Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has launched a scathing attack on Real Madrid boss José Mourinho ahead of their Champions League semi-final showdown.

The usually laid-back Guardiola reacted angrily to a comment made by Mourinho earlier in the day after the Madrid manager hit out at the Barça boss for refusing to accept refereeing decisions.

“On Wednesday we will meet each other on the pitch. Off the pitch he has already won,” said Guardiola ahead of the first-leg clash at the Bernabéu.

“In this room [Real Madrid's press room], he’s the f****** chief, the f****** man, the person who knows everything about the world and I don’t want to compete with him at all.

“It’s a type of game I’m not going to play because I don’t know how. I won’t justify my words. I congratulated Madrid for the cup that they won deservedly on the pitch and against a team that I represent and of which I feel very proud.”

Experienced German official Wolfgang Stark will referee Wednesday’s clash but before he was named, Guardiola said Mourinho would be “super happy” if his fellow Portuguese Pedro Proenca had been chosen.

Mourinho responded: “Besides the naming of the referee and the pressure that they exerted that it was not Proenca, the most important thing is that we are in a new cycle.”

The Madrid boss then went on to question Guardiola over his criticism of the referee in the Copa del Rey final after Pedro Rodriguez’s goal was disallowed for offside – a decision which replays showed was a correct call.

“Up to now we have had two types of coaches. A very small group of coaches who never speak to the referees,” Mourinho continued.

“After that, there is a bigger group, of whom I am one, who criticise the referees when they make huge errors. But it is also a group who are happy to highlight the good work of the referee.

“And now, with the declaration of Pep the other day, we are entering a new era with a third group, which for the moment includes only him, who criticise the correct decision of the referee. This is something I have never seen in the world of football.”

And a visibly incensed Guardiola responded: “Because Mr Mourinho used my name directly I will do the same. Away from the pitch he has had the upper hand so I award him his own personal Champions League for that.

“We worked together for four years. He knows me and I know him and that’s what I will remember and focus on.

“It leaves a bad taste when someone you have worked with believes what he reads rather than you. If you think I complain about referees then great, there is nothing I can do.”

The opening of 2011's clay season has had something of the London bus about it. You wait for hours, and then several turn up at once.

And so it is with the longed-for return of a trio of players who have been away with injury for what seems like an eternity. Suddenly there were three of them headlining the ATP website at the same time.

Juan Carlos Ferrero

First in the frame was the evergreen Ferrero, world No1 for two months back in 2003, who returned to the tour in Barcelona a week ago for the first time since major surgery last October.

The motorbike-addicted Spaniard won titles every year from 1999 to 2003, including four Masters and the French Open. He reached a final in every one of his 12 years since turning pro, including the US Open, the Masters Cup and Cincinnati, so his talent was not simply confined to the red stuff.

But there followed a string of injuries. In 2008 alone he pulled out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon with leg problems and, at the US Open, it was his shoulder.

After 2003, it would be another six years until he claimed a title, in Casablanca in 2009, and that marked the first step in a major resurgence. A new fitness regime, and ambitions to reach the top 10 again, reaped rewards.

Ferrero won titles in Umag, Buenos Aires and Costa do Sauipe, reached the final in Acapulco, the semis in Stuttgart and the quarters in Monte Carlo and Hamburg, all of which took him into the top 20 for the first time in more than two years. 2010 turned into his best season since that chart-topping 2003.

Then once again, the US Open brought progress to a halt. Ferrero subsequently succumbed to left knee and right wrist surgery and, turning 31 in February, he might have called it a day and turned his attention to his many other tennis interests.

He jointly owns, with David Ferrer, the Valencia 500 tournament that moved to a stunning new venue in 2009, and he runs the JC Ferrero Equelite Sports Academy that he set up in 2001 to promote young tennis talent.

But no, he's back: And his return in Barcelona was more than encouraging. He reached the quarter-finals, eventually falling to new top-10 entry Nicolas Almagro. The result took him a modest seven places up the rankings to 70 but, if his 2010 surge is anything to go by, that could be just the beginning for one of most elegant clay-courters in the business.

Tommy Haas

Talking of elegance, another welcome return—after a 14-month absence—has been made this week by Haas.

His storyline bears many similarities to Ferrero's. Once No2 in the world, Haas had an Indian summer of a comeback year during 2009 and early 2010.

Haas proved his huge talent early, winning a first title at 20 and his first Master's at 22, and with each passing month of 2009, he was showing more of the tennis that had taken him to No2 in 2002.

