Tenth seed Ferrero, who lifted his own Paris trophy a year later, smashed down an overhead for match points and spelled the end for his 30-year-old compatriot as Costa sent a backhand return wide.

A sellout crowd at the real Club de Tenis gave father-of-two Costa a standing ovation after he and Ferrero shook hands and embraced at the net.

Costa, the 1997 Barcelona champion and 2002 finalist, won a dozen career titles and ended with a 21-13 record at this home event.

He also played on Spain's 2000 Davis Cup championship team.

Ferrero will Friday test himself in a quarter-final against new Spanish hope Nicolas Almagro, who benefitted from 14 double faults from 2004 French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria to earn a 6-2, 6-0 win.

Coria, who spent several weeks in March trying to improve his game with noted coach Jose Higueras, had little to show for his efforts in the 51-minute third-round hammering.

His serving debacle came a week after striking 23 double faults in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals last week.

Coria's loss to Almagro, whom he had beaten in their only other meeting two years ago in Hamburg, mocked his showing last week in the principality.

"I'm calm because I have a great team working with me", said the Argentine. "Sooner or later, I'll return to my best level."

Almagro is following the early development pattern set by Spanish prodigy Rafael Nadal, the tournament top seed and defending champion.

The 20-year-old Almagro, currently ranked a career-best 57, won his first title in Valencia two weeks ago after reaching semi-finals in Acapulco and quarter-finals in Costa do Sauipe earlier in the season.

"Guillermo is a born fighter, he'll overcome this," said Almagro. "But beating the number nine in the world means a lot for my game."

Top seed Nadal, attempting to win his 44th consecutive match on clay, was playing a third-round match against a compatriot from qualifying, the 164th-ranked Ivan Navarro Pastor.

He could be back in light training wearing a protective mask within a fortnight, but he will be unable to play again for around a month.

Schwarzer was due to undergo surgery on Monday afternoon afternoon to repair the damage, which was caused by a clash with Hammers striker Dean Ashton shortly before half-time.

"Mark is likely to miss the rest of Middlesbrough's season, but could be okay for the World Cup," Boro's head physio Grant Downie told the club's official website, www.mfc.co.uk.

The injury will rule Schwarzer out of Thursday night's UEFA Cup semi-final, second leg clash with Steaua Bucharest at the Riverside Stadium.

Had it not been for his performance in Romania last week, the Teessiders could have been facing a 3-0 rather than 1-0 deficit going into arguably the most important 90 minutes of the season.

"Mark Schwarzer made two very important saves," McClaren admitted later. "I thought their goalkeeper made two very good saves, but Mark, certainly in the second half, kept us in the tie."

With the final taking place on May 10 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, he would be unlikely to be available should they progress.

However, while he may also struggle to make his country's friendly clash with Greece on May 25, he should be fit for the warm-up games against Holland and Liechtenstein which precede their opening Group F match against Japan on June 12 in Kaiserslautern, where he played Bundesliga football before his move to England.

Schwarzer's absence will come as a huge blow to Boro with his form, particularly in Europe, having helped them make something of a season which has alternated between expectation and frustration.

Ironically, he might have left the club he joined in a 1.5 million-pound move from Bradford in February 1997 during January as unrest festered within the camp.

He submitted a transfer request despite being told he was wanted on Teesside as Boro attempted to offload Ugo Ehiogu and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

However, he later withdrew it and has impressed both his manager and the fans with his contribution ever since.

Compatriot Brad Jones, the man who was eventually beaten by Marlon Harewood's 78th-minute strike as the Hammers ended Boro's FA Cup dream, will deputise with youngster David Knight likely to occupy the bench.

Aside from the horror ninth, the turning point came on the 16th when Spain's Fernandez-Castano holed a 30-yard chip from the sand as Stenson dropped a shot.

It helped push the showdown into a play-off which the Spaniard won on the first extra hole to take the $300,000 winners cheque with a seven-under par total of 281.

"Winning the Asian Open is a great thing but when I look at the leaderboard and see who is on it, it is unbelievable -- a dream come true, a miracle," said the 25-year-old of his second European Tour win.

