MILAN - Last season's AC Milan coach Leonardo was named manager of city rivals Inter Milan on Friday in a move which has stunned the soccer world despite the Italian game's celebrated eccentricities.
The Brazilian succeeds Rafael Benitez, who left the world, European and Italian champions on Thursday after just six months in charge following a poor domestic spell and his public attack on Inter for not investing in new players.
"Welcome, Leonardo is the coach of Inter," a statement said on Inter's website (www.inter.it) just hours after president Massimo Moratti had said there would be no announcement until Dec. 27 at the earliest.
"A few minutes ago an agreement was signed which will tie him to the club until June 30, 2012."
Leonardo failed to shine in his only season in management with Milan last term, leading the Rossoneri to third place in Serie A and the Champions League last 16.
The 41-year-old also played for Milan before becoming technical director there and has no prior links to Inter, making the decision to appoint him all the more strange to the hordes of baffled Tweeters and newspaper columnists.
"Unbelievable", "traitor" and "downright weird" were just some of the terms used on Twitter to describe the move.
BIG GAMBLE
Players and coaches switching allegiances between big rivals is nothing new in Italy, even if the idea of Arsenal's Arsene Wenger succeeding Manchester United's Alex Ferguson would bring howls of derision in England.
Spain is more similar to Italy with former Barcelona assistant coach Jose Mourinho now the Real Madrid boss while Portugal's Luis Figo signed for Real from Barca in 2000.
Giovanni Trapattoni famously managed Milan, Inter and the third Italian giant Juventus while Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has played for all three.
Indeed Milan have been the side most guilty of signing ex-Inter names with Ibrahimovic, Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo and former forward Ronaldo all having previously turned out for the Nerazzurri among others.
Moratti, whose side won an unprecedented treble last term under Jose Mourinho, is still taking a big gamble by naming Leonardo with fans likely to give him a little lukewarm reception at first.
Given Leonardo left Milan after a bust-up with owner Silvio Berlusconi, hands-on Moratti risks similar issues if Inter do not quickly start rising up from seventh in Serie A and lose to Bayern Munich in their Champions League first knockout round.
The appointment of Marcello Lippi in 1999 just after he had left rivals Juve was also disastrous for Inter and will prey on some fans' minds while Leonardo himself had indicated he wanted some time away from game to be with his family in Brazil.
On the other hand, pundits such as Gabriele Marcotti have argued that choosing Leonardo is a masterstroke from Moratti given he has had a season to hone his management skills, knows current league leaders Milan inside out and will have good relations with Inter's large contingent of South Americans.
Benitez's outburst means he will not get the chance but Leonardo may have some new signings on board for when Inter host second-placed Napoli on Jan. 6 as Serie A resumes after a mid-season break.
Inter are interested in Genoa centre back Andrea Ranocchia with Walter Samuel out for the season but few other rumours have leaked out about Moratti's targets.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
2 million request tickets for London 2012 Olympics
LONDON - London 2012 organizers say two million people have registered for tickets to the Olympics.
When tickets go on sale in March, 8.8 million seats will be available at prices ranging from 20 pounds ($31) for standard events to a symbolic 2,012 pounds ($3,105) for the top-priced seats at the opening ceremony.
Organizers are trying to raise about 440 million pounds from ticket sales, a quarter of their operating budget.
London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton says data from the two million registered people so far shows that "by and large more females than males" have signed up and many are opting to try to see several events.
Deighton expects another 500,000 people to have registered an interest in buying tickets by March.
When tickets go on sale in March, 8.8 million seats will be available at prices ranging from 20 pounds ($31) for standard events to a symbolic 2,012 pounds ($3,105) for the top-priced seats at the opening ceremony.
Organizers are trying to raise about 440 million pounds from ticket sales, a quarter of their operating budget.
London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton says data from the two million registered people so far shows that "by and large more females than males" have signed up and many are opting to try to see several events.
Deighton expects another 500,000 people to have registered an interest in buying tickets by March.
PCB want Pakistan players to take part in IPL
KARACHI - The Pakistan Cricket Board are keen for their players to participate in the lucrative Indian Premier League in 2011 despite being snubbed this year.
Pakistani players have not participated in the last two editions of the IPL due to political tensions between the two countries although in the inaugural edition in 2008 over a dozen Pakistanis played for different franchises in the T20 league that attracts players from every cricketing nation.
Last year the Indian franchises did not bid for any Pakistani cricketer at the players' auction although the PCB had sent names of around 10 players after giving them clearance.
PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed told reporters on Saturday that the board had contacted the Indian Cricket Board on the issue.
"We have written to the Indian board that we are willing to provide any clearance to our players for the IPL," Ahmed said.
"We want Pakistani participation in the IPL, that is our official stand but obviously we need for the Indian board to talk to us."
Ahmed said that under new rules framed by the IPL no Pakistani player could take part in the league for any franchise before getting clearance from both boards.
