22 METROSPORT Tuesday, September 15, 2009 D GAA Quirke so tired of familiar foes Quirke: Sick of the sight of Munster rivals and All-Ireland final opponents Cork Midfielder Micheal Quirke has admitted All-ireland finalists Kerry and Cork are sick of the sight of each other. The Kingdom and their great Munster rivals will contest their second All-ireland final in three seasons on Sunday. in all, since the introduction of the back-door system in 2001 the southern neighbours have contested a whopping 17 championship games in nine seasons. familiarity has most certainly bred contempt, with Quirke revealing he would rather play anybody but Cork. We have played them twice already this season and i dont know how many times in the last couple of seasons, said Quirke. We are sick of the sight of each other really. But it is a game that we dont care how pretty or how ugly it is once Kerry come out on top. Cork have shown the greater form approaching the decider though tradition is on Kerrys side as they have only lost four of those 17 games. And Quirke would not predict a classic game of football and said he doesnt care if it ends up 0-6 to 0-5 once Kerry come out the right side of it. He also noted that, if it rains, like it did during their semi-final win over Meath, the slippy pitch is going to mitigate against good football. His real concern is whether or not he starts having lined out just once this summer and appeared as a substitute five times. it is very frustrating and [in the past] ive thought about walking away on numerous occasions, he admitted. But then i always believed in myself that i could contribute in some way and thats what kept me going. And man mountain Quirke, 29, is keeping positive about being left behind darragh S and Seamus Scanlon. it is good to know that the management have the faith and trust in me to come in and make an impact on a game, he added. DonegAl clubs will decide tonight whether or not to allow their county board to borrow 1.6million to develop a new Centre of excellence. Donegal chiefs hope to acquire 2m from gAA central funds towards the project at Convoy. But that still leaves them short of the estimated 3.6m it will cost to develop state-of-the- art new facilities. All 40 clubs in Donegal have been asked to consider the issue and return to a special meeting tonight to give their verdict. Pillar gets Leinster gig Former Dublin boss Paul Caffrey is back in management as Leinsters interprovincial manager. Caffrey (pictured) has stepped up to replace Val Andrews and will be aided by current meath and Wicklow selectors Donal Curtis and Kevin oBrien. Caffreys first game will be against Ulster in Crossmaglen on october 24. The second semi- final between holders munster and Connacht, a repeat of last years final, will take place the same day, while the final will be staged in London on November 8 in ruislip. The event will tie in with the GAAs 125th anniversary celebrations in the english capital. The tournament will also go some way to filling the void left by the postponed International rules series. Previous m Donnelly-sponsored Interprovincial finals have been taken to rome, Paris and Boston. This years hurling championship was brought forward to spring to accommodate the final being played in Abu Dhabi. Sir Alex ferguson does not believe Manchester Uniteds Champions league trip to Turkey will hinder their chances of winning this weekends Manchester derby. The Premier league champions are at Besiktas tonight in their european group stage opener but host super-rich rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday. fergusons side flew out for their first Champions league game of the season on Sunday, following the 3-1 win at Tottenham on Saturday. But they will leave Turkey straight after the game with Besiktas, meaning they arrive home at 4am tomorrow morning. City have no such worries as they concentrate purely on the Premier league but United boss ferguson insists his team have the ability to win both games. The squad i have, it doesnt make any difference to us, he said. We have from Tuesday until Sunday to prepare for the next game. That is ample time. in any case, it wont be the same team. That is why you have a squad. HolDeRS Barcelona are favourites to retain the Champions league trophy, according to Sir Alex Ferguson. Manchester United lost to the Catalan giants in last seasons european final. And while Arsenal, liverpool and Chelsea are also in the running and Real Madrid have brought in a host of big names including Cristiano Ronaldo from his United side Ferguson said: It is easier to talk about teams who have been there two or three years in terms of the harmony and balance of their team. Barcelona fall into that category and must be a favourite. Barca still the threat to Alex Ferguson City rivals should fear our jet-setting superstars Chelsea already at full stretch But Ancelotti says final spot is a must limbering up: england midfielder Joe Cole trained with Chelsea yesterday but will not be fit to face Porto SOCCER CHAMPIonS leAgUe CArlO ANCelOTTi last night set his Chelsea side a minimum target of reaching this seasons Champions league final. But that seems a long way off as the Blues go into their first group game against Porto tonight with their squad ravaged by injuries and suspensions and supplemented from kids from the academy. Striker didier drogba and full-back Jose Bosingwa are banned while mid- fielders deco, Joe Cole and Yuri Zhirkov, plus defenders Paulo ferrei- ra and Alex, are all missing through injury. it means Ancelotti will add rookie defenders Sam Hutchinson and Jef- frey Bruma to his squad, along with italian under-19 striker fabio Borini. But the lack of first-team players has not dimmed Ancelottis desire to lead Chelsea to the final of the com- petition for the second time. The first objective is to arrive at the final said Ancelotti, who won the competition twice as coach of former club AC Milan. it will not be easy but i think we have the possibility to do this. We have had to take three players from the academy. We are happy to do this because we have very good talent. Chelsea, who top the Premier league having won their first five games, have come agonisingly close to lifting the european Cup so covet- ed by owner roman Abramovich since he bought the club in 2003. The Blues have reached the semi-fi- nals in five of the last six years and made the final in 2008 before losing on penalties to Manchester United. Ancelotti added: i dont think there is a psychological problem. Chelsea have arrived very close and will do so again. There is a real possibility to do well. Salomon Kalou is set to take drog- bas place alongside Nicolas Anelka up front and Branislav ivanovic is lin- ing up to fill in for Bosingwa at right- back. But Ancelotti warned: Porto have a lot of experience. They have won it and have often got to the last eight. experience and tradition are very im- portant in the Champions league. By SIMon kAy no travel troubles: Ferguson expects his United side to be in good order for Sundays Manchester derby index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html