His first was at the Dutch Open last year.

"It's been a great round. I was steady on the front nine and the putts started dropping on the back nine. It is a day I won't forget."

It has been a profitable fortnight in China for the Madrid native, who finished second behind India's Jeev Milkha Singh at last week's Volvo China Open.

He said he would use the money to buy a ring for his girlfriend Alethea whom he wants to marry.

"I think I'll get married, although I haven't asked her yet," he said, adding that "the whole weekend has been beautiful for me."

With a victory under his belt and a glint in his eye, Fernandez-Castano heads back to Spain on Monday to prepare for the Spanish Open next week where he is expecting plenty of pressure to do well.

"Everyone will be expecting me to win but I'm really tired after being in contention on both Sunday's over the past two weeks," he said.

"If it wasn't the Spanish Open, I'd withdraw and rest."

Stenson was left to rue a glorious missed opportunity after holding an outright lead since his opening 67 on Thursday until his game was undone by the tree.

"The ninth hole blew it for me," he admitted.

"It was unfortunate but that's the way these things go sometimes. It's easy to feel I let it slip away but I didn't really do that. I'm happy with the way I kept trying after the triple bogey.

"I can't knock my performance. I just wasn't getting the breaks."

And despite the agony of losing, his performance reinforced his growing reputation as a new force in the game after announcing himself to the world in 2005 with a series of impressive performances in the year's biggest events.

He carried his form into 2006, winning the Qatar Masters in January and finishing third at The Players Championship in Florida last month, an event billed as the unofficial fifth major.

For Monty, it was a welcome return to form and he was unlucky not to be in the playoff.

It was the big Scot's best round in months and ended a miserable run of five missed cuts that included the US Masters and Players Championships.

Englishmen Paul Casey and Simon Dyson, along with New Zealand's Mahal Pearce finished joint fifth.

Terry Pilkadaris of Australia, his compatriots David Brandson and Peter O'Malley, along with Paul Lawrie of Scotland ended a shot further adrift.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, 30, completed the podium after clever pit-strategy from his McLaren crew allowed him to pass Schumacher's Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa, 24, at the final round of pit-stops.

Schumacher, a seven-time world champion, led from the start from front-row qualifier Jenson Button, Massa and Renault driver Alonso as Brazilian Rubens Barrichello dropped two places to fifth in his Honda.

But the safety car was deployed at the end of lap one after Midland's Christijan Albers destroyed his car in a huge accident.

Dutchman Albers rolled his car five times through the gravel after Japan's Yuji Ide tried an optimistic move in the second part of the corner. Albers walked away unscathed, and Ide was able to continue after pitting for repairs.

Schumacher built up a 13-second lead before the first round of pit-stops. Button made the first move on lap 15, pitting for the first of three planned stops in 9.4 seconds.

Massa and Schumacher both stopped soon after, but Spaniard Alonso, who was carrying more fuel, continued until lap 25 and lapped over half a second faster than his rivals before pitting.

Alonso's blistering pace in the five laps before the pit-stop saw him emerge in second place - ahead of Button and Massa, and with an 11.2 second deficit to Schumacher.

But the German was suffering from a lack of grip as Ferrari had put a set of used Bridgestone tyres on his car for the middle stint of the race.

That allowed Alonso to cut the gap to the leader down to 0.4 seconds within 10 laps as his Michelin rubber provided no such problem.

Alonso pitted for the final time on lap 41, but Schumacher's in-lap was so fast that he emerged ahead of last year's race winner when he emerged from the pit lane one lap later.

Alonso continued to pressure the leader, but it was he who made a crucial error with three laps to go when he ran wide onto the kerbs exiting the Villeneuve chicane.

That gave Schumacher a 2.2 second lead, which he held onto to take his 85 Grand Prix win, and his first in 13 races.

Behind Montoya and Massa, McLaren's Finn Kimi Raikkonen, ended a quiet race in fifth ahead of Williams' Mark Webber from Australia and Button.

