WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2013
S P ORT S
Back on Italy squad, Rossi taking it step by step ROME: Now that Giuseppe Rossi is back on Italy’s squad, he doesn’t plan to make the same mistake he made two seasons ago. Rossi acknowledged on Tuesday that one of the reasons why he re-injured his right knee in April 2012, was because he was pushing too hard to return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in time for that year’s European Championship. The result was another year out and it’s only been over the past month that Rossi has finally returned to form. “During my recovery I thought a lot about the future and I thought about being at the Euros and I paid the price,” Rossi said at Italy’s training camp in Florence. “I learned that I need to go step by step.” Rossi watched from home in New Jersey while Italy reached the final of Euro 2012 and finished third in this year’s Confederations Cup. Italy’s next big tournament is the World Cup in Brazil. Rossi was among the final players cut by then-
coach Marcello Lippi from the squad for the 2010 World Cup, and going to Brazil next year is clearly on his mind. “It’s a dream for all of us,” Rossi said. “But I’ve learned to take things day by day so I don’t want to think too far ahead. I want to think about today’s training for now, these matches, and Fiorentina. I can think about the World Cup later on. I hope I’m in great form when the callups are made.” The 26-year-old Rossi was a fixture in the attack of current Italy coach Cesare Prandelli until he first tore his ACL during a game against Real Madrid in October 2011 while with Spanish club Villarreal. After three operations, Rossi transferred to Fiorentina in January but played only briefly in the final Serie A match of last season. In this campaign, he has six goals in nine matches for the Tuscan squad. “It’s a very important year for me,” Rossi said. “I’m starting over from zero, as a new player. It’s a
new league for me and I have a lot of things to learn with a new coach and new teammates. So far it’s been a good start.” However, Rossi picked up a few bruises over the last 10 days with Fiorentina and he remains questionable for Italy’s final two World Cup qualifiers at Denmark on Friday and against Armenia in Naples four days later. The Azzurri have already qualified, so neither he nor Italy’s staff wants to push him into action too soon. “After two years out and so many matches grouped together so closely with Fiorentina it’s been tough,” Rossi said. “We’ll see over these next few days but I never turn my back on a match.” Rossi’s combination of skill and speed could provide the perfect complement to Mario Balotelli’s strength and talent. “We all know Mario’s characteristics but I would play well with any forward here,” Rossi said. “It’s an honor to be here after such a long time out.”
Rossi was asked if he plays the “good boy” role to Balotelli’s “bad boy” personality. “He’s not bad. But nobody is a saint, not even me,” Rossi said. “We have a lot of things in common. We all get along. It’s a great group.” Having been away for so long, Rossi sees a major difference in this Italy squad from the one he left. “I find it’s a much more mature group, and more confident, and that’s really important,” he said. Rossi was born in New Jersey to Italian immigrants and his father Fernando taught him to play and inspired him to seek out the Azzurri, even though he could have been a leader for the U.S. His dad died in 2010 and he was the first person Rossi thought about when asked who he would thank when he plays for Italy again. “He’s the one who got me here,” Rossi said. “And I’ve also got to thank all the physiotherapists, in New York and Fiorentina, who helped me, too.” — AP
Poyet convinced he can keep Sunderland on top
MADRID: Spain’s coach Vicente del Bosque (left) gestures past his players during a training session at Las Rozas Sport City ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifier football match Spain vs Belarus on October 11. — AFP
