Roma’s sporting director Daniele Prade has snubbed rumors that Roma are interested to land Valon Behrami.

The West Ham United star has been linked with Roma, but Prade insists the Italian club have not and will not bid for Behrami.

He admitted, however, that Roma are admirers of the versatile Swiss midfielder, but insists the club must focus on strengthening other areas in their squad this summer.

“He is a strong player, we like him, but we have not made any offer to West Ham,” Prade told Sky Italia.

“Our priorities are a defender and a left winger, we are okay elsewhere.”

Switzerland international Behrami was also linked with a move to Palermo, but the English club said the player is not for sale.

Mick McCarthy won’t rule out a move for Jermaine Pennant but insists he hasn’t been offered the former Liverpool midfielder.

Pennant, 27, was struggling to regain his form at Real Zaragoza and he has also been linked with moves to several Premier League clubs like Wolves, Stoke City and Wigan Athletic.

After dismissing the reports, Wolverhampton Wanderers boss McCarthy said he had not spoken to anyone regards the former Arsenal and Birmingham winger.

“It’s an interesting one, but I haven’t been offered him or spoken to anyone about him,” the Wanderers manager told the Express & Star.

“That doesn’t mean to say I’m not interested in him.”

Netherlands forward Arjen Robben says Bayern München still need new players to make big impact next season.

Robben, 26, transferred from Real Madrid to Bayern Munich for a fee of around €25 million in August 2009 and he not only helped the Bavarians to win the Bundesliga and German Cup but also guided them to reach the Champions League final.

“We still need reinforcements for next season,” the Oranje winger told Sport Bild magazine.

“It is important for Bayern to raise the quality in the squad with new players but also increase competition inside the team, we have great aims for next season,” he said.

South Korea and Uruguay meet here on Saturday in a fascinating World Cup last 16 clash that few pundits would have predicted at the start of the tournament.

The Asian giants have earned a reputation as set piece masters in South Africa, with three of their five first round goals coming from freekicks, some feat given the unpredictability of the Jubalani ball.

That prowess will be tested to the full at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium against a Uruguay side with a rock solid defence that has yet to concede a goal.

Uruguay made it to the second round as surprise winners of Group A after holding France to a goalless draw, beating hosts South Africa 3-0, and closing with a 1-0 win over Mexico, Ajax striker Luis Suarez getting the all important goal.

Uruguay, winners of the inaugural World Cup on home soil in 1930 and again in 1950, crashed out on their last appearance in 2002 when co-hosts South Korea made it into the semi-finals.

A last four place is again the target coach Huh Jung-Moo has set for his Asian giants in South Africa.

“We have achieved our first objective of reaching the round of 16,” Huh, an accomplished changgi (Korean chess) player, said.

“After that, anybody can guess what our next objective might be, but I know that the players will immediately set a higher target.

“They won’t be satisfied now with just having progressed. They will want to get to the semi-finals.”

South Korea have punched above their weight to finish runners-up in Group B.

They opened in style with a 2-0 win over former European champions Greece, on their first visit to Port Elizabeth.

A 4-1 rout by Argentina followed but they put that reverse behind them when holding Nigeria to a 2-2 draw in Durban on Tuesday.

Huh observed: “It’s the first time we reached the second round at a World Cup abroad. I’m very proud and very happy.”

South Korea captain and Manchester United winger Ji-Sung Park, who scored in the win over Greece, told The Daily Yomiuri: “It’s a first for us to qualify away from home.

“We watched a few of Uruguay’s games, they have quality and they are strong and their performances were great in the group stages. We have to prepare well for that game.”

Uruguay’s experienced Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan spoke for his part on Thursday about “a difficult game ahead”.

The former Manchester United forward said: “South Korea played very well in the 2002 World Cup. We respect them, we know it’s going to be hard. We will try to turn any mistakes they make into goals for us.”

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez has warned South Korea there’s more to come from his buoyant side.

“I think so far in this phase we’ve showed that we are a tough team to tackle for the others. We are trying to do what we had exactly in mind before the tournament. Now I don’t think we’ve achieved that yet, but Uruguay is now a difficult opponent for anybody.

“As a coach it is very satisfying to see how the group has evolved. This is an excellent group, there is cohesion and friendship among the players and they are really dedicated to the job they are doing.”

Both teams have been barred from training at the stadium prior to the game to allow the pitch, which took a battering with last week’s rain, time to recover from England’s visit on Wednesday.

KEY TO MATCH

Ji-Sung Park Park’s big match experience with Manchester United coupled with his play-making prowess will be crucial for South Korea up against a Uruguay side featuring United old boy Diego Forlan, in fine fettle here with a double against South Africa.

Argentina forward Diego Milito on Friday described the World Cup as strange and admitted he has been surprised at some of the results.

France and Italy, the finalists from the 2006 World Cup, have already bitten the dust while England, Germany and Spain all reached their final games with their passage to the knock-out stages in doubt.

And while Argentina cruised through their group with three wins out of three, even they could have gone out had they lost significantly in their final match against Greece.

Ahead of their second round clash with Mexico on Sunday, Milito spoke of his shock.