Button could have finished higher but for a problem at his second pit-stop.

His lollipop man gave him the order to go before the fuel rig had been detached and the Briton knocked over his team's entire rig.

After stopping in the pit lane, the team removed the part and he was able to continue. Alonso's Italian team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella completed the points-scoring positions in eighth.

Schumacher's win puts him second in this year's drivers' world championship standings, 15 points behind Alonso.

Now, according to Cadena, he has called a press conference to finally put an end to the uncertainty over his career.

"Real Madrid's French midfielder Zinedine Zidane has summoned the media to give a press conference next Wednesday during which he will almost certainly announce his retirement from the football world," reported Cadena.

"The Frenchman will hang up his boots and will pass on the last year of his contract," added the station which is renowned for its accurate reporting of transfer and contract speculation.

Real Madrid confirmed a press conference will take place at the club's training ground at 1100GMT on Wednesday.

Zidane, for so long the talisman of French football, will be 34 on June 23, during the World Cup finals, and has been contemplating his future for some time.

He has already retired from the France national team once before, after the 2004 European Championships, but returned to the fold last year to guide the 1998 champions to the World Cup finals.

Zidane joined Real in 2001 from Juventus for a world record 75.1 million euros (92.7 million dollars) having also played for Cannes and Bordeaux in France.

He recently confided in German sports magazine Kicker that the World Cup would be his last challenge at such a high level.

"I have one more year on my contract with Real Madrid until 2007. I will take a decision in peace and quite," he said.

SHANGHAI (AFP) - All Henrik Stenson had to do Saturday was play steady golf and the Swede did just that, maintaining his one-stroke lead at the Asian Open as a bevy of golfers charged up the leaderboard. Stenson mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a one-under-par 71 to be well placed to win his seventh European Tour event.

But he has a host of players snapping at his heels, including Gonzalo Fernadez-Castano of Spain who rattled in four birdies in his 69 to lie one stroke behind.

Australian veteran Peter O'Malley, Englishman Paul Casey, and Mahal Pearce of New Zealand lurk a shot further back.

Colin Montgomerie, playing in gusty and overcast conditions that wouldn't be out of place in the Scottish Highlands, will need some of his old magic on Sunday to win the event with four strokes to make up.

But at least the burly Scot made the cut, which he had been unable to do in his five previous events.

Stenson said he was relaxed and enjoyed being the man to beat.

"I didn't do as well as Friday but I still put a decent score together considering it was tough out there and tricky in the wind," he said.

"I'm happy with where I am. I always prefer to be in the lead rather than a stroke or two behind, but there is still a lot of golf to play.

"For me, it'll be one shot at a time, one hole at a time -- that's the key."

He declined to say who he saw as his major threat for the 300,000 dollars winners cheque.

"They are all good players but I don't really pay much attention to who is behind me. I can only look after myself and be up there with nine shots to play."

Fernandez-Castano, who finished second to India's Jeev Milka Singh at the China Open last week, is enjoying a purple patch and is keen to record only his second ever Tour victory, following his success at the KLM Open in 2005.

"It was tough conditions, very windy and cold but I hit the ball well," he said.

"It'll be an honour to play with Stenson on Sunday and I just want to enjoy it. I'm the outsider and I'll just play my game. Hopefully I can take the trophy but if not I'll learn as much as possible."

Stenson's biggest threat could come from Casey, who seems to revel in China, winning the TCL Classic on the southern island of Hainan last year and following it up with victory in the China Open at Beijing.

He posted a gutsy 69 Saturday, despite a double bogey on the second hole and a bogey at the last, and believes an eight-under total will win the tournament.

"I'm very happy to be in with a shout considering the number of mistakes in the first few days," said the Englishman, who is looking to pick up as many Ryder Cup points as possible to force his way into the European team.

"It was extremely tough out there, the wind was gusting.

"Monty suggested eight under will be a good score and I still think that's what I have to aim for," he said. "So a 68 for me on Sunday."

