Hamburg SV boss Martin Jol is keen to sign Didier Zokora for a second time, according to the latest reports out of Germany.

The ex Spurs manager is not exactly light in the pocket anymore after they grudgingly sold Dutch ace Rafael van der Vaart to Real Madrid and it being claimed that he now has his heart set on reuniting with Zokora.

The all-action midfielder joined the north London club in 2006 after impressing Jol – then at Spurs – with his displays for Saint-Etienne and the Ivory Coast, but the sense so far is that the 27-year-old is not as highly regarded by new boss Juande Ramos.

Added to this the now intense competition for midfield places at White Hart Lane, which has even prompted Ramos to use Zokora in defense during a recent friendly with Borussia Dortmund.

With Luka Modric, Jermaine Jenas, Giovani dos Santos, David Bentley, Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale all contenders for a midfield spot, something has to give, and if Jol is ready to cough up £8million this could very well be Zokora.

Ref From Derek Wanner, Goal.com

Recently-installed Valencia coach Unai Emery is confident that both David Silva and David Villa will be available for selection when he begins the new season at the Mestalla…

Villa and Silva, two of Valencia’s brightest stars, have been linked with transfers elsewhere after enjoying some spectacular matches at Euro 2008.

Emery, though, is convinced that the two still have a role to play for Los Che.

“They’ll play a significant part,” he said. “The club has already told me this.

“I’m convinced that they’ll remain an important part of Valencia CF. They’ll be Valencia players of important stature.”

The Basque coach concluded by saying that he was “ready and able” to lead Los Che back to the top half.

“The most important thing is that Valencia wants to return to winning ways… we’re going to work and focus on making it possible.”

Ref from Steve Michaels, Goal.com

By Andrew McKenzie
Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy’s opening goal in the win over Italy was legitimate, says Premier League referees’ chief Keith Hackett.

Van Nistelrooy looked yards offside when he prodded home from close range.

But it appears he was played onside by defender Christian Panucci, who was lying off the pitch at the time.

"The fact is the assistant was correct; the defender who slid off the field is still regarded as active," Hackett told BBC Sport.

"Christian Panucci went off through contact with his own goalkeeper (Gianluigi) Buffon. He is still considered part of the game."

Uefa general secretary David Taylor said Swedish referee Peter Frojdfeldt and his assistant Stefan Wittberg were absolutely correct in their interpretation.

He told a news conference: "There is a lack of understanding as to why this particular goal was awarded. In fact some television commentators have insisted the goal was clearly offside, but that is not the case.

"The player was not offside because in addition to the goalkeeper there was another Italian player in front of the goalscorer. Even though he had fallen off the pitch his position was still relevant for the purposes of the offside law.

"Not many people, even in the game, and I include the players, know this interpretation."

Van Nistelrooy stuck out a leg to poke home a Giovanni van Bronckhorst shot, after Italy had initially cleared the ball.

Italy’s players were furious with the decision and even the Dutch delayed their celebrations until they were sure the goal had been given.

Italy striker Luca Toni, who was booked for protesting, said: "I looked at the replay during the match and it looked to me as if it was offside.

Phil McNulty
"I said to the referee, ‘look at the replay’. But he didn’t look so that was that."

After the game, Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt admitted he was waiting for the goal to be chalked off for offside.

He told BBC Sport: "I thought it was definitely offside but Ruud told me Panucci was in the goal. Maybe he was behind the line but he is still included in the game so he is not offside. But I definitely thought it was at the time - I was looking at the assistant but he didn’t wave his flag so we were really happy."

Hackett’s comments were also backed up by the chairman of Austria’s refereeing commission Gerhard Kapl, who said the decision was "100% correct".

Ref From BBC