A
y
e niv rsar n
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2011
Years
S P ORT S Preview
Final fling for Germany BERNE: Germany’s players, exhausted according to coach Joachim Loew, must pick themselves up for one last fling as the marathon European season bows out with a whimper today. The Germans, with six wins from six games in Group A, face their former coach Berti Vogts as they make the long trip to Azerbaijan for a Euro 2012 qualifier-probably the last thing they would have wanted at this stage of the campaign. Germany are the only big guns in action on a night of six less than mouth-watering ties, the others involving teams playing, at best, for second spot in their respective groups. Bosnia play their first home match since emerging from an international ban when they host Albania, Sweden entertain neighbours Finland and the Faroe Island take on Estonia. San Marino will attempt to keep the score respectable at home to Hungary and Luxembourg will have similar ambitions when they visit Belarus. UEFA president Michel Platini is a fervent believer in the right of small nations to face their more illustrious rivals but, once again, the lack of attractive matches casts the format of the Euro qualifiers in an unfavorable light. The nine group winners will go straight to Poland and Ukraine in 2012 along with the best runners-up. The other eight second-placed teams play off for four more places. Barring a few northern countries which play through the summer, the European season officially began eleven months ago with the opening qualifying matches in the Champions League. Following the quickest of breathers after Tuesday’s matches, it will all start again on June 28 with the first qualifying matches for next season’s Champions League, the draw taking place in Nyon eight days before that. Germany’s players scarcely had a rest after the exertions of the World Cup in South Africa last year. Loew believes they been suffering a knock-on effect ever since and were at “the limit of their strength” after their 2-1 in Austria on Friday Already without Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose through injury before that match, he will also have to cope without midfielder Sami Khedira and Simon Rolfes. Although Germany thumped Azerbaijan 6-1 earlier in the group and have scored 12 goals in three meetings with the former Soviet republic, Loew warned his runaway group leaders against complacency. “I have full confidence that the players will get the job done. It will not be a joyride for us, Turkey were beaten there,” he said. The 1-0 win against Turkey gave Azerbaijan their only points in the group so far. Bosnia’s relief at ending their suspension-imposed because the previous three-man presidency of the federation fell foul of FIFA statutes and lifted only last week —- could be short-lived if they fail to beat Albania in Group D. Thumped 3-0 in Romania on Friday, fifth-placed Bosnia have seven points, two behind second-placed Belarus who should comfortably win their match at home to Luxemburg. France are clear leaders with 13. Sweden, second in Group E, cannot afford any slipups against Finland. They currently have 12 points, six behind leaders Netherlands who have won all six games, and three ahead of Hungary, who should comfortably see off tiny San Marino. Victory for Estonia in the Faroe Islands would take them into third spot in Group C, ahead of Serbia and only one point behind secondplaced Slovenia. — Reuters
Egypt’s hopes all but gone
JOHANNESBURG: Egypt’s hopes of defending its title at next year’s African Cup of Nations are all but gone after the seven-time continental champion was held to a damaging 0-0 draw at home by South Africa in qualifying on Sunday. Egypt — which has won Africa’s top football tournament three times in a row — is now almost certain to fail to qualify for the first time in 33 years. Egypt remains bottom of its group, six points off leader South Africa with two games to go and with little chance of making Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in 2012 — even as one of the two best second-place teams. Ivory Coast has qualified after a 6-2 win for Didier Drogba’s team away at Benin. Ivory Coast is the second country _ after surprise package Botswana — to claim one of the 14 finals places on offer in Africa’s 44-team qualifying competition. There were 14 games across the continent on Sunday as the competition passed the halfway mark. A late equalizer by captain Joseph Yobo rescued a point for Nigeria in Ethiopia, Sudan won to keep the pressure on top-ranked African team Ghana, Libya was held to a surprise 1-1 draw by Comoros and under-pressure Tunisia beat Chad 5-0 to revive its campaign. A desperate Egypt’s Group G fixture with South Africa was moved to a military stadium in Cairo because of the threat of crowd trouble, due to the African champion’s disastrous form and recent sectarian violence in the city. In a tense match with few clear-cut chances, South Africa defended for long spells to claim a valuable point for their own hopes — leaving Egypt still winless and on the brink of a shock elimination. The Pharaohs last failed to qualify for the African championship in 1978 and have dominated the tournament over the past five years. Egypt coach Hassan Shehata did not attend the official post-match press conference,