The challenge from Asian Tour players, as is so often case, faded as the Europeans showed their superiority, although Tour regular Pearce recorded one of the best rounds of the day (68) to be in contention.

"It was a nice day out there as I managed six birdies. Three putted the last but it was a solid round so pretty pleased with that," he said.

"I've just got to stay up there and deliver."

SHANGHAI (AFP) - All Henrik Stenson had to do Saturday was play steady golf and the Swede did just that, maintaining his one-stroke lead at the Asian Open as a bevy of golfers charged up the leaderboard. Stenson mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a one-under-par 71 to be well placed to win his seventh European Tour event.

But he has a host of players snapping at his heels, including Gonzalo Fernadez-Castano of Spain who rattled in four birdies in his 69 to lie one stroke behind.

Australian veteran Peter O'Malley, Englishman Paul Casey, and Mahal Pearce of New Zealand lurk a shot further back.

Colin Montgomerie, playing in gusty and overcast conditions that wouldn't be out of place in the Scottish Highlands, will need some of his old magic on Sunday to win the event with four strokes to make up.

But at least the burly Scot made the cut, which he had been unable to do in his five previous events.

Stenson said he was relaxed and enjoyed being the man to beat.

"I didn't do as well as Friday but I still put a decent score together considering it was tough out there and tricky in the wind," he said.

"I'm happy with where I am. I always prefer to be in the lead rather than a stroke or two behind, but there is still a lot of golf to play.

"For me, it'll be one shot at a time, one hole at a time -- that's the key."

He declined to say who he saw as his major threat for the 300,000 dollars winners cheque.

"They are all good players but I don't really pay much attention to who is behind me. I can only look after myself and be up there with nine shots to play."

Fernandez-Castano, who finished second to India's Jeev Milka Singh at the China Open last week, is enjoying a purple patch and is keen to record only his second ever Tour victory, following his success at the KLM Open in 2005.

"It was tough conditions, very windy and cold but I hit the ball well," he said.

"It'll be an honour to play with Stenson on Sunday and I just want to enjoy it. I'm the outsider and I'll just play my game. Hopefully I can take the trophy but if not I'll learn as much as possible."

Stenson's biggest threat could come from Casey, who seems to revel in China, winning the TCL Classic on the southern island of Hainan last year and following it up with victory in the China Open at Beijing.

He posted a gutsy 69 Saturday, despite a double bogey on the second hole and a bogey at the last, and believes an eight-under total will win the tournament.

"I'm very happy to be in with a shout considering the number of mistakes in the first few days," said the Englishman, who is looking to pick up as many Ryder Cup points as possible to force his way into the European team.

"It was extremely tough out there, the wind was gusting.

"Monty suggested eight under will be a good score and I still think that's what I have to aim for," he said. "So a 68 for me on Sunday."

The challenge from Asian Tour players, as is so often case, faded as the Europeans showed their superiority, although Tour regular Pearce recorded one of the best rounds of the day (68) to be in contention.

"It was a nice day out there as I managed six birdies. Three putted the last but it was a solid round so pretty pleased with that," he said.

"I've just got to stay up there and deliver."

"The venue has been kind to me in the past and I've always enjoyed good results - particularly when I took my first ever grand prix win there in 2001," he said.

"By contrast the circuit has not been that good for Toyota down the years although both Jarno and I scored points last year. We could face cold conditions in Imola but you never know what the weather will bring there.

"We struggled at the start of the year in cool conditions but we made the podium in Australia so that shows how far we've come. Of course the season has started off harder than we expected but Australia was much better and the team is strong enough to keep bouncing back."

Trulli admitted he was looking forward to the first of two home races even though, he concedes Imola is not one of his favourite circuits.

"It always makes for a slightly different weekend when you are racing at home," he explained.

"I will have more support than usual and my fan club usually pays me a visit but I will also be busier out of the cockpit. Despite being in

Italy, I don't particularly like the circuit at Imola. It's often cold there in April but the most important factors for performance are braking stability and traction, as well as a car that can ride the kerbs."

He added: "Last year I was able to celebrate the birth of my son with a points finish and we have to hope for another top eight finish this time."

