BCB’s way of cutting costs
Azad Majumder
The decision to call back Javed Omar and Alok Kapali from the Kenya-leg of Bangladesh’s tour of Africa could be a sure sign that things are not right in the selection policy of the national team, which due to a recent turn of events has seen the Bangladesh Cricket Board overturning many earlier taken decisions.
According to the BCB chief executive, officer Mahmudur Rahman, the Board took the decision as they felt both players, who had only arrived in the east African country along with team-mates from Zimbabwe on Tuesday, stood very little chance of featuring in the three-match ODI series.
‘It is a very short trip with only three one-day matches to play, so the Cricket Operations Committee of the BCB decided there was no need to carry such a big squad,’ Rahman told New Age on Wednesday referring to the size of the contingent.
Bangladesh had announced a 15-member squad for the Zimbabwe and Kenya tour on July 3 and shortly added left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak to the squad.
But the Cricket Operations Committee of the BCB headed by general secretary Mahbubul Anam, thought that carrying more than 14 players in Kenya-leg would be redundant only the day the team arrived in Nairobi, something which cast a serious doubt on the sincerity of officials entrusted with selection matters.
The helter-skelter situation started no sooner when the selection committee announced the squad for the trips axing left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak apparently to make way for reserve wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim.
Razzak had been the most successful one-day bowler for Bangladesh in the home series against Australia and thus his omission raised eyebrows in many quarters.
Eventually the selectors, bowing to popular demand, drafted the tweaker as an additional player just days before the team flew out. Another debate soon started when chief selector Faruque Ahmed told newsmen that it would be unlikely to see both Khaled Mashud and Muhfiqur Rahim in the same match.
It was a clear indication that they were contemplating to drop long-standing wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud for some matches, though that was not the case in Zimbabwe.
Also it was reported that the selectors had developed stained relations with Mashud and wanted to teach him a lesson by sidelining him for a while in Zimbabwe. And the BCB acted in line with selectors’ thoughts and decided against naming a vice-captain for the trip.
But the team badly felt the need for a vice-captain once Habibul Bashar suffered a serious thumb injury during the second one-day match.
Bashar was declared unfit for the trip the next day and the BCB reluctantly had to turn to Mashud. However, the same BCB allowed Bashar to stay with the team to inspire them, which eventually triggered a dual leadership.
After a few days, the Board realised it and brought Bashar back home. In the meantime, the selectors kept middle-order batsman Tushar Imran on stand-by to replace Bashar although the team management did not ask for it.
They felt for a replacement for the Kenya trip and Tushar left home immediately. Kapali is a middle-order batsman and could have easily replaced Bashar, more importantly, Kapali was well accustomed with conditions, opined experts at home.
Still, if BCB feels Kapali and Javed are not good enough, why was the pair taken to Kenya?
‘The BCB wanted to have an experiment in the African trip so we needed all the players beside the green-horns which enlarged the squad initially. As the young players like Sakib Al Hasan and Farhad Reza were successful in the Zimbabwe tour, the Cricket Operations Committee, now feels it is the time to downsize the squad,’ said Rahman. ‘You can say, the BCB took the decision to cut the expenses,’ added the administrative chief of the BCB.
The statement is contradictory to the fact because the BCB afforded the expenses of four officials in Zimbabwe and two more in Kenya, who have nothing to do with the game except sight-seeing.
It was reported that the BCB provided business class air tickets plus $350 pocket money per day to those tour-hungry officials.
For Javed and Alok, the BCB needed far little to spend as the host board traditionally bears the entire local hospitality and the daily allowance of at least 15 visiting players.
Barca players converse with outer space
Reuters . Madrid
Barcelona confirmed that they have inherited the Galactico mantle from arch-rivals Real Madrid when they became the first soccer team to communicate with outer space during their pre-season tour of the United States.
Squad members toured Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston and coach Frank Rijkaard, World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, midfielder Xavi and captain Carles Puyol were able to carry out a long distance conversation with the crew of the international space station on Tuesday.
‘Down here on earth there are some players that are heroes, but you are all heroes in space,’ said coach Rijkaard who went on to challenge the crew to demonstrate their own galactic football skills.
German crew member Thomas Reiter responded by doing a Ronaldinho-style, slow-motion overhead kick in the weightless environment of the space station as it orbited the earth.
The Spanish and European champions are in the final stages of a two-week promotional tour of the United States and Mexico which has seen them play in front of massive crowds.
Real, who were dubbed the ‘Galacticos’ because of their policy of signing big-name players such as Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham, were given a muted reception on their arrival in the United States this week.
Jones affair unfortunate
Agence France-Presse . New Delhi
Indian cricketers and commentators on Wednesday described Dean Jones’s ‘terrorist’ jibe as ‘unfortunate’, saying the Australian pundit should have been more careful.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Jones was sacked Tuesday by his TV employers for calling a South African Muslim player a terrorist during the second and final Test in Colombo.
‘The terrorist has got another wicket,’ Jones said on Monday when bearded Hashim Amla took a catch to dismiss Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara on the fourth day of the Test.
‘You have to be careful about what you say and think if it’s likely to hurt anyone. So choice of words is very important,’ Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, former India leg-spinner and current commentator, told the Times of India.
‘This was an unfortunate incident, because knowing Deano he did not mean any offence. It’s a basic human error.’
Noted commentator Harsha Bhogle said TV experts have to be more careful of what they say and should assume that the microphone is always on.
‘There will be some network somewhere who will be on live even when there is a break. We have directional microphone too, so we have to be very careful,’ said Bhogle, who has been commentating on the game for more than a decade.
‘Sometimes producers do tell us that it is leaking, be careful. I have made up my mind not to swear even when not on air.’
Jones, 45, appeared to suggest there was an element of bad luck to the affair.
‘There was only one country in the world that didn’t take the ad break live and that was South Africa. It was picked up by a few viewers,’ he said after arriving in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Former India Test batsman Arun Lal said it just one of those things when Jones probably tried to sound witty.
‘It’s a very unfortunate incident,’ said Lal. ‘Knowing the gentleman I am sure he did not mean it. It was just a mistake. I am sure Deano himself would have been embarrassed with what has happened.’
Former Test all-rounder Madan Lal said experts should make no personal comments, especially against religion.
‘Producers anyway warn us from making comments against individuals,’ said Lal, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad.
‘Luckily, in my experience I have not made or heard such remarks from my co-commentators. However, mistakes do happen and some pay a big price for it, like Jones.’
Jones said he had written a full-page apology to Amla and the South African team, as well as saying sorry to the bowler directly.
‘I got hold of Hashim Amla and I spoke to him for a certain amount of time. I gave him my sincerest apologies and he was gracious enough to accept it,’ said Jones, who sacked after a complaint from Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola.
Jones earlier told reporters in Colombo that he respected the Muslim faith.
Shevchenko, Ballack & Rosicky add class
Reuters . London
Bangladesh play Asian powerhouse Qatar It has been a relatively lean summer for the Premier League in terms of new arrivals but though short on quantity there is no doubting the quality.
