Well set Barcelona's Gerard Pique (L) kicks the ball next to Athletic Bilbao's Pablo Orbaiz (R) during their Spanish King's Cup match at Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona Tuesday. (Reuters) MADRID: Athletic Bilbao survived a constant state of siege to hold a weakened Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp in a King's Cup last 16 first-leg match Tuesday. La Liga leader Barca had won 10 successive games in all competitions, scoring 31 goals in the last seven, but it ran out of ideas against its resolute Basque rival. The second leg at San Mames is scheduled for Jan. 5. Second Division Cordoba scored a late equalizer through Pepe Diaz for a 1-1 draw with Deportivo Coruna, which had taken the lead through a penalty from Riki. Barca and Bilbao, who have won the cup 48 times between them, last met in the competition in the 2009 final when Pep Guardiola's men ran out 4-1 winners on their way to a six-trophy haul that year. The host started with the likes of Lionel Messi, David Villa and Sergio Busquets on the bench, but for all its possession and pretty patterns it lacked a cutting edge. Gorka Iraizoz tipped Andres Iniesta's effort over the bar in the first half, but it was not until Villa and Messi joined the game after the break that the pressure grew on his goal. Villa had the ball in the net near the end, only for the effort to be ruled out for off-side, and Gerard Pique skewed a good chance wide. The other first legs are to be played Wednesday, when Real Madrid hosts Levante and holder Sevilla entertains Malaga. Donovan not to return US midfielder Landon Donovan will not be heading back to England's Everton on loan, the player said in a joint-statement with his club LA Galaxy Tuesday. Donovan, his country's record goalscorer, had been strongly linked with a return to Everton where he spent a successful loan spell last year but he wants to use the Major League Soccer off-season to rest and recover. “While I enjoyed my time at Everton last season and still appreciate all the support their fans have given me, I feel that it is important to continue to rest and recover this off-season as opposed to going on loan,” Donovan said. “I never considered being loaned to a club other than Everton, but I have been playing nearly non-stop for the past two years and I believe that this decision will allow me to perform at my best for the Galaxy and the National Team throughout the upcoming year,” he added. Donovan had spent the previous winter break on loan at German club Bayern Munich and after his spell with Everton was part of the US World Cup team in South Africa. Henry, Anelka yet to give up World Cup bonuses Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka have yet to formally give up their World Cup-related bonuses, the French soccer federation (FFF) said Tuesday. French newspaper Liberation reported that the two strikers had refused to sign the paperwork stating that they would give up the bonuses, but the FFF said that was not exactly the case. “They have not replied but they have not refused,” FFF communications director Francois Manardo said. Federation president Fernand Duchaussoy said last month that the France players who took part in this year's World Cup would give their bonuses, amounting to some 3 million euros ($3.95 million), to amateur clubs.
