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SAO PAULO (AP)—Pele has expressed concern over delays in the preparations for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, saying they could cause an embarrassment for the country.

Pele said at a news conference Friday that Brazil has the “obligation of staging a good World Cup but unfortunately everything is delayed.”

He said Brazil is facing a “big risk of being embarrassed” because of delays in the modernization and renovation of Brazil’s overcrowded and saturated airports, and concerns over some venues.

He singled out the case of Sao Paulo, which was to host the World Cup’s opening match but where construction of a new stadium is behind schedule after FIFA ruled that the existing Morumbi venue didn’t meet standards.

Agences de presses

Labels: Brazils, embarrassment, fears, World

{ • Tottenham manager weighs up transfer gains and losses
• 'We have not had goals from our front players this year'

Mike McGrath guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 February 2011 22.29 GMT Harry Redknapp was at a loss to explain a move for Blackpool's Charlie Adam with only 20 minutes of the window left open. Photograph: Geoff Caddick/EPA

Harry Redknapp fears that Tottenham Hotspur's chances of Champions League qualification are under threat after missed opportunities in the transfer market.

The Spurs manager made it clear he did not wish to criticise his chairman, Daniel Levy, yet would not disagree with the Everton manager, David Moyes, who described a £500,000 bid for Phil Neville as "insulting". "It was a pretty low offer for a good player," Redknapp said. "I couldn't argue with David on it."

Redknapp was also at a loss to explain why a move for the Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam came with 20 minutes of the window left open. "I don't know. Pass," the manager said. "At 10.40pm I'm ready to go to the hotel back to bed, suddenly we're going to sign Charlie Adam and I thought: 'We haven't got a lot of time here.' And we ran out of time."

Redknapp snapped up Rafael van der Vaart on deadline day of the first window of this season. But this time around he was watching rolling news on television while one of his previous targets, Andy Carroll, moved to Liverpool. "It was funny watching it on Sky, Newcastle were pushing the price up by the minute and they were probably doing cartwheels in the boardroom," Redknapp said.

The arrival of Carroll and Luis Suárez at Liverpool means Redknapp expects them to be a direct threat for a Champions League place, while Chelsea are now title contenders again after signing Fernando Torres and David Luiz. "At the start of the month, before the window, I felt the championship was up for grabs," Redknapp said. "It's going to get harder because the other teams are looking stronger with the strength of their squads.

"People were talking about Chelsea dropping out of the top four but by signing Fernando Torres Roman Abramovich has said: 'I don't think so.' I can see them being close to winning the league. Liverpool are still contenders for a top-four spot. Andy Carroll is a talent. He is a big, powerful centre-forward who could be a great hit at that club."

Redknapp was thought to be undecided on some of his targets, such as the Holland midfielder Mark van Bommel, and £140,000-a-week wages for Diego Forlán prevented him from recruiting the Uruguay striker. Signing a forward was a high priority after six league goals from Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko this season but Spurs missed out on Carroll, Forlán, Giuseppe Rossi and Sergio Agüero.

"I think if we found the right player we would have done something," Redknapp said. "I don't know what offers we made for these players. We have not had goals from our front players this year. It has been a problem."

There are problems in defence, too, for Redknapp and he confirmed that Ledley King requires surgery to cure his groin injury. Younes Kaboul will also need an operation following knee problems. Michael Dawson is suspended for tonight's trip to Blackburn, so Jonathan Woodgate could make his first appearance for 14 months after his groin injury. "He will be involved somewhere but I have it in my mind to throw him in at the deep end," Redknapp said. "He could start."

Redknapp admitted that Bongani Khumalo, one of two pieces of business Spurs managed in January, was not ready to play in the Premier League after his move from the South African team Supersport United. "Adapting? It's not adapting, it's whether you're good enough," Redknapp said. "He wants to be a player. He is a young kid really with loads to learn but he wants to learn and has the raw talent."

Agences de presses

Labels: Chelsea, fears, Guardian, Harry, Liverpool, Redknapp, reinforced, topfour

{
Eoin Morgan was due to see a specialist today to learn whether he has any chance of competing for England in the World Cup, which starts in Asia in 12 days.

Morgan, arguably the team's most important one-day batsman, is the latest name added to the list of injury concerns for coach Andy Flower after X-rays showed he had fractured the middle finger of his left hand during the fourth one-day international against Australia in Adelaide on 26 January.

Depending on the specialist's verdict, Morgan might still be retained in the squad, even if he is not ready to play a significant part in the first phase of the World Cup. Regardless of the 24-year-old's talents, it is a substantial risk to include an injured player in a small squad, especially when there are also other men struggling.

Morgan left Perth before England's 57-run defeat by Australia at the WACA yesterday, which sealed a 6-1 series defeat for Andrew Strauss' Ashes winners. The remaining players are scheduled to arrive at Heathrow tomorrow.

Yet while the heavy defeat will concern Strauss and Flower, it is the number of injuries sustained during the campaign that provides greater cause for alarm.

Morgan is the sixth member of England's 15-man World Cup squad with doubts over his fitness just 15 days before their tournament opener against Holland in Nagpur, India. Paul Collingwood (right) is struggling with a back problem, while bowlers Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring), Tim Bresnan (calf) and Graeme Swann (back) have missed some of the one-day series. Stuart Broad has not played since tearing a stomach muscle during the Second Ashes Test in Adelaide in December.

Strauss admitted that the extent of Morgan's injury had caught England's back-room team unawares. "They went for an X-ray and I think everyone was reasonably surprised to see it was quite a substantial fracture. There's obviously a chance that he's not going to feature [in the World Cup]. He just thought it was bruised. He got on with it but just when he was thinking it would start feeling better it got worse and it was restricting his play.

"He is important, particularly in sub-continental conditions, because he is able to clear the ropes. Potentially, it is a big loss for us. Hopefully there will be an opportunity for him to play. If he isn't available, someone is going to have to fill those shoes."

England's build-up for the World Cup has been chaotic, then, but it does not compare with that experienced by Pakistan.

Former captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were all banned for five years over the weekend for their part in the spot-fixing scandal at Lord's last summer, with Amir and Asif ruled to have bowled no-balls deliberately during that game. Amir, 18, is due to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat is sure the World Cup will be free of more scandal as the anti-corruption unit are beefing up their presence at the tournament.

He said: "The vast majority of players are honest and are not seeking to make gains out of untoward means. However, we are alive to what could come to the fore in terms of corruption. I am satisfied we will have measures in place at the World Cup [to deal with that]."

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Agences de presses

Labels: cause, England, fears, London, Morgan