Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson yesterday said mercurial former star Eric Cantona has what it takes to be his successor at the Old Trafford club.
"I think Eric would do very well in the job," said Ferguson. "He is single-minded and I'm sure he'd be a great manager," he added.
Ferguson, who is expected to quit the club when his current contract expires in 2002, is a great admirer of the charismatic 34-year-old Frenchman who helped United to four titles, including two domestic doubles.
"I've always thought he had the capabilities to be a great coach in the English game," added the dour Scotsman.
Celtic gave manager Martin O'Neill some much-needed encouragement ahead of their Premier League opener at Dundee United on Sunday with an impressive 2-1 victory over West Ham at Parkhead. After the disappointing 4-2 defeat to Bordeaux on Saturday, Celtic's fans were expecting a much better performance - and they got it. Tommy Johnson and Stilian Petrov scored breathtaking goals to slice open the West Ham defence before former Celtic favourite Paolo di Canio scored a consolation on his return to the club.
Dragan Stojkovic, Yugoslavia's World Cup captain, is planning to take over as his country's coach next year. "I'm going to become the new national coach next summer. I'd like to continue to play until then," Stojkovic, 35, told Nagoya-based daily newspaper Chunichi Sports.
Stojkovic, now playing for J-League club Nagoya Grampus Eight, said he hoped to stay with the club until his return to Europe.
On Saturday, the Yugoslav football Association named the former international striker Ilija Petkovic as their new coach, replacing Vujadin Boskov who was in charge at Euro 2000.
AC Milan are expecting an offer for Real Madrid's Argentinian midfielder Fernando Redondo to be accepted.
"We met with Real Madrid and we put forward an offer for Redondo that will in all likelihood be accepted," the Italian club's vice-president Adriano Galliani said from Spain. "Now we'll have to find out what the player thinks."
