Another Sad News In the History of football

Stiliyan Petrov, the Aston Villa midfielder and club captain, has been diagnosed with acute leukaemia less than a week after complaining of feeling ill, following the defeat against Arsenal.  Aston Villa's Captain Stiliyan Petrov diagnosed with acute leukaemia. Petrov developed a fever shortly after the game at the Emirates and was sent to London earlier this week for extensive blood tests. The Bulgarian international was still hoping to be fit to play against Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, while awaiting the results of the tests. As defeat against Arsenal last Saturday.

The 32-year-old club captain had been hoping to secure a new two-year contract with the club after telling manager Alex McLeish he still believes he can operateat the highest level until his 35th birthday, but now the hugely popular leader in the club dressing room faces a fare more daunting challenge.

His representatives Base Soccer Agency received a telephone call shortly after 12 noon on Friday afternoon and Petrov simply said: "I have got Leukaemia."That triggered a sequence of events with Villa executives being charged with the responsibility of handling the delicate situation regarding their captainand compiling an official statement to confirm the devastating news.

A statement issued on the club website confirmed: "The Villa Board received news today that our long-standing captain Stiliyan Petrov has been diagnosedwith Acute Leukaemia.

"Stiliyan developed a fever following the Arsenal game last Saturday and subsequently underwent tests conducted by Dr Ian McGuinness. Haematologyexperts confirmed the diagnosis today.

"We expect to learn more about Stiliyan's situation in due course and wehave moved quickly to support him and his family. During this time we ask thatStiliyan's privacy is placed ahead of all inquiries and trust that we willshare information as we receive it.

"Stiliyan is cherished by many and he will get from Villa every ounce oflove and support that we have to help bring this to a positive conclusion."

Petrov joined Villa in an £8m transfer from Celtic in 2006, when he becameMartin O'Neill's first signing as manager in and he was the central figure inguiding Villa to three top six finishes during the O'Neill era.

His existing contract with the club is due to expire in 2013 and his representatives werehoping to negotiate an extension at the end of the season, but are now chargedwith examining the details of termination of career payments and insurance payouts.

What A Pleasant Gift for Monaco Against The Fish

Monaco Defeated Mardy Fish Who is In top 10 rank And even though it was his Birthday And what a surprise  was it for him.Juan Monaco celebrated his 28th birthday in style Thursday, cruising into the Sony Ericsson Open semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 8 seed Mardy Fish.

The 21st seed dropped serve just once, and capitalized on five of his nine break point opportunities to dispatch the 2011 Miami semi-finalist in 83 minutes, moving ahead 3-2 in their FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series.

"It was unbelievable," said Monaco. "I think the way to celebrate my birthday, playing like this like I did today, [I] feel proud and very happy [to] be here on my birthday."

Monaco is through to his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final, having advanced to the final four at the Shanghai Rolex Masters in 2010 (l. to Murray).

The loss marked Fish’s first defeat in seven Masters 1000 quarter-final appearances.

"He did a lot of things well today," said Fish. "I think more than anything else, he shrunk the court extremely well with his movement, and that's why I think you saw a ton of errors from me."

The Argentine will look to reach the title match at Crandon Park when he plays defending champion Novak Djokovic or fifth-seeded David Ferrer on Friday.

"I'm feeling great, playing well," Monaco said. "They're both such good players. I have to see the match, [as] I'm a friend of these two guys."

Sharpova in the finals

4-6 6-2 6-4  win for Sharapova against Carloine Wozniacki sends her to 4th final of The Sony Ericsson Open.The Russian will play Agnieszka Radwanska in Saturday's final after the Pole beat France's Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-2 to reach the biggest final of her career.

Second seed Sharapova, who has lost in all three of her previous finals in Miami, will start as clear favorite after another solid showing against Wozniacki.

The Russian was ahead early but lost the first set after her serve disappeared, allowing Wozniacki to win five consecutive games and take command of the match.