Unsurprisingly it is Chelsea who have lured the two biggest names in the form of Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko and Germany midfielder Michael Ballack.
Both men captain their countries and look to have completed owner Roman Abramovich’s transformation of the west London club from fashionable also-rans to the most powerful team in the world.
A third successive Premier League seems almost a foregone conclusion and Abramovich and coach Jose Mourinho only have eyes for Europe. That they have failed to reach the Champions League final in the last two campaigns was in part due to the absence of a truly world class striker. Now Shevchenko is in town, there are no more excuses.
The man lured from AC Milan for an estimated 30 million pounds ($56 million) can and has scored every type of goal but is also a talented all-round forward who can create for others.
At 29 he boasts more European Cup goals – 52 – than anyone in the competition’s history and he has scored them consistently over 10 years with Dynamo Kiev then Milan.
He will arrive though with something to prove having failed to sparkle in the World Cup as he struggled for full match sharpness after a knee injury and was too often an isolated figure in a Ukraine side short on midfield providers.
That certainly will not be a problem at Chelsea as Ballack, the arch-playmaker, joins Ghanaian Michael Essien, England duo Frank Lampard and Joe Cole and Frenchman Claude Makelele in a truly formidable line-up.
Ballack bestrode the Bundesliga like a king in the last six years, his seemingly arrogant style on the ball merely a red rag to the opposition.
He is a truly commanding presence on the pitch and like Lampard has the uncanny knack of driving forward at just the right moment to score match-winning goals. Used to being top dog, however, it will be interesting to see how he operates in the uber-kennel of Stamford Bridge where Mourinho will be quick to remind him that one king-sized ego is enough.
Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov, a former Bayer Leverkusen team mate of Ballack, has also moved to London after joining Tottenham Hotspur for almost 11 million. Berbatov, 25, scored 21 goals in the Bundesliga last season, has an impressive 31 in 50 internationals and should contribute to Tottenham Hotspur’s improvement under Dutch coach Martin Jol, who has also spent eight million pounds on midfielder Didier Zokora, an impressive World Cup performer for Ivory Coast.
With Arsenal ploughing most of their money into their new stadium, manager Arsene Wenger has had little to spend but, as ever, he appears to have invested his limited funds wisely in Czech Tomas Rosicky.
The midfielder has been an international for six years but at 26 still retains a youthful exuberance and appetite for work that made him a fan favourite at Borussia Dortmund and should quickly endear him to his new audience.
A few repeat doses of the stunning 25-metre goal he scored against the United States in the World Cup would also be welcomed by Wenger, whose midfield has lacked attacking flair since the demise of Robert Pires and departure of Patrick Vieira and Sylvain Wiltord.
U-17 booters off to Vietnam
Staff Correspondent
With the focus on their future challenges the Bangladesh U-17 football team left for Vietnam on Wednesday night to play in the four-nation invitational tournament, organised by the Vietnam Football Federation. The tournament, seen as the build-up to the final round of Asian U-17 Championship starting from September 3 in Singapore, will be also participated by Laos, Myanmar and hosts Vietnam.
The tournament will be played from August 12 to16 and the team will return to the country on August 18. The squad will then undergo two weeks’ training at the BKSP before flying to Singapore on September 3.
In Singapore, Bangladesh will vie against Vietnam, Syria and China in Group D of the 16-team final round of the meet. They will take on Vietnam on September 4, Syria on Sept 6 and China on Sept 8. The champion and the runner-up teams from each group will move into the quarterfinals.
The coach of the U-17 team former national midfielder Mahbub Hossain Roxy was upbeat about his team’s chances. ‘We are definitely looking for optimum use of the warm-up tournament, it would be a great experience for them as we don’t have any scope to play practice matches in the country, all of our opponents are very good, so the players and I myself will be able to realise where we stand,’ said Roxy.
The coach pointed out that midfield was his best section and hoped that within two years three or four players of this team will don the national team jersey.
The manager of the team, former national midfielder Nazir Ahmed Alok, echoed the same views. ‘I am very hopeful that a handful of the players will make their mark but I would say that they need continuous nurturing,’ said Alok.
The doctor of the team Md Ali Emran assured that all the players are under 17 years of age and have gone through the medical examinations.
Six of the players were included in the 20-member team after their good performances in the JFA Cup School Football. Striker Touhidul Islam Sobuj will lead the team.
BFF president SA Sultan was also present at the press briefing and he hoped that the team will do well.
Ganguly gets a life
Reuters . Bangalore
Former India captain Saurav Ganguly was surprisingly recalled on Wednesday, named in the provisional 30-player squad for the ICC Champions Trophy to be played at home in October-November.
The 34-year-old batsman was sacked as captain and one-day player last October and then discarded from the Tests after the series defeat in Pakistan early this year.
Although a selector hinted at a return for Ganguly, his chances appeared slim after his recent poor run with English county Northamptonshire.
Chief selector Kiran More defended the inclusion of Ganguly, one of only four batsmen to score 10,000 one-day runs.
‘We have 30 players here and he is one of the good cricketers we have,’ he told reporters. ‘He definitely fits into the 30, there is no question about it.’
The selectors also recalled leg-spinner Anil Kumble and pace bowler Zaheer Khan.
Kumble, 35, India's most successful Test and one-day bowler, had rarely been picked for limited overs cricket since the last World Cup, but his rich experience could prove crucial in the run-up to the World Cup in the West Indies in March-April.
Left-arm Zaheer was discarded after the Pakistan tour over poor form, fitness and attitude, but is back in the frame after his consistent showing for English county Worcestershire.
The list also includes three uncapped batsmen, 19-year-old Mumbai player Rohit Sharma, Subramaniam Badrinath and Tejinderpal Singh.
The list, which includes all the players chosen for next week's one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka, would be pruned to 14 by September 7.
Probables: Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Shantakumaran Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Dinesh Mongia, Rudra Pratap Singh, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Dinesh Karthik, Piyush Chawla, Vangipurappu Laxman, Saurav Ganguly, Venugopal Rao, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Subramaniam Badrinath, T.P.Singh, Parthiv Patel, Shib Shankar Paul, Vikram Rajvir Singh.
Probable Tigers for Champions Trophy
Staff Correspondent
The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Wednesday named a 30-member preliminary squad for the ICC Champions Trophy with most of the additional players coming from the under-19 team to join up with the current national squad.
The deadline for submission of the probable squad was on August 7, but the BCB took a time extension from the ICC citing some internal problems. Finally, the BCB sent the names on Wednesday.
Squad: Habibul Bashar, Khaled Mashud, Tushar Imran, Sakib Al Hasan, Mohammed Rafique, Tapash Baishya, Javed Omar, Nafees Iqbal, Rajin Saleh, Enamul Haque, Mohammad Ashraful, Hasibul Hossain, Aftab Ahmed, Nazmul Hossain, Mashrafee bin Murtaza, Mehrab Hossain, Shahriar Nafees, Nazmus Sadat, Abdur Razzak, Mahmudullah Riyad, Syed Rasel, Manzarul Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Jamaluddin Babu, Alok Kapali, Shahagir Hossain Pavel, Farhad Reza, Nadif Chowdhury, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shafaq Al Zabir.
