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Ferguson planning to retire in three years?

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that that he may step down in three years' time. By then Britain's most decorated boss will have spent 25 years at the helm at Old Trafford.
Ferguson has won 18 trophies after arriving at the club in November 1986 from Aberdeen - and remains anxious for more.
United are still in line for the treble for the first time since 1999 and face Portsmouth in the FA Cup tomorrow.
They are also aiming to retain their league title and have already booked a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League this week after beating Lyon.
Ferguson had initially planned to retire in 2005, only to change his mind.
That decision was vindicated as he rebuilt his side, going on to claim last season's Premier League crown.
Ferguson believes it will be time go when he is 69.
'I'm getting beyond the future now,' he told French radio.
'I still have a lot of passion. I'm still happy. But I'm 66 now - maybe three years more, then I'll finish.'
Ferguson said it was too soon to mark out his successor. But he added: 'I have a great assistant in Carlos Queiroz. He will come into the reckoning.
'But we have owners and a chief executive who will choose the new man in three years' time.'

Maldini may postpone retirement for a season

Paolo Maldini may reconsider his decision to retire at the end of the season, the AC Milan captain said on Thursday.

'I'm being pushed to play another year. Three months ago I was very unfit but now I am better,' the 39-year-old defender told Sky television. 'I like this sport, I like training.'
Milan's elimination by Arsenal in Tuesday's Champions League last 16 tie had looked like Maldini's last European match.
The one-club man, one of Milan's few good players on Tuesday, had been desperate to play in a record ninth European Cup final and pick up a sixth winners' medal.
Club president Silvio Berlusconi and chief executive Adriano Galliani want him to play another season and Maldini, who started his Milan career in 1985, is tempted.
'(They) are pushing me to continue for another year. We will see,' he said.

Blatter urges clampdown on leg-breaking tackles

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called for a major clampdown on players guilty of dangerous tackles - and the managers who encourage them.

Blatter believes reckless challenges are one of the biggest scourges of the modern game and insists there should be harsh penalties for the perpetrators, including criminal charges where necessary.
'Dangerous tackling is one of the most important issues in football at the moment,' Blatter told The Times. 'Players who do this kind of thing intentionally should be banned from the game.'
He added: 'Attacking somebody is criminal, whether it happens on a football pitch or elsewhere. It is a crime and should be treated as such.'
Blatter, who is to push for tougher refereeing ahead of Euro 2008, insists managers are often as guilty as the players who dive into challenges.
'The mechanism where this happens today is obvious,' he said. 'The pressure on the coach or manager to win is such that he encourages his players to go for victory at any cost.
'There is no microphone in the dressing-room, so he says, 'go, go, go'. Until when? Until the point where the referee intervenes.'
Blatter also reiterated his opposition to the Premier League's floundering plan for a 39th game, insisting he would not soften his stance.
'It is impossible that they can persuade me of this,' he said. 'They cannot do it.
'It is not only me who is against this, it is others, too. I represent the family of football and I will bring this to the Congress of Fifa if necessary.'

Beckham in 'perfect shape' for England return

Fit-again David Beckham is fully confident he can earn his 100th England cap in the friendly with France on March 26.

Beckham was left out of new manager Fabio Capello's squad for his first game in charge of the national side, a 2-1 victory over Switzerland, due to a lack of match fitness.
But the Italian hinted yesterday he expects the 32-year-old to be in contention to face Raymond Domenech's side in Paris, although he will assess Beckham in action prior to that when the Los Angeles Galaxy face FC Dallas in a pre-season game on March 15.
And Beckham, in Hong Kong for Galaxy's third game of a three-match Asian Tour, believes there will be no doubts about his sharpness, insisting that the decision will be purely down to form.
'Fitness-wise, I'll be perfect,' he said. 'But it's about performing and hopefully I'll do that.'
Beckham insisted he was relaxed over his England future despite his initial exclusion, after being reassured by Capello he would be in the frame for the France encounter, and is also confident he can extend his international career well beyond the Paris friendly.
'That's what he (Capello) said to me. I knew that from the conversation I had with him,' he added.
'He said that once I'm back playing and if I'm fit, and I'm playing well enough, then he'll pick me. With the first game after he took charge, I hadn't played any games and he explained that to me. I've played three games so far now and got through them all.
'I believe I can play for my country for a good few more years yet, that's just me being honest. I believe that I can still play at that level.
'The standard is slightly different in the US but it's not as low as everybody thinks. We've got some very good teams and very good players and we play some really good football so we'll just have to wait and see.
'But I believe I can play for my country for a good few years.'
If Beckham does join Peter Shilton, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton and Billy Wright as only the fifth player to pass the century mark for England, he admitted it will be one of the proudest moments of a career that has seen him claim titles in England and Spain along with the Champions League.
'Reaching 100 games and reaching 100 caps is very special,' he said.
'Being a proud Englishmen, it's something that I've always wanted to do since I was a young boy. I've always wanted to play for my country, I've always wanted to captain my country and I've always wanted to reach 100 games because there's not many players that have done that.
'It would be a proud moment if I did that but at the moment I'm working hard on my fitness and working hard with the Galaxy and if i get the 100th cap then great. But we'll just have to wait and see.'

No date for retirement, insists Ferguson

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is refusing to put a timescale on when he will step down as manager.

Ferguson indicated in an interview with French radio that he would bow out in three years.
However he played down the situation in his media briefing before the FA Cup match against Portsmouth tomorrow at Old Trafford.
He said: 'It is something I have said quite a bit. If your health is good and you are enjoying your job, it could be two or three years.
'I am not going to pigeon-hole myself on that one.
'It could be four years, it could be tomorrow. It is impossible to put a time limit on something like this.'
Britain's most decorated boss will have spent 25 years at the helm at Old Trafford, should he retire in 2011.
Ferguson has won 18 trophies after arriving at the club in November 1986 from Aberdeen - and remains anxious for more.
United are still in line for the treble for the first time since 1999 and are odds-on to defeat Portsmouth.
They are also aiming to retain their league title and have already booked a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League this week after beating Lyon.
Ferguson had initially planned to retire in 2005, only to change his mind.
That decision was vindicated as he rebuilt his side, going on to claim last season's Premier League crown.
'I'm getting beyond the future now, ' Ferguson told a French radio station. 'I still have a lot of passion. I'm still happy. But I'm 66 now - maybe three years more, then I'll finish.'
Ferguson said it was too soon to mark out his successor.
But he added: 'I have a great assistant in Carlos Queiroz. He will come into the reckoning.
'But we have owners and a chief executive who will choose the new man in three years' time.'
Ferguson can speak some French as well as a bit of Portuguese and has been putting his new language skills into practice.
'I enjoy speaking to Patrice Evra, Louis Saha and Mikael Silvestre because it helps improve my French, ' he told Red View.
'Portuguese is also quite prominent here and I am picking up a few words along the way.
'Carlos (Queiroz) can speak Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French and English..it's very handy.
'The joke around here is that in the dressing room the second language is English.'