Short Soccer, January 12, 2013
Saint-Etienne have signed attacking midfielder Andreas Laudrup on loan from Danish club FC Nordsjaelland until the end of the season. The 22-year-old is the son of Swansea manager Michael Laudrup, and was born in Barcelona when his father - widely considered Denmark's best-ever player - played for the Catalan club in the early 1990s. Andreas Laudrup helped Nordsjaelland win the Danish league last season and played in the Champions League this term. AP
Struggling Spanish top-flight side Deportivo La Coruna have launched legal procedures to try to settle their debt problems. The club presented documents at the courts in La Coruna to call a creditors' meeting - an administrative procedure for a struggling company to settle its debts. It was the latest step in efforts to negotiate a way out of a delicate financial situation for the club, who like others in the Spanish league are at risk of collapse due to high debts. Deportivo entered the top flight of the Spanish league this season but then said the taxman had embargoed millions of euros of their revenues due to the back taxes they owed. AFP
Benfica coach Jorge Jesus does not need to dig out last season's script to know a victory at home to fierce rivals Porto in tomorrow's "Classico" could be decisive in his quest to reclaim the Portuguese title and extend his four-season tenure. Jesus needs to avoid a repeat of Porto's thrilling 3-2 triumph in the same fixture in March - a defining moment as the winners went to the top of the table and eventually retained their crown. "Our big objective this year is the championship," said Jesus. "I am not fulfilled because we are in a good position and we have had good results - I feel I still have a lot to win at Benfica. We go into the game with confidence and determination. The two sides chase the same thing at the 'Classico'." Porto coach Vitor Pereira insisted: "I don't believe the championship will be decided in [these] matches." AFP
