caps and captained England from 2000 to 2006.

He is hoping to claim his 100th cap in February’s friendly against Switzerland.

As English football’s most famous face, Beckham’s presence on the bid team would be a boost to the FA’s hopes.

Benayoun urged to rescue England

Liverpool duo Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard have told team-mate Yossi Benayoun to restore England’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008. England need Benayoun to help Israel to beat or draw with Russia on 17 November to stand a realistic chance of reaching the finals in Austria and Switzerland.

“Me and Stevie have been getting into him,” Crouch told his club’s website.

“We’re trying to keep him fresh for the Israel game. Hopefully he will do us a job against Russia.”

Beckham returns to England squad

David Beckham has been recalled to England’s squad for the friendly in Austria and the final Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia. If Russia beat Israel and Andorra - and Croatia avoid defeat in Macedonia on 17 November - England cannot qualify even if they beat Croatia four days later.

Beckham has recovered from injury and England coach Steve McClaren said: “We need big-game players like David.”

Captain John Terry and striker Wayne Rooney are both out with injuries.

Rooney dropped out of the squad after picking up an ankle injury while training with Manchester United on Friday.