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T H I S D AY •WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22, 2018
WEDNESDAYSPORTS
Arsenal CEO, Gazidis, Eyeing Milan Job Duro Ikhazuagbe Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis is considering taking a lucrative offer tabled by AC Milan. Gazidis, who became CEO at Arsenal in 2009 and is now tasked with the day-to-day running of the club, was one of the key players in appointing new boss Unai Emery. However, according to UK’s The Telegraph, his nearly 10year tenure at the Gunners looks to be in doubt as he mulls over a deal which could earn him £3.6million per year at the San Siro – a £1m increase on his current salary. The Italian giants want Gazidis to respond by the start of next month, hoping a promise of more money and overseeing a club overhaul will be enough to persuade him to make the switch. Arsenal were expecting the 53-year-old to accept a new challenge in Serie A, but it is understood he is yet to make a decision on his future. Gazidis remains one of the most well-paid executives in the Premier League, although his salary dropped by around £50,000 between 2016 and 2017. He played a major role in appointing Emery following Arsene Wenger’s departure earlier this year and now enjoys greater control at the Emirates Stadium. However, the club’s strict transfer and wage budget could scupper plans to take on Manchester City and challenge for the title once again. AC Milan’s new American
Gazidis (left) played a key role in appointing Unai Emery as Arsene Wenger’s successor this year owners, Elliott Management, have ambitions to take on Juventus, Napoli, Roma and rivals Inter at the top of Italian football. They hope Gazidis will use almost a decade of experience in England’s topflight to help them bridge the gap after finishing sixth last season. Meanwhile, the Gunners who lost their second game of the new season to Chelsea at the weekend are getting edgy. Lucas Torreira was reportedly involved in a fiery confrontation with Gunners coach Juan Carlos Carcedo on Sunday. The Gunners lost 3-2 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, meaning they are yet to register a single Premier League point so far
this season. Reports out of England claimed that the new Arsenal coach, who arrived at the Emirates with Unai Emery, took issue with Torreira’s failure to track Marcos Alonso for Chelsea’s winning goal. Torreira who didn’t find the accusation funny was said to have snapped back, leading to the shouting match. Jack Wilshere who was forced out of Arsenal is hoping to prove Unai Emery was wrong to end his Arsenal career when he makes an emotional return to the Emirates Stadium with West Ham this weekend. The England international was expected to sign a new long-term contract earlier this
year, but Arsenal’s decision to replace Arsene Wenger with Emery changed the picture dramatically. Wilshere was told he was unlikely to feature regularly in the Spaniard’s starting XI following the signings of Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi and moved across the capital. Like Arsenal, West Ham head into Saturday’s derby having failed to register a point in their opening two matches of the new season and Wilshere is out to prove a point against his former employers. “I’ve got to try and block all the emotion out,’ Wilshere told the club’s match-day programme for Saturday’s game against Bournemouth.
UEFA President’s Honour for Beckham Former England captain David Beckham will receive the UEFA President’s Award for his contribution to football and promoting the sport in “every corner of the planet”. Beckham played for Manchester United, La Galaxy, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Paris St-Germain in a 20-year
career. His “tireless humanitarian efforts” were also praised by UEFA. “Beckham is a true football icon of his generation,” said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. Previous winners of the award - which “recognises
outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities” - include Johan Cruyff, Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Robson and Paolo Maldini. Beckham, 43, made 115 appearances for England and won 19 club trophies, including
10 league titles. “I am proud to join the illustrious list of players who have previously won this award,” said Beckham, who is also an UNICEF ambassador and owner of a Major League Soccer team in Miami. He will receive the award in Monaco later this year.
UNDER-20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
Spain Hero, Coll, Rides a Rollercoaster of Emotions Spain goalkeeper Catalina ‘Cata’ Coll arrived in the mixed zone singing and dancing with her team-mates, shaking off the tension of a match that involved plenty of nervy moments for La Rojita. The suffering was all worth it, however, as the Spanish advanced to their first-ever FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup final, doing so courtesy of a 1-0 victory over tournament hosts France. This Friday night, they will fight it out with Japan for the title. Wearing a broad smile, half out of delight and half out of relief, the goalkeeper will surely remember Monday’s semi-final for a long, long time. First came an explosion of joy with Patri Guijarro’s goal, promptly dampened by Aitana Bonmati’s sending off. That was followed by Coll’s
penalty save and a French siege, though fortunately for the goalkeeper and her team-mates, there was a happy ending. So how did she experience it all from between the posts? Picking up possession from a throw-in, Lucia Rodriguez sent in a cross that Guijarro nodded home after the French defenders had failed to clear. As is usually the case, Coll celebrated alone, not that she cared about that: “I saw the goal on the screen and I was super excited. I couldn’t believe it had gone in.” Things were going perfectly for La Rojita until the 69th minute, when Bonmati – one of the key cogs in the Spanish midfield – picked up a second yellow card and left the field in tears. Then, seven minutes later, the referee awarded
France a penalty after Laia Aleixandri had handled the ball inside the Spain box. Coll could scarcely believe it. “I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding’, because everything was falling apart: we were 1-0 up, but we’d had Aitana sent off and now this penalty. I believed in myself, though, and it worked out.” She was not the only one who had faith in her abilities, as she went on to reveal: “(Carmen) Menayo came up and said she believed in me, that I was going to stop it, and I did stop it. I’ve always loved penalties and I felt sure of myself.” Though Coll kept out Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s spot-kick, the final whistle was still a good few minutes away. And France spent that time desperately searching for
an equaliser. Coll maintained her concentration right to the very end, however. “It’s all a question of keeping a cool head. The team put in a fantastic shift defensively and that’s the reason why we won.” When the full-time whistle finally came, the Rojita outfield players all rushed to the centre circle to celebrate, while Coll, again in solitude, raised her arms in triumph. She was not alone for long, with Lucia Garcia and ‘Misa’ Rodriguez rushing from the bench to celebrate with her. “They’ve given me more support here than anyone else, and Misa’s especially important because she’s a keeper and encourages me and advises me more than anyone. I’m so grateful to her. She’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had.”