Klinsmann’s warm-up suit
auctioned for charity
Reuters . Berlin
Former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s World Cup warm-up suit and midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger’s boots were among 4,000 items of World Cup memorabilia auctioned off that raised 70,000 euros ($90,190) for charity.
Germany World Cup organising committee officials said on Wednesday that the sweat-stained warm-up suit worn by Klinsmann, who stepped down after the finals, went to a winning bid of 620 euros while 500 euros was paid for Schweinsteiger’s boots.
A ball signed by Germany players, third in the tournament they hosted, fetched 1,750 euros, Germany’s organising committee said after two auctions held in Munich on Aug. 5, where 45,000 euros was raised, and Kaiserslautern on Aug 7.
Four further auctions of World Cup items, everything from potted plants to the goals on the pitch, will be held in the weeks ahead.
Proceeds are going to a charity foundation named after organising committee president Franz Beckenbauer and another named after former West German captain Fritz Walter.
U-23s lose Bangkok warm-up
Staff Correspondent
THE Bangladesh U-23 football team lost 1-0 to Thailand U-20 in the lone practice match ahead of their SA Games challenges at Bangkok on Wednesday.
Bangladesh will fly to Colombo on Friday and play their first match against Nepal on Monday. Nepal were beaten 4-0 by Thailand U-20 team in a practice match held in Bangkok just three days ago.
Unlucky Pakistan refrain from complaints
Reuters . Leeds
Pakistan did not take the easy option after losing the third Test and the four-match series against England at Headingley on Tuesday.
It would have been easy, understandable even, for them to leave the ground cursing the names of umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove. Perhaps they did but, if so, it was done in private and that was to their credit.
There is no doubt that the touring side, in losing by 167 runs after scoring 538 in their first innings at Headingley, did not get the rub of the green.
First they lost the toss, which never helps. Then they ‘dismissed’ Kevin Pietersen for two in the first innings, a delivery from fast bowler Shahid Nazir clipping the edge of the bat as well as Pietersen’s back leg on the way to the wicketkeeper, only for Hair to keep his finger down.
Pietersen went on to add 133 more runs before he was finally dismissed as the top-scorer in the home side’s agenda-setting first innings of 515.
Doctrove proved as hesitant in the second innings when Andrew Strauss survived a huge appeal for lbw against leg spinner Danish Kaneria. The England captain had been on 29 at that stage. He continued all the way to 116, the highest second-innings score by any batsman on either side.
‘If we had got him out, or caught Marcus Trescothick early on, and kept their stand down to 20 as we should have done, we might well have been chasing 180,’ conceded Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer. ‘Unfortunately it didn’t happen that way.’
There were a couple of other such decisions, against Alastair Cook in the first innings and Paul Collingwood in the second, which went against the visitors, although those proved far less costly. Almost as galling, they took two other wickets during the match off no-balls.
Woolmer remained steadfastly gracious in defeat.
‘England played very well,’ he said. ‘They played better than us throughout the series, it’s as simple as that. We made too many mistakes. We never quite got it together as a team.’
And Woolmer was right. To an extent, you make your own luck. Pakistan failed to do that, just as they have done earlier in the series.
In the drawn first Test they dropped half a dozen chances. At Headingley they dropped Pietersen, although he had got to three figures by then, and, much more pertinently, gave the out-of-form Trescothick two huge let-offs early in his second innings.
The result? He put on a decisive 158 for the first wicket with Strauss in a stand which went a long way to win the game.
Pakistan were also hamstrung by four run-outs.
‘Run-outs have been a perennial problem for Pakistan,’ Woolmer added ruefully. ‘You don’t need that in Test cricket.’
Mohammad Yousuf’s departure for eight in the second innings, after he had made 192 in the first, was a pivotal moment. For Woolmer, indeed, it was the pivotal moment.
England, in contrast, played close to the top of their game. There was one expensive miss. Paul Collingwood, diving in the slips, dropped Yousuf when he was still in single figures on his first visit but, for the most part, they snaffled their chances with confidence.
Their fielding, which has not always been a strength, was of the highest calibre. Fittingly, it was Collingwood who ran out Yousuf on the final morning to set England on course for victory.
‘Generally you don’t get four run-outs in a Test match but the great thing for us was that we had four opportunities and took them all, three of them with direct hits,’ he said.
‘There’s a lot of work on the practice ground that goes into that. We have been really targeting that aspect of our play over the last few weeks.’
The point will not be lost on Woolmer.
It was the great South African golfer Gary Player who, when told that he was lucky, agreed while adding: ‘It’s funny but the more I practise, the better I get.’
Yousuf and Younis Khan have been Pakistan’s leading lights in the series. Yousuf made a double century in the first Test to keep his side afloat, while the pair teamed up at Headingley to put on 363 runs for the third wicket, a Pakistan record against England for any wicket.
Practice, it seems, tends to make the pair as close to perfect as you can get.
Mahmood rises above the banter
Cricinfo
Sajid Mahmood enjoyed his best day as an England cricketer on the final day at Headingley, taking 4 for 22 in eight hostile overs to secure a series victory over the land of his forefathers, Pakistan. But his day was marred slightly by the barracking he received down on the boundary’s edge, as a posse of Pakistani fans accused him of being a ‘traitor’ and a ‘reject’.
Mahmood, whose father was born in Peshawar and his mother in Rawalpindi, was a Pakistani supporter as a child because that remained his parents’ allegiance. But, he as explained, from the age of eight or nine he began watching England on the television and playing the game himself, and from then on it was England all the way.
‘It started off a bit light-hearted but then it got a bit personal,’ he said of the banter during his spell, as local Pakistanis, buoyed by the match situation and the cheap final-day prices, flocked to the ground in numbers that had not been seen on the previous four days. ‘I didn’t really take any of it in, I just concentrated on bowling good areas and pitching the ball up.
‘I heard the word ‘traitor’ in my second spell, and a couple of things like that, but I didn’t let it affect me,’ he added. ‘I just put it to one side and I thought I bowled pretty well.’ At one stage, after taking the wicket of Faisal Iqbal, he was seen cupping his hand to his ear, and explained: ‘They’d been giving me such a lot of chat that I did it to see what they’ve got to say now.’
It was an unfortunate incident in a match that was otherwise a triumph for Headingley, who could only look on in envy last summer when their Roses rivals, Old Trafford, had 10,000 people queuing round the block for the final morning of the corresponding Ashes Test. The ground has had its problems with racial issues in the past, not least in 1992 when a pig’s head was thrown into a Pakistani enclosure, but this was a new twist on an old theme, and Mahmood rightly laughed it off.
‘It was probably my dad down there instigating it!’ he laughed. Ahead of last week’s second Test at his home ground of Old Trafford, Mahmood had joked that his father would have to support England or else he wouldn’t be getting a ticket. He added: ‘It was a little bit weird, because in that specific corner there were a couple clapping, and a couple hurling abuse, so I didn’t know what to do! I thought they would shut up when I got four wickets but they carried on. I just ignored them.’
