“Our members will be highly delighted by this news,” said Alex Knight, the chairman of the Hearts Shareholders’ Association “It is a huge sum to us.”. Scottish Media Group Plc yesterday became the latest British television company to buy into a club when it bought an initial 19.9 per-cent stake. Everyone who has seen him agreed he is one of the best players of his age they have ever seen. The talks went well and Carlos was keen to join us.”
Marinelli’s signing is compensation for Middlesbrough after the French international Ibrahim Ba decided against a loan move from Milan.Sheffield Wednesday’s striker Benito Carbone returned to training at Hillsborough yesterday, nine days after walking out on the club. Carbone refused to be a substitute before the defeat at Southampton, leading to him leaving The Dell and flying back home to Italy.He remains transfer-listed as Wednesday look to sell him on before he is able to sign a pre-contract agreement in January, allowing him to leave for free next summer.Yesterday’s pounds 8m cash boost for Hearts has received an unqualified thumbs- up from Tynecastle fans.
MIDDLESBROUGH HAVE signed the Argentine Under-18 international midfielder Carlos Arturo Marinelli, who has been described as the “new Maradona” – for pounds 1.5m. Boro’s manager Bryan Robson clinched the capture of Boca Juniors’ outstanding prospect on a visit to Buenos Aires Marinelli has agreed a five-year contract He will arrive in England this week for training Robson said: “The boy has huge potential. The veteran libero is due to leave German football and join Major League Soccer’s New York-New Jersey MetroStars in December, but he may go sooner. “If they [the club] believe I am responsible for any trouble, they can release me from my contract straight away,” he said last week.. He will be hoping for a calmer game in Liege tonight, when his side meet Morocco in another friendly.Waseige will be looking for a better result against the north Africans than the one gained by the Dutch in a friendly in Arnhem in April, when Morocco gained an unexpected 2-1 win. The Coventry City pair of Youssef Chippo and Mustapha Hadji are likely to start for the visitors, who will be backed by plenty of expatriate fans.The Dutch international midfielder Edgar Davids has been given clearance to carry on playing for his club, Juventus, the Italian Olympic Committee announced yesterday.Davids had been suspended pending a decision by football’s world governing body, Fifa, on whether he could use diamox, a treatment for glaucoma which contained a banned diuretic.
He played against Belgium on Saturday, when he scored a spectacular goal, wearing a pair of black plastic goggles to protect his eyes.Lothar Matthaus may not receive a warm welcome when he returns to Bayern Munich after Germany’s game against Northern Ireland tomorrow.The 38-year-old, who famously fell out with Jurgen Klinsmann, is in trouble again after a recent clash on the training ground with Bayern’s French full-back Bixente Lizarazu, who reportedly slapped Matthaus. Kluivert had a happier game this time, scoring a hat-trick.It was a dramatic debut for Belgium’s new coach Robert Waseige, who replaced the hapless Georges Leekens last month after the Red Devils had slump to No 33 in the world rankings. Belgium’s Lorenzo Staelens and the Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert, who clashed in last year’s World Cup when the latter was sent off, continued their feud, and Staelens in particular was lucky to stay on the pitch. The joint hosts of next year’s European Championship drew 5-5 in a bad- tempered encounter which saw nine players booked and a red card for Belgium’s Marc Wilmots. The distinctly unfriendly friendly was disfigured by several dangerous tackles, mostly by belligerent Belgians.
Wilmots, who was sent off for a rash assault on Boudewijn Zenden, could have been joined by other early departures. Kallis reached his century off the first ball of the final over – it took him 129 deliveries.Michael Slater will not be returning to Derbyshire next season. The Australian joined the club in 1998 but scored only two first-class centuries in two seasons.