SOCCER SHORTS:A round-up of the other soccer news stories of the day in brief...

Terry gets FA Cup final all-clear

CHELSEA coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that captain John Terry is fit to play against Portsmouth in the FA Cup final tomorrow

Terry hurt his right foot in a challenge with striker Daniel Sturridge in training on Wednesday but was given the all-clear after a scan.

Terry returned to training yesterday and Ancelotti said: “John Terry had a problem yesterday on his foot but today trained well without problem. He is fit and ready to play on Saturday without problem.”

Terry was also delighted with his recovery adding: “I was just running back to goal and Daniel fell on top of me. My foot was caught underneath. I thought it was quite bad initially. But once I had the scan, it was just bruising and today there was no problem at all.

“I was delighted when I got the scan results and there was no ligament damage or anything like that. It was just a bit of bruising.”

Mourinho fuels speculation about move to Real Madrid

JOSE Mourinho has fuelled speculation he will move to Real Madrid this summer by admitting he will coach the Spanish giants “sooner or later”.

Former Chelsea and FC Porto manager Mourinho is currently preparing his Inter Milan side for this weekend’s Serie A climax where they go into the final round of fixtures two points clear of AS Roma.

Then comes the Champions League final, in Madrid, against Bayern Munich on May 22nd.

Recent reports have suggested the Bayern clash will be Mourinho’s last on the Inter bench before he switches to Madrid and he was doing little to quell the rumours in an interview with Panorama magazine published yesterday.

He said: “What they write about me having one foot in Madrid and one in Milan is false. (But) Sooner or later I will coach Real Madrid. I coached a big team in England, I am coaching a big team in Italy, and then I will coach a big team in Spain.”

Capello expects England to thrive

FABIO Capello says that when he took over as England manager he inherited players who were “switched off” and “scared”, but believes his work has been so successful it would be a failure if they don’t reach the World Cup final.

“When I first arrived here, I saw that the players were tired, afraid, without any real sense of belonging,” Capello said. “But by changing their psychology, by talking a lot, imposing rules and putting pride back into the shirt, we have rebuilt the team. It has been amazing. I shook the bolts, made us serious and the group has become concrete.

“But it is not added pressure for me that (England) expects to win the World Cup. That is part of the game and that is why I came here. For me, not reaching the final would be failure.”

Toshack recalls Bellamy to squad

JOHN Toshack has given a clear indication he wants Craig Bellamy to spearhead Wales’ attempts to qualify for Euro 2012.

The Manchester City striker was a surprise inclusion in the Wales squad named by Toshack yesterday for this month’s international friendly against Croatia in Osijek.

Bellamy’s international future was the subject of speculation after he was overlooked for the friendly loss to Sweden in March.

Special 1 TV signed up by BBC

SPECIAL 1 TV, the comedy puppet series created by writer and impressionist Mario Rosenstock and Damian Farrell of animation company Caboom, has been signed up by the BBC to feature in their coverage of the World Cup finals this summer, writes Mary Hannigan.

The show, which first appeared on Setanta Sports in 2007, is hosted by “Jose Mourinho”, with the help of his assistants “Wayne Rooney”, “Sven Goran Eriksson” and “Fabio Capello”. An endless array of callers to the show’s phone-in, powered by the voice of Rosenstock, also feature, including Rafa Benitez, Roy Keane, Arsene Wenger, Alex Ferguson, Didier Drogba, Nelson Mandela and Barack from Washington.

A team of up to 14 will work on the show, which will be filmed in Dublin, the audio version of which will be aired on Today FM.

Special 1 TV begins on BBC3 on June 11th with daily episodes available on BBC online during the tournament.

Hodgson set to stay with Fulham

FULHAM manager Roy Hodgson looks set to reject interest from other clubs after taking Fulham to the Europa League final.

Hodgson acknowledged after Wednesday’s final that Fulham are unlikely to reach such heights again but said he has not considered leaving.

“I have never given my future a moment’s thought,” Hodgson said. “I still have a contract and, as far as I know, this is where I shall be.”

Serie A clubs face serious day in court

ITALIAN soccer could be thrown into chaos today if a court case about television rights goes against the league and clubs. Conto TV, a small satellite operator, has asked a Milan court to annul a deal between Sky Italia and Serie A for the television rights packages for matches for the next two seasons.

Conto tried to bid for matches and says the €1.149 billion agreement was made “without competition in the digital satellite sphere”.

The Italian League has warned of dire consequences if Conto’s legal action succeeds, although most club presidents have said it is inconceivable the court would agree to a measure which could destroy club finances.

“We don’t want to paint a catastrophic scenario but it is not difficult to imagine what could happen to football clubs, fans and an important part of the nation’s economy should Conto TVs appeal be upheld,” a league statement said.

“The Serie A clubs would see their survival under threat.”