"No player can individually be approached or can approach any franchise now for a contract," he said.
The Indian government has not encouraged bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan since the militant attacks in Mumbai in 2008.
Pakistani players have not participated in the last two editions of the IPL due to political tensions between the two countries although in the inaugural edition in 2008 over a dozen Pakistanis played for different franchises in the T20 league that attracts players from every cricketing nation.
Last year the Indian franchises did not bid for any Pakistani cricketer at the players' auction although the PCB had sent names of around 10 players after giving them clearance.
PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed told reporters on Saturday that the board had contacted the Indian Cricket Board on the issue.
"We have written to the Indian board that we are willing to provide any clearance to our players for the IPL," Ahmed said.
"We want Pakistani participation in the IPL, that is our official stand but obviously we need for the Indian board to talk to us."
Ahmed said that under new rules framed by the IPL no Pakistani player could take part in the league for any franchise before getting clearance from both boards.
"No player can individually be approached or can approach any franchise now for a contract," he said.
The Indian government has not encouraged bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan since the militant attacks in Mumbai in 2008.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
My Dream is to Coach Super Eagles to Win World Cup in Brazil
Kaduna United, at the beginning of the week, made history as the first team from Kaduna State to win the Federation Cup when they defeated Enyimba of Aba 3-2 on penalties after a the final match ended 3-3 in both regulation and overtime. The feat was so great for the people of the ancient town for the fact that not team from the the town or the state have had success in the series; the closest being the effort of Ranch Bees in 1987 against the now defunct Abiola Babes.
The run to success could be said to have been made possible by the old man of Africa in football clubs’ managerial affairs; Belgian Maurice Cooreman. The man puts everything down to the hard work and determination of the players and the technical team. He even singled out one of his assistants on the bench, the goalkeeper’s trainer, John Obida, for praise.
Cooreman said Obida went a whole length to train Agwu specifically in the art of catching penalties and that the latter became like the saviour of the team in the series up to the final day. On the final day particularly, after he was brought in because shootout became imminent.
Cooreman said: “I think my young United players showed a lot of class right from the preliminary stage up to the final, to eventually win the cup for Kaduna people and the governor of the state; Ibrahim Yakowa. I groomed these young boys from nowhere and today they have made Kaduna people and the country proud for their outstanding performance in the Federation Cup series.
“We had loads of encouragement and support from the state governor, but in the final analysis, it was up to them to put up a brave spirit. They showed a lot of that. Now, personally, I think my next frontier is Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles.
I have handled many teams in Nigeria and my record here shows I have achieved many milestones, from NPA to Gabros International, to Lobi Stars, Ocean Boys, Bendel Insurance and Enyimba, I have shown I have what it takes. And as I had always have a vision for the place the international game of Nigeria should be at the global arena, I believe it is time I got that chance to help with tinkering the Super Eagles.
Cooreman, in revealing his dream for Nigeria, expresses his surprise that the Super Eagles continually fail to live up to their global billing. He said with the kind of abundance in quality materials that he has seen and worked with in the country since the past decade that he has been around, he finds it queer that the team are not pulling their weight in silverwares.
He said so many talents are still untapped among the home-based players and that he would like very much to be in position to change this.
“I think the only reason we are in this sorry state as far as the Super Eagles are concerned is that we have no proper planning to groom the boys into a formidable team that can conquer the world. I have been in this country for 11 years, and I married an Igbo lady. So, when I talk about the failure of the country, I think I am talking as a Nigerian and as a man who has been in the system for over a decade and know exactly what is wrong. Besides, I have a passion for this country that is so high I am ready to die for her.
“If I get to tinker the Super Eagles, my promise is that the team will be in the final stages of the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. By final stages, I am talking of the semi finals at the very least. And this is not a boast or empty talk.
“I coached Jasper United and so many other teams to success in this country and I understand Nigerian football and know that Nigerian players are very talented. In most countries of the world that have made global impact in the game, handling to success such young teams as Kaduna United from the developmental stage and successes with other teams across the country, like I have had, are some of the criteria used in selecting who to handle the national teams. It should be part of the consideration here too. Besides, I understand the Nigerian game and the Nigerian players’ mentality so well now that there can hardly be a better candidate than I make for the post,” says Cooreman.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Nigeria, 15 others Confirm Participation
About 16 countries have confirmed their participation in the forthcoming Commonwealth Intercontinental Under-17 Handball Championship scheduled to take place in Cameroon from August 25th to September 5th. According to a statement released from the headquarters of the continental game in Abuja, the countries that have confirmed participation include the host Cameroon, Nigeria, India, Ghana, Pakistan, Cyprus, Australia, England, Bangladesh and Kenya. This will also involve six other countries that will participate with their female teams.
While speaking on the preparation of the secretariat for the championship, the Executive Director of Commonwealth Handball Association Mallam Attahiru Garba who just returned from Cameroon on an inspection tour said he was satisfied with the facilities he saw on ground. He added that the 16 nations that will come to the championship would have a good story to tell at the end of the day.