For Mahmood, the mild controversy could not detract from a very important day in his development, after the difficulties he endured in the one-day series against Sri Lanka last month. ‘I felt a little bit shy about leading the side off afterwards, but felt I bowled pretty well and I enjoyed it,’ he said. ‘It was fantastic to get four and I’m full of confidence now. I’ve put the one-day series behind me and I’ll just keep working on my game.’
Mahmood singled out Kevin Shine, England’s new bowling coach, for particular praise. ‘Shiny’s been brilliant,’ he said. ‘He’s very similar to Troy Cooley, all the boys think so, and he’s shown that here and at Old Trafford. We’ve been working quite a bit on my seam position, and I can bowl away swing now and reverse it a little. I’ve just seen footage of my seam position today, and I’m very pleased.’
‘We’ve always known his potential,’ said Andrew Strauss, England’s captain. ‘If he can bowl at 90mph and reverse-swing it then there’s always a chance of him being a threatening Test bowler. Today he was spot on. He got his lines right and his lengths right. Possibly he’s bowled without luck before this innings, so maybe things turned a little for him today.’
Asif held back from Oval Test side
Reuters . Karachi
Pakistan paceman Mohammad Asif will not be travelling to England to join the team for the fourth Test at the Oval from August 17, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official told Reuters on Wednesday.
‘He was scheduled to join the team before the fourth Test, but the management have asked us to only make him available for the five one-day internationals,’ PCB director of cricket operations Saleem Altaf said.
The 23-year-old Asif had been one of Pakistan’s success stories since forging his way back into the side earlier this year against India but returned home before the first Test against England at Lord’s because of an elbow injury.
The decision to hold back the paceman, who has taken 25 wickets in five Tests, with Pakistan having already lost the series is seen as a surprise as the touring bowlers have struggled to dismiss England in the first three Tests.
Altaf confirmed that doctors had cleared Asif off his injury and the selectors made him available to leave for England.
‘The 30-member squad has already been sent to the ICC with the final 14 to be announced by September 7,’ Altaf said.
‘But we are requesting the ICC to allow us to include Nazir in the provisional squad now.’
However, another PCB official said that the ICC rules maintained that a country must announce its final 14-member squad from the list of 30 provisional players.
Despite failing to score heavily in the three Tests to date, the Pakistani selectors kept faith with openers Imran Farhat, Salman Butt and Taufiq Umar in the provisional squad.
Provisional squad: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt, Danish Kaneria, Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Faisal Iqbal, Rao Iftikhar, Asim Kamal, Bazid Khan, Zulqarnain Haider, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Yousuf, Abdul Rehman, Tahir Khan, Mohammad Irshad, Mansoor Amjad, Samiullah Niazi, Akhtar Ayub.
Utd prepare £42m Adriano bid
New Age Desk
Manchester United will reportedly make Inter an impressive offer for star striker Adriano at some stage this week.
The Premiership club need to replace Ruud Van Nistelrooy after his departure to Real Madrid and have set their sights on the Brazilian international, but the proposed swoop is set to be problematic.
United officials are expected in Milan in order to understand whether an agreement can be reached with the Via Durini outfit, who earlier this summer insisted that the Emperor is untransferable.
Whispers suggest that the Old Trafford outfit are supposedly ready to offer a massive £42m for the 24-year-old, a
bid that may tempt owner Massimo Moratti to consider his options.
Nevertheless, the chances of a sale look slim now that prime target Luca Toni has snubbed a move to Milan in favour of staying in Florence.
The Nerazzurri also strengthened their attack by signing Hernan Crespo on Monday and still hope to net Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Juventus even if rivals Milan are also keen.
With Obafemi Martins set to move on, with Liverpool and Newcastle interested, further departures from Inter seem highly improbable.
Especially as Coach Roberto Mancini has reiterated that he needs at least five forwards at his disposal for this season.
Adriano has spent the last two seasons at Inter following his switch from Parma back in January 2004.
Although he has scored 38 goals for the San Siro giants, the international has struggled for fitness and form over the last 12 months.
Imran: Inzy at No 7 cost Pakistan
Cricinfo
Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain, has criticised Inzamam-ul-Haq's decision to bat down the order, despite suffering a chest injury, in the second innings in Pakistan's series loss to England at Headingley.
Inzamam was forced to bat at No 7 due to the amount of time he spent off the field on the fourth day - did not take the field for the first hour and did not come back out after lunch - but Imran would have none of it and slammed him for failing to inspire.
In his column for The Nation, Imran was amazed at Pakistan's ‘lack of spine’ and felt that Inzamam should have braved the setback and led from the front.
‘Inzamam-ul-Haq should have known that he would not be able to go up the order on the crucial last day and so should have made every effort to spend time in the field on day four to be eligible to bat in his regular position,’ he said.
‘When a captain leads from the front and plays through injuries, it inspires his charges to brave challenges and adversity.’
Imran, who in the past has called for a shift up the order for Inzamam, did not stop there. ‘Unfortunately Inzamam prefers to play down the order which at times has been successful yet it is technically a wrong strategy because when the chips are down, the best batsman has to go up the order to avert a crisis. It is far more difficult to bat once there is a crisis,’ he continued.
‘With the openers' record rather poor in England so far, not much was expected from them. Bred on slow and low-bounce Pakistan wickets, they were never equipped to have the technique for English wickets where the ball moves off the track. But it was the unfortunate run out of Mohammad Yousuf that effectively put paid to any meaningful Pakistani resistance.’
Ashes will be contested by top two
Agence France-Presse . Leeds
Australia and England will start their series later this year as top two sides in the International Cricket Council Test Championship table, the world governing body announced Tuesday.
Confirmation that the latest edition of the Ashes will feature the world’s two leading Test nations came after England beat Pakistan by 167 runs in the third Test at Headingley here Tuesday.
That victory, which ensured England had an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-match series, saw them regain second place in the table from Pakistan.
The gap between England and Australia ahead of their series beginning in Brisbane on November 23 is still to be decided but it could be as few as 11 rating points if England beat Pakistan again at The Oval in the fourth Test, starting on August 17, and so claim a 3-0 victory.
England’s series win was its first since it beat Australia 2-1 last year to reclaim The Ashes while, for Pakistan, it was their first series defeat since losing all three Tests against Ricky Ponting’s side in 2004/05.
Henry desperate to keep Cole
Reuters . London
Arsenal captain Thierry Henry said selling England left-back Ashley Cole to champions Chelsea would be a massive blow to his club.
‘Let me make it clear – I don’t know what is happening with Ashley Cole.
‘But the fact remains that if Ashley goes, we would be losing one of the team’s best assets for the second year running,’ Henry told Wednesday’s Sun newspaper.
Cole has been linked with a move across London ever since he was involved in the infamous ‘tapping-up’ affair in January 2005 for which he and Chelsea were heavily fined by the Premier League.
