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Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry is leaving at the end of the season in another sign of the off-field power struggles within the club.

The club announced Parry’s departure Friday without saying why he was leaving, but the move appeared to be linked to his tense relations with American co-owner Tom Hicks.

His departure increases the likelihood that manager Rafa Benitez will stay at the club. Benitez has been seeking greater control over transfers and has so far declined to sign a new contract.

“It’s a decision between the owners and Rick Parry,” Benitez said on the club’s Web site. “We have very important games coming up. We’ll work together for the rest of the season and after this we will wish him all the best.”

Parry, 54, has been at Liverpool since 1997. His tenure reached a high point in 2005 when Liverpool won the Champions League for its fifth European Cup trophy.

The club said he agreed to stay until the end of the season to ensure a smooth transition.

“I have had 12 very exciting years at Liverpool and am extremely proud of what has been achieved by the club over that period,” Parry said in a statement. “The (Champions League) victory … was a wonderful reminder of the many high points we have experienced …

“It has been a privilege to serve the club and as a lifelong supporter I wish the owners, Rafa, the players and the wonderful staff all the very best for the future.”

Parry was caught in the middle of the strained relationship between co-owners Hicks and George Gillett Jr.

Las April, Hicks asked Parry to resign, a move Parry branded “offensive.” Parry sided with Gillett, but his position has remained unstable.

“Rick’s commitment to Liverpool Football Club is epitomized by his desire to ensure that this transitional period is managed efficiently and we are grateful to him for his help. He will always remain a friend of the football club,” Hicks said in the club statement.

Gillett added: “I would like to thank Rick for his significant service to the club and the assistance he has given us since we joined Liverpool. He has been integral to the club’s success over the past decade and leaves with our best wishes for the future.”

Speculation grew earlier this week that Benitez was set to resign or be fired. British bookmakers even suspended betting on Benitez’ future on Wednesday after being swamped with bets that he would go.

After Friday’s announcement of Parry’s departure, the bookmakers made Benitez odds-on to still be manager next season.

“We know everyone wants the best for the club,” Benitez said. “We’ll try to work together, try to win games and be successful. The relationship has been good and professional and now it will be the same because we both want the best for the club.”

Liverpool is second in the Premier League, seven points behind leader Manchester United.

A year after upsetting the odds by beating Chelsea in the League Cup Final, Tottenham defends its crown Sunday against equally daunting opposition.

Premier League leader Manchester United stands between Tottenham and its second trophy in as many seasons. Even if the European Champions field a weakened side, the Red Devils remain heavy favorites.

The League Cup is something of a sideshow for both clubs. It represents the least coveted trophy of a possible quadruple for United, while Tottenham’s priority is to ensure Premier League survival.

However, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will field his strongest possible lineup, waiting until the last minute to see if captain Ledley King is fit to start ahead of Michael Dawson.

“Dawson has been fantastic, but I picked Ledley the other night because he’s so important and he’s a special player,” Redknapp said. “It’s always the case with Ledley of waiting to see how he recovers after a game.”

Redknapp, who replaced Juande Ramos at White Hart Lane in October, effectively sacrificed his side’s chances in the UEFA Cup Thursday, with the United game in mind.

“I’m not worried about the UEFA Cup, I would just love to win on Sunday,” Redknapp said, after watching his exit the European competition 3-1 on aggregate at the hands of Shakhtar Donetsk.

With the Shakhtar tie less than 72 hours before the clash with United, Redknapp fielded a virtual reserve side against the Ukraine club, with only goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes and midfielder Tom Huddlestone likely to start at Wembley.

“We’re involved in a cup final on Sunday, that was the problem tonight,” an unapologetic Redknapp said. “I don’t even know how I am supposed to do anything else. I’ve had to juggle around this week.”

Central midfielder Jamie O’Hara could also figure, after lasting 71 minutes against Shakhtar following a monthlong layoff, while Jonathan Woodgate should be fit despite suffering a head injury in Tottenham’s 2-1 win at Hull Monday.

“Woodgate’s OK,” said Redknapp. “He’s had a lot of stitches in his head, but they all want to play. Tom (Huddlestone) could play. When Tom plays like that, you could play three central defenders. He can read it and pass it. He’d be so well suited for that.”

