Friday, 20 June, 2014
cameroon coach slams ‘disgusting’ player behaviour in loss c
SPORTS DESK
AMEROON’S coach, Volker Finke, said an on-field brawl between two of his players during the team’s abject 4-0 defeat against Croatia on Wednesday was “disgusting”, and bemoaned a lack of discipline and effort by his players. In the first half Alex Song was sent off for elbowing Mario Mandzukic of Croatia in the back, and towards the end of the game the defender Benoît Assou-Ekotto butted Benjamin Moukandjo after an argument. Song apologised for his sending off, saying: “I’m very sad at the moment as I feel I have let my country and myself down. It was a stupid moment and I’m truly sorry. If I could do anything to take it back I would. Please forgive me.” But Finke was left furious by the manner of their elimination from Group A. “It’s clear we have to find the reasons for what’s going on because such behaviour is really disgusting, it won’t do, it’s impossible,” he said. “Some players behaved very badly, and that’s why we have conceded four goals. The game was balanced until the red card. “The Croatians were more clinical in front of goal, but Cameroon also had chances to score. The behaviour of some of the players is really not satisfactory. Even when we were 11-a-side, it was not acceptable. A result like this is a shame for Cameroon. We now have to sleep and do an analysis and then we can announce something. There will be consequences stemming from this.”
INDIA COULD RETURN TO PLAY CRICKET IN UAE, FEELS GAVASKAR
Finke also bemoaned the team’s defensive indiscipline in the second half, when Cameroon conceded three goals, the first one in the 48th minute. “I know it’s hard to play 11 versus 10 but it’s not necessary to lose control like that … the second goal was really too early. We had to try to play offensively as well, to stay in the match, and you risk having a result like that.” Finke compared the game to the German match against Portugal that ended in a 4-0 defeat for the Portuguese after defender Pepe was sent off. “It was the same thing and exactly the same result. I’m sorry about this result,” he said. Cameroon’s
players had threatened to boycott the World Cup due to a dispute with their federation over bonus payments. “After such a result, we have to admit that it is a disgrace,” Finke said. “We must look to the future.” The German-born Finke, who was appointed to the job one year ago, was also questioned about his own future in charge of the Cameroon team. “You understand very well that one has to sleep at least one night after a match like that. I can’t give a serious explanation to a question like that.” Cameroon, beaten by Mexico in their first game, complete their World Cup against the hosts Brazil.
'The end of a unique generation' Spanish newspapers mourned the end of the country's football dynasty after the champions' stunning exit from the World Cup in Brazil though front pages on Thursday were more focused on a new reign - of King Felipe VI.Champions Spain lost 2-0 to Chile on Wednesday, their glory days consigned to history books on the same day that King Juan Carlos signed his abdication papers, handing over to his heir Felipe who will be sworn in on Thursday. Spain's main newspapers, which had splashed headlines about the team's shock 5-1 demolition to the Netherlands last week across their front pages, bemoaned the second 'debacle' but mostly relegated the news to inside pages on Thursday. "The Spanish soccer team that has been the most deserving of a royal farewell ended its fairy tail in an atrocious way, in a world fiasco," Spain's leading newspaper El Pais said. The undisputed kings of global football in the last six years, Spain won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships and their first World Cup in South Africa. But their supremacy is no more and an ageing team needs to be rebuilt. "Crash! The end of a unique generation," sports newspaper Marca said. Spain became the third champions in the last four World Cups to be eliminated at the first hurdle and their departure will almost certainly end the long international careers of their greats Xavi, Iker Casillas and Xabi Alonso. "It was nice while it lasted," sports newspaper AS said.
India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has said that if the schedule allows then he expects India to return to play cricket in the UAE as soon as there is a window available, according to a Press release. India’s senior team has not played in the Emirates since 2006, when it contested two One-Day Internationals against Pakistan. But following on from the UAE’s successful hosting of 20 matches in the recent Pepsi Indian Premier League Gavaskar said he expected that absence to change. Speaking after receiving honorary life membership of The Els Club at Dubai Sports City, the 18-hole championship golf course managed by Troon Golf, Gavaskar said: “I think now we have had an opening through the Pepsi Indian Premier League, that (a return to the UAE by the India team) is certainly something the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) will consider.