“Cameroon is set, going by what I saw on ground there. The championship, which will be the first in recent time, is the spark we need to reunite the handball families that are under the Commonwealth umbrella.”
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Nigeria will provide two pairs of referees to the championship. They are Bosede Momoh and Ngozi Ezeh for female while Sikiru Ahmed and James Ahmadu would referee in the male categories of the tournament.
This is making history for the country in the sport, because, since after the era of Gen. Ishola William (Rtd) as the President of Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Nigeria has not provided two pairs of referees in a major International handball competition.
Arrangements for the tournament include the President of World Handball Federation, (International Handball Federation) Dr. Hassan Moustapha and President of Confederation of African Handball (CAHB) being special guests at the opening ceremony while His Excellency, the President of Cameroon, Paul Biya, would be declaring the championships open. The President of Commonwealth Games Federation (CFG) Mr. Mike Finnel has been slated for the closing ceremony.
Also, it has been confirmed that 1st, 2nd and 3rd position teams would be taking home prize money of $10,000, $7,000, and $3,000 in both the boys and girls category. The screening of teams to ascertain players’ age would be through the MRI. The Medical Committee/Screening Committee is to be chaired by Dr. Lanre Glover who is the 1st Vice President of Confederation of African Handball (CAHB).
Pillars’ bad boys get the rod for attempting to put the beautiful game into disrepute
The Nigeria Premier League has made a precedence of an insolence act by going down hard on Kano Pillars Football Club over the team’s behaviour in the last match of the Super Four tournament on the last day. The incidence took place in the match against Enyimba at the Ijebu-Ode venue of the competition on Sunday. As punishment, some members of the team has been given various, heavy-handed punishment that the League believes would serve as warning to others and a deterrent to the offenders in future.
According to the League last night, a Kano Pillars official, Ali Adamu, is banned from all NPL activities for three years for jumping out of the substitute bench to attack the referee and assistant referee in the match against Enyimba during the match.
The Acting Executive Secretary of NPL, Tunji Babalola, disclosed last night that the punishment also revealed that Sani Haliru, who was in goal for the Kano side also stand banned from football for six months for acts that are not in line with the ethics, rules of the game.
He added: “Kano Pillars will also have to pay a fine of N500, 000 before they are registered for the in-coming season. The team will also be warned to make sure their officials conform to the rules of the game or face further sanctions.
“The vision of the new board of NPL is to stop every act that has the potential to hurt the game. Towards this, no stone will be left unturned to make sure that sanity prevails in the system.”
The ugly scenario occurred, after the winning goal was scored by the Aba side towards the end of the match. Feeling that something was wrong with the way the goal had been scored, Pillars’ players protested to the referee asking that the goal be ruled as coming from offside play, but their plea was turned down.
Rather than continued with the match after their protest had been turned down; as it is expected of a disciplined team in the game, some members of the team went wild. Taking laws into their own hands, they encroached on the field of play and in the process; the Pillars official assaulted the referee.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
At the United Nations, time to watch the World Cup
The world stops for the World Cup, and the United Nations is no exception.
Diplomats and staffers gathered Wednesday in a small viewing area at U.N. headquarters in New York City to watch Spain beat Germany in a World Cup semifinal match, earning the right to face The Netherlands in Sunday's championship.
For almost a month, World Cup viewing has become a staple of U.N. life.
Unlike bars and restaurants that likely have specific country affiliations, the U.N. audience encompasses a broad base of nationalities and allegiances.
To Holmen Bengt, who works for the Norwegian Mission to the United Nations, it is the ideal place to experience what many consider to be the premier global sports event.
"It adds a very nice flavor to it because you have the world here, and it's the World Cup," Bengt said.
South Africa is hosting the World Cup, the first time the tournament has been held in Africa, and the South African government paid for the U.N. viewing area. It might have underestimated the popularity.
About 60 people crammed into the viewing area Wednesday, most of them standing to watch a large flat-screen television. Another dozen or so tried to catch a glimpse over the area's temporary walls by standing on chairs. An equally-packed overflow room down the hall held another 70 people.
Watching the game at the United Nations required multitasking ability. During breaks in play, men and women in suits checked their BlackBerrys, but when a goal was scored, the audience was on its feet, yelling and slapping hands as if they were at the stadium.
Wednesday's match took place during a Security Council debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The day before, several soccer fans skipped attending the Queen of England's first address to the General Assembly in more than 50 years. It was unclear how many would have attended if England, eliminated in the round of 16, had still been playing.
Mococha Tembele, from the Tanzanian U.N. Mission, said the viewing area provided an opportunity to both work and watch, due to its proximity.
"I'm watching games here because I'm attending meetings," Tembele said. "This is the only convenient place for me to come."
Throughout the game, everyone from custodians to security guards to dapper diplomats bounded up the stairs to check the score, while a contingent of die-hards stuck it out for the whole match.