Striker Robbie Keane, who rejoined the club in the January transfer window is ineligible, having played against Tottenham for Liverpool earlier in the competition. Roman Pavlyuchenko, who has scored in every round, should be fit after recovering from a groin injury.

United manager Alex Ferguson is unlikely to field his strongest team, but Redknapp warned against describing any Red Devils’ side as understrength.

“Alex may change one or two but he wants to win everything,” he said. “That is why he is what he is. He’s not going to put out a team that he doesn’t think will win.”

Redknapp has managed three different sides to victory against United in the FA Cup, including Portsmouth, which went on to win the title last year. But he remained modest when asked about his record againt Ferguson, saying, “You say a good record but no one has a winning record against Fergie.”

Ferguson believes the young players are ready to seize their chance.

“Some time ago, I took a deliberate decision with (former United coach) Carlos Queiroz that the way forward with our youngsters was that as soon as we identified they had the quality and temperament to become first-team players, then we would bring them into the squad and let them train with the seniors,” he said.

In the Premier League, second-placed Liverpool has the chance to close the gap on United with a trip to struggling Middlesbrough on Saturday. Striker Fernando Torres is out after he picked up an ankle injury in the first minute of the Reds’ 1-0 Champions League win at Real Madrid Wednesday, but Steven Gerrard could start after coming on as a substitute in the Bernebau.

Third-place Chelsea hosts Wigan, with interim manager Guus Hiddink claiming his side’s fitness levels are partially responsible for their 10-point gap to United.

“I was not happy with the functionality of the team but we will improve it,” he said, after Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Juventus in the Champions League. “They are not at tip-top physical level.”

Arsenal, which is fifth and 17 points behind Man United, hosts Fulham at the Emirates Stadium.

Andrei Arshavin returns and manager Arsene Wenger was given a double boost with the news that Abou Diaby has shaken off a thigh injury and Theo Walcott will resume training on Monday.

Saturday’s other game sees sixth-place Everton host West Bromwich Albion, which is last.

Fourth-place Aston Villa prepared for Sunday’s home game with Stoke by resting eight players for Thursday night’s 2-0 defeat at CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup.

“I’m disappointed,” said manager Martin O’Neill. “But I made the decisions at the time and I have to stick by it. Three games in six days does take its toll and it’s important to look at the bigger picture.”

Sunday’s other games are Bolton vs. Newcastle, Hull vs. Blackburn, West Ham vs. Manchester City.

Results in the 22nd round of the Bundesliga, the German first-division football league (home teams listed first).

Friday’s Game

Cologne 1, Arminia Bielefeld 1

Saturday’s Games

Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Schalke

Hannover vs. Bayer Leverkusen

Bochum vs. Energie Cottbus

Hertha Berlin vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach

Borussia Dortmund vs. Hoffenheim

Sunday’s Games

Werder Bremen vs. Bayern Munich

Hamburg vs. Wolfsburg

Karlsruhe vs. Stuttgart

Ronaldo will be punished for ignoring a team curfew, Corinthians said on Friday.

The team’s Web site provided no further details but according to the GloboEsporte Web site, Ronaldo will be fined for staying out too late at a party on Thursday.

Corinthians players were ordered back to their hotel from a team get-together at a director’s home in the city of Presidente Prudente by 11 p.m. (0200 GMT), but Ronaldo did not return until 5:30 a.m. (0800 GMT).

The 32-year-old Ronaldo signed a one-year contract with Corinthians in December, and for a long while trained apart from the team in an effort to lose weight and fully recover from left knee surgery about a year ago while playing for AC Milan. He’s expected to make his debut next week.

Corinthians was in Presidente Prudente training for a Sao Paulo state championship match against Marilia on Sunday.

Corinthians returned to the Brazilian league this year after spending 2008 in the second division. The four-time national champions are second in the Sao Paulo state championship, one point behind defending champion Palmeiras.

AC Milan and David Beckham were eliminated from the UEFA Cup on Thursday night, wasting a two-goal lead at home in a 2-2 tie against Germany’s Werder Bremen.

Andrea Pirlo converted a penalty kick in the 27th minute after Beckham’s free kick was blocked by the arm of Torsten Frings on the defensive wall, and Alexandre Pato made it 2-0 six minutes later.

Claudio Pizarro rallied Werder Bremen when he scored on headers in the 68th and 78th minutes. That left the aggregate score 3-3 in the home-and-home series, and Werder Bremen advanced to a fourth-round matchup with Saint-Etienne because it scored more away goals.

