Soccer Advice Tips

Fabio Capello fears Wayne Rooney is cracking up under the strain of spearheading England's World Cup bid.

Manchester United striker Rooney had his worst game for his country in the goalless draw with Algeria in Cape Town on Friday night – and Capello has warned that he is not untouchable.

The England boss insists that Rooney is 100 per cent physically fit following the injury problems that hampered him in the final weeks of United’s season.

And in an amazing assessment that could come back to haunt him, the Italian said that Rooney’s problems are “of the mind”.

Capello said: “Rooney is completely fit. In training you have to send him to the dressing room.

“Every time, he wants to stay on the pitch longer than all the other players.

“He is perfect when it comes down to fitness. It's not a problem of fitness, it is a problem of the mind.”

Capello feels that Rooney isn't the only England player struggling to cope with the expectation the nation's players are under.

But without his top striker firing on all cylinders, he will face the biggest test of his two-year reign to secure the victory over Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday that will keep England in the tournament.

Rooney hasn't scored in six appearances at the World Cup finals. The 24-year-old failed to hit the target in four games in Germany four years ago after winning his race against time to recover from a broken metatarsal.

And Rooney has not looked like hitting the target in draws against the United States and Algeria here in South Africa.

In fact, Rooney's last tournament goal was seven games ago when he bagged a double against Croatia at Euro 2004 – when he was a teenage Everton player.

It is inconceivable that Capello will go into the must-win clash in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium without the squad’s most prolific marksman. Rooney has scored 25 goals in 60 appearances for England.

But he hasn’t found the target in his last eight internationals, stretching back to the 5-1 win over Croatia at Wembley last September.

Rooney hasn’t scored in his last eight outings for club or country since he hit United’s goal in the Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich on the night he was injured.

Capello added: “Rooney is not untouchable and I can also change things during the game. I will prepare we for this very important game that stands before us.

“But, yes, I am surprised that the players are not coping with the pressures.

“How can I improve the performance of the team? That’s a good question. In training it’s perfect. When we play it’s not the same.

“The fear of the World Cup is in the minds of the players. It’s incredible.

“These are not the players I know. I want to see the spirit of the team. It hasn’t been there during the World Cup.”

Chelsea were last night close to agreeing a £5.5m deal with Liverpool to sign midfielder Yossi Benayoun as replacement for Joe Cole. The Double-winners, who last week announced they would let Cole and Michael Ballack leave on free transfers, hope to confirm the signing of Benayoun by the end of the week.

On the face of it, the move is a puzzling one. Benayoun, 30, is two years older than Cole, and has failed to cement a regular first-team place at a Liverpool side that finished seventh last season. Yet Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti clearly believes the Israeli international is a better bet in Chelsea's midfield next season. Benayoun has verbally agreed terms on a four-year deal worth around £55,000 a week, and is due to have a medical at the club's training ground later this week.

The news comes on the day Chelsea won another victory in their fight to sue their former striker Adrian Mutu for £14.3m, although the Romanian international is not giving up yet. Mutu will continue to contest Chelsea's attempts to claim compensation after he tested positive for cocaine 2004, despite the latest setback when the Swiss Federal Court ruled in the Premier League club's favour.

Reports from Romania yesterday claimed Mutu's agent, Victor Becali, is looking into taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights. However the player's cause is looking increasingly to be a losing one, after yesterday's judgement in Switzerland that ruled the striker must pay Chelsea the full sum in compensation.

Mutu, 31, who is currently on holiday in the Dominican Republic with his wife Consuelo Matos Gomez, a Dominican model, has been fighting a protracted legal battle with Chelsea ever since the Premier League club sacked him for taking cocaine in September 2004. Fifa, the Court of Arbitration for Sport and now the Swiss Federal Court have all found in Chelsea's favour, setting a remarkable precedent that could have far-reaching consequences for all sportsmen.

The ruling makes players directly responsible for maintaining the value of their transfer fee, which in Mutu's case was £15.8m in 2003, but for other players is worth far more, for instance Cristiano Ronaldo's world record £80m move from Manchester United to Real Madrid last summer. In the past, the size of the transfer fee was of little concern to the player, but the Mutu case has changed that.

