KAKA - FIFA Player of the Year 2007

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, popularly known as "KAKA" - Brazil and AC Milan's playmaker has simply been the outstanding footballer of 2007 and proved that claim by winning the FIFA Player of the Year award (The FIFA World Player of the Year is a football award given annually to the male and female player who are thought to be the best in the world, based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams.) on Monday, in Paris. Kaka had already been named European Footballer of the Year and took another award from World Soccer magazine.

“It's a very special day for me. When I was young, I dreamt of being a professional footballer for Sao Paulo and playing for the Brazilian national team,” said the attacking midfielder after receiving the award.

The 25-year-old Kaka starred in AC Milan's run to the European Champions League title, then the European Super Cup and the recent Club World Cup.

Kaka plays in the style of a classic number 10 such as legends Pele, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane, whom so many youngsters dream of emulating.

Kaka, comes from a comfortably off family in Sao Paulo, not from the slums which have produced so many top Brazilians, and aged just 20 played in his first World Cup in 2002 where Brazil won the title for the fifth time.

His talent was as obvious and he was a key component of AC Milan's 2003/2004 Italian league winning team which finished 11 points ahead of AS Roma.

He was the main contributor in Ac Milan's Europiun Championship last year, his strike rate of 10 goals in 13 matches in the Champions League helped AC Milan avenge their defeat to Liverpool in the 2005 final.

As his career has progressed, he has become more fluent in his movement, has continually improved technically and has generally got better and better in all departments. He is constantly targetted by top European club to include in thier team. Real Madrid offered AC Milan 90 million euros (123 million US dollars) for Kaka.

Kaka, the highest earning footballer in Italy, "has never wanted to leave and I believe that he will never do so... Kaka is the symbol of Milan," AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi said.

The AC Milan playmaker, who is expected to sign a new contract with the Italian giants in the coming weeks that will keep him at the club until 2013, was also crowned player of the Club World Cup following Milan's successful campaign in which they beat Argentinian side Boca Juniors 4-2 in the final.

Kaka's impressive individual honours list for 2007 now includes the FIFA Player of the Year, Ballon d'Or, World Soccer Magazine, UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and FIFPro World Player of the Year.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old compatriot Marta was named Women's FIFA Player of the Year for the second year running.

Muraltharan Breaks Shane Warne's Record

Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan becomes the highest wicket taker in the history of Test Cricket, leaving behind Australia's Shane Warne's Record of 708 Wickets.

He bowled out England's Paul Collingwood as his 709th wicket on the third day of the first cricket match at Asgiriya Stadium , Kandy, Sri Lanka on Monday 3rd Decembber, 2007.

Murali achieved the record in his 116th Test and on his home ground, which had been eagerly awaiting the historic moment over the first two days of the Test.

The 35-year-old off-spinner is now the highest wicket taker in the history of test cricket with 709 wickets with an average of 21.77 and economy rate of 2.41. He has also a unique racord of taking 5 wickets in an inning 60 times and 10 wickets in a match 20 times.Shane Warne took 145 test matches with an average of 25.41 and economy rate of 2.65 to reach the land mark.

It is the third time Murali has held the wicket-taking record, having originally passed Courtney Walsh in 2004 before briefly sharing the mark with Shane Warne. He then claimed it outright for the second time against South Africa until a shoulder injury allowed Warne to move back to the top against India and Muralitharan has been chasing him since. This time there is no one close to knocking him off and with a tireless appetite for the game 1000 wickets is a possibility.

World Cup 2010 Souht Africa - Qualifying Draw

A thrilling Preliminary Draw to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa took place in Durban on Sunday, with 170 teams discovering their tasks.

England paid the price for their failure to reach Euro 2008 on Sunday when they were drawn with Croatia again in one of the toughest qualifying groups for the 2010 World Cup.

European Zone World Cup qualifying groups:

Group 1: Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Albania, Malta

Group 2: Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia, Luxembourg

Group 3: Czech Republic, Poland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia, San Marino

Group 4: Germany, Russia, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein

Group 5: Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia, Estonia

Group 6: Croatia, England, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Andorra

Group 7: France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania, Austria, Faroe Islands

Group 8: Italy, Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia, Montenegro

Group 9: Netherlands, Scotland, Norway, FYR Macedonia, Iceland

(Top teams in each of the nine groups qualify directly with the eight best runners-up entering two-leg play-offs for four further spots).