Teresa Lopez, a beaming Spanish national and one of the few wearing her country's jersey, said she was on her day off, but she defended some of the other viewers.
"As long as they fulfill their responsibilities and go back to work after the match is over, and they finish their job, I think they're fine," Lopez said. "I think if it's their national team, there may be a little understanding."
Soccer City to host rugby international
Soccer City, once the venue of South Africa's most significant black freedom rallies, will next month host a sport that was open only to whites in the country's apartheid-rule era.
Rugby officials announced on Wednesday that South Africa's Springboks will take on New Zealand's All Blacks at the Johannesburg soccer stadium, which stages the 2010 World Cup final this weekend.
The rebuilt ground, scene of Nelson Mandela's first speech in the city after his release from prison in 1990, is situated near the predominantly black township of Soweto.
"This is an historic day and one in which the whole of South Africa can celebrate," South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins said in a statement on the ruling body's website.While South African rugby was once dominated by whites, the game has become more mixed there -- especially since hosting the 1995 World Cup -- and players such as Chester Williams and Bryan Habana have become household names.The Blue Bulls rugby team also played a Super 14 match at Soweto's Orlando Stadium in May this year as their home venue in Pretoria was unavailable due to the World Cup.
The August 21 fixture will be South Africa's first home match of the 2010 Tri-Nations tournament, which also features Australia.
Soccer City, which is also known as National Stadium, has a capacity of 88,791.
The SARU has made some tickets available at reduced prices in order to get near the previous best crowd for a home rugby international -- 95,000 at Johannesburg's Ellis Park when the British Lions visited in 1955.
More than 9,000 of the available tickets will be sold at 350 Rand ($45) and 5,000 for just 100 rand ($13).
The match had originally been scheduled for Ellis Park, but host province Golden Lions agreed to make the switch.
"The only thing that surprised us was the near unanimity of our stakeholders in embracing this decision," Lions chairman Kevin De Klerk said.
"The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and as much as we love Ellis Park, there was widespread agreement that we must take such a significant rugby match to one of the best stadiums not just in South Africa but in the world.
"I'd particularly like to thank [our] key sponsors ... They have had to make major sacrifices on some of their contractual rights but the way they have supported us in recognizing the potential benefits of this move -- not just for rugby, but for South Africa -- has been magnificent."
The Springboks will begin the defense of their Tri-Nations crown in New Zealand on Saturday, the first of two clashes with the Kiwis before heading to Australia for a match in Brisbane on July 24.
Spain beat Germany to book first ever World Cup final slot
The World Cup will have a new winner on Sunday after Spain beat Germany 1-0 to set up a mouthwatering clash with the Netherlands.
Spain's hero was Barcelona defender Carles Puyol as his 73rd minute header secured his country's first ever World Cup final.
Puyol rose highest to power Xavi's corner into the net and hand Spain a deserved victory.
Vicente del Bosque's team dominated possession against their opponents and should have won by a more convincing score line but they couldn't convert their chances.
Germany only created a handful of opportunities as they attempted to avenge their defeat to Spain in the European Championships final of 2008 but they failed to regularly test Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas.Spain will now face Netherlands at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Sunday after they beat Uruguay 3-2 in the other semifinal on Tuesday night.Liverpool striker Fernando Torres was dropped in favor of Pedro Rodriguez as Spain made one change from their quarterfinal team. Germany drafted in Piotr Trochowski in place of the suspended Thomas Muller.
It was Barcelona striker David Villa who had the first chance of the game but his effort was smothered by Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Puyol was the next to go close for Spain after he headed Andres Iniesta's powerful cross over the bar.
Lukas Podolski registered Germany's first effort on goal just after the half hour mark as Spain keeper Iker Casillas turned his shot round the post.
Just before the break Mesut Özil went down under a challenge from Sergio Ramos but the referee waved away his appeal for a penalty.
Spain stepped it up a gear after halftime and Xabi Alonso came close with a fierce shot from the edge of the area that flashed past the post.
Pedro was next to shoot but Neuer blocked his effort before Iniesta rolled a pass across the goal line with Villa agonizingly close to tapping home.
Substitute Toni Kroos nearly scored with his first touch for Germany as he was found by a Podolski cross but Casillas parried his volley.
But just four minutes later Spain were in front. Xavi's corner was met by Puyol, and his header sped past Neuer.
In Madrid, relief and rejoicing intertwine
As Germany tried to force an equalizer Spain should have made the game safe but Pedro failed to tee up Torres when the striker had a clear run on goal.
Spain held on to record another one goal victory and seal a first ever World Cup final appearance. Neither they, nor opponents Netherlands, have ever won world football's most prestigious trophy but one team will make history on Sunday.
U.S. first as Kerr tops women's rankings
Cristie Kerr is the first player from the United States to top the women's world rankings after her runaway victory in the LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club in New York.