That failure to come away with a result reduced their advantage at the top of Serie A to five points. Milan had temporarily cut the gap to four points with Friday's 1-0 derby win over Inter at the San Siro.

Cannavaro's late intervention after Cagliari had taken a shock first half lead left Juve still without a win in their last six matches and Ancelotti anticipating a tense climax to the season.

"Were not going to give in on the Serie A title race," he said.

"Theres still everything to play for."

Milan's Holland international Clarence Seedorf echoed his boss's sentiments.

"Now we can really dream of taking the Scudetto out of Juves hands," he said.

Inter, whose fans boycotted Friday's derby in protest at their failure to make it into the Champions League last four, are lying third, four points adrift of Milan, with Fiorentina, 3-1 winners over bottom club Treviso, overtaking Roma for fourth.

Roma slipped a place after a 3-3 draw with Palermo, with the club immediately below them Lazio seeing off Livorno 3-1.

Down in Sardinia Cagliari belied their underdog status to take an unscripted lead when David Suaro converted a penalty after a Gianluca Zambrotta foul on Antonio Langella one minute before the break.

A disappointing Adrian Mutu was replaced by Mauro Camoranesi for the second half as Juventus sought to launch a fightback against the Serie A strugglers.

And things were looking brighter for Juve when they were awarded a 57th minute penalty when Cagliari's Daniele Conti mistimed his jump and sent Zambrotta sprawling to the ground.

Against heated protests from the hosts the referee stuck by his decision only for Antonio Chimenti to save his former colleague Alessandro Del Peiro's spot-kick.

Then just as Cagliari appeared to have held on to inflict Juventus' second defeat of the season their afternoon was turned upside down in the final seconds when Cannavaro headed home Camoranesi's corner.

Chaotic scenes ensued with Cagliari's Antonio Langella sent off for dissent and Chimenti had to be pulled away by directors and teammates.

Twenty four hours earlier Milan had consolidated their position in second and kept up the pressure on Juve when Brazilian midfielder Kaka broke stalemate at the San Siro with 20 minutes to go.

This was the perfect warm-up for Milan ahead of Tuesday's Champions league semi-final first leg date with Barcelona with Ancelotti saying his men had shown another side to their character.

"It was a victory born more out of strength than quality, which is rare for us," said Ancelotti.

For Inter, who are now four points shy of their arch enemies, it spelled the latest reverse in what has been a difficult month which has seen them dumped out of Europe by Villarreal and then attacked by an angry mob of their own fans last weekend.

In other results Saturday Reggina beat Ascoli 2-0, Parma came away from Sampdoria as 2-0 winners, Empoli saw off Siena 2-1, and Udinese beat Lewcce by the same scoreline.

"It was a victory born more out of strength than quality, which is rare for us.

"It was a difficult game, as Inter closed down all the spaces and hardly allowed us to play the ball to feet. That is our main strength and we should generally avoid long balls forward," he said.

For Inter, who are now four points shy of their arch enemies, it spelled the latest reverse in what has been a difficult month which has seen them dumped out of Europe by Villareal and then attacked by an angry mob of their own fans last weekend.

And Inter supporters carried on their protest with many boycotting the game.

Inter coach Roberto Mancini reflected: "A team always needs its fans close by, but this is a strange time and all we can do is stay calm and try to carry on working hard.

"We prepared for this game like any other, even if the last 10 days have been very hard for us. It was better to focus on football rather than all that surrounds it."

He blamed the defeat on sloppy defending.

"We made a silly mistake for the goal, as the defence left itself open on that high ball coming in after a set-piece. Unfortunately, Marco Materazzi slipped and that created the chance."

The match was brought forward to Friday to allow Milan an extra 24 hours to prepare for Barcelona's visit and with half an eye on the coming of the Catalans Ancelotti elected not to start Pippo Inzaghi.

Inter though started with the out-of-sorts Adriano in their midst after the Brazil striker came through a late fitness test after his recent injury problems.