But the Russian recovered in the second set, striking the ball with impressive power.

"I could have easily, after losing a few straight games, let concentration down, I could have easily just gone down in the second set," said Sharapova.

"But I really stepped it up again. I went out there and started being aggressive. I didn't stop after I put myself in a good position. I'm extremely pleased that I pulled it out today."

Wozniacki stuck at her task however and with Sharapova serving for the match at 5-3 she broke, forcing two errors out of the Russian after winning a rally with a magnificent backhand cross-court winner.

The Dane held serve and then faced Sharapova serving for the match again.

There was a controversial finish when Sharapova's serve at 40-15 was initially ruled out but the call was overruled by the chair umpire, who ordered the point to be replayed.

Wozniacki, whose return had found the net, protested the decision but with no challenges remaining she was stuck with the verdict and Sharapova subsequently wrapped up the win with a smart volley.

"Overall I'm pretty happy with my game," said Wozniacki, who beat Serena Williams in the quarter-finals. "This week I have been playing some really good tennis. And obviously you love to win and I didn't do that today."

Radwanska dominated from the outset against a determined Bartoli and took advantage of the 35 unforced errors from her French opponent.

The Pole was well set at 4-2 in the second set when the lights went out on stadium court and there was a 20-minute delay before play resumed and Radwanksa booked her place in the final.

Sharapova has won seven of the eight previous meetings with Radwanska.

Barcelona Upset from Milan's Pitch

Barcelona have complained about the San Siro pitch.Pep said:"Milan should take some measures," "We play where we are told to play, but I do not think that Inter and Milan want a pitch with these conditions."It is sad for the spectacle, but to be champions we must overcome all adversities. We have done this many times, although people say otherwise."A Barcelona statement has said:"FC Barcelona has lodged a complaint with UEFA over the state of the pitch at the Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) stadium during the ChampionsLeague match,"Arsene Wenger also complained about the pitch.Ac Milan responded by saying:''With reference to the protest lodged by FC Barcelona regarding the condition of the pitch at the SanSiro, AC Milan wishes to communicate that:

''1) The watering of the pitch within an hour

before kick-off, as agreed in the organisational

meeting yesterday morning, was not done due to

the already high levels of humidity of the pitch.

''2) The general state of the pitch, which the

Barcelona team trained on the previous evening

without any problems, was declared to be

acceptable by the referees and the UEFA

delegates.''

Srilanka defeats England and lead series 1-0

Srilanka Defeated England and lead the series now by 1-0 in tests. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath claimed a career-best match haul of 12 wickets to bowl Sri Lanka to a 75-run victory in the first test on Thursday as England slumped to their fourth defeat in a row.

The world's top-ranked side, beaten 3-0 by Pakistan in their most recent series and chasing 340 for victory here, were bowled out for 264. Man of the match Herath took six for 97 to add to his first-innings return of six for 74.

Jonathan Trott's century gave England a great chance to pull off an unlikely win until the match took a dramatic turn in the last 20 minutes before tea when they lost three wickets for seven in 24 balls.

They were 259 for eight at the interval and Sri Lanka wrapped up victory in seven deliveries after tea.

Herath's spin partner Suraj Randiv had James Anderson (5) caught behind before removing last man Monty Panesar for a duck with the next ball.

The 34-year-old Herath picked up his first 10-wicket haul in his 36-test career but Sri Lanka were indebted to three outstanding catches on Thursday.

Randiv had the defiant Trott (112) brilliantly caught low down at leg slip by Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Trott had mixed caution with aggression, hitting 10 fours in his 266-ball vigil.

LEADING EDGE

He survived a caught and bowled chance off Herath on 62 when the spinner failed to hold on to a leading edge.

Herath broke a threatening fifth-wicket partnership of 81 between Trott and Matt Prior (41) when he had the England wicketkeeper superbly caught at short-leg by Lahiru Thirimanne.

Prior attempted a sweep but the ball got stuck in the fielder's midriff and he hung on for the catch.