Kerr carded a six-under final round 66 for a 19-under 269 total, leaving her 12 shots clear of the best in women's golf.
It was a record victory margin in the LPGA Championship, beating the 11-shot win for fellow American Betsy King in 1992.
Kerr was claiming her 14th career victory on the LPGA Tour and winning her second major after the 2007 U.S. Open.
She led from start to finish as rounds of 68, 66 and 69 left her eight shots clear going into Sunday's final round.
"It's a dream performance," Kerr told the official LPGA Tour website.
"It's like you wake up or you dream -- I can't even speak right now. Winning by two or three is great, but winning by 12 shots is ridiculous. It's obscene."
Kerr made sure of her victory by following six straight pars with three birdies in four holes around the turn.South Korea's Kim Song-Hee finished second with Japan's Ai Miyazato tied for third with South Korea's Shin Jiyai.
Miyazato still leads the official money list after winning four times this season, but Kerr has overtaken her at the top of the official world rankings.
She went into the major in fifth spot.
Miyazato, who needed to finish in second place to keep top spot was impressed with Kerr's performance.
"That's almost too good," Miyazato said. "She's just amazing. I played really good, too, but she is just better than me."
The close race for world number one will continue at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Ohio next weekend, but Kerr will skip the tournament to rest ahead of the U.S. Women's Open on July 8.
Kerr is fully aware she will now come under pressure for the top ranking.
"I'm there now, but I have to prove that I deserve to be there," Kerr said. "So there is still a lot of work ahead. But it feels awfully good right now."
Alonso vows to fight back after Euro GP disappointment
Fernando Alonso insists Ferrari will bounce back from Sunday's controversial European Grand Prix.
Events in Valencia saw Red Bull's Mark Webber suffer a high-speed crash on lap ten, forcing the safety car to appear.
Alonso claimed the race had been "manipulated" after his title rival Lewis Hamilton, of McLaren, overtook the safety car but still managed to finish second despite being hit with a 20-second drive-through penalty.
The Spaniard left Valencia's street circuit frustrated after finishing in eighth place, securing only one point, and he later blamed the safety car incident for his poor finish calling the race "unfair" for those who "respected the rules and didn't overtake the yellow flag".
Alonso says he now regrets reacting "emotionally" and for saying things that "can be interpreted wrongly"."I was very angry about everything that happened, " he told Ferrari's official website. "But now that anger has been transformed into positive energy driving a desire to fight back.
"What I meant was that those drivers who, like us, respected the regulations, unfortunately, in this situation, suffered much more than those who broke them, even though they were given a penalty," he added.
"And I am not referring to any of the drivers in particular. I was pleased to hear that the FIA has reacted promptly, calling an extraordinary meeting of the Sporting Working Group.
"I am confident, certain even, that all the points up for discussion will be cleared up in a comprehensive fashion."
Alonso now insists he has put the disappointment behind him and is now keen to get back to winning ways at the British Grand Prix on July 11.
"Right from Tuesday morning, my mind was already focused on the next Grand Prix at Silverstone, where we will try and channel all that accumulated energy into the car to try and make up for what escaped us, for one reason or another, in Valencia."
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Paul Collingwood: Beating Australia no longer enough to satisfy England
Paul Collingwood, who became England’s leading one-day run-scorer during the win against Australia in Cardiff on Thursday, believes that the side now hold supremacy over their oldest rivals and can beat any team in the world.
Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, claimed that “bragging rights” remained with the touring team despite conceding the Ashes to England last year and losing the World Twenty20 final in May. England also hold a 2-0 lead in the NatWest Series going into the third game at Old Trafford tomorrow.
It is a sign of England’s rise that beating Australia is no longer enough, according to Collingwood, who said: “If you look at their record over the past year or so they still have that air of invincibility because they have not lost many games, but we are the better side at the moment.
“We are in a great position to win this series, but we would not just be happy with that. We want to be the best one-day side in the world and win the World Cup next year. We are confident we can beat any team in one-day cricket, not just Australia.”
Collingwood was taken unawares during his innings of 48 at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, when the public address man told the crowd that Alec Stewart’s aggregate of 4,677 runs had been overtaken. “A few Australians were even more surprised than me,” Collingwood said. “Going past Alec’s runs . . . it is all a bit surreal at times.
“I went into that match thinking, ‘I need to start playing well again. I need a bit of confidence.’ Then came that announcement and I thought to myself, ‘Why do you worry so much?’ It is always a battle. What goes on in your head is far more important than anything with your technique.”
That no England batsman has yet hit 5,000 runs when a total of 57 players from other countries have reached the landmark is testament to the relatively low status that the one-day game has carried in this country and the volume of matches elsewhere. Even Andy Flower, the team director, scored 6,786 runs for Zimbabwe.
Collingwood was chatting to Graham Gooch, the part-time batting coach, about this broad issue recently. “In Graham’s day they played three one-day internationals each summer,” Collingwood said. “Now we play three in a week.” This season, England are committed to as many as 13 50-over matches.
