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Will OFA’s search for coach stop with Al Azzani or will it be Jaber? Speculation is rife that Oman Football Association may go for in-house experts as Hamad Al Azzani and Rasheed Jaber are the two in fray among the five pruned list (other three being Europeans), which will be put on the
FRONT-RUNNER: Hamad Al Azzani.
ANOTHER LOCAL CONTENDER: Rasheed Jaber.
of Oman, the board members are scheduled to meet late in the afternoon at the OFA Headquarters at Seeb Sports Stadium to ‘finalise’ the right candidate for the post that has been lying vacant since Paul Le Guen’s contract was terminated back in November. “It is likely the board will announce the name tomorrow but it’s not a certainty. But what I can confirm is that board meeting is taking place tomorrow and the main topic of agenda is appointment of national team coach,” one source said on condition of anonymity.
formed to overlook recruitment process had prepared a list of seven candidates, including two Omanis, for the board to discuss and finalise the right man for the job. However, the OFA board members will be discussing only five names in Thursday’s meeting. Ahmed Al Mayyasi, the head of the special committee, told Times Sport: “Yes. Now it is down to five candidates.” While refusing to reveal any further details, he said: “Of the five, two are Omani coaches and three are from Europe.”
table in Thursday’s crucial meeting
A. SESHAGIRI RAO
raoas@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: The suspense on who will be picked as Oman national football team coach may well end on Thursday when the board members of the Sultanate’s soccer governing sit to finalise the name. The Oman Football Association (OFA) sources revealed to Times
It’s is believed that association is not interested in hiring a ‘big name’ coach this time around as they did in 2008 when they roped in Frenchman Claude Le Roy, leading to their successful Gulf Cup campaign at home the following year, and in 2011 when they signed Paul Le Guen, on the recommendation of departing Le Roy. Going by the speculations as well as the hints given by the reliable sources from within the association, the OFA board may prefer an Omani coach from the list of applicants. Initially the special committee
Al Azzani is the man! Though the board members will be looking into five applications, everyone is expecting them to choose Oman Olympic (U-23) team coach Hamad Al Azzani, one of the two experienced Omani coaches who applied for the job, the other being Rasheed Jaber. And rightly so. Not just because of his experience but also due to two factors that indicate to their interest in Al Azzani. First, the OFA, interestingly, has sent Al Azzani, along with Oman U-17 team coach Yacoub Al Sa-
CRICKET
AT H L E T I C S
Cook, De Villiers urge ICC to protect Tests JOHANNESBURG: Test cricket must adapt to survive in the face of the ever-tightening squeeze from shorter, more lucrative, forms of the game, both England and South Africa’s captains said on Wednesday. Calling for more structure in the cluttered cricket schedule, Alastair Cook and AB de Villiers agreed there is a growing tug on player commitments between the traditional format and Twenty20 competitions like the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Australia’s Big Bash. “I think it’s a growing concern for the ICC (International Cricket Council) and they’ve been talking about it for the last few years,” De Villiers, whose own workload between Test cricket and his earning potential in the T20 format has been widely debated in recent weeks, said. He reportedly earns $1.4m playing in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore — dwarfing his South Africa contract. In a separate news conference
bahi, to Qatar for a nine-day stint with Germany’s Bayern Munich, who are currently undergoing training camp in Doha. That stint ends on Thursday. Secondly, Al Azzani is towards end of his two-year contract, signed on May 25 in 2014, with the Oman-23 team. However, one cannot rule out Rasheed Jaber’s chances as he has coached national team back in 1995-96 and later in 2002. He also has the distinction of leading Oman to title triumph at the 2015 GCC Under-19 Football Championship. Al Azzani, a former Al Nadha Club player, is quite an experienced Omani coach having had long stints with Al Nahda. He also served the senior national team twice as caretaker and as assistant coach on two occasions, before being handed the reins of the team from 2010 to 2011. Interestingly, Al Azzani sort of lost his job to Pal Le Guen twice in the past. In 2011, Al Azzani was replaced by Le Guen as the national team coach. And then in 2012, the Frenchman took over the Under-23 team even though the Omani coach guided them to the Asian play-offs of the London Olympics football competition. For the record, under Le Guen, the team won the Asian play-offs but lost the inter-continental playoff and with that the final Olympic qualifying berth to Senegal. If speculations come right, probably, it will be Al Azzani’s turn to take the post vacated by Paul Le Guen.
