Asian Football Confederation chief Mohamed bin Hammam began his new four-year term as a FIFA executive committee member this week keen to mend fences with his most ardent critics.

But, as the dust settles on one of the most bitter election campaigns seen in football, he insists he will never change his controversial style of leadership.

So disillusioned were almost half of the AFC s 46 member nations in the way the Qatari runs the regional football body that they voted against him last Friday at their congress in a key show of dissent.

They said he was a dictator, that there was no transparency in what he was doing and argued that local football associations were not getting enough money.

At the forefront of the criticism were two powerful and influentia…

The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) on Thursday dismissed reports that Franco-Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic was due to step down from his role in charge of the Ivory Coast national team.

The executive committee of the FIF would like to clarify that Mr Vahid Halilhodziv is under contract with Ivory Coast until the end of qualification for the 2010 African Cup of Nations and World Cup, read a statement from the FIF seen by AFP.

In any case, the FIF is committed to safeguarding the interests of the national team and reaffirms its strong will to make qualification for the African Cup of Nations and World Cup its main priority.

Vahid Halilhodzic informed the president of the FIF, Jacques Anouma, after the match against Burkina Faso (a 3-2 victory for Ivory Coa…

Javier Tebas and Joan Laporta traded opinions over LaLiga s planned deal with CVC Capital Partners – an agreement Barcelona have criticised despite the added funds it will provide.

LaLiga announced the private equity firm will acquire a 10 per cent stake in a new business that will take control of most activities, with the focus on commercial ventures.

The deal, which values LaLiga at €24.3billion, was approved unanimously by the executive committee and is set to be proposed to the general assembly.

However, both Barca and rivals Real Madrid have denounced the proposal, citing concerns over what impact the tie-up will have on television rights.

Laporta aired those concerns himself on Friday when speaking about Lionel Messi s departure from Camp…

Slaven Bilic has backed his Croatia side to burst England s World Cup bubble by exploiting what he has identified as a missing link in the make-up of Fabio Capello s squad.

England s fortunes have been transformed under Capello and, after seven straight wins in their qualifying campaign, can clinch top spot in group six and a place in next year s finals by beating Bilic s men at Wembley on Wednesday.

Croatia, in contrast, are struggling to claim a play-off spot and it all seems a very far cry from November 2007, when Bilic s men claimed a famous 3-2 at Wembley to deny England, then managed by Steve McClaren, a place at Euro 2008.

The Croatian coach however is far from ready to accept that Capello has made England unbeatable.

They have some advantages bu…

Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic wants to see the unbeaten Premier League leaders become the new Invincibles .

Jose Mourinho s men have been the standout side this season, unbeaten through 13 league games and six points clear at the top.

After their 0-0 draw at Sunderland on Saturday, Chelsea remain on track to emulate the unbeaten 2003-04 Arsenal side.

Matic admitted there is added pressure with that record on the line, but said his side were welcoming it.

We are in a determined mood and there is more pressure for us because we want to go through the season unbeaten. We want to be the new Invincibles, he told The Mirror.

I want to win every game if possible. People can say the unbeaten record is putting more pressure on us. But I would rather …

Cristiano Ronaldo added the latest record to his hugely impressive resume with another goalscoring performance against Morocco.

Ronaldo s diving header after four minutes of Portugal s 1-0 World Cup Group B win saw him surpass the great Ferenc Puskas as the most prolific European of all-time in international football.

Now only one man, Ali Daei, stands above Ronaldo on the all-time international goals list, and few would back against the Real Madrid superstar getting past his mark of 109 before his stellar career is done.

Here we take a look at the five most prolific talismen in international football.

ALI DAEI (IRAN) 109

Daei was prolific throughout his international career, scoring 109 times in 149 games for Iran. The former Bayern Munich and …

Following their shocking 2-2 draw against Mozambique on Monday, Ghana have finished third in Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations with just two points from three games played. They were two goals up when the 90 minutes expired, but they conceded twice in injury time to drop the advantage completely.

Their chances of going through to the round of 16, though still a mathematical possibility, are extremely slim, and the representatives of the media were not happy after the game. Not to mention the rest of the nation.

CAF security has called for reinforcement. The media just want to meet the team.

We are not leaving until they come.

We won’t tolerate this level of embarrassment and wastage again.

If powers won’t do, we will let them know how it f…

Costa Rica manager Rodrigo Kenton is positive that his side can beat Mexico and advance to the final of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

In an interview with FIFA.com, Kenton gave his view on Thursday s semi final game and Costa Rica s performance in general.

In the first few games we didn t look too bright, it s true, but that s the way it is sometimes when you re using new players. We were unlucky in our loss to El Salvador. Now, though, we ve righted the ship. Every game is life or death and the players have responded to the challenge very well, the coach said.

Maybe it s not so bad to start off a little sluggish, because then you can really improve with every game. You have the room to get better, and I think we ve built up our self belief.

The 54-year…

Two goals from Ivan Perisic saw Inter come from behind to beat Udinese 2-1 at Stadio Friuli on Sunday.

The Croatia international cancelled out an opening goal from Jakub Jankto late in the first half before steering in a late header to give the visitors a fifth win in a row in all competitions.

Stefano Pioli had urged his side to start 2017 in a manner that would give them real belief in the hunt for the top three but it was Udinese who were by far the better team in the first half in Udine.

The home side, unbeaten in their previous four games, took a deserved lead through Janko and should have added to the tally in the opening half-hour, with Rodrigo de Paul hitting the post and Janko shooting just wide.

Perisic snatched Inter s equaliser seconds before …

Mikey Johnston has left Celtic on loan to join West Brom as Brendan Rodgers trims his squad.

Marco Tilio rejoined Melbourne City on loan on Wednesday and David Turnbull was set to follow the two wingers out of Celtic Park with Cardiff expecting to wrap up a permanent transfer for the midfielder.

Celtic were still to announce the the loan signing of Norwich and Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah as the transfer window went into its final hours after the 22-year-old arrived in Glasgow on Wednesday.

Rangers are expected to complete the signing of 20-year-old Colombia winger Oscar Cortes on loan from Lens with an option to buy after he arrived in Glasgow.

The Light Blues look to have been thwarted in their bid to land Brazilian left-back Jefte from Flumine…