Jamie Singer, a partner with sports law firm Onside Law, believes the case is unique. "It is a worrying development for players. It's certainly one hell of an incentive for players to behave themselves," he said. "There is now a link between the transfer fee and a player's liability. The value of the transfer fee is generally nothing to do with them but it is the market value of a player's registration. This ruling means players can be liable if, by their actions, they reduce that value."

Gordon Taylor, the chief executive the Professional Footballers' Association, is also concerned that Mutu is being held liable for the transfer fee that Chelsea paid to Parma. "I find it extremely bizarre bearing in mind that sum was what one club paid to another club, and not what the player received. He was banned from the game and that would normally be considered punishment in itself," Taylor said.

Mutu failed a routine FA drugs test at Chelsea's training ground in September 2004. Chelsea sacked him and he received a seven-month ban from football. When the suspension was up he resumed his career first at Juventus and then at Fiorentina.

Chelsea initially wanted £22.6m in damages, which reflected the £21m transfer fee they paid to Manchester City in June 2005 to sign Shaun Wright-Phillips as Mutu's replacement. Mutu defended himself by claiming Chelsea had singled him out for unfair action. Fifa ruled for Chelsea, and then when the CAS upheld Fifa's decision, Mutu claimed the CAS judges were not impartial. The Swiss Federal Court however did not agree. "This was not the case, therefore the appeal of the Romanian footballer was unfounded," it said yesterday.

Spain 0 
Switzerland 1 Fernandes 52 

Switzerland stunned European champions Spain in the first big upset at the World Cup with a narrow win in the teams' Group H opener in Durban.

Despite the Spaniards dominating possession, the Swiss took a surprise lead in the 52nd minute with Gelson Fernandes firing past goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Spain's Xabi Alonso was denied by the crossbar in the 71st minute as his team wasted a hatful of chances to restore parity.

Switzerland's Eren Derdiyok struck the far post in the 75th minute but his hard-working team held on for an historic win in front of 62,000 spectators at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The Swiss assured themselves of victory with an efficient performance that relied on making the most of their limited chances.

Spain went into the contest considered favourites to win the World Cup in South Africa.

Barcelona's Andres Iniesta passed a late fitness test and started in Spain's midfield line.

Iniesta was the driving force behind Spain's play while David Villa, in the role of lone striker, was a non-factor in the opening half.

The Swiss were forced to play in their own half by a Spain side that controlled the tempo from the start.

The Spaniards came closest to scoring, with Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio brilliantly denying Gerard Pique's close-range effort from Iniesta's pass midway through the first half.

At the other end, Reto Ziegler's free-kick forced Casillas to dive to his left to clear.

With 10 minutes to go before half-time, the Swiss suffered a setback with Steve Von Bergen replacing an injured Philippe Senderos.

Spain had the opportunity to break the deadlock on the stroke of half-time but Villa's cross-cum-shot from inside the area went wide.

Vincente Del Bosque's team picked up where they left off after the re-start and Alonso's strike took a deflection off a defender and went over the bar.

Shortly after, Silva fired wide as another opportunity was not taken advantage of by Spain.

They were made to pay for their missed chances as Switzerland broke the deadlock soon after.

Derdiyok's pass was cleared by Casillas but the ball fell to Fernandes, whose first shot was stopped by Pique but he made no mistake at firing home from close range at the second attempt.

Spain reacted and on the hour mark, Sergio Ramos' header from a corner went over the bar.

Two minutes later, Spain made a double substitution with Fernando Torres and Jesus Navas entering the pitch.

Spain should have restored parity in the 67th minute.

A fast counter-attack by the Spaniards saw Villa serve Torres but his curled effort went over the bar.

Shortly after, Benaglio made a great save from Torres' strike.

Spain were then unlucky not to equalise with Alonso seeing his 25-yard drive hit the woodwork.

Seconds later, Matas surged inside the area and fired straight into Benaglio's arms.

At the other end, Derdiyok got past Pique and Puyol before seeing his close-range effort hit the far post.

The Swiss held on as the Spanish players left the pitch stunned.