Sporting briefs

Metzelder: Real Madrid defender Christoph Metzelder said he will fight to convince coach Juande Ramos that he deserves a regular place but will decide whether his future lies with the Primera Liga champions in the next few months. "The coach knows what I can do and I am ready for battle," he said.

Givet: French defender Gael Givet has been loaned from Olympique Marseille to Blackburn Rovers until the end of the season, the Ligue 1 club said on their website. Givet, capped 12 times by France, has not played with Marseille this season after falling out with coach Eric Gerets.

Kilbane: Hull City have signed Ireland midfielder Kevin Kilbane on a free transfer from fellow Premier League side Wigan Athletic. Kilbane has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, Hull said.

Cup derby: Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said it will be a pleasure to play city rivals Espanyol in the last eight of the King's Cup, which take place over two legs next week and the week after. "It's always a pleasure to take on Espanyol," Guardiola said. "It's a derby and I prefer it."

Mattioni: Milan have signed Brazilian full back Felipe Mattioni on loan from Gremio with the option to buy the 20-year-old, the Serie A club said on their website (www.acmilan.com). Milan gave no financial details of the deal but media reported that Mattioni has an Italian passport and will be eligible to play immediately.

In France: League Cup SF draw - Nice vs Vannes; Paris St Germain vs Girondins Bordeaux. Matches to be played on Feb. 3 and 4.

King's Cup: Last 16, second leg - Athletic Bilbao vs Osasuna 2-0 (A. Bilbao win 3-1 on aggregate).

Boxing: Seven-times world champion Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico will fight Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan on March 14 at an unconfirmed British venue. Barrera, 34, who has won world titles at three different weights, fought once last year, recording a fourth-round knockout of Sammy Ventura in China in November to extend his record to 64-6. Lightweight Khan (19-1), recorded a second-round knockout of Irishman Oisin Fagan last month.

Olympics: London 2012 Olympics organisers said they were in talks with Games sponsor Nortel after the telephone company filed for bankruptcy. As a Tier One sponsor, Nortel is contributing around £40 million to the 2012 organising committee's kitty as well as supplying some of the communications infrastructure to the Games. Organisers have already raised around £400 million from private sector sponsorship but Nortel's problems will fuel fears that the global economic downturn could make it more difficult to meet its £1 billion target.