The 25-year-old did not travel with Arsenal for Tuesday’s Champions League qualifier in Croatia against Dinamo Zagreb, which the London side won 3-0.
Henry said losing Cole would have the same effect as when compatriot Patrick Vieira left for Juventus a year ago.
‘Ashley was tremendous in the World Cup. That is a fact. People can say what they want but he would be very difficult to replace,’ added the Frenchman.
‘The loss of Vieira was massive – like it would be if Ashley goes.
‘Obviously we want him to stay. He is one of the best left-backs in the world. We would miss him badly.’ The two clubs have held informal talks and Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho confirmed that the champions had made an offer.
‘Arsenal have an offer from Chelsea, if they accept they accept, if they don’t, they don’t,’ Mourinho told the club’s website.
‘It’s in their hands. But we have other options. We cannot play a whole season with only Wayne Bridge.
‘For a couple of days we have no solution about Ashley Cole.’
Chelsea are in the market for a left-back after selling Spaniard Asier del Horno to Valencia. with us and we agreed the price, conditions and the buy-back options with him. Jurado is ours.’
Hargreaves voted England’s
best World Cup player
Agence France-Presse . London
Previously much-criticised Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves has been voted England’s player of the World Cup, according to a fans’ poll released on Wednesday.
Almost a quarter of all those voting in the Football Association (FA) poll picked Hargreaves, who consistently impressed as both a holding midfielder and a stand-in right back.
Hargreaves’s 35,000 votes—seeing off the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, David Beckham and John Terry—illustrate the sea change in popular opinion about the Canadian-born player.
Before the tournament in Germany, Hargreaves had been used mainly as a substitute and many pundits and fans questioned his inclusion in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s squad at all.
But now he is expected to play a more major role under new boss Steve McClaren.
‘Any time you can have the public’s support is great. Obviously before the World Cup I got a taste of the other side of it but it’s far better to be on the positive side of it,’ Hargreaves was quoted as saying on the FA website.
Donadoni opens Azzurri door
New Age Desk
New Italy boss Roberto Donadoni has reiterated that all players in even the smallest club can earn their places in his squad.
‘It’s important that everyone knows they can have Azzurri ambitions. Palermo are doing great work and their focus on young players has borne fruit.’
The coach is travelling round the country visiting various Serie A and B sides to discuss his new regime with the footballers and today spoke with Palermo, who beat Lecce 3-0 in a friendly test with goals for Andrea Caracciolo, Fabio Simplicio and Giuseppe Biava.
The Rosanero provided four World Cup winners in Germany with Fabio Grosso, Cristian Zaccardo, Andrea Barzagli and Simone Barone all giving their contribution.
‘My presence here is crucial for my work,’ he explained. ‘I am trying to visit as many sides as possible to instill an immediate positive rapport with the clubs and their players.’
Quick Bites
Rooney, Scholes free for opener
Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes will be available for Manchester United’s Premiership opener with Fulham, despite being sent off in a pre-season match.
The game was in Holland and the Dutch Football Association’s report to its English counterparts was delayed in the post, so the duo can play on 20 August.
An FA spokesman told BBC Sport that the report had not arrived by close of business on Tuesday evening.
Any suspension would apply 14 days on from when the FA receive the report.
Rooney was dismissed for allegedly elbowing Pepe in the 3-1 win over Porto in Amsterdam while Scholes was sent off for two bookable offences.
The referee’s report to the Dutch FA automatically triggers a letter to the FA, which would be duty bound to give both players a violent conduct charge.
If proved, that charge carries carried a three-match suspension. — BBC
Really fanatic!
Lee Jae-hyung spent four years hunting down a piece of South Korea’s sporting history and the search for a famous football has finally paid off.
Lee is set to bring home the ball used in South Korea’s dramatic penalty shootout win over Spain in the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals after tracking it down in Rahab near Cairo, local media reported on Wednesday.
Egyptian Gamal Ghandour, who refereed the controversial match, had kept the ball and was reluctant to part with it, saying it had become a prized family possession.
‘The ball will be an heirloom of your family to be handed down if you keep it,’ the report quoted Lee as telling Ghandour. ‘But it will be cherished permanently as a treasure of the whole country if it is in Korea.’
Ghandour relented and gave the ball to Lee who plans to donate it to the Korea Football Association and have it put on permanent display.
Kim Gawn-hyuck of South Korean football magazine Best Eleven confirmed that Lee had secured the ball and was planning to return to Seoul on Friday.
‘Each and every victory is important for South Korean football as we don’t have that many yet,’ Kim said. ‘This ball was the one used when we beat Spain. That’s why we were trying to get it back.’ — Reuters
Brazil change Argentina date
Brazil are to play Wales in a friendly in London and have changed the date of their game against Argentina in the same city.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on Tuesday that the match against arch-rivals Argentina would be on Sept. 3 at Arsenal’s stadium and not Sept. 2 as previously announced.
Brazil will then face Wales at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane ground on Sept. 5, the CBF said on its official website.
Brazil’s first game under new coach Dunga, who replaced Carlos Alberto Parreira after the World Cup, will be against Norway in Oslo on Aug. 16.
The match against Argentina will be the first for their opponents under new coach Alfio Basile, who has replaced Jose Pekerman. — Reuters
Spurs eye Ayala
Spurs are favourites to sign Roberto Ayala as the Argentine defender eyes a move to the Premiership.
But Tottenham boss Martin Jol is staying silent over reports that striker Mido will be back at White Hart Lane.
Ayala has been touted around several clubs with Manchester United and Portsmouth also showing interest.
Valencia’s vastly experienced defender, 33, is keen to quit Spain before the end of the transfer window after six years at the Mestalla.
Jol is still looking for an extra central defender after failing in a bid to land West Brom’s Curtis Davies.
Spurs’ boss wants to add an experienced head to his promising young squad and sees Ayala – available for a nominal fee – as an ideal recruit, providing he can agree personal terms.
The Argie defender’s agent Gus Mascardi said, ‘A quick solution would be best for all parties.’
Ayala scored in the 1-1 draw then missed a penalty in the shootout as Argentina crashed out of the World Cup quarter-final at the hands of hosts Germany – his 104th international.
He also helped Valencia win the La Liga title under Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez in 2004. — New Age Desk
Klose, Klinsmann top Kicker poll
Werder Bremen forward Miroslav Klose has been named German Player of the Year by Kicker magazine, with World Cup boss Jurgen Klinsmann picking up the coach’s award.
Klose finished the World Cup in Germany as top goalscorer as well as hitting the net 25 times for his club last season.
He romped to victory in the poll among specialised football journalists with 532 votes, well clear of second-placed Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, with 82, and Bayern Munich full-back Philipp Lahm, who polled 58 votes.
Klinsmann also dominated the opposition in the vote, taking 392 votes compared with 98 for Hamburg’s Thomas Doll in second and 94 for Jurgen Klopp, the coach of Mainz, in third.
