Breaking news, the lip-reader's way
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

Paris, July 4: France captain Didier Deschamps was prevented from announcing his retirement from international football immediately after the Euro 2000 final 2-1 victory over Italy by an impassioned plea from coach Roger Lemerre.

Deschamps and Lemerre were filmed having a long and animated conversation in the middle of the pitch at Rotterdam's De Kuip Stadium just after the presentation of the trophy and LCI TV channel employed a lip-reader to decipher the conversation.

The lip-reader said Lemerre told Deschamps not to make his planned announcement after the match and instead begged him to take time to reflect.Deschamps has apparently heeded the advice he has not yet made any pronouncement on his future.

Later at a press conference Lemerre made a public plea for his captain not to follow defender Laurent Blanc into retirement. Lemerre seemed to be pleading with his captain and he said later: ``A team needs a great general. Deschamps was a great general Sunday evening and I hope he will stay on for a long time.''

Dino Zoff quits
ROME: Italy coach Dino Zoff on Tuesday announced that he was resigning following his team's loss to France.

The resignation comes following a scathing attack launched on Monday against Zoff by AC Milan president and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

``I was offended as a man. Berlusconi does not have to tell me what to do,'' Zoff told a press conference announcing his decision.

Berlusconi described him as a `dilettante' - an Italian word used to describe someone who is unprofessional in their approach.

``He has behaved like a dilettante,'' said Berlusconi, who described Zoff's behaviour during Euro 2000 as `unworthy'.

Zoff added: ``I know what will happen. It will be said that I benefited from the occasion, I know that my image will not come out of this unscathed, I have experience of this. But I don't want to continue.''

Pires wanted Real
MADRID: French international winger Robert Pires said he wanted to join Champions League winners Real Madrid but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had persuaded him to move to the London club.

``I would have preferred to have played for Real Madrid but the words of Wenger gave me more security,'' he said in an interview with Spanish sports daily Marca on Tuesday.

``I have been talking to Wenger since last December. With respect to Real Madrid, I had only talked to Pirri (Real Madrid technical director jose Martinez Pirri). I never got to talk with (Real Madrid coach Vicente) Del Bosque.''

Pires said the problems his National team mate Nicolas Anleka had experienced at Real were also a factor in him opting for Arsenal.

``It has been a dream for me to play for Real Madrid since I was small but I didn't want what happened to Anelka to happen to me as well,'' Pires said.

Effenberg stands firm
MUNICH: Bayern Munich playmaker Stefan Effenberg said on Tuesday he will not return to the German National team despite new leadership at the coaching position.

``I stand by what I said. For me, the departure is final. There is no return, even if the new National coach was named Ottmar Hitzfeld,'' the respected but maverick Effenburg said.

Former National team striker Rudi Voeller was named as Germany's interim coach until Bayer Leverkusen coach Christoph Daum takes over next June.

Bayern coach Hitzfeld was also mentioned as a possible replacement to Erich Ribbeck, who stepped down after Germany was bounced out of the European Championships.

Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.