Ivory Coast qualifies increasing speculation the 2006, 2008 and 2010 Cup of Nations-winning coach will leave his job after seven years in charge. South Africa — which played without injured captain and playmaker Steven Pienaar — leads the group by two points from Niger. “I’m happy with this result because we drew with the champions of Africa in Cairo,” South Africa coach Pitso Mosimane said. Four days after a surprise 4-1 win over Argentina — which is being investigated by FIFA for match-fixing links — Nigeria needed Yobo’s late goal to rally to a 2-2 draw away at
CAIRO: South Africa’s goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune saves the ball in front of Egypt’s Ahmed Al Muhammadi during their Group G African Cup of Nations qualifier soccer match. — AP
Fergie won’t let United lose appetite for success LONDON: Sir Alex Ferguson insists there is no chance he will lose his appetite for success despite leading Manchester United to a recordbreaking 19th league title. United’s latest Premier League triumph lifted Ferguson’s men above Liverpool in the list of all-time English champions and the Scot took great pride in such an historic achievement. However, Ferguson is well aware United will face a stern threat to their supremacy from bigspending Manchester City next season as well as revitalised Liverpool and long-standing rivals Chelsea and Arsenal. “There’s a responsibility as the manager of Manchester United. It doesn’t go away,” he told Inside United. “I’m not going to take it easy because we won the title. Hopefully we’ll be better next season. The only thing you can do at this club is win - that’s all that matters. “We have to carry on, there’s nothing else you can do. We have a responsibility and expectation to live up to and that carries on next season. “As I’ve always said, Manchester United should accept a challenge. We’re good at that and, next season, we’ll accept anything that
comes our way.” Ferguson admitted the 19th title was special as it cemented United’s position as English football’s most successful club and provided the perfect answer to critics who dismissed his team throughout the season. “It’s a great feat winning this league. It was Liverpool’s time in the 80s, it’s our time now,” he said. “This was a particularly special one because it means we’ve won the title more than anyone in the country. It’s history and it’s great for the tradition of this club. “The players have been great, I think they deserved it because there were a lot of great performances. I’m dismissing all that nonsense that it’s not a great Manchester United team.” Ferguson also described United’s Champions League conquerors Barcelona as the best side he has ever played. United were beaten 3-1 by Barca at Wembley last month and Ferguson added: “They are at a tremendous peak in the cycle of their team - you get teams who elevate themselves to that status and I think Barcelona are that team. We were well beaten.” — AFP
England set up chance to force Test victory LONDON: England captured the final seven Sri Lanka first-innings wickets for 107 runs in the second test at Lord’s yesterday to give themselves an opportunity to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Sri Lanka, comfortably positioned at 372 for three at the start of the fourth day, succumbed for 479 in reply to England’s 486 after the opening session had been washed out. England lost captain Andrew Strauss for a second-ball duck but Alastair Cook (61 not out) and Jonathan Trott (58) added 117 for the second wicket from 116 balls to restore their team’s fortunes. At the close of a prolonged day, England were 149 for two in their second innings, an overall lead of 156, with 98 overs scheduled for today’s final day. Steven Finn and Graeme Swann took seven wickets between them after play began following a frustrating Sunday in which 50.4 overs were lost to rain. The England fast bowlers had been criticised by bowling coach David Saker for their lack of accuracy and they still strayed down the leg-side with 25 byes and 23 leg-byes included among the extras. They were able, though, to extract life and lift from the rain-freshened pitch with Finn proving the most successful with four for 108. Swann had never been allowed to settle on Sunday as Tillakaratne Dilshan used his feet repeatedly to negate the off-spinner’s threat during an heroic captain’s innings of 193. Swann bounced back against the Sri Lankan tailenders, however, capturing three wickets from 16 balls to wrap up the innings with figures of three for 101. Mahela Jayawardene, who had scored centuries in both his previous tests at Lord’s, was the first batsman to fall, caught in the slips off Finn one short of his fifty. His namesake Prasanna Jayawardene contributed a sprightly 40 including five boundaries and a
swept six off Swann, adding 57 for the seventh wicket with Rangana Herath. The other wickets fell quickly, giving England a narrow lead, which