In the UEFA Cup rather than the Champions League following a disappointing fifth-place finish in Italy’s Serie A last season, AC Milan had hoped to win the less prestigious tournament for the first time. The traditional Italian power is a seven-time European Cup champion.

Udinese was the only one of four Italian teams to progress, beating visiting Lech Poznan 2-1 to advance on 4-3 aggregate. Sampdoria lost at Metalist Kharkiv 2-0 and was eliminated 3-0; and Fiorentina tied 1-1 at Ajax Amsterdam and was eliminated 2-1.

England will also have just one representative in the round of 16 after Aston Villa and two-time UEFA Cup winner Tottenham fielded weakened starting lineups and were knocked out by 3-1 margins.

Villa allowed two second-half goals and was beaten 2-0 at 2005 champion CSKA Moscow. Giovani Dos Santos scored his first goal for Tottenham, which was looking ahead to Sunday’s League Cup final against Manchester United and tied 1-1 at home against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Craig Bellamy scored twice as Manchester City beat Copenhagen 2-1 to advance on 4-3 aggregate.

—

England

HULL, England - Hull beat Sheffield United 2-1 to reach the quarterfinals of England’s FA Cup for the first time since 1971.

Hull has won just one of its past 17 Premier League matches but went ahead in the 24th minute of the fifth-round replay when Blades defender Kyle Naughton headed into his own goal. Billy Sharp equalized six minutes later but Peter Halmosi scored 11 minutes into the second half to earn a meeting with Arsenal or Burnley.

In other quarterfinals, scheduled for the weekend of March 7-8, Chelsea is at Coventry, Middlesbrough at Everton and Premier League leader Manchester United at Fulham.

(Home teams listed first)

Round of 32

Second Leg.

Stuttgart (Germany) 1, Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia) 2 (Zenit advances 4-2 on aggregate)

Saint-Etienne (France) 2, Olympiakos (Greece) 1 (Saint-Etienne advances 5-2)

CSKA Moscow (Russia) 2, Aston Villa (England) 0 (CSKA advances 3-1)

AC Milan (Italy) 2, Werder Bremen (Germany) 2 (Aggregate 3-3; Werder Bremen advances on away goals)

Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine) 2, Sampdoria (Italy) 0 (Metalist advances 3-0)

Hamburg (Germany) 1, NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands) 0 (Hamburg advances 4-0)

Wolfsburg (Germany) 1, Paris Saint-Germain (France) 3 (PSG advances 5-1)

Galatasaray (Turkey) 4, Bordeaux (France) 3 (Galatasaray advances 4-3)

Deportivo La Coruna (Spain) 1, Aalborg (Denmark) 3 (Aalborg advances 6-1)

Standard Liege (Belgium) 1, Braga (Portugal) 1 (Braga advances 4-1)

Udinese (Italy) 2, Lech Poznan (Poland) 1 (Udinese advances 4-3)

Tottenham (England) 1, Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 1 (Shakhtar advances 3-1)

Manchester City (England) 2, FC Copenhagen (Denmark) 1 (Manchester City advances 4-3)

FC Twente (Netherlands) 0, Marseille (France) 1 (Aggregate 1-1; Marseille advances 7-6 on penalties)

Ajax (Netherlands) 1, Fiorentina (Italy) 1 (Ajax advances 2-1)

Valencia (Spain) 2, Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) 2 (Aggregate 3-3; Dynamo Kiev advances on away goals)

The Swedish and Norwegian soccer federations announced a joint bid Thursday to host the 2016 European Championship.

“We cooperate very well and we have organized championships in the past,” said Lars-Ake Lagrell, chairman of the Swedish soccer federation.

The proposed host cities and stadiums will be announced later. UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, has announced that the number of teams for the tournament will increased from 16 to 24.

“The construction of our new national stadium in Solna will begin this spring,” Lagrell said. “It will feature a sliding roof and will be ready in 2012 with a capacity of 50,000 spectators. We also have Ullevi stadium in Goteborg and there are several other stadium projects.”

Sweden hosted the Euros in 1992, when only eight teams participated and four stadiums were used.

Other countries considering bids for the 2016 Euros include France, Turkey, Greece, Hungary and Romania, Russia and Italy. The host will be chosen by UEFA in May 2010.

