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Review of the latest news from Spain.
H. Larsson extends contract
Swedish national team footballer Henrik Larsson is expected to sign a new contract at the beginning of September. Barcelona has already agreed with the Swede that the new contract will be valid until the year 2007 and can be extended for another year. The sports director of the Catalan club, Txiki Beguiristain, said: "There are no problems between us and H. Larsson. Nothing will prevent us from signing a new contract."
Giovanni van Bronckhorst suffers an injury
Barcelona defender Giovanni van Bronckhorst will likely miss the Spanish Super Cup matches, which will take place this weekend between Barcelona and Betis, due to a calf strain. Gio suffered the injury on Tuesday during training. The club's medical staff also recommended that the Dutchman not play for his country in the friendly matches against Germany next week.
Sevilla targets F. Kanoute
Sevilla is looking for a replacement for J. Baptista, who left for Real Madrid. One of the most likely candidates to replace the Brazilian is Tottenham Hotspur forward Fredi Kanoute. Previously, the Spanish team tried to sign Heerenveen's player Georgios Samaras but decided that the asking price of 10 million euros was too high. Sevilla is also interested in Shabani Nonda and Fred.
A. Sacchis: "I hope M. Owen stays in Madrid"
Real Madrid's football director Arrigo Sacchis hopes that the club's striker Michael Owen will stay in Madrid: "I hope he stays, and if he does, the whole club will respect M. Owen. He is an exceptional young player." A. Sacchis also praised J. Woodgate to the Spanish newspaper "AS": "He is one of the best defenders I have ever seen. We need to be patient because he works very hard."
