Barcelona do not like being attacked’ - Manchester United’s Rafael da Silva

Brazilian twins Rafael da Silva and Fabio da Silva believe Manchester United should have no fear of Barcelona, and instead need to set about making the Catalan giants uncomfortable in Saturday’s Champions League final.

Signed from Fluminense in 2008, the pair have spent their careers together and both believe United need to be positive.

Rafael told The Guardian: 'I don't see why we can't hurt them if we stick to a game plan where we don't make the same mistakes made by some of their opponents. Basically, Barcelona do not like being attacked or pressured. We need to make them feel uncomfortable.'

Fabio added: 'We have a side full of confidence and good players and shouldn't fear Barcelona.'

Since arriving at Old Trafford at the age of 17, the pair have gradually progressed and become part of the United fold under the watchful eye of Sir Alex Ferguson, a man Fabio trusts and respects, despite being confused for his twin by the Scot on occasions.

'Sir Alex knows everything about football and he loves the Brazilian style. He is crazy about Cafu, our idol,' added Fabio.

'There was a match where he came to me in the dressing room and started to tell me off, but calling me Rafael. He still gets us confused, but it doesn't matter.'

His twin is equally respectful of the 69-year-old boss and recalls a moment in the changing room after the Brazilian’s crucial sending off against Bayern Munich in 2010.

Rafael said: 'He was angry but it was more a paternal dressing-down than anything at full blast. It actually made me feel more ashamed than if he had screamed. But he always talks to us about taking time to learn with our mistakes and not being too anxious.'

Despite amassing more Premier League playing time on the pitch than his brother this term, Rafael is expected to watch on from the sidelines as his twin pushes for the starting XI on Saturday after a strong finish to the season in United’s run-in.

'I am happy to see my brother bouncing back after a difficult start at United,' added Rafael.

'He got injured a few times and didn't get many games in the first two seasons. There was even talk about him being loaned out. We have been together throughout our entire career and would love to keep it this way for as long as possible.'
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Bosnia adopts new statute to end FIFA ban

The Bosnian football federation (NSBIH) on Thursday adopted a new statute, a move expected to end FIFA and UEFA's suspension of the country from international competition.
"The federation's general assembly unanimously, with 55 votes, backed the new statute," Dino Begic, a member of a normalisation committee, set up by FIFA and tasked with running Bosnia football, said after the vote.
The six-men normalisation committee's main task was to convince local football officials, notably Serb, to back the new statute.
World governing body FIFA and European counterparts UEFA suspended Bosnia-Hercegovina from international and European football on April 1 after NSBIH failed to adopt the statute that would lead to a single-member presidency rather than the ethnic-based tripartite presidency -- consisting of a Croat, a Muslim and a Serb member.
At the time Serb and several Croat delegates opposed changes to the statute.
"I hope that FIFA and UEFA will lift the suspension as soon as possible, by May 31 at the latest, to enable the national squad to play against Romania on June 3, in Euro-2012 qualifier," NSBIH secretary general Jasmin Bakovic told AFP on the eve of the vote.
After the Romania match, Bosnia's next game for the 2012 European Championships to be held in Poland and Ukraine, is against Albania on June 7. Bosnia are playing in Group D and currently hold fourth position with five points less than leading France.
Since the 1992-1995 war, Bosnia consists of two entities -- the Muslim-Croat Federation and the Serbs' Republika Srpska.
Apart from the joint football federation, founded in 2002, each semi-autonomous half also has a federation of its own.
The NSBIH general assembly has 60 delegates, 20 from each of Bosnia's three ethnic communities -- Croat, Muslim and Serb. A total of 55 took part in Thursday's vote.