North and Central America Zone World Cup qualifying groups:

Group 1A: Dominica v Barbados

Winner plays United States

Group 1B: Turks and Caicos v St Lucia

Winner plays Guatemala

Group 1C: Bermuda v Caymen Islands

Winner plays Trinidad and Tobago

Group 1D: Aruba v Antigua and Barbuda

Winner plays Cuba

Group 2A: Belize v St Kitts and Nevis

Winner plays Mexico

Group 2B: Bahamas v British Virgin Islands

Winner plays Jamaica

Group 2C: Dominican Republic v Puerto Rico

Winners plays Honduras

Group 2D: Canada v St Vincent and Grenadines

Group 3A: American Virgin Islands v Grenada

Winner plays Costa Rica

Group 3B: Surinam v Montserrat

Winner plays Guyana

Group 3C: El Salvador v Anguilla

Winner plays Panama

Group 3D: Nicaragua v Netherlands Antilles

Winner plays Haiti

Asian Zone World Cup qualifying groups:

Group 1: Qatar, Iraq, China,Australia

Group 2: Thailand, Oman, Bahrain, Japan

Group 3: Turkmenistan, Jordan, North Korea, South Korea

Group 4: Singapore, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia

Group 5: Syria, UAE, Kuwait, Iran

All group winners and group runners-up advance to the next stage.

Africa Zone World Cup qualifying groups:

(South Africa as hosts are already qualified)

Group 1: Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Tanzania, Mauritius

Group 2: Guinea, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya

Group 3: Angola, Benin, Uganda, Niger

Group 4: Nigeria, South Africa , Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone

Group 5: Ghana, Libya, Gabon, Lesotho

Group 6: Senegal, Algeria, Liberia, Gambia

Group 7: Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Botswana, Madagascar

Group 8: Morocco, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mauritania

Group 9: Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Seychelles

Group 10: Mali, Congo, Sudan, Chad

Group 11: Togo, Zambia, Eritrea, Swaziland

Group 12: Egypt, DR Congo, Malawi, Djibouti

The 12 group winners and the eight best runners-up will contest the next stage in the qualification process.

England is out of Euro 2008 Finals

England, one of the most popular football team in Europe is out of the Euro 2008 in a shocking way. The nation that invented modern soccer, which plays at a stadium that styles itself as "the venue of legends," had failed to qualify for next year's European Championship.

Needing only a draw at home in its final qualifier, England go down 2-3 by Croatia. England allowed two quick goals, then rallied in the second half, getting an equalizer off David Beckham's cross to Peter Crouch. But Mladen Petric scored in the 77th minute, giving Croatia a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night that prompted a new round of soul-searching for soccer's Mother Country.

Beckham, Gerrard, Michael Owen, John Terry, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard are all described as the best players of their generation. But they fell short over a 15-month qualifying campaign.

McClaren started with goalkeeper Scott Carson - in just his second international appearance - in place of regular No. 1 Paul Robinson, who didn't even dress. Carson's blunder on his first touch led to Croatia's first goal. McClaren also forced Beckham on the bench for the first half.

It's the first major tournament England will miss since the 1994 World Cup _ England last missed the Euros in 1984 _ and is likely to lead to the departure of McClaren, much criticized since he replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson.

"No, I'm not stepping down," said McClaren. "Ultimately I take responsibility and I accept that. It is my job to get us qualified and I failed to do that. I don't want to discuss my future."

Beckham said, "We all know there are more important things than football in the world, but for us not to qualify for a competition it's a huge, huge thing."

"It's going to hurt for a long time," England midfielder Steven Gerrard said.

The board of the Football Association (FA), the sport's governing body in England, has called an emergency meeting for 8:30 am (0830 GMT), with McClaren expected to be sacked.

Bookmakers made former Chelsea boss Mourinho, Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill and Portugal boss Luis Felipe Scolari among the front runners to take over from McClaren.