2018 ITTF AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Egypt Battles Nigeria for Top Spot in Mauritius Boosted by his second Arab Championship men’s singles title, Egypt’s Mohammed El-Beiali believes he will be a contender for the title at the 2018 ITTF African Championship holding in Mauritius on September 3 to 9. The Egyptian is also aiming to lead his country against Nigeria in the men’s team event of the tournament which serves as qualifiers for the ITTF World Team Cup in 2020. From his maiden men’s title in 2013 of the Arab Championship in Iraq, Mohammed El-Beiali few weeks ago added the 2018 edition to his laurels after beating compatriot- Ahmed Saleh in the epic final in the absence of perennial winner – Omar Assar. The Egyptian was in Lagos few days ago for the ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open but his dream of replicating the feat set by Omar Assar was rubbished when he was overwhelmed by Romanian teenager, Sipos Rares in the round of 16 of the men’s singles. But undaunted by this setback, Mohammed El-Beiali is hoping that he will be in race for the men’s singles title in one of the Africa’s flagship tournaments in the Island of Mauritius. “My dreams and goals are to ensure that we did not miss Omar Assar much in the team particularly when playing against a strong team like Nigeria. I must admit that we will surely miss him (Omar
Assar) in the team but with the youthfulness of Khaled Assar and the experience of Ahmed Saleh we can conquer Nigeria in the team event. “My partnership with Khaled Assar will also rule the men’s doubles. Personally, my target is the men’s singles title and I hope I can win it this time around,” he said. Mohammed El-Beiali is aiming for the top 100 in the ITTF ranking this year and believes the standard of the game has improved tremendously in Africa particularly with the giant strides made by Aruna Quadri and Omar Assar. “I must say that Africa has come of age in table tennis with the exploits of Aruna Quadri and Omar Assar. They have set a benchmark for us in the continent and this has accorded us respect in the world. I look forward to an exciting tournament in Mauritius,” he added. Not to underestimate the effect of Omar Assar’s absence in the Egyptian team, Mohammed El-Beiali said: “For sure without Omar Assar against Nigeria will be a difficult match for us but we will try our best. There is no doubt that we will be the efforts of Omar Assar but we are really preparing for the championship as we now in camp training twice daily in Cairo. I think we can do something in Mauritius but I must admit that it is not going to be easy at all.”
Brazil’s Vasco Da Gama, Others Soon to Join Cape Verde 2019 Line up More teams from different parts of the globe have continued to line up for the maiden edition of the Cape Verde 2019 Africa Youth Cup billed for early next year in Praia. Mr Godson Abba Ekadi of Africa Youth Cup disclosed yesterday that the youth team of Brazil’s top club, Vasco Da Gama has shown strong interest in the competition and are close to sealing their participation, while Mali’s Académie Football Club de Bamako and Napoli FC from Cote D’Ivoire have finished the registration formalities. He said yesterday that teams from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Senegal, Zambia, and Equatorial Guinea are also very much in the picture. “Very soon, in fact in the days ahead, we shall be confirming more teams. But don’t forget Benfica and Kegue FC of Togo from outside Cape Verde have earlier been confirmed. “Two Cape Verdean teams have on the home front sealed their place in the event. So, things are looking up for the tournament which would be Africa’s own Dana Cup, Gothia Cup, Ibercup, Norway Cup, Paris World Games, name it,”
he noted. Mr Godson stressed that participation would be on first come, first served basis since only 16 teams would be featuring in the maiden edition. “We are sticking to our rules of first come, first served. We won’t reserve a place for any team. So, teams wishing to be part of the event have to do so early or wait for the 2020 edition.” Mr Godson was full of praise for the Cape Verdean authorities for their support and cooperation, especially from the Mayor of Praia, Hon. Oscar Evora Santos. “The people we are working with in Cape Verde are wonderful people. They are determined to see that our vision of making the tournament Africa’s number one youth soccer showpiece is realized. “Kudos must go to the Mayor of Praia Hon Oscar Evora Santos, the President of the Olympic Committee, Madam Filomena Fortes, the football federation President, Mr Semedo, the Director of the Estadio Nacional, Mr Orlando Mascarenhas, and the Honourable Minister of Sports Cape Verde,” Godson concluded.