“It’s a World Cup of surprises, I was surprised that Italy were knocked out in the first round,” said Inter Milan striker Milito.

“France, too, with their great players. It’s a fairly strange World Cup but the South American teams are having a good competition.”

Given his first start in the tournament, Milito had a frustrating time in the 2-0 win over Greece before being replaced by Martin Palermo despite coming into the competition off the back of a stunning season with the Italian champions.

“It’s difficult to explain. At Inter I played many games up front but the other day it was very difficult due to the Greeks’ tactical plan,” he said.

“But I’m working hard every day, I’m at peace with myself. Sometimes things go well, sometimes not, that’s the key.”

Four years ago Argentina also played Mexico and won thanks to a Maxi Rodriguez goal.

Now the Liverpool winger is dreaming of repeating the feat.

“That’s a great memory but the victory of the team is the most important memory,” he said.

“But that game is history now and we’re playing against a different team that is playing well.”

Sir Alex Ferguson has taken time out from his summer holiday to ring Park Ji-Sung to offer the South Korea captain encouragement ahead of Saturday’s World Cup last 16 clash with Uruguay.

Manchester United winger Park, speaking at a pre-match press conference here on Friday, revealed: “Yes of course Sir Alex has been in touch, not only him but others from the Manchester United coaching staff.

“They’ve wished me a good game and told me not to get hurt!”

Park believes this 2010 South Korean team could be the best vintage ever produced by the Asian giants, even surpassing in quality the side that made it to the 2002 semi-finals on home turf.

“I believe this is the best team in our history. We’re still improving, but hopefully by the end of this World Cup we will be able to say it is better than in 2002.

“This is the first time we’ve made it into the second round on foreign soil, and with Japan making it too this proves how much Asian football has grown.”

En route to Saturday’s date with Uruguay at Port Elizabeth’s Nelson Mandela Bay stadium South Korea were whipped 4-1 by Argentina, a defeat Park suggested would help them.

“We did lose to Argentina but that was a good chance for us to learn how to fight against a Latin American team. It was good experience for us and gave us insight into how to cope with Uruguay.

“Each continent has its own flavour, its own characteristics, the south American sides have shown great individual strength, we need to come up with a different plan to beat them.”

Park has established himself as a fine captain of his country, leading not only by his form with a goal in the opening 2-0 win over Greece, but also his man management skills.

South Korea coach Huh Jung-Moo praised his skipper, saying: “The burden I gave him was good for Korean football and good for the future, I am more than satisfied with how he has coped being captain.

“He’s doing a great job as leader, in the way he interacts with both his superiors and subordinates, and in his level of play. He’s been doing wonderfully.”

Park himself when invited to explain his leadership style added: “All of the players are professionals, they know what’s expected of them. All I can do is help to prepare then in the most comfortable way possible.”

His goal against Greece was his third in a World Cup after a brace in 2006, and he said he was intent on adding to that tally against Uruguay.

“The fact that I’ve been able to score for my country is a great honour, to be able to do that not only in one game but three different games is fantastic, it’s helped the team a lot. I want to do my best and I want to experience the same feeling by scoring again tomorrow.”

He was then asked by a Korean journalist to confirm a rumour that after the wipe out by Argentina he had prepared breakfast for his teammates the following morning.

“No, that’s not true at all,” laughed Park, before leaving the press conference to go and prepare to dish up the latest surprise at this feast of football.

Japan coach Takeshi Okada has told his squad they must conjure up the spirit of Samurai warriors if they are to make history in their World Cup showdown with Denmark on Thursday.

A draw at the Royal Bafokeng stadium will be enough to get Japan through the group stage of a World Cup for the first time on foreign soil, and Okada believes it will be guts and determination as much as tactical or technical factors that will decide the outcome.

“To win such a big match, I think in a sense we need something beyond the team’s tactics,” Okada said.

“I really want the players to fight with a solid mentality. It would be ideal if we can overwhelm the opposition by 10 goals. But it won’t be that easy. It’s going to be a very close, fierce match.

“The players know what is at stake, we’ve got a chance to do something special here.”

The Japanese have made nullifying Nicklas Bendtner and winger Dennis Rommedahl the centrepiece of their plan for progress, while Arsenal striker Bendtner believes Denmark can make their height advantage and power in the air pay.

“Japan is a good team and very defensive, but I believe in the strength we have,” said the 22-year-old Arsenal star. “I would be bitterly disappointed if we didn’t win.”

Like Japan, the Danes have beaten Cameroon and lost to the already-qualified Netherlands in group E, but their inferior goal difference means Morten Olsen’s squad must win to reach the last 16.

Bendtner, who at 1.94m (6′4″) will tower over the defenders marking him, added: “We know we have to score. But if we can hold the ball up and use the height we have in attack then I believe that could break any defence down.”

Japan’s captain, Makoto Hasebe, admits the Danes will have an edge in terms of aerial power but is confident the threat can be nullified by cutting off the supply to Bendtner.

