MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson expects goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar to retire at the end of the season. The 40-year-old Dutchman has featured 19 times this season, helping United reach the Premier League summit and the Champions League knockout phase. But Ferguson said Thursday that “we are planning for this being his last season.” Van der Sar has won three Premier League titles and the Champions League since arriving in 2005 from Fulham and has a contract until the end of this season. There could still be a coaching role for Van der Sar at United in the future. Ferguson said: “We have not discussed it, but Edwin is a player who would be of interest in terms of his knowledge and standing in the game.” Platini unopposed UEFA President Michel Platini will be unopposed when he stands for re-election in March, European football's governing body said Thursday. UEFA said on its website that no other candidates had come forward by a statutory three month deadline, which expired at midnight on Dec. 22. “As of today, 23 Dec. 2010, only one candidate has been announced: current UEFA president Michel Platini will be seeking a second four-year term of office from 2011 to 2015.” The election is due to take place at the UEFA Congress in Paris on March 22, 2011. Spain demands rethink Spain's soccer players' union (AFE) and the professional league (LFP) have failed to resolve a dispute over the La Liga schedule for Jan. 2, raising the prospect that some matches could be postponed. The union is unhappy that kickoff times for the five games are spread out between 4 P.M. (1500 GMT) and 10 P.M. local time on a day that is typically a holiday. They want all five, including Barcelona against Levante and Valencia against Espanyol, to start at 5 P.M. The other five matchday 17 games are scheduled for Jan. 3. “We are already compromising by playing on a holiday,” AFE President Luis Rubiales told reporters after a meeting with LFP officials in Madrid. “The schedule they have imposed has annoyed a lot of colleagues.” Playing all five matches at 5 P.M. on Jan. 2 would probably create problems for the LFP to fulfill its obligations to television companies holding audiovisual rights. Rubiales said he had spoken to almost all the La Liga club captains and had also been in touch with Jaime Lissavetzky, the secretary of state for sport. “I know that our position is backed by convention and the rules,” he added. “That's why I am fully relaxed and the league can act as it sees fit.” There was no immediate comment available from La Liga officials Wednesday.