Felix Magath, the coach of double winners Bayern, failed to make it into the top three. Birgit Prinz, who is on the verge of her 150th international cap, won the women’s award for the sixth time in a row. — AFP
Matarrese replaces Galliani
The Italian football league on Tuesday elected a new president to replace Adriano Galliani, who stood down in June after being charged in connection with the Serie A match-fixing scandal.
Antonio Matarrese was named as Galliani’s successor after polling 26 of the 39 votes cast by representatives of clubs in the Italian first and second divisions.
The 66-year-old Mataresse is no stranger to the job having already served as the league’s president between 1982 and 1987. He then moved on to lead the Italian Football Federation until 1996.
Galliani, who is also vice president of AC Milan, was banned from any involvement in football for nine months for his involvement in the Italian match-fixing crisis. — AFP
Cottbus fly flag for East Germany
Teams from East Germany, formerly known as the GDR (German Democratic Republic), have been disappearing from top-flight football for some time now, but Energie Cottbus hope to spur on a new generation after being promoted to the Bundesliga for the 2005/06 season.
Cottbus finished third in the second division last season to win promotion along with VfL Bochum and Alemannia Aaachen and are now the only team from the former GDR in the top division.
Hansa Rostock’s relegation in the 2004/05 campaign meant there were no East German teams participating in the Bundesliga for the past two seasons.
Cottbus, founded by coal miners in 1966, have budgeted close to 20 million euros (25.6 million dollars) to beat the drop and Polish international Mariusz Kukielka and China international Shao Jiayi are two major arrivals. — AFP
Premiership gears up for more
Reuters . London
Chelsea will begin their quest for a hat-trick of Premier League titles next week looking almost invulnerable after striker Andriy Shevchenko and midfielder Michael Ballack joined the champions.
Bookmakers paid out on Chelsea’s 2006 title in September 2005 and they could well repeat the exercise after coach Jose Mourinho added the proven quality of Shevchenko and Ballack, plus the emerging talent of Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel.
Frustrated again in the Champions League last term, Chelsea have been busy while Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal have yet to sign anyone to really capture the imagination.
The arrivals, along with the departure of winger Damien Duff, have heightened speculation that Mourinho will switch the emphasis from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 formations this season, pairing Shevchenko with Didier Drogba up front.
The Portuguese coach, sporting a fairly drastic crew-cut hairstyle for the new season, has a wealth of players to populate that expanded midfield.
Ballack, Mikel, England’s World Cup flop Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Claude Makelele are all in the mix with wingers Arjen Robben and Joe Cole, the latter currently injured.
Add a solid defensive record and an outstanding goalkeeper in Petr Cech and it would take a real loss of confidence for Chelsea to let things slip.
United, who came closest to upsetting the bookies last time, have lost their out-of-favour but prolific striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, snapped up by Real Madrid, and there is no sign yet of a worthy replacement.
Equally worrying is the volatile temper of striker Wayne Rooney, sent off in England’s World Cup quarter-final exit to Portugal and promptly red-carded along with Paul Scholes in the pre-season friendly tournament in Amsterdam.
Rooney’s dismissals are a concern after a season in which he kept his aggressive style of play in check under the watchful eye of manager Alex Ferguson.
After 20 years in charge, Ferguson faces one of his biggest challenges yet in closing the gap on a Chelsea side who have a first-rate coach and seemingly unlimited resources on the transfer market.
Liverpool, Champions League winners in 2005, showed a real improvement in their Premier League performances last term – winning 50 per cent more games than the previous season.
The man behind their recent success, Spanish coach Rafael Benitez, has made no secret of his ambitions for the coming season and the desire to be real title challengers.
‘The ideal would be to be contenders,’ he said in Cardiff last May after his side lifted the FA Cup.
Captain Steven Gerrard, with his sharp tackling, great distribution and eye for goal, remains Liverpool’s inspiration. Craig Bellamy, brought in from Blackburn Rovers, could be the man to provide the missing goals.
Arsenal start the season at their new 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium after bidding farewell to Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Sol Campbell but, crucially, after securing French talisman Thierry Henry on a new four-year contract.
Henry, the Premier League’s top scorer in four of the last five seasons, will again be key to their hopes of silverware.
But the side need more reinforcements than Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky to mount a real title challenge, let alone hope to repeat their run to last season’s Champions League final.
Outside the top four, the spotlight is likely to fall on Tottenham Hotspur, who let fourth place slip to arch-rivals Arsenal on the last day of the season, and an Aston Villa side now in the safe hands of Martin O’Neill.
Sheffield United’s outspoken manager Neil Warnock should liven up the post-match interviews, but the talking point this season is still likely to be Mourinho, whatever his haircut.
Chelsea beat Feyenoord
Reuters . Rotterdam
Frank Lampard put his England woes behind him to score Chelsea’s winner in a 1-0 pre-season victory over Feyenoord on Tuesday.
The midfielder, who suffered poor form at the World Cup, profited from a moment of brilliance from Andriy Shevchenko after 52 minutes to clinch victory for the English champions.
Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho started with virtually a full-strength side, barring goalkeeper Petr Cech who was not in the squad and defender John Terry who was a substitute.
Michael Ballack, Shevchenko and Didier Drogba all missed good chances for Chelsea, who play the Community Shield against Cup winners Liverpool on Sunday in Cardiff.
Lampard made no mistake, however, flicking the ball into the net after a great pass from Shevchenko. Feyenoord’s best chance came in the final minute when a free kick from Pierre van Hooijdonk hit the post with goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini beaten.
‘It was a very good training session for us and for them,’ Mourinho told reporters.
Ballack primed for new campaign
New Age Desk
Taking time out from an Adidas event at Stamford Bridge that saw the world’s biggest ever team photo taken, Ballack was in a positive frame of mind as he gears up for a debut season on foreign shores.
As part of the club’s Blue Day Out, the German midfielder lined up with his new team-mates, flanked by 5,000 Chelsea supporters that filled the lower tier of the West Stand, to create both a sea of blue and a huge squad of players that even Jose Mourinho may have struggled to keep in check.
Ballack’s arrival in West London is a clear signal of intent from the champions, who in looking for a hat-trick of titles have bolstered their ranks considerably in the summer with acquisitions of the highest order.
Having established himself as one of the world’s best in his position, Ballack was always unlikely to be overawed by a move to England and it is clearly a country in which he has been keen to sample.
‘I made the decision in April to move here,’ Ballack told skysports.com.
‘I’ve always been impressed with English football and have always wanted to play here.
‘The crowds and supporters; that’s what I want to experience as a footballer.
‘The crowds are very close to the pitch, the atmosphere is great. That’s why I wanted to come to Chelsea.’
Adjusting to a foreign style of football is always difficult for any newcomer to the Premiership but having played in England on UEFA Champions League sojourns with Bayern, the gifted schemer is confident that he has all the attributes to adapt quickly.
‘Of course, it’s a different game in England but I’ve played many times here in the Champions League and it has never been a problem.
‘It’s a different tempo but you can get used to that. Having played at international level you get used to different styles of play.
‘It’s a new club and a new challenge. It’s something that I am looking forward to very much at a huge club like Chelsea.’