Ghana wants neutral venue for Egypt World Cup playoff GENEVA: Ghana wants a neutral venue for next month’s crucial World Cup playoff against Egypt, saying it’s too dangerous to play the game in Cairo. In a letter to FIFA published on its website, the Ghana Football Association said the match should be moved to a “safe and secure” venue. “Our request is premised on the alarming and fast deteriorating security situation in Egypt,” Ghana officials wrote. At least 51 people were killed in riots in Cairo last weekend linked to the ousting of elected state president Mohammed Morsi. The GFA said some of its players expressed “grave concern over their safety for the match.” “Much as we sympathize with our brothers at the Egyptian Football Association, we are highly concerned about the security and safety of our players, officials and supporters and would like FIFA to take the necessary steps to protect lives from both Ghana and Egypt during the second-leg game,” the letter stated. FIFA said yesterday it received Ghana’s request and would monitor the security situation before making a decision. Egypt is scheduled to host Ghana in Cairo on Nov. 19 in the second leg to decide which team advances to next year’s tournament in Brazil. The first leg is next Tuesday in Kumasi. The GFA said Egyptian authorities have barred spectators from football matches for the past two years, including World Cup qualifiers against Mozambique, Zimbabwe
and Guinea. The first two qualifiers were in Alexandria because FIFA banned Egypt from playing in the capital after violence at a 2010 World Cup playoff. Four years ago, Algeria’s team bus was attacked by fans hurling rocks on the journey between the airport and a hotel in Cairo. FIFA’s disciplinary committee said the Egypt FA “failed to take all the necessary security precautions to ensure the safety of the Algerian delegation.” It also fined the Egypt FA 100,000 Swiss francs (then $88,000). Egypt’s World Cup qualifying campaign has been a success despite being buffeted by the political turmoil in the country. The playoff draw last month paired Egypt with powerful Ghana, which reached the quarterfinals at the 2010 World Cup when it beat the U.S. in the round of 16. Now, FIFA could be forced by security risks to deny Egypt and its fans the chance to see the match on home ground. “Events in the country pointedly indicate that our delegation could be exposed to danger as the violence and insecurity in the country continues relentlessly,” the Ghana letter said. If FIFA grants the request, Egypt would be the second of 10 African playoff teams denied a home match. Senegal will play its home second leg against Ivory Coast in Casablanca, Morocco, on Nov. 16. Last October, rioting at the stadium in Dakar when the same two teams met in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier forced the match to be abandoned. — AP
Qatar dominate women handball KUWAIT: Qatari women handball team continued its dominance of the first Gulf Women Handball Tournament defeating Kuwait 28-10, and this guaranteed them the championship even before the final round and their match against Bahrain. Bahrain defeated the UAE team by a
score of 15-13. This gave hope to the Bahrainis to win third place, because their competitor for the bronze is UAE who will face Oman which already took second place with two wins. Kuwait ended in last place after losing three matches and managed a draw with Bahrain.
LONDON: Gus Poyet is confident of preserving struggling Sunderland’s Premier League status after he was appointed as the club’s new manager yesterday. The 45-year-old Uruguayan has replaced controversial Italian Paolo Di Canio, who was sacked last month by the bottom-of-the-table Black Cats. They have earned just one point from a possible 21 in their first seven matches of the season. “I do believe we can get safe. I need to convince the players, I need to convince everybody to really believe in this and we start today,” Poyet told reporters at his first news conference at the Stadium of Light. “I want to make sure everybody commits to the cause.” Sunderland have had six head coaches in the last five years and Poyet said it was important to bring some stability to the club. “That is one of my aims. I’ve had one job as a manager so far and I was there for four years, so that speaks for itself. “Whenever a new manager arrives he wants to stay as long as possible, I am confident but I don’t want to say now we are going to do this and do that, I want to prove it and I hope I will be sitting here smiling at the end of the season.” The former international midfielder, whose clubs included Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in England, Real Zaragosa in Spain and River Plate in Uruguay, was sacked by Championship side Brighton and Hove Albion in June for an undisclosed breach of club discipline. Sunderland chairman Ellis Short said in a statement on the club’s website (www.safc.com): “We analysed a wide range of candidates and believe that Gus’s track record, experience, commitment and passion make him the right man to take us forward.” Kevin Ball took temporary charge after Di Canio’s dismissal, and Sunderland beat thirdtier Peterborough United in the League Cup but lost to Liverpool and Manchester United
