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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 AUGUST 2014 48 Sport FOOTBALL Malta takes part in the Hungary U-17 International Youth Tournament MALTA will be taking part in the 34th Hungary U-17 International Youth Tournament to be held be- tween the 4th and 10thAugust in Hungary. Besides the host coun- try and Malta, the other nations in this quadrangular tournament are the Republic of Ireland and Serbia. This series of competitive matches will be very useful for our youths side as the team, un- der coach Sergio Soldano, is in the process of preparing for competi- tive UEFA engagements later on. Matches will be played in three venues. Dorog, Diosde and Telki. THE BOV Super Cup final be- tween BOV Premier League champions Valletta and run- ners-up BIrkirkara will be played on Friday 8 August at the Na- tional Stadium, kick-off will be at 19:30. The gates open at 18:00. The West Stand A will be reserved for Birkirkara supporters and the West Stand C for Valletta supporters. Millennium Stand D will be reserved for neutral fans. Ticket-prices will be as follows: adults €7, Kartanzjan holders €4 and children under the age of 12 €1. Tickets will only be available at the gates. Bjorn Vassallo appointed new General Secretary of the MFA BOV Super Cup final to be played next Friday IN its first meeting convened on Wednesday 30thJuly after the 2014 MFA Annual General Meeting the Council of the As- sociation has approved Bjorn Vassallo as the new MFA Gen- eral Secretary following the an- nouncement of Joe Gauci that he would step down from this post. This followed Vassallo's nomi- nation by President Norman Darmanin Demajo. The new General Secretary who has served as the MFA Chief Executive Officer since August 2010, will now take up his new role while relinquish- ing the responsibilities of Chief Executive, a post which has now been abolished. This change at the helm of the association is another step to- wards establishing a solid plat- form from where the MFA can further strengthen its base in fu- ture years especially in its long- term development programme which gained momentum in the first years of Norman Darmanin Demajo's presidency. The new General Secretary has expressed his satisfaction at being approved in his new post where he can continue giving his expert services in the best inter- est of the association's member clubs and member associations it represents. This will surely motivate him to work harder. While thanking Joe Gauci for the many years of invaluable service he has rendered the asso- ciation, the MFA Council augurs Bjorn Vassallo many years of useful work from which football in our country can prosper. Real Madrid still chasing Radamel Falcao FALCAO could be at Real Madrid in just a matter of days, or perhaps just hours, according to the French press. The famous L'Equipe newspa- per has stated that the Champions League holders only want to make sure that Falcao is fully recovered from his injury before signing him. The Columbian striker will be available for the Emirates Cup against Valencia. It will be his first match after six months and 11 days. Falcao missed the World Cup be- cause of an injury picked up in Janu- ary this year. It was just last summer that Falcao signed for Monaco on a five year deal with the French club paying a fee of over $80 million to Atletico Madrid. Another Real Madrid recent sign- ing, James Rodriguez hopes that his team mate from the Colombia na- tional team will be joining him at the Bernabeu as soon as possible. "Falcao is a winner. I'm sure he can play here. He is a quality player and has a winning attitude." - James RodrIguez Falcao Manchester United might not need any new players, suggests Louis van Gaal Louis van Gaal admits he may not sign any more new players because of Manchester United's impressive pre-season form UNITED go into their friendly against Real Madrid on Saturday having won all three of their matches on tour. The victories against the Los Ange- les Galaxy, Roma and Inter Milan have given the new United boss confidence about his upcoming debut season at Old Trafford. The Dutchman has been linked with a host of new signings, including Kevin Strootman, Thomas Vermaelen and Mats Hummels. But Van Gaal has been so impressed with what he has seen from his squad that he says he may not need any rein- forcements. "We still have a month to go (before the transfer window shuts) and we are winning. Maybe we don't need other players," the United manager told a press conference at the Michigan Sta- dium. "First I want to see the players who I have and give them an honest chance." His words are eerily reminiscent of David Moyes's confidence last sum- mer, something which will worry fans - particularly given the calibre of opposition United have faced in pre- season. That changes with the clash against Real Madrid on Saturday, where a record attendance of at least 109,000 is expected for the game, part of the International Champions Cup. Should United win, they will qualify for Monday's final in Miami, where they are likely to play either Man- chester City or Liverpool for a prize of £600,000. Van Gaal, who has criticised the trav- el and commercial demands placed on his players in the US, also voiced his frustration at the state of the pitch at the Michigan Stadium, which is more commonly known as the 'Big House' as it is the third-biggest stadium in the world. The new pitch inside the arena, which is used primarily for college gridiron, was only laid on Sunday, much to Van Gaal's dismay. The United boss has been annoyed with the surfaces on this tour, which has taken them to Los Angeles, Wash- ington DC and Denver before they came to Ann Arbor, which is on the outskirts of Detroit. "The pitch is not good," Van Gaal said after a training session which was watched by club co-chairman Avram Glazer. "They are used to American football here and that is throwing the ball with the hand so it doesn't take care of the ground, the pitch is not so good. "It's a pity because we have fantas- tic teams but we have to play on bad pitches so the ball is not rolling (well). It is difficult." Wayne Rooney, sitting alongside Van Gaal at the press conference, said the pitch was "very soft". The England striker, who is in the running to be named captain under Van Gaal, is looking forward to a new era under the Dutchman following last year's disappointing seventh-place finish. The 28-year-old thinks playing alongside another striker in Van Gaal's 3-4-1-2 system will benefit him. "I have enjoyed playing in the new system. The closer you are to goal, the better the chance you have of scoring goals," Rooney said. "It's been great so far and hopefully the results will keep coming." Van Gaal revealed Chris Smalling, who trained apart from the squad, will miss the game due to "minor prob- lems". Rooney, meanwhile, played down fears that arose when he started wear- ing a support on his right arm at the beginning of the tour. "I just have had a sore wrist. It's no problem. It's just protecting it," he said. Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the match against his former club as he is still regaining his fitness following a month off. ''Ronaldo is working hard but we won't put him out tomorrow,'' Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. ''He will begin training with the squad (in Spain) after the tour as we plan to use him in the (European) Su- per Cup.'' Manchester United assistant coach Ryan Giggs (R) chats with new head coach Louis van Gaal during a training session at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California