McClaren finds goals aplenty at Twente

Gordon Tynan
Sunday 29 June 2008 19:00 EDT
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Steve McClaren enjoyed a winning debut as FC Twente coach yesterday as his new charges beat a Hengelo select XI 5-0 in a pre-season friendly. The former England manager was delighted with the workout, saying: "I am extremely satisfied, especially about the attitude of the players."

Marko Arnautovic scored twice for Twente to add to goals from Patrick Gerritsen, Youssouf Hersi and Stein Huysegems.

Elsewhere, Ronaldinho made his return to football after an absence of almost four months on Saturday, playing 56 minutes of a charity match in Venezuela.

The Brazil playmaker and Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi each captained a team of international stars. Ronaldinho – who has been linked with moves to Manchester City, Chelsea and the two Milan clubs – was making his return from a knee injury. It took the Brazilian just 11 minutes to score and he bagged another in the second half, while also providing two assists in a 7-7 draw.

The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, meanwhile, has confirmed for the first time that there is a "plan B" for the host nation of the 2010 World Cup. The tournament is due to take place in South Africa but concerns over continued security problems in the area have led to reports Fifa might look for new hosts. However, while Blatter admits that there is an alternative in place, he remains confident the World Cup will go ahead as planned. "I would be a very negligent president if I hadn't put away a plan B," said Blatter. "However, only a natural catastrophe would change things. If we had to activate plan B, we would take our decision after the Confederations Cup."

Next year's Confederation Cup is set to be held in South Africa and will act as a dry run for the World Cup in the following year.

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