Frog juice powered Park's bid for Euro glory

Park Ji-Sung has revealed that frog juice is the bizarre secret behind the lung-bursting energy that makes the South Korean a key part of Manchester United's bid to beat Barcelona in the Champions League final on Saturday.
Park's high-octane style will be an essential ingredient in Sir Alex Ferguson's recipe for success against the Spanish champions at Wembley, but it is a much more unlikely concoction that laid the foundations for the midfielder's rise to prominence.
After showing promise as a schoolboy footballer, Park's progress was in danger of stalling because he lacked the physique required to cope with the demands on a top player's body.
In a bid to fast-track Park's growth, his father would make the long journey from their home in Suwon to Go-heung county, where he would visit frog farms to gather the ingredients for an unusual protein drink.
Once back home, the frog's juice would be boiled up before Park gamely swallowed it down.
Park admits the juice tasted disgusting but the skinny teenager was happy to try anything to aid his dream of becoming a footballer.
"My father went to catch wild frogs. I was skinny and weak and my father heard their juice would give me size and strength," Park said.
"It tasted very, very bad but I had to drink it because I wanted to be a footballer and everyone said I needed to be bigger and stronger.
"They said it was good for my health to become stronger and I ate anything that would improve my health."
Now well established as a significant figure in Ferguson's squad, Park no longer has any need for frog juice.
His astonishing work-rate, an astute tactical brain and under-rated ability on the ball have combined to make him an unsung hero with the Premier League champions.
The 30-year-old has played a major role in United reaching a third Champions League final in four years and this time he is hoping for a happy ending.
Park was left out of the squad for the 2008 victory over Chelsea in Moscow - a decision Ferguson admitted "almost broke my heart". And although he was selected the following year in Rome when United lost 2-0 to Barcelona, an under-whelming display left Park with a few regrets.
"Missing out on one final and losing another makes me more eager to play and win this game," he said.
"If I play and we win the game it will be fantastic for me. It is my dream but I have to play 100 percent for my dreams to come true."
Facing Barcelona again offers Park and his team-mates a chance for redemption after the defeat in Rome, but Pep Guardiola's team have been in such good form this season that many pundits expect another Catalan triumph this weekend.
Park is well aware Lionel Messi and company will be formidable opponents again, but he is confident United can find a way to upset the odds.
"Obviously Barcelona are one of the best clubs in the world so if we beat them we will create the perfect final - for me as well," he said.
"It is a great game against one of the best teams in the world. They have changed a couple of players from 2009 but their style has not changed.
"We have changed as well. I don't know what way we will play but we have to show a difference from 2009."
If United are to win a fourth European Cup, Ferguson must find a way to disrupt Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta and much rests on Park's ability to harry them out of their rhythm.
"I don't know which role I will have in the final but I have to do it 100 percent and play only for winning the game," he said.
"We have to keep an eye on Messi in the game. Some players have said to me that I can stop him - that sounds great but one man can't stop him, we have to play as a team. Everyone will give 100 percent to stop him.
"If we play as a team like we showed against Chelsea or in other big games we can match up against them."

Departing Real Madrid general manager Jorge Valdano: I have not spoken to Jose Mourinho 'for a long time'

Outgoing Real Madrid general manager Jorge Valdano has revealed that he had stopped talking to coach Jose Mourinho 'for a long time'.
The 55-year-old was relieved of his duties at the club on Wednesday evening. In a quickly arranged press conference at the Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid president Florentino Perez explained that due to structural changes at the club and 'the withdrawal of this Director General's office, it has been agreed to rescind Jorge Valdano's contract with the club.'
Perez also stressed that Mourinho had not asked for more power at Madrid and said: 'Mourinho did not make any demands. He asked for more autonomy in line with how English clubs are organised.
'Everything that we do, we do because they are the right decisions that do not take into account personal sentiment.'
However, Valdano, who was at loggerheads with Mourinho for much of the 2010-11 season and whose appointment he reportedly opposed last summer, gave a different perspective on the issue.
'I am not the one who turned Real Madrid into a battlefield,' said the Argentine in a media briefing that followed that of Perez. 'All my efforts this season were directed toward restraint.
'It has been a long time since I have spoken personally to Mourinho. We greet each other politely, but he sought to deal with people other than me. My responsibilities with the first team were reduced. I did not feel comfortable in that situation.'
However, Valdano believes that Madrid, who reached the semi-finals of the Champions League this season and also won the Copa del Rey, will progress under the Portuguese trainer.
'I believe Jose Mourinho staying on is good for a club that's been unstable in the past,' he said. 'It needs to settle for a reasonable period of time. He's done a good job, I believe he is a good coach and I find it normal that he stays on.