This derby was valued at 12 million euros, the estimated price put on finishing second in Serie A.

And Milan are firmly in the driving seat to take the prized runner-up spot and even with renewed aspirations to take the title after Kaka followed up last week's hat-trick against Chievo with the decisive strike 20 minutes from the end.

Holland international Clarence Seedorf lobbed a high ball into the box from the left with the unmarked Kaka, granted all the time in the world to control the ball off his chest, unleashing an unstoppable drive past Julio Cesar in the Inter goal.

One of Inter's best chances came on the hour mark when Dejan Stankovic crossed to Luis Figo but the former Real Madrid galactico's header went wide of the far post.

And late pressure from the visitors came close to paying dividends with a little help from the fumbling Dida.

The Milan keeper totally mistimed his exit on Adriano allowing in Esteban Cambiasso but the Argentine's header somehow missed finding the back of the net.

But Ancelotti defended his keeper saying: "We made a few mistakes, but this can happen against a talented side like Inter. It went well despite our errors. Didas situation and so-called distractions are becoming a bit of a clich�.

"Hes not perfect, but he at least tries to command the area and come out for the ball. In the past he was criticised for sitting back."

Looking ahead to the Barcelona game he added: "We can now focus on the Champions League, but were not giving up in Serie A, as this was a crucial result in our bid for second place."

And having failed to reduce the champions' lead to four points, United could now see Chelsea retain the title against Everton on Monday if they themselves lose at Tottenham on the same day.

"I can't explain it," said Ferguson as he tried to come to terms with the result. "But when you've got some young players you don't get the consistency.

"Tonight, when we expected the most, young (Wayne) Rooney and young (Cristiano) Ronaldo had their worst game of the season probably."

The veteran Scot added: "We need a miracle now. It's a great boost for Chelsea. But we can't give up because we've come too far to give up.

"Great credit to Sunderland. They worked their socks off it was their best performance of the season. We thought they'd have a go and they had a go."

Proud stand-in Sunderland boss Kevin Ball said: "I thought the way we played tonight was absolutely magnificent.

"We didn't come here to make the numbers up, we came here to have a go. We even had opportunities to win the game," Ball, appointed after former Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy was sacked in March with the north-east club already anchored to the bottom of the table, also told Sky Sports.

Cast adrift at the foot of the Premiership, knowing that even an unlikely Old Trafford victory would only postpone the inevitable of relegation for a few more days at best, Sunderland should have had no chance of ending United's nine-game winning streak.

But the Black Cats frustrated United with a dogged first-half performance.

And although the 0-0 scoreline was mainly due to United's inability to finish off chances in front of goal, Sunderland created opportunities of their own and could even have taken the lead through Jon Stead two minutes before half-time.

Portugal winger Ronaldo's careless pass 25 yards from goal was cut out by midfielder Chris Brown, who released full-back Justin Hoyte. Hoyte broke into the penalty area before squaring to Stead at the far post. Sadly for Sunderland, Stead could only aim his sliding effort into the side-net.

Prior to that near miss, United had dominated possession but strikers Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rooney were unusually wasteful in front of goal.

Dutch forward van Nistelrooy looked short of his best and off the pace, while Rooney struggled to find the finishing touch that overcame Arsenal at the weekend.

In the second-half Stead aimed another strike just wide of Edwin van der Sar's goal before van Nistelrooy forced Davis into a top-class save when he spun and fired goalwards from 18 yards on 60 minutes.

Moments later, a slick move between van Nistelrooy and Rooney resulted in Ronaldo breaking free in the penalty area, but yet again, Davis denied United with a brave save.

After seeing Hoyte send a 25-yard strike inches wide of the post, Ferguson introduced fit-again striker Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer off the bench.

United's problems continued, though, and Davis saved his side yet again when he dived low to his left to push another van Nistelrooy effort round the post.

It proved to be United's last clear chance and Sunderland held out for the point that ensured they were relegated with some pride still intact.

BARCELONA (AFP) - Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard will relish his Spanish side's Champions League semi-final against his former club AC Milan.