“We know that Denmark is a very dangerous side from crosses and on set pieces,” Hasebe said. “We have to press them well and be sure we don’t give away any silly fouls that will give them the chance to get balls into the box.”

Fiorentina defender Per Kroldrup is expected to come in to the side for the suspended Simon Kjaer as the Danes seek to maintain a proud World Cup record of always progressing beyond the first round in what is their fourth finals appearance.

Olsen admits that the pressure on his side to push forward in search of at least one goal offers an advantage to opponents who have only conceded one in 180 minutes of football in South Africa — the Wesley Sneijder strike that gave the Netherlands a 1-0 win.

“We hoped to get something out of our game against the Dutch and I think looking back it was possible,” Olsen reflected.

“Of course it could be better that we only had to have one point but that is the situation. The reality is we have to win the game.”

Denmark reached the second round in Mexico in 1986, were quarter-finalists at France 98 and made it to the last 16 in Japan and South Korea in 2002.

KEY TO MATCH

Nerve. Japan’s players have the ability to beat Denmark but the burden of making history could weigh heavily on them while the Danes have tended to punch above their weight in previous World Cup appearances. With Denmark obliged to push forward, Japan will get chances to counter-attack. Can they make the most of them and can their defence hold out under pressure?

Spain have received a World Cup boost after their winger Andres Iniesta declared himself fit in Group H clash with Chile on Friday.

The Barcelona play makers back is positive news for Spain but questions arises over Fernando Torres form.

“Yesterday I trained well, I felt well and I could do everything normally,” Iniesta said Wednesday.

“There’s still today and tomorrow’s (training) but the feelings are very good about being available. Whether I start is up to the coach.”

“Chile will play its game and try to complicate things. We know their positives and their defects but what’s most important is that we play our game.”

“I don’t see big differences,” the 26-year-old explained following Spain’s failure to score more goals in the first two matches.

“I don’t see anything bad. Now, we just have to focus on what we’re doing and the things we need to improve, focusing on the things we do well. The debates, the questions – the situation is what it is.”

“Everyone has the right to an opinion, to say how they see the team. Maybe we don’t agree but what is certain is that we can’t start having doubts or discussions about what one person or another says,” Iniesta said about coach’s tactics.

“We’re clear about what we have to do. Nothing is more important than talking about Chile and beating Chile.”

Group H leader Chile stay with six points, Spain and Switzerland have three points and Honduras has zero. This result shows Spain’s best chance of progressing to the second round.

France winger Florent Malouda has issued an apology to French fans following the team’s awful showing at the 2010 World Cup. The 2006 World Cup runners-up shockingly exit the tournament from the group stages as a run of two losses and a draw saw them finish last in Group A.

In what was nothing short of a disastrous campaign, France forward Nicolas Anelka was sent home for insulting coach Raymond Domenech and refusing to apologize. The French squad reacted angrily by refusing to train after Anelka’s dismissal with captain Patrice Evra shockingly reported to have fought with a fitness coach.

With all eyes on the upcoming reign of former Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc, but Chelsea’s Malouda has decided to apologize in the name of the players and insisted that he does not intend to retire from international football.

“I want to apologise to the French fans in the name of the players for our poor run,” Malouda told L’Equipe.

“We are not proud of what we’ve done. Maybe we didn’t have exemplary behaviour. I don’t know how we’ll be forgiven.

“It’s been a complete disaster. This isn’t what we wanted to show. We didn’t want to flout our colours.

“Patrice Evra wanted to hold a press conference before the last match, but he was told it was not the right time.

“After Anelka’s exclusion maybe we reacted badly by striking, but we didn’t appreciate seeing him blamed for the group’s responsibility.

“Frankly there was no one poor individual in the group. Nico is not a lot, and there was no traitor in the squad.

“We were the victims of poor decisions under pressure. We cracked.

“I don’t want to end my career in a Les Bleus shirt, but we have to think about the reasons behind the failure and talk about it with the new coach.”

Erstwhile Germany midfielder Roberto Hilbert said he was honoured “to sign for such a big club” after joining UEFA Europa League qualifying contenders Beşiktaş JK on a free transfer.

Beşiktaş JK have signed former Germany midfielder Roberto Hilbert on a free transfer as they prepare for their UEFA Europa League second qualifying round tie against Faroese side Vikingur.

The 25-year-old right winger, who spent the last four seasons at VfB Stuttgart, will join compatriots Fabian Ernst and Michael Fink with his new club. “I feel honoured to sign for such a big club as Beşiktaş,” he said. “I know the board and the fans have high expectations of me and I will be glad to meet those.”

Hilbert was capped eight times by Germany during his time with Stuttgart, which saw him score 16 goals in 120 league games, winning the Bundesliga title in 2006/07. Beşiktaş are now coached by a German, with one-time Real Madrid CF boss Bernd Schuster replacing Mustafa Denizli, who led the club to a fourth-placed 2009/10 league finish.

Meanwhile, Necip Uysal has signed a four-year extension to his contract which was due to expire next May. The Turkey midfielder, 19, played 11 league matches last season and made his international debut against Honduras in March. Reserve goalkeeper Hakan Arıkan also extended his contract by a further three years.