'Real Madrid is great, which doesn't mean this new structure belittles it. The president came up with this solution to resolve a difficult situation that wasn't easy to manage.'

'It is always painful to leave people and places you love. The public had to know about this and I wished to say goodbye.'
Valdano played for Madrid during the 1980s and also won the Primera Division title in 1994-95 as their coach. The former Argentina international was the Spanish giants’ sporting director between 2000 and 2004 during Perez’s first presidential tenure.

Facebook founder plays down revolutionary role

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg denied Wednesday that his global social networking site was to thank for enabling the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt through protestors coordinating online.
"Facebook was neither necessary nor sufficient for any of those things to happen," the 27-year-old New Yorker told the "e-G8" gathering of Internet bosses in Paris.
"It would be extremely arrogant for any specific technology company to claim credit" for protest movements in the Arab world such as those that ousted long-term rulers in Tunisia and Egypt this year, he added.
"People are now having the opportunity to communicate" more widely than ever before, he said, adding: "That's not a Facebook thing. That's an Internet thing."
Zuckerberg spoke after meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who called the e-G8 forum to make proposals to G8 leaders on online regulation and freedoms.
Zuckerberg has seen his online social networking site grow in seven years from a college system to a global phenomenon with hundreds of millions of users.

Ubisoft going online with Ghost Recon videogame

Ubisoft is crafting a free-to-play online version of its popular "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon" shooter videogame.
"Ghost Recon Online" is a deviation from the French videogame titan's roots making packaged titles for videogame consoles and comes with the rocketing popularity of online "social games" supported by ads or in-game transactions.
"The online market is an exciting new frontier for videogames and for gamers," Ubisoft chief executive Yves Guillemot said in a press release.
"With 'Ghost Recon Online,' and other major upcoming projects, Ubisoft is creating online experiences that allow our fans to stay connected to their favorite brands and to continually receive new content and game play."
The third-person shooter game based on Clancy's hit espionage novels is being developed by Ubisoft Singapore for online play using personal computers.
Limited testing of the multi-player game was to begin in coming weeks. Information about taking part in the "closed beta" test can be found online at GhostReconOnline.com.
"Our development teams are dedicated to making 'Ghost Recon Online' a truly unique, top-quality online title," said Ubisoft senior producer Hugues Ricour. "This game was designed from the start to be a free-to-play experience."
Ubisoft said it will back the game with services including regular events and updates, customized content based on community feedback, and live support.
While game play will be free, players will be able to purchase "premium items and fully personalize their experience."
"Ghost Recon" will be the first Ubisoft shooter game offered in the free-to-play format.
"This direct link with our fans will allow us to create new and ever better experiences for them," said Guillemot.

Google's Street View starts mapping India

Internet giant Google on Thursday launched its ambitious "Street View" project in India to provide detailed panoramic images of life in a country of 1.2 billion people.
The 360-degree photographic mapping service, which is already in operation in more than 25 countries, will begin gathering data in the southern city of Bangalore, a technology hub where many Internet firms are based.
Google said in a statement that information collected by special cameras mounted on cars and three-wheelers would allow users around the world to access street-level imagery and explore the city.
"It will be as good as walking down the street from the comfort of your desktop or mobile device," the firm said.
It did not give further details about its plans to expand the project across the vast nation, where cities and villages are often a chaotic jumble of traffic jams, buffalo carts and slums.
Street View has proved hugely popular in other countries since its launch in the United States in 2007, but had also run into trouble with several governments concerned about privacy issues.
Google earlier this month said it would appeal against a Swiss ruling ordering it to ensure that all people and cars pictured on Street View were unrecognisable.
France's data privacy regulator imposed a record fine of 100,000 euros ($142,000) on Google in March for collecting private information while compiling photographs for the service.
Google has also agreed to delete private emails and passwords mistakenly picked up from wireless networks in Britain by its Street View cars.