At the age of 31, his rise up the rankings between Easter and June covered more than 50 places, a period topped by his 12th ATP title—his first ever on grass—in Halle. After a dozen years on the professional tour, he had a complete set of titles on all surfaces.

The green shoots of this 2009 success first appeared in his outstanding performance against Roger Federer in the fourth round of the French Open. It took a near-superhuman effort from Federer to turn around a two-sets deficit in one of the matches of the tournament. Haas went on to meet Federer again—the German must have cursed his luck—in the Wimbledon semis, having beating Djokovic in the quarters.

But while riding high at 17 in the world, in the middle of 2010's spring North American hard court season, injury forced Haas from the tour and into dual surgery—first on his right hip and then on his right elbow.

It must have seemed like the final straw in a career bedevilled by injury. He had broken one ankle just as he made the transition from junior to senior status. Within a year, he broke his other ankle. In the run-up to the Sydney Olympics, he suffered a bulging disc in his back yet went on to win a silver medal.

Haas's progress was then brought to an abrupt halt after an accident nearly claimed the lives of his parents and left his father in a coma. He would spend much of 2002 taking care of his family, and went on to miss most of 2003 when a serious shoulder injury required surgery.

In 2004, he surged back from outside the top 1,000 to No17, earning the ATP Comeback Player of the Year award, but in 2005, there was a twisted ankle in the first round of Wimbledon, a wrist injury in 2006, and torn stomach muscles during Wimbledon 2008. More rehabilitation of his troublesome shoulder finally dragged him back down to the 80s.

Not surprising, then, that Haas's return in Munich this week has been a cautious one: He took part only in the doubles at his former home event to assess how his 33-year-old body felt. He and Radek Stepanek lost in a 10-8 tie-breaker, but it was valuable opener before he migrates to the singles tour in a few weeks.

Haas is a player to value on many levels—a classy character, an elegant and attacking shot-maker, and with a backhand and a volley style not unlike Federer's

He also has a similar incentive to his long-standing friend: "If I can stay healthy and play a little bit, it would be great if my daughter could maybe see me play at least a couple times, to see what I actually did before I stopped."

Fernando González

The third of the maturing comeback trio also has something in common with the fellow members of this 30-plus band.

González, a former world No5, was at 10 in the rankings a year back when he won both of his rubbers in Chile's Davis Cup match against Israel.

After a second round exit at Roland Garros, however, he needed time out for rehab before trying to make a tentative return on the American hard courts, but he was forced to retire in his opening match at the US Open and underwent hip surgery in October.

If there was any good news for the 30-year-old, it was that he escaped knee surgery as well, and made it back into full-time training within just five months. He initially worked with Chile's Davis Cup team and players at the ATP Challenger in his home city of Santiago before travelling to California to join up with a new coach, Horacio Matta.

González won the first of his 11 titles in 2000, and has been a finalist in a further 11 events, including two Masters and the Australian Open. With such a long—and often fiery—career already on the table, he is now pragmatic enough to concede that, this time around, his campaign will be different: "It will be symbolic because I feel it will be the beginning of the end of my career."

But he does have one particular target to act as an incentive: the 2012 Olympics. He won a bronze medal in 2004—with a gold in the doubles—and won silver in 2008. National success once more would crown a 13-year career perfectly.

The start of this final phase began well at the Belgrade Open, where he had a wild card entry, and he opened with a 6-2, 6-4 win. He has one other piece of good fortune: Novak Djokovic, hoping to resume his 2011 unbeaten run in front of his home crowd, is in the other half of the draw.

So, three 30-something storylines converge in a single week. The powerful and pugnacious Chilean González; the stylish, Spanish Ferrero; and the elegant, passionate German, Haas.

Combined, they add up to just six years short of a century. Separate, they add more than a touch of excitement to the tennis scene.

José Mourinho will remain at Real Madrid beyond this summer, according to the club's director general.

Mourinho has been linked with returns to both Chelsea and Internazionale in recent weeks despite signing a four-year contract with Madrid last summer.

But Jorge Valdano insists the Portuguese coach is happy at the Bernabéu. “Mourinho has a contract for four years and says he wants to stay,” said Valdano.

“I see no reason to disbelieve him. He is the ideal coach for Real Madrid has the same hunger for our win.”

The 48-year-old manager masterminded Madrid’s 1-0 victory over bitter rivals Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final last week, securing the club’s first silverware in three seasons.

And Valdano is confident Real can conquer Barcelona again in their Champions League semi-final, and insists Madrid are still in the La Liga title race despite Pep Guardiola’s men holding an eight-point advantage over Mourinho's side with five games left.