Strauss was unable to extend. Strauss, lbw to Welegedara in the first innings for four, was even less successful this time. He was rapped on the back pad
LONDON: England’s Kevin Pietersen (right) drives a ball from Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath during the 4th day of the second Test match at Lord’s cricket ground. — AP
in front of the stumps and an unsuccessful referral only confirmed that he was palpably out. Trott played with great assurance, clipping the ball firmly through midon and bringing up his half-century from 66 balls with his eighth boundary, a handsome backfoot drive through the covers. He fell victim to a Herath speciality when the left-arm spinner jagged a ball late with the arm to knock back his leg stump. Trott’s dismissal brought Kevin Pietersen to the crease accompanied by his well-documented recent problems against orthodox left-arm spin. Pietersen, who fell to Herath for three in the first test in Cardiff, was cheered loudly by the sprinkling of spectators as he safely negotiated the first two balls. He raised an even bigger cheer when he on-drove his 13th ball from the spinner firmly to the boundary. Cook was beaten several times outside the off-stump but was otherwise unperturbed, bringing up his half-century with his sixth boundary. — Reuters
SCOREBOARD LONDON: Scoreboard at stumps on the fourth day of the second Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s here on yesterday: England 1st Innings 486 (M Prior 126, A Cook 96, E Morgan 79, S Broad 54, I Bell 52; C Welegedara 4-122, S Lakmal 3-126) Sri Lanka 1st Innings (overnight: 372-3) T. Paranavitana c Strauss b Finn 65 T. Dilshan b Finn 193 K. Sangakkara c Prior b Tremlett 26 M. Jayawardene c Cook b Finn 49 T. Samaraweera c Prior b Tremlett 9 P. Jayawardene c Swann b Finn 40 F. Maharoof lbw b Broad 2 R. Herath st Prior b Swann 26 D. Fernando c Strauss b Swann 5 S. Lakmal not out 0 C. Welegedara c Broad b Swann 6 Extras (b25, lb23, w8, nb2) 58 Total (all out, 131.4 overs, 601 mins) 479 Fall of wickets: 1-207 (Paranavitana), 2-288 (Sangakkara), 3-370 (Dilshan), 4-394 (M Jayawardene), 5-394 (Samaraweera), 6-409 (Maharoof ), 7-466 (Herath),
Ethiopia in Group B. Despite first-half dominance from Ethiopia — under Belgian coach Tom Santfiet for the first time — Ikechukwu Uche put Nigeria ahead in the 26th minute. A double by Saladin Said then had the home team leading before Yobo rescued a point for Nigeria, which had played two games in five days and looked fatigued after arriving in Addis Ababa at 2 a.m. on the day of the match. “We didn’t play like we were supposed to,” Nigeria coach Samson Sia said. “We made too many mistakes.” Nigeria trails
8-472 (P Jayawardene), 9-472 (Fernando), 10-479 (Welegedara) Bowling: Broad 32-5-125-1; Tremlett 30-8-85-2 (1nb); Finn 33-8-108-4 (1nb, 8w); Swann 32.4-5-101-3; Pietersen 4-012-0. England 2nd Innings A. Strauss lbw b Welegedara 0 A. Cook not out 61 J. Trott b Herath 58 K. Pietersen not out 15 Extras (lb5, w1, nb9) 15 Total (2 wkts, 41 overs, 186 mins) 149 To bat: I Bell, E Morgan, M Prior, S Broad, G Swann, C Tremlett, S Finn Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Strauss), 2-117 (Trott) Bowling: Welegedara 7-1-25-1 (1nb); Lakmal 8-0-31-0 (3nb, 1w); Maharoof 7-0-24-0 (2nb); Fernando 11-1-47-0 (3nb); Herath 8-1-17-1. Match position: England lead by 156 runs with eight second innings wickets standing.
group leader Guinea by three points after the Guineans beat Madagascar 4-1 at home. Drogba and Gervinho both scored twice as Ivory Coast improved its perfect record to four wins in four matches to seal its place at the next Cup of Nations. Ivory Coast raced 3-0 ahead in Benin inside 30 minutes through Didier Ya Konan, Drogba and Gervinho. Benin staged a brief second-half fightback, pulling back to 3-2, but the Ivorians were too strong. Burundi’s victory over Rwanda in the other Group H fixture meant Ivory Coast can’t be caught at the top. Botswana — which had already qualified — drew 0-0 at home with Malawi and Tunisia’s comprehensive home win over Chad pushes the Tunisians ahead of Malawi on goal difference in a tight race for the second qualifying place in the five-team Group K. Issam Jemaa hit a hattrick for 2004 African Cup winner Tunisia to inspire victory. Libya missed the chance to reclaim top spot in Group C when it drew with Comoros and Mali fell to a 2-1 defeat against Group A opponent Zimbabwe in a dramatic finish. The Zimbabweans were awarded a last-minute penalty in Harare, which sparked a mass brawl and red card for Mali’s Mahamadou Diarra. Knowledge Musona scored with a retaken spot-kick and Zimbabwe stole victory in a match it had to win to keep its hopes alive. Elsewhere, Congo won in Mauritius, Sudan edged Swaziland 2-1 to join Ghana at the top of Group I and Angola beat Kenya 1-0. Central African Republic surprised Tanzania 2-1 in an extra-tight Group D, where Morocco leads on goal difference after its 4-0 hammering of Algeria — one of six games on Saturday. But Central African Republic — which is ranked 113 in the world and has never been to the Cup of Nations — is just behind after a fairytale qualifying run which has also included a win over World Cup finalist Algeria. — AP
