Cricket World cup-Final thoughts

India is still in a state of euphoria following their World Cup win. It was the prefect end to a tournament for both the fans and the organisers, mindful of the TV ratings disaster that accompanied India's early exit from the tournament in 2007 at the group stage.

This time around, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men followed the script to the letter, meaning sales of widescreen televisions went through the roof, Indian TV ratings soared and the games governing body, the ICC, rubbed its hands at the prospect of a bumper pay day.

The cricket wasn't bad either.The best final since 1992 was preceded by the organisers dream semifinal of India v Pakistan, and three exciting quarterfinals (sorry, Pakistan v West indies wasn't a match, it was a joke).

Even the much-maligned group stages had their moments - mainly thanks to England, who recorded a tie against India beat South Africa and the Windies yet managed to lose to Ireland and Bangladesh and scrape through against the Netherlands.

There were some black marks: the chaotic ticketing system led to angry and frustrated fans experiencing the Indian police's idea of crowd control. The lead up to India's games against England and Pakistan were both marred by clashes. The fact that most ordinary cricket fans didn't get a chance to watch either game left a bad taste.

The cult of the VIP and VVIP was another feature of the World Cup. I spoke to several fans during the final at the Wankehede stadium in Mumbai. All of them had either got free tickets because a relative had connections or they were rich enough to buy a black market ticket at an exorbitant price.

I know its rich coming from a journalist who got to watch the final from the comfort of the press box for free, but still.

As for the players, Tilakeratne Dilshan and Shahid Afridi topped the batting and bowling charts respectively. But special mention must go to Ireland's Kevin O'Brien, who despite smacking the quickest hundred in World Cup history probably will never appear in another tournament.

The ICC confirmed that the next two World Cups will be 10-team affairs, meaning the likes of Ireland and the Netherlands will miss out. I find it hard to believe that either side are less deserving of a World Cup place than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. But the ICC say that T20 is the best format for those countries, and as a result the World Twenty20 has been expanded to 16 teams, giving six Associate or Affliate members the chance to play in a major event.

But as for the 50-over game, the World Cup has given it a timely boost. The next edition is due to be held in Australia and New Zealand in 2015, if its half as good as this one, I, for one, can hardly wait.

Mourinho prepares Barca battleground

It's the business end of the European football season as the first leg of the European Champions League semifinals takes place this week.

On Tuesday, Manchester United visit Schalke 04, and on Wednesday in the third of four clashes in 18 days, Real Madrid host Barcelona in an all-Spanish semifinal.

Jose Mourinho's Real have the psychological edge, having beaten a Pep Guardiola-coached Barcelona side for the first time to earn their first domestic cup in 18 years, the Copa del Rey, last week.

The final went down to the wire with a header from Ronaldo giving Real an extra-time victory. But the pressure is on for Mourinho to repeat last year's achievement when his Inter Milan knocked out the Catalans to reach the Champions League final, which they went on to win.

The question is, can Mourinho steer the power-shift in Spanish football away from Catalunya and back to Madrid or are Guardiola's Barcelona too strong?

Lucky three

The King's Cup was Jose Mourinho's first trophy as Madrid manager and now the Portuguese coach has his eye on delivering a 10th European Cup to Real as he bids to become the first coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs.

The Portuguese coach is no stranger to playing against Barca, where he spent some of his formative years as an assistant to Bobby Robson in the 1990s. Mourinho also met Barca three times during his spell at English side Chelsea, twice bettering them over a 'two-match series'.

His ability to rile the Catalan team knows no end and he has outwitted them so far in the 'four-match series' between the world's two richest and highest-profile clubs.

Mourinho was humiliated in a 5-0 drubbing by Barcelona in the league back in November, but Real are now on the up with a recent 1-1 league home draw against Barca followed by the Cup win.

"We can take them on over two games; we have just done that," said Mourinho."There is no reason we can't beat them in the Champions League because we have just drawn once against them and then beaten them."

History is on Madrid's side with Real getting the better of Barcelona in their two previous semifinal meetings in the 1960 European Cup and most recently the last four of the 2002 Champions League with Real going on to be crowned champions on both occasions.

Barcelona have reached the Champions League semifinals for four successive seasons and coach Pep Guardiola will hope to fare better than last season when he was outfoxed by Mourinho's Inter Milan.

Eyes on the prize

The Primera Division league title is all but wrapped up for Barcelona after a 2-0 win against Osasuna on Saturday put them eight points clear at the top of the table, but the real prize is European glory.

Barca defender Gerard Pique refused to be drawn on the hot topics of debate after the first two 'Clasicos' such as the quality of the refereeing, the length of the grass at the Bernabeu and Real's aggressive, 'negative' approach.

"The grass is long but I'm not going to cry about it," the Spanish World Cup winner told daily El Pais of the pitch at Wednesday's Bernabeu venue.

"It's normal for them to take particular care over their defence and that they try to stop our passing game. Mourinho will use everything available to him.

"At the end of the day they are a powerful team with very good forwards," added Pique.

Messi form

Lionel Messi notched his 50th goal of the season in the Osasuna win and has scored on each of his last three visits to the Bernabeu.The form of Messi and David Villa's goal at the weekend, ending an 11-game drought in all competitions, is a boon for Barca but an injury to Brazilian Adriano is their latest defensive concern.

Full back Adriano could miss the rest of the season with a thigh injury so Guardiola is stretched at the back with captain Carles Puyol struggling with muscular problems and Frenchman Eric Abidal recovering from surgery on a liver tumour.

Real have packed the centre of the pitch with three holding players led by centre-back turned midfield-enforcer Pepe, denying Barca's playmakers time and space while looking to break quickly.

Sami Khedira's injury means Lassana Diarra will probably replace him in midfield while Mourinho may opt to play without a recognised number nine again as he did in the King's Cup final.

At the back Ricardo Carvalho is suspended. Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain and Brazilian playmaker Kaka are back to their best after long lay-offs.

Higuain scored a hat-trick and Kaka grabbed a brace in Real's 6-3 win at Valencia on Saturday to throw their hats into the ring for a starting place against Barca.

"He (Kaka) had a fantastic game in a position I like a lot," said Mourinho.

"It is fantastic for his confidence."

The two clubs are the competition's top scorers with 24 goals each but the previous two 'Clasicos' have been tense tussles with few sights of goal.

Any change in Barca's standard 4-3-3 formation would probably be read as an acknowledgement that Real have worked out the way to play against Guardiola's three magicians - Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

Former Milan boss Leonardo named Inter coach

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).