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Sunday 19 February 2012

Messi in Argentina squad for friendly against Swiss


Barcelona star Lionel Messi will headline Argentina s squad in an international friendly at Switzerland in Berne on Feb. 29. Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella announced the squad Wednesday, the same day FIFA s rankings came out showing his national team had fallen out of the top 10 for the first time since 2004. Argentina dropped to No. 11, one spot behind Denmark. Apart from Messi, the squad features most of Argentina s top players. They include Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano, Real Madrid forwards Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain, and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero.

Quit Arsenal if you want to win, Ibrahimovic tells Van Persie


AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Saturday urged Arsenal captain Robin van Persie to jump ship if he wants to win anything. Van Persie’s side were thrashed 4-0 by Ibrahimovic’s Milan in the San Siro on Wednesday, to effectively end the London club’s Champions League hopes. The Dutch international has almost single-handedly kept Arsenal afloat this season and Ibrahimovic warned that if he wants to win anything, he needs to leave London, just as Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas did last summer. “When you don’t win anything for years, people understand why you leave like Cesc Fabregas,” the Swede told The Sun. “Football is all about winning. If you don’t win you want to go. I don’t know Robin personally but I remember him from Holland and what a talent he was – now he is complete. “I don’t know what he is thinking but I know what I would do. “I have made a lot of moves in my life – I take it as a challenge, an adventure. “And I have won eight titles in eight years with different clubs in different countries. “But if you stay in one place all your life it is easy to play football. “You are at home, you are in the comfort zone. “But if you move to five different places it is a real test. If you succeed that’s when you become a real champion, that’s when you get more respect.”

FIFA security director leaves for Qatar job


FIFA security director Chris Eaton is leaving football s governing body just weeks after he launched a global campaign to fight match-fixing. FIFA says Eaton will join the Qatar-based International Center for Sport Security in May. Eaton was expected to lead FIFA s yearlong campaign to investigate corrupt players, coaches, referees and football officials after a spate of match-fixing allegations in dozens of countries. Eaton, a former detective from Australia, had brought a new rigor to FIFA investigations since he joined from the police liaison agency Interpol ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The ICSS advises governments and sports federations on security issues.