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SOCCER SHORTS

■ CZECH REPUBLIC

Slavia want Patrik Berger

Czech league leaders Slavia Prague want veteran midfielder Patrik Berger to return to the club, director Petr Dolezal said on Thursday. "His contract runs out at the end of this season. We are sounding him out," Dolezal told Nova TV. Berger played for Slavia from 1991-1995 before moving to Borussia Dortmund, where he picked up a Bundesliga title in 1996. He joined Liverpool in the same year following the Czech national team's impressive run to the Euro-96 finals, moved to Portsmouth in 2003 and more recently Aston Villa where his extended contract runs out in May.



■ ITALY

Inter near signing Brazilian

Inter Milan are on the verge of signing Brazilian Daniel Carvalho from CSKA Moscow, the club's general manager, Ernesto Paolillo said on Thursday. The attacking midfielder came to Italy to have a medical and will join the club once the winter transfer window opens next month. "Our coaching staff have been following Carvalho for some time and the time has come to make a decision," Paolillo said. "I think when you look at the signings we've made over the last two years and the results the players have achieved, you can see that whoever is scouting players has done not a good job but a great job."



■ ARGENTINA

Maradona wants Chavez

Soccer great Diego Maradona wants to add an image of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to his well-known collection of tattoos of leftist leaders. "I'd like to get some sort of Chavez tattoo, really," Maradona told reporters on Wednesday ahead of a celebrity indoor soccer match. Maradona has a tattoo of Argentine-born revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara on his right shoulder and another of Cuban leader Fidel Castro on his left leg. Maradona, considered by many the best soccer player of all time, lived several years in Cuba while recovering from drug addiction. There he made friends with Castro, who is a close ally of Chavez.



■ GERMANY

Lehmann looks like staying

VfL Wolfsburg's coach Felix Magath insisted on Thursday there is little chance German national team goalkeeper Jens Lehmann will leave English giants Arsenal to join the Bundesliga side. Wolfsburg's owners -- car giants Volkswagen -- said earlier this week they were interested in signing Arsenal's disgruntled goalkeeper while Magath also said he wanted to sign the Gunners' shot-stopper. Lehmann, 38, has been out of favor at the English Premier League side since being replaced by Spaniard Manuel Almunia in September and has said he would like to return to Germany in the future. "My information is that Lehmann will stay in London," Magath told yesterday's edition of Ruhr Nachrichten.



■ ENGLAND

Grant contract extended

Chelsea have crushed suggestions that Avram Grant was only a stop-gap appointment by handing the former Israel boss a new four-year contract as the west London club's manager/first-team coach. The unexpected news was announced by the club on Thursday, three days before Grant takes Chelsea to Arsenal for a crunch clash with the Premier League leaders. The new deal for Grant, 52, is a reward for the strong form Chelsea have shown since the former Israel manager took over from Jose Mourinho in September. Although Chelsea lost his first match in charge to Manchester United, they are since unbeaten in 16 games.
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