Having undergone a long-standing Chelsea ritual of belting out a pre-season song to the rest of his team-mates, albeit in German, Ballack feels he is adjusting well to life in West London.
‘I’ve only been here a few days so it’s difficult to pick out individual players (who have impressed) but I’ve been impressed with the professionalism and discipline in every aspect of the club,’ he added.
‘But also the fun parts too have been good, in training we like to have a laugh.’
It seems likely that Ballack will line-up in Chelsea’s midfield alongside Frank Lampard, with much being made of their similar styles and whether they will complement each other in what is a new look engine room.
However, eager to emphasise the old adage that good players are adaptable, the free-scoring German is confident that the two will be a success in tandem.
‘It’s not a problem,’ insisted Ballack. ‘Both myself and Frank are flexible players. We play in similar positions but that flexibility allows us to adapt to each other.
‘I am sure Chelsea know my strengths. One of those is flexibility, I can both defend and attack and fill the midfield as well.
‘In Germany I have proved that I can score goals too.’
While many of the Stamford Bridge faithful will be eager to taste European glory this season, for Ballack, one of the stars of this summer’s World Cup, the priority is league success, firmly of the opinion that it is domestic titles that define true champions.
‘Of course you want to win every game but the championship is very much the priority,’ he concluded.
‘It is about a whole season, over 38 games, that is the real test for any club.’
Fergie faces challenge to revive MU
Agence France-Presse . Manchester
Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates his 20th anniversary as Manchester United manager in November, but the chances of him surviving at Old Trafford to enjoy his 21st are likely to hinge on his bringing back either the Premiership or Champions League trophy this season.
Since arriving from Aberdeen to succeed the sacked Ron Atkinson on November 6 1986, Ferguson has transformed United from a club burdened by its glorious past to one that dominated English football throughout the 1990s.
This culminated in the Treble success of 1999 that saw United win the Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League.
But Arsenal and Liverpool’s emergence and the multi-million pound Roman Abramovich revolution at Chelsea have left United attempting to play catch-up in recent seasons.
Ferguson has guided the club to eight Premiership titles, but none since 2003, and the patience of the United supporters is now wearing thin.
Club legends such as Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy have left United following the breakdown of their relationship with Ferguson, yet neither has been successfully replaced.
The team thus go into the season with major question marks over their ability to mount a serious challenge to Chelsea’s domestic dominance.
United captain Gary Neville, one of Ferguson’s most loyal lieutenants, admits that the achievements of the past now count for little as the club attempts to reclaim its position at the summit of English football.
‘The club has come a long way in 20 years, but if you had told the manager when he arrived 20 years ago that he would still be here in 2006, he would have said “No chance!”,’ Neville said.
‘It’s incredible what he has done and achieved here and what he continues to do and 20 years in this job is an amazing feat.
‘But what’s most important for the club and the team, and it will also be in the manager’s thoughts, is moving forward this season and trying to bring more success.
‘What has been in the last 20 years is great and you do think about it, but the big thing for us is what is ahead of us and what will hopefully be a successful season for the club.’
With the Glazer family now over 12 months into their stewardship as United’s owners, Ferguson has already survived calls for his head when the club were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stages last season.
The 63-year-old insists that his determination to build a new, young team at Old Trafford will ensure glory for years to come.
However, the challenge to achieve success while in a period of transition is not an easy one and failure to deliver either the Premiership or European silverware this term could see the Glazers run out of patience and look for a new man.
Ferguson insists that he can handle the pressure and expectancy, however, as United prepare to launch their season against Fulham at Old Trafford on August 20.
‘There’s always huge expectation at our club and it wouldn’t matter if we had won the league the previous season or two years ago. We always have to win the league,’ he said.
‘The length of time we have gone without it just does not matter. It’s always the same and quite right as well. That’s the barometer for us because we are the best.
‘Ours is a very young squad and we hope to see an improvement that will bring us closer to challenging Chelsea next season because I still think they are the team to beat.
‘They’ve added two very experienced players in Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, but I can understand that in terms of their European challenge. These signings suggest to me that they are going to concentrate on Europe and try and win that.’
Ferguson’s summer spending has seen him attract England midfielder Michael Carrick from Spurs in a deal worth 18.6 million pounds (35.5m dollars).
However, Carrick will miss the start of the season, having suffered a foot ligament injury during a pre-season friendly against Ajax.
Avoiding injuries to key players will be crucial if United are to push for the title. Their first eleven is as strong as any in England and possibly Europe, but beyond that, the squad looks thin and inexperienced.
Arsenal brush Zagreb aside
Agence France-Presse . Zagreb
Arsenal all but guaranteed themselves a place in the group stages of the Champions League here Tuesday after cruising to a 3-0 victory away to Dinamo Zagreb.
A two-goal burst from Cesc Fabregas either side of a strike from Robin van Persie was just reward for the English Premiership side, who controlled this final preliminary round first leg tie throughout.
Only a miraculous performance from the Croatians in the second leg at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in a fortnight will deny Arsene Wenger’s young side a place in the last 32 of the world’s richest club competition.
Fabregas, still only 19, set Arsenal on their way in the 63rd minute, rifling in a low shot after being played in by Dutch World Cup star van Persie.
Van Persie made it 2-0 just over a minute later, latching on to a long ball from Alexander Hleb and burying an angled shot beyond Dinamo keeper Ivan Turina.
Fabregas completed a superb night’s work with a magical individual goal, surging into the Dinamo area and drilling home an unstoppable shot on 79 minutes.
Victory was all the more impressive for the Gunners as it was achieved without several key players, including skipper Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg and England international Ashley Cole.
Wenger’s decision to leave Jose Antonio Reyes on the bench is also bound to fuel speculation that the Spanish international could be leaving London for Real Madrid.
Reyes has been the subject of constant reports linking him to a move back to Spain, and British newspapers carried photos of the unsettled player posing in a Real Madrid shirt on Tuesday.
By leaving Reyes on the bench, Wenger ensured the midfielder won’t be cup tied for the remainder of the competition should Real decide to mount a formal transfer raid.
The absence of so many regulars was hardly felt by the Gunners however as they quickly settled into their familiar, neat passing game.
With the exception of one or two minor forays into the Arsenal box, Dinamo were left chasing shadows for much of the opening 45 minutes as last year’s beaten finalists monopolised possession.
For all their domination, Arsenal were unable to make it count however and clear goalscoring chances were thin on the ground early on.
Van Persie looked the man most likely to break the deadlock, but saw an eighth minute free-kick fly high and wide and an 18th minute 25-yarder deflected and saved by Turina.
New signing Tomas Rosicky also caught the eye, the Czech international surging forward with purpose and unsettling the Croatian side’s back four.
Another member of Arsenal’s World Cup contingent, Togo’s Emmanuel Adebayor, also looked in touch, testing Turina with a long-range shot that flew wide.
But it was a different story in the second half and when Fabregas sent Arsenal 1-0 up the floodgates opened as the Croat resistance crumbled.
Cristiano rises above the taunts
Agence France-Presse . London
Cristiano Ronaldo shrugged off jeers from rival fans to star in Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Oxford United in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday.