“We want to absolutely win the Champions League and we have not given up even in the league we will do everything to conquer the league,” added Valdano.

The venue for the inaugural Indian Grand Prix has been named the Buddh International Circuit, after the district in which it is based.

The announcement came on the same day the chief organiser of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi was arrested amid investigations into allegations of corruption, and the race’s organisers were keen to distance themselves from the scandal.

"Our country's reputation is there. We are responsible people,” said Manoj Gaur, the executive chairman of the construction company behind the Indian track.

“The track is ready and the homologation of the facility will be done in July as per the timetable of the FIA.

“I would like to tell you that the track is ready. We are in the process of getting the grandstands ready. We will show the world that India can host international motor racing events.”

The 3.194-mile 16-turn track, designed by German architect and racetrack designer Hermann Tilke, features high-speed straights and significant track elevations to help improve overtaking opportunities.

The circuit will host its first grand prix on 30 October subject to FIA approval at the end of July, and will form part of the Jaypee Sports City which will include a 100,000-seater cricket stadium, hockey arena, sports training academy, and other sports infrastructure over 2,500 acres.

The circuit also hopes to expand beyond F1 to host other international motorsport series in the coming years.

Seating capacity of the $400m (£234m) circuit is 150,000 and it remains to be seen whether the Indian track can make tickets affordable to entice local Indians to watch F1, a sport which can be an expensive hobby.

The lure of Force India, and at least one Indian driver on the grid in Hispania's Narain Karthikeyan, along with the possibility of Lotus reserve driver Karun Chandhok also taking part in the weekend will go some way to inspiring a strong home crowd.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is on the lookout for a long-term replacement for Paul Scholes this summer.

Scholes, 36, has been a fabulous servant for United but the former England international has been limited to just nine Premier League starts this season, and with United’s rivals all expected to strengthen their squads in the transfer window, Ferguson must finally identify a target capable of filling the void left by the midfielder.

Wesley Sneijder

Ferguson's first choice is Internazionale's Wesley Sneijder. The Netherlands international sparkled for the Milan club last season, helping them claim a famous treble after swapping Real Madrid for the Serie A side.

Inter paid €15m (£13.3m) to land the attacking midfielder in 2009 but United would likely have to shell out at least twice as much to tempt the Serie A champions into selling one of their prized assets.

The Italian press has recently been awash with rumours suggesting that Sneijder wants to leave the San Siro following a disagreement with Inter boss Leonardo.

The former Brazilian international dropped the 26-year-old in the wake of Inter's 3-0 derby defeat by AC Milan and their premature exit from the Champions League following a 7-3 aggregate loss to Schalke.

When quizzed over a possible move to Old Trafford, the Holland international did little to quell the speculation linking him with the Red Devils. He said: “Do I want to go to United? It's a beautiful club.”

Marek Hamsík

Ferguson is also reportedly targeting Napoli playmaker Marek Hamsík. The 23-year-old Slovakia captain led his country to the second round of the World Cup last summer, and has been outstanding in helping Napoli mount a serious Serie A title challenge.

Since signing from Brescia in 2007 for €5.5m (£4.8m), the skilful midfielder has blossomed, scoring 44 goals in 150 games, and attracting interest from the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Milan and United.

“He has important qualities, and seeing his young age, notable margins for improvement too,” said Milan manager Massimilano Allegri, who has pinpointed Hamsík as a top target.

Luka Modrić

Closer to home, Tottenham Hotspur's Luka Modrić is a prime candidate to take over from Scholes in the fulcrum of United’s midfield.

Modrić has been in glittering form this season and last, helping Spurs qualify for the Champions League last year while combining superbly both with new signing Rafael van der Vaart and Tom Huddlestone as the London side reached the last eight of Europe’s premier club competition this term.

United, who have lured Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov away from White Hart Lane in recent seasons, have been linked with a swoop for the 25-year-old diminutive midfielder in recent weeks.

However, Spurs' reported £50m asking price for the Croatia international would be likely to deter the English champions elect.

The best of the rest…

Elsewhere, Everton's Jack Rodwell has also been touted as a target for Ferguson. The 20-year-old broke into the Everton first team in 2008, and while his impact has not been quite as electrifying as former teenage sensation Wayne Rooney, the midfielder has cemented his reputation as one of England's brightest talents.

If reluctant to spend, Ferguson could look to give the highly-rated Tom Cleverley a first-team chance. Cleverley is coming to the end of his season-long loan at Wigan Athletic and the 21-year-old has impressed in his 20 top flight games for the Latics this term, scoring four goals.