Nyon, Switzerland - Defending champions Manchester United will face Inter Milan in one of three English-Italian duels in the European Champions League round of
16 drawn Friday by the ruling body UEFA.

Last year's beaten finalists Chelsea take Juventus, now managed by former Blues boss Claudio Ranieri, and Arsenal play Roma in the other duel between the Serie A and Premier League in the first knockout stage.

The fourth English club, Liverpool, were also given a difficult opponent in record winners Real Madrid at the draw made at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Munich - Franck Ribery is not for sale but a move involving Lukas Podolski will hopefully be finalized within the next weeks, according to the chairman of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Rummenigge told Friday's edition of the Bild daily that Munich will not release their French star Ribery from his contract until 2011 and instead want to keep him even longer.

"I can promise that 100 per cent to all Bayern fans and all friends of attractive football. No offer, no sum will stop us," Rummenigge said.

Lausanne, Switzerland - The bidding process for the 2014 Youth Olympics opened on Friday, the International Olympic Committee said.

The IOC said in a statement that interested cities have February 9, 2009, to formally bid for the event bringing together around 3,500 athletes aged 14-18 in the Olympic summer sports.

Bid files have to be submitted by July 2009, a shortlist will be set up in October and the host city elected by the IOC in February 2010.

London - Nina Bracewell-Smith has attacked Arsenal's board following her dismissal as a director at the English Premier League club, according to reports on Friday.

It had been suggested that her departure followed a disagreement over the possible sale of her shares to the Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who already controls between 24 and 25 per cent of the club's shares.

But it now seems the point of dispute was who controls transfer policy.

London, Dec 19 : England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has compared master blaster Sachin Tendulkar's match winning century at Chennai to a scriptwriter's dream.

Tendulkar played one of his finest innings to take his side to a remarkable six-wicket victory, The Independent reported

In an exclusive interview, Flintoff told Angus Fraser: "It is impossible not to admire him (Tendulkar) when you are out in the middle. He is a class player and a great role model for the game."

"His innings was a scriptwriter's dream. The lad from Mumbai, with everything that has happened there, scores a hundred to win and then dedicates it to everyone in the country. Thinking about it, it was probably inevitable it happened," Flintoff said.

London - New Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce said Friday that he is optimistic of steering the Premier League club away from the relegation zone, although he warned success will not come overnight.

Blackburn have lost their last six games and failed to win any of the five before that. They lie second from bottom of the table, five points adrift of Sunderland and Manchester City, with three further teams a point ahead.

"People say that we need two wins to get out of it but that assumes the teams above you all lose. It will take a long time, perhaps six games, to catch up with the rest," Allardyce told reporters.