Only if Twenty20 squeezes out the longer one-day game will Collingwood’s guess that a good number of England batsmen will overtake his aggregate prove incorrect. Perhaps in a decade’s time, Eoin Morgan will be saying: “In Colly’s era they only played a couple of Twenty20s a year — now we play two a day.”
Collingwood revealed that he underwent two injections in his left shoulder during his rest from the Test series against Bangladesh. He has suffered intermittent pain since dislocating the joint in 2003, but said that he is fit to bowl, even though Andrew Strauss has yet to call upon him in the series.
Source:The Times
Daring Lleyton Hewitt not ready to be the forgotten man
Asked last week to nominate the young British player who most epitomised the attitude required to succeed, Andy Murray said Liam Broady, of Stockport.
The 16-year-old was asked if he would mind hitting for an hour yesterday with Rafael Nadal, the world No 1. “Awesome,” was young Broady’s reaction to the tutorial. John McEnroe has also been trading leftie blows with him this week, offering coaching tips into the bargain.
Broady bears the appearance of a young Lleyton Hewitt, the blond hair, the cap worn backwards and the look in the eye that suggests he is going to make the most of all that he has in the desire to succeed as a professional.
That he was born in the same town as Fred Perry adds to the fascination of the story. That his family does not conform to the strictures preferred of the LTA gentry stirs more piquancy into the pot.
Hewitt has never been a conformist. He has got to this stage of his career by staying loyal to his reactionary roots, a tough-as-old-boots kid whose parents brooked no argument and who still plays every match as if his life depends upon it. He sets Tennis Australia folk on edge, but where would tennis in Australia have been without him to keep it in the mind’s eye this past decade?
On Centre Court yesterday, Hewitt defeated Gaël Monfils, of France, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4, a match defined by the 2002 champion’s refusal to let one of the more volatile characters in the game break the levels of concentration that are his hallmark.
For two sets, Hewitt served out of his skin, dropping just six points before the second-set tie-break, from which he extricated himself after netting three forehands. The Frenchman then became ragged himself. Hewitt took the set with a delightful backhand volley that must have tested his dodgy hips to the utmost.
Before he played in this year’s Australian Open, where he lost in the fourth round to Roger Federer, Hewitt knew that he had to go into hospital for a second hip operation, something he kept from everyone except those nearest and dearest. Typical Hewitt, that.
He did not last more than a couple of rounds in any tournament between then and the French Open, where he took ten games in three sets against Nadal — and that takes some doing. That belief was endorsed in Halle, Germany, the week before last, when he became only the second man in eight years to defeat Federer on grass.
Roger Rasheed, who coached Hewitt for three years before they had a falling-out and is now trying to get the best from Monfils, bore the look of a worried man before the match. He recounted that every time Hewitt came back through the gates of the All England Club, he “was like a kid in a candy store”. And where better than Centre Court to counter someone whose play varies from pearl drop one minute to marshmallow the next.
Source:The Times
Highclere dream factory scales heights
If your business is selling a dream, a little evidence can be persuasive. Harry Herbert had all such material to hand this week, as he launched seven new Highclere Thoroughbred syndicates on the back of an unprecedented three winners at Royal Ascot.
Herbert has managed the prestigious Highclere brand since its inception in 1992 but these are heady days. “We took 50 people into the Ascot winner’s enclosure last week and you can’t buy that experience,” he said.
Plans for the winning horses are taking shape, with Harbinger set to run in the King George, Approve in the Gimcrack and Memory at Newmarket’s July meeting. But Herbert is now selling shares in the yearlings he will seek to buy at the upcoming autumn sales and dispatch to some of the ten trainers on the Highclere roster.
“It’s not easy to keep attracting new owners,” he said. “That’s why success at Ascot was so important. It’s a very public thing — if you have a share in a runner there, all your friends and family will know about it, good or bad.
“We’ve had some amazing times, notably with Lake Coniston and Petrushka. A couple of years ago, we had an Ascot double with Collection and Colony but this year was better.”
Herbert fronts a slick operation that appeals to a surprisingly wide range. “With Highclere, our celebrity element does help. When people see Liz Hurley and Sir Alex Ferguson involved, they might look at us more closely,” he said.
Such inspection reveals that this is not the exclusive enclave of the wealthy that many imagine. Twenty shares in the Masquerade syndicate, which owns Memory and another horse, cost less than £12,000, all training fees included. “We probably created the image ourselves, because we are a luxury goods product,” Herbert admitted. “There are still people who think it’s a private club for the posh but we’re getting over that now. We have a terrific cross-section and horses bond people together.”
Mike Tindall, the England rugby international, has a share in Theology and was on the phone from Australia after his run in the Queen’s Vase at Ascot. “I had to tell him he’d been beaten a nose,” Herbert said. “But he’s keen and calls a lot when he’s away on tour.”