South Africa ditch spinner Piedt JOHANNESBURG: South Africa spinner Dane Piedt was released from the Test squad on Wednesday so that he could play for his domestic franchise, a sign that the hosts will field four fast bowlers in the third Test against England starting on Thursday. Piedt played in the first two Tests in Durban and Cape Town, taking nine wickets, and will return to the squad for the last Test in Pretoria
on Wednesday ahead of the third Test between the two countries at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, Cook said that while the five-day game still represented the ulti-
from January 22 to 26, Cricket South Africa said. With the third Test wicket at the Wanderers in Johannesburg expected to offer more for the pace bowlers, Piedt was released to play for the Cape Cobras. Batsman Rilee Rossouw was at the same time allowed to play for the Knights in four-day fixtures that start on Thursday. South Africa will likely keep the attack trio of Morne Morkel, Chris Morris and Kagiso
mate test for a player, it could not risk standing still. “Everyone loves Test cricket, I believe,” Cook said. “We all know we have to protect Test cricket. As the game progress-
Rabada from the previous Test at Newlands and replace Piedt with either Kyle Abbott or Hardus Viljoen in an all-out pace attack. Abbott, 28, missed the Cape Town game because of a hamstring strain but is valued for his consistent line and length and has 21 wickets in six previous Test appearances. England won the first Test in Durban by 241 runs and played out a draw at Newlands. - Reuters
es and evolves, you can’t stand still. “We have to always look to how we can improve the game. The people who run it must know there is a responsibility on their shoul-
ders to look after it and try and push it forward.” The recent introduction of daynight Tests in Australia is seen as a positive step, but De Villiers said the the Future Tours Programme, which determines bilateral cricket fixtures for the next six years, needed to be examined. “I believe there are areas to improve and help keep the players focused in on the test game, he said. “Obviously there are one or two (T20) tournaments going on around the world and financially you cannot ignore them because they do make a huge difference to our lives. “You’ve got to look after that side as well but test cricket comes first. One or two things will have to change for the future.” On Monday, England’s most successful bowler James Anderson said he would not be seeking to play in the IPL in order to rest for England’s home Test commitments against Sri Lanka and Pakistan from May to August. - Reuters
FANJA, AL KHABOURAH, SUWAIQ AND RUSTAQ ENTER HM’S CUP QUARTERFINALS
Coe denies Russian doping was covered up LONDON: IAAF President Sebastian Coe says there has been no cover up of Russian doping cases despite the latest leaked documents appearing to show that officials of athletics’ governing body were discussing how to suppress news of positive tests. “There is no cover up here,” Coe told CNN in an interview on Wednesday. The athletics chief, in a separate interview with Sky News, also denied knowledge of IAAF officials discussing Russian doping problems as early as 2009 and of internal IAAF notes obtained by the Associated Press proposing some Russian dopers be sanctioned while other, less well-known athletes be allowed to disappear from the sport unpunished. - Reuters
Record nine-time champions Fanja and twice winners Suwaiq reached the quarterfinals of His Majesty’s Cup Football Championship with contrasting victories on Wednesday. In the the last 16 matches, Fanja blanked Oman 2-0 at the Seeb Sports Stadium while Suwaiq ended the reign of Al Arouba with a 1-0 victory at the Sohar Sports Complex. In the second match of the double header at the Sohar Sports Stadium, Al Khabourah edged Nizwa 3-2 to book their place in the last eight stage. In the second match of the evening at the Seeb Sports Stadium, Rustaq defeated Mirbat 2-1 to enter the quarterfinals. The remaining last 16 matches will be played on Thursday. — ISMAIL AL FARSI/Times of Oman