The 43-year-old Dutch defender made his name as a player during his five seasons at Milan, winning both the European Cup and the Serie A titles twice.

With six European Cups to their name Rijkaard knows that Milan are formidable opponents, but one which he feels his side can match.

"For me personally, it's just another game," the Dutchman insisted after goals from Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o saw the Spanish giants defeat Benfica 2-0 in their quarter-final second leg tie at home.

But tell that to the many Barca fans with memories extending back 12 years and who may feel minded to ask who Rijkaard thinks he is kidding.

The last time Barcelona and AC Milan met in the trophy game, in 1994, they seemed well matched.

The Italians had other other ideas as they cantered to a 4-0 victory.

Rijkaard was no longer part of that majestic Milanese side, having gone home to Ajax a year earlier, but there was no old pals act when he helped the Dutch giants to victory in the 1995 final - over Milan.

In three weeks time there will likewise be no room for sentiment.

"We must prepare for two really tough encounters as they've long been at a very high level," said the Dutch master, whose men will be without Portuguese international midfielder Deco, suspended for the opening leg for an early foul Wednesday on Moretto.

Much will hinge on whether Barca's Argentine starlet Leo Messi returns in time from injury to step into Deco's shoes and which pair of strikers is quickest off the blocks.

Ronaldinho and Eto'o now have a dozen goals between them in the tournament while Milan possess assassins of their own in Pippo Inzaghi and Andrei Shevchenko.

In seeing off a Benfica side, who knocked out both a complacent Manchester United and also holders Liverpool, Barca have shown they have not run out of steam, but few sides are as wily as Milan.

"They have oodles of quality at the back and have bags of experience," noted Barca keeper Victor Valdes.

Rijkaard's level-headedness has helped Barca reach the last four for the first time since 2000, that year bringing a humiliating loss to title-bound rivals Real Madrid.

But he will be mindful of the fact that "only" winning La Liga is not enough for those who sup at the top table of Spanish football.

Former Real coach Vicente del Bosque was sacked after delivering the 2002 Champions League and the 2003 league title and Louis Van Gaal, the last Dutchman to coach Barca before Rijkaard, parted company with the club twice after domestic league wins proved his limit.

It was the second time this season that Zoro had been targeted for racist abuse by Inter's fans.

Maurizio Laudi, the Italian football league judge who made the ruling, said Inter would also have been forced to play a match behind closed doors had it not been for the outrage of other supporters who jeered those abusing Zoro.

Inter were fortunate to get away with just a fine following the announcement by world football's governing body FIFA last month of a crackdown on clubs whose fans racially abuse black players.

Under the new system, FIFA said clubs found guilty of failing to prevent their supporters from abusing players on racial grounds could be docked three points for a first offence, six for a second and even relegated in the case of repeated incidents.

However, while FIFA said in March that the new legislation would come into effect immediately, the Italian football federation (FIGC) has delayed implementing it in Italy until July 1, following discussions with FIFA officials.

The FIGC told AFP that they needed time to enforce the new anti-racism laws and that FIFA were in full agreement, raising doubts over when the ruling would be introduced in other countries.

No-one at FIFA was available for comment when contacted by AFP.

News that Inter have been let off with a smacked wrist will disappoint Zoro, who had urged FIFA to come down hard on the club.

"It's time people stopped abusing players just for the colour of their skin," he said after Saturday's match.

"As soon as I ran out onto the pitch they shouted all sorts of things at me and I think it's a disgrace.

"I'm powerless to do anything about it. I just have to play. I wish the fans could understand what they are doing and I hope FIFA will do something."

Last weekend's match was not the first time Zoro has been targeted by Inter fans.

In November, when Messina played at home to Inter, he was reduced to tears after being subjected to racial abuse by the visiting supporters, and tried - unsuccessfully - to persuade the referee to abandon the match.

After the incident, the FIGC promised to come down hard on the bigots, yet despite widespread condemnation of the abuse and demonstrations of support for Zoro, the ugly sound of monkey noises and booing still follows black players as they travel to grounds up and down the country.