Shandur polo fEStival bEginS today CHITRAL The three-day Shandur polo festival will be held on the scheduled date on June 20 (Friday) despite boycott of the event by the GilgitBaltistan team. Talking to a private daily newspaper, on Wednesday, Chitral Deputy Commissioner Aminul Haq said that the provincial government had decided to hold the event on its scheduled date keeping in view the enthusiasm of the game lovers and arrival of tourists to the venue in large numbers. Haq said that the festival might be a low profile affair this year due to boycott of the Gilgit-Baltistan team, but it would still provide the level of entertainment and joy the people had been waiting for, for so long. Meanwhile, president of district polo association, Shahzada Sikandarul Mulk, dispelled the impression that
cameroon come and go In a cloud of controversy SALvADOR AGENCIES
Cameroon exited the running at the World Cup on Wednesday in the same turbulent way they arrived with a glum future ahead for the African country that once held the footballing world’s imagination. A violently petulant display is nothing new from Cameroon but reached a new low when Benoit Assou Ekotto head-butted team mate Benjamin Moukandjo towards the end of the 4-0 capitulation to Croatia in Manaus that condemned the Indomitable Lions to an early departure from the tournament. Their chances effectively ended before halftime when Alex Song was sent off for elbowing Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic in the back, right in front of the Portuguese referee who had no hesitation in handing the midfield strong man his marching orders. Cameroon`s second Group A loss at the World Cup in Brazil means their last game against the host nation on Monday is of academic interest only. Injury means it is unlikely to offer a farewell stage for Samuel Eto’o, their talismanic captain who has been at the heart of much of their turmoil in recent years. A bitter feud between Eto’o and Song split the squad at the last World Cup four years ago, where Cameroon lost all of their first round games. This time Eto’o led the team in a strike action on the eve of their departure for Brazil, delaying their expensively-hired charter plane to squeeze extra money out of an embattled football federation (FECAFOOT). Eto’o had been banned three years ago for leading a similar strike which forced the cancellation of an international match but squabbling over money has become almost a right of passage in the team.
Wade sWItches to melBourne renegades
SPORTS DESK
SPORTS DESK
AGENCIES
SPORTS 15
the absence of GB team would render the event less interesting for the fans. “Eight teams from across the district are participating in the event, which means that the fans will have four thrilling matches to watch and be entertained,” he said. Meanwhile, the tourists have started reaching here to travel onward to the Shandur polo ground to witness the event. The administrations of a number of leading hotels in the city, including PTDC hotel, told Dawn that they almost had all their rooms booked. However, they said a fraction of tourists had cancelled their bookings over the decision of the GB government not to send its team to the event. Meanwhile, the district police claimed to have made foolproof security arrangement to ensure safety of the participants of the event. DPO Ghulam Hussain said under a special security plan, 1,200 personnel had been deployed at the venue and on the roads leading to Shandur.
CMYK
SPORTS DESK Matthew Wade has switched BBL teams, moving to the Melbourne Renegades on a four-year deal. Wade has moved from the Renegades' crosstown rivals the Melbourne Stars, hoping to gain consistent batting time up the order in an effort to push his case as a Twenty20 international player for Australia once again. "It's a good move for me personally to come over and get the opportunity to try and better myself as a T20 player," Wade said. "Internationally, you generally see that the better players are the guys who are getting the best opportunities and batting higher in the order. "I wanted to sign a longer term deal as this is a serious move for me, to move from the MCG and the Stars. I had to be serious - I didn't want to be one of those players moving between clubs all the time. This longterm deal is a sign of my commitment to the Renegades." Simon Helmot, the coach of the Renegades, said: "Having Wadey come into the team is a massive boost for us, particularly this early in the contract period. He'll add even more stability to the top order and will play a key role in our batting plans during BBL 04. He's a competitor and he can hit the ball a long way, which is what we're after at the Renegades."