SUNDERLAND: Sunderland’s new Uruguyan manager Gus Poyet holds a Sunderland scarf at a photo call at the Academy of Light. — AFP
in the league while he was in charge. Di Canio was brought in by Sunderland in March to replace Martin O’Neill when the club looked set for relegation. Di Canio managed to keep Sunderland up but the team won only three of his 13 matches while he was there and he went after a 3-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Sept.21. British media said the Sunderland players were unhappy with Di Canio’s abrasive management style and public criticism of them but the Italian denied reports of a training ground bust-up following defeat to West Brom. Poyet was an early favourite for the role, despite his acrimonious parting with
Brighton, whom he led to the Championship (second tier) playoffs. He was suspended following the playoff semi-final defeat to Crystal Palace in May, and found out he had been fired as manager while working as a pundit on live television. Poyet appealed but Brighton upheld the decision. He will bring Mauricio Taricco and Charlie Oatway to Sunderland as part of his backroom staff, with his first match against Swansea City on Oct. 19 followed by the always intense derby against arch-rivals Newcastle United at home the following weekend. — Reuters
Milan to play behind closed doors over abusive chants ITALY: Italy’s football authorities have ordered AC Milan to play their next game behind closed doors and fined the club 50,000 euros ($67,900) following abusive chants by supporters during a match against southern club Napoli. During Sunday’s match against Juventus in Turin, hundreds of Milan supporters shouted “We are not Neapolitans”, a chant the Naples daily Il Mattino said reflected long-standing contempt for the south by northern clubs. In the fiercely territorial world of Italian football, abusive rivalry between supporters of clubs in the rich north and those in the poorer south is not uncommon and Milan officials reacted with shock to the verdict by Serie A sporting judges. “To say I’m furious would be putting it mildly,” Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani told reporters. “I understand that racism is a big problem, a problem everywhere in the world but...here in Italy we have invented territorial discrimination for ourselves. “I called (Italian football) president (Giancarlo) Abete to ask whether he thinks that this rule is just. What I ask is that it is abolished.” A football federation (FIGC) spokesman said the rules were being applied in line with UEFA guidelines. “It’s not as though the rules are imposed on any club. It’s down to a judge to decide on the punishment, and they can make their case against any decision,” he said. The sentence means that Milan, in 12th place in the Serie A standings after a 3-2 loss to Juventus on Sunday, will play their next home game on Oct. 19 against Udinese behind closed doors. The ruling has enraged hardcore “ultra” fans, who are fed up with having the sections the stadiums and entire grounds closed for what they see as the harmless expression of sporting rivalry. Napoli fans in the Curva B section of the San Paolo stadium on Sunday brought out a banner referring to the chants which read: “Naples cholera-sufferers. Now close our curva!”. They then began singing the offending chants which follow them up and down the country. Ultras of both AC Milan and Inter Milan spoke out on Tuesday, both releasing on their websites bemoaning the decision. “Welcome to the country where teasing and making fun (of opponents) motivate sanctions that limit freedom. In Italy we are seeing in recent days a ridiculous interpretation of the rules that is making us the targets of a senseless and unjustifiable a t t a c k ,” said a statement on curvasudmilano.com. — Reuters
DUESSELDORF: German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer warms up during a training session. Germany will face the Republic of Ireland in a 2014 World Cup qualification football match in Cologne on October 11. — AFP
Gulf Cup shifts from Iraq to Saudi Arabia MANAMA: The football federations overseeing the Gulf Cup have moved next year’s tournament from the Iraqi city of Basra to Saudi Arabia after concerns over preparations and security. The decision comes amid Iraq’s deadliest
spike in violence since 2008. The Kuwait News Agency says the eight-team event will be shifted to Jiddah. This year, Basra was given more time to finish construction for the 2014 event. But the envoys
meeting in Bahrain made the move yesterday. The Gulf Cup, which started in 1970, brings together Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Yemen and the reigning champion United Arab Emirates. —AP