Samit Patel was then expertly caught for nine by Dilshan at cover and Herath followed up by trapping Graeme Swann lbw for one in the last over before tea.

Earlier, England lost Kevin Pietersen (30) and Ian Bell (13) in the morning session after resuming on 111 for two.

Sri Lanka struck in the third over of the day when Pietersen, stifled by tight bowling, went down the track to Randiv but only managed to spoon a catch to Mahela Jayawardene at short mid-wicket.

His dismissal ended a third-wicket stand of 70 with Trott.

Bell hung around for more than an hour before he was given out lbw to Herath despite playing forward at full stretch.

The ball dipped late and hit Bell low on his pads, a decision which he reviewed unsuccessfully as he trudged off convinced he had made contact.

The second and final test in Colombo starts on Tuesday.

Jesse Ryder gets a chance to prove himself

Jesse Ryder Has got a chance in IPL 5 As his team is Pune warriors.The left-hander, who had taken an indefinite break from cricket to resolve his alcohol-related problems, will be supported by his manager Aaron Klee and clinical psychologist Karen Nimmo on his trip to India. 

"Jesse has been making steady progress over the past few weeks. While the IPL has clear challenges, and is a big step, I believe he's ready to take it," Nimmo said. 

"Cricket is Jesse's job and what he's good at, so I was keen to see him return to the game as soon as practical, but only with the right structures in place," he said. 

Earlier this month Klee in a statement had revealed that the cricketer has pulled out of Wellington's squad for their Plunket Shield match against Northern Districts and had not decided on his return to the competitive cricket. 

The announcement came a week after Ryder was dropped from the New Zealand squad for the third ODI against South Africa for breaking the team protocol, which restricts a player from consuming alcohol while rehabilitating from an injury. 

The 24-year-old was also left out of the Test series that followed the three-match ODI rubber. 

After losing to South Africa in the second ODI at Napier, Ryder along with Doug Bracewell went to a hotel and were found in a verbal duel with a patron there. 

"Team protocols dictate that players who are rehabilitating from injury should not consume alcohol and unfortunately both players went to a Napier hotel following the conclusion of the match," New Zealand Cricket (NZC) had said in a release. 

"Also, while at the hotel both players verbally reacted to taunts from a member for the public," the release added. 

The incident was the latest addition to Ryder's indiscretions, which has always found him in the headlines for the wrong reasons. 

Meanwhile, Klee said Ryder was going to try his best to overcome the issue. 

"Karen is travelling to India the day after Jesse and will continue her work with him there while I'll be going over a little later to carry that work on," Klee said. 

"The franchise has been wonderful and Jesse is desperate to perform on and off the field, and get his career back on track," he added. 

Ryder's inclusion in the team will be a big boost for the Sourav Ganguly led side, which has been left a bit depleted in the aftermath of Yuvraj Singh's absence from the cricket field due to a rare germ cell cancer. 

NZC chief executive David White supported Ryder's move to be a part of the cash-rich league. 

"It's really positive that Jesse has reached the point where he is ready to play competitive cricket again," he said. 

Gomez And Robben Helps the German to win by 2-0

Mario Gomez & Arjen Robben Got 1 goal each to give high advantage in 2nd leg Of QF.

Gomez put Bayern ahead with his 11th goal of the competition just before halftime, with Marseille goalkeeper Elinton Andrade to blame for letting the ball slip under his body, and Robben scored a clinical second in the 69th after a quick one-two with Thomas Mueller.

Out of form, hampered by injuries and suspensions, and jeered by it own fans, Marseille barely tested Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer at Stade Velodrome as it slipped to its eighth defeat in the last nine games.

Andrade, Marseille's third-choice goalkeeper, was playing instead of the suspended Steve Mandanda and looked nervous in the first half, spilling an easy catch and hacking a routine clearance away for a corner instead of down the field.