Poland and Ukraine are set to co-host the 2012 Euros.

Interim Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink said he expected energy, passion and no excuses from his side against Juventus in the home leg of the Champions League first knockout round on Wednesday.

Hiddink, in charge for only eight days, told a news conference on Tuesday his players would not use his brief acquaintance with them as an excuse for a poor performance against the Turin side coached by former Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri.

“Of course, every manager likes to have six weeks to implement things,” the Dutchman said. “I have to do it in a reduced time but we have to do it …and with pleasure. We must not give ourselves an excuse because it means you give less,” he said.

Hiddink’s team won his first game in charge 1-0 at Aston Villa last Saturday.

The Dutchman, who took on the Chelsea job until the end of the season alongside his duties as Russian national coach as a favor to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, said he considered Ranieri a “gentleman coach” as well as a shrewd tactician who handled the big stars in his team well.

“From what I’ve seen recently he’s a very good organizer. Juventus show themselves to have enormous tactical discipline and play like a team. They are organized in a very disciplined way.”

The game would be challenging and exciting because the Champions League remained one of the club’s ambitions, Hiddink said.

Chelsea have reached the semifinals in four of the last five seasons and lost last year’s final to Manchester United on penalties, a game Hiddink watched at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow.

Ranieri, who took Chelsea to the semifinal in 2004, before being replaced by Jose Mourinho, said he still had good memories of his time in London but was now thinking only about Wednesday’s game.

“When the draw took place I got a good feeling. You don’t forget four years, they were four beautiful years,” Ranieri said. “But now I am focused on the game and that’s what it’s all about.”

The Italian, who became Abramovich’s first managerial casualty in 2004, said the English club remained favorites for the tie but that Juventus would not “take that lying down.”

Three managers have come and gone since Ranieri at Chelsea and the Juventus coach added he felt English football was becoming like the Italian game where owners were impatient for immediate success and coaches did not have time to build a team.

“New owners whether they are American, Arab or Russian are all convinced that if they spend they will win. But it’s not true. A football team is built brick by brick, one area of the team at a time, developing the locker room. It’s not just money that makes you win,” he said.

Ranieri, who said he still kept a house in London, had no hard feelings. “I think even if we had won the Champions League I knew my days were numbered,” he said, adding Abramovich had told him last time he saw him that he would always be welcome at Stamford Bridge.

Juventus have four fit strikers and Ranieri said they were all playing well. Asked whether he would play Alessandro Del Piero as well as fit-again David Trezeguet and Brazil’s Amauri, Ranieri refused to be drawn, saying he also had the option of playing Vincenzo Iaquinta.

He added he was proud of the part he had played in developing Chelsea’s core players such as captain John Terry and vice-captain Frank Lampard.

“All coaches aim to see young players and spot their potential and risk playing them and they are proud when they are successful. They are important at the beginning but after that the players do the job themselves,” he said.

Lampard paid a warm tribute to Ranieri, saying he deserved credit for turning Chelsea from also-rans in a side capable of winning honors.

Chelsea will still be without defender Ricardo Carvalho, who is recovering from a hamstring strain and midfielder Deco who has a slight tear in his hamstring and will be out for a few days. Joe Cole and Michael Essien are long term injuries with ligament damage though Essien has begun light training and should be fit to return next month.

(Home teams listed first)

Second Round.

First Leg

Arsenal (England) 1, AS Roma (Italy) 0

Atletico Madrid (Spain) 2, FC Porto (Portugal) 2

Inter Milan (Italy) 0, Manchester United (England) 0

Lyon (France) 1, Barcelona (Spain) 1

Results Tuesday in English football (home teams listed first).

FA Cup

Fifth Round Replays

Coventry 1, Blackburn 0

Fulham 2, Swansea 1

League Championship

Crystal Palace 0, Birmingham 0

League One

Brighton 1, Northampton 1

Cheltenham 1, Millwall 3

Colchester 1, Stockport 0

Crewe 2, Yeovil 0

Oldham 0, Bristol Rovers 2

Peterborough 1, Carlisle 0

Southend 2, Scunthorpe 0

Swindon 0, Hartlepool 1

League Two

Accrington Stanley 0, Luton 0

Dagenham & Redbridge 0, Bournemouth 1

Darlington 1, Rochdale 2

Grimsby 2, Morecambe 3