Jeremy Noseda, trainer of Theology, has been chosen to handle a horse in a new Highclere syndicate — 20 shares in a single horse at £6,950 each. Though it is called The Starter syndicate, it is not entirely for newcomers — the name relates to a Spy cartoon hanging in the Jockey Club Rooms, the base for fortnightly Highclere dinners through the spring.
With 19 wins and £369,000 in prize money banked, Highclere are heading for a record season. That would be assured if Harbinger repels Workforce, his Derby-winning stablemate, in the King George. “I’m about to chat it through with Sir Michael Stoute,” Herbert said. “Unless he has a compelling reason not to run, we will go there — it’s the sort of race we are all in this for.”
Source:The Times
Michael Schumacher’s return heads for dead end
Michael Schumacher’s much-heralded return to Formula One could end after only a year, according to reports in Valencia in the build-up to tomorrow’s European Grand Prix.
Although Mercedes GP said last night that there was “absolutely no truth” in the report that dissatisfaction with — and criticism of — the seven-times world champion’s performances had culminated in the team apparently courting Robert Kubica from Renault, an Italian website said that the Pole, 25, had been offered a three-year retainer from 2011, with an option for a further two years.
While rumours and gossip are part and parcel of pitlane life, speculation about Schumacher’s future has been rife and the 41-year-old is an increasingly forlorn figure. He returned to the sport on a three-year contract this season, having delayed his initial comeback because of a neck injury.
Schumacher’s frustration, however, has become increasingly evident. He has not made the podium and his best position has been fourth in both the Spanish and Turkish Grands Prix. It was in Canada two weeks ago that the professional criticisms started.
Increasingly, he has the look and manner of a champion who cannot understand his inability to recapture his glory days. This week he railed at suggestions that he is not the force of old. “I don’t think there are many guys around the world who, at 41, come back after a three-year break and compete at this high a level,” he said.
“I’ve not lost my knowledge of driving. I know what I’m doing and I think I do it to the best I can. When I won 91 grands prix and seven championships, I was thinking then about how I can improve, as I’m doing now.”
Nico Rosberg, who was quickest in yesterday’s first practice session, defended his team-mate, as did Nick Fry, the Mercedes chief executive.
“From inside the team we see things in a totally different perspective,” Fry said. “We’re very comfortable with Michael’s performance and I can’t see any reason why he won’t come good.”
But Lewis Hamilton, the McLaren driver who leads the drivers’ championship by three points and is going for a hat-trick of wins, has suggested that time has moved on more quickly than Schumacher, who was only eleventh- quickest after the second practice session, may have appreciated.
“His commitment is the same as always,” Hamilton said. “But it is so challenging, so close, it is very difficult to outdo the youngsters that have the hunger that he had when he started.”
Now or never for the ‘golden generation’
England expects. Even that two-word affirmation carries more than an echo of the military past that sadly seems to permeate so much discussion before a World Cup encounter with Germany, but it is true. England expects.
The players expect, too. The nucleus of thirtysomethings and late twentysomethings within Fabio Capello’s squad has never, in the players’ lifetimes, known anything but misery at the hands of German opponents in the knockout stages of leading tournaments, from the early memories of the 1990 World Cup to the Euro ’96 defeat that came as many of them were taking their first steps towards stardom. But they maintain that, in the unlikely setting of Bloemfontein tomorrow afternoon, it will be different.
It would not be hard, on the basis of performances in this World Cup, to dismiss England as dysfunctional no-hopers and Germany, with the beguiling young talents of Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil, as one of the top four teams in the tournament, along with Argentina, Brazil and Holland.
So why does it feel, after England scraped into the knockout stages with downbeat draws against the United States and Algeria and a fairly prosaic victory over Slovenia, that this is England’s turn to overcome Germany?
Joe Cole predicted something similar the other day, saying pointedly that “I feel this is our time”, and it was an attitude reinforced yesterday by David James as the goalkeeper shrugged at the mention of Özil, apologised to a German journalist that his “name-recollection skills are next to disgraceful” and proceeded to declare:
“I genuinely think we’re going to win because I think we’re a better team than Germany.”
A better team? This is highly debatable, given that Capello’s side have hardly resembled a cohesive unit since a resounding 5-1 victory over Croatia last September, whereas a young Germany team have developed the “Teamgeist”, or spirit, that comes from having six members of the squad that won the European Under-21 Championship in highly impressive style in Sweden last summer.
England were the team they beat in the final — Özil running the show during a magnificent 4-0 victory — but only two players, Joe Hart and James Milner, have made the step up to Capello’s squad.
There are plenty of reasons to be fearful for the long-term future of England, with Capello reflecting the reluctance of many Barclays Premier League managers to make any commitment to blooding young talent.