The Portugal international was made public enemy number one for his perceived role in getting United team-mate Wayne Rooney sent off in the World Cup quarter-final against England last month.
And the Oxford United fans ensured the winger was given a rowdy reception on his first game back on English soil, but he brushed it off with aplomb, swerving home a brilliant 14th minute volley.
Much had been made of Ronaldo’s return, 38 days since he helped get Rooney sent off and fired home the penalty which knocked England out of the World Cup.
But the security concerns expressed over the former Sporting Lisbon star appeared to have been greatly exaggerated.
There were no police inside the stadium at all and, while the number of safety officers present had been beefed up, it was only in response to the arrival of a United side containing nine internationals rather than the reserve team which had originally been expected when the fixture was agreed a couple of months ago.
Even the boos were more routine than venomous and the 21-year-old felt relaxed enough to offer team-mate Kieran Richardson a broad grin as he ran out for the second half.
The contest was only six minutes old when Ronaldo made his first imprint on the game, touching a pass to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer inside the Oxford box which allowed the veteran striker to blast a shot into the roof of the net.
Ronaldo’s opener followed not that long afterwards. It was Louis Saha, also making his first appearance since heartbreakingly missing the World Cup final through suspension, who provided the cushioned lay-off to Phil Bardsley’s cross.
The right-foot finish was exquisite, starting off wide of Turley’s far post before curling in.
Darren Fletcher added another two minutes later and while Robert Duffy powered home a far-post header before the break, Ronaldo quickly restored United’s three-goal lead after half-time.
Yet again, the finish was right-footed, curling a shot into the bottom corner this time after David Jones had fed him with a short pass.
There was to be no hat-trick, even though Ronaldo was pushed into a more orthodox striker’s role until he was replaced by Giuseppe Rossi.
Toni opts to stay at Fiorentina
Agence France-Presse . Rome
Italy World Cup star Luca Toni on Tuesday reversed his decision to seek a transfer from Fiorentina and pledged his future to the scandal-hit club.
Toni, Serie A’s top-scorer last season with 31 goals in 34 games, had sought to leave the Florence outfit after they were kicked out of the Champions League over their part in the Italian match-fixing scandal.
But after discussions with club officials Toni has changed his mind
‘I’ve discussed it with the president (Diego Della Valle) and that’s good enough for me. I’ve made up my mind to stay and all I want to do now is concentrate on scoring goals for Fiorentina,’ Toni said.
‘I’m looking forward to the new season and I can’t wait for it to start.’
Toni had been linked with a move to Italian champions Inter Milan, while several English Premiership clubs were also reported to be interested in the 29-year-old, who contributed two goals to the Azzurri’s World Cup campaign.
But Fiorentina president Della Valle said Toni had been persuaded to stay being assured of the club’s ambitions.
‘Luca realises that he is an integral part of our future,’ Della Valle said. ‘Once his mind was made up we wrapped everything up in five minutes, and we didn’t even have to talk about money,’ Della Valle said. ‘That doesn’t happen very often these days.’
Juventus reject Ibrahimovic offer
New Age Desk
Juventus have declined an Inter offer they deemed as too low for unhappy striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, reports insist.
The Via Durini outfit allegedly made a £15m bid on Tuesday evening, but the Old Lady told the Nerazzurri to dig a little deeper.
Juve president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said on Tuesday that he still hoped to keep the Swede at the club, but did not exclude the possibility of a transfer.
‘If Ibrahimovic does leave, then he will go to the club that pay us best,’ he warned at the Lega Calcio meeting in Milan.
The 24-year-old, who landed in Turin from Ajax in 2004 for £11.5m, has expressed his desire to leave Juventus following their demotion in Serie B.
Ibrahimovic has also been linked to Milan, who are reported to be willing to offer up to £17.8m even if the Old Lady hope of netting something around £20m.
Inter are now back in the Ibra race after Luca Toni, their primary transfer target, confirmed on Tuesday his desire to stay with Fiorentina.
A new meeting between Ibra’s agent Mino Raiola and Milan is planned for Thursday, the day after the first leg of the Champions League preliminary match against Red Star Belgrade, the result of which may affect further developments in the negotiation.
Reyes desperate for Real deal
Reuters . Madrid
Arsenal forward Jose Antonio Reyes is hoping that Arsene Wenger’s decision to leave him on the bench for Tuesday’s Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb will clear the way for a move to Real Madrid.
The 22-year-old has made no secret of his desire to sign for Real but participation in the 3-0 win over Zagreb would have jeopardised the move because he would have become ineligible to play for the Primera Liga side in Europe.
‘I don’t know if Wenger thought I was ready to play or not, but maybe he thought I was a little too distracted,’ the Spanish international was quoted as saying in sports daily AS on Wednesday.
‘I want things to be sorted out as soon as possible and I will have my mobile turned on all day on Wednesday in case there are any important calls.
‘Me and my family are a little tense at the moment and want to make sure things don’t collapse, but I’m hopeful that things will work out in the end.’
Arsenal manager Wenger denied that his decision to leave Reyes on the bench was taken in order to facilitate a move to Real.
‘I didn’t send a message out,’ he said after his team’s comfortable victory in Zagreb. ‘I did not think he had the right concentration to play.
‘I just considered tonight’s game. The fact that he will be cup-tied or not did not come into my mind. I just picked a team I thought could win the game.’
Asked if Reyes would play for the club again, he added, ‘I am confident, yes.’
Arsenal paid a club record fee of around 17 million pounds ($32.39 million) for Reyes who joined the London side as a 20-year-old in January 2004 but his performances have been inconsistent.
Benitez backs Gerrard for
England captaincy
Agence France-Presse . Liverpool
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is backing Steven Gerrard to succeed David Beckham as England captain ahead of new national
boss Steve McClaren’s announcement expected later this week.
McClaren is due to choose between frontrunners Gerrard and Chelsea defender John Terry when he unveils his first squad since taking over from Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday.
The England manager spent Monday at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground, meeting Benitez and watching the club’s English players train for this Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier against Maccabi Haifa.
‘Steve and me talked about the future for England, the team, it was a good conversation between two friends about football,’ Benitez said.
‘What was interesting was that he had a clear idea, a plan, and he knows what he wants to do. He is clever and knows how to handle this.
‘I asked him who would be the next England captain, but was told nothing, he just smiled at me.
‘But it would be good for Steven Gerrard even if it is more work for him, we will have to wait for a decision.
‘He thrives on responsibility, he is more mature and understands how important it is to be captain and he must be an example for the rest of the players.’
Gerrard is already Liverpool captain and is renowned for pushing his club side to famous victories almost single-handedly, most notably in the 2005 Champions League final and last season’s FA Cup final.
‘I think Steven would do it well, it would be very good for him but at the moment he must think about the next game and it’s importance to us,’ Benitez said.
‘He can certainly do the England job, but in the end it is not our decision and he should just be focused on what Liverpool are doing.
‘But for me the most important thing is to see Steve concentrating on our next game because it is so important to us.’
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