When Gomez struck from the edge of the area, the ball came straight at Andrade, yet he let it roll under his arm and into the bottom right corner. Andrade was playing only his ninth game in three years, and it will be one to forget.But not for Gomez, who has been in prolific form with 23 goals in the league, and moved one behind Barcelona star Lionel Messi in the Champions League scoring charts.

Marseille's fans were in unforgiving mood and refused to encourage the players at the start of the game, even holding up one banner, which said: "Ce soir on est comme vous: on ne sert a rien" (Tonight we're just like you: good for nothing). Other banners, bearing the names of supporters groups, were held upside down in protest.

They did not spare Bayern winger Franck Ribery, either.

He had hoped for a warm welcome from the fans who worshipped him when he played for Marseille from 2005-07, but his name was jeered as soon as the stadium announcer read it out, and then every time he touched the ball.

Marseille had its only clear-cut chance early on when Neuer palmed away Andre Ayew's header and striker Loic Remy, shaking off a thigh injury to start up front, smashed the rebound into the side netting.

After 20 minutes, the fans' strike was over and they started chanting for Marseille, which tried to drag the German side into a physical battle. Marseille closed down space well and stopped Bayern from developing any sort of fluency, and was also winning some crunching tackles in midfield.

Ayew broke free down the left and shot into the side netting in the 28th, although it would have been difficult for the Ghanaian winger to beat Neuer from such a tight angle. Remy's drifting runs and movement off the ball kept Bayern's center halves busy, but the supply to the France forward was often predictable and Bayern dealt easily with long balls over the top.

After a brief spell on top, Marseille fizzled out and Bayern took the lead in the 44th minute after a Marseille move broke down.

Winger Mathieu Valbuena lost the ball to right back Philip Lahm, who passed it to Ribery, who in turn fed Robben down the right. The Dutchman played in Gomez, who took his chance with a drive that squirmed under Andrade - while his teammates continued to complain that the ball had hit Lahm's hand in the build-up to the goal.

Andrade's confidence was clearly shaken after his blunder and, when Robben lobbed a pass over the defense for Mueller to chase in the 52nd, he was slow to come off his line. But Mueller could not keep the ball down. Andrade did atone somewhat for his error when he kicked away Mueller's shot in the 58th.

Marseille coach Didier Deschamps brought on Brazilian striker Brandao with 20 minutes to go and pushed Remy out wide right, but it made little difference.

Robben made the game safe after swapping passes with Mueller on the edge of the penalty area and curling the ball past Andrade. Ribery turned to applaud the Bayern fans after he came off late in the game to a chorus of whistles from the Marseille fans.

Robben was in fine form, darting down the right late on and blazing the ball over when Gomez was in a better position. But with one foot in the semifinals, and having pulled to within one goal of Messi, it was hardly the moment for Gomez to complain.

Andy Murray To meet Rafa after winning The quarter

A close Encounter between Murray And Tipsarevic Came to Conclusion As Murray defeated Tipsarevic By 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 ."Today's match was really important for me to get through after how it was going, [fighting] back after being a break down a few times in the second set," Murray said. "And then also, at the end of the third set when I was up a break, he had  break point in a tight game, and I came up with some big serves and served my way out of trouble, which is important."
After falling behind 2-4, Tipsarevic reeled off six straight games to take a set and a break lead against the 2009 Miami champion. But Murray battled back to win the second set, and converted the lone service break in the final set to prevail over the Serbian in two hours and 39 minutes. With the win, the Scot improved to 5-3 versus Tipsarevic.
"[They were] tough, tough conditions. But I thought I struck the ball pretty well from the back of the court," said Murray. "I was hitting it pretty clean but needed to make better shot selection.  Because of the wind, I was maybe trying to hit it too close to the line and not building the points as much I needed to. So when I did that, I did a bit better."
Murray is bidding to win his second title of the year, having triumphed in Brisbane (d. Dolgopolov) to begin his season. He also finished runner-up to Roger Federer in Dubai and was edged out by eventual Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller at Melbourne Park.