FROM THE SIDELINES
New Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed he would have rejected the opportunity to manage Liverpool had Dutchman Louis van Gaal been appointed sporting director. ‘‘I wanted to make sure that I would be in charge of football matters; that I would control the team,’’ the 39-year-old former Swansea boss said. Liverpool are continuing to put together their new football operations team with assistant manager Steve Clarke losing his job on Friday. Liverpool’s academy technical director Pep Segura is set for a more senior role. Italy’s troubles mounted as they produced some slapstick defending in a 3-0 defeat by fellow Euro 2012 finalists Russia yesterday in their only warm-up match for the tournament. The game at the Letzigrund in Zurich was played against the backdrop of a match-fixing scandal back home that prompted Italy coach Cesare Prandelli to say he would not mind his side pulling out of the European Championship if it was the right move. The performance was a defensive nightmare for Italy, who conceded only twice in 10 games during qualifying. England have warned players to be careful when using Twitter at Euro 2102, while Spain and Denmark have banned their squad from using the social networking site during the tournament. Teams fear that off-thecuff remarks on Twitter could cause problems during this month’s finals in Ukraine and Poland and other sides could follow the directives. England captain Steven Gerrard said yesterday: ‘‘We’ve been told not to be tweeting anything unnecessary.’’ Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas earlier tweeted: ‘‘From today we are not allowed to use social networks, I wish that the next picture I post will be with the Euro Cup. See you soon!’’ Ronaldinho’s chances of continuing to play football in Brazil have diminished significantly following his high-profile departure from popular club Flamengo. A day after Ronaldinho terminated his contract and sued the club for unpaid salaries, officials from most of the top Brazilian teams said yesterday they don’t intend to try to sign the former Brazil star. The 32-year-old Ronaldinho says he wants to take some time off from football to take care of his sick mother.