Rafa and Roger are back in the game, says Federer PARIS: One of her twin girls in one arm and a glass of champagne in the other hand, Roger Federer’s wife Mirka looked far from dejected after her husband once again came up short against Rafa Nadal in a French Open final on Sunday. And for very good reason. While Swiss maestro Federer was unable to prevent world number one Nadal claiming a record-equalling sixth French Open, his performances this year at Roland Garros suggest he can add to his 16 grand slam titles. What is more, the Roger-Rafa rivalry, one of the greatest the sport has seen, looks set for a few more skirmishes after both began the year looking vulnerable. Spanish clay king Nadal has now beaten Federer in four French Open finals but he was given a real scrap before getting his hands on the Coupe des Mousquetaires on Sunday. Had it not been for a few tight shots here and there, it could have been Federer celebrating. Federer’s astounding semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic on Friday, snapping the Serb’s incredible 41-match winning streak this season, silenced the doubters who assumed the 29-year-old could no longer threaten the world’s top two. There were also phases of play against Nadal when he looked back to his best-as he predicted. “I told people that we should wait six
months after the Australian Open when people thought Rafa and me were done,” Federer told a news conference after losing 7-5 7-6 57 6-1 on Court Philippe Chatrier. “It’s unfortunate that it goes so quickly at times. Now we’re back in the finals and now it’s different talk again. I don’t even go there, because I knew it wasn’t the case.” Nadal and Federer had not faced each other in a grand slam final since the Spaniard won the 2009 Australian Open in five sets. Nadal had not won a major since last year’s U.S. Open, while Federer’s last grand slam triumph was at the 2010 Australian Open. The world number three barely seemed to care. “I’ve been confident for almost a year now. I think I lost some confidence maybe through the French Open and Wimbledon last year but I was in the finals of (the Wimbledon warm-up event in) Halle as well in this period, so I didn’t feel like I was running after confidence,” said Federer, whose priority was to get back into a grand slam final. “It was just important to get to another grand slam final, keep on playing well,” he explained. “I’m feeling better physically than I have in a long time, so that’s been very positive. Also, after this sort of tough weekend I feel really good, so that’s been positive, too.—Reuters
PARIS: Sweden’s Bjorn Borg (left) is shown during a tennis match at the French Open at Roland Garros stadium in Paris on June 8, 1980. (At right) Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Switzerland’s Roger Federer, June 5, 2011 in the men’s final of the French Open tennis tournament in Paris. — AP
Kirsten to coach South Africa JOHANNESBURG: Gary Kirsten was named South Africa’s new cricket coach yesterday, agreeing a two-year contract to lead his country of birth just two months after taking India to the World Cup title. The 43-year-old Kirsten, a former opening batsman who played 101 tests and 185 one-day internationals in an 11-year career with South Africa, takes over from interim coach Corrie van Zyl _ who left the role following the Proteas’ dismal World Cup failure. Former South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald was appointed as the team’s new bowling coach. National body Cricket South Africa said wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers would be the team’s new captain in one-day internationals after Graeme Smith stepped down following the World Cup. De Villiers will also captain the Twenty20 team, while Smith retains the test captaincy. Opening batsman Hashim Amla is South Africa’s new vice-captain in limited overs cricket, as CSA announced a major shake-up of its personnel after South Africa again underperformed at the World Cup. The Proteas entered the tournament as one of the favorites, only to
crash out to New Zealand in the quarterfinals. Kirsten’s appointment was a poorly kept secret after he left India following their World Cup triumph in April, saying he wanted to return home and spend more time with his family. He enjoyed great success in charge of India’s all-star team, leading it to the No. 1 ranking in tests as well as the World Cup title in his last match in charge. CSA chief executive Gerald Majola and Kirsten both acknowledged the process to appoint him — which lasted months — had been drawn-out, but Majola explained it was because the body wanted to make sure it got the right man. CSA was determined to employ Kirsten, who, it was rumored, did not initially apply for the job. Kirsten was one of 10 eventual candidates, Majola said. He did not reveal names of any of the unsuccessful applicants. Kirsten begins work on August 1, with his first series in charge against visiting Australia in October. “I am delighted by the appointment,” Kirsten said. “It is a major honor to be offered this position. I am really looking forward to it.—AP