La Liga s transfer deadline passed without much ceremony on Friday, but struggling Cordoba completed an eye-catching triple swoop.

Cordoba enjoyed a successful transfer deadline day as they completed the loan captures of midfielders Bruno Zuculini, Rene Krhin and Heldon.

Miroslav Djukic s side looked doomed to be relegated back to La Segunda before the Serbian took over from Albert Ferrer in October, but they have since climbed out of the bottom three and Friday s midfield reinforcements strengthen their chances of avoiding the drop.

Zuculini s loan at Valencia was cut short earlier in the day by parent club Manchester City, while Krhin – co-owned by Bologna and Inter – and Sporting Lisbon s Heldon also joined on temporary deals.

Zuculini was not the …

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says Rafael Benitez s claims he snubbed a pre-match handshake last Sunday are nonsense .

The Chelsea interim manager had said Fergusonignored him ahead of the FA Cup sixth-round clash between the sides at Old Trafford.

Benitez also suggested that reporters ask the Manchester United boss for his take on events if they were brave enough .

That s absolute nonsense, Ferguson said on Friday.

Why wouldn t I shake hands? Think about it. Have you ever seen me not shake hands with anyone?

I never saw him. I was signing autographs at the front. There s that Indian lad who always wants to shake my hand before the game, and says it brings me luck.

I was signing autographs and I moved across the stairway …

France coach Laurent Blanc insists the furious bust-up that followed his side s shock defeat against Sweden has not destabilised his team.

Speaking ahead of Saturday s Euro 2012 quarter-final against Spain, Blanc has quelled the potential for a full-scale revolt.

Defeat against the Swedes saw Les Bleus surrender a 23-game unbeaten run, squander the opportunity to top Group D and fail to avoid facing the reigning European champions in Donetsk.

The frustration felt at passing up such a golden opportunity culminated in a row, understood to have involved Alou Diarra and Samir Nasri, but Blanc said the situation has now been dealt with and should be consigned to history.

There is no conflict. There were some words exchanged and there was a reaction. After th…

France head into their Euro 2012 quarter-finals tonight with World and European champions Spain as slight underdogs.

Most teams that will encounter Spain at the championships will be underdogs but I don’t think France should fear the Spaniards.

Flat

Apart from the 4-0 victory over Republic of Ireland Spain really have looked flat in their other two games and looked very edgy against Croatia in their last group game.

They don’t look like the same team that won the competition four years ago or the side that won the World Cup in South Africa two years ago.

It seems the Spanish are now on a slight downward curve. Spain may still be ranked first in FIFA’s ranking but I think they are far from invincible.

Undefeated

Prior to the …

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw appeared to mock former team-mate Romelu Lukaku after Inter exited the Champions League on Tuesday.

Lukaku s 12th goal of the season for Inter in all competitions was not enough to prevent the Nerazzurri losing 2-1 to a much-changed Barcelona team at San Siro.

The result, combined with Borussia Dortmund s 2-1 win over Slavia Prague, meant Inter finished third in Group F and will therefore drop into the Europa League for the rest of the season.

Shaw was quick to poke fun at Lukaku on social media after the match.

Responding to a post from the striker back in October, showing Lukaku smiling in training with the caption UCL , the acronym for UEFA Champions League, Shaw said on Tuesday: Welcome back.

Welcome back…

Leverkusen admit interest in De Bruyne

Bayer Leverkusen are the latest club to have confirmed their interest in Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.

The Belgian is currently on loan at Werder Bremen, where he is enjoying a great season on personal level, despite the fact that his side are largely struggling at the moment.

Werder plan to buy out the player’s contract at the end of the season, but they are likely to face a stiff competition from Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayer Leverkusen chief Wolfgang Holzhauser has described De Bruyne as “a very interesting man” in Kolner Express.

The 21-year-old was purchased by Chelsea in January 2012, but has yet to make a single appearance for the Blues.

He has made it clear that he is not …

Barcelona defender Eric Abidal has resumed match action again after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

With the majority of the players away on international duty, the Frenchman took part in a friendly match with Barcelona B against Ligue 2 outfit Istres on Tuesday.

Abidal was diagnosed with a liver tumour back in March 2011 and made a miraculous comeback only months later to feature in the Champions League final.

Nevertheless, the 33-year-old was dealt another blow early in 2012 as he underwent a liver transplant in April last year.

The former Olympique Lyonnais defender had since been working on his recovery process, and is now one step closer to making his first-team comeback after playing in the reserves.

Abidal last featured for Barcelona in t…

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea says he has matured as a footballer and person in his two years at the club.

The 22-year-old moved to Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid for a fee in the region of 17 million pounds in June 2011, signing as the primary replacement for Edwin van der Sar, who retired that off-season.



De Gea initially drew criticism for several costly mistakes and doubts were cast over his suitability for the physicality of the English Premier League but he has since ousted team-mate Anders Lindegaard as United s number one. 



I ve changed a lot in Manchester, he told reporters.

I ve spent two years in their football culture and it makes you change. 



I m more mature as a person and a player. I m a very dif…

Germany skipper Philipp Lahm says he would like to face England in the semi-finals of Euro 2012.

Joachim Loew s side cruised into the last four after defeating Greece 4-2 and will face the winner of Sunday s game between the Three Lions and Italy.

The Bayern Munich captain is hoping for a repeat of the second-round match of the 2010 World Cup where the Germans hammered England 4-1, but made clear that his team are not taking anything for granted.

I would prefer England. England are much better than in 2010 and so are Italy. All teams that make the semi-finals are title contenders, he said.

We know both teams, especially from 2006 and 2010. Both teams are strong opponents, but for sure they are not happy to play against us.

Lahm feels his team …

Alvaro Arbeloa criticised France coach Didier Deschamps decision not to call up former Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema following the nation s Euro 2016 final defeat.

Hosts France went down to Portugal 1-0 in Sunday s decider, with Eder finding the net in the second half of extra time in Paris.

Forwards Andre-Pierre Gignac and Antoine Griezmann both had chances for France, with the former s stoppage-time effort coming off the post, but the side were unable to find the net after 120 minutes.

It was only the second time France were kept scoreless in the tournament after playing out a 0-0 draw with Switzerland in the group stages.

Arbeloa believes it could have been a different story had Benzema been given a spot in the 23-man squad, left out by Deschamps…