Capello’s 23-man squad is the oldest in this World Cup, with an average age of 28 years and six months and with only six players under the age of 27. By contrast, Joachim Löw, the Germany coach, has named a squad with an average age of 25 years and three months, with 18 of their 23 players under the age of 27 — among them the Bayern Munich trio of Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski, who have a combined total of 221 caps.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Under-fire Alex Bogdanovic bites back at critics
Say the name “Alex Bogdanovic” in British tennis circles and what you get in return is a communal shaking of heads, shrugging of shoulders and exaggerated sighs.
Until yesterday, Bogdanovic has rarely said anything worth printing, but he came out swinging when the subject of his place in the system was raised at another domestic tournament that he departed without troubling the scorers.
What sparked the 26-year-old left-hander into a vitriolic attack against the LTA was the fact that he has been dropped from its matrix funding group for 2010 and, having made it plain that he did not want to play in the Davis Cup tie against Turkey next month, he was told his punishment would be to forfeit any wild-card privileges this summer.
Some might say that it is about time. Bogdanovic’s shortcomings were once more crystallised at the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club, West London, when he ought to have seen that Grigor Dimitrov, the 19-year-old Bulgarian, was as tight as a drum on the verge of a first-round victory but mistrusted his own talents and lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It is the story of his career.Many more coaches than Tito Vasquez, Peter Lundgren and Brad Gilbert (he was Bogdanovic’s companion for a brief period after parting with Andy Murray, but uniquely ran out of things to say) have sought and failed to work out why this man of such intrinsic gifts cannot summon the power to use them.
That he has earned $620,000 (about £430,000) in prize money owes much to funding that allowed him to travel extensively and the feather-bedding effect of eight wild cards into Wimbledon, on which the return has been eight first-round defeats.
When Bogdanovic told Leon Smith, the new Davis Cup captain, that he preferred to work on his own game and not be considered for the Europe/Africa Zone group II tie, the LTA’s hackles were raised. The decision to slash Bogdanovic’s funding was made as the domestic game’s governing body said it was resolving to make every effort to keep players in the game longer by making up shortfalls in any money they might earn. How much more of a mixed message could it send?
“The reason Steve Martens [the LTA player director] gave for cutting my funding is that I wasn’t working hard enough through the year, my intensity wasn’t enough and that is just so disrespectful and very untrue,” Bogdanovic said. “He only saw me play twice the whole year and he shouldn’t put my efforts down.
“I’m out there giving it my best shot to break into the top 100 [he is No 166 and has never been higher than No 108] and if it was easy, everyone would be as good as Andy Murray is. I found out they didn’t believe in me any more, so the only thing I can do is go out there and try to improve.”
Murray once felt that Bogdanovic was his natural singles companion in the Davis Cup, but his own presence against Turkey is not certain. The paradox is that Judy, his mother — who was courtside to watch the defending champion’s 7-6, 6-3 victory over Iván Navarro, of Spain, yesterday — is working as part of the team, giving a tactical insight into the opposition, pinpointing patterns of play and strengths and weaknesses that she will package on a DVD for team meetings.
Judy was instrumental in providing such information when her sons, Andy and Jamie, were in their developmental stage and says that tactical analysis is what she loves to do.
It would have been fun had she had a word with Andy yesterday before he played Navarro, who consistently made life uncomfortable for the No 3 seed for long spells.
Indeed, Murray, sporting a colourful support around his right knee, had to fight off two set points in the first set tie-break before securing a third-round place against Mardy Fish, the American, or Santiago Giraldo, from Colombia.
Source:The Times
Prince Khalid Abdullah forms strong squad for Royal Ascot
Leading owner will have fancied runners in several of next week’s big races, including Manifest, trained by Henry Cecil
Prince Khalid Abdullah has a clear lead in the owners’ table after the Derby success of Workforce and the Saudi patron has bright prospects of advancing those gains at Royal Ascot next week.
Abdullah has fancied runners in four of the seven championship races — notably Manifest and Showcasing, who head advance betting for the Gold Cup and Golden Jubilee Stakes respectively. André Fabre is likely to send Byword over from France to join Twice Over in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, while Zacinto adds depth to what promises to be a vintage renewal of the Queen Anne Stakes.
The back-up team is also strong. Principal Role is earmarked for the Ribblesdale Stakes, Redwood holds the Hardwicke Stakes entry while Timepiece, who finished unplaced in the Investec Oaks, is likely to drop back to a mile for the Sandringham Stakes. However, Special Duty, the dual classic winner, is expected to bypass the Coronation Stakes in favour of the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket next month.
Zacinto faces a daunting assignment in the opening race of the five-day meeting when he confronts Goldikova, Rip Van Winkle and Paco Boy over the straight mile. The four-year-old chased home Rip Van Winkle in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in September but has since run disappointingly in the Breeders’ Cup Mile and the Lockinge Stakes won by Paco Boy last month.Nevertheless, connections believe Zacinto deserves his place in Queen Anne field. “He was not quite right after his Breeders’ Cup run and he was in an uncharacteristically bad frame of mind before the Lockinge,” Lord Grimthorpe